Chapter 10: Humiliate
Chapter 10: Day 5.1
the two groups are on their way to their town, Mico is currently finding a big truck to fit their needs, while Amy is loading up tons of gasoline.
The Gonzalez family, however, is on their way to their town.
As they get out their pick-up truck, parking it in front of the supermarket, Zack whistled, "This store is ours!" He shouted, "Can you keep it down? even just for now?" Her sister scolded her.
"Stop the chit-chat, you two. Let's end this fast before nightfall," Their father said, as they scavenged their way to the supermarket, Mico is on the road on the way to the nearest supermarket in the town.
He stopped his car, noticing that a pickup truck was parked nearby, he pull out his gun and cautiously checked the surroundings. After all the surroundings were clear, he then made his way inside the supermarket.
Sneaking inside as he walked around the supermarket, he didn't see anyone. Meanwhile, the Gonzalez family continued to get what they needed.
As time ticked by, Mico came across a person. He aimed his pistol at the individual and shouted, "Hands behind your back!" The man, holding an emergency axe, lay motionless in the corner with vacant eyes.
"Hey... you alright? Did you get bitten?" I asked, concerned. He glanced at me, seemingly indifferent, and replied, "Just shoot me."
"What? Why?" I couldn't understand this bizarre request. What was driving him to such desperation?
He sighed heavily, "I have no reason to keep going. This world is pure madness. The more you survive, the more you suffer. So, what's the point of staying alive? My family, friends, even my fiancée... they all died right before my eyes." He then turned his gaze towards me.
"Hey, why are you fighting so hard to survive? Do you have a reason?" he inquired.
"Well, maybe I do, maybe I don't. But what's wrong with trying to stay alive? Even without this disaster, we all know we'll die someday, right? We'll experience both suffering and joy. There's nothing we can do about it except accept it..." I calmly responded.
"For me, life is like a game. You only get one chance. There's no going back to fix mistakes, but you can use them as stepping stones to succeed. Even if many have perished, we have to keep moving forward," I explained.
"Move on? Do you think you understand what I've been through just to survive?" he snapped, his anger directed at me. "I did everything I could to protect them! To protect what was important to me! And now, without them..." He paused, overcome with emotion. But before he could continue, I interjected.
"You're nothing without them? So, they were your only reasons to live? Is that it? And now that they're gone, you want to throw your life away?" I start to talk
"For every person I hate, you're the one I don't want to become. Those who sacrificed themselves for you—do you really want to face them in the afterlife like this? They might regret giving up their lives for someone like you. 'To think my sacrifice was in vain.' HAHAHAHA! What a joke you'd be," I scolded him sharply. Infuriated, he swung his fist and landed a punch on my face.
A heavy silence hung between us for a while. "I won't let a kid humiliate me like this. What do you know about life anyway?" he declared, storming off to find a bottle of alcohol. He cracked it open and downed its contents in one gulp.
"Hey, what's your name?" he slurred.
"Mico," I replied, rubbing my sore cheek.
"Alex. Mind if I stick around until the bitter end? I want to witness the moment you lose everyone you love and see if you can still say the same things to me. HAHAHAHAHA! Now, that would be interesting," he said, clearly drunk.
After the tension subsided, Alex asked, "So, what's the plan here? Are we taking all this stuff?"
"Not right now. First, we need to find a big truck to transport everything," I explained.
"A truck, huh? That's why you came here, right? Since they're the ones delivering supplies to the supermarket. Good plan. But instead of going where they're headed, we should go where they keep the trucks," Alex suggested.
"Where would that be?" I inquired.
"Think about it. Every town has a coke supplier. It's just a five-minute drive from here. Want to give it a shot?" he proposed.
"And how am I supposed to trust you?" I hesitated.
He smirked and replied, "Well, you have a gun, don't you?"
I pondered for a moment, realizing that an extra pair of hands could be valuable in this situation. "Having another helping hand might prove useful," I conceded.
On Amy's hand, She is still filling the gas truck she found nearby, "This is boring," she said, holding 4 gasoline pumps at once on top of the gas truck, two big trucks then came to the gas station, it was Alex and Mico.
