Mark tried to keep his breathing calm as he watched the mass of crows swarm over the campground. Next to him, Sean shakily whispered out. "Mark... What do we do?" Thinking quickly, he reached for the CB receiver and pressed the button to ask for himself. "Zero? What are these things? What do we do?" Mark removed his thumb from the button to listen as Zero answered nervously. "Don't panic. As long as we stay in the trucks, we'll be fine. Pull out nice and slow, they'll attack the trucks... but they can take it. When they can't get in, they'll give up." Mark pressed the button, anxiously retorting. "You don't sound too confident in that, Zero." Mark removed his thumb from the button and flinched as a crow landed on the hood to look directly at him. The crow had faded white eyes with a slight shade of grey for a pupil. Bits of its feathers were missing, and its black claws were coated in blood and flesh. On the CB, Zero told him honestly. "Look these crows don't go too far from their nest. If we can get out of here, they won't follow. So, let's get moving before they learn to attack the glass." Sean twisted in his seat, yelping out. "What?!"
Mark dropped the CB receiver and shifted the stick into drive. Pulling out slowly, the crow on the hood began to peck the metal with an aggression that would have seriously injured any normal bird. Sean gathered up the CB receiver by its spiraled cord, his voice creaking from the stress when he questioned him. "Zero?! What do you mean by them learning to attack the glass?!" In response, Mari answered for Zero in a cautious voice. "You ever seen a Windex ad? Well, picture that on a much greater scale. They'll ram themselves into the glass to shatter it to get to you. The faster we move the better. Crows are very smart, guys. I've seen them fly into jet engines to bring down planes. We need to get going before they pop the tires, or they wedge themselves into the grills to get to the engine." Sean locked the doors, causing Mark to chuckle as he pulled out onto the road and stepped on the gas pedal. Zero was right behind him, but the swarm was descending on them both. They slashed their talons across the trucks like it was an animal that they were trying to bring down.
A few slammed into the windshield but they weren't going fast enough to crack the glass... yet. Mark glanced into the rearview mirror to see a cluster of crows attacking the trailer with the horses. He was sure that Sean was thankful for the trailer not having windows now. Although, it did bring into question if Zero had known about these birds before this. Mark did his best to see the road as the birds attacked the hood and grill of the truck. Sean wedged himself into the backseat to comfort a whining Chica. Holding her close in the center of the backseat, he keep her away from the windows. Frustrated, Mark honked his horn, causing the crows on the hood to fly off. Flooring the pedal, Mark used the clearing to race down the dirt road. He hated this forest road. He couldn't see anything that might be lurking just off the road. Over the CB, Zero and Mari's voice became a swirl of frightened ramblings. Sean leaned between the seats, anxiously listening to the CB as he said. "What are they saying?" Mark checked the mirrors to see if they were still following behind them. They were... but the crows were rising into the air away from them.
Sean couldn't contact them because their finger was still on the button. Mark swallowed feeling antsy but focused entirely on the road. He hoped that they just cleared the crows nest area and that was why the birds left... but the panicked voices over the line had him thinking otherwise. Mark kept rapidly checking his mirrors for signs of something, while Sean peeked out the windows in the back. As Mari's panicked voice faded from the CB, they heard Zero clearly yell into it loudly. "Mark! FLOOR IT!" Mark checked the mirrors again confused, when Sean suddenly stated out in horror. "Oh, sweet Jesus! What the FUCK?!" Mark rolled his eyes, yelling out in frustration. "WHAT?!" Sean grabbed Chica, rushing to the other side of the truck as he screamed out. "MARK! ON YOUR LEFT!" Mark glanced out the window, his eyes going wide in just as much horror. There was a VERY large set of bones wading through the trees in hot pursuit of them. What made them frightening was that he was looking at the skeletal remains of a T-rex!
The head of the T-Rex leveled with the truck, giving Mark a clear view of a cluster of crows nestled in the empty eyes of the skull. The skeleton was alive, but the crows were guiding it. The T-rex slammed its nose into the side of the truck, denting the back door. Over the CB, Zero informed them in a panic. "They are using the Rex as their nest! The ribcage is filled with plants and meat!" Mark was barely listening as he switched gears and floored it. The T-rex slammed its head into the side of the truck, causing the truck to drift. Mark rapidly turned the wheel to counter the skid, then turned it to straighten it back out. He didn't know how, but he managed to counter it in time that they didn't lose the trailer or themselves in the process. The T-rex kept pace with them, trying to whack them off the road again with its nose. This time the hit impacted with the driver side window, causing it to shatter and ran shards over Mark. Sean screamed from the backseat, but Mark only flinched and kept his eyes forward.
Trying to pick up his speed again, Mark yelled back to Sean desperately. "Jack, help get this thing off our ass! I can't outrun it if it keeps hitting the truck!" Sean's voice broke from the stress as he yelped out. "What do you want me to do?! It's a fucking dinosaur! How is that even possible?!" Mark grunted as the Rex tried to bite the truck, but he jerked the wheel just in time to make it miss impaling its teeth into the hood. Mark could barely breathe as he yelled out. "Jack! Please! I can't keep this up! We could lose the trailer and flip over!" The T-rex lowered its head again by the back door, preparing to nudge the truck, when Sean rolled down the window and fired something with a solid 'Pop!' The T-rex didn't slow down, but the crows inside the skull began to scream in agony. The skull of the Rex lit up a bright red and the sounds of loud sizzling followed the screams of crows. Mark chuckled loudly. Sean had shot it in the eye with a flare gun. With the crows going chaotic in its skull, the T-rex wasn't being guided anymore and it crashed headfirst into an upcoming tree.
