After relocating from the middle of the city into the Humvee, Cain sat in the front seat with his helmet visor open.
In his right hand, he held a chocolate-flavored jelly pack. He brought the tip of the packaging to his mouth and squeezed it lightly. His mouth was stuffed with something bouncy mixed with a sweet taste that raised the dopamine hormone in his brain, causing the boy's expression to relax.
He peeked into the rearview mirror hanging in front of him. The other cadets were focused on their meal and enjoying their simple lunch.
Thanks to the car body that didn't leave any gaps. The cadets could temporarily open their helmets even though they were living in the middle of a virus-contaminated land.
Rika, the team's vice-leader in the group, accidentally met eyes with Cain in the mirror. The girl took the jelly pack in her mouth, then asked.
"Then, can I ask why you want to go to that abandoned facility?"
Starting with her, all eyes began to focus on Cain, who was sipping the jelly pack until it shrivelled. He swallowed the jelly in his mouth and threw the trash into the box from which he had taken the jelly. Apparently, the box has two rooms inside for storing the food and its waste.
"There's no profound reason. I just want to confirm something, Peter. In the underground vault, did you find any electronic devices and such?"
It was the first question that rose in his mind regarding that place, which suddenly appeared when the blue-haired boy mentioned it earlier. Peter wrinkled his forehead. He pulled the jelly packaging from his mouth and started talking.
"Yes, we saw it. But most of the devices were already obsolete and unusable, right Louise?"
"Mr. Peter is right, I even tried to press the power button of one of the computers there but the result was nil."
Louise added the rest. Cain looked down, his hand holding his chin. He was thinking of a reason acceptable to everyone to go to the abandoned research facility.
'Hmm, how can I convince them?'
As his vision began to narrow, a golden light came to the rescue with its cheerful voice, giving Cain a chance to breathe.
"Come on, Rika, don't ask Cain too much details."
This time, all eyes turned to Abel, who was taking his second jelly pack. Rika gasped, not believing she had heard Abel retaliate against her for the first time.
"I don't mean to bother him, I just want to know the reason behind his actions."
Abel casually tore open the packaging and stared at the food in his hand.
"Calm down a bit, okay. Besides, Cain's thoughts might be still occupied by the monster horde out there. So he wants to know if the bunker-class underground facility that Peter and Louise found is suitable for the worst-case scenario to hide if it happens."
The blonde boy slurped his jelly while trying to ignore the widened eyes of the red-haired girl beside him.
However, Rika had prepared an answer to that statement. She turned to Cain and spoke.
"Wouldn't it be better if we leave this place right now?"
"But we still haven't finished this search mission because the north area is still unexplored."
Rika's expression darkened when she heard Abel answer her once again, mixed with a tone of dissatisfaction and general truth behind it. True, the mission was to explore the whole city and write a proper observation report before being given to General Dosh.
The red-haired girl turned, her eyes turned bloodshot as she wondered, Why did Abel suddenly use a bit of his brain power at a time like this?
Abel, who received the unjust treatment, didn't back down as he stared right into Rika's eyes.
The two gazes sparked, turning the cabin atmosphere hot and heavy with tension that slowly ensnared the necks of the people around.
"R-Rika, calm down."
Louise put a hand on Rika's shoulder. Her face was pale, filled with worry when she saw her teammates arguing. Peter, who turned his upper body to see the situation in the back, peeked to the side.
"Leader, what should we do?"
His voice was soft, even like a whisper. Something that was rarely seen from Peter, who always stood straight with his chin raised high.
Cain, who had his arms crossed, was silent. He swallowed hard as the tips of his fingertips froze. The boy couldn't imagine that the two people who seemed like a couple started a quarrel over his whim.
'This is bad. What should I do?'
Something like this should not be ignored. Cain racked his brain, trying to find a way to overcome the tension between the two childhood friends.
The grey-haired boy pretended to let out a long, loud sigh, as he wanted to be noticed. The four glanced at his side, gulping hard after noticing the changing tone in Cain's voice.
"Haa, Abel, Rika, stop it! Calm yourselves down. Sorry, for suddenly insisting on exploring that facility. Forget about that!"
Cain's voice was calm; he didn't even turn to face them, yet his voice cut through the cabin's tense atmosphere from the front seat. It caused Rika and Abel to flinch, sensing a disturbing aura emanating from their leaders' irritated sighs.
