Getting out of Linos was difficult.
Not only because of the heightened security around the city but because people were leaving the city in droves. So, the streets were packed with people and traffic jams, and angry honking drivers were everywhere.
It was a good thing that the twins had the foresight to leave before dawn for their 10 am train ride.
Booking a train ticket had been a nightmare. Every train they looked at was fully booked, and the prices for a compartment were ridiculously high. Yuliang was furious at how these people were extorting the vulnerable this way, but there was nothing he could do about it. This was just how their society worked. Yukio and Yuliang had to put their savings together, and they somehow managed to book a ticket three days from when they had started looking.
After a lot of running and pushing, the twins only just managed to squeeze onto the train at the last second before the doors closed.
Exhausted, they made it into their compartment and locked the door securely behind them.
Pulling off the scarf and mask obscuring his face, Yukio collapsed onto the bed and clutched at his stomach, which growled in protest.
He looked queasy.
Yuliang immediately handed a bag over to his brother, who accepted it gratefully and promptly emptied the contents of his stomach into it.
Yuliang secured their suitcases in the designated area before moving to take a seat beside his brother, placing a supportive hand on his back.
Yukio had been throwing up quite a bit these last few days.
He said that it was probably due to the stress.
Once his brother was done, Yuliang offered him a bottle of water, wiped the residue off Yukio's face with a cloth he had taken to carrying with him, and offered his brother a mint.
Yukio obediently gargled and spit into the bag, then popped the mint into his mouth with a sigh.
"I'm sure I'll feel better once we're back home," Yukio said, smiling as if the world wasn't going to shit around them.
Yuliang grimaced, unconvinced.
"Of course."