S.O.S Radio

In the end, Asaki never replied to Celia's question, himself not even sure of the answer. Seeing how much the buildings were destroyed, how much the streets and vehicles had, or were, burning... It was already fair enough to show how dangerous and powerful these creatures were.

After a quick glance at the doors and windows, him and Celia slowly started to climb up the stairs, the Aurora now holding a fire poker she stole from the fireplace. Not worth the axe that Asaki was holding, but still sharp enough to be as effective as a sword in the hands of a great swordsman ; Or... Swordswoman, to be more accurate.

The duo had, indeed, decided to check on the bedrooms. Sleeping on the floor in a February's night as the heating wasn't working, not being a great idea at all.

And of course, it was Celia whom proposed the idea. Asaki at the beginning, more willing to just stay under the table and don't do anything too risky.

"When I'll say so, prepare yourself to face what could hide behind one of those doors, okay ?"

The urge to just shake his head and then come back to the table only grew stronger, as the Aurora's hand, now totally standing before the first wooden door, reached its handle. Asaki grabbed the axe with both of his hands, and prepared for the worst.

Since when did things escalate that much ? Why was he following an unknown red-haired Aurora inside of a city, where monsters supposedly crawled everywhere, as he was now literally burgling someone's house.

As the door opened, a high-pitched squeak echoed inside of the entire house, only ending once the door brutally slammed against the wall.

Ready to face anything, or anyone, the two survivors readied their weapon, waiting for any danger hiding deep into the shadows to emerge.

But nothing came out...

Absolutely nothing.

After Celia and Asaki checked on the two others doors ; The kid's room and the bathroom, they both sat on the owner's bed, visibly relieved but also... Surprised.

Fearing everything since they awoke didn't really helped with their mental health, truth be told.

"How do we organize the night ? Like, I'll sleep in the hallway while you rest here until 03:00 or 04:00AM, and then it'll be your turn ?"

Asked Asaki, both of his amethyst eyes looking deep into the copper orange eyes of Celia. The young woman, strangely, didn't seem willing at all to do so, looking instead with shame at Asaki, as she slowly asked.

"Wouldn't it be better for you to stay here as well ? You know, just in case."

Even as an Aurora, Celia too could be afraid, and act like everybody. Being one of the strongest woman of her generation didn't mean being able to withstand such a traumatic experience without any difficulty.

In fact, if referring to the girl's words, what she saw would have driven mad almost anybody else. Fleeing away from monsters two times, each time abandoning people she failed to save as her duty yet ordered her to...

With a fainted smile, Asaki nodded, turning his back to the girl as he walked to the door.

"You're right, I'll stay awake while sitting next to you, if anything bad happen it'll be more simple."

So, why was the young man walking to the door, without even looking at Celia ?

"There are some clothes left from the mother who lived in this house, you... Should get changed, to sleep more comfortably."

And as the man opened the door, he added.

"I'll wait outside."

°°°

When Asaki came back, a golden light was filling the room, a flashlight carefully putted on the ground as an improvised lamp.

Laying on the pristine white sheets, Celia quickly hid behind the blanket, now wearing a thin black dress, still thick enough to avoid the girl from catching any cold.

A quiet voice elevated from under the blanket, waiting for Asaki to do what it asked before doing anything else.

"Can you turn off the light, please ?"

And so did Asaki, hesitantly sitting next to the girl's shape under the blanket, as he was utterly silent, not wanting to bother the girl any more seconds.

Plus... The situation, and overall ambiance, was really awkward. Even though both were still dying from fear, each second passing by, a small hint of nervousness also started to take place inside of the poor survivor's hearts.

Celia's respiration, at first quick and casually interrupted by coughs and sniffs, finally started to calm down after an hour, where the two teenagers stayed completely silent. It looked like the girl finally managed to fall asleep, while Asaki difficulty continued to stay awake.

Far, dozens of meters away from the house, still sometimes echoed explosions, howling and... Even what seemed to be screams. But after she managed to push Asaki's body through almost the entire city, Celia was absolutely too tired to even care, her respiration still as calm as always.

During the multiple hour when Asaki had to stay awake, the young man didn't lose any second, thinking about multiple crazy theories and doubts about their current situation.

'What's really happening ? If monsters didn't appear from nowhere, then, what did attack me ? And... Where do they come from ?'

There existed multiple possibilities: Like, a failed scientific experience, or even worse... A biological weapon.

But Asaki quickly dismissed this idea, if this was the case, why didn't he and Celia transformed when they were outside, or wounded by the creatures, as zombies would usually contamine you.

'After all, I do remind of something like a reptil-like monster wounding me badly at the leg, or the back, and suddenly flying across thousand of trees...'

But then...

'I can't recall anything about what happened once the bird grabbed me from the ground...'

Soon, after the young man had passed the majority of the night thinking and day-dreaming about everything and nothing, Celia slowly awoke, now ready to take turn on night guard.

At first reluctant at the idea to be seen sleeping, Asaki refused, and simply asked to continue guarding them as she could sleep more.

But after the powerful Aurora had forced him to go under the blanket, it only took a few seconds for Asaki to also deeply fall asleep, vanquishing the fear which haunted him since the beginning in no time.

For Celia, she also spent the night about day-dreaming, and thinking about everything she could recall of. After a few hours, the girl even quietly started to look even more throughout the owner's stuffs, trying to find something interesting.

At first, the few dresses, pants, sweat or long coat peculiarly attracted her attention, Celia even trying some of them with a neutral expression. She didn't really know anything about mode or style, everything suiting her at the perfection since she was kid. So... Finding so many things here... It truly surprised her...

Like this, Celia had quickly spent the rest of the night trying some clothes, travel bags, and other stuff like that, keeping to look everywhere, even in the old carton's box of the couple.

"What's hiding inside of this one...?'

A pant, a skirt, some empty bottles, a bag...

"Emergency Alert ! This is not an exercise, I repeat, this is not an exercise !'

Something suddenly turned on at the bottom of the box Celia was looking at, her hands slightly pressing against... Something hard, and trembling, following the same rhythm than the presentator's voice.