Yuuta Saski's Story

Yuuta yawned as she settled back in an abandoned shop. “Let’s see… I’ve being here for 5…6 days?” No. It must have been longer, longer than what she could remember. Listening to the broadcast of New Heaven had made her scoff. She was surviving quite well in here, managing to raid any dead bodies and salvage whatever she could find. Well enough for the circumstances she was in anyway.

She reached out for her dart gun, laying by her side. It was getting darker and darker outside. About time those burrowers appeared. Sure, she could drop some using darts, but the rest would be left to her trusty dagger. There was nothing she can’t handle, anyways, else she won’t still be alive out here. “Survival of the fittest”, she muttered under her breath as she searched for more food inside the store. So far, she was sticking to canned food. She had tried eating some of the monsters she killed, but they didn’t taste so good. Human meat, however, was one thing that she didn’t dare to try yet. No matter how bad the circumstances, she was not about to let herself be labeled a cannibal. So far, she had been ok raiding shops and finding food, not that anyone will care now. She though, sparing a look at the skeletons sprawled out around the shop. She had checked them for any food, but unfortunately they didn’t yield any.

“Nope, no more food…” She said to herself as she shoved boxes apart and looked around. Time to move on to another place. Pity. It was a perfect “base” for her to get food and other necessities. Luckily, there were a few other shops around this area, but who knows if monsters had got to them first. She headed to the window and looked out. The gas station seemed to be the closest outlet around the area, and she could probably get there fast enough. Hitching up her backpack and shoving the dart gun in her pocket, she brandished her dagger in front of her in case she met any monsters.

Making a quick dash to the gas station, Yuuta managed to reach the station without any problems. In fact, everything was going according to her plan except… it seems to already be occupied. A child was kneeling in front of the entrance way in a defensive position, and she did not seem to be moving. Well, maybe she was dead. Or maybe just too exhausted to stand. Only one way to find out. She raised her dagger, about to plunge it in. Of course, if she was still alive, she would move right?

|| Amelia ||

Amelia swung her bat down with force, connecting into the skull of a Kaga, sending it to the ground, screeching in pain as she lifted her bat and swung again, smashing into it's elbow, then again, bruising it's stomach. Amelia would continue to violently smash away at the creature with her steel bat until it no longer made a sound or attempted to move.

Satisfied, she'd hitch the bat back up over her shoulder, then turn away from the corpse of the dieing Kaga, knowing that there would soon be more to persue her. She picked up her pace and began to run, stepping carefully amongst the debris and garbage of the street until she came to an area that she recognized from before - the gas station. Amelia quietly skidded to a halt on the street, looking over to the doorway that contained a child and another person behind her, holding a dagger.

"Don't bother fighting.." she called out in her plain, mono-toned voice, "There's nothing of worth inside" then as quickly as she had stopped to say her part she'd start up again, sprinting lightly along the roads with her bat held securely over her shoulder as if ready for another attack.

She peered up at the sky as she ran, "It's getting late.." she said outloud to herself, then slowing her run to a walk as she looked abou the street, searching for a building to stay the night in. She'd walk a little further down the street until she found an old store that she knew had been empty for quite some time, not even Kagas bothered to go here. Amelia smashed through the wooden boards that covered the windows from the inside, and then climbed in, pushing the heaviest piece of furninture she could find infront of the hole she had just made, seeling it before she'd wonder up to the second floor of the shop, hopeful that she might find something of use to her.

---

“How rude! Of course I wasn’t actually planning to stab and kill her, maybe just stab her to see if she wakes up. After all, she’s as good as dead if she can’t get up.”

Groggily, Noah slowly opened her eyes as little hints of life began to emerge within her. She must have passed out briefly before slowly coming-to, and just in time too, as a bold voice prompted the girl into motion. She didn’t recognize the voice however, and could have sworn she’d heard another though only vaguely.

“Hey, you getting up? You’re blocking my way, so I’ll give you three seconds before I stab you.”

At the gentle nudge her whole body seemed to tense. Shooting her eyes open just at that moment, despite the evident fatigue that coated her small frame the girl knew she had to move in order to survive the ordeal. ”I-I‘m s-sorry…” She mumbled somewhat nervously, gradually raising her body from the ground before spinning on her heel to face the barer of the strange voice. It was another girl, though possibly a little older and a bit more dangerous. ”Please don‘t hurt me! I didn’t mean to block your way… I-I--” She pleaded to the unfamiliar figure for a split moment, hesitant for the next passing few minutes as the youth tried to figure out what to do next. A part of her wanted to run and hide amongst the aisles, whereas the rest of her wanted to show no fear to this other girl. What was she to do?

