They quickly donned the safety jackets and armed themselves with the various tools. "Everyone, be ready!" Peter commanded, his voice strained but firm. "We only have to reach the van, it's not far from here. Mia, don't be afraid." He turned to A.D. "Pull the shutter!"
A.D. yanked the heavy metal shutter open. The first zombie lunged forward, but before it could even get close, Mia, with surprising precision, fired a screw from her drill directly into its head. The zombie crumpled. Everyone, even A.D., stood in stunned silence for a moment.
"Good shot!" A.D. exclaimed, giving her a thumbs-up.
"A.D., behind you!" Peter yelled. A.D. whirled around as Peter fired his gun, taking down another creature. They plunged into the horde, fighting their way through the shambling, roaring figures.
After a short, desperate sprint, a zombie lunged at the twenty-seven-year-old woman, biting her. A whole herd of the undead swarmed over her, pulling her down. "Peter, no!" he cried, but A.D. gripped his arm. "Let's go! We have no time!"
"Huh!" Peter gasped, torn. They reached the van, scramble inside, all except Peter.
"A.D., get in!" Peter yelled.
"No!" A.D. shouted back.
"Drive it and go!" Peter commanded, his voice raw. "Take care of my family!"
"What are you talking about?" Giana cried, tears streaming down her face.
Peter pulled up his arm, revealing a gruesome bite. "I'm becoming one of them. I can't hold you in danger."
"No, Dad!" Mia sobbed, clutching her drill. "Get in! If you're not going, I'm not either!"
"I'm sorry, Mia," Peter whispered, his voice cracking. He looked at A.D., his eyes pleading. "Please, go!"
"No!" Giana wept, reaching for him. "How will we live without you?"
"Giana, please live for Mia. Go!" Peter implored, as the zombies began to swarm the van. "Please, remember my promise, A.D.! Drive over me and kill me as a human!"
"I will not!" A.D. screamed, tears blurring his vision.
Peter's eyes began to turn red. With a final, desperate act, he raised his gun, placed it beneath his chin, and fired.
"No!" A.D. sobbed, forcing himself to start the van and drive.
"Stop the van! I want to be with Dad!" Mia screamed, pounding on the windows, her face contorted in agony. Giana pulled her close, sobbing uncontrollably, trying to calm her daughter.
"Be strong," Alice said to A.D., her voice flat. "Now you have to take care of everything."
A.D. drove towards a smaller wall in the distance, a place he and Peter had seen from the grocery store roof. Beside it, a glader, a large, heavy machine, stood ready, seemingly placed there by someone else.
Chapter Twenty-Two: The Plot Thickens
As they sped towards the distant wall, Alice's wrist watch began to beep. She glanced at it, seeing a message from July: "Why are they not dead yet?" Alice ignored it, her eyes fixed on A.D. with a strange, vengeful glint.
Meanwhile, in July's office, her second-in-command, Mandes, stormed in. "Where is she?" he demanded, seeing David quickly turn off the main screen. "Where has she gone?"
July entered, her expression cool. "Why are you so violent, Mandes?"
"Where are they?" Mandes pressed, clearly agitated.
"Who?" July asked, her reaction strangely detached. "The people who were on their way here for refuge?"
"Oh, how would I know?" July replied, feigning innocence. "Something must have happened to them?"
"No, you did something!" Mandes accused, his voice rising. "A lot of people wanted to come, but still no one came. You did something to them!"
"I didn't," July shrugged, a cold smile playing on her lips. "But think what you want."
David, listening in, was utterly shocked. Mandes stormed out of the office, slamming the door.
"What is this?" David stammered, turning to July.
"You know everything," July said, her voice chillingly calm. "If they came here, we'd have to share food and supplies. So we did this to all of them, to stop them from coming here, using Alice. She always went there before entering the village and killed all those who wanted to come here. But for now, it's too late this time, and she's not responding."
In the van, Alice glanced at A.D. with an odd look in her eyes. It was a look of strange vindictiveness, fueled by her desire for revenge for A.D.'s earlier rejection.