World War Z_ An Oral History of the Zombie War ( PDFDrive )

PARNELL AIR NATIONAL GUARD BASE: MEMPHIS, TENNESSEE,
USA
[Gavin Blaire pilots one of the D-17 combat dirigibles that make up the core of
America’s Civil Air Patrol. It is a task well suited to him. In civilian life, he piloted
a Fujifilm blimp.]
It stretched to the horizon: sedans, trucks, buses, RVs, anything that could drive. I saw tractors, I
saw a cement mixer. Seriously, I even saw a flatbed with nothing but a giant sign on it, a billboard
advertising a “Gentlemen’s Club.” People were sitting on top of it. People were riding on top of
everything, on roofs, in between luggage racks. It reminded me of some old picture of trains in
India with people hanging on them like monkeys.
All kinds of crap lined the road—suitcases, boxes, even pieces of expensive furniture. I saw a
grand piano, I’m not kidding, just smashed like it was thrown off the top of a truck. There were also
a lot of abandoned cars. Some had been pushed over, some were stripped, some looked burned
out. I saw a lot of people on foot, walking across the plains or alongside the road. Some were
knocking on windows, holding up all kinds of stuff. A few women were exposing themselves. They
must have been looking to trade, probably gas. They couldn’t have been looking for rides, they
were moving faster than cars. It wouldn’t make sense, but…[shrugs].
Back down the road, about thirty miles, traffic was moving a little better. You’d think the mood
would be calmer. It wasn’t. People were flashing their lights, bumping the cars in front of them,
getting out and throwing down. I saw a few people lying by the side of the road, barely moving or
not at all. People were running past them, carrying stuff, carrying children, or just running, all in
the same direction of the traffic. A few miles later, I saw why.
Those creatures were swarming among the cars. Drivers on the outer lanes tried to veer off the
road, sticking in the mud, trapping the inner lanes. People couldn’t open their doors. The cars were
too tightly packed. I saw those things reach in open windows, pulling people out or pulling
themselves in. A lot of drivers were trapped inside. Their doors were shut and, I’m assuming,
locked. Their windows were rolled up, it was safety tempered glass. The dead couldn’t get in, but
the living couldn’t get out. I saw a few people panic, try to shoot through their windshields,
destroying the only protection they had. Stupid. They might have bought themselves a few hours in
there, maybe even a chance to escape. Maybe there was no escape, just a quicker end. There was
a horse trailer, hitched to a pickup in the center lane. It was rocking crazily back and forth. The
horses were still inside.