Once over the initial shock of being rescued, Ayako was stricken by the motley of the group that had rescued her and Madoka.

Besides Monk and Oliver, there was with them a young man in glasses who appeared to be wearing a women's button-down shirt, two brave-faced petite women, and an elderly man who seemed to be doing his best to keep up with the others.

One of the young women, the one with brown hair and a wry grin, was quick to greet the newcomers.

"I'm Mai Taniyama," She smiled far too brightly. "And you are?"

"Uh," Ayako nervously scratched her arm. "Ayako Matsuzaki."

"I'm Madoka Mori," Madoka smiled even brighter than the girl had. "I can't tell you how happy we are to see a new face."

Ayako scoffed.

"Not that I hate her face…"

"Sign said you were doctors," Monk called back at them over his shoulder. "That true?"

"We're nurses," Ayako laughed nervously, hoping they would not be too upset at her lie. "But more than halfway through getting doctorates so…"

Madoka laughed, "She was afraid that if she put 'nurses' you wouldn't rescue us."

"We would have rescued you no matter what," the man in the glasses spoke up. "We've been trying to find people for weeks."

Ayako was shocked.

"Weeks?"

"Yup, everyone either got out or got infected," the man shook his head sadly. "I'm Yasuhara, by the way."

"I see." Ayako studied the man and his ill-fitting orange shirt. Was that lace?

"I lost my shirt to a rescue operation," Yasuhara explained. "Had to dress a wound. Luckily, Mai had an extra."

"Why didn't you just use the extra shirt to dress the wound?"

"I didn't think that far ahead. Masako's arm was bleeding badly."

The other young woman turned. Ayako noticed a bloodied rag tied around her left arm and realized that she must be the 'rescue operation' in question.

"I'm Masako Hara." Unlike her friends, Masako did not force a smile. "It's nice to meet you."

Ayako nodded before turning once again to Yasuhara.

"Do you have medical experience?"

"Nope," he laughed somewhat awkwardly. "I'm in law school."

"Masako?"

"Yes?"

"Let Madoka and I have a look at your arm when we get the chance, alright?"

Masako nodded.

"Might be prudent to have a look at all of us," the elderly dark-skinned man spoke up from behind them.

Madoka gave the man a gentle smile.

"How are you holding up, sir?"

"Oh, I'll survive," he chuckled kindly. "Name's Jean Vianney. I used to be a magician."

"A magician?" Madoka giggled. "You'll have to show me a trick sometime."

He winked.

"We'll see."

"Monk," Oliver stopped ahead of the group and put his arms out to his sides. "Do you hear that?"

Monk shook his head slowly.

"Everyone," He turned to face the group behind him. "Keep quiet. We may have a group of Echos up ahead."

"Echos?" Madoka questioned in a whisper.

"Yasuhara came up with it," Mai explained graciously. "Because Oliver hated calling them 'zombies'. It's because the infected are merely echos of their past selves."

"Poetic. I like it."

"That and they're very responsive to sound. We think the infection makes them blind, but their sense of hearing can compensate."

It had been some time since the group had left Madoka's neighborhood and they were now in a more metropolitan area with a few small shopping centres and restaurants. So far, Ayako was surprised that they had not yet seen any people that were infected.

Not that she was complaining.

"Yasuhara, Masako, you hang back with Vianney and the newbies," Monk instructed. "Mai, Oliver and I are going to see if any of these stores are worth getting supplies from."

Without her consent, Ayako's hand shot up.

"I could go with you, so the numbers are even."

Monk looked Ayako up and down.

"Are you sure you're ready for that? Where we're going might be dangerous."

Ayako shrugged coolly, though her legs were shaking beneath her.

"Isn't everywhere dangerous?"

Oliver cut in, "If she wants to go, I'm not stopping her. Come on."

"She doesn't have anything to use as a weapon!" Mai protested. "She could just stay…"

"Here." From his pack, Oliver produced a large pocket knife. "That will do for now. When we get back to camp, we'll get you and your friend something better."

Ayako took the knife and put on the bravest face she could muster before she met Madoka's gaze.

"I'll see you soon, 'Dokes."

Madoka looked frightened, but said nothing. Slowly, she brought a hand to her face and tapped her nose before laying her palm flat. It looked as though she was blowing a kiss without actually puckering her lips.

"Let's go." Monk began marching forward.

Ayako turned to follow and did not look back.

