As the World Burns

Not long after we left the gas station, it had started to rain. With the exception of Kwame rapping some song I had never heard before, and butchering every lyric along the way, the bus was for the most part quiet. It wasn't long before the hum of the road and the sound of the rain hitting the roof above me put me into a deep sleep on Dalton's shoulder. I'm not sure how much time passed before I felt the bus come to a slow stop, and the door open, followed by frantic footsteps of someone entering as quickly as their feet would allow them. I sprung up, and seen it was an older gentleman, scared out of his mind, and winded from running. He was dripping wet from the storm, and I got up to get him a blanket or something to dry himself off with.

“What's wrong dude? You look like you seen a ghost,” Roxy said, trying as calmly as she could to get answers from the man.

“Where are you going!?” the man asked in a panic.

“We're headed towards Florida,” Jack replied.

“On this road!? Are you fucking insane!? They're out there! He's out there! You can't go this way! I've seen things! He's out there! He's fucking out there!” the man shouted.

“Who's out there? What have you seen? Calm down and tell us,” Dr. Grant told the man, who was pacing back and forth.

“I don't fucking know! He got them all! One by one! He got them all! I'm next! You can't go this way! For the love of fucking God turn around! There's no calming down! You don't understand!” the man screamed.

“We're trying to understand! But if you keep fucking shouting insane bull shit at us we're never gonna know what's going on! Breathe the fuck in, and explain what the fuck is out there that you're freaking the fuck out about!” Roxy shouted.

“Give me the wheel! I'll get us out of here!” the man screamed as he charged Jack to try and take control of the bus. Jack grabbed the back of the man's head and smashed it against the windsheild in one fluid motion, knocking him unconscious.

“What the fuck was that shit all about!?” Kwame asked. “That mothahfuckah done lost his God damn mind!”

“That was pretty bizarre,” Lucas added. “What should we do with him?”

“Handcuff him and throw him somewhere in the back for now until he calms down,” Jack answered. Kwame and Lucas did as Jack suggested as the rest of us pondered what to do after the strange encounter.

“Well, he was clearly running from something, but what? It must be something up the road a ways,” Bob said.

“The question is, is it something we can handle? Or are we better off taking that lunatic's advice and turning the bus around?” Dalton asked.

“We should avoid conflict at all cost... But at this point I'm not so sure if we can afford the gas. Its hard telling what's coming up ahead, and we can't afford any more detours. We're in for trouble no matter what way we go,” Jack explained.

“What worries me, is that guy has been living in this mess for as long as we have, and he's clearly spooked by something. He's had to have seen some nasty things by now, we all have, so what would have him so scared?” Aiden asked.

“That's a good point,” Jack replied. “I'm gonna leave it up to Jessie and Bob, what do you guys think we should do here?”

“Well... Myself, I think we just keep going. I think if its that bad, we can get away from it in the bus. My guess is, this guy saw his first queen and it fucked with his head pretty hardcore. We can handle a queen... What do you think Jessie?” Bob asked.

“I think you're right. Plus I'm in a hurry, I'm tired of being on this bus, let's hurry up and get to Florida already. We can handle whatever's up there... If its even still there,” I answered.

“Well then its settled, let's do this shit,” Roxy said.

“Everyone stay on your guard though, just in case,” Bob added. Jack put the bus back into gear, and we continued on down the road. We were all a little worried as we proceeded, and there wasn't an eye on the bus that wasn't looking out a window for signs of trouble. I had a bad feeling in my gut, but I knew whatever happened, we would be ready for it. As I looked out the window, I noticed it had stopped raining, and I seen a rainbow forming behind what looked like a factory in the distance. It was beautiful, and I couldn't help but feel hopeful after I seen it.

“Dalton look! A rainbow!” I exclaimed, excited by my discovery.

“Oh yea! That's pretty awesome! First one I've seen in a long time,” Dalton said.

“Me too... I think its a sign that we're on the right path,” I replied.

“I hope you're right Jessie,” Dalton answered.

“Uh, is anyone else seeing this?” Jack said, clearly disturbed by something.

“Holy fuck!” Roxy shouted. “Is that what I think it is!?”

“I think so... I think I found what that guy was freaking out about now,” Jack added.

“What's wrong?” Bob asked as he made his way towards the front of the bus.

