"Say, Tyrone. I have meant to ask this, but what is the number on your hand?" Noah stopped working on a small project he had started shortly after Don and the others left. Tyrone decided to help Noah since he didn't know anything else he could do. Besides, Noah was more around his age compared to the others. So he felt more comfortable around Noah.
Tyrone set a box of materials on the worktable in front of them. "Oh? You didn't know? I figured you all knew." Tyrone stated with a bit of surprise in his voice. Sure, they had not been around as long as him, but surely they could have figured it out. "Well, I was wondering why I also have numbers on my hand, but I figured it had something to do with the Seed." Noah replied to Tyrone.
Tyrone dismissed his comment, "No. It is the number of days you have survived. I was wondering about that myself when I first arrived. I looked into it a bit later and found that some people had higher or lower numbers than mine. No one knew what the numbers meant. It didn't seem like some kind of countdown or sickness since the numbers did not affect us. I pieced it together when I was up late one night, just staring at my watch. Watching the seconds go by, and when my watch struck twelve, the number on my hand increased by one. I found it odd, so I decided to look into it further. I would wait until five minutes before midnight to look at my watch, and the number increased by one each time when midnight struck. I figured out that it counted the number of days I survived." Tyrone explained as he showed Noah the number on the back of his hand.
"One-hundred and eighty-four days..." Noah looked at the number. "So roughly six months." Noah continued after going through the calculations in his head, and Tyrone nodded. "I am unsure what happens when it reaches the one-year mark, but if that boy speaks the truth, then I assume we get our wish. By the way, the location is the same for everyone. If you want to know how long someone has been here, just look at the back of their left hand." Tyrone added after confirming with Noah.
"I think we should tell everyone about this." Noah commented. "I agree, but we should wait till everyone returns." Tyrone added, and Noah agreed. "Well, let's get back to work. I want to try and get the base of this finished before Don returns." Noah stated, and Tyrone nodded in silence. The two return to work.
Meanwhile, Don, April, and Rebecca headed toward the discount shop. Jake was lingering in the shadows behind them. He also kept a lookout to ensure no one would follow them inside. Don could see through the glass of the front door. The sunlight lighted up only the front portion of the store. "April, can you get my flashlight?" Don asked, and April replied with a yes. "It's in a side pouch." Don kept his focus on the store in front of him. Meanwhile, April went ahead and grabbed his flashlight. She handed it to him, and he took it and held it with an ice-pick grip. He clicked it on after using the Harris technique.
Don slowly pushed the door open and lit up any areas too dark for them to see before making their way into the store. They remained ever vigilant as they moved into the store. Compared to the pharmacy, this place looked like it had been ransacked. This struck Don with an odd impression. Don continued deeper into the store. April had an arrow knocked, and Rebecca had her trigger finger ready. Jake moved into the store a few moments after them but kept to the shadows. Everything seemed fine and dandy until they reached the darker parts of the store.
Don flashed his light on a group of people cowering in a corner. Three women, one man, and a single child. "Survivors?" Don muttered. His eyes ran over them. They had fear in their eyes. Not a single one of them was armed either.
"People?" April peeked from over Don's shoulder.
"Are you alone?" Don asked while keeping the gun pointed at the group. He didn't know if this was a trap or if these people were survivors. The man shook his head and then pointed upward at the roof. "I see. Are you with that person?" Don asked once more. Rebecca wanted to say something but figured it would be best not to. She understood why Don was questioning them, but he wasn't doing it with intimidation.
His voice was more like he was simply asking questions to gain information. The man shook his head once more. "I see..." Don paused for a moment. "Rebecca, can you stand to watch for a moment. April, take my flashlight." Don lowered his gun and offered April the flashlight. She nodded in understanding and took the flashlight, then stood beside Rebecca. April would shine the light in the areas around them to make sure there was no one else while Rebecca surveyed the area.
Don squat beside the group. "Sorry if I scared you all earlier. I hope you can understand why I asked those questions. My name is Don. I am with a small group of people right now. You told me that you are not with the man who is up there. If so, why are you here?" Don asked. As if acting as the first line of defense, the man in front of the woman and child would speak up, although his voice trembled with fear.
"W-We were promised safety and shelter. That man said someone would come to get him, and he would take us with him." The man answered. Don looked over each person individually. "Are you related to any of these people?" Don asked after processing some information. His voice was calm and collected. It seemed to help the man slowly relax and conclude that Don wasn't here to hurt them.
