Chapter 3: Good To Be Alive (After Part 2)

Neal wasn't sure when he had fallen asleep. Lost in the world of the past while typing those words, he soon felt himself among those same memories in his dreams. The time, with Scarlet and Shade. The people who changed his life in ways he still didn't fully understand. Like that dream about the family dog in the house you grow up with, you feel a longing as you awake, wishing you could go back.

Except this time for Neal, he was awoken by the dog in his present, a few barks breaking him out of what seemed like a deep rest. The light was still on, and he could hear the noises of someone nearby, which caused him to reach for the gun as his mind came back to reality. He hated that this was the best course of action to take, but there were too many who took the collapse as a reason to abandon morality, and he could only rely on himself for protection.

"Calm down," he told Nine, hoping that the barking wouldn't attract trouble. Though having a guard dog who enjoyed making noise worked as a good deterrent, and while Nine listened to him, the way the dog slowly went back and forth told Neal that she was still on edge, though her ears being perked said she might be a bit excited too.

The rumbling noise started getting closer, and he could hear the latch on the door being undone. Again, he hoped that this was someone who was supposed to be here but he was still on edge. Though judging by the speed at which the different makeshift locks were being opened, he let down his guard a little bit, and Neal noticed Nine's tail starting to wag a bit more excitingly.

Finally, the door opened, and the person ducked to get through the small entrance. "Sorry I'm late," he said while Nine went to sniff him, even though she'd smelled him probably a thousand times before. But he never minded, instead trying to calm the dog down while petting her head.

"Is everything okay, Aki?" Neal asked, putting the gun back down, hating that he was forced to let his paranoia take hold.

"Well I'm fine at least," Aki said, getting far enough in that he could actually stand up straight, and tossed the backpack that was so stuffed it could barely close onto the ground next to the desk Neal had his typewriter at. "Hope you like canned chicken."

Neal really wished he could have gone back to his days of being a picky eater. "I'll survive I guess," he said getting up, hoping that in Aki's two-day trip he'd gotten enough supplies to need help with. "So any news?" Neal asked as they went up the stairs to the outside world.

"Nothing good," Aki said, and Neal could tell that he was trying to just push away whatever bad there was away. Once they got outside, the chill of the Fall evening caught Neal. It may not have been warm down in their home, but at least it kept the wind out. "There's been some rumors going around about people getting sick to the West."

That made Neal pause for a moment. He wondered if there was something more that they'd need to worry about here, other than really everything falling apart. The moon was shining above them which made it bright, but the quiet was still haunting for Neal. Before he'd hear cars go by even in the middle of a night, but now it was a miracle if someone found one that still worked and had the gas to run.

They made their way to Aki's bike with the side car hooked up to it, filled with the supplies he had returned with. Several pitchers filled with clean water, dried food, and a couple gas containers. "Wish it was more," Aki said.

It was better than nothing, that much Neal knew for sure. But this was far from a long-term solution. In fact, Aki could have gotten this inside without any help. And Neal knew that this would only last the two of them maybe about a week.

"So no good rumors?" Neal asked.

Aki just shook his head. When he'd made these trips before, he'd talk to the other survivors, talk about how rescue would come, how the electric grid was going to be set up again soon and that maybe they could all go back to life as normal.

But that was months ago.

"I did see an airplane on the way back though," Aki said.

"Any idea which type?" Neal asked. That had to be from the outside world, maybe the rest of the world was now finally ready to do something. But it seemed like help should have arrived months ago. But even after the destruction stopped, no help ever came.

"A fast one," Aki answered with a shake of his shoulders.

He thought about the different types of planes he learned about from Shade, the different purposes they all served, especially the military ones.

"They did talk about trying to start up a farm though, give the people around food once it grows," Aki said, trying to hold on to some type of hope.

"But that will be a year at least," Neal said. It seemed strange, how food was something that he never head to worry about, only that he wasn't eating too much or too unhealthy. Now he wondered if there was going to be enough.

"We may want to head closer to the others. More hands, lighter loads and all that," Aki said.

That might be wise. Still, they'd picked this spot because it was away from everyone else, making it safe. After all the initial riots, some sense of order and humanity had started to form, though it was fickle at best. "I guess," Neal said, still not wanting to let his guard down too much. He really didn't have much choice with Aki saving his life and pretty much refusing to leave his side. Some people could be too stubborn for his own good. "Tomorrow though."

"I hear ya man. Sleep first, ya know."

"Right." Neal still wasn't sure if it would be the best idea to just try to go into the town they had with the others. But there was strength in numbers, and if society did start to go back to how it was, it would be the big cities, or whatever the cities there were now that would see the benefit first. He really did want to believe, even though this world didn't give him much to believe in. Still, he was alive, they had a plan as flimsy as it was. Despite his fears and doubts, it was good to be alive.

A/N: Yes, I'm back! And really liking getting back into this story. And already edited this chapter once like 2 years ago. That explains why most of it was spelled correctly. You also might be wondering why I'm back suddenly now. Well I was talking to Wyntirsno and WoundedHearts about stuff, this story came up, and that gave me a desire to share it with the world. So here you go!