DEAD ERA- Afterworld

Chapter 3

   “Wake up guys, we need to get going,” the stranger said kicking Levi as Bali stood up 

 from the couch. Levi sat up rubbing his sore neck, while Bali walked to the stairs yawning.

"Come on Bali!" the stranger yelled as he waited for him to come down the stairs. 

"Coming," he mumbled as he walked up the stairs.

"Are you ready?" the stranger asked excitedly.

"Yeah, whatever," Levi replied tiredly. The younger man glanced back at Bali, noticing the dark circles under his eyes, "You look tired," he commented.

‘Well maybe if you weren’t a complete bastard for not allowing me to sleep…’ Bali thought glaring back at him.

The pair headed out, stopping by the front of Levi’s truck.

    The stranger brought out a giant chest from the truck 

 . When he opened it, he grabbed two AKs and a box full of grenades, “Take any gun, because we are going to need it”  he said passing both shotguns to Levi. “Also grab some ammo.”

Levi took all the weapons handing a few pistols to Bali who nodded in reply before grabbing some ammo as well. 

"Let's get going, we have work to do." the stranger said, pulling a rifle out of the trunk and tossing it over to Bali. Bali caught it with ease and followed him into the truck, buckled up. They then got inside the truck, “Where exactly are we going?”  Levi asked

    “Clem city,” the stranger said adjusting his cigarette. “The only city with living beings, where survivors head to”

    “Is clem city real?”Bali asked

   “Yeah, a few months back I received a radio signal” the stranger brought out a device that looked like a radio. As he switched it on, 

      a crackling voice appeared “Hello, please be aware of the situation. We have been infiltrated by zombies, and the world is gone. The only safe place is Clem city with highly advanced security, if you are hearing me...you are advised to reach clem city before 2 days or the city gate will be closed forever” 

“What do you mean close forever,” Levi asked

“It means we will be trapped outside her or be turned into a walking corpse...if we don't arrive in the clem city in 2 days” the stranger said, switching  off the device

.

“How much longer till we reach Clem city. How do you even know that it’s real?” Levi asked curiously, as he began driving.

“I've seen it, I was there,” the man replied as he looked outside of his window, watching the sun disappear behind the skyscrapers.

“Why did you leave?” Bali asked

“To save my family,” the man said calmly, looking towards Bali, “but I arrived late, they were turned into zombies already”

 he said pointing at his face, which was covered with blood, "So, I left to get them out, but the place was overrun with zombies. I had no choice but to escape to here”

“Oh! So how come you found us?” Levi asked, curious about why Bali and he were in that facility.

“That’s a story for another time,” the stranger responded, “Now let’s go to a mart, we need some food and clean clothes”

“Yeah alright,” Bali agreed. “Can we stop anywhere? Maybe pick up some coffee or a soda?” he said hopefully.

“Sure,” the man nodded, then added, “But just one-stop, I need some water too”

“Alright, that’s fine with me,” Bali shrugged his shoulders.

“Okay, let’s go,” the man stated, turning the car engine on as they pulled out from the facility’s parking lot. Levi watched as the facility disappeared out of sight, feeling lost as he began driving.

They drove for a little over an hour through the streets of the city, heading north. The scenery looked different than what Levi remembered, it was dark and filled with trees, and there wasn’t much traffic. Most cars had been destroyed and the sidewalks were littered with corpses. The houses seemed to be abandoned and empty-looking

. Even the cars had been left in pieces.

The roads were wide open, with plenty of space between each intersection. A couple of buildings were left standing, however, there weren’t many other structures in between the road and buildings.

Suddenly, Bali spoke up “Hey Levi, where are the bodies?” Bali said looking around at the cars, trucks, and motorcycles.

“There are no corpses Bali,” Levi answered, turning around in his seat so he could look at Bali.

“No dead bodies. Well, that’s a good thing right?” he replied raising his eyebrows.

Levi didn’t answer him instead he simply turned his attention back to the road, but when he reached a red light he saw several zombies running across the road waving their arms, and shouting.

“Levi watch out!” the stranger yelled slamming on the brakes. Bali quickly slid over the seats and jumped into the middle of the car pushing Levi’s hand aside before taking the shotgun leaning out of the window and firing it twice. The driver’s side window shattered. The zombies were upon them before Bali was able to aim again but before he could fire the driver’s side window exploded. He dropped the gun and grabbed a large wrench hanging beside him.

“Don’t get killed, ok?” Bali yelled as the driver hit his gas pedal sending the truck forward. 

As the monsters approached, Bali threw a handful of metal objects, hitting one of the creatures in the leg causing it to stagger to the side. The truck sped off, parking before a mart.

The stranger pulled the keys out of the ignition locking up the car, then got out and helped Levi out. The two climbed out of the truck and stretched their legs. It felt great to be alive after being locked in a small space. Levi rubbed his neck, feeling the bruises forming.

“Do you want something to eat or anything?” the stranger asked as the two-headed towards the entrance.

“Yeah sure, I could go for some meat and fries,” he said rubbing his stomach.

“Me too,” Bali added grabbing Levi’s arm and dragging him inside.

They went into the mart, with their weapons fully alert in case of danger, searching the area as they walked.

“There’s meat in the refrigerators, and some drinks too,” the man told them.

“We need coffee though,” Bali whined, still holding onto Levi’s arm and dragging him away to the coffee machine.

“We can get some later, I think we should split,” the man suggested “Meet me in the car,”

.

Bali handed Levi a cup of coffee, as he drank his milk straight from the carton. He sat down at a nearby booth and stared at the door waiting for the rest to join him. About five minutes later, they entered the café, followed closely by the stranger, and he ordered some sandwiches and coffee while everyone else ordered some food, before settling down on the couches. After the sandwiches came, Bali leaned against the man. The man glanced at Bali and sighed. Bali smirked.