Chapter 637: Chapter 637: Persistence (Part 7)

The moment the crying girl came into view, the atmosphere inside the vehicle changed.

But not evenly.

Olynk straightened immediately, eyes fixed ahead beneath furrowed brows.

Charles froze beside him, gaze narrowing as he studied the figure standing alone in the middle of the ruined street.

K-4 didn’t speak at all. His rifle simply rose another inch, barrel aligned directly toward the child through the fractured windshield.

Don’s reaction came first from instinct.

Not sympathy.

Suspicion.

His eyes locked onto the girl while his foot pressed harder against the accelerator.

VRRROOOOMMM—~

The truck surged forward violently, tires crunching over loose debris scattered across the road.

A corpse near the curb disappeared beneath the front wheel with a wet crunch before the rear tire rolled over it a second later.

Olynk’s eyes widened.

"What do you think you’re doing!?" he shouted, one hand slamming against the back of Don’s seat as the vehicle shot forward faster. "That could be a real person!"

Don didn’t answer immediately.

His focus stayed ahead.

Beastshift pushed through his senses, layering heat signatures across his vision despite the interference around them.

The child still registered. Body heat. Shape. Movement.

But it seemed too normal.

That was the problem.

The environment ruined clarity. Fires burned across nearby structures, hot metal still radiated from wrecked vehicles, and blood-covered pavement retained uneven heat from recent destruction.

Even with enhanced perception, isolating details precisely while moving this fast wasn’t clean.

No visible spine-worm.

No visible abnormalities.

But that didn’t mean anything.

At the same time, fragmented augmented overlays flickered weakly across the edge of his sight.

Distances. Obstacles. Vehicle trajectory. Nothing close to what it had been while connected to Citadel systems.

Winter’s disconnected support left only degraded predictive assistance behind.

Useful. But not reliable.

Don tightened his jaw at this.

"I’ll go around it," he said finally.

The words sounded calm enough.

His driving didn’t.

The road ahead had narrowed badly. Wrecked cars blocked entire sections of the street, some overturned completely while others sat crushed together from previous impacts.

Bodies littered the gaps between them—soldiers, civilians, infected—many already flattened enough that the tires bumped over them unevenly as Don forced the truck through.

The suspension groaned with every hit.

Charles continued watching the child through the windshield. His brows pulled together slightly before he leaned back against the seat.

"...do what your gut tells you to, Don."

That was all.

It wasn’t approval.

Nor was it disagreement.

Just acceptance of the risk sitting in front of them.

K-4 remained silent.

His rifle stayed raised.

Finger inching closer to the trigger.

The truck pushed faster down the ruined street while the crying grew clearer through the broken windows.

It sounded genuine.

The sobs came unevenly, breath catching between them like someone trying and failing to calm themselves. Wet. Panicked. Small.

But something about it crawled wrong under Don’s skin.

He couldn’t isolate one detail.

Couldn’t logically explain it.

Yet every instinct he had screamed the same answer.

Not human.

K-4 seemed to lean toward the same conclusion. His grip tightened harder around the rifle, knuckles whitening beneath bloodstained gloves while the muzzle steadied directly on the child’s center mass.

Then Olynk moved.

"Just stop for a moment!?"

His hand shot forward and clamped onto Don’s shoulder hard enough to jolt against the seat. "If that’s really a child we can’t just—"

He never finished.

Don suddenly jerked the wheel sideways.

SKRRRREEECH—~

The truck swerved hard around an overturned sedan, missing the exposed frame by barely inches before snapping violently back into lane.

Everyone inside shifted with the motion. Charles slammed against the door while K-4 caught himself against the dashboard without lowering his weapon.

Now they were close.

Very close.

And Don finally saw it.

The child’s hands.

Blood covered them almost completely, dripping down thin fingers and soaking into the sleeves of oversized clothing.

Flesh sat packed beneath the fingernails in uneven strips.

But there were no cuts. 𝐟𝕣𝕖𝐞𝐰𝕖𝚋𝐧𝗼𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝗰𝐨𝐦

No torn skin.

