We lay still on the floor, counting shots until they finally finished-32. I didn’t bother looking at what was left of Chuck – I hastily shovelled a few mouthfuls of his untouched meal, tossed the rest down Junior’s wriggling gullet and ran out of the room. I could hear shouting and running footsteps from the stairwell at the far end of the hall, so I dodged down the closer one, taking the steps two at a time. Junior followed awkwardly, faceplanting with a squish at the base of the stairs.

I kicked open the fire door, revealing the dusty boneyard of derelict vehicles I had entered through. We rushed aboard the nearest vehicle; a big yellow school bus. I wiped frantically at the dust on the console, enough to clear away the fuel gauge. It was maybe a millimeter short of empty – and the keys were in the ignition. Good enough for me.
The roar of the engine alerted the bandits, and I soon heard their shots pinging off the bus’ roof. We hit the open desert at full speed – immediately seeing pink in the rear-view.