Oh, I know! It could work… for like a second. Kneeling down and then springing back up onto her feet the child wielded her umbrella and pointed it out towards the other female. Like a sword or blade, the girl held the umbrella firmly in her small hands and readied herself. ”T-Take what you want… spare me my l-life, I didn’t mean any t-trouble!” The girl stuttered and seemed to struggle with her words as they left her lips, before stepping backwards, slowly, in yet another definitive manner and allowing better access to the station for the newcomer. Of course, despite attempting to look threatening, Noah clearly wasn’t. She was only a child after all.

---

“I wasn’t planning to hurt you anyway… well, not exactly. So, what do you want to do, little girl? You know you don’t stand a chance against me with that umbrella of yours.”

Noah hated to admit that the strange girl was right. Of course her wimpy umbrella was useless, but it was the only thing she had to defend herself with. Actually, it was the only thing she owned at all. ”I know it may not look like much but this umbrella is all I have.” She answered, watching as the figure squatted down to her own level. ”I was just looking for a place to stay, that‘s all. It‘ll be nighttime soon and I don‘t like being out in the dark... It gets scary out there and I‘m all alone.” She lowered her umbrella and hung her head slightly, staring at the ground with a look of defeat on her features.

It had been a long time since she had met another human, and yet Noah still couldn’t decided on whether to trust the girl completely or not. She still seemed dangerous and unpredictable, though the girl had stated that she didn’t have any intentions on hurting the little girl after all, which caused Noah to doubt her initial thoughts. ”I didn’t mean to bother you. I was just tired from walking so long... I hadn’t stopped until I found this place.” Glancing up, somewhat shyly, the girl looked to the other female with a questioning stare. ”So... Your not going to hurt me?”

|| Amelia ||

Amelia found an old, dirty and broken mattress on the upper floor, and tapped at it with the end of her bat, checking for any creatures that might be lurking inside. A few bugs ran from the motion of her bat, but nothing else seemed to come of the mattress, so Amelia deemed it safe and propped her bat up against the wall by the matress, watching the door momentarily before wondering over to one of the windows in the room she was in.

All of the windows were bordered up, just like those downstairs, but Amelia managed to pry a board free with her hands before stepping closer to peer out. The position of the building she was in gave her a good view of the street and the gas station. Amelia watched the two people she had seen earlier, a blank expression on her face as she spoke to herself, "Well, looks like there won't be a killing tonight.." then a hint of a lifted brow appeared on her face as she continued "Now someone is going to look after that child. Children are slow." although Amelia didn't actually know if the child she saw was slow or not, she had just assumed. The child looked so small, and they apparently couldn't with-hold fatigue. Amelia scoffed slightly, "Too slow"

Salem sat behind the station shelf, holding his blade close to his chest. It had been a while since he had seen kids in this world, they tend to not last very long without their parents to protect them. He had heard of groups using kids to lure out potential victims in the past. The kids acting as bait for the would be protector so the others could rob them. It had been quite a long time since such things occurred, but he wasn't about to take the chance. The younger one seemed innocent enough, but the other was different. It was like watching polar opposites, kids who looked to be about the same age, but have had vastly different experiences in this world. "I wonder if they are from New Heaven?" Salem thought to himself as the two continued. He heard the voice of another pass by, though it was too quick to discern who it was, save for that they were also female.

The girls appeared to be unwilling to move on, or at least that's how it seemed. If they did decide to stay there, Salem would have to reveal himself, or try to find a way to slip out somehow. He wasn't much one for company on the road, often finding others slowed him down. In this world, slow meant dead. And he wasn't ready to die, especially not when he was so close to his goal. New Heaven sat just beyond this forgotten giant of the old world. It was a place where he didn't have to look over his shoulder and fear some Kaga getting the drop on him while he slept. To think he was going to give that up lightly would be folly. Salem took quiet breaths, but continued too grip his blade tightly.

”So... You’re not going to hurt me?”
Yuuta thought about it for a while before giving her answer “Nope! You’re more than welcome to ask me to kill you though! I’ll do it with pleasure!” She said, smiling at the girl. “Hey, wanna be friends? I’m Yuuta, Yuuta Sasaki. And you are?” she asked the girl. She was harmless, and apparently the umbrella was all she had. There was no risk in making friends, after all. Suddenly she felt the feeling that they were being watched, by something or someone. Of course, it might as well be the girl she saw earlier, but she was not going to take any chances. “Hey, let’s get in for now. The burrowers might be coming and its getting darker and darker by the instant. Don’t worry, I promise not to kill you for tonight.” It probably wasn’t safe to ignore the people who were watching them, but it was the best choice she had. Just by going straight to find and confront them might result to death, and she wasn’t that enthusiastic to die now.

