Chapter 4 - Getting Home

Riding on a motorbike, Zach and Zoey took their chances as they left their apartment ready to depart to the neighboring city to look for their parents hoping that they were still alive from all that had happened. 

Along the way, Zach and Zoey witnessed something that shouldn't have been seen by people their age. The destruction of the meteors completely reformed everything as the debris of the buildings was blocking off the road making their journey more arduous fortunately, they were riding on the motorbike. 

Just like in the vicinity of their apartment, the situation in the main road was far worse seeing dead bodies of people still lying everywhere. There were also instances of witnessing people ransacking a building which they turned a blind eye to as they didn't plan on stopping. 

Zach was slightly fine from seeing these things probably due to his mature mind but to Zoey, it was completely different seeing her embracing Zach tightly while shaking from time to time. She was just 19 years old and what she should have to do right now was to study and have fun, yet it was replaced by the helpless situation of society. 

Time went by in a flash, Zach and Zoey arrived at the neighboring city where their parents worked before sundown. The should-be 1-2 hours of driving completely turned into almost half a day as the road was completely blocked. They even took several detours just to arrive safely but instead of feeling happy, mixed emotions were forming inside their hearts seeing the situation of the building. 

The 50-floor building has fallen. No matter who saw it, anyone inside would probably be dead unless they had gotten out before the calamity started but even then, the situation outside was not that better seeing things much worse back in their apartment since this place was surrounded by tall commercial buildings. 

Seeing the sorry state of the area, Zoey couldn't stop herself but came to Zach's embrace while crying. She was smart and with just one look, she also thought of the worst-case scenario that their parents might have already fallen. 

"L-Let's search the surroundings first. Maybe they have gotten out before the calamity strikes." Zach caressed Zoey and gave her some hope since he saw a few people around the area. He, however, also has the same thoughts as her but he still believes in the little chance that they are still alive, so they start walking around the place looking for their parents. 

Soon, night came and that was when Zach and Zoey stopped looking as they started accepting the fact that their parents might be gone. Zoey kept on crying thinking about it whereas Zach also felt like it but swallowed it all not wanting to make her sister feel worse however, only he knows how sad he was upon thinking that he would probably live a life without them again. 

As it was now getting cold, Zach finally convinced Zoey that they needed to get out of the area and find a place to rest for the night. They didn't choose any building in the surrounding area since this place wasn't that far from their house, so they rode on the motorbike as they left the place carrying deep sadness in their heart. 

After two hours of traveling due to road problems, Zach and Zoey finally arrived at their neighborhood. Just like everywhere else, the meteors must have also reached this place seeing some of the houses completely gone but it wasn't that bad compared to the city. Not long after that, the two of them finally arrive at their house from which they froze upon seeing a light coming in the inside. 

Zach and Zoey couldn't help but feel excited thinking that it must have been their parents and by pure luck, the rest of their house was completely fine aside from their garage. With hope in their hearts, both of them abandoned their ride on the road as they ran towards their house. 

Opening the door, Zach and Zoey saw a woman holding a baby in her arms while looking at them with surprise. Her facial features were sweet with her black hair fell naturally on her slender shoulder. The two parties stared at each other before the woman broke the silence as she stood up with joy and excitement. 

"Zach! Zoey! I'm glad you two are safe." The woman greeted with great relief as she looked at the two of them with happiness but due to her excitement, the baby in her arms started crying out loud which she immediately tried to calm her down. 

"Sister Shiela" Zoey called as she knew the woman. She was a nurse and had been their neighbor for about four years since she was just new to this place and the reason why she called her sister and not aunt was because she was not that old seeing her appearance that was about in her late 20s. 

After everything calmed down, Shiela then started to talk about what happened after the calamity. Things hadn't turned for the better in the neighborhood as there was still no rescue that had come and the supplies she had were already at their limit. The reason why she was in Zach's and Zoey's house was because her house was no longer a good place to live and so she moved out. 

On the other hand, Zach and Zoey also felt glad knowing that she was safe since it was nice to see someone they knew alive, but their feeling didn't turn for the better as they thought that it was their parents who were inside. 

After that, the group had a simple dinner before Zach took his leave as an excuse that he wanted to see the situation of the neighborhood. It was, however, only a cover since he wanted to finish the daily mission and at the same time, use the system ability again to get some supplies. 

Running on the roadside, Zach was greeted with a nod since almost everyone staying on the road was familiar with each other while some of them minded their own business near their houses. Looking at the surroundings, it looks like the places outside the cities only suffer a little from the calamity that happened that day. 

