The highway stretched endlessly into the night, its edges swallowed by shadows. Maya gripped the steering wheel tightly, her knuckles white under the dim interior light of the van. Beside her, Ethan adjusted the strap of his rifle nervously. The world had gone silent in the most unnatural way, save for the occasional distant scream or the ominous hum of emergency sirens.
“Do you think it’s safer this way?” Ethan asked, breaking the uneasy quiet.
“Safer than staying in the city,” Maya replied. Her voice was tense, her gaze fixed on the road. “Hospitals are overflowing. You saw what happened at the last checkpoint. If we don’t keep moving—”
Bang!
Maya’s sentence was cut off by the sound of a gunshot. Ethan cursed under his breath. “What the hell was that?”
“I don't know!” Maya shot back. Her hands shook slightly as she reached for the revolver on the dashboard. “I think I just shot something. Or someone.”
Ethan looked at her sharply. “Was it infected?”
“How am I supposed to know?” Maya snapped, tossing the gun into a bag at her feet. “Never mind it. Just—just keep your eyes on the road.”
Moments later, the wail of a siren pierced the stillness. Maya froze.
“Cops” she whispered, her foot easing off the gas pedal.
Ethan tensed beside her. “They’ll stop us if they see the gun. Act normal.”
The siren grew louder. A vehicle with flashing lights approached rapidly from behind. The siblings exchanged a panicked glance, their hearts pounding. But as the vehicle passed, they realized it wasn’t the police.
“It’s an ambulance,” Ethan said, watching it disappear into the distance.
Maya let out a shaky sigh of relief. “No cops. Thank god.”
Their relief was short-lived. As they continued driving, Ethan leaned toward the window, scanning the vehicles they overtook. Car after car carried people slumped in the back seats, their faces pale and sweaty, some coughing violently. Families in hijabs, children bundled in blankets, elderly men clutching oxygen masks—all of them packed into vehicles headed somewhere, anywhere, searching for help.
“This isn’t just the city,” Ethan murmured, his voice barely audible. “It’s... everywhere.”
The highway stretched endlessly ahead until the van slowed at a growing bottleneck. A line of cars was stopped by a hastily constructed barrier, floodlights illuminating the roadblock. Soldiers in hazmat suits waved drivers to a halt, their rifles slung casually over their shoulders.
“What now?” Maya whispered, parking the van behind a dusty sedan.
“I don’t know,” Ethan replied, gripping the rifle in his lap.
They stepped out into the cool night air, the weight of their uncertainty pressing down on them. Around them, others exited their vehicles, their faces etched with fear and exhaustion. No one seemed to know what was going on.
“Is this the end of the road?” Maya asked, her voice trembling as she stared at the barrier.
Ethan didn’t answer. Instead, he scanned the crowd, searching for a clue, an answer, or even just a glimmer of hope. But all he saw were people, just like them, trapped in the same nightmare.
And beyond the barrier, the unknown waited.
-Kime(Jae)
