I sat quietly in a chair hugging my legs while Haruto barricaded the doors and windows with anything he could find. Even though he was strong he was just a teenager like me and such heavy work had put a strain on him. As he pushed a heavy looking closet against a window he fell down on the ground from exhaustion.
He was hyperventilating and his breathing was the only sound in this dark and ruined house. There were a lot of windows in here that needed to be covered. Normally one would do that with woodplanks and nails but there wasn't anything like that here. However, there was a lot of heavy furniture that he used to cover them. On the contrary the door was only barricaded with a chair to prevent it from opening.
Haruto was having a hard time, but i still felt the need to ask him something.
"Hey...do you think there is a way out of here?"
He looked at me while still breathing heavily. I could clearly see the nervousness in his eyes as he probably asked himself the same question before.
"I don't know..."
I sighed and took a chocolate candy out of my pocket. The wrapper was torn and the candy was squashed but i still ate it before jumping down from the chair.
"Well it doesn't matter, that just means we'll have to find one!"
I fixed my clothes a little and stretched my legs and arms before yawning loudly. Haruto looked at me confused but i just ignored him.
"Just what got into you?"
"Oh come on, Nayuta might have checked this place out just to make sure it was safe, but she didn't look for anything interesting, this place looks like a wealthy house"
I opened my arms wide with a grin on my face. I may be scared because of this whole situation, but that is not an impediment to have some fun.
"I bet there are a lot of interesting things here!"
I started to look around the house, rummaging through the rubble and debris, searching for anything that could be considered an antique. I found a few items that caught my eye, such as an old pocket watch and an ornate silver necklace. I was amazed by the level of detail of these items, and I couldn't help but feel a sense of excitement at the prospect of finding more fun items in the house.
I made my way to the stairs to the second floor. They were in a pitful state and it felt like it could break at any moment but i still went up. The second floor wasn't much different from the first but i was amazed at the amount of dust that had gathered here. The only signs of life were Nayuta's footprints and now my own.
The second floor was mostly just a few hallways that connected multiple rooms. After wandering for a few minutes, I walked back to the stairs and opened the door to the first room. The place was in shambles with only a collapsed bed frame, a broken wall, a broken mirror, and a torn up carpet to see. I closed the door behind me and continued my exploration to the second room which was in a much better state. The second room seemed to be some kind of pantry.
"There is so much food but all of it is rotten...it breaks my heart to see such a thing."
As a food lover this was sad for me to see. Even though the room wasnt as deteriorated as the first all food had gone to waste but there was nothing i could do...at least i was able to find some beef jerky that seemed edible. There is nothing else to see here so i should get going -uh?
As i started walking away i caught a glimpse of a small wooden box in the corner of the room that i hadnt seen before. Did I really miss it before? i know I am clumsy and the place is very dark but this is still very visible.
I grabbed the box but it seems to be mostly weightless which was curious. i opened and inside i found what appeared to be some kind of black fruit the size of a strawberry on top of a red cushion. It looked a bit creepy but im not going to throw food away, it doesnt look rotten after all so i just closed the lid and took the box with me. This is the kind of thing that Nayuta would do. She loves searching for interesting things in all kinds of places and taking them. If she didn't do it before it was probably before she wanted to get to secure a safe place as quickly as possible.
With the box in my hands, I exited the room and entered the next one but it was just full of broken furniture but i was able to find a fancy pocket watch which i found pretty but nothing more so after a few more senconds,I skipped to the next room and opened the door but-.
"Oh god- Blech!"
My eyes were greeted by a horrible view. The fourth room which appeared to be a studio was covered in copious amounts of blood and in the center of the room sitting on an old couch was a corpse mutilated beyond recognition. There were deep cuts all over the body and it was missing an arm and the head. The putrid smell only made it worse. I couldn't stand it and i emptied my stomach on the floor.
I had to cover my mouth and nose with my sleeve to keep from breathing in more of the stench. I slowly backed away and closed the door...let's just forget about that. I'll just stay here for a bit to calm down.
"Jesus fuck...I think I'll need therapy after this"
I don't know how much time i spent sitting in the hallway but i eventually got up and went to check the last room. I grabbed the door handle but i couldn't bring myself to open it, the image of that corpse was still present in my mind, not even those weird zombie monsters were as unnerving as that body.
Nayuta probably didnt think much after seeing that disaster but I am not the same as her...I will ask her if theres something scary in the last door once she gets back. With that decided i went back down with the meat and that creepy fruit only to find Haruto sleeping soundly on the floor in a really weird position.
After seeing him like that, I just sat to his side and looked at the wall...this place is really depressing isn't it? I don't like it. It feels like i could be swallowed by something at any given time and it scares me. I may be a little stupid but i know that we could die in here, it makes me want to cry but that really doesnt go with me does it?
"I'm the one who's always smiling no matter why after all...I won't let that change"
This is a silly thought but that is who I am. With that in mind, I just rested for about an hour. Normally i would have be bored without something to do but seeing Haruto shift from a weird position to an even weirder one is funny as hell.
I laughed for a while but suddenly the door was opened - Ah, the doors open outwards. Haruto blocked it from inside with the chair, how stupid. The ones that entered the house were Nayuta and Touji. I was happy to see them but both of them just dropped to the ground unconscious. I ran to them but they were thankfully just asleep. They were probably death tired.
i dragged them deeper into the house and used Nayuta and my own bag as pillows for them. In the end i was super tired.
"Sigh...just rest a little you two"