-Day 3: Tuesday-
Day 3, the second morning we have woken up here, Tuesday. Coco took a deep breath and opened her eyes. The sun had begun to light the sky, but the room was dark; she could barely make out the silhouettes of her teammates. Twas not the light that had pulled her from sleep, but the pain from beneath her short corset. Her hand, still under the sheets, slid from the mattress to her abdomen; hunger. She gave a soft moan of discomfort, sure everyone else was still asleep, and rolled over. This is going to be a long day.
Just as her consciousness was drifting away she heard someone else stir, Is that Fox? Or Velvet? Unable to place the sound, she waited, not yet ready to move. Yatsuhashi was next, the sound of him rolling to his front, propping himself up, and looking around was too distinct and recognizable to be mistaken. Coco willed herself to sit up, just as Velvet was coming back to reality. Must have been Fox then.
Fox walked back into the room, and smiled when he saw everyone else awake. "Good morning." His voice was too cheery for Coco's taste. "The water is about the same, despite having run all day and night. Is the water plant on the map for today?"
Coco groaned as she stretched. "If it isn't we can just switch the side. I'll leave that section to you." She stood up, and offered a hand to Velvet; Yatsuhashi was already standing.
"Coco, " started Velvet, looking impossibly meek. I thought I beat that out of her last year. "I don't think I can wait until we find food." Standing, she had an arm around her middle, "I already feel slow."
Coco nodded. "I was thinking the same." She looked to Yatsuhashi, "Have you ever heard about being able to eat leather if it is boiled?"
Velvet seemed taken aback, she even stumbled, her feet caught in her sheets. Fox offered her an arm when he responded to Coco, "I may have, but it seems so impossible that that is all we are left with."
"I recognize that as well, but it would take time to boil, and is there any leather here?" replied Yatsuhashi.
"Yes, it would need awhile. I - I was thinking we could start it now, have someone run back to tend the fire at the break. In the meantime . . . " This is such a ridiculous idea. How did this ever become real? It feels so distant, even now as we face it directly. "We'll find something." she continued, now turning to Fox. "We will find some food today." We have to. "But just in case. However, I think we all need something now." at this point her hesitation must have be obvious, "I think the only option is to chew on the cardboard I found. Paper is biodegradable, and people have been known to eat it as a bad habit . . ." she trailed off, expecting an argument. Instead Yatsuhashi fully agreed, and the other two had nothing better to propose. Hunger is a powerful force. Come on, PAPER? I've skipped meals for being over-cooked.
"Let's get ready for the day first. Yatsuhashi, are you alright to start the fire while we grab what we can find?"
He nodded, then glanced at the empty place for wood. "Would it be alright to just use furniture? I think we have established that no one will mind some stuff missing and it will be faster than looking."
Because looking for anything has come up with zero of it, just some other stuff. So far. So far, Coco.
"Yeah, easy is for the best. I also recall seeing a clothing store, we can check that too."
Morning needs attended to, with their full canteens left in the house, Fox and Velvet followed Coco to the next road over, where she had seen the stores on the first day. That seems so long ago, not just a couple days. Although, classes and Beacon feels nearly untouchable, from a time long since past. Hunger. Hunger is messing with your perception of time.
The untidy shoe store was just as she had last seen it, a detail that did not escape notice but was not unexpected. The trio walked in, stepping over strewn boxes or stray shoes. The banter between Velvet and Fox trailed off and the three of them each took to a different area of the store to look for leather shoes, or at least something that was not made of plastic or synthetics. Just the thought of the chemicals that goes into making shoes causes me to shudder. It just needs to be enough that our bodies will grant us sleep tonight. But we don't really need this. We will find food today. Definitely. Right? right? Coco paused her rummaging and turned back to the room. She had tossed one box of leather boots toward the door, but there were a large number of synthetic designs. Looking around the room it seemed that all the shoes strewn about were mostly plastic, rubber, or polyester. I suppose natural materials have become a luxury of designer shoes. she mussed, as she continued pawing through boxes. Even my boots are synthetic, for virtue of water/hunt proofing.
