Chapter 30

The next morning, the old man steered the massive bus into the front of the electronics store, its engine rumbling loudly as he parked it with precision. With a triumphant grin, he blared the horn, a sound echoing through the empty streets, signaling to Daniel and the others that he had finally found a vehicle after a night of relentless searching.

Helen stirred from her slumber, the blaring horn jolting her awake. Rubbing the sleep from her eyes, she stumbled out of the store, her gaze falling upon the towering bus the old man had discovered. "Isn't this vehicle a bit too large?" she exclaimed, her voice tinged with surprise. "We were hoping for something more compact, faster, with enough space for our belongings."

The old man leaned out of the bus window, his weathered face etched with determination. "Finding a car that's still intact and comes with its keys isn't a walk in the park," he retorted, his voice gruff yet resolute. "If you're not satisfied, feel free to find another one yourself. The choice is yours."

Daniel emerged from the store, his expression tired yet determined. "Helen, it's fine," he reassured her, his voice calm amidst the morning chaos. "Finding another car will only delay us further, and we're already behind schedule." Daniel said while he walks toward the old man.

"Here, take this," said Daniel, handing the old man the blueprint he'd been toiling over all night.

"You see the design here, the gears, tools, and equipment needed are in the store, all you need to do is weld it like how it is shown in the diagram," Daniel explained.

"Here is the battery," said soldier 1 as he walked towards Daniel, handing him the power source.

"Thanks, I think this would be enough," Daniel replied, examining the battery.

"Can you please help him with the welding? We're going to need all the help we can get to make this work and to speed things up," Daniel requested.

"Alright," said soldier 1, picking up the welding machine and heading towards the old man who was busy welding the iron net in the front of the car.

"Okay, it's time for me to get to work," said Daniel, striding into the car with some of the battery supplies in hand, ready to tackle the task ahead.

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The last touches were finally done, and the room bore the marks of a day's hard labor. From dawn until dusk, everyone had poured their sweat into the project. Despite the rush, the result wasn't half bad. With the others all tucked in their beds, only Daniel and the old man remained awake.

Daniel hunched over the equipment, his multimeter in hand, meticulously checking each reading for errors. His focus was intense, broken only by the old man's approach.

"Will it work?" the old man asked, curiosity lacing his tone.

"It should. No, it has to work, for all our sakes," Daniel replied, his voice firm with determination.

The old man regarded Daniel for a moment before letting out a heavy sigh. "Hey, kiddo, mind if I ask you something?"

"Go ahead, shoot," Daniel said, looking up from his work.

"It's been nagging at me. You were itching to see your family, couldn't wait to reunite with them. So why put yourself on the line for a kid you've never even met?" the old man inquired, his voice tinged with genuine curiosity.

Daniel kept quiet for a few seconds, his gaze drifting to the ground as he pondered the old man's question. "Because-"

"Because what, kiddo?" the old man interjected, cutting short Daniel's words.

"Because if I ignore people's problems and turn a blind eye to those in need, then maybe nobody will help my family when they're in trouble. I might sound foolish, but that's what I believe," Daniel said, his fists clenching at his sides.

Observing Daniel's unwavering determination to hold onto his belief that kindness begets kindness, the old man sighed softly. "I believe your family will be okay, kiddo."

"Thanks a lot," Daniel replied, a soft smile spreading across his face, gratitude evident in his eyes.

As Helen stirred from her slumber, the interior of the bus remained cloaked in the darkness of the night, broken only by the soft glow of moonlight filtering through the windows. With a sleepy stretch, she let out a quiet yawn, her movements slow and languid as she blinked away the remnants of sleep. Her gaze drifted towards the window, expecting to find the world outside veiled in shadows.

Instead, what she saw sent a shiver down her spine—a ghastly figure pressed against the window, its pallid face twisted in a grotesque snarl, blood dribbling from its gaping maw. The moonlight painted the scene with an eerie luminescence, casting long, sinister shadows across the interior of the bus.

Helen's breath caught in her throat, a stifled gasp escaping her lips as she recoiled, her heart pounding in her chest like a drumbeat of dread.

"What's happening? Are we under attack?" Soldier 1's voice sliced through the silence, his sudden awakening punctuated by the urgency in his tone.

With trembling hands, Helen glanced towards the child, still wrapped in the embrace of peaceful slumber, untouched by the horrors lurking outside. Relief washed over her like a wave as she turned back to the window, finding it now empty, the specter vanished without a trace.

Breathing a shaky sigh, she clung to the fragile notion that it was all just a dreadful dream. Turning to Soldier 1, she offered a sheepish smile, her voice laced with apology. "It was nothing, just a nightmare. Sorry for the scare."

"Oka--" Before Soldier 1 could complete his sentence, a desperate voice pierced the night air from outside, pleading for salvation. The sound of flesh hitting iron reverberated through the bus as someone repeatedly struck the protective netting.

"Please, save me!" The voice cried out, the urgency in its tone palpable with each repetition, accompanied by the unsettling thud of a head against metal.

The commotion drew both the old man and Daniel towards the source, their footsteps echoing with a sense of urgency as they raced to investigate. Outside, a man was seen relentlessly banging his head against the barrier, his pleas for help growing more frantic with each blow.

"Stop hurting yourself! Are you alright? Let me help you," Daniel called out, his instinct to aid kicking in as he moved forward to assist the distressed man. But his intentions were abruptly halted by the old man, who seized Daniel's arm, preventing him from advancing any further.

"Cease your foolishness and step back!" the old man barked at Daniel, his voice laced with authority as he brandished a pistol he had acquired from Soldier 1. Without hesitation, he aimed the weapon and fired, the gunshot shattering the night with finality as the zombie fell with a bullet to the head.