Anaki sits perched on top of the van, rubbing his sore eyes. Three days of endless roads, with no sun or stars, only the grey ruins of a dying world. Below, Yaryu struggles to herd the kids to the washroom while Orion secures the fuel shutter.

  It was a small station in the middle of nowhere. Anaki scans the empty roads, where not a single infected is sighted. In his previous life, he stumbled in here after running from a group of scavengers.

  He assumed the workers had escaped at first but that almost cost his life.

  The infected were locked up in the basement, crates blocking their paths. He didn't know, the bullies didn't know.

  It was an ugly sight. The memory flashes through his mind—skin tearing, screams swallowed by the dark. He shudders.

  Good thing he left a sign there to block that path. This way the past won't be repeating.

  "It's weird, where is everyone else?" Orion asks, watching his classmates and Miss Yaryu grab whatever fancies them from the store.

  His aunt struggles to get Ross to join the single file from the store with more refreshments and resources, they needed to gather as much as they could. It will be valuable after another week of travelling.

  "They are all probably dead." Anaki rubs his eyes, shoulders sagging. He commands it well, but there’s a sluggishness beneath it all—his body can’t keep up with his mind. If he stops, he might not wake up again.

  He looks down at Orion's grim face.

  Was he too honest?

  "Relax.” Anaki traces the van's rooftop, “Just cause this city is hopeless doesn't mean the world is doomed. I am sure there are a large number of survivors with the army or something. You think something like this could happen without the knowledge of the government? They probably have shelters ready for survivors."

  Orion pounces up, half his body hanging on top. Anaki jumps, startled.

  “Shelters!? You serious? Is that where we’re headed?”

  Anaki looks away. The words press his tongue heavy in his mouth. Do I tell him? Do I let him hope?

  “…No.”

  “…What?”

  “The shelters aren’t what you think.”

  “What does that mean?”

  "It isn't a shelter. It's just a pity excuse to control the people." Anaki remembers it well, he, too, was a victim. A month after travelling around endlessly with the first group of scavengers they made it to the shelter but there the government controlled the survivors. They leeched off hard labor till people dropped and put up unfair demands, it was exploitation.

  “Think about it, if the government knew about this then why didn't they warn us?”

  Good point. Orion lets his body slump back down the van.

  There is also the fact that they have a relation with that group. Anaki tightens his grip, his knuckles whitening, nails digging into palms.

  "How do you know all this?" Orion asks, suspicious. Anaki looks down at him, and sighs a week's worth of exhaustion. For now he should just focus on these guys.

  Orion clenches his jaw. "The heck, you annoy me."

  "Don't worry, what I know will only be helpful with survival and nothing more. Let's go faster, tomorrow, the sun will rise again." His words painted a pinkish hue beneath Orion's eyes.

  The sun… will rise tomorrow? The days will return?

  Anaki could see the relief in those deep blue eyes. It was, indeed, a horrific event for the children to live three days without a sun. This supernatural was one he didn't know the answer to either.

  He looks at the aphotic horizon, the Eternal Darkness will finally end.

  This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  His lips pursed, a dark gaze in his eyes. Then the undead will be free to roam about beyond the cities. And with the light of day, those survivors who have sealed themselves in their homes will step outside. The true struggle for survival begins then.

  "We have to leave now." Anaki waves at Miss Yaryu, she nods, stuffing Ross into the bus.

  "We will reach the station by three o'clock if we go at this speed. Are you sure I shouldn't speed up?" She asks, driving through the wide highway, most of the cars were thrust aside by something large. It seemed to have been a tank, but there is no sign of it anywhere.

  Anaki glances back at the children, most of them are already asleep again. The time system is all messed up. It's a good thing he had counted the minutes until the clocks began working again, even if it is off by a few seconds.

  The time lag had messed up with the world's time span. It is strange but through that duration, the whole of living creatures had fallen into a deep coma. Only humans were awake and only they transformed, and only some felt lethargic.

  Like a fairytale curse.

  "It's lucky we didn't fall asleep because of the dark." Miss Yaryu began, trying to spark up a conversation. She knew Anaki wasn't one to chat much, but in the past few days he had changed an unrecognizable amount. It was hard to believe he was the same shy boy.

  This time she felt as if she was looking at a hurt stray, with a tired look in his eyes that frightened her.

  "It might be that it's because we didn't fall asleep that we began to change." He answers, his focus fixed on the road ahead.

  "Ah, but I wonder why..."

  "Maybe we are just puppets to someone's sick game."

  "That sounds cruel." Miss Yaryu lets out a nervous laugh, "are you feeling alright, Anaki?

  "I'm fine. Rather I am worried that everyone else will start missing their families..."

  He's right. It's hard to keep the children from missing home. If not for Ross’ oblivion and Eli and Orion's encouragement most of them would have begun to break by now.

  "It's okay."

  He looks at her determined face though those hot tears were there again, "I know it will be hard for all of us but we'll be okay. I'll make sure they get there safe and sound. It's the least I can do."

  "I'll be counting on you in keeping them calm." Anaki nods with a smile.

  "Please do." Miss Yaryu smiles back, "it's strange, I feel like you are no longer a child... even Orion and Eli are changing..."

  "That's why we have to get there fast." Anaki looks ahead, "before we change too much."

