Survival in the last days of America

Brian checked the address in his hand, carefully comparing it with the numbers on the wall as he walked. Without turning his head, he answered Sarah's question in a calm but firm tone:

"Do you really think they care? Sometimes, the only thing that matters is immediate gain. When the sky falls, there will always be someone taller to hold it up. Someone else will clean up the mess."

"..."

Sarah listened silently, her heart sinking into a deep unease. She fell into silence, overwhelmed by the weight of his words. The implications were too heavy for her to process all at once.

"But wouldn't the military step in if something like that happened? If they caught those people, couldn't they just follow the trail and deal with it?" Alan, unable to stay quiet any longer, voiced his thoughts.

"You're not thinking straight," Brian said with a tired sigh. He reached out and gave Alan a light flick on the forehead.

"If someone really did this, do you think they'd let their identities be known? They'd wear full masks, hide every detail. I just hope this is all in my head."

Finally, Brian found the correct location. He stepped forward and said:

"Alright, enough thinking. We're here now. Let's go in."

Anna's place was in an old office building. After the military cleared the quarantine zone, no space was wasted — so these buildings were repurposed for housing.

The building was over forty stories high. Without elevators, residents on the upper floors had to climb daily — a grueling task. Brian and the others were already tired after walking across the enclave, and going up thirteen floors had been exhausting enough.

Knock knock knock!

After reaching the thirteenth floor, Brian knocked firmly on the wooden double doors.

Moments later, footsteps approached. The door cracked open slightly — just a narrow gap. Then, a familiar face appeared behind it — Anna's cautious eyes scanning the visitors.

"Eh! You're here already?"

Anna's eyes lit up with surprise as she recognized Brian. She opened the door fully and asked in mild shock:

"I thought you'd come tomorrow. I didn't expect to see you so soon."

"Anna!" Sarah's voice rang with excitement. She rushed forward and grabbed Anna's arm, hugging it tightly.

Anna smiled warmly, gently patting Sarah's head. Her eyes were filled with affection.

"We dropped Dick off first," Brian explained as he wiped the sweat from his face. "Sector D is a bit far from here. Plus, we had to find this place. That's why we arrived so late."

"Come in, quickly."

Anna ushered them inside. Compared to Lucy and Daphne's place, her room was at least twice as large. Most furniture was pushed into a corner, leaving only a single bed in the center and some basic living supplies.

"How's school going?" Anna offered water to Brian and the others as they sat down.

Sarah eagerly began recounting everything that had happened in the past three months: the classes, the training, the friends they made, even the incident with the bullies.

Alan joined in with occasional nods and comments. Brian, meanwhile, stood up and began walking around the room, carefully observing.

After a full loop, he couldn't help but feel a pang of sadness. Aside from basic toiletries and a single set of clothes hanging on the wall, there was practically nothing else.

He thought back to Lucy and Daphne's place. He had been so focused on the news they gave him that he hadn't paid attention to their living conditions. Now, he wondered if their situation was just as bad.

"Anna… why don't you have anything here?" Brian finally couldn't hold back the question.

At his words, the three talking fell silent. Sarah and Alan exchanged glances, then looked around the room with furrowed brows.

"Life outside the campus isn't as good as what you have in school," Anna said with a wry smile.

"You live under protection. But outside, we have to work every day just to earn supply cards. Almost all of them go toward food and basic necessities. That's the reality for most people outside the enclave."

Sarah, who had been living in the school this whole time, never imagined the outside world could be this bad. She suddenly thought of Lucy and Daphne. Were they living like this too?

"It wasn't always like this," Anna continued, her voice tinged with nostalgia.

"When I first arrived, we had to work, but the food supply was more than enough. But after so many new survivors poured into the enclave, it created huge pressure on resources. Though more workers meant more productivity, food shortages became a real issue."

Then, forcing a smile, she added:

"Don't worry. This won't last forever. Things will get better."

"Sarah," Brian suddenly called out to her, snapping her out of her thoughts.

"Hmm? What is it?" Sarah looked up.

"Bring out the stuff we got for Anna."

"Oh! Right!"

As if just remembering, Sarah quickly pulled out her backpack and began placing the items on the table one by one.

Anna watched in surprise as the table gradually filled — half of it now covered in snacks, clothes, and essentials. But what truly shocked her were the two bottles of vitamins and antibiotics — rare and precious items in the enclave.

Brian had hesitated a long time before deciding to exchange his credits for them. Together, they cost nearly a hundred points — an astronomical price. He had to empty his card and even borrow some from Sarah and Alan to make it happen. He had felt the pain of losing so many credits for a while.

For students who barely scraped by in school, such items were completely out of reach.

But Brian knew that in the post-apocalyptic world, food could still be obtained with effort. Medicine, however, was a different story — once gone, it was gone. If they didn't stock up now, they might never find it again.

So he decided — and from now on, he would always set aside some credits to exchange for medicine and vitamins.

"No, you keep these," Anna said without hesitation. She reached for the two bottles on the table and tried to return them to Sarah's backpack.

"I can't accept these. I know how valuable they are."

Though she didn't know the exact credit cost, she could guess they were extremely expensive.

But Sarah, with a gentle smile, took them back:

"No worries. We can get more in school. You keep them."

"No way. I can't take them."

"You have to," Brian finally stepped in, seeing Anna's firm refusal.

"Anna, you keep them for now. We'll bring more in the future. You can store them here for us. When we finally leave school, we'll come to collect them. But if you need them yourself, don't hesitate — use them."

Anna paused, her hand halfway through returning the bottles. Her eyes lowered slightly, then, after a brief hesitation, she gave a small nod.

Seeing her finally accept them, Brian's lips curled into a slight smirk. He watched as Anna carefully placed the two bottles into a box, understanding the unspoken meaning behind his words.

He was giving her an excuse — a reason to use them without guilt.

"Alright," Brian stretched his arms, clearly tired. "It's getting late. Let's get some rest. We have things to do tomorrow."

He started moving the chairs from the corner, arranging them into makeshift beds.

Though he still had many questions, he decided to leave them for tomorrow. Tonight wasn't the right time to press Anna further.