Chapter 30

While some of the men recognized Leo, others had no clue who he was, so they remained vigilant while the ones who did recognize Leo quickly lowered their weapons and their guards.

"Who is he, Robert?" one of them finally asked the man who appeared to be in charge.

The oldest man in the group, Robert, replied, "Remember how I told you when we got back that we got into it with the local police force and a young man saved us?

Well, he's the young man who saved us!"

A collective, "Ahh" and "Ohh" went through the crowd as they looked Leo over and recalled the story that Robert had told them earlier.

Robert ignored them and approached Leo with his hand raised, "Thank you for saving us back there. You disappeared so quickly we didn't get the opportunity earlier."

Leo accepted the hand shake and said, "I did it on a whim. No need for thanks."

Robert shook his head side to side, "Why you saved us doesn't really matter, the fact is you saved us and we are grateful, so please accept our thanks."

Leo just nodded his head.

He was slightly caught off guard by the man's honest and straightforward personality. Men like Robert were hard to come by in this end of world hell.

After they shook hands, Robert took a step back and asked, "So, can I ask what brings you here today?"

"Right. I am looking for a couple named Dan and Morgan, are they here?"

Some of the men immediately looked downcast while some of them avoided looking at Leo altogether.

From the reactions of the men, Leo instantly knew that his search and rescue mission wasn't going to be a simple snatch and grab.

Robert, who was awkwardly scratching the back of his head with one hand finally broke the eerie silence that permeated the area, "They aren't here anymore..."

"Where did they go?" Leo asked with a stern look upon his face.

"We don't know actually..." Robert replied, "One of the young women who is staying here, fell quite ill a few days ago and is barely holding on.

Since we didn't have the necessary medicines, Morgan volunteered to venture out and find some.

If you recall, Dan was with us in the desert, so he wasn't able to stop her from making such a foolish decision and she left before the sun had even set.

When we returned a little after dark, Dan refused to wait for her here at the dorms and chased after her himself.

That was roughly 12 hours ago... they should have been back by now if nothing untoward happened."

Leo let out a deep sigh while shaking his head, "Shit... alright, I'll go after them."

"Really?! We would be in your debt if you could find them and bring them back! Thank you so much!" Robert cried.

Leo waved off the gratitude and turned towards the exit before disappearing from his spot.

Having lived at the school himself, and despite the fact that he rarely ever left his dorm for anything other than classes, Leo was still acutely familiar with the area and the local 'rulers' because of his 'first' life.

The fact that Leo had never met Robert, Dan, or Morgan, despite living in the same building as them was not entirely surprising.

Since Leo was holed up in his dorm during the first few days and weeks of the apocalypse in his 'first' life, it was likely that Robert and the rest of the young men were killed in the desert by the policemen since no one was there to save them.

With their protection dead, the rest of the dorm's residents would be forced to leave and fend for themselves which is why Leo never encountered any of them.

Since the first pharmacy was located just outside campus, it only took a few minutes for Leo to reach.

After a quick search, he found only empty aisles and shelves, so he quickly left and headed towards the next.

Since it was now late morning, the bravest of people were slowly making their way out into the streets, preparing for another day of struggling to survive.

Leo took the opportunity to approach a few of the saner looking individuals to ask if they had seen anyone resembling Dan or Morgans appearance.

Unfortunately, the first few dozen people Leo approached either ran away at his Flash-esque sudden appearance or had no information.

Undeterred, Leo continued to search the local convenience stores and pharmacies.

He knew that the couple were either dead or had been abducted by a local gang, but he still wanted to eliminate the possibility of their hiding out in a store first.

After searching his 10th store and nearly at the point of giving up, Leo spotted an older woman sitting on her porch in a rocking chair, relaxing as if it was any other day.

Approaching her at a much more reserved pace, Leo called out to her, "Good morning, ma'am! How are you doing today?"

The old grannie gave him a sidelong glance before completely ignoring him and returning back to her leisurely rocking.

Leo couldn't help but laugh at himself. This Granny was the first person who wasn't enraptured by his new looks or at the very least do a double take when he passed by.

Undeterred by the old lady's attitude though, Leo asked, "I am looking for a young couple that may have been seen in this area last night.

The young man is roughly 5 foot 8 inches tall, black hair, and Asian while the young woman is roughly 5 foot 6 inches tall, black hair, and African American

Have you seen them by chance?"

Again, the old lady gave Leo a sidelong glance, this one with a little more annoyance evident in her eyes.

But unlike last time, she responded, "Just give up on them young man. They were dragged off last night by a bunch of hooligans in track suits."

'Ah.. those guys..' Leo thought to himself.

"Thank you for the information ma'am. Is there anything I can give you in return for the information?" Leo asked.

Leo had never been one to spurn those who had done him favors and torture those who caused him harm so he was more than happy to help the granny in any way he could.

The granny seemed lost in thought for a moment before she suddenly started to scan Leo up and down with a tinge of excitement in her eyes.

"I wouldn't say no to giving you a go, young man. You're quite the good looking lad if I do say so myself." she said while winking at the end.

Leo felt a shiver run down his spine that screamed danger more profound than any he had felt before.

"Uhh.. eh? I... uhh.... huh?" He had lost the ability to speak.

At his flustered and confused appearance, the granny started cackling manically, "Relax young'n, I can tell you're in a hurry, so I won't keep you.

Just remember, if you change your mind, I'll be right here." she said with another wink.

After enduring the new shiver coursing down his spine, Leo quickly bowed, expressed his thanks to the granny, and ran away faster than he had ever run before.

"I can take my teeth out for you if you want!!!!" were the last words he heard before he turned the corner of the street and disappeared.