9:30AM
The elevator doors creaked open, revealing a lit hallway. Jade stepped out first, followed by Amir and then Saitama, who was still taking in the unfamiliar surroundings. The hallway was lined with doors, each marked with a number, and the air smelled faintly of mildew and stale sweat.
"This way," Jade said, leading them down the corridor.
Saitama followed, his bare feet padding softly on the worn carpet.
Amir gestured to a door at the end of the hall.
"That's your room," he said, pushing it open. The door creaked in protest, revealing a small, sparsely furnished apartment. Saitama stepped inside and looked around.
Ooo…eh, I guess this will do for now.
The room was modest, to say the least. A single bed with a thin, stained mattress sat against one wall, covered by a threadbare blanket. A small wooden desk with a wobbly chair was positioned under a narrow window that let in a sliver of daylight. The room also had a small closet with a few hangers and a dresser with chipped paint. There were signs that the room had been lived in before: a few stray items left behind, such as a cracked mirror on the desk and a half-empty bottle of water on the floor.
Saitama shrugged, indifferent to the room's condition.
"This is nice." He said.
He walked over to the closet and opened it, finding a pair of shorts and a plain T-shirt. They were a bit big, but they'd do.
"We'll leave you to get changed. Brecken's office is down the hall to the right. Come find us when you're ready. '' Amir said, stepping back towards the door.
Saitama nodded, and with a final glance, Jade and Amir left the room, closing the door behind them. The sound of their footsteps faded down the hallway.
Alone in the room, Saitama took a deep breath and let it out slowly.
Wish they had a laundry machine or something. My clothes are gonna be dirty for a while.
He threw his bloody hero clothes on a rack and put on some clean shorts, which hung loosely around his waist, and the T-shirt, which fit a little better. He found an old belt in the dresser and used it to keep the shorts from falling down.
He looked at himself in the cracked mirror on the desk. The reflection was distorted, but he could still see his familiar bald head and plain features. He gave himself a small, satisfied nod. "Looks good enough." He muttered.
Before leaving, he glanced around the room one more time, noting the small details—the scuff marks on the walls, the faded poster of a long-forgotten band, the makeshift barricade of furniture against the window. This place had seen better days, but it was a safe haven, at least for now.
Saitama opened the door and stepped back into the hallway. The building was quiet with only faint noises of conversation. He made his way down the hall. Reaching Brecken's office, he knocked on the door. He didn't have to wait long before it opened, and he was greeted by Amir's familiar face.
"All set?" Amir asked.
Saitama nodded.
"Uh…yeah, I guess."
Amir lets him in.
While Saitama was taking in the office's scenery (more like a big apartment room), he sees a man wearing a yellow athletic shirt with a white cloth wrapped around his forehead talking to a woman that looks like she could've been a doctor.
"You never listen to me. That's what gets you runners killed: you don't listen. You've been hit in the head too much and I think you should sit down and take a pause. We can't afford any more of you to simply die off like flies. Here, take this. If you do decide to go back out it'll lessen the pain." The woman said.
Saitama had only now noticed that Jade was standing outside on the balcony looking out into the horizon. This apartment room was pretty interesting. Aside from a balcony, it had a refrigerator, couch, and a TV that presumably didn't work. Of course, most of all, it had a big wooden table with plenty of maps and sketches scattered across it.
Saitama walked up to the table and Amir followed him from behind. Before Saitama could couch the sketches, Amir started talking.
"Game plans. We've needed a ton of them just to get through the day. Knowing routes that we should and shouldn't take, especially during the night, can save us time and energy. What do you think about them?" Amir asked.
Saitama scratched his head.
"I don't know, interesting I guess. Although, I don't know if I'll be needing them. Going out at night and going out during the day makes no difference to me." Saitama replied.
Amir smirked.
"Well, if you put it like that, Brecken ought to make you a full-time night runner." Amir replied. The doctor walked next to Saitama and asked: "Who are you?"
Saitama casually turned around and put out his hand.
