1. Break a window, get inside.
"Break the window! I'll come around!" you say.
Jesse nods and awkwardly positions herself to bash the window with the butt of the shotgun. As you round the front of the truck, she shatters the glass, reaches in, and unlocks the door.
Your leg is really killing you. At least you can not move your arm. "Can you get in there?" you ask.
Jesse glances at you and nods. "I think so. Good thing I'm skinny," she says, opening the passenger door and sliding sideways into the cab.
It's a tight fit but she manages. You can see her through the windshield. "Careful," you caution. She looks at you and winks.
Sliding across the seat, she pulls up close to the dead trucker and grimaces. "There's no way I can get him out here," she says. I've got to drive the truck forward into a more open space.
You raise your eyebrows. "You sure you can drive it with him... there?"
Jesse shakes her head. "I'll manage. Can you make it to the end of the alley? I don't want to run you over."
You turn and use the wall for support, making your way out. Max follows closely. About twenty feet later, the alley opens up into a street. This one isn't as wide as main street. A few cars are parked along the sides. Some houses, and what look to be apartment buildings. A place called Albert's Masonry. No Faceless, Cavines, or other nasties as far as you can see, though the fog still limits your vision to no more than forty feet. Max sniffs the curb, then looks up.
Behind you, you hear an engine sputter, and die. Then again. Then again, this time sluggishly rolling over. The sound of an approaching vehicle. You limp out of the way as Jesse brings the truck forward slowly, diagonally sitting next to the dead man, looking away from him, one leg jammed in next to his on the gas. Max whines and you put a hand on his head.
Finally the truck clears the alley. Hensen's Delivery, you read on the side. There's a picture of a bottle. Jesse cuts the engine and comes out the passenger side. "I unlocked the door," she says. "Let's get that guy out of there."
You head around to the driver's side and pop open the door. The body leans outward stiffly, still caught in the seat belt. You gingerly reach up and press the button. The belts undo and you and Jesse work the body out together without to much more trouble and lay it on the ground. Max sniffs at it.
"I wonder what killed him," Jesse says, looking him over. "I still don't see any wounds."
You peer at the dead man intently. The face is very gaunt. You try not to look at the teeth.
"Maybe he had a heart attack or something? I don't think a person would just sit there in a truck and starve to death."
Jesse shrugs. "Maybe."
You scratch your head. "Well, anyway, we've got a truck now. We should get out of here."
"The battery was almost gone," Jesse says. "We got lucky."
Something about the expression on the man's face bugs you. It almost looks... surprised. Like what he last saw was unexpected. You take a few steps away from him and look around the street.
Something on the edge of the other side of the road catches your eye amid everything else. It looks like some sort of metal tube. You point at it as Jesse comes up behind you. "What's that?"
Jesse peers past you into the gloom. "Dunno."
The two of you hobble over to it and bend down. It's roughly three and half feet long, perhaps 10 inches thick. The metal is almost shiny. On both ends, there are tiny vents in the metal.
"Is this... is this what I think it is?" you ask, turning it over in your hands.
Max reaches his snout up to sniff at it, then drops his head down and sits, looking up at you.
"This is a gas canister," you say, looking at Jesse.
Jesse runs her hand over it. "Are you sure?"
"No, but it makes sense," you say, tossing it back to the ground. "That letter we found said something about the military. Something in a negative light. It wouldn't surprise me if they tried to gas the whole fucking town."
Jesse stares at the canister, which has rolled up against the curb. "And... the Faceless weren't affected. It just killed the rest of the survivors."
"Including our friend in the truck back there," you say.
"What, right in the middle of a delivery?"
You shrug. "Who knows? I can't make sense of any of this. But what else could have killed that guy without leaving a trace?"
Jesse sighs. "I guess we'll never know," she says.
You growl. "How far has this shit spread, anyway? What is the government doing about it? It can't be everywhere, can it? Where is the fucking CAVALRY?"
Max, hearing your tone, whines and circles anxiously.
Jesse puts a hand on your shoulder. "We might be deep within infected zones. Maybe they're clearing out the edges first."
"Or maybe there's nothing left," you say. "Maybe everything, everywhere, is like this. Empty cities. Nothing left but monsters."
"I refuse to believe that," Jesse says.
You look at her. Her face is calm, composed. You push down the emotion you feel. "Yeah. Sorry," you say. "You're right. We've got to find Nicole and get her out of this mess. Get her to safety."
Jesse smiles and leans in, giving you a peck on the cheek.
You raise a hand to your face, smiling back at her.
"What was that for?"
"You're a good man," she says.
"Oh, Christ, don't give me that. Yeah, I'm Superman. Bounding over buildings in a single leap, protecting the innocent, and seeing visions of an asshole I killed who keeps telling me to rape or murder everyone I meet."
"But you haven't, have you?" Jesse says. Her green eye is locked on your face, searching.
not while you were awake, hahaha
"No," you admit.
"See? You are Superman."
You laugh. "Alright, you got me. Stay here. I'm gonna go fly up above the city and use my x-ray vision to find Nicole. Be right back. Ow," you say, forgetting your leg.
Jesse comes up under you and supports you on your way back to the truck. "We... we should find some medical supplies," you say. "Maybe sterilize these wounds of mine."
Jesse nods at your side. "The booze is in the truck."
Max goes on ahead of the two of you, hopping into the cab and getting into the backseat.
Jesse helps you into the passenger seat, where you lean back and close your eyes. Then she circles around to the driver's seat and shuts the door. She turns the keys and the truck reluctantly starts up again.
"What now, Clark?" she says, turning to you.
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Topic: The Ends (Read 59152 times)