The Future Ain't So Bulletproof

The city border was a lot further than I expected it to be. Every time I started to think the tall apartment blocks and grey houses were thinning, I would turn a corner to find another estate. I was becoming anxious, my palms damp with sweat and slipping slightly on the wheel. The Dracs would surely know about the raid by now and they had a major advantage over me - they knew where they were going.

I pressed on through the streets, winding this way and that. I took comfort in my realisation that with every corner I turned, there were less and less people walking the streets. Eventually the shadows cast by the tall buildings faded and the vast California desert stretched out in front of me - I was soon to be out of this desolate city.

My heart felt incredibly light as I rejoined Route Guano and sped towards the comfort and safety of the Zones. I had one last ancient, concrete bridge to cross and then I would be free to drive off into the dipping sunshine.

I approached the bridge feeling elated; as soon as I cleared the hill I would be home. With this thought in mind I happily pushed forward along the cracked streets towards my destination.

That's where things took a turn for the worst.

As the bonnet cleared the top of the bank, I was met with a terrible sight. The road ahead was barricaded and there was a small congregation of Draculoids in front of the barriers. A car was pulling up towards the barrier and it was stopped by one of the Dracs, who looked like he was asking the driver to step out. The driver did so obediently and two more Dracs began searching her car.

I didn't watch long enough to see the outcome of their search as I performed a swift U-turn and started driving back into the city. I was barely back over the inclined road when a BLi car appeared, driving in the opposite direction with two Dracs sitting inside, both looking directly at me. As I had not yet taken my mask off from my little raid, I was a clear suspect. Before I found out whether the Dracs had noticed my outlawed status, I slammed my foot down and sped off back towards the city. It probably wasn't the brightest thing I'd ever done, as now I had definitely alerted the guards. In my rear view, I saw the black car turn sharply in an attempt to pursue me, the back of the car swinging out dangerously.

And so the chase had begun.

The long shadows of the uniform grey buildings stretched out to engulf me and conceal me in the concrete maze. I drove straight into the shade of the tallest building nearest me, turning at the first corner I came across and speeding along the street, parallel to the city border. I couldn't go too far into the city or I'd never find my way out.

Behind me the black car was still following me, far too close for me to relax. The image of the two white figures with the Dracula masks in my rear view was a constant reminder to always remain vigilant. I couldn't let my concentration slip - I couldn't be caught, not now. I'd already escaped their reach once, I could do it again.

The streets were completely in shadow, unlike the last time I drove through them. It must have been almost two o'clock. I subconsciously glanced at the clock in the dashboard; the clock that probably hadn't worked since 1999. Up ahead of me a small, brown haired boy walked calmly into the road. I screamed out loud - I wouldn't stop in time. My scarred, graphic imagination flashed me images of a blood splattered windscreen and a little boy's corpse lying in the middle of the road, clearly visible in my mirror. The Dracs wouldn't stop in time either, they would hit him again. He would be dead for sure.

I panicked, my heart beating so fast my eyes were starting to roll into the back of my head. I was going to black out any minute. Without really thinking, I grabbed the wheel tightly and turned sharply to the left. I couldn't see what was in front of me anymore because my eyes wouldn't focus on anything. I heard a crash and then the groaning sound of bending metal. My head was forced forward and collided with something incredibly hard. I felt my ribs crack around the steering wheel. A second jolt brought the sound of shattering glass and millions of particles rained down on me. My vision went black but I was still aware of my surroundings. I could feel liquid dripping down onto my nose and then I could hear it splashing to the floor. The sound made me sick; I knew what it was. Carefully, I lifted my head, my vision, although blurred, returning. I could make out the shape of a streetlamp, slightly kinked. As my vision became clearer, I saw the bonnet of my car was bent around the pole.

The windscreen had completely caved in and was now the tiny silver shards that were covering everything in sight, including myself. I still had hold of the steering wheel, my hands cut to ribbons by the glass. A large volume of blood had run down the centre of the wheel where my head had been. It glistened in the tiny amount of sunlight illuminating the street, dripping down to form a sickening red puddle on and around my shoes.

Next to my feet were numerous amounts of important looking papers, now soaked in the blood from my head. The glove compartment had sprung open with the impact and spilled its contents. Amongst the papers and random bits of junk was a small, metal grey gun. I was surprised to see such an object in a zombie's car. I bent down slowly and gingerly picked it up.

I held the gun firmly in my hand and forced open the slightly stiff door. My legs were completely uncoordinated and I fell straight to the floor. Picking myself up onto all floors, I began crawling towards the black car that had now merged with the back of my own. Two motionless bodies were sprawled across the bonnet of the black car, their white uniforms stained red. BLi must think themselves too important for seat belts. I stood up, wobbling and falling into the side of my car. I took one more look at the probably dead Dracs and then staggered in the opposite direction, looking for a place to hide before the sun went down.

