Run or Die

Dane gripped Kade's hand tightly, his voice laced with urgency. "We have to move, Kade. They're everywhere. If we stay here, we're dead."

As they moved further down the dim, crumbling alley, Kade suddenly pulled Dane to the side, yanking him into the shadows of a narrow passage between two abandoned buildings. Dane, breathing heavily, looked up at him, his eyes questioning. "What are you doing? Why did you pull me in here?"

Kade raised a finger to his lips, his expression dead serious. He motioned for Dane to be silent, his eyes darting to the end of the alleyway. "Quiet," he murmured in a low voice. "Listen. They're coming… a whole horde. Stay still, stay low."

Dane furrowed his brow, straining to hear, but all he could make out was the eerie silence and the faint, distant moans drifting through the air. "I don't hear anything, Kade," he whispered. "Where are they?"

Kade nodded toward the far end of the street, his gaze fixed and tense. Dane followed his line of sight, his heart sinking as he saw a man sprinting across the open road, terror etched across his face as a group of zombies pursued him. The man stumbled toward a car, frantically yanking on the handle to try and get inside. But as he opened the door, a decayed, lifeless corpse fell out, sinking its teeth into his arm. His scream echoed, a horrible, guttural sound as the infected swarmed him, blood spilling onto the ground. The other zombies backed off, as if satisfied, watching with cold, empty eyes as the bitten man writhed in agony, his life draining away.

Kade exhaled slowly, his expression hardening. "See that, kid? That's what's coming for us. We need to move, now—before they realize we're here. We have to stay ahead of this."

Dane swallowed hard, his voice barely a whisper. "How, Kade? There are too many. If we get spotted, we're dead."

Kade's eyes flickered with a fierce determination. "We crawl, quietly and close to the wall, all the way to that car. With luck, we might slip by without them noticing. If we make it, we're driving out of here, and fast."

Dane's gut twisted with doubt, the fear creeping in. "And if we don't? If they spot us, or surround the car…?"

Kade didn't answer with words. Instead, his grip on Dane's arm tightened—a silent command. With a tense nod, he motioned for them to move. They started their careful crawl along the cracked concrete, pressing their bodies flat against the wall. Every step felt like a gamble; every scrape of gravel or sudden intake of breath sounded like a beacon in the suffocating silence. Dane's heart pounded so hard it hurt, his pulse echoing in his ears. Each second stretched out painfully as they crept toward the car, the shadows seeming to close in on them, heavy and unforgiving.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity of crawling and holding their breath, they reached the car and crouched beside it, clinging to the only cover they had. Dane leaned close, his voice barely above a whisper and shaking with tension. "Kade… this is madness. We're out in the open, like sitting ducks. If just one of them notices us…"

Kade looked over at him, his eyes dark and hollow, lines of exhaustion etched deeply into his face. He took a slow, steadying breath, his voice low and almost haunted. "I know this isn't the best plan, alright?" His gaze fell, voice thick with fatigue. "But I'm not waiting around to be another dead face in this nightmare. We're getting out of here, even if it kills us."

Dane felt a chill at Kade's words. He took a deep, shaky breath, nodding despite the fear gnawing at him. "Alright, Kade. We won't make it out alone, so… just tell me what to do."

Kade gave him a determined look. "I'll work on hotwiring the car. Keep an eye out—one wrong move, and every last one of those things is gonna be on us."

With that, Kade slowly cracked open the door, slipping inside and kneeling down to pry open the fuse box. His hands trembled slightly as he worked, sweat glistening on his brow as he fiddled with the wires. He held his breath, listening to the faint clicks and hums of the car's ignition, praying that it would come to life.

After what felt like an eternity, the engine roared to life, shattering the silence. Kade cursed under his breath—the sound had already drawn the attention of nearby zombies, their heads snapping toward the car with predatory focus.

"Get in!" Kade yelled, his voice tense.

Dane bolted toward the car, throwing himself inside just as the undead horde began their relentless advance. The zombies moved like a twisted pack of wolves, sprinting at full speed, their bodies jerking and contorting as they closed in.

Kade slammed his foot on the gas, and the car lurched forward. He pushed the pedal to the floor, sending the vehicle barreling down the street. Zombies flung themselves at the car, their faces twisted in rage and hunger. Kade didn't flinch. He drove straight through them, each impact shaking the car as bodies were hurled aside or dragged beneath the wheels, filling the air with the sickening crunch of bones and splatter of blood.

As the windshield became smeared with blood, Kade let out a manic laugh, his face twisted with a wild fury. "How does it feel, huh? How does it feel to be the ones getting torn apart?!"

Dane, gripping his seat with white knuckles, turned to him with a mixture of terror and disbelief. "Kade! Are you out of your mind? Drive carefully, or we're going to end up like them!"

But Kade was beyond hearing, his gaze fixed on the path ahead as he plowed through the relentless swarm. More bodies slammed against the car, cracking the windshield, denting the hood. The road was a red-streaked massacre, lined with crushed limbs and splattered entrails. Kade's laughter was feverish, almost delirious, echoing inside the cramped cabin.

Eventually, the car burst through the last cluster of undead, leaving behind the nightmarish horde in a twisted, broken pile. As they sped away, the street fell silent, save for the distant moan of wind whistling through the ruins. Kade's laughter faded, replaced by a cold, grim focus as he eased up on the gas, navigating carefully around the abandoned wrecks of cars, crumbling buildings, and bodies littering the road.

Dane exhaled, his voice barely a whisper. "God… it's so quiet. Almost too quiet."

Kade slowed the car, his eyes scanning the haunting stillness around them. They could hear the wind keening through the hollow shells of buildings, carrying with it the faint, distant groans of the undead, lurking somewhere just out of sight.

Kade swallowed hard, gripping the wheel. "We made it out. But this… this isn't over, Dane. Not even close."