Chapter 8 - [8] Packing

The room was dim, lit only by what little light trickled in from the window. With no power and no internet, the silence felt even heavier. None of us wanted to admit it, but we knew we couldn't just sit around waiting for whatever the hell was going to happen next."So," Kenji said, standing up and stretching, "are we actually gonna do this? If we're making a move, we need to pack some shit."I nodded. "Yeah. If we're getting out of here, we need to be ready. Grab whatever food and supplies we've got.""Let's pack light," Raul said, pulling open the mini-fridge and eyeing its contents. "Only what we need to survive. The rest is dead weight."Ethan was already rifling through his closet. "I've got some snacks stashed away. Mostly chips and candy, but, you know, survival food."Malcolm chuckled, pulling out a few cans of instant ramen. "We're gonna have to live off this junk for a while, huh?""Better than nothing," I said, grabbing a backpack and tossing in a few water bottles from the fridge. "We've got enough for a couple of days, maybe more if we ration."Kenji was pacing, thinking out loud. "We need weapons too. I've got my katana collection. Not much else, but at least we won't be totally defenseless.""Wait," Ethan said, perking up. "We're actually taking your katanas? I thought they were just for show."Kenji grinned, a mischievous glint in his eye. "Nah, man. These babies are real. I've got five—enough for all of us. If shit hits the fan, we'll go full samurai on their asses."Malcolm let out a snort. "Yeah, because that's gonna work against, what, zombies or soldiers? You ever tried using one of those things?"Kenji shrugged. "Look, it's better than fighting with our fists, right? Plus, it'll make us look cool as fk."I shook my head, smirking. "Fine, we'll take the katanas. But don't expect me to know how to use the damn thing."We all started packing up whatever essentials we had—food, water, some basic first aid supplies. It wasn't much, but it was all we had. As we packed, the mood in the room lightened a little. Maybe it was the absurdity of the situation, or maybe we were just trying to keep from losing it completely.Malcolm was stuffing his bag when I noticed something strange."Dude," I said, raising an eyebrow. "What the hell is that?"He looked up at me, completely serious. "What?"I pointed at the contents of his backpack. "You're packing a fking fleshlight?"Malcolm glanced down, seeing the fleshlight poking out of his bag, along with a couple of hentai doujin books and a tube of lube. "Oh, that. Yeah, you never know, man. Gotta be prepared for everything."The room fell silent for a second, and then we all burst out laughing."Dafuq Malcolm," Kenji said between fits of laughter, wiping a tear from his eye. "Of all the shit to pack for the end of the world, you bring that?""Hey, I have my priorities," Malcolm said, grinning. "Just because the world's ending doesn't mean I can't have some fun."Ethan was doubled over, holding his sides. "Dude, I can't believe you. We're prepping for a fking apocalypse, and you're worried about your jerk-off material?"Raul, who had been quiet, couldn't help but crack a smile. "I mean, at least he's honest about it."I shook my head, still laughing. "I swear, man, you're gonna be the first to go, and not because of the zombies."Malcolm just shrugged, completely unfazed. "Whatever, I'll be the one with my sanity intact while you guys are losing your minds."Kenji tossed him a katana. "Well, at least you'll have this to defend yourself while you're, uh, 'busy.'"We all laughed again, the tension breaking for just a moment. It was ridiculous, the whole situation, but somehow the humor made it feel a little more manageable. Like maybe, just maybe, we could survive this as long as we didn't lose our sense of humor along the way."Okay, okay," I said, still chuckling. "Let's focus. We've got food, water, and now, thanks to Kenji, we're armed with swords. Anything else?"Raul nodded toward the window. "We should keep an eye on the soldiers. If they're still shooting, that means whatever's out there hasn't gotten through yet. But we need to be ready to move the second it does.""Agreed," I said, zipping up my backpack. "Let's be smart about this. We don't know what's out there, but we can't just sit around waiting for it to come to us."Kenji was inspecting one of the katanas, running his fingers along the blade. "You guys ever used one of these before?"Malcolm shook his head. "Nope. I've watched enough samurai movies, though. How hard can it be?""Famous last words," Ethan muttered, still laughing a little. "Just don't chop your own arm off."We were all packed now, our bags filled with whatever meager supplies we had, each of us armed with a katana from Kenji's collection. It felt ridiculous, but at the same time, there was something oddly comforting about having a weapon, even if none of us really knew how to use it."All right," I said, adjusting the strap on my backpack. "We're as ready as we're gonna be. Let's just stay alert and keep our heads down. If we hear gunshots again, we move."Kenji nodded, holding his katana like he was about to step into a fking anime. "This is it, boys. We're in the shit now.""Yeah," I muttered, glancing out the window. "Let's just hope we make it through."Q: What would you pack in for a zombie apocalypse?