On a crisp Dallas morning, two kids—a boy and a girl, both around twelve or thirteen—jogged slowly down the wide streets. Despite the cool morning air, their clothes were drenched in sweat. Early risers lining the streets gave them strange looks, clearly puzzled by their antics.
"Briiiian, you... You slow down!" Sarah panted, struggling to keep up as they weaved through the alleys and streets. After what felt like forever, she finally couldn't keep up. She slowed to a stop, hands on her hips, gasping for breath. "I can't... I can't go any farther."
Hearing her call, Brian turned around but didn't stop moving. He kept jogging in place. "What's the matter? Out of breath already? And you call yourself the captain of the school team? That was, like, last week!"
"I... I can't do this anymore. I'm done. I just can't run," Sarah groaned, pressing her hand to her stomach. She felt terrible—itchy all over, her legs trembling uncontrollably. All she wanted was to sit down and rest.
"Don't sit down. It's bad for you. Get up and walk a bit first," Brian said, rushing over to Sarah as she moved toward a stone bench on the side of the street. He yanked her back up just as she was about to sit.
"Hey! What are you doing?" Sarah snapped, frustrated. She had been so close to resting, and now Brian was pulling her back up. Her body ached, and her temper was short.
"C'mon, don't be like that. I'll walk with you. We'll rest in a bit, okay?" Brian patted her back and gently guided her forward. Leaning on him, Sarah felt a bit better. She let him lead her, her steps wobbly but steady.
After a few minutes, she felt a little better and broke away from his support, walking on her own. "Why am I so exhausted, and you're fine?" she grumbled.
"Guess I'm just in better shape," Brian said with a grin, though he was feeling a bit off, too. He was puzzled; he'd exercised before, and he knew the first few minutes should be brutal. But after thirty minutes of running, he was only slightly out of breath.
"Whatever. I don't want to think about it," Brian shrugged it off. He walked with Sarah for another ten minutes, then checked his watch. "It's always like this at first. You'll get used to it. Today's enough. We just started, and we need to take it easy. We can increase the distance later."
"Thank goodness," Sarah breathed a sigh of relief, her face lighting up. "I thought I was going to die out there."
"Ha, you're such a wimp," Brian teased, shaking his head. "And it's only the first day."
"Whatever, you can talk," Sarah retorted, rolling her eyes.
They made their way back to the RV, where Osborne and Kelly had already gone to join the line. Brian had told them about his decision earlier that morning. They looked sad, but they nodded in understanding, not trying to stop him.
They grabbed their clothes and took turns in the shower. The city had public hand pumps for water, and though the lines were long, their big bucket meant they only had to fill it every two or three days. The RV's power came from a small, quiet generator and the solar panels on the roof. With the quarantine zone open, there was no need to save fuel.
Their clothes came from a nearby clothing store. During the riots, the store had been targeted, but most people took adult clothes. The kids' section was mostly untouched, so they had plenty to choose from.
After the shower, Brian felt refreshed. He tossed his clothes aside—why bother washing them when he could just get a new set every day? He grabbed his ID card, called Sarah, and they headed back to the management office, following the same route they'd taken yesterday.
The management office was a far cry from yesterday's emptiness. It was packed, but oddly enough, most people were gathered around a wall, while the line for registration was surprisingly short.
Brian glanced over and saw that the crowd was huddled around the map of the United States. Curious, he left Sarah at the entrance and squeezed through the crowd. Up close, he saw that the map was now dotted with red markers—new quarantine zones. He listened in on snippets of conversation and realized the military had confirmed all the zones people could go to. The map was there for anyone thinking of leaving voluntarily.
He studied the map carefully. Most of the red dots were clustered around Dallas, with fewer and fewer as the distance increased. The farthest east was Atlanta.
"What are they looking at?" Sarah asked, craning her neck to see inside as Brian emerged from the crowd.
"Just a map of the quarantine zones," Brian replied, wiping sweat from his brow. The crowd had been a tight squeeze.
He took the two ID cards and joined the line at the same counter they'd been to yesterday. The woman behind the counter, whose name tag read "Claudia," greeted them.
"Hello, please show me your ID cards," she said, typing away at her keyboard as she entered the information of the last person.
But when she looked up and saw Brian, her expression changed. She remembered him from yesterday—the first kid to come in.
"Hey there, kid. What brings you back?" she asked, a hint of surprise in her voice.
Brian handed over the cards and smiled. "I've made up my mind, Claudia. I'm going to Atlanta."
Claudia looked at the ID card, noting his name for the first time. She studied him for a moment, trying one last time to dissuade him. "Are you sure about this?"
"Thanks, but I'm sure," Brian replied, appreciating her concern but firm in his decision.
Claudia sighed inwardly. She liked the kid and had hoped to talk him out of it. But it wasn't her place to interfere. She turned to Sarah, who was standing beside Brian.
"And who's this?" she asked, raising an eyebrow with a teasing smile.
Sarah's face turned red, and she hid behind Brian. "She's just my friend," Brian explained, a little embarrassed by the teasing.
Claudia's fingers clacked away at the keyboard, but her expression clearly said she didn't believe him. Brian just shook his head and let it go. It didn't matter if she thought they were more than friends. They probably wouldn't see each other again.
A few minutes later, Claudia handed back the ID cards. "Your information is entered into the Atlanta volunteer list. You're in the first batch. Just wait for the notice, and then report with your ID cards."
The Dallas military had limited vehicles, and large-scale evacuations required nearby quarantine zones to send their troops to collect people. The Dallas vehicles were reserved for long-distance transports like the one to Atlanta. Even then, they couldn't move tens of thousands of people at once.
Food and vehicles aside, a massive crowd in the infected zone would be like a giant buffet, drawing every infected creature for miles. That's why the government had to move people in batches, ensuring most of them made it to their destinations safely.