"Saitama, just an average guy. Oh…uh, I was the one who got the Antizin for you guys. Um…you're welcome." Saitama said.
The doctor nodded and shook Saitama's hand.
"Thank you. I'm Lena. If you're feeling ill or anything, stop by at any time. If it's bad, Dr. Zere will probably be your best option." Lena said.
Saitama scratched his head.
"And where's that guy?" Saitama asked.
"Not far from the tower, southwest from here actually." Lena replied, and with that, she excited the big apartment room.
Based on the way Amir looked at the man wearing the yellow shirt as he was leaning up against the wooden table, Saitama guessed that he was the one they called Brecken—leader of the tower.
"Saitama, nice to meet you." Saitama said as he put out his hand.
Brecken shook it and frowned. Before he said anything, he turned around and stared at the blank TV.
"I've overheard you got some Antizin for us—the recent airdrop I presume? Is there anything else I should be—"
"He's lost." Amir interrupted.
Brecken looked confused.
"What do you mean by this?"
"I mean what I say—he has no idea where he is…" Amir said.
Brecken was now looking at Saitama and was a little too laid back.
"Uh…well, he's not wrong, but I at least know that we're in the slums of some sort. So, what happened? Why are there zombies? Anyone care to explain?" Saitama asked. He looked at both Brecken and Amir who started scratching their heads as well. He somewhat expected this: no one actually knew how the infection started, but they knew how it worked. That was something, right?
"We don't know, no one knows, but we all want this hell to end. I'm glad that you've gotten Antizin for my people, but why should I trust you? You could be working for Rais, acting like a dumbass to buy time." Brecken said as he got a bottle of water.
Amir glanced at Saitama, waiting for him to explain himself. He was about to speak for him again, but Jade came back into the apartment from the balcony.
"Ah, Jade, you were the one who found this man, no? What's so special about him that I need to know?" Brecken asked.
Jade crossed her arm and looked at Saitama. It looked like she wasn't going to answer the question. Now, everyone was looking at Saitama, so he was kind of forced to speak.
"Well…I guess I can punch things, like, really hard, that's pretty much it. I don't know how to explain it further." Saitama said. He sat down on the couch.
Jade then spoke up, and said: "Anything? It shouldn't be that hard to show a little demonstration."
Jade sat down next to Saitama.
"How about you jump off the top of the tower and jump back to the top?" Jade asked.
Brecken and Amir looked worried as they strolled behind the couch.
"What the fuck was that? You trying to kill him Jade—"
"Just listen to me. You'll thank me later. Saitama, let's go…" Jade replied, getting up from the couch. Saitama didn't say anything. Out of all the things he would have demonstrated, jumping off from the top of the tower seemed a bit too easy. It's not like he didn't want to do it, but he was more surprised that Jade came up with the particular idea.
"Okay, lead the way I guess." Saitama said, following Jade.
Jade, Saitama, Amir, and Brecken excited the large apartment and started making their way to the roof of the tower.
…
9:35AM
Brecken couldn't believe it, what was Jade thinking? Sure, she was known for going extreme routes just to prove a point, but this might've been too much.
I'm going to watch a living and breathing human being jump off a tower…this is insane…
Brecken looked at Saitama for a moment. He didn't realize it until now, but he looked relatively young.
And he's already balding?
By the time they reached the door to the roof and had opened it, they noticed that Saitama was a little too chill. He was about to fucking jump off of the top of a tower. How could anyone be so chill about this?
Jade stood next to Saitama and sighed. Amir and Brecken stood on the right side of Saitama, waiting anxiously until he made his move.
"Alright, uh, I guess I'm going to jump." Saitama said casually. He took a couple of steps forward and did a light and silly hop off the edge of the roof.
"Wai—" Brecken started, his hand reaching out, but it was too late.
Holy shit…holy shit…
Brecken quickly maneuvered to the edge of the roof to watch Saitama descend. He couldn't believe what he was seeing: Saitama had managed to successfully land, and when he did, Brecken felt the vibration of his landing ripple through the entire tower. Jade and Amir held onto each other as they shook a bit. Brecken was more or so flabbergasted.
