The convoy left the highway like a wounded animal retreating into the dark: limping, broken, and not sure if they were going to survive what would happen next.
Vehicles rolled slowly down the narrow off-ramp in staggered formation while soldiers, on foot, maintained defensive positions around the outer edges of the column.
The noise followed them everywhere, acting as a beacon to anyone who would listen.
Engines roared like wounded prey, people were reporting on the radios so much that their voices started to blend together, military dogs barked warning of zombies that no one could see but everyone knew was there. It was nothing but order being held on by a single thread.
After hours on the open highway, the sounds had become constant enough that Wei barely noticed it anymore.
That was why when the silence came, it gave him a visceral reaction.
The world was never silent anymore, there was always something making noise, even if they weren't trying to.
