Wednesday, December 10, 2025, 9:11 AM
Countdown to Extraction: 65 Hours, 30 Minutes Remaining
The Jeep tore down the ruined residential road, trying to outrun the apocalypse.
No one spoke. The heavy V8 engine whined in protest as Ethan pushed the truck to its absolute limit, the mud tires hissing over cracked asphalt and crushed debris. Somewhere miles behind them, the cataclysmic rumble of the carpet bombing continued to shake the earth, but inside the cabin, the silence was deafening.
The morning sun had been entirely blotted out by towering pillars of black smoke. A thick, unnatural twilight had fallen over Savannah, casting a bruised, sickly orange glow over the dashboard. Flakes of grey ash were already beginning to fall like dirty snow, sticking to the windshield.
The inside of the Jeep smelled like diesel exhaust, stale sweat, and the sharp, undeniable copper tang of Marcus's blood.
Marcus was gone.
That brutal reality sat in the vehicle like a rotting corpse no one was willing to look at.
Dot's hands were clenched tight in her lap, her fingers locked together so fiercely her knuckles had gone bone-white. Her chest hitched every few seconds, drawing sharp, jagged breaths she couldn't seem to smooth out. Renee stared blankly out the side window, her jaw locked tight, her bloodshot eyes tracking shadows in the ash. Mari was folded inward in the passenger seat, her arms wrapped tightly around her own torso, shaking as she wept silently.
And Tally—
Tally sat rigid in the middle of the backseat.
Her eyes were dry. She wasn't grieving. The wild panic from the ditch had faded, leaving behind a cold, toxic mask of sheer entitlement. She radiated a hostile, bitter energy, her posture defensive, like she was daring someone to say a word.
Ethan slowed slightly, easing the heavy Wrangler around an overturned, burning sedan. He didn't look in the rearview mirror. He couldn't. His grip on the steering wheel was iron-hard.
The silence stretched. It pulled tight, suffocating them all in the dark orange glow.
Then, it cracked.
Renee snapped.
"This is your fault."
The words hit the air like a physical slap across the face.
Tally turned her head slowly, a sneer already forming on her lips. "Excuse me?"
Renee whirled on her fully, the fragile restraint she'd been clinging to since Marcus fell finally shattering into pieces. Her voice rose, sharp and shaking with rage.
"Marcus is dead because of you," Renee spat. "Just like Justin."
Tally didn't even flinch. The defensive armor locked into place instantly. "Don't put this on me!" she shot back, her upper lip curling. "I wasn't the one driving! I wasn't the one who decided to leave my brother behind!"
"Justin made his own choice!" Ethan barked from the front seat, his eyes darting to the mirror. "He drew them off so we could live. Marcus died because you threw a spoiled, screaming tantrum in the middle of a war zone!"
"I was grieving!" Tally shrieked.
"You were being a selfish brat!" Dot fired back from the corner, her voice breaking with devastation. "You rang the dinner bell, Tally! You screamed at the top of your lungs and brought them right to us! You killed him!"
Tally's face twisted into an ugly, hateful mask. She looked around the Jeep, realizing she was cornered, and immediately went on the attack. She refused to carry the weight.
"Oh, so I'm the villain?" Tally yelled, pointing a shaking finger at Mari in the front seat. "What about her? If the little princess here hadn't needed to puke her guts out every five minutes, we wouldn't have even been stopped on the side of the road!"
Mari let out a broken sob, shrinking against the passenger door. "I know," she wept into her hands. "I know it's my fault—"
"Yeah, it is!" Tally snapped, leaning forward, spit flying from her lips. "Justin went back into that alley for you, and you couldn't even keep your shit together long enough to keep us moving! You are dragging us all down!"
"Shut your mouth, Tally," Renee hissed, unbuckling her seatbelt and leaning over the seat.
"No, I won't shut up!" Tally screamed, thrashing in her spot, her sense of entitlement blinding her to the blood on their clothes. "You're all hypocrites! You act so high and mighty, but you left Kenzie to die! You left Justin to die! But sure, blame me because I'm the only one who gives a damn about my family!"
"You don't give a damn about anyone but yourself!" Renee roared.
"Screw you!"
Tally swung her arm, aiming a wild, closed-fist backhand at Renee's face.
The blow clipped Renee's cheekbone.
That was it. The dam broke.
Renee lunged across the backseat. She grabbed a massive fistful of Tally's blonde hair and violently yanked her downward. Tally shrieked, clawing frantically at Renee's arms, kicking her heavy boots against the back of Ethan's seat.
"Get off me! Get off me, you crazy bitch!" Tally howled.
The Jeep swerved hard as the fight spilled over the center console. Dot pressed herself against the door to avoid the flailing limbs, yelling at them to stop. Ethan fought the steering wheel, swearing loudly as the truck fish-tailed on the ash-covered road.
Tally managed to rip her head free, leaving a clump of hair in Renee's fist. She spit blood from a bitten lip and lunged upward, her hands hooking into claws aimed straight for Renee's eyes.
Renee blocked the swipe with her forearm. She grabbed Tally by the heavy collar of her winter jacket and shoved her hard, pinning her against the passenger window.
Then, Renee drew her hand back and slapped the shit out of her.
CRACK.
The sound of the impact was louder than a gunshot in the cramped cabin. Tally's head snapped violently to the side, her cheek instantly blooming an angry, bright red. She slumped against the ballistic glass, stunned into silence, her chest heaving as she tasted her own blood.
Renee knelt on the leather seat, breathing heavy, her eyes wild with unfiltered hatred. She pointed a trembling finger inches from Tally's bleeding nose.
"Say one more word," Renee breathed, her voice a deadly, venomous whisper. "Make one more sound."
Tally stared back, her fake defiance finally crumbling into pathetic, wide-eyed fear.
Renee didn't wait for an answer. She turned her head toward the front seat, her rage boiling over.
"Pull over!" Renee screamed at Ethan, her voice shredding her throat. "Pull the damn car over and put this bitch out on the street!"
Ethan's eyes met hers in the rearview mirror.
"I mean it!" Renee shrieked, pounding her fist on the back of his headrest. "Kick her out! Nobody wants her here anyway! She is dead weight, and she is going to get every single one of us killed!"
Wednesday, December 10, 2025, 9:25 AM
Countdown to Extraction: 65 Hours, 16 Minutes Remaining