[Lyon's POV]
"Lyon... Lyon, it's almost 4 AM." A male voice whispers to me as I felt a hand grip my shoulder and shake me awake which had managed to successfully fulfill its purpose. I rose from the rug, stretching my body to shake off what bit of grogginess remained. I see Ren standing in front of me, carrying his bat while wearing only his clothes and none of the armor.
"Good morning." I greet Ren who does the same, I finished my stretches before wearing the police duty belt that I had opted to take off alongside my armor. The open area had left a large amount of space for us to leave our bags, weapons, and armor in so we did just that.
I look around the room and find Chisato and Alyssa still asleep, Chisato had her face deep inside the cushion while Alyssa hugged one of the extra cushions as if it were a teddy bear. Nothing else had changed other than the position of the chair meant for the guard to use, its old position which was beside the dining table had changed to being placed closer to the front yard's door, quite close to the carpet that we were all sleeping on.
I move toward the chair and sit down, opting to just keep it in place instead of bothering to find somewhere else to place the chair. Ren who was previously standing outside the carpet had already taken my previous position on it, leaving his metal bat to my machete's previous position before I had been woken up by Ren.
I take out my machete from its sheath and inspect it, finding nothing better to do after a few alternating glances at the front door and the sliding glass door. Whoever said that the zombie apocalypse would be full of exciting moments was a fucking liar considering how boring night shifts exist. Though I guess calm moments like these shouldn't be taken for granted since being bored means being "safe".
"Hey Lyon... how are you able to act like this?" A voice that I didn't expect to hear for one or two hours at least suddenly asks me in a quiet but audible volume. The sudden question manages to take my attention away from my blade and pushes out the random thoughts that had found their way into my brain.
"Act like what way?" I asked, feigning ignorance to Ren's questioning. He pauses for a few seconds, probably trying to find a way to rephrase his earlier question in a more specific way. What he wanted to ask me was quite obvious but such an unspecific question might just lead to answers to questions that he wasn't specifically seeking.
"How are you able to stay fine after all of... this?" Ren reiterates to me as he kneels on the rug while looking at me, struggling to find the words to describe our exact situation and just giving up along the way. I stare at him for a few seconds, trying to find words to answer him with. I can't exactly say I've been through stuff like this before after all.
"Would you rather I mope around and be depressed as the world around me crumbles into ruin then?" I ask Ren who shakes his head in refusal. His eyes wander around the first floor, glancing at the curtains that were covering the window before turning his attention to the door, and then to me.
"No, not really but wouldn't such a reaction be the most human reaction to have after everything we've been through today?" He asks me as he looks at me while waiting for his answer. He wasn't wrong, the most human reaction to our situation and experience indeed is to mope around for at least a few hours or a day.
"You're not wrong, I feel that I and Alyssa are the two oddballs considering how the two of us seem fine on the outside but I'm pretty sure she's just trying her best to put up a strong front." I answer him, the presence of worry was obvious in my eyes as I turned my eyes to Alyssa who was sleeping peacefully.
"I am the closest person that the three of you have to a leader, I don't have the luxury of moping in anguish over things that have to be done." I answer him, as his expression morphs into a whole slew of various forms before ending it with an apologetic one.
"I'm... sorry about the weight that we had placed on you." He apologizes as he glances at the carpet he was laying on, trying to avoid my gaze. I quickly noticed this and think back on my words, finding them to be easily misunderstood if heard by other people.
"Look Ren, I already told all of you that I'm not blaming anyone for anything. My decision to kill the father is one that I made myself, all of us will have to dirty our hands someday. This world isn't the same one that we had been living in just a few days ago after all." I explain to him, earning a nod from him as a reply.
"If you want a reason to kill, to survive, and push through everything we've been going through then just think of your loved ones. Think of their faces once you're reunited, now think of the despair they'd feel if they were to find out that you had died somewhere along the way." I tell him as he closes his eyes, probably imagining everything that I had just told him.
