"My name is Tommy, Tommy Miller…" said a man with long hair and a thick beard. For a long time, he had been following his brother's trail after he fled together with a girl.
They had been separated for several months, and now it seemed that he had finally managed to find traces of the Fireflies, where he might very well find clues about his brother.
Maybe saving Manny had been a good idea, possibly the only chance to find his brother in this rotten world.
…
As soon as Tommy entered the room, he was drawn by a series of whispers. Following the sound, he saw a dark-skinned woman sitting with a frustrated expression. In front of her, the desk was filled with maps, documents, and weapons.
The woman extended her hand, signaling for him to sit down, then looked at the others, telling them to leave the room.
"Would you like something to drink?"
The woman pointed to the cabinet beside her, and Tommy looked in that direction only to discover that it was filled with beverages—soft drinks that were very rare to find these days—and beside them were wines and liquors.
In response, Tommy gestured with his hand to indicate that he didn't need anything, but he saw the woman stand up and take out a bottle of whiskey.
Taking advantage of the moment, Tommy cast a brief glance around the room. It must have been an office before. The various posters of baseball stars on the wall hadn't been torn down, and there were many trophies and autographed baseballs.
Obviously, this should have been the stadium owner's office, but the woman in front of him looked very relaxed. She poured herself a glass of whiskey, raised it, and took a sip, the tension on her face growing more evident.
Then she noticed Tommy's gaze, smiled, and stood up straight.
"This office belonged to a rich man before this whole world went to hell, you know? I heard you saved Manny from getting bitten. Things are much more complicated than they seem."
"Are you having a lot of trouble?"
"That's right. More than fifty of my people were killed… You came from Texas, right? That's a very long trip to South Carolina. This place wasn't looted that badly, so we managed to settle in without too many problems."
"I heard you're looking for your brother…"
Tommy was left speechless. Of course, he had heard of the Fireflies. He had been with them in New York, but after some time he deserted because he couldn't find his place among them.
Things were far more complicated than just a few words. It wasn't that they were enemies of the Fireflies, but there had been many misunderstandings and many terrible events along the way to this place.
Besides, the reason he had come here was that he had heard—before the Fireflies' base in Texas fell—that there was a very large and stable base elsewhere, so he dared to come without knowing whether his brother had managed to reach this place.
Seeing the serious look on Tommy's face, the dark-skinned woman smiled. "By the way, I haven't introduced myself yet. My name is Marlene, and I'm the leader of the Fireflies. What's your name?"
"Tommy!"
"Wow, that's a great name."
"Thanks."
"Your name sounds familiar, but I still want to welcome you to the Fireflies."
Tommy's expression turned cold. He had left this organization because they didn't fight the system in a way he considered fair.
"I'm sorry, but I'm looking for my brother, and if he isn't here, I'm afraid I'll have to leave."
Marlene nodded, indicating she understood, and said, "What's your brother's name? Many people joined some time ago, and now they're working and surviving here together with everyone else."
"Joel…"
"Joel? Is that the Joel who beat up five of my men?"
That question made Tommy stand up abruptly. "He's here?"
Tommy hoped to receive a pleasant answer. Otherwise, the first thing he would do would be to kill Marlene, and then Vera, who was with Manny.
"Well, it's possible that Joel is your brother. There were some misunderstandings between us, but in the end we decided to cooperate with him. Right now, he's outside…"
Tommy's expression relaxed a little. He sat back down and waited for Marlene to tell him more about his brother.
"As you can see, we have our own system. Everyone here has to do things to earn points. They're allowed to live here peacefully only if they have points. However, the base also has its costs, and the points you earn when you go out are higher. Some people stay in the base to earn fewer points. Once someone who goes out is killed, their points disappear. So it's normal for people to die, but today more than fifty died at the hands of a heavily armed group."
"Do you know how more than fifty people could be killed so easily?"
Tommy didn't quite understand the meaning of Marlene's words, and he knew very well how the Fireflies' bases operated, but he wasn't interested in revealing his identity.
"Those people are dangerous, much more than I thought. They might even match the power of the CRM… You said you came from Texas? You've never heard of the Fireflies?"
…
Half an hour later, Tommy was standing dazed beside a cornfield, and the people working around him merely glanced at him before returning their attention to the tasks in front of them.
"Is my brother here? What the hell is he doing?"
It turned out that half an hour earlier, Marlene had told him that his brother had decided to join the Fireflies. That was madness, considering they had killed many Fireflies in Texas. He didn't know the hardships his brother had gone through, but there had to be a clear reason why he made that decision.
As he looked around, a child's voice sounded behind him.
"Mister, are you new here?"
Tommy turned his head angrily and ended up facing a small girl wearing a hat, standing right behind him and looking at him with a cheerful expression.
Tommy couldn't find anyone else to talk to. How could he let this opportunity pass? He quickly crouched down to her level, looked at her, and said in a gentle tone, "That's right, little one. Are you a resident here too?"
The girl shook her head slightly and spoke again. "I was kidnapped…"
"Me too. When did you arrive?"
"It's been many days, maybe a hundred days. They say they might be able to get a cure from our bodies, but in the end, many of those who are taken never come back…"
Watching the girl count on her fingers, Tommy frowned. How could a child be the cure for this disease? So he changed the question. "Then, is everyone here a test subject?"
He thought the girl would answer cheerfully, but he didn't expect to see a flash of hesitation on her face. Instead, she asked a question of her own.
"Where did they catch you?"
"Everyone is looking for a girl. They say she's the cure for the virus, but none of the girls they've brought here is really the right one."
"What?"
…
At the same time, a kilometer and a half outside the Fireflies' base.
A long convoy was parked outside a building, and the rest of the people were on guard, ready to enter combat at any moment. The dozen or so people in the vehicles were focused on the streets on both sides.
Glenn stared through the observation window for a long time, feeling his eyes grow a little dry, and still there were no signs of enemies appearing.
"It's been almost an hour. Aren't those people coming?"
"Impossible. They must have noticed we arrived. Are they scared?"
"All right, stop talking and pay attention to the surroundings."
George had been gripping a weapon ever since they arrived, his eyes constantly sweeping both sides of the road, as if he had no doubt that those thugs would come.
"Do you see a convoy over there?"
George dashed over at once and followed the man's pointing hand to look toward the distant street, only to see small black dots moving through the hazy smoke and dust toward their position.
"Zz… A group of vehicles is approaching your location."
"It's them. Get ready for battle!"