[A/N: Hello everyone.
New chapter.
Surprises are coming.
Please, please, comment or donate stones.]
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In front of the alley.
Travis's son Chris, along with Daniel, Nick, and Gerry, were the only witnesses to Alex's crucial moment. Gerry and Nick understood the reasons behind Alex's actions, but seeing one of those infected people face to face and seeing Alex eliminate it left them stunned, although Nick wore a more intense expression, as if he knew Alex was capable of such acts.
On the other hand, Chris and Daniel's reaction was different. Daniel, with a complex past, immediately sensed that the person who had nearly attacked his wife was in an altered state. He also regretted not having acted on time and expressed gratitude for Alex's intervention. Chris, for his part, was perplexed by what had happened; at first, he thought it was all a product of his imagination, but the motionless body told him otherwise.
"Yes, we need to leave. The situation is becoming very dangerous", said Gerry, who seemed somewhat nervous due to the increased gunfire.
They all began walking quickly again. Alex led the way back to the vehicle. After ten minutes of extreme caution and some bickering, which Daniel resolved, they finally arrived at the car. Alex realized that not everyone could travel together, so, except for him and Gerry, everyone crammed into the car as best they could.
"Alex, are you all going to be okay?" Nick asked with concern.
"Yes, Gerry and I will find another vehicle around here. You should go back and make sure everyone is safe", Alex replied confidently.
"Sure, we'll follow behind you", Gerry stated.
"Be careful when you arrive. You need to remove the metal bars from the gate and replace them once you're inside. Here's the key", Alex instructed Nick as he handed him the key for the auxiliary access.
"Take care, Alex, and you too, Gerry", Nick replied as he started the car.
"What do we do now?", Gerry asked, carefully scanning his surroundings.
"We continue advancing, avoiding the soldiers and the police until we find a car we can use", Alex replied as he turned on one of the portable radios in a backpack he had taken from the car.
Alex tuned the channel to listen to the army communications, and several messages began to be broadcast.
"This is the city command center. I need those in charge of establishing the cordon in the city center to close the main access routes", a man's voice came over the radio.
The communications officers for each platoon reported on their status and the progress they were making in cordoning off the area.
"I'm in charge of the northeast region. We've dispersed the protesters and have begun setting up checkpoints on the main roads", one of the soldiers reported.
"Roger", the man from the operations center replied.
Alex was incredulous at the soldiers' message, while Gerry looked at the radio with a thoughtful expression. They were both aware that it would be very difficult to leave their location, and even if they managed to get a vehicle to reach the safe house, they could be stopped by the military vehicles they were guarding.
"It seems there's no way back the way we went", Alex said wryly as they both began to move northeast.
"Exactly", Gerry agreed, gripping his weapon firmly. "Most likely the city exits are blocked, or there's congestion making it impossible to travel by car", Gerry assessed, looking at Alex intently.
"Do you think they'll arrest us if they see us in a car?", Alex asked Gerry, a little nervously.
As they moved forward, they checked the vehicles for one they could use to get to the safe house. In the distance, the shouts of people confronting the soldiers, sounds of explosions, and gunshots could still be heard.
"It's possible, but I doubt they'll be able to stop that many people. They'll only close the exits from the center", Gerry explained in a calm tone.
"I think we could take a detour around the north side of the city", Alex indicated, recalling the maps he had recently studied. "To the north, there's an entrance that connects to the northeast from the suburbs, which isn't well known. Although we might run into the military, if we act quickly, we can avoid them", Alex explained, watching the lights come on.
"We can make it", Gerry stated confidently as he inspected the abandoned cars. "Here's a vehicle we can use... We'll go north and take the route you suggested", Gerry said as he started the car, and they both headed north.
In the north of the city, suburbs.
Ring, ring, ring... Ring, ring.
A little girl had just woken up from her nap due to a call.
"Who is it?", the girl asked as she answered the phone, rubbing her eyes and stretching.
"Sarah! Is your father home?", a man asked worriedly to a still slightly sleepy Sarah.
"Uncle Tommy, what's going on? Why do you sound so alarmed?", Sarah questioned, clutching the phone, the sleepiness that had gripped her before now completely gone.
"Sarah, listen to me. I need you to wait for Joel and stay inside, and if you can, call him right away", Tommy said in a worried tone.
"Tell me what happened", Sarah said, her voice shaking.
"The city has become chaos... People are hurt... You need to stay home... Wait for Joe..." Tommy repeated until the connection completely dropped and the call ended. Sarah stared terrified at the device she was holding, trembling at Tommy's worried tone. She thought something serious had happened and she was at risk. She went to the living room to look for Joel, but the silence that dominated the house told her she was alone.
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[A/N: I tried to recreate the scene but adding some different things.]
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"Joel!", Sarah exclaimed, receiving no reply.
All she could hear was the sound of the TV, which was broadcasting news about what had happened in the city that afternoon, and what was happening right now. The images showed streets full of cars, soldiers and police containing the devastation of the protesters, hospitals packed, and especially on the live camera, a very scared reporter could be seen covering one of the most conflict-ridden areas in the northeast access zone.
