Chapter 4
They had a good laugh in the safety of this fortress. Cozy and warm by the fire, enjoying each other's company as they recuperated on the dark gray chaise couch. It's always a pleasant pastime to be with company in these ungodly times. So many nights are spent alone, praying for daylight to grace the earth again. Having another soul to share your mind with, to remind you that you are human; that you haven't quite died yet. Even if it seems hell has frozen over as demons greet your every waking moment.
Coming out of her own head, Mirin's mind drifts back to reality. She hadn't noticed that she had been spacing out, only snapping back when she noticed that Hobie had stopped laughing. She shakes her head slightly and looks at him when he taps her arm. "You alright?" he checks in.
"You know, if you had won, you'd be back out there with the dead." She laughs. He just blinks in disbelief. "Wha!? Is that what you were spacing out about? Abandoning me and leaving me for dead? Over a simple spar? Bit petty, innit'?" He laughs back but is a bit put off, would she really have just sent him packing if he had bested her?
"C'mon~ I'm just pulling your leg, kid; I would have just been wasting my time saving you if I did that."
"Anyways, why are you all alone up here?" Hobie asks as he leans back, getting comfortable in the couch's softness and bringing the conversation back on topic.
"Well, isn't that a sight; the pot calling the kettle black."
"Haha, very funny. But seriously, it's your turn. What's this Limbo or whatever they're called." Mirin sits up and takes a swig of her water.
"Limbo, is a community east of here; that's where it looked like you were coming from when I saw you from my window. A place between heaven and hell is a fitting name. They appear to be an oasis in the middle of all this chaos, but it's far from paradise.
I've been alone for some time, even before the world went to shit. Living in this house made it so that I didn't really have much trouble when it all started. The problems didn't come with the dead, but with the living. People are trouble, and I'd rather be alone more often than not." "But don't you get lonely? What about your family...friends?" "Sometimes, when the nights are cold and dark, and I'm left with nothing but my own thoughts. As for family...We weren't close. I did try to reach out a couple of times, but just like you, but I got nothing. Same with what little friends I had; I tried calling, but with all the discord, I understand my calls weren't their main concern." She pauses for a moment, taking a few seconds to grieve.
"Anyhow, I was able to isolate myself at the peak of the apocalypse for about a good month until I had to venture out for food and supplies." "And how does Limbo come into play?"
"I'm getting there. I drove my car to Andromeda Springs, the closest town. As I tried to exit a decrepit mall, a horde blocked my escape route, and that's where I met a man named Jean. He helped me escape and offered for me to join his little group. I told him I would think about it and left; I didn't know that man from Adam. But as the little bit of food I could find ran thin, I weighed my options. A week later I ran into him again, and two other men that were with him, I accepted his offer that time. But I only spent about 3 months there before I left and came back home." Mirin shakes her head as she recalls the blasphemy that occurred in that farce of a refuge.
Being invested in Mirin's tale, Hobie leans in, cradling one of her throw pillows. "So, you were with them! What happened to make you want to leave so soon?" "I was there when it was still small, when they were just starting to build themselves up from the ground. They recruited anyone they could find. It seemed like Jean had good intentions, at first. But it didn't take long for him to let the power of being a leader go to his head and start to show his true colors. Authority gave him quite the god complex, and he treated the other community members like chess pieces. If he didn't deem them to be able to work hard enough, they would be taken to a room and never seen again. I was curious, but not enough to mess up a good thing; the resources were plentiful and I had a roof over my head. I wasn't at risk of being a target, so I minded my business. As I lent more of a hand around the base, Jean trusted me more with certain things. Scavenger missions were the main purpose of my being in his good graces, but one day he had requested for me to meet him in his office after a mission. He let me know that Judy, a girl on my team, had been slacking behind and to escort her to the 'rehabilitation room'. She and I were kind of close, so my curiosity was piqued. I looked into what that room really had going on before bringing her there; only to find it covered in blood like a butcher's quarters."
