marked Exit .
Neither of them said anything when they reached Doc’s car. The Cadillac’s crumpled hood was jammed up the backside of a column. Passed out against the steering wheel, Dr. Louboutin’s aura was everything but peaceful. Anger swelled within Stormy as she edged the Jeep around the car and sped up.
That was a mistake because now they were going too fast on the winding exit ramp. The security booth loomed ahead with the guardrail lowered. She couldn’t stop in time. Trapped on the entrance side by an overturned minivan, the guard’s body lay crumpled over the booth’s window. Getting him to lift the rail was out.
“Floor it,” Stan yelled.
“I am. Stop fucking yelling at me.”
The Jeep sailed into the guardrail so hard it knocked Stormy’s head into the steering wheel. Dazed, she jerked the wheel to the right. In response, the Jeep rammed the garage wall. The rear end smashed into the guard shack. The impact freed half the security guard and set his torso down directly in front of the minivan. A second collision with the garage wall became an unavoidable certainty.
Determined to course correct, she jerked on the wheel. The Jeep plowed into the wall, and then careened back toward the shack. She yanked on the steering wheel again and forced it all the way to the right. The Jeep jumped the curb and jammed its grill into a stop sign.
Shots pinged off the sides of the Jeep. Stan pulled Stormy’s head down and covered her with his upper body. Another explosion went off. The Jeep lit up in a yellow glow for a few seconds just before the boom. The blast was close enough that smoke crept over them. Gunfire was much louder in open air. Stormy tried to see, but Stan pressed her down harder. Searing pain engulfed her entire neck. She cursed him and tried to push him off her.
Stan let up, but only a little. “Why the hell are they shooting at us?”
“My guess is they think we’re infected. If you would get off me, I might actually know.” Bullets zipped by. Stormy shook with each pass. “We’ve got to get out of here.”
Stan’s head rose up, and then darted back down followed by a rain of gunfire. “Stormy listen. Crawl down into the floorboard so we can switch seats.”
“Why the hell would I let you drive?”
He held his hand in front of her face. It was covered in blood. “Your neck’s bleeding bad. I can get us out of her while you dress you wound.”
Convinced, and a little queasy, she dropped out of her seat and onto the floorboard. From there, a corner of the window was visible. She saw no gunmen on the street, just bodies, crashed vehicles, and trails of smoke. Fires burned out of control. Bodies wriggled underneath others. Bullets sank into those who stumbled and those who sprinted. The gunmen didn’t discriminate. Once hit, they all flew backward. With wicked speed, most of them got back up.
Stan spread out flat on the seats. His hair was matted with blood and his face was filthy. He sighed deeply into the seat and then lifted his head to examine her positioning.
He pointed at the passenger floorboard. “Now crawl over to this side. Keep your head down.”
The window caught movement behind Stan. He read Stormy’s expression, but didn’t have enough time to react. A hand smacked against the window and smeared blood across it. It turned into an angry fist and banged away.
Stan scrambled onto his back. He pulled the ax out of the floorboard and held it across his body. The hand jiggled the handle, and then the whole body ducked down as gunfire lit up the vehicle. Stan leaned overtop Stormy to shield her.
“Fucking open up if you’re still alive in there,” the voice said.
“Go die somewhere else,” Stan said.
“Josh?” Stormy’s eyes widened.
“Stormy, is that you? Open up. Ian’s hurt.”
She squirmed under Stan. Her fingers searched the door panel for the unlock button. “Unlock the door. He’s my friend.”
“Getting shot at out
Neither of them said anything when they reached Doc’s car. The Cadillac’s crumpled hood was jammed up the backside of a column. Passed out against the steering wheel, Dr. Louboutin’s aura was everything but peaceful. Anger swelled within Stormy as she edged the Jeep around the car and sped up.
That was a mistake because now they were going too fast on the winding exit ramp. The security booth loomed ahead with the guardrail lowered. She couldn’t stop in time. Trapped on the entrance side by an overturned minivan, the guard’s body lay crumpled over the booth’s window. Getting him to lift the rail was out.
“Floor it,” Stan yelled.
“I am. Stop fucking yelling at me.”
The Jeep sailed into the guardrail so hard it knocked Stormy’s head into the steering wheel. Dazed, she jerked the wheel to the right. In response, the Jeep rammed the garage wall. The rear end smashed into the guard shack. The impact freed half the security guard and set his torso down directly in front of the minivan. A second collision with the garage wall became an unavoidable certainty.
Determined to course correct, she jerked on the wheel. The Jeep plowed into the wall, and then careened back toward the shack. She yanked on the steering wheel again and forced it all the way to the right. The Jeep jumped the curb and jammed its grill into a stop sign.
Shots pinged off the sides of the Jeep. Stan pulled Stormy’s head down and covered her with his upper body. Another explosion went off. The Jeep lit up in a yellow glow for a few seconds just before the boom. The blast was close enough that smoke crept over them. Gunfire was much louder in open air. Stormy tried to see, but Stan pressed her down harder. Searing pain engulfed her entire neck. She cursed him and tried to push him off her.
Stan let up, but only a little. “Why the hell are they shooting at us?”
“My guess is they think we’re infected. If you would get off me, I might actually know.” Bullets zipped by. Stormy shook with each pass. “We’ve got to get out of here.”
Stan’s head rose up, and then darted back down followed by a rain of gunfire. “Stormy listen. Crawl down into the floorboard so we can switch seats.”
“Why the hell would I let you drive?”
He held his hand in front of her face. It was covered in blood. “Your neck’s bleeding bad. I can get us out of her while you dress you wound.”
Convinced, and a little queasy, she dropped out of her seat and onto the floorboard. From there, a corner of the window was visible. She saw no gunmen on the street, just bodies, crashed vehicles, and trails of smoke. Fires burned out of control. Bodies wriggled underneath others. Bullets sank into those who stumbled and those who sprinted. The gunmen didn’t discriminate. Once hit, they all flew backward. With wicked speed, most of them got back up.
Stan spread out flat on the seats. His hair was matted with blood and his face was filthy. He sighed deeply into the seat and then lifted his head to examine her positioning.
He pointed at the passenger floorboard. “Now crawl over to this side. Keep your head down.”
The window caught movement behind Stan. He read Stormy’s expression, but didn’t have enough time to react. A hand smacked against the window and smeared blood across it. It turned into an angry fist and banged away.
Stan scrambled onto his back. He pulled the ax out of the floorboard and held it across his body. The hand jiggled the handle, and then the whole body ducked down as gunfire lit up the vehicle. Stan leaned overtop Stormy to shield her.
“Fucking open up if you’re still alive in there,” the voice said.
“Go die somewhere else,” Stan said.
“Josh?” Stormy’s eyes widened.
“Stormy, is that you? Open up. Ian’s hurt.”
She squirmed under Stan. Her fingers searched the door panel for the unlock button. “Unlock the door. He’s my friend.”
“Getting shot at out
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