Everything was too little too late. Shula growled as the mystery woman, Sinjin, fiddled with the dashboard. There was no point logging in as administrator when they were no longer connected to the charging point. They were stuck with 40% battery and that was it.

Qiyu hurtled down the road but the truck could not move fast enough to fling off the zombies that clung to the sides. A loud thump on the bonnet made Shula jump in her seat. A snarling zombie dressed in the firemen’s bright orange suit hung on the wipers as it clawed at the windscreen.

“Shula!” Joon Woo pulled himself to the front beside Sinjin. “There should be a way to override the safety mechanism and push the truck to full speed. It has to be in the admin panel.”

Shula’s eyes widened. Okay, so maybe there was a point to being an administrator. She lunged for the dashboard and scrolled through the dozen options. 

“Come on, come on,” she muttered. “It has to be somewhere here.”

The zombie on the bonnet inched forward and banged its head on the windshield. Qiyu yelped, yanking on the steering wheel to try and dislodge it. She yelled, “This thing is too slow! Do something!”

“Can’t you see I’m trying to fix that?!” Shula snapped.

“Try the Advanced Power options,” Joon Woo cut in as he pointed to the bottom of the screen.

Shula tapped on the button. Her eyes scoured the numerous settings. There!

Hell yes. Gritting her teeth, she slammed her finger on the green button. 

Another headbutt from the zombie. Shula swore she heard a soft crack from the windshield. Her heart leapt into her mouth as she leaned further back in her seat as if that could help her get away from the inevitable. She darted her gaze to the dashboard. Safety controls were now overridden. 

She hollered over the crying ruckus in the back, “Qiyu, pump the gas! Now!”

Qiyu grunted and slammed her foot on the accelerator once more. The engine sputtered. 

Shula held her breath. If this didn’t work-

A roar cut through the air. The fire truck jerked into motion. Behind her, Joon Woo and Sinjin stumbled, falling to the floor. Qiyu swerved to the left, careening up the curb, causing the truck to list to one side. The zombie lost its slippery hold on the windshield and tumbled to the ground. 

After a couple of evasive maneuvers, the thumps on the sides of the fire truck ceased. Pants and quiet sobs filled the air. Shula sank into her seat. She ran her trembling fingers through her hair and let out a shallow breath. 

Beside her, Qiyu stared out the windshield with wide, unblinking eyes. Her face was ashen and her hands gripped the steering wheel like it was her lifeline. With their additional unwanted passengers gone, Qiyu let up on the accelerator. She let the truck drift down the dark road until they were across a flyover. Then she pulled the brake.

The truck was plunged into silence. Minutes ticked by without event. The adrenaline coursing in Shula’s veins receded and in the dark confines of the truck, she felt a colossal wave of exhaustion wash over her. Pressing her eyes closed with the tips of her fingers, she wanted nothing more than to sleep. 

“What are you doing?”

Shit. Shula cursed under her breath. Of course, it had to be Aqra.

“I’m calling my bot back.” Sinjin’s voice floated up to the passenger seat. 

Bot? Shula’s eyes flew open. She looked up at the rearview mirror, seeing a white glow emanating from the back. Sinjin was staring at her PalmComm and dragging her finger down its screen. 

“You have a bot?” The incredulity in Joon Woo’s tone matched Shula’s. “What kind of bot?”

“It’s a zombie response bot.”

“You mean it’s a weapon against the zombies, don’t you?” An edge had entered Aqra’s voice. “I saw it when you sent it to the fire station. It was like a spider robot or something.”

“In short, yes.”

The doctor’s assistant piped up, “But if you call it back, the sound-”

“I’ll make sure it shakes off the sound bomb before then.” Sinjin’s eyes had not left her screen. “It has in-built protocols to ensure it doesn’t attract any zombies on the way back.”

A tense silence descended on them. Shula’s eyes narrowed as she digested the woman’s words. When her sound bomb had gone off, she had figured that Ah Long had lobbed it somewhere far away. But the way the sound had…moved, from the road divider to the fire station and then faded into the distance, had thrown her for a loop. At that moment, she had remained hidden under the truck and could not see what had happened. 

Now everything was falling into place. Of course, a bot with the bomb carried on top of it would make total sense. 

Aqra’s calm voice disturbed the peace again, his words concealing a frosty bite. “Why didn’t you use it when we were at the school?”

No answer came from Sinjin.

“Why didn’t you tell us you were carrying something that could have helped us?” Aqra pressed.

Shula watched through the rearview mirror. Unease rippled through her body. The same question could have been directed at her. 

“You could have saved so many people!”

