War God of the Apocalypse

Chapter 5: The road to hell.

 The first scream came from somewhere ahead, followed by the grinding crash of metal against metal, and Will immediately pressed his foot against the brake.

 A van lurched sideways across the road, its tires shrieking against the asphalt as the driver struggled to regain control. People poured out of the vehicles around it, shouting and pushing past one another, while a sharp, animalistic screech cut through the rising noise.

 Will's fingers tightened around the steering wheel.

 Something had attacked them.

 Through the gap between two cars, he caught sight of a twisted creature crouching beside the van. Its limbs were unnaturally long, its skin stretched tightly over a body that seemed to have grown in the wrong proportions, and its mouth opened wide enough to expose rows of jagged teeth. Blood streaked its chin as it dragged a struggling man from the wreckage.

 Will recognized the signs of mutation, but the timing made his stomach tighten. The apocalypse was approaching faster than he had expected, and the first creatures were appearing before the disaster wave had fully begun.

 A woman ran past his vehicle, screaming for someone to help her child. Behind her, the creature released the man and lunged toward the nearest moving figure, knocking a young man beneath the wheels of a stalled car.

 The crowd scattered in every direction, and the road dissolved into panic.

 Will glanced at the narrow gap between the vehicles ahead, calculating whether he could force his way through. If he remained trapped in the traffic, he risked becoming prey himself, but abandoning his vehicle meant losing time and exposing himself to the creature.

 He had survived the apocalypse once, and he had no intention of dying during the first few minutes of his second chance.

 Then a sharp cry came from his right.

 A young woman was trapped beside a damaged car, clutching a little boy against her chest. The boy's face was wet with tears, and his small hands gripped the woman's jacket while the creature turned toward them. She tried to pull him away, but the wreckage blocked their path, leaving them with nowhere to run.

 Will's gaze moved from them to the open stretch of road ahead.

 He could help, but doing so would cost him precious time, and he had already learned what happened when he allowed someone else's problems to become his responsibility. Isolde had made her choice, and he had refused to save her. He would not let the same old instinct to intervene put him in danger again.

 The woman saw him watching and stretched out one trembling hand.

 "Please! Help us!" she screamed. "My son can't run!"

 Will's jaw tightened, but he did not move. He had no idea whether the woman was infected, whether the creature would turn on him next, or whether helping her would leave him trapped when the road collapsed into chaos.

 The boy's crying rose above the screams around them, and for a brief moment, Will remembered another child he had failed to reach in his previous life. He pushed the memory away before it could weaken his resolve.

 He started the engine and turned the steering wheel toward the gap.

 The creature's head snapped in his direction.

 Its eyes fixed on him, and its mouth opened with a wet, rattling hiss. Before Will could accelerate, it sprang onto the hood of a nearby sedan, crushing the metal beneath its weight. The driver screamed as the windshield shattered, and the creature tore through the opening with its claws.

 Will slammed his foot against the accelerator.

 His vehicle lurched forward, but the gap narrowed when a damaged car rolled backward into his path. He swerved to avoid it, striking a concrete divider hard enough to send a jolt through his shoulders. The airbag did not deploy, but the impact left his hands aching against the steering wheel.

 A heavy thud landed on the roof.

 Will's breath caught as the vehicle rocked beneath the creature's weight. Its claws scraped across the metal, producing a harsh shriek that made his teeth clench, and something struck the windshield hard enough to leave a spiderweb of cracks near the passenger side.

 He reached for his telekinesis.

 The power answered immediately, pressing against his mind with its familiar invisible force. A loose metal panel beside the divider lifted from the ground, wobbling as he forced it toward the creature. Sweat gathered at his temples, and the pressure behind his eyes began before he had even completed the movement.

 The panel slammed into the creature's side.

 It tumbled from the roof and struck the asphalt with a heavy crash, giving Will just enough time to accelerate past the damaged vehicles. He heard its shriek behind him, followed by the sound of claws scraping against the road, but he did not look back.

 Pain stabbed behind his eyes.

 Will blinked hard, trying to clear the dark spots spreading across his vision. His fingers felt numb around the steering wheel, and for several seconds the road seemed to tilt beneath him. He had used his ability too forcefully, and the physical cost was arriving much sooner than he wanted.

 "Damn it," he muttered, easing off the accelerator.

 He needed to reach Sector D, Zone 3, but he could not continue relying on telekinesis without risking another episode of blurred vision and neurological disruption. His power gave him an advantage, not immunity, and an advantage meant nothing if he lost control at the wrong moment.

