Chapter 11
The rumble of the engine was the only sound for a long time.
Ash clung to the sky in thick plumes, casting the road in a dim, smothering gray.
A green battered truck traversed the desolate streets with maximum speed.
Inside this battered truck, no one spoke.
Beat up figures huffed with exhaustion as they grimaced from the pain of their wounds.
The adrenaline had worn off, leaving silence and the weight of what they had just survived.
Alex sat in the back, eyes locked on the scorched skyline fading behind them.
His mind replayed the fight, recalling all the flames, the freezing haze, Jonah's violet glow and the pale man's impossible speed. None of it made sense.
Jonah sat slumped near the tailgate, blood seeping from a gash across his shoulder, he had received it during his brush off with the bizzare craze.
His breathing was labored, but his eyes remained open, watchful and guarded for any other unforseen circumstances.
The pale-skinned man beside him hadn't spoken a single word since the fight ended. His expression was unreadable, gaze fixed ahead like he was seeing something no one else could.
The new dwellers were restless. Alex could feel it, the urge to ask questions clawing beneath the silence. But they restrained themselves. They knew instinctively that those questions would have to wait.
Now the biggest priority was to survive and make it back to the shelter.
So the ride continued in silence, with only the labored breath from the tired Jonah.
As they mantained the high speed, it did not take them that long to reach the shelter.
After nearly two hours of tense driving, the shelter came into view. The old building that served as the entrance to the underground shelter, loomed before them in a distance.
Someone let out a breath of relief. They'd made it back.
Upon arrival the truck screeched to a halt.
Jonah was the first off, limping toward the entrance without waiting for the others. The pale man followed after, his steps unnaturally calm.
The rest of the passengers swiftly alighted one after the other.
They entered through the front entrance of the building, heading straight towards the basement.
Alex stayed in the middle simply following others since he didn't know this route to the underground shelter.
A patrol guard, the last surviving of his group, and also the one who led them deeper through the dark chamber of the basement.
As they entered the basement, which was shrouded in darkness, Jonah clicked his fingers, setting his arm ablaze.
The once dark room was suddenly illuminated.
Alex couldn't get used to the sight of Jonah easily creating flames out of thin air.
The patrol guard, slowly approached the edge of the room where there was a wooden shelf lined on the wall.
The guard wasted no time and pushed the shelf aside.
As soon as the shelf was moved,a small fissure big enough to fit one person was revealed.
The fissure was probably what led towards the underground tunnel that led to the shelter.
The pratol guard, upon removing the shelf, then gestured at Alex and the others to move.
The group moved quickly without questions, with Jonah at the lead.
As soon as all of them entered, the guard followed after and placed the shelf back in its position.
As they entered the tunnel, Jonah's flames suddenly went out, as if someone had set them off.
Alex's heart raced upon this sight. He didn't understand what was happening, but he knew it wasn't normal.
His thoughts were soon interrupted by Jonah's voice.
"Everyone! hang on close to each other. "
Alex, being smart to not question things he didn't understand in such situations, simply followed the order.
And the rest of the group followed suit.
After that, Jonah began to chant something.
It sounded like he was trying to summon someone or something.
"Oh , one who offers guidance, please grant us your pass and escort us from this area.
A few moment later, footsteps sounded from Jonah's left, followed by the appearance of another silhouette.
Then a lantern suddenly lit, and an old figure was suddenly revealed.
Alex recognized him as the same man who had led both him and Jonah through the dark chamber, the day he arrived at the shelter.
It seemed this man served as some sort of guide through the dark tunnels.
Alex, couldn't understand why he was needed to guide them, but he had seen enough today to know that this place and its inhabitance were not normal.
The man moved slowly through the tunnel, leading them towards god knows where.
Since he was the guide, Alex and the group could only endure with his slow steps.
A few moments later they reached, a double metal door.
And their guide halted his steps and turned to his left towards a wall, and vanishing through it.
Alex and the group couldn't be bothered to be surprised, not after everything they had witnessed.
They easily entered through the double door.
As the group passed through the heavy metal doors, the mood inside shifted immediately.
The interior of the shelter buzzed with hushed voices. People stopped in their tracks. Dwellers stared openly. One of the guards moved to speak, but froze as his eyes fell on Jonah's blood-soaked coat and the black frost clinging faintly to the pale man's boots.
"Get out of the way," Jonah rasped.
They made it five steps inside before a voice barked from across the hallway.
"Jonah. My office now!"
They turned to see a tall woman in a dark coat, the kind that marked her as one of the shelter's overseers. Her hair was pulled into a tight braid, her face pinched with concern and something colder: suspicion.
It was none other than Reyna herself.
Jonah exhaled heavily. "Figured this was coming."
She didn't respond. Just turned and led them deeper into the shelter.
The new dwellers weren't allowed to follow. The rest were herded toward the medical ward by anxious staff, while Alex lingered near the corridor, catching a final glance as Jonah disappeared up the stairs, flanked by two armed guards.
Later.
The new dwellers had been given a quiet room. Not a cell, but it might as well have been. A pair of guards waited outside, clearly not just there for safety.
Alex paced.
"What the hell just happened?" the wiry boy muttered. "Did anyone else see what that guy did?"
"How did he do that" the girl with the pistol lowered her voice, "Jonah —he set the air on fire."
"Is he even human ?" Alex finally asked.
A long pause followed, and no one could answer the countless questions swirling in their minds.
Alex at this moment suddenly recalled something and turned towards the corner of the room.
One of the new dwellers, the eccentric pale man was sitting quietly without saying anything.
Alex looked at the man, his voice barely more than a whisper.
"What… are you?"
The man did not turn at him, nor did he say anything.
Instead he remained silent, clearly showing his unwillingness to answer.
Alex after having witnessed the outstanding power demonstration of the man back at his fight with the bizzare craze, he knew better than to pry further.