When night fell, no one continued their conversations. Instead, everyone grabbed whatever clothing they could find and returned to the buses.
After last night's lesson, no one was foolish enough to sleep in houses for a bit of extra warmth. Compared to their lives, a little discomfort was nothing.
But the temperature outside was brutal. Sleeping in unheated vehicles practically guaranteed illness. Soldiers distributed collected clothing and blankets to minimize the risk of people getting sick.
"Allen, take this. You'll freeze without it."
On the bus, Bryan draped an adult-sized down jacket over Sarah, then picked up another garment and offered it to Allen in the seat ahead.
"No." Allen waved his hands rapidly. He'd noticed Bryan only had one layer for himself. "I'm not cold. You keep it."
He pushed the offered jacket back.
"Enough—stop being polite at each other."
Tracy appeared from the front of the bus, another jacket in hand. She dropped it on the seat between them, amused. "We're not going to let you freeze. Now you both have one."
The two boys fell silent, then thanked her in unison.
"You're welcome." Tracy smiled at the three children, then continued toward the back with another jacket for Sylvia.
Bryan glanced back. Anna and Wilfred had traded seats with others to sit in the last row, closer to Sylvia so they could help her more easily.
His gaze drifted to Ogden. The mohawked man sat hunched over, forehead pressed against the seat in front of him, expression dark as a storm cloud.
Bryan knew exactly why. Earlier, Anna had found Tracy and explained her situation, sincerely asking for help escaping the creep.
As a fellow woman, Tracy had agreed immediately. She'd confronted Ogden directly, warning him to stay away from Anna or face consequences.
She'd also submitted a request to transfer him to another vehicle. Since it was already late, the transfer would happen tomorrow morning.
Soon the lights went out. People reclined their seats and bundled under coats, preparing to sleep.
Some who'd slept too much that morning weren't tired and chatted quietly with neighbors, keeping their voices low so as not to disturb others.
The wind howled outside, finding every gap in the bus to whistle through, producing eerie sounds that put everyone on edge.
But aside from a few lost Infected spotted in the woods outside town, nothing urgent happened. The soldiers patrolling the perimeter allowed themselves quiet sighs of relief.
When dawn broke, the interior remained strangely dark. People rubbed their bleary eyes and sat up—only to discover the windows had been completely covered by snow. They couldn't see outside at all.
Once the doors opened and people stepped out, they found the entire bus buried under a thick white blanket.
Under the soldiers' direction, all the men grabbed the tools they'd used yesterday and began clearing snow from the streets and vehicles.
Bryan hadn't noticed while inside, but now that he was out, he realized how many people were sneezing and coughing...
Sleeping in a bus as cold as an icebox, even bundled in clothing, meant some would inevitably fall ill.
This worried Bryan. These were early cold symptoms. Regular colds weren't typically contagious, but in a confined space for extended periods? All bets were off.
At least on their bus, he hadn't heard any coughing or sneezing. For now, they seemed to be in the clear.
"Hey, you two—stop playing around. How are you feeling? Anything wrong?"
Even though he'd checked Sarah and Allen that morning and found nothing unusual, Bryan still turned to ask the two of them, who were currently laughing and chasing each other.
He didn't understand how they'd gotten so close. They'd known each other less than ten hours, eight of which had been spent sleeping. Yet watching them play, you'd think they were lifelong friends. Are kids' worlds really this simple?
What Bryan didn't know was that Sarah had been thrilled by Allen's arrival. Since the outbreak, she'd always been the one being taken care of. It was nice, but she'd wanted to look after someone too.
Allen gave her that chance. He was younger than her, weaker than her... The perfect setup. Her "big sister" instincts had kicked into overdrive. Finally, she wasn't the one who needed the most looking after!
Allen, meanwhile, was less thrilled. He'd been happy about having an older brother and sister, but this girl—who was only a few years older—was exhausting. To others, their playing looked voluntary. Only he knew he was being half-dragged into it.
But even Allen hadn't noticed: his previously gloomy expression had vanished completely, replaced by a bright smile.
At Bryan's voice, both kids stopped and checked themselves before shaking their heads. "We're fine. All good."
"Mm."
Satisfied, Bryan relaxed slightly. He'd been worrying too much.
The moment he looked away, Sarah shot Allen a mischievous grin. She bent down, scooped up snow, packed it into a ball, took aim, and launched it at him while he wasn't looking.
"Ow!"
The sneak attack caught Allen completely off guard. Snow exploded across his body; some slipped down his collar, making him yelp.
"Hahaha!"
He shook the snow out of his clothes, whipped around, and saw Sarah doubled over laughing. Indignation rising, he grabbed his own handful of snow and hurled it back.
Sarah dodged, scooped up another snowball, and attacked again. The battle escalated into a full-blown snowball war.
Bryan watched them with a twitch of his lips, then turned his attention to the soldiers approaching from down the street.
With so many people showing cold symptoms, the patrolling soldiers had naturally noticed. They'd reported up the chain. Now several men were making rounds with pill bottles and thermoses of hot water, having anyone who seemed sick take medication with warm water—nipping potential outbreaks in the bud.
That should handle it...
Bryan knew the military had prepared for this possibility. Early detection and treatment was the best approach. If an illness spread through the confined buses, things could get ugly fast.
As snow was cleared from the vehicles and roads, the army called for everyone to board and wait. Anyone with cold symptoms received a face mask. Some resisted, but the military's hardline attitude left no room for argument.
Bryan also noticed Ogden gathering his belongings. A soldier escorted him toward a different bus.
The whole way, Ogden kept looking back toward Anna, who was helping Sylvia. A soldier's sharp reprimand finally made him stop.
The convoy rolled out, leaving the small town behind as they returned to the highway.
But the snow on the road was too thick. To avoid accidents, they had to reduce speed to a crawl.
The convoy snaked forward at a glacier's pace, a long dragon of vehicles stretched across the white landscape, heading east into America's heartland until it vanished over the horizon.
...
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