Callum gulped nervously at the slightest of sounds as the group travelled along the abandoned subway line. Nobody was excited about escaping the gob horde. Instead, the mood was heavily subdued, as the fear of being discovered weighed on everyone's minds.
'This doesn't feel right. It's already been about an hour, yet they don't seem to have picked up our trail.' Callum's worried expression put Rachael on edge as she walked beside him. She had the same concerns as him, however, it was her lower lip that was paying the price for it.
A few minutes later, word came from the front of the group. They had arrived at another station, and Tom wanted to speak with them. The crowd spread out around the station, finding spots on the floor where they could sit and rest. Callum glanced at the tunnel they had just travelled down to where a few normal folks were standing guard.
The four dreamwalkers came together on the stairs that led back to the streets above ground. Tom wore a concerned expression on his face as he wiped the sweat from his brow with the back of his hand. With a heavy sigh, he looked over at the crowd.
"We've got to go above ground again," Tom said. "I sent one guy ahead and both tunnels are blocked."
"Can't we clear it? I mean, they're bound to pick up our trail if we go up there." Amy replied.
"We probably could. But how much time would it take? We don't know if they're already following us. Hesitating now could be what gets us all killed."
A grim silence fell between the four of them. 'Tom's right. There's too much risk in wasting time clearing the tunnels. We're going to have to risk going outside.' Callum sighed as he noticed the two women seemed to have come to the same conclusion. Old Tom nodded when he saw their expressions.
"Once we're up above, we'll keep going in the same direction we have been so far. With some luck, we can reach the next subway station without being found out."
"Tom, even if we find the next one. You do realise we can't stay underground? Right? We have to find somewhere with an ATM. And to use it, we need to be close enough to hunt gobs. I feel you're getting caught up in getting the civilians as far away from the horde as possible." Rachael said after taking a deep breath.
"What do you expect me to do, Rachael? We can't keep putting their lives at risk by staying so close. How many lives do you want on your conscience?"
"Tom, we're all in this together. There's no way we can gather enough fragments to keep everyone here fed if we have to travel too far. Not with just the four of us. Either they'll need to pitch in with the hunts, or we'll have to abandon them for our own sake." Amy sighed as she glared at Tom.
Tom had a tortured expression on his face as he studied their expressions. "What do you say, Cal?"
"I haven't been here long enough to understand everything. But I have to agree with Amy. Even losing one of us would be bad for the group. I hate to say it, but some of these folks will have to fight with us. Don't take this the wrong way, but if one of them dies, it just relieves some of our burdens. I'm not saying their lives are worthless. I honestly don't want them to die. But, in the long run, it's going to happen either way. Whether it's from starvation or fighting for their right to live."
The mood turned heavy with Callum's statement. Perhaps it was because he was new that he was not afraid to call their situation out for what it really was. However, it also left a sour taste in his mouth. Tom's expression turned dark as he faced the other three.
"Hand out all the weapons and let them rest for a bit. Once they're ready, we'll head out onto the streets."
Callum grimaced at the thought of going back above ground as he separated from the other Walkers. He walked among the civilians and offered some words of encouragement while they rested. 'I guess I really should make myself known among them. Since we're all in this together. They need to feel like they can approach me like they can with the others.'
Of course, those changes would not happen in just the short amount of time he had to spend with them at that moment. However, he felt like he had done some amount of good as the time to surface finally arrived.
Parents attempted to quiet their children as the group resurfaced and walked through the fog. Callum did not doubt that the gobs would soon taste their fear in the air as he studied the reluctant expressions of those holding weapons. 'They gave out every weapon they've gathered. But less than a quarter of these people are now armed.'
Callum sighed at the thought of the massacre that was bound to happen if the monsters caught up. They had rested long enough to regain their will counters. However, the last attack had proven they were incapable of protecting everyone. 'Maybe it would have been different if Tom joined in. But he needs to save his abilities in case the creature from the church appears.'
Everyone was on edge. Their chances of survival preoccupied their minds as they travelled those empty, silent streets. 'This fog doesn't help. At least the green colour is gone. Which means there should be some distance between us and the horde.'
A few hours passed before a sudden change in their environment gripped everyone's attention. 'What the hell is this?' Callum thought as he gazed at the sudden appearance of lights in the fog. As they got closer, everyone's jaws dropped as they realised what the source was!
