15. Meeting Old Friends

Realizing that they were too close, Victoria moved away first, and things became awkward for a moment.

Because the car lights were off, and it was dark around them, they couldn't see what was out there. It was so quiet, only the sound of flowing water and the wind blowing.

They both relaxed their muscles that were stiff from working hard for the past few hours. Victoria rotated her wrist.

"Are you okay?" Sean asked.

The girl turned her head.

"Yeah, just a little sore," Victoria replied.

"Then, let's rest for a while, then we'll go out to have a look," Sean said.

Victoria nodded in agreement. They were only in minimal lighting, from the watches they were wearing.

Both of them swept their gazes around. The electricity in the area was indeed out, and there was no movement at all except for the trees. Even the nocturnal animals seemed to be absent.

"Shall we get down now?" Sean asked after making sure it was safe.

Victoria nodded once again in agreement. There was no harm in looking around, if something happened, they would immediately get into the car. But before they opened the car door, movement was heard from the front.

Sean glanced at Victoria, and vice versa, and they became alert.

The unknown object approached them with normal movements like human footsteps, only black.

"Shoot when gets closer," Sean said to Victoria.

The girl listened.

Just before opening the door to shoot, and the object got closer, a beam of light from a small flashlight shone on the object's face, a human.

Sean paused, squinting, trying to recognize the familiar face.

"It's me," the person said and approached Sean. "You can come out now," the person continued.

Victoria looked at Sean and nodded.

Sean immediately hugged the person after making sure that the man was indeed the person he knew.

"Major Nathan," Sean said while calling the man's name, who returned Sean's hug.

"You came, Se. What a surprise," Nathan said while releasing his hug from Sean.

Victoria approached, and Sean introduced her.

"Let's talk somewhere else," Nathan suggested.

Sean agreed, but before leaving, they took all their belongings out of the car, including the weapons. There were so many items, making it difficult for the three of them. However, Nathan advised them not to leave anything in the car, even though it was locked.

They walked a few meters from the car. Not wanting to risk inviting creatures because of the noise, they chose to walk even though it was a bit difficult because they were carrying a lot of stuff.

"Come in," Nathan suggested again.

They arrived under the bridge and entered a hole covered in grass. Sean and Victoria looked at each other for a moment. While waiting for Nathan to go in first, Sean invited Victoria to go in after him.

Although it was a bit difficult to get in, Victoria managed to get in after Nathan. The entrance was indeed a bit small, but inside it was spacious enough for five people. Victoria was stunned for a moment, but then the girl realized that the place was not underground, but a secret place near the bridge.

"Welcome to the secret place," Nathan said welcoming Victoria and Sean who entered while carrying their belongings.

Victoria was still stunned, but Sean greeted the other two people and hugged like old friends.

“So, this is the medical team captain you were talking about?” one of the two said.

“Hello,” Victoria greeted militarily.

The three survivors of the sweep of the dangerous area were two men and one woman. They were Sean’s training partners, two ranks above Victoria.

“Nice to meet you, Victoria,” the short-haired girl said, extending her hand to the girl. “My name is Maria, nice to meet you,” the girl continued.

“Oh, hello. Nice to meet you,” Victoria replied, shaking Maria’s hand.

“You can call me Maria, no title needed,” Maria said casually.

Victoria nodded.

Daniel, one of the men who was talking to Sean was named Daniel and had introduced himself to Victoria.

Surviving for several days since the alien invasion that came out of nowhere made the three of them survive there with limited supplies. When Sean and Victoria came with food supplies, of course, it made the three of them because they didn't have to starve to death.

"So, did you make this place?" Sean asked.

"No. A dying resident told me about this place. There is another way in, but since you came from the East, that's the only way that can be passed," Maria answered.

The place was built under the bridge, right on the abutment.

"Is this underground?" Victoria asked.

"Yes. The other way isn't finished yet, but it's good enough to get in even though it's a bit difficult. There's another way out, you go up a small ladder, and you'll find an exit like a door, and you'll appear above the river," Maria explained again.

Victoria listened intently.

"This place was originally a tunnel, but because it's not finished, we can use it as a hiding place," Daniel said.

“Enough for the five of us,” Sean added.

“Yes. You guys take a rest, we’ll talk again after eating, how about that?” Nathan offered.

“Good idea,” Daniel added.

Their food supplies were the ones usually prepared by the military, canned food, or something practical.

“They don’t smell. According to our observations, the creatures only see blood and attack. When it’s dark, they’re blind, but their ears can still hear the slightest sound. This place is soundproof, so it’s safe,” Nathan explained while spooning food into his mouth.

Victoria ate while listening to the stories of the three people she had just met. Maria also talked a lot, seeming happy that Victoria wanted to accompany her.

The team led by Nathan set off without any preparation, initially, they were assigned to patrol, combing the surrounding area, but then they had to experience unexpected things, and in the middle of the journey, they lost their colleagues. Daniel was injured by a sharp weapon, but fortunately, they did not come face-to-face with the creatures. Their team was involved in a fierce battle with the creatures, and because of their increasing numbers, they could not survive. After the situation calmed down, they looked for a place to hide.

"We met a villager who was dying from the creature's poison, and the person said something about this place, so we searched for it and found it," Maria continued.

"We were lucky even though we lost a lot," Daniel said sadly.

Victoria could feel his sadness, losing many people in the team, seeing the villagers fall prey to the strange creatures, and being helpless to save the others.

"If I may, let me check your wounds, Senior," Victoria said.

All eyes were on the girl.

"Ah, I forgot, Victoria is a doctor," Sean said after a moment of silence.

They laughed a little and felt relieved.