It was not long before the search was complete, Fox had grabbed a bag from behind the counter and gathered the shoes deemed edible. Shoes, edible, what a notion. Three pairs and an orphan was all they found, unexpectedly low but the strangeness of this place had ceased to be remarkable; numbness to the oddities, from exposure or hunger, perhaps both had settled into their minds.
"Fox?" began Coco without looking back as she led them to the clothing store. Something had been gnawing at her all morning, apart from hunger. "Is the only way to increase the distance of the message relay to fully repair the tower?"
"hmm? Yeah, it seemed that way. Strange, though, as the attack did not do more than split connections at the top, and all of that should be fixed now."
"I want all four of us when along the perimeter, and four for searching would be fastest, but someone needs to stay back to respond to any replies. I suppose if we must, it would be you to fix the tower? But at the base is too far, you'd still need another scroll . . ." Coco stopped herself, taking note that she was merely thinking out-loud. "Could we use another scroll as a relay point?"
"Well, I suppose we could, but it would not go much farther, and the battery drain might leave us without any-" Fox cut himself off.
Coco's thoughts filled in what was not said: any way to request help when no one comes at the end of the week and we have found neither food nor batteries. Starting the electricity back up is far too much to ask of Fox. Coco's cynicism was interrupted as her partner continued.
"However, I could change the message. I could add that we cannot reply until a specific time tonight, perhaps request a food drop if they hear the message and cannot wait? We would get their messages, eventually, just not be able to reply."
"I see. I suppose that is an option." If anyone picks up the message, and otherwise waiting is wasting energy. "But I want to keep the message short. Perhaps just say 'searching for supplies, can reply after 6?' What do you think Velvet?"
Surprised to be named, Velvet took a moment and was beaten by Fox. "Searching for food, Coco. That way they might drop some if they get it."
"IF anyone gets the message, assuming someone flies close enough and is on that frequency." spat Coco, spinning around to face the other two. Her frustration had mounted beyond what she could shoulder silently, it seemed.
"It is the most popular frequency, anyone from Vale will get it, and most likely Atlas as well." said Fox calmly. He and Velvet had stopped walking, Velvet had even put a foot behind her, ready to jump back.
"We're here." The clothing store stood beside her, and the conversation was halted, to the relief of all three.
Inside they found a strikingly similar scene, the racks that were not full were the ones holding cotton articles.
They returned to the house, greeted by a chimney expelling thick smoke. Fox carried the shoes, Velvet had a few clothing articles draped over her arms, and Coco clutched some unprinted cardboard. Yatsuhashi was mumbling to himself about the fire, the dark smoke having indicated some difficulty getting the flames hot.
"Fox, here is my scroll." said Coco, handing it to him ask he put the bag of shoes down. "Change the message to us being back by six, but try to keep it short. Yatsuhashi, with all four of us searching, we will not be able to immediately see or reply to any messages. Velvet, grab a couple of knives or a pair of scissors from the kitchen and start on the shoes. I'll grab the pot of water; Yatsu, is it alright if I borrow your sword to kill another table?"
The simple directions were accepted in turn. Yatsuhashi handed his sword to Coco, the only big blade they had, before continuing to coax the fire into hot flames. Shortly thereafter Coco returned, walking through the door sideways holding the sword flat, with a sloshing pot perched upon it, capped with an overturned lid that supported a small pile of fags, all leaning against Coco's body to discourage gravity from stealing her loot. She stopped in the doorway of the living room, unwilling the trip over bedding, and was promptly unburdened by Fox and Velvet. Coco walked to Yatsuhashi's mattress to put down his sword.
Yatsuhashi smiled at her, "You know that multiple trips is not the end of the world, right?"
Her face mirrored his mirth, how strange that feels. "It is during a sale. Leave something or drop it, and it is GONE."
