F2 Vetha 16.10.2023
11:43 AM
An early autumn morning, the breeze sang its gentle song to these adventurers. To reach their goal, many more challenges awaited them, one of them simply walking. By some calculations, if they maintained their current pace they would reach their destination before sunset. They were passing through a forest of oaks and beech trees, following the path indicated by the compass. In this age of advanced technology, the way of their elders was all they had. Danny carried the compass, occasionally checking if they were heading in the right direction. To his left was Alex, holding a map and leading the group.
"This reminds me of a field trip in high school," Owen broke the silence, his voice light and nostalgic. Mentioning that trip stirred fond memories and brought small smiles to everyone's faces.
"What part? The one where you were almost late?" Vanessa teased.
"Or when you two chased each other up the hill like a couple of goats," Alex added with a grin, just before stumbling slightly. Not because of the forest terrain or his own clumsiness—Danny had lightly tripped him. With those long legs of his, Danny could easily pull such tricks.
"Or maybe when you two got lost right before the bus was about to leave, and you showed up with two huge boxes of pizza," Danny chimed in.
"But the pizza was good, though," Alex replied with a smirk.
"So was the bakery girl," Vanessa added slyly.
"I agree," Owen added.
"Vanessa was that necessary?" Alex questioned, raising an eyebrow.
"What? I say what I think. There's nothing wrong with behaving like my true self," Vanessa shot back confidently.
"Maybe princesses would've learned to cook if she stayed with her," Owen quipped, with few chuckles.
"I think you'd need those lessons more, since you don't even know how to turn on the oven," Vanessa retorted.
"Owen would be on by now if she was there." Danny said, surprising everyone. Alex burst out laughing, and though Vanessa tried to hide it, her face turned red as she suppressed her laughter. Owen, however, was less amused.
"You bastard, do I need to mention when you almost fell off that bridge trying to take a picture?" Owen shot back, glaring at Danny, effectively silencing him. There were many secrets within their group, some still locked away.
"Too bad you said 'almost,'" Vanessa remarked dryly.
"Let's take a break. We don't have much left, and it's only noon," Alex announced.
"If we need to run, just tell us now," Owen sighed.
"Only if you're being chased by a wild boar," Alex joked.
"They won't chase us, considering we already have two boars in our group," Vanessa quipped, grabbing Alex's hand and pulling him toward the left side of the grove. Alex barely had time to shout, "Don't go so far, half an hour!" before Vanessa dragged him out of sight, leaving Owen and Danny behind, slightly humiliated.
"Where does she come up with all those insults?" Danny muttered as he sat down, leaning against a tree, his usual spot during breaks.
"She said something smart. You're just too stupid to get it," Owen teased, sitting beside him.
"I think you're the one who doesn't get it right now," Danny shot back, the tension between them growing.
"I get everything, but I don't get you," Owen said, his tone more serious. "You've got time ahead of you, but now it's the apocalypse. Who's gonna say anything to you? And who's even alive to haunt you now? That's your problem, Dan. You understand yourself but refuse to accept it."
"I don't need to express myself publicly to understand myself," Danny replied, his voice calm but firm.
"But you can't hide forever. No one controls your life anymore. Understand that," Owen insisted, turning to face Danny. When no response came, Owen saw Danny holding a small yellow flower, a faint smile on his face.
"It looks like a tiny sunflower. Are there any seeds?" Owen asked, trying to lighten the mood.
"Idiot. It's a flower that somehow survived the autumn, a miracle. Not even the cold or this disaster has taken away its bright color," Danny murmured, staring at the flower as if it symbolized something more.
"Mhm. And that flower just made you so happy," Owen said, his tone teasing again.
"What kind of idiotic theories are you coming up with now?" Danny asked, rolling his eyes.
"Oh, nothing. It's just that I've never seen you this happy over a flower before. Especially since every plant in your room looks like a dried-up relic from how 'caring' you are," Owen teased.
"Will you let me breathe for a second?" Danny asked.
"You want to give it to him, don't you?" Owen asked, leaning in with a mischievous grin.
"What?" Danny snapped, caught off guard.
"What what? The flower, you idiot. It wouldn't be the first time," Owen said, smirking.
"At least this time, I didn't break my back getting it from some bush," Danny retorted.
Owen chuckled. "I can see through you, Dan. Just tell me what's on your mind."
"It's nothing. Just... how I described the flower," Danny mumbled.
"It reminded you of him, huh? Our hopeless romantic," Owen teased again. "Why so quiet, you coward? You can't even say it, can you?"
Danny didn't respond, but instead, he picked up a small stone and tossed it at Owen.
"FOR GOD'S SAKE, STOP THROWING STUFF AT ME!" Owen yelled, ducking.
"Too bad I don't have an axe anymore." Danny chuckled.
