《The Path in the Shadows》


 Georgie

    December 22<sup>nd</sup>


    If George knew he had that much will power, he would have never wished for that. He would have never wished either to not have to go back to his parents'' house.


    Hell, he should have stopped thinking.


    It was quite easy normally.


    Anyway. It was too late now. It didn''t change the fact that it was two o''clock and the sun had not risen yet. And he was still sitting in front of his window like an idiot. Perhaps the sun was going to wave at him from up there and if he looked away he wouldn''t see shit! Or maybe it would give him the middle finger. With how things were turning out, one seemed more likely than the other.


    He sighed, taking his eyes away from the black sky. Mourning the sunlight would not help him.


    And this situation clearly wasn''t going to help him save money on his electricity bills, for sure.


    Selfish world.


    Mumbling under his breath, which strangely smelt like pickles, he left his room to go downstairs. It would be easier to think with his friends.


    The house that the four roommates had managed to rent was not very large but it had one floor and the rooms were far enough apart so that the four young men could stream and work on their own without disturbing the others. That was why they had chosen this place. That and because there was a large bathroom. That was the main point of George''s presentation to his friends when he first discovered the place.


    The bathroom was the heart of the house. At least for him. For Eliott, it was probably the living room. Being the one who organized most of the parties, it was not surprising. For Chris, it went without saying that it was the kitchen, he spent most of his time there. And for Ashley... the toilets. The poor boy had a fragile stomach.


    Living together had its advantages when the world decided to go crazy. They were already living in a weird winter that had been going on for a year, but this... this was another level.


    And it was soon Christmas as well!


    "Still nothing..." grumbled Eliott as he left the university''s website for what was to be the tenth time already. "It''s pitch black and we still have practice? Nonsense."


    Eliott was what George could have labeled as his best friend. He was an American soccer player with a lot of potentials, both for sport and for seduction. He was charming, even by George''s standards.


    Who wasn''t attracted to a tall curly blond guy with beautiful brown eyes and an adorable little scar on the corner of his lips? Although the scar didn''t come from a heroic battle, but rather from an overly drunken night, it was a small detail that attracted girls to him like bees to honey.


    "What I find indecent is that you have training a day before Christmas," Chris commented, sitting next to him.


    George grabbed an apple and sat down with them, sighing heavily.


    "Can we focus on the main topic? Like, you know the sun disappearing? Do you think it''s vanished?"


    Eliott looked up from the screen and shot a curious look at him.


    "You''re the aerospace student, not us."


    "I''m not sure we studied that in class," answered George with an annoyed tone.


    "Once again, you''re proving to us that you don''t listen in class." Chris simply commented without looking up from his phone.


    "Hey, I''ll have you know that I, for a fact, have never had any trouble validating my years. Not like a certain someone."


    If Eliott''s eyes were warm and sweet, Chris'' ice blue ones were frightening. And when his glare pierced through someone, the battle was lost.


    "Excuse me?" he snarled, putting down his phone. "If a certain someone did not hurt himself like the idiot they are, I would have had my year!"


    "I did not hurt myself on purpose!" protested vividly George, his voice getting higher.


    "If you did, you would be dead for sure! You''re such a mess, Jesus Christ. I told you countless times to not run down the stairs. And you did exactly the opposite!"


    "I had my reasons!"


    "You just wanted to grab snacks and go back to your stream! That is not a valid reason! You worried your fans and worried us!"


    Ouch.


    George was never good with confrontation, especially when it concerned him. Yes, he had slipped in the stairs and hurt himself pretty badly. He didn''t think badly. He didn''t think at all. He did that pretty well after all.


    Not knowing what to say after that, he silently bit into his apple, looking down. Of course, he felt guilty for Chris. He had missed his exam just to take care of him and drive him to the hospital. He had taken care of George''s viewers, explaining to them the situation and ending the stream as hours later almost everyone had stayed or came back regularly to see if someone had any news. He had stayed by his friend until he woke up, making sure he was okay.


    All of that just for an idiot like him.


    "I''m sorry," mumbled George, not daring to look up. "I''m sorry you''ve failed your year because of me."


    Chris sighed and reached out a hand to shuffle George''s dark locks.


    "It''s okay. I''m glad you''re fine now. I was just worried. You seem to always get in trouble wherever you are... Understand us, we care about you."


    Eliott nodded, a faint smile on his lips.


    "Yeah, you''re a big dumb-dumb, we have to keep an eye on you."


    They laughed a bit, forgetting for a moment the whole situation. But they could not run from it.


    "Honestly, I don''t know if it would do that if the sun vanished. Technically if the sun disappeared it would take 8 minutes for us to realize that the sun vanished."


    "Could it be a solar eclipse?" asked Ashley, just arriving in the kitchen. "Like a really long one?"


    "No. I''ve watched the last total solar eclipse we had two years ago. It is far from that."


    "In what ways?"


    George put down his apple and got up, reaching for the lamp in the corner of the room. He lights up one of the light bulbs and put a round plate in front of it.Stolen novel; please report.


    "What do you see?"


    "... A ring of light and a black hole in the middle?" said Chris with a questioning tone, clearly not sure.


    "Yes. This is a total solar eclipse. It''s the moon basically just covering the whole sun for some minutes. But it doesn''t mean that the sun stops shining right? Hence the ring of light. Hence the fact that depending on the time and the date, not everyone around the world will see it. During a total solar eclipse, it does not get pitch black outside. It stays sunny. It just looks like there is a sunrise everywhere around you."


    Setting the plate down and turning off the light, he sat back in his chair, his friends just looking at him, obviously waiting for more.


    "There is no light in the sky and it affects everyone. I sent a message to Tom this morning. He said that in England it was the same. No sun, no moon. And it''s getting colder already. I also called myAbuelaand she said exactly the same."


    Eliott stayed silent for a moment, his eyes wandering in the kitchen.


    "I hoped that all I found on Twitter was fake..."


    "Sadly, I don''t think it is," answered Chris with a flat tone. "Not that I am excited about it though."


    "It''s clearly not. And it means that the winter will get colder," added Ashley, his voice getting lower and lower.


    George glanced at him and grimaced. Poor boy. He was clearly terrified. Not that George was not. He was mortified. But what could they do? It''s not like they had any power over Mother Nature.


    "We''ve been experiencing a winter that is still going on after a year. And now that? The world really wants us dead." continued Ashley with a whiny voice. "What have we done?"


    "To deserve that?" said Chris with a snide tone. "Oh, nothing you know. The usual like killing each other, pollute the whole damn planet, hate e-"


    "Shut it, Chris." snapped George when he noticed Ashley''s bottom lip slightly starting to tremble. "It''s clearly not the time to be sarcastic, can''t you see that Ash'' is terrified?"


    "I see. But it''s not by protecting him from the world that it will be better."


    George clenched his fists, exchanging a look with Eliott. The silence floated for a good ten seconds before the latter stood up.


    "We have to get out of the house and find someone who will tell us what''s happening."


    "Yeah, you do that while I go on stream. Maybe some of my followers will know a thing or what to do." agreed George.


    He then looked at Ashley and Chris.


    "Ash'', do you want to come with me?"


    "I''ll be more useful with you than with Eliott."


    "Then it''s decided. Chris, you''ll come with me."


    <hr>


    "?Hola, it''s Firey here! I don''t know if I have to say good afternoon, we can''t really see the good right now, but anyway. How are you?"


    George started his stream with a faint smile, trying as best as he could to look positive and bright. But the situation they were in was a bit too strange, even for him. He looked at the chat where his community was slowly starting to grow and read some messages. He answered some of the simplest questions, people mostly asking him if he was alright.


    Ashley soon joined him on the voice channel with a characteristic ''ding'' and another one followed a second later.


    "Hey there." a deep voice said.


    It was one of his online friends and fellow members of his gaming team, GenS. His real name was Sam but he preferred his pseudo.


    "Hello GenS, long time no see!" cheered Ashley with a wide smile in his voice. "How does it look like in Liverpool right now?"


    "Not good. Probably as good as you. But people are afraid, there has been some burglary in the town center this afternoon. It''s not gonna get better."


    "Oh yeah, I forgot that it''s the middle of the night in Europe. When did the sun disappear for you?"


    "Around 10 am. Something like that. It scared the shit out of me."


    George laid back in his chair, listening to his friends talking. He tried to imagine how he would have reacted if he had seen this. Probably would have had a heart attack or something.


    "Why don''t you come here in the States with us until it goes back to normal?" proposed George, resting his chin on his palm.


    "Tempting but do you think that the planes will still be flying?"


    "Never heard of night flight, big guy?"


    GenS let out a sharp laugh, his hand automatically slamming on his desk, making the two streamers wince.


    "Geez, calm down Sam."


    "I''ll see if I can book a ticket for the end of the week, it would be better to be with you than just by myself."


    George grinned widely, looking at his camera with a satisfied expression. He checked his chat, laughing at some of the messages his community was sending. People liked to imagine that he, or his friends, were dating each other. He did not find that weird, rather amusing. He liked to play on this. He was bisexual after all, so it did not offend him. And he loved to see the fanarts that they were sending him on Twitter.


    "Yeah, we''re good company, everyone knows that."


    Talking with his friends really relaxed him. It was a bit easier to digest this information with them.


    "We should text Ezra and Ridox to make them come over too. The more the merrier" added Ashley with an excited tone.


    "I think it''s gonna get difficult to host all of them. Plus Ridox would be the only girl here, she would probably be uncomfortable."


