They had spent an hour going through the parking lot. They had gone through and wiped off the blood soaked cars. At least the ones looking that looked some what useable, unfortunately with all those magic attacks that had been fired off at the horde most of the vehicles had become useless.
With Chris sending massive AOE (Area Of Effect) attacks into the horde it had inadvertently fried the CPU's in the cars, not to mention the tires had also completely melted.
This wasn't just his fault however, with Rosa sending fire attacks and the others firing magic off into the horde there was bound to be damage.
Bal: 'If we want a car then we will have to go into town… if we head west it would get us closer to the housing district… however going through the most populated area in the city doesn't sound like a good idea… Damnit mom… why is it so hard to get home!'
He had quickly borrowed Harry's phone, he opened up the map of City-L before zooming in to see the exact streets they can take and the named locations along the way.
Bal: "Harry… I need to ask you something… what do you think we should do? I have thought of getting a vehicle as soon as possible to help get around the city but… the problem is the city itself!
If we headed west into city we would be in constant danger. It would be unlikely for us to find a safe space like this one in there… so I've been thinking, what if we prioritize getting 2 cars preferably trucks… then use them to head out to the outskirts of the city heading north.
Now this will definitely take a long time to work our way around the populated area. However it's the best plan I can think of to with the least amount of risks…"
Harry: "I also think that would probably be for the best… if we wanted to risk ourselves we could just go charging through the center of town while being chased by a horde of Shadow Corpses! However we would never be that stupid, the only other idea I can think of is going building too building clearing out little groups of undead one at a time leveling up as we cut our way through the town"
Bal: 'Either way is time consuming… the only plus too the second idea is the groups average level will rise making our strength go up…'
At that moment a lightbulb turned on in his head, an idea came to him making him smile as if he just figured everything out.
Bal: "Hey Harry… what if we headed down south towards the work district and met up with the gang? We should have some guns stashed at our old place right? If we arm ourselves and gather some more people we know. Then maybe we can go around the central district towards the housing district and take it over completely!
Just think about it! Even if a majority of the gang had turned that would still leave a couple veterans and people we know we can trust! If boss is still alive and kicking then he would definitely get everyone together and start taking over right?"
As soon as Baladan mentioned the gang Harry also began to smile. The last time he headed to the workshop was a little before the storms started hitting.
At the time the workshop had just been restocked with guns and bullets from out of state. If they got their hands on those firearms then clearing a path home would be easy!
———
Central District
This part of the city was also known as tourist central. With how many people travel to see the beautiful time square, it was bound to have lots of people.
Everyone who lives in the city knew exactly how many cars go in and out of the area everyday! It was always filled to the brim with shiny cars and people with cameras. Thousands of people taking their families or loved ones to see the sights would pass through every single day.
This made the area a forbidden zone, with everyone starting to change into Shadow Corpses then it would be a miracle if you got out of that place alive!
It's as if you had gathered a large majority of people living in the city or just traveling through and then trapped them using their own cars before turning a couple of them.
In that situation many people would have been bitten. Then those people would have gotten up and bitten the other trapped people. By the time everyone would have found a way to scramble away it's already too late!
Currently leaving the area was a Black Husky, it's fur looked all scruffy but if touched it felt very soft. Unfortunately no one would go up to pet the husky because all the creatures around it was either dead or undead. The dog had been traveling alone with blood covering its mouth.
Grim: 'What is going on… why do I feel this way… what is it that I'm hearing… what am I thinking… thinking? What is thinking? Am I even able to think… why does my head hurt…'
The husky didn't know what it was doing, one moment it was a peaceful time. It's owner was walking with it on a leash, the next moment a sudden pain filled everyone before the husky could actually think.
It had started to think the words it's heard though it's life. For some reason it now understood the meaning of them but that feeling was foreign to it. It was confused, trying to understand why it was becoming more aware and intelligent as time passed.
Currently the dog had been heading east, it's steps casual. This dog was no longer the size of a normal husky, it was the size of a Tibetan Mastiff. With its black fur and its sharp eyes it looked like The Grim.
