"Will you please just listen to me once..? I'm older than you." Rissa whined as she felt bored and angry at her sister for the obstacles they had to face being separated from each other.
"I have never and will never." the younger female snickered as she motioned the black-haired boy to continue his introduction.
"You can call me... Shawn!" his face beamed up as he came up with a nickname.
"I already mentioned the beginning of my name before so... I guess this makes up for it." he spoke out loud, not realizing it until he finished speaking about himself, and the atmosphere suddenly felt great for all of them.
"Can I go next?" the little girl volunteered as she looked at the silver-haired male, they were inseparable ever since they met each other.
'She is really cheerful, I really miss my sister now.' the male practically saw the resemblance that they had, and he nodded while the group welcomed the little girl in the team.
"Hello, I am Bonnet!" she was excited to show off her favorite bonnet, indicating that they should take a look at the item she was wearing on her head.
"See! This is going so well." Blessy pointed out the chemistry that the group had with one another, urging the next few people to have their turn and speak.
"Oh, hmmm..." the eldest tried to overcome the nervous feeling he had, thinking about the easiest yet outstanding nickname he could make for himself.
"How about we go with Ace?" he definitely couldn't hide his grin from the thrill of picking their code names, however, his friends didn't seem to agree with him.
'Seriously, these guys are always teasing me.'
He ruined his hair from the annoyance and simply let them move on without explaining the nickname he created for himself.
"Come on, you know we're just joking." the short friend of his, tried convincing him to explain it.
"Okay, okay." he smiled at the thought of it.
"I chose Ace as my nickname because I always do my best in everything, most of the time, even if I do it effortlessly, the outcome often comes out great." he smiled again before tapping his friend's right shoulder, the silver-haired boy turned to look at him.
He turned to look at everyone else.
"You good there?" June asked, worried about his older friend's recent behavior.
'His expressions are odd...' the boy, in particular, shrugged the thought off and moved on from that topic, finally getting the chance to tell the team that he was struggling to adjust since it was all too sudden. "I..." he started.
"You..?" Bonnet slightly alarmed the older survivors, they weren't actually expecting her to be aware of the situation that the silver-haired male was facing and yet, she surprised them including the boy himself.
"I really miss my family which is why I can't seem to think straightly..." he continued.
"I see my sister in Bonnet, they're both cheerful and enthusiastic." finally regaining his senses, he showed his puppy-like smile and confidently showed that side of himself to everyone.
"Anyway, my name is Mike..." Bonnet nodded and they moved on to the next person. "Well, since you've all probably heard my name..."
"You can call me June. I am not really used to nicknames, code names, or whatever you call it." he waved at them while indicating that his seatmate should go ahead and introduce himself next. "Red." he timidly responded with his eyes still closed, trying not to draw too much attention to himself, they then moved on with the last person without any hesitation.
"Sis." Blessy nudged her after rushing to the older female's side, waking her up from a short nap. "Can't you just let me sleep, for now..." she replied.
"Rissa, that's what I would often call her." Blessy took her sister's hands and controlled them to make her wave at the others as they played along and waved back at the two girls.
============
"Did you know that chairs can be used in games?" the black-haired boy named Shawn asked the little girl, they were all practically talking to each other now without a care in the world, using their spare time to get to know one another.
"I know this one!" Bonnet cheerfully replied. "Yes, it is called musical chairs."
Bonnet and Shawn were getting along quite predictably in Blessy's perspective, she was standing near the edge of a corner with her arms crossed over her chest.
'Observing is my middle name.' the girl chuckled at the thought of making new friends in the middle of a crisis. "This isn't the right time to joke around."
Rissa dropped her hands and left her sister's side, approaching the center of the open room, taking all the spotlight for herself though surprisingly, she loved it.
'That's right, all eyes on me.' she menacingly smiled as the group's attention was placed on her, however... "Enough daydreaming." Blessy burst her bubble.
"I wasn't daydreaming, Blessy. Also, we should start counting those sheep now, and get some rest." Rissa caressed her hair back and tied them up, forgetting that she did not bring a scrunchie. "Damn." she cursed in arrogance in front of Bonnet as well as the others.
"What?" she obliviously asked whilst looking around. "You do realize there is a kid, right?"
Ace explained as he motioned the female to censor her words because the last thing they would probably want is to expose the little girl about the bad things there are in life.
"Ishhhh... She'll get used to it." Rissa squabbled with the guy, dismissing the topic immediately after. Time went on quickly when they killed the fire, and all of them slept on the cold hard, and dirty ground.
There was a slight moment of peace before the monsters began making noises, the air completely became the reason that Blessy departed from the circle, she couldn't sleep at all.
