"When we leave!"
As soon as Allen spoke, Sylvia immediately sat up straight and said loudly without hesitation. Her sister was still in Atlanta, no matter how dangerous the road ahead was. Even without the protection of the convoy soldiers, she had to go.
Her sudden outburst startled Allen, causing him to tremble for a moment. Fortunately, Sarah saw his reaction and quickly comforted him.
"Yes, we definitely have to go to Atlanta."
Seeing that Allen was fine, Brian nodded in agreement with Sylvia's words and said softly, "Now that the whole convoy has dispersed, and it's winter, and it's so dangerous outside, the closest and safest place for us now is the Atlanta quarantine zone. Instead of wandering outside in fear all day, it's better to take a chance and go to the quarantine zone."
After some consideration, Wivfred raised the water bottle in his hand and took a sip. He was still hesitant about whether to go to Atlanta. While others had reasons to go there, he and his daughter Anna didn't necessarily have to.
The quarantine zone was located northeast of Atlanta, meaning they would have to cross at least half the city to get there. It was one of the largest cities in the United States, and the number of infected there was no joke. Even if they had no protection from the convoy now, it was uncertain whether they could safely make it there.
For Wivfred, his daughter's safety was paramount. He wouldn't take such a big risk for a few people he had only known for a few days and a so-called safe quarantine zone.
Seeing his father's conflicted expression, Anna, who was sitting opposite him, couldn't guess what he was thinking. Since her mother left, her father valued her life more than anything else. Now, with the road so dangerous and the situation like this, she knew her father probably wouldn't choose to go to Atlanta.
But she didn't want to continue living in fear and uncertainty like this. She hadn't had a good night's sleep in a long time, always afraid that the infected would suddenly bite her neck. She had had enough of these days.
Anna stood up slowly from the ground, sat down next to her father, and whispered something in his ear. It was unclear what she said.
After a while, Wivfred argued with her for a few rounds, but seeing his daughter's determined eyes, he nodded reluctantly and said, "If you want to go, then go. If only we could find those trucks and join them... if they accompany us, our chances of safely reaching the quarantine zone are much higher."
Seeing that everyone had chosen to go to Atlanta, Sylvia breathed a sigh of relief, slumping down again, her expression now showing worry. Although everyone had decided to go to Atlanta, without the protection of soldiers, she didn't have much hope of making it to the quarantine zone alive. Asking about others' decisions was just a way to avoid going alone.
After Wivfred finished speaking, no one else spoke. Everyone fell silent again, the atmosphere once again quiet.
"The commander will inform us of the location!"
Just then, a dry voice suddenly sounded, startling everyone. They all froze for a moment before looking around to find Tracy standing beside them, not knowing when she had come. However, she no longer looked as weak as before.
Rubbing her slightly red eyes, Tracy returned to her seat and took out her walkie-talkie, gently placing it on the ground. She looked at everyone and said, "When we left Dallas, we assumed something like this would happen. Now that it has, the commander will fire signal flares into the sky and call on the radio frequency to inform everyone of the specific location to gather."
Saying this, she turned her head to look at the still raging snowstorm outside, feeling somewhat tired. "But... we may have to wait until after this snowstorm passes for them to start."
"It's okay..." Hearing that the convoy might be regrouping, Wivfred breathed a sigh of relief, a hint of joy on his face. "Anyway, our plan also depends on this snowstorm passing."
The others, upon hearing that the military would fire signal flares and Tracy would rebuild the convoy, also breathed a sigh of relief, feeling slightly relaxed.
"Alright, Allen, Sarah, let's bring over that couch."
Seeing that there was nothing more to discuss, Brian stood up slowly and called the two to help him. He had just seen a very large couch in the reception office on the first floor that could be used as a bed.
The three of them walked into the office, cleared away the debris along the way, and, with everyone's eyes on them, slowly dragged the couch over to the fire pit.
After Brian sat down on the couch and Sarah and Allen laid out the blankets, he picked up a few pieces of firewood from the ground and occasionally tossed them into the fire pit to keep it burning.
Having been deeply impressed by the recent nightmare, he didn't feel sleepy at all. So he took the initiative to take on the task of guarding for tonight.
Although Brian was just a child, after experiencing his mature demeanor, no one said much. They all lay down on the couch to sleep.
Perhaps because everyone was too tired or the couch was too comfortable, in a short while, everyone lying on the couch began to emit faint snoring.
"Why aren't you sleeping yet?" Looking at the time on his watch, which was nearly one o'clock, Brian noticed that Tracy, like him, was sitting on the couch, staring blankly at the flames in the middle.
"Hmm..."
Tracy glanced at Brian, crossed her hands together, and rubbed her thumbs back and forth. Her expression was quite strange, as if she was struggling with something.
After struggling for a while, she finally spoke up. "I'm sorry for what happened just now. I was a bit impulsive. It wasn't right to blame you for it."
Raising an eyebrow, Brian looked at Tracy in surprise, not expecting her to apologize to him.
Then he chuckled lightly, waved his hand nonchalantly, and said, "It's okay, I didn't take it to heart. I just hope you won't tell anyone about this."
Seeing that Brian didn't blame her at all, Tracy also felt relieved. When she heard him ask her not to tell anyone again, she smiled bitterly and said, "As you said, even if I say it, I'm afraid no one will believe it."
"I still hope you won't utter a word about it!"
Brian picked up a few pieces of wood from the ground and threw them into the fire again, somewhat helpless. "To be honest, even I don't understand what's going on right now. If someone with ill intentions finds out about this, they'll probably think I have some kind of danger-sensing ability. At that point, they won't care whether it's true or not; they'll find a way to catch me first..."
"..."
Listening silently to Brian's words, Tracy sensed the hesitation in his tone and understood that in this apocalypse, if strangers learned about this, what he said was likely to become reality.
Thinking of this, she nodded vigorously and said softly, "Okay, I won't tell anyone."
After that, Tracy couldn't help but yawn, feeling a bit tired. She lay down on the couch and, with a slightly puzzled expression, murmured, "I feel like you don't want to
be a twelve or thirteen-year-old child at all; you seem more like an old man who's seen it all."
"Hehe~" Hearing this, Brian glanced at her almost closed eyes, chuckled lightly, and thought to himself that he was already an old man inside. It's just that his age was forcibly reduced. But he still replied, "Maybe, I learn faster than others."
Tracy's lips curled slightly, and she closed her eyes, unable to deny it, and muttered, "I've found that you don't want to be a twelve or thirteen-year-old child at all; you seem more like an old man who's seen it all."
"Hehe~" Hearing this, Brian glanced at her almost closed eyes, chuckled lightly, and thought to himself that he was already an old man inside. It's just that his age was forcibly reduced. But he still replied, "Maybe, I learn faster than others."
Tracy's lips curled slightly, and she closed her eyes, unable to deny it, and muttered, "I've found that you don't want to be a twelve or thirteen-year-old child at all; you seem more like an old man who's seen it all."
Looking around at the sleeping people on the couch, Brian slowly got up and tidied up the blankets for them.
Then he checked the first floor lobby again, made sure all the doors and windows were closed, and there were no omissions, before returning to the fire pit.
He picked up the book that had been prepared long ago from the couch and began to read by the light of the fire, passing the difficult time of tonight.
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