"WHAT? They killed them if they couldn't keep up?" "WORSE! They were EATING THEM!" Hobie couldn't believe his ears, his eyes widened at her revelation. "You're joking, how did you come to that conclusion?" "I just thought they were killing them at first too, but that night I couldn't stop thinking after I noticed a shute that was at the back of the room. I realized that the room was one floor above the kitchen. Then I just started to put things together, like the fact that we had plenty of meat but not many hunting trips, or that there weren't that many animals in the area for that matter. Or the fact that it was a waste of manpower around the base to just kill people off for not keeping up, it made so much sense, and I was appalled. The next day I confronted Jean, I went to the rehabilitation room when he instructed me to, but without Judy. The poor girl couldn't have been much older than you, and I knew she had a small crush on Jean; it would have shattered her little world if I told her my suspicions. And it would have haunted me if I just marched her to her death bed. Jean wasn't too pleased to see me empty-handed, but I had to confirm my hypothesis before making any drastic decisions. I decided that the best way was to ask him directly if what I thought was going on was true, and his words sent a chill down my spine. 'The dead eat us all the time, while we struggle to survive. If there is a god, then he has forsaken us, and I will not allow Limbo to starve. If one cannot provide for Limbo one way, they will in another.' He chuckled sinisterly after stating this to me, and the look in his eyes made it clear that there was no reasoning with him."
Hobie was on the edge of his seat, taking in her riveting story, "Good heavens, he sounds worse than the zombies outside! I doubt he just allowed you to leave." "And you'd be right. Jean didn't appreciate my questioning, so he demanded that I bring him Judy at once. I agreed to go get her, but I had to think fast. I knew I had to do something, and time was of the essence. Knowing where we kept all of the emergency go-bags, I grabbed two duffel bags full of resources and went straight to Judy's room. She didn't know that Jean had it out for her, and she didn't need to know. She wasn't stupid either, she was aware of the rehab room, just not privy to its details. I had to convince her to come with me. It took a lot of patience, but she eventually agreed. We had to be sneaky when exiting the base. I was the one that was mainly sent out for scavenger missions, so no one questioned why I was leaving with bags." "But didn't Jean notice you were gone? "Oh yeah, big time. Considering that I never brought Judy to him, And we weren't at role call the next morning, I'm sure he threw a tantrum and busted a blood vessel trying to find us." "And you stole from him!" Hobie added, laughing. "Hey, I did most of the work getting all that supplies, so I didn't technically steal~ But, yeah, We were able to escape and find our way back to my cabin; but we ran into a few setbacks on the way. We were only able to stay hidden for about a few months though."
The world had come to an end in mid-May of that year, when it seemed as though the government gave up on fixing their biggest mistake on behalf of mankind. There had been an epidemic through the prior years that the people of earth had endured. Things seemed to be getting better when a vaccine was provided and was mass produced to stop the spread. But it only amplified the spread, evolving the virus to be what it is today. Rapidly, more and more cases of hostile sickly victims had made it through the media; people attacking others suddenly after exhibiting symptoms of the 20C86 virus. The vaccine had mutated in the human body's ecosystem into a brain parasite, it feeds off of the individual's life force, taking only a day to take full control and consume their conscience.
5 months prior
Mirin and Judy make their way back to Mirin's cabin, having to carry two duffel bags up hills while dodging the dead. Mirin had to help Judy carry her bag when they reached the valley. At this point in time, the stairs to her cabin weren't altered like they are now, and when they reached her humble abode; they were met with what looked like a squatter.
Mirin places a hand over Judy's mouth and motions her to duck down by the porch. She had caught a glimpse of a silhouette passing the windows. It was night time, and her house glowed like a beacon, guiding them to safety. "Shh, there's someone in there, we need to go around the back." Judy just nods at Mirin's instructions and follows behind; with the humid summer air around them as the cicadas' songs cover the sounds of their movement. Hiding the bags under the porch, Mirin tells Judy to hide with them as she checks out the house.
As Judy crouches down to crawl under the porch with the bags, she is met with an undead woman. She tries to not become too startled but falls onto her rear as she frantically backed away from the advancing zombie. It had been alerted to their arrival by the thud of their heavy bags being thrown down. It crawled demonically towards Judy, its eyes glinting as it snarls and drools. Mirin acts fast by shooting it point blank in the face, placing a hand onto Judy's shoulder to calm her. "Keep your weapon at the ready, I told you this before. Made me waste a bullet, girl..." She scolds but in a caring way, tapping her shoulder and pointing toward the porch for Judy to still hide under. Judy gives Mirin a look of concern, but Mirin sternly meets her eyes 'Go' her body language spoke as she nodded towards the porch once again. Rolling her eyes, Mirin doesn't wait for Judy; she makes her way to the back of the cabin and stealthily climbs up to the second-floor balcony, where she knows she can jimmy the flimsy lock on the bottom of the sliding door. She trusts that Judy will eventually go back into hiding. Busting the lock, she pushes the glass door slowly, crouching down and sneaking into her bedroom. She looks around, seeing that someone had indeed been living in her cabin. She had been gone for 3 months, so she expected as much. But this is her home, and whoever it is needs to go!
