Sixteen Seconds

Unlike Madison, whose entire body screamed tension,

Gavin looked much more relaxed at that moment.

As he guided the car out of its parking spot and steadily avoided the other vehicles on the way out of the lot, he grinned at Madison.

"What music do you like? Or do you listen to Bruno Mars and Imagine Dragons like I do?"

"What?" Madison was too tense to catch that.

"I said, do you listen to Imagine Dragons?"

"What Imagine Dragons?" Madison continued mishearing him.

"Fuck, relax, man!"

Gavin smacked Madison on the top of the head, then said,

"We're at least 180 meters from the zombies' last gathering point. Once they hear us, it'll take them at least twenty-five seconds to get here."

"Don't think I don't know how you guys always complained during past games that my tactics were long-winded and stunk."

"I make so many plans precisely so we can be this relaxed when it's time to act!"

With that, Gavin stomped on the gas, making the Tyrannosaurus let out an excited roar.

Startled by the engine's thunder, Madison frantically looked around. Only then did he realize that they had already left the parking lot and were even charging toward the estate gates!

The moment the Tyrannosaurus roared out of the estate, Gavin raised a hand and turned on the music. An explosive dance track instantly filled the car.

As he lowered the volume, Gavin continued smiling at Madison.

"Guess how far we can get in twenty-five seconds? Look carefully. Only sixteen seconds have passed. Just sixteen seconds!"

"That's my style. I like leaving the tension in the observation phase, then using caution to kill the pressure when it's time to act."

"To hell with that party mansion, and fuck this shitty zombie apocalypse. They can all eat our exhaust!"

"Oh, right. What do you want to eat later? I'm craving a fucking burger."

"And a huge Coke with fucking double ice!"

"Uh... huh?"

After a brief daze, Madison was affected by the excitement and ease Gavin exuded. The tension gradually drained from his body.

As he responded to Gavin, he kept turning his head and scanning every direction.

Only after using the scattered streetlights to confirm that the retreating scenery around them really was a forest—and not his own hallucination—

did he finally relax. He slumped fully against the seatback and let out a long breath.

"Whew... wow, we got out?"

"Shit, we actually escaped that easily. I thought we'd run into all kinds of trouble getting into the car, like zombies slamming against the windows or something."

"I'd already thought it through. I'd kick all those filthy bastards away, then you'd dodge them, and I'd blast the zombies at your window away with the shotgun too."

"Then, just as a huge horde was about to completely surround the car, you'd stomp on the gas and burst through them. That way, we could celebrate escaping with zombie blood all over us!"

As he said that, Madison opened the window and spat out a mouthful of sour saliva.

He was too embarrassed to admit that he had been so nervous just now that he nearly dry-heaved again. He could even feel acid rising into his throat.

In the driver's seat, Gavin gave Madison a sidelong glance and shook his head noncommittally.

That was just Old Mac's personality. He got all nervous, but once he knew things were safe, he loosened right up.

And before he knew they were safe?

Anyone who truly wanted to win couldn't laugh.

After silently mocking Old Mac, Gavin continued adjusting the music, lowering it until it was barely audible.

He also checked Old Mac's playlist. Well, eight out of every ten songs were rap. It suited Old Mac's style, at least.

While Gavin changed a couple of songs, Old Mac was still chattering excitedly without pause.

"Gavin, having you around is such a blessing. That escape went way too smoothly, haha!"

"I watched the whole time. Until we got out, I didn't see a single zombie catch up to us. Hell, I didn't even see a zombie's shadow."

"Oh, right, what did you say earlier? Ah, right, right, right. I really am a little hungry."

"Burgers are great. I barely dared to eat them during training, but now I can eat whatever I want."

"And iced Coke. That's fucking awesome!"

"Wait, didn't you ask me to call your family? Give me the phone. I'll call your parents right now."

"My family's a lost cause, man. None of them answered my calls, and there's no news from any of my boys either."

"Where's your phone?"

As he said that, Old Mac held out his sweaty hand toward Gavin.

