Wisnu quickly shunned my mouth shut, hushing me as if someone would listened to us. “Don’t say it out so loud.”

I then pushed his hands off my mouth, gasping for air a little. It’s impossible, how would anyone listened when there’s absolutely nothing that gives a care about it? “Wis, this place’s a wasteland! It’s not like anyone would even ca-“

“You don’t get it. Those passing cargo cars. They seem to took away every healthy animals and throwed it out again…mutated. As if they are trying to hid away something.” He whispered so, remaining cautious to his surroundings.

I too looked around to make sure nothing of what he said is really around us. “Then what are you proposing for this?” Wisnu seems uneased, sweating heavily as we spoke further about it.

“We had found one, a deer but…not in a bad way.” His tone is less shaky, as he wiped away all the sweats off of his plump cheeks and forehead. “It has pale fur and a golden antler. At first, we thought it’d ended up like the rest, until it ward off those pesky soldiers back. Till now, I think it’s still there.”

“And where’s ‘there’ exactly at?” Please don’t say that, please don’t say that, please don’t say-

“Near the Northern district. Luh De warned you about it, didn’t she?” Of course, shouldn’t have placed too many hope for it. Now I’m conflicted, either we bail out of here or find the deer and solve this issue for good. Both are good, yet equally risky as stepping in blindly to a landmine field.

“We can’t. She said it’s risking too mu-” Something ticked me off about all this, and Wisnu can’t help himself but to smile after noticing so. “How did you get there in the first place back and here without getting tore apart?”

Wisnu only let out a hearty laugh, slapping his knee before looking up at me all of a sudden in a serious manner. “Don’t tell anyone other than Sattvam. There’s a mineshaft to the eastern side of the wall. It led straight to the heart of the city if we take the right path.” Doesn’t sound really assuring, but Wisnu and that bastard knows best.

I nodded to his direction as we both then huffed out a heavy breath, having a whole long convo about something like this is just as terrifying as it is exciting. A cure? We can save the rest that were infected, but again, Luh De’s warning still haunts me. If the northern district really is that terrible…no, focus Made, do the right thing, even if it’s risky as heck. This place’s still our home, and as much as I agree to go out from here too, at least we have to leave behind a good trails for the others who are hiding…

We both were startled the moment something almost struck us, a bullet. Wisnu knows what’s up, and looked to the direction where it came from, a man hiding in the shadows now slowly retreating. “Get inside. Now!” Wisnu quickly pulled me and we both slid down the ladder before the assailant can land a bullet down our gullet. It was a close call, and clearly a “do not talk confidential stuff in a gun range” type of warning.

“Are you alright? Did any shrapnels hit you?” He checked all over my body like I’m his only son but I quickly held his hand chuckled, shaking my head to his questions.

“Hey, I’m alright! It’s just too close to comfort with it, just a little shocked.” Wisnu looked relieved enough to my answer, and so am I for the both of our wellbeing. We then stepped back into the distillery to be greeted by Sattvam and his look of disappointment.

“Really? What the hell was even happening to both of you up there?” We both were greatly caught surprised by him as he waited for us to answer in such a shocked, frozen state. I could barely even move a muscle out from his sudden rants.

“We were, uh…j-just overlooking the view! And uh…” Come on Made, think for a good excuse! You’re good at doing this during school, you can still do this now. Sattvam looks doesn’t even help at all, he looks more displeased than any math teacher I’ve ever known in life.

“We’re just having a convo. It’s about ‘that’ place.” Wisnu stepped in with his honesty and Sattvam looked rather shocked, his eyes widened from such answer. Yeah, bet he didn’t expect this ‘dummy’ to get your little silly secrets, huh?

“Fine, listen now you dwarf, this is only a one chance we have in trying to revert things back to normal again, and if you even dare to screw these up I’m gonna-“ His retort genuinely scared me as he backed me further and further away from the front gate until Wisnu interfering and stepped in between us.

“That’s enough now. It won’t matter eitherway, since eventually we all have to get there to both get out and treat this trouble for good.” Wisnu pushed both of us aside before holding onto our hands, pulling us back to the distillery as I stared at Sattvam, with both of us equally giving a look of pure spite to each other.

…..

The clock keeps on ticking, it’s sound echoing across the distillery’s walls, or perhaps it’s my mind occupied with such sound just to fill the now befalling silence. I couldn’t sleep without fearing how is this going to turned out, but all those thoughts turned to fear when yet something creeped along, as I hear clicks and clanking just outside of the window. With few hours away left before sunrise, I carefully reached out to my bag, pulling out my rifle as to not alert whatever that is outside or to woke up the others. But then I decided to go against it when the sounds just…gone, no trace whatsoever.

