"We're getting close" Jayden said, his voice tense.

"I remember seeing the evacuation point from my apartment window. It's a big, open field just past the factory."

The factory loomed ahead, a hulking, rusted carcass against the darkening sky. Its windows were shattered, its walls scarred with graffiti and the remnants of fires. It was a grim reminder of the city's descent into madness.

"This is it" Jayden said, his voice tight with anxiety.

"The road to the evacuation point is just beyond that factory."

We drove past the factory, the stench of decay and smoke filling our nostrils. The road ahead was choked with abandoned vehicles, some smoldering, others twisted and mangled. A wave of infected surged towards us, their moans and growls echoing in the twilight.

"They're everywhere!" Kristy cried out, her voice trembling.

I slammed on the brakes, the truck skidding to a halt. The infected swarmed around us, their hunger evident in their bloodshot eyes. We were trapped.

"We need to get out of here!" Jayden shouted, his voice laced with desperation.

I grabbed my machete, adrenaline surging through my veins.

"Stay close," I said, my voice a low growl.

"We'll fight our way through."

Jane grabbed her machete from the back of the truck, her face grim.

"Let's do this," she said, her voice surprisingly steady.

We jumped out of the truck, the infected closing in. I charged into the fray, my machete a blur of steel, slicing through flesh and bone. Jane and Jayden fought alongside me, their weapons flashing in the fading light.

The infected were relentless, their numbers seemingly endless. But we fought back, fueled by a desperate hope of survival. We carved a path through the horde, our bodies aching, our lungs burning.

"We're almost there!" Jayden shouted, pointing towards a glimmer of light in the distance. "The evacuation point!"

We pushed forward, our bodies weary, our minds numb. As we reached the edge of the infected horde, a wave of relief washed over us. The evacuation point was just ahead, a beacon of hope in the encroaching darkness.

But as we reached the edge of the road, our hearts sank. The bridge, the evacuation point was a scene of utter chaos. Thousands of people were crammed together, their faces etched with fear and desperation. The air was thick with the stench of fear and sweat.

"This is worse than I thought," Jayden said, his voice barely a whisper.

"We can't stay here," I said, my voice grim. "We need to find somewhere safe, we can't just join and cram with them"

"The truck," Jane said, her voice firm. "We can use the truck."

"The truck?" Jayden asked, his eyes widening. "But the evacuation point..."

"We'll find a way," I said, my voice resolute. "We'll find a place to hide, a place to survive, we need to find a place to stay for the night, maybe people will lessen tomorrow"

We piled back into the truck, the infected still swarming around us, their moans and growls a constant reminder of the danger that lurked outside. I started the engine, the roar of the engine a defiant roar against the encroaching darkness.

"Where to?" Jayden asked, his voice tight with anxiety.

"We'll find somewhere," I said, my gaze fixed on the road ahead. "We'll find somewhere safe."

I drive backwards and turn around.

"4 of you, do you guys know for a place for the night? Somewhere safe?" I asked Jayden, Jane and the 2 on the container

"Wait where are we? And what do you mean for the night? I thought we were going to the evacuation site!?" Glenn shouted

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"The evacuation site is crammed with people and we don't want to join them" I shouted back

"We are near the road leading out of the Great Adam City right? I know a place, you remember when we were young like we were in 3rd grade elementary just the 3 of us? That very very old rusty destroyed factory where we play hide and seek? There's also a place where you can park this truck" Glenn replied

Flashbacks went over to my mind, I remember it now. Me and Jayden exchanged glances with big smiles. I drove faster and drove on our way, I just bumped to the infected on our path. We arrived at the old factory, it still has a functional gate and wired fence around it. I drove inside and parked it, Jayden went outside of the truck and closed the gate then locked it.

The old factory is still intact, nothing must have changed. Kristy and Glenn went outside of the container.

"Holy shit, why do you guys have a lot of gasoline inside" Glenn asked

"Just a back up" I replied

"So where do we sleep?" Jane asked

We looked around.....we couldn't find a spot. We all looked at the container of the truck.

"We better be taking out the gasoline if we want to sleep there" Glenn complained

We started to take the gasolines out of the container, we left the cellophanes of foods and waters inside.

"I don't think we could sleep comfortably on that cold floor" Kristy complained

"Y-yeah, I agree" Jane said

"We could take mattresses and blankets from these apartments , just across the street, I hope it's no lock" Jayden said while pointing at the tenements

"But who wants to go? There's less of them outside this factory and it would be very hard to move inside a building? And what if there's a lot of them inside?" Jane said

"If we want something better, we need to work for it" Glenn replied

"Let's go the 3 of us, the 2 of you stay in this container so that they won't find you 2, they might swarm this place and there's no way for us to come back here" Jayden said

"Well okay, there's not much of a choice"

"Okay, now my weapon" Glenn said

"We need this machete just in case" Jane said while hiding her machete behind her

"You can find your own weapon at the apartments" I said to Glenn

"Okay"

We unlocked the gate and closed it again. We went to the other side of the street quietly to avoid getting seen by them. Jayden turned the door knob.