The only problem, however, is the number of supplies in this area. As the place have some distance away from the center of the city, there were no nearby convenience stores that could be looted and if there were, I bet the people living in this neighborhood still had a conscience not to rob them since everyone was still in the process of healing and shock. 

Reaching a distance of 5 kilometers, Zach found himself alone on the road. He then rested for a while as he sat down on the ground and looked at the surroundings. It was completely dark outside but to Zach, it was surprisingly bright as green and yellow lights kept on shining on everything he looked at. 

Zach was still surprised by the function of the system after having the chance to test some of it yesterday and today. One of them is that, as long as he thinks the place is safe, the system immediately answers him by giving him colors. 

Another one is the magical guide that creates color lines in his field of vision when he thinks of the safest route to take when he wants to go somewhere, and it is the one he used when he and Zoey traveled back here. It was a complete cheat when you think of it and so he was confident of surviving the next calamity by relying on its function. 

Another thing is that whenever he thought of eating something and thought if he would survive taking such a thing, the system also works that way. For example, it shows green if he thinks of eating bread or any food but when he thinks of eating nails and such, it shows red and even black showing that it was not fit for survival. 

Lastly and probably the most important function of the system is its sense of danger perception. There was one time yesterday when something accidentally fell from a rundown building while he was running, the system immediately and passively warned by giving an immediate line of direction to where the danger came from and to where it would land giving him enough time to evade saving him from getting injured. 

After resting up for quite a bit, Zach then started doing the rest of the mission objectives before finally heading back not wanting to make Zoey and Shiela worried. Of course, he didn't forget to take out some important resources from his inventory. 

Five days later, at this moment, Zach and Zoey could be found outside their house as if they were waiting for something while a small trace of nervousness could be seen on their faces after all, the second calamity would soon commence again if the last message was real. 

Some time ago, the government finally reached this neighborhood and aside from them, everyone living in the area immediately evacuated leaving them together after Zach told the personnel in charge that they would be fine. Shiela hesitated that time since to her, it was safer to follow them back to the evacuation site and at the same time because her husband was a police officer. 

Shiela tried her best to persuade Zach and Zoey, but the twins remained adamant about staying. Hearing their stories, she also thought that their parents must have died back then and so as an adult, she felt obligated to take care of them but seeing that they were serious about staying, she could only respect their decision as she and the rest of the people in the neighborhood travelled back to the evacuation site. 

[00:00:40]

.

.

.

[00:00:35]

.

.

.

.

.

[00:00:18]

.

.

.

.

.

[00:00:10]

.

.

.

.

[00:00:00] 

[Preparation time has ended.] 

[Commencing World Cleansing Procedure 1-2: Meteor Shower Calamity.] 

At the end of the message, the sky sounded from which signs of meteors could be seen falling once again. Since only the two of them were in the neighborhood, there was no sign of panic, screams, or whatsoever aside from their hearts beating loudly.

 "Z-Zach." Zoey called out while looking at the meteors. She has realized for the past week that maybe their survival back then was not just a coincidence. She couldn't help but look at Zach wanting to know what they would do now since aside from having thought about something, it was also his idea to stay.

 Hearing Zoey, Zach no longer showed any panic as he focused on looking at the meteors above before color lines appeared in his field of vision. Following such lines, he immediately found out where they would land and so he looked at the surroundings and started finding a place to hide. 

"Follow me quick!" Zach said after seeing a house not that far from them shining in green color showing that it was safe. Zoey didn't question as she followed him without any second thoughts. 

In great haste, Zach and Zoey entered a house that was fortunately open. The neighborhood was actually brimming with mostly yellow and orange colors with a little red showing that the place would not be that dangerous but just to be safe, Zach still chose a place showing the color green. 

Getting inside, Zach and Zoey could be found near the window. Zoey was there waiting for everything to pass and at the same time praying that they would be safe. Zach, on the other hand, had another thought as he wanted to witness the calamity and see just how his system works in case something happened that would leave them no choice and get stranded outside. 

As if he was watching a movie, Zach saw a huge meteor explode and its fragments scattered throughout the place. He was completely fascinated as he knew where the fragments or meteorites would fall and that was when he finally understood how the system classified the color coding in the area. 

After some time, sounds of crashing could be heard outside after the fragments of the meteors hit the land and caused destruction. Zach witnessed everything unfolding before he sighed in relief as he looked to his side just to see Zoey looking at him strangely. 

"Z-Zach, are you p-perhaps hiding something from me?" Zoey finally couldn't hide her curiosity as she asked Zach what was going on. She could still accept if it was just a coincidence just like what happened a week before, but it was not knowing that Zach was certain about choosing this house to take cover. There were many houses out there and even their house was there, but he still chose this place to hide which is very suspicious.