She cautiously checks the other bedroom across from hers and the bathroom, no one. Mirin descended the stairs and was beginning to get paranoid until she reached the living Room. Hearing gurgling and slight movement, she slowly approaches; dipping down behind the couch. When she peeks up, she is shocked to see a child, but as it turns to her, Mirin's heart sinks. She gets up from behind the couch and makes her way over. The little girl immediately reacts to her movement and charges at her. Mirin grimaces before knocking the child off balance and jabbing a switchblade into its skull. 'She's just a child...The woman outside must have been with her. I'm glad they found some solace in my cabin before they had to go...' she thinks to herself and proceeds to carry the child out.
Mirin goes back out to where she told Judy to stay hidden and calls out for her. "You can come out now, The cabin is secure. Try your best to bring the bags inside." She brings the child down the front porch stairs, "What happened?" Judy asks as she drags one bag from under the porch, seeing Mirin carry a small body. "Don't worry about it, I handled it." Mirin tries her best to give the child a proper burial in the valley where the flowers grow.
After they get settled in, they take a moment to breathe. "It was just a child...A little girl, Judy...the one under the stairs could have been her mother..." Mirin vented, a bit disheartened from the whole encounter. "Well, because of you, she at least found some peace, for however long..." Judy tries to smile weakly. "Yea...well, now that we're safe, let's clean up and eat." They do just that and Mirin shows Judy around.
At the end of August, Mirin spent her first week back home observing her cabin and takes the time to reinforce it. Tricking out the stairs, making it so that the steps form a ramp and retract, so that there is less of a chance of unwanted visitors. She had to figure out how to wire all of this, using her generator and some tools from her basement. She wasn't the greatest handyman, but she made it work with what she had and the help of another survivor that they housed for a time. Throughout September, they found that a few people ever so often, would get caught on the hill before them, needing help either with the dead or finding shelter and resources. Food and supplies being as hard to come by as it is, the two women acknowledged an opportunity within their clutches. They would help people in need when they could, offering extended shelter if they could trade something in return. The next 2 months went on like this, until Judy had a run in with one of Jean's men.
Mirin had gone out to hunt for their dinner that night, leaving Judy in the cabin for a few hours. At that time, Judy had seen someone slipping down the hill. She went to help them out, but recognized them from Limbo. 'Kain? W-what is he doing here?' she thinks in a panic, trying to hide in a bush.
"I saw ya little las, ya can't hide from me forever! C'mon out!" He points a gun at her through the bush and forces her out. She puts her hands up and crawls out, seeing Jean walk up from behind Kain. "Long time no see, Judy~" Jean smirks, bending down to pick her chin up. "So, this is where you've been hiding from me?" Judy's entire body shakes in the dropping temperature. "WHERE'S MIRIN?!" Jean breaths through clenched teeth, inches from her face. She just closes her eyes and shudders in fear. Jean laughs, "Tell ya what, if you bring me that bitch, you can come back with me!" Judy hesitantly looks up at him, her eyes beginning to sting as her pale cheeks illuminate with red heat. "W-what?" "You heard me, I've seen the way you look at me, don't play like you don't want me. I'll keep you safe by my side, little one~ All you have to do is bring me the traitor. Think about it~" He tosses her chin to the side and whistles for Kain to follow him, leaving Judy on her knees in the grass.
When Mirin returned with a raccoon for their dinner, she noticed how shaky Judy was. "Hey, are you alright? What happened?" She places the raccoon on the clothed counter and reaches a hand for Judy's shoulder. She flinches at her touch, visibly on edge. "Woah! What happened while I was out, did someone stop by?" "NO!...n-no, no one, I just umm, saw a spider! I-it's gone now..." Mirin thought her behavior was weird, but she was deathly afraid of spiders, so she brushed any feelings of suspicion off for the moment and proceeded to get dinner started. "Alright, if you say so. Could you put the things I brought away while I make dinner?" She tries to give a warm smile. Judy awkwardly returns a smile and does as asked. For the next few weeks, Mirin noticed Judy's mannerisms, how anxious she would get when she'd mention people on the hill, or how she suddenly wanted to venture out on her own to scavenge or assist people outside. Mirin kept an eye on her, but didn't want to assume anything in case her suspicions were misguided, Giving her the benefit of the doubt.