"If you want another reason then just think of Chisato I guess." I quickly add in, causing his eyes to open wide as he looks at me in shock before his expression morphed into one of gratitude. He thanks me for the "pep talk" before laying down on the carpet, a few minutes later and I begin hearing a barely audible snore coming from him.
'God I hate and suck at pep talks' I complain to myself as I turn my attention back to the blade I had been holding onto. My thoughts wander back to yesterday's event, causing me to remember that I had yet to remove the used ammo shell from my new handgun's cylinder. I sheathe Gray and take the gun out of its holster before opening the pouch where the two unused bullets were kept, I take one out and put it inside the empty hole as I enjoyed the 2 hours of silence while I waited for 6 AM to come.
~2 hours later~
'Yup that's 6 AM alright.' I think to myself as I stand up from the chair and tuck away the stranger's phone in my left pant pocket. It still had 26% even though I started using it when it still had 37% since I haven't used it much. There haven't been a lot of occasions where we needed flashlights since leaving the campus after all, albeit that it's only been one day since we left.
I move toward my sleeping companions and shake them awake, Chisato being the hardest one to wake up since she seemed hellbent on pushing her head deeper and deeper into the couch's cushion. A few minutes later and everyone was already sitting at the table chewing on bread that had chocolate spread to add flavor to the otherwise boring meal.
"What's the itinerary for today?" Ren asked, seemingly refreshed after a good night's sleep. The others seemed fine as well considering how they were having a conversation with random topics again before Ren decided to ask his question.
"We won't be needing to look for another car that's for sure." I tell the others, earning curious looks before I dangled a set of car keys in front of them that had a well-known company's symbol on one side and various controls on the other.
'I remember passing two cars that had the same logo on their front bumpers. I wonder which car is this key meant for?' I question myself inwardly as I think back on the two cars. One of them was a black sedan while the other was a maroon-colored SUV.
'I'm not even going to try to guess whatever those cars are called. I'm just happy that we aren't gonna have to walk the entire way.' I think to myself as I weigh the pros and cons of each vehicle. An SUV has a lot more space, visibility for the driver, and durability which makes it a great vehicle for running supply runs, it's a bit more on the costlier side in terms of fuel consumption though.
A sedan on the other hand consumes less fuel and is a lot more versatile in its handling. It offers fewer seats though since there are only two rows of chairs and has less open space for us to put away inventory. Luck will decide what car we'd end up getting in the end anyway so I just push away my thoughts and go back to our conversation.
"As for our itinerary today, that'll depend on how much gas will the car have. We should be able to reach my house before 6 in the afternoon even after making a few detours" I answered Ren's questions, the route we were on would be easier to understand if I were to compare it to a hole in a map.
The urban sector served as a hole and what we were doing was avoiding going into that hole by traveling around it. I'm not too familiar with this area but the basic task we have right now is to keep heading south until I spot a familiar landmark to use to reach my home. We should be at Chisato's house by tomorrow if no major problems arise.
"We should start getting ready to leave soon. Don't bother cleaning up the mess and make sure we don't leave anything of value behind." I tell them all, receiving nods of agreement from all of them as I stood up from my chair and went toward the living room carpet. I already had most of my gear excluding my backpack and my armor with me so it didn't take long for me to finish packing up.
My companions on the other hand had just woken up a few minutes ago so they were entirely unprepared. It'll take them a few more minutes before they're finished with wearing their pieces of armor again so I spent those few minutes just reassessing our current situation.
'I've deviated too much from the original timeline already. Just the fact that I am even able to go home brings along with it multiple unknown scenarios.' I think to myself as my thoughts bring me back to my memories. One wherein we had to make a desperate escape from the city out of fear while having next to no supplies with us.
There are still people in this city, the area around the bridge is another hole I'd rather avoid considering how survivors who weren't able to get to the other side of the bridge in time had to stay for "quarantine" in those camps. I continue harboring thoughts like this until I felt a hand latch onto my shoulder, taking me out of my stupor.
