Akio and Hana watched as everyone left for the day so they started their house chores. Hana goes to everyone’s room and collects laundry and torn clothes. She washed the clothes and then started sewing. It was long and tedious and she hated it but she knew she had too. After her morning job was done she went to her room and sat on the floor. She started organizing her beads into containers, and she thought about Anya. She cried. Akio came in and sat down next to her,
“Hey Hana, what are you thinking about?”
“Mama.”
“You know she did what she had too.”
“I know but-”
“No buts. I know it’s hard but you can’t keep crying over that.”
Akio wasn’t any good at this but he tried doing what he sees Kimiko and Artemis do when people start crying. It made it worse. Akio ended up leaving Hana to cry alone as he went to the forest. He ventured out further than he had ever dared before, he found an old burned up farm down at the bottom of the hill he stood on. He walked down the best he could until he reached the bottom. The farm had a horrible smell, the old broken down and burned wood mixed with all the things that were also burnt. Akio wandered inside, he found all kinds of farm things. He walked into what looked like a makeshift bedroom.
There was a desk next to the bed, it had a book on top. Akio looked at the book closer, it was a very dark brown with a string tied it closed. It was probably a dairy. Akio looked around and was about to place the journal into his bag but then he heard someone. He looked outside to see a person bringing their horse back and putting the horse into its stable. Akio ran. He didn’t make it out of the house when the door was opened. Akio hid under the table. A man silently walked in and hung his coat on a coat stand. He suddenly looked more alert, almost as if he knew someone was here.
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He started searching the burned living room. There wasn’t much to search so Akio had to think fast. There was a back door in the dining room but it was boarded up. Akio saw a vase sitting upon a tall desk thing and there was a piece of charcoal close to him, he had an idea. Grabbing the charcoal next to him, he lined up the charcoal to the vase and threw it. The vase shattered when it hit the ground. The man ran, actually more like he jumped, down the staircase. As the man had his back turned at Akio, Akio started to make his way to the front door, or lack of one, and pushed it open. The door fell from the hinges and landed on a pile of metal. This created a very loud sound. Akio knew he was screwed so he just started running, hoping he could get away in time. The stranger was fast, much faster than Akio. Akio was quickly caught by the man. Akio was being pulled back to a dirt road leading to the barn that would have held hay. Akio knew he couldn’t overpower the guy but he still tried to pull away and get out of the mans grip. The man suddenly looked up and looked over his shoulder at the lingering forest.
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A boar came running out in a charge, aiming right for the both of them. Akio was picked up and thrown at the raging boar. He hit it and landed on the ground with a loud thud. The boar reared backwards on its hind legs. The mystery man grabbed its ears and started to turn its head from left to right. The boar charged forward to attack but the strange man had strange strength and held it in place once he put his hand under its nose, forcing the boar to look up at the sky covered in dark clouds. Akio took this time to recover and get up to run away. Akio managed to get back up the hill by the time the man had killed the boar. He got home to find Hana running around.
“AKIO! Where have you been!?” She yelled as she ran over to embrace him in a tight hug.
“I was going out to collect wood and then I found this really old barn at the bottom of a hill so I went down to explore it but then someone else showed up and then I hid but he found me and started pulling me this other building down a dirt way but then a boar came out and distracted him so I got the chance to run away.” Akio explained while looking around him as if making sure he wasn’t followed.
“I’m so glad you're ok!” Hana said in unbelievable amounts of joy and relief.
“Yeah…now let’s go inside before anything else happens.” Akio suggested and Hana nodded her head. Both of them went in and Akio started cooking dinner for when the others got back while Hana started sewing up a black cloak.
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Meanwhile with Momo, Kimiko, and Casper. Casper was trying to get her foot unstuck from under a shelf at a grocery store they had found. Momo was pulling on Casper to try and pull her out but it wasn’t working. Momo soon left Casper to go find something to lift up the shelf but instead she found Kimiko sitting behind the cashier desk.
“What are you doing?” Momo asked in all honesty.
“Sitting.” Kimiko said while trying not to sound mean.
“Can you come over and help me get Casper out from under a shelf?” Momo asked.
“Why- How did she get stuck?” Kimiko asked as she looked up from the floor to look at Momo.
“We were curious about how much room was under the shelves so Casper laid down and started getting under the shelf but when she tried getting out she got her foot stuck under the shelf.” Momo explained while seeing the look in Kimiko’s disappointed eyes.
“I’ll see what I can do.” Kimiko said as she stood up while holding her side. Momo made a mental note of this and then left to find anything to help out Casper. Momo went into the security office. There wasn’t much in there but a wooden desk with a metal black outlining. There were two lockers on the back wall with labels on them. A large monitor sat on the desk with a black screen. Momo walked in to find a board in between the lockers so she grabbed it and brought it back to Casper and Kimiko.
“Hey, I found a plank that we could use to lift the shelf with.” Momo said as she turned the corner into the shelving area only to see Kimiko had climbed up on top of the shelf and was pushing things off. Kimio’s eyes shot up as soon as she heard Momo’s voice and then proceeded to jump down.
