Bridge

"We are three, maybe four kilometers away from the bridge," Ted spoke after he confirmed that there were no Tainted in the vicinity. "It should take us about an hour to reach it and after that another hour to get to our village."

The group was walking along the road and listening to Ted's jokes and funny anecdotes. They also spoke about their lives before the Impact and about their plans for the future. As it turned out, Ted and Emily were driven by the same motivation as Adam.

They were rushing back home to their nine-month-old son. They had left him at home with a babysitter for the first time and were terrified of what might have happened to him now.

"You are welcome to rest at our home before you continue on your way," Emily offered. "If you still want to reach Cracow of course. Either way, you can stay with us as long as you want. This is the least we can do to repay you for helping us and saving our lives."

"I appreciate the offer but I can't stay. I want to reach my own family as soon as I can," Adam responded.

"It is going to be quite a journey. At least eighty kilometers," Ted pointed out.

"Yeah, but it's not important. I will do whatever it takes to reach them and ensure their safety," Adam spoke about his family with resolve.

There was dread concealed deeply in his voice. Dread for the lives of his wife and daughter, the existence of which Adam himself did not acknowledge.

The conversation died out at this point as everyone was immersed in their thoughts.

The group passed a turn in the road and finally saw the bridge connecting the banks of Dunajec. They froze in their tracks for a moment seeing its state. The middle of the bridge was blocked by an overturned bus, the Tainted stalking its surroundings.

There were at least four of them around the vehicle, with more hiding inside. Adam heard their hungry growls coming from the bus.

Two Tainted were walking in circles around the bus, agitated by the growls of the others. Two more were feasting on the corpses of the passengers lying next to the vehicle.

"This doesn't look good," Ted whispered while observing the monsters. The group slowly backed off until they were out of the Tainted range.

"We should cross the river in a different place." Ted proposed after they gathered at the side of the road, but Emily firmly disagreed.

"The other bridge is ten kilometers away. We won't get home before night if we use it! We can't afford such a delay! Our son is waiting for us!" As she spoke about their son, her voice faltered. She wanted to be with her baby as soon as possible.

"I understand. I want to be there with him too. But, he's with Jane and they are certainly not in any immediate danger." Ted tried to reassure his wife, although his words rung hollow even in his ears. "There are four of them that we can see. If we fight them, we are most likely going to end up dead.

"I have to agree with Emily," Adam interjected. "We don't know if the other bridge is safe and we don't know how many Tainted we are going to face on the way. It's better to risk it here, where we have a chance to beat them."

"Okay, have it your way!" Ted snapped. "So, what are we going to do? Are we ready to fight and kill other human beings? We are not just defending ourselves now. We are discussing how we are going to slaughter them!" He pointed in the direction of the bridge.

"They are no longer human beings," Adam murmured while Emily stared at her husband with fury.

"Yes, we are going to murder them! And you know exactly why we have to do this! Our little baby might be dying right now, being torn to pieces by Tainted! I'm not going to waste time on your moral dilemmas!"

Ted started to visibly deflate, his joyful façade vanishing without a trace, and his face finally reflecting his true feelings – fear and doubt as his wife screamed at him. "Stop pretending that everything is fine and well because it is not! It's not some road trip we are on! We nearly died twice just to reach this place and we may very well die in the next few minutes! Just acknowledge it. I don't need your jokes and smiles right now. I need you to stand by my side and do what is necessary to protect our family." As she spoke her mind, anger vanished from her voice, replaced by weariness.

"You are right." Ted finally replied. "I need to get serious. And I will. What do we do now?" He turned to Adam with an apologetic look in his eyes. "I'm sorry for my outburst."

"Yeah, me too" Emily blushed a little.

"We have four Tainted to deal with. The ones imprisoned in the vehicle shouldn't be a problem. We also know what their weak points are," Adam decided to focus on the problem at hand.

"They're dumb and blind," Ted pointed out. "How can we use it?"

"We will deal with the wanderers first, Emily will keep an eye on the eating ones," Adam assigned the roles. "We wait for the moment they have spread apart and try to sneak up on them and take them out quickly. We aim at their heads. Then we attack the rest together."

The team came back to the bridge and cautiously approached the bus. They moved slowly and quietly, not to attract the monster's attention.

Adam was armed with the bat looted from the convenience store, while Ted and Emily both had heavy pipe wrenches they had picked in a hardware store along the way.

The men inched closer to their targets, with Emily slightly behind them. She was ready to enter the fray at the first signs of trouble.

When the wandering Tainted reached the opposite ends of the overturned vehicle Adam and Ted rushed to their targets. The Tainted were alarmed by the noise but it was too late by then.

Ted swung his weapon, aiming at the creature's head. The side of its head caved in with a crunch, blood and bone fragments splattering everywhere. It fell over with a loud thud.

Adam tackled his enemy at the same time. The beast turned around before he managed to get close enough for the hit. It froze for a moment and then let a frenzied roar, alarming all the other Tainted.

Adam charged and tried to deliver a blow. He barely missed the creature, the tip of his bat grazing its face and flattening its nose. The Tainted stumbled to the side under the force of the blow. It wasn't out of the fight though.

It didn't seem to feel the injury at all and as soon as it regained its balance, it tried to pounce on Adam. He wouldn't allow it to do so though. He immediately struck again, hitting its chest and throwing the Tainted back.

He followed it quickly with a series of blows that brought the monster to the ground. With the last blow, he smashed its head to pieces.

As Adam and Ted were dealing with their foes, the other Tainted noticed the commotion. The bus started swaying lightly and the growls of the monsters trapped inside filled the air.

Meanwhile, the Tainted feasting on the corpses jumped to their feet and faced Adam, who was still fighting at the moment, unaware of the danger.

Emily was the only one who saw how the fight unfolded. She knew she had to do something as none of them could beat two Tainted alone.

When the Tainted charged at Adam she let out a shrill scream and began banging her weapon on the bridge railing.

The Tainted split up. One continued its charge, while the other slowed down confused. It looked around and finally spotted the origin of the new noise. It growled hungrily at Emily and lunged in her direction.

In the meantime, Adam and Ted turned around startled by the sudden noise.

Ted yelled Emily's name in panic and dashed madly to protect his wife. Adam on the other hand prepared himself to receive his new opponent.

Emily stared at the quickly approaching Tainted. She knew well what would happen when it got to her. Her arm was throbbing painfully, a clear reminder of what the monsters were capable of.

She also knew that she wasn't strong enough to face it in a fair fight and that her husband wouldn't reach her on time. She had to be clever.

Emily rested her back on the bridge railing. It reached up to her waist and offered just enough protection not to accidentally fall from the bridge. It wouldn't stop a running human though.

When the Tainted reached her, Emily threw herself to the side rolling painfully on the ground.

The beast hit the railing and flew over it carried by the force of its charge. It disappeared in the roiling water.