October 6
0702 Hours
"Are they coming back yet?"
Red face planted the seats in front of him. Aryll had woken up exactly three minutes after his brother and Preston had left the car. This was the fifth time she'd asked that same question in a sole minute.
"No." He drawled, not bothering to remove his face off the seats. Did I actually agree to take care of this little girl? Fuck. Me. Red felt a hard jab on his ribs and a series of muffled giggles followed it. He rolled his head to face Aryll. It was surprising to see somebody could be this jolly in such a depressive, new world. The fact that somebody like that still existed was… refreshing. Though this refreshment was getting on poor Red's last nerve. He rolled his head the opposite way and looked at his friend sleeping. His eyelashes looked twice as long and his lips looked a little pale. He overall had an okay appearance, which calmed him down a tad. He sighed and looked around. There was nothing but plain little country houses. Some looked decrepit, some rather new. The new ones made him think of how much time and money and effort were put into them only to live there for a few months or years. Then out of the blue, be forced out your house and onto the streets, trying to seek for a safe haven. And then, he thought about their future. Where they going to just drive or were they going to stop at some point? What exactly were they going to do? And then, his head wandered to the present. Are Link and Preston safe right now? A feeling of uneasiness started growing in the pit of his stomach. What if they had gotten lost? What if they had been attacked? What if they-
"Are they coming back yet?" Aryll asked again with a soothing innocence in her tone. He turned to look at her and smiled. He then pulled her close and hugged her to his side.
"I don't know Aryll…" He whispered. "We can only hope they will come back."
October 6
0707 Hours
"Are we there yet?" Preston asked for the umpteenth time. Link sighed and looked at his phone screen. He stopped for a second and examined the route they were taking.
"Turn left here and it'll be a hundred meters from us. Let's go." He said as he started jogging without tearing his eyes off the map. Preston ran after noticing the flaxen haired boy significantly ahead of him. He had already reached the gas station when Preston managed to catch up with him.
"You are fast even though you are so short…" The brunette panted out, earning a glare from Link. He huffed and walked ahead into the store.
"Hey we have to carry the gas back! Not eat snacks…" He called out after him. Link stopped halfway into the seven eleven and turned around.
"Do you plan on carrying it all with your hands or…?" He sassed before entering the store. Preston blushed at this and begrudgingly followed close behind. Once inside they started roaming the stands. Link grabbed a bag from behind the counter and proceeded to fill it with food and drinks.
"It's incredibly quiet here… Almost like a ghost town." Preston said as he eyed the streets. Link made a noncommittal moan as he went through the medicines in the counter.
"I think there are a few gas cans outside in the storage house. Can you go get them?" The blonde mumbled as he read the label of a bottle of pills. Preston gulped as he nodded even though the other boy wasn't looking. He pushed the doors and exited the store. The storage was right of the gas pumps. It had a red roof and green walls with a maroon door to top it off. The paint seemed weathered down which meant it was quite old or had had little maintenance. The brunette gingerly approached the doors and gave them a light push. They opened a bit, allowing him to see what was inside. Mops, cleaning items and brooms were along the inventory but what stood out were the three gas cans at the end of the room. He sighed as he stepped into the storage house and flicked the lights on. He tiptoed his way through the sea of scattered items until he reached the red cans. He pulled the plastic containers off the floor and started making his way towards the door. He was about to step outside until he heard a low and guttural moan beyond the doors. He slowly sidestepped away from the open doors and leaned against the wall, slowly sliding down to the floor. He heard heavy footsteps approaching the entrance of the storage house. A shadow started to form as the creature neared the house. He bit his lips as a black figure entered his peripheral vision. Preston refused to look at what was a foot or two from him. The figure continued to walk ahead, apparently not noticing the shivering boy to his right. Once it was fully inside the little brunette got a clear view of the man. Dark skin, shaved head, and a muscular body that looked about 6'5. Suddenly being 5'8 made Preston feel impotent. The man paid no mind to him and continued to walk into the room. He stopped once the wall got in his way. He stood there immobile, making no noise or anything actually. Preston swallowed down the knot in his throat, mustering all the courage he had to stand up. His legs wobbled slightly as he started tip toeing out the room. He was about to exit the place unscathed but his luck had proven inexistent once again that day. As single can slipped from his grasp and banged against the metal doors, making a loud sound. Preston felt the hairs on his nape stand up as he heard muffled noise from behind him. He slowly turned his head over his shoulder to see the room. The man had turned around and was growling as he looked at him intently. Preston maintained eye contact with him.
