I finish eating, and go out of the office. I see two girls nearby and ask them, "Hey, do you perhaps know where my room is?"
"Oh? You're the survivor from the helicopter crash, right?" One of them says, she looks like a kid, no, a teen.
"Ohhh!! Hi, nice to meet you! My name is Nana and this one here is Lily!" She says with a lot of energy.
"N-nice to meet you too, I'm Anna, the one who survived the helicopter incident."
"My guess was correct, for your room. Please follow us." The other one says, she's quite a serious person compared to her companion.
"Hey, hey, can you tell me more about where you came from?" Nana asks me, she's really curious.
"It was a good base, strong and large. There were many kind people there, good people, we were doing well, to be honest. Our soldiers were strong, the civilians were cooperative, too… it was a nice base." I say that sincerely, with a smile.
"Wow, I heard what happened to your base, I'm sorry for your loss." Nana says, she seems impressed and also sad, is it because of my face?
"But don't worry! You survived and that's all that matters, isn't it? You have to survive for them! And tell the whole world about your base!" She says, she's so positive.
"This is your room." Lily says and opens the door.
"Oh, this is our stop, we'll be going now, bye byeee~" Nana says, waving her hand. This girl isn't just energetic but also optimistic. I wish I could be like her… "Good bye." I murmur and close the door as I get in.
I look around the room, it's cozy and clean. There's a bed, a closet, a desk, and a window. I wonder if I can see the stars at night. I feel a pang of loneliness, thinking about my friends who are gone. I wish they were here with me. I wish Elsa was here with me.
I shake my head, trying to clear my thoughts. I need to focus on the present, not the past. I need to prepare for the expedition, not dwell on the tragedy. I need to live on, for them.
The room looks like a five-star hotel, it is neat and clean. I used to live in the barracks, sharing rooms with other girls. I really didn't have much personal space, I didn't even think about it as we were always busy, going on expeditions, finding supplies, scouting, patrolling, guarding at night. "Aghh" I should stop thinking about the past.
I sit down on the bed, it is comfortable. "Hahhhh…" I sigh heavily. Then I walk towards the window, looking at the clear sky. "It's beautiful as ever, since when did I stop admiring the beauty of the sky? Those beautiful shapes of the clouds, the sun, and the moon. Did the apocalypse change me that much?"
I look down, it's the backyard of the mansion. It has a beautiful garden and a playground. The kids are playing, having fun even though the world has turned worse. This base is really a good base for kids to have time to play.
In the military base, it was rare to see a child smiling, they all saw the terror of the outside world. I sigh again, I should sleep. I lie down on the bed, and stare at the ceiling. I close my eyes… all I can see is darkness— well duh, I closed my eyes after all.
"Huh? Elsa? Why are you…? Here—?" I can tell that it is Elsa, my best friend. I can immediately tell just by looking at her back. I walk closer to her, she looks at me, and smiles. "Hey! Wait for me!" I run towards her, faster, and faster, and faster...
I catch her hand, "Finally! Dammit Elsa, where are you even going? At least stay with me even in my dream…? Elsa?" She stops walking, and the moment she turns her head, it is… it is a monster!!!!
I wake up, from that nightmare. Panting heavily, "hah… hah…" that gives me goosebumps, even the hair on my arms is standing. "Oh my God, Elsa…"
The morning arrives, I couldn't sleep because of what happened. I go out of my room for breakfast. Souta told me to go downstairs if I want to eat. Walking downstairs, I see all the people gathered for breakfast. They are having nice chats, laughing and smiling. It feels like a big family.
"You're Anna, right? Get some food on the table, feel free to take anything you want." A woman says to me with a smile and leaves.
I take her offer, I get a plate on the table, and serve myself some food. I sit down, there is a kid beside me and a girl on the other side. I eat my food quietly, I'm still new here… I don't know them. But I can see that they are all happy.
"Oh? It's good to see you getting along with the others." It's Souta and three girls beside him, I believe they are his girlfriends? Kinda weird but meh, I don't plan to butt in their personal life.
"Yeah, so so." I say with an awkward smile.
"Good then, after you finish your breakfast go to the military base, it's just near here, ask the others for direction." He says, I nodding at him, then he leaves.
"Hey, what's your relationship with the leader?" The girl beside me asks.
"Relationship? Umm… he's the hero who saved my life and like you guys, I think I'm one of his people now. Why do you ask?" I'm kinda uncertain about what our relationship is.
"Ehh, are you sure?"
"Huh? Yeah? What else is there?"
"We saw you go inside a room with only the two of you, so it isn't like that?"
"What!?" I exclaim. "No! It's not like that, we were just talking about something important."
"Really~ talking or doing something important?" She looks at me suspiciously. The others are also doing the same.
"We're not like that, okay!?" I shout. I'm even standing up. AAAAAA!! I'm panicking. I make it look like a big deal. "I'm leaving!" I should leave before it gets more awkward than it already is.
I walk out and head to the military base that Souta is talking about, but where exactly is it? I look around, trying to find some signs or directions.