There was no time to grieve. We quickly cleaned up the mess, got everyone into the vehicles, and prepared to leave—this place was not safe to stay any longer!
As we drove out of the school, the outside world remained as empty and ghostly as when we had arrived.
"How did the zombies discover us last night? And where were they hiding before? This town is haunted!" My husband voiced the question lingering in my mind.
"Exactly! Zombies have no sense of organization; they roam aimlessly. It's impossible for them to have collective consciousness. When we arrived, there wasn't a single one, yet they launched a coordinated attack. What's going on?"
I felt like my head was about to explode from overthinking.
As the convoy gradually moved away from the town, these questions continued to swirl in our minds. What exactly was happening?
"There are two possibilities," Jianan concluded startlingly. "First, the zombies have evolved to a point where they've developed collective consciousness. Second, someone is deliberately sabotaging us."
In this chaotic world, the greatest enemy might not be the man-eating monsters but our own kind.
The journey continued in heavy silence...
The oppressive mood was unbearable. Thinking of those lively little faces from yesterday, my tears flowed uncontrollably. For the first time, I felt how insignificant and powerless humans truly were. All along, I had believed that through unity and intelligence, we had somehow controlled the situation. How ridiculous! Our survival so far was merely because we hadn't truly faced a powerful enemy!
Our previous smooth progress had made us underestimate the horror of zombies. The dilapidated walls of that small school, in retrospect, were far from sturdy enough!
But no matter how much we regretted it now, it was too late to change anything.
Sitting on the bus, I held Shuai Shuai tightly. Last night, I had almost lost him! The more I recalled it, the more terrified I became. This feeling tormented me, making sleep impossible.
Second Brother remained calm beside us, dozing with his eyes closed. For him, encountering enemies meant fighting; winning was winning, dying was dying—a straightforward process.
His unwavering dedication made me admire him even more. Once he decided to protect Shuai Shuai, he wouldn't flinch even if anyone died before him—including me. He was that single-minded!
Wang Jiaqi had been entrusted to an elderly woman who had lost her granddaughter. She held the little girl tightly, as if transferring all her love for her granddaughter onto her. People need something to live for! For many elders, the younger generation is their entire hope. They would rather die themselves than see their grandchildren come to harm.
Last night, several elders had rushed recklessly into danger when their grandchildren were bitten, sacrificing themselves in the process.
Should we distribute weapons to the elders? I began pondering this. But they were old and frail, and sharp blades might harm them before harming the enemy. Perhaps it was better to forget it...
"Duo'er, give your dad a knife. Not too long, and with a sheath." My father unexpectedly asked me for a knife. Since he stayed close to Shuai Shuai, a sheath was necessary to avoid accidentally hurting the child.
"Dad, you're older now. Let us protect you. Without a knife, you'd at least hide from zombies. With one, you might charge at them. No!" I firmly refused.
"Duo'er, just give me a knife! I know you'll protect us with your lives, but having a weapon gives me peace of mind. I promise I won't take risks unless it's absolutely necessary. I'll stay behind you and not act recklessly! Trust me, these are desperate times. Would I abandon your mother and Shuai Shuai to show off? It's just a precaution!" My father insisted. My stubbornness partly came from him.
Reluctantly, I selected a short knife with a sheath and handed it to him. He examined it, nodded, and fastened it to his waist.
What I had really been thinking was that if we younger ones couldn't protect them, they had the right to protect themselves!
Even as an elder, my father was still a man with strength left.
Just as I was about to teach him how to target zombie heads, Da Peng's urgent voice came through the walkie-talkie: "Stop the vehicles!"
The convoy screeched to a halt. What was wrong? What had happened?
Although the bus offered a higher vantage point, it was still hard to see clearly ahead because the massive snowplows blocked the view.
"Sis Duo, to the sunroof!" Second Brother sprang up and led me to the bus's sunroof. The driver understood and opened it.
Climbing onto the roof, I raised my binoculars for a clearer view.
The road was blocked by a pile of messy branches and large stones!
Normally, zombies weren't capable of such intelligence—unless they had evolved. We hadn't seen any special zombies along the way, so that possibility was unlikely. If it wasn't evolved zombies, then this was man-made!
They were trying to force us out of our vehicles! The snowplows couldn't handle hard impacts. After crushing countless zombies and long travels, the front gears were already badly worn. Crushing stones would destroy the machines!
"Everyone, high alert! This is a trap! Someone is targeting us!" I warned through the walkie-talkie.
"Sis Duo, what do we do? If we don't clear the road, we can't pass!" Da Peng's voice was anxious. As the vanguard, keeping the road clear was his responsibility.
"We have to clear it, but first, scout the surroundings. Where's the hidden danger? I want to see what these people are up to!" I scanned the area with my binoculars. The enemies had to be nearby!
"Growl..." Before we could gather our wits, the familiar roars echoed again—from all directions!
"Damn it! Zombies! We're surrounded!" Shouts of alarm came through the walkie-talkie. After last night's battle, everyone was still exhausted. This was disastrous!
"Lock the doors! Prepare to fight!" I put down my binoculars. Even without them, I could see the net-like horde emerging from the woods, closing in rapidly!
"Do zombies know how to set traps now? That's terrifying! It means they're smarter than we thought, harder to deal with!" A Ze's voice came from a Land Rover ahead of the bus.
"We don't know yet, but we can't underestimate them anymore!" My heart felt heavy, unsure how to break through.
In this situation, anyone stepping out would die, yet we couldn't charge through. Were we just waiting for death?
"Let me try, Sis Duo!" Da Peng urged, ready to risk the lead snowplow to clear the path.
"Will it work? Don't flip the vehicle! If you roll over, you're dead!" I feared the stones might overturn the snowplow. The ditch beside the road would trap them, and zombies would tear them apart.
"The snowplow is heavy enough; it won't flip easily. If it doesn't work, we'll stop. We have to try!" Da Peng watched as zombies climbed from the ditch, getting closer. He couldn't wait any longer.
"Be careful! Don't force it!" Under the circumstances, I had to agree. We needed to gamble!
The bus full of elders and children, already terrified from last night, was now engulfed in despair. Elders wept softly, and the remaining 18 children cried hysterically.
Even the usually brave Shuai Shuai wailed loudly this time. My son was scared!
Amid the chorus of crying children, I could still pinpoint my own son's cries. That's a mother's instinct.
Kneeling on the roof, my heart ached at my son's cries. I resisted the urge to go comfort him immediately—there was no time! We watched tensely as Da Peng's snowplow attempted to carve a path.
The zombie horde reached the convoy in no time—dozens of them! Seeing me half-exposed on the roof, they went wild, clawing frantically at the bus sides.
This wasn't the first time I envied people abroad who could legally own firearms. We only had cold weapons, requiring close combat! Though the zombies couldn't reach me on the roof, I was equally powerless against them from up here!
I looked away, avoiding their pale, dead eyes. They couldn't climb up, but I was more concerned about Da Peng's success.
The bulky snowplow drove over the branches and stones. The branches were manageable, but the large stones were the problem.
Screech! Screech! Creak! Even from a distance, I heard the grating sound of gears grinding against stones! The noise was unnerving!
Machinery was still just machinery, and stones were unyielding. Da Peng's snowplow began smoking!
I watched in near despair as the snowplow struggled and stalled...
Da Peng had failed. The machine was likely beyond repair.
"Sis Duo! The engine's burned out..." Da Peng's voice confirmed it.
At that moment, panic set in everywhere!
The zombies gave us no time to think, swarming the vehicles and surrounding us.