35 The Gas Station

Their initial plan was to head back into the city and find a nice place to settle down for a while they made plans for the future. However, now that Aida was unconscious, they had to make other plans.

The first thing to do was to prioritize Xiao Ai's recovery. Not only was Xiao Ai very important as a member of their "family," she was also crucial in providing them information on what to do next and confirming whether Aida was truly okay.

No one knew when Aida would wake up. Based on the infected at the airport who were still unconscious, it seems highly likely that she would take a while before waking up. However, the dosage used was clearly way beyond ethical standards of what a normal human could survive, so they were concerned about the outcome even if Aida's body was special. They did not want to leave anything up to chance.

Yukio was carefully holding Xiao Ai in his hands as he looked down worriedly. This was his very first friend aside from his two brothers. Light had always kept the twins safe inside the house. He even had them home schooled for fear that their relatives would find creative ways to harm them or that the other kids would bully the twins for having no parents.

Rin sat beside Yukio, gnawing on a couple bars as he stuck his head out the window, watching the scenery excitedly. He had just woken up and did not know what was going on, but really enjoyed this new freedom. Rin struggled with homeschooling and staying in the house although he understood Light's intentions. He saw this apocalypse as a blessing rather than a curse.

After further discussion, they decided to drive to the gas station nearby. Light had seen the gas station when they were driving in, so knew that the path was relatively deserted. It was in the outskirts of the city so they were unlikely to encounter many people - Enraged or otherwise.

After a short drive, they had reached the gas station. Light instructed Ace to drive around the gas station first to check for signs of activity. There was none.

Next it was time for Rin and Yukio to take action. Both were refreshed and ready. Aida's blood helped erase all the accumulated fatigue that they had experienced from fighting their way out of the city.

Rin and Light hopped off the car quietly. They would act as the scouts to secure the perimeter. Each of them were holding a gun in their hands, ready to act on a moments notice. They walked up to the entrance of the store and paused as they waited for Yukio to climb onto the roof of the car.

Yukio was in charge of covering them from behind. Ace was in charge of watching over the safety of Aida and Xiao Ai as he was the weakest combatant. While he wasn't too familiar with combat, he could tell the trio had an effective system in place. It made a lot of sense now, how they were able to escape from the city.

Light took the lead to open the door to the store. There was a light jangle from the bell as he opened it. The lights in the store were still on, so they were able to see everything clearly. Light and Rin entered the store cautiously.

Nobody appeared to be around, and the entire door was silent. Walking down every aisle, they saw no sign of activity. The cash register was intact and none of the snacks on the shelves seemed to have been touched.

After inspecting the main area, they checked the bathroom and the manager's backroom. Both were devoid of people as well. They also found a small closet room, but it was locked so they gave up trying to inspect it.

Once they had inspected the entire area, Rin opened his mouth, intending to call Ace over to the store. But before he could do that, Light covered his mouth and gestured with his hands to be quiet.

Although there was no sign of activity, Light could sense the smell of blood in the air and a feeling of dread kept him from lowering his guard. Since his father's death, he had grown incredibly sensitive to the smell of blood. On a day to day basis, this ability was a huge detriment for him. He would be overcome with guilt every time he smelled blood, so he began to actively avoid entering hospitals or being near anyone with an open wound even if it meant cancelling a meeting. The smell made him nauseous. Here in the apocalypse, his keen sensitivity to blood had become one of his greatest weapons.

While Light could not confirm whether or not there was actually anyone in the store, the smell of blood alerted him that there might be something wrong. It was better safe than sorry.

He gestured to Rin again, and they circled the store a couple more times but still did not find anything. Rin started to get impatient and spoke aloud, "See brother? There's no one here! You're overreacting like usual."

Light was still skeptical, but acceded to Rin's statement. They had already covered the entire area and there was no sign of life. Perhaps the perpetrators had already left and took the body with them?

Turning around, Light and Rin started to head towards the exit, making their way past the aisles of snacks. They did not notice a large shadow quietly creeping up from behind, slowly inching closer.

Just as they were opening the door to the exit, the shadow launched itself at Light.