"Not all of them. This woman is my wife, and this is my child. The others were here before us." The man would point to the woman behind him, holding a small girl protectively. The other women looked like they had been through hell compared to her. Don could easily guess why and what went down but would refrain from treading upon the subject.
"I see. Did that man say when his friends were coming?" Don asked. "They were supposed to have arrived already. The man seemed anxious since no one was getting back to him. He was using some kind of communication device. Not necessarily a cellphone, more like a walkie-talkie." The man answered.
Don was starting to piece some things together. The reason this place appeared ransacked was that people were already here. As for the sniper, he probably shot at them out of fear since his group had yet to arrive; however, Don had no remorse for someone who abused and defiled others.
The problem was if and when the group would arrive. While in thought, Jake seemed to have hurried to their position. "Don, we got a problem!" Jake exclaimed. His anxious tone alerted Rebecca and April, who looked back at them. Don looked up at Jake. "What kind of problem?" Don figured that maybe that group was showing up now.
"Bugs! A lot of them, and I am not talking about the easy-going ones. A horde of yellow jackets!" Jake exclaimed. "Bugs?" Don muttered. "Well, we should be fine as long as we are inside and do not make any noise." Don remarked, but Jake seemed to disagree. "If only it were that easy. You know how those wasps are. They like to find places to build their nests. It just so happens that we are in one of those places." Jake replied.
"You think they will try to come inside?" Don asked, and Jake nodded. "There is a possibility that one of them will." Jake responded.
Don took a second to think some things over before asking, "How much time do we have?" Jake would reply, "Roughly five minutes." Don made a 'tch' sound by kissing his teeth. "Not much time. Even if we left now, we wouldn't get far, and there is no telling if they would stop. We should take shelter in the office room. At least if they come in, we can funnel them in and take them out one or two at a time." Don remarked. It wasn't a bad plan. "What about them?" Jake asked as he looked at the other group. "They'll come with if they want. I won't force them." Don answered.
"W-we'll go with you!" The man's wife spoke up. "Catalina!" The man exclaimed. "What? Do you have a better idea? These people are armed, and you hear the guy. In five minutes, those bugs will be here. I will not let my child die! If you want to go out there on your own, go ahead!" The woman exclaimed.
The man was silent due to the scolding but eventually agreed with his wife. "No, you are right, Cat. We should take shelter here." Don looked toward April and Rebecca and saw if they were okay with everything. Both of them seemed perfectly fine with the plan, and the other group taking shelter with them.
With all that out of the way, Don asked the man if he knew where the office room was, and thankfully the man did. The man led everyone into the office room. Don shut the door once everyone was in. The room was a bit small, but it would do for now. The man and his group would stay behind Don and his group. Now all they had to do was wait until the bugs passed through.
Rebecca was ready to fire upon anything that would break through the door. Don had holstered his 1911 Rugar and took both S&Ws, which he had also aimed at the door. April still had her arrow knocked but did not draw it back. Jake was standing on the office desk next to the door with the metal pipe in hand as if ready to wack some bugs.
No one said a thing, and no one made any sudden movements. The room inside was still quiet but filled with heavy tension. Minutes passed, and finally, the sound of buzzing could be heard coming from outside the shop. The rapid buzzing fluttered around outside of the shop. It was good that they decided to take shelter inside the office since the buzzing could be heard inside the shop. The closer it got to the door, the more anxious everyone seemed. No one knew just how many were in the store or how many were outside. What everyone did know is that there was a lot.
The girl holding onto her mother tightly, would whisper, "Mommy, I'm scared." The mother would give her a soft shushing sound and gently brush her daughter's hair. "It's okay. You are going to be okay..." The woman murmured. The buzzing continued to draw closer. When it was right at the door, everyone seemed to gulp heavily due to anxiety. The girl's eyes closed tightly as she held her mother. She wished this was all just some bad dream.
They all knew how deadly wasps could be before, but now they were oversized. Surely one sting would be enough to kill a person, right? No one wanted to die, after all. After a moment, the buzzing seemed to fade out, the rapid buzzing outside passed on as well, and then there was silence. No one moved yet; no one made a sound. Not even when Don slowly approached the door.
