"What is this!" Jamal yelled.
They were in a long line of people wrapping around an entire block that lead up to the only building that would provide anyone transportation out of the city as far as they could see. They had left the farmhouse earlier, and as they moved deeper into the place, the more rubble and collapsed buildings were surrounding them. There were dead people strewn around everywhere, and people using their powers to stop the fires from continuing to spread. The scene was frightening, but Jamal wasn't going to live in fear. They continued to move around until they found a long line leading up to a carriage station.
"Due to the number of people looking for the service, and the debris covering most roads, we ask that you come back tomorrow." someone in front shouted.
A loud groan was heard from the crowd, as people began to push their way ahead. Jamal followed as he was not going to wait another second. There was pushing and people getting shoved and trampled over one another trying to leave, and soon enough, people began using their powers and brawling it out on the streets. He stopped moving and walked back to Ula and Brat, who was across the street watching the action.
"Yeah, that's not going to happen. What could we do now?" Jamal had asked them.
"Why don't we find Hops. Like Fonda's over there in the crowd, I can see her!" Brat pointed.
Jamal looked deep, but couldn't see her, but Ula went into it. Was he blind or was he tripping? He watched as she went in, and lost sight of her. He had to have just missed her. A few seconds later, Ula came out with Fonda behind her, waving at them.
"How?" he asked Fonda.
"It's good to see you again, Jamal." she smiled at him.
"I'm surprised I caught her before she went deeper. We're only missing Hops now." Ula had commented.
They didn't even know if he was still alive, and yet they thought he would still be out there. Their main goal was to get out of here, as the war wouldn't be good for them here.
"Ok, we can get the backstory later. Right now, we can either search for Hops through this mess or find somewhere to sleep or get out of here." Jamal told them.
"Sleep," they said in near unison.
"Aight then, we'll look around. Somewhere that's safer," he announced, already leading the way.
They walked deeper into the more ruined parts of the city, which was coincidentally the richer part, and looked around. People were out and about cleaning about and getting materials to begin rebuilding or providing cover. Jamal couldn't still believe what he was seeing. The capital getting damaged like this on a large scale again, which he didn't think was possible. But he knew that Youden would have had plenty of resources beforehand, and would use them all just for Saputa to fall.
Continuing the walk, Jamal couldn't even see any buildings open. The place just got bombed, but he wasn't trying to sleep in another random building again.
"Look, there's a hotel there." Ula pointed towards a chipped building that was next to a demolished one.
"Are you sure we should sleep there?" Jamal had to know.
"That or somewhere less safe. Your choice," she replied.
He wasn't going to get back into that same position again, as he led them through its doors. It surprisingly only had a few people waiting inside, and a busy counter ahead. Jamal walked up and rang the bell at the desk to signal their attention.
"Sit over there for a bit. We have others waiting for a room as well." A man told him.
He walked back and found some seats where the others were at. Looks like we'll have to wait a bit, as he sat down next to Ula.
"We're going to have to wait for who knows how long." he told everyone, "Now would probably be a good time to explain your story, Fonda."
And so she began. She described how she remembered waking up to people putting her inside a carriage, as it drove off deeper into the woods, and hearing noises that sounded like powers being used. It was just her inside, and she had quickly fallen asleep. The next time she woke up, was when they were in the town of Deiram, and in the distance, she had claimed she had seen Jamal and Ula walking back into one of the carriages. She didn't feel that hurt anymore, so she was about to get out of the vehicle, before one of the bombs had dropped nearby, and forcing her back into her seat, knocking her out cold.
As a result, she was quite hungry when she woke up inside the final time, as Boom was sitting next to her, and told her that it was time to go. She followed him out and moved into the city until he directed her at a building that one of his friends lived in. Ever since then, she was staying there for the night and woke up to see dust all over her. Getting out of the bed, she opened the door to see the room next to her caved in, and she could see the hand of the friend sticking out of it. Not knowing what to do, she found her way out and walked around the street, finding that large crowd by the station. And that's when Ula had found her.
"It's a miracle she's even alive." Ula had noted.
"You really have been through a lot these last few days," Jamal told her.
"I'm fine, cause I found you guys!" she gladly mentioned.
They chimed in with their other stories until the old man had approached them.
"Okay, if you're looking for rooms, we can give you two for two people, but it'll cost you about 10,000 Saputs total." he greeted them.
"We'll probably be here for a bit," Ula said, already taking out a fat chunk of the money and handed it to him before anyone could say anything.
"Great! Now if you will come with me, I'll show you them."