X~X~X

Ayako followed closely behind Mai and the others, towards the deserted suburban shopping center. She immediately admired Mai's bravery. The girl was obviously sweet and kind, but she was unflinching on her way to a dangerous situation.

Mai nudged Ayako's arm with her own to get her attention.

"You alright?"

Ayako nodded slowly.

"How are you so calm?"

The girl laughed, "I'm an excellent shot." She turned to showcase the bow and sheath of arrows slung across her back.

"No kidding," Ayako scoffed. "That's so cliché."

"Well, when people raid sporting goods stores, they leave these behind and Masako happened to know enough about the technique to teach me. We've had plenty of time to practice."

"I see."

"How long were you in that house?"

"Oh," Ayako's mind reeled, surprised by the question and trying to think of the exact numbers. "I was on my way there when they started playing the emergency broadcast. So it's been -"

"Wait," Mai interrupted. "You were there the whole time?"

Ayako nodded.

"So this is your first time out and you still volunteered to clear the shopping center?"

"If I didn't, I knew Madoka would," Ayako explained. "And I'd rather something happened to me than to her."

"You're good friends?" Mai smiled, good-naturedly.

"Um." Ayako laughed. "We were supposed to go on our first date the day people started getting infected so…"

"Mai!" Oliver shouted, saving Ayako from having to explain herself further. "There's an Echo up by that shop entrance, think you could get it from here?"

Mai giggled as she unsheathed an arrow. Ayako had to admit, she looked quite natural doing it.

The girl pulled the string taut as she aimed. Her breathing slowed and she was totally focused.

There was an unnatural, garbled noise as Mai's arrow took the Echo down. Ayako was amazed that Mai was actually successful at such a long range.

"You can stop ogling, Ayako," Mai beamed with pride. "I told you, I'm an excellent shot."

"Brilliant job, Mai," Oliver complimented.

Monk reached out to ruffle her hair.

"That's my girl!"

As they approached the first store, Oliver told them to keep quiet and listen for movement. According to him, most Echos were prone to hide during the day, which made it harder for them to tell how safe a place was until they were already in a vulnerable position.

Oliver directed the group to stay in a single-file line as they entered the first store. It was a small, artsy cafe. At best, they would find some food that they could take back. At worst, the place could have already been cleaned out by other survivors.

The door was still locked, which seemed to be a good sign. Monk used the back end of his rifle to break the glass door.

"Oh god."

The smell was awful. As a nurse, Ayako was not squeamish in the slightest, but even she felt ill.

"I suppose the refrigeration failed…" Mai covered her nose with the collar of her shirt.

Monk cringed.

"No kidding."

The cafe was filled with the smell of rotting milk. There was a refrigerated display by the front counter that showcased a large selection of mold-covered pastries and maggot-ridden fruits.

"I don't reckon this bitch is up to code," Monk joked. "What do you think, Mai?"

Mai coughed, "I think I'd like to have a word with management."

"Well," Oliver pointed towards a back room behind the shop counter. "I think that can be arranged."

The three others turned to look where Oliver had indicated.

Monk paled.

"I think I'm going to be sick."

Ayako had never seen something so terrible, but she could not look away. In the center of what seemed to be a small manager's office, there was a woman tied to a rolling office chair with wires that must have been ripped from the backs of appliances. Her jaw hung open, limp, like the muscles responsible for holding it closed had been completely severed.

She was so covered in bruises that her skin was more a marble of green and blue than any natural color. The wheels of the rolling office chair were caked in blood from a puddle on the floor.

Ayako studied the woman's face, it was bruised and swollen like the rest of her body. Her eyes were bloodshot and red. Ayako watched the woman blink.

"This isn't right," Ayako suddenly became aware of her whole body shaking from fear. "Who did this to her?"

Slowly and with much effort, the woman in the office chair raised her head. The bottom half of her jaw swung towards Ayako before the rest of her head followed. The top of the woman's mouth turned upwards into a twisted grin.

Without hesitation, Monk lifted his rifle and shot the woman in the head. A strangled gasp erupted from somewhere between her chest and throat as her body went limp and she fell back into the office chair.

For the rest of the time the group was inside the cafe, they said nothing. Whatever food was still good - mostly dry flour and coffee grounds - they set outside the front door. None of them had any desire to re-enter the cafe once they were finished clearing the shopping center.

When they were finally making their way next door, Mai managed to ask aloud the question that was weighing on everyone's minds.

"Who would do that to her?"

Oliver grimaced.

"Looters."