    The three of them stayed silent for a minute and suddenly George''s phone vibrated. He raised an eyebrow and looked at the message he had just received.


    "Really Ash? You tell me that with a text"


    "H-Hey! Don''t read it!"


    "You sent me ''she could sleep in my room'' and you expect me to not read it out loud? You bet on the dark horse."


    "Come on dude! That''s not cool!" protested the streamer with a whiny voice.


    "Whatev'' baby boy."


    "Do you think your Christmas will be normal with that?" asked GenS.


    "Definitely not. It''s gonna ruin the mood for sure..." sighed George, feeling an annoyed expression creeping upon his face as he talked.


    He loved Christmas. It was the best time of the year. But with the recent events that occurred in the world around them, with the never-ending winter, the conflicts that had risen everywhere, and the ongoing pandemic that was slowly killing two continents... George did not have the heart to celebrate Christmas. Nor to see his family, if he was completely honest. Sterile political debates instead of a warm reunion were not his cup of tea. He missed those Christmas where they at least tried to maintain a festive atmosphere and preserve the childhood innocence.


    All of that was gone now.


    "I don''t think that the mood would have been there even if it was a normal one," commented GenS with a sigh. "Holidays magic is long gone."


    "Don''t be a sad bitch, I beg you," grumbled Ashley. "We don''t need that right now."


    GenS probably shrugged and for a moment the three streamers stayed silent. But it was not an uncomfortable silence nor a sad one. It was thoughtful.


    They were back to their main problem.


    "So what do you think happened?" finally asked GenS.


    "Chris asked if it could be a total solar eclipse, which is not, so I don''t know. The Sun cannot have exploded, we would be dead already."


    "It would be better I think."


    "If we were dead?"


    "Yeah. And you know why," answered GenS with a flat tone. "The temperatures are already low. But we had some sunlight."


    George froze. He didn''t think about that. How could he have forgotten that?


    "It is likely that the temperature will drop by 4 degrees between today and tomorrow. It should have dropped a bit already."


    He looked at his chat and nodded. Most of his community was sending him the temperatures they had. Everyone had lost some degrees.


    That was not good at all.


    "It''s gonna get colder and colder if the sun doesn''t show up again soon." added the streamer, rubbing his knuckles against his chin. "The rivers are already frozen... The temperature will drop down by 18 degrees. It is just a hypothesis but it is probable. But I''m sure that the sun will be back! I hope..."


    He looked down to his knees, not really believing in what he was saying.


    "Let''s think about the worst for now. What would you do?"


    "I honestly don''t know dude. It would be nearly impossible to have water or food at some point. I think the best way to survive this would be to dig down and set our towns undergrown in a deep deep place where the heat of the Earth can warm us and our water. If we could use its heat to create electricity... that would be even better. But I-"


    He suddenly paused as his phone buzzed next to him.


    He glanced at the screen and froze.


    Dad:"Please stay where you are. It is not safe anymore here."


    "We love you, Georgie."

 Babyproof

    Eliott sighed, closing the door behind him. The walk had been uneventful and useless.


    People were not bold enough to go out even though the city was the same as it was the day before. It felt like they were walking in the middle of the night even though it was only 4 pm. It was colder but still reasonable to Eliott¡¯s relief.


    Turning around, he expected to see his friends seated in the kitchen or the living room, waiting for them but he only saw Ashley leaning on the wall, looking right at him.


    He frowned.


    ¡°Ash¡¯? What happened? What¡¯s that face for?¡± he asked, becoming more worried as the second passed.


    Ashley stayed silent, signaling them to go into the kitchen with him.


    ¡°Ash¡¯ you¡¯re worrying me. Please answer.¡±


    Chris frowned and they exchanged a look. The house was far too calm. Usually, when they were at least two, music was blasting from the speaker and they were talking or playing. But Ashley was the only one downstairs.


    No sign of George.


    ¡°Where¡¯s George?¡± inquired Chris, his voice lower than the usual, filled with worry.


    What had happened?


    Again, Ashley stayed silent and sat at the kitchen table, seemingly waiting for something to happen.


    Chris opened his mouth again to repeat himself but their friend gestured him to stop. He mouthed "three, two, one..." and closed his eyes.


    And they heard it.


    The cry of distress that echoed through the house, followed by a loud thud as something fell on the floor.


    Eliott frowned. George''s voice was something you could not mistake for something else. His Spanish accent was only hearable when he was in great emotional distress.


    "What happened Ashley?" he asked again, refusing to wait any longer.


    "His dad texted him about 20 minutes ago... it sounded like he said farewell to him... And George has been trying to call them since. No one is answering."


    Chris opened his mouth, probably to ask more but Eliott was already in the staircase, rushing up to see his best friend. That was the least he could do. He jogged to his door and softly knocked on it, waiting for George to open. Nothing. Sighing, he opened the door and let himself in the student''s bedroom.


    "Georgie...?"


    The room was plunged into darkness. The only light source seeable was George''s phone, the white light reflected on his face. And dear God, what face. George''s brown eyes were red from his crying, his moles looking like little holes on his visage. His cheeks were puffy, his nose a bit red, and his long dark hair supposedly tied up in a ponytail was more outside of the ponytail than inside it.


    He looked like a mess. A pretty sad one.


    "Hey George..." murmured Eliott as he sat down near his best friend. "What happened?"


    His eloquent best friend did not utter a word, simply shoving his phone in Eliott''s face. The jock read the messages, frowning a bit more at each word.


    "Please stay where you are. It is not safe anymore here."


    "We love you, Georgie."


    What did Mr. Sepulveda mean? What dangers could be that bad that their son had to stay here? Yes, they lived far away but George had made the trip a hundred times already. It was not something new. And he had already driven during night time. More than once.


    "Oh, Georgie... You''ve tried to call them?"


    George nodded, letting a desperate sigh come out of his lungs. Eliott made his way into the bed, letting the younger cradle into his arms. He wrapped his arms around him and sighed heavily.


    "No one''s answering?"


    "No..." mumbled George, his voice hoarse from crying. "The line''s dead..."


    Eliott felt his heart crack, hearing his friend¡¯s voice so beat up and cheerless. George was always upbeat, smiling. That was his way of coping with the world and all the shits that he experienced. No crying. No shouting. Just a smile and a hint of disdain.


    ¡°What if¡­?¡± he stammered, ¡°What if something horrible happened to them?¡±


    ¡°Shush¡­ I¡¯m sure they are just fine. They just want you to be safe and not take any risk.¡±


    George stayed silent for a moment.


    ¡°I¡¯m going to their house,¡± he abruptly declared, rising from Eliott¡¯s arms, ¡°If they need my help, I have to there for them.¡±


    Eliott sighed. Of course.


    Of course, the thought had crossed his mind. No one said no to George without having in mind that he could do the opposite. And that he would do it without hesitating once.


    ¡°No George. They asked you to stay with us, do as they told you, please.¡±


    But he could have talked to a wall, the result would have been the same. Light suddenly turned on, spontaneously blinding him and he winced as George leaned on his torso to get up properly.


    ¡°C¡¯mon George!¡± he pleaded.


    Too late. His best friend''s unbeatable mood was back and he was grinning like a madman, putting a pullover on.


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°Stay here.¡±


    ¡°Listen, buddy, I know that you love me n¡¯ shit but this is my family. My only family. I have to make sure they are okay.¡±


    He smiled dryly, grabbing his bag to shove diverse objects in it. Eliott sighed, getting up. He had no choice. He jumped over the bed and ran to the door, almost slipping and crashing into the opposite wall.


    ¡°Guys!¡± he shouted in the corridor. ¡°Initiate operation Baby proof!¡±


    George shot him a cold glare, instantly dropping his bag to run out his bedroom.


    ¡°Don¡¯t you dare, you asshole!¡± he hissed, his Spanish accent getting stronger as the anger grew inside of him. ¡°Not now, Eliott, for fuck sake!!!¡±Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.


    There was a moment of silence and then he heard the jingle of the car keys being taken away and George immediately cussed like a madman.


    ¡°Hijo de puta!!! You can¡¯t do this to me!¡± he screamed as he pushed his best friend to run down the stairs.


    Once again he was rushing, not minding if he fell or not, his anger stopping any rational thoughts from entering his brain. Following a bit behind, Eliott heard the Spanish angry blob insult the daylight out of his roommates, heavy and rushed footsteps indicating an intense chase around the kitchen table.


    ¡°ENOUGH!¡± roared Chris, belting the younger one, blocking him from catching Ashley or the keys.


    ¡°Piss off!¡± shouted back George, sinking his teeth into his friend¡¯s arm but Chris did not budge.


    ¡°You are going to fucking calm down before I fucking tie you up to your bed! Understood?¡±


    Eliott raised an eyebrow.


    ¡°Kinky.¡±


    ¡°Shut up, Eliott, it¡¯s not the moment.¡±


    ¡°Language, all of you!¡± shouted Ashley, angrily.


    Eliott let out a sharp laugh, catching the keys that Ashley threw him from the other side of the kitchen.


    ¡°Let him go, Chris.¡±


    George shoved his friend¡¯s hands away from him, glaring at the team. The silence lingered for a whole minute, no one daring to move or talk.


    ¡°Eh.¡± George shrugged before exiting the room. ¡°Bold of you to assume that I need my keys,¡±


    They exchanged looks, not sure if they needed to be worried or not about that information. It was more than likely that George was going to try and carjack his car but they didn¡¯t know if he was dumb enough to break the window. He could be pretty stupid sometimes but they had never experienced such a dramatic situation so¡­ they just had to wait and see.


