Thursday, 3rd of September 2019 – 2:10 AM...
So.. this was a thing to happen...
"Ok... We got in... Now what...?" Margarita wondered out loud as we were in the dark...
"What do you mean: "Now what?"?! This was your idea!" I exclaimed as crash into a shopping aisle, "Ow..." I muttered as I rub my beak with my arm-feathers.
"Well... I didn't exactly think this through... hehe..." Maggy sheepishly admits as she rubs the back of her head with her tiny paws...
Brilliant...
"So... we are transpassing in a closed supermarket, which is technically a crime, to get food and water and whatever else we can grab... essentially looting, which is yet another crime, and you only planned on how to get inside...?" I asked my literal partner in crime for this 'heist'.
Margarita at least has the decency to look nervously at me as she tries to come up with an answer, "Y-Yes..?" she answers me with a nervous stutter...
"Oh my god..." I groan again as I rub my head in exasperation...
How did I get into this situation...?
Wednesday, 2nd of September 2019 – 8:10 AM, on a random alleyway near the beach tourist section of the city...
Maggy was watching me walk back and forth, I wasn't showing it, but I was panicking hard...
"Ok... So we no longer have a shelter, food, water, or even tools... all we managed to save was the little radio that I never actually leave without..." I recalled what happened to us in the last two days.
"We were forced to sleep in another alleyway, completely exposed and we could have gotten hurt, or worse, killed..." I muttered nervously as that day we were too tired to search for a proper shelter.
"Now, Sleeping in the cold night might not have been a problem, but if this transformation is permanent, winter will not forgive us for gambling that kind of choice again..." I hypothesized as I stop and tapped my foot on the floor nervously.
Maggy looks at me with a smug smile, "Well, it was only bearable because you are a pretty good heating hug pillow" she giggles as she covers her mouth to hide said giggle, I, on the other hand, was not amused.
"Yeah well, I'd rather not test if my 'warmth' while keeping us from freezing over on the winter where it can get down to 6 degrees Celcius!" I exclaimed worried as not having a shelter is already dangerous enough...
"I'm pretty sure you can" She answers me immediately with that same smug look in her eyes...
"Right... I'm a Fire Type..." I sigh as I realized that I might not have such a hard time in that season of the year...
But I also dreaded it because a walking heater is not something you ignore in a cold place... I was gonna be worked to the bone, I just know it...
"ANYWAY!" I exclaim loudly as I wanted to keep on our most urgent topic, "That still doesn't change the fact that we have no food or water... or a place on where to put it..." I muttered exhausted as I sit down to try and relax.
The destruction of our shelter not only took me by surprise but also made me more emotionally unstable...
I grew fond of that crappy little shack in the alleyway, to see all that effort just literally blow up in front of me was very disheartening...
I feel two paws grabbing my head, as I open my eyes and my head was raised, I see Maggy looking at me, her face uncomfortably close to mine.
"No! You can't let this wear you down!" She exclaims as she lets go of my head and sits on her tail, "If it wasn't because of you, I would have resorted to rummaging through garbage for food!" She declares as she points a paw at me, "You did so much for me, so let me think of a plan that'll get us back on track! Just give me a few hours to think of something..." She says as she takes a thinker pose...
"I have a bad feeling about this..." I couldn't help but dread as I saw her eccentrically think...
Hopefully, this won't end badly... I mean... How bad could her plan possibly get?
Wednesday, 2nd of September 2019 – 6:56 PM, on a little backyard of an abandoned house in the same beach tourist section, just out of sight and out of commission from lack of business...
I take it back...
"You want to what now?" I asked incredulously as I wanted her to repeat herself, just to see if she was mentally ill all of the sudden...
"I'm serious! Just think about it! There's an entire supermarket in lockdown! We can just get in, get stuff and leave! And nobody will notice! It's perfect!" Maggy exclaims happily with enthusiasm as she jumps in place at her 'master plan...'
Which is literally looting a supermarket at night that also was in LOCKDOWN!
"How...?" I wondered confused...
"How what?" Maggy answered my confusion, much to my irritation...
"Ok... First of all... How did you know a whole supermarket is in lockdown... Second of all... Don't you think that a supermarket being in lockdown means that something is up?! Doesn't that unnerve you at all?!" I yell hysterically as my feathers ruffled in agitation...
What the hell is she thinking?!
"Well... How much food did we managed to get today while we search for a place to make a new refuge?" Maggy asked with confidence and I... uh...
I didn't have an answer that I liked...
As I realized that she was right, she kept drilling it into my head to make a clearer and mean point.
"Look, ever since that fire, the news has been all over it! The people we begged for food refused to give us more than scraps, some didn't even give us anything! Refuse it all you want, we need food and water..." Maggy remarked as I snarled and looked away, uncomfortable with the idea...
"I know our usual food source has been... reduced, but your idea is looting a supermarket... and one that is in lockdown..." I repeated firmly...
"Do you feel full?" She asked me just as firm as I was.
...
"No..." I meekly answered as I looked down embarrassed...
"And what about this shelter we found? It is nice and warm? More importantly, is it safe?" She asked me again...
