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attention of all the nearby infected.
    “Damn!” I quickly yanked my door shut as Murphy cranked the starter.
    The Whites ran at us from all directions.
    As soon as the engine fired, Murphy floored the accelerator and we raced away from the hospital.
    We ran over one bump, then another. I knew what those bumps were, but put the thought of it out of my mind and focused on the clear pavement ahead.
    The Humvee shuddered with the impact of an infected body running into the side at full speed. A few found a grip on the rear and were trying to climb on. The infected on the side slid away as Murphy pushed the truck to go faster.
    When we hit clear asphalt, Murphy ran the Humvee up past forty and said, “Null Spot. Heh, heh, heh.”
    “What’s that even supposed to mean? Null Spot.”
    “You’re all kind of whited out, man. It’s like you’re not there. Like a spot with nothing in it. Null Spot.” Murphy’s big laugh filled the vehicle.
    “Whatever.”
    “Null Spot. You and your stupid superhero shit. Man, did you watch too many Star Wars movies as a kid, or what?”
    I said, “I just thought we might be able to help them, that’s all.”
    Murphy changed the subject with a hard swerve. The Humvee almost hit a curb. At the last second, Murphy angled back for the center of the street.
    “What the fuck, man?”
    Murphy said, “Dude, did you see that?”
    “What?”
    “That White was right in front of me and he jumped out of the way. So I tried to get him anyway. Heh, heh, heh.”
    “Maybe he was smarter than the others.”
    “I think he did it on purpose.”
    “Whatever.”
    “My mom always said, ‘Never trust Whitey.’”
    “Murphy, does anybody actually think you’re funny?”
    “Everybody but you.”
    “Did she really tell you that?”
    “No, man, I’m just fuckin’ with ya.”
    Without warning, Murphy slammed the brakes hard. The Humvee skidded to a stop. He threw the transmission into reverse and mashed the accelerator to the floor.
    “God damn! You drive like shit!” I pushed myself away from the dashboard and back into my seat.
    “That bridge over the highway back there was clear. I think we can get across.”
    The infected were swarming up behind us. “Hurry!”
    The brakes locked. Tires skidded again. More infected pounced on the Humvee.
    “Shit!”
    “Zed, don’t worry, man. They can’t get inside.” Murphy turned the Humvee and maneuvered between the cars on the road leading to the bridge.
    The infected above us beat loudly on the roof.
    Murphy looked over at me, then laughed. “Heh, heh, heh.” He slammed the brakes hard, and a body rolled off the roof and down over the hood, just as he pushed the accelerator again. The Humvee bounced over the body. We crossed over the bridge.
    “I’ll get the others off on the next turn. Heh, heh, heh.”

Chapter 6
    The further we rolled into east Austin, the thicker the smoke got and the fewer infected we saw. Those that we did see were headed away. Our hitchhikers chose to join them. They were all brain-fried monsters, but they still knew enough to fear the fires that were burning their way across the eastern half of the city.
    My phone buzzed and I gave it a look to see who was calling. It was a text message from Amber. I smiled.
    Murphy said, “Man, you’re worse than a teenager.”
    “It’s Amber.”
    “She was the cute one, right?”
    I shrugged.
    “How many women is that?” Murphy teased. “Player Zed.”
    I ignored him.
    Amber: Are you there, Zed?
    Me: Yup. What’s up?
    Amber: Are you at Murphy’s mom’s house?
    Me: No. We got hung up.
    Amber: Anything bad?
    “Murphy, Amber just asked me if anything bad happened.”
    “What’d you say?”
    “Nothing yet.”
    “No point in sugarcoating it. I have a feeling we all need to get used to bad news.”
    Me: Jerome got shot.
    Amber: Oh no. Bad?
    Me: He’s dead.
    No response .
    Me: How are things there? You guys sitting tight? Any news?
    Amber: Tense : (
    Me: What