I started picking the lock of the door in front of me but while I was doing so, I noticed that the passage to the right was just a small cubby with a shelf to store their dirty shoes and umbrellas. Besides that, there wasn't much to be found on the shelf so I went on with picking the lock in front of me before we heard the familiar click.
Once we had access to the house, the search that came after went smoothly and I marked the door appropriately right after.
With that said, I told everyone to stop for now and head to the compound since Derek and his family had already finished packing their belongings and it was almost noon. We helped them carry some of their bags but Derek brought me aside to talk to me. His eyes were still red from what happened but he still spoke in a calm manner.
"Hey… How about Cla— the bodies? Do we just—"
"We'll take care of them, don't worry."
"How about Ivan—"
"Don't worry about him either. Worry about your family, they're gonna need you and you're gonna need them."
"I… Alright… Thank you…"
We eventually escorted Derek and his family back to the compound, and I asked Rin to assign them rooms after Oscar was done with them though I asked Mark and Dong to take care of the bodies from Derek's house and burn them in the same spot.
With that said, they brought the same pedicab we used to transport the bodies earlier but my attention was now on the catwalk being built.
The frames were mostly done and they did it by drilling through the wall to mount the metal bars securely. The materials being used for the catwalk were a combination of metal, wood, and cement though the cemented part would come a little later. When it's done, the wall would be a little over my waist if I stood on it.
I then told them to drill holes on the sides of the wall—right by the top of it—so we could place some carabiners, belaying devices, and some climbing rope. Doing that could allow us to drop the rope on the other side so the person behind it could either use it to climb over the wall or be pulled up by the people on top if by some chance we couldn't open the gate.
"Hey man, look at this!" I heard a shout from below.
I looked back to see who was calling for me and it was Ken speeding up towards the catwalk.
Ken's wheelchair had just been modified by Oscar and Unc Zeidrick. They successfully managed to transfer the electrical parts to Ken's wheelchair but a few wires were sticking out. It could be said to be a job well done but they sneakily taped over the wires sticking out when they saw me looking at it almost uncomfortably.
The controls were on Ken's right-hand side even if he was left-handed. He asked them to be placed on that side since he wanted to hold a gun with his dominant arm.
"Cool, eh?" Ken was smiling like an idiot as he started to circle around me.
"Yeah, but you'd be literally shocked if one of those wires is open-ended and makes contact with you," I joked.
"C'mon, kid! That's just a work in progress! We'd tidy it up in no time!" Oscar retorted.
We started laughing but I saw Rin approaching from the house.
"Sir, umm— Derek and his family are now resting in their rooms, for the moment, and Auntie Sharon is about to finish preparing lunch."
"Okay, thanks. Oh, did you see where Kaley went?"
"Umm… I think I saw her going up to her room. I think Olivia followed after… she seemed upset…"
"I see, have someone take care of the supplies we got from Derek's house and record— well, you know what to do, right?"
Rin just nodded a few times as she turned around to check on the items we brought back. The system was to separate and record each one but the main concern was the food items. The perishables would be used as early as possible or be stored properly either in mylar bags or in the freezers.
I briefly talked with the guys after we came back and the only one I haven't talked to was Kaley. I went back to my house to look for her and I saw the door to their room was partially open.
I knocked a few times then I saw Olivia hugging Kaley on the side while Zeus was sitting right next to them. I saw Kaley's eyes were a little red but as soon as she saw me, she immediately wiped her tears and I pretended that I saw nothing.
"H-Hey..." Kaley muttered, her nose a little red.
"Olivia, can you let us talk for a minute?"
"O-Okay… Zeus, come with me!" Olivia glanced at me for a moment before Zeus followed her outside.
I watched Olivia disappear from view before I entered their room and closed the door. But once I did, it was just quiet for a few minutes and we both were just looking on the floor. However, we looked at each other at the same time, about to say something but tried to let the other speak first.
"I— No, go ahead— Ah—" We said at the same time.
It prompted a small chuckle from both of us but I decided to speak up first, in some way. Kaley still looked upset though, almost similar to the time she was holding her tears back for Olivia.
"Umm… You asked me if I was okay earlier but I didn't ask you if you were… so… are you okay?"
