Dead Eyes Watching

Chapter 10;The Long Road Ahead

The house had fallen into an uneasy silence after night fell. Venus, ever the sentinel, sat by the window, her eyes scanning the empty street outside, watching for any sign of movement. The others had drifted into a restless sleep—or at least tried to. But sleep was a luxury these days, and for some of them, it wasn't coming easily.

Jun had managed to doze off, cradling Izzy in his arms as she lay curled up against his chest. His face was pale, lines of exhaustion etched deep into his features. He hadn't said much after Nina's pregnancy reveal, but Venus could see the weight of everything pressing down on him.

Nina lay on the couch, her back to the rest of the group. Loid had settled nearby, his eyes closed but his brow furrowed, as if even in sleep, he couldn't escape the nightmares. Asher had fallen asleep easily, sprawled out on the floor with his arms behind his head, as if the apocalypse was just another camping trip.

Mira, though, was wide awake. She sat by the fireplace, her knees drawn to her chest, her wide eyes staring blankly ahead. Venus hadn't missed the way Mira had flinched at every noise that echoed through the house, or the way her hands trembled when she thought no one was looking. It was clear that sleep was the last thing on her mind.

Venus stayed awake all night. She wasn't one for letting her guard down, especially not around new people. The flickering light from the lanterns cast shadows across the room, stretching long and dark, like the city itself had turned against them.

By the time morning came, the tension was thick in the air.

"We leave today," Venus said quietly, standing at the window as the first light of dawn crept through the cracks in the walls. "The longer we stay, the worse it gets."

Jun stirred, rubbing his eyes as he sat up. "Right. We need to get moving."

Nina yawned, sitting up slowly. "How far is this group, anyway?"

"Far enough," Venus muttered, her voice clipped. "We'll need to move fast if we want to catch up."

Asher was the first to stand, stretching his arms above his head. "Guess we're off on a grand adventure," he said, flashing a grin at Venus. "Hope you packed snacks."

Venus shot him a look. "This isn't a field trip."

"Could've fooled me," Asher muttered, grabbing his backpack.

Mira stood silently, her face pale but determined. She glanced at Venus, her voice soft. "Are we... are we really going to find them? The group?"

Venus didn't answer right away. She wasn't sure if they would find the group, or if the group would even be worth finding. But it was the only plan they had. "We'll find out."

The group gathered what little supplies they had and stepped outside, the morning air cold against their skin. The city was eerily quiet, the kind of silence that made every footstep sound too loud, too sharp. The streets, once bustling with life, were now empty. Cars were abandoned, their windows shattered. Buildings stood half-collapsed, with broken glass scattered across the pavement like jagged teeth.

As they moved through the city, the weight of what had happened settled over them. There were no people anymore—at least, not alive. The few corpses they saw were half-rotted, left behind when the chaos hit. And the ones that still moved, the undead, shuffled aimlessly in the distance, too slow to pose a real threat unless you got too close.

Venus kept her hand on her knife, her eyes scanning every shadow, every dark alley. She wasn't about to let her guard down, not when they were this exposed.

"Do you think... do you think we'll see more people?" Mira asked, her voice quiet as they walked.

Venus glanced at her. "Maybe."

Mira didn't respond, her eyes wide as she took in the destruction around them. She hadn't spoken much about what had happened to her and Asher, but Venus could tell that whatever it was, it had left a deep mark.

"Just keep moving," Venus said, her voice low. "Don't stop unless I say so."

The group moved in silence for the next hour, their footsteps the only sound in the empty streets. Every now and then, a faint groan echoed in the distance, but they didn't encounter any major threats. Yet.

Jun stayed close to Izzy, his eyes constantly flicking between Venus and the road ahead. He looked like he was carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders, and Venus knew it wasn't just the apocalypse. The pregnancy was weighing on him, too.

Nina kept close to Loid, her hand resting on her stomach in a way that made Venus want to roll her eyes. It was almost theatrical, the way Nina was playing the role of the scared, protective mother. But Venus wasn't fooled.

Asher, for his part, tried to lighten the mood as they walked, cracking jokes here and there. "You know, I thought the world ending would be more fun," he said with a grin, glancing at Mira. "Like, at least some explosions or something."

Mira gave him a small smile, but it didn't quite reach her eyes. "This isn't a movie, Asher."

"No, but it could be," he said, still grinning. "Post-apocalyptic road trip. We'd be stars."

Venus snorted, shaking her head. "You'd be the first to die."

Asher laughed, but the sound felt hollow against the silence of the city.

They continued walking, the weight of everything pressing down on them as the sun climbed higher in the sky. The city seemed to stretch endlessly ahead of them, each block blending into the next, the devastation a constant reminder of how far things had fallen.

"We need to find shelter before nightfall," Venus said, glancing up at the sun. "We'll camp for the night and keep moving tomorrow."

Jun nodded, his face tense. "Yeah. That sounds good."

As they walked, Venus couldn't shake the feeling that something was off. It wasn't just the silence of the city, or the way the buildings loomed over them like skeletons of the world that once was. It was something deeper, something gnawing at the back of her mind.

She glanced at Izzy, who was quietly holding Jun's hand as they walked. There was something about the way the little girl moved, the way she had been quieter than usual since they left. But Venus didn't say anything. Not yet.