Chapter 732 - 732: Dissaray

Back at the Surface Beatrice stepped out of the broken city wall and nearly fell.

Her injured leg could support her again, but only for a few steps at a time. She pressed the end of her staff against the ground and waited until the shaking stopped.

Rovan came through the opening behind the last civilians. Blood had dried across his shoulder, and he was breathing hard after helping the injured people climb. He looked back at the hole after completing his count.

Another heavy sound came from below.

The ground shook beneath their feet. Dust fell from the nearby buildings, and several survivors cried out as they moved away from the wall.

"Everyone keep walking," Beatrice said. "Do not crowd the opening."

The survivors obeyed because she has proven herself.

The street outside was not safe, but it was better than the buried city. Broken vehicles blocked one side.

Pieces of the nearby buildings covered the other. Blood ran between the stones and gathered in the cracks.

The smell was everywhere.

A wounded man covered his mouth and turned away from the blood. Another survivor pressed both hands against his chest. The qi inside his body moved too quickly, then stopped, then moved again.

Beatrice felt the same problem.

Her cultivation had begun recovering after leaving the formation's reach, but the qi would not listen to her.

Every time she tried to guide it toward her injured leg, it rushed in another direction. She stopped before it damaged her meridians.

"Can anyone fly?" one of the survivors asked.

A woman tried. Qi gathered beneath her feet. Her body lifted half a meter, then turned sideways without warning.

Rovan caught her before her head struck the wall.

"No one flies," Beatrice said.

The woman pulled away from Rovan and stood on her own. Her face was pale.

"Then how do we leave?"

A sharp breath came from the middle of the group.

One of the zombie with gray veins had stopped walking. He stared at the blood running between the stones. His hands shook, and sharp fangs had begun pushing past his lips.

The frightened guard reached for his weapon.

"He is transforming."

Beatrice stepped between them. She faced the vampire.

"Look at me."

His eyes remained fixed on the blood.

Beatrice struck her staff against the road beside his foot. The sound made him flinch and look toward her.

"Move away from the street," she said. "Do not use your qi. Breathe and follow my voice."

The creature swallowed. His gaze returned to the blood for an instant, then moved back to Beatrice.

Two survivors helped him reach a dry section beside the wall. Beatrice placed people between him and the nearest blood without making them hold him down.

"If he attacks?" the guard asked.

"Then we kill him," Beatrice said. "Until then, he remains one of us."

The answer did not remove the guard's fear, but it kept him from drawing his weapon.

Rovan tore a clean strip from the inside of his damaged coat. He covered the blood nearest the transformed creature, then used broken stone to hold the cloth down.

"That won't hide the smell for long."

"It only needs to help until we pas trough."

The marked vampire closed his eyes and continued breathing. His fangs stopped growing.

The group had avoided another fight, but Beatrice could see how dangerous the situation i. One wrong decision could turn the survivors against one another before any enemy reached them.

Beatrice looked down the street.

Smoke covered the center of the city. People were running between the buildings, but there was no single direction of escape.

Some carried injured relatives. Others were searching ruined homes.

The formation had stopped, but the city still in chaos.

"We walk," Beatrice said.

"Where?" the frightened guard asked.

Beatrice did not answer immediately.

Her father had been inside the city when the attack began. She had received no message from him after the formations changed.

He could have reached a shelter. He could also be trapped beneath one of the buildings.

The last time she saw him, he's still weak form his illness. They also argue on the new owner, should they trust him or not.

Beatrice were worried about his situation.

Every minute she spent leaving the city was another minute he remained there without help.

She turned toward Rovan.

"Take everyone out from the city," she said. "Stay away from the main roads."

Rovan stared at her. "What are you going to do?"

"I need to find my father."

"No." His answer came so quickly that several survivors looked at him.

Beatrice's hand tightened around her staff.

"I'm not asking for your permission."

"Good, because I wasn't asking either."

Rovan glanced toward the smoke covering the inner city. Fear crossed his face, but he did not take back his answer.

"You can barely walk," he said. "Your qi is in dissaray,, and you want to search for him alone?"

"I sacrifice my life so many time, not for you to throw your away your life now. Then we stay together."

"Staying together makes us slower."

"Splitting up is even more dangerous."

Beatrice stepped closer.

"My father may be dying."

Rovan lowered his voice.

"I know."

"Then lead them out."

"I left people behind once because I was afraid," he said. "I'm not doing it again because you ordered me to."

Beatrice had no answer to that. But the survivor did. In this kind of situation most people will prioritize their own safety.

"We should leave now," the frightened guard said. "The people below told us to get outside the city. That mean staying is dangerous. We should keep going."

"Without knowing which road is safe?" the old maintenance worker asked. "The western road passes trough many commercial dsitrict. You want to walk through that while none of us can control our qi? Just how many infected where there?"

"I also want to find my family."

"Then we find another way."

A woman holding an injured child moved closer to Beatrice.

"We should stay together at least until we reach a shelter," she said. "If something attack, it's better to fight it together."

Another man shook his head.

"Just see what happening now, I reall doubt any shelters survive. The farther we go, the safer we are."

Voices rose around them.

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