Aqra’s outburst brought on a fresh volley of tears from the kids. Gritting her teeth, Shula whirled around in her seat. She shot the arrogant white knight a withering glare and snapped, “And how many people did you save, huh? Are you fucking Superman? Learn to shut the fuck up!”

Joon Woo shot to his feet and held up his hands to placate the two parties. “Okay. Let’s all calm down-”

“What’s your deal, Shula?!” Aqra retorted. “You think you’re so high and mighty just because you have two degrees and I have none?”

A scoff fell from her lips. “I don’t want to hear that from the person who ditched all our supplies and got two people killed - including your own friend - just because you think you have a conscience and other people don’t.”

Aqra launched himself up from his seat but before he could reach the front, Ah Long stood up, barring his way. The man’s large shadow loomed over the younger Aqra. Joon Woo blocked Shula’s line of sight, his arms held out across the driver and passenger seat to protect her.

She placed a hand on his shoulder. “I’m fine.”

On the other side, Ah Long forced Aqra to take a seat. With the simmering duo now put back in place, Ah Long turned to face them. His low voice seemed to boom in the space even though he barely raised his tone. 

“There’s no point arguing amongst ourselves. Sinjin saved us. That’s it. For that, we should thank her quick wits.” He glanced in Shula’s direction and nodded. “And also thank Shula for that sound bomb. We wouldn’t be here otherwise.”

No one made a sound, not even Aqra. Sinjin had put her PalmComm aside, so the inside of the fire truck was only dimly illuminated by a nearby solar-paneled lamp post. The indignant fire burning within Shula grew dimmer, helped by the fact that she couldn’t see that impertinent piece of shit. Fingers bit into her palm as she clenched it into a fist. If Joon Woo hadn’t been friends with him, she would have laid into Aqra more.

Satisfied that everyone was calm, Ah Long continued, “We should focus on settling our most pressing issues. We need this vehicle properly charged-”

“And we need ammunition,” Junming chimed in.

Everyone turned to him. Gulping, he cleared her throat and continued, “W-We need more weapons. I don’t think we can last like this with bats and-and.. Sticks.”

“There’s an army camp down the road,” Joon Woo added. “There should be live ammunition there.”

“Good. We’ll go there first thing in the morning.” Ah Long finally took his seat beside his son. “For now, let’s try to rest.”

Qiyu spoke up, “What about the plan after that? Is anyone going to the zones in the east?”

“We’re going that way,” Ah Long answered. 

“Anyone else?”

Shula remained silent and she was surprised to see that no one else was giving the east zones a try either. Not even the doctor, his assistant, and that other kid.

“So we’ll need to go separate ways,” Ah Long said. “Well, we can find another mode of transport tomorrow after we visit the army camp.”

The doctor’s assistant murmured in such a low voice that Shula had to strain to hear. “Do we need someone to keep watch tonight?”

“No, that won’t be necessary.”

“Not unless you're a pretty witch in disguise and you whisk us out of the truck and steal it for yourself,” Joon Woo teased with a chuckle.

Bashful giggles filled the air. Even the kids enjoyed a soft laugh despite not comprehending what was happening. Shula herself had to resist a smirk from twitching her lips. She shook her head at Joon Woo’s joke despite her secret admiration for how he could lift the mood so easily.

“I guess it’s decided then.” A smidgen of humor tinted Ah Long’s voice. “We’ll trust each other not to escape with the truck. Now, time for bed.”

Light titters drifted through the truck as everyone prepared to settle down for the night. Joon Woo slumped down behind Shula’s seat, his back pressing into her chair. She let out a soft ‘oof’ and leaned back to smack him on the shoulder.

He pretended to whimper in pain. “What was that for, Shu?”

“For abandoning me during our night shift earlier,” she hissed. “Where were you?”

“Smoking, of course. How was I to know those damn corpses would grace us with their appearance?”

She wagged a finger at him, her voice stern and unyielding. “No more smoking for you. I’m not giving you any more cigarettes and if I find you with one, I’m going to throw the whole lot at the zombies and set them on fire. You hear me?”

“Yes, ma’am,” Joon Woo grumbled. “No more ciggies.”

“Good. Now go to sleep.”

“Righto, ma’am.”

Beside her, Qiyu choked back a snort.

Sighing in frustration, Shula leaned her head against the window. Her fingers felt for the door handle, making sure it was locked. Then only did she close her eyes. Weariness sank into her bones and before she knew it, her mind had drifted back to slumberland. Back to a world where the dead remained dead… and her father remained at home without that cursed bag with Eden’s logo.