At this moment, Kaley and I were just looking at each other before tears fell from her eyes. She started sniffling even though she was trying hard not to cry but she already was. After that, she wiped her tears with her sleeves once again while I walked to the side of their bed and sat in front of her. We just shared a moment of silence with each other while looking at the same spot on the mattress.
After a short bit, I looked at her face before I spoke.
"Hey, umm… I came here thinking of cheering you up by saying something funny or something stupid but… but this time… I really don't know what to say. All I can do now is be here… so… I'm here…" I faintly smiled, scratching the side of my cheek.
Kaley slowly lifted her head to look at me and she stared at me for a few moments. After that, she let out a faint smile as she patted the place next to her, motioning for me to sit beside her. I obliged then we laid our backs on the wall behind us. I still sat a few inches away from her but to my surprise, she leaned over to me.
She rested her head on my shoulder and I slowly did the same as I leaned closer to her. We just sat there in silence for a few minutes while our hands were just barely touching. Kaley was leaning on me even more and her hand was about to reach for mine fully but we heard Olivia knocking softly on the door.
"Hey g-guys, Aya came and said that Aunt Sharon is calling us. She said that we need to eat and everybody is already in the pool area…" Olivia said, slightly peeking at the door.
"Woof!" Zeus also added.
"Okay, w-we'll f-follow you s-shortly," I replied as I raised my head to look at Olivia.
"O-Okay, Zeus, come with me… here, not there! Zeus..." Olivia left the door open as she tried to make Zeus follow her.
"U-Umm— w-we better get down, right?" I said as I tried to look at Kaley's face without trembling.
"Y-Yeah… sure..." Kaley replied, looking away.
Before Kaley and I went down, I told her we'd secure her rifle in my armory first but she excused herself to wash her face in the bathroom. The task was done quickly and I just waited for her to come out. She was looking at me a little differently but she seemed to have cheered up even for a little bit.
"C'mon, they're probably waiting!" Kaley smiled as she saw me looking at her solemnly.
"Oh— Alright!"
When we reached the pool area, a few of them had already started eating and I saw Derek and Julia talking with Aunt Sharon while Demi was watching Jun play with Aya and the rest. Manilyn and Jo were also present and they seemed to be coping well despite her earlier outburst. Olivia handed us a plate and we started to eat lunch.
What they prepared today was Pancit. It was made with rice noodles mixed together with vegetables and meat cut into small pieces. It was usually stir-fried in soy sauce with a mix of light spices and it was sometimes topped with boiled eggs and a drop of lime. But in our case, we had everything done on it.
It was still hot but some of us didn't care because of the work they did earlier.
While we ate, I saw Kaley look for the cat that she brought in earlier to be fed. It seemed to be part Siamese and he was named 'Rio' because we couldn't find a tag anywhere. Rio was a little afraid of Zeus and Peanut but everyone in the compound decided to take care of him.
We talked a lot while we were eating though we agreed not to mention the incident earlier for Derek and his family's sake. However, it would be known by some people like Oscar or the other people they told to themselves.
Derek mentioned that he used to work with animals so after we ate, I showed him the barn where a lot of chickens and a few goats were casually chilling. He pulled his sleeves up and tended to them while Julia helped with household work. They let Demi do other chores to be done around the compound while Jun started playing with the other kids.
"Don't they need to rest after what happened, Boss?" Mark asked as he saw them working already.
"I did ask them to take a break earlier but they insisted. It must be so they would have something to occupy their mind."
Mark nodded as I gathered the team and suited up once more. I gave Kaley her rifle back and we went outside to continue our job.
We went for the other gate this time and aside from finding out that no one was there and everything was accounted for, we found a small cage with rabbits hopping around from one of the houses. Kaley's eyes lit up when she saw them and she immediately looked at me with pleading eyes. Jared and the rest were holding their laughter because Kaley and I have different reasons for keeping them.
"Can we take them? We'll take them, right?!" Kaley asked nicely, I think.
"Of course, we will." I nodded a few times.
'Are you asking or saying?'
"Really?! We're taking them all, right?!" Kaley asked once more, I think.
"Yes, we'll put them on the barn's second floor." I nodded a few times once more.
"Yes! Wait, why the barn though?" Kaley tilted her head, looking at me.