    As the door slammed behind George, they all ran to the nearest window, scooting to let the others see as they tried to spot their dumb friend. With his green hoodie and his flashlight, they had no problem finding him but George seemed to have some problems finding his car. It wasn¡¯t even that dark outside, with the lampposts lighting up the streets¡­ Was he drunk or something? Or maybe simply blind as a bat. They watched him facepalm into the letterbox then hit Chris¡¯ car before finally finding his own.


    Eliott sighed, relieved that he didn¡¯t kill himself on this ten meters trip. He was capable of dying on such a short distance, so he had all his reasons to be worried. They looked at George who was now just watching his car, probably thinking about what he should do next. Typical once again. George acted before thinking.


    Eliott remembered one time where he assumed that some guy was talking shit about Chris and, without a warning, just beat the shit out of him before actually asking if he was the one that said that. Turned out it wasn¡¯t and George ended up fighting against three members of the basketball team and ended up in the hospital, again.


    But it didn¡¯t change anything and he did that again a year later.


    George was optimistic. A stupid one, but he believed that actions were more efficient than words. Hence why he was always smiling and the first to jump into action no matter what. It was a good trait as well as a bad one.


    George looked at his car for a moment, tried to open the doors then obviously sighed. He was shaking, his hoodie not warm enough to protect him from the cold.


    ¡°Dumbass¡­¡± sighed Chris, unlocking the younger¡¯s car. ¡°Let¡¯s see how you will do this.¡±


    ¡°Language Chris. Also¡­ don¡¯t you think that he knows how to start it without the keys?¡±


    Eliott looked at Ashley with a faint smile.


    ¡°As good as he is with aero-spatial engineering, he is really bad at carjacking. He will come back here in ten minutes.¡±


    Ashley didn¡¯t look quite convinced but shrugged anyway as the two others just went back to their place, sitting at the kitchen table.


    ¡°While he is doing this, tell us what else you learned during the stream,¡± asked Chris, his chin resting upon his hand.


    Ashley turned his head over them, a nervous smile on his lips.


    He was an awkward guy, always looking away whenever someone met his gaze. He was cute though with his huge doe eyes, his short curly black hair, and his freckled face where the scars of his acne were still visible. The typical shy guy who turned out to be a lot more confident on camera.


    And he was.


    Even though he was more comfortable with his friends, he seemed to be afraid to lose them, especially George who was the most extraverted one here. He had issues with abandonment.


    ¡°We talked with GenS. George offered him to come over and he said that he would think about it. They talked about the temperatures going down too¡­ George seemed worried about that even though the winter is not that cold.¡±


    He paused, glancing out the window to see how the latter was doing.


    ¡°I sent a message to Ridox and Ezra to invite them over too.¡±


    ¡°Damn, we¡¯re gonna shelter all of our friends?¡± complained Chris with a sigh.


    ¡°George seemed to think that it was a good idea to be plenty. The more the merrier and things like that.¡±


    ¡°George is an idiot. We can¡¯t host them all here.¡±


    Eliott shrugged.


    ¡°Yes, we can. I would be more relaxed if I knew that our friends were with us.¡±


    ¡°Ridox lives in Italy, how the hell is she going to come here? Same for GenS. Europe is too far away and it¡¯s too risky to ask them to come over.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t have the higher ground here, Chris. Those are George¡¯s friends before being yours or mine.¡±


    Ashley cleared his throat, waving to get their attention.


    ¡°Hm¡­ You don¡¯t have a choice anymore, to be honest¡­ Ridox was already in the States so she¡¯s on her way to pick up Ezra and come here.¡±


    ¡°Fucking perfect.¡± Chris sighed, ignoring Ashley¡¯s rebuke, looking even more upset now. ¡°I hope that Maria¡¯s ready to share her personal space with four men.¡±


    ¡°She is. She knows that Eliott¡¯s crushing on a law student, that you are dating someone and that George is not interested in her.¡±


    ¡°What about Ezra and you?¡±


    ¡°For God¡¯s sake, Chris, you know damn well that Ezra is gay!¡± exclaimed Eliott, throwing his arms in the air. ¡°Can you stop being a dick for a second? If Ridox wants to come here, she will, end of the question.¡±


    ¡°Language, Eliott!¡±


    Ashley promptly turned his back to them, falling silent again, avoiding the tension that had gotten so thick in the room that you could almost cut it with a knife.


    The door abruptly opened and slammed as abruptly, making the three of them jump. Ashley had said nothing about George coming back, was it him? They all stared at the kitchen doorframe with apprehension, ready to throw something at the face of the intruder.


    George emerged from the corridor, his face reddened by the frostbite, his asymmetrical earrings safely held in his hand. The metal was probably too cold for him to wear it.


    They relaxed, putting down whatever they had in hand.


    ¡°So how did it go?¡± sneered Eliott with a wide grin.


    ¡°Oh shut up.¡±


    George slumped into a chair, resting his head on the table, the quiet ¡°Language¡± muttered by Ashley fading into silence.


    ¡°I just hope they are alright¡­¡±


    Eliott gently rubbed his hand on his back, looking down on his best friend.


    ¡°I bet they are. They just want you to be alright.¡±


    ¡°But I¡¯d be alright if I was with them! I¡¯d make sure they are safe!¡±


    ¡°George. They are safe. But they are too far north, the road is probably dangerous. You better stay here, we will go to them when we can.¡±


    ¡°Mh¡­ but what are we going to do?¡±


    Chris cleared his throat, looking up from his phone.


    ¡°I think you should check what I¡¯ve sent you.¡±


    Eliott frowned, getting his phone to take a look at the message. He frowned a bit more. Chris had sent us a Twitter link?


    ¡°What the heck man. It¡¯s not the time to be on Twitter.¡±


    ¡°Just¡­ shut up and look.¡±


    George glanced at his friend¡¯s phone, watching the Twitter app charging before his eyes. Chris had sent them a link to someone¡¯s account?


    ¡°Who¡¯s @perthroandersen?¡±


    ¡°Her name¡¯s Signe. She¡¯s an artist that I follow and she¡¯s, you know, the serious type of person.¡±


    ¡°So what?¡±


    Chris sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose to not lose his temper again.


    ¡°Just look at the damn thread I¡¯ve sent you, please.¡±


    ¡°Language,¡± muttered Ashley.


    They did not argue longer, finally concentrating on the damn tweet.


    I know what¡¯s happening. And I know what to do.

 Thread

    ¡®1 ¨C Stock as much food and water as you can.¡¯


    Eh. That was easier said than done, thought George as he parked in the mall¡¯s parking lot. With Ashley sitting next to him, they looked at each other and then at the place with horror.


    What the hell?


    Why the fuck everyone needed to have the same idea as them?


    ¡°Well, this is gonna be fun,¡± sighed Ashley, unbuckling his belt. ¡°Let¡¯s get this over with before I change my mind for good.¡±


    ¡°Why did we end here again?¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ve lost the game. Because of you.¡±


    George shrugged, getting out of his car, slamming the door behind him. He did not mind going out, but he loathed the mall. He preferred quiet coffee shops and places where people forgot to go. Like a gaming store or a pet shop.


    He put on his mask and sighed.


    ¡°Two bros hanging out at the mall, what will they do?¡± sing sang Ashley, a wide grin under his own mask.


    ¡°Shut up, I beg you. I¡¯ll start smashing shit if you don¡¯t.¡±


    ¡°Language.¡±


    They exchanged a look, both smiling from ear to ear. It was a private joke between them, so old that they had forgotten where it came from exactly. But it was brightening their mood and that was all that mattered.


    ¡°Did you make a list or something?¡±


    Ashley pulled out a crumpled sheet from his back pocket and unfolded it carefully.


    ¡°We¡¯re gonna need so many things¡­¡± he sighed, looking at it with what seemed to be apprehension.


    ¡°Yeah, glad we earn enough to cover those expenses. Imagine if we were regular students.¡±


    ¡°Lol, bank account goes broke.¡±


    They giggled like children, finally entering the crowded mall. They stopped laughing at once, watching people who were panicking so badly that they were pushing each other quite abruptly.


    ¡°Well, we can always go to the next one¡­¡±


    ¡°No. It would be useless, it must be the same everywhere.¡±


    George extended his hand out for his friend and, hand in hand, they followed the crowd movement. Now, they just needed to find what they needed: two full carts of food and essential supplies to survive.


    Ashley had a firm grip on his fingers, tightening it when people pushed him or stepped on his toes. For about half an hour, they navigated in the dense crowd, trying to reach the supermarket area. But it was nearly impossible to slither between the people, they were two panicked and impolite to let them pass.


    At this rate, they would never get there before the closure.


    George sighed heavily and yanked Ashley closer to him.


    ¡°Get the fuck off my road!¡± he yelled at the closest person, pushing them harshly to the side, making sure they did not fell though, he was not a monster or something.


    ¡°Language!¡± gasped Ashley. ¡°You can¡¯t talk to people like that!¡±


    ¡°Yes I can and I will. Cover your ears if you don¡¯t want to hear that.¡±


    Moving forward, he kept a firm grip on his friend, navigating with difficulty in the crowd. His glare was maybe not strong enough to make people move but he was loud and he had a Spanish accent.


    No one dared to talk back to an angry Spanish man.


    ¡°Move your fucking cart, you imbecile!¡± he yelled once again, pushing the said cart away with a violent kick.


