26 Time To Rest For A While

A few minutes later they finally arrived at the small motel.

The motel, like everything else around it, was filled with corpses and blood in front of it.

Its windows and doors were barred with planks and rusty iron plates. It looked like a fortification that was made in a hurry. All the lamps in the motel were dead but Barry somehow was sure that the motel was not empty.

"Do you see that?" Barry asked.

"What do you mean?" Elaine asked back because she didn't know what he meant. She drove the car slowly.

"There is a fortification there. That means there might be people inside."

"Good. Then we can ask for help." Elaine almost felt optimistic.

"I'm not sure about that. When a disaster like this happens, people tend to change. I'm not sure I can trust the people in the motel and they won't trust us either."

Realizing that Barry was right, Elaine bit her lips with a restless face. "You're right. Then, what should we do? Should we look for another place?"

Barry weighed their options. They had strong enough skills. If they were careful, Barry was sure they would be able to win if they got into a confrontation like a few hours ago.

If they couldn't win, Barry was sure they would at least be able to run if the situation got worse.

"No. Let's stop there."

Elaine looked and stared at him. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah."

So, they stopped next to the front of the motel. Barry had opened the door and was ready to jump out if he saw something wrong.

But, nothing happened. So they quickly got out of the car.

~~~

Inside the motel, precisely behind the third-floor window, two people were watching with tense expressions.

One of them was a man in his forties with a lot of gray hair.

The other one was an older woman. Wrinkles on her face and hair that had turned completely white seemed to show her age which was almost half a century.

"What should we do now?" the man asked. In his hand, he was holding a double-barreled shotgun.

He looked fidgety at the trigger with anxiety.

"Get your finger off the trigger before you shoot me," the woman said firmly.

The man immediately obeyed her.

"They both look like two kids who are lost and exhausted," the woman said while looking with a sympathetic gaze at Barry and Elaine. "We should let them in."

"What?!" the man looked disagreeable with the idea. He stared at her. "Don't you see what's happening outside? They're not the first ones to come today and they might also want to take over our motel!"

The woman licked her lips. Her gaze was still fixed on Barry and Elaine who were now walking towards the motel while observing the surroundings.

The man let out a helpless sigh. "I know you have a soft spot for kids. But you have to realize that the world has changed now. Those kids could turn into savage bastards to survive."

"But they only look like people who are looking for a place to rest. They have their own car, you see? They are going somewhere else. I guess they don't want to take our motel," the woman said.

The younger man looked down. After a while, eventually, he also felt sorry for the two kids below.

"I'll go down and ask them."

---

Barry heard a movement from inside. The sound was so faint that Barry wasn't sure if he really heard something or just an illusion.

But then, the door opened slowly.

Elaine immediately approached Barry and held his arm. Making Barry a little surprised by that.

But he didn't think about Elaine now. For what was in front of them now was more important.

"Stop right there, kids!" a man's voice sounded from behind the door. "Do you have any weapons?"

Elaine looked at Barry. They only brought pistols that they hid when they got out of the car.

Barry made that decision so that they would be less intimidating and not immediately attacked. So there was still room for negotiation.

Barry raised his hand. Elaine followed what he did.

"We don't mean any harm, sir. We just want to find a place to rest," Barry said.

They both still couldn't see the figure behind the gap in the door. But Barry was sure that he was pointing a weapon at them.

Barry maintained his Gravity Manipulation to form an invisible gravity shield that would deflect any projectiles that came at them.

"Are you two alone?" the man asked.

"Yes," Barry answered again.

Silence for a few seconds. Then the man said. "Come in."

Elaine looked at Barry, whispering. "Should we go in?"

"Yes. But, stay vigilant."

Elaine nodded.

The two teenagers walked towards the motel slowly. Barry still activated his Gravity Manipulation.

The man opened the door and let them in. After that, he took them to the second floor.

They entered a room. The room was lit by some candles. In the middle of the room, there was a woman.

From the dim light of the candles, her face was seen smiling at them.

"You must be tired," the woman said like a grandmother who welcomed her two grandchildren who had just returned after a long exhausting journey.

Barry and Elaine were surprised to see the woman's behavior. However, they didn't immediately fall for her kindness. Someone who behaved nicely in the midst of this chaos was suspicious.

"My name is Anna, and he is Danny, he is my brother." the woman introduced herself and the man.

"Sorry to disturb your comfort here. We just need a place to rest for a while. Tomorrow morning we will leave right away," Barry explained quickly. "Is there still one room available here?"

The woman smiled. "Of course. But before that, you should eat-"

"We're fine," Barry immediately said. "Where is our room?"

"Don't you have some manners, boy?" Danny said.

"It's okay," Anna said with a tolerant smile. "You can go to the room next to this one. The key is inside."

After that, without wasting any more time, Barry and Elaine went straight to the room next to that room.

---