The group walks through the campsite parking area and to their tent and camper. Along the way, bodies in various conditions of injury are pulled away from them and their path as the mutated children smell the air around the family and give them a wide berth.

Tanya ushers her children into the camper and Robert follows, shivering with fear and uncertainty as he heads to the back cabinet to get the bigger guns and start loading them.

 

Chapter Four

Exodus

Springfield, Oregon

 

With no belongings in hand, Evelyn and Greg are rushed out of their house toward the waiting SUVs in their circular driveway. Their government saviors arrived in vehicles that look somewhat worse for wear. A crushed grill, shattered windshield, and smeared blood on the front of one of the vehicles makes the two hesitate and slow their approach. Staring at Agent Everett, Greg pulls his wife in close and turns his concerned expression to the men at his side.

“It’s a warzone out there, sir,” he states before Greg can utter his question at the scene. “It isn’t pretty, but we have to get you to the airport.”

The two climb into the backseat of the undamaged vehicle and watch as the first one speeds off ahead of them with their own cars tires spinning out before locking into the gravel to keep pace with the lead SUV.

The Cavanaughs haven’t gone through all of the required training protocols as some of the senior members of government have. Emergency evacuations of all government personnel during regional crises was a regularly practiced drill for the DHS. A crisis on a national scale such as this was theorized but never implemented in practice or pamphlet form. The hope was that individual offices would implement their own protocols to gather as many members of the government as possible and take them to their respective safe locations.

“This isn’t the quickest way to the airport” Greg offers as the vehicles turn west on Main Street.

“We tried coming down the freeway to get to you, sir, it’s not an option.”

“Is it that bad?”

“What did they tell you on the phone, sir?”

“Not a damn thing, they only…”

“Holy shit!”

A jolt slams everyone to the left side of the cab when the driver turns the wheel sharply to avoid hitting the lead vehicle.

A man has jumped onto the SUV in front of them and is pounding and scratching at the roof, trying to gain entry. As the vehicle they are in passes the swerving SUV in distress, flashes of light erupt from the gun barrels of the men inside pouring lead into the pale white attacker above them.

The expected outcome of the man falling dead and rolling off of the vehicle doesn’t occur. Instead, he hops to his feet in a crouch and makes an impossible jump to the low roof of the next building they pass.

“What the hell was that? How did that man jump that far?”

“That is what we are up against out here, and it wasn’t a man, that was a teenager.”

Even through the increasing stress and with the shock of seeing the attack, Evelyn is able to laugh at the ridiculous notion that the man attacking the other vehicle was anything other than a full-grown man.

“We asked about the location of your son for a reason, ma’am. What we have been told so far is that children are mutating rapidly into adults and attacking other people.”

“And you think my son is involved in this?”

The man in the passenger seat undoes his seatbelt and turns back to the pair and yells, “Listen, lady, maybe you should be thanking us for saving your ass instead of running home to protect our own families. I have a wife that’s out there with my son and daughter, and I’m stuck here trying to get you to safety. I don’t know if my kids have turned into one of those creatures like others have or not.”

Something crashes into the passenger side of their SUV, knocking the argumentative agent’s head into the door frame. His limp body slams into the driver and shattered glass from the side windows fly around the compartment. The impact pushes their vehicle sideways for a few seconds, and the SUV’s squealing tires skid across the street until they get enough purchase to begin moving beyond whatever has hit them.

The driver’s left hand is turning white with strain as he attempts to keep the vehicle in control while shoving his unconscious partner away from him. The vehicle rocks several times to each side, threatening to overturn before the driver is finally able to regain control.

Ultimately, his skill behind the wheel has them speeding away from the danger.

All of the passengers turn around to peer out the rear window as the giant creature that rammed into them continues its course and steps into the path of the second SUV, ending that groups attempted escape of the returned rooftop terror. The rear end of the crashed vehicle lifts from the ground slightly as the larger monster crushes the front end before its own injuries cause it to collapse to the pavement and roll away.

“What the hell is that?”

A second large hulking creature steps out from the same side road as the first one and heads toward the wrecked SUV.

The straight stretch of road they are on doesn’t save their senses from witnessing the assault and final stand of the men behind them. The giant creature rips the passenger door open and pulls out the man from inside, seeming impervious to the bullets that man and the others are firing at the new threat. His head disappears into the gaping mouth of the tremendous creature, and they watch as it is pulled cleanly off. A curve in the road ends their view of the horrific scene they are speeding away from, but the images are still burned into their minds.

The numbed passengers silently turn to face the oncoming road in this new devastated landscape.