    With a lot of swearing and muttered Language, they finally managed to reach their goal, pushing away the last carts ¨C with their owners ¨C that dared try to cross their path. It was a small victory in this global war they were having.


    And damned be his soul if he did not win this conflict.


    ¡®2 ¨C Stock warm clothes, blankets, etc. You¡¯ll need them.¡±


    Chris sighed, looking at the street before him like a veteran going back to war. He had sworn that he would never come back here. But Eliott, fucking Eliott, had to win the game and choose this place!


    Thank you, Eliott.


    He sighed again, heavily, sharing with the most disagreeable way possible his discontentment.


    Eliott rolled his eyes, shooting him a glare.


    ¡°I should have gone with George. He is not a bitch like you.¡±


    ¡°Piss off. Let¡¯s get this over with. We don¡¯t have all day.¡±


    ¡°We technically don¡¯t have days anymore.¡±


    ¡°Would you please shut up?¡±


    Eliott rolled his eyes, quickening his pace to make the other one shut up. It was an effective technique that the blonde had learned to use over the years. Chris being shorter than him, he had shorter legs and he was quickly out of breath. He had tried this with George but the latter was a swimmer, he knew how to save his breath and nothing could shut him up. It was a lost cause. If their friend started to talk, he had to finish what he was saying. No matter what.


    The place was not really crowded, everyone probably at the mall annoyingly trying to stock food. Just like the four of them. Hm, typical human behavior. They had experienced a global pandemic some months ago, and it was still going on, and the first thing people did was either protest or stock toilet paper.


    The team had stocked beers and snacks, one required by Eliott the other by George. How did they stay slim with all that went through their bodies? Chris had troubles losing the fat he had gained after his accident and those two douchebags were just here, one ripped and the other slim as hell with a beautiful back.


    Oh. No, out of context this sentence was going to look suspiciously gay. But Chris could not deny that George¡¯s back was really sexy. Even his girlfriend agreed with him.


    His eyes widened.


    Fuck, how could he have forgotten his own girlfriend? Eloise was probably super worried and¡­ Wait no she was fine. She was back in France for Christmas. Ugh, he could have been with her instead of being stuck here with the nerds¡­ When did he make such bad choices? Damn his mom was probably worried sick too. He was such a bad son¡­


    ¡°What are you thinking about, Chris? You look all worried suddenly.¡±


    ¡°I forgot to call my family¡­ I will do that when we¡¯ll be done with that. Do you still have the list on your phone?¡±


    Eliott nodded, taking out the object from his pocket and unlocking it.


    ¡°Hm¡­ plaids, blankets, pulls, ski trousers, ski coats¡­ what else?¡±


    ¡°We should get at least two or three gasoline radiators, some hot water bags for emergencies, a few gas tanks, torchlights¡­¡±This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.


    ¡°I should¡¯ve taken George¡¯s car. I don¡¯t think everything will fit in my car,¡± sighed Eliott, typing what Chris was telling him.


    ¡°We¡¯ll manage. I¡¯m a Tetris pro-player. We should get the heaters first, I think people are gonna want that before thinking about clothes.¡±


    ¡°We agree on the fact that clothes-wise we take anything that is thick enough and we don¡¯t pay attention to the style?¡±


    ¡°Agreed. Now let¡¯s do this.¡±


    ¡°3 ¨C No matter what don¡¯t go south. Stay in a familiar environment. Going south will lead to your inevitable death.¡±


    December 27th


    Ashley was sitting by the window, looking out nervously. Buses were patrolling in town, enjoining the inhabitants to get on board. The speakers were blasting what seemed like a reassuring speech to the young man¡¯s ears.


    The house was plunged into darkness. Chris had come home in the morning, looking alarmed, panting heavily, and had told them that the city was being evacuated and that it was an order. They had reacted quickly, parking their cars in an underground parking lot, closing all the blinds, and shutting the lights off. It looked like they were gone and that was exactly the effect wanted.


    But the young man was not quite sure if they were wise to follow a stranger¡¯s advice in a time like this. What if that Twitter account was just a troll? Even in dark times, trolls didn¡¯t miss an occasion to trick people.


    ¡°Wait, if the people are leaving, does that mean that the electricity will soon be gone?¡± suddenly asked Eliott who was lying down on the couch.


    ¡°Most probably,¡± answered George, ¡°That¡¯s exactly why I¡¯ve fixed the backup generator. What I hope is that we will still have a mobile network for at least a week, to keep in touch with Ridox and Ezra until they arrive here. GenS said he was going to do everything he could to join us but it will take a while.¡±


    ¡°I still wonder how he will do that,¡± sighed Chris.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know, he talked about a ship last time we spoke. I think he embarked yesterday.¡±


    They watched the bus pass by their home for what must have been the twelfth time today and they sighed. Soon the others would be gone and they¡¯d have to organize themselves properly.


    ¡°I wonder if they emptied the malls.¡±


    ¡°Looking back at the USA¡¯s bad choices, I think not. We like wasting food, remember?¡± snickered Chris, stretching on the ground. ¡°But we will verify that tomorrow when they¡¯ll be really far gone.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯ll be so strange to be the only ones here¡­¡± muttered Ashley, anxiety filling up his throat. ¡°It looks like a zombie outbreak will soon arrive or even worse.¡±


    George made his way to his friend, gently patting his back.


    ¡°It¡¯s making all of us nervous. But I¡¯m sure we will survive this and eventually it¡¯ll end.¡±


    ¡°Wow, reassuring¡± sneered Chris, naked sarcasm in his voice.


    ¡°Shut up man,¡± sighed George, getting up. ¡°You know what you all should do? Call the one that we will not likely see again, talk a last time with them. I¡¯ll be doing my last stream upstairs. Join me if you feel like it.¡±


    He did not let them answer, already leaving the room, his phone light disappearing in the stairs.


    Ashley turned his own phone on, looking at the screen with a heavy heart. How was he supposed to talk to his family without breaking down? Who should he call beside them?


    Eliott got up from the couch and disappeared into the staircase, following his best friend. Pulco following close behind. The fluffy tail of the dog was waving happily.


    The dog owner had already called his family during the first days and, as he was not a very social person, had quickly said goodbye to everyone he knew. Eliott was a man of few words, the calls had lasted only a few minutes. He had driven off to his sister¡¯s flat with George and they had come back with Pulco, the Barlows¡¯ dog. Lily could not bring him with her so Eliott had offered to take care of him. Which was a pretty clever idea. Having pets around would lighten the mood and bring a feeling of safety.


    Ashley sighed.


    If Eliott didn¡¯t have a lot of people to call, Ashley had almost no one except his parents. All of his friends were here or on their way here.


    So he only had to call his parents. He tensed a bit more, scrolling to find their number. He did not call them often, preferring to text them. But a situation like that was too strange to be resolved through texts.


    Reluctantly he pressed the call icon.


    The dial rang about four times before a feminine voice echoed through the speaker.


    ¡°Hello?¡±


    ¡°Mom? It¡¯s Ashley.¡±


    ¡°Ashley! I was worried about you! Why didn¡¯t you call sooner? Your father and I were worried sick!¡±


    Ashley winced, glancing at Chris who was watching him with a weird look on his face.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry¡­ I got caught up with a lot of things to do.¡±


    ¡°Oh, darling what could you possibly have to do? It¡¯s supposed to be Christmas. Aren¡¯t you on the road home?¡±


    ¡°No mom, I¡¯m staying where I am with my friends. I think this is a better idea. I just called to see if you were alright a-¡±


    ¡°What do you mean you¡¯re not coming home? You are joking, right?¡±


    ¡°Um... No? I think it¡¯ll be better if I stay with George and-¡±


    ¡°Are you out of your mind Ashley Martin? Do you seriously think that this is a clever idea to stay with this Spanish boy? This kid has a really bad influence on you!¡±


    Ashley sighed, exchanging a look with his friend who looked as jaded as him. What did he expect uh? Nice goodbyes with his parents? That was never gonna happen.


    If he was lucky she would start to cry and stop insulting his friends but luck seemed to be out of sight for now.


    ¡°I can¡¯t believe that you are choosing those punks over your own family! You¡¯ve been living with them for only two years, what are you thinking?? If anything happens, they will probably leave you behind without even looking back! And don¡¯t even talk to me about this Amadeo Palerma!¡±


    ¡°His name¡¯s Chris, mom,¡± sighed Ashley, getting more and more annoyed as his mother talked.


    ¡°He could be Pedro, I wouldn¡¯t care! I¡¯ve seen videos from that punk, talking about religion and all, blaspheming every goddam minute! You really want to stay with them instead of us?¡±


    ¡°Yes. Definitely.¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    He winced under the high pitched voice. Things were not going as smoothly as he had wanted. What did he expect from his parents, honestly? Acceptance? Sympathy? Peaceful and tearful goodbyes?


    No, it was once again the usual show: how did Ashley disappoint his parents once again?


    Chris sighed, getting up. He gestured to Ashley to give him the phone and the younger happily obliged.


    ¡°Hello,¡± started his friend with a monotone voice. ¡°This is Amadeo Palerma talking.¡±


    Sudden silence.


    ¡°I¡¯m just gonna say this and hand the phone back to your son right after so listen carefully,¡± he started, looking annoyed as he tapped his foot on the carpet. ¡°Your son is staying with us because he feels safe here and because he feels more at ease with us than with your frigid ass.¡±


    Ashely muttered a ¡°Language¡±, not really realizing it but Chris raised an eyebrow as he continued:


    ¡°This, here, is his home, you may be his parents but he does not feel at home with you. Hell, he can¡¯t even tell you that he is gay! If you want your son to be happy, be nice to him, as it¡¯ll probably be the last time you¡¯ll hear his voice.¡±


    He then handed back the phone to Ashley who reluctantly grabbed it. What was his mother going to say? He outted him without batting an eye and now he was casually going to plop down into the sofa.


