"Take us home." Fred shouted to the driver as they were nearing a spot they could reverse in, blasting a few ghouls with his pistol. It wasn't a pretty sight with all them people gettin' eat, but some idiot though they'd survive it by holing up in some building. They sure as hell were not going to make it and were only surviving on hope and desperation, but perhaps that was all they needed. "Sorry Slim, we... [i]I[i/] had no choice." He shouted after Garsin, probably not heard. 

"Alright turn it 'round!" Fred told the driver, climbing over onto the other side and hopping into the passenger seat. He looked to the radio, then at the mass of ghouls trying to get in the building with the people he left back. At least he could do something for them. He shot a few of the ghouls going after the people, then turned on some music - random shit you'd expect in a bar of some hillbillies, maybe upper class hillbillies - before waving the man to take them home. Instinctively the Canuck lit up a cigar and put it in his mouth, waiting a while before taking a puff. "And yet it didn't have to be like this. Look jack, Eli's a fine man and all but we come back to refuge with a half full truck and we're pretty fucked in terms of public opinion. People are going to be spitting in our food bars and such, though I guess that might be considered an improvement. When we get back, it wasn't our fault you hear? It was Eli and the others who though they were tough shit and got us encircled like that by not paying attention not the time and all. We tell 'em all that we grabbed what we could before the ghouls blocking our path. Seeing what happened, even if they do survive I reckon it'll be only one or two and it's our word against their's while there'll be more of us. But just in case, keep our story vague. Right?" Finally, a massive inhalation of the cigar's smoke came, and blowing it out to fill up the whole enclosure. 

Fred heard a mutter of protest and grinned. "Maybe we're setting up the other people but who cares? We're ordinary civilians, we don't know shit and have IQ lower than the room temperature in freaking celsius right? Who can blame us for panicking? Nobody, but the organizers of this fuckfest can be blamed and we are just poor folks trying to save our hides. We acted rationally and should defend our position." This seemed a little more satisfactory to the driver as they rode on back and then Fred reached over to turn off the music completely. "Right, we got some heat off of them but we don't want to bring home a load of drooling ghouls with knife, fork, and fucking spoon. I've been wanting to make a bar in this dump, do well and you might get yourself the first taste of hooch we had here in a while ya hear?" 

As they neared "home," Fred rubbed his face to proverbially and literally rub the shame off of his face. "Give them a few honks." He said stepping out. "Let's hope we won't end up being part of some rescue party." He added after the driver honked, and the rather small party of the more athletic or just selfish people disembarked from the automobile, waiting for their fate. Another thought struck Fred: if Eli didn't come back there'd be a large power vacuum.