"We're good to get the tank running remotely into the city." Jeremy was pretty happy with their achievement, he wasn't used to handling that much tech, last few days had been a new experience for him and a rewarding one at that.

He had gotten used to the emptiness of the base, had the major not arrived when he did, he'd have drunk himself to death by now. It'd have been the second worst day in his life. He had been searching through manuals for hours to get their plan into motion.

The three of them had a quick celebration and decided to get some sleep for the night. Ralph had been at the base for a week now but he still couldn't be at ease in the large base. He'd always wonder about when the monsters would get in and slit his throat. The memories of that night were still fresh in his head, along with others. He had died twice now but how could he get used to the fear and despair? It seemed that whenever he had a positive outlook on his situation, reality came back to stab his heart, plunging the dagger and holding it till he bled to death. Sometimes at night, he dreamt of going back and finding his parents, those dreams were the ones that he didn't want to wake up from. Those days, he walked out of the base to slaughter some shadows.

He sighed to himself as he lay on his bed. Ben sat on his bed going over the plan in his head. He didn't know how many he could save if any at all. Even though he encouraged others to keep their hopes up and kept them occupied, he knew there'd be no more normalcy in this world. It was something he had already accepted, he wouldn't risk the lives he had already saved for the ones that he couldn't, it was his burden to bear.

As all of them slept, slowly the clocks started and the sun that had stood still for a long time moved. It looked like the sun would soon set on this side of the world.

Ralph woke up with the dizziness that one had after a long afternoon nap. He had no idea about how long he had been sleeping for. The roof above him looked different. When he sat up, he was startled by the presence of Ben and Jeremy. They sat facing the bed and were quickly aware when he woke up. They gestured at Ralph to stay quiet. It seemed that he had slept through something important, but he knew not to speak up after seeing their faces.

Jeremy was sitting on a chair quietly with a grave expression. Ben opened a notebook and started scribbling down. After a while, he gave it to Ralph and gestured at him again to be quiet. Ralph took the notebook from his hands and stared at the words.

' Don't make any noise, there are ghosts outside. Dead soldiers are roaming the corridors, I don't think they know that they are dead and I don't think it will be a great idea to tell them as they go feral and give chase until we hide from them. Jeremy was the one who noticed the sunset and soon after, the ghosts. The outside is also haunted. Don't worry, they disappear in the morning.'

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

Ralph took a long time to process the note and then handed it back to Ben after writing something.

' Do the others know?'

' They have notified and they have moved out of the apartments that other people lived in. One of them insisted that ghosts come back where they died.'

After that, they waited for a long time silently before they noticed the sunlight shining through the blinds. Ben got up and walked to the window. He slowly lifted the curtains and looked outside. After he looked around for a while he opened the curtains completely. The morning sun shone, after such a long evening it'd been a welcome sight if not for the new problems it carried with itself.

" I think we should get those people out of that city, yesterday we made enough progress and the tank is ready to get them out, now that we have real ghosts to worry about, this world has truly turned into hell. Those fake ones in the city couldn't get through the tank. Even though we don't have it much better in here, they will be much safer here than there."

Ralph smiled nervously and picked up a water bottle.

" We shouldn't jinx ourselves by talking about it. Let's just get it done quickly."

The tank roamed in the empty lanes. Several wraiths followed it but lost interest after they failed at prying it open. It was like they knew that no one was inside, it was just a different type of toy. After half an hour, the tank stopped at an intersection.

Sean looked outside his window, trying to see it through the fog. He held his phone to his ear and several others stood around him.

" Just wait for a while at some distance, after that get it in front of the building."

Sean didn't end the call. He told Stacy and the five kids to head downstairs. Stacy picked up the bag that had a single pair of clothing for each of them. There wasn't much space in the tank. They made their way to the entrance and soon the tank arrived punctually.

The tank stood still and slowly the door at the side facing them lifted. It was a four-seater tank that Ben had picked for the occasion. It was meant for four adults to sit inside. So, Sean and Stacy along with the five kids managed to get inside. After Sean told them, the doors got back in position. It wasn't uncomfortable inside the tank as it was built for carrying high-ranking officials.

The tank started to slowly move. It returned along the previous path. The wraiths were quick to notice its movement. They closed in and started shrieking. They were aware. The shrieks easily made their way through the usually impenetrable fog. As several of them started to make their way toward the tank, it soon became apparent that if they didn't get out quickly enough, they never would. A lot of them hung on the top of the tank, scratching at it with their curved claws.

The tank sped up and went faster than the wraiths trying to catch up to it. As it neared the boundary of the fog, the few wraiths that were still hanging on the top abruptly let go of the tank with a shriek. They weren't very glad about others leaving but were still too hesitant to give chase.

The slowed down after it exited the fog. It wouldn't have been a pleasant experience if it broke down in the middle of nowhere. After several hours, the tank finally made its way back to the base. Jeremy opened the gates and led the tank in. After parking itself, the tank once again opened the side doors. Jeremy stood smiling nearby.

" Follow me, let's get you guys settled in."