"Everything okay Lyon?" Alyssa asks as she takes her hand off of my shoulder. I nod unconvincingly and push the small desk and shoe cabinet used as barricades for the door to the side. I open the door and find the front yard still the same as it was yesterday, a good sign that no one had entered the premise, not through the front gate at least.
I exit the lot with my companions following close behind me, seeing the abandoned van we had used to get here a bit distant from where we were standing. I take the set of keys out of my pockets and press on one of its buttons, the one meant to unlock the doors.
The headlights of the sedan flash a few times as I hear a quiet but slightly audible mechanical sound coming from the car, its doors unlocking for us to open freely. I move closer to the car and open the driver's side door, sitting on the chair with Alyssa opting to use the front passenger seat while my two companions sat together on the second row of seats.
I hear the audible sound of the car's engine being brought to life after I had pushed the key into its ignition and turned the engine on, causing white light from the gauges in front of the steering wheel to light up with red symbols and what looked to be a red vertical rectangle beside the capital letter P appear on opposite sides of its bottom.
"Oh, looks like we're in luck. The car seems to have more than half of its fuel storage filled up. More than enough to reach my house and maybe halfway through to Chisato's." I tell them, earning a relieved look from Chisato at the mention of her home. This just felt a bit too lucky to happen without something bad following it closely but I chose to just shake my thoughts away as I began driving back home with the hope that my parents heeded my words.
Nothing too unexpected happened along the way, we opted to just have our lunch inside the car instead of stopping and clearing out a room for us to eat since I felt that it'd be a waste of time. I say we but I had to endure a few protests from my companions before we ultimately settled to just being spoon-fed by Alyssa as I drove.
My attempt in shaking off my worry failed as I drove around some cars that were left abandoned on the street. The streets weren't as blocked as they were in the urban layer of the city but that didn't mean that we hadn't encountered any blocked streets. The further south we go, the closer we were to the bridge which meant higher amounts of ownerless cars.
'The obstacles should lessen in amount as long as we further move away from the center of the city, even while going south.' I think to myself as I find a familiar convenience store after turning to the right. Excitement welled up within my chest as the grip I had on the steering wheel tightened, accompanying that feeling though was a sudden spike in anxiety as I reached my house's driveway 30 minutes after noticing that familiar convenience store.
I glanced at the digital clock on the car's radio and learn that it was already 5 in the afternoon, a bit earlier than I expected but the relief that should've come with it was missing. My mother's car was missing from the driveway, a fact that worried me since it shouldn't have disappeared had my parents heeded my words.
I shift the car to Parking and turn the car off before going out with the car keys in hand, the others following close behind me as they chased me to the door. I turned the door's handle and at least found it to be locked, I take off my backpack and fished for the keys in one of my bag's smaller pockets. Ultimately finding it as I push the small piece of metal through the hole and use it to open the door.
The interior of the house remained the same as I had remembered, directly in front of the door was a hallway that led to the kitchen and dining table, to my left was an open door-shaped entrance that led to the living room, and to my right was a door that led to the garage beside a stairway that led to the second floor. Not a single bit of noise could be heard coming from the inside of my house, making my already anxiety-riddled mind panic further.
'Calm down Lyon, calm down.' I think to myself as I slow my breathing down in an attempt to calm my nerves. The others look at me in worry as Chisato closes the door behind her and locks it again. I tell the others to wait by the door, causing their already worried looks to only become more evident to anyone who'd see their faces.
I walk toward the living room finding it devoid of the usual presence of my mother who'd spend most of her free time just watching cheesy Korean dramas whenever a new one would be released. The couch which she'd always take in its entirety whenever dad was too busy for work was empty of anything but the cushions she would hug while watching.
I move on to the kitchen and dining room, ignoring the table where the remote lay and the chair that I would be forced to use every time I wanted to watch the show alongside her. I leave the living room through another door-shaped entrance, one that was closer to the kitchen but visible to my companions who heeded my request to just stay by the door.
