Chapter 5

FIVE

Alex sat with his legs tucked up to his chest as the armored vehicle trundled through the decimated cityscape, its heavy tires crushing debris underneath as it made its way toward the safe zone. The muted hum of the engine was the only sound within the carrier, the silence weighing heavily on Alex like an ominous omen.

Chris sat at the wheel, his gaze fixed on the road ahead, gripping the steering wheel with white-knuckled intensity. His scarred cheek twitched ever so slightly, a telltale sign of the internal nerves raging beneath the stoic exterior.

Alex's brow furrowed in concentration as his eyes scanned the destroyed buildings and rubble-strewn streets outside the passenger window. He couldn't help but steal a glance out the one-way window. It was a habit, really. They had to be vigilant, especially in unfamiliar territory. His hands gripped his knees tightly, a nervous habit that would give away his anxiety if anyone looked his way.

That's when he spotted them —a group of people huddled against a crumbling building, their faces etched with desperation.

Each person's frail frame was evident in their tattered clothing, a stark contrast against the harsh landscape of a post-apocalyptic world. The scene before him was heartbreakingly vivid, reminding him of the fragility of life in this new reality.

"Chris," Alex said, his voice a low rasp. "We need to stop."

Chris didn't respond, but the vehicle slowed down enough to allow a better view. Alex's eyes narrowed at the pitiful sight. He had been in their shoes once, not too long ago. Not everyone started out in the best position.

"Chris," Alex said again, this time more insistently. "We can't just leave them. At the very least, people huddled outside midday should be checked on."

Chris let out a frustrated sigh before veering off the main road, the carrier rumbling down a side street teeming with debris. "We'll be quick. Find out what they're doing, then we're out. None of them appear to be women. Liam, William, stay in the car. Bash, we may need your brute strength."

"What a way to tell a guy you care," Bash snorted but pushed open the back of the vehicle so he and Alex could jump out.

The air smelled of desperation and decay, a cocktail of the dying world. The sun was still high up in the sky, beaming down on the small group of survivors like a cruel joke.

They approached the group cautiously with Chris in the lead as always. The group, a motley assortment of men, turned to look at them with an almost feral hunger in their eyes.

"Easy now," Chris said, using his most soothing tone. "We're not here to hurt you."

A man, his clothes in tatters and skin jaundiced, stepped forward. "Who are you?" he asked, his voice trembling.

"We're . . . scouts," Alex said, unsure of how much to divulge. "What brings you out in the middle of the day?"

"Just waiting to see what comes by," a medium-sized man with a missing tooth grinned at Alex .

"Good thing it's someone like me," Bash stepped forward.

"Standing around like this out in the open isn't safe. Get yourselves where you belong, and I won't report your presence." Chris was bluffing. There was no one to report them to, but Alex and Bash kept quiet.

Without another word, the strangers attacked.

Chris swiftly drew his knife and darted forward with lightning speed. Alex's eyes widened in surprise at his leader's swiftness, but he quickly followed suit, drawing his weapon, too.

Chris took down two with precise strikes, while Alex fended off another with an expert block. Bash grabbed a fourth by his collar and slammed him into the wall hard enough to make his head ring off the concrete.

The remaining three men backed away, fear etched on their faces. Chris stood ready for any more attacks, his knife dripping with blood. But to everyone's surprise, the remaining men scrambled away as fast as they could instead of retaliating.

Alex let out a breath he didn't realize he was holding and looked over at Chris. "Remind me never to get on your bad side," he said with a small grin.

Chris didn't smile back, his face still stern and focused. "We need to move," he said, wiping off his knife on one of the attackers' clothes before sheathing it back in its holder on his belt.

"Agreed," Bash said, still holding onto the unconscious man and following behind them as they made their way back to the carrier. He set the man down at the edge of the building, likely hoping someone saw and saved him.

Once back in the car, Liam and William stared wide-eyed at the scene before them. "What happened?" Liam asked, they'd clearly not watched out the window.

"Just some unfriendly people we had to take care of," Alex said casually, trying not to show how shaken he was from the unexpected attack .

"Unfriendly is putting it lightly," Bash grunted as he jumped into the back of the vehicle and tugged the door shut. Let's hope that Emma is different."

As the group's truck rumbled onward through the wasteland, Alex couldn't stop thinking about the woman they were going to save. The unit's goal—this Emma.

He wondered if Emma, the woman they searched for, would be made of the same resilient stuff as this unit. She must be special if she could survive this long in this harsh world.

