36
What Lurks on the Highway
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Through a vast sea of red leaves, a car sped forward on the only sign of civilization. For the first time since they left their home, there was nothing reminding them of how the world had changed. It was as if they had gone back in time, yet the familiar sense of the driving car only gave them a surreal feeling.
“I can’t see them anymore…” Veleda was the first to speak up. Her head just turned as she stopped looking out the back window.
A jeep sped forward, carrying four people into a new world. Nobody in this car had any idea of what awaited them, the anxiety and tension they felt seemed to be the only certainty.
“Right.” Alduin held Veleda’s hand, a soft grip held her tightly as they finally took their next step forward.
“So, why are you sitting in front?” A cold voice spoke up.
“What?” Leon replied in surprise. “Why can’t I?”
Tsk Ise’s complaint rang out before she turned silent again.
Leon turned to the backseat with a questioning look. “What did I do wrong?”
Veleda started laughing as she asked a question in return, “So, how did things go with Frieda?”
Leon who wanted to start a conversation now slowly turned back to the front in silence.
“Don’t tell me you didn’t say goodbye?” Alduin now asked.
“I DID,” Leon spoke up in defeat. “I said goodbye, it’s just…”
“She wanted to come along, didn’t she?” Veleda asked.
“Yeah…” The car continued to drive forward as Leon sighed with regret.
The journey that lay ahead of them was not a casual trip. There was a reason why not a single person had left the village they lived in. Every survivor had witnessed the sky breaking into blood-red shards, and they all knew how catastrophic even a single red shard could be. Yet, four people dared to take this step forward, each for a purpose of their own.
Autumn was nearing its end and nature had fallen asleep. While staring at the passing trees, Alduin couldn’t help but smile bitterly as he thought, ‘This is the first time I’m not closing my eyes.’
It hadn’t been long since he last visited the city, but in such a short time, his memories of what happened had stopped bothering him. And unlike his usual self, Alduin would stay awake on this journey. From his lap, a whimper escaped from Hati as it too stared outside at the changing scenery.
“I didn’t have a chance yet, but-” Leon turned around once more and asked, “Since when do you have a dog?”
A growl escaped from the snow-white pup.
“Alduin and I adopted it,” Veleda said while showing off their pet.
Another growl escaped it’s snout as it didn’t agree with what it heard.
“Really?” Leon asked, “When did that happen?”
“Three days ago, we found it in the cave.”
“I see,” Leon replied, “Inside the cave.”
Veleda picked Hati from Alduin’s lap and started petting it, yet its growling didn’t diminish.
“Inside the cave…” Leon felt like he was missing something. “Wait, it’s not a dog?”
“No,” Veleda replied while proudly held the pup to Leon’s face. “It’s a wolf.”
“WHAT?!” With a startle and a shout, the car momentarily turned chaotic as Leon finally realized what he didn’t understand. “Are you crazy?!”
“Quiet!” Ise finally broke her silence as she turned to the side and muttered under her breath, “Why are you even sitting in front if you’re going to react like that?”
And like this, two grumbling individuals, and two who continued to pet their small pup, prepared themselves for what lay in front of them.
The trees passed and the scenery changed as the car slowly continued on, from the road surrounded by trees to the highway. A car ride that should only take two hours at most had now lasted almost five hours.
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Gradually, more and more roads connected to the highway they were driving on as familiar sights entered Alduin’s eyes. Having been the first to notice, Alduin said, “We’re almost there.”
But before they reached the place Alduin meant, the car already slowed down as all four of them stared through the front window in shock.
“What happened here?” Leon asked the group.
“What-“ Ise replied with confusion.
The sight Alduin was more than familiar with was no more. The sight that was etched in his memories had disappeared. His shaking hands grabbed the seats in front with eyes opened wide.
“No way.” Alduin couldn’t believe what he saw. “Slow down, Ise.”
His eyes stared outside, looking for that landmark he was familiar with. But as they slowed down to driving at a snail’s pace, the sight became ever so clear in his eyes. The gas station he remembered had evaporated out of existence.
A large crater was all that remained. A pit that was charred black, surrounded by a burnt-down forest and metallic debris.
“What’s going on?” Veleda stared outside, yet her eyes weren’t staring at the scarred earth.
In front of them, near the edge of their vision, a multitude of cars were visible. The empty highway they were expecting, heading toward the city, once more confronted them with their reality. Alduin warned, “Watch the forest closely.”
The car never stopped completely as four pairs of eyes stared at their surroundings. Multiple cars had crashed as far as their eyes could see, even the debris of what seemed to have been a military vehicle. Yet moving through the path of wrecks and empty cars, not a single corpse could be seen.
