The van cruised down the deserted highway, the engine rumbling as they approached the outskirts of Indianapolis.

Tommy leaned back in the passenger seat, his brow furrowed. “We still looking at going into Indy for a supply run?”

Roxy shook her head, her eyes fixed on the road ahead. “No way. Columbus is only three hours away if the roads are clear. We should just keep moving.”

“She’s right,” Zero said. “We need to keep pushing forward.”

Tommy frowned at him. “You were the one pushing for this.”

“Yeah? Well, maybe Roxy has a point. We can last a few more hours on what we have, Tommy boy.”

Tommy sighed. Roxy and Zero had a point, but they couldn’t keep running on empty forever.

Jimbo leaned forward, his head popping up between the front seats, a grin splitting his face. “Dudes, I’ve got an idea. Why don’t we swing by the Indy Speedway? Take a few laps, blow off some steam. It’d be a blast.”

Zero fixed Jimbo with a stare. “Are you serious? We’re in the middle of a zombie apocalypse and you want to play racecar driver?”

Jimbo held up his hands, his grin widening. “Hey, I’m just trying to keep things interesting. We could all use a little fun, right? Maybe we could Mad Max this thing.”

Tommy shook his head, a small smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. He glanced over his shoulder at Laila, who sat hunched against the window, her arms wrapped around herself, her gaze distant. She’d hardly said a word since they’d left the farm.

“What do you think, Lai? Indy or Columbus?”

She blinked, seeming to come back to herself. “I don’t care. Just…I don’t care.”

Tommy’s chest tightened at the flatness in her voice. But he didn’t know how to help her, how to ease the burden she carried.

He turned his attention back to the road stretching out ahead of them. “Okay, let’s put it to a vote. All in favour of pushing on to Columbus?”

Roxy raised one hand from the wheel. Zero’s hand shot up too. After a moment’s hesitation, Laila lifted her hand.

Tommy glanced over at Jimbo, who shrugged. “Majority rules, dude.”

Tommy nodded. “Alright then. Columbus it is. Let’s just hope the roads are clear.”

Roxy pressed down on the gas, the van surging forward, her jaw set in concentration as she navigated the empty highway.

“You okay?”

She flicked her gaze to him before turning back to the road. “I don’t know. I just…I just want to get home.”

He reached over, giving her shoulder a quick squeeze. “We’ll be fine.”

She nodded, but the tightness around her mouth didn’t ease. “I hope you’re right.”

Tommy swallowed hard, his own longing for home, for Niamh and Sean, rising up to choke him. “We’ll make it back, no matter what it takes.”

She held his gaze for a long moment, searching his face for something. Then she sighed, focusing back on the road.

The van sputtered and rolled to a stop, the engine dying with a final, wheezing cough.

Roxy frowned, twisting the key in the ignition.

The engine cranked, the sound harsh and grating, but it refused to turn over. “Damn it!” She slammed her palm against the steering wheel. “Not now. Not here.”

Jimbo leaned forward from the backseat. “What’s going on? Why’d we stop?”

“Van’s dead.” She tried the key again, but got only a sickly clicking in response. “Won’t start.”

Zero unfolded himself from the backseat, reaching for the door handle. “Pop the hood. Let me take a look.”

Roxy complied and Zero made his way around to the front of the van and lifted the hood. He disappeared from view, obscured by the raised metal.

Jimbo scratched at his beard, his eyes flickering from the open hood to the empty road stretching out ahead of them. “This is bad, dudes. Like, really bad. We’re sitting ducks out here.”

Roxy shot him a glare. “You think? Tell us something we don’t know.”

Tommy sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. His head throbbed, a dull ache pulsing behind his eyes. He needed a drink.

But he pushed the thought away, forcing himself to focus on the problem at hand. “Okay, let’s not panic. Zero knows his way around an engine. If anyone can get us moving again, it’s him.”

Laila shifted in her seat, her arms wrapped around herself. “And if he can’t? What then?”

Tommy met her gaze, seeing the fear and exhaustion etched into her face. “Then we’ll figure something out. We always do.”

Roxy snorted, shaking her head. “Sure, because that’s worked out so well for us so far. Face it, Tommy. We’re screwed.”

Before Tommy could respond, Zero reappeared at the driver’s side window, his face grim. “It’s the fuel pump relay. Damn thing’s fried.”

Tommy blinked, the words washing over him without really sinking in. “The what now?”

