Chapter Ten

Castiel and Chino walk for some time. Neither of them have a watch, so they cannot tell how late it is. Not like either of them are tired, though. Both are empty-handed, so they stick to the shadows in case mutants come crawling. So far, it has worked pretty well.

This expedition for supplies allows the two to see what this infection has actually done to their town. Buildings are withered, due to lack of care and the mindless mutants. Streets are vacant, leaving an eerie quiet in the place of what used to be bundles of people. Trails of flesh coat the ground, to mark where the mutants crawl. With the night over their heads, it is truly a depressing sight.

"My God…," Chino whispers. "I never really looked at it until now, but…."

"The town's gone to shit?" Castiel suggests. Chino nods. "Yeah, well, what do you expect? Mutants aren't exactly the best caretakers."

Chino winces. He seems to be dismissing the fact that these mutants were once people. Though, she knows she should not expect much sympathy from a guy like him. "I-I guess," she stammers. "But that's not-."

"Shh." Chino scowls at Castiel. She is about to ask what he is hushing her for, when he slaps a hand over her mouth. With a finger to his lips, he stares into the street. Her eyes trail over to see what he is staring at.

Two mutants, crawling down the street.

They stand in a dark alleyway, staring at the mutant couple. Hoarse moans fill the air. As they crawl, some limbs twist in odd ways. Their mouths constantly open and close, as if trying to get as much oxygen as possible. The longer the two healthy-ones stare, the more disgusting it seems.

Eventually, the mutants pass. Castiel removes his hand from Chino's mouth, his own pair of lips firmly shut. "There has to be some explanation to this," Chino exclaims. "I mean, it looks like they can't breathe - why attack people? We're not air-particles or anything."

Castiel stares at her. A small smile forms before he says, "And you see why I covered your mouth?" Chino is unable to counter this before Castiel walks on.

The search seems more and more pointless as it continues. Any piece of wood is either too short or too splintery. Pieces of cloth have moth holes - nothing suitable for bandaging wounds. What makes matters worse is that neither of them know how to take care of a dislocated kneecap.

"Does anyone in our school know ANYTHING about medicine?" Chino asks.

Castiel thinks about it. "I...think Jay does? Though, Keiichi would have been a good candidate." Chino tilts her head at the mention of "Keiichi". "Keiichi goes-or, went-to our school. She's broken her appendages God knows how many times…"

"Okay, that's nice and all…But I think I'd rather go with Jay. She seems to know a thing or two." Chino smiles, but it disappears quickly. "Wait, did Jay ever say what she wanted to do?" Castiel thinks on it, and shakes his head. "Then why didn't she say anything?"

"'Cause I asked the question." The two look back to see Jay, following them. She carries a stack of small pieces of wood in the crook of one arm. "I already had my answer, so I slipped out while you-all were debating on it. Also, small pieces of wood can be used as splints. Remember that next time, please?"

Grateful that they now had the "medic" for advice, the group ventures on. Though she agrees on not bothering with the available cloth, Jay gives them wonderful insight on all the wood they were about to waste. She also grabs some metal pipes, short and long. Eventually they have a decent load of objects.

"Can we help Miki with all of this?" Castiel asks doubtfully. Jay shakes her head. "Then what the Hell did we spend all this time gathering shit for?!"

Jay holds up her hands defensively (seeing as she made Chino hold wood and Castiel hold pipes). "It's not shit," she explains. "But we need something to hold it to her knee. A swivel chair would be ideal, too."

"A swivel chair?" Chino repeats. Jay nods. "Why not crutches?"

"Crutches are too slow. At least a swivel chair gives her a chance at survival, should mutants go chasing us again."

Castiel and Chino exchange glances. Though it is all logical in theory, they have no idea where they are going to obtain such things. "This is just-!"

CRASH!

The group jumps, looking around. Something in a nearby alley just fell! In haste, they drop some of their items and hide in the alley on the opposite side. They watch, making absolutely no sound.

A dark figure shifts in the shadows. "Shit…!" a voice hisses. They become a blur as they rush in circles. "Ah! Um...Oh God, did anything hear me?!"

"Well, it's obviously not a mutant," Chino sighs, breathing once more.

"...Doesn't mean they're a good guy," Castiel points out. Taking this into consideration, Chino quiets and stares with Castiel and Jay.

The figure is still circling. After a while of no-results, they seem to decide it is safe. "Phew...I could have been a goner!" With a single leap, they come out into the light of the street.

There stands Keiichi, the student Castiel mentioned not too long before-hand.

"...Keiichi?" Jay glances at the two next to her. "What is this? I thought-!"

"She was absent that day," Castiel interrupts. "...Does that mean everyone that was absent was not infected?"

Chino shakes her head. "Can't be. There are people from all sorts of places in town that're mutants now!" She examines the girl as she checks both sides of the street constantly. It seems as if she is being really careful. "Maybe she IS infected? After all, it took Mr. Faraize some weeks before he got infected."

"But she looks healthy," Jay argues. "So that can't-!"

"Who's there?" The group falls silent. "Come ooon! I can hear whispering!" Nobody dares say a peep. Keiichi's face darkens, and she reaches for something on her hip. "Come out, or…" Something is taken off of her hip. "Or I'll shoot! I'm not joking here!"

Keiichi has a gun.