“Ok,” Nico said. “Miguel will lead us through. Mr. Higgins, you go next, followed by Camila. Then Luis, Felix, and Emery. I’ll go last. Stay in line and go slow. This isn’t a race. Stay alert and stay quiet. We can do this.”
We stepped into a single-file line, and Miguel led us into the tunnel. The first fifty feet or so were easy. All of the cars were in their lanes, making an easy path up the middle. Unfortunately, it was only a matter of time before that ended, and it did so with whatever asshat drove the blue truck that got stuck trying to switch lanes. It was diagonal across the tunnel, with a little hatchback’s front end pinned against the wall.
Miguel cautiously went around the fender bender, and we were met with about another twenty feet of empty road before we caught up with traffic again. That truck may have blocked the tunnel, but they wouldn’t have gotten very far. As we pushed further on, we started to hear a faint tapping sound. When we got closer, I recognized it as a metallic tapping sound. I looked around the line of people in front of me, huffing in frustration that I was stuck at the back of the line. Miguel’s light panned across the tunnel, and I spotted what was making the sound. A car door had been pinned open by another car, and behind the door was a zombie trying to get past. As it bumped into the door, the door tapped against the vehicle, blocking it from closing and effectively trapping the zombie.
The zombie renewed its effort to get past when it saw us; the guttural growls it made echoed through the tunnel. “It’s just one,” Miguel whispered as he held up his closed fist. He stepped forward with his knife and stabbed the zombie through the eye. The zombie fell silent as Miguel removed the knife, and the body fell to the ground, but the growls continued. Miguel held his hand up for us to wait as he climbed onto the roof of the car. Before Nico could stop me, I scrambled onto it as well and stood beside Miguel as we shone our lights deeper into the tunnel.
We didn’t see anything that was concerning. “Maybe it’s just another stray echoing off the walls?” I asked quietly.
Miguel nodded. “Most likely. Everyone, keep your eyes open.” We hopped down and continued forward, weaving through the abandoned vehicles, sometimes having to climb over them or slide through the backseats. Much to Nico’s annoyance, I stuck to Miguel’s side, forcing Luis to readjust his position to keep them equally spaced. I’d make it up to him later. Together, we charted a path forward, making a little game of who could find the most straightforward way through the wreckage.
“You two need to knock it off,” Nico hissed when the group caught up to us. “This isn’t a fucking obstacle course. You aren’t trying to beat your best times. Tighten it the fuck up.”
“Sir, Yes, Sir!” I hissed back with a cheeky grin before climbing onto the hood of a pickup truck that was blocking the road.
“Emery,” Nico warned.
I opened my mouth to sass him, but ended up screaming as a hand grabbed my left ankle and pulled me off the truck. I hit the ground hard, but didn’t have time to worry about it, because the next second, a zombie was on me. Its first attempt to bite me landed on my boot, and bought me enough time to draw my knife and stab it in the head. Unfortunately, that didn’t eliminate the threat. I’d fallen into a zombie nest, and my scream was the dinner bell. I scurried onto the closest car to catch my breath.
“Emery!” Miguel yelled as he climbed onto the truck I had been on.
“Stay back! There are too many of them!” I shone my light around me, searching for a way back to the group. There had to be at least fifty zombies around me, and looking deeper into the tunnel, I saw that there was no way through, because more were coming. There was no way we could get through them all.
“Em! Stay there. We’re gonna come get you,” Nico called.
I met his worried eyes. “Nico, listen to me. The tunnel is a bust; it’s full of zombies as far as I can see. Get my parents out of here. Now. Before the rest get here.’
“We aren’t leaving you, Em,” Nico argued.
“Yes, you are. I’ll be right behind you, but you need to get my parents to safety. Get them out of this fucking tunnel!” I saw the war in his eyes. His need to protect me was strong, but I didn’t need him to protect me; I needed him to protect my parents. “Please.”
“Fuck.”
Relief flooded me at his curse. He’d do what I asked.
“Miguel, Luis, stay with her. Get her the fuck out of there. Camila, Felix, and Mr. Higgins, let’s go.”
There was a commotion out of sight that I couldn’t follow. Suddenly, Miguel jumped back down, and I heard him curse.
“Miguel!?”
Oh, God. What if zombies had snuck up behind them? Zombies behind me, zombies ahead. How the fuck was I going to get out of this? Did I even want to keep going if everyone I know and love is dead? “Calm the fuck down, Emery. Jesus.” I was getting ahead of myself. I didn’t know what was going on ahead of me, and until I did, I wasn’t giving up. I didn’t have it in me.
A zombie climbed onto the hood of the car, and when it got within range, I stabbed it in the head and kicked the body into the group around me. If I were quick, I could possibly make it to the car in front of me, which was bumper to bumper with the truck I’d been pulled off of. Then I could see what the hell was going on with my group.
“No!” Luis yelled.
I looked in time to see Mr. Higgins climbing onto the truck. When Luis went to pull him back down, he kicked him in the face. What the fuck? Mr. Higgins stood on the hood with flares in his hands. He looked at me across the zombies. “Now, listen here, girlie, I’m going to draw them to me. As soon as it is clear, you get to the group and get the hell out of this tunnel.”
He pulled out a pocket knife and sliced his arms so that blood flowed from his veins onto the truck hood. At the smell of his blood, the zombies around me began to migrate toward him.
“Mr. Higgins! No! Not like this!”
“Exactly like this,” he replied. “I’ve made peace with it, and so should you. I won’t survive long in this world, Emery. That’s just a fact. But I can decide how I die. Saving a young life like yours is worth the sacrifice. And now, I’ll finally get to go home to my Claire.”
“Please don’t do this,” I cried. I angrily wiped away the tears blurring my vision. The least I could do was witness Mr. Higgins’ sacrifice. He deserved that.
“You make sure you get back to your family, Emery. Get out of this hellhole and live a long and happy life with those boys. They’re good men, and they sure do love the hell out of you.” Mr. Higgins activated the flares, the light nearly blinding. He closed his eyes, a smile spreading across his face. “I’m coming, Claire Bear. I’m finally coming.” He didn’t reopen his eyes as he jumped off the truck and into the horde of zombies. He didn’t scream in pain when they ripped into him; he simply accepted his fate with a grace that I’d never witnessed before and likely wouldn’t ever again.
