5: Escape And Desperation

“Hey! Where are you going?”

Ace didn’t reply after dragging the teens out of the car. He wondered how they’d react when they found out that he was going to leave them for real.

“You should start praying that your phone still has a battery and signal to contact your family before the zombies come to get you,” Ace said and went back to the driver’s seat.

The girls placed their hands on their waists, screaming profanities in different languages.

“I suggest you save that energy to call for help instead of yelling at me,” he told them before driving, only to step on the break when the boys blocked the road with their arms spread.

“Damn it! Do you want to die so bad?” Ace screamed through the window. “Get out of my way or I’ll bump you for real,” he threatened, but none of the boys seemed to take his words seriously.

They even laughed together, thinking that Ace wouldn’t do it.

“Let us in and we’ll forgive you for trying to abandon us,” one of the boys said and the others agreed. “My father can buy you a better car than the one you have. Just do what we tell you,” he added.

Ace clicked his tongue. He thought his sister was the most stubborn teenager he’d ever met but these five were on a different level. Plus, their arrogance could make him bald if he listened to them any longer.

“I bet your father can buy you a wheelchair too,” Ace responded and drove the car backward for several meters. He then stepped on the gas pedal and made his way forward, scaring the shit out of them.

“You’re crazy!” they chorused, but Ace was too far to hear their complaints.

“See you later, brats,” he mumbled and checked the road ahead. Although Ace wanted to leave them for real, he couldn’t imagine someone doing it to his sister.

He planned to scare them and make them reflect on their bad attitude. He was going to return and pick them up after checking the town ahead. Before they could reach the open field those guys were talking about, they had to go through a town. Ace was worried about zombies, especially when the town ahead should at least have over 5,000 people. He was worried about the zombies appearing in town and killing the civilians. It would be a huge problem if they had to face a horde.

“Holy shit!” Ace held his breath when he saw that the town ahead was on fire. He couldn’t believe his intuition was right.

“Shit! Shit! Shit!” Ace stopped the car when he saw the coming wave of undead. “Damn it!”

Ace pressed the brake and the clutch. Then he moved his shift into reverse and started the engine again. He made sure to wear the seatbelt before stepping on the gas pedal, hard. Ace didn't have time to check what was behind him, what he was worried about were the zombies chasing after him.

After keeping a considerable distance, Ace made a flashy U-turn and drove back to fetch the teens. He almost hit his head on the wheel when he saw them sitting on the rock while fiddling with their phones, not thinking about the impending dangers.

“Get in if you don’t want to be the zombies’ meal!” Ace ordered them as he stopped the car in front of the group. “Hurry!”

He gritted his teeth when the guys just laughed and the girls rolled their eyes. “Fine. I’m not wasting my time with people like you. I’ll make sure to tell your parents that you died out of stubbornness though,” Ace said and was about to leave when the five blocked his way.

“What’s this? You’re the one who left us here and now you’re worried? Is it because you realized who we are and changed your mind? Well, after all, my daddy can even pay for your life—OMG! What’s that?” the most bratty girl among them exclaimed, pointing at the horde of zombies who followed Ace.

“You brought those monsters to kill us?!” she shrieked. “You are so dead! I’m going to tell Dad about this and he’ll take care of you—Ah! What are you doing?”

Ace grabbed the girl by the hand and shoved her in the shotgun’s seat. “What about you? Do you want me to carry your asses in the car?” he asked the others who quickly sat in the backseat.

“Take this,” Ace took out some weapons from his dimensional storage. “I’d take care of them if I’m not driving but I can’t leave the wheels to any of you, so make sure to deal with the enemies once they get closer,” he instructed, handing his axe to the girl next to him.

“Ew! The stench is unbearable,” she complained.

“Fine. Just sit and do nothing even if the zombies grab you. If you’re useless, I’ll leave you behind. I already had enough of your complaints so do something before I push you outside and feed you to the zombies. Do you understand?” Ace clenched his jaw while focusing his eyes on the road.

He heaved a sigh of relief when they all kept quiet and held onto the weapons he gave them.

“Where are we going? This is not the man road,” the girl in the backseat asked. “Are you sure we’re going in the right direction?”

“Shut up, missy. The town ahead is on fire. If you don’t want to be eaten by zombies alive or getting toasted to death, stop asking questions. I’m trying my best to bring you to your destination. I have other more important things to do than dealing with brats like you,” Ace said, driving through the forest outside the town.

He had no choice but to avoid the town at all cost or they’d be surrounded by thousands of zombies.

“We’re almost there. Sit back and hold tight. We’re getting out of the forest soon. Call your dad or whoever and inform them that you’re almost at the rendezvous point. I’ll leave once I drop you so you have to fend for yourself if there are zombies around,” Ace told them, kicking the gas to accelerate their speed.

His family had been waiting and he still had to go fetch his sister. He could no longer waste his time tending to others when he wasn’t certain if his beloved family was still safe.

“Daddy said the helicopter is coming. It will take a few minutes to reach the open field.”

Ace nodded. “Good. Now, grab your weapons and make sure to watch each other’s back until your ride arrives,” he said and took a deep breath. “We’re here,” Ace announced as the jeep left the forest, emerging to the open field with…

“... Zombies!”