    ¡°Ashley?¡±


    ¡°¡­ Yes, mom?¡±


    ¡°May the Lord have mercy for your soul.¡±


    He opened his mouth but his mom had already hung up. He stared into the void, absentmindedly blinking.


    ¡°Are you okay?¡± asked Chris.


    ¡°I¡­ I think yes. I feel lighter now. Thank you.¡±


    He smiled at his friend, not knowing if this one could see his face, and got up.


    ¡°I¡¯ll leave you some privacy to call your family.¡±


    ¡°4 ¨C Never lose track of time. Try to live as normally as possible.¡±


    ¡°This concludes my last stream here. I hope that all of you stay safe and not alone. If you are nearby, need any help, are alone, I¡¯ll put my phone number on Twitter. Ring me, text me, whatever, I¡¯ll be there. Remember to stay civilized, don¡¯t do things that you would never do normally, and avoid dangers as much as possible. Maybe we¡¯ll see each other when all of this end and if not, I bid you farewell. Keep faith.¡±


    George sighed as he waved goodbye to his webcam. Eliott mimicked him, smiling softly to the device.


    ¡°Good night everyone.¡±


    He shut down the stream, reading the last messages his community sent him. He was surprised by how many people were still here but it had warmed his heart greatly.


    Oh, he was going to miss that so damn much.


    Typing his phone number on his Twitter, he hesitated, looking up at his best friend.


    ¡°Do you want to add yours?¡±


    ¡°Sure.¡±


    His lips twitched upwards and he completed his tweet promptly.


    ¡°Here we go. I hope they will be okay.¡±


    ¡°They shou-¡± started Eliott before being interrupted by a loud bang on the door.


    They both jumped, turning like one man towards it.


    George frowned, getting up but before he could reach the door, it opened wide, revealing a grinning girl with long blue hair. She had round goggles on her head and a tear tattoo under her left eye. Behind her was standing a really tall man with auburn wavy hair and freckles who looked as shocked as George.


    ¡°We¡¯re here for the sleepover my dudes!¡±

 Team

    Ridox grinned widely, launching herself into George¡¯s arms. She laughed a bit, immediately brightening everyone¡¯s mood.


    ¡°Vic¡¯!¡± smiled the streamer, hugging her tightly. ¡°You arrived sooner than we expected!¡±


    Ezra grimaced, looking rather stressed about that.


    ¡°She drives like a madman. She almost killed us twice and ran over a raccoon!¡±


    ¡°He was on the way! He had it coming.¡±


    George took a step back, frowning. He knew his friend by heart and he was anxiously waiting for the next sentence.


    ¡°Tonight we¡¯re eating raccoon for dinner!¡± exclaimed with great enthusiasm the young woman.


    And there went his appetite.


    ¡°It¡¯s out of question, we are not eating something you ran over, Ridox. You want to poison us?¡±


    ¡°What if I do?¡± she snickered.


    ¡°Then please do it,¡± sighed Chris, arriving silently behind her, making her jump.


    ¡°Amadeo! Long-time no see, pal!¡± she immediately exclaimed when she saw him, hugging him tightly. ¡°Where¡¯s Ash?¡±


    ¡°Probably in the toilets, as always. Please don¡¯t feed him raccoon, he¡¯ll die instantly.¡±


    The group went down the stairs, lighting up candles after verifying if the blinds were correctly closed.


    ¡°We¡¯ve seen many buses on our way here. I was worried that you would follow them,¡± said Ezra. ¡°They were packed with people. I don¡¯t know where they are going.¡±


    ¡°Most probably south. People hope to find some warmth and sunlight down there. But I don¡¯t think that rallying Texas is a good idea.¡±


    George sighed, leaning back into his chair.


    ¡°Good thing is that now we have a whole city for us to survive.¡±


    ¡°Um, about that¡­¡± started Ridox with a frown. ¡°We¡¯ve seen strange things on our way here.¡±


    ¡°How strange?¡± asked Eliott, crossing his arms on his chest.


    ¡°A lot strange. It looked like really slender wolves but two times bigger. I¡¯ve only caught a glimpse of those but they were three for sure.¡±


    George and Eliott exchanged a look, one tweet from Signe coming back into their mind.


    Don¡¯t stay alone. It will create monsters you don¡¯t want to see.


    They both frowned, getting a bit more serious.


    ¡°Do you think we should arm ourselves?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, definitely,¡± answered Vic¡¯. ¡°Against those or possible intruders. We never know if some people are still here or not and what their intentions are.¡±


    ¡°We should go to the gun shop as soon as possible.¡±


    ¡°Why not now?¡±


    George glanced at Chris and nodded. The sooner they had weapons the better it would be.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go then.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s past 8, maybe we should wait for the morning? Maybe the shopkeeper is still there?¡± proposed Eliott, clearly not liking the idea of breaking into a shop.


    ¡°Eli¡¯, the shops are closed, the owners left hours ago. And if not, well too bad but we need those weapons.¡±


    His best friend agreed quietly, nervously chewing his bottom lip.


    ¡°Hey, stop that. If you don¡¯t want to get involved in that, stay here. We don¡¯t need to be thirty to break into a shop.¡±


    Eliott shook his head firmly, getting up.


    ¡°If you go, I¡¯ll go with you. You have a stupid talent to put yourself into embarrassing situations, I want to make sure everything goes smoothly.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s cool and all but how do we break in this shop?¡± asked Chris, looking jaded as usual. ¡°Weapons are more protected than any other shop. What if the alarm goes off and attracts the things Ezra and Ridox saw earlier?¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll crash the car in, I don¡¯t have much gas left in it anyway,¡± said Ridox with the usual confidence that filled her voice. ¡°If you are afraid of those things or any other shitty thing that can fall onto us, we¡¯ll go armed. I bet you guys have some bats or things like this in the basement. I have one in my car trunk.¡±


    ¡°Ridox, each time I talk to you, you resemble a bit more to the Russian clich¨¦s that we see on the web,¡± sighed Chris with a defeated tone. ¡°But fine. We¡¯ll do it like that. But if I ever learn about you having robbed a bank before I¡¯ll start to worry about our safety.¡±


    ¡°If you just start, it¡¯s okay then,¡± grinned the young woman mischievously. ¡°Now boys, we ought to get ready.¡±


    George glanced at Eliott and they exchanged a faint smile. If they were efficient, they would be done before midnight. The Twitter girl had said that they needed to live normal lives, they were quite far from that now. But nevermind that now, they could not continue as if nothing had happened.


    ¡°So what do we need?¡± asked Ezra.


    Turned out they didn¡¯t need much. A few bags, dark hoodies, and random weapons were enough to Ridox¡¯s taste. George was not quite convinced that it would be enough but he trusted their friend who seemed to have a pretty shady past. He became even more convinced about that when he realized that her bat was riddled with nails.


    ¡°What the fuck Vic¡¯? Why do you have nails on that?¡±


    ¡°Just in case. Do you know how dangerous it is to be a woman? I need a weapon to intimidate my possible enemies.¡±


    ¡°Now I understand why you¡¯re a pro PvP gamer. And why you¡¯re single. Damn girl, you are scary.¡±


    She laughed, brushing off the comment with her hand. She taped the bat on the ground, catching everyone¡¯s attention. They all looked suspicious as hell, dressed in black with their hoods on. George had even hidden his hair under a black beanie and took off his iconic earrings. With their masks, it would be perfect.


    ¡°Now guys, are you ready? Everything¡¯s in the car?¡±


    ¡°Yes. We¡¯re just waiting for Ashley to finally get out of the toilets and we¡¯re ready to go,¡± calmly answered Chris, inspecting with a distracted eye his weapon, a quite unusual fire-thrower made off a deodorant spray and his kitchen gas-lighter.


    George was only hoping that he would not get burned if his invention was a failure. Eliott had a big kitchen knife taped onto a broomstick, Ezra a table leg that Ridox had customized with nails ¨C it really was a habit ¨C and George had an old hammer.


    Yes, he was definitely dead if they were in trouble. Eliott too. He would never stab anything, he was a-¡­ Nevermind, George took that thought back when he saw his best friend murder a poor fly in cold blood. He was surrounded by dangerous individuals.The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    He looked around and sighed heavily. Was he the only one nervous? Maybe Ashley''s stress ruined his intestinal transit, hence why he was in the toilets.


    ¡°Ash¡¯, get the fuck out those toilets!¡± yelled Chris, growing impatient with each second passing.


    ¡°Chris, what the- Don¡¯t yell at Ashley!¡± yelled back Eliott, slamming his improvised weapon on the ground.


    Ugh, that would leave holes. They would never get their money back¡­


    Chris¡¯s head snapped toward the other and they stared into each other eyes for a second before the arguing started again.


    ¡°What you gonna do uh?? What you gonna do?¡± shouted Chris, glaring at Eliott. ¡°He¡¯s making us wait for too fucking long!¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t yell at Ash¡¯!¡±


    George frowned, looking at his friend, feeling some exasperation rising in his chest. They were more than capable to fight for a stupid detail, like Ashley, and the streamer was not ready to bury them in the backyard yet.


    ¡°Can you not-¡° he started before he saw Ashley''s face appear in the opening of the kitchen door.


