[A/N: Hello everyone.
New characters are being introduced today, and I've taken the liberty of including characters you've never imagined.
Comment and donate Power Stones.]
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In Alex's truck.
"Thank you so much, Alex", Alicia said gratefully. "We tried to talk to Travis, but he's stuck downtown with his ex-wife and their son", she said, sounding calmer knowing Alex was coming to her rescue.
"Nothing to thank, just stay home and if you can, try to get your neighbors to do the same. Your neighbor in that state is a danger to others", Alex suggested. "Now I have to hang up if I want to get there quickly. Take care", Alex said, saying goodbye to Alicia.
Alex sped up and started taking detours to his house. He knew that if he wanted to help this family, he had to be prepared.
When he got home, he quickly dressed in sturdy clothing and hiking boots and grabbed some of the backpacks he had packed with supplies. After leaving the house, fully prepared, he headed to the truck but remembering that the situation had already become this complicated, he decided to drive one of the cars David and he had prepared.
After a few minutes, she arrived at the house where she had left Alicia and Nick the day before. Before going to the house, she left the truck locked and checked the surroundings for wandering zombies, but didn't notice anything.
"Alicia, are you there?", Alex said softly after gently knocking on the door.
Footsteps were heard from inside the house, then Alicia opened the door and threw herself into Alex's arms, looking scared.
"You came", she said as she hugged them and cried into their chest.
"Yes, I'm here", Alex said, patting her back. "Are you okay? Was anyone hurt?", Alex asked after waiting a moment for Alicia to compose herself.
"None of us were hurt", she said in a subdued tone. "But Nick attacked Su-Su... He took a knife and stabbed it in her head", she said in a desperate tone.
"Why did he do that? Didn't you tell him to wait?", Alex asked, confused.
"I don't know", she said, squeezing Alex's arm in desperation. "He arrived yesterday and started showing withdrawal symptoms. My mother watched over him all night, and today I went to see my neighbor, but I found her, just as I described her to you before… And after I called you, Nick heard our conversation, went to the kitchen, took out the biggest knife, left the house through the back, and attacked Su-Su without hesitation", Alicia recounted, looking at Alex, hoping he wouldn't abandon them because he had a murderous brother.
"Relax", Alex told her, pulling her into her hug to calm her down.
"But Nick murdered someone… they'll put him in jail for it", she said in a calmer tone.
"We'll worry about that later", Alex told her. "There are more pressing matters now. Where is your mother?", Alex asked.
"She's with Nick in his room", she replied as she led Alex to Nick's room.
"Madison how is Nick?", Alex asked as she entered the room.
"Thanks for coming, Alex", she said before answering. "He's fine, just a relapse", she replied as she cleaned her son's face with a damp cloth.
"Do you have his medicine?", Alex asked, noticing how badly Nick was looking.
"No, I tried to talk to Travis, but he's stuck downtown now because of the march", she explained.
"What medicine does he use?", Alex asked again.
"Methadone", Madison replied.
"Here you go", Alex said after rummaging through her backpack and handing her two boxes of the medicine.
"What?", Madison asked, surprised. "Thank you so much, Alex. You keep saving us", Madison said gratefully.
Madison took a pill out of the packet and gave it to Nick along with some water. Then the three of them, Alex, Madison, and Alicia, left the room and sat in the living room.
"Thanks again, Alex", Madison said. "I know you want to help, but I don't want to drag you into our problems", she said, sounding embarrassed.
Madison was in a desperate situation. She was a strong woman who had raised her children, and even if Nick didn't follow her teachings and, by his own choice, chose the most cowardly way of escaping reality, she was always there for her son. However, now she was completely defeated. While she could accept her son's decision to take that path and take care of him when he was in need, Nick had now committed one of the cruelest acts, and as a mother, she didn't know what she should do.
"I have to turn him over to the police", Madison thought. "As much as I love my son, if he does something like that again, he could endanger more people", she reasoned.
"Are you talking about what Nick did?", Alex asked, confused.
"Yes", she said dejectedly. "I don't know what to do", Madison added in a desperate tone.
"Madison, I'll be honest with you. What Nick did wasn't wrong", Alex said, surprising both women.
"He killed someone", Alicia said, in a similar state to her mother.
"Yes", Madison shared.
"Things aren't what they seem", Alex said cryptically. "Now things are changing, and for the worse", Alex said as she took control of the TV and selected the news channel.
On the newscast, they were showing images from different areas of the country, where chaos was reigning. People were seen looting stores and supermarkets. Some fires were seen in the images delivered by helicopter reporting the news, and the military and police were trying to contain the situation.
"Your neighbor had been infected with a virus that transforms people", Alex explained, seeing that both women were beginning to notice that things might be different from what they thought.
"Infected people lose control of their bodies and attack people. They have no mercy", Alex said.
"Is there a cure?", Alicia asked.
"I don't know", Alex replied. "But what I do know is that these people cease to be infected. They could attack their own family members without hesitation. Besides, from a biological standpoint, they're already dead", Alex commented seriously, looking them straight in the eyes as she spoke.
"Like the undead?", Madison asked.
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[A/N: Zombies! Zombies! The Zombies are coming!]
