chapter 5: Into the city
Hours passed, and for the first time in what seemed like a lifetime, Daro slept peacefully, maybe because of exhaustion, or because of the situation of the world, he knew that no one would come after him, or maybe because of his new "companions" he finally drifted off to sleep. He only woke up when the bus stopped and Roberto, who was currently driving the bus, stood up from the driver's seat and went to where everyone was congregated, "so, what's the plan?" he said, while looking at the whole group. "I want to look for my older sister", Yotome said, after some hesitation" "my husband is dead and my two sons like in another district, but it will take time to travel to there so i'm out of ideas'' Adelia included to the conversation, Daro wasnt paying much attention and instead focused on the scenery, they currently were a few miles away from the city, and in a very steep road that had direct view to the city outline, and in there, many buildings were to be seen, some explosions could be heard and three or four big fires were burning around it, loud gunshots could be heard sometimes, and overall it was a very chaotic place, which got Daro thinking that he may should move to another smaller town since, being in a big one would have many resources but many dangers at the same time. "Daro", "Daro", "DARO!!!".. He finally snapped back into reality, with Yotome annoying voice shouting to grab his attention, and after giving some thought he said, "staying in a big city, like this one will only get harder because of the huge population, but we have very little supplies, so i think we should sleep here for the night and gather some supplies during the day, then move to a smaller place" "and get my sister" Yotome added, annoyed by the fact that he didn't pay attention to her before. He thought for a bit then nodded his head, although annoying for him having someone to watch your back would be necessary in this Nightmare that the world is becoming, hence its better to get the trust of the new group that he is in.
With a plan in mind, everyone tried their best to sleep, ignoring the agonising smell that permeated the bus, the gunshots, screams and loud explosions that would occasionally penetrate their ears, they all drifted to sleep.
Daro woke up once again, he looked at the phone he acquired on the day before, and saw that it was 6AM, looking around, everyone was still asleep, and as much as he would like to leave them to it, the world was still awake, and with it, the monsters that will now become normality, in their lives. He woke up Roberto and told him to wake up the others, and after a few minutes, everyone was awake, forcefully interrupted from their dreams. After everyone had a few snacks and water for breakfast, everyone set off towards the city, bringing with them the anxiety that awaits them, and the hope that everyone will be safe at the end of the day.
They reached the city at 6:20, and slowly Daro left the bus first, on his right hand, the little fire axe that he acquired, looking around he tried his best to memorise his place, he was in a residential area, mid sized houses could be seen all around, however, a few of these houses had its doors or windows broken, looking closely, some of them seemed to have blood on the shard pieces that were still stuck to the walls, wrappers, empty liters, papers, and even electronics were scattered around the streets, mixed together with a few crashed cars, he could also see a few bodies, some were missing limbs and some whole chunks of their bodies, yet all of them seemed to be dead. The road was unusually quiet, which intensified Daro`s caution.
After everyone left the bus and with Daro on the front, Roberto at the back and Odalia and Yotome in the middle they moved towards the first house. It was a decent sized house with white paint, wooden windows and door. It seemed to be quiet old, and upon approaching it, he saw that it was barricaded, he knocked on the door and was met with only silence from the other end, he tried twice more, saying hello in a few whispers, acquiring nothing but silence on the other end. Daro knew that he couldn't stay long in the open, from what he knew, the infected moved mainly by loud noises and visual contact, but he needed a way to get inside, so using his axe, he hit the door knob with all his strength, causing it to buckle.
The sound echoed and the suffocating silence on the neighborhood was broken.