Mark cheered watching the Rex topple to its side limply. Crows burst from the skull and chest, fleeing to the trees to escape the fire starting in the Rex from all the nest vegetation. Over the CB, they heard Zero and Mari cheer for them. However, Mark was still too shaky at the wheel to be complete proud of the outcome. Sean scramble to get the receiver again, questioning for himself. "What the hell just happened back there? How is that thing even alive?!" Zero responded a bit starkly. "Do I look like a scientist? How the hell should I know. I'm just as shocked as you." Mark gestured for Sean to bring the receiver closer to him as he told them his thoughts. "The virus reanimates the dead, right? Don't we have an entire museum of intact dinosaurs? He looked awfully well persevered." Mari retorted coolly. "But I thought the virus had to be spread by things like a bite or bodily fluids. That dinosaur was literally just bones... How did it reanimate?" Sean pulled the CB back to say rather grimly. "I really hate to say this... But what if the virus targets carbon-based lifeforms? Maybe the virus just needs a host that lives or has lived to reanimate it?"
Mark exhaled in overwhelming fear at that idea. If that was true, then memorial graveyards were a place to avoid and cities built on the bones of the dead. Zero quickly broke his thoughts by asking curiously. "That still doesn't explain how the virus even got into the Rex... unless the virus is airborne now?" Mari quickly interjected, theorizing simply. "Maybe it had more to do with being exposed to zombies in the museum or the crows building a nest in them. The virus could have just rubbed off, right?" Sean answered her with a hopeful but scared. "Ya..." Mark slowed the truck down to save gas as they left the campground and got back onto the main road. As they traveled, Mark put all his attention into watching the road. While Sean laid across the backseat with Chica and chatted over the CB with Mari. For a time, it felt like a normal road trip. Mark cleared the glass off the door and rested his arm on it to get more comfortable. He even put on cruise control to give his foot a break.
He easily drove around abandoned or broken-down cars, keeping his eyes open for anything that moved. It was strangely peaceful in this empty new world. Every so often they'd see a mutant zombie on the side of the road. It would watch the trucks go by and some would try chasing them. It was mostly Hunter and Licker types. They made as few stops as possible to use the bathroom and refill the tanks. As the day faded into night, Mark glanced over to see Sean napping in the passenger seat. He was getting tired himself, but he couldn't stop. He wanted to get as far as he could and Zero agreed with him. Out of habit, he tried the truck radio. Nothing but static. Turning it off, he checked the armrest and smirked. CDs. Unable to mess with them, he tried pressing the CD player and smiled as soft music began to play. Keeping the volume low, he felt a bit better. It felt like ages since he heard music. Humming along to it softly, he marveled at how the world looked unfazed by this plague or virus.
It almost made him smile that even if this thing whipped out all the creatures... the planet would find a way to recover and live on. He began to wonder what the next life form would say about humans. Would they say they were creative? Destructive? Or would they simply say that they were complicated. Mark jerked from his absentminded thinking, when Sean's hand slid over his thigh. Looking at Sean briefly, he asked him sweetly. "You alright?" Sean nodded sleepily, groggily mumbling out. "Ya. Are you getting tired?" Mark took a deep breath of the cold night air, before answering coolly. "I'll be ok for a bit longer." Sean propped his feet up on the dashboard, mumbling out to him lovingly. "Please, don't push yourself. You get tired. Pull over." Mark reached out to ruffled Sean's bangs, promising him just as lovingly. "I will. I promise." Mark kept driving long into the night, when the cold night air started to bother him. It was keeping him awake, but he was also starting to shiver uncontrollably. Even Sean was huddling up in the passenger seat to try to keep warm.
Picking up the CB, he asked Zero curiously. "How are you holding up back there, Zero?" Zero came back, yawning as he said. "We're alright. But are you ready to stop yet? I only ask because I'm starting to zone out on your taillights." Mark chuckled a little, admitting honestly. "Ya. I think it's time to stop. We're freezing up here and I'm starting to doze off to the endless road line." Mark spotted a pull off for drivers that needed to rest and informed Zero that he was turning into it. It was like a miniature campsite. It had a large patch of grass between the main road and its little parallel parking zone spots. Pulling into a spot, he turned off the truck and climbed out to stretch. Zero climbed out and pulled Mari from the truck. She was passed out in his arms as Zero told him. "Let me put her down and I'll help you with that window." Mark nodded, walking around to pull Sean out of the truck. Sean was so cold that he was shivering in his arms. Taking him to the RV, he laid Sean down on the sofa and tucked him in with a thick blanket.
Following Zero back out, Zero casually told him. "You can sleep in the RV too." Mark shook his head, telling him nicely. "No thanks. Just take care of Chica and Sean. I'll sleep in the truck." Zero shrugged, telling him confidently. "Ok. But if you change your mind. It's an open offer." Mark helped Zero tape up the window with clear Saran wrap. Then Zero looked over the dents, chuckling out. "Well... I can try hammering them back out when we settle. Such a shame... It was brand new." They both shared a chuckle, before separating to turn in for the night. To Be Continued...