ROAD TO NOWHERE

s i x

Two weeks later.

The last report on the Outbreak was a week ago. We were told not to leave our houses, to keep them locked at all times. They said the Army would protect us and that the Patrol would supply us with food, water and medical help.
They did protect us and they did supply us. That was 5 days ago. They evacuated Atlanta, moved us all to Griffin - part of the Atlanta metropolitan area. We were put into smaller groups of people, living in small apartments, in small buildings, in a small town. I wouldn't let them separate Noah and I. We weren't allowed to bring animals, but we managed to hide Daisy and sneak her in. We lost contact with Ivy and her family. We had no contact with our or Liam's family either. We were left on our own. Congratulations Liam and Mia, welcome to the Grown-up world. It sucks.

One week later. 3 weeks into the Outbreak.

Noah used to cry. He used to worry about it all. Something changed. I don't see the fear in his eyes anymore. The Army evacuated their soldiers. No one's left to protect us. We are completely alone. Griffin is still secured though. Most of the people moved out, however.
Liam and I have been talking about leaving too. There's no point in us being trapped in this apartment. We're running low on food and water, we need to move.

I took Daisy out for a walk this afternoon. We walked along the fence, I tried my best to see what's out there, but it was too high.
Those who stayed in Griffin, they seemed to be happy. I couldn't understand that. How can they keep living their life like everything was perfect while the life they used to live is gone?
A family was outside of their building having a barbeque, having fun.
I sat down in the grass and let Daisy run around for a bit, while I was watching them. Trying to figure out Liam came down and sat next to me. He was scared. I could tell because he hasn't said much the past few days, he would lock himself in his room and not come out for a few hours.

"Are they really turning on the music now? How the fuck can you be this calm with everything that's going on?" - Liam said and looked at me.
He stood up, ready to walk away again, but the yelling stopped him.

We both instantly turned around to the family.
Their little kid was screaming and pointing at the fence, parents ran up to him and quickly pulled him away from it. Liam and I ran to them to see what was going on.

We tried asking what happened but they were already packed up and inside their apartment.
I was few feet away from the fence, I couldn't hear or see anything. Liam turned off the music.

"Woah." - we said and stood frozen in front of the big metal fence.

There were sounds coming from the other side, sounds we couldn't explain because we've never heard them before. It sounded scary. It sounded like death.
Like every horror movie ever got combined into one, creepy, deadly sound.

Liam took a step forward and looked through the hole in the fence.

"Shit!" - he screamed and jumped back.
"What?! What is it?!"What is it?!" - I asked. My body was shaking.
"We have to go, we have to go now." - Liam said and started running towards our place.
"Why? What is it?" - I asked while running after him.

He didn't turn around, not once. He kept running and running, the sound was getting louder and closer. We were at the main gate, one that hasn't been opened in a week, we weren't able to touch it, the army did all the work around it. Our building was near the gate. I could hear that creepy sound on the outside of the fence.

"Mia. Get Noah, tell him to pack quick. You pack our bags; get food, medical supplies, water. Meet me here when you're done. Be fast, please hurry. There's not much time!" - he yelled and ran around the corner.

I couldn't ask him what he saw, but I could guess from the sound, it wasn't anything good. I quickly ran into our apartment. I opened the door and saw Noah - he was drawing on the floor, he had crayons and coloured pens everywhere. It was like, this room, this apartment was safe from the outside. Like a completely different, untouched universe. Whenever I'd walk inside, I'd feel safe. I'd feel at home. Not now. I felt the need to yell at Noah for being so calm, so "normal".

"Mia?" - he lifted his head and looked at me.
"Go get your stuff Noah, we're leaving." - I said.
"Why? What's going on?" - he asked.
"There's no time for questions Noah. Go get your most important things, pack them quick and wait for me here." - I said and started going through cabinets of food.

We both got our things and went outside.

"What is that?!" - Noah asked, he was scared. He held my hand, he hasn't done that in years.
"I don't know yet, but Liam does. He told me to meet him down here." - I replied and looked around for Liam.

There he was, driving a car. He pulled beside us and got out of the car to put our bags in, he was in a hurry.

"Let's go, get in. We're leaving this place." - he said and helped Noah inside.
"Oh fuck. Where the hell is Daisy?!" - I asked.
"Have you seen her?!" - I was freaking out.
"No, I haven't. Go to their apartment, she was last there, right?" - he asked and we both ran to that barbeque.

"She's not here!!" - I yelled.
"She must've run outside, through that hole." - he said and pointed at the hole in the fence.
"Oh my God, that's a part of her leash." - I said and picked it up.
"We can't be here any longer Mia, we'll look for her when we get out, now let's go." - he said, grabbed my hand and lead me to the car.

Noah was inside, confused, scared. He asked me where Daisy was, I told him she's waiting for us outside, not knowing what else was waiting for us.

Other people who lived there, there were about 20 of them, they were inside their apartments, probably sleeping or hanging out, not worrying about what's out there. They lived by the thought that they were safe inside the fence, that nothing could get to them.

We stopped in front of the gate.
"Someone needs to open it." - Liam said and looked out of his window. - "There!" - he pointed at a lever on the top right side.
"I'll go get it." - I said and rushed outside. The noises were getting louder and louder.