Zero sighed. “The fuel pump relay. It’s what sends power to the fuel pump. Without it, the engine won’t get any gas.”

“Okay, so how do we fix it?”

“We don’t. Not without a replacement.”

Tommy threw up his hands. “Great. That’s just great. And where exactly are we supposed to find one of those?”

Zero shrugged, his eyes hard. “We could try to scavenge one from another car. But that’s assuming we can find one that’s compatible.”

Roxy leaned back in her seat, her arms crossed over her chest.

Tommy rubbed at his temples, the ache behind his eyes intensifying. He glanced over at Laila, hoping for some support, some guidance. But she remained silent, her gaze distant and unfocused.

“Okay, look. We need to make a decision. We can’t just sit here waiting for something to happen. Let’s head into the city, find one of these fuel cap thingies.”

Zero rolled his eyes. “Fuel pump relay.”

“Whatever, man. Let’s get moving.”

Tommy crept along the abandoned street, his bat held at the ready, his senses straining for any sign of danger. Behind him, the others fanned out in a loose formation, their weapons clutched tight.

The suburb was deathly still, the only sound the occasional creak of a settling house or the distant moan of the wind. Cars sat abandoned in driveways, their doors hanging open, their interiors picked clean by desperate survivors.

Tommy’s eyes darted from vehicle to vehicle, searching for anything that might serve as a replacement for their dead fuel pump relay. But so far, they’d come up empty. “This is a waste of time. We can’t just keep poking around in every wreck we come across, hoping we’ll find the right part.”

Roxy shot him a glare, her machete glinting in the fading light. “So, what’s the alternative? In case you hadn’t noticed, our ride is currently DOA. Unless you’ve got a spare van hidden up your ass, this is our only option.”

Tommy opened his mouth to retort, but Zero silenced him with a sharp look. “Enough. Both of you. Sniping at each other isn’t going to help.”

They moved deeper into the suburb, the houses looming dark and silent on either side.

This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

A pack of zombies burst from a side street, their rasping moans filling the air as they charged towards the group.

Tommy had a split second to register the sight of rotting flesh before they were on them.

He swung his bat in a vicious arc, the wood connecting with the nearest zombie’s skull.

Roxy’s machete whistled through the air, cleaving a zombie’s head from its shoulders.

Jimbo’s golf club caved in another’s face, sending teeth and chunks of bone flying.

Laila’s tyre iron rose and fell, each blow accompanied by a grunt of effort.

Zero had his rifle up, but he didn’t fire. Instead, he used the butt of the weapon like a club, smashing it into the zombies’ faces and driving them back.

Tommy lost himself in the rhythm of the fight, his world narrowing to the swing of his bat and the stench of death.

He moved on instinct, his muscles burning, his breath coming in ragged gasps.

A zombie lunged at him, its fingers clawing at his face.

He ducked under its grasp and brought his bat up in a vicious uppercut, the impact snapping its head back with a sickening crack.

Another came at him from the side, its teeth bared in a feral snarl.

He spun to meet it, but before he could strike, a machete blade burst through its skull, spraying him with gore.

Roxy grinned at him, her face splattered with blood. “Watch your six, T. These bastards are sneaky.”

He flashed her a grateful smile. “Thanks for the save.”

She shrugged, already turning to meet the next attack.

The zombies kept coming, a seemingly endless tide of grasping hands and gnashing teeth.

Tommy could feel his strength flagging, his arms growing heavy with each swing of his bat.

“Hey, uglies! Bet you can’t catch me!”

Tommy turned to see Jimbo standing atop the roof of a nearby car, his club held high.

The zombies turned towards him, drawn by the sound of his voice.

Jimbo grinned, beckoning them forward. “That’s right, come and get me, you rotting sacks of meat!”

The zombies surged towards him, their hands scrabbling at the vehicle’s sides.

Jimbo danced back across the roof. “Olé! Toro, toro!”

Taking advantage of the distraction, Tommy and the others fell upon the remaining zombies with renewed ferocity.

Laila was a whirlwind of violence, her tyre iron rising and falling in a relentless rhythm as Roxy and Zero fought back-to-back.

Tommy let the rage take him. Every swing of his bat was a scream of defiance, a refusal to lay down and die.

They fought until the last zombie fell, until the only sound was the rasp of their own laboured breathing.

Tommy stood amidst the carnage, his chest heaving, his bat slick with gore.

