Roy stared out the back seat window as we drove back to Hargrove. The airport shuttle van that was supposed to be at the apartment was gone, so we were coming back completely empty handed, but with a heavier heart. If we had just gotten here a day ago, we could have possibly prevented this. Or as John had said, been caught in the middle of it.

He also said that the recon would have to wait since Roy's exchange no doubt put the mercenaries on edge. They'd be expecting an assault so we should lay low for a couple of days, then try to canvas the nearby Gretna area. Since Tim's radio was a close range one, the mercenaries broadcasting equipment had to be within a few miles of where we had the exchange.

Suddenly the sound of squealing tires reached my ears.

"Holy shit!" Roy screamed from the back seat.

I whipped around to see what was happening just as a bullet flew through the back windshield and embedded itself in the center console, less than half a foot from my face. I slunk back into my seat, the fact that I just about had my head blown off rendering me into shock.

"Bailey!" John yelled.

I looked up at him and he let out a huge breath, his face relaxing. He didn't have much time to relax as more bullets were put through the back windshield. He veered off to the side, but we were trapped on the interstate, no turnoffs within sight.

"Roy, you okay?" I yelled into the back.

"Yeah," he croaked.

I looked out the side mirror to see a giant black SUV barreling towards us, a man with a handgun leaning out the passenger window.

"Everyone keep your heads down!" John yelled. "Roy, pass that assault rifle up here."

Gingerly, so that he didn't lift any body part within shooting range, Roy handed us the assault rifle. I grabbed the barrel and pulled it into my lap. More gunfire hit the car, the sound of metal on metal pinged in the back end of the car.

John drove in a serpentine manor all over the highway.

"Go faster!" Roy yelled.

"We go any faster and they shoot out our tires, we'll roll and be squished to death," John shot back. "But I got an idea. Hold on."

I barely had time to grab the seat belt and assault rifle before John turned the car 180 degrees around so that we were now facing the SUV head on.

"What the hell?!" Roy screamed from the backseat.

Instead of answering, John floored it as if we were playing a high-stakes game of chicken. The SUV was forced to stop, their tires squealing and the back end sliding out. The guy who was shooting from the passenger seat was thrown forward from the window landing with a splat on the pavement. He didn't get up.

"Bailey, now!" John commanded.

I unrolled the window and pointed the muzzle of the assault rifle towards the side of the SUV. As we passed by, everything seemed to be in slow motion. The guy at the wheel was fumbling with something, but I hit the trigger before he could finish. A spurt of bullets sailed through SUV's passenger side window, hitting the driver and shattering his window behind him. His body jerked with each hit until I let go of the trigger.

I heard John's voice through the ringing in my ears. "The back seat!"

The SUV's back seat window had started to roll down. I twisted the rifle so that it was facing the back and let the rest of the bullets fly. The rifle clicked empty as the muzzle smoked like a lit cigarette.

I let out a shaky breath, not daring to move. All the SUV windows had been smashed in, holes adorning the paint. No one was moving inside now, but to be on the safe side, John drove a few meters away before stopping.

He looked straight out the front windshield which had a couple of bullets holes in the center. "Anyone hit?"

"No," both Roy and I said at the same time.

John swallowed and turned to me. "You did good."

I nodded dumbly, my brain still working out what had just happened. John took the empty rifle from me and reached into the back for his bag. He popped out and reloaded the magazine, before cracking his car door open.

"I'm gonna make sure there ain't no one left to come after us. You two stay here," he commanded.

When I didn't say anything, John took off back towards the SUV on foot. I twisted to watch him approach the vehicle with caution. He was crouched low, moving fast towards the back window. He peered up and then went around to the side, his assault rifle lifted and ready. There was no gunfire, so they must have all been dead or injured.

John slipped around to the driver's side, out of our sight line. I would have gone with him except it felt like I had lost the use of my legs. I was shaking from the mix of adrenaline and fear. Drive by shootings were not a common thing where I was from. Roy seemed to be just as shaken up as I was. He was staring blankly out the fractured back windshield.

Neither of us said a word as we waited for John to return. He hustled back into our view carrying an arm full of items. He dropped them with a thud on the roof and leaned into the driver's side.

"Three dead includin' the one on the road," John said very military-like.

I finally hit that serial killer badge I was working towards. If this was the old world, I'd be hunted by the police. I couldn't even muster to urge to laugh inappropriately; I just remained a slump in the seat.

"Found this 'round the driver's neck." John held up a necklace, the pendant hanging at the bottom a familiar sight. It was the mercenaries' symbol. "They must've decided to come lookin' for us after our little conversation. I knew they must be nearby."

"How had they been that close to the apartment all along?" Roy asked from the back seat.