“Oh my God,” Dr. Grant said. I got up to see for myself what everyone was talking about. My jaw almost hit the floor, and that sick feeling crawled into my stomach. It looked as if someone had created a road block with a pile of corpses. You could see the flies hovering like a fog over them. Most of the bodies had been mutilated in some way, and most that I could see were missing limbs. It was impossible to tell if they were zombie or human, but it was the fact that whoever made it, took the time to pile them up this high that made it so disturbing.

“Well, that settles it, turn it around...”

The sound of the left front tire hitting the ground interrupted Bob, and most of us standing were quickly thrown to the ground as Jack did his best to keep control of the bus. Next the back tire went, and I could feel as the bus slowly started to flip over onto its side. It all happened so quick, and the impact of the crash caused me to black out for a few seconds. When I came to, I was laying on a window, that was now nothing but broken glass in a frame. I eased my way to my feet and checked myself out. From the looks of things, I had made it out with only a few minor scrapes. I was hoping everyone else was as lucky as me.

“What the fuck happened!?” Dean shouted.

“Someone shot the tires out as I was driving... At least that's what I think happened,” Jack replied. “Is everyone all right?”

“As far as I can tell, everyone's in one piece and accounted for,” Bob replied.

“Damn mothahfuckah! We wasn't even goin' that fast! How the fuck you flip this shit over!?” Kwame asked.

“This thing is top heavy as it is Kwame, and someone took out all the wheels on the left side,” Jack explained. “Tipped it right over I guess.”

“The fact that you swerved like a fucking dumbass didn't help either,” Roxy snapped.

“Its not important how it happened right now. We need to figure out what's...”

“He found us! Why did you come here!? I told you not to come here! Now we're all gonna die! I'm getting out of here! Somebody get these fucking cuffs off of me!” the strange man shouted, interrupting Bob.

“What's out there!? I'll take the cuffs off if you settle the fuck down and tell me what's out there!” Jack screamed.

“I don't know! I wish I knew! Just please let me go! Show some humanity! Just let me go! I don't wanna die!” the man shouted. Jack looked him up and down before motioning for him to turn around. He undid the cuffs, and the man wasted no time in searching for a way out of the bus. He saw the front windsheild was damaged enough to where he could kick it through, and he wasted no time in beginning to work on doing just that. We all watched in silence as he finally kicked a hole in the windsheild big enough to escape through. He took three steps out of the bus, before the shot hit him. One well placed bullet right through the top of his head.

“Fucking shit!” Roxy shouted.

“Well, I think its clear we have a sniper on our hands,” Jack said.

“But from where? Where the fuck are they shooting from?” Dean asked.

“Probably that factory back there,” I explained. “That's the only place he could be shooting from really.”

“And they're a damn good shot from that distance. Which tells me they're either, human or... Queen... My money's on the latter,” Jack said.

“What's the latter mean?” I asked.

“It means the second option,” Bob replied. “Okay, so the rundown, we're trapped in an overturned bus by a sniper who is possibly a zombie... This sounds pretty... Not good.”

“We need to get out of this bus, before whoever's shooting at us gets smart and decides to aim for the gas tank and blow us all to shit,” Jack answered.

“Does anyone have any ideas on how to get out of here without getting their fucking head blown off?” Dean asked.

“We need something bulletproof to throw out the front, something just enough to turn the corner and get behind the bus... From there maybe we can hide behind that pile of corpses,” Layla suggested.

“Oh that's disgusting!” I shouted.

“Well do you have a better idea Jessie?” Bob asked.

“Shut up Bob,” I snapped. Suddenly we heard a few shots land on the bus followed by a few sudden thuds against what used to be the roof of the bus. We all got quiet for a minute, preparing for the worst. The thought on all of our minds was that there were more zombies outside, waiting outside to swarm the bus, but then, we started to hear voices.

“Jesus fucking Christ! What the fuck is shooting at us!? That one missed my fucking head by maybe an inch!”

“It actually got your ear a little bit. Its bleeding, not badly, but there's blood... So what do we do now fearless leader?”

“Nelly if you don't shut the fuck up I swear...”

“Now is not the time you two! We need to think right now.”

“Shut the fuck up old man! I fucking told you motherfuckers we needed to go west!”

“Wes! This is nobody's fault! Things are bad everywhere!”

