The second birth of Humanity

Chapter 4

She froze. All her body was tense. She suddenly started to run toward the scream. Milo, who was much taller than her, caught up pretty fast.

He reached her at the moment when Elessy saw Cole, gun up, pointing at a little group of people. She instantly stopped running. Her two brothers and the strangers were staring at her.

"El, Lo, come here. Behind us." Told Nikky.

He apparently didn't want the strangers to know their names. When Cole was sure they were safe, he broke the silence.

"Good... You succeed to scare us, but you don't have a gun like us. You will answer all my questions. Did I make myself clear?" asked Cole severely.

They nodded.

"Great... In that case, please identify yourselves."

Nobody spokes.

"I don't have all my evening for that kind of childish game. Identify yourselves or I swear I will shoot."

"Fine, fine..." said the oldest man, hands up. "My name is Robert. This is my wife, Mariza and our children, Leo, Victor and Juliet."

"Good. What are you doing here? We've been here for days I we haven't seen you before. Where are you from?"

"This city is huge, young man. It's not because you haven't seen us that we weren't there. Actually, we've been following you since you were in the Walmart."

"What?" said Cole, raising his gun higher." Why are you following us? What do you want?"

"We're just like you. We didn't want to live underground and we left. We've been moving here and there for months now. We're from the old Florida."

Milo, Elessy, Cole and Nikky looked at each other, intrigued.

"We're not like you. We're not out there on purpose."

"Oh... Sorry, my bad. It's just... Why are you here, then?" asked Robert.

"It was an accident." Started Nikky." We were going in the south when our cars had the accident. Our two guides ... died. And now we're here, because we don't know how to go back to our shelter."

"So you still live underground..."

"Yes, but now we know that we could live at the surface, life before."

"Of course, you can! It's just that nobody wants to believe it and they stay like worms in the dirt. Sorry, by the way. Didn't mean to offend you."

"S'fine." Reassured Elessy.

Robert and his family, Elessy and her brothers and Milo just started to discuss together. They didn't know themselves why, but they were totally comfortable with each other. They were not doubting of their intentions. Both groups even install their temporary camp next each other. They split the watching tour between them, and all slept well. They were the first people from the outside they had ever met, and everything went well.

During that time, Mike and his colleagues had passed another searching them. The father was starting to lose hope. He was becoming insane, obsessed with the idea to find his children. His wife was trying to make him happy like she could, but it wasn't really working.

The next morning, the little new group were all eating and laughing together.

After sad farewells, even if they just had met, the left each other. Robert, Leo, Juliet and Marzia warned them to be careful and told them that the family was what we had the most precious and that they should look after them. They gave them a bit of the food they had.