Although Brian secretly assumed that Joel and Tommy might still be alive, after calming down and thinking about it, he still felt that his idea was a bit ridiculous.
First of all, if Joel and Tommy were still alive, why didn't they come looking for them, but instead ran to Houston?
Secondly, the soldier just said that the two of them defeated an entire formation of fifty soldiers. He remembered that Tommy's aim was very good, but he wasn't particularly sure if Joel was that good.
Even if we take a step back and accept that those two people are Joel and Tommy, they don't have the ability to go to Houston to look for them now. In addition, the news that has just arrived is that Houston has fallen and is already infected. Even if they do make it to Houston, there's a high chance they'll go to no avail.
"Oh~"
Brian sighed. Although there was a small chance that these two people were Joel and Tommy, after all, that was only a possibility. I couldn't choose to go back just because of this small possibility. The bets on this matter weigh on this speculation.
He shook his head vigorously, stopped thinking about this problem, and turned his attention back to the forest. Only then did he realize that Sarah had gotten up from the lawn and was walking in his direction.
Brian raised his hand and looked at the time and found that almost an hour had passed without noticing, but there seemed to be no sign that the convoy was about to leave. She thought for a moment and said to Sarah, "I'm going to go to the front and have a look and see what's going on? Let's go?"
"Well, let's go!" Sarah picked up her clothes and was no longer in the mood to play, and followed Brian to the front of the caravan.
Returning along the same path, they passed by the more than thirty people who were being punished. These people had expressions of pain on their faces, their knees were shaking violently, and some of them were even crumbling, looking extremely miserable.
But Brian just looked at him and didn't pay attention to him. People always have to pay the corresponding price for their actions.
After the two walked along the main road for a few minutes, they saw a wall of people not far away. A line of soldiers blocked these people from a distance. It seemed like there were a lot of people watching there.
Getting closer, Brian pushed Sarah and made his way through the crowd, found a position with a better view, and looked inside.
At that moment, the road ahead was filled with densely packed people. Every few people pushed a car. They pushed the various cars on the way into the side lanes and lined them up in a straight line, leaving enough passage for the large buses to pass.
If you come across a large car or truck that has rolled over, it will take a dozen or even dozens of people to work together to flip it over.
After working for nearly an hour, everyone was sweating profusely as the cold wind blew in their faces, becoming more and more intense. Congested cars on the road finally began to clear, and it was estimated that in less than half an hour the roads would be completely clear.
Seeing this, Brian couldn't help but sigh. Indeed, there is strength in numbers, which is why many cars were moved in such a short time.
At the same time, he also discovered that in the middle of the crowd, there was a man with a scar on his face who was in command of the crowd. He wore a completely different uniform from other soldiers and calmly directed the movement and order of the crowd.
Seeing the congested road begin to clear, Brian noticed that there was no anomaly. He estimated that the work would be almost finished when they returned to the bus, so he decided to stop being exposed to the cold wind. He looked at Sarah and motioned for her to get back on the bus along with the crowd.
Sure enough, when they returned to the bus, there were soldiers outside with loudspeakers, informing everyone that the road was about to open and that the caravan was about to leave, asking everyone who was still outside to return to the bus immediately.
Shortly after the notification, the women and children returned to the car one after another. The man who had been kneeling outside for a few minutes, also rubbed his frozen hands together before going upstairs. He was the man who had caused trouble. Although he was young, his appearance was even more miserable. He seemed unable to walk on his own and reluctantly sat down again with the help of his companions.
Brian clearly noticed that when the young man got on the bus, he stared at the female soldier at the front of the bus and those who were the first to agree with him, but then turned their backs on him halfway through. The look in his eyes was incomparable, anger and spite.
He saw that the female soldier must have noticed the young man's eyes, but she didn't seem to take it seriously, as if it was just a joke.
With the sound of the engine starting, the bus moved forward again. All the adult men on the bus were a little tired from what had just happened and fell asleep as soon as they sat down.
Hearing the snoring in his ears, Brian felt as if he was infected. His eyes gradually grew tired, and he felt like sleeping.
Suddenly he felt something leaning on his shoulder. He turned his head and saw that Sarah couldn't take it anymore and fell asleep directly on his shoulder.
Seeing this, Brian only felt his drowsiness become more intense. Now he was no longer going against the will of his brain. He leaned on Sarah's head and slowly fell asleep.
....
Aside from the obstacles they encountered at first, the team found nothing else for the rest of the journey.
However, whenever the convoy passes through a small town, it stops first on the outskirts. Military vehicles then enter the city to check the situation inside and ensure both the safety of the convoy and those following it before continuing.
Fortunately, the convoy passed through several small towns and found only a few infected people scattered about. It can be said that this number does not pose a threat to soldiers who carry firearms.
Following this pattern, the convoy finally stopped in front of a small village called Waskom as night approached, intending to rest here.
As usual, a dozen trucks entered the city first and other vehicles waited outside. Ten minutes after the army entered the city, suddenly a burst of violent gunfire and explosions could be heard from inside, and the gunfire grew louder and louder. It is becoming more and more violent and there seems to be no sign of stopping.
This made the civilians waiting on the bus know that there must be a large number of infected people in the city, otherwise there would not be such a big commotion.
However, the shots did not last long. Only half an hour later, the car started again and drove slowly towards the city.
Except for the lights placed by the army, the town was dark. It had been snowing for a day. Fine snow covered the rooftops and streets, making the entire town look white at a glance.
Soldiers worked in pairs along the street, moving the corpses of infected people lying on the ground to designated locations. Blood, both black and red, flowed from the gun holes in their bodies, dripping onto the white snow, which seemed even more dazzling and bloody to look at. As the convoy approached, the scene made civilians inside the vehicle uncomfortable and sick.
Even Brian, who was used to the smell of blood, couldn't help frowning when he smelled this smell, lightly covered his mouth and nose, and closed the window of the bus.
Military trucks drove along the main roads of the city, marking out a safe zone, while large buses and tankers made their way to the city center, where civilians would rest and take shelter for a while.
After the bus slowly stopped, everyone left with their luggage and backpacks.
Sitting in the car all day left them with some back pain and fatigue. They continued to stretch or tap their painful body parts to cheer themselves up. It was not yet the time to rest; everyone had to fulfill their assigned tasks.
Some followed the soldiers, searching and investigating from house to house in four directions to make sure there were no abnormalities or infected people inside.
Others were assigned to help clear the streets of infected people who had been shot and take the bodies farther away for destruction.
There are also people who go to the vehicle where the army stores food, load bags of food and take them to the distribution point. There are almost 7,000 people, including civilians and soldiers. The military is also considering preparing hot food, so all food is packaged in bags, which include food and preserves.
However, considering that the weather was too cold, even though there was no hot food to eat, it was still nice to drink hot soup. Commander Harry ordered a larger kitchen to boil some soup and warm everyone up, to save them the wait. As the night progressed, the weather became colder, making the atmosphere even colder.
Each is assigned their own tasks, and even teenagers are asked to help those around them as much as possible.
While everyone prepared food, dismantled tables and chairs to make fires for warmth, transported the corpses of infected people, cleaned up anomalies in the house, etc., the army also connected the city's electrical circuit by means of a small generator.
But this level of electricity can only illuminate the city's street lamps. As for other things, there's no need to think about it.
But no one cares anymore. They have long been used to days without electricity and now it is quite good to have lighting.
Just when everyone in the city was busy doing their thing, they didn't know that in another city not far away, an overwhelming group of infected people was approaching them!