    ¡°Don¡¯t yell at Ash¡¯!¡± repeated Eliott with a warning tone.


    ¡°Hey, Ashley!!¡± immediately yelled Chris with a strange look on his face. ¡°You smell like muffins!¡±


    There was a silence where Ashley stood frozen in the doorframe before he smiled slightly, muttering a cute ¡°I like that¡±. George sighed, adjusting his beanie properly. He glanced at Chris, instantly rolling his eyes when he saw his smug face.


    ¡°Okay gays, can we go now?¡±


    ¡°The only one gay here is Ezra,¡± remarked Eliott.


    ¡°Bro, you¡¯re clearly homiesexual. It¡¯s a secret for no one,¡± smirked Ridox, walking towards the door, a huge sports bag on her left shoulder, her bat coming out from it. ¡°The only thing that blocks you from assuming it is your fear.¡±


    George frowned. Eliott was straight, it was a secret for no one. But it was also not a secret that he didn¡¯t like to talk about his sexuality or his best friend''s sexuality. It was things that he preferred to keep silent even if people knew about it already.


    Eliott shot a glare to Ridox, hiding his uneasiness under aggressiveness. Not wanting bloodshed before the actual battle, George stepped in.


    ¡°Ridox, when are you gonna stop fooling around and just date Ashley? He is waiting for you, you know.¡±


    Silence fell on the group, everyone staring at Vic¡¯ expectantly. But she just shrugged and opened the front door, exiting the house as if nothing had been said. They all followed, entering the car that the young woman had left unlocked. George stayed back to lock the front door et verify that none of their windows was opened. Satisfied with the security, he followed the others.


    They were six, it was the maximum capacity of the pick-up truck. Now they just had to avoid dying in the car crash Ridox wanted to put them in. Now that he thought about it¡­


    ¡°How the hell are we gonna get back home if you destroy your car?¡±


    Ridox ran over some dead bushes and, exchanging a look with Chris, followed his directions.


    ¡°We¡¯ll steal another one or improvise. We are six, we are quite safe. Except if all of you guys are pussies.¡±


    Ashley gasped but said nothing, probably wanting to be on Ridox best side. And that side was tiny so he was careful. They drove in silence for a while, anxiety filling up the air as they quickly got closer to the gun shop. Oh God, that was a terrible idea¡­


    Ridox stopped at a safe distance from the shop and turned to look at the others.


    ¡°Get out. Wait on the side until I tell you to move.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s it, I¡¯m sure she¡¯s robbed a place before,¡± sighed Ezra, quickly getting out of the car, followed by the four other men.


    ¡°What are you going to do? If you hurt yourself, we won¡¯t be able to save you!¡± panicked Ashley. ¡°Please don¡¯t hurt yourself.¡±


    Ridox smiled softly, ruffling his hair.


    ¡°I won¡¯t kill myself, I won¡¯t even be in this car. Look, silly boy.¡±


    She took her backpack and took a book out of it, one of those that was as heavy as a brick, and got out of the car. She then got out of the car and leaned in. There was a thud and suddenly the car was speeding towards the shop, getting faster and faster. The sound of the crash made George wince, the streamer immediately putting his arms up in defense. The motor worked for a whole minute before completely shutting off, heavy smoke coming out of the car.


    ¡°See? I¡¯m alive,¡± smiled the young woman with a strange glint in her eyes. ¡°Now it¡¯s time to speed rob that place. Get to work boys.¡±


    As they got closer to the shop, the alarm started blaring, making all of them jump in pure terror. Ashley whined, hiding behind Eliott as he kept an eye on the place.


    ¡°That was not a good idea¡­ We¡¯re gonna end up in prison¡­¡±


    George frowned.


    ¡°What do you think happened to those who were behind the bars?¡±


    ¡°Probably nothing good,¡± answered Chris. ¡°But it¡¯s not our problem. Come.¡±


    They passed by the car and walked into the shop, the sound of broken glass crunching under their shoes making George flinch. He hated that sound. It was awful.


    The shop was completely dark, the showcases closed and, if the shop owner was careful enough, probably locked. But strange enough, everything was still in place and nothing had been taken away or locked into a safe.


    This was definitely too easy. Ridox took out the cameras in a few bat swings and disappeared behind the counter to turn the alarm off. The boys looked at each other, heisting. They didn¡¯t know what they could need.


    ¡°What do we take? I don¡¯t know how to use a gun¡­¡± mumbled Ashley.


    ¡°Me neither but we should all take one, for emergencies and maybe see if they have some bladed weapons, bats, and stuff,¡± answered Eliott, who was already starting to look around.


    George gulped nervously, following him closely. He took out a flashlight and turned it on, looking at all the weapons that were stocked here. He didn¡¯t want something big, he would probably be unable to use it. He needed a handgun and something like a bat or a¡­


    ¡°An ax¡­¡± he muttered, his eyes laying upon the bladed weapons that were exposed here.


    ¡°Are you sure you could use it?¡±


    ¡°Yes. Absolutely. Blood doesn¡¯t scare me, Eliott. And it¡¯s not like I would be killing people randomly. It¡¯s for self-defense.¡±


    ¡°Not being scared of blood and injuring someone is different. You have towantit. My question is: do you think that when the time will come, facing danger, you will be able to hurt the one in front of you?¡±


    George stayed silent for a moment. He honestly didn¡¯t know the answer. For fuck sake, he was usually playing video games not running around and stabbing people. He couldn¡¯t imagine the feeling if he ever was to hurt someone. Nor with an ax nor a gun. He was not a crazy bastard or a psychopath. He was just a fucking student who was hoping to work for NASA.


    Now that his whole future was probably ruined, maybe he would be able to do it? To kill to survive? Ugh. Most definitely not.


    Chris could. Ridox could. And they would survive. Him? He was probably gonna die of some silly bullshit.


    ¡°George?¡±


    He jumped. He hadn¡¯t realized that Eliott was still talking to him.


    ¡°What¡­?¡±


    ¡°You looked deep in thought. I¡¯m sorry if I pushed the matter a bit too far.¡±


    ¡°No, don¡¯t be. You¡¯re right, I¡¯m probably not capable of doing that but¡­ It¡¯s for self-defense, right? I¡¯ll probably be panicked and do it just as a reflex. For the repercussions¡­ I¡¯ll think about it after. But I don¡¯t think I should take an ax.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, keep the perforating ones for Chris and Vic¡¯. You should take a bat or something like that. Hitting people is more like you,¡± softly smiled his best-friend.


    George smiled a bit, walking away from the showcases. However, he did notice that Eliott took a hunting knife that he hid in his back pocket. The streamer frowned, quickening his pace to reach the other side of the shop where Ashley was looking at the handguns.


    ¡°Which one should we take?¡±


    ¡°I have no fucking clue. Just take the one that seems simple enough for you?¡±


    The alarm finally went off, making both of them freeze. Was it because of Ridox or someone else?


    ¡°All clear guys!¡± shouted the Russian, jumping over the counter. ¡°What did you take?¡±


    Chris showed her his bag full of ammo and the two shotguns he had stocked in there.


    ¡°This, Eliott and Ezra are looking at knives, and George and Ash¡­ are hesitating over handguns.¡±


    George rolled his eyes, shooting his friend a jaded look. Was he trying to show off? Impress the Russian to be her right-hand man? That was a low blow.


    But Ridox didn¡¯t seem to find that information funny as she quickly joined them.


    ¡°It¡¯s normal to hesitate when you know nothing about it. Here take those.¡±


    She took two handguns and gave them the confused duo, a reassuring smile on her face.


    ¡°Those are easy to use for beginners. The ammo you¡¯ll need is over there, grab a few boxes, and wait for us at the door. We¡¯ll be quick.¡±


    The two streamers obliged and soon they were out of the gun shop, sighing heavily.


    ¡°I hate this place, it¡¯s official,¡± mumbled Ashley, adjusting his backpack properly.


    ¡°Who would have thought that robbing a weapon shop was that stressful¡­¡± sighed his friend. ¡°I hope that we¡¯ll never have to use those weapons.¡±


    Oh, he really should have stayed quiet.

 The more, the merrier

    As soon as his mouth shut, they both heard a low growl that seemed to be boiling inside the throat of whoever was menacing them in the shadows. It made George shiver violently as if his body was instinctively reacting to it. The growl ended in some struggled noise as if saliva was so abundant that it flooded the sound itself. What the hell could make that noise?


    He took a step back into the shop, rising panic making him struggle to breathe properly. He grabbed Ashley¡¯s wrist, tugging him towards him.


    ¡°Guys!¡± he whispered-yelled, not daring to turn on his flashlight.


    ¡°What.¡±


    Chris flashed the two friends, making them wince as they closed their eyes.


    ¡°Turn off the light Chris!¡± he hissed. ¡°Something¡¯s outside!¡±


    His announcement was met by complete silence, all the flashlights suddenly turned off. He kept his hand on Ashley, trying as best as he could to navigate into the shop without bumping into something or stepping on broken glass.


    ¡°What kind of thing?¡± whispered Eliott, grabbing his best-friend by the arm to bring him closer.


    ¡°Not human, for sure. It was growling like a wild b-¡±


    He never had the time to finish what he wanted to say. The shop¡¯s roof cracked abruptly as if something had jumped on it, and they all froze.


    A beastly scream filled their ears, throaty, high-pitched, not unlike a scream that George had heard dozen of times on Bloodborne. It made the hair on the back of his neck stand up. What could make that awful sound?