"But," Monk shook his head, obviously not satisfied with that explanation. "Everything was there, untouched. You don't think she did that to herself, do you?"

"What do we have to gain by trying to explain what happened to her?"

No one wanted to argue with Oliver, so the subject was dropped. The woman would have to be forgotten and the survivors would have to keep moving forward.

X~X~X

The rest of the stores were seemingly untouched by human life, infected or otherwise. Luckily, the cafe was an outlier and not the beginning of a terrible pattern. Granted, most of the stores sold clothing and trinkets, and not worth scouting out. Monk did run into a store to take a new shirt for Yasuhara. A deed which the entire group would thank him for later.

They managed to clear the rest of the shopping center in record time. They had only one store left and all of them hoped that it was as untouched as the rest of the units had been.

The last store was a large camping and sporting goods outlet, and was the real reason Oliver had wanted to scout here. It was unlikely that the store had not been looted, but it was still worth going in, even if for just a few supplies.

As they had expected, the glass storefront had already been shattered. However, the stock looked to be mostly intact. Ayako could not decide whether or not this was a good sign. Had survivors been here to loot and seen something that frightened them away?

She did not realize how closely she had been following behind Monk until she bumped into him as he stopped.

"Sorry," she muttered.

"You alright, princess? You look pale."

Ayako rolled her eyes.

"I'm just peachy."

"Monk, Ayako!" Oliver waved them over. "Come look at this."

Oliver was standing in the doorway that led to the store's dressing rooms. Inside, it appeared that there had been set up a makeshift shelter. Each fitting room held a small cot and a sleeping bag.

Mai studied the empty cots with wide eyes.

"But where did they all go?"

Ayako chuckled despite herself. Again, Mai was asking the obvious question.

Ignoring the question, Monk turned to Oliver.

"I think we should go get the others. The place looks safe enough and it's getting late. I don't want to be split up when it starts getting dark."

Mai was quick to answer in Oliver's place.

"But we haven't finished checking! What if what ran them out of here gets us too?"

"Mai," Oliver rested a quieting hand on her shoulder. "I think Monk's right. This place has the supplies we need. Enough to risk rushing checks."

"And this would be the perfect place for Madoka and I to get a look at everyone," Ayako offered. "I'll bet they have first aid supplies here."

"Right," Oliver nodded. "Let's get back to Yasuhara and the others."

X~X~X

Ayako was relieved to see that the other half of the group was still waiting just where they had left them. Madoka sat on a curb, chatting pleasantly with Yasuhara and Vianney while Masako lay, resting her head in Yasuhara's lap.

As they approached, Monk wordlessly tossed Yasuhara the new shirt.

"Hey look," Yasuhara laughed. "It's the best fashion choice Monk has ever made!"

Monk gave him a dirty look.

"Dude, you're wearing a bolo tie. Don't look at me like that."

Masako clumsily pushed hair out of her face as she sat up.

"Thank god. That shirt barely looked good on Mai, let alone Yasuhara."

Yasuhara laughed, "Would you rather I go without a shirt?"

"That is not what I said."

"Did you see anything worth your trouble, Noll?" Vianney asked, reaching out a hand for Oliver to help him stand.

"There's a big camping outlet on the far side of the center, it looks like there's been a camp there before but we didn't see anyone."

Yasuhara looked surprised.

"A camp?"

"Cots set up in the fitting rooms," Oliver explained. "Enough for a group of at least twenty."

"And you didn't see anyone?"

Oliver shook his head.

"No Echos either. The place was totally deserted."

Yasuhara knitted his brows as he considered this information.

"I don't know how much I trust that."

"Monk and I agreed," Oliver put his hands on his hips, daring Yasuhara to disagree with him. "We're going to take this good thing without questioning it too much. Just keep your guard up on the way."

"Right." Yasuhara knew better than to argue with Oliver. "Let's go."

Ayako quickly fell in step with Madoka as they followed the others back to the sporting goods store. She jumped in surprise as Madoka sheepishly took her hand.

"Are you alright?"

Ayako smiled. Madoka's voice had an almost supernatural calming effect over her.

"I'll spare you the details," Ayako sighed. "But we saw some pretty grim sights."

Madoka squeezed Ayako's hand.

"It's going to be okay."

god guys I wholeass forgot about all the bullshit in the cafe and I aPOLOGIZe

but listen is for good plot reasons k thanks

please rate/review! thank you to my betas (Hannah, Toa, and Kel) and all of the people who have reviewed so far! Circe, your comments always brighten my day!

Bee