“What the fuck ever!”

“Can we please stop fighting? I hate how much we fight!”

The arguing just continued, and finally I got the idea to knock on the roof and try to get their attention. Whoever was out there was obviously in the same ind of trouble we were, and we needed all the help we could get right now.

“Hello!? Who's out there!?” I shouted.

“Did something just yell from in this bus!?” A voice asked.

“Yea! There's people in it!” I replied.

“What's going on!?” another voice yelled.

“We're just as clueless as you are right now. Someone's shooting at us from somewhere, that's all we know,” Jack explained to the strangers on the other side of the bus.

“This is the best plan I have for getting outside. We throw one of the mattresses outside, and use it as cover to get around the bus,” Layla said. “From there, we'll try to get clear of the bus... Then again he hasn't tried for the gas tank... Maybe the shooter's overlooked it,”

“Or maybe he's just making sure that when he shoots it he's gonna kill something,” Bob replied.

“Can't we just go with her last idea!? I like hers, hers doesn't involve hiding behind dead bodies!” I shouted.

“Alright!” Jack said as he pulled the mattress off of one of the bunks. “We're not wasting any time right now. We're throwing this out the door and getting out of here before whoever is shooting at us gets smart.”

“Let's do it,” Bob replied. Kwame finished kicking out what was left of the windsheild and Jack shoved the mattress out the window.

“Stay low! And move as quick as you can!” Jack instructed. One by one we did as Jack said, and made it around to the outside of the bus. Whoever was trying to shoot us must have not wanted to try wasting bullets on shooting through the mattress. We all made it around the bus and to the group of strangers who were still arguing about things it seemed like.

“We need to find this guy and cap his ass!” one of them suggested.

“Wes, you're seriously fucking stupid. How are we going to find this guy for one? And two, how the hell are we supposed to get to him with out getting shot!?” a girl in their group argued.

“Well what are we supposed to do? Just stand behind this overturned bus until we die of starvation or some shit like that? And why the fuck hasn't this guy shot the gas tank yet!? What is he!? Fucking retarded!?” Wes shouted.

“You say that like its a bad thing,” Lucas said.

“I'm just... Fuck!” Wes yelled.

“Alright, we need to get behind those corpses before this asshole does decide to get smart and shoot it. So... Who's going first?” Jack asked. Nobody was volunteering for this job at all. We just looked around at each other confused as to what to do and who to send.

“Well... Why don't we just count to three and make a run for it all at once?” I asked.

“I like that plan Jessie, let's do that,” Bob replied.

“Who the fuck said you were in charge!?” Wes snapped.

“Well you're not exactly coming up with anything there genius,” a man in their group with a beard said. Wes mumbled a few things under his breath before Jack started again.

“Listen, we can't just all run out there at once. Its a horrible strategy, I'm putting my foot down here. You're giving this asshole a huge target to shoot at if we do that. We're running out there one by one, and if you're all too scared, I'll go first.”

Jack didn't waste any time in running across the open space to the corpse pile. If the sniper took a shot at him, he must have missed, because Jack made it safely, and was now motioning for the rest of us to come across. We looked at each other to see who was going to go next.

“Does anybody want to draw straws here?” Bob joked.

“Shit! If only I would have thought to bring straws! That would have been perfect!” exclaimed one of the new girls.

“See, straws are a very underestimated necessity in the zombie apocalypse. What are your names by the way?” Bob asked. “I gathered that he's Wes.”

“Oh! I'm Nelly, this is...” Wes decided to stop Nelly where she was.

“We don't have time for fucking introductions! Can we wait until there's nobody shooting at us for fuck's sake!?”

“Well then Wes, why don't you just tip toe your happy ass across there and tell us if its safe,” Nelly replied.

“Fine! Fuck you! I will!” Wes shouted before turning his back to us to take a deep breath. He hesitated for a few seconds, and then made a dash through the clearing, safely making it to where Jack was.

“Well... Who's...” Before Bob had the chance to ask, Layla took off, leaving Bob behind with a stunned look on his face. When she got across, Bob took off next. After that everyone started to run across in no particular order. Dalton and I were the last two to go, and I could tell by looking at him, that he was worried about letting me go.

“Dalton, I'll be okay, I can tell by the look on your face you're nervous, but I promise I'll be fine,” I assured him.

