Leaving the town, we headed north. If all went well, we'd reach the farm in three days.
"Entering mountainous terrain ahead," my husband announced over the walkie-talkie. He knew every route to his family's farm like the back of his hand.
Mountains meant tunnels—highways and railways often pierced straight through peaks.
An inexplicable unease settled over me. Claustrophobia seems innate in humans. The thought of millions of tons of rock overhead felt far less comforting than open skies.
The first tunnel appeared quickly. Instead of charging in, the convoy halted at the entrance. We'd send scouts first.
Yan Quan volunteered eagerly, but Sixth Brother refused. Yan Quan's flamboyance felt rash; Sixth Brother, as de facto leader, didn't want him overshadowing the group so soon.
There was another reason: Sixth Brother didn't fully trust Yan Quan yet. Who knew what tricks he might pull in the tunnel? A veteran of the underworld, Sixth Brother never accepted newcomers lightly.
The scouting team—Paolo, Erbao, Lao Wu, and Meng Yidong—drove a Land Rover into the pitch-black tunnel.
Three minutes in, panicked shouts erupted from the walkie-talkie: "Zombie horde! We're surrounded! Can't reverse! Need backup! Backup now…!"
Sixth Brother's face paled. Being trapped in a tunnel by zombies was a nightmare. The tunnel lights were dead; only headlights pierced the darkness. Our people were in grave danger!
Sixth Brother acted fast: half the fighters stayed to guard the elders and children; the rest drove into the tunnel for rescue.
My husband and I were left outside. Watching the vehicles disappear into the tunnel, my anxiety spiked.
When Sixth Brother's team reached the tunnel's midpoint, the scene horrified them.
Dozens of zombies had overturned the scouts' Land Rover. Only the guardrail prevented claws from reaching inside.
"Paolo! Lao Wu! Hold on! We're here!" A-Ze shouted over the walkie-talkie.
"Paolo's injured! Hurry! We can't hold much longer!" Erbao's voice replied—at least they were alive!
The rescue team leaped out, blades drawn. The zombies, sensing fresh prey, abandoned the vehicle and charged.
A bloody battle ensued.
Twenty minutes later, the last zombie fell.
Pulling the four from the wrecked Rover, we saw Paolo's arm was badly clawed. He was infected.
Exhausted, we cleared zombie corpses to the tunnel sides so the convoy could pass.
Paolo's face was ashen, half-conscious. He muttered, "Quick… bash my skull…"
Paolo, 19, had been orphaned young and taken in by Sixth Brother, who trained him in martial arts. He'd become Sixth Brother's personal bodyguard—hence the nickname "Paolo" (from his surname Luo).
He'd fought loyally all this way, only to fall in a dark tunnel.
Erbao wept beside him. "Paolo was in the passenger seat. When the Rover flipped, I landed on top of him—the zombies couldn't reach him. But he struggled out and shielded me… and got clawed."
Sixth Brother's brow furrowed, but he didn't order Paolo's execution. No one dared speak up.
"Put Paolo in my vehicle—not the back seat, the trunk. I have chains. Secure him," Sixth Brother said tersely. Everyone stared in shock.
Sixth Brother intended to keep a zombie?
Meanwhile, outside the tunnel, the bus waited silently with the elders and children.
Suddenly, Momo rose and whispered to the driver. After hesitation, he let her out and quickly relocked the door.
"What's happening?" Dr. Ke'er yelled. "It's too dangerous for a woman to go out alone!"
"She said she had diarrhea. The bus toilet can't handle solid waste—it'd clog for the elders and kids," the driver explained.
"So troublesome! Doesn't she fear danger?" Dr. Ke'er fumed. Through the window, we saw Momo vanish into a nearby thicket—too shy to ask a male escort.
The guards saw her but felt awkward following a woman into the woods, so they kept watch from a distance.
Momo disappeared into the foliage.
Worried, I wanted to accompany her, but Jianan held me back. Like Second Brother protecting Shuai Shuai, he prioritized my safety above all.
Helpless, I watched the woods from the window.
Soon, figures emerged—but not Momo. A zombie horde!
With half our men in the tunnel, the remaining guards panicked. Dozens of zombies surged from the woods! How had so many gathered here?
"Momo must be…" I had no time to mourn. I alerted Dr. Ke'er to hold the children close as the threat descended.
Second Brother climbed onto the bus roof with his bow, picking off zombies nearing the doors.
Zombies swarmed all vehicles, rocking them violently.
One pounded the bus door. Second Brother's arrow dropped it instantly. A second zombie clambered over the corpse—another arrow found its mark.
He conserved his limited arrows for direct threats to the bus.
Our Land Rover was near the bus. Though Second Brother guarded it, I fretted for Shuai Shuai and my parents inside. Stabbing zombies through the window bars, I kept glancing back.
Distracted, I nearly got clawed by a zombie reaching through the bars. Jianan severed the limb just in time, snarling, "Back off! My wife's not on the menu!"
I broke into a cold sweat, refocusing on the fight.
The zombies were unevenly distributed. Some vehicles had only a few, easily handled by occupants. Others, like Chengzi, Lin Xiaodie, and Lin Xiaorui's car, were swarmed by over a dozen zombies.
Failing to breach the car, the zombies began rocking it violently. It tipped over!
"We have to save them!" I cried. Our vehicle was now clear of zombies.
"Everyone out! Clear the horde!" Jianan ordered via walkie-talkie.
Freed fighters leaped out; trapped ones stayed put.
We fought in small teams, back-to-back for safety. Second Brother, from the bus roof, snipe zombies approaching from blind spots, felling over a dozen.
Finally, the horde was eliminated—but six of us were wounded.
They were our comrades, our family. No one could bring themselves to deliver the final blow. As the wounded grew paler from blood loss, my heart ached. Leave them to turn? Or end their suffering now?
Their families wept over them. No one dared suggest mercy killing.
Just then, the tunnel rescue team drove out silently.
Emerging, they immediately sensed something wrong.
"Sis Duo, why didn't you call for help?" Sixth Brother's tone held reproach as he stood before the six dying companions.
"You were overwhelmed in the tunnel—fighting in darkness was hard enough. We didn't want to distract you," I explained weakly.
"Paolo's infected too. He's chained in my trunk. I… want to bring him along," Sixth Brother said with difficulty.
The idea stunned everyone. Traveling with a zombie? Absurd!
"I swear I'll control him! Heavy chains will secure him. If he ever threatens anyone, I'll end him myself," Sixth Brother vowed desperately.
I met his gaze. "Sixth Brother, tell us the truth. Is Paolo just your bodyguard?"
Sixth Brother's face fell. After a long pause, he whispered, "Paolo is my biological son… from an affair I had at 16 with another man's woman. No one knows—not even him. I kept him close under the guise of protection… to have him near me."
My heart broke for the suddenly aged Sixth Brother. Now I saw the resemblance—Paolo's young face mirrored his father's. As a parent myself, I couldn't force him to abandon his son, however risky it was.
Sixth Brother opened his trunk. Paolo lay unconscious, tightly bound in chains. "I prepared these chains for this day… Thank you for understanding, Sis Duo."
As for the other six wounded, no one could bear to kill or abandon them either. They were bound and placed in various vehicle trunks.