The Long Way Back

Iñaki leaves behind the graffiti, the dead, and the ghostly houses. In the distance, he can see the shopping center. And yet he's still with his foot sunk in the gas.

Too fast for this residential area...

100 km/h…110…120….Crash.

Iñaki tries to open his eyes slowly. He clenches his jaw, but his eyelids do not obey.

"Valentina," Iñaki murmurs and thinks he sees her in front of him.

Iñaki tries again, but without success. The smell of gasoline sticks down his throat. Iñaki's eyelashes stick out a few millimeters. He feels something dusty on his face. Finally, he manages to open them.

The airbag rests dusty on his thighs. A sharp pain runs through his left leg. He coughs. The windshield seems invaded by a lot of small rays.

"I have to get out of here..."

PUN a face sticks to the passenger window. Iñaki tightens the muscles of his body and his left leg sends a short-circuit of pain to his brain. He suppresses the scream. Another headbutt to the glass. He unbuckles his seat belt. Another headbutt. He tries to open the door. Fourth headbutt. It's stuck. Fifth, the resuscitated head breaks the glass and enters the vehicle. Iñaki forgets about the pain in his leg and hits the door with his left shoulder. It does not open. The hands of the zombie enter viperine in the vehicle. Another onslaught. The door does not open and another face now appears in his window. PUN First headbutt.

The zombie on his left moves forward like a worm and the one on his right begins to crack the window. Iñaki is faltering. Sweat soaks up his back as he looks left and right. He unsheathed the knife. The window is about to give way and the infected's fingers just grabbed his jeans.

The metal blade pierces the back of the neck, lodges in his brain, and the infected collapses on his leg. The window breaks. A roar echoes to his left.

Iñaki turns just in time to dodge the bite. The zombie bites the seatbelt and shakes his head. Iñaki takes advantage of the muzzle, grabs the buckle, wraps the belt around the creature's neck, and pulls towards him.

Iñaki is reflected in the sclera of the infected while pulling hard. The zombie tries to bite him, but the belt prevents it. Iñaki hears the crunching of a bone. The belt gives way a little in his hands. The vehicle stinks to death.

Iñaki keeps pulling. Another crackle. The zombie's black saliva splashes across his face. Iñaki feels the infected's spine detach from his skull. His roars rumble in the car. The head separates from the rest of the body. Iñaki retrieves the knife, grabs the head by the hairs, and stabs it in the eye.

Then he gets out of the vehicle and looks in the direction of the urbanization.

"Time to go home ."

Iñaki's leg burns with every step. He tries to bend it as little as possible and advance half-baked down the street; an impossible task. In the distance, he hears the whining of the alarms. The horde must be on its way.

The shadowy silhouette of the Oasis building is drawn less than 1 kilometer away. Iñaki advances among parked cars, repressing screams of pain and looking for "Zombies on the coast". Suddenly he hears two moans and hides behind a car. The creatures drag their feet in the direction of the mall. Iñaki waits a few minutes and, once they are out of reach, he gets back on his feet.

While diving behind the vehicle Iñaki had not noticed that it was a patrol. He uses his hand as a visor and peers into the car. A uniformed man with a gunshot wound to the head is all he sees. He opens the door. The stench reaches his brain. He blinks and takes several breaths before going inside.

A gun rests on the body's lap and two walkie-talkies are in the glove compartment. Iñaki grabs everything, closes the door, and continues.

There are few houses on the secondary road through which he travels. Every tree, every cat, and every lamppost in the distance is an infected in his imagination. He moves forward and stops again and again. His leg suffers with every move. He feels the wound beating in his thigh.

"Just a few more streets…"

Iñaki finally arrives at the door of the urbanization. His fingers tremble as he inserts the key. He enters and rests his back against the door. The murmur of the dead is gone. He's done it.