I found the kitchen empty of both the living and the dead with cabinets still had various cooking ingredients like soy sauce and vinegar inside it. On a separate cabinet lay still the canned food that had remained unopened since the last time we had gone outside for groceries.
A wooden door could be seen on the edge of the kitchen which led directly to the small but slightly spacious backyard. Though small, it lacked any furniture and plants, having only fake grass to cover the backyard's surface. Surrounding said backyard were fences that led directly to the street behind this house, a quick getaway if needed but one that I ignored as my focus was entirely on looking for my parents.
I go back inside the house and find a door directly opposite to the one that I had just entered through which led to the kitchen bathroom. Its door was opened with the lights left on, allowing me to peer through its open door and find it empty as well.
I leave the kitchen, standing where I had last seen them were my companions who stood still as they watched me wander around the house. I ignore them, opting to move toward the door beside the stairway that led to the garage. I passed by my three companions with my intent solely on opening that garage door only to have my movements be stopped as Alyssa pulled my hand.
With my movements ceased, all my attention was put toward Alyssa who had tightened her hand around my own in an attempt to keep my hand encased with hers. I comply with her request, slightly tightening my grip around her hand to seek the much-needed comfort I needed from the warmth that she emanated.
I open the door, finding nothing but leftover junk and boxes of broken furniture and old toys from my childhood. I close it again, standing motionlessly in front of it as I steeled my resolve for the possible worst-case scenario as I began moving up the stairs, Alyssa following closely as she comforted me by sliding her thumb over my own in smooth and slow strokes.
'If they've been infected then... no one else but me can release them from the virus' torture. It'll be the least that I can do for them...' I think to myself, understanding what exactly my thoughts would mean when done in action. I reach the end of the stairway and look at both sides of the hallway, to my left was a bathroom while to my right were the doors that led to our bedrooms.
I move toward the bathroom door, unsheathing Gray as I slowly opened it only to find it empty as well. I peer behind the door as a precaution and confirm that the bathroom was definitely empty, I left the lights on as I found no reason to bother caring about the electric bill anymore. I leave the bathroom and stand in front of the door to my parent's room, opening the door with the same hand that carried my machete.
No one was there but their cabinet was open, and a few clothes were messily scattered on the floor with their hangers separated. The two-way radio that I had left them the day all of this started was still there, my note which was weighed down by the radio accompanied it. I look under the bed and find it empty of anything, including the travel bag that she'd usually kept under it. This newly found information caused me to think up a few more scenarios but I shoved them away,
The room also had a door that led to a walk-in closet, a door that I opened too before walking inside to at least make sure that there was no one there. You'd expect a walk-in closet to have clothes and shoes but it was instead filled with various random equipment, all of which were items meant for whatever hobby my mom decided to try out.
Behind the door stood two rectangular boxes that had a river and an inflatable kayak in their design. Those two inflatable kayaks were important to the plan I had in mind for crossing the river but my focus was still on something else so I ignored the two and left my parent's bedroom.
I go toward my room which was the only one that I had yet to check, I had already run out of ways to trick myself into thinking that they were still here inside the house so all that was left to do was to secure the house for the night. I push the door open and find it the same way that I had left it the day that our old world ended.
'Where are you two...' I sigh to myself as I put Gray back in its sheath. Alyssa who was a witness to everything could do nothing but tighten her grip around my hand, a gesture of comfort that I appreciated greatly. I pull the door back and close it, preferring to just remain standing in place as I contemplate what all this meant.
"Lyon, I think you need to see this." Ren's voice rings out from the stairway as I find him peering at us. He starts walking down the stairway as I and Alyssa follow close behind. We reach the landing before Ren led us to the living room. Standing beside the table was Chisato who held a piece of paper, the only lead I had to learn of my parent's fate.
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AN: Hey, nothing much to really talk about in this chapter tbh since I've decided to just announce the bad news on Friday. Anyway, if you liked the chapter then go add my fic to your collection and maybe drop a power stone and a review too :D.