Chapter 11 - Desperation
The next day, Hannah woke up from her slumber while having a headache. While holding her head trying to ease the pain, she realized that the place she was in was not familiar so she looked around and there she saw Zoey just beside her sleeping peacefully.
Frowning after not knowing what was happening, Hannah got out of bed before she took notice of some laughing noises outside the tent. Forcing herself to walk, she then got out of the tent and there she saw Zach playing with the kids.
Hannah was mesmerized to see Zach smiling before one of the children took notice of her and greeted her with a happy morning. That was when she saw Zach look at her with a smile and as if her body felt electrocuted, flashes of memories came to her which widened her eyes as her face started blushing.
"Good morning." Zach greeted.
"G-Good morning." Hannah replied but her emotions were completely in chaos after remembering what happened last night and it was making her beat faster the longer she looked at Zach.
After that, Zach then gave something to Hannah to ease her hangover as he tended to the kids on her behalf. Not long after that, Zoey then also wakes up feeling the same with Hannah and so the two of them remain sitting while eating absentmindedly.
Knowing their circumstances, Zach canceled their early exercises as they remained in the area talking to each other. He found out that he seemed not to be affected by the hangover that much as he never felt something after waking up early unlike Hannah and Zoey.
Soon, noon came and right after having lunch, Zach and Hannah told Zoey that they would be out for a while after Zach said that he wanted to see the place the evacuation site where Hannah and the children had stayed before. Leaving the children to her, Zoey didn't mind being left and just said to be careful.
Arriving at the school where Hannah where teaching, it took Zach and Hannah almost two hours as the road could no longer be accessible due to the cracks and such leaving them no choice but to walk. Just like Hannah said, the school has already been abandoned as there is no longer any trace of people around aside from the rotting dead bodies.
"The world really has changed." Zach said as he looked at the dead bodies scattered everywhere. This place should have been an evacuation site and yet it turned into a graveyard. He then just looked around for a while before planning to head back as he could no longer endure the smell of the place. He actually wanted to see if there are still things that are of use in the area, but it seems like they have come for nothing.
Meanwhile, Hannah looked at the dead people with mixed emotions as she was familiar with some of them. She was just wondering how cold the people had become as they just left their bodies on the ground scattered there leaving it to rot.
After that, Zach and Hannah left the place seeing them walking back and both of them felt bad after witnessing the current situation of the school. They even forced themselves not to throw up from the gruesome fate of those dead bodies, but they also didn't do anything as they didn't have the time to tire themselves up to bury them.
"Hey. You alright?" Zach suddenly asked as he looked at Hannah who was shaking from his side. He really didn't plan to let her follow him but she insisted as she also wanted to see the place so it didn't give him any choice but to let her join.
Hearing Zach, Hannah looked at him before her eyes started to get watery. She really felt grateful to him once again for the grace that he had given after allowing them to live in their place because if not, she didn't know if she could still hold on and survive.
Looking at Hannah, Zach then just put her into his arm and hugged her tight while caressing her back. Though they might be of the same mental age, he, however, accepted their situation faster and though he still felt bad, it was not to the point that it would make him weak.
After some time, Zach and Hannah arrived at the place where they parked the bike that they had. Without looking around, the two then left the place as they headed back to the place they called home.
Night came, Zach, Zoey, Hannah, and the seven children were peacefully sleeping in their tents. It should have been already late and people should already have gone out of bed however, Adam and Eve could be found barking out loud in the night.
…Woof...Woof…Grrr…Woof…
Adam and Eve continue barking after a group of men have intruded on their property. It was a group of four men who were hesitatingly wanting to get past the two dogs seeing how angry and fierce they were.
"It's just a fucking dog. Get something and beat it." One of the men said before he started looking at the place looking for something to use but much to his disappointment, there was nothing that left him no choice but to pick up some rocks.
These men were actually just finding a place to rest for the night and accidentally found themselves here. Seeing that there were tents assembled, they knew that people were living in the area. They had been starving for so long now and seeing some water and leftovers on the table beside the tent, they could not control themselves but want to steal it.
"Hey! What if the people there wake up? What do we do?" One of the men asked while looking at the quiet tent. They don't know who was living in this place and if there's a chance that they were poking into something in the wrong people then they would really regret it.
"Hmph. Then are you just going to do nothing and starve to death? If there are people, then there's food. Seeing how clean this place is, these people must have lived really well." The man who was holding a huge rock in his hand replied before he looked at the dogs cruelly.