"You faggot," Owen snapped back.
After a short while, they regrouped and continued their journey. The sun was now well past noon, and Alex was pretty skeptical about whether they were still on the right track. Around 4:10 PM, they finally spotted a building in the distance—a decrepit structure with five floors and an open roof. It appeared abandoned, with barred windows up to the third floor and a safety fence surrounding it. The building stood alone, seemingly a relic of an old army radio station.
"They know we're coming, right?" Owen asked nervously.
"Did you expect a welcome party?" Danny replied dryly.
"I hope they have a proper toilet," Vanessa added with a grin.
Suddenly, a sound came from the building. Alex immediately raised his rifle and moved protectively in front of Vanessa.
"You never know what's waiting behind closed doors," he muttered, glancing at Owen and Danny, whose reflexes were slower than usual. Before they could draw their weapons, they heard a beeping noise followed by a voice over a loudspeaker.
"Whoa, whoa, there's no need for that. We see you, and we hear you. Our colleague is unlocking the door. Try not to kill him," said the voice, coming from a speaker above the entrance.
Alex lowered his rifle as the door creaked open, revealing a man—middle-aged, medium height, and dressed in what looked like ski gear. His large frame and short black hair gave him a rugged appearance. He looked at the group, clearly surprised.
"I honestly didn't expect a bunch of teenagers," he said with a raised eyebrow.
"Neither did I expect a man in a ski suit in the middle of autumn," Vanessa quipped.
"Vanessa!" Alex scolded.
The man chuckled. "I understand. I don't know why I'm even keeping you all waiting," the man said with a shrug, motioning them inside. As the door slammed shut behind them, a chunk of the wall crumbled and fell. The interior of the shelter was as destroyed as the exterior, littered with broken walls piece, blocks, and other construction debris. They followed the man, who introduced himself as Professor Philip. He once had a solid career as a handball coach—until the pandemic started, and his team of players tried to eat him. He led them up to the third floor, where a large room served as their base. Computers and other electronics lay dead, alongside a radio set for receiving messages, equipped with a microphone.
Another man was sitting at a nearby chair, adjusting radio waves with one hand and holding headphones with the other. He was much smaller in build than Philip, with short brown hair. A woman sat off to the side at a table, absorbed in a book. She had her red hair tied up in a bun and wore casual autumn clothes, seemingly unfazed by the apocalypse around her. She had worked in a pharmacy and had been waiting for her annual leave—only now, it had become an extended one. Both William and Mayana looked at the group with confused expressions.
"This is already interesting," Mayana remarked, looking them over.
"Did you expect FBI agents to show up?" Owen asked, smirking.
"Well..." William got up from his chair and pulled a piece of paper from the shelf. It had descriptions of the four of them, written by Pablo and printed using an old mechanical printer. If any of them had read it earlier, they might not have been so confused.
"Pablo's notes," William said, reading aloud. "The tallest one is a blonde guy. If he looks questionable to you, then everything is fine. One shorter guy has a creepy look with blue eyes, the other one looks blind with dark circles under his eyes, and there's a girl—you can't tell if her skin or hair is lighter."
The group stared in disbelief.
"Did he actually write that?" Alex asked, incredulous.
"Of course," William replied, grinning. "No, I'm joking with you. Alex, Owen, Danny, and Miss Vanessa. Just a second... You're all 25 years old!?"
"For you guys, even 20 would sound like a lot," Mayana teased, her voice dripping with sarcasm.
"I didn't prefer the older ones, but I could start now," Owen quipped, taking a moment to flirt with Mayana, who was clearly twice his age. He was quickly silenced by a sharp kick to the leg from Vanessa.
"Alright, we're done with the introductions," William said, trying to regain focus. "So, you're actually the ones heading to Mosin?"
"Yeah, and I don't really see what's so weird about it," Vanessa replied, crossing her arms.
"Look, kids," Mayana began, her tone soft but serious. "We don't mean to offend, but we were expecting older people. You've survived this long, and you've got the chance to live after all this. But this kind of journey... it usually doesn't end well. And you're too young to risk your lives."
"I think they know that already," Philip added.
"Exactly," Alex said, his voice firm. "We might be young, but no one older has stepped up to do anything."
"I feel called out," Philip said with a wry smile.
"As you should," Vanessa added dryly.
"Whether you're 25 or 55, our job is to help you as much as we can," William said, his tone shifting to business. "Rest now. Mayana will serve you some food. This morning, I tried contacting the F4 station. If we're lucky, you might even get a military transport directly to Mosin."
"Thanks," Alex replied. "We plan to leave in the morning and find shelter nearby."
"All clear, boss. Leave it to me," William assured them.