"Hey! Amy, I'm back!" I said, walking towards her, "By the way, I found this," and pointed towards Alex, "He's kinda broken, but he's useful," I said
"What am I to you? a thing?" Alex said
Amy glazes at Alex, "Don't worry, we can trust him, I think," I said, reassuring Amy.
"How can you be so sure?" She asked
"I'll do it from here, I have no other intention, I came and joined you just to laugh at Mico. If you ever die, he's a headache to me after all the things he said, I'll be sticking to you guys, I don't have anywhere else to go anyway," He said
"..." Amy, keep her silence
"There's no point, doubting him now, as long as we take out precautions, we'll be able to work it out, and you said it yourself, didn't you? another helping hand would be useful," I said
Amy smiled, "I guess we have no choice then, Filling this thing would take a while, so while waiting, look for a generator or a solar system, while on it go to the police station to grab everything they have, be back here by noon"
"Oh, by the way, this gas station has an automatic click. You don't have to hold the pump like that," Alex pointed out.
Amy looked at the pump and realized it indeed had an automatic feature. "... Thanks," she murmured.
"Alex! What the heck are you still doing? Let's get going!" I called out impatiently.
We hopped into a nearby car and hit the road. "Do you know of any places where we can find a generator?" I asked Alex.
"A generator? What would we need that for?" he questioned.
This was sensitive information that might not be wise to disclose just yet. "Having electricity in this post-apocalyptic world would be incredibly useful," I replied, keeping my response vague yet truthful.
"If you're talking about a standby generator, I don't think we'll be able to move or handle it ourselves. It requires time and expertise. We'd probably end up damaging it and wasting our efforts. As for the ones that run on gasoline and are easier to acquire, I don't think this town has any, there might be but I don't know where exactly it is located as it is private" Alex explained.
"I see. How about solar panels or something similar?" I inquired.
"Ah, solar panels. It's been a popular trend to power entire houses with solar energy. They claim it's cheaper than relying on traditional electricity. That's why many new houses have been equipped with solar panels. In this town, there should be at least two or three houses with them," Alex shared.
"Then let's head there," I suggested.
Amy leaned against the truck, her arms crossed as she surveyed the gas station convenience store she had just stocked. The sun was high in the sky, and she couldn't help but wonder where the other two were. "It's already noon. Where are those two?" she muttered to herself. "I finished loading everything onto the truck. I might as well go find them before it gets dark."
Sliding into the driver's seat, Amy started the engine and began her search through the town. It didn't take long for her to spot Alex and me on top of a building, hauling away an entire roof instead of taking the solar panels off individually. Frustration bubbling inside her, Amy parked the truck and stormed over, shouting, "Hey! Why are you taking so long?"
We froze in our tracks, realizing we were in trouble. Amy jumped out of the truck, her expression a mix of anger and disbelief. "What are you two doing?" she demanded, her voice carrying across the rooftop.
"We're taking some solar panels!" I shouted back, hoping she could hear me.
"Then why the hell are you taking out the whole roof?" Amy's voice grew even louder, echoing through the street.
"Well... We thought it would be easier that way, taking them all out at once," I explained, my voice tinged with a hint of defensiveness.
"Are you stupid?" Amy's words cut through the air, her frustration palpable. "That's why you two haven't come back yet! Taking solar panels one by one is much easier!"
I raised an eyebrow, a touch of skepticism in my tone. "Oh really?"
Alex chimed in, trying to diffuse the situation. "Well... that's why it took us so long to remove the first one."
"You mean you've already finished with the other one?" Amy's exasperation was evident. "Oh, for heaven's sake! You two... Now tell me, how are we going to transport all of those solar panels?"
I shrugged, offering a suggestion. "Using the truck?"
Amy threw her hands up in frustration. "What? Oh my god, you two! Get down here right now!"
With that, Amy launched into a scolding tirade, emphasizing the logistical challenges and the impossibility of transporting everything to our sanctuary as it is deep in the forest. Her words hung in the air as a headache-inducing reminder of our blunder.
"There's no point scolding you two. Let's finish this quickly and go back. We have lots of things to do"
Hours past, it's been 3 P.M., they got back, so is the Gonzalez family, as the shadow of night surround the whole area, those things start to appear.