Chapter 41 - Streets

Mark shocked Steve. He knew he would leave early but expected him to leave tomorrow morning by the latest. It was already noon and if Mark leaves, then he only has half a day before nightfall and the zombie's activities become more problematic.

"Can't you wait till tomorrow morning before you move out atleast eat your lunch here before you leave?"

"No, I need to get something done in the city quickly. So moving out today would be better and ok, I will have lunch before I leave."

"Ok then let's go to the cafeteria, they must be giving out lunch already." and Steve walked towards another building to the right. Mark quietly followed him once again.

They entered another building that looked more like a hotel and went inside the door which had a cafeteria on it. Mark noticed the vast room with people serving soldiers and civilians alike. He grabbed a plate and noticed the food was a vegetable soup with bread. It was very stale but enough to get by. Both of them made their way to a corner and ate.

"What is the military planning about the food shortage?" asked Mark while sipping some soup.

"I don't know. The scientists said that the earth's soil isn't suitable for cultivation anymore because of it getting polluted because of the virus and now our only solution is to make fertilizer to neutralize the soil or a crop that can grow on the soil," replied Steve while shrugging.

Mark simply nodded as he continued to eat. He decided to go to some supermarkets and get some canned goods to eat. They can preserve food in the canned ones for a longer time, so he need not worry much. After eating, both of them made their way out and as they went towards his jeep, a soldier came running towards Steve.

"Colonel Cox, General Cox wanted to give you this." handing out a card.

Steve took the card, and the soldier excused himself. Steve looked at the card for a second before handing it over to Mark.

"Take this, it will allow you to come and go to this camp. The guards won't stop you if you show this." Mark simply glanced at it for a second before pocketing it.

They continued towards the jeep and once they reached, Mark climbed into his seat and Steve kept his arms on the window.

"Stay safe out there. You can come to the camp if you need anything." and backed away. Mark nodded before closing his window. He noticed the key already attached to it and started it up.

The vehicle shook a bit before it started. He noticed the gas was half-filled and changed the gear. He waved his hand towards Steve and drove out of the parking lot. He slowly drove the vehicle towards the exit, maintaining a steady pace. He took out the card Steve gave him and showed it to the guards near the gate.

"Stay safe out there," said the guard while handing back the card. Mark nodded and rolled out of the camp. His first goal was to get out of the area and make his way towards his house. He needed some stuff which he had and decided to just go there.

He slowly drove, not much in a hurry. It would take him 3 hours to get to his place and with the present situation, it might take longer. So his goal was to make it home before the sunsets. He reached out to the back seats and took out a gun and kept it beside him. He noticed a silencer attached to it and knew this was Steve's work and felt grateful.

He still needed to practice his aim once again and decided to do it at a place where there were fewer zombies. As he continued to think, he bumped into a zombie and ran over it. He could feel the bones crack below his tires and looked back to find it minced with black blood.

Deciding to keep his thoughts aside, he grabbed the wheel with both his hands as he almost exited the area. He noticed the burning cars and destroyed buildings and felt similar to how Mona felt. Taking a left turn out of the area, he slowly proceeded forward. There were more zombies than before and made it harder to drive.

A few zombies tried to get in his way only to get run over once again. A few tried to smash the sides, but their efforts were in wail against the powerful titanium used. He slowly made his way towards his house. He checked the time and noticed it was already 2 hours since he left and there was another half of the journey left.