“Attention all vehicles.
Please form an orderly queue.
Medical personnel will conduct screenings.
Failure to cooperate with official procedures will result in severe penalties.” Night had fallen.
Moonlight bathed the interstate as cars lined up, headlights blazing.
Soldiers on the quarantine wall swept searchlights across the dark corners, watching for anyone trying to slip through under cover of darkness.
Osborne leaned back in the driver’s seat, yawning.
“So.
What’s your plan once we’re inside?” Interstate 35 was the fastest route from the south to Dallas.
But they hadn’t been the only ones with that idea.
The highway was packed with vehicles stretching for miles.
The checkpoint screening was painfully slow.
They’d been waiting since noon, nearly nine hours, and had only just reached the wall.
Behind them, more cars kept arriving, an endless river of desperate people.
Yet despite the endless wait, no one honked.
No one complained.
They all just waited, hoping to get in.
Brian stared out at the night.
“We met an old man named Herman back in Austin.
He invited us to come with him to Dallas, but we stayed behind to look for Sarah’s family.” He pulled a crumpled paper from his pocket.
“He gave us this address.
I want to find him, get a feel for the situation inside, and then figure out how to get to Washington to find my parents.” He turned to Osborne.
“What about you?
Got a place to go?” Osborne shook his head with a tired sigh.
“Not yet.
I’ll try to contact an old army buddy and report what happened in Austin.
Don’t worry about me.
Worst case, I’ve still got the RV.” Brian nodded.
The car ahead was finishing its inspection.
He turned and clapped his hands twice.
“Ladies, we’re up.
Get ready.” The RV rolled up to the checkpoint.
A soldier in a hazmat suit approached the driver’s window and rapped on the glass, signaling for them to roll it down.
When the window lowered, the soldier looked inside and did a double take.
A middle-aged man and three kids.
His expression softened slightly.
“Sir, please have everyone step out of the vehicle.
We need to inspect you and the RV.” “Of course.” They filed out and stood by the RV.
Brian watched as a soldier approached with a rectangular device—a handheld scanner with a cylindrical attachment on top.
The infection scanner.
Two other soldiers climbed into the RV to check for hidden passengers.
The soldier with the scanner moved behind each of them, pressing the device to the back of their necks and pressing a button.
Each scan produced two beeps and a confirmation that the subject was clean.
Another soldier took down their names, ages, and last addresses, asking about their relationships and whether they had family in the city.
The process took ten minutes.
When everything checked out, the soldier gave the all-clear and radioed the control room to open the gate.
But they weren’t free to roam just yet.
A guide in a small car pulled ahead of them, waving for them to follow.
Dallas wasn’t as pristine as it looked from outside.
Parks and open fields were crammed with tents.
Even from inside the RV, they could hear the sounds of weeping.
For nearly half an hour, that was all they saw.
The city was reaching its limit.
Soon, there wouldn’t be enough room for everyone.
The guide led them to an abandoned factory.
A massive open area was divided by a chain-link fence.
Tents covered the left side.
The right side was packed with RVs, each parked within white-painted lines.
Brian frowned.
“Why are there so many RVs here?” Osborne wasn’t surprised.
“Because a car is just a car.
An RV is a home.” He glanced at Brian.
“That’s democracy for you.” The guide parked the RV in its designated spot and handed Osborne a small booklet and four ID cards.
“These are for ration pickups.
Dallas is under martial law.
Curfew starts at 8 PM.
Everything else is in the booklet.
Don’t cause trouble.” He turned and drove off without another word.
“Well, well.
New neighbors!” A scruffy old man stumbled out of the RV next to theirs, clutching an empty bottle.
He flopped into a nearby chair and waved at them cheerfully.
Brian’s eyes lit up.
He ran back into the RV, grabbed two bottles of liquor, and sat down beside the old man.
Kelly watched from the door.
“What’s he doing?” Osborne ruffled her hair.
“Gathering intel.
Come on.
Let’s get some sleep.
Big day tomorrow.” Sarah didn’t follow the father and daughter inside.
She sat on the step, watching Brian’s profile in the dim light.
The old man took a long swig of the bottle Brian had given him and decided the kid was all right.
He answered every question without hesitation.
“Supplies get handed out at the central district every morning at nine.
But keep your ration card close.
Those soldiers don’t care who you are, just the card.
And bring a gun when you go—people will rob you otherwise.” “Yeah, there are protests.
Don’t join them.
That’s just asking for trouble.” “Your address is in the north district.
Not far from here.
Take a right out of the lot and keep going.
You’ll find it.” “How do you leave?
Don’t bother.
The news says the infection’s under control, but that’s garbage.
The whole world’s gone to hell.
I came from the west.
Thought it’d be better here.
It’s not.
Everywhere’s the same.” The old man didn’t know much, but what he did know, he shared in vivid detail.
By the time the conversation wound down, Brian had a decent picture of life inside Dallas.
He walked the old man back to his RV and learned his name—Antoine.
He turned to head back and found Sarah sitting on the step, staring at him.
“Something wrong?” Her cheeks flushed.
“No.
Nothing.” She quickly recovered.
“Did you get anything useful?” Brian’s expression turned grim.
“We might not be able to leave anytime soon.
The outbreak is worse than we thought.
Everywhere else is just as bad.” Sarah felt a small, guilty flicker of relief.
She didn’t want him to go.
She didn’t want him to risk his life looking for parents who might already be gone.
But she didn’t say that.
She just nodded.
“Let’s sleep on it,” Brian said.
“We’ll find Herman tomorrow and see what he says.” He took her hand and led her back into the RV.
Whatever happened, tomorrow would decide their next move.
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