 A notification flickered into view.

 [Herem System: Telekinetic exertion detected.]

 [Warning: Host's current condition indicates increasing strain.]

 [Recommendation: Avoid unnecessary ability use until recovery.]

 Will glanced at the message with irritation. "I know what I'm doing."

 [Herem System: Recent exertion has reduced the host's operational stability.]

 [Notice: Survival depends on the host's decisions, not merely the possession of an ability.]

 He dismissed the interface, though the warning remained in his mind. The system had given him a second chance and a useful ability, but it had not made him invulnerable, and he could not afford to mistake its rewards for guarantees.

 Another scream erupted behind him, followed by a series of crashes as drivers abandoned their vehicles. Will checked the rearview mirror and saw the creature scrambling onto the hood of another car, its claws tearing through the metal while people fled across the road.

 He had escaped its attention for now, but the traffic ahead was still packed tightly together, and the road beyond the next intersection was nearly impassable. His vehicle would not get him to Sector D if he remained trapped among hundreds of panicking drivers.

 He pulled into a narrow space beside a damaged building and killed the engine. His eyes still throbbed, and he waited several seconds for the dark spots to recede before reaching for his bag.

 A faint metallic scraping sounded outside.

 Will froze, listening as the noise moved along the wall beside his vehicle. His hand tightened around the door handle, but he waited until the sound faded before stepping out. The air carried the smell of leaking fuel, hot rubber, and fresh blood, while distant screams echoed between the buildings.

 He shut the door quietly and moved toward a narrow alley, keeping close to the wall as he searched for a route away from the main road. Every step sent a dull pulse through his skull, and he had to fight the urge to rub his eyes because he could not afford to lose his remaining clarity.

 His phone vibrated in his pocket.

 For a moment, he thought it might be another system notification, but the screen displayed a message from an unknown number. The text contained only a few words.

 The northern expressway is blocked. People are freezing. Something is killing them.

 Will stared at the message without replying. He knew exactly what it meant, and he knew who might be trapped there, but neither fact changed the decision he had already made.

 Isolde had chosen to leave with Jason, and Will had chosen not to follow them. He would not abandon his destination now simply because the consequences of his lie were arriving sooner than expected.

 He put the phone away and continued through the alley.

 At its far end, he found a rusted metal gate secured with a chain. Beyond it lay a service road that curved away from the traffic, leading toward the outskirts of the city. Will tested the gate, but it barely moved, and the chain rattled loudly against the metal.

 He looked over his shoulder.

 The scraping sound had returned, this time much closer.

 Will drew a slow breath and raised his hand toward the chain, intending to use as little telekinetic force as possible. The pressure behind his eyes intensified before the chain even lifted, warning him that another powerful exertion could leave him helpless.

 He hesitated, then reached for a length of broken pipe lying beside the wall. The metal was cold against his palm, and he used its jagged end to strike the chain near the lock.

 The first blow only dented the rusted surface.

 The second sent a sharp vibration through his wrist, but the lock remained intact. He gritted his teeth and struck again, ignoring the pain in his hand until the chain finally snapped free and fell against the gate.

 The scraping behind him stopped.

 Will turned slowly, his pulse hammering as he stared into the dim alley. A dark shape had appeared at the entrance, crouched low against the ground, with pale eyes reflecting the weak light from the street.

 It was not the same creature he had struck with the metal panel.

 This one was smaller, but its movements were quicker, and its claws clicked against the concrete as it advanced. Will's injured vision blurred at the edges, and he knew he could not count on his telekinesis to save him again.

 He pulled the gate open and slipped through, forcing it shut behind him just as the creature lunged. Its claws struck the metal with a violent clang, and the impact rattled the entire frame.

 Will stumbled backward, fighting to keep his balance as pain flashed behind his eyes. He had escaped the traffic, but the service road offered no immediate shelter, and the creature was already clawing at the gate.

 He tightened his grip on the broken pipe and searched the road ahead for somewhere he could defend himself. The sky above the buildings had darkened, and the air was growing colder against his damp skin.

 His destination was still far away, his ability was becoming unreliable, and the first disaster wave had not even reached its full strength.

 Will swallowed the taste of blood where he had bitten the inside o

f his cheek and moved toward the nearest building, knowing he had no choice but to keep going.

 Behind him, the metal gate groaned beneath another impact, and the creature began forcing its way through.