Some electrical lights were on in that part of the god-forsaken city! 'I thought nothing like that worked here! This is huge! Where's Tom?' Callum looked around until he spotted the old man near the front of the group. People were starting to gather around him and were asking questions. As Callum drew closer, he could hear the civilians basically begging to settle in this area.
"Tom!" Callum called as Amy and Rachael forced their way through the crowd. "What are we going to do?"
"Everyone be quiet!" Tom glared at the crowd before sweeping the buildings with his gaze. "I guess we can settle here for now. Amy, travel back down the road and use your smoke to eliminate our scent. Hopefully, we can prevent the monsters from even searching this far. Rachael, take a group and check the buildings. See if everything is working in there. Callum, you come with me, we'll search ahead."
The civilians were excited to hear that as they split into groups under Rachael's guidance to search the buildings. Callum, on the other hand, was confused as to why Tom would single him out to partner up with. However, he was glad for the chance to get to know Tom better.
As the pair set off from the group, going deeper into the fog, Callum noticed the serious expression on Tom's face. 'Is there something wrong I haven't noticed?' Callum thought as he looked over the buildings again. 'Apart from the lights, there's nothing different about them.' A deep frown appeared on his face as he wondered what had Tom worked up.
"It's the lights and the buildings aren't in as bad a shape," Tom said as if he could read what was on Callum's mind. "It's just too different from what we're used to. Almost like an enticing trap designed to lure us in."
Callum felt sick to his stomach at Tom's explanation. Now that he mentioned it, Callum realised the buildings were still in great shape. As if they had been abandoned not too long ago.
"Do you think another monster lives near here, then?" Callum asked as he kept his voice low.
"Maybe. It's not impossible after you discovered the thing in the church. We don't even know if the fog only turns green when the things you call gobs are nearby. For all we know, other creatures don't affect it." Tom sighed as he glared at the windows in passing.
"That's why you brought me along. Amy is needed to throw the horde off our trail, and the people know Rachael, so they'll listen to her. But you needed a partner in case something unexpected is out here."
"Exactly! Glad to see you have some brains in that head of yours. Though you proved that when you made your statement about our situation." Tom scratched his cheek as he focused on the fog. "However, we can't stay here unless we figure out if there's a hidden threat and an ATM."
Callum nodded as they continued in silence. They searched some buildings as they went along. However, there were no signs of anything living in that area.
"Cal! Over here!" Tom called out with excitement thickly lacing his voice.
As Callum raced to his side, his eyes went wide in surprise. 'An ATM!' Callum felt his own excitement rising as they stared at the familiar machine. They had found the one thing they needed to survive in that area!
"We'll need to move the group to the surrounding buildings," Tom said with a pensive expression. "Unfortunately, it won't be easy to defend this area. The best we can do is spread people out so they have the best chance of escaping if an emergency happens."
Callum's mind was on something else. He reached out and placed his palm on the screen, making its menu appear. 'Forty-eight fragments! If I kill another gob, I can get another card!' Callum's excitement rose at the thought, but only for a moment. 'I'll probably end up having to buy rations. The church and the gobs domain are quite far from here. We'd have to prepare to be gone a few days at a time just to make the hunts worthwhile.'
Callum sighed as he removed his hand from the screen. "What now?"
"Now? We go further to make sure this area is safe enough. We can't base it just on what we've seen so far." Tom replied as he headed for the door that led back to the street.
The pair were feeling good about their find as they checked out a few more buildings. Even Tom had to admit, it seemed to be the perfect area to settle down for the civilians. However, that all changed as they walked for another few minutes down the road.
"Tom, what are we looking at here?" Callum said as he felt sweat running down his back as he stared into the fog.
"I don't know." Tom shook his head as he peered over the edge.
The road and the buildings just suddenly came to an end. The fog continued on into nothingness. However, if they took another step, they would fall off of what appeared to be the edge of that world. Callum gulped as he looked down at the rocky wall of earth that disappeared far below them.
'It's a dead end!' Callum looked left and right, but there was nothing to indicate the ground went any further in that direction. 'If it's like this, no matter what direction we go, there's nowhere for us to escape to if the horde catches up! We'd literally be living on the edge!'
"Cal, we'd better get back. We have to discuss this with everyone else. We can't make a decision about settling here without everyone's opinion." Tom said as he turned away from the edge and began the journey back to the temporary camp.
'We may not have a choice. We can't go any further and it would probably be the same in every direction.' Callum sighed as he turned away from that mesmerising sight to join Tom. At that moment, unbeknownst to the pair. A light lit up in the form of a doorway just beyond the edge…