"Dunno, but we need to get off the main road in case they send more." John tossed his finds into the back seat, a few more guns among them, and got back in.

We drove in silence until the engine began to tick then proceeded to make a loud clunking sound.

"Come on, don't do this," John spoke to the car.

We had just made it to the bridge when the car gave one last sputter, like the last gasp of a dying man, and came to a rolling stop.

"Shit."

John got out and I tried to follow. I felt like a newborn learning to walk for my first few steps. The adrenaline had dissipated, leaving behind stiff limbs. We finally got a good look at how much damage the car had taken, the body was littered with bullet holes. It was a miracle that none of us had been hit.

I could feel latent panic wriggling at the back of my brain. We had just about been killed, that fact slowing sinking in as my mind digested the situation. I had stopped myself from freaking out when it happened and now my body needed to release it. But now wasn't the time either. Stupid Roy just had to antagonize them, drawing the mercenaries into action. If he hadn't done that, they probably never would have come after us. I found I was glaring at Roy.

Oblivious, Roy leaned down. "They punctured the gas tank. Must have been a slow leak."

"Yeah, I figured when I noticed the gas meter was goin' down faster than before."

"You couldn't have said anything?" I asked.

"There was no need to frighten you guys more, plus I was hopin' that it would at least get us back to Hargrove," John said as he took off his hat and rubbed his head. It looked like he must have gotten a haircut recently.

"How are we supposed to get back?"

"I was thinkin' 'bout what Roy said earlier 'bout hittin' up a car lot. I'm sure we passed one just before the bridge on our way out," John said.

I looked across the bridge we had cleared earlier. There were no new additions, but the city was crawling with infected. I didn't like our odds on foot.

"How close would you say that car lot was?" Roy asked.

"I'm hopin' that it takes us an hour max to get there on foot," John said.

We gathered only the weapons we needed; we'd come back for the rest once we had a ride. I stuffed my Beretta into my waistband and gathered my axe. Together we started across the bridge again and stuck to the side of the road. The sun was baring down and I was starting to feel it without the AC blasting away.

The broken colored banner of flags waved in the sparse wind, signaling that we had finally reached the used car lot after forty-five minutes of walking briskly. We had only run into a few infected that we easily dispatched. A pool of black plastic lay on the front lawn in front of the tiny office. I assumed it must have been one of those tacky blowup mascots that car dealerships used.

"Keep an eye out," John said as we entered the lot.

Dusty vehicles were neatly parked in all the spaces.

"I like this one." I pointed to a new model of an Audi coupe.

"Don't matter. We take whatever one we can find the keys for," John said.

Way to take the fun out of car shopping. We reached the front door, but it was locked. John raised his assault rifle and shot the glass. Once inside, we stalked from cubicle to cubicle looking for infected.

"No one's here," I said.

"Start lookin' through desk drawers for keys. Dealerships usually have tags with the vehicle description on 'em for easy identification," John said.

We got to work rummaging through peoples desks. I was hoping to find the keys to that white Audi outside.

"Got something!" Roy yelled over the top of the cubicles.

We walked over to him and he hit the unlock button. The chirp of a vehicle sounded from the parking lot.

"Please be the Audi," I muttered.

Once outside, we followed the sound to the oldest car on the lot. It was an old Honda Civic. I laughed out loud.

"What's so funny?" John raised a brow.

"I have a Civic just like this at home, except mine is in much worse shape," I said. "Of all the vehicles we could take, it has to be the dumpy one like mine." I have the worst luck.

"Tough," John said as he tried the key. But the Honda engine didn't take on the first two tries.

"Pop the hood," Roy said.

Once the hood was up, Roy got to work fixing it. John sat in the driver's seat turning the key in the ignition when Roy instructed him to. Sensing this would take a couple of minutes, I wandered back over to my dream car; the white Audi. I wish I could have afforded it back then, and now, ironically, when it's free for the taking, I couldn't have it anyways. I peered in the side window taking in the white trimmed leather seats and console, practically drooling.

The glint of the sun on the window was briefly blocked and I swung around to face an infected that had managed to sneak up on me. Using the axe, I shoved it away from me. It fell back and landed hard on the next vehicle, the shrill alarm deciding to go off.

"Shit," I hissed. I pulled out the Beretta and shot the slumped infected.

"Bailey!" John's voice boomed over the siren.

I ran to them, the Civic engine having finally turned over.

"You just had to set off the alarm didn't you?" Roy shook his head.

"Hey, it caught me off guard," I defended myself.

"We gotta leave, now." John shut the driver's door and we got in.

Even the interior looked like my old car, except for the lack of coffee stains.

"How much gas in the tank?" Roy asked.

"Enough to get us back to the Mazda and home," John said as he peeled out of the parking lot.