Chapter 2: Reward — Hive Dungeon
By the time Wu Fan came to his senses, Maddie had already pinned a black man to the ground with her knee.
The man wore a designer hoodie, three gold chains hanging from his neck. Both hands clutched a bulging backpack tightly against his chest.
He struggled desperately and shouted, "You can't do this! The people up ahead have gone crazy! They bite anyone they catch! I saw it with my own eyes—they tore off a chunk of flesh and started chewing it right there!"
"WTF?"
Wu Fan froze.
That sounded exactly like walker behavior.
"Cuff him first!"
Maddie barked.
Wu Fan quickly pulled out his handcuffs. With a sharp click, he secured the man's wrists behind his back.
Only then did he notice the chaos surrounding them.
The entire street was in complete disarray.
People fled in every direction like startled antelope.
A car had crashed into a utility pole by the roadside. Flames licked from beneath the hood, igniting snapped power lines and filling the air with crackling sparks.
Yet no one stopped to put out the fire.
Everyone was focused solely on saving themselves.
In the distance, gunshots rang out one after another, as dense as fireworks on Independence Day.
Above them, three Black Hawk helicopters thundered across the sky. Through the open cabin doors, heavily armed soldiers could be seen sitting inside.
On the ground, a convoy of black armored vehicles sped through the intersection, the word "SWAT" emblazoned across their sides.
Maddie shoved the man into the back seat of the patrol car.
"Come on. You people always take advantage of any opportunity to loot. Stealing that much is enough to get you five years behind bars. Relax. Nobody's eating human flesh like you said. At worst, prison will be rough on your backside. You'll survive."
"Do you people even know what you're talking about?"
The handcuffed man continued struggling.
"That's not something you can just survive! Damn it, you women don't understand—"
He never finished his sentence.
A massive refrigerated truck suddenly burst from a side street like a runaway beast.
White smoke billowed from its tires as it skidded across the pavement.
But it couldn't stop.
"Damn it! Watch out!"
Wu Fan shouted.
Maddie turned her head, her pupils instantly dilating.
BOOM!
The collision shook the street.
The front of the refrigerated truck slammed directly into the parked police car. The tremendous impact flipped the cruiser like a toy before hurling it into a brick wall.
Bricks exploded outward.
Dust filled the air.
"Maddie!"
Wu Fan crawled to his feet, coughing as he waved away the dust cloud.
Then he saw her.
Her lower body was trapped beneath the overturned police car.
Blood and dust covered her face. Broken bricks and shattered glass surrounded her.
Both legs were pinned beneath the vehicle.
She couldn't move.
"Ahhh!"
Maddie's scream pierced the air.
It barely sounded human.
"Hey! Maddie! Stay with me!"
Wu Fan rushed over and knelt beside her.
"I'm getting you out!"
He examined the overturned vehicle.
A Crown Victoria patrol car.
Nearly two tons of steel.
The car rested squarely across Maddie's thighs.
Trying to lift it carelessly could cause catastrophic secondary injuries. If crushed bones shifted, the damage could become irreversible.
Under normal circumstances, they'd need a crane or at least a hydraulic jack.
Wu Fan grabbed the radio attached to his belt.
"Dispatch! Dispatch! This is Patrol Unit 714! Officer trapped and requesting immediate assistance! Repeat, officer trapped and requesting immediate assistance! We need a crane or a jack!"
Static crackled through the speaker.
A moment later, the exhausted voice of a dispatcher came through.
"Patrol Unit 714... I'm sorry. The fire department is non-operational. Repeat, the fire department is non-operational. The 911 system has collapsed. Advise finding shelter and ensuring your own survival."
Wu Fan stared at the radio.
Then he unleashed the foulest curse he had ever spoken.
No crane.
No rescue.
Nothing.