Chapter 19: No response
(Meghan)
Meghan's eyes widened. Sheer terror washed over her, raising the small hairs on the back of her neck. Fear became a tangible entity that engulfed her like a monstrous beast. She tried to scream but only a feeble squeak escaped her lips.
"It's the horde." Ray gasped, "They've made it out of the basement. But how? And why now? This doesn't make any sense…"
Meghan didn't know how to react. She thought they had managed to outsmart the horde with Ray's fire alarm trick. But now they were here! And for some reason there seemed to be even more of them than what she had seen in the basement.
None of it added up.
Ray suddenly grabbed the phone from Meghan's hands and unmuted the mic.
"Rody, your timer just got cut shorter. We're taking a U-turn and coming back right now. We'll meet up behind A Block. Once you reach all the way down, use the back exit to make it out of the building. I don't care what you have to do but there simply isn't any more time. A horde of Deathless is coming. If it catches up to us then we'll all end up dead. Hurry!"
Saying so he muted the mic again, tossed the phone back to her and shifted the gear into reverse.
Before he could get the car moving again, another vehicle shot passed them, barely avoiding a collision by a few inches.
"What in the…?" said a startled Ray.
"Oh my god! What are they doing? They're heading straight for the horde!" Meghan cried out.
Sure enough, the white Ford SUV seemed to be driving towards the oncoming group of Deathless without any signs of slowing down. Ray and Meghan could only sit and stare in bewilderment.
"No… They can't be—they can't be trying to plough through the Deathless, can they?" Ray asked in shock.
"What? But that's insane! There's no way they can get through that many of them even with a big car like that."
"But they aren't slowing down. Look they've almost reached the horde!" Ray said, pointing.
Ray and Meghan watched with bated breath as the SUV seemed to accelerate just before nearing the exit ramp.
Then, just as they had feared, the white Ford rammed into the frontline. A disgusting splatter of blood could be seen in the distance as the vehicle crushed several Deathless in its path. The white color of the vehicle was promptly coated with a deep hue of crimson. The SUV had lost its initial momentum but still seemed to be trudging along surprisingly well.
"No way… it's working! They're actually getting through." Ray blurted out.
"I don't believe it…" muttered Meghan, "That car must be incredibly powerful to go through them like that."
"I guess. But more importantly, it looks like their crazy idea is going to work."
No sooner had Ray said this that things went wrong. The SUV was suddenly bombarded by a group of Deathless seemingly working in unison. They rammed into the right side of the car at the same time and sent it swerving directly into the exit ramp wall. A loud and constant horn blared from the crashed Ford. Meghan figured that the person inside must have collapsed on the steering wheel as the sound persisted for a quite a while.
"Oh no…" Meghan gasped.
But things were only getting worse. The horde now turned their attention fully towards the vehicle in question. Like a shoal of piranhas, they closed in on their target, preventing any means of escape. One Deathless seemed to have broken the glass window of the passenger seat. It then stepped on top of the front wheel and hoisted itself inside the car.
Even among the existing commotion, Meghan could hear a fresh set of screams pierce the afternoon sky. A cold chill ran down her back. Her mouth went dry and she seemed to be gasping for air.
"Hey, Momo!" Ray called.
Meghan's senses were not with her. She didn't even hear him calling her name. Her body seemed to have become petrified with fear.
It was only when Ray shook her by the shoulder that she managed to snap out of her trance.
"Momo, you okay?" he asked softly.
"I'm—I'm… I don't know." She choked out.
"Let's get out of here. We don't need to see this anymore." Ray declared and immediately spun the car around. He slammed the gas pedal as the car shot forward.
"Why is this happening, Ray?" Meghan asked in a defeated tone as they raced back the way they had come.
"I wish I knew" he replied sadly.
"The horde…" Meghan began, "why are they coming up now? They were all being lured towards the fire alarm when we last saw them. What happened suddenly?"
"I don't know…" Ray said, "But it's horrible news for us. The exit ramp is no longer an option. There's too many of them to drive through. You saw what happened to that other car."
"Oh god!" Meghan exclaimed, "How are we going to reach the main gate then?"
"Well, the entry ramp is right next to A Block. Normally, that's only meant for vehicles to come up to the buildings but who gives a damn about rules in a situation like this. We should be able to use that to make it to the gate..."
Suddenly, they heard a disturbance coming from the phone.
It sounded like a distorted scream followed by the sound of some kind of struggle.
"Rody!" came a girl's voice from the other side of the phone. Meghan figured it was Samantha.
"What's going on?" Ray asked her.
"I don't know. It sounds like something happened to Rody and Samantha." Meghan said as she unmuted the mic.
"Guys!" Ray called out, "What's happening?"
No response.
Instead, all they could hear was more struggling and a horrifying snarl. Samantha screamed again, this time much louder.
"Samantha, move!" Rody called out.
A loud crash could be heard mere moments before the line went dead.
"RODY?" Ray shouted desperately.
No response.
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone