Those who stayed
Chapter 15
*The next morning — after the trucks leave.*
Kaito was greeted by ten remaining individuals who'd chosen to stay and fight rather than head for the supposed shelter in Quan City.
Leo, a police officer who'd been on the force for nearly ten years, wanted to know if he'd made the right call. There wasn't much waiting for him anywhere else. He'd had a daughter, once — six years old, gone in a house fire two years back, the same night his then-wife was out on a date a few drinks past sober while Leo worked a double shift he hadn't been able to get out of. The divorce came fast after that, the way it does when two people need somewhere to put the blame and only have each other left to put it on. He didn't talk about any of it. He didn't have to — it was the kind of thing that showed up in a man's eyes whether he wanted it to or not, and Kaito had clocked it within the first five minutes of meeting him. Someone with nothing left to protect and a decade of training in how to stay calm under pressure. As far as Kaito was concerned, that made him the perfect kind of person to have on his side.
"Before we agree to let you lead us — clearly you know a lot more than you're letting on," Leo said. "Can you guarantee our safety above everything else? If so, I don't have a problem with whatever happens next."
Everyone else seemed to agree with him.
Faced with the unease radiating off the group, Kaito spoke up — said what needed to be said, not out of obligation, but because the moment demanded it.
"The situation doesn't look good," he said. "I'm not here to be your savior, or to lead you. I'm just a college student trying to survive whatever the f— this is. Don't feel pressured to do anything I tell you, or what anyone else tells you either. At the end of the day, we all have to make our own choices."
He paused for nearly five seconds, letting that sink in.
"Right now, we're in big trouble. Like — we are in so much shit. The police are gone. The army's gone. The government's gone. As we speak, people are out there scavenging just to stay alive, while others keep running nonstop, camp to camp, because someone told them the next one would actually protect them. No matter what they've seen so far.
"And it baffles me, honestly, when you think about it. How's one shelter camp supposed to protect a thousand civilians? For how long? Or better yet — what about the elite? Have you thought about them? If it came down to it, you really think they'd choose some average Joe's life over a wealthy elite whose daddy has political connections? Use your imagination.
"We're in a do-or-die situation. The world's changing, and we need to catch up before we get left behind. I don't expect you to listen to what I have to say. But I do expect you to take action in whatever you decide to do."
The speech landed harder than he'd expected. It didn't fix anything, but it gave the group something like peace of mind about exactly who they were dealing with.
Later that afternoon, once everyone agreed to take part in the mall scavenge, the operation began. Four teams in total, each with their own objective, split off in different directions. As a safety precaution, they'd agreed to regroup at the food court once they'd found what they came for.
As the day wore on, groaning started echoing through the mall's upper floors. The zombies had found their way in.
"You hear that?" Leo asked, going still, half-hoping he'd imagined it — until the smell hit. Rotting flesh, thick enough to make it hard to breathe. That confirmed it.
Lucky for his team, they were already close to the food court. "How long till they reach us?" Jason, one of the other two, asked, breathing hard as they ran.
Leo glanced at him. "By nightfall."
With no electricity, the elevators were dead, forcing them to the stairwell — where they ran straight into the other group.
