"Sleep tight, I promise we will arrive safely soon."
***
After morning came, as a precaution, I bought several liters of fuel for our vehicle and continued the journey toward the city of Lecra. The city looked like a dwarf city that I often read about in books. Large buildings made of clay, it felt like seeing a city from the Stone Age. From the outside, its aura appeared somewhat gloomy, and it reminded me of what the motel receptionist I met in the previous town had said.
Finally, I decided to bypass the city and not enter it. However, I didn't realize that some of the city guards seemed to notice that there was a jeep trying to go around their town. They chased us and shot arrows toward my car. I accelerated and distanced myself from the city, but a jeep of the same size as mine continued to follow closely behind me. I wanted to stop, but I didn't have any weapons to defend myself. The only thing I had was the revolver that Uncle Parker had slipped into the pocket of the small bag I always carried on my chest. Fortunately, during our entry into the previous towns, no one stopped me because of that item.
After a while, they were still following at a close distance. Finally, I decided to stop. Hopefully, they would realize that we just wanted to pass through and had no ill intentions toward their city.
"What are you doing outside the city like this? Oh my, why is a child your age driving a car outside the city? Oh, God, not alone apparently, you're with a little girl?" said one of them, whom I assumed was their commander.
"I'm sorry, sir. We just want to pass through, we're only going to another city to find our family, not to do anything bad to this city. Please let us go, sir," I pleaded.
"Where are you from? And why are you going this far without any adults accompanying you?" the person asked again.
"We're from Cellos, I don't know what happened there, but my mother asked me to take my little sister back to our hometown. Do you know the current situation in Cellos? We've been away from the city for about five days, I think," I briefly explained about myself, hoping to be allowed to leave soon.
"I heard that the city is almost completely destroyed. There was a bombing from a foreign country that wanted to seize the people's invention in that city. I don't know the exact details because this city is not well connected to other cities. That's why we're concerned that there might be infiltrators coming to harm this city as well."
"Chris, is Mom okay? She said the city is destroyed. How is Mom? Those bad people must have done something bad to her. I'm scared, Chris," my little sister, who had been silent all this time, finally spoke up. With a trembling voice and tears streaming down her face, she held onto my shirt tightly.