“I know you will Jessie... Doesn't mean I'm not allowed to worry,” Dalton replied.

“I'm gonna run now, and I'll talk to you on the other side okay?”

“Promise?”

“Promise.”

I took off across the clearing, and could hear as a shot landed somewhere behind me. I think it was the first shot he took at any of us. When I made it across, Dalton didn't waste any time in following me. He made it across and I could tell we all felt a little safer where we were positioned at now. The bodies we were hiding behind smelled so bad I wanted to puke. They had been sitting in the sun for God only knows how long. I was secretly hoping he would blow up the rest of the bus, just so I could justify us hiding behind this.

“Jessie! That was way too close!” Dalton shouted.

“Why am I the only one he took a shot at!?” I replied.

“He must not like your taste in music,” Bob answered.

“Shut up Bob,” I snapped. “Well! We're behind this big pile of horrible smelling corpses! What now!?”

“We need to find out where he is,” Jack replied. “Do any of you girls happen to have a mirror?”

“I have one,” another of the new girls replied, sounding half dead. She handed Jack her compact that she had in a bag slung across her shoulder. Jack stuck his hand over the top of the bodies, and used the mirror to try to track down where the sniper was. It didn't take very long before the sniper shot the mirror out of Jack's hand, causing him to cuss under his breath.

“Well, I think I found him actually, he's shooting at us from up in that factory,” Jack explained.

“I could have told you that,” I replied.

“Well... How the fuck are we supposed to get to the motherfucker from where we are? Not like we can snipe the asshole or anything. This is fucking bullshit! If I end up as a part of this pile of corpses I will be so fucking pissed!” Roxy shouted.

“It is a pretty shitty way to die,” Dean added.

“I think we can all agree with that,” Bob said. “So, the question becomes, how the hell do we take this guy out?”

“Maybe we don't take him out, maybe we just run away from this,” Lucas suggested.

“Are you a fucking idiot dude!?” Wes barked. “We'd get maybe 20 yards and he'd snipe us all in the back!”

“He's right Lucas, the only way out of this is to take him out,” Jack explained. “I can maybe get him with that hunting rifle you're carrying, but its not a guarantee.”

“This one?” the man with the beard asked.

“Yea,” Jack replied. “This is the best plan I have. Somebody is going to have to distract him, so I can get a key on his exact location. Then I'll do what I can to snipe him out. Like I said, I can't guarantee its gonna work, but its all we have right now.”

“You seriously think you can make that shot Jack?” Bob asked.

“Well... I give it three shots and he goes down,” Jack said with confidence.

“I trust you,” I added. “Who's gonna distract the sniper?”

“Here's where those straws would have come in handy,” Nelly said.

“Seriously regretting not picking those up somewhere along the line,” Bob replied.

“I have an idea! We should play bubble gum bubble gum!” one of the new girls exclaimed, excited by her own idea.

“Melody... For once you are a genius!” Nelly said.

“Wait! What the fuck is bubble gum bubble gum!? I ain't never even heard of that shit! Ya'll white folks are tryin' to pull some shit!” Kwame shouted.

“Its easy, we all stick our hands in the middle and we go, 'bubble gum, bubble gum in a dish, how many pieces do you wish?' Then whoever it lands on, picks a number and we count down from there. Afterwards, the person it lands on takes their hand out of the middle, and they can't be it... Although to cut down on time I say we just say whoever it lands on is it,” Melody suggested.

“Okay, I think it sounds pretty fair,” Bob replied.

“I swear if I end up being it I will not be happy!” I said.

“None of us are gonna be happy Jessie, that's why the fuck it has to be this way,” Roxy explained.

“We all stuck our hands in the middle, with the exception of Jack, and Melody began the rhyme, tapping hands with every syllable. When she reached Kwame, he picked the number twenty-four and Melody counted down once again. It was clear by about eighteen who it was going to land on, and we could all tell by the look on their face that they were not happy. Melody stopped on their hand and the rest of us slowly backed away from them. Jack was readying the rifle for his attempts to take down the sniper. If this didn't work, nothing would, and we'd all be added to this big pile of dead bodies we were hiding behind... Not the most comforting thought in the world. Everything was riding on Jack now, and his crazy plan. I just hope Jack is as good as he thinks he is.