---

“Nope! You’re more than welcome to ask me to kill you though! I’ll do it with pleasure! Hey, wanna be friends? I’m Yuuta, Yuuta Sasaki. And you are?”

Noah blinked in a rather bemused way initially, the girls words causing the younger youth to ponder lightly. ”Ahh… I don‘t really plan on dieing.” She commented with a raised eyebrow. Dropping the thought, and upon the mentioning of friendship the little girl seemed to grow joyful almost immediately. ”Y-You mean it? You want to be my friend? Oh, that’s great! I‘m Noah Nearboy! I‘m so happy to be friends with you!”

“Hey, let’s get in for now. The burrowers might be coming and its getting darker and darker by the instant. Don’t worry, I promise not to kill you for tonight.”

She gave the girl a look of concern, answering, ”Oh, alright.”

As she was about to turn and enter the station Noah stopped for a moment, pausing beside the doorframe as she cautiously looked around the surrounding area. ”Hey... Yuuta, I think there‘s something out here...” Unsure, the girl strained her eyes a little to see better in the dark. But it was useless. ”I can‘t see in the dark too well.” Feeling a little afraid at that moment the girl hurried inside the gas station fully and scampered over to one of the aisles nearer the front, where she knelt down and settled herself on the floor.

Once Yuuta was close enough, the girl asked, ”Say, Yuuta... Have you heard of the New Heaven that‘s suppose to exist? People say it‘s suppose to be safe there, and they have food and water and everything.” Pausing for a moment she glanced around the empty aisles nearby where she sat, the feeling that a vague presence was also there lingering in her mind a little. However, it was probably just her paranoia, and she quickly shrugged off the feeling. ”I plan on going to the New Heaven. Even if I have to walk day and night! I will get there... somehow. Are you going there too, Yuuta?”

As Amelia watched the woman and the girl enter the gas station, Amelia turned her attention to the two new arrivals. They looked odd, one girl had bright green colours, and the man had red hair. They looked an odd pair, siblings maybe, she thought to herself. They both had there weapons ready, Amelia wondered why until she heard the distant blood-curdling cry of a Kaga in the distance.

Amelia jumped back from the window, and grabbed her bat. She waited, until hearing the screech again, this time it seemed closer. Amelia ran down the stairs of the building and pushed away the furniture she had used to block off the window she had used as and enterance. She stood, and watched as she saw the Kaga approach, running down the road she had used to get where she was now.

The Kaga skidded on the road, catching the sent of nearby people - then turned. Amelia saw the oppertunity as the Kaga began to make it's way toward the gas station and leaped out of the window, running up behind the creature with her bat ready to swing down against it's head. As the Kaga reached he edge of the gas station, Amelia had caught up, and she managed to deliver a blow to it's head, making it screech in pain, then turn to her. Amelia ran as soon as she had hit, and looked for a placee to lure it to, using herself as moving bait.

Salem let out a small chuckle, lowering his knife and taking a deep breath. "Now even kids can sense me... must be losing my edge," Salem thought to himself as he stood up and walked out into the light, a deadpan expression on his face as he did so. He holstered his blade and looked at the two girls, then turned to the other two who arrived not longer after. This many people in one place, it was like a beacon for the Kaja, and Salem knew it. "I take it we're all here for the same reason. The broadcast. A safe haven, beyond the lost one. I assume you all came from the west. Like me." His voice was calm and focused, but came across like someone who had fought a hundred wars and it left an echo within him. Salem began walking toward the two girls, leaving his hands raised and his weapons exposed so as to try and not draw suspicion.

"Thanks to you and that one who ran by a few minutes ago, the Kaja know we're here. This place is no longer safe. The smaller ones. Scouts. Meant to find us. Like worker bees, sent to draw out the flesh for the larger ones. The city, its the only place to retreat to now. The West. Too far. Too much land to cross before they catch our scents." Salem made his way outside, keeping his body turned toward the girls so they wouldn't think he was trying to get the drop on them. Once outside of the building, he shot a look to the other girl and young man. "Dangerous to travel at night. But, even more so to stay here. I suggest you all leave. Whether West, or East. I don't care. Just a warning. From one survivor to others." Giving a small wave back, Salem began making his way toward the city, as distant cries began bellowing far off. They were louder, deeper, and bounds more menacing then one would normally hear from a Kaja. The deaths of the smaller ones had sent an echo, alerting the others to the presence of those in and around the area. It wouldn't be long before they were upon them. But, the larger ones were slower, easier to avoid if one moved out quickly enough.