A Song of Ice, Fire & the Dead

Chapter 16: Paradise Found?

Takashi looked at the surroundings in awe and he asked, "Have you ever seen anything like this?" His question was not aimed to anyone in particular and it hung in the air for a few seconds as he, Kohta and Shizuka stood in amazement at the camp they were in.

Kohta was the first to answer Takashi's question. "A couple of times I read some graphic novels that showed similar refugee camps, but this? This blows them out of the water!" The young marksman's eyes scanned the layout with both awe and tactical intent; every exit, choke point and hiding place mentally catalogued in his mind. Although relieved to see the sight of other survivors, Kohta was all too familiar with the costs of complacency; he had seen it back at the Takagi estate. People had gotten comfortable in a safe area and their security measures gradually slackened. And it took a single, small mistake for everything to come crashing down.

"I'm going to have a look at the camp's medical situation," Shizuka announced abruptly. "They might have some medication for Aegon's injuries," she added.

Takashi leaned against the railing before him, still taking in the massive encampment. Steel beams with sections of sidings were placed above them, making a simple but effective shelter. The rain that thudded against the metal roofing was loud and not at all pleasant to hear but said roof kept the occupants dry. "Go ahead, Miss Shizuka. I'm going to have a look around as well, and Kohta might wanna have a look at the security," he said. "We'll meet up in…" Takashi looked down at his watch. "Forty-five minutes. It'll be ten o'clock by then." Nodding at each, they went off in different directions, Takashi looked over the massive crowd of survivors below. "Mom, Dad, I hope you guys are here," he mumbled.

…

"Saya? Are you even listening?"

Looking up, carnation pink hair bounced in response. "Of course, I am, Miyamoto," Saya replied and Rei returned to her droning on about Takashi. But Saya's mind kept drifting off to Aegon; he was certainly a different stock, no, make that a different species, compared to other men she had encountered. Thinking back, Saya found herself smiling; the tightened fist that smashed into that creep's unexpected face and the mixture of anger and disgust ins Aegon's deep purple…

"Saya!"

Orange eyes snapped open. "Huh?" came from Saya's mouth.

Rei let out an irritated sigh. "Not you too!"

Saya tilted her head to the side and adjusted her glasses on her nose with a finger. "Not me too, what?" she asked.

Rei folded her arms under her chest and leaned against the wall. "You were thinking about him just now." Saya's mouth fell agape in shock an incomprehension at being found out so easily and Rei continued. "I've been noticing the little glance, the impromptu smiles," Rei then gestured Saya's hands which were fiddling with the hem of her skirt. "The awkward fidgeting."

"I noticed as well," Ciri suddenly said making the other girls jump, having forgotten about the ashen-haired witcheress' presence. "But it's perfectly normal." Ciri brushed a stray lock of ash blonde hair from her eyes behind her ears. "Aegon is quite handsome and has acted very heroically on many occasions. Between natural attraction and the whole knight-in-shining-armour persona, I'd be very surprised if no-one was attracted to Aegon."

Rei, Saya and Asami stared at Ciri in silence before Rei let out a guilty giggle and say, "Well, you're not wrong. I'm very much into Takashi but between Aegon's actions and that body?" Rei let out a wistful sigh as if wondering what it would've been like if she had chosen Aegon instead of Takashi.

Saya nodded, the stain on her cheeks nearly matching her hair. Aegon wasn't terribly large for a foreigner, but here in Japan, he practically towered over everyone. "Okay, maybe I have a crush on Aegon," she acceded. "He's saved my life not once, but twice now! It didn't start off like that in the beginning, but I guess something has changed. It's not serious, but it's fun to think about." Her mind wandered to the recent and vivid dream she had of Aegon and her blush deepened.

Rei's giggling became harder making it known she had picked up on the blush. "Saya, you've done more than some light thinking on this!" Saya's blushed darkened even further making Rei's giggling intensify. "I need details!" Rei then glanced over at Alice suddenly remembering the smaller child present. The young girl was following along with the conversation, Zero sitting comfortably in her lap. "But maybe later."