"We are just a few blocks away from what was one of the most violent protests of the day. The military held back the protesters until the city government officially announced a curfew. After the announcement, the military proceeded to clear the protesters, but clashes continued in many of the nearby streets… We remind you that the curfew has already begun, you must remain in your homes until further notice and…" the station reporter said until something happened.
Sarah, who was watching the news, heard a loud bang. A cloud of smoke and fire spread into the sky in a southeasterly direction. Sarah looked back at the station, where the reporter had to take cover due to the explosion. She was right in the immediate vicinity and was affected by the blast.
"What should I do?", she asked herself as she picked up the phone again and began dialing her father's number, her hands shaking. Sarah tried several times, but her fear caused her to tremble, resulting in poor dialing. When she finally managed to dial the number, it was busy. She tried again, but the result was the same.
Suddenly, a man entered through the back door of the house. He was agitated and covered in blood. Frightened, Sarah froze at the man's appearance as he closed the sliding door, approached a mantelpiece in the living room, and pulled out a revolver.
"Sarah!", the man shouted in a hoarse voice. "We have to go", he said in an alarmed voice.
"Joel, is that you? What happened to you? Why are you covered in blood?", Sarah asked, frightened, as she approached her father, checking for injuries.
"It's not my blood", Joel commented, a little relieved to have his daughter close. "Our neighbor is sick and attacked me, but he didn't do anything", he said, trying to calm his daughter. Just as Joel was explaining to Sarah what had happened, their neighbor, now a zombie, approached the sliding glass door and began banging on it. The zombie, noticing the two people inside, began redoubling his efforts to break it down.
"Watch out!", Joel shouted, standing in front of his daughter. "Jimmy, please stay back", Joel told his neighbor, or the one who had once been his neighbor.
"Jimmy, don't make me do this", Joel said again, his throat tightening as Sarah clung to her father, frightened by their behavior.
A shot rang out inside the house. Joel shot his neighbor in the leg, but he remained unfazed and continued advancing, now a little slower, to attack them. Seeing that his neighbor didn't stop, Joel, now determined, aimed for Jimmy's head and shot him. Everything fell silent. The last thing they heard was a body falling to the ground, and now only the ragged breathing of Joel and Sarah could be heard. Sarah didn't understand why her father had to resort to that. Although she knew he did it to protect her, she was still reeling from what had happened in just a couple of minutes.
Joel, for his part, was worried about Sarah and was already thinking about how to get her to safety. Joel turned around, looked at his daughter and, noticing her condition, began to explain everything that had happened that afternoon.
"I understand", Sarah said after hearing her father's explanation. She trusted him and knew what he had done was justified.
Suddenly, a truck was heard abruptly parking in front of the house. Joel and Sarah were startled, but after hearing the voice calling them, they immediately calmed down.
"Joel! Sarah!", a man's voice shouted.
"Tommy, we're here", Joel said as he opened the front door and stepped out with Sarah.
"Uncle Tommy, are you okay?", Sarah asked, hugging him tightly.
"I'm fine... What happened?", she replied, then asked, looking at her brother Joel's condition.
"Jimmy was sick and attacked us", Joel explained, looking sadly at the ground. "We need to get out of the city quickly", he said, alarmed.
"So, Jimmy became one of those things too", he muttered as he stared at his neighbor's house for a moment.
"Have you seen them?", Joel asked, listening to his brother's murmur.
"Yeah, I was near a small hospital on the west side of town, and people started attacking each other. At first, I thought it was just a group of people fighting… But it wasn't. Everything went crazy, and even the soldiers who were protecting the place opened fire on that crazy group of people", Tommy narrated, gripping his rifle until the marks on his fingers turned white.
"I see", Joel said, weighing his options. "First, let's get out of town, find a safe place to spend the night, and then we'll figure out what to do", Joel decided, getting into his brother's truck.
After packing a few things they might need, they climbed into Tommy's truck and headed for the northern exit of the city. Along the way, they saw some cars following a similar route, desperately fleeing the chaos that reigned in the city.
Vehicles and homes were on fire, with people fleeing their homes, leaving behind a place they used to consider safe. The sky above the city center was covered in large clouds of smoke rising from various places, along with an unusual light that didn't come from the streetlights.
As they approached the highway leading north, they noticed many people anxiously getting out of their vehicles to escape the city, further increasing the chaos.
"We need to take a different route", Joel commented as he turned away from the main area of the city.
He drove for a few minutes, reaching the busiest part of this area; the chaos, like the rest of the city, was evident. People looting, people fleeing from others, occasional collisions between vehicles and burning cars. It was all complete nonsense. "Be careful, Joel!", Tommy exclaimed while a car hit them.
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[A/N: CHAPTER COMPLETED
Thanks everyone for reading.
I hope you enjoyed the chapter; I put a lot of effort into writing it.
I know many people will complain about the new characters, but no one will die here, at least not yet.
Read my other novel called Vinland Kingdom: Race Against Time.
You can find it on my profile.]