Jimbo hopped down from the car, his club resting jauntily on his shoulder. “Well, that was fun. Who’s up for round two?”

Roxy shot him a look, her machete still held at the ready. “Speak for yourself. I feel like I just ran a damn marathon.”

Laila leaned heavily against the nearest car, her face drawn. “I don’t know how much more of this I can take.”

Tommy’s heart ached for her. For all of them. They were all running on fumes, their nerves stretched to the breaking point.

But what choice did they have? To give up now would be to surrender to the inevitable.

He forced himself to straighten, to meet their eyes with a steady gaze. “I know you’re all tired. I am too. But we can’t stop now. Not when we’re on the final stretch.”

Zero snorted, his rifle slung over his shoulder. “But we’re no closer to finding a replacement for the van.”

Tommy’s jaw clenched, his fingers tightening on the grip of his bat. “So we keep looking. We didn’t come this far just to give up at the first sign of trouble.”

Roxy stepped forward, her eyes hard. “Tommy’s right. We’ve been through worse than this. We just need to keep our heads on straight and watch each other’s backs.”

The street was quiet once more, the only sound the soft rustling of the wind through the abandoned houses.

They moved from vehicle to vehicle, popping hoods and rummaging through engine compartments.

“Come on, come on.” Tommy’s fingers scrabbled at rusted bolts and frayed wires. “It’s got to be here somewhere.”

Roxy wrenched open another hood. She dug through the exposed engine, tossing aside useless bits of plastic and metal.

“Anything?” Tommy called out.

She shook her head, slamming the hood back down with a curse. “Nothing. Just like the last five.”

Jimbo leaned against a nearby lamppost, his chest heaving as he gulped down air. “We’re running out of time, dudes. Those dead-heads could be back any minute.”

“You think I don’t know that?” Tommy snapped, immediately regretting his tone. He took a deep breath, trying to calm his racing heart. “Just…just keep looking. We’ll find it.”

Zero stood nearby, his eyes narrowing as he surveyed the street. “We should leave.”

Tommy rounded on him, his teeth bared. “And go where, huh? You want to just walk to the next town, hope we get lucky? The van is our only chance.”

Zero met his gaze, his eyes hard. “The van’s dead, Tommy boy. And we will be too if we don’t get the hell out of here.”

Tommy opened his mouth to argue, but Laila cut him off. “Over here! I think I found something!”

They rushed over to join her, crowding around the rusted sedan she was leaning over. She held up a small plastic rectangle, her face splitting into a triumphant grin. “Fuel pump relay. Looks like ours.”

Zero took it from her hand, turning it over in his fingers, holding it next to the old one. “Nice work.”

She flinched when he clapped her on the shoulder. “Let’s get back to the van and get the hell out of here.”

Tommy and the others set off back the way they had come, retracing their footsteps through the silent suburb.

He took the lead, his bat held at the ready..

Behind him, the others followed, their footsteps echoing off the asphalt. They moved quickly, urgently, driven by the knowledge that every second counted.

They were halfway back to the van when the first zombie appeared, shambling out from behind a burnt-out car, its skin mottled and grey, its eyes milky and lifeless.

Tommy dispatched it with a single swing of his bat, the wood crunching through its skull with ease. But more groans came..

“Form up! Tight circle, watch each other’s backs!”

They came together in a loose formation, their weapons held at the ready.

Roxy and Jimbo took the flanks, while Zero and Laila covered the rear.

The zombies came at them from all sides, their rasping moans filling the air.

Tommy struck hard, his bat swinging back and forth.

Beside him, the others fought with a savage grace. Roxy’s machete flashed in the sun, severing limbs and heads with each blow. Jimbo’s golf club whistled through the air, caving in skulls and shattering bones.

But for every one they put down, two more seemed to take its place. They were being overwhelmed, the sheer numbers of the undead pressing in on them from all sides.

Tommy’s arms burned with fatigue. He could feel the others flagging too, their movements growing sluggish and uncoordinated.

And then, just when he thought they might be overrun, he caught sight of the van, sitting just a few hundred yards away..

“Move! Push through, get to the van!”

They surged forward as one, their weapons flashing in the sun.

Zombies fell before them, their bodies crumpling.

But more kept coming. Tommy could feel his strength flagging, his vision narrowing to a tunnel.

When they reached the van, Zero scrambled for the driver’s side door, fumbling with the handle.