“It’s probably engine failure,” Ise said as she looked around. “Besides a couple of burned-down cars, most are just abandoned.”
Ise had been paying close attention, and slowed down even further until they finally came to a stop. This was already the second time they had stopped their progress.
“Is it overheating again?” Alduin followed Ise outside as they lifted the hood of the car.
Ise stared at Alduin and sighed. “Not yet, but if we kept going it would have. But it’s better to let it cool now than to needlessly increase our risk.”
Veleda, who followed them asked the question on everyone’s mind. “If they’re all empty, then where are the people?”
“We don’t know,” Alduin pulled Veleda closer and walked back to the car. “For now, let’s stay inside.”
They were surrounded by an eery silence, from the burned-down woods around the gas station to the abandoned cars near them. Not a single corpse was seen. The half-hour they spent waiting in this abandoned area pushed their tension even higher.
“We’re already close to the city aren’t we, how long do you think we need?” Leon asked.
“At this pace, we’ll probably need an hour.” Alduin, who had become used to fast transportation, couldn’t imagine it ever taking this long to reach their family home.
But it didn’t even take ten minutes of driving for another change to occur. It started with Hati, the white pup, that barked in the distance only to be followed by Alduin’s hurried voice, “Take the next exit!”
“Right!” Ise had already increased their speed as they hurriedly left the highway.
“What is that?!” Leon’s eyes hadn’t left the sight in front of them.
“That’s-” Yet Alduin didn’t know how to reply.
The dead and abandoned highway instantly disappeared. At the edge of their sight, a forest suddenly stood. The highway was completely overrun, and trees had grown over the entire highway.
But the panic they felt didn’t originate there, at the edge of the forest, something dwelled that pushed their instincts into overdrive.
“Are they dead?”
“I don’t know!” Ise increased their speed to turn around at the nearest exit, their plan was completely derailed.
“Alduin,” Veleda asked as she held his hand.
But Alduin’s eyes were focused on the edge of the forest they saw, Hati’s barking had jolted them awake.
‘What was that?’ Alduin held the pup thight. ‘I didn’t even notice!’ His back was drenched with sweat.
His eyes had clearly captured what awaited them, countless people stood huddled up near the edge of the forest. The people they had been searching for had all been found.
“Did you notice the foliage?” Ise asked as she stared at Alduin in the back mirror.
“Evergreen trees,” Alduin replied, “They shouldn’t be growing there.”
“What was that,” Leon asked, his voice still trembling in panic.
Not a single person here had realized they were heading for a forest. Alduin tightly held Veleda’s hand as he continued to stare outside. The trees had disappeared in their sight but the eery sensation still lingered.
“You did good Hati,” Alduin patted the young pup in his lap with a serious face. Two large eyes stared back at him until he finally sounded out a whimper. “Right, right,” Alduin said as he pulled something from his backpack. ‘A small gemstone for… whatever that was? It’s a good thing we brought him along’ His hand continued petting Hati to try and relieve his tension.
“Come here,” Veleda who had noticed the small pup staring at her, now signaled it to come to her lap. “Was that a jungle?”
“Looked like it, bright green leaves at the beginning of winter…” Alduin said, his head still turned in the direction of the highway’s exit. “…What’s going on?”
The entire highway was obstructed by a massive jungle that pierced through the concrete. The jeep had no choice but to take the long way around to get to the city, but the anxiety they felt only increased as they witnessed another phenomenon they had no knowledge of.
However, the sight that entered their eyes as they reached the city was something nobody could expect.
“…A swamp?” Alduin’s voice asked in shock.
“We’re going in the right direction right?” Leon couldn’t help asking.
Ise was frowning as well, but she was more than familiar with this road, this was the direction of her university. “We should have circumvented that forest, but…” Ise had no choice but to continue driving forward. “We’ll need to enter from the Northeast side.”
A jungle blocked the south of the city, a swamp blocked the east, these changes reached as far as their eyes could see.
‘What happened here?!’ Anxiety filled Alduin’s heart as he remembered the promise he made his parents.
“WHAT’S THAT!” Leon’s voice erupted.
Five pairs of eyes turned to the side and a growl erupted from Hati. Alduin’s hold on Veleda’s hand tightened, his worries exploded, ‘What is going on?’
The sight of a ruined city spread in front of their eyes. A city that seemed to be completely destroyed, and at the edge of the swamp, to the first buildings they saw, uncountable creatures hurried over the ground.