Go straight through!

You don't slow down, you slam your foot on the gas pedal and push it into the floor. The van's engine roars. You and Ritter both buckle your seat belts.

"Hang on!" You shout over the roaring engine.

The roadblock of cars fills your view through the front windshield. The moment before impact you see wide eyes staring at you through the twisted wreckage. Several men and women, armed, are lying in wait on the other side of the improvised roadblock. But they counted on you going around, taking the sidewalk. Instead, you're plowing straight through their place of concealment.

Then they disappear in a terrible crash. The safety glass windshield becomes opaque from impact, the airbags deploy. Metal grinds and snaps. All the while you keep your foot pressed down firmly against the floor.

Blood splashes the windshield. You slow, but with another lurch and grinding of metal you are moving again. Blood spills down your cheek from a cut caused by the airbag. You tear it from the wheel. You can barely see through the windshield.

"Knock it out!" You shout to Ritter.

He pounds the glass with the handle of his knife, breaking holes through it. You look in the rear mirror and see bodies sprawled on the asphalt. Five or six. Some of them trapped beneath the wrecked cars, one mangled completely.

Ritter finally breaks out the windshield and the air hits your face. You can see the gas station a few blocks ahead. Your heartbeat pounds in your chest with excitement. You look over at Ritter and you both laugh for having survived.

"Not bad," he admits.

You pull into the gas station. The pumps are shut off, but Ritter promises he can siphon gas out of the ground tank. With your help he removes the heavy iron cover and then dips a garden hose into the pungent liquid. He sucks on the other end, drawing fuel up the hose before feeding it into the van's gas tank.

The station seems reasonably intact. Fire damage, but maybe you can loot some food or other supplies. Of course there is a risk someone could be waiting inside. It would be safer to gas up and head to Ritter's surplus store. Ritter also looks like he wants to talk.