  She slams the brakes hard, nearly hitting her head against the steering wheel.

  The van lurcheds forward, tires screaming against the pavement. Yaryu’s heart leaps into her throat as she slams the brakes, throwing everyone forward. The children shriek awake—Ross nearly tumbles out of his seat.

  Behind them, she spots a horde of infected roaming closer, and the path ahead is partly blocked by badly parked vehicles.

  "Oh no..."

  "Please help us!" The woman cries but Anaki presses the lock.

  "What are you doing?!" Miss Yaryu cries in a wail, she couldn't believe he did that. His cold glare sends an icy shiver down her spine.

  "Drive."

  "What?" Yaryu glances from the little boy she can no longer recognize to the helpless couple.

  The woman pounds on the door, her eyes wide with terror. Behind her, shadows lurches closer—the infected, drawn by their cries.

  Yaryu’s hands grips the wheel, frozen. She could open the door. Let them in. But…

  “Drive!” Anaki yells, jolting her to her senses. “Do you want to get us killed?!”

  His cold words snap her into action, and she stomps on the accelerator. The van takes off, blasting past the lifeless bodies. Past the lives she could save.

  “What happened?” Orion pulls aside the curtain separating the driver’s seat from the children. The sudden stop startled most of them—though, thankfully, Ross found it amusing.

  “There was a stray,” Anaki lies bluntly, biting his lower lip.

  Orion stares at the back of his head, silent. “Right.” He lets it go and returns to his seat, calming his nervous classmates.

  Yaryu clenches the wheel, hands clammy from the shock. She holds in a sob and drives forward.

  Anaki glances at her, then rests his head against the window frame.

  Dammit.

  He knows all too well—there are countless lives he can’t save. Yaryu, as an adult, needs to confront this cruelty and accept the bitter truth before her actions endanger them all. Too many people had died because of their own ignorance and recklessness—Orion and Eli among them. The memories of their tragic fates weigh on him.

  “Over there,” he says, his voice a mix of exhaustion and determination. He points to the distant silhouette of the metro station.

  Finally, a glimmer of hope. They passed the second major hurdle.

  Yaryu responds slowly she turns the wheel, guiding the van toward the station. She maneuvers it carefully, eyes darting for any sign of danger, and finally parks in a concealed corner behind an alleyway. The moment the engine falls silent, the oppressive quiet presses in around them.

  “There are over a hundred of them,” she whispers, her voice trembling. She bites her lip, staring at the infected crowd the gates.

  It is exactly as Anaki feared.

  “We need to get the children past them to the train tracks.” Anaki picks up his weapon. “I’ll go scout the area.”

  “I’ll come with you—”

  “Miss Yaryu.” His voice cuts through the air—more of a warning than him calling her. “Right now, we are not in the position to act according to our beliefs. We must make choices to bring forth a miracle. Only by doing that can we survive.”

  “But you’re going alone—”

  “It’s best that way.” His bangs shadow his eyes. “No one will hold me back.”

  Yaryu reluctantly nods, locking the door as she watches him slip out. He moves swiftly, sneaking behind a mailbox and disappearing into the street.

  Her chest tightens. The weight of their choices settles heavy in her bones.

  She just let a seven-year-old go out alone in the middle of an apocalypse.

  A painful chill grabs her spine, what the hell is she doing? First she—a sob chokes her—she let people die and now this?

  I don't know anymore.

  “Where’s Anaki?” Orion checks in, peering out.

  Yaryu shakes her head, and from her nervous demeanor, he understands—she is barely holding herself together.

  She is as troublesome as ever. He leans back, shifting through his mind for a change of topic.

  “Everyone’s having a hard time in the van,” he says. “They’re bored since the consoles and phones don’t work anymore.”

  He leans a little closer, whispering, "And it's not like they can jump out despise this being a mission."

  “Should we play a game then?” Yaryu offers with a small smile.

  Orion glances back at his classmates, "Anyone feel like playing?"

  Ross leaps forward from the back of the van, where he built his own throne out of provisions. “I wanna play hide and seek! This traveling has my butt numb!”

  “What a child.” Laura, the only female upperclassman, chuckles. She is famous for pestering Ross.

  He hisses at her, plopping back down with a grumble. “None of your business, Miss Nosy-No-Body.”

  “I heard that, you hairy primate.”

  “—Okay, okay, calm down you two,” Yaryu cuts in, amused. “I know you’re all tired, but remember the rules? No leaving the van unless I tell you.”

  She pulls out a large packet of chips, shaking it teasingly. “Should we eat this instead?”

  The mood lifts instantly.

  Eli smiles, relieved to see his worn-out friends finally ease up after the stress of travel. He tugs at Orion’s sleeve.

  “Where’s Anaki?”

  “Probably taking a dump.”

  “Alone? With the zombies out there?” He signs.

  Orion shrugs. “He’s not my responsibility.”

  Eli frowns, unease creeping in. “But what if he gets bitten?”

  “That won’t happen. He isn’t an idiot.”

  But even as Orion says it, he doesn’t quite believe it. Sure Anaki suddenly acts like he's in control of himself. But to him, Anaki has always been a simpleton—a pushover who slowed them down.

  He exhales sharply, pushing the thought aside.

  It’ll be best if we separate after reaching the safe zone.

  He rips open the chip bag.

  If there even is one.

  And waits.