...
"Urgh... fine..." I muttered annoyed...
"Sorry, Luis... but I'm sure this will be the only time we'll need to do something this drastic..." Maggy tried to reassure me as she pats my back...
I can only let out a sigh as I rub my eyes from the absurdity of this situation...
"But hey! I managed to get everything ready, I found an abandoned little cart that we can use to get the stuff out of the supermarket!" She tried to cheer me up as she assures me that this should be laughably easy...
It probably would be...
The only thing that worries me is the reason why a supermarket would be in lockdown at all...
That is the one thing worrying me about this plan...
Thursday, 3rd of September 2019 – 2:24 AM, inside the supermarket that was in a lockdown...
Right... that's how I got convinced to get in a half-baked plan...
No problem... we were already inside... all we had to do was sneak into the work area behind the supermarket, you know, the place where the products arrive and get sorted into the supermarket?
Once we sneaked in there, which was easy because of our size and speed, we ran into the problem that the metal doors were closed, well... everything was closed...
Maggy's solution? Melt a hole in the metal door and tackle a hole in...
Obviously, I was the one who had to do it, otherwise, Maggy would be an unnecessary 2-degree burn and some broken bones...
Ember was not as effective as Maggy thought, but with was technically still fire, so after a good amount of time (and breathers and bruises), I got the hole open...
Was there an easier way inside from the front? Yes, but there was an abnormal amount of police guarding the front, the back was more exposed and their ground wasn't as covered, we managed to sneak the cart in because of that flaw...
I'm getting off-topic, we were in and now it was time to think about what to... loot... ugh...
Since Maggy's part of the plan as to getting in was over, it was up to me to think about what to grab, and how to get out...
After some quick thinking, I decided that the best option was to keep it simple and grab stuff that would last us a good while...
Stuff that needed to be stored on a fridge was pointless, we had no way to keep them from rotting quick, so cans of food and bottles of water were a must...
I might have used this chance to grab junk food and soda...
We also got a big tent, we were already going this deep, and I'm sure the company successful enough to open a supermarket can afford to lose one luxury tent and a cart full of supplies to last us through winter, I'm sure they won't mind...
The supermarket was big... it was kind of like one of those giants places that can afford to house a handful of small businesses, kind of like a hub for that tourist who went to ogle on the latest trends...
Anyway, the process was simple, get in, grab the supplies and anything that looks useful, get out, put it on the cart, repeat the process until satisfied...
"Alright Luis, I'm bringing the stuff to the cart! I think this should be enough!" She exclaims as she grabs the worn-down rug that we had been pulling the stuff towards the cart.
"Yeah, I think we're even going overboard..." I muttered confused for a moment.
"Yeah, you'd think that a supermarket on lockdown would have guards inside, weird isn't it?" Maggy raises an... interesting point...
"Yeah... that is weird... it's like they don't want to be inside for some reason..." I wondered out loud...
"I'm sure it's perfectly fine!" Maggy chirped with her usual happy carefree self as she got ready to drag the supplies to the cart, "Ready to leave?" She asked me as she starts to effortlessly pull the fabric under the handful of supplies.
"You go ahead and get the stuff on the refuge spot, I take it you can push the cart?" I asked as I wondered if Maggy can pull the heavy cart of supplies on her own.
"I sure can! I'm not sure how, but I'm glad I can! Alright, I'll be going, but what are you getting?" She wonders as she starts getting momentum while I accompany her to the exit.
"Well, the radio has started to run out of batteries, so I thought of getting batteries for it, or just getting a better radio if I can... I'm sure the electronics department has to have something..." I explain as we approached the cart.
"Why not get a phone then? One of those iPhones, I mean... surely that would be more useful than a radio?" She remarks as we arrived at the cart and we loaded the supplies, the cart was very full and this round was gonna be the last because nothing else fit anymore.
"A phone still needs electricity to be charged up, but I'll think about it," I answered with a shake of my head...
Sure, I have space on my pouch, but I'm not sure if we can even use it...
Maybe I'll grab one anyway... It could be of use...
"Well... In that case, I'll take the cart to our shelter, See you there! And be careful!" Maggy exclaims as she starts pulling the rope attached to the cart with enough effort to sweat, but not enough to be an impossible task...
Even though someone of our stature shouldn't be able to make that feat...
With a shake of my head, I make my way back in again... Time to look for those batteries and maybe a phone...
Thursday, 3rd of September 2019 –3:47 AM, inside the supermarket, in the electronics section...
Well, that didn't take very long...
After a while getting in the electronic section, it didn't take me long to find the batteries necessary to reload the mini radio and take a lot of spares to avoid future trips to restock them...
Considering that I still had time and space in the fanny pack, I walk towards a counter and grab myself the newest (and 'best' model) of the iPhone, and start making my way towards the exit we made...
You know? All things considered... Maggy's plan wasn't as catastrophic as I thought it would be!
I let out a satisfying stretch and shake a little bit like a dog, despite the morally ambiguous decision of looting a supermarket in lockdown... this went smoothly!
As I made my way out of the section... I start to see something in the air...
