Next part have fun reading! ;0
All around them the rotting corpses lay ragged on the concrete. The air was filled with dust and dirt that had been kicked up in the commotion. It wasn't particularly sunny, but no one was picky in these situations. Any sun was better than none. There was wind at least; wind was good at times like this after a battle it would help carry the stale putrid aroma out of the way.
When they were certain that no bodies were about to get up, they walked towards each other to meet at the middle. Rei looked at Saeko whose gaze seemed to be focused somewhere else. "Do you want to go back? Or..." she followed her companion's gaze towards the building that stood by the battlefield.
"I don't know about you but I'm curious as to why those people were here, and so many." She slowly started walking towards the entrance of a building opposite them leaving Rei behind.
"You may have a point, but when we first arrived we checked all these buildings for supplies and stuff." Rei walked towards Saeko who was standing halfway in the dark shadows that the building cast off.
"To correct you…" Saeko started a little irritated. "We checked as much as we could before night fell upon us and we took refuge… All we needed to know was if the area was suitable for our use." As she said that she brushed her hand over the brass doorknob that held the entrance to the structure.
"I don't know about you but there could be something in there that drove all these people here." With the words said, Saeko opened the door and slipped inside abandoning Rei out on the streets.
As soon as the door was opened a stale musty smell escaped out in Rei's direction which made her clamp a hand over her nose. From what she could tell it was darker in there than it was outside, who knew what could be lurking in side.
"That thing is a death trap" She mumbled out load with no use since Saeko was already making her way in. That idiot, she thought to herself, what as this building anyway. Wasn't a shop or anything, probably some old apartments, old apartments filled with the dead.
"If you go that way I'll go this way." Rei started walking.
Saeko walked into the dim building, clasping her weapon close to her. Those light blue eyes cautiously sweeping from corner to corner, checking shadows and cracks. This room had a main hall with stairs leading up. To her right were a bunch of small cupboards, judging by the number of them there were probably around 10-15 apartments here. Who knew what each one could be filled with?
When all hell broke loose most people had barricaded themselves in their homes. But that never got them far, because by some stupid mistake they lost their lives. They all died early on in the fight, their places may contain food and tools needed for survival. But her group weren't the only survivors; there would be others who would kill to live.
Like the one that lost their lives just now, they must have been running away from that big herd for some time now.
It was a big group that had come here after all, and no one would notice if a couple walked away, aside from the present residents there could be a zombie or two. All they need is one sound to locate their food, and they would go and get it; no matter how far away it is. Saeko was always careful to limit the amount of noise that escaped from her movements. It had become a habit that she maintained.
Even before the end of the world, she had never seen herself as the social type. People had looked her way, but she dodged their eyes and kept to herself. She could act properly with people, but it all seemed like a waste of time. What did they have that would be good for her. But when life as you knew it changed for the worse, communication had become key in survival. So the Ice queen of old had to go because going solo would get you nowhere, it would most likely get you killed.
Saeko crossed the main hall, it had only been a couple of weeks since it all started but already this place was gathering dust and dirt. As she looked across the main hall she spotted that 2 or 3 dead bodies were loitered across the floor, each in differing stages of decay. She would have to search these bodies for keys to the apartments. Ughhh, she thought I hate having to do that. I hope that something good would come out of this.
Checking on the notice board that was hanging on the wall, she read that the first 5 apartments were above her head. She would need to create a system for searching through each one carefully.
First the corpses, the first one lay on the floor, it's back facing the ceiling, and it looked like a young woman. That was all she thought about them. She didn't need to know more. Using her katana she pierced it through the skull, since there were no visible head wounds.
Bile leaked out of the hole and filled the air with a putrid smell. So far so good.
She went to check on the next one, circling round it like a vulture; she stopped to a point safe enough from its mouth and hands. An old man of maybe seventy, he was the one that was most rotten. The elders were the first to be eaten, this was the new world, and the new world had rules. Again she pierced the skull to ensure it was dead.
Last one. Walking up to the body as it laid face down again she circled the body and then thrust her blade into the head with an audible crack as bone gave way to steel. With a sigh Saeko then muttered to herself as she walked back over to the first body. "Now for the horrid part."
