New Dawn Chapter: 0107

Tysone was kind of pissed off. The situation was bad and it had kept getting worse by the second.

A horde of zombies was manageable, but this? An evolved of this caliber? It wasn't something they were equipped for, no matter the circumstances.

They were supposed to have the upper hand with an armored truck in a fucking zombie apocalypse! He wasn't the kind to lose his composure easily, but now... It was just too much.

They didn't have the luxury of a safe, controlled environment.

Saeko's hand on his shoulder tightened, and he felt his simmering frustration cool down a bit. Leave it to this woman to know exactly how to deal with him. He gave her a grateful nod, but he couldn't spare her any more attention.

He needed a clear head.

The monster was still coming at them, fast and relentless, like a runaway freight train on its last legs. The horde of zombies behind it wasn't slowing either, and they seemed to have no problem keeping up with it.

Tysone's voice cut through the roaring engine and the cacophony of the undead. "Kohta, Takashi. Listen up."

He didn't take his eyes off the road, but his tone commanded their full attention. "Forget the big one. You're wasting ammo. Switch targets. The horde. Thin them out. Aim for the legs, anything to slow them down. Don't let them clog the wheels or we're dead in the water."

"Roger!" Kohta yelled back, immediately shifting his aim.

"Got it!" Takashi echoed, his rifle barking a new rhythm.

"Saya!" Tysone yelled over his shoulder. "I need a weakness! Anything! Behavior, armor gaps, what it had for breakfast! Talk to me!"

"I'm working on it!" Saya shot back, her face pressed against the thick, grimy glass of the rear window, her eyes darting, analyzing the monster's every thunderous step. "It's brutish, but not mindless! It's favoring its right side for wide swings and leading with its left shoulder on charges! There's… there's a slight discoloration, like an older scar, on its left pectoral, just above the core!"

"Good! Keep looking!" Tysone gritted his teeth. It was something. A target.

Though it was debatable whether they could do anything to it even with the information; the group was beaten down enough as it is. 'We have to avoid a fight at any cost.'

Suddenly, the entire truck jolted with a deafening, metallic shriek. It felt like they'd been hit by a wrecking ball. 

The vehicle swerved violently, its heavy tires screaming against the asphalt. In the back, the survivors were thrown against the walls. Tanaka let out a pathetic shriek.

Tysone fought the wheel, his enhanced strength the only thing keeping them from spinning out. He glanced in the side mirror. The massive brute was right alongside them, its monstrous hand, claws extended, having just raked a deep gouge into the truck's armored flank. It was keeping pace with them, its powerful legs churning.

"It's too fast!" Kohta yelled, his face pale. "It's gonna tear us apart!"

The creature pulled its arm back for another strike.

"Not on my watch." Tysone snarled. He wrenched the wheel hard to the right, ramming the side of the truck directly into the beast.

The impact was bone-jarring. Metal groaned against mutated flesh. The brute stumbled, letting out a roar of fury and pain as it was pushed back several feet, but it didn't fall. It regained its footing with terrifying speed.

Tysone's mind was racing. They couldn't outrun it. They couldn't out-muscle it with the truck. They had to change the battlefield. His eyes scanned the crumbling cityscape, the rain-swept streets. Then he saw it. Up ahead, a block away.

A gas station.

"Shoot the pumps!" He shouted as he accelerated. He was pushing the truck well past its limit, and he could feel the strain. "Aim for the underground tanks!"

Kohta's eyes went wide, his smile equally wide. "You're insane!" But he didn't hesitate.

Takashi didn't miss a beat, either. "You heard the man! Let's light 'em up!"

The gas pumps erupted in a ball of fire, the underground tanks adding fuel to the inferno. A wall of flame roared up between them and the monster. But it was still too close. The common zombies that still continued to chase the vehicle were caught in the billowing flames. They screeched and writhed as they burned, their pursuit finally halted.

The evolved behemoth, on the other hand, simply charged through the flames. Its skin hissed and popped, scorched in places, but it didn't slow. If anything, the inferno seemed to have only enraged it further. The heatwave washed over the truck, making the already stifling air inside feel like a blast furnace.

"Holy shit!" Takashi breathed, his voice a mixture of awe and raw terror.

Tysone's hands tightened on the wheel, the plastic creaking under the strain.

