usatvline Chapter 21 Hope dashed
Chapter 21 Hope dashed
......
"Your dad is so nice."
Sophia said to little Karl, her tone full of envy.
"Sean is not my father."
Little Karl immediately denied it, then paused, his expression somewhat somber, and said:
"My father is dead."
On the way to Atlanta, Lori had already subtly told Carl about Rick. Carl cried sadly for a while, but gradually accepted the fact.
Because Sean told little Carl that he was a man now and would protect his mother in place of his father.
Rumble... Rumble...
From afar came the sound of thunder or cannon fire, and the already easily frightened people became agitated by the sudden noise.
Carol quickly hugged Sophia and little Karl, looking ahead with concern...
People became increasingly agitated, arguments broke out frequently, and some even got into fights on the street, causing a series of chaotic incidents.
"what should we do?"
Lori said somewhat helplessly.
“Come here, we’re going to do what Rick wants us to do, take you and Carl away from here.”
As he spoke, Sean pulled Lori away from the rioting crowd; this was Sean's only goal now.
Buzz... Buzz...
Just then, another buzzing sound from a helicopter rotor swept overhead.
People looked up and could faintly see airplanes with their lights flashing in the dark night sky, heading towards downtown Atlanta.
"This is not lightning."
Lori suddenly saw flashes of light on the horizon in the direction of downtown Atlanta.
"Stay close to me, let's go."
Sean said, "Let's go ahead."
The two walked into the woods by the roadside, a spot from which they could see Atlanta in the distance.
Then they witnessed a shocking and despairing scene...
The city seemed to be without power at night, with no lights at all, but the huge fireballs from the continuous explosions illuminated half the sky, and the tall buildings were clearly visible in the flames.
It turns out that those planes were going to bomb downtown Atlanta. From their vantage point, they could see that the entire city had been reduced to a sea of fire.
Upon witnessing this scene, some people broke down in despair and cried.
They all understood that with Atlanta gone, the safe zone was gone too.
"OMG......"
Lori stared blankly at the city, which was constantly exploding.
"They dropped petrol bombs in the streets..."
Sean felt helpless; he hadn't expected the situation to have come to this.
“…Sean.”
Lori called Sean's name in a trembling voice, overwhelmed by helplessness.
What will they do if there are no safe zones left?
Sean turned his head and saw Lori's terrified expression; he felt a pang of sympathy.
"Come to me..."
After hesitating for a moment, he reached out and hugged Lori's thin body, pulling her into his arms to offer some comfort.
"Woooooooo..."
Lori, now completely disoriented, acquiesced to Sean's actions and finally broke down in tears in his arms.
Looking at the skyscrapers that were faintly visible in the light of the continuous explosions.
Even Sean was speechless at this point.
……
Atlanta, which was once seen as a place of hope, has fallen, and the safe zone and refugee resettlement center that were mentioned on the radio are naturally gone.
Some people choose to continue waiting, perhaps because they are unwilling to give up, or perhaps because they have a wishful thinking mentality.
But most people choose to leave and seek other paths.
Sean and Lori made their way through the increasingly chaotic crowd back to their car and found Carl and the others.
"Mother……"
Little Carl ran over and hugged Lori.
Carol asked what was happening ahead, and people nearby gathered around to inquire, asking all sorts of questions.
Lori had no choice but to pull herself together and briefly explain what she had seen.
The devastating news shattered everyone's mental defenses...
Edward was filled with impotent rage, constantly cursing the incompetence of the US government, but at the same time feeling lost about the future.
"This place is about to descend into chaos; we must leave quickly."
Sean reminded him, then opened the car door, got into the driver's seat, and started the car.
Lori and the others also sensed the obvious restlessness among the people around them.
In desperation, people are becoming irritable, and the situation is gradually spiraling out of control.
Lori and Carl followed Sean into the car, and Sean jerked the steering wheel, driving the car off the road and bumping along the grassy side of the road back.
Seeing this, Edward returned to the car and saw Carol still standing there staring blankly in that direction. He angrily cursed at her.
"What are you standing there for, you foolish woman? Are you going to stay here and wait to die?"
“…Baby, get in the car quickly.”
Carol trembled at the shout and quickly pulled Sophia into the car.
Ed then started the car and quickly caught up with Sean and his group, with other cars following behind them as they drove away.
……
...The sun had not yet risen, and the sky was just beginning to lighten.
Several cars were parked on the open ground by the roadside; they were Dell and his group, heading towards Atlanta.
They had been attacked on the road, but fortunately, the attackers were few in number, just a small group of wandering motorcycle gang members. Moreover, they all had weapons on their motorcycles, and the motorcycles helped each other and worked together to drive back the thugs from the motorcycle gang.
However, the RV was also damaged in the gunfight, and after barely managing to drive a short distance, it had to stop to rest, which caused a significant delay.
"Jim, how is it?"
Dell walked over carrying a sniper rifle.
"The water tank hose was hit, and there will be problems if we continue on the road. We won't be able to get to Atlanta."
Jim shook his head and said helplessly.
"By the way... can we use the stuff you got from Andrea and the others' car?"
Dale suddenly remembered that Jim had gotten quite a lot from Adriana's car yesterday, so he asked.
“I’ve tried it, but it doesn’t work. I think maybe I can use tape as a temporary fix, and then replace it with a suitable tube once I find one.”
Jim thought about it for a long time, and this was the only feasible method he could think of at the moment.
"It seems this is the only way."
We need to get going quickly; the radio stations have all stopped broadcasting, and I'm worried something might have happened.
Dell then expressed his concerns.
Earlier, around midnight, cars started passing by their area.
At first, they didn't pay attention and were even worried about being attacked again. They could only arrange for people to take turns keeping watch at night before daring to let some people continue to rest.
They were only slightly relieved when they saw that the passing cars were really just passing by.
But as more and more cars drove back, they gradually began to realize something was wrong, because those cars were coming from the direction of Atlanta.
It seemed that something had happened ahead that they didn't know about, and Dale and the others wanted to stop the car to ask what was going on.
But the cars driving at night just sped past, not daring to stop and completely ignoring them.
There was nothing they could do but wait until dawn to make further plans.
However, after midnight, the highway returned to silence, and not a single car passed by for a long time.
"Dell, something seems off."
Andrea then walked over and said with a worried expression.
"What's wrong?
"Andrea, you should go and rest, get some sleep."
Dell advised.
"I can't sleep... It's been more than two hours since any cars have passed by here."
Andrea looked terrible; she hadn't slept all night and her eyes were bloodshot.
"We'll leave once Jim fixes the car. I'll go get Morales and the others before dawn."
Dale decided not to wait until dawn. After telling Andrea, he went to wake up the Morales family and the Moore brothers.
As for why they are called the Moore Brothers, it's because Moore and Daryl both came to their aid when they were attacked before.
During the battle, Daryl shot the enemy leader in the right eye with a crossbow bolt. This stunning shot shattered the leader's will to fight, and he ultimately fled in disarray.
Therefore, their relationship has eased somewhat, and they are now considered to be on the same path.
Andrea watched Jim continue repairing the car; there was nothing she could do to help.
So she went to the roadside to wait, hoping to catch a glimpse of passing vehicles and ask them about the situation.
The morning air was cold and frosty, and Andrea was only dressed in thin clothes. She hugged her arms tightly, shivering from the cold.
But Andrea still refused to leave the roadside, afraid of missing any passing cars.
……