    ¡°It¡¯s not what we¡¯ve seen earlier.¡±


    Ridox¡¯s voice was filled with anxiety. It did not reassure the streamer who winced as the beast above them made the roof crack another time. The building was going to collapse on them. Why Signe didn¡¯t tell them what kind of monster they would have to deal with?! This was a fucking nightmare. There was no way they could kill that thing. To the sound of it, it was probably two or three times bigger than them.


    ¡°What do we do??¡± panicked Ezra as bits of the ceiling fell onto them.


    ¡°We get the fuck out of that place before getting buried alive.¡±


    Ridox cocked her shotgun and George heard Chris do the same. They were going to shoot that thing? That was a really bad idea. Like the worst one they ever had, and they had just robbed a shop.


    And just as he thought things couldn¡¯t get worse, the thing laughed. It was not a beastly laugh, something that could be in the theme of the howls. No, it was a human laugh, a deranged one. It sounded like a woman. Ashley¡¯s grip tightened on his hand and they did not hesitate any further. They sprinted towards the door, their heavy breaths and the sound of their steps echoing in their ears, as loud as their hearts hammering in their chests.


    Pure terror washed over them as they reached the door and the ceiling suddenly gave in, collapsing violently right behind them, plunging their environment into a dusty cloud. Thankfully for them, nothing exploded, not that George thought otherwise¡­ no¡­ no. Absolutely not. But that was not a thought that lingered on his mind for more than two seconds. Eliott through the streamer on the ground, his best-friend instinctively protecting him.


    George winced when his chin hit the ground, sending a bolt of pain inside his jaw. He grimaced, slowly rising on his elbows to look around. And it would have been a great idea if the lampposts around them did not break as the building collapsed.


    He managed to grab his flashlight and turn it off, not wanting the creature to find them if it could see them. But his mind was racing. It was first of all processing the fact that there was a threat, right here, probably wanting to tear them apart. It was also processing the fact that this said threat was not human. And this information had some trouble being heard loud and clear.


    ¡°What do we do??¡± whispered-yelled Ezra, on George¡¯s left. ¡°We can¡¯t fight that, can we?¡±


    ¡°No we can¡¯t,¡± answered Ridox. ¡°But I think that this thing is blind¡­¡±


    ¡°How do you know that?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know that Chris, I deduced it,¡± she sighed. ¡°That thing probably did not exist yesterday, right? So it never experienced sunlight, only pure darkness. Its eyes must be pretty useless right?¡±


    George sighed. This was a good theory but she was omitting the fact that some creatures had a sort of night vision. Like cats.


    ¡°Let¡¯s not assume it¡¯s blind,¡± he answered, pushing Eliott off him. ¡°And just get home.¡±


    He slowly rose up, his shaky knees barely supporting his body. Instinctively, he looked around, not really expecting to see anything but his eyes met the worst eldritch nightmare he could ever imagine. And he was a big fan of the Lovecraftian universe, he knew some terrible things.


    The creature seemed to glow slightly in the dark, like those plastic phosphorescent stars you could stick on your walls. It emitted a pale greenish light that spread unevenly on its body, probably following the veins under the skin. George could not see which color was its skin, everything looked grey with that light. This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source.


    It was a beast. It definitely looked like some sort of animal, a disgusting mix between a wolf and a deer, with six long slender legs that looked like there was no flesh on it, some filthy hairs just hanging from it like nightmarish dreadlocks. Six legs were a thing but the paws were another thing. And George had not dared to look at the rest yet.


    The beast had three long cat-like claws at the end of each leg, the only difference with a cat was that it had only claws and that those said claws were as long as his arms. It would rip him apart in an instant. The body was skeletal, with the dim light, George could grasp bits of really disgusting fur. It seemed sticky, but nothing natural, like some liquid, had merged with it to form gross tuffs. The creature had a long bone like tail that was almost not perceptible, only visible when it moved.


    And the head. It was probably what frightened George the most. It was not really a head but a human torso attached by what looked like tenders to the rest of the beast. It was headless even though the streamer felt that it was looking right at them. And a second later, the creature indeed did.


    Piercing the darkness, two glowing eyes appeared staring down at them. It was the signal. Without saying anything they all rushed to the exit of the parking, followed by heavy footsteps. Too late for the stealth, thought George, dashing in the empty street. If they didn¡¯t run, they would die instantly. And that would be a shame. They instinctively divided into small groups, running in the streets that were still enlightened by the lampposts. Eliott, obviously, was with him. They could not run to their house, it was too far and if the creature followed them here, they would be, once again, super dead.


    No. They had to find a hiding spot, somewhere that a big monster like that could never reach.


    George glanced over his shoulder and froze. The beast was not behind them. It was following Ashley and Ridox.


    ¡°Fuck! What do we do??¡±


    ¡°Maybe if we shoot it¡­?¡±


    Eliott frowned, looking right into his eyes.


    ¡°You are normally a pussy and now you want to shoot a big fucking monster? Have you hit your head?¡±


    George rolled his eyes, taking out his handgun. He reloaded it, not really knowing how to do it, and cocked it.


    ¡°Their lives are at stake. I can¡¯t be a pussy all my life.¡±


    Eliott said nothing but he cocked his gun, stepping closer to him.


    ¡°Do you know how to aim?¡±


    ¡°No, but I¡¯ll find out.¡±


    ¡°Beware of the recoil. Even if it¡¯s gonna be lighter on your weapon, think about it.¡±


    ¡°How could I miss such a big thing?¡±


    He missed. Two times. And if he was honest with himself, he was probably too far from the said thing to even scratch it. Eliott, who had also taken a shotgun, shot the beast in the leg then in the hindquarters. The beast let out a painful screech that made them both flinch. The sound was horrible, so high-pitched that it seemed like it could make your head explode.


    The monster turned his glare onto them and howled again. Now George could see his mouth. And he instantly regretted that.


    The beast had a head. But not in the place the streamer expected it. The human torso was not attached in the right way. The head was hanging downward, its terrifying eyes rolling in their sockets as if they had a life of themselves.


    Disgusting. Its mouth was dripping with saliva, the liquid rolling down in the eyes before dripping into the translucent hair it had. That was gross. Terrifying but mostly gross.


    ¡°Now it¡¯s time to run.¡±


    They ran away as soon as they saw the beast prepare to jump, running as fast as possible. But outrunning a beast this size was a lost cause. Even more, now that it was injured. It was literally dripping with anger, the beast drooling pools of saliva mixed with blood.


    They were going to die. It was ineffable at this point. Destiny was onto their ass and it would be damned if it did not eat it. Eliott yanked George aside and they plunged into a hedge, the pointy twigs scratching their clothes and face as they tried to go through it.


    George heard the ground vibrate under the beast¡¯s steps and he immediately stopped his friend, putting his clothed hand on his mouth to make him silent. The beast continued to chase what it thought was them, leaving the duo silent in the bushes.


    Then they heard it. The most annoying and rubbish car horn he had ever heard followed by the screeching of the tires on the road, music blasting through the windows. George frowned. Were they trying to attract the beast?


    Peeking out of his hiding spot, he saw the headlights of the van before seeing who was inside. The beast attacked quickly, not waiting any longer to identify its next meal. What for, it was going to end in its stomach nonetheless. At least that¡¯s what George thought before he heard the first gunshots resonate.


    The beast screamed in pain as the bullets hit it, blood slowly starting to pour on the ground as each shot found their target. Music still blasting, the car stopped and the doors opened, letting two people get out of the cockpit, gun in hands. The driver, who had similarly the same driving style as Ridox, was a young woman with bright green hair cut in a mullet wearing a long flower-patterned skirt, a blue and yellow puffy jacket, long yellow socks in combat boots, and a black beanie. That was surely the most colorful combat outfit George had ever seen. She was holding a shotgun and had another one suspended in her back like she was carrying nothing more than a harmless bag.


    Her companion, a young man with short dark hair, looked like a teacher, wearing a tartan sweater under a long dark jacket with straight back pants. He had a well-groomed mustache that curled up at the extremities and was holding, like his friend, a shotgun.


    Strangely, George felt safe watching this unusual duo walking toward the beast who was now backing up. But it did not go any farther, Chris and Ezra showing up behind it, shooting some more bullets that plunged deeply in its flesh.


    50 cents still blasting through the van speakers, they finished the job with some more bullets, gaining confidence as the monster fell to the ground.


    ¡°Die motherfucker!¡± roared the young woman with the mullet. ¡°That¡¯ll teach you to not kill my friends!¡±


    Hatred was dripping from her voice, giving her a snake-like tone. She kicked the carcass, tainting her skirt with the blood but seemed not to care, turning around to face the group that was slowly forming behind her. George gestured to Eliott to follow him and they got out from the hedge, jogging to join their friends.


    Chris and Ezra seemed to be fine, both checking if their weapons were still working properly. Ridox and Ashley had joined them, looking a bit distressed but nothing more. Maybe some scratches here and there but nothing serious.


    ¡°Well, if this isn¡¯t a delightful sight!¡± exclaimed their savior. She grinned wildly, all traces of hatred vanished. ¡°Aren¡¯t you a group of lucky dudes? Pleasure to meet ya, I¡¯m Solaire, and this is my friend Lewis.¡±


    Solaire extended her hand, her bright smile never leaving her lips.


    ¡°How about we team up, uh?¡±

 Together

    Solaire was a really strange individual. The feeling of safety George had felt when he first saw her coming had now vanished for good, turning into uncertainty and utter confusion. She was far from the stable hero he desperately needed now that his world was turned inside out by the appearance of monsters.


