SurvivorZ: Grave Harbor

6

DREW

Drew led the convoy in his Durango, sticking to the turnpike on their return trip south into Massachusetts. The closest thing to traffic they encountered on the deserted stretch of highway was an abandoned car in the ditch outside Merrimack.

In the passenger seat next to him, Maureen silently watched the highway open up through the windshield. She hardly spoke two words since leaving Manchester. He had to keep checking to make certain she was keeping an eye out and not sleeping with her eyes open. The lack of traffic and the never-ending blur of concrete, road signs, and trees was almost hypnotic.

It seemed as though their journey would be uneventful all the way to Hanscom Air Force Base. Then they reached Lowell, Massachusetts, and everyone's boredom abruptly ended.

Their first hint that the scenery was about to change was the plume of dark smoke rising in the sky. With five hospitals and over a dozen cemeteries in the area, Lowell had become the northern front hosting the battle between armed forces and the legions of the dead.

"Looks like we missed a hell of a battle," Drew commented, nodding his head at the fires raging beyond the tree line. Judging by the smoke issuing from the city, there wasn't enough left of downtown Lowell to fit in his SUV's ashtray.

"I'd say we're still in time," Maureen replied. "Look."

He followed her gaze to the shoulder of the road. The slope of the ditch and the guardrail prevented nearly two dozen zombies from wandering out in front of them. The dead hissed and clawed the air after the escaping convoy.

The rumble of distant thunder reached their ears. There probably wasn't a soul present, including the kids, who believed the noise was natural in origin. Everyone looked out their windows, searching for the source.

A pair of comets streaked across the highway in front of them. The scream of the fighter jets and the explosions pounding the earth in their wake startled Drew so badly that he nearly swerved off the road. Fortunately, the empty multilane highway was forgiving of his blunder.

"Fuck," he gasped. He glanced over at Maureen, remembering the children seated behind them. "Sorry."

She wasn't paying any attention. The devastation outside her window kept her transfixed. Beth El Cemetery was off to their right, nestled against a sleepy neighborhood. Two massive columns of fire laid waste to the once tranquil landscape. Smoke billowed towards them from the valley. Through the haze and bare trees, Drew saw a number of homes burning like lit matchsticks.

Smoking figures roamed through the blaze. The walking dead carried the flames into the high grass and trees. They would succumb to the fire eventually, but not before transforming the surrounding countryside into an inferno.

"God," she breathed.

"Everything's burning," Emily noted through her window. "Those people..."

"Don't look, honey."

"It's a good thing we came through here when we did," Charlie said.

Drew regarded him in the mirror. "Why's that?"

"The wind's blowing towards the highway," he replied. "Between that and those human torches walking around, I expect in an hour or two, this whole area will be consumed by wildfire."

"That looked like napalm they were using," Drew stated.

"Probably was," Charlie concurred. "How bad is it if scorched earth is the only option remaining?"

"What about the people who live here?" Lee asked. "There must still be survivors."

"I'm sure the army got them out long before this," Maureen replied.