Coco dropped to the floor and examined the map; the outer region they had marked was the side best insulated, but the water plant was on the other. "Looks like we are switching sides. If we run through quickly without a break we should cover the area in time." Coco started breaking that half into four parts, though not equal. "Fox, I will give you a small region, to help make up time for examining the water plant."
So it was decided by leader's decree. Pieces of leather were put into the pot to boil over the fire, cardboard was split amongst the four, Coco would retain the scroll to which messages were being relayed, and thus be the one to stoke the fire in a few hours. Weapons and water gathered, the team set out to check the perimeter of this increasingly eerie settlement.
Coco ripped a small piece of cardboard from one of her "rations" and placed it into her mouth, biting down hard. Her jaw was beginning to ache from holding it clenched, coupled with her hunger clawing at her patience it overcame her disgust. They were traveling at a fast pace, already through the areas previously searched. Food, not clues. Clues are good but you need to prioritize food. In moments they had reached the edge of the village, protected here by a sharp downward drop. Step one done. Step two is walk around half-way, then come back dropping people off in their sections. At this point the soggy paper had begun to coat her mouth in a dry feeling, but was being chewed almost like gum.
"Let's keep up this pace, maybe a bit faster. We will go as far as the large warehouse before turning back and stopping off at each of our sections." reiterated Coco. She was received with nods before they took off on a slow run around the edge of the cliff toward the wooden fence and gate. The drop seemed to be effective at insulating the village from any threats, even sounds of nature failed to stab through the thick silence that now seemed normal to the group. Nearing the half-way point along the eastern half of the perimeter, the drop lessened in depth, but a rock wall overshadowing the village began to take shape in replacement; the junction between was guarded by a tall wooden fence and gate, currently open to a grass clearing that gave way to trees. I am beginning to fully understand why this village is so difficult to reach.
By the time Coco was nearing the inner area of the village from her own section a few details had come to mind in the absence of finding anything of immediate use. This village is not small, and if these buildings were not vacant then many people were here, but are no longer. Where did they go? Why?
It was time to check the fire, and messages. Given the lack of vehicles heard from the sky, she hoped there was no message waiting; what good was it if they did not come to drop food? Could they even get the message too far away to hear the ship? The receivers were far better than that of scrolls, but perhaps Fox was being overly optimistic? No, he's been blunt so far, even saying what I cannot bring forth from myself. The scrolls just communicate with each other, that is why the distance is so short. They cannot use the tower for their signal. That's it.
When she reached the house, having attempted to run but restricted to a jog, the fire was almost out despite some wood still in the fireplace. Furniture probably is not best, but the shoes are already treated with chemicals so what could it hurt? She piled her fags in, and with a piece of her cardboard coaxed it back to life. While leaning back, waiting to be certain it would not die immediately, she stilled her twitching hands and dared to check her scroll; it showed a signal to Fox's, but no messages. "Big Surprise."
The clouds had begun to glow orange. Coco was a little behind with her search, out of cardboard and water, and struggling to run between checking buildings and garbage bins. Her scroll gave her another half hour before she headed back, so she attempted to rally her leg muscles and hurry up.
At 10 after 6 she entered the house, the sounds of conversation prompting a sensation of longing; school, meals, people, it all seemed so far out of reach. Her teammates greeted her with smiles, but she smelled the now-boiling leather, not food. Her scroll had found no messages, and she tossed it to Fox as she entered the living room so he could adjust the message they had going out. A smile graced her face as she returned greetings to her teammates. No food was located, but the calm chat and lack of any dangers seemed to have improved spirits.
The four students attempted to chew on the leather once it had cooled, acknowledging that the cardboard was easier and had worked fairly well. More casually this night, they relayed the information each had gained. Most notable was Fox's report that there might be a leak in some pipe, but nothing easy nor worth fixing as they had become familiar with the taste, it had yet to do them any harm, and was a luxury as opposed to a need. Coco made no attempt to plan for the next day, instead allowing the conversation to drift towards stories and memories.