"As of today, your story has to come to an end."
It was a sentence that had stumped everyone as they wondered what the massive object was saying, until a few hours later when the world shook beneath their feet.
The news had coined it as the most powerful earthquake to hit the world, but no one cared about that because, suddenly, the attacks started. Plants and animals had mutated and begun attacking humans. To make matters worse, attacked humans were infected by an unknown virus and began to mindlessly attack other humans.
Since then, she had fought and strived to survive, but today she was tired and finally ready to let go of this doomed world.
Staring up at the infected, a sad smile appeared on her face before she closed her eyes in acceptance. Even her senses seemed to stop working, as all she could hear was the sound of her own relaxed breathing. She felt serene as she slumped there waiting for the pain, but even after minutes of waiting, nothing happened, causing her to freeze before she opened her eyes.
There was nothing.
Before her lay nothing but a massive black gate, which stood silently, leaving her confused as she looked around. She was inside the compound—somehow, she was inside the massive compound, safe from the zombies. Her relaxed heartbeat sped up in excitement as she stared around, before she suddenly passed out cold from exhaustion.
"A shelter?" Gao Haiming asked in contemplation as he stared at his brother's tired face.
Looking around the old, worn-out room, he could see why, as thirteen dependent gazes rested on his brother. They were all people they had met and saved while on the run—something he wished they hadn't done as he stared at the young and old faces around them.
Only five people could be said to be old enough or capable enough to not be a burden, while the rest needed to be protected at all times. Sometimes he wished their mother had not raised them to be so heroic and empathetic, as he wondered just how far they would have gotten without being slowed down.
"Yeah, we can't keep running around like this, and besides, we have no food or water to sustain us," Zhu Mengmeng answered as she calmly stared up at him. She was one of the people he didn't consider a burden, as she constantly tried to come up with solutions for their predicament.
"But where do we even find a shelter?" Gao Shen, his brother, asked as he held his head in his hands. His question silenced the room as they all tried to think about how to answer.
Only Ren Aiguo remained calm as he wondered if he should tell them what he knew about the shelters. He was the youngest in the room and often remained silent in order to avoid bothering his saviors. But looking at the quiet room filled with worried adults, he decided to finally speak up.
"I think I know a place." His shaky, pre-teen voice echoed in the room, making everyone look up at him curiously. His eyes quickly flitted to the ground as he nervously wrung his fingers, wondering if they wanted him to keep talking.
"What do you mean, you think?" Gao Haiming's familiar voice spoke up, making him look up into his gentle eyes.
"A day ago, before you rescued me, I saw something very weird," he started, drawing everyone's attention as they stared at him. Gathering all his courage, he decided to tell them everything he had witnessed in case it would be helpful to his saviors.
"While I was hiding, I heard loud crunching noises, and when I looked out, I saw a massive compound slowly materialize right before me. At that time, I was really scared because I wondered how the buildings were just materializing out of nowhere. But before I could figure it out, a bright flash of light appeared, drawing in many hordes of the infected, forcing me to run."
Ren Aiguo finished narrating as doubtful gazes landed on his small figure, making him shrink into himself with fear.
"Are you trying to tell us a massive compound just materialized out of nowhere and you just happened to see it?" one of the silent elderly men asked, skeptical of his story as he stared at the small boy in disdain.
Ever since the tragedy began, he had never had a break from the constant running until he met this group, which had helped him a lot. Even though he appreciated all their help, being ordered around and protected by people younger than him made him feel peeved—especially now that such a young boy thought it wise to run his mouth with mere fallacies.
He was not the only one feeling annoyed by the boy, as multiple ireful gazes were stuck on him, making him shrink even more in fear.
Seeing the boy's scared figure, Gao Haiming turned to his frowning brother before he decided to speak up. "Where did you see this supposed shelter?"
The boy seemed to have seen a lifeline and held onto it tightly, quickly answering the question, much to the ire of everyone else.
"Back near the center, close to where you found me," his shy voice spoke up, making Gao Haiming's eyes narrow as he tried to remember what he knew about the center. He was not the only one thinking about it, as everyone quietly tried to remember what they had seen as they passed through the area.
"I can show it to you if you don't believe me," the boy suddenly spoke up after a few minutes of silence.
Ren Aiguo had always been shy in front of unfamiliar adults, so when he was rescued by a group full of people older than him, he had tried to keep as low a profile as possible. His plan had enabled him to avoid unnecessary attention this entire time, but now he had all of their attention.
He could feel weakness slowly spread through his leg muscles as he led everyone up the endless steps of the building they were hiding in. They had stayed in this building since the previous day when he had been saved, as it seemed to be abandoned and well-hidden. So far, no attacks or accidents had occurred, but now they would have to move because of the lack of resources.
Looking at the black numbers next to the steps telling him he was on the fifth floor, he took a turn before walking into one of the many dust-ridden rooms. Since the building was abandoned before construction was finished, there were no window frames or glass, giving the group a clear view of the center.