Chapter 87: Empty

When all of them were down at the foot of the hill, Alex waved his hand across the path and four busses appeared on the path.

"Get on the bus." He glanced at the others and said.

Riley, Terry and Brian led their groups and got on the busses.

Once everyone was ready, Alex got onto the bus at the front with his group and they started to move off.

Their next destination was a town that was three hour’s journey away.

He wasn’t sure how the town would be like at the moment, with it being so isolated, but he didn’t have any other options.

It was the closest place on the path for them to rest and reorganize themselves.

...

An hour later.

Armored vehicles protected by attack helicopters above them headed towards the College of Technology where Alex and his friends were.

Inside the armored vehicles, the soldiers from the Elite Awakened Special Ops unit sat on alert.

They weren’t sure how Lieutenant Lee and his team would fail in a mission that was at an ordinary college.

It bewildered them as they’ve been on missions to much more dangerous places and they could easily overpower any Awakened they’ve met so far.

In their minds, either Lieutenant Lee was careless, or he had met with someone so powerful that even Lieutenant Lee as an SS Level Awakened couldn’t handle.

They could only guess but they figured it was most likely the latter.

Even though they didn’t like Lieutenant Lee and his team, they knew how disciplined and professional he was.

With this thought in mind, their bodies tensed when they got nearer to the entrance of the College of Technology.

"Dismount and take up formation quickly, over." They heard the voice from General Xavier who was back in the command center of the quarantine area.

Screech.

The tires of the armored vehicles screeched when they halted to a stop.

Doors of the armored vehicles slammed open and all of the soldiers inside got out of them as fast as they could.

They formed up into three lines facing the front and the sides, taking cover out of habit and waited.

But there was nothing except for silence and their breathing.

"Move!" The lead for the operation shouted and they advanced into the College of Technology.

Along the way, they tried looking for any signs of enemies but there weren’t any except for the still of the morning.

They swept across all of the buildings and finally when they reached the school of Bio-science, it was apparent that whoever was in the College of Technology had left even before they’ve moved out.

"Sir, negative. No one in sight, over." The lead of this operation pressed on his earbuds and said.

On the other end, General Xavier frowned and thought for a moment.

He had gotten more of the test subjects and researchers earlier, so he wasn’t too keen to spend so much resources and time to pursue Alex and his friends.

"Return to base first." General Xavier said and gave out a sigh.

He would have to call in for help in the future to try and pursue Alex, but for now, he had to speed up the test and research before the investors withdrew all the funding and resources from him.

...

"Stop right there!" A few men and women with guns stood in the middle of the dirt path and they shouted.

In front of them was the convoy of busses that Alex and his friends were on.

Alex glanced at them and he sensed more men and women hiding at the side of the dirt path behind the bushes.

"Get ready on the sides." He said and the students brought up their automatic rifles, aiming out of the bus windows.

When the men and women who were planning to rob them saw the numerous barrels that poked out from the side of the busses, they were spooked by it.

But it was too late.

Bang!

One of them opened fire at the leading bus but the bullet went nowhere near it.

Alex’s portal appeared and absorbed the bullet.

The other students reacted quickly.

Everyone opened fire and the surrounding was lit up by the muzzles of the automatic rifles.

Blood spewed in the air as the men and women were hit.

Finally, when it was over, there was nothing but the groans of pain and bodies lying on the dirt path.

It was a small encounter but there would be numerous more of them on their way to the hydroelectric dam.

The students gave out a sigh of relief and they understood more or less what Alex and his friends had to go through whenever they went out of the college campus.

They were much more appreciative of what he was doing for them so far.

But they couldn’t do much to help, except to try and build up something that resembled life before the apocalypse, when they reached the hydroelectric dam.

They continued on their journey to the town and they could barely keep their eyes open due to the long period of time being on high alert.

Fatigue finally set in for them.

Thankfully, the Awakened like Alex had much better physique than an average person and they were still able to be on high alert for them.

Alex sighed when he saw them struggling to stay awake and he thought that they would have to have a rest soon.

The drivers driving the busses also needed a break.

As he glanced at the windscreen, he saw a small town in the distance.

They were getting close to the town.

Alex picked up his walkie talkie and pressed on the talk button.

"We are near the town. We shall stop at the area by the side. Brian, come and recce the town with me while Riley and Terry stay behind to protect the others."

"Copy that." His friends replied and his walkie talkie gave out a buzz.

The busses stopped at a clearing that was large enough for them and he alighted from the bus.

Brian got down and came over to him.