One last body to check, she had checked the first two that she killed, the old man was lucky. He had a room key; the girl had just been a random walker. The last one was another apartment owner that had a key. This was good; 2 rooms to check which would hopefully give some good supplies, there would be more bodies scattered around closer to their apartments. But most of the time it is all too good to be true, and she had experienced it first-hand. It was never good to get too confident, although confidence isn't despised too much of it could be the end of you.
The keys had been gathered, she stood up and tucked them into her side cursing her lack of pockets, if there was going to be a fight she would need both hands. Saeko could easily fight with one hand, but in this cramped hallway it felt better with two.
The intruder walked towards the stairs, and just as she placed her foot on the first step she took one last look at the room around her. Happy with what she could see Saeko started walking up the flight of stairs. If there were going to be any attackers up there she would know by now, you naturally hear them first before you see them. Zombies won't hide, and if she had made a noise (which she doubted) they would have already made their appearance.
Luckily the keys had been numbered so she knew where they would fit; fist was the old man's place on the first floor. Generally older people would have things like pills and medicines stored in their homes; these were considered more valuable than food. You can grow food, but medicines would need proper manufacturing.
Everyone knew that they would be nearing the times where they would have to go back to all the old fashioned food. And how long would they have to keep on scavenging? Sooner or later they would have to find a place, stick to it, and create a secure ground fit for the living. Since most people had already considered this as the end of the world, there was no chance of going back to the old life. Things had happened and they couldn't be taken back.
Well this hallway was clear from bodies, Saeko mused and it was all quiet. She could easily break into any one of the apartments but the noise would be too risky, and she had keys to some promising places so she wasn't complaining. The old man's apartment was the second one along the hallway. She took out the key and slotted it in place. Turning it slowly she rested her ear onto the door. Old people generally lived alone, but you can never be too sure. It seemed safe, so she pushed the door open. Her expectations weren't high, but this was okay she thought. It was just a simply furnished place bearing everything a person would need to live a normal life.
She would be lying if she said that this place didn't stink; the first thing that she did was open a window. It wasn't much of a difference, the streets smelt like death but the cool breeze was appreciated. First things first, Saeko checked in all the cupboards for medicines and pills. Most of them contained photos of a happy family, but now a days that happy family that you once saw would be walking the streets as a corpse.
With the second cupboard she was more successful, pain killers, cough medicines and a bunch more. This was perfect. Hanging from a coat peg was a brown leather satchel; it would be great to carry all this stuff in. She grabbed it and then ran back and seized all of the medicines that she found and carefully placed them inside. The cupboard above it contained bandages, plasters and other great things. This seemed to be getting better and better. But in this world there can be and has been a sudden drop from happiness to pure hell and despair. This paradise wouldn't last long.
Saeko took everything; no point in leaving something behind, who knows if she got a chance to come back. If Saeko felt bad about taking all this stuff, it didn't show in her. This stuff had no owner, and she was the next person to come across it so it seemed fair that they belonged to her now. The bag was feeling a bit heavy; right now she wished that Rei was here. But enough complaining she still had to check for food.
The kitchen was small, but it still had everything that a kitchen should need. It stank in here too, and so a second window was opened to give her some breathing air too. Standing alone in the small apartment she could hear some sounds rising from outside, better get a move on she thought. Technically she hadn't made a single noise, but she wasn't the only one. Zombies wandered around on their own will, what was going to stop one from entering this place? The battle earlier might have raised some sounds, but that was as quiet as it was going to get.
This man had good taste in food; although most of the fruit was off she could still pick up a bunch of cans. This would keep them going for about a month, she smiled to herself. It felt like forever since she had smiled on her own and not felt the need to brood or fight with that other part of her that gained satisfaction from inflicting pain on her enemy. Smiles were normally from the comfort of her father and few friends would bring it on. However now it was little things like this simple can of curry that would make her smile.
Since there was no power the contents of the fridge would naturally be spoiled though some things could be saved. There was bread, butter, tomatoes and a couple of other vegetables. What looked like meat was inedible; since this all started she wasn't in the mood for meat. Some more food was found in the surrounding cupboards, Saeko is a good cook, if she did say so herself and it would feel great to cook once more. She could make a stew out of this that would make everyone happy.