Chapter Twelve: There's a little black spot on the sun.
The escapee's were aboard the bus fleeing a scene of utter mayhem like bandits. They never heard the gunshots that changed their destiny. From inside the virtually sound proof cabin of the motor coach the tires implosion was all encompassing. Even the eruption of flames at the buses rear in a volcano like geyser of processed fossil fuels was a footnote. Because loosing a tire on a thirty ton mobile behemoth is an attention grabbing wake up call. Robert's initial guess as his mind streaks through the possibilities was two pronged. "Jesus...the fuel tank has gone!" followed quickly in succession. By "We're straight fucked!" The road out of town had been their path at the time it was almost free of the living dead and pointed towards wide open sparsely populated flat mid western farmland.
Everything was a blur as Robert fought the steering wheel on the coach with metal groaning as it preformed a looping left turn heading back into town careening out of control. "FUUUCK!" Robert cried out as the bus continues its swerve. "Grab hold of..........!" The pristine front end of the coach decimates the cement support of a building launching itself upon the sidewalk to accomplish this. The dead meandering around almost sense the crippled buses death throws. While none leapt forward around the flaming crater that was once the local Hiccup Gas station. They came with a "now that’s more like it!" stride for the suffering coach. A jagged chasm appears in the face of the once secured vehicles’ front as brick and metal blend together before peeling outward. Trevor gasps upon beholding far to much sunlight for his liking rolling ahead of the shaft of light reaching for him. He'd never releases Val she was still nestled safely in his chest as he bore the brunt of the assault on the coach. He narrowly manages to make the rear bedroom cabin latching the door in advance of the sunlight. They could still feel Rob struggle in vain as it nears its conclusion. Robert sought to save the breached vehicle even though his vision is obscured as he fought the wheel he could see nothing. The internal sleeping cabin was sealed and sunlight free "M' Lady Valerie hold tight to me, I fear this will not end well for us!" in the inky darkness Val did indeed move closer clinging to the undead prince.
"VAL!!" Robert was screaming aloud fearing what was inevitable as the beast of a coach decimates zombies and abandoned cars as is lolls from one side to the other down the narrow main street. "She........" Jim spoke cradling Li as she bounces painfully on her lame limb. "She....and Trevor ........" the bus then lost one of the massive front tires whipping rubber shrapnel into a crowd of curious fetid corpses. "Fuck Jim!" Robert hung the last syllable at that moment the mammoth coach took to two wheels its left side far above its right. Robert knew there was no turning back from this dastardly turn of events. Mobile homes are hard enough to steer with all four wheels in contact with the pavement. This spectacular stunt was by no means ever meant to be attempted by the craft. Robert Berry lets go of the steering wheel God and his Laws of physics were driving now. The bus had blindly swerved its way back into the center of town. A tightly pack meandering group of zombies plodded towards the out of control battering ram in its current state it simply ground through the mass of zombies coming to greet it and devour the occupants. The living dead were to stupid to sidestep the dying monster. Mangled corpses became unrecognizable pieces of human anatomy after meeting the steel wreck at forty plus miles an hour. As it slams down onto its' right side throwing Jim and Li atop Robert.
The coach plows though Effingham’s main street friction sheering the vehicle apart while sparks jump about. The buses momentum taking it in a slow semi-circle before one wicked airborne revolution deposits it in the lobby of a Drug Rx Pharmacy. The world stood silent as compared to the cacophony of war that had engulfed the city of Effingham Illinois for the last six minutes nineteen seconds. Smoke and dust were all that moved until the sounds of the dead advancing met Roberts ears compels him to move. "Get up man!" elbowing Jim hard "Get....the fuck up they’re coming for us!" The panic in the black mans voice dragging Jim River from a dizzying stupor. "Li!" Jim calls coughing nut unknown to him the woman of his dreams had blacked out. From a blow to the head and the unyielding pain from her damaged arm.