"It's gaining on us again!" Kohta yelled, his voice cracking.

Tysone glanced in the side mirror. The brute's strides were immense, each footfall a thunderous impact that seemed to make the very road tremble. It lowered its head, like a bull about to charge, its one malevolent eye fixed on the truck's rear.

"It's going to ram us!" Saya screamed from the back.

"Not if I can help it." Tysone snarled. He couldn't go right or left; the streets were choked with the skeletons of abandoned cars. There was only forward. His eyes darted across the cityscape, desperately seeking another environmental advantage, another opportunity. A bridge. In the distance, cutting through the urban decay, was the sweeping steel arch of the Shido Bridge.

It was a gamble. A long, exposed stretch of road with nowhere to hide. But it was also a chokepoint. And it had a very, very long drop. Straight into the water.

"New plan!" Tysone yelled, his voice cutting through the panic. "We're heading for the bridge! Saya, I need its weight distribution! Does it lean? Does it favor one leg when it runs full-tilt?"

"It's… it's surprisingly balanced!" Saya replied, her face a pale smudge against the glass. "But its center of gravity is high! When it turns, it has to plant its outside foot hard to keep from tipping! It's vulnerable in a sharp turn!"

"A turn it is." Tysone's expression was grim. He saw an intersection coming up fast. It was their only chance to create a gap.

Tysone's pulse thundered in his ears as he pushed the armored truck to its absolute limit, the suspension groaning beneath them. 

The brute was still on their heels, shrieking through blistered lips, smoke trailing off its molten skin. It was relentless. But it wasn't invincible.

"Everyone hold on!" He barked.

They shot through the intersection and onto the bridge's approach. Rain hammered the windshield.

The Shido Bridge loomed ahead—rusted steel girders arching over the wide, black river like the ribs of some ancient beast. 

Wind tore across it in furious gusts.

He clenched the wheel tighter and called out. "Everyone hang on. This is gonna be rough."

"What are you doing?" Saya asked, alarmed.

"Physics."

"What?!"

The truck roared onto the bridge, tires splashing water. The narrow lane left no room for error. Girders loomed on either side. One miscalculation and they'd all plunge straight into the river.

He didn't slow. If anything, he pushed harder.

Behind them, the giant evolved thundered after them, jaws wide in a snarl. Its feet pounded the slick bridge like pistons. 

Tysone spotted the point—the midway curve where the guard rail had collapsed from an earlier wreckage. 

Just enough of a gap. Just enough space. If he could get the timing right—

"Three…"

The brute was close enough now that its claws scraped the back bumper.

"Two…"

He tapped the brakes. Just a little. 

"One—Now!"

He yanked the emergency brake and wrenched the steering wheel hard, throwing the heavy truck into a controlled, screaming drift. Tires howled in protest, the scent of burning rubber filling the air. For a horrifying moment, the truck teetered on two wheels, threatening to flip. The survivors were thrown into a heap, their cries cut short by the violent motion.

But Tysone, his enhanced reflexes and strength locked in a death grip on the controls, wrestled it back down.

Sparks flew as the armored side scraped one of the bridge girders.

The zombie, charging too fast and too close, didn't have time to react.

Its own momentum betrayed it.

It tried to slow down, but it was too big and heavy to defy the beloved laws of physics. Its balance faltered. It staggered sideways, legs wide apart, arms flailing.

And then… its foot slid right off the open edge.

With a grunt of rage and shock, the creature toppled sideways, slamming into the broken guard rail.

The already weakened section snapped under its weight.

The evolved zombie plunged off the side of the bridge, a snarl echoing into the night—followed by a wet, thunderous splash as it hit the river below.

Tysone corrected the skid just in time, the truck groaning but staying upright. 

Everyone inside lurched forward with the inertia, but no one screamed. Not now. They couldn't believe what they'd just seen.

Kohta's voice broke the silence: "Did we just… Tokyo drift a nine-foot death monster off a bridge?"

Tysone's jaw clenched. He didn't answer.

But Saeko did, chuckling in disbelief. "Yes. Yes, we did."

Author's Note:

If you're enjoying the story and want to read ahead or support my work, you can check out my P@treon at P@treon.com/LordCampione. But don't worry—all chapters will eventually be public. Just being here and reading means the world to me. Thank you for your time and support.