"These creatures are getting greedy in terms of eating us humans, I won't be able to think of a plan now in this case. I mustn't let my guard down." the building was so high that her energy has already been cut off to the very least.
Nonetheless, this did not stop the 19-year-old college student.
Blood can be seen spraying on the wall while Blessy fought with the monsters on her own as the rest of the survivors rested in peace.
'I really don't get why they aren't aware of it by now.' she wondered.
"Arghhhhhh!" an infected creature's cry made the group flinch in their sleep, their eyes were still shut but the noise did not affect them in any way, all except for Blessy.
"I really can't tell how exactly I'm hitting it in this wide and dark area." she threw a small dagger at the monster, causing it to shriek in pain.
============
The eldest boy rose as early as the sun, feeling uneasy for some odd reason, he peeked at the stairs and did not see one bit of a soul there until...
Ace continued staring at the empty space before suddenly, Blessy showed up with her clothes drenched in blood, and her hands were also filled with cuts.
"What happened to you?" the male quickly sprinted to the girl's side, not minding the fact that he was not wearing his sneakers, he was technically barefooted if not for his thin white socks.
"I don't know..." the girl responded without even blinking an eye, she was visibly exhausted from staying up all night.
A black-haired boy opened his eyes to see a dead body dangling on the ceiling which made him arise from his position on the floor.
"Is it just me or did I actually have a nightmare? And wake up seeing that thing?" Shawn's eyes were filled with horror, and not only was he the one who saw it but also, Mike.
And then, they all gathered around Blessy and each of them took part in cleansing her for the selfless act she willingly did for them, but it wasn't actually the reason why she did such a heroic thing. After all... 'It was my fault that things went out of control. It is the only thing I could do.'
Bonnet gently wiped the blood without even shaking at the sight of it, the rest of them also did the same and treated only the minor wounds since they barely had anything.
"Doesn't it hurt?" Rissa stood at the side, not helping.
"Breathe." Rissa wrapped her arms around her knees, sitting beside the others since everyone was awakened by Blessy, Ace, and Shawn's conversation.
'I'm not even gonna say that I had the same dream.' she thought as she did not wish to humiliate herself for such a ridiculous reason.
"Did you also have a nightmare?" Bonnet questioned the older female before taking a sip of her chocolate drink that Blessy brought from the day before.
They did not have to talk about anything concerning the limited amount of food stock since it seemed like every single one of them knew they need to spare it all. Rissa shook her head in arrogance at the little girl's question before pulling herself away from the crowd.
"There's nothing wrong with having nightmares." Ace commented whilst he leaned on the wall and looked out in the open, dismissing the group's conversation once again.
"The same goes for being scared."
This surprised Rissa along with the others, they definitely didn't expect those words to come from a girl so young as Bonnet. "See? Even a kid like her is wiser than you are."
Blessy provoked the older female, however, Rissa didn't even look back as she left the premises, heading somewhere private.
The group could only stare at the girl's back as she slowly walked down the stairs, there was nothing more to do other than spend all their time resting. "So, what's your plan now?"
Blessy turned to look at the leader of the boys' group, asking about their thoughts now that they have secured a safe place.
"What do you mean by that? Aren't we supposed to just stay here till help arrives?" Shawn asked in return for the girl's question, hinting at them that she will not be staying hidden somewhere, hoping for help. "Help..? No one will come for you."
Blessy directly told them the point she intended to say, from the start.
"Why would you think that?" June's eyebrows were impeccably down as he squinted his eyes, avoiding the glare from the sunlight.
"The military or the people from the government may search for survivors like us." Mike joined the conversation and yet, Blessy disagreed with them for she knew much more than they did.
"I am saying this as advice, not really trying to argue with any of you." the girl held onto her left arm as she tried to ease the pain from her shoulder's slight dislocation.
"If you know anything, please say it."
Ace thought that they would get along well easily but the simple topic of help coming to them became a reason for creating lines, a boundary that everyone put up to keep themselves from getting fooled. "I think it is best if we went our separate ways."
Rissa responded, having only one goal set in her mind.
Indeed, the team agreed upon the mentioned solution to their problem.
"Here, some gauze to keep your hands from getting bitten or something like that." Bonnet felt discouraged from the conversation they had but since they were older than her, the only thing she could do was understand and do as they ask.
"Shawn, shouldn't you at least keep an eye out for Bonnet? You haven't been helping at all." Red criticized his older friend for just standing and watching all the time, the mood became gloomy once more before two of the girls departed from the building.
"Where are you headed now then?" June had his arms crossed.
"Wherever nature leads us." Rissa took a final glance at the view surrounding them, the people they became friends with, to be specific.
'In less than a day, here we are.' their eyes wandered as the monsters started making disturbing noises again, they did not mind it though knowing that the coast was clear.
