"What Did You Say?"
When Brian mentioned the management office, everyone's heads turned toward him. Even Antoine, who had been watching from the sidelines, looked genuinely surprised. They'd all heard the announcement from the police car, so they knew that visiting the management office meant something about volunteering to go to another quarantine zone.
"Are you thinking of leaving after all?" Osborne raised an eyebrow, looking at Brian. He knew Brian had always wanted to get out of here.
If it weren't for the weird situation outside and the establishment of the quarantine zones, Brian probably would have found a way to leave already. But Osborne didn't want him to give up the chance to get into the Dallas quarantine zone and risk going somewhere else.
"I just went to ask some questions. I haven't decided yet. And if we don't get into the Dallas quarantine zone, we'll still be forced to go to another one. At least if we volunteer, we have some control over it," Brian shook his head, looking a bit conflicted.
Ever since the quarantine zone law was passed, if you didn't leave through official channels, you couldn't get into any other quarantine zones. That's why he went to the management office after hearing the announcement.
Osborne sighed softly, looking at Brian's conflicted expression. Even though the answer wasn't certain, he could already guess what Brian was thinking from the determination in his eyes.
"So... do you have a place in mind?"
"Yeah, Atlanta," Brian glanced at Antoine beside him, mentioning the place he had inquired about, but he didn't say anything more.
"Attention, curfew will start in 1 hour. Information registration will continue tomorrow at 6 a.m. Please return to your residence before 8 p.m. Anyone found wandering outside without permission will be arrested and prosecuted."
As the curfew announcement came over the loudspeaker, everyone still in line at the registration office started to leave. Before the cordyceps outbreak, Dallas had a population of nearly 7 million. With refugees from the southern region, even with some people leaving or dying, the population had long exceeded 10 million. At the pace they were registering people, it would take more than just a day or two to get through everyone.
Dallas was one of the most populous cities in the United States after the Cordyceps outbreak. Considering that the entire U.S. population used to be over 300 million, 10 million was just a fraction of that. It was clear how devastating the cordyceps disaster had been and how many people had been turned into infected.
That's why Dallas needed to quarantine other zones. Besides the fact that the Dallas Quarantine Zone couldn't support so many people and provide enough food, other zones also need more people for production and defense.
Brian leaned against the RV, feeling the fires around him starting to light up. With the temperature dropping, night came faster than usual. It was just after 8 p.m., and the surroundings had already become very dark. He had been sitting there for almost the whole day, thinking about the information he got from the management office in the morning.
The staff member had only mentioned that the areas around Atlanta were heavily infected, but Brian could guess that the city itself probably wasn't in great shape either. It must have gone through some kind of cleansing; otherwise, the "new government" wouldn't have ordered other surplus quarantine zones to send reinforcements.
It was dangerous there. That's why he was hesitating whether to risk going to Atlanta or wait for the lottery results to see if he'd be sent to the Dallas quarantine zone or some other safer place.
Brian rubbed his head, feeling confused and exhausted. He looked around and saw that Osborne and Kelly had already gone to sleep, planning to head to the registration office early the next morning. It was just him and Sarah outside, braving the cold night wind.
Feeling the chill of the wind on his face, he closed his eyes and thought for a moment to clear his head. After weighing the pros and cons, he finally decided to go to the Atlanta quarantine zone.
"Sarah, wake up!" Now that he had made up his mind, Brian walked over to where Sarah was dozing on the bench, sat down next to her, and gently shook her shoulder to wake her up.
"What's up?" Sarah, who had been half-asleep, woke up with a start when she heard her name and felt someone touching her shoulder. She looked up and saw Brian, still a bit groggy.
Seeing Sarah's cheeks, which had turned rosy from the cold wind, Brian pulled up her hood and said, "I need to talk to you about something."
"Sure, go ahead." Sarah slapped her cheeks a few times to wake herself up a bit more, sensing that whatever Brian had to say was important.
Brian looked around. Most people who were still outside were huddled around the fire, keeping warm. No one was nearby, so he told Sarah what he had learned about Atlanta from the management office.
"Why didn't you tell everyone earlier?" Sarah frowned, curious.
Brian shook his head and chuckled bitterly. "First, I hadn't decided yet if I was going to Atlanta. It would have just caused unnecessary trouble. And with so many people around during the day, someone might have overheard and caused a commotion. Second, Antoine was there. I didn't want him to know about this."
"So... have you made up your mind now?" Sarah stared at Brian, not caring about what he had just said. She already had an idea, but she wanted to hear him say it.
Brian nodded firmly. "I've decided. I'm going to the Atlanta quarantine zone."
"Okay, let's go to the management office and apply tomorrow," Sarah said, her eyes flickering with a hint of worry, but she didn't seem too surprised. She just nodded, showing that she understood.
Brian looked at the girl who had been with him through thick and thin. He knew that his decision carried a lot of risks. He should have let Sarah stay here.
But he wasn't some super-brave or super-strong person. He had his selfish reasons. In this apocalyptic world, having trustworthy companions was the key to survival. He could trust only the girl in front of him, and he didn't want to leave alone.
"Sarah..." Brian's heart was torn, but after a moment, he said slowly, "Actually, you don't have to take the risk with me. If you pretend to be Osborne's daughter, you could... "
"No way." Before Brian could finish, Sarah covered his mouth with her hand, cutting him off. She shook her head and looked at him firmly. "Wherever you go, I go."
Looking into Sarah's clear eyes and hearing the determination in her voice, Brian's mouth opened and closed, but no words came out. It felt like a lightning bolt had struck his heart, leaving him breathless. He quickly turned his head away, unable to look at her anymore. He didn't know what was happening to him or why he felt so strange.
After a while, he finally calmed down and looked back at her. Strangely, the feeling was gone, as if it had been just a hallucination.
"Cough, cough..." Brian noticed Sarah looking at him with a puzzled expression. He knew she must have noticed his weird behavior. He coughed to ease the awkwardness.
"What's wrong? Why are you looking at me like that?" Sarah asked, concerned.
"Nothing, I'm just tired, I guess. Anything else? If not, let's get some sleep," Brian replied, not knowing how to explain the strange feeling he had just experienced.
"Oh, okay. As long as you're fine. So, should we tell Osborne and Kelly about Atlanta?" Sarah asked, relieved that Brian seemed okay, and glanced at the RV.
"Hmm..." Brian thought for a moment, then shook his head. "No, let's not tell them. They'll just worry. We've decided to leave, so it's better to keep it to ourselves."
He looked up at the sky and checked his watch. "It's getting late. Let's get some rest."
Brian had already started planning in his head. Since they had decided to head to the Atlanta quarantine zone, they needed to be prepared. They couldn't make themselves stronger or tougher in a short time, but they could at least run faster... at least faster than everyone else!