It was green and it was floating...
"Spores...?" I thought as I see the foreign substance in the air above me...
I was too small for it to make it all the way down... it was like it was looking for something bigger...
'Human-like' big...
I hear a tired yet feral groan come from the food section of this giant shop complex...
Terrified, I got into a coffee shop that was still opened and closed the glass door...
Whatever that groan was... it was responsible for the... spores? Were those spores? Regardless... it meant bad news...
As I tried to relax for whatever scared me... I see through some isles that had a lower size...
I managed to get a look at the Elemental...
It was a big ass Shiinotic...
So it looks like this guy is responsible for the lockdown and chose to wake up now...
Brilliant...
I'm so dead...
Wednesday, 2rd of September 2019 – 12:10 AM, 'Abandoned' warehouse...
Maria was so done...
"Isabelle... where the hell... is the food...?" Maria grumbles with a nasty snarl as she saw the latest problem...
"Maria, I was scammed! Don't you see?! These are fake?!" Isabelle exclaimed as she motions with her paws the pair of matching necklaces...
The necklaces were nothing fancy... in fact... they look like some plastic strapped to some thin strings...
"Isabelle... Where. Is. The food?" Maria growled again as she was losing patience quickly...
"This odd grey dog with black marks told me that if I gave him some food, then he would give me a treasure, then I thought about our newfound debt, so I accepted but made sure it was real... but I'm not sure how he managed to trick me, it was real when he showed me!" Isabelle explained herself, much to her friend's horror...
"You gave him our food... then one Williams so kindly 'requested' from us... and the reason we're in his debt and risking our lives... for this..." Maria recounted slowly.
"Yes but-"
"How. Much?" Maria snarled with a livid expression.
"Half of our rations" Isabelle answered immediately.
"WHAT?!" Maria shrieked in shock, "We NEEDED those rations to pay for the refuge, the commodities we have AND the muscle to steal from those shops!" Maria yelled at her friend, who stepped back in shock, "Williams is expecting his pay TOMORROW! DAMN YOU! What am I gonna do?!" Maria exclaimed in fear and panic as she sits and rubbed her face with her front paws, trying and failing to massage her aching face...
Maria's migraine was real as it can be...
"Hey... Maria?" Isabelle wondered nervously as she saw her friend breakdown.
"What now?!" Maria yelled at her friend in anger.
"Uhm... I know I messed up but-"
"Messed up?" Maria repeated after Isabelle, "Messed...up?" She repeated again...
Maria started to giggle madly...
"Messed up?! No, Belle, what made you think that?! We are indebted to a criminal and you gave away what we were gonna used to pay that debt back Isabelle... You didn't mess up..." Maria replied with a sweet genuine smile...
"Really?" Belled thought hopefully.
"Yep, you didn't mess up Bell... YOU COMPLETELY SCREWED US OVER!" Maria ran up to Belle's face and screamed at her face at the top of her lungs in a livid fury.
"B-But-"
"No! No 'buts,' no 'what,' no 'how'! We do not have enough time to get enough food to pay a criminal back! We're screwed Bell! And it's all. Your. Fault!" Maria screamed at her friend, who at this point was backing away from her friend and hit her rear against the wall and curled up as she was still getting yelled at...
Isabelle has never seen Maria this mad before...
A couple of knocks on the door snaps Maria out of her rage and transforms it into fear...
With a deep breath, she walked upon the door and slowly opened it... revealing a servine accompanied by a Murkrow and a Poochyena...
"Oh! Hello there Paula! Fancy meeting you here in the middle of the night... what brings you here?" Maria the Zorua greeted with nervous sweat as she really hoped she didn't hear her screaming...
"Well, I was just patrolling the streets, you know, protecting our turf, and by extension, the house that you're currently renting... but..." The servine walked in and circled around Maria as the Pochyena and the Murkrow invited themselves in and looked around the house, "I just managed to hear from your 'collected' and 'eloquent' scream that you cannot pay your due tomorrow..." Paula smirked as she walks up to Maria.
"Ok... I mean... Look-" Maria tries to explain herself as she shakes in fear.
"Nonono... I don't wanna hear it" Paula shushes Maria as she pokes the Zorua on the nose, "You cannot pay back because your useless friend got scammed..." "Hey!" "...Sadly that will not help you, you had your side of the deal and we have ours, I will tell Williams about this and see what he decides to do with you, but know this..." Paula's grin widens as she pinches Maria's nostrils, "You answer to us, you hear? C'mon boys! We got around to finish and news to deliver..." The servine orders the Dark Types as they all make their wait out...
After a few minutes, Maria sits down and later drops on her belly as she realized how bad the situation became...
Her pupils were trembling as she struggled to keep herself from breaking down...
She had a bright future... then the transformation happened...
Isabelle walks up to Maria and also lays on her belly, "Maria?" She calls her friend as Maria turns to look at her friend with fury in her eyes.
"Don't. Talk to me..." She snarls and growls lividly as she got up and stomped her way into her room, leaving Isabelle on her own in the cold living room... not that she would tell the cold in the room...