Alex pictured her in his mind's eye, her features taking shape in his vivid imagination. He envisioned a beauty untainted by the harshness of the dystopian world, with curves that would send even the most stoic of men into a frenzy. Full lips, begging to be kissed. Long hair that fanned out when she lay down. His heart beat a little faster at the thought of him tasting her sweetness, feeling her warmth envelop him as he claimed her as his own.

The last thing he should have done was assume this woman would want anything to do with him, and yet, the idea of a woman on her own for this long was the stuff of people Alex wanted around him. Who knew, maybe in time, she'd want more than just a life in a lab trying to help fix humanity.

Alex didn't know much about the compounds in the safe haven, but he knew those within them lived normal lives. Lives where they were damn near unaware of the trauma beyond the walls because the world's leaders came together to make it possible.

What would it be like to live behind those walls? To not have to save people every day while defending myself?

It seemed almost too good to be true—a place where humanity could thrive, untouched by the chaos outside. But then again, he had heard rumors of corruption and experiments being conducted on unwilling subjects within the compounds.

As they continued their journey toward Emma, Alex was torn between his longing for safety and comfort within the compounds and his duty to continue fighting for those who couldn't defend themselves.

Alex's daydreams were cut short as the truck came upon a collapsed overpass, their path forward suddenly blocked. Muttering a curse, he hopped out of the truck once Bash opened it and surveyed the rubble. It would take too long to clear it by hand, and their vehicles couldn't maneuver through the tight spaces.

"Let's see if we can't clear this, split up, and take different sides," Chris said, coming up beside him. "Liam, with Alex. William, come with Bash and I. Clearing this area now, we're sitting ducks. See if we can find another way around. Meet back here in thirty," he ordered.

They moved swiftly and cautiously, their weapons at the ready in case of an ambush.

In the distance, a soft rustling in the rubble caught Alex's attention. He whirled around, heart pounding, searchlight in hand. A stray cat darted out from under a fallen slab, its emerald eyes glowing in the light, and darted away in a flash of tail and limbs. Alex exhaled a shaky breath, adrenaline still coursing through his veins. Liam shot him an amused glance. Alex shook his head, embarrassed at his own jumpy nerves.

After an hour of backbreaking work, the path was clear enough for the vehicle to pass through.

"Alex, mind driving for a few?" Chris tossed him the keys.

Alex climbed back into the driver's seat, his mind still consumed by the idea of Emma and what she might mean to him, not just the world. As they continued their journey, he couldn't shake the feeling that their paths would cross again.

"We'll get to the other safe place in about forty minutes looking at Liam's map," Chris chuckled. "Assuming I'm looking correctly. "

"Roger that," Alex snickered. "Let's go get to that base and save us someone tomorrow."

As they approached the checkpoint, a ramshackle outpost manned by a group of desperate-looking survivors, Alex's thoughts returned to the task at hand. The sun was setting, casting an ominous red glow over the crumbling cityscape. He glanced at his teammates, their faces set in grim determination. They all knew the stakes.

The vehicle trundled to a halt as they reached the checkpoint—an old warehouse with barricades hastily erected across its entrance. Chris motioned for silence before stepping out of the truck, his weapon drawn. Liam and Bash followed suit, flanking him on either side while William sat in the back with his rifle. Alex took a deep breath, lifted his gun, and stepped out. His heart pounded against his ribcage as he moved toward the gate held shut by rusted metal beams and twisted chains. There was never a certainty what one would find inside a base.

The military wasn't without fault. They could become corrupted.

The wind blew gently, carrying with it the stench of decay and despair that seemed to linger in this broken world. The sky was painted in shades of orange and pink, casting a warm glow over everything.

Alex glanced at Liam, his friend's eyes scanned the area for any threats while Chris and Bash kept walking forward.

Chris flashed an amused glance at one of them before signaling for them to step back with a wave of his hand.

"Clear," he called out softly, climbing back into the truck with a confident swagger that only someone like Chris could pull off. "Let's drive her in."

His voice rang out like a battle cry as they all nodded their heads in unison before regrouping at the truck. Liam gave one final look at their surroundings before nodding and they all climbed in.

Chris started up the engine.

The wheels hummed softly beneath them as they moved forward, passing through desolate buildings left in ruin—testaments to what once was but now served as nothing more than haunting reminders of what they had lost due to this apocalypse.

Together, they would find this woman, Emma, one of the last hopes in a world consumed by darkness.