November 8, 2013.
It had been two months since the cordyceps outbreak.
By now, the streets of Dallas were eerily quiet. It was rare to see even a single person on the streets. After a month-long migration of residents, the city's population had dwindled to less than a million, all of whom were waiting for the second or third batch of evacuations.
"Attention, all residents heading to Atlanta, please bring your belongings and gather at the bus terminal. Bring your ID cards; we will verify your identities and information."
On the outskirts of Dallas, at the large bus terminal, an expansive open area was filled with countless large buses. Armed soldiers stood guard around the perimeter. In the distance, an endless sea of people was streaming toward the terminal.
In the outer area of the terminal, military trucks were lined up in neat rows. The troops assigned to escort the civilians were also assembling there, standing tall and forming ranks as they listened to their officers' briefings.
Bryan held Sarah's hand as they walked through the crowded throng. Both had bulging backpacks on their backs and a travel bag in hand. They slowly made their way into the military-designated gathering point.
The first batch of people heading to the Atlanta quarantine zone was relatively small, numbering less than five thousand. Under the direction of a dozen soldiers, these few thousand people gradually lined up in an orderly fashion. A soldier checked their IDs one by one at the front of each line.
Bryan and Sarah were near the front of their line, so it wasn't long before the soldier checking IDs stood next to them.
The soldier stood beside Bryan, put down his list, and looked around before asking, "Kid, are you with an adult?"
"No," Bryan shook his head, indicating that there were no adults with them. He then pointed to Sarah and said, "We're together."
"Okay, I see," the soldier replied. A flicker of pity crossed his eyes, but he didn't seem too surprised. It was rare for children to be alone without adults, but after more than a month of this chaos, he had seen it happen a few times. He went through the motions and said, "Show me your ID cards, please."
Noticing the pity in the soldier's eyes, Bryan slightly curled his lip. He didn't like that look, but he still took out the two ID cards from his pocket and handed them over.
The soldier checked the information and photos on the ID cards, then looked at their faces again to confirm. He nodded, handed the cards back to Bryan, and patted them down. He found their handguns, but didn't pay much attention. According to the rules, each person was allowed to carry one handgun for self-defense, but any extra had to be surrendered immediately. If found by a soldier, it would result in severe punishment.
Seeing nothing unusual, the soldier then turned his attention to their backpacks. "I need to check your backpacks as well," he said.
"Sure," Bryan replied. He put all three backpacks on the ground and squatted down, opening just a small gap to let the soldier take a look. He had seen others do this earlier and figured it was to prevent others from seeing what was inside.
The soldier squatted down, peeked inside, and was a bit surprised to see that the backpacks were full of food. He reached in and felt around, but found nothing suspicious. He checked the second backpack and still found nothing unusual. Finally, he turned his attention to the travel bag.
Bryan's pupils contracted slightly as the soldier looked at the travel bag. His heart started racing. He slowly opened the gap wider. The soldier was about to reach in when he froze. He saw that the bag was filled with feminine hygiene products, which made him look up at Sarah.
Feeling the soldier's gaze, Sarah felt embarrassed and turned her head away, avoiding his eyes.
The soldier, though a bit awkward, still reached in and rummaged around. He quickly pulled his hand out, zipped up the bag, and moved on to the next person. In his mind, he probably thought it was unlikely that two kids would have any other weapons.
Watching the soldier move on, Bryan let out a sigh of relief. He quickly squatted down, gathered the backpacks, and put them back on himself and Sarah. He picked up the travel bag and waited quietly, feeling lucky. Their shotgun was hidden under the feminine products in that travel bag. It was a risky move, and if the soldier had found it, the consequences would have been dire. But Bryan wasn't about to give up such a powerful weapon easily. The shotgun was small and easily hidden, especially with the feminine products as cover.
Bryan turned to Sarah and subtly gave her a thumbs-up, signaling that she had done a great job with her acting.
"Officer, I don't know how this gun got here. I didn't mean to hide it. Someone must have planted it!"
Just as Bryan was feeling relieved, a voice nearby caught his and Sarah's attention. They turned to see a bearded black man, his backpack open on the ground, with a revolver in the hands of a white soldier who had found it.
After hearing the black man's explanation, the white soldier just laughed dismissively, called over a colleague, and said to the black man, "You can explain this to someone else."
Seeing that the soldier wasn't listening to his explanation, the black man started sweating profusely. Then, as if remembering something, he turned to a fat white man nearby who looked gleeful and accused him, "Nelson, you were just hanging around my backpack. Did you put this gun there?"
"I... I didn't!" Nelson, the white man, was taken aback by the sudden accusation. His face turned pale, and he quickly shook his head, saying, "Officer, don't listen to him. I don't even know him!"
"You lying piece of trash, say that again!" The black man's face twisted with anger, and he clenched his fists, lunging at Nelson.
"What are you doing?"
Just as the situation was about to escalate into a fight, a black officer in a captain's uniform strode over from a distance and barked loudly.
His voice immediately silenced the three men, who all turned to look at him.
"Officer!" The white soldier quickly dropped his casual smile, stood at attention, and saluted crisply.
The black officer stood where he was, his piercing gaze scanning back and forth between the black man and the white fat man like a sharp knife. He asked calmly, "Soldier, report."
The white soldier walked over and recounted the entire incident in detail.
After hearing the whole story, the black officer nodded and pointed at the white fat man, Nelson, asking the black man, "You're saying this guy put the gun in your backpack?"
"That's right, officer. He must have set me up," the black man replied eagerly, as if he had found a lifeline.
"I didn't, officer. Don't listen to him," Nelson protested.
"You son of a gun, you're asking for it," the black man growled.
"Enough! Both of you shut up!" The black officer frowned, coldly glaring at the two men.
After they quieted down, he thought for a moment and said slowly, "I don't care whose fault this is, and I don't have time to waste on your nonsense. Neither of you is in trouble, but for the rest of the journey, your daily rations will be cut in half."
With that, he turned his attention back to the white soldier, told him to continue the checks, and walked away.
The black man didn't say anything more. Instead, he looked relieved, clearly glad to have escaped the worst. Nelson, on the other hand, looked like he had seen a ghost, his face pale and miserable.
"Do you think one of them is lying?" Seeing that the drama was over, Sarah felt bored and leaned closer to Bryan, curious.
"I don't know. You figure it out," Bryan replied, though he had already made up his mind based on their expressions. He just shrugged, pretending to be unsure.
Sarah, who knew Bryan well, immediately realized he was lying. She pouted and said, "Ah! Why are you like that?"
"Haha," Bryan couldn't help but laugh at Sarah's cute expression. But then he felt a sudden chill on his cheek. He instinctively touched his face, but there was nothing there.
He looked up and saw countless white specks falling from the sky, disappearing the moment they hit the ground.
It was... snowing!