Chapter 25: Hunter & Bloat
After a brief laugh, Zack's expression turned serious. "Alright, let's move."
"Understood, Sir," Ego responded, and the vehicle accelerated, its engine roaring like a beast as it tore down the road, smashing anything in its path. "Sir, there's a small horde of corpses up ahead. Should we take a detour?"
"A small horde?" Zack asked, already knowing how Ego defined 'small'—a swarm of at least a thousand undead.
"How long would a detour take?" he asked.
"About thirty minutes."
"Forget it. Let's push through!" Zack decided, unwilling to waste time on the long route. As the vehicle continued, the horde soon came into view: a sea of walking corpses stretching as far as the eye could see. The engine's roar seemed to rouse the undead from their stupor, and, as if on cue, thousands of them surged toward the vehicle, shaking the ground with their frantic steps.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The vehicle slammed into the horde with such force that, despite its armored exterior, it started to slow, weighed down by the growing pile of bodies. The steel spikes meant to fend them off became jammed with corpses, their sheer numbers overwhelming the defenses. With more undead piling on, the vehicle's speed dropped, and it grew heavier by the second. The eight-cylinder diesel engine roared under the strain.
"Ego, activate backup power," Zack commanded calmly.