Shambles

(Ray)

"DUDE!" Ray yelled in elation.

"Start the car!" Rody called back, "Samantha's coming!"

"Momo, get in!" Ray instructed as they turned towards the car.

"Oh fuck!" Meghan said and pointed behind the vehicle.

The horde was closing in. They could see it approaching from the distance. It was coming straight for them, hardly a block away. There wasn't any more time to waste.

"Rody, hurry your ass up!" Ray yelled as he got into the driver seat.

Meghan jumped in next to him and slammed the door shut.

"Oh fuck! Fuck!" she cursed repeatedly, "They're not going to make it! Are they going to make it? They're going to make it, right?"

Ray nodded nervously, "They'll make it."

He lowered the window and stuck his head out.

"Rody run faster man! The horde is almost here." He shouted.

Thankfully, Samantha emerged from the backdoor just then. Together with Rody, they started running towards the car.

"Fast! Fast!" Meghan chanted.

Ray felt a flood of relief wash over him. The horde was still quite a distance away. Rody and Samantha had more than enough time to get in. More importantly, Rody was alive. Ray hadn't let his friend die. He was alive!

Rody was the first to reach the car. He opened the door and held it for Samantha.

"Come on, hurry! Get in!" he called out to her.

But Samantha stopped abruptly.

"What are you doing?" Rody yelled, "Let's go!"

"My phone…" she replied, "I don't have my phone. I must have dropped it."

"What?" Rody screamed, "Who cares about your phone? Get in the car!"

"Samantha, get in the fuckin' car! Now!" Ray screamed as well.

"Ohh, there it is!" she exclaimed, turning around.

"Leave it! What the fuck!?" Rody cursed.

Samantha ran back in the opposite direction and crouched down. She picked up something from the ground and held it up in the air.

"Got it!" she declared.

Just then, Samantha got tackled from behind and went hurtling to the ground. A woman fell beside her, ragged and bloody. A Deathless.

"Samantha!" Rody yelled and slammed the car door shut before rushing to her aid.

"DUDE, WAIT!" Ray called after him.

The Deathless climbed on top of Samantha and pinned her down. Ray recognized it. It was the same woman that had rammed into the car earlier. She had chased them down all the way from D Block.

"The Erratic!" Meghan gasped but Ray hadn't heard her.

Rody reached his girlfriend and desperately tried to pull the Deathless off of her. He locked onto her neck from behind and yanked her head back as hard as he could. Ray could see the pressure on Rody's face. He was definitely giving it his all. But unfortunately, the woman didn't budge. She even managed to restrain Samantha, preventing her from wriggling free.

"I have to help them," Ray said, reaching for the door handle.

"Rody!" Meghan yelled, "Your hammer! Use it! Aim for the brain!"

Ray immediately turned back towards the struggling trio. He watched in awe as Rody drew out the hammer from the belt loop of his jeans and connect a backhanded swing to the side of the woman's skull in one fluid motion. The Deathless instantly toppled sideways off of Samantha and went limp.

"Holy shit." Ray said softly, "What a swing…"

Rody then bent down and managed to pull Samantha to her feet. Hand in hand, they ran towards the car yet again.

"They're coming, open the door." Ray said hastily.

Meghan stretched out her arm and opened the backdoor for them to get in quicker. It only took them a few extra seconds to dive inside the car and slam the door shut.

"GO!" Rody yelled.

"Going!" Ray replied back as he stepped on the accelerator and got the car moving mere seconds before the horde reached them.

"Oh shit, that was so close! I almost thought you weren't going to make it!" Meghan said turning around.

"Yeah, I panicked for a second when Samantha got tackled." Rody replied in between breaths, "I completely forgot about my hammer. Thanks for reminding me."

"No problem," Meghan smiled, "I think we all panicked when we saw her fall down. We didn't expect…"

"Oh you panicked?" Samantha asked mockingly, "How terrible! I was the one who had to suffer through that. Imagine how I feel!"

Ray's eye twitched. That definitely struck a nerve with him.

"Suffer through?" he asked, "You wouldn't have had to 'suffer through' anything if you hadn't gone back for your stupid phone!"

Samantha gasped, "Excuse me! This is an iPhone thirteen; it came out less than a month ago! You don't realize how much I had to fight with my Dad to get this."

"It's still just a phone!" Ray argued, "Is it worth more to you than your life?"

"This phone IS my life! My entire collection of TikToks are in this! Do you know how much time and effort it took to record all of that?"

"TikToks?" Ray screamed. He was absolutely fuming, "Did she say TikToks?"

"Ray, calm down…" Meghan said quietly, placing a hand on his arm.

"Samantha, enough." Said Rody when he saw her about to retort.

"But he—"

"No, stop. Enough." He cut her off calmly, "They saved our lives. Let's try not to pick a fight with them, okay?"

Samantha slumped back in the seat and folded her arms, "Whatever…"

Ray bit his tongue and drove on in silence. He took the oncoming left which led to the entry ramp.

As they descended the ramp, the apartment's entrance arc slowly came into view on their right. The broken main gate still lay on the ground, along with the corpses for a few unfortunate victims. Ray spotted a couple Deathless ahead of them but none that were blocking their path. Things were finally looking good for them.

Ray allowed himself to feel relief once again. They were so close! Their salvation mere seconds away.

As they reached the end of the ramp, Ray turned the steering wheel to the right and guided the car towards the exit. A metallic clang filled the air as the vehicle climbed on top of the broken gate and yet another one when the tires left the metal and touched back on the asphalt. The building's archway loomed past them, briefly enveloping the red Hyundai in its shadow.

Then, as easily as that, they were out of Prime Gardens.

Ray gulped hard. Did he dare?

"We…" he began uncertainly, "We did it."

"We did it!!" Meghan cheered loudly.

"YESSS!" Screamed Rody.

Ray couldn't believe it. He didn't want to get too excited. Mainly because they had just overcome their first obstacle; there would be many more on their journey to meet up with their parents. It wasn't the time to pat each other on the back. And yet, his emotions betrayed him. A huge smile spread across his face. Perhaps the widest he had ever smiled in his entire life.

He looked over at Meghan who looked back at him.

"Level one complete" said Ray.

Meghan laughed.

"Hey," Samantha said suddenly, "I've been thinking about this for a while now…"

Ray groaned internally. He had a feeling she was going to say something infuriating again.

"Was it really a good idea to leave Prime?" she asked.

"Are you joking?" asked Ray, stunned. "Didn't you see the state that Prime is in? It's swarming with Deathless."

"And being out here is safer?" Samantha asked casually.

"What are you trying to say, Sammy?" Rody enquired before Ray could respond.

"What if Prime isn't the only place that's been affected? What if the whole city…."

Samantha didn't get to finish her sentence. Ray suddenly slammed down the brakes, making them all jerk forward in their seats. The car came to an abrupt and immediate halt.

They had stopped in front of Athani. What was once a small, peaceful town about three kilometers from Prime Gardens was now one of the most terrifying sights any of them had ever seen.

The four of them gasped in sheer horror at what lay before them.

Athani was in shambles.

The streets were completely overrun with Deathless. Some were feasting on corpses on the ground, others scoured around for their next meal. Blood and guts were littered all over the roads. The cars parked on the side were dented and had fumes coming out of their engines. Shattered glass from nearby shops and car windows covered the asphalt. A horrible hum resonated in the air, like the collective sound of several hundred snarling beasts. The place was devoid of any life. It was a town of death; a personification of a nightmare.

"Please don't tell me this is Level two…" begged Meghan.