No bite marks.

Not even the smallest scratch.

Maybe she was a superhuman.

Maybe.

Don still wasn’t willing to gamble on it.

The truck shifted slightly left as he prepared to pass her.

"Slow down!" Olynk yelled, gripping Don’s shoulder harder.

Visible irritation crossed Don’s face. He glanced back sharply, shrugging the hand away—

Then turned forward again.

The child lowered her hands.

Fully.

Blood coated her mouth and chin thickly, smeared across pale skin in heavy streaks. Her sobbing continued exactly the same way as before, but now the disconnect became obvious.

Her lips barely moved.

And her eyes—

Empty.

Not emotionless.

Vacant.

K-4 reacted instantly.

The rifle snapped upward the final inch as his finger tightened against the trigger.

Then the child opened her mouth.

And screamed.

SKRRRREEEEEEEEEEE—~

The sound hit like something physical.

Not like the roar prior to the horde before.

This was worse.

Higher.

Sharper.

Visible distortions burst outward from her mouth in rippling waves, the air itself warping as the scream slammed directly into the truck.

With no proper windshield, the sound hit them hard.

KRK-KRAK-KRRRSH~

Thin cracks exploded across the remaining glass while metal along the vehicle frame groaned loudly under the pressure.

K-4 winced hard, his rifle jerking violently off-target as the scream overwhelmed his balance.

Blood leaked suddenly from one nostril while his teeth clenched hard enough to show strain through his jaw.

Charles doubled forward slightly, one hand pressing against the side of his head as his injured wing twitched violently behind him.

Olynk swore loudly, eyes squeezing shut for half a second as he tried to brace himself against the dashboard.

Don’s vision blurred immediately.

The street ahead smeared.

Sound disappeared beneath the scream until nothing remained except that noise drilling through his skull.

At the same time, numbness spread through both hands in sharp bursts, tiny needle-like sensations stabbing across his fingers and palms until touch barely registered properly anymore.

Steering became difficult.

Distance became worse.

The overturned vehicle ahead—

Too close.

Much too close.

By the time Don realized how near it was—

Impact.

CRAAASH—!!

The truck clipped the side of the overturned car at full speed.

The entire vehicle lifted violently onto one side before momentum rolled it completely over.

Inside, everyone slammed sideways instantly.

K-4 struck the dashboard shoulder-first before the seatbelt snapped him backward.

Charles crashed hard against Olynk as shattered glass and loose debris exploded through the cabin.

Outside—

The truck stayed low to the ground as it flipped, spinning brutally across the ruined street.

SKRRRRRRRRRCH—~

The scream still battered against it.

Metal panels bent inward visibly while windows burst apart completely.

One tire tore free from the axle and skipped off into the street.

Sparks erupted beneath the grinding frame as the truck rolled directly toward the infected child.

The thing kept screaming.

Soundwaves distorted visibly around it, forcing loose debris backward across the asphalt.

Nearby car alarms from still working vehicles erupted all at once before dying abruptly under the pressure.

Windows in nearby storefronts that weren’t already destroyed were shattered outward seconds later.

But the scream couldn’t stop the truck’s momentum.

The flipping vehicle hit the child head-on.

CRUNCH—THOOOMPH—!!

The impact disappeared beneath twisting metal and spinning wreckage as the truck rolled over her completely, dragging across the street with brutal force.

The infected body vanished beneath the undercarriage for half a second before being crushed under the continuing rotation.

The truck finally slammed back onto its side.

Then onto its wheels.

BOOOM—~

The suspension collapsed unevenly as it skidded another several meters before grinding to a halt against the side of a wrecked bus.

Silence didn’t come immediately.

The tires continued spinning uselessly.

VRRRRRR—~

Smoke rose from the crushed engine in thick waves while sparks dripped from twisted metal beneath the vehicle.

One door hung partially open, bent outward from the collision while fluids leaked steadily across the ruined pavement below.