Brian slipped the ID card into his pocket and nodded, signaling that he understood. After a moment of thought, he looked up and asked, "Hey, sis, do you have any idea when they're gonna arrange the convoy to Atlanta?"
"Hmm, let me think..." Hearing Brian's question, Claudia lowered her head and pondered for a moment before speaking. "The data collection is expected to wrap up by the end of September. After that, they'll do the lottery and start moving people into the quarantine zones. Only then will they start organizing convoys to other zones..."
"Hey, are you guys done yet?!" Before she could finish, a bald man waiting in line behind Brian interrupted, sounding pretty impatient.
Brian glanced at his watch and realized they'd been standing there for almost ten minutes, twice as long as everyone else. He was about to turn around and apologize to the guy, but Claudia, who'd been cut off mid-sentence, wasn't having it. She slammed her hand on the desk and shouted at the bald man, "If you don't wanna wait, then get lost and join another line!"
Her outburst instantly silenced the previously noisy hall. Everyone's eyes turned to Claudia behind the counter, then to the bald man she was glaring at, wondering what had just happened.
"You!" The sudden shout made the bald man shudder. He wanted to snap back, but he knew better than to mess with someone in the military. He could feel everyone's eyes on him, and being yelled at by a woman without being able to fight back made him feel pretty humiliated. His face turned red as he glared at Claudia.
"Hmph!" The bald man stood there for about ten seconds, still too scared to confront her. Unable to bear the stares from the crowd, he let out a cold snort, turned around, and stormed toward the exit.
"Pfft!" As soon as he left, the crowd burst into a chorus of boos and snickers. The hall was filled with whispers and laughter, which only made the bald man quicken his pace and practically run out the door.
Brian watched the bald man leave, furrowing his brow. He thought Claudia's reaction was a bit over the top. It wasn't a big deal; all he needed to do was apologize. But he didn't want to argue with her over this, especially since she was technically sticking up for him.
As the bald man disappeared, everyone in the hall quickly forgot about the incident and went back to their business.
"Alright, let's get back to it," Claudia said, turning her attention back to Brian. "We're prioritizing convoys to nearby quarantine zones to ease the burden on Dallas. Atlanta's one of the farthest zones from here. Based on my estimate, it'll probably be the last one they organize, and it might not happen until early November at the earliest."
"Early November..." Brian was a bit taken aback. That was later than he'd anticipated, and that was assuming everything went smoothly. It seemed that even the military's efficiency was slipping as conditions outside got worse.
"Thanks," Brian said, grateful for the information. He then took Sarah's hand and left the office. Although the timeline was a bit delayed, it gave them plenty of time to prepare.
Back at the RV, Brian starts planning for the next month.
After returning to the RV from the office, Brian began to outline their plans for the next month.
1. Exercise
No matter if it was for the trip to the Atlanta quarantine zone or for surviving in the apocalypse in general, being physically fit was crucial. Given their young age, they couldn't expect to gain strength quickly, but if they couldn't fight, they at least needed to be able to run. So, morning jogs would be a daily necessity from now on.
Even though exercising would increase their food intake, they'd have to hand over their food supplies eventually. It was better to use it now to fuel their bodies while they were still growing.
2. Food
During the transport to Atlanta, food was supposed to be distributed by the military. Technically, there shouldn't be any shortages. But you never know. The flyers said residents were allowed to bring some personal items to other quarantine zones. So, it was a good idea to pack some food just in case.
With limited space in their backpacks, they needed to bring high-calorie, compact, and easy-to-carry food items, like chocolate, beef jerky, and canned goods. Although chocolate wouldn't last long in the heat, they had a fridge in the RV, and by the time they left, the temperature would drop significantly, so it wouldn't be an issue.
3. Medicine
In the apocalypse, medicine was one of the most valuable things. If you got hurt or sick and didn't have the right medicine, your chances of survival would drop a lot. This was Brian's biggest concern. Ever since the cordyceps outbreak, all the pharmacies had been taken over by soldiers. It was clear the military understood how important medicine was. Even during the riots, no one could touch the drugs in the pharmacies.
But luckily, they had managed to get some medicine and first-aid kits from the factory and the Austin before coming to Dallas. Hopefully, that would be enough to get by.
4. Clothing
As the temperature kept dropping, they needed to wear more clothes. Catching a cold or fever wouldn't be good news at all. This was the easiest part of Brian's preparations. Most people didn't bother with kids' clothes, so they had plenty to choose from.
They wouldn't pack clothes in their backpacks. They'd just wear a few warm layers before leaving. Of course, they couldn't wear too much, or it would restrict their movement in case of an emergency.
5. Gun Proficiency
Understanding and using guns was the most important thing for Brian. Except for stealth kills, they were no match for the infected in close combat. Their only way to deal with the infected was with guns.
But neither Brian nor Sarah had much experience with guns. They couldn't hit targets accurately from a distance unless the infected were right on top of them. That was why they rarely used guns during their escape. Not only did they miss a lot, but the noise also attracted more infected. The only time they used an assault rifle was in the factory because the fast rate of fire meant even wild shots could hit something.
Fortunately, Osborne was a former soldier. During their stay in Dallas, besides daily exercise, they'd spend most of their time learning about guns from him.
"Phew!" After writing all of this down, Brian let out a long breath and rubbed his sore hand. This was all he could think of for now. If he'd missed anything, he'd add it later.
"Sarah, take a look and see if there's anything else we need to add," Brian said, handing the notebook to Sarah, who had been daydreaming by the window.
"Ah!" Sarah snapped out of her daze, took the notebook, and glanced at the tiny, cramped writing. Her head started to hurt just looking at it, so she quickly put the notebook down.
"I don't get any of this. There's nothing to add. You decide," she said nonchalantly.
"That's pretty lazy of you," Brian grumbled, giving her a disapproving look. But Sarah didn't seem to care. She shook her head, leaned back in her seat, and started humming a tune, clearly not taking Brian seriously.
It wasn't until noon that Osborne and Kelly returned to the RV, their hands and feet cold from being outside in the chilly morning air.
Brian showed Osborne what he'd written, hoping he could teach them about guns. Osborne looked over the notebook and nodded with a smile, agreeing to help. But he had one request: he wanted Brian to include his daughter Kelly in the morning jogs. He didn't want her to be idle all day. After the exercise, he'd teach them about guns together.
Brian didn't mind at all. It was no big deal to bring one more person along, so he agreed without hesitation.
"I don't wanna! I want to sleep in!" Kelly, however, was not happy. She shouted and threw a tantrum, hoping her dad would change his mind.
But Osborne wasn't the type to give in easily. He glared at his daughter and scolded her, "All you ever do is sleep. You're the laziest one here. Are you a pig or something?"
Realizing she couldn't change her dad's mind, Kelly gave Brian an angry look, as if blaming him for the whole thing.
Brian just shrugged, showing he was equally helpless. With everything settled, all he had left to do was wait for the notice to head to the Atlanta quarantine zone.