This Beautiful World - Book #1 (BxB)

Chapter 27

After saying our goodbyes, Stella, Tyler, and Riley set out in the opposite direction. I didn't like the idea of Riley being separated from us, but it was her choice to volunteer. I was still surprised that she was willing to go out here again so soon after what happened. At least she wouldn't be shut in the apartment room all by herself. I trusted that Stella and Tyler would keep her safe. I watched for a few seconds longer as they walked down the street away from us, before turning to my group. 

As we walked down the street, Alex asked, "Couldn't we hotwire a car? That would make this trip a lot easier."

While a car would make things easier, the streets were a mess. I didn't know how far we would get before we would have to abandon the vehicle. There was also the fact that we needed to be quiet. A car would attract the monsters to us. 

"Do you know how to hotwire a car?" Xavier asked. 

This made Alex go quiet. He didn't know how to, and neither did I. Xavier's response meant that he and Arin didn't know how to either. It wasn't exactly something that we were taught how to do. 

Another idea seemed to pop into Alex's head. "Well, some of the cars might have keys in them. People were trying to flee before this, so maybe we'll get lucky." 

"That may be true, but while people were fleeing, some crashed. Their cars will be ruined, plus I don't exactly want to take a dead body out of a car. You never know if they're one of the undead. I don't think that we should take that risk." Xavier shot down his idea once again. 

This made Alex roll his eyes. He was only trying to come up with ideas that would benefit us. 

"Maybe we'll get lucky on our way back." I tried to encourage him as I gave him a small smile. 

There had to be some form of optimism as we were out here risking our lives. I just hope that we weren't coming out here for nothing. There was a chance that where we were headed was already ransacked. No one said it out loud, but I knew that it crossed everyone's mind at one point. This could turn out to be a waste of time. If it was and we weren't able to get the supplies that we needed, we might have to relocate our base. If that were the case, then I wasn't sure where we would go. I hoped that we wouldn't have to resort to that suspicious town. 

The walk there was mostly in silence as we took the journey carefully and kept our eyes open. Unlike before, I didn't feel like something was watching us. That didn't stop me from looking back every now and then. Nothing was following us. I even kept my eyes out for my sister to make sure she didn't try to tag along. There was no sight of her, which relieved me. I was glad that she stayed back and listened to our mother. 

It felt like a while had passed before our destination eventually came into view. When things were normal, it never took us this long to reach the grocery store. From my home, it would have taken around fifteen minutes by car. Now, I had no idea how much time had passed. We still had plenty of daylight to spare. I did hope that this time, we would be able to make it back to the apartments today. I also hoped that we would all make it back in one piece. When we returned, I wanted to see that our other group also made it back safely. Xavier seemed to have complete trust in Stella and Tyler. It made me curious about where Xavier and his group came from before all of this. Perhaps later, I could ask Arin about it. 

We were only a few steps away from the grocery store now. Like everything else around us, it appeared to be abandoned. There were no zombies nearby, nor were there any other survivors. Perhaps once we entered, things would be different. Xavier looked around first to ensure the coast was clear before entering the building. We all followed after him, with Alex and I at the back of the group.