The group stood staring at the sign, as Nadia and Avery discussed the way they should be going. Having no particular idea about the layout of Ireland, Rowan didn't join in, and was instead lost in contemplation over the previous capital of Ireland, Dublin.
'From what I learnt in school, it used to have over a million people, and apparently it was only three times the size of Cork. Apparently, they didn't even have complexes back then, technology was so advance that each person had multiple rooms, some with entire buildings entirely to themselves.'
But of course, the Fall had changed that. Infrastructure was destroyed, and electromagnetic waves were distorted from the Hells. Rowan had never really understood that part, but apparently it had something to do with the energy density of the Hells, which made them warp the electromagnetism all over Earth.
From what Rowan had learnt in his final year of public school two years ago, they had only recently figured out how to get basic electricity working again. Nadia and Aoife were at this point finished discussing the best possible route, and they turned to Rowan, before asking him for his opinion.
"We have two options. Go around the city again, because Cork is in the direction of where we came, or we can try to loot some supplies and cut through the city centre. We don't have any food or water, and it's probably going to be at least a two-day trip."
Aoife was the one who asked him, and judging from her expression, she seemed to be of the opinion that cutting through would be worth it.
"So it's either go hungry, hunt for food, or scavenge the city? Can't we find other places that might have more food? I'm sure there'll be more buildings on the way, won't there?"
"There will be, but we're going to follow the main road, so everything will be looted. We've worked out that this city is Kilkenny, and Kilkenny was the first to fall when the Fall occurred, so we should be able to get some canned food."
Rowan knew they would have to get food at some point, but this felt like it was the worst possible way to do it. If this city had been absent of humans for that long, then the stronger beasts would have almost certainly made it their home in that time. If they were lucky, they would be hiding from tier 2's, like the Rockwulf. If they were unlucky, Rowan couldn't even fathom what beasts they might encounter.
"I think we should just take the fastest path home. No one ventures into fallen cities, there's almost certainly tier 5 beasts in there. We'd be mauled before we even had the chance to blink."
Nadia's voice sounded final, and Rowan hesitantly nodded as he agreed with her. Aoife had helped them survive for the duration of the Hell, but venturing inside truly felt like it was a suicide mission.
"We'll hunt on the way. If we're lucky, we might encounter other survivors, and we can get some easy hunts with enough support".
Rowan added that onto the end of Nadia's reasoning, agreeing with her. With no offensive abilities, he was sure they would die even to a small horde of tier 2's, let alone tier 5's. Aoife nodded at their decision, though a trace of disappointment lingered for half a second.
Choosing to ignore whatever that disappointment may have been, Rowan turned to follow as they retraced their steps alongside the city. They were halfway back to the original cave when shouting erupted from inside the city. It took barely minutes for the shouts to turn to screams, then silence as the group froze.
None of them had done anything in the time the shouting had started to when it ended, paralysed by fear of whatever it was that hadn't made a single sound as it devoured those in the city. After the silence had continued unbroken for a considerable time, they continued on, significantly more tense than they had previously been.
'That could have been us.'
The thought was stuck in his brain, and the familiar grief fought with relief in his gut, as the sounds of their screams replayed in his ears. He remembered the feeling from when Avery had died, and he had felt relief at realising Nadia was still alive.
He felt sick as the relief wouldn't abate, tangling with the grief until it was choking his heart, bringing pain into his breath. His chest ached as he walked, cursing how he felt.
He hated his relief at their deaths, he hated the guilt at his survival. Yet undeterred by his hatred, the thought continued. He put them out of his mind as best as he could, instead trying to focus on the walk they would have ahead of them, and of the perils and beasts that were likely watching this very moment.
Yet he found his thoughts slipping back to that groove over and over, unable to shake the sickly feeling.
They passed by the old cave set into the hillside, and Rowan gave it a brief passing glance. With the sun now halfway from noon to the horizon, it had been over half a day since they had escaped the Hell, but it felt like it had been days ago, rather than something he had only just woken from.
Turning to look at his companions, he noticed Aoife still staring deep into the city of Kilkenny, with a strange emotion in her eyes. She seemed as though she was contemplating something, and for a brief moment, Rowan thought she was considering going in there, even after what they had heard.
But she shook her head and continued her path onward towards the road that was growing closer as they walked. The road to another city Rowan had never heard of, Clonmel.
'Hopefully, there won't be too many beasts on the way. I just want enough to be able to eat a few meals. Maybe more. More couldn't hurt, could it?'