The truck swung to the left just as the wheels dropped off the side of the road and on to the soft shoulder, nearly ripping the steering wheel from Gary’s grip.
“Shit,” he echoed Tracy.
The hard rubber dug deeply into the gravel and dirt, making it impossible for Gary to regain control. The rear wheels dropped off the roadway as well, brush scraping along the side of the vehicle with larger and larger branches thwacking the front end and windshield.
“Brace for impact!” Gary hadn’t finished the word “impact” when they struck something solid enough to crumple the front end. Tracy’s body lurched forward. She was pretty sure she was going to be sore for days if they survived. That was a problem she would have to deal with later…if she got the chance.
“Everyone alright?” Tracy yelled out over the groans of the engine. In truth, it was a low-velocity impact, punishing to the body to be sure, but not deadly—at least the initial part of it. What happened after was very much up in the air.
“We’re good! What happened?” BT yelled from the back.
“Gary had a Mike moment!”
“Can we get out of here?” Travis asked.
Tracy looked to Gary who shook his head. He was too embarrassed or disappointed with himself to answer with words.
“Engine is dying.” And as if Gary was the second coming of Nostradamus, the truck shuddered and lay still. The hissing of zombies overtook the popping protests of the heated cylinder block.
“Everyone up top!” Tracy shouted as rifles began to fire behind her.
“Up top?” Justin was looking at the canvas covering the truck bed. The canvas was plenty strong to hold their accumulated weight…the thin metal supports holding the canvas up…well, that was potentially a different story.
“You heard the lady, let’s go!” BT was crouched over and had shoved a blade through the canvas, opening a