Chapter 14: Two Moons.

The survivors boarded the trucks neatly, probably scared of the Captain's words. Since the operation was smooth they soon left for the city.

The journey was quiet. No one dared to make a noise. Only whispers here and there were heard. Titus on the other hand was contemplating.

During his two months stay here, he had gathered quite a bit of general knowledge about this era. And most importantly, learned some common sense. Hover cars and anti-gravity cars were currently the peak of technology along with the laser gun the Captain used. The technology was still developing and still in the early stages hence only those with high positions in the military like the Captain or the ultra-rich could afford them. Of course, one should not belittle the power of an ordinary soldier's gun. Compared to his era, the guns here were equal to a sniper rifle that could burst holes but with less recoil and were more portable. The trucks weren't the exception. They have kept to it having wheels as the hover and/or anti-gravity technology still wasn't suitable for rough and rugged terrains,  and it couldn't  be amphibious. Hover cars' implementations were  of utmost priority as they were connected to the  economy and the high demands for mass transportation. This was also to combat global warming/climate change hence gasoline cars were scrapped. Transportations like these trucks depended on electric power and was quite expensive. That was why people preferred using hover buses. Those who are in mid-tier income could afford it, but since most of the people were in low-tier income, cars like this weren't usually seen on the streets, much more the anti-gravity cars. Because the focus was more on developments in the economy, space exploration didn't really get much attention and was lagging behind. Once the developments in the economy stabilized, they could probably focus on space exploration. But it seemed unlikely for it to happen anytime soon as the world was now in chaos.

Sighing, Titus stretched his limbs, lied back on the truck wall and rested his head on it. But who would've thought that when he opened his eyes, the expected glaring light of the day didn't meet him. Instead it was a soft glow of a humongous moon! There was also the regular moon in the background, there were actually two Moons!

Still shocked, he suddenly remembered something. Weren't they woken up in the middle of the night? So how did the 'sun' come out right after the rain? Originally, they didn't question why there was 'sunlight' and they also didn't bother to look at the sky. I mean... Who would? The Moon was giving them light! And not because the sun came early.

Alas, the world had already become like this, was this matter really much of a surprise?

Soon, everyone noticed it and all were surprised except for the soldiers who seemed to show that they already knew of this. If not for an old survivor pointing it out, they would not have been made aware of the second moon. 

...

When they arrived, they were brought into a spacious area. It seemed to be a plaza previously, but now its size multiplied as it seemed to have been affected by terraforming. Tents were placed in uniform rows. Clearly, the management was good. The buildings already collapsed so having a tent was a luxury in terms of shelter.

After disembarking from the truck, they were led to a medium sized tent. There, they had to line up and register themselves; previous employment, name, etc. After signing and the briefing, they were given food; enough for breakfast and lunch, a sleeping bag and of course, a small tent that could accommodate four people. It seemed that procuring tents and food wasn't hard... The problem was that there were not many people/survivors that could use them, hence the Captain's earlier words resonated again, 'human resources are critical.'

Along the way, they saw big tents that were pitched in the inner circle, Block A, probably the officials and rich people. The outer circle, Block B, were the middle class in medium sized tents, similar to the registrations' tent. And finally Block C which were on the outskirts of the circle, also where they would be staying.

When they arrived they saw other survivors who were setting up their own tents. Some were in a group, probably family and/or friends while some were alone. Their expressions differ, some were hopeful while some were downcast, etc. The surroundings were supposed to be the tall buildings that could reach the skies, buildings of luxury once populated this former bustling city but now it all changed. Whether it was due to the terrain or the state of the world, it had changed. Such a scene was really heavy to take in but this was reality. They were already fortunate enough that they survived.

Uncle Brown was the first one to shake his head before saying with a sigh, "Let us go and set up our tent first. Let us not be affected by the atmosphere too much."

"Un." Nodded Titus and Lee.

'That's right, all we need to think about is to survive and live on. Plus we have the crystals, we knew of them much earlier than others, so we should be fine.' Titus thought to himself.

They set up the tent according to the order given during the registration. After looking at their shelter, they were relieved for the time being. They entered their tent and decided to rest first and foremost. 

"In the morning, I'll go to the management and see what's the current situation. When the situation becomes stable enough, maybe they will begin basic operations and may provide work. For now let us sleep. Even though the crystals can eliminate our fatigue, sleeping is still the best to recover."

"Yes, also before Uncle goes out in the morning, we should use up our crystals first after breakfast. We can't be too sure if all the monster's were killed in the periphery (Block C), so having more power will make it safer."

"Alright, but for now let us sleep and leave the crystals' discussion aside for now."

While Titus and Uncle Brown were still talking, Lee already dove head first and went to bed.

After all, despite having recovered from physical fatigue, there was still the mental strain and the crystal could not exactly relieve that. What happened today was too abrupt and too overwhelming. Even Titus and Uncle were still adjusting and being cautious to the extreme. 

Proofread by: @lynn

Author's Note:

Is anyone interested in supporting me financially? I could release more regularly if there are a number of people wanting me to. Comment down below.