[A/N: Hello everyone.
Alex is still having some issues.
Please give me some power stones and comment if you find any errors.]
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At an intersection in the city center.
The truck abruptly crashed into the front of the car, propelling it and causing it to spin before colliding with other vehicles. Meanwhile, Alex, who was driving his car, watched the accident closely, concerned for the well-being of Gerry and his family, and parked near where the vehicle ended up.
"Stay here", Alex instructed Alicia and her family as he approached. "Gerry, are you okay? And your family?", Alex asked as he approached the driver's window and looked inside the car.
"I'm fine", Gerry replied, somewhat disoriented, still shaken by the crash. "Karin, are you all right?", he asked, looking for any signs of injury from his wife and daughters.
"We're fine", Karin and one of her daughters replied.
"Gerry, Rachel isn't feeling well. We need to give her medication", Karin mentioned, noting her eldest daughter's condition.
"Rachel, honey, do you have your inhaler?", he asked gently, seeing his daughter's face growing worryingly pale.
"We need to get out of here", Gerry said, noticing his daughter shaking her head. "Thank you so much, Alex. If you hadn't warned me, the accident could have had more serious consequences", Gerry told Alex, visibly grateful.
"You're welcome. Although it would have been better if I had noticed the truck earlier", Alex replied, relieved to see that Gerry and his family were uninjured. However, he noticed that Gerry's eldest daughter was a little pale, but he thought that was just because she was scared.
They both began to inspect the condition of Gerry's vehicle, but soon realized it was unusable. Faced with this situation and the urgent need for a new car, Gerry began to look around, but what he found were people running away in terror and crashed cars. However, something in the distance caught his attention.
He saw a seriously injured man slowly approaching a woman who had been knocked to the ground by the unruly crowd. This man, who appeared to be in very bad condition, lunged at the woman and bit her neck. Gerry couldn't believe what he was seeing; at first, he assumed the man was a relative who, despite his injuries, was trying to help the woman, but the scene he witnessed was completely different.
Most alarming was that some people were running with bite marks similar to those of the woman attacked by the man or were attacking others in the same manner as he had earlier.
"What's going on?", Gerry asked with some concern. Although there weren't many people attacked or the attackers, these assaults were occurring in broad daylight, which greatly disoriented Gerry.
"Looks like it's finally started", Alex said, noticing what Gerry was seeing. "We should go", he instructed a still-surprised Gerry, holding his shoulder firmly to snap him out of his daze.
"That's true", Gerry nodded, understanding that the situation was extremely dangerous and that he needed to get his family out of there. "What did Alex mean by 'it's finally started'?", Gerry mused as he looked around for a vehicle he could use to get his family out of danger.
"This one might do the trick", Alex told Gerry after finding an abandoned car.
"Thanks", Gerry replied to Alex as he hurried off to find his family.
Once Gerry managed to get his family to the car, Alex returned to his own car, where Alicia, Nick, and Madison were waiting, clearly nervous and worried.
"Are you all, right?", he asked as he started his vehicle and continued the same path the truck that had hit Gerry's car had taken.
"We're fine", Alicia replied, although Nick had a scared expression.
"How are the man and his family?", Madison asked, holding on tight.
"They're fine, a little dazed, but nothing serious has happened to them", Alex replied as he skillfully navigated between the cars, cautiously ignoring a few red lights.
Gerry was behind Alex's vehicle, following his example, the city busier than before. As they drove a couple of blocks away from the center, Gerry realized the streets were fairly deserted, so he honked his horn and flashed his lights several times, getting Alex's attention.
"What's wrong?", Alex asked as he stopped his car and approached Gerry, who had done the same.
"I need to get some medicine for my daughter", Gerry explained with concern. "By the way, thanks for helping with what just happened", he added with a tone of gratitude.
"No need to say thank you", Alex replied, dismissively. "What's wrong with your daughter?", Alex inquired. "He has asthma, I need to get him Albuterol and an inhaler", Gerry replied.
"I have what you need in my car. Wait here", Alex told Gerry, who felt a little more at ease knowing he could help his daughter sooner than he expected. "I'll get some medication for Gerry. I'll be right back. If you can, call Travis", Alex suggested to Alicia as she walked away with the medicine.
"Here you go", Alex told Gerry, handing him a couple of small boxes along with a slightly larger one.
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[A/N: Finally, the preparations are worth something.]
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"Thank you so much, Alex. You're always helping us out", Karin mentioned, approaching after noticing the conversation between her husband and Alex.
"You're welcome. I hope this helps for a while", Alex replied kindly as Karin approached the car to help her daughter. "Though if you need it, I have more at my safe house", Alex casually commented to Gerry.
"By the way, what did you mean earlier when you said it's finally started?", Gerry asked, remembering Alex's earlier expression and also paying attention to his comment about a safe house.
"Well, it's a long story… I imagine you noticed what was going on back there when people started attacking each other", Alex began to explain, as Gerry nodded in response. "These people, as I was saying before, have been infected by a virus, and it makes them act this way. I got this information a couple of weeks ago, but it was just speculation. However, a sixth sense told me it could happen, and I prepared accordingly", Alex added.