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"Something similar", Alex replied.
"That's why you asked us not to get close", Alicia said, realizing the things Alex had suggested earlier.
"That's right, this started a couple of days ago… Now, it's just the time when no one can contain it", Alex said, watching the news again. "I know it's hard to believe, but you're not safe here. I can take you to a safe place if you want", Alex offered kindly. "I'd like to accept", Madison said, while Alicia looked at her, annoyed for not accepting directly. "But we were waiting for Travis, and I wouldn't want to leave him alone", she clarified, a little embarrassed.
"I think we should go help them", Alex suggested. "If things are like the news shows, then they might be in danger", he explained, as the family realized that the most dangerous place right now is downtown.
"That's true", Madison said, frightened.
After they realized Travis would be in danger, they all set off in Alex's car, heading for the city center. While Alex was driving, Madison called Travis a few times to warn him about the situation he might face, but he just thought Madison was overestimating things and ignored her. As they approached the city center, they found themselves on streets jammed with traffic. The worst part was the large group of cars piled up on the streets trying to buy supplies or leave the city, fearing that all this chaos would overtake them.
"What are we going to do?", asked Alicia in the front seat next to Alex.
"Madison, tell Travis to move away from the city center and wait for us so we can guide them to safety", Alex told Madison.
While Madison contacted Travis again, Alex turned on a two-way radio with the frequencies registered by David's friend. He tuned in to the police frequently, who were constantly reporting out-of-control situations in different parts of the city.
At the same time, in the car to Alex's right, there was a family in the same situation as them; they were trying to get out of the city center. The man driving noticed some strange things had been happening in the city in recent days; his instincts, honed on the battlefield, warned him to get out of the city quickly. While he could have called one of his old colleagues to inquire about the situation, he remained calm and remembered the promise he had made to his wife.
"Gerry, something's going on. I'll check the radio for the news", his wife, Karin, commented.
"Remember, you don't live in England anymore", Gerry commented, mocking his wife for putting the BBC on the radio. "Northern approach to the city blocked? 10-15 in various locations around the city?", Gerry wondered, listening to the broadcast coming from Alex's radio.
"I know", she said ironically.
"Dude, do you know what's going on?", Gerry asked Alex.
"Who is he?", Alex wondered before answering the man he didn't recognize. "There are riots all over the city… Or rather, all over the world. According to what I read on the news, it's a new disease that's driving people crazy and is highly contagious… By the way, I'm Alex", Alex replied to Gerry.
"I see… I'm Gerry", Gerry said, introducing himself. "It seems the situation is just as I thought", he thought as explosions began to sound in the background.
"Dad, what's going on?", one of his daughters asked, frightened.
"There's some trouble ahead, but don't worry. As soon as we get out of this traffic jam, we'll try to get to a safe place", Gerry said calmly to his daughter, trying to calm her worries.
While both cars were beginning to worry about what was happening, a few motorcycle officers suddenly appeared, speeding toward the scene of the explosions. One of the motorcycles hit Gerry's rearview mirror.
"Is everything okay?", Alex asks kindly, seeing Gerry get out of the car to pick up the debris from the mirror.
"Everything's fine..." Gerry replied when he noticed a truck approaching dangerously from the right side of his car, dragging everything in its path.
"What happened to it?", Alex thought when he noticed Gerry's alarmed look as he looked back. "Damn!", Alex exclaimed, observing the situation through the rearview mirror.
Gerry quickly got into the car. Alex, noticing the situation, made a couple of maneuvers, moving his car to make room for Gerry's car. Noticing what Alex did, Gerry flashed a grateful smile as he quickly moved his car away from the impact zone of the cars being dragged by the truck.
"What's going on?!", "Oh!", "Dad!", "Gerry, be careful!", voices exclaimed from both cars, alarmed by what had happened in an instant.
Everyone noticed the mess the truck had left in its wake and how close they had come to becoming its victims. The passengers in both cars—Gerry's family, and Alicia and her family—thanked Gerry and Alex for their timely actions, but only they knew things had escalated to a very dangerous level.
Gerry, realizing that this disaster could be an opportunity to escape the scene, skillfully drove his car again, using the clear path left by the truck as an escape route. Alex, noticing Gerry's movements, also saw the opportunity and followed them.
"It seems Gerry is not a simple man", Alex thought, seeing Gerry's quick reaction time and adaptability to adverse situations.
Both cars accelerated along the path left by the truck, dodging the cars it had left in its wake. After driving almost two blocks, Gerry noticed an empty street and changed course, while Alex followed Gerry, performing similar maneuvers. "It can't be!", Alex thought, frightened by what he was seeing as he honked his horn, alerting Gerry's car.
A truck appeared out of nowhere at high speed. It would hit Gerry's car if he didn't stop, so Alex tried to honk his horn, but the situation moved so fast that Gerry couldn't react in time in his car.
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[A/N: CHAPTER COMPLETED
Thanks everyone for reading.
Alex encounters new characters and does something that perhaps his future self, who saw his dreams, didn't do. Will this change the future?
Read my other novel called Vinland Kingdom: Race Against Time.
You can find it on my profile.]