Chapter 5

*Back to the present day*

Kai and the group continue their search for supplies using the skills and knowledge they've acquired over the past year.

The group had grown closer, bound by their mutual need for survival and their shared history of loss.

The air was thick with fear as the gang made their way into the wasteland, their eyes darting from side to side for signs of danger. Something was wrong—they could all sense it.

"Something is wrong," Shiro whispered, a troubled expression on her face.

"I can tell," Kai said, his sharp eyes examining their surroundings for a pattern that could explain the strange shift. "Let's get back to our hideout as soon as possible. Perhaps we can avoid discovering what's wrong."

They ultimately arrived to a grocery approximately three km from the hideout. This was the first time they had gone that far.

They went to enter, but couldn't help but observe that all of the infected in the area avoided the store.

It caused them a mixture of relief and concern because it was a strange phenomena.

"Let's get what we came for and get out," Kazuo instructed.

As they moved, a yomigari that they all noticed crawling on the floor grabbed Shiro's leg.

Shiro was ready to let out a loud scream when Kai hurried over to cover her lips.

His unexpected moves alarmed the other yomigaeris in the area, but they were soon distracted by the others.

Meanwhile, Shiro felt sick from the stink of bad food on Kai's palm, which she had mistakenly licked.

Everything returned to normal, and their focus swung back to the yomigaeri, who still had his hands around Shiro's leg.

It wasn't attempting to consume her; the expression on its face was more like, please don't go in.

It seemed weird, but they needed any supplies they could get their hands on. With some effort, Kai was able to remove the yomigaeri's hands from Shiro's leg.

They went into the supermarket, but just then, the yomigaeri on the floor let out a moan, communicating with the others that swiftly gathered behind them and watched as they went into the supermarket.

As the group waited at the entrance, goosebumps prickled their skin, they were struck by a profound sensation of fear. Despite their acute need for supplies, for the first time, reluctance set in. Their instincts shouted for them to turn back, but their reasoning minds knew they had to go on.

Kai took a hesitant step into the supermarket, bracing himself against the obvious discomfort that saturated the air. The rest of the gang followed, exchanging uneasy glances as they went farther into the store.

The shop spread before them, unscathed, like an unusual oasis in the wasteland. As they moved deeper inside the store, the tension subsided, and the sensation of danger seemed to fade.

They decided to split off in the hopes of maximising their haul. "Let's get what we need," Kai replied, a tiny smile forming at the corners of his mouth as he gazed at Shiro. "And then we'll get the hell out of here."

The group divided and moved to their designated spots, their footsteps booming down the empty aisles.

Kai and Shiro went straight ahead, Kazuo and Kanoe went towards the right while Kaori and Ren went towards the left.

The store appeared to hold its breath, an unsettling hush surrounding them as they moved farther into the stores. Kai kept his senses sharp, listening for unexpected sounds, while Shiro concentrated on acquiring food and medicine.

A sound boomed throughout the store. It was the clatter of glass bottles sliding from a shelf. They froze, their hearts pounding. Was it an animal, a yomigaeri, or worse?

"Did you hear that?" Shiro muttered, her eyes widening. Kai nodded, his palm tightening around the hilt of his knife.

As they approached the aisle, Kai spotted a shadowy figure among the overturned bottles. His grip on his knife still tightened.

"Who's there?" Kai yelled out, his voice forceful.

The figure turned, and they realised it was a young girl.

The young girl, wrapped in dirty clothing and terrified, retreated away as she realised the invaders had discovered her hiding place. Her hair was unkempt, and her face was filthy, with traces of dried tears on her cheeks.

"Please don't hurt me," she begged, her voice trembling. "I haven't hurt anyone."

Kai's grasp on his knife eased, and his expression changed to one of compassion. "We're not here to hurt you," he continued, his voice soothing. "My name is Kai, and this is Shiro.

The girl's trembling eased slightly, but her eyes retained an air of doubt. She hesitated before saying, "My name is Mai. I've been hiding here for several days, ever since my gang was attacked. They..." Her speech drifted off, and she bit her lip, her eyes shimmering with unseen tears.

Kai's face was filled with concern as he asked Mai, "Where did this happen? "You say your group was attacked?"

Mai's words spilled out in rapid bursts as she shivered from fear. "Save me...please...the monster...it'll kill me."

Kai's mind struggled, unable to understand what she was saying. But then a piercing scream echoed through the store, severing the silence like a knife. "Ahhhhhhh..."

Shiro's voice was urgent: "That's Kanoe!" It is Kanoe's scream, Kai!"

Kai's pulse hammered in his chest as he realised that something was wrong with his colleagues. Every fibre of his being demanded that he find and defend them.

Stay here, Mai. We'll come back for you," Kai commanded, his commanding voice calming the terrified girl.

He and Shiro dashed down the store's aisle retracing their steps to where they had separated from the others. Their feverish search was accompanied solely by the sound of their footsteps.

As they turned the corner, their worst fears were confirmed—

The scene that greeted them was one of devastation and destruction. The shelves had collapsed, leaving cans and cartons strewn over the floor, which was covered in blood and broken glass.

Kai's gaze dropped to a figure hunched on the ground, the familiar red scarf around their neck now smeared scarlet. It was Kanoe, her eyes glazed over and her breathing shallow.

Kazuo was no where in sight.

"Kanoe," Shiro sobbed out, kneeling beside her companion. "What happened?"

As Shiro cradled Kanoe's head in her lap, the injured woman struggled to speak, her lips stained with blood. "It...it came out of nowhere. Some kind of beast....and it moved so fast."

Kanoe's voice faltered, her words trailing off into a painful wheeze.

Kai scanned the area, his senses on high alert, searching for any signs of the beast. "We need to get you back to the others, Kanoe," he said, his voice taut with urgency.

With a nod from Shiro, Kai scooped Kanoe into his arms, he began to make his way towards the exit, Shiro at his side, her eyes darting from side to side in fear.

As they approached the exit, the sound of movement echoed in the distance, and Kai's spine prickled with dread.

He glanced down at Kanoe, her eyes closed, her body slumped in his arms. He couldn't afford to be distracted.

Shiro's heart skipped a beat as she noticed a figure kneeling over a body, burrowing into it with a desperation that beyond human sanity.

A gasp escaped her lips as she realised with a jolt that the body belonged to Kazuo. "Kai! Kazuo!" she cried out, her voice trembling with panic.

Kai's head swung around, his eyes narrowing as he took in the horrific scene.