CHAPTER 23: CAR CHASE
The pickup tore through ruined streets like a spooked horse.
The truck bed was packed. Every bump drew gasps and suppressed groans.
"Left side! Watch it!" Hanks roared.
Kenny cranked the wheel hard, barely dodging a dozen walkers surging from a side alley.
They snarled and reached with rotting arms, brushing past the truck bed.
"Right side too! Jesus, how many are there?!" Lee stared at the shambling figures pouring from the right.
The horde was converging from every direction, trying to swallow this roaring steel prey.
The drugstore alarm still wailed, drawing what seemed like half the county's walkers.
"Don't stop! Ram through!" Hanks barked without hesitation.
Kenny gritted his teeth and floored it. The pickup plowed through several blocking walkers.
Foul blood and chunks splattered across the windshield. Wipers scraped uselessly, leaving disgusting streaks.
"This isn't working! Road's getting blocked!"
He shifted gears rapidly, stomping the gas to build speed back up.
"Kenny! Left at the next intersection!"
"There's a small parking lot—cut through, get on the access road! We can avoid the main street horde!"
Glenn suddenly shouted from the back seat. His knowledge of Macon had become their lifeline.
"Do it! Left turn!" Hanks immediately backed him.
Kenny whipped the wheel. The pickup crashed into an abandoned parking lot, smashing through shopping carts and debris. They burst through a narrow exit—
Sure enough, they hit a relatively clear side road. The horde fell back.
Everyone in the truck had just started breathing easier when—
BANG! BANG!
Two gunshots from behind! Bullets sparked off the truck bed's metal panels.
"Dammit! Those assholes!" Kenny spotted familiar vehicles in his rearview.
"They're Macon gangers!" Glenn yelled, clearly knowing something about them.
The modified pickup and another sedan were closing in relentlessly!
Hanks braced himself in the truck bed, firing back with both hands on the pistol. The P226 barked.
BANG! BANG! BANG!
Bullets struck the pursuit vehicles' hoods and windows precisely, forcing the driver to swerve. Their speed dropped.
But they had more vehicles. More firepower!
A shotgun poked from their window—BOOM!
Steel shot sprayed. Most missed, but several pellets hit the rear tire and bed edge with sickening sounds.
"Ahh!" Doug screamed—
A ricochet punched through sheet metal, grazing his arm. Blood poured out immediately.
"Shit! Lee!" Hanks roared.
"On it!"
Lee grabbed the M590 shotgun from the floorboard, smashed out the rear window with the stock, and passed it back to the truck bed.
"Use this on the wound!" Katjaa tossed gauze into the bed.
Hanks grabbed the M590, rapidly formulating tactics in the limited time available.
Shooting moving vehicles for kills was tough. But the shotgun's area-effect damage—
Perfect for suppression and destruction!
"Kenny! Steady!" Hanks bellowed, then raised the weapon.
He didn't even aim carefully. Pure instinct and calculation!
BOOM!
The first shell roared out!
Not aimed at a specific point—spread coverage across the closest sedan's front end.
WHAM!
Countless pellets hammered down like rain!
The sedan's hood was shredded instantly, white smoke pouring out. The windshield spiderwebbed with cracks.
The driver flinched hard, instinctively slamming brakes and yanking the wheel.
The vehicle fishtailed dangerously in an S-pattern. Speed plummeted, though it barely stayed upright.
"Nice shot!"
Kenny couldn't help cheering when he saw it in the mirror.
The modified pickup relied on its reinforced bumper. It only slowed slightly before continuing pursuit.
The gunman stuck out his shotgun again—
Hanks didn't pause. Fluid motion! Pump the action!
RACK-BOOM!
The second shell followed almost immediately!
Though it didn't blow the tire outright, the massive impact deflated it significantly.
The modified pickup lurched violently. The driver fought to correct course.
The gunman nearly got motion sick, couldn't shoot, and ducked back inside.
Their speed dropped again. Distance widened once more.
Hanks mentally counted remaining shells. Their entire arsenal was just these few 12-gauge rounds.
His barrel adjusted again, targeting the sedan accelerating forward.
BOOM! Third shot!
This one hammered the sedan's left front tire precisely! Civilian tires weren't as tough as the modified pickup's!
BANG! POP! The tire exploded instantly! Rubber shrapnel flew everywhere!
The out-of-control sedan veered hard left. The driver's hand—cut by glass shards—couldn't grip the wildly spinning wheel!
The sedan slammed head-on into a thick wooden utility pole by the roadside!
CRASH! Massive impact!
The hood crumpled upward. The front end was completely deformed. The raiders inside went silent.
One down!
Only the limping modified pickup remained in pursuit, but at greatly reduced speed.
Hanks didn't hesitate. He maximized the remaining shells' effectiveness!
BOOM! Fourth shot!
Coverage fire. Steel pellets washed over the pickup's front again, further destroying engine and visibility.
BOOM! Fifth shot!
Deliberately hammered the road beside the pickup. Flying debris and dust further disrupted the driver's judgment.
The gunman in the modified pickup fired back wildly. Shotgun blasts hit around their truck, but accuracy had plummeted due to the vehicle's damage and bouncing.
Hanks didn't spare ammunition. He grabbed the last shell someone tossed him and loaded it.
Pump! RACK!
BOOM! Sixth shot!
He caught the instant when the opposing driver was slightly exposed while avoiding road obstacles. Steel pellets hammered into the modified pickup's driver-side window!
"AHHH!" Agonized screaming came from inside.
The passenger-side gunman was shredded on the spot. Blood sprayed across the windows.
The driver took several pellets too, painfully releasing the wheel to clutch his wounds.
The out-of-control modified pickup veered hard right, smashing through a storefront window.
Half the front end jammed inside. The engine made one last feeble whimper and died!
The world seemed to go quiet.
Only their pickup's engine roar and distant walker snarls remained.
The truck bed fell silent.
Everyone was stunned by Hanks's devastating, precise, violent six-shot barrage.
Hanks set down the scorching M590, shoulder aching and numb. He slumped against the truck bed.
He gasped heavily—not from exhaustion, but cold sweat from the intense adrenaline crash.
"We... we lost them..." Glenn's voice trembled with incredible relief.
Hanks's eyes didn't relax at all.
He scanned behind them cautiously, confirming no more pursuit, then swept his gaze across everyone.
"Kenny, get us off the main road as soon as possible. Glenn navigates—head for the motel!" His voice was hoarse from shouting.
"Doug needs his wound treated. Larry needs his meds. The truck needs inspection."