Drifters: Worldbreak

They barely made it a hundred feet before the deafening roar of engines erupted behind them. Jack glanced in his rearview mirror and saw headlights slicing through the chilly night air. A military convoy stormed past, heading toward the eastern part of the city. Three Humvees led the charge, with a soldier perched in the turret of the lead vehicle. Two tan MRAPs followed, along with a troop transport truck whose canvas flapped in the wind, revealing rows of grim-faced soldiers clutching rifles.

If this wasn't the apocalypse, Jack didn't know what was.

The entrance to Damen Avenue was obstructed by two vehicles that had collided head-on.

"We'll try this street," Jack said, turning right onto Lincoln and then onto Wolcott Avenue.

Susan and Lisa were sitting close to each other, holding hands. Lisa pressed her face into her mother's shoulder, and Susan was caressing her head.

"We'll be fine, I promise," Jack said and turned his eyes back to the road. Wolcott was a narrow street and looked better compared to others, but even here, he saw people frantically running around in panic or stuffing the trunks of their cars with suitcases and bags.

An idiot in a white Civic sped away from a parking spot, almost running into their car.

"Watch where you're going!" Jack shouted to the driver through the window.

The driver didn't respond but flipped Jack off and disappeared. Jack cursed and kept driving. The streets were full of idiots, and the apocalypse only made things worse. He didn't want to think about the chaos they'd face on the expressway once everyone in and around Chicago realized no one was coming to rescue them.

Suddenly, something caught his attention. He slowed down, staring into the darkness ahead. Something was moving down the street.

The first thing he saw was a car. The same car that had almost hit them a minute earlier. It was uncertainly moving in reverse, as if the driver didn't know where to go.

"No way," Jack muttered, shaking his head. "What are you doing?"

"Help!" a desperate voice shouted from outside, followed by frantic tapping on Jack's window. The sound made him flinch. Lisa let out a short, piercing scream.

A man stood there, his chest heaving as if he'd just sprinted for his life.

"Please, let me in!" the man cried, pounding on the window. "Please!"

"Dad!" Lisa called from the back seat.

The man kept pounding, begging them to let him in.

"Go away," Jack said, articulating every word, hoping the man could read his lips. "Get. Away. From. My. Car!"

"Dad!" Lisa called again, drawing Jack's attention. He looked at her in the rearview mirror.

"It's going to be okay, sweetheart—"

She didn't let him finish. "There!" Lisa shouted, pointing at the road ahead. Jack followed her finger.

"Shit!" he cursed. The driver of the white Civic was now barreling backward at full speed. Jack jerked the steering wheel as far left as he could and slammed the gas, clearing the Civic at the last moment. He wasn't sure if he'd hit the man pounding on the window, but the guy was nowhere to be seen.

And then Jack saw it. At the far end of the street, something massive was moving. The headlights couldn't reach that far, so he couldn't make out its shape. But the parked cars were suddenly flung into the air, one after another, as if an invisible bulldozer was plowing through them—and it was heading straight for them.

"Jack!" Susan screamed.

He threw the car into reverse and slammed the pedal to the floor. They sped backward, Jack glancing between the rearview mirror and the road ahead.

Then he finally saw it—the creature. The same creature he had seen on TV.

It stormed down the street, ramming cars, sending them flying like toys, stomping on people, slashing some in half with its sharp claws.

He'd never seen anything like it—maybe only in the movies. Susan and Lisa screamed in the back seat as they watched it coming toward them. Jack wanted to scream, too, but he was too focused on driving. His hands gripped the wheel so tightly that his knuckles turned white.

How far can you go in reverse? he thought, checking the rearview mirror and praying they wouldn't crash into another car.

The creature was closing the gap with terrifying speed. It was just one leap away now. Jack could see its face—black and leathery, with flaring nostrils, sharp teeth in its maw, and red, intelligent eyes locked onto the car, as if it were the only thing that mattered.

Suddenly, a light from above bathed the street. Jack glanced up. A helicopter hovered fifty feet above, its spotlight fixed on the creature.

The beast slowed, disoriented by the light. Tilting slightly, the helicopter revealed an open gun door with a soldier behind a mounted machine gun, aimed directly at the creature. The gun roared to life, spitting bullets like lightning bolts.

The beast howled as the bullets hit it. Some ricocheted off its thick, armored skin, but others struck vulnerable spots. The creature roared and thrashed wildly, trying to escape the relentless fire.

Only there was no escape.

The soldier kept firing until, finally, the creature collapsed onto the pavement. Its massive body hit the ground with a thud, leaving cracks in the asphalt.

Silence fell for a moment, broken only by the hum of the helicopter's engine.

And then it happened.

The creature's body glowed, as if a volcano were erupting from within. Light radiated through the bullet holes and cracks in its skin, turning the night into day.

Jack covered his eyes.

The glow reached its peak—and then the creature exploded into fire, leaving nothing behind but a charred burn mark on the pavement.

The helicopter ascended higher and disappeared into the night sky.

Jack stared at the spot where the creature had lain just moments ago.

"What the hell?" he muttered. His vision was still dotted with white circles from the explosion. He wasn't sure what had just happened. Had the military detonated the creature, or had it self-destructed?

"Did it just blow up?" Susan asked.

"I'm not sure," Jack replied, shifting gears back into drive. "Either way, we have to move."

He hit the gas. The car lurched forward as they returned to Irving. He figured they'd have to stick to wider roads where they'd have more room to maneuver if something happened.

The chaos on the streets grew worse with every turn. It looked like a nightmare—police cars, ambulances, and fire trucks everywhere. And people. People running in all directions—some screaming, some crying, some looting, others bleeding, and too many lying motionless on the pavement.

Jack wondered if this was how the world would be from now on. Perhaps. Things could get even worse. Much worse. And he wasn't sure they were ready for it.

He had the gun, but it would be useless against the creatures. Killing these monsters required more than a 9mm Glock.

But it still gave him some comfort. Apart from monsters, there were bad people, and they'd see more of them-he was sure of that.

The worst of times always brought the worst people to the surface.

And he wouldn't hesitate to use his gun to stop them.