Chapter 211 Attacked By the Infected

Chapter 211: Chapter 211 Attacked By the Infected

She wasn’t lying. Every time she closed her eyes, Tina’s face appeared in her mind.

Not the blood-covered face from her nightmare, but the Tina she knew, the little girl who always smiled at her, and defended even when no one did. The child who would quietly hold her hand whenever she pretended not to be scared.

The more Laurel tried to push the image away, the clearer it became, and her fingers slowly tightened around the rifle resting across her knees as if holding onto it could calm the uneasy feeling pressing against her chest.

Gabriel noticed the movement. His gaze lowered briefly to her hand before returning to her face, but he did not mention Tina’s name. He

had followed Laurel long enough to know when words would help and when they would only make the silence heavier, so he simply shifted slightly closer to the truck wall and watched the road ahead through the narrow opening near the front.

The truck sped along the ruined highway, its headlights cutting through abandoned cars, broken street signs, and long stretches of empty road where weeds had already forced their way through the cracked road.

Behind them, the rest of the convoy followed closely, their engines growling through the night while the soldiers inside remained alert despite the exhaustion weighing over them.

No one had the strength for unnecessary words anymore. The only sounds inside the truck were the rattling of weapons against the metal walls, the rough breathing of injured men trying not to groan, and the occasional crackle of the radio that never lasted long enough to become a clear message.

Suddenly, the driver’s shoulders stiffened. His hands tightened around the steering wheel, and the truck slowed just enough for every soldier inside to feel the shift beneath their feet.

"There are movements ahead," he said sharply.

The silence inside the truck broke at once. Soldiers straightened their back, lifting their rifles, and those sitting closest to the firing panels pushed themselves up despite their injuries.

Gabriel leaned forward, his hand already reaching for his gun. "How many?"

The driver did not answer immediately. His eyes narrowed at the road ahead as the headlights stretched farther into the dark, sliding over damaged vehicles scattered across the highway.

At first, there was nothing but wreckage. An overturned bus lay across part of the road, its broken windows reflecting the light, while abandoned cars sat crookedly around it like they had been left in the middle of fleeing.

Then a figure moved behind the bus.

A pale hand curled over the edge of the metal frame before a figure dragged itself out, one twisted leg scraping against the ground as it lifted its head toward the headlights. For a brief moment, it stayed still, its cloudy red eyes fixed on the truck as if the light had woken it from a deep slumber.

Then another figure stepped out from between two cars...Then another.

The road ahead covered as bodies emerged from every gap between the wrecked vehicles and ruined shops along the roadside. Their pale limbs jerked unnaturally as they turned toward the convoy, and within seconds the quiet highway was no longer empty.

"Infected," one of the soldiers muttered, his voice laced with fear.

The first infected opened its mouth and rushed forward.

"Fire!" Gabriel shouted. "They’re coming for the windows!"

The soldiers moved instantly, shoving the narrow firing panels open while the driver pressed harder on the accelerator instead of slowing down. The first infected slammed against the front of the truck with a heavy thud, its body folding beneath the bumper before disappearing under the tires. The vehicle lurched over it, and something cracked beneath the wheels, but the driver did not stop.

More infected rushed from both sides.

Their hands slapped against the metal as they threw themselves at the convoy, the spike around the bumper pierced through them, but some were able to climb the injured ones. Their nails screeched along the doors while the trucks forced their way through the road.

One slammed into Laurel’s side of the vehicle, its face striking the panel beside the window hard enough for black blood to smear across the glass before the motion of the truck dragged it away.

Gunfire exploded inside the vehicle.

Laurel lifted her rifle and aimed through the cracked firing panel, her vision still swimming faintly from the dizziness, but her hands remained steady. She fired once, and the infected climbing over the hood jerked backward before rolling off the side.

Another leapt toward Gabriel’s window with its mouth stretched wide, black blood dripping from its teeth, but Gabriel fired twice before it could smash through the opening.

"Don’t let them climb up!" he shouted.

One infected caught the side rail and dragged itself onto the moving truck, its nails scraping against the metal as it pulled its body upward toward the roof.

A soldier near the back turned too quickly, his injured arm slowing him down, and the infected’s hand shot through the firing panel before he could close it. Its fingers clamped around his sleeve and yanked hard enough to pull his shoulder against the wall.

"Get it off me!" he yelled.

Laurel swung her rifle toward it and fired before the creature could drag him any closer. The bullet punched through its eye, and its grip loosened just enough for Gabriel to kick the arm away from the opening. The body dropped onto the road, bounced once beneath the truck’s side, and vanished under the wheels of the second vehicle behind them.

The convoy forced its way deeper into the swarm.

More infected burst out from between the abandoned vehicles, some fast enough to keep pace with the convoy for several strides before throwing themselves at the trucks.

One struck the side of Laurel’s vehicle shoulder first, rolled across the asphalt, then sprang back onto its feet with a sharp, unnatural twist of its body. It didn’t even seem to notice the bones jutting awkwardly beneath its torn skin. The moment it found its balance, it lunged after the truck again, clawing at the rear door before losing its footing beneath the spinning tires.