8 Shenbei

The other vehicles were just moving forward. At such a life-or-death moment, other drivers would step on the gas and avert their gazes. Most of them would even hit telegraph poles or railings, in order to escape from this nightmare.

But for Jiang Liushi, who had a fast and tough truck, it was not difficult to save the girls, as long as he was in the vehicle. They looked at the incoming zombies and could not help but cry. Their hands were tightly held together, waiting for their imminent death. However, they heard someone calling them, and when they looked ahead, they saw someone waving at them from inside the intimidating truck.

"Hurry!"

That shook them awake from their distress. The girl that had fallen earlier, was the first to act and quickly pulled her companion and ran toward him. Jiang Liushi unlocked the door and got back at the steering wheel, putting his weapon harness under his seat. They jumped in as fast as they could, and when the last one got her feet in, the door closed. 3 seconds later, a zombie slamed itself on the door, making the girls jump and shriek in terror. Several others banging noises followed as the first zombies had reached their position. Jiang Liushi didn't wait for the girls to recover before stepping on the accelerator.

The heavy truck lurched forward with considerable swiftness, and the girls got slamed to the backrest of the seat. They were still suffering from the shock, panting heavily while their hearts were thumping fast and hard. After a few seconds, they started to calm down.

"We are saved..." said the one next to the door, in a daze.

"Thank you ... thank... you! Thank you very much!" said the one next to him as she turned to face him.

Jiang Liushi observed them, his co-pilote program helping with the driving. The girl sitting right next to him was dressed in a simple dress, which made her look clean and elegant, good looking, around 19 years old. He finally recognised her; she was the receptionist of the car company where he rented the pick-up truck that was the base form of his Doomsday Ride. Her name was Wen Xiaotian. The other was unknown, also wearing simple nice clothes, and was above average in looks.

"If not for you, we'd certainly be dead" she added while bowing her head.

"You're welcome. I guess it's good to see you again miss Wen."

Hearing this, she raised her head and looked at him properly.

"It's you!"

"Xiao Tian, Do you know each other?" asked the other girl with a small smile.

"He was a client of the company I worked in, mr Jiang, right?"

He nodded. When she first met, she felt like he had a domineering aura. She didn't know it, but it was because of his determination to survive the outbreak and rescue his sister. That left a deep impression to her, so she didn't forget him. As for him, he recognised her because of how young she looked to be already working, and by observing her he could tell she was a naturally pleasant person.

"You remembered me... Thank you."

She was incredibly touched and gratefull. He stopped for her when everyone else left them to die, and he saved her friend at the same time.

Now that they were safe, the girls observed the vehicle they were in. They were impressed by the outside with its tough looks, and even more by the inside with its elegant design. They chatted a bit, getting to know each other a little. Both were college students, and were together when the outbreak started. But with the chaos visible outside, they couldn't stay in the mood to chat.

Soon, the freeway entrance came into view. The original toll station had been completely turned into a military post, only exposing three channels, and trucks covered with machine guns, aiming the approaching cars. Heavily armed soldiers were holding guns in front of the entrance, in the buildings on both sides of the road, as well as on the docked trucks. Whenever zombies were spotted they were killed as soon as they approached the vicinity. The number of gunshots was increasing, though.

Many people had been waiting and looking in the soldier's direction nervously. As vehicles were approaching the entrance, the soldiers would immediately check, so that the vehicles could proceed. Each car check lasted about ten seconds and within those ten seconds only three cars could pass. Wen Xiaotian and Shao Lili were relieved to see an active military presence. Jiang Liushi didn't care much, but he was wary of them trying to seize his truck.

Sudden gunfire erupted not far away from their position. Two soldiers pulled the corpse of the man they had just killed from the car they were checking. The body had a bloody wound between its brows and his arm, and the crying of a woman could be heard. An officer used of a microphone with a solemn face. He warned everyone that bitten people would be executed on sight, as the virus would turn every victims into a deadly infected.

Seeing this, people were frightened, but worse things had occured since the start of the outbreak. Not long after, a dense burst of gunfire was released. The soldiers had solemn expressions on their faces, screams could be heard from the buildings on both sides. To make things worse, not too far away, thousands more zombies had been gathering, their bloodthirsty eyes locked on the freeway entrance.

Finally it was their turn to pass. While the soldiers were impressed by the vehicle and wondered how he got it, the officer urged them to move. They swiftly passed the toll station. The freeway was full of soldiers, guarding both sides of the road. From time to time, gunshots could be heard. They reached the traffic up front, which moved forward for a while, but then suddenly stopped. Although they were under the protection of the army, they got nervous.

People in the front were abandoning their vehicles, while several soldiers were shouting at them. Soon those soldiers were moving between the stopped vehicles and helped people abandon them. As soon as they left, two forklifts would push the cars to the roadside, and then directly push down from the highway.

A soldier shouted, explaining that due to a crash ahead and zombies gathering there, the road would be blocked by everyone's car. They couldn't move forward and everyone had to abandon their vehicles. The women, children and elderly would take shelter in the army trucks while the men would stay on foot. He said that the army would escort them to the secured Shenhai Island.

Shao Lili was eager to follow the military, but Wen Xiaotian hesitated and looked at Jiang Liushi, who didn't look like he was going to leave.

"Before the outbreak, I told my sister to hide with supplies and wait for me to get her. I'm going to Nanjing City, not Shenhai Island. And I won't reach her without that truck, which I went through a lot of trouble to aquire. You should go with the army to Shenhai Island."

"That...I will go then. Thank you Mr. Jiang for saving my life. Be careful and I hope we will meet again" said Shao Lili with an embarassed face.

"Come on, Xiaotian."

"I'm staying. My home is on the way to Nanjing City. If there was no way to go, I would go to the secure island, but since Mr. Jiang wants to head to Nanjing City, then I would like to go that way too. I want to know if my family is dead or alive."

Wen Xiaotian then turned to Jiang Liushi.

"Mr. Jiang, can you take me with you? Although I cannot be very helpful, I can provide some information about the road. My father used to run this line for transporting. I grew up following him a lot of times, and there are several roads. Mr. Jiang..."

Hearing her request, he nodded without hesitation. He was not familiar with the road, it was good that there was someone who could help. And she was like him, both wanted to make sure their family was safe.

"Mr. Jiang, thank you! Lili, you can go alone… Take care of yourself."

Tears started flowing from Shao Lili's eyes as they hugged; she did not know the situation of her parents. But her hometown was far, so she could not go. And to make things worse, she was going to be separated from her good friend.

"Don't worry. I have a friend whose family was escorted to Shenhai Island. I promised to meet her there in the future. You two can see each other again at that time."

"Thank you mr Jiang. Please take care of my Xiaotian until then."

After a few more words, they separated.