The door swung open and he practically dove inside and opened the hood.

Tommy and the others formed a tight circle around the van as Zero slipped back out, their weapons held at the ready.

The zombies pressed in from all sides, their hands clawing at the windows, their faces contorted with mindless hunger.

“Hurry, Zero!” Tommy shouted over the din of moans and the clash of metal on bone. He swung his bat in a wide arc, smashing through the skull of a particularly persistent zombie.

Roxy was a whirl of flashing silver at his side, her machete slicing through rotten flesh like it was nothing. Jimbo wielded his golf club like a medieval mace, the heavy head pulping brains with every swing.

Laila had her back pressed against the van.

Tommy risked a glance over his shoulder. “Zero! Talk to me, man!”

“Almost there. Just need to connect the damn wires.”

A zombie lunged for Tommy’s face and he barely got his bat up in time. It caught the creature under the chin, snapping its head back with a crunch. He kicked out, his boot connecting with its chest and sending it staggering back into the pressing horde.

“We can’t hold them much longer!” Roxy’s voice was ragged with exertion, her machete a blur of motion.

“Just a few more seconds!” Zero’s shout was almost lost beneath the snarling.

Tommy gritted his teeth, his arms screaming with every swing of the bat. He could feel his strength ebbing, his reactions slowing.

A zombie slipped past Jimbo’s guard, its teeth snapping inches from his throat.

Laila screamed, lashing out with her tyre iron and caving in the side of its head.

Jimbo stumbled back, his features pale.

“Got it!” Zero leapt inside, slamming the door behind him. The engine roared to life. “Everyone in, now!”

They raced towards the van doors, Tommy and Roxy clearing the way.

Jimbo dove into the passenger seat,

Laila scrambling into the back.

Tommy and Roxy piled in after her, slamming the doors shut on grasping fingers and snapping teeth.

Zero floored the gas and the van shot forward, tyres squealing.

They ploughed through the mass of zombies, bodies crunching beneath the wheels.

Gore splattered the windshield, obscuring Zero’s view, but he didn’t slow down.

Tommy twisted in his seat, watching through the window as the horde receded behind them.

Stragglers still stumbled after the van, their arms outstretched, but they were losing ground with every second.

He slumped back in his seat, his chest heaving as he gulped down air. His arms felt like lead, his hands aching from gripping the bat. He looked around at the others, taking in their shell-shocked expressions, the way they trembled with exhaustion and spent adrenaline. “Everyone okay?”

Roxy nodded, her machete still clenched to her chest.

Jimbo managed a shaky thumbs-up.

Laila stared straight ahead, her face blank.

Zero guided the van along the highway. “That was too damn close, We can’t keep cutting it this fine.”

Tommy scrubbed a hand over his face, smearing blood and sweat. “I know. But we made it. That’s what counts.”

Roxy let out a shuddering breath. “This time. What about the next? Or the one after that? Our luck’s going to run out eventually.”

Tommy took in a breath. “We’ll make it, Rox.”

She held his gaze for a long moment, then nodded, some of the tension draining from her frame. “Okay. Okay. So what’s our next move?”

Tommy looked out the window, at the ruined landscape rolling by. “We keep going until we hit Columbus. Catch our breath at your place. And then we push on to Philly.”

Roxy nodded. “Sounds good.”

Tommy turned to Zero. “Hey, man. Thanks for getting the van running again. I don’t know what we would have done without you.”

Zero shrugged, his eyes still fixed on the road ahead. “It was nothing. Just basic mechanics.”

Tommy shook his head, a rueful chuckle escaping his lips. “Basic for you, maybe. I wouldn’t have known where to start. I mean, that fuel cap thing? I wouldn’t have even known what to look for.”

Zero glanced over at him, one eyebrow raised. “Fuel pump relay. Seriously, though. How the hell did you guys survive touring without knowing anything about engines?”

Tommy felt his cheeks heat up. “We, erm…we just called a tow truck if something went wrong. Pulled into the nearest repair shop and let them handle it.”

Zero snorted, shaking his head. “Unbelievable. You’re telling me you just cruised around the country in a van, no clue how to fix it if something went wrong? That’s just asking for trouble.”

Tommy opened his mouth to defend himself, but Roxy cut him off. “It doesn’t matter. What matters is that we made it. We’re all in one piece, and home is in sight. That’s what counts.”

Zero grunted, but didn’t argue. He turned his attention back to the road, his jaw set.