The two of them exchanged glances, then looked down, embarrassed by their inappropriate behavior.
Peter and Louise simultaneously let out a short sigh, relieved that the tension was starting to subside, until a bomb was suddenly dropped in the middle of the narrow space.
"Listen to me, all of you! Give me two hours. More than that, you can leave me in this place and go home to Babylon!"
The atmosphere froze; even time itself seemed to slow down when Cain issued such an ultimatum. The four people beside him stoned, their brains shut down as they refused to process the words.
"A-Ahaha, come on Leader, don't joke at a time like this."
Peter tried to break the situation, but Cain's sharp gaze pierced his mind and made his body shiver in horror.
"Peter, can you tell me where the location is and if possible, describe the building!"
Hearing the low voice filled with heavy intent coming from his leader's mouth, Peter nodded furiously as he began to open his mouth.
***
In the end, no one dared to stop Cain from going to the facility alone. Minutes passed in suffocating silence, their mind were tangled like a knotted thread that could not be straightened again.
Peter gripped the steering wheel tightly. Louise clasped her hands as if in prayer, and Abel cast his gaze out the window, feeling detached from the group.
Rika sat with a slouched posture. Behind her helmet visor, she stared at the cabin floor. Her expression was stiff, gradually turning pale.
She bit her lip, hearing her beating heartbeat that reverberated relentlessly in her ears, thanks to her overwhelming emotions.
'Why am I always like this?'
Rika forgot where she got this distrusting nature from.
The girl's expression twisted when her head throbbed, bringing back a bitter memory she once sealed. It kept bothering her heart like a thorn from a parasitic plant that sucked her life force.
***
Since childhood, Rika was just an ordinary girl who liked to stare at book pages, which her parents often brought from their workplace as researchers at some institute in 'Babylon.'
Then, an unforgettable day happened. Rika's parents promised that after their work, which took several days, was finished. They would celebrate her birthday together, in that small house full of warmth and family affection.
However, no matter how long Rika waited. Her parents never came. Days passed as she ate the reserve jelly packs for emergency food. Until the moment she fell limp with many packs scattered across the floor.
'Father, mother, where are you? I can't move. My tummy is hurting so much!'
The cold began to sucked the warmth from her body and almost swallowed her life until an extended hand appeared, pulling her from the Abyss of despair.
***
The girl clicked her tongue, wanting to curse herself for her annoying personality.
'I'm the worst.'
Her mistake was not in questioning the purpose of Cain's actions. But her negligence in finding another solution, which should have been her job as the team's vice-leader.
Rika was too spoiled by the role she was entrusted with. While training with the others and watching Cain lead the group, the role entrusted to her shoulders fell away, forgotten.
She clenched both her joined palms, then raised her face forward with new resolve blazing in her red eyes.
'Stop your whiny, me!'
From the emptiness of her heart, a seed of new determination began sprouting. It spread roots that formed a strong foundation for the girl's leadership qualities to grow.
"Peter, how long does it take to reach the facility you mentioned?"
Peter's body jolted by the words. His blue eyes glanced at the mirror hanging above the dashboard.
"Um, not long. With this car, we will arrive in a matter of minutes."
"Good, turn the engine on. We will follow Cain immediately."
Without wasting time, Rika took the rifle behind her seat and moved to sit in Cain's seat.
The other three widened their eyes, frozen by Rika's sudden transformation and the commanding aura surrounding her.
"What are you doing, start the car quickly!"
"Y-Yes, understood vice-leader."
Peter, who snapped out of his reveries, immediately pressed the button that made the car's engine roar, accompanied by a subtle vibration that spread to the passengers' seats.
"Abel, and Louise, please tidy up our food box and make sure there is no trash scattered in the car."
"Y-Yes."
The two simultaneously moved to collect the empty jelly pack. Both stared into each other's eyes and couldn't help but chuckle, relief plastered on their faces.
Meanwhile, as she sat in the front seat, Rika checked the rifle beside her and pulled the magazine to see its contents.
'There's still some left.'
Rika leaned her back, her sharp eyes stared straight ahead as the car sped up to chase their leader, who acted recklessly alone.
'Cain, it seems we both have a lot to tell each other later.'
The car engine rumbled, leaving a trail of red dust flying in the air.