One day later. Texas. Somewhere near Alicia's community.
The cool wind blew slowly, and the only thing that could be perceived in the city of Texas was the smell of smoke and decay, as if it were a war zone.
It could be said that there was no trace of life left in this great city, but Jason would have disagreed with that statement.
Crack!
A car window was violently shattered, and the countless fragments fell to the ground like tiny diamonds.
Two figures walked one behind the other through the streets of this city, followed by a shaggy dog under the scorching sun. They were Jason and Alicia, along with the dog they had decided to name Goofy.
"Unexpectedly, Texas looks just like Atlanta."
In the middle of the walk, Jason came to a slow stop, turned his head, and observed some places that had likely once been isolation camps, now completely destroyed.
Alicia's expression was also troubled. She felt uneasy remembering she had seen similar sights in many places that had once been safe.
Collapsed and cracked tall buildings, corpses everywhere, weapons, armored vehicles, and burned-out homes. Dark places surrounded by wandering walkers, with no sign of human life for a long time. That was all they encountered wherever they went.
All these signs made it clear what had happened in this part of Texas. It didn't take much thought to understand. Operation Cobalt had been carried out here, but there had been no winners—not the living, not the infected, not even the undead. In the end, everyone had fallen. Even if someone had managed to survive, they had surely fled this hell long ago.
And without a safe haven, no one would be willing to come into the city—especially not trusting the military. After all, they were the ones who had destroyed the town. That was what worried Jason the most. Continuing to present himself as military was no longer a good idea… was it ever, really?
After they escaped the red zone, where hordes of walkers were abundant, they had taken a motorcycle they had kindly "borrowed" from a well-meaning man and fled down a remote road, while Alicia carried the dog.
Along the way, they avoided the major cities as much as possible and ran into a few scattered people.
Everything they had seen in that short period was far more shocking than what they had witnessed in recent months.
Originally, Jason wanted to take the fastest route to Alicia's refuge, but after some discussion, they chose a safer path.
Throughout the trip, the shaggy dog sat in the back of the motorcycle, secured with a rope to keep him from falling off.
During the ride, Jason noticed that the Vultures were a much larger community than he had imagined. Apparently, they had looted multiple parts of the city—and not just stores. They attacked shelters where people were simply trying to survive.
Although Jason believed he had taken out one of the Vultures' leaders, it seemed he wasn't the only one. That made him wonder where this group really came from and what their actual purpose was.
It was clear they didn't operate like the The Saviors—at least not from the perspective they had seen. The group known as the Vultures was ruthless, full of killers, and seemed to follow a unique form of operation.
Of course, Jason had learned all of this based on his own observations since the attack he had suffered.
Pulling himself from his thoughts, Jason sighed. "I hope we reach your community soon. I need to contact my people and, hopefully, finish what started in this place."
"Do you really think starting a war is necessary? One where people will die?"
Alicia had come to know Jason quite well during the time they'd spent together. She understood why he fought—why he kept going. Becoming Jason's friend wasn't difficult, and understanding his motivations wasn't either.
In a short time, they had developed a mutual understanding. They fought for the same things and knew how fragile life had become.
"Let's get to your community first. I'll think about it after that," Jason said, stopping to get his bearings.
Clearing his head, Jason walked back to find a clear path, pulled the motorcycle out from the corner where it was hidden, motioned for Alicia to hop on, secured the dog, and started the engine.
The motorcycle showed clear signs of improvised repairs and let out a nasty, piercing roar that echoed loudly through the walker-filled city.
Fully aware of the attention it would draw, Jason knew he had no choice. The motorcycle had been beaten by the times they lived in. It was falling apart—but still good enough to get them to the refuge.
"Come on, miss. Don't give out on us now. The furry one and the two of us are counting on you."
Alicia smiled at his words. Even though Jason often came off as cold and serious, sometimes he proved to be the opposite.
"If you focus on driving carefully, we'll be just fine."
As they drove through the streets, Jason turned and took the intersection to the right.
Upon entering that road, the sun hung high above them, and the blinding light forced him to squint.
Jason turned his head slightly to avoid the direct sun, but as he sped forward, his pupils suddenly contracted and he slammed the brakes.
The motorcycle came to a sudden halt, but Jason couldn't fight the momentum. The bike flipped in an instant, Jason clutched Alicia tightly, and they both rolled to the side.
The motorcycle tumbled across the ground, sparked into flames as it dragged, and finally crashed into a car. With a loud bang, the already fragile motorcycle shattered into pieces.
"Ah, damn it…"
Not far from the wrecked bike, Jason lay a little apart from Alicia. He felt pain in his chest and back, and his hands were bleeding from the scrape against the ground. He couldn't help but show an expression of pain.
"Jason, are you alright?"
Thanks to Jason's protection, Alicia had only suffered a few scrapes. As for the dog, it had bolted after spotting some walkers in the distance.
Even so, the situation was far from ideal. Alicia forced herself to her feet, helped Jason up, drew her pistol, and asked, "What the hell just happened?!"
"We need to move…"
With Alicia's help, Jason got up, though he felt pain in his arm and weakness in his right leg.
"Damn it! Someone set up steel cables on that street. If they're still nearby, we're in trouble."
Hearing that, Alicia looked back down the street they had come from. They hadn't noticed the wires earlier because of the blinding sun.
Now that she saw them, two streetlamps on either side of the road were connected by a shiny silver steel wire.
Alicia froze at the thought of the speed they'd been going. If they had hit that wire… their heads would've been sliced clean off.
"Don't stand there thinking. Get into that building—now!"
Seeing that Alicia was in shock, Jason snapped her out of it. They both ran into a nearby clothing store.
Just as they hid inside, several figures emerged from the building next door. They were holding different kinds of pistols and looked toward the store with excitement.
They all wore clean clothes without a speck of dust. It didn't look like they were living in the middle of an apocalypse.
"Nice, we finally got ourselves a catch!"
One of the men, a stocky white guy with a curved nose, rubbed his hands together and said, "Didn't expect this today. A good hunt—finally a proper meal!"
"What are you so happy about? We won't catch anyone if you keep talking."
Another man, older and also white, kicked him hard and gave him a warning. Then he looked toward the store, licked his chapped lips, and added:
"Good. Not those same damn Black guys. I'm sick of those sons of bitches."
Then he shouted to the others, "Get them!"
"Let's go!"
They had all been waiting for that order and rushed toward the store eagerly. They knew the people inside were armed, so they took a side route to surround the place.
But just as one of them was about to go in, a bullet tore through the door.
Bang!
The bullet pierced the man's chest, sending him flying back in front of the stunned group.
The body hit the ground, and a large amount of blood poured out. He writhed only a couple of times before his head dropped… and he died instantly.