Braving the icy wind and snow, Brian climbed the stairs to the bus. A heat wave invaded him and immediately enveloped his entire body, making him feel comfortable everywhere.
But I also knew that this was just an illusion. In fact, the temperature on the bus was also very low. It was only because the temperature outside was lower than inside the bus that gave the illusion that the environment was very warm. As long as you get used to the temperature here, you'll still feel cold after a while.
In the car at this moment, everyone was huddled together, using the hot breath from their mouths to cover their cold and red hands. Some people even hugged each other directly, using the body temperature of the two to warm up.
Even Tracy, the soldier in charge, really couldn't stand the harsh weather. Although he was still paying attention to the situation on the bus, his body began to shake uncontrollably.
Brian walked into the depths of the bus. The seat he and Sarah had chosen first was already occupied by someone else, but he didn't care and went straight to the back of the car, Sarah, Allan, Anna, Sylvia, and Wilfred were all there.
After nearly a week of getting along, the few gradually formed a small group. Since it was inconvenient to be isolated too far away, they simply discussed it and got together. Together, you can occasionally chat to relieve our boredom.
"Here, everyone eats some quick chocolate to replenish their calories."
Brian grabbed his backpack from an empty space between them, unzipped the zipper, pulled out some pieces of chocolate, and handed one to the people around him. Her voice was so faint that only a few people around her could hear it.
The others didn't refuse and went straight over to take it, but they were all cautious about eating chocolate.
After opening the wrapper, they quickly stuffed the chocolate into their mouths, then held the wrapper tightly and stuffed it into a trash bag, trying not to let the smell get exposed.
There was no other way. They had also learned the lessons of their predecessors some time ago, there were people on other buses eating the food they had brought in their seats. There were even good things like nuts and cans.
No one said anything at the time and everyone pretended they didn't care, but when they got off the bus to rest, several masked men beat him violently and stole all his food.
When the soldiers started investigating afterwards, because there were no clues to show who had done it and they had no choice but to do anything.
And their experience has also sounded the alarm to other people who have good things with them, so now every time they take things out of their backpacks, everyone hides them, for fear that others will know that they have good things, and suffer from the greed of others.
In the innermost position of the last row of seats, Allan was squatting on the floor. The seat that belonged to him was full of pistol parts. At that time, he was assembling the pistol with his red hands that were already frozen, his movements were obviously not very familiar, and stiff hands affect his speed, no matter how you look at him, he looks extremely clumsy.
During the few days they headed to Atlanta, Brian and Sarah were not idle. They first began physical training for Allan, urging him to go to bed and wake up early, and implemented a strict exercise plan for him.
A few days later, they took turns teaching Allan how to use firearms and assemble them, telling him word for word the methods Osborne had taught him.
Although they haven't used these techniques in a real sense so far, that doesn't stop them from being the kings of speech. The effect of mouth talk is actually the same.
Allan was also happy about this, no matter what requests Brian and Sarah made to him, he never complained and just kept in touch with them every day.
Seeing the boy excitedly begin to practice assembling the firearm as soon as he returned to the car, Brian sighed softly, put the chocolate next to him, and said quietly, "Allan, this is for you, don't be particularly anxious. Get some rest."
"Thank you."
But Allan just looked at the chocolate placed in his seat and said a gentle thank you, with no intention of stopping the movements in his hands.
Although it took him a long time, he managed to successfully assemble all the parts of the seat.
Since witnessing the tragic death of his mother, Allan's life took a momentous turn. For a long time, he was trapped in pain and despair, completely isolated. There was no one with whom he could share his suffering, and this plunged him even more into deep sadness. To make matters worse, those around him blamed his mother and despised her for not saving other people.
He felt very lucky to have met Brian. Although he didn't talk much, he could always feel that she took care of him like a brother, and there was also Sarah, who always forced him to play, although he doesn't really like to play, but he really feels very happy, so he must become brave and strong. He must protect the two people around him, even if they are older than him.
"Sister Sarah, see if this is the right thing to do." Looking at the assembled gun in his hand, Allan quickly handed it to Sarah, who was standing to the side, asking her to help her see if it was the right thing to do.
Sarah, who had been paying attention to him, reached out and took him without hesitation, weighed him back and forth, and fiddled with the gun from top to bottom. Then he looked at Allan and nodded, giving him an affirmative look.
"You two are really amazing. It only took them two days to teach him how to handle firearms. You can already assemble it successfully and do it so quickly," Sylvia commented with a smile, as she leaned back in the seat. His eyes fell on Allan, who looked proud, and then he looked at Brian, who had just returned and sat next to him
Now it can be said that the wounds on his body have improved a lot, and the bruises on his back have gradually disappeared. She can now walk on her own, although she is not fully recovered. If you walk for a long time, you still feel a persistent pain in your back.
Fortunately, Wilfred and Anna were there to help her move through the snowstorm; otherwise, he would not have been able to persevere due to the injuries on his back.
Then Sylvia looked out the car window, looked at the vague silhouette of the hospital covered by the wind and snow outside, and said with some anxiety, "I don't know what's going on inside."
"I always feel like this place is very strange." Anna took charge of Sylvia's words and said, "We got off the road and into the city without seeing almost any infected people. Are they also afraid? Are they hiding during this snowstorm?"
Hearing Anna's guess, Brian shook his head and replied disapprovingly:
"Although these types of snowstorms are rare and we have already faced them along the way, on those occasions they were still infected. This is nothing like what is happening now."
Then he looked out the window of the car, creaking under the constant impact of the snow, and murmured:
"This is not right. Atlanta and its surroundings are clearly one of the areas most affected by those infected. It makes no sense that there is no trace of them here. Something must have happened..."
The people around him fell silent when they heard Brian's murmur. The news about the danger in Atlanta had been notified by the military when they were about to arrive here.
This triggered a period of excitement and panic, with some people even blaming the military for not speaking up until now. It was clear that they wanted to throw them into a pit of fire.
But they were almost here, and it was impossible for them to return in this icy and snowy environment. Without sufficient supplies, they would undoubtedly be seeking death. They had no choice but to keep walking forward, silently praying in their hearts that they could reach the isolation area safely without any variables.
But since then, the tenuous friendship that was originally established between soldiers and civilians fragmented in an instant, and the relationship suddenly fell to a freezing point, returning to the initial situation in which they did not like each other.
When Sylvia heard the news, she was depressed for many days, worried about her sister's safety in Atlanta. In the end, he recovered little by little with everyone's guidance.
Fear often comes from the unknown. If you have just arrived here and have had a bloody battle with the infected, you may not feel anything. But this abnormal situation causes everyone to start panicking.
"Okay, don't overthink."
Just when everyone was fighting in their hearts, Wilfred, who had been sitting quietly next to him, suddenly opened his eyes, looked directly at the people around him, and said, "None of us know what will happen outside now. We can't find out. It's better not to think about it. What we need to do now is to take advantage of the time to rest, adjust our state in the best way, and be prepared to respond to potential crises at any time, instead of thinking about things and wasting our energy in vain. These things should be issues that military commanders should think about."
After hearing this, everyone who was still worried was stunned. Everyone shook their heads with a wry smile, knowing that what Wilfred said was correct. After sighing slightly, he walked over and put his hands in his pockets, leaned back, narrowed his eyes, and began to rest.
Even Allan, who still wanted to keep disassembling and assembling firearms, quietly put the pistol away after hearing this and began to rest to regain strength and energy.
The back of the bus suddenly became extremely quiet, attracting the attention of some people, but they didn't pay too much attention. After taking a look, they began to whisper to the people around them again, paying attention to the situation in the hospital outside the bus.