Sean knew that things weren't working out.

He looked at the can of beans which had been marked along its length.

" Yeah, it doesn't look like we will be able to last much longer like this. I think it's time that we restock."

Everyone sitting on the couch had frowns on their faces when they heard him.

They all knew it had to be done soon.

Stacy got up from the couch, grabbed his arm, and dragged him to another room. Sean didn't resist her. He hadn't eaten properly in a long while.

After closing the door, she glared at him for a while but stopped with a sigh.

" Did you have to say that in front of a room full of hungry children?"

" Look Stacy, I understand that you still haven't recovered from what happened last time and I get that, but you have to realize that we have no other choice, I won't force you to accompany me, but I'd much rather die out there then see them suffer every day."

He didn't wait for her reply and picked up a bag before leaving through the door of the apartment. The children sitting on the couch didn't even have time to register the sudden change, they wanted to stop him but each of them had seen things that made them unable to.

The only way out of the apartment complex was a long hike down the stairs. They didn't have the power to wantonly run the lift, whatever fuel they had accumulated was being used to heat the canned food they ate.

Sean slowly walked down the empty stairway which had an eery silence.

The silence was broken by hurried steps that echoed throughout the building.

'Good thing I planned ahead.'

Sean took out a stack of keys from his pockets and opened the door of the nearest apartment and closed it behind him silently.

The steps rushed past the door and he heard Stacy call his name as she made her way down in a hurry.

Then he heard his phone buzz. ' After all that planning I still forgot to switch it to silent.'

Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.

He took out his phone and messaged Stacy.

' I've already left. Don't leave the kids unattended or they might follow you.'

Sean saw a flurry of messages come through but switched his phone off soon after.

It had taken a lot to send that message. He had an empty look all the while. He took a deep breath and started counting in his head.

After about ten minutes he heard steps go past the door and up the stairs. After waiting another five minutes he walked out the door not bothering to close it as he walked down the stairs.

He walked out of the entrance of the apartment complex.

It was like walking into hell willingly. The atmosphere outside resonated as well. The streets were covered by a thick fog that didn't seem to be leaving any time soon. A chill ran up his spine when the cold pierced through his even after wearing several layers of clothing.

There wasn't much to see even if he wanted to be on the lookout. So he walked blindly into the fog.

" I am half sure the emergency announcements run separately from the energy supply of the rest of my hometown."

" I think we can access it from here and replicate what Ralph did citywide."

" Short-distance communication is still working fine so we just need to set up communication to figure out how things are inside the town, that way none of us would be under threat, our barn was on the outskirts so I have no idea how things are in the town right now. "

Ben and Ralph agreed with the plan and started talking about the fine details.

" How long do you think it will take to access the announcement system from here."

" There are several manuals we would have to go through but between the three of us it shouldn't take more than a day."

Sean had decided on this a long time ago, he would make 3 rounds to carry the stuff from the nearest convenience store, but as he walked down the street, anxiety still crept up on him.

' I wonder if I will run into a wraith on the next step or if they are stalking me, waiting for me to get my hopes up, freezing me to death when I'm nearest to home.'

' Stacy would probably be next if they have been stalking the building all this time. I wonder why they never enter the apartment. Oh right, they must feed on our fear and desperation. '

' Isn't walking out a mistake then.... I might have doomed those that I left behind to follow in my footsteps. '

' Still, if death is inevitable won't it be better to die free? '

Sean wasn't a paranoid person but walking in the fog without any sight and only his footsteps to accompany him made him overthink. He had to count his steps to get an idea of how far he was from the store. It wasn't a hard thing normally but with his situation, he had to concentrate to not lose count.

This was the street he had walked more than a thousand times and yet he had to walk close to the buildings to not make a wrong turn.