Don slowly placed his ear to the door to hear better what could be out there, but everything was silent. It indeed seemed like the bugs had passed on. Still, Don was a cautious person. He slowly holstered one of his guns so he could take hold of the doorknob. He moved so that he would be in front of the door opening, and slowly he turned the knob.
Once he heard a soft click, he would give it a moment or two before slowly pulling the door open so he could peek outside. Don damn near slammed the door shut when he came face to face with the head of an oversized yellow jacket, but instead, he slowly closed the door and released the knob.
Jake had seen the bug sitting on the door, and his complexion went pale. Everyone knew something was up when Don turned towards them and shook his head. He placed a finger to his lips to tell everyone to keep quiet for the moment. "I think it is scouting... I locked eyes with it for a moment, but it did not attack me. It probably did not see me as a threat; however, I doubt we can go outside just yet with it hanging on the door. In addition to that, there could be many more just sitting around. I don't see any other way out of here either..." Don spoke as softly as possible but enough for everyone in the room to hear.
April moved up to Don, "So what do you want to do? Wait it out?" April asked with a whispering voice. "That would probably be for the best, but we do not know when it will move on. I doubt it will be here all day, though, since it will most likely regroup with the others." Don replied with a whisper.
"And if the others come back and they make this their home, then what?" Rebecca asked in whisper form as well. "I was about to get to that. If no one wants to wait it out, I'll kill this one and then kill anything else outside. No one should open that door after I step outside, lest you want to die." Don remarked. Everyone seemed surprised, and April damn near exclaimed with a rebuttal but managed to keep the tone down. "You will not! I will not lose you!"
Don dismissed her remark, "I do not plan on dying. Rebecca... can I have my shotgun?" Don shifted his attention to Rebecca after dismissing April's remark. Rebecca stared at him for a long moment to test his resolve, or maybe it was something else. She thought he was crazy. He really intended to go out there and kill god knows how many bugs?
A heavy sigh escaped her lips, and she gave Don his shotgun. "Fine. But you better not get yourself killed because if you do, there will be hell to pay." Rebecca remarked. Don's lips curved into a smirk. "As I said, I do not plan on dying." Don replied as he took his shotgun and holstered his other S&W. He turned towards Jake. "I need you to open the door on my mark. I will kill this one, and slam the door shut once I rush out there. Do you understand me?" Don inquired.
Jake was still coming to terms with Don going out and killing many oversized hostile wasps when Don asked his question. "Wait, what? Are you serious?" Jake made his rebuttal, and Don nodded. "Unless you want to go out there?" Don would offer, but he was actually joking.
Jake could sense the joking tone of his voice, which seemed to ease his worries. If Don could make jokes like that, then there really wasn't much to worry about, now was there? "Jesus.. fine." Jake slowly got down from the office desk and went to the door, where he placed his hands on the doorknob. "Whenever you are ready." Jake remarked toward Don, who had taken his position.
April moved up to Don and tugged on his sleeve to get his attention while calling his name. Don shifted his attention towards her just in time to receive a soft kiss. "For good luck." April murmured. 'Good luck?' Don thought internally. April's appearance shifted to a woman in black pants and a crop top for a moment. Her face was shaded out, but the woman was around April's age, maybe a little older. "For good luck." The woman's voice spoke out just after April spoke.
Don's mouth parted as if he were about to speak a name until the illusion faded and April looked like herself again. "Don?" April asked softly with a worried expression when she saw the blank expression Don had. Don's lips curved into a soft smile. "I'll be back. Jake, open the door. Now!" Don turned his attention towards Jake and gave him a moment to get ready before shouting now. Jake ripped the door open, and Don pulled the trigger of his shotgun.
BANG!
The resounding gun blast echoed throughout the shop. The gigantic wasp slid down the door dead, and Don rushed outside. Jake pushed the door closed; aside from the plump bullet markings on the door, there were no holes. The wasp was pushed outside when the door closed. There was a loud buzzing outside the door, along with several gunshots.
April had her hands clasped together in prayer. She wished for Don's safe return. Rebecca seemed to have her arms crossed over her chest. Her fingers dug into her arms out of anxiety. A part of her wanted to rush out there and help him to ensure he would be safe.
Jake stepped back from the door with his metal pipe in hand just in case one of those things managed to burst through in case Don missed one. The other group also seemed to hope for a good result. They wished for Don to return safely. After all, Don seemed to be their only ticket to freedom at this moment.