Sleep didn't come easily that night.
Akira lay sleepless beside Aylin, the cold floor beneath him a poor reserve for warmth. The blanket they shared barely kept the chill away, and the sounds of the wrecked mall around them only added to the unease in his chest. The distant crackle of small fires, the occasional cough, the low murmurs of survivors—it all felt like an undercurrent of tension, something lurking it's just out of sight.
Aylin's breathing was shallow, and her fever had slightly reduced, but she remained unconscious. Akira brushed a few strands of hair from her forehead, his fingers brushing the sweat-soaked skin. His mind wandered back to the question that nibbled at him—the question the child had asked earlier, in hushed tones...
"Is this our third city or fourth?"
Akira couldn't shake it. Why had the child said that? What did it mean? Third or fourth? It was as if the survivors here had been through this event before, moving from one city to another, surviving in a constant state of flight.
His heart clenched as he realized that this city—the one they had barely escaped from—wasn't an isolated incident. It was part of something bigger. But what exactly?
Unable to rest, he quietly slipped out of the blanket and moved toward the dim firelight flickering in the center of the mall. The survivors here sat around makeshift fires, talking in low voices, their faces look like hardened by the years of survival. A sense of companionship existed among them, but it was tinged with a quiet, almost unspoken. Something wasn't right.
His footsteps were soft as he moved through the half-ruined area, careful not to disturb anyone. The remains of the once-bustling mall were now nothing more than a hollow shell—damaged, broken, and in places, barely recognizable. Akira glanced up at the destroyed ceiling where the skylight was above, the pale moonlight casting shadows over everything. It felt as though time was moving too quickly here like this place wasn't meant to last.
He spotted Reina near one of the fires, her sharp eyes glowing in the firelight. She was cleaning a machete, the sound of the blade scraping against the stone dull and steady. There was something almost meditative about the way she moved.
"You're up early," she said without looking at him.
Akira nodded. "Couldn't sleep. Too much on my mind."
Reina's gaze shifted to him then, her lips curling into a small, knowing smile. "Yeah, you're not the first to say that. This place does that to you."
He hesitated, then asked, "Earlier, that kid… he said something. He asked if this was our third or fourth city. What did he mean by that?"
Reina's smile faded, but her tone remained soft. "Oh, that? We've moved around a lot. This isn't the first place we've stayed, and it probably won't be the last. Each time things get bad, we find a new city. The kid's probably just keeping track."
Akira blinked, processing the answer. "So, you've been… moving from city to city?"
"Yeah, that's how it goes, kid. The cities get wrecked, and we get out. It's just what we do now. You get used to it after a while." Reina shrugged as if it were no big deal.
Akira swallowed, still absorbing the idea. "Isn't it hard, though? I mean, don't you get tired of running?"
Reina's expression softened for a moment, the hint of a sigh escaping her. "It's not easy, but what choice do we have? We keep moving, we keep surviving. That's all we can do."
Akira nodded slowly, glancing around the group of survivors clustered around their fires. It was clear that Reina was right—survival was the only thing that mattered now. But there was something about their easy acceptance of it all that made his stomach turn. Maybe because of the way the people talk, and interact, and their eyes say they have given up? Keep running till you die? If die you die? Is that it?
Before he could ask more, Reina stood up, brushing dirt from her pants. "You should get some rest. We'll be on the move in the morning. If you want to make it here, you need to keep your head down and do what you can to help."
Akira hesitated, then looked at her. "What about the city? The people here—do they know anything about what's going on? About the monsters and the outbreak?"
Reina's eyes flicked toward the darkened mall entrance. "Everyone has their own theories. Some think it's just a bad outbreak. Others think it's a lot worse. But no one knows for sure. We're all just trying to get by."
Akira exhaled, feeling the weight of something pressing in on him. "I see."
Reina glanced over her shoulder as she began walking away. "Rest up, Akira. Tomorrow's another day."
He went back and lay back down beside Aylin, his mind wandered again. The questions piled up, but answers were still as distant as ever. They had survived one city, but will it be the same to another city? And what was waiting for them in the next one? Another monster? And their goal is to survive, right? But why can't I shake this feeling? Something is bothering me...