"Do you know if it's happening all over the world?", Gerry asked Alex.
"Unfortunately, yes", Alex stated ruefully.
At that moment, Gerry's car radio, which Karin had turned on, crackled with an alert message.
"ATTENTION! ATTENTION! This is a message from the country's military. From this moment on, all movements in the city are prohibited. A mandatory curfew has been established until further notice. Stay home and take shelter!", the message read, which was repeated three times.
"Looks like we have to go", Alex commented, noticing Alicia waving at him in a panicked tone from the car. "If you want, you can come with us. I have enough supplies for everyone to last a while, and I also have more medicine for your daughter in case of emergency", Alex suggested to Gerry, who also noticed that his family seemed very concerned about the message.
"Okay", Gerry replied after some thought. "We'll bother you again", he commented, a little embarrassed.
"It's not a bother", Alex replied as he got into his car.
"We're leaving", Alex said as soon as he got in. "We can't stay here. I could put you in danger, so we'll go to the house I mentioned before first, and then I'll go find Travis", Alex added in a serious tone as she started the car and began driving toward one of the safe houses in the northeast part of the city.
"Okay", Madison replied.
"By the way, were you able to contact Travis?", Alex asked.
"Yes, he's near the northeast part of the city, but he told us some of the protesters are gathering in that area, causing havoc and attacking the police", Alicia replied, worried.
Alex droves quickly, while Gerry followed close behind. After fifteen minutes of cautious driving, they reached an area of large houses. Alex stopped in front of one, got out of the car, and began looking around.
Noting that there was no danger nearby, she opened a spare door in the house's metal gate. Upon entering, she removed some of the steel bars that served as the gate's lock. After opening the gate, she signaled for Gerry in his car to drive through and park. After Gerry's car entered, Alex did the same with his own and then closed the gate again, replacing the security bars.
"Is everyone okay?", Alex asked.
"We're fine, Alex", Karin replied as she hugged her daughters tightly.
"Alex, Travis called me and said there's a group of soldiers monitoring the area, and they might not be able to move from where they are", Madison said, clutching her phone tightly.
"Let's go inside first and then we'll discuss how to get out of here", Alex said in a calm tone.
Everyone entered the house and was shocked by what they saw. Inside the house, there were many things piled up in every available space, leaving only enough space to move between rooms or other areas of the house. There were supplies, boxes of medicine, bite-resistant clothing, boots, and many other things.
"You weren't lying when you said you were prepared", Gerry commented, noticing the meticulous preparations. "A group of 10 people could last a couple of months with these supplies", Gerry thought as he watched the rest of the crowd react.
"What does he mean?", Madison asked Alex after hearing Gerry's comment.
"Well, first, everyone drinks some water and eat something sweet", Alex said, as she headed into the kitchen and placed a pitcher of ice water, glasses, and some chocolates on the living room table.
"First, as I've mentioned to some of you, what's happening is due to a new virus of unknown origin", Alex began to explain as he sat comfortably on one of the single sofas. "This virus is highly contagious and causes erratic behavior in people. They can even attack other people, biting or scratching them, thus infecting their victims", Alex added.
Alex felt quite relieved to be able to tell people about the zombies. He had spent the last few days frustrated, scared, and even feeling hopeless because of the visions he had been having.
He knew that if he told people about this, they would dismiss him as crazy, try to lock him up, or even those responsible for the virus might try to silence them. However, now the situation was different; now everyone could witness the very thing that worried him during the day and tormented him at night.
"Do you know if there's a cure?", Gerry asked Alex in a calm tone. "Why does he seem so calm?", Gerry wondered, noticing the way Alex's tenseness eased as he explained everything. Gerry signaled Karin to take her daughters somewhere else, preventing them from hearing things that might make them even more anxious.
"Apparently not", Alex replied with a forced smile. "What I know so far is that it's transmitted through bites or direct contact between a wound and the blood of those infected, and the scratches are just a guess. Also, I know that people literally die and then come back to life…" Alex was commenting when Madison interrupted him.
"You mean my neighbor was dead?", Madison asked, remembering her neighbor's condition when Nick attacked her earlier.
"That's right", Alex replied. "Gerry saw some of these people on the streets attacking others, and he must have noticed their condition", Alex commented, looking at Gerry.
"What Alex says is true", Gerry confirmed with a contemplative look. "The people who attacked others had bite marks and their blood was clotted. Plus, their complexions were too pale", Gerry described in detail.
"Those things are out there?", Alicia asked.
"Then we should go save Travis", Madison said with a desperate look.
"Don't worry, I'll help you", Alex told Madison firmly, placing a calming hand on her shoulder.
"We'll help you", Gerry corrected.
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[A/N: CHAPTER COMPLETED
Thanks everyone for reading.
I hope you enjoyed it.
I wanted to expand on the stories in these first few hours, but I know you don't like filler chapters.
Read my other novel called Vinland Kingdom: Race Against Time.
You can find it on my profile.]