"Do you think it was the right choice?" Shawn asked his friends as they looked at the backs of the girls, slowly dispersing from their vision as the distance grew bigger.
"If we get into trouble, I believe it is best to handle it ourselves. Relying on them isn't really a better idea." June expressed his concern.
'I doubt that.' Bonnet thought as she continued waving, the group then returned to the highest floor and camped there for as long as they could last.
Blessy and Rissa, on the other hand, both stealthily went over and under the houses, or even stores in order to gather themselves a bunch of supplies.
"Will these be enough?" Rissa asked under her breath. "We can always come back if we need more, right?" she continued asking herself while her sister rummaged through the pile of stacked books, taking as many supplies and food as they needed.
"Coming back here would only cause us trouble. It is also tiresome."
The entire street slowly became filled with infected beings, destroying the debris into smaller particles as it became humid.
"We're surrounded by dozens of them, shouldn't we do something?" Rissa murmured as she munched on her energy bar, lousily sitting on the floor with no mannerisms, forgetting the etiquette she was taught by their parents.
"Just take your time, Rissa." the younger one responded.
All the monstrous-looking creatures had such peculiar abilities, making them twice as hard to deal with, hence, they waited. "Let's leave when the coast is clear."
Blessy suggested while organizing the items in her duffle bag to ensure that it was properly placed so that when she is in action, it would not be a hassle for her to carry along their journey.
'There should be a back door around here.'
The younger female wandered throughout the entire store, looking for a way out because it looked like the infected creatures will soon find them if ever they follow the human scent that lingers.
Meanwhile, the staircase grumbled when the remaining survivors on the 20-foot tall building, decided to abandon the structure as it was already reeking of their human scent, exposing their presence to those uncanny southern creatures nearby.
Luckily, the path in which the two sisters had gone through was there.
"Carry me." Bonnet was physically unwell and based on this information, she is likely to be mauled alive by their enemies in less than a minute despite her circumstance, Mike was responsible for keeping her safe from getting separated from the group.
"Cover!" Ace yelled in a whisper.
There was a herd of monsters in sight, dominating the empty grass field.
Now, in order to stay on track, each and every single one of them joined their hands from fear of losing anyone and going astray from their main goal.
'It is the last thing we would want to happen.' Red thought to himself as he observed and reminded himself of what may come.
"We must go forward."
June sprinted as he crouched down while leading the group, another hurdle came blocking their way but this issue did not stay for long.
"Is this actually rain?" heavy rain started flowing down the surface and it overthrew their enemies, turning them into mossy substances, in the meantime.
'It is their weakness, I suppose.' Rissa and Blessy peeked outside the window, witnessing such a blessing from heaven after days of feeling hopeless.
Both sides were given a chance to move in peace although, the idea of getting soaked in rain is still a disadvantage to them since not all of the infected creatures were transformed and refrained by the rain from moving.
'It is humid and heavy too, just how do we do this?' some were miraculously enhanced into stronger and far harder beings to avoid having a clash.
"Saying from the weather right now, we could look for a pair of rain boots and waterproof coats." Rissa answered the other, smiling at the acknowledgment she got.
"You receive a point." Blessy nodded before moving again.
"This isn't the perfect time to play games, Sis..." the older female replied again, joining her sister in the hunt for something to cover them from the rain.
"We have an umbrella here."
Bonnet rummaged through the backpack that Blessy had left behind for them, looking for supplies to cover them from ever getting wet, or even catching a cold.
"Using an umbrella here is not a good idea, Bon Bon. It would just fly away if we bring it out." Mike hid it as they sought shelter.
"We can't stay for long though, they could come back to life sooner."
Ace reminded them about the fact that nothing is impossible anymore. "Another point for you both." Bonnet giggled at the thought of hanging out with a bunch of smarty pants.
"There is a tent here that we can possibly use as a raincoat." June pulled the tent out, fortunately, it was big enough for all six of them.
"Is everyone covered up?" June asked if all his friends were already settled under the tent, they held it up above their heads and decided to walk while the rain kept on going, however, they weren't aware of it.
Therefore, the path they took might become a rough one.
"Is this seriously happening in front of our eyes??"
A faint sound of thunder and a flash occurred near the two girls but surprisingly, Blessy was not affected by this in any way.
Unlike Rissa who continued clinging onto her sister's arm.
"Will you please stop acting like a child? It is slowing us down." the younger female commented with an annoyed tone in her voice.
"Me? A child. You have got to be kidding because it sounds so unlike me!" another sound of thunder came roaring along with a bright flash that exposed the infected enemies around the both of them.
Blessy hastily crouched down as she dragged her sister somewhere safe.