* * *

Hours later, I was still wandering the streets of this dilapidated city, breathing in the dry, dusty air. My lungs were completely devoid of moisture and I had an irritating tickle in the back of my throat. My head was pounding and the first signs of dehydration were starting to set in. I was probably going to die tonight.

I walked through the shadows of the grim buildings, keeping to the narrow alleyways. The sun was low in the sky now, casting an orange glow on the few things it touched. The thing about the desert was the day time brought blistering heat, sunburn and heat stroke, but the night brought freezing cold temperatures and hypothermia. And so the temperature in the dark, unwelcoming city dropped and the goose pimples began appearing on my bare arms.

For some reason, every inch of this city was inhabited by zombies - every possible hiding place was just as unsuitable as the next. I felt the pressure weighing down on me as the little windows in the apartment blocks started to light up and the sun dipped lower and lower.

Just as I was beginning to think I would have to hide in someone's house, I turned a corner to see a charred, possibly structurally unstable five story building. It wasn’t the most secure of places, but it was somewhere that would shelter and conceal me. I limped as quickly as I could towards the rotten entrance.

Inside the ancient, doorless frame was a set of wooden stairs, the white paint peeling off them. To my right was half a shattered wooden door leading into a dark, empty room. I placed my foot gently on the damp stairs and slowly made my way upwards. The wood underneath me creaked dangerously.

I emerged onto the first floor. It consisted of a corridor with rooms coming off it. A threadbare carpet revealed dust covered floorboards. I swiftly moved through the corridor, peering in every room. They all looked similar to the first room; charred, dark and completely empty.

On the second floor I found a room less empty than the rest. I stuck my head around the plain wooden door to see the dusty floorboards littered with sheets and empty cans and bottles. The walls had a yellow, patterned wallpaper on them, but it was peeling and covered heavily in mildew. The rotten window on the opposite wall held no glass but the air was still tonight, so the atmosphere was not disturbing the delicate interior of this room.

I quickly made the decision to stay here for the night and moved further into the room, the smell of musky, damp conditions and urine filling my nostrils. I cringed at the smell but sat down in the middle of the bed sheets nonetheless; I had no other choice. I usually got lucky with hideouts, finding ones that I could live relatively comfortably in, but I guess I had to get stuck with a rotten, unsafe building at one point. Besides, I should probably count myself lucky I found this at all as it is most likely the only place to hide in this city. Did that mean it was the first place the Dracs would look? I had to stop worrying myself. I pulled one of the blankets over me and soon fell into a shallow, uneasy sleep.

In my sleep, I heard everything that was going on around me, but it didn't register in my mind until I heard a car door close. I stayed in my semi-unconscious state until I heard a man's voice. My heart awoke before I did, but, although delayed, I realised what this meant and jumped to my feet.

I could hear people at the bottom of the stairs, talking in hushed voice and moving quickly. I pulled the gun I had taken from my stolen car out of the pocket of my shorts and pointed it at the half-open door, waiting for whoever the intruders were.

It took a while for them to trickle through, but eventually the blackened door was pushed open and a man appeared. He was much taller than me and quite slim, but that's all I could tell about him - his features were completely hidden by shadow. He didn't notice me standing just out of the little light coming from the window and made to step further into the room, but his eyes then fell on me, and then the gun held steady in both of my hands. He held his hands up and took a step back.

“Woah there little girl," he said. Something in his voice made me think he was smiling. "You might wanna put that down; you might hurt someone."

“Who are you? Where are Draculoids?" My voice was meant to sound menacing and defiant, but it came out barely more than a whisper. I could see the stranger's hand moving slowly towards his hip.

“Currently three blocks from here," he said, moving his hand out in front of him - he was pointing a gun straight back at me. I tried not to let this bother me.

“And how would you know that?"

"I've been tracking them."

“Likely story."

“Party Poison, who're you - oh!" Another stranger entered the room then, one taller than the first man. Behind him, three more bodies appeared, one the height of a child. I heard rustling and then an odd clinking sound. I understood instantly that four more guns had been trained on me.

”You may as well give up now, girl," the first man - 'Party Poison' - said, "one shot and they'll be all over you in a second." The people behind him moved forward and spread themselves out in a line on either side of the leader.

“Give up?" I said contumaciously, "to you? I've come too far to do that." I looked at each of the shadowy figures individually, raised my gun - pointing it straight at Party Poison's chest - and gingerly, almost fearfully, pulled the trigger.