"HEY! SAITAMA! ARE YOU STILL OKAY?!" Brecken screamed from above. Just when he thought things might've gone south, he saw the top of Saitama's bald head ascending to the top of the tower at an accelerated rate. Brecken quickly pushed himself back and stumbled. He watched as Saitama landed right next to him without a scratch. Saitama put out his hand.
"Need some help?" Saitama asked. Brecken grabbed his hand and was easily lifted up by Saitama.
What's up with his hand? Why is it so…tough? Tough like steel…there's no denying it…this is the first time I've encountered a superhuman…
"Hey, you okay? You kind of staring into the distance. It's freaking me out." Saitama said.
Brecken nodded.
"I'm fine. Look, you're clearly better off on your own and you don't need us. Who sent you? What do you want from us?" Brecken asked, scratching his head.
"I just want to help people. If you saw someone suffering and you had all the power to help, wouldn't you do it without a reason?" Saitama asked.
Brecken was silent. He didn't even reply to what Saitama had said. Instead, he walked to the door of the roof, opened it, and went inside.
…
9:37AM
Amir and Jade were still standing outside. He still couldn't believe the feat that Saitama had just pulled off. Of course, he had already heard what he did earlier in the day by Jade, but witnessing Saitama's power in person was a completely different story. It gave Amir goosebumps.
Fuck. Now what am I going to tell the GRE? Our plans have to come to a halt because a superhuman decided to show up out of nowhere?
Amir rubbed his temple in frustration. Fuck this—fuck everything. He now had to come up with an explanation for whatever the hell he just saw. Although, he could simply tell them that he was infected, even though he showed no signs of infection. How long could he even keep this act up? How long could he keep up with Jade?
Shit's gonna go down either way.
Amir watched as Saitama strolled towards the door, opened it, and went inside. Jade turned towards Amir.
"I'm going back inside. I'll let you think." She replied. She kissed him on the cheek and started walking back inside. Amir was the only one who now stood on the roof. All he could do was think. He walked in circles until he picked up a response from his radio.
"Amir Ghoreyshi. Do you copy?"
GRE: "We do. Anything new happened? Any more info on Rais?"
"No, but we might have a bigger problem: a man, a strong one at that. I think he's superhuman, like, not the normal superhuman, but the supernatural kind, and infected too—maybe. He's definitely Asian and he doesn't even know where he came from. He's completely clueless. My guess is that he might've been a military weapon sent here or something like that."
GRE: "Negative. That can't be the case. If anything, the other nations are pushing away from Harran. "A lost hope" is what they see. What about the Antizin? Did you get any?"
"Well, I didn't get it. That Asian man did—Saitama is his name."
GRE: "It's hard to imagine he got it first if he had no idea where he was. You also told me he's superhuman, meaning that even if he wasn't the first one to reach the airdrop, he could've forced anyone to give it to him—say…Rais's men?"
"Wait-wait, hold on. What are you getting at?"
GRE: "Nothing specific, but if what I told you is true, then Rais and the men at your tower might be butting heads sooner than we thought."
"But that wouldn't matter now, would it."
GRE: "I guess you could put it like that. Also, have you gotten any closer to retrieving the file from Rais? If you haven't, I believe the man you're talking about might be the key to getting it."
"I know what you're on about, and I'm thinking the same thing, just…give me time. I'll come up with something…"
GRE: "You better. Time is of the essence, Amir. Remember that."
The signal from the radio was cut off. Amir stared out into the distance, thinking about how he was going to convince Saitama to steal something from Rais.
It shouldn't be too hard. He'll probably be the easiest to manipulate anyway.
Amir started walking back to the door, opened it, and went inside.
…
9:50AM
Jade opened the door to see Rahim sitting on the desk trying to fix up the same radio he had managed to get going weeks ago. She slowly strolled towards him and tapped him on the shoulder.
"Brecken told me that there was something you had to say. What was it?" Jade asked.