"We'll eat them," I said with a deadpan expression.
As soon as I said that, the look of shock, anger, confusion, and despair Kaley gave me was definitely memorable. She was about to cry and when I looked back, the rest of my group was hiding behind the other gated area.
'These traitors...' I thought to myself as I pondered about the right way to save myself.
"Rabbits are a good source of protein; they can be easily cared for and they reproduce fast. Also—"
"B-But! They look so cute! How could you eat them?!"
"Is that a rhetorical question or are you looking for a recipe? I know tons," I said again with a deadpan expression.
"Noooooo~!"
The guys watching us from a safe hiding spot couldn't contain their laughter anymore as they started laughing hysterically. Kaley started pleading her case again and after a few rounds of debating, we agreed that we should keep one as a pet. She named one 'Bugs' and I told her not to name the others because it would be harder to let go once we started eating them.
After that, I marked each door appropriately then we headed to the four houses at the end of the gravel road. The houses were atop wooden poles stuck on the ground where the fishing area starts. There were a few wooden boats that could be driven by oars and there were also a few cages on the ground that were meant for roosters.
'These houses are built fine but I'm worried about these wooden poles submerged in the water. Give this time and it would start to rot and eventually collapse.'
This time, I let them scout the houses as I stood guard outside. They quickly learned the procedures and though there were some corrections for the markings I taught them earlier, everything was running smoothly.
The trip to the scrapyard was easier than expected. After unlocking the gate, aside from all the different metal scrap lying around, nothing seemed to be out of place. When we opened the shack, it had a few scales for weighing the materials and a few logbooks for documenting each shipment. We marked the gates then we secured them with our own locks.
After that, I contacted Unc Zardon so he could bring the truck to where we were.
Once he arrived, he just saw me standing outside with Jared while everyone else had already started looting the houses we just cleared. However, there was an inkling in my head that they'd pick out non-essential items first so I decided to check on them while leaving Jared with Unc Zardon.
"Shit, this flatscreen is calling for me." Dong laughed.
"Grab those sacks first! Boss will come here once Zardon arrives…" Mark exclaimed.
"This is kinda exciting though… Mark, what's that portable DVD in your bag?" Kaley chuckled.
"I… I brought this with me…"
"Lies! You fucking hypocrite! I'm taking this flat—"
"Guys, grab the essentials first." I scratched my head as I saw my two workers doing the exact opposite of what I told them.
"Ah…"
"Yes, Boss…"
When they went back on track, Kaley helped me with taking all the food items and clean water available. We checked each cupboard, cabinet, and shelf for any sort of OTC drugs or medicine lying around. While we were doing that, the guys unhooked the propane tanks from the stoves and gathered household supplies like bleach and detergent. They also took the roosters and all of the feed that was left.
After that, we packed everything nicely and I took a look at our first haul.
We managed to collect 37 cans of assorted food products ranging from sardines, corned beef, tuna, peas, and corn. We haven't found much drinking water because only one of the houses had mineral water. Despite that, we managed to get two gallons plus the dispenser with a basic water filter.
That haul with water was understandable since most of the folks here get their drinking water from the tap which came from the dams.
On medicine, we only found a few for coughs or colds and there were no antibiotics lying around. On propane tanks, we found 8 in total since most families would always keep a backup and four of those were actually full.
The roosters we found were five in total so we decided to bring them back for the other chickens to breed. There were a total of 10 sacks of feed for the chickens so that was a plus. We folded their cages and we placed them on those cartons with premade holes so we could transport them easily.
Aside from those, I picked up a few articles of clothing which were mainly socks and shirts while Kaley filled a bag that could fit her and Olivia. It was because they only packed clothes that would last for only a week or two. It included shirts, shorts, socks, and even t-shirts but she didn't take any underwear for hygienic reasons and some of them were too small for her.
"Everyone here? Raise your hand if you aren't!" I joked as Unc Zardon started the truck.
"Dong, Mark, kindly push your Boss off the truck so we'd have some peace and quiet," Unc Zardon chuckled as the rest of them started laughing.
"Hah! Shut up, unc. You taught me that joke!"
"I didn't, you stole it!"
"Roight~ Roight~ C'mon, let's head back."