[CONTENTID1]chapter two - [/CONTENTID1]

[CONTENTID2] “If you don't know where you are going, the road can take you there.” [/CONTENTID2]

[CONTENTID3]Hoseok just shrugged his shoulders and deemed it as a prank, leaving it at that. I stood rather dumbfounded, staring intensely into the radio as though it would come back alive. It didn’t, and I figured Hoseok was right. After all, he was technically our leader.

Night fell and everyone sat down in a circle on the floor – it had been a while since we lost someone close to all six of us. Truthfully, we didn’t know how to lead over 3,000 people to safety. Hell, we couldn’t even survive without Hyunwoo telling us what to do.

Changkyun was the first to break the silence. “What do we do for food tonight?”

“I don’t know, man,” Kihyun leaned backwards, surveying his dirty nails. “We can eat dirt. . ty dirt, maybe?”

“So, you?”

“ off.”

A few chuckles broke here and there until the silence took over once again. Hoseok stood up and announced that he would hunt a few squirrels so we wouldn’t starve to death. I pursed my lips – eating animals was thought to be a bit dangerous, especially wild animals that were suspected to already carry multiple diseases. Hyunwoo had often told us to take precaution in the animals we hunt, you never knew if one of them carried the virus that could kill us all.

Hoseok looked as though he didn’t care, though. I opened my mouth to offer my assistance, but Minhyuk’s hand crossed through mine and in that second I knew he didn’t want me going anywhere with Hoseok.

Before he left for the door, Hoseok’s eyes met mine and I could practically feel the disappointment in them. He shot a glance towards him as though he was waiting for me to jump up and accompany him. If he had waited five more seconds, he would have gotten what he wanted but he just shook his head, took his .44 magnum and left.

Minhyuk scoffed, putting his arm around my shoulders. “He’s unstable. Give him a few hours and he’ll get his back here. In the meantime, we need to find valuable to trade. Get a few gallons of water and we should be set for the winter.”

Right. Winter. December was coming and we surely didn’t have enough food and water to last us for four months. And with 3,000 people? Hyunwoo died at the worst timing.

“We’ve still got at least a month’s supply left,” Jooheon stated. “If our people listened to us and are actually conversing what we have left, we should at least be fine for one more month.”

“And the month after that?”

Jooheon hesitated. “Let’s just see if we’re still alive.”

Hours passed as each and every member of the clan fell into a deep sleep. Sleep was a luxury that most of us couldn’t afford anymore so getting a few shut-eye was like a gift from Heaven. Hoseok was still gone, and in the end, we slept with empty stomachs. I stayed up, occasionally looking back and forth from the radio to the door.

Just what the was that radio? And what did they mean when they said we were being watched? As time passed, the more and more I got worried and jittery about Hoseok’s disappearance.

The door busted open and I instantly looked up to see Hoseok dangling three dead squirrels. “Got ‘em.”

“What took you so long?” I snapped, closing the door and peering into his mud-splattered face. “It’s been hours! Do you know how long you’ve been gone?”