"Zelda, are we seriously going to go through with this?" Link asked, trailing behind her. "I mean this is insane, this is impossible."
"Look, I know, I know." she said, stopping and turning to face him. "It's crazy, it doesnt make sense but….it feels like the truth." She looked earnestly at him. "Doesnt it?"
Link sighed. "Yea...I cant explain it but...we need to get to Kakiriko village." Zelda nodded and they ran back to their flat to pack.
An hour later and the childhood friends were boarding a bus that would take them to the edge of the suburbs. They moved to the back of the bus and sat down, taking up the whole back bench with their two bags. A few passengers gave them strange looks but didnt seem to give them a second thought.
"Ok, its the last stop and then we need to get a cab." Zelda said, reiterating the plan they had formed while they were packing.
"This'll be a few hours, you wanna nap for a bit? Not sure how much downtime we'll have when we get to Kakiriko…" Link asked.
"No, I'm not tired, you can if you want though." Zelda said, pulling out one of the old books.
"'Aight." Link said, arranging himself so he could lean against the window and nap comfortably.
As the night drew on, the bus made a few stops in the suburbs. It was one of many in a system of convenient transportation for all of Hyrule. As other passengers boarded or departed, they brought different snippets of news. Zelda overheard two construction workers complaining about their coworkers, a gaggle of young girls going home after a half night of partying and a bedraggled young woman who sat right in front of Zelda.
The woman's phone went off suddenly, startling Zelda out of a daze.
"Yes?" the woman answered. "Yeah, I'm on my way right now. What? Thats unprecedented...civilians have been evacuated? Good, good. Keep it under wraps until we can find out whats going on. I'll call you when I'm in Kakiriko. Ok, bye." she shut off her phone and stuffed it back in her pocket.
"Um...ma'am?" Zelda asked, tapping the woman on her shoulder.
"Oh...yes?" she asked, tired.
"You're going to Kakiriko?"
"Yes…?"
"Well….we are too. Could we get a cab together perhaps?"
"Oh….yes, I suppose that'd be good. Safety in numbers."
Zelda blinked. "What do you mean? Is it dangerous now?"
"Um...just, never you mind." she said, turning to face the front.
Zelda frowned and awoke Link.
"Huh...what…." he said sleepily. "Are we there?" he yawned, stretching.
"No." Zelda whispered. "That woman, she's going to Kakiriko too. We're going to ride in a cab together. I think what Impa was saying really was true. Something's happening on the outskirts and on the trade roads."
Link eyed the woman in front of them. "Guess we'll find out first hand. Won't be too surprised though."
"I know. As much as I'd like for Impa to be wrong…."
"It's not." Link murmured, his eyes growing wide as he looked out the window behind Zelda. She turned and gasped.
The suburbs were dark and gray in the pale dawn light. A few fires burned and dark shadows could be seen moving amongst the empty homes. Vacant cars littered the roads. The only empty road was the large highway that stretched over the suburbs. Barbed wire and other fortifications lined the four lane highway.
"It's worse near the desert." the young woman said. "There wasnt any warning there. Here, they got everyone out in time."
"What's going on?" Link asked, though he and Zelda knew in their gut what was happening.
"The apocalypse."