"Mirin! There are some people on the hill, I'm gonna go help them!" Judy calls out anxiously. Mirin nods her head as she heads down the stairs, giving her the go ahead, watching her throw her coat on and rush out into the snowy winds. Judy had done well on her own scavenging and helping people out for a whole month now. Mirin was tired, ready for a nap; but she wanted to make sure that Judy was alright, as she did each time Judy went out on her own. She watches from the front window with her binoculars. Judy walks through the valley and ascends the hill into the forest, returning with two men. But as they approach, something catches Mirin's eye; something on the backpack of one of the two men. It swung and glinted in the sunlight. When they got close enough, Mirin had seen enough, understanding that Judy was not in danger like she had initially thought, but guiding them to her cabin. 'She can't be serious right now...' She took a deep breath as anger filled her body. Hearing the stair mechanism being set into motion, she readies herself.
The first man steps onto the precipice of the ramp, crossing the line between the valley and Mirin's home. She cocks a shotgun and without hesitation, she fires; hitting him right between the eyes. The blast rings out and makes Judy and Kain stop in their tracks. They look at each other and back to the top of the mountain. "AJ?!" Kain calls out. He doesn't get a response back. After a few seconds, Kain scales the ramp to the top with his gun ready, only to be met with a head shot as well. Judy jumps when Kain's body falls backwards down the ramp, she has no choice but to continue up and face whatever awaits her. She reaches the top, with her hands up to show she's not a threat, Her eyes meet with Mirin's scope.
"Get over here, Judy..." Mirin calls out, no emotion to her voice. "M-Mirin! Thank goodness you were there; they came for me-" "Shut. it. I've seen enough to know that you weren't being held captive...just save it and COME. HERE. NOW!" Mirin's words were cold as ice. Judy begins to cry, seeing she's been caught red handed, and staggers to the cabin, hands still in the air as Mirin never lowers her gun.
"Mirin, please, listen to me, it's not what it looks like..." "Then tell me, I'm listening." She reassures, but holds her gun to her head as she motions Judy to get onto her knees on the porch. "Jean found the cabin and gave me a proposition; he said if I brought you to him, he'd protect me and let me go back to Limbo...I was scared, okay?! He had a gun to my head, just like this..." Mirin's eye twitched at Judy's explanation, how could she betray her after everything she did for her? "ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR FUCKING MIND, LITTLE GIRL?! YOU SOLD ME OUT FOR SOME DIRTY DICK?" Mirin losses her cool for a split second, nudging her gun into Judy's red hair, getting closer to her face. "MIRIN, PLEASE! I'M SORRY!" Her tears made Mirin's heart ache, but her rage clouded all her other emotions. "HE WAS GOING TO HAVE YOU KILLED AND EATEN, AND THIS IS THE THANKS I GET FOR SAVING YOU?" "WHAT?!" Judy's eyes widened in fear and disbelief, "EATEN?!" "THAT'S RIGHT YOU LITTLE HOE, E.A.T.E.N! But you didn't know that, boohoo. STOP CRYIN BITCH, I DON'T WANNA FUCKEN HEAR IT! You didn't even care enough about me to TELL ME that he found us!" At those words, Mirin's heart broke, but it was quickly sealed up and guarded. She cared dearly for Judy, but she had betrayed her, she couldn't take it. Lowering her gun, she says nothing and goes inside, leaving Judy on the Poarch, sobbing. After a few minutes, Mirin returns with one of the duffel bags they had stolen, only half as full, and drops it in front of Judy. "This is more than you deserve, but I can't just leave you for dead. Take it and go. I don't care where, but you can't stay here..." Mirin holds her own tears back, gritting her teeth as she goes back inside and locks the door. "Mirin, NO! YOU CAN'T JUST LEAVE ME OUT HERE! PLEASE!" Judy bangs on her door repeatedly.
After about a few minutes of Judy sobbing on Mirin's Porch, she picks up the bag and takes off as the sun begins to set. She needed to get back to Limbo before it was too dark to see. She made sure to push the button at the bottom of the ramp to retract it. That was the least she could do in return for Mirin's kindness.