Chapter 595

ter 595 The Road Beyond Camps
After hearing that, Theresa let her gaze sweep once more across the group.
Their complexions weren’t the best, but they looked strong, sturdy, and full of life. Two of them carried space–based abilities, which meant their supplies had to be well–stocked. With both resources and power at their disposal, it made sense that they could live this way.
Humans, as a species, mostly longed for stability and community. But there were always some who preferred the road, wandering wherever fate carried them.
Landon, one of her own men, had been that way in her previous life–forever drifting, never tied to any place. For those with real strength, freedom on the road was far better than life trapped inside a camp.
Louisa looked starved for conversation. She clung to Theresa and poured out everything in a rush.
That was how Theresa came to learn what this small team had been through.
They had tried to join camps before, running into several along the way, but each had turned out to be no better than a bandit’s den.
To enter meant surrendering every scrap of food and gear. Everyone was forced into camp labor–slaying zombies, building houses–yet in return, the residents were given nothing.
They had to scrape together their own food and water, treated no better than livestock.
And that wasn’t even the worst of it.
Some camps only took women, shutting out every man. Others had sunk even lower, collapsing into a crude, lawless order where a self–styled king hoarded women as if they were possessions.
After stumbling across one grotesque camp after another, this group had abandoned the very idea of settling down. They chose the road instead, deciding that a life of wandering was better than chains disguised as safety.
Theresa listened patiently to Louisa’s complaints, then asked, “After you visit that last place, where will you go next?”
Louisa froze at the question, falling into a heavy silence. “I don’t know.”
They had no real destination.
At the beginning of the apocalypse, they had truly wanted to go home. Back then, a few of their companions had even managed to find surviving family members and leave with them, settling
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in one of the camps.
But by the middle of the apocalypse, who could still hope to find family?
For the rest of them, traveling from place to place was little more than a way to hold on to hope, to keep moving with some vague purpose. If they reached this last destination, they had
no idea what would come after.
Theresa studied her for a moment. “When you’ve finished your search, if you have nowhere else to go, you might want to consider Ansford.”
“Ansford?”
“Yes. The zombies there have already been cleared out. Branford too. Together, they’ve become a safe zone. It’s a good place to settle.”
Louisa’s eyes widened, stunned.
“How do you know that?” Dominic asked sharply.
“Because that’s where I came from,” Theresa replied with a smile.
The whole truck fell silent, her words settling heavily in the air as everyone mulled them over.
Then Theresa felt the floor beneath her boots tremble.
Louisa’s face was drained of color. “Darn it! It’s here!” she hissed, staring into the green mist outside the window.
From the driver’s seat, Miles slammed his foot on the gas. The engine roared, and the truck lunged forward.
“What is it?” Theresa demanded.
Through the glass, she caught the faint outline of a massive figure looming in the fog.
It had to be at least ten feet tall, its grotesquely oversized head swaying as it searched through the mist like a giant groping for prey.
“The super mutant zombie of this area!” Louisa’s voice cracked as she spoke.
A deafening crash followed–a huge billboard came hurtling down, slamming onto the railroad
tracks ahead.
Their modified truck screeched in protest, metal grinding as Miles slammed the brakes. The vehicle jolted to a halt on the crumbling road beside the tracks, the noise instantly drawing the
creature’s attention.
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The giant zombie bellowed from within the haze, a guttural roar that shook the air, then thundered toward them, each step like an earthquake.
Miles‘ eyes were icy as he checked the rearview mirror. His hands spun the wheel with precision, and the truck jerked sideways before roaring back to life. Floodlights blazed on, cutting through the fog as the vehicle tore down the broken road once again.
The green mist glittered in the beams like a curtain of falling rain.
It was as if they had plunged straight into a nightmare–shrouded in fog, surrounded by endless howls, with the pounding footsteps of the massive mutant zombie shaking the ground behind them.
“Don’t move,” Miles‘ voice cut through the chaos, cold and commanding—the first words he had spoken all this time.
The truck surged, hitting its top speed of 180 miles an hour.
Theresa felt herself slammed back into the seat, the force pressing her body flat against the upholstery.
No one dared make a sound, let alone move. At that speed, even a sudden shift of weight—a careless stand, a reckless twist–could unbalance the vehicle and send them all to a fiery end.
Finished
Sara Lili
Sara Lili is a daring romance writer who turns icy landscapes into scenes of fiery passion. She loves crafting hot love stories while embracing the chill of Iceland’s breathtaking cold.