Dying Blood

Chapter 15 - At Southeast Pines

Kevin's pov

  Later, at 11 in the morning, we arrived at Southeast Pines, but we were too late. The entire town was abandoned, as if it was evacuated. Homes and businesses were left abandoned, and some of the vehicles too. The atmosphere was eerily quiet.

As we slow down the street, I asked, "Woah, what happened here?"

  "I think it was abandoned," answered Ron.

  "So, where's your house here?" Tim asked me.

In response to that, I told him the street name and block number of my house. And so, Tim shifted the gear to Drive and went to that house.

  Upon arriving at the said house, we saw that it, too, was abandoned, but leaving the door open and unlocked. So, we parked the SUV in the driveway and get off, carrying our belongings and weapons with us. We then entered the house, and we saw that the entire house was partially evacuated, with some of the furnishings left to collect dust. The sofa and the armchairs, as well as the entire dining room set, were left to collect dust, without any covering to protect them. They were no sign of my parents being in this town.

  We then began to wander around the house, wondering what might happen to the town. Then, just as expected from any movie, I found a note pressed on by a magnet on the fridge in the kitchen. I then gently pulled it from the magnet and read it.

The note says: "Kids, if you read this, we would like you to know that this town was evacuated because some bad guys are threatening the factories of this town. So me and your father had no choice but to evacuate and leave. We are going to the West Coast of the USA."

In the bottom of the note was the address of the "safe zone."

  I was surprised by its content, and it immediately answered our question on why the town was abandoned. But, it leaves more questions than answers: But why? Why the factories were being threatened? Who threatened them? Why? So many questions are spinning in my head, but I snapped out when Ron came to the kitchen calling my name.
I then turned around, walked up to him, and gave the note to him. Upon reading it, Ron nodded and went to the group to report it. At this point, I wonder in my mind, "Where's Wesley-senpai and Maccoy-senpai?"

  Later at lunch time, we all eat canned and ready-to-eat food at the dining room. While we were eating, I tried contacting Wesley and Maccoy using my phone, but since they are no signal bars, I couldn't reach them by phone. This frustrates me a lot, but my group gave me some encouragement of not giving up.

  "Thanks, guys," I said to them.

Third person pov

  Later at night, as the power was out, the group was still resting in recovery. They used flashlights and the flashlight function of their phones for lighting. Luckily, it was in the season of fall, so the cold wasn't a problem. And inside the house, John, Tim, and Ron are wiping their weapons clean while Kevin, Juan, and Maria are running around the house playing and chasing each other. But, they were careful not to get hurt in the process. The evening was eerily quiet like a library.

And as three adults are cleaning their weapons, Kevin came to the living room and asked Ron, "Hey, big brother, what time is it? My phone was in low battery."

Upon hearing it, Ron looked at his digital watch and he answered back, "It's 8:19 p.m."

  "Oh, thanks, big brother."

He then went upstairs to continue playing with Juan and Maria.

  Later at 9 in the evening, Kevin, Juan, and Maria are at Kevin's abandoned bedroom laying down on a mattress.

  "Hey, kuya (brother)," Juan asked Kevin whilst looking at the dark ceiling.

  "Yes?" replied Kevin back.

  "When are we going to meet mommy and daddy?"

  "Well, I don't know. It's because they are at the other side of the country."

  "Really? Is the country big?"

  "Yes. It is."

  "It'll take long?"

  "Yes, depending on our speed."

  "Speed?"

  "Yes."

  "Oh, okay then."

Juan then turned to the side and closed his eyes.