…Woof…Woof…Woof…
Adam and Eve continue to bark warning the men to back off but when the man takes action and hits Eve, Adam immediately pounces towards the intruder leaving Eve wailing for some time before joining.
"Fuck. Why does this dog so fucking strong?" The man who threw the rock said seeing Adam biting off his leg and doesn't seem to let go. With that, the other men immediately help as they kick Adam which flew in the distance, but it rose again and angrily pounced on them once more.
However, it didn't take long before the four men dominated the dogs seeing Adam keep on wailing as Eve angrily barks at them while slowly moving back. Seeing this, the four men then started to move seeing that they were already close but stopped after the tent opened up and saw a young man getting out.
Zach was actually already awake not long after they started to make a move, however, he didn't immediately get out as he wanted to see their intention and at the same time reassure Zoey that things would be fine.
Getting out of the tent, Zach saw that Hannah's tent was also open and there he saw Hannah holding the children inside. He then just nods at her before looking at the intruder with a cold glint in his eyes.
"Brother, we meant no harm. We were just very hungry and wanted to ask if you have some spare ones for us to eat." The man who was bitten by Adam said after seeing Zach while moving slowly forward and at the same time tightly holding the rock he had hidden in his hand.
On the other hand, Zach looked at Adam who was limping together with Eve getting back to him with curiosity. However, he knew that it wasn't time for that now as he looked seriously at the four men which he knew did not come with good intentions after hearing their conversation earlier.
"Stop right there. I'm sorry but we were only left with a few more supplies. We have kids and women here. We can no longer spare some of our food. Please leave." Zach replied but his words had a strange meaning to them as if he was hinting something to the four men.
Hearing Zach, there's an excited reflection that appears in the man's eyes before he looks back to see his companions but it is only a distraction as he throws the rock he is holding with all his strength at Zach in surprise. Hearing about what he just said, the people inside must be children and women since if there were men, he shouldn't be the one who got out.
Seeing that he was young, there was no need for them to fear. They weren't actually this kind of person, but the world forced them to do it. They knew long ago that it is now the survival of the fittest, but since everyone has survived until now then it is the fight between who is more desperate.
Contrary to the man's expectations, Zach evaded easily as if it was nothing seeing him looking at them coldly. The man was surprised to see how he avoided it with ease despite being in the dark, but seconds later he thought that it must not be a coincidence since he also knew about the changes that happened in his body.
"Sorry, brother. We were just desperate to live." The man said before he moved his body despite his leg bleeding from Adam's attack. And since they have already done it, they are no longer turning back now. With that, even his companion moved but stopped immediately after a sound echoed which froze them in an instant.
.Thud.
The body of the man who threw a surprise attack fell to the ground with a hole in its head. The other three completely froze in place upon seeing such a thing before they looked at Zach who was looking coldly at the man he just shot, and it made them suck a good amount of air.
"B-B-Brother, p-please c-calm down. W-We're sorry, we were just really desperate. P-Please let us g-go this time. Yeah?" One of the men immediately pleaded while slowly raising his hand in surrendering while looking at the gun in Zach's hands.
On the other hand, Zach's heartbeat was louder than before as he looked at the dead man in front of him as he never thought of actually killing a living person with his own hands. Though he was mentally prepared for it, thinking and doing were completely not the same thing.
Hearing the pleading tone of the other person, Zach looked at them before pointing his gun once more as he pulled the trigger three times, and then another three bodies fell to the ground. Lowering his arm, he then closed his eyes from which he couldn't control his body from shaking.
'I didn't do anything wrong. If I didn't end them here then there will be a time that they would do it to others.' Zach keeps on reminding himself as he recollects his thoughts from what he just did before he heard someone calling his name.
"Z-Zach." Hannah called while looking at Zach before seeing four dead men on the ground. Her eyes couldn't help but widen before moving forward and embracing him tight. She also knew what was happening so she wouldn't blame him for what he just did.
"It's not my fault, Hannah. They won't stop if I won't make a move." Zach said before one of his hands embraced Hannah but there he saw Zoey back on the tent looking at him which pierced his heart seeing how she reacted to it.
Following that, Hannah took time to ease the children and help them sleep again through the night fortunately Zach used a silencer which minimized the sound, or else they might have experienced trauma again.
Meanwhile, Zoey took a look at Adam and Eve and tended to their wounds leaving Zach clean off the mess in the area by dragging the four bodies and bringing them out of the neighborhood before burning them.
After that, the night that had been disturbed finally found peace again seeing the children sleeping inside their tent while Zach took two beauties in his arms as he forcefully broke through the night.