Muted by embarrassment, Saya crossed her arms under her chest and let the others converse about various topics. Although she disliked being in the centre of attention however briefly, Saya could appreciate the fact that none of them had been thinking about the death and destruction around them. Although it would be brief, it was a welcome break they all needed. Saya couldn't honestly remember the last time she had heard genuine laughter and a small smile was born on her lips. Her mind, on the other hand, had wandered back into the reality of things and she found herself torn over her feelings of what was to come; what would happen if and when they found Rei's and Takashi's parents? Would they be smothered the same as what her own parents had attempted? Would Takashi and Rei simply stay with their parents while the rest of the group continued on? Although life on the road was harsh and without much in the way of comforts, Saya knew one thing for certain; she wasn't quite ready to give it up just yet.

…

The ride back to the garage was quiet, save for the sound of the humvee's engine as it cruised through the city. An occasional 'THUMP' was made when one of Them crossed paths with the loud monstrous vehicle, but aside from that, it was quiet. Each of the three occupants were buzzing with excitement; not just from the joy of finding a safe haven with other survivors, but in their own discoveries they had made in their scouting mission as well. Takashi was a little disappointed he had not found his parents nor Rei's, he was confident in them being there. Kohta was satisfied with the security setup which was not at all complacent, but he was even more satisfied to learn that the camp had actual cooks cooking actual food! Granted, it was nothing spectacular due to being cooked in mass quantities but after eating cold, canned goods and sandwiches for such a long time, the idea of hot meals sounded incredible. Shizuka was equally excited about hot food but was over the moon at the cleanliness of the medical facilities that were actually staffed by medical professionals! In addition to that, Shizuka had also learnt that the camp had washing and bathing facilities with hot running water! No more buckets of barely warm water.

The recon mission was an all-round success. The best case scenario would be that they found their families and would make plans for the next step. The worst case would be they had found a large, comfortable sanctuary. So far, no-one had asked them to disarm or ask anything unreasonable. Being at the edge of the city provided some additional advantages geographically; a full side of the encampment was against the water while another was against a steep cliff face that measured in at fifty metres. It was also in a more rural area which provided some opportunities for farming and cultivation, as well as being far lower in population density which meant the threat of Them was reduced and an increase of space between buildings which in turn provided more lookout capabilities. Although this was becoming a more long term effort than first thought, if it did turn out to become a permanent station, then it was critical to start early.

As the Humvee pulled up to the garage door towards the back to let Takashi out, the moon broke through the clouds at last. 'Perfect timing,' Takashi thought to himself as he trotted over to the door. An exhausted Saya greeted him as she let him inside before locking the door behind him and trudged off to bed. At the large door with the chain pullet system, Takashi took care to pull slowly but deliberately until there was enough space for the Humvee to fit through before lowering the door was quietly as possible. Shizuka turned the engine off and shared a triumphant smile with Kohta and Takashi. They made it back with relative ease and safety, and first thing tomorrow they would share the news with the others and such news would brighten everyone's mood considerably. It could be something that lighten the load on everyone's shoulders that would provide everyone some much needed rest in a safe, secure location with plenty of supplies and much needed facilities.

So long as nothing went wrong.

TO BE CONTINUED…

A/N: There! Sixteenth chapter of this done and dusted! Apologies if this was short, but at least it wasn't a boring A/N, right? Anyway, short chapter aside, I'm still working out details of the world-hopping that is to come and looking at the poll results so far, it seems Elder Scrolls/Skyrim is the favourite so far. For a while it was Resident Evil which would bring up the question of which Resident Evil setting would it take place in which I might've set up another voting poll to choose from. So with that said, Skyrim seems like the first world for the gang to travel to, unless any new voters vote for another world to go first.

And apart from that, I haven't got too much more to say, so I guess I'll just leave this here and see you all in the next one.

Be kind to one another,

Angry lil' elf.