Back in his RV, Brian sat on the chair, staring at the morphine on the table, his mind a whirlwind of conflicting thoughts.
Morphine is a potent painkiller, but it's also highly addictive—a kind of quasi-drug that takes a while to hook you. Brian couldn't figure out why Antoine had this stuff. Recalling Antoine's odd behavior and his daily drinking habit, Brian guessed that Antoine might have some illness, and drinking was just a way to numb his nerves and ease his suffering.
While he felt bad for Antoine, Brian couldn't help but feel a bit relieved. This powerful painkiller could be a lifesaver in a pinch, and it might play a crucial role in their upcoming trip to Atlanta.
Nighttime.
Brian lay in bed. Now it was just him and Sarah in the RV, so there was no more crowding, and they could each have a bed to themselves. But for some reason, his mind was in turmoil, and he couldn't fall asleep. Suddenly, he missed Osborne's snoring every night and the girls' whispers.
Suddenly, Brian felt his blanket being lifted, and then a girl slipped into his bed. He didn't need to guess who it was—it was Sarah.
Sarah wriggled out from under the covers, rested her head on Brian's chest, propped her feet up on him, hugged him tightly, and found the most comfortable position. The whole routine was incredibly familiar, as if she'd done it a million times before.
Neither of them spoke. After so long together, they could read each other's thoughts and moods like an open book. Feeling the dampness on his chest and the girl's body trembling, Brian knew that the loss of all their friends and Antoine's suicide had devastated Sarah. He gently patted her back, trying to soothe her sorrow.
He stared blankly at the ceiling, lost in a confusion he'd never felt before. He had no idea what the future held, what challenges lay ahead, or where their journey would end...
But feeling the faint warmth of Sarah in his arms, Brian instinctively held her tighter. No matter what the future brought, right now, he just wanted to protect this girl, keep her safe, and see her through the rest of the journey.
Two days after everyone selected by the lottery entered the quarantine zones, the lists for the other zones were also posted. Since it was a random assignment without any complicated selection process, this time it was very fast.
The military posted the lists on the bulletin boards in order of distance, informed the people on each quarantine zone list where to gather, and warned that if anyone on the list didn't show up, they'd be on their own if caught inside the city.
At the same time, dozens of cargo trucks slowly drove out of the quarantine zones, followed by the residents who had entered earlier. But their faces were no longer happy like when they went in; they looked like they'd been hit hard, seeming listless and down.
The vehicles drove to pharmacies and hospitals within Dallas, with more than a dozen soldiers guarding each truck. The residents from the quarantine zones moved all the medicines and supplies into the trucks.
Once the trucks were fully loaded, they drove straight into the quarantine zones to unload and then came back empty, over and over again, as if they were moving all the important supplies from outside the zones inside.
Three days later, the convoy from the quarantine zone closest to Dallas slowly entered the city. Under the guidance of soldiers inside the city, they parked at a designated location.
Then the loudspeakers began to announce the first batch of residents on the quarantine zone list, telling them to get their things ready and gather at a certain place inside Dallas. There were more warnings.
Once everyone had gathered, a dozen soldiers holding the lists would check identities and faces, making sure no one was missing and preventing people assigned to other quarantine zones from mixing in.
As time passed, convoys from other quarantine zones arrived one after another. Batch after batch of Dallas residents, either voluntarily or forcibly, were loaded onto the trucks. The sadness of parting from loved ones spread throughout the city.
Of course, during this time, a few incidents happened, one of which was particularly embarrassing for Brian.
First, soldiers patrolling the city noticed strange firelight in an office building. But since so many residents had left recently, the building had been completely cleared out, and there shouldn't have been anyone inside.
Curious, the soldiers went in to check and found dozens of adults and children hiding inside, along with a large amount of supplies. It turned out that these people were originally supposed to go to other quarantine zones. They had stockpiled a lot of supplies when the disaster struck. Dissatisfied with the quarantine system and unwilling to give up their supplies, they had teamed up, planning to leave with the supplies once things settled down and build their own ideal country.
As the saying goes, the most dangerous place is the safest. So they decided to hide in this building, thinking no one would notice them. Everything had been going smoothly until one of the kids started playing with fire in a room, which drew attention. What a sad story.
Second, during one of the identity checks, a soldier noticed something off about a resident. The person was disheveled, with a full beard, and it was hard to tell if they matched the photo.
The soldier ordered the person to clean their face for a better look, but the resident panicked, started stammering, and became even more suspicious. In the end, cornered, the resident pulled out a handgun from their pocket, intending to shoot the soldier.
Fortunately, the soldier had been on high alert and tackled the suspicious person to the ground the moment they saw the gun.
As this person was being subdued, another person with the same appearance in the crowd tried to sneak away.
But their actions didn't escape the eyes of the guards outside. They were also quickly apprehended. It turned out that the two were partners, but they had been assigned to distant quarantine zones.
Not wanting to take the risk, they had been looking for people with quarantine zones closer by, then targeting them, stealing their ID cards, and killing them to avoid exposure, hoping to pass themselves off as someone else.
Just these two incidents involved the lives of dozens of people, but in Dallas, where people were dying every day, it was indeed just a minor event.
As for the embarrassing thing for Brian, one morning when he woke up, he suddenly felt something wet on his lower body. For a moment, he thought he might have... But then he realized the location was off. He quickly lifted the blanket and was a bit embarrassed to find that it was a pool of red, coming from Sarah sleeping beside him.
...Yeah, the thirteen-year-old girl had just gotten her first period, also known as "Aunt Flo."
Waking Sarah from her sleep, seeing her still clueless and innocent expression, as if no one had ever talked to her about this kind of experience, Brian couldn't help but feel both amused and frustrated. He covered his face, at a loss for words.
Struggling to recall the limited knowledge he had about women, thinking about all those strange things, Brian felt like he was in a bad situation.
He told Sarah to stay in the RV, changed his clothes, and went out to the supermarket to see if he could find what he needed. But after searching several places and coming up empty-handed, he was completely stunned—there was nothing left...
Reluctantly, Brian hesitated for a moment, then swallowed his pride and went back to the management office to find Cloris. He planned to beg her for some supplies and ask her what to do, since she was the only woman he knew and could find.
When Cloris saw Brian again, she was quite surprised. But when she found out why he was there, she looked down her nose at him and laughed at him mercilessly.
In the end, Brian's face was bright red as he ran out of the management office, holding a cardboard box, with the woman's laughter ringing in his ears. He finally understood how that bald man felt.
Back in the RV, he handed the supplies to Sarah and then awkwardly explained to her what was happening. Honestly, it was a real struggle for a guy like him to talk about these things.
As the number of people in Dallas dwindled, October quietly slipped away. The military began to organize convoys to the Atlanta quarantine zone, and they were about to leave the city and embark on an uncertain journey.