The morning light crept through the cracked windows, casting pale beams across the ruined mall. Akira woke with a jolt, the remains of an uneasy sleep clinging to him. Aylin was still asleep beside him, her shallow breathing steady for now. They'd made it through the night, but what would this day bring?
Outside, the survivors were already moving, preparing for the day's hunt for supplies. Rick, the broad-shouldered man who had led them to safety, was talking in hushed tones with Reina by the makeshift fire pit. Their faces were grim, and the lines around their eyes deepened by the wear of survival. Akira, still groggy, rubbed his eyes and sat up, his back sore from the hard floor.
Rick noticed Akira sitting up and waved him over. "Time to get moving, kid. We don't sit still long around here."
Akira nodded. He walked over to where Rick and Reina stood, preparing for another day of scavenging.
"Got a job for you," Rick said as Akira approached. "There's a supply run to a nearby building. It's dangerous, but we need the food and meds. You're coming with us."
Akira nodded, determined not to back down. He had to earn his place in this group. And besides, he wanted to search for someone while he was at it.
"Just keep your eyes and ears sharp, and don't wander off," Reina added, her voice low. "It's a different kind of danger out there today."
Akira's curiosity was piqued. "What do you mean?"
Reina exchanged a glance with Rick before looking back at Akira. "There are… things out there. Things we don't fully understand. You'll see when we get there."
Akira frowned, but before he could ask more, Aylin stirred beside him. She blinked up at him, her face pale but more alert than before.
"Are you leaving?" she asked softly, her voice hoarse.
Akira smiled at her, trying to mask his worry. "Just a quick run to get supplies. I'll be back soon."
Aylin reached out, her fingers weak but firm as she grasped his hand. "Be careful," she whispered.
"I will," Akira promised, brushing her hair back. "I'll come back, I swear."
He turned and followed Rick and Reina toward the mall's broken doors. The air outside was cooler than he expected, and the ruined landscape stretched out before them in every direction, a wasteland of buildings and collapsed infrastructure. The city, if it could still be called that, had long ago ceased to resemble anything remotely familiar. Nothing felt real anymore, just a shadow of what had once been.
The group moved in silence, eyes scanning every corner for threats. Akira kept close to Reina, who was leading the way with a machete in hand, rifle behind her, the blade catching the pale sunlight. Rick walked ahead, his rifle trained on the horizon. There were no sounds of life in the air—just the oppressive silence that hung over everything.
As they approached a shabby office building, the group fell into a tight formation. Reina signaled to Akira to stay back as she checked the area first. He did as instructed, though he couldn't shake the feeling that something was off.
'Why hadn't they encountered any threats yet? In his experience, danger was always just around the corner.' Reina thought. "Clear," Reina said after a tense moment, signaling for the group to move forward.
The building's entrance was partially blocked by debris, but they managed to squeeze through. Inside, the air was musty, and the floors were littered with broken glass and overturned furniture. It felt like a time capsule—frozen in a moment before the collapse, but long abandoned by anyone who had lived here.
"Look for anything useful," Rick ordered, his voice terse. He moved off to one side, checking a stack of old filing cabinets.
Akira followed Reina deeper into the building, his boots crunching against the glass as he walked. The place had been looted before, but it wasn't entirely empty. There were scattered bags of supplies and a few cans of food that seemed to have been hastily hidden. As he sifted through the remains, he heard Reina's voice behind him.
"Found something," she said.
Akira turned to find her standing by an old, rusted elevator shaft. Her brow furrowed as she peered into the darkness below. "It's strange," she murmured. "We've been here before, and I swear… this wasn't here last time."
Akira joined her, his curiosity was piqued. "What do you mean?"
Reina stepped closer to the elevator, brushing away some of the dirt and grime from the doors. "I don't know, but I've got a bad feeling about this."
Before Akira could respond, a loud crash echoed from somewhere deeper in the building, followed by the unmistakable sound of shuffling footsteps. The air went still, and all of them froze, alert and tense.
"Get ready," Rick muttered, his rifle aimed toward the source of the noise.
Reina gripped her machete tightly, her eyes narrowing as she focused on the darkness ahead. "Something's coming."
Akira's heart pounded as he glanced towards it. Whatever was lurking in the shadows, it wasn't alone.
The sound of the movement grew louder and closer. And then, from the corner of his eye, Akira saw something shift—just a flash, a shape moving with speed.
Something was coming, and it wasn't human.