With that, Philip led the group through the building. They were given accommodations on the fifth floor. As they climbed the stairs, they noticed a few more people staying on the fourth floor. The shelter housed around 25 people, with Philip, Maya, and William being the key figures in charge. Their room was the first at the top of the stairs, with four beds and a table, along with a half-broken mirror on the wall. A window provided light during the day, and a candle on the wall was meant to do the job at night.
"What a luxury..." Owen said sarcastically, then quickly adding, "But before anyone hits me, I'm grateful to have my own bed."
"I don't know how it would be possible to put all four of you in one." Philip remarked, smiling faintly.
"It was possible," Alex said.
"Somehow," Danny added with a grin.
"There'd be ten times more space if that 2-meter banner wasn't lying on top of it," Vanessa said, pointing at the cluttered bed.
Philip raised an eyebrow. "And what kind of relationship are you all in? I don't even want to assume anything."
"Why? Do we look like siblings?" Owen asked, half-joking.
"Actually, you two do," Philip said, pointing at Owen and Vanessa. "A little, yeah."
"They do the same type of mental abuse," Danny interjected with a chuckle.
"And these two?" Owen nodded at Alex and Danny. "They're psychological cases, but they're not related by blood."
"I think 'friends' is the appropriate answer," Alex said, cutting off further banter.
"Hmm," both Owen and Vanessa muttered in unison.
"I swear, both of you, shut up," Alex said, peeking at them.
"Alright, I think I've heard enough," Philip said, laughing. "Get comfortable, then head back down to the third floor. Maya's cooking, and I'm sure you're hungry."
With that, Philip left, and the group threw their bags by their respective beds. Owen and Vanessa claimed the left side, while Alex and Danny took the right.
"At least it's more comfortable than a hospital bed," Danny commented, stretching out.
"Shorten your legs, and you'll be fine," Vanessa teased.
"Vanessa," Alex warned, this time he was just sighing, he had it enough today.
"What? I'm just saying, there's a solution. You could push the beds together, and I think you'd like it better," Vanessa replied, smirking.
Alex deliberately dropped his bag, pretending not to hear her, but by then Vanessa had already darted out of the room, with Owen close behind.
"And what are you waiting for?" Alex asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Me? Nothing. Ah, I get it, you want me to leave so you can be alone," Owen said, playfully mocking Alex before slipping out the door, leaving Alex and Danny alone.
As soon as Owen left, Alex let out a long breath, removing his glasses to rub his eyes.
"Is everything alright, pal?" Danny asked, his voice full of concern.
"Huh? Yeah, no worries," Alex replied quickly, but Danny wasn't convinced.
"Really, Alex? What's going on?" Danny pressed, his eyes narrowing.
"Danny, seriously, it's fine," Alex tried to brush it off, but Danny's steady gaze didn't waver.
"Alex, enough hiding. This time, you're going to tell me," Danny insisted, watching his friend closely.
Alex hesitated, his nerves clearly getting the better of him. He started pacing the room, agitated, before stopping by the window and reaching into his pocket for his cigars. But Danny, anticipating his move, grabbed his wrist before he could pull them out.
"That's not the solution," Danny said, firmly but gently.
"Danny... I know you want to help, but I just need this. I'm stressed, and I need to hold something in my hand—it's a habit," Alex said, trying to pull away.
"Okay... here," Danny said, releasing Alex's wrist and holding out his hand instead. "If you need to hold something, hold my hand. There's always another way, Alex. You taught me that."
Alex stared at Danny's hand for a moment, conflicted. Eventually, he reached out and took it. His heart was still racing, but somehow, the tension in his chest began to ease.
"What is it? Are those two over-dramatic again?" Danny asked, sensing there was more going on.
"No, no... it's not just about them," Alex said, sighing. "It's about all of us."
"Us? What do you mean?" Danny asked, concern deepening in his voice.
"I knew from the start this was a dangerous risk. Once we stepped out, there was no going back. But... I'm starting to think ,it should stop here," Alex admitted, his voice trembling slightly.
"You know, I understand you completely. We're all at risk here, and staying might be the safer option for us," Danny replied, his tone thoughtful.
"You three should stay," Alex said, his voice low.
"What did you just say?" Danny asked, turning away from the window to look at Alex. He felt Alex try to pull his hand away, but Danny held on tighter.
"It's for the best. This was my idea, and I realize now I was wrong to put you all at risk," Alex confessed. His voice was shaky, and his hand trembled slightly. The weight of the situation seemed to finally crush the hope he had been clinging to. He had kept too much bottled up, and now it was overwhelming him.
"What are you talking about? We went into this together, Alex. Something's going on, and you're hiding it," Danny pressed, his voice growing more serious.
"I'm telling you, I'm not hiding anything," Alex insisted, his tone defensive, but there was a subtle tremor in his voice.
"But you're running away from it... Are you maybe running away from me?" Danny asked softly, his eyes searching Alex's.