They progressed cautiously, passing several more of the truly dead. One feature stood out among all the bodies they saw; many of them had been visibly shot through the forehead, others had damaged facial bones; enough of them that they began to think someone had intentionally come through and put down all of the trapped zombies many years ago.
It had to have been some time ago; zombie flesh didn’t suddenly become more appetizing just because the zombie had been dispatched, but afterward they did fall apart more easily. Neither Ben nor Claire knew why, nor did either care very much at that moment; they were just grateful they could make some progress, even if it would lead them to ground level and into danger again.
When the highway did finally give them the chance to descent, they faced a choice. They’d reached the next off-ramp, this one unblocked and leading down and into a section of the old city some distance from the Core.
“Do we go down now, or stay up here?” Ben put the question to words. They’d relaxed a little on the silence since realizing all of the dead had been put down long ago, but were still keeping their words to a minimum.
Claire frowned in thought. “How long does it go on like this? How far is it elevated?”
“Goes on a few more exits I think. It’s been a while since I drove it,” he added with a sardonic smile.
“Some of the zombies … the dead could be stuck up here with us.”
“True,” he agreed. “But odds are probably not a whole lot of ‘em, and we know for sure there are a lot of ‘em down there, especially so close to the city core.” Ideally he’d prefer to stay above the ground until they were entirely clear of developed areas, but unfortunately the highway just wasn’t built that way. It’d be back on the ground eventually.