The truck loomed ahead, its rusted frame twisted across the width of the bridge, blocking their path like some giant fallen beast. Its windows were shattered, its cargo doors hanging open, the stench of rot seeping from within. Beyond it, Xinyi could see the faint outline of trees on the far bank, the promise of shelter, of escape. But the truck made that promise a cruel joke. There was no clear way past.
The roar of the monstrous infected behind them rose again, louder, closer. The bridge trembled beneath their feet as the horde surged forward, a sea of snarling mouths and clawed hands, driven on by the giant that led them. Every second lost meant the end.
Xinyi's mind raced. The wreck was too large to climb over in time, too tight to squeeze through without getting stuck. They needed a way through, fast. She turned to Ren, who was already scanning the wreckage, his eyes narrowed, calculating.
"There's a fuel tank on the underside," Ren said, his voice tight with urgency. "If we can ignite it, we can blast a hole big enough to get through."
Zhao Ming swore under his breath. "Or we bring the whole bridge down on top of ourselves."
"Got a better idea?" Ren shot back.
Xie Yan was already moving, pulling free a flare from his belt. "We don't have time. Do it."
Together they scrambled toward the wreck, dodging broken beams of steel and twisted metal. Ren slid beneath the truck, his hands quick and sure despite the shaking of the bridge and the deafening roar of the horde. Xinyi covered him, her pistol raised, eyes darting between the truck and the oncoming tide of death. She could see them now, the infected pouring onto the bridge, the giant at their head, its massive form illuminated by the glow of the fires behind it. Its skin was stretched tight over unnatural muscle, its mouth a jagged gash of teeth, its eyes burning with a terrible hunger.
Ren crawled out, his face streaked with oil and grime. "It's primed. Light it."
Xie Yan didn't hesitate. He struck the flare, the red light blinding in the darkness, and shoved it beneath the truck.
"Run!" he barked, grabbing Xinyi's arm, pulling her back.
They sprinted for the side of the bridge, diving behind the rusting shell of an old maintenance vehicle as the fuel tank ignited. The explosion ripped through the night, a thunderous blast that shook the world, sending flames and shrapnel into the air. The truck tore apart in a storm of fire, the force of the blast throwing debris across the bridge, tearing a hole through the wreckage.
The blast caught the front ranks of the horde, hurling them into the river below, their screams lost beneath the roar of the fire. But the giant kept coming, its body charred but unbroken, its roar of rage shaking the steel bones of the bridge.
Xinyi didn't look back. She ran, heart pounding, feet barely finding purchase on the cracked surface as they sprinted through the smoking wreckage toward the gap the explosion had torn. Flames licked at their clothes, the heat searing their skin, the air thick with smoke and the stink of burning flesh.
They made it through, emerging onto the far end of the bridge, the river at their side, the dark forest beyond like a promise of salvation. But the giant did not stop. It followed, relentless, shoving aside burning wreckage, its eyes locked on them with murderous intent.
"There!" Ren pointed to a narrow service stair that led down from the bridge toward the riverbank. "It'll take us under the bridge, into the woods. Move!"
They didn't argue. One by one they clambered down the stair, the metal groaning beneath their weight, the water below black and churning. Xinyi's legs trembled with exhaustion, her body screaming for rest, but she kept going. She had to. Stopping meant death.
Above them, the giant reached the ruined truck, its massive hands tearing at the wreckage, trying to clear a path. The bridge groaned under its weight, the steel strained and warped from the explosion. Xinyi didn't dare look up again. She kept her eyes on the ground ahead, on the narrow path that led beneath the bridge and into the shadow of the trees.
They reached the bank, stumbling into the woods, the sounds of pursuit still close behind. The forest offered no comfort. The trees loomed tall and silent, the undergrowth thick and tangled. Every step was a battle, every branch a claw in the dark. The river to their left reflected the glow of the burning bridge, the light casting twisted shadows among the trunks.
They pushed on, their breaths ragged, their bodies pushed to the edge. The giant roared again, a sound of fury and pain, and for a moment Xinyi dared to hope it would give up, that the fire and the destruction would stop it. But then she heard it — the crack of steel, the groan of the bridge collapsing, the splash as the giant plunged into the river, still coming, still hunting.
Ren stumbled, catching himself against a tree, his face pale with terror. "It won't stop. It's not just infected anymore. It's something else. Something worse."
Xinyi forced herself to keep moving. The forest thickened, the ground rising, leading them up a slope away from the river. The sounds of the giant's pursuit grew muffled by distance and trees, but they knew it was there. They could feel it in the tremor of the earth, in the way the night seemed to hold its breath, waiting for the monster to break through the dark.
At the top of the slope, they found an old hunting cabin, half-collapsed, hidden among the trees. Ren pointed, hope flickering in his eyes. "We can barricade it. Buy some time. Think of something."
Xinyi nodded, her limbs heavy, her mind numb with fatigue. They stumbled toward the cabin, the giant's roar echoing through the night, closer than ever.
And then the trees behind them exploded outward, and the monster came through, tearing through the forest like a force of nature, its eyes blazing with hunger, its claws reaching for them.