[Morning 7:00am]
The sun has risen, and with that comes the sweet smell of grilled meat.
~It smelled beefy, or maybe the pork.~
Squinting, I took a look at my arm, which seemed to be what I was smelling. Under the bright light, it focused on a broken shard of glass, reflecting on my wrist. There was even smoke coming off of it . Reflexively from the burn, I pull my arm away, only to hit Ava, who's sleeping on the bed. Startled, she wakes up, surprised by the attack.
"Who!? What?!"
Immediately, she sits up from her bed. Having thought about what I should tell her, I made up an excuse for the slap.
"Finally, you woke up. I didn't think you would be a heavy sleeper. Listen, unlike me, you need to be careful of the sun. Before the gas fell, it may not have been much, but now that it has ended, the sun has become a major radiation source. So-"
"Min, I'm superhuman; I'm sure you know that I won't be affected as much."
"Oh, right."
"Also, with how tan you suddenly became and the scorch mark on your wrist, I could tell what had happened."
On a closer look, my arms and legs were all tan from the sun exposure.
~It's been barely five minutes, and I'm already tanned.~
Standing up and taking the backpack off the table, I took the last sip of a blood bag inside my bag.
"Wow, you must be some kind of vampire."
"I basically am; with a quick mouthful, my vision can be easily heightened and heal my body."
"Hmm, nice to know…"
She stares at me for a while.
"What is it?
"It's just that—are you sure that you carry such a heavy backpack? You're starting to lean over."
Leaning at an angle, almost falling, she grabs onto the bag.
"You don't need to; I'll carry it."
"No, I'll carry it. Just trust me."
As unusual as it may be to trust someone that I just met yesterday, giving Ava the bag may be the right choice. If drinking blood could enhance my strength, I wouldn't need to do this, but, from the look of it, it seems like we'll be traveling together for a long time.
"How about this? I'll lessen the amount inside mine by giving a few to you. I have to carry a few just in case."
"That works for me. Oh right, there's still some medical supplies in the back of the container.
"What?! Medicine is practically nonexistent in the apocalypse. Come on, let's hope that the swarm hasn't destroyed what is in there."
Carrying all the essentials, we walked up to the now sideways doors. With the room given to Ava, she bashes the door open and climbs her way up. If I had the strength that she had, the circumstances that I've been in through the first year wouldn't have been so bad. The nightmare of a life that I lived could disappear for those days.
"Give me your hand, Min."
With my body half outside the door, Ava seems to have stopped midway, looking at the road.
"This might be a bit grotesque."
"By grotesque, you mean? Oh."
On every side of the container, the mutant swarm had made a mess of it. Sometimes in a swarm like these. There would be miniature mutants that would be stepped on by others, or some might crash because of the dusty view. On each side, the mutants were mushed onto the container with their bones sticking out. The flesh and blood themselves were dripping off of the corpse.
"That? You will get used to it soon enough. The dead smell is what will get you. Make sure to cover your mouth if you can't handle it."
Before I had to say anything, she covered her mouth and nose. Dropping off the truck, we head to the container. The inside of it proved just as bad. The multiple mutants, having nowhere to escape what they may consider a small cage, were all stuffed at the end of the container.
There wasn't much choice but to scrummage through the bodies in the hope that the medical supplies hadn't been destroyed. Ava helps me with the search even when I can tell that she is about to vomit from the smell.
*2 hours later*
After digging through all the mutants, we were able to find some that were still intact. What were left were syringes, full pills, basic medical kits, antibiotic ointment band-aids, Gauze, sanitizing wipes, and surgical tape.
"My bag is full, Min. I think that we took all that is left."
"Then it's time to go."
"To?"
"The city. The road leads directly into one."
"The city? The mutants might have decided to stay there, or some might have gotten left behind. How are we going to deal with them when we get there?"
"The city should be crumbling, and if there are mutants, we can hide and fight a little. Do what most would do. Plus, we have a super soldier with us and a slightly weak vampire.
"Not much of a confident booster."
"…Let's go
9:08 am