“It’s luring us.” A whisper shooked me when I suddenly looked and found Sattvam already awake and has been sitting next to my place since minutes ago. “Put your gun down, those things can barely smell trash cans even when it’s right at their face.” He continued, standing up before slowly making his way outside.

“Oi, where the hell are you going?!” I were this close as to yelling before I tone it down, looking back at the others to make sure I didn’t startle anyone before continuing my footsteps, following after Sattvam as he slowly slid the front gate open abit.

We both peeked outside, seeing that the night is about to pass and yet no sign of those things creeping by, dust blowing by the air. Sattvam stepped out, only to be greeted by a grasping bloat of flesh, with what appears to be eyes and line of teeth writhing just under the ground. He almost lost his foot, stepping back only to have us both tumbled back to the floor.

“Ouch, what the f-“ Sattvam shunned my mouth and pulled me back, hiding behind the wall as we took a peek once more, seeing that bloat pulled itself away to a distant alley, and remembering how it apparently had caught a glimpse of us, Sattvam took action and take my rifles quickly, shooting at the thing only to have it escaped at the very last second, merely injured to leave a bloody trail behind.

“Damn it!” He looks in stirring fit of rage, handing my rifles back at me before sitting down huffing a breath, ruffling his already messy hair in stress and looked at me with a rather…sorrowful look? “Please, don’t…tell anyone of this embarrassment.” I genuinely felt concerned, I’ve known him long to understand he’s not really used with failure, especially one that’d endanger others.

“Hey, hey look, you messed up, we all did and it’s alright. I get that this is your first time but now’s not the time to think of it. We need to think of way to fix it rather than staying piqued to a single thing, isn’t that what you told me back at school years ago?” Sattvam’s face seems to lighten up, as he rubbed his eyes off and nodded. For once, this feel lighthearted and not filled with spite of all the thing we had at odds, truly refreshing I dare say.

Sun’s rising. It’s warm light welcomed us as the others began to woke up with Martha being the first, noticing us at the corner of the place sitting. “You two looked like just got blown off by a California level storm, is everything alright?”

“Yeah, yeah, we’re alright. But we might need to do something now after, er, things.” Martha seems to be piqued, slowly walking up to us and crouched down.

“Tell me.” He seems concerned seeing Sattvam in such state, as he remained quiet for the time and let me do the explaining.

“One of those thing knows where we are staying, and if we stayed for a prolonged time they could ravage this place apart.” I kept Sattvam close, holding him by his shoulder as Martha nodded.

“So you propose we’re leaving again?” He whispered, and I only nod to it but were then surprised to see both Wisnu and Raisa have been also observing us with their all jolly fresh look, munching onto some snacks from the distant corner. “…You two heard all of it.”

“Do a rewind, I missed the what happened if we stay here longer part.” Raisa raised her hand while telling so, as Wisnu giggled from her silly request of to our little discussion.

Luh De stepped in with plate full of plastered cups and snack to eat for the morning, huffing before sitting next to us as well. “Look, we can’t just go anywhere around here anymore. Many of the streets were either infested or blocked off by rubbles. Beside, where should we go now?”

All of us were in silence, but then Wisnu seems to notice something across the wall, covered in torn papers and rust that seeps to it’s surface. A poster of the bay’s most prominent electronic provider business, the Simulacrum Corp. “I think we have found an answer to that.”

“No sh*t Sherlock that place’s a Patient Zero of this outbreak, we are not heading there.” Martha stood up, crossing his arm as he gave a disgusted look about such choice being brought up. “There must be another shelter we can use for the time being…”

“…We have to go there.” Sattvam blurted out in the middle of it, with everyone shocked as he tried to stood up with my help, never seen him this limp before. “The communication center. We can use it to contact an evacuation and bail us out.”

Luh De stepped up as her face looks rather disappointed from hearing Sattvam’s statement. “It’s dangerously close to the Northern District, Martha may tried to save our lives right now.” She begged, holding Sattvam’s hand on hers now with a pleading look. “Please.”

Sattvam only stood there quietly, shaking his head as he pulled Luh De for a hug, comforting them both before letting her go. “I’m sorry. But we have to do it if we want any chance of surviving. I promise, we’ll be alright, yeah?” He said as she then nodded for an answer, now feeling more calmer as she walked off to gather the supplies needed.

“Alright, pack up everyone. We’re leaving this very instant.” I said as everyone picked up their bags and began bringing in as much of the important supplies as their bags can handle.

Let’s be a hero, for this once and once only.