The Grim is said to be a omen of imminent death, however only those who are about to meet death are supposed to be the ones able to see it.
This was not The Grim, but ironically it's name is Grim! The previous owner of the husky seemed to have a sick sense of humor.
———
Bal: "We will be heading a little west to find a functioning car, preferably a truck to head south from the central district! There we will try and meet up with a couple trustworthy people and gather the weapons we need!"
Aria: "What kind of weapons could we find at those workshops? I don't mean to doubt you but are we really going there to find weapons?"
Harry: "I see that not many people know about our reputation then huh? Well I guess it's only right we tell you ahead of time huh? We are part of a biker gang that runs the work district, we usually ship out lots of different products.
These products are mainly illegal but because of our business we have also been able to acquire some firearms from our partners. Before the storms happened we had made a deal to fill up our armory back at our private hideout with enough guns to start a militia!"
This put the group both at ease and on edge at the same time! They had been told they are running around with gang members. At first that startled them but after a while they started to feel at ease.
If it wasn't because of these gang members they may still be trapped or even dead to the Shadow Corpses. Now these people want to go and gather the rest of their group and get their guns at the same time.
They had been restless with them only having melee weapons and some ranged magic attacks. Now that they heard the plan is to get some guns it made them immediately feel safer, with guns being the symbol of power in this era it was hard not to want one to protect yourself.
Bal: "Until we get there and find our gang we need to fight our way through the school district!"
Bal: 'Just wait for me mom! I'll be home soon!'
With the 2 year storms having ruined a lot of jobs Baladan's mom couldn't really work as a teacher. Fortunately when school started up again she was given a chance for a position as a teachers aide with the promise of promotion at the end of the year.
Usually a teachers aide would be in the class helping with whatever the teacher needs. However the teacher she was assigned only used online classes, meaning she got to work from home!
Rick: "Uhh… guys… am I just seeing things or is that a dog walking towards us…?"
Immediately Baladan and his group started to get into position. With the casters near the back and Aura Users/Warriors in the front. Fortunately the creature didn't seem like it was going to suddenly attack them.
Instead it stood there looking at Baladan, a broken collar had hung out of its mouth. With a closer look the word Grim could be seen.
Bal: "Uhhh…. Hey uh Grim, are we cool? Like you won't try and rip our throats out or anything…?"
The reason he hadn't attacked was because of how casual the beast had been walking. It didn't show any signs of aggression, actually it showed more signs of submission then aggression.
With Grim now laying down a little ways from the group it slowly rolled over showing it's belly.
Grim: 'I hope they can help me… what is hope? My mind is all messed up… please help… please let me understand what is going on… don't try to hurt me like those people… please…'
The beast had those puppy dog eyes on its face as it tries to give off more signs that it doesn't want to hurt them.
Bal: "I'll go first and check it out… don't get too close just yet"
He had surrounded himself with his white aura as he got closer to Grim. Even with it laying down and rolled over, it was longer and just overall bigger then a car.
With Baladan moving forward Grim didn't move a single inch. When he got within range to touch the beast Baladan slowly lifted his hand before gently rubbing against its vulnerable belly.
Bal: "I'll choose to trust you for now Grim… but you look like you have been through a lot, let's get you up and cleaned off shall we?"
Grim: "Thank you… wait what is thanks? How am I thinking? What is thinking?"
When Baladan came into contact with Grim a sudden voice began to appear in his mind. The sound of confusion and fear filled this voice as Grim looked at Baladan.
Bal: "Huh!? W-Wait I think I can hear your voice!? Just calm down a little… we can sit down and talk a bit we will help you out ok…?"
Grim: "Ok… Grim will be good boy and take horrible bath…"
Again the words went straight into Baladan's mind. Nothing had been said out loud but he could hear Grim clearly.
Bal: "Guys! Let's get Grim cleaned up and fed!"
With that they each started to get food ready while Rick and Harry got a hose prepared from the side of the gym to wash off all that dirt and blood.
Grim: "You are all nice people… thank you"