A days worth of light filters in through numerous holes in the fuselage and floods in via the almost non-existent front windshield. Jim begins to move her off him and Rob. "Val.......Valerie!!" Robert bellows. "Vale........" Jim coming alive with anger at Robert’s continued disregard for him. "Hey dick-head! …” he yells slapping Robert‘s thick shoulder. “Scream a little louder and while you’re at it throw in a we’re over here!” Rob stared at the little man who sported a gaping wound to his forehead which poured forth enough blood to coat his face and further sully his grey MWA uniform. Jim knelt down gently lifting Li up over his thin shoulders she was frail, he felt as if he were carrying the world’s most priceless porcelain doll. Well she was priceless to him at least. The first growl came from a head sticking the spider webbed windshield. Robert became aware that his gun was unloaded and jabbing him painfully in the side. Robert tilts his head with inches to spare to avoid a gore shower as Jim gave the dead entity a whack from the axe he had found in the rear "Robert we have to leave man" Jim begged the last conscious person he could see the motor coaches tattered interior bore no further signs of life.
Robert came unsteadily to his feet Jim trying desperately to assist him and remain upright! His ribs ached and his pinky finger on his right hand jutted out awkwardly. Pulling in a deep breath and he pops the digit back into its correct position. Robert had displayed more manual dexterity when taking the ammo from the cop who he’d left to die. Than he did fumbling it into his weapon but never the less it was done. "What do we do Rob?" Jim scanned peaking from the bus. "We find Val and make for that Subway the cop......" Jim halted the conversation. "What kind of asshole are you? You could go there and seek refuge even after killing that man and attempting to leave them stranded?" Rob pushes past Jim "yeah I could", he answers flatly. "Val!!!......" there was urgency eating at the edges of his voice. "Rob......Robert!" uttered Val’s voice muffled. "We can't open the door or...." some movement from outside accompanied with howls from the undead it was ten minutes past time for them to go. “Trevor will...." it was apparent as the sun caressed his brown skin. "Robert!" Jim saw the corpses take aim at the hole in the bus. He steps back allowing Robert Berry room to miss him but hit his dead target. The first corpse took two rounds one through each ocular socket brain chunks slapping his formerly living teammates.
"Val we're going to the restaurant..." The girl they saw could have been no older than ten but she was freshly burnt her skin still smolders like meat removed from a flaming grill and she was gnawing on a severed human hand. The smell of brunt dead human flesh was noxious within the cramped cabin. Stopping the child proved more difficult she took three rounds and still came on. Jim crushes her with the axe a crunch signals a severed spine which finally stops her advance. "Stay here if you want I am leaving!" Jim River calls back totting his love meets a third zombie cleaving its skull in two. "Val....I.....I..." sighing deeply "Robert my friend go I will care for her I swear!" Hearing Trevor play Val's hero yet again enrages him. He spat "fuck you Trevor get a sun tan while you’re out today!" Robert’ spettiness almost driving him to make a horrible decision. Forgetting where Val was and putting a few rounds through the cabin and letting the sun into Trevor’s perpetually dark world! "Valerie ...I'll be back for you I swear!" Robert was a man divided for the first time in his life someone else meant more to him than himself. Jim wasn't fucking around he was already out of sight.
Robert made quick work squeezing though the damaged mobile home. Cautiously he moves over broken glass using the dust and smoke as cover. Up ahead he saw Jim unfortunately so had their foes Robert went running as the dead swarms and envelopes the bus like a piece of meat on the ground at a picnic. For Trevor Clevantes the dark was natural and soothing for Val it was claustrophobic and stifling. Her heart palpated as she heard Rob and his less than quite exit from the coach. The pitch black sleeping area was soon hounded by the sounds of the dead all about they crept into the cabin of the coach bus. They were all about it and yet they saw no flesh but they stayed pounding away just like they always did when they knew human flesh sweet and bloody was somewhere near. Val covers her ears weeping she was afraid to die; she'd never told Robert how she had come to fell about him. As the survivors had no time to relax as they’d fled from Gods biblical judgment. This had come in the form of ravenous zombies stripping the Earth down to its bones. "I'll protect you Valerie I swear we'll be fine!" he whispers as zombies start pounding the only weak spot in their defenses the latched white paneled door. Trevor saw himself crackling and twisting in an agonizing embrace of death brought on by the flaming yellow demon lord who owned the day time sky. He threw himself against the door driving his legs into a corner as an inhuman brace. In a phenomenal show of will, fortitude and sheer strength this is where he would remain keeping the living dead at bay and away form Valerie. Trevor would remain here until the sun blossomed in the cloudless sky cresting and sinking back to surrender to the moon for yet another night.
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