I Have a Modern Weapon Gacha System in the Zombie Apocalypse-Chapter 8: Encounter in the Skyway
Adrian kept the throttle steady as Skyway stretched ahead of him. The elevated road cut across the city like a scar. Below, he could see roofs, smoke columns, and empty intersections. Up here, the air felt different. Open. Wind pushed against his chest and helmetless head.
He didn’t slow unless he had to.
Cars were scattered across the lanes. Some were parked straight, as if the drivers had simply stopped and stepped out. Others were angled, doors open, belongings spilled onto the asphalt.
A suitcase lay burst open in the middle lane, clothes fluttering in the wind.
He swerved around it.
A few infected wandered along the shoulder. They turned at the sound of his engine but never got close. The elevation worked in his favor. Fewer access points meant fewer of them.
For a moment, it almost felt like he had broken through.
Then he saw brake lights ahead.
Not blinking hazard lights.
Solid red.
His eyes narrowed.
He eased off the throttle.
Three cars sat in a cluster across two lanes. One sedan faced sideways. Another had its trunk open. The third car, a silver SUV, rocked slightly.
Movement inside.
Adrian slowed to a crawl and coasted behind an abandoned van twenty meters away. He cut the engine and let silence fall.
He listened.
No groans close by.
Then he heard it.
A sharp, thin cry.
A baby.
His chest tightened.
He peeked around the van.
The silver SUV shook again. The rear window was fogged from the inside. A small hand smacked weakly against the glass.
A man inside the driver’s seat pounded on the steering wheel. He looked up and spotted Adrian.
Their eyes locked.
The man’s mouth moved.
Help.
Adrian scanned the surrounding lanes.
Ten meters to the right, two infected were moving between cars. Farther back, near the curve of the highway, three more staggered along the center divider.
Not too many.
Yet.
He slung the shotgun forward and kicked the engine back to life.
The infected snapped toward the sound.
He accelerated straight at the cluster of cars.
The two closest zombies turned fully and began stumbling toward him.
He braked just enough to steady the bike.
Boom.
The first one dropped onto the hood of a sedan.
Boom.
The second collapsed face-first onto the pavement.
He didn’t wait to confirm kills. He gunned the engine and stopped beside the SUV.
The man inside rolled the window down halfway.
"Please!" he shouted. "They’re everywhere! We can’t get out!"
In the back seat, a woman held a baby tight against her chest. A little girl, maybe six or seven, sat beside her, crying silently, hands clamped over her ears.
Adrian scanned again.
The gunshots would pull more.
"How many inside?" Adrian asked.
"Four! Just us!"
"Is the car dead?"
"Yes! It won’t start! They blocked us in!"
Adrian looked at the cars boxing them in. The sideways sedan blocked the front. A hatchback blocked the rear.
He could clear one side, but it would take time.
And noise.
He heard new groans now.
From the curve behind.
Five.
No, more.
He made a decision.
"Stay inside. Lock the doors," he said.
"They’re already locked!"
"Keep them locked."
He twisted around on the bike and accelerated toward the curve.
The infected there had started moving faster, drawn by the earlier shots. Eight of them now, spreading across the lanes.
He braked hard and planted his boots on the asphalt.
Boom.
One head snapped back.
Boom.
Another folded.
He adjusted his stance, letting the recoil drive into his shoulder.
Boom.
Boom.
Shells clattered onto the highway.
Two more dropped.
The remaining infected hesitated, tripping over bodies.
He moved forward and fired again.
Boom.
The last one fell near the guardrail.
Silence returned, broken only by the baby’s cries echoing faintly behind him.
He turned back toward the SUV.
More movement now.
From between distant cars.
They were coming from both directions.
Not a horde.
But enough.
He rode back to the trapped family.
"We have to move now!" he shouted.
"How?!" the man yelled back.
Adrian pointed to the sideways sedan blocking the front.
"I’ll clear a path. When I signal, you push the car to neutral and roll it aside."
The man nodded fast.
Adrian pulled the bike alongside the sedan and fired at the infected approaching from the left.
Boom.
Boom.
He reloaded quickly, hands moving on reflex.
The little girl in the SUV was watching him through the window, eyes wide.
He revved the engine and rammed the front tire against the sedan’s bumper, using the bike’s weight to shift it slightly.
Not enough.
He jumped off, leaving the engine running, and grabbed the sedan’s door frame. He heaved.
The car moved an inch.
Inside the SUV, the father threw his door open and ran to help.
"Push!" Adrian barked.
They shoved together.
The sedan rolled just enough to create a narrow gap.
"That’s it!" Adrian said.
"In the car!" the father shouted to his wife.
The woman scrambled from the back seat, baby in arms, and climbed into the front.
The little girl followed.
The father dove into the driver’s seat and slammed the door.
The engine whined uselessly.
"It won’t start!" he yelled.
Adrian cursed under his breath.
More infected were emerging now, drawn by the noise.
He ran back to his motorcycle.
"Out!" he shouted. "Leave it!"
The father hesitated.
"You can take any other vehicles outside! There, take that Fortuner!" Adrian pointed past the SUV. A black Fortuner sat two cars away, nose pressed into a guardrail. The driver door was closed. The windows were intact.
The father looked where Adrian pointed. Then he looked back at his wife and kids.
"Go," Adrian said. "Now."
A low groan rolled across the lanes. It was closer.
The mother climbed out first with the baby. She moved slow, careful, like any sudden step would trip her. The little girl followed, hands still over her ears. The father jumped out last and slammed the SUV door shut out of habit.
Adrian kept the shotgun up and scanned.
Three infected were already moving between cars on the far side. Another two staggered into view from the curve. They weren’t running, but they were coming straight in.
"Stay behind the SUV," Adrian said. "Use it as cover."
The father pulled his family close to the side of the vehicle. He kept one hand on the little girl’s shoulder and the other on the baby’s back, trying to keep them from drifting.
Adrian jogged toward the Fortuner.
He checked the driver-side window as he moved. No movement inside. No face pressed against the glass. The interior looked empty except for a bag on the passenger seat.
He grabbed the handle.
Locked.
"Shit."
He stepped back and scanned the ground. A shattered bottle lay near the guardrail. He picked up the jagged base and wrapped it with his sleeve.
He jammed it into the top edge of the window.
Glass cracked with a sharp snap.
The sound cut across the highway.
The nearest infected jerked their heads toward him.
Adrian hit the window again.
The glass spiderwebbed, then gave way. Shards dropped onto the seat.
He reached in and unlocked the door.
He yanked it open.
Inside was the keyless fob of the Fortuner. With this, they can be saved and he’d earn points.
