The sky was bright. Brian and Sarah woke up early to get ready to leave, and Osborn also planned to see if he could contact an old friend to pass along the news. However, the RV couldn't be left unattended, so he asked Kelly to stay behind and keep watch.
They left the abandoned factory and walked towards the street. Even though it wasn't yet 7 a.m., the street was already bustling with people. All the survivors living in tents throughout the city had left their makeshift homes and were walking towards the central block to receive their meager rations.
Seeing the dense crowd, Brian sighed with emotion. He held onto Sarah's hand to avoid getting separated and recalled the route that Antoane had mentioned the day before. They headed in the opposite direction of the crowd.
"Freedom! Democracy! Human rights! Economy!"
"Freedom is fundamental!"
"Quarantine is worse than the virus!"
"Fear is the only contagious disease!"
Just after Brian and Sarah crossed a long street, a group of protesters appeared, holding opposition banners and passionately shouting their slogans.
On the same street, dozens of people had knelt on the ground with their hands crossed, muttering and reciting something. In the middle of them, a woman was holding a sign that read: "This disaster is the devil's punishment on humanity. Believing in God can save you from the virus."
The passersby and the police nearby observed the scene with indifference, as if this type of event no longer surprised them.
"Ridiculous," Brian thought. Watching the scene before him, he found it all absurd. It reminded him of a phrase he had once heard:
"Instead of defeating the virus, the priority should be defeating stupidity!"
Once the protest ended, they crossed the street, asked passersby for directions, and after nearly an hour of walking, they arrived at the address Yarman had given them.
It was a four-story residential building. The two of them climbed the stairs to the third floor. Brian confirmed the room number, then approached the door and knocked three times.
"Knock, knock, knock!"
After waiting for a while, no one responded. Brian knocked again, and only then did a nervous female voice emerge from inside:
"Who is it?"
"Hello, does the elder Yarman live here?" Brian asked politely.
Upon hearing the name, there was instant silence from inside. Then Brian noticed the peephole went dark, indicating that someone was looking through it from the other side.
After a moment, the door opened slightly, held back by the security chain. A thin middle-aged woman appeared in the crack, looking cautiously at the two children.
"What do you want with him?"
Brian guessed that this woman must be June, Yarman's daughter, the one who had left the message in the lakeside cabin. He handed her the note with the address through the crack in the door and said, "This is the address Grandpa Yarman gave us. We met him when we were in Austin. We arrived in Dallas yesterday, and we thought of stopping by to learn more from him. Is he here?"
The woman took the note, read the words written on it, and turned around to call into the house: "Dad, there are two kids looking for you. Come take a look."
"Kids?"
As soon as she spoke, a surprised voice came from inside the house, followed by hurried footsteps. Moments later, an elderly man with gray hair appeared. It was Yarman, the man Brian and Sarah had met.
"Brian! Sarah!"
Yarman looked astonished to see the two children outside the door, and he quickly unlatched the security chain to let them in.
"Come in quickly," he said.
Brian and Sarah entered the house and looked around. It was a typical three-bedroom apartment, but it was empty and had an air of austerity.
Yarman invited them to sit in the living room and began asking when they had arrived and if they had a place to stay. He offered to let them stay with him if needed.
Brian, aware of how tough the situation was for everyone, shook his head and declined the offer. They didn't want to impose. He explained to Yarman that they were there seeking information and hoping to learn something useful.
Yarman, understanding Brian's intentions, thought for a moment before speaking:
"Because of this epidemic, the whole country is in a tense state. Many cities have started refusing outsiders. If Dallas weren't so close to the infected zone, it would probably be under lockdown already. But Dallas can't accommodate many more survivors. The army might use trucks to transport some to other cities. That might be your only chance to leave. Otherwise, you'll have to wait for the epidemic to end."
Brian sighed. He knew that Yarman still held out hope that the disaster would end soon, but Brian had long lost that hope. He understood that the government was losing control, and the military's indiscriminate eradication measures were a clear sign of desperation.
After gathering the information they needed, Yarman promised to help them figure out how to leave Dallas. Brian and Sarah thanked him and left.
On their way back, they passed by a hospital where a nurse handed them a flyer about the Cordyceps fungus virus. Intrigued, Brian began reading it:
---
**Cordyceps Brain Infection (CBI)**
Cordyceps is a parasitic fungus that takes over the brain of its host and alters its behavior. Until recently, this fungus only infected insects, but new strains have emerged that can parasitize humans.
**Modes of Infection:**
1. Inhalation of spores released by the Cordyceps fungus.
2. Contact with bodily fluids of individuals infected with CBI, usually through bites.
**Symptoms:**
1. In the first stage of CBI, infected individuals exhibit abnormal behavior and violent tendencies.
2. The fungus eventually breaks through the host's body, releasing spores into the air.
There is no cure or vaccine for CBI.
---
Brian lifted his head from the flyer and noticed that, for some reason, the pedestrians on the street had begun running. Even the protesters stopped shouting their slogans and quickly dispersed, heading towards nearby residential buildings as if rushing back to their homes.
The unusual scene made Brian's heart race, and he didn't dare linger. He called out to Sarah, and they hurried back to the abandoned factory.
Upon their return, Brian was surprised to see a crowd of survivors gathered in front of a television. They were shouting, their faces showing a mix of anger and panic.
Seeing this, Brian rushed back to the camp and found Osborn and Kelly standing by the RV, watching something on their neighbor Mr. Antoane's TV.
Without greeting the others, Brian stepped forward and fixed his eyes on the screen, where a news anchor was delivering a report.
As he listened to the broadcast, Brian realized that this country was terminally ill, and the end of humanity was inevitable.