"I want to be the same as you," Cade replied, much colder than I can handle in this situation.
That man looked at us warily. I was shocked by their hostility. We are not their enemies. "Are they outside?" a woman asked tremblingly.
"Not yet, but I am sure it is only a matter of time. Where are you from?" Cade asked.
The man pointed to the town next to us, "We are heading to the bridge."
"Are you going to pass them?" I blurted out.
"We can't stay here, we are trapped here."
I glanced at Cade, I had no idea what I thought. Indeed, on this side, we are isolated from the world, separated from the mainland by a canal. Those bridges are the only way to leave the man-made island, but nothing crosses them for a while, whether it's cars or people. To me, the idea of trying to cross them on foot is like a suicide mission. We will be in an open place, high in the sky, and it is easy to see us from above. I would rather jump into the canal and risk the deadly currents and icy river water than try to run across any bridge.
"They will only drive survivors to smaller and smaller lands until they can no longer drive us. Until we have nowhere to go. We must leave the island."
When I realized that this person was right, I shuddered. They will continue to push our choices, but bridges are not an option, at least not for me. Neither ship has swam across the other shore, and is easily targeted on the high seas or in the canal. We are trapped here, trapped here, let the aliens hunt us down. "Have you seen many other survivors?" I asked tremblingly.
"I met three others near the sandwich production line, and we met two others along the way."
They did not travel too far, but I think they should find more people in the area they cover. "We will accompany you," Cade said.
"Cade," I whispered fearfully at the thought of this. They are the first people we have seen since the beginning of all this. I would be ecstatic to see them, but their plans scared me. I don't even like to drive across bridges, let alone run across those damn things.
"Let's go with you for a while," Cade said, squeezing my arm. "is it okay?"
They exchanged their eyes quickly. "Many people are powerful," the man agreed.
"Yes." My heart was pounding, and my skin was covered with a thin layer of sweat. "There are other people nearby." Cade turned to me, clutching my shoulder tightly. "I must find Jenna, there is no way to know how far she ran. Waiting for us."
Before I could protest, he disappeared in the woods. Before focusing on this group of people, I was surprised by his grace and ability to move so fast. They look as defeated and feared as I am. I found that my defenses had collapsed, and I reluctantly smiled at them. It just returned half-heartedly. "Here," I said.
It took Cade nearly half an hour to find Jenna and take her back to the tree house. It was almost dusk. The team members were divided into two factions and decided whether to move on or wait until dawn. The vote of most people allowed us to pick up the pitiful supplies and move on. I would rather move on. We have been here for too long, and I think if we continue to do this, we will be trying our luck.
Brett was worried about me when he washed my wound with the remaining water. A member of the other group was wearing a bandage. I want to tell Brett to stop and don't worry about me. I'm sure that if he knows my true identity, the last thing he wants to do is touch me. I don't blame him at all.
I force myself not to leave him, all of this is not his fault, it is all my fault. I felt like a mummy with hands wrapped, but it was clear that the damage I caused by sneaking into the thorn bushes was more than I realized. "You have to be more careful," Brett murmured as he put the bandage on.
He looked at me with interest. We all know this is almost impossible. After all, I am the girl who tripped over her foot and sprained her ankle last year. In fact, before all this happened, Aiden and Brett always thought it was funny. "I'm fine, Brett," I assured him.
When he held my hand, his clear green eyes were warm and caring. "You are a trash, but I love you."
Guilt entangled me, and I avoided these words. I hope he will stop saying those things. When he bent down to kiss my cheek, I couldn't help but twitch. I can feel Cade staring straight at me through the clearing, but I can't let myself look at him. I feel that I am the lowest life form, and I am not ready to face the fact that I am a liar now. Okay, maybe I'm not a mature person, just a few kisses, but I'm still a terrible person, and I know this.
I only hope that CapitaLand is not so irresistible, or that I am not so weak.
I went to get the bag of food, but Bright got it first. "Let your hands heal."
I don't want to argue, there is no need. I was standing next to Abby, and she put her hand in my arm. "I'm glad we found someone else."
"Yes, me too."
Although I am still not sure how all this will develop. Going to the bridge means going to more densely populated areas with frozen populations, and foreigners. Still crossing the bridge? We can't, we just can't. Unfortunately, I know that some people are determined to do this, and I am a little afraid that Jenner will fully support it. After Cade brought her back, she was almost hysterical and desperately trying to leave Cape Cod.
I didn't realize that I was staring at her and Cade, until I realized that he was staring at me too. My face flushed, and I lowered my head. Abby giggled beside me. "I think he likes you."
"He is just a friend," I replied quickly, perhaps a bit too quickly.
She was just teasing me, but my reaction to her and my attention to Cade did not escape her attention. Abby might regard the kiss she had witnessed before as an impulse, or a temporary blunder, but I could see a glimmer of light in her gaze. "Beth..." she whispered.
"How are you?" I asked, as a way to change the conversation.
"Bethany, what are you doing?"
"It's nothing, Abby. Can you still hold it?"
I could see that she wanted to say more, but in the end she decided to accept my change of topic. "Survival, just like everyone else."
I want to know how we survive. How do we continue to move forward and continue to experience all this. I can hardly bear to think about our mother, and I am afraid that if I do this, I will become a crying bastard. We are all exhausted, hungry, and apprehensive. However, no matter how upset and uncertain we become, we continue to fight for our lives. Abby leaned against me, resting his head on my arm. She is strong, but I know she can't take it anymore. I'm not sure any one of us can do it.
"We will survive," she muttered to herself.
I turned my attention back to Abby and smiled reluctantly. "Yes, we are."
I hope I haven't lied to her, but deep down I think I'm lying. We walked through the woods, bypassed the road, and hid in the shadows. When we approached, I was surprised to find that all the lights were still on and very bright. I stopped and stared, remembering all the time I had seen the bridge illuminated like this. This is a beautiful, extensive, luminous lighthouse against the night. However, although they look similar, they are completely different.
It was midsummer and there was no one on the bridge. Last summer, the bridge was crowded with cars, and the sound of cars was heard at night because tourists came and went like snails crawling. Now there was nothing but lights and almost mortal.
"The lights are on," Jenna muttered to herself. "If the light is on, we can't make it through. If we do, they will find us immediately."
"Let's try Burn Bridge," said a member of the other group.
"The lights there will also come on," I told them.
"How do you know," a woman retorted rudely.
No, I'm not sure, but it may be true. They just don't want to believe it yet.
"Let's go to another bridge," Cade said rationally. "It's not that far. If we move fast along the edge of the forest, we can get there before dawn."
We haven't discussed whether to try to cross. I know Jenna supports it, but what do others think? I looked at Aiden, but he was talking with another person.
I thought of another bridge, and then thought of something we all forgot. "How about the military base?" I asked. They all frowned and stared at me all night. Their eyes glowed strangely in the moonlight that passed through the woods. "I know it’s closed. I know the aliens have driven everyone away, but it’s big and wooded. There are many places to hide, and there are many buildings we can sneak into. There may be Weapons and maybe even food."
"I don't know the base well," a man said.
"The alien may be outside," the other woman replied. "For them, wouldn't it be wise to take over it and treat it as their own?"
I can't deny that it makes sense, but I doubt whether the aliens are in the base. I did not expect that they would occupy any permanent residence here. They hate us, are indifferent to us, and hunt us like crazy animals that must be killed. Now that I think about the base, I am not ready to let it go. There may be weapons, and there may be places to hide. There are even some places where we can resist, and some places where we can protect ourselves. We can't flee forever, and we can't survive that way. Our supply is limited. (To be continued) (End of this chapter)