บท 42: Homeward Bound
Realizing he's spent too much time away from the team, Lucas hurries down the stairs. Naturally, he ensures the lock on the door sticks to the wall by using his ability to burn it, preventing it from easily opening with a push or pull.
"Ha... ha..."
Breathing heavily and drenched in sweat, he returns to the second floor after an absence of around an hour. He pretends to look lost for about five minutes, attempting to mask his whereabouts, before encountering a tall, muscular man gazing at him.
"What are you doing here?" the man questions.
Lucas looks up to meet the man's gaze, surprised by his presence. It's William, the supposed leader of Team 1.
Internal bitterness rising, Lucas responds, "I got lost."
William scrutinizes him as if he finds his explanation foolish. Behind William, Lucas spots the corpse of a zombie.
"Lost? Weren't you supposed to stay on the second floor?" William continues his questioning.
Caught off guard, Lucas stammers, "Um... I'm sorry. I, uh, needed to find a bathroom, so I came up here since I couldn't find one downstairs."
Perhaps William finds his reason acceptable, as his stern expression softens a bit while he delivers a reprimand.
"Listen! Don't wander off alone again. The world is dangerous right now. You could die at any moment, especially as a newcomer."
By this point, a handful of other people have gathered, observing Lucas receiving the scolding much like a wayward son.
"Um, yes, I'm sorry," Lucas responds meekly.
His eyesight has improved over time, honed from spotting distant zombies in an attempt to avoid them when both he and Lucy were exhausted. Now, he even spots a few of the men smirking at his predicament.
"Tsk, those guys."
While feeling the weight of the man's gaze still on him, Lucas keeps his head down, avoiding direct eye contact.
In silence, Lucas keeps his head bowed, feeling as if an eternity passes. Eventually, the man resumes speaking after Lucas's apology.
"Though you're still young, you need to act like a man. We're all men here. But if you're really in need of a bathroom, it's that way," William points out the direction for him.
Trying to maintain the facade of vulnerability, Lucas dashes toward the bathroom location. Despite his intent to appear to be walking slowly, he's actually moving so fast that he might stumble.
"Damn it, I should have counted the floors I came down."
"Why did they make each floor so similar in design? How foolish!"
Entering the room labeled "Bathroom" with a male icon, Lucas notices the corpses piled in a corner, suggesting that the third floor has likely been cleared of zombies.
Choosing one of the bathroom stalls, Lucas finishes his business with the toilet, whether genuine or feigned. Afterward, he exits the stall, ensuring to create the appropriate sounds.
"I should have come up with a better excuse," he laments, stepping over to the sink and pretending to wash his hands, using the moment to clean off the blood and sweat, restoring his appearance.
Leaving the bathroom and walking with his head down, Lucas spots William's group descending the stairs. They each carry a load of food, including sacks of rice.
"It's been a while since I had rice," Lucas thinks, reminiscing about the simple satisfaction of a rice meal.
"Hey! Newcomer! Help us carry this!"
At the abrupt call, Lucas lifts his head to see the man who had been mocking him earlier.
"Is this a form of minor bullying?" he wonders.
Approaching the man, Lucas finds himself burdened with a sack of rice like a pack animal. Without a word, he carries the sack down to the first floor.
On the ground floor, as he deposits the rice sack at the gathering point, he spots a familiar adult figure.
"Boy! Where were you? I've been searching for you," the man exclaims with visible relief.
"I got lost while looking for a bathroom, but it's alright. I ran into Mister William, and he pointed me in the right direction," Lucas explains.
Kell appears surprised at the mention of William's name, his eyes widening slightly as the name registers.
"You met William? How was he?" Kell inquires eagerly.
"Yeah, he seemed like a really impressive person," Lucas responds, confirming Kell's curiosity.
Kell chuckled in response to Lucas's answer and then walked off to have a conversation with William, who had just arrived. Lucas observed Kell's energetic demeanor and couldn't help but wonder about his fate in this challenging environment.
'Is it too harsh to think that Mister Kell might not last long?' he contemplated. He recognized that his judgment might be too harsh, especially considering Kell's upbeat attitude. However, amidst Kell's infectious smile, the rest of the group appeared solemn and serious.
Lucas acknowledged that not everyone could find solace in humor or lighthearted situations. Most of the people here had experienced painful losses—spouses, children, parents, friends, and loved ones. This reality weighed heavily on the atmosphere.
'I wonder how Lucy is holding up,' he mused, his thoughts inevitably drifting to his companion.
'William seems like a decent guy. Maybe I should tell him about the black-and-white building,' Lucas pondered. He reasoned that William might not have ventured beyond the mall, which meant he likely hadn't encountered the white building on the outskirts or the black building on the zombie-infested rooftop.
'Oh, and I should definitely inform her about the ghoul,' he reminded himself.
The ghoul had been a disconcerting and formidable presence—humanoid in form, yet hauntingly pale, skinny to the point of exposing bone outlines, and surprisingly strong and fast.
Exhaling a sigh, Lucas focused on his surroundings. He saw others collecting supplies from the floor, and he joined in by lifting the rice sack. Teams 1 and 2 were now combined, and as a group, they exited the room.
The time was 6:00 p.m. The interval from entering the automatic lighting black building to now had brought about a significant passage of time. The sky, painted in shades of sunset orange, greeted his gaze.
"Boy! Isn't that sack heavy?" a voice chimed in from behind.
"Not too much. I can manage," Lucas replied, and Kell seemed content with his response.
'He's a kind person,' Lucas thought. Encountering another genuinely good individual after a long time was uplifting.
"I probably have double his strength," he speculated, acknowledging his own capabilities.
William continued leading the group as they journeyed back. Lucas found himself in the midst of the group, carrying supplies. Strong-looking men fended off zombies that intermittently approached, likely drawn by the sound of their footsteps.
Before long, they reached the base, where they deposited the rice sack in the crowded supply room. With empty hands, Lucas left the room with a sense of liberation.
"Today is going well," he concluded, feeling content as he walked back to their room—his and Lucy's room. Upon entering, he spotted Lucy seated on the bed.
Approaching her, Lucas parted his lips to speak, only to close them again within a matter of seconds.
'Huh?' he wondered, his attention focusing on her.
"Is she… crying?"
He could see the subtle quiver in her form, the warmth of her tears escaping her eyes and tracing wet paths down her cheeks. She was seated, her head bowed so low that he almost missed the glistening trails on her cheeks as they fell to the floor.
This wasn't the Lucy he was accustomed to. The Lucy he knew hadn't shed a single tear, despite the uncertainty of her parents' fates in this chaotic world.
"Why?" he silently questioned.
"What could have happened?"
"Why is she crying?"
Lucas's confusion deepened, and he instinctively glanced back at the door, ensuring it was securely locked.
"Lucy, what's wrong? Please tell me…" he urged, his voice a mix of concern and curiosity.
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Tarhuala
Tarhuala I have OCD.
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