Gavin casually tossed the iPhone 5 over.

"The password is four nines. Just find my parents in the contacts."

"Other than them, there's no one else I need to contact."

As soon as he finished speaking, Gavin turned the car off the small road through the villa district and onto the main road.

The boss's estate was near Itasca, far south of Dallas, over forty kilometers from downtown Dallas and Fort Worth.

At that distance, even if Dallas had already been blown into ruins, Gavin wouldn't notice a thing.

Besides, he had no desire to find out what was happening in the city.

What could he and Old Mac possibly figure out? Was watching three hundred zombies run not enough? Did they want to go to Dallas and see six or seven million zombies running together?

Give him a break. Nobody went looking for death that hard.

As far as Gavin was concerned, he had long since classified major cities as forbidden zones.

Unless he had an absolutely necessary reason to enter a city, he would rather hide in Texas's wilderness and small towns until he died than take a stroll anywhere near a major city.

Just as he thought that, a cold breeze blew in from the passenger seat window. It chilled Gavin's forehead slightly and made him feel a little more alert and invigorated.

Wait, a cold breeze?

"Close the window, idiot!"

Gavin hurriedly shouted at Madison, then continued watching the road.

After being shouted at by Gavin, Madison rolled his eyes dramatically, then sheepishly closed the window.

The 2013 Super Bowl had begun on February 3. After the Cowboys won their fifth championship, they immediately held a parade and celebration. Today was only February 6.

In Texas in February, nighttime temperatures were barely four degrees above zero. Gavin was driving fast too, so the cold wind was especially biting.

If he weren't worried about getting sick, Gavin would actually have liked to let the cold wind blow on him. At least it would have made his brain, battered by alcohol and pressure, feel much better.

Without the stimulation of the cold wind, and with the car heater blowing against his face, Madison's eyes grew a little unfocused.

He lowered his head and fiddled with Gavin's phone, then held out the unanswered call to Gavin with a grim expression.

"Sorry, Gavin. The call won't go through."

"It's fine. I'm not surprised. Find a few more contacts labeled Cowboys and call them. They all work at my house."

"Okay."

Madison nodded and continued dialing, then stayed silent for over two minutes.

Just as Gavin expressionlessly began to slow down, Madison finally sighed in sympathy and returned the phone to him.

"Sorry,"

he said.

Gavin put the phone into his pocket and replied,

"It has nothing to do with you."

With that, Gavin pointed at a gas station over a hundred meters ahead and continued,

"At least we've reached the nearest gas station."

The car continued slowing until it pulled up in front of the gas station.

The area around the gas station was exceptionally quiet. Gavin couldn't see anyone, only shattered glass along the side of the convenience store.

Looking at the broken glass, Gavin frowned and said,

"If the gas station and convenience store employee didn't turn into a zombie, there would've been no need for him to smash the glass to escape."

"And if he turned into a zombie inside the store, then he must have spotted something worth chasing before he could've smashed the glass and left the convenience store."

Gavin looked in the direction of the shattered glass.

The broken side of the window faced the road Gavin would be taking next.

So Gavin continued,

"Old Mac, it looks like other people fled down this road before us after the zombie crisis broke out."

"The convenience store employee was probably drawn by the sound, which is why he smashed through that side of the glass to chase after them."

"That's great! Knowing there are other people alive is great!"

Madison immediately said excitedly.

"Even though we got out, I don't want to face an apocalypse where only the two of us are alive!"

"Damn it, if we can put together a group like the protagonists in The Walking Dead someday, I'll at least have a few underlings to order around."

"Not like now, man. If it's just the two of us, I can only be an underling for the rest of my life, haha—uh..."

"Cough, cough. It's not that I'm unwilling. I mean, I know you're always right. Following you lets me live better."

"But even if I don't want to be the boss, I still like having a few followers and underlings to put to work..."

At that, Madison hugged his shotgun close and looked around through the car window.

Then he looked outside and said to Gavin,

"Let's change the subject. So what's the plan next, BOSS?"