Suddenly, he turned around and slammed the doors shut. The brunette then grabbed a chain that was on the gravel and encircled it around the handles. The footsteps of the man inside grew gradually louder until they stopped. Preston waited for a few seconds for any sort of moment. There was a loud scream and a violent bang on the doors. The banging continued for a few seconds until it grew into a soft pounding. The brunette sighed, his heart beat returning to normal. He fetched the strewn gas cans and walked towards the pumps. He started filling the cans as he waited for Link to come out the store. The first can was full when the blonde approached him. He squatted beside him and examined his face. He slowly took a bite off his Snickers and chewed as he squinted his eyes.
"You look agitated." Link said after swallowing his chocolate. Preston resisted the urge to smack him and returned to filling the cans. The blonde snatched one and walked to the pump next to the one Preston was at.
Soon the cans were filled and ready to be transported to the car. The couple stood in front the gas station and eyed the town they were on, unsure as to how they were going to comfortably carry the cans back. Preston sighed as he sat down on the curb.
"Hey, look." Link said as he lightly prodded the brunette with his foot. Preston tsk'ed as he pushed Link's leg away and looked at whatever he was pointing at. A block or two from them was a Target standing proudly. They eyed each other knowingly before picking the cans up and walking over to the store. Once inside the store they made a bee line for the bike's section.
"Pick one with a basket or something." Link said as he eyed the small variety they had. Preston dismounted a blue one from the stand it was on and sat on it. He looked at Link. Link looked at him. He bounced a few times on the bike and laughed.
"Yeah, I guess this will do." He said as he managed to fit one can inside the basket. Link eyed the room and his eyes fell on the backpacks section. He pulled a red one down and tried to fit a can in. After struggling with it for a few seconds, the zipper was finally closed. He pulled it over his shoulder and started walking around in circles.
"Yeah, this will do." Link said as he pulled a black mountain bike off its stand. They pushed the bikes towards the entrance and parked them in front. The blonde boy then went back into the store.
"Link! Where are you going?" Preston called out. The shorter boy turned looked over his shoulder and grinned.
"Let's give Ness a little bit more of time to rest!" He chirped before entering the store. Preston looked around the empty streets and sighed, following the blonde inside.
October 6
0756 Hours
Red looked at his watch once again and sighed. They had been out for an entire hour now. The feeling of dread in his stomach returned but a thousand times worse. Aryll had fallen asleep again and he was left alone with his thoughts, which weren't all that pleasant. He let his body droop forward as he tried to stop the images that were flowing into his brain. Tears. Fear. Blood. Bodies. I'm sick of it and it hasn't even been a day… He felt his eyes begin to water as he contemplated the fact that his friends were killed and he wasn't even there to lend them a helping hand in their last moments.
"I should've gone with them…" He mumbled into his hands as his tears began flowing. The car's door flew open, dragging the brunette out his reverie. He looked up to see Link and Preston carrying the gas cans and a few more items. They had a smile in their faces until they saw his puffy eyes and red nose.
"Are you okay?" Link asked, whereas Preston who attached himself onto Red and began rubbing his back. Red felt a surge of happiness travel through his being as he hugged Preston back.
"Where the hell were you?!" He barked, his sweet demeanor gone. The brunette holding him wiggled backwards and off the car. He pulled in the bag containing food and placed on the seat along with another hardware store items.
"We just brought some snacks and something to patch the hole in the tank." He answered with a toothy grin. Red looked down and into the bag dubiously. His hand suddenly shot into it and pulled out one of the microwave burritos they had brought. He quickly removed the wrapper and took a bite. The brunette let out a content sigh as the food reach his stomach.
"We also brought bikes, just so you know." Link added casually. Red stopped mid-bite and cocked his head to the side. Indeed, two bikes were parked beside the car.
"How on earth are we supposed to take them with us?" He asked, obviously puzzled by their whim. Link and Preston shared a knowing look before the blonde revealed what he had in his bag.
"A three storage bike mount rack!" He cheered. Red deadpanned at this. His eyes fleeted from Link to Preston and back. He then snorted, shaking his head. His laughter grew to the point one could say he was guffawing. He ignored the questioning look from the two boys in front of him. He didn't want them to know the real reason why he was laughing. The fact that world seemed to be facing an impending Armageddon or the other fact that he hadn't sorted his future out didn't matter at the moment. It was all so irrelevant because even though he didn't know what was going to happen, he had people like them in his life. And maybe, just maybe, he might've found a reason to survive it all at that precise moment.
Well this was a cute little chapter I guess...
I'm sorry for being away for so long, but this writer's block was beyond humongous. Had never been blocked for soon long. I'll try to keep this from happening again.
