Selena POV
As the day drew to a close, the sky outside began to transition into a twilight hue. From inside the truck, I could observe the fading light and the encroaching darkness. The world beyond was filled with infected, their presence was a constant reminder of the dangerous situation we were in. But I wondered how they managed to get these trucks on the road with a lot of infected people; it's impossible that they just disappeared or just gave way to them so that they could pass right through. As time presses on, I've noticed something: the further we venture into the heart of the city, the fewer infected we encounter.
"There are fewer infected? Is Daza starting to get cleared?" Agatha asked, her gaze focused outside as we noticed the scarcity of infected in the area. It was unusual, considering we were venturing deeper into the city, where the infected were expected to be more numerous. We hadn't encountered any abnormals either, not even once we stepped foot in Daza. Something felt off.
A nearby man chuckled upon hearing Agatha's question, drawing our attention to him. He had a sharp appearance but also had a playful look, giving off a Playboy vibe. Sensing an opportunity for mischief, he spoke up.
"I thought you were the guide. You're already so lost; how can you help us if you know nothing? Why would they send someone who knows nothing? How stupid."
I was about to respond when Agatha burst into laughter, causing the man's words to be cut short. "Hahaha, oops, sorry about that. I just remembered something funny," she managed to say between fits of laughter. She wiped away a few tears caused by her amusement before addressing the man's comment.
"To be honest, neither of us knows why we're here. We were simply instructed to observe, guide, and help if anything happened. That's it." Agatha then began to file her nails, a sign of her irritation.
Before the man could retort, the guy who had offered us his seat spoke up, intervening. "We also hope that Daza is starting to be cleared, but unfortunately, it's still a red zone. However, as you can see, there are fewer infected in this part of the city. Most of them have gathered on the other side, forming a hurdle. They only come here once a month, so this area is relatively safe for now. Don't worry."
"Don't worry? Safe?" I couldn't help but scoff internally. This raid seemed like a foolish idea. Eight years ago, a major hurdle erupted in a black zone, an area inaccessible to normal humans due to toxic air and countless abnormals. It had been a tragic event, with only two survivors. As doubts continued to cloud my mind about this raid, I couldn't shake the feeling that this mission had the potential for disaster.
The truck came to a sudden stop, and I peered outside to see our surroundings. We had arrived at the camp that had been mentioned earlier. As we passed through the gate, my eyes were drawn to a group of individuals dressed in black suits, armed with firearms.
They seemed to be the security personnel in charge of safeguarding the camp. After a brief pause, the truck continued, leading us to a designated area where the trucks were meant to park. It was a clear space, probably intended for unloading and organizing supplies. As we came to a halt, I could see other trucks parked nearby, indicating that the rest of the team had arrived.
Inside the truck we were in, everyone began putting on their gas masks. The man earlier who offered his set noticed that we didn't have any masks and swiftly pulled out a box containing gas masks. He opened it and offered them to us. We accepted the masks and put them on before disembarking from the truck. As we stepped out, I could feel the man who had a problem with us staring at us intently. When he noticed that I noticed him, he averted his gaze and started to march to the truck ahead, the one where Hunter rode.
Everyone started to get the equipment out to the truck, then I noticed Agatha come beside me and whisper.
"I can feel their warm welcome to us." She sarcastically wisped at me and made a small laugh. When I was about to reply to Agatha, the guy who offered us the set earlier came closer to us with another person at the back following him carrying something.
"Excuse me, aaammm hunter, says that he forgot to give you your equipment." The man politely smiled and gave it to us, and I noticed that the man carrying my equipment was having a hard time carrying it, so when he was near, I grabbed it using one hand and hung it on my shoulder. Then I saw some of those 20 men who were watching; some of them smiled, and one man whistled and added a play, fully patting the shoulder of the man who carried my equipment, teasing him when he got back to his group mates earlier.
"I thought it's heavy, looks like you just need more muscles, Con." Then laughed his one of them who was in the group.
"What the, it's truly heavy, Zac! I'm not joking." Then I notice that Agatha is talking with the men earlier, not just talking; they are both laughing since when did both of them become close? This woman knows how to get someone.
"Hey! Selena, this is Anderson, or you can call him Kate." While teasing him, he has a woman's name.
"Just Anderson or Ande, don't listen to your friend," he said, convincing me to call him Anderson. "By the way, I'll be guiding you to your tents; you'll be staying with the other woman among the scavengers." Then guide us to the tent.
When I am near one of the tents, I can hear a lot of laughter coming inside. When Kai opens the tent door, the girls who were laughing earlier stop, and all their attention is on us now that there are 20 of them inside.
"Good evening, ladies," Ande said, introducing us to everyone inside the tent. "So they'll be staying here with you, so take care of them, this lady here, Jess, is their team leader, and she'll give you all the other details." Then Kay lived, leaving us to Jess.
"Hi! I'm Jess, and we are Scavenger Team 1," having shackled hands with us.
"Team 1?" is there separating their teams? In this kind of situation, it's important to stick together, especially when they don't have any specials on their team.
"Yes, where team 1 was in charge of the supply and a backup for the second team, I think you already met them there, the team of Hunter," she explained while taking us to the back part of the tent, and she gave us all the necessary information that we should know.
"Later, we will be having a gathering for the welcoming of each organization that will be participating in the raid for Daza. So you may rest now, and I will give you a heads up for a later ceremony." Then she goes back to her group of friends talking.
"Don't talk about it; I know it's weird, but that's how it works on them, so for now, let's observe," Agatha said to me as if reading what's on my mind.
"As if we have any choices," I tell her with a hint of announcement in my voice.