Rahim didn't reply, at least, not yet he was going to. He continued working on the radio, stopped for a moment, and turned around to see Jade.
"It's about the hive and the explosives. I know exactly what you're thinking, and you're wrong. I'm ready. I don't need to be cuddled up in the tower anymore. I know how to run and defend for myself—I've known how to do it for a very long time, but you've always doubted me." Rahim said.
Jade sat down on a chair next to Rahim.
"I refuse to sit back and watch my little brother kill himself."
"I'm not crazy! Brecken knows my plan is good…he just doesn't trust me to do it myself, and it's your fault. You gave him the wrong impression of me."
"Rahim…I said it a hundred of times already, you're not going out."
"I can handle myself! You know what, forget it. I don't even know why you bothered coming in here in the first place." Rahim said.
Jade got up from the chair and started walking away. Before she reached the door she started talking again.
"You know I want what's best for you Rahim…I hope you'll see that soon enough."
"Now you just sound like mom. Can't you leave the room already?" Rahim replied.
Jade left the room.
…
9:50AM
Saitama was strolling down the hallway. He didn't have anything in particular that he needed to do right now, but he was interested in what the other survivors had to say. As he was walking, a couple of kids ran past him—both chasing a ball. Saitama glanced at the kids one time before deciding to follow them. Where were they going specifically? Or were they just simply having fun?
Hmmm…one of them kind of reminds me of that Emperor kid.
Saitama continued to walk until he reached a dead end. He then made a sharp left turn and saw a woman sitting comfortably on the chair as she watched the little kids play. The woman didn't notice Saitama at first, but when she did, she looked up and smiled.
"I heard what you did. Thank you for everything. I'm scared. We're all scared, but you—"
"Eh, it was nothing, I'm just glad I could help I guess. Say, do you have anything you would like to share with me about this place or city? What was it like before the infected came?" Saitama asked.
The woman looked as if she was caught off guard by his question, but nonetheless, she didn't sway from the subject. She sat upright and started talking.
"I'm sure you've heard, no one knows where the infection came from, but when it did come, it had spread across the city like wildfire. Communities, districts…everything was falling apart. As for the start of the chaos, many people have told me that it started in Harran Stadium, during the events of the Global Athletic Games." The woman said.
Saitama was sort of confused. Global Athletic Games? What was that, and why did it matter so much?
"The Global Athletic Games?" Saitama asked.
"Yes. Athletes from every corner of the globe had gathered just to compete. People say that the stands were filled with thousands of spectators. It was only until someone heard a scream when everything started going south." The woman said.
Saitama thought about what he was going to say next, then, he came up with something.
"Uh…so…I don't expect you to know I guess, but where did the survivors flee?"
"Flee? There was nowhere else to go. Some people said that the survivors probably camped up in a hotel before they all became infected due to an incident, and some others say that they were camped up in a store. Want to know how the Harran military responded? They started shooting. It was dark and the soldiers probably couldn't tell the difference between an infected individual and a healthy one, so my guess is that most of the people who didn't make it out of the stadium weren't eaten by the infected but were killed in the crossfire because the soldiers were terrified." The woman replied.
Saitama was about to ask another question, but he could see the woman's hand shaking. It was clear that the trauma she had also experienced had caused irreversible damage, and no amount of Antizin was going to fix that.
"I can stop if you're uncomfortable." Saitama said.
The woman took a deep breath. A tear ran down her eye as she looked at the children playing with the ball.
"I sometimes wish I were dead…dead with my husband, my brothers, my sisters…all of them didn't make it. Why me? Why do I have to live and experience that day over and over again? I can't take it anymore. No one…or no child should have to live through this." The woman replied.
She started crying, but it wasn't audible. Saitama put his arm around her shoulders. To him, he didn't really feel anything. There was no emotion—sadness, anger, frustration, and fear…nothing. It kind of annoyed him. He couldn't connect with these people because their fears were nothing but a child's toy to him, but yet again, he wanted to help him. It's not like he wanted to help them to make himself feel better, but…there was simply no reason for him not to help these survivors. That's the only reason he's here.