"It's unlocked" he whispered

We went inside, there are papers scattered on the entrance. Glenn went to the first door and Jayden went to the second, I went to the third door. I turned the knob and opened the door. I was met by a neat beautiful room, posters of cartoon girls on the walls, cartoon figures on the desk with a beautiful pc set up.

I open the door wide open, someone is on the bed, snoring. Seriously, still not awake and not knowing what is happening in the city even though there's an explosion that can be heard everywhere? Probably played too many games and slept during the day before this thing happened.

I went to the human and shook him, wait he looks familiar. He started to wake up and yawned and looked at me, it's Daniel.

"What the hell are you doing in my room Johnny? And how did you know where I live and why are you holding a machete with blood on it?" Daniel asked

"You really don't know what is happening right now?" I asked

"No"

"Then look at your window" I said to him

He stood up and looked at the window

"There's nothing" he said

"Oh, oh right just follow my instructions if you want to live, people are eating people okay? I'm not sure if this is a virus or a plague, it just started before lunch and it's very chaotic outside" I said

*Bang*

We heard an explosion outside

"I just said there's chao-"

He started running outside, I grabbed his clothes to prevent him from going out.

"Do not go outside! They'll see you and chase you and eat you if they catch you!" I said to Daniel

"What is happening there?" We heard Jayden from the other side of the room

"It's Daniel" I replied

"Wait, what the, Daniel?" Glenn said carrying a big mattress and a blanket

"What is happening?" James asked

"I don't know, it happened fast. Just please don't disturb us, we are getting mattresses for a comfy bed for the night. The evacuation site is full of people so we back up and decided to go back tomorrow there and wish that there were not many people there" Glenn replied

"Pack up your things, valuable or not, foods and come with us and don't make much noise or they will find you, I am going upstairs to find mattresses and blankets and take yours also if you want to be comfy tonight" I said to him

I went upstairs and went to the nearest room and opened it. I took the mattress and blanket and threw it on the window. I also did it in the neighboring room and went downstairs.

I was met by Daniel with three backpacks. His room still has some figurines left, maybe planning to leave it behind.

"Can you help me with my bags?" Daniel asked

"And can you help me carry the mattresses and blankets outside to our spot?" I replied

He nodded and went to the entrance, I saw Glenn and Jayden carrying their loot to the other side.

"Okay, we need to do this quietly, there are those people on the left and on the right, if we get their attention, they might swarm our spot, understood?" I instructed Daniel

"I understood"

I helped Daniel carry his things to the other side. I called Jayden to help us carry the third blanket and mattresses and went back to safety, I locked the gate.

We put our loot in the container of the truck and made it neat.

"Damn, I deserved chips for that" Glenn said as he went to the container and took a bag of chips from the cellophanes

We also took a bag of chips for ourselves and started eating. Daniel made a small fire pit on the ground and started a fire. The 6 of us gathered around the fire.

"So, you were just...sleeping through all of this?" Jayden asked, his voice laced with disbelief.

"You didn't even know what was happening?"

Daniel shrugged, his face pale.

"I guess I was playing too much. I didn't hear anything...not until that explosion." He replied

"What was that, anyway?"

"No one knows for sure," I said, taking a bite of my chips. "It's like something out of a nightmare."

"It's real, though, and it's getting worse."" Jane said, her voice grim.

We grew up in silence, and the sound of chips can be heard. The sun started to set down.

"Sooooo, do you guys think the evacuation point will be calmer?" Jayden broke the silence

"I hope so" I replied

"Thank goodness" Kristy said, her voice filled with relief.

"What is it?" Jayden asked

Kristy scrolled through her phone, her brow furrowed in concentration.

"I'm trying to find some news, it's a good thing there's still signals even tho this is an utter chaos" she said.

"Maybe there's something about what's happening, some information about the virus."

She scrolled through a few news articles, her face growing increasingly pale.

"It's everywhere," she whispered.

"It's happening all over the city. The government is calling it a 'public health emergency,' but they don't have any answers."

"What are they saying about the virus?" I asked, my voice tight with anxiety.

Kristy shook her head.

"They don't know much," she replied

"They're saying it's highly contagious, and it's spreading like wildfire. But they don't know how to stop it."

"Any ideas how it started?" Glenn asked

"Well, we saw a guy in the news channel, he started biting people. Biting might be the way on how they spread this thing. But we don't know how he got infected" I replied

"Damn, all this started from 1 guy" Kristy muttered

"Ey, Johnny, can you help me get back to my room and get my PC set up?" Daniel asked

"You should have said that after taking the sofa" I replied

"I'm sorry, it will be quick, I will also be getting flashlights, lamps for the night, my power bank, and some other valuable things"

"And where will you play your PC? With the signs of explosion around the city, the powers may be cut" I replied

"Maybe the military will take us to a safer place and I don't want to earn money again to buy one again, it would be a waste, and it would be more waste because I have my account in there and the things I bought there would be a lot and lot of more waste" he replied

I just said okay and went back to his apartment, I helped him put his PC set up in a box and helped him carry other valuable things. We went back and stored it in the truck's container. We joined the others on the fire and continued eating. We started in the fire, hoping we will get out of this alive.