Supreme Corps

The next morning. 

The four youths were sitting on the ground, exhausted from the previous night's chase, and grateful they managed to survive.

However, the real struggle isn't surviving the Silik's chase, but finding a new settlement. Of the four of them, Alan was the only one with some snacks, and this was because he took his bag with him while they were running, and did not lose it even during the chase. The snacks would not be able to last them for more than three days, if they were frugal with it. 

Since the apocalypse, humans have created countless things, these snack bars being one of them. A single snack bar can keep one person energized for a whole day. 

Looking at their current situation, Alan suggested, "I heard there's a large settlement east of here, and there is more than one Supreme there." 

"How far is it from this place?" Ezekiel asked. He did not know of this settlement Alan spoke of. If the settlement is too far from their current location, the chances of them getting there alive is very low. 

Alan brought out a map from his bag, looking at it closely, he made some calculations, he replied with a dispirited smile, "Roughly three hundred and fifty to four hundred kilometers." 

"What?!" Ezekiel and the other two exclaimed in disbelief. 

How were they going to cover such distance by foot with Siliks roaming around? 

"Aren't there any smaller settlements around?" One of the young men could not help but ask. 

"There are three if I'm not mistaken." Alan nodded, but before the young man could follow up, he continued, "We all know how hard it is for smaller settlements to feed, most of them would not want to add anyone to their ranks." 

Before their settlement was attacked, they too were having a hard time providing for everyone. 

Ezekiel and the others were well aware of this, but the distance was not something they were confident they could cover on foot. It would take them at least a few days before they could get to their destination, and by that time, they would most likely be out of food. There was also having to evade Siliks during the journey. Unlike the previous night, Ezekiel did not have any traps laid out, so if they encountered any Silik again, they were as good as dead. 

Ezekiel kept quiet for some time before saying, "On the way to the large settlement, we still have to stop at those smaller settlements. We don't have a choice, what we have with us will not be enough to sustain us through the journey." 

Alan and the two young men nodded, the snack bars with Alan will only be enough for three days max, so they needed to at least get some food. They would also try to scavenge while on the way. 

Coming up with a plan, the group made sure they were well rested before setting out. They would only travel by day and rest at nights. Although Siliks also operate during the day, they are more active at night. 

….

Two days went by in the blink of an eye, and the group had already traveled a considerable distance from their journey. They could all feel their bodies ache from the constant walking, the night's rest doesn't seem to be enough to help them recover, and their food source was almost depleted. One thing that was worth mentioning was that over the course of these two days, Siliks were the least of the group's problems, rather, it was the animals that made their lives harder. 

After the invasion, regular animals evolved as well, becoming bigger, fiercer, stronger, and faster. There are even cases of some killing Siliks. Humans have attempted controlling some of these beasts, an unsuccessful endeavor. Realizing that they could not control these beasts to fight for them, whenever they caught one, they would be transported to a Silik dominated region and let it kill a few Siliks before eventually getting killed or escaping into the wilderness. All in all, some of the normal animals that could barely hurt a human baby are now capable of even spewing fire and other strange abilities. 

In the past two days, the group has been chased three times, managing to escape all three. The beasts were not that strong, so escaping was still doable. Of course, this meant that they had to expend more energy, and they even had to take a detour, further increasing the time they needed to get to their destination. 

Another day went by. The group usually finds a safe place to set up camp once it gets dark. This night was no different, they ensured the place was safe and set up camp. 

Later in the middle of the night. 

"Alan, faster!" Ezekiel yelled as he ran through the woods, gasping for air. 

Alan's figure soon came into view, running as fast as he could. He was no longer with his bag, and his disheveled hair was a sign that he did not have the time to even prepare himself. Of the two young men with them, only one of them was still alive, and he was currently injured as he struggled to keep up with Alan and Ezekiel. 

The reason they even had the headstart was the other young man who is not present at the moment. When the Silik appeared in the middle of the night, that young man was the one keeping watch, and it was while he was attacked the others escaped with the opportunity. None of them had the courage to go back and help the young man, and even if they wanted to, it was no different from a suicide attempt. 

The young man behind Alan was injured, bleeding from his right leg, but he gave his all as he ran. He looked behind and noticed the Silik was already within twenty meters of him, and just as he was about to take back his gaze, he tripped on a tree root and fell to the ground. 

Thud! 

He turned around shaking from fear, he didn't want to die, yet, he knew his current situation was guaranteed death. When the Silik caught up to him, it did not immediately attack, only staring at him curiously. 

The young man picked a stick that was close to him and pointed it at the Silik while still lying down, "Don't come close!" 

The Silik took a step, and the young man struck with the stick. The Silik did not flinch when it was hit by the stick. With a simple swipe of its claws, it cut off the hand the young man used in holding the stick, making him scream at the top of his lungs. 

Alan and Ezekiel heard the scream of the young man, and they knew he was dead. They couldn't help but tense up, if they didn't run faster, that would be their fate as well. But the problem was, how could they outrun a Silik?

The duo soon came out of the woods, entering the main road. As they ran forward, they caught sight of the light of a vehicle that was coming from a considerable distance away. 

They didn't even need to speak to each other, as if they could communicate telepathically, they simultaneously turned in that direction, running like their life depended on it. In this case, it did.

The Silik came out of the woods soon after, blood all over its body, before continuing its chase. 

About two to three hundred meters away from Alan and Ezekiel. 

A van was moving forward, behind it were four Siliks giving chase. These ones were a little different from the one chasing Alan and Ezekiel. 

At the back of the van. 

Five people could be seen inside, all worried as they looked through the window. These five were two men and three women, they were all wearing white laboratory coats, with one of the men holding onto a suitcase tightly. 

"We have to get this to the main settlement quickly."