Next Gen by Baileigh Higgins

Author:Baileigh Higgins [Higgins, Baileigh]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Zombie Apocalypse
Publisher: Independent
Published: 2019-07-30T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter 12 - Julia

Julia lay on the backseat of the truck catching a well-deserved nap. They’d been driving all night since their last pitstop, taking turns at the wheel. Because they were so far behind schedule already, Alvarez had decided to do one big push to get them to Washington.

Despite her cramped position, she’d managed to catch about two hours of sleep by the time they reached the capital. She was awoken by Sanchez, who shook her shoulder and said, “We’re here.”

Julia opened her eyes and yawned. “Really? We made it?”

“We made it, but you’re gonna want to see this,” Sanchez replied with a grim note in her voice.

“Is it bad,” Julia asked, shifting to an upright position while rubbing her eyes. She was still half asleep, and her movements were sluggish.

“See for yourself,” Sanchez said.

Julia leaned forward between the gap in the front seats and stared at the scene before her. Alvarez hadn’t gone straight into the city. Instead, he’d driven around until he could find a good vantage point, topping out on a rise that offered a good view.

Julia gasped, one hand fluttering to her chest. “Is that Washington?”

“Yup. What’s left of it anyway,” Alvarez said.

Smoke rose above the city in a thick cloud, forming a charcoal blanket across the rooftops. In the early morning light, the orange glow of numerous fires were clear to the eye. One skyscraper, in particular, formed a pillar of flame that reached to the heavens while belching out more pollution.

“Is that a plane?” Julia asked, pointing to a strange structure that stuck out of the side of the burning skyscraper, its tail, and one wing visible through the smoke.

“Looks like it,” Alvarez said.

Julia looked from him to Sanchez. “What now? Do we go in?”

“What’s the point? There is nothing left,” Sanchez said.

“She’s right,” Alvarez agreed.

“But…what about the safe zone? We need to take back help…soldiers,” Julia protested, unwilling to admit what the others already knew. It was a futile endeavor.

“The mission is over. We’ve failed,” Alvarez said with a note of finality. The decision was made. “It’s just us now. We have to return and do what we can, even if it’s not enough to save everyone.”

“No! Can’t we take a closer look? Maybe there’s something left. Someone,” Julia insisted.

Without answering, Alvarez handed her his binoculars. “Look at the streets.”

Julia took the proffered binoculars and pressed them to her eyes. She instantly wished she hadn’t. The powerful lenses brought the destruction of the once magnificent city right up close until she felt like she could reach out and touch it.

The streets teamed with infected. She could tell it was zombies by the way they moved. Not a single living soul was in sight. Car wrecks, rubble, and bodies littered the streets. Storefronts were smashed, and glass fragments created a carpet of glittering diamonds in the pale light of morning. A cat ducked into an alleyway, chased by a knot of hungry infected. She hoped it got away.

Slowly, Julia lowered the binoculars, swallowing hard on the painful lump in her throat.

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