    ¡°We were following this strange Twitter account of that artist who talked about her friends leaving for the underworld ¨C this Signe - and how she felt that she needed to stay behind and when she tweeted those instructions, it seemed normal for us to trust her,¡± said Solaire, leaning on her van, her fingers gently rubbing her shotgun like it was some kind of pet.


    Ugh, that was super strange to look at. George looked away, not wanting to gaze upon that weird interaction. Even her explanation was weird. Why did she have to say that? She could have just said that they followed Signe¡¯s advice, end of the line.


    He was having mixed feelings about her but pushed all of that aside to listen correctly to whatever she was talking about.


    ¡°We are a small group of four, but I¡¯m sure that some people also stayed behind. If we can reach them, we could settle all together.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s actually a good idea. We should divide into groups to try and find them,¡± approved George. ¡°If we manage to find everybody, we could privatize a district or something and we would have a small community. With the lack of lights, being together is our best option.¡±


    ¡°Then that¡¯s decided,¡¯ declared Ridox. ¡°Let¡¯s find everybody.¡±


    George stayed silent for a moment, thinking about how everything could be arranged and organized.


    ¡°Two of us should look for a place to settle in. Preferably homes with basements, if possible. Ashley, you know this city like the back of your hand, can you do that?¡±


    His friend gave him a small smile, nodding firmly. Ridox quickly joined him and they left, carjacking the closest car to circulate through the city easily.


    ¡°Now that this is in good hands, let¡¯s divide and go,¡± continued George, feeling confident enough to take the lead.


    Maybe it was because he didn¡¯t trust Solaire¡¯s ability to make decisions that made him that bold and organized. He wasn¡¯t sure but he preferred to be in the lead if she was around. They soon went their own way, forming three duos, and left, the van roaring in the distance.


    Showoff.


    <hr>


    The ¡®seeking the survivors¡¯ game they started didn¡¯t last for more than four hours. They were fewer people than what George had expected, mostly young adults and former students like them who had followed Signe¡¯s advice or their friends/roommates'' advice.


    When they all gathered, they were no more than thirty, he and his friends included, some of them with familiar names or faces. George, who had assumed the role of a potential leader, stood in front of them with a small smile. People probably knew him because of his streaming and such so it was better if he did the talking.


    ¡°Hum¡­ Welcome! I know that it might be a bit weird and awkward for you to be there, it¡¯s awkward for me but right now, sticking together seems to be the best idea we can have. Of course, it doesn¡¯t mean that this is some kind of military camp or something similar. It¡¯s just us living near each other in case we need anything, even just some company. I think that we should think of this place as a community.¡±


    He smiled, trying to sound as confident as possible. It was something to talk in front of a camera but it was definitely something else to stand directly in front of people. He was surprised that he did not faint yet, honestly.


    ¡°I have, of course, some ideas to propose to make our lives easier, as I talked with some of you, but for now, I think we should all choose a place and move our things in it. If you want to live on your own, it¡¯s fine, don¡¯t worry we won¡¯t force you to share a place with someone you don¡¯t know.¡±


    He made a little hand gesture, inciting them to spread and explore the district that Ashley and Ridox had found for them. It was a bit outside of the town but it was thankfully big enough to fit everyone. If people really wanted to live on their own, they could.


    He sighed, joining his friends.


    ¡°What do we do? How do we settle down?¡±


    ¡°I think we should spread a bit, not live all in the same place,¡± said Chris, glancing at Ezra. ¡°Ezra¡¯s not comfortable enough to live with five other people.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s okay, who wants to be with who?¡±


    It was quickly settled. Ezra and Ridox, Chris and Ashley, and, of course, Eliott and George. Ashley had already chosen the place he wanted to live in when he had discovered the neighborhood and the others did not settle really far. The street was quite long but they had chosen the last houses of the road, closing the district with that.Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.


    Solaire and Lewis had settled a bit further down, their flashy van literally shining under the lamppost it was parked under. You could not miss them even if you wanted to.


    It took one big trip to bring back all of their belongings that they divided equally between the six of them. Food was stocked into the pantry and mattresses moved into the basement with heaters and blankets. All they had to do now was to make this basement look like a home. And they spent quite some time in it, moving up furniture that they did not like, fixing sheets on the walls, and moving other furniture like the couch downstairs.


    In the end, it looked cozy enough for them to simply plop down into the couch and sigh.


    ¡°You have a way with words¡­¡± sighed Eliott with a faint smile. ¡°It always amazes me.¡±


    George smiled softly, looking at his best friend. Eliott was usually greedy with compliments so it warmed his heart greatly to hear that. He needed that.


    ¡°Speaking of that, we should probably go and see if everyone is settled.¡±


    They both got up and out, closing the door behind them with a feeling of accomplishment. Some of the newcomers were waiting in the middle of the street, awkwardly standing up, fidgeting with their clothes or hair, chewing on their bottom lips. George smiled again, gesturing them to come inside his house.


    With no more couch to sit on, they all sat on the ground, the house still warm enough to not make it uncomfortable. Eliott distributed some water glasses and small snacks as George learned everyone¡¯s name. It was hard to remember every one of them but he managed to catch some and some others he already knew.


    Like Eliott¡¯s crush since freshman year, Sally, a former medical senior with big round glasses on a cute round face. Difficult to forget someone you¡¯re constantly reminded of. She was definitely one of the most talkative ones, already familiar with the two boys.


    ¡°I¡¯m so glad to see that you¡¯re okay!¡± she said for the twelfth time already. ¡°When Ashley mentioned that you fought against a monster, I was worried that you¡¯d be hurt!¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re fine, Sal¡¯,¡± smiled George before looking at the two brothers that were sitting not far from him.


    Graham and Mark were quite silent, both of them looking quite tired and stressed out. It was understandable, the last few days had been rough for everyone, even more for the most sensible ones.


    ¡°Are you okay?¡± asked George, softly smiling to them.


    ¡°We are now. I think that it¡¯ll be better now,¡± answered Graham, his deep voice resonating pleasantly in the room. ¡°Together, it should be safer, right?¡±


    ¡°Yeah definitely. We¡¯ll take care of each other.¡±


    ¡°Do you have any ideas on how we should be organized?¡±


    ¡°Actually, yes, but I¡¯ll explain that when everyone will be here. If you want to get back and rest, you can, it¡¯ll probably take an hour for the rest of the group to join us.¡±


    ¡°It seems that we will not be waiting too long,¡± commented Flora who was standing next to the window, looking outside. ¡°They are coming.¡±


    George smiled, proud of himself to have remembered her name. The redheaded young woman had a quite refreshing personality, lively, and smug. She sat down, her back leaning against the window.


    As she had announced, the rest of the group entered the living room, chatting quietly as they all took a sit in front of George, as if he was the leader of this. It was a pleasant feeling but it was stressful at the same time. He liked to talk yes but was not familiar with taking the lead. Eliott seemed to feel that, gently patting his back.


    ¡°I hope that you are all settled correctly, this place will be our home from now on and I don¡¯t want any of you to be uncomfortable or lonely. Of course, if you want to move in with someone later, you can. As I said before, this is not a camp or something like that. Just us living in the same neighborhood,¡± started George, picking carefully his words to sound as confident and reassuring as possible. ¡°But you know, as well as me, that this situation is far from just a normal one. We¡¯ve all seen the tweets, we all know what to do and what to avoid. But apart from that, I think we should decide on some rules to apply? If you want, of course.¡±


    There was a general agreement, a lot of them nodding. It felt good, thought George with a slight smile. If they were in harmony, nothing bad could happen to them, right?


    ¡°I have thought about some but if you have ideas, don¡¯t hesitate,¡± he continued, more confident than ever. ¡°I was thinking first of all about organizing once or twice a week a lunch together like we would do a barbecue party. Like that we could verify that everyone is doing fine, forge some bonds, and discuss collectively the problems we might have, to find a solution. For the food resources, as we are plenty, I think we should all have our own and not a collective one. Or maybe we could establish small groups who could share their food, like two or three houses?¡±


    As the group stayed silent, George found himself at a loss of words, looking down at his hands. He didn¡¯t know if this was a good idea or not if people were going to hate him¡­ What if he said something dumb again?


    Chris patted his shoulder, taking the lead.


    ¡°Even if we will all have our food, we should build a big food stock. Dedicate a house that is empty to stock food in it. We will have to ration food to survive and I¡¯m sure we all understand that. So even though we will all have food in our homes, someone will have to keep an eye on it and distribute it evenly maybe once a week or something. That¡¯s how we¡¯re going to survive. Who could manage the food stock?¡±


    Some hands rose up and George looked at them, raising an eyebrow. Sally had her hand up, it was quite obvious that she loved to help, and two boys, Sam and Daniel maybe, who looked like they were the coolest dudes in the town. Daniel had rectangular glasses and a soft smile and Sam had dark brown hair and a green face mask that strangely looked like a monster in a video game that George knew.


    ¡°We can do it,¡± simply declared Sam. ¡°With the three of us, we can do it easily and make it run smooth.¡±


    ¡°Oh definitely!¡± cheered Daniel with a soft smile. ¡°You can count on us. We¡¯re just a big family now, aren¡¯t we?¡±


    Sally smiled, clearly liking the two boys that had decided to work with her. Chris simply nodded but let George talk.


    ¡°That¡¯s perfect. All we will have to do for now is to collect food, every kind of food, and set up the food stock. We are together now, everything will be fine.¡±


    Sure? Why would everything go to hell, right?