“What were you doing?” Momo asked while Kimiko was trying to stand up after landing on the floor.
“I was trying to make the shelf lighter so that I could lift up the shelf to free Casper's leg.” Kimiko explained as she avoided all eye contact.
“I told her not to because it would put more pressure on my leg but she did it anyway and now my leg hurts more than before!” Casper called out at Momo.
“But if the shelf is light then we can lift it easier?” Kimiko tried to explain.
“Kimiko…you had a good idea but you also caused more pain to Casper which is what we don’t want.” Momo started explaining why the idea was good but also not good.
“But-”
“No buts!” Casper yelled at Kimiko.
“Lets just place this board until the shelf and then try pulling Casper out.” Momo said because she was trying to get Casper from getting mad so that she wouldn’t yell and attract zombies.
“You have board?” Kimiko asked.
“Yes, I have a board.” Momo confirmed as she placed the board on the ground and pushed it under the shelf.
“Kimiko, can you find something we can put under the board so we can use it as leverage.” Momo told Kimiko what to do then asked her.
“I go find.” Kimiko said as she took off down the other end of the aisle. Momo sat down next to Casper and tried to hold the shelf up to get the pressure off her leg.
“Hey Casper, I wanted to know about how you feel about all this.” Momo asked out of nowhere.
“About what? My leg being stuck? It hurts, it hurts alot.” Casper said as she tried moving her leg around just a bit only to be met with the feeling of needles being stabbed into her leg.
“I mean about living with the others.” Momo clarified.
“I guess it’s alright, it's better than wandering around with nothing.” Casper said as she looked up remembering what it was like having to keep moving, no matter where they were. None of them had a safe place to call home. They couldn’t get a good night's rest or sit down and talk to each other without having to worry about being heard.
“I guess so.” Momo said, “It is nice being able to sleep in a bed and having fresh cooked food in front of me. Not having to starve and find things. It really is nice. All of these things we all took for granted when our lives were normal.” Momo said thoughtfully while she looked around the aisle.
“It really does make us more grateful for food and shelter.” Casper said as she looked down at her leg.
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Kimiko stood right around the corner holding a barrel with her hands while listening to their conversation. She finally walked about the bend,
“I’m back!” Kimiko called out as she placed the barrel on the ground.
“I found a barrel.” She said smiling.
“Kimie, that’s going to roll away.” Momo said.
“Not if we hold it in place.” Kimiko said.
She did have a point on that so Kimiko rolled it over and turned it on its side. Momo grabbed the board and placed it under the shelf and put the other end on top of the barrel. Kimiko held the barrel in place as Momo started pushing down on the board. Casper slowly moved her leg out from under the shelf. Moments later Casper was free and Momo was tired. Kimiko went around and finished up the job of gathering canned food. Eventually it was time to go home so they packed up the things and grabbed their bags then they went out into the city. Casper followed Momo as Kimiko walked up front.
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They walked past the dejected playground and past the overgrown hospital. The old shopping mall and abandoned auto shop. The quiet concert hall and cursed church. An empty school and a famished food court. The still dance studio and bleak police station. It all used to be so loud and full of color only now to be dead and empty. There was nothing playing and no one to silently judge while walking down the street. Nothing to listen to except your own footsteps. Something so stoked full now barren with undead creatures looking to kill whatever life is left. Casper looked over her shoulder at a flower a little ways away. The bright yellow brought her a smile, something no one does now-a-days. Only for the yellow dandelion to be crushed as something runs by, most likely fighting for its life just like the flower was. They make it home feeling like their hearts had been held by someone else and then crushed. They could feel the grip right in their chests. The tight squeeze without it ever being let go.
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Akio and Hana stood in the doorway as they watched the others return with bags full of things they could use until they ran out. However both of them noticed how depressed all of them seemed so they decided they would try cheer them up without being too pushy. Minoru and Artemis got to the house first, Artemis collapsed down onto the couch while Minoru just sat by the doorway into the house. Kimiko, Momo, and Casper came in a short while later. Casper went straight to her room while Momo sat at the table. Kimiko had tripped over Minoru’s leg but refused to get up. Akio went into the kitchen and got the pot of soup and the side dish of vegetables. He placed them on the table while Momo sat a little too still for his liking. Hana walked around gathering everyone else. The seven of them sat at the table with bowls of soup, even the people who didn’t like soup. While the vegetables were eaten at a concerning rate.
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After dinner everyone but Akio and Hana went to bed for the night. Akio and Hana cleaned up the dishes and the kitchen. It took awhile but they managed it. They went to sleep after they finished up. Kimiko was laying in her bed when the sharp pain in her side returned. It's been happening for a few weeks now, like at the store. She was sitting behind the cashier desk because she was trying to hide the pain. Kimiko knows that she has to tell someone eventually, but who would she tell? She lays there, curling up in pain. Minoru was trying to sleep but he swore he could barely feel the bed even though he was laying on it. Artemis was staring at the ceiling while her head pounded in pain. She would have taken some ibuprofen but they didn't have any yet. By the time it was morning, Kimiko, Minoru, and Artemis decided that they needed to find out what was happening…and maybe grab some pain killers while they’re at it.
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