Into the unknown

Sofia couldn't believe her ears, and her face immediately lit up.

"You mean it?"

Kia nodded, but his expression remained stoic. "Yes, I mean..."

"Thank you," Sofia interrupted, embracing Kia in a tight hug. This caught him by surprise; his eyes widened, and he practically shoved her away as he quickly took a step back.

Sofia looked at him confused, but her confusion quickly turned into excitement at the thought of seeing her mom again. That is, if she hadn't turned into a monster.

"You stink, you should go take a bath," Kia said, now looking in the other direction, his hand brushing the back of his neck.

"What? But I don't know how," she said cutely.

"How is that possible? How do you not know how to take a bath?" he asked.

Sofia shrugged. "I never had to do it by myself before, Papa always helped me," she said.

"How old are you again?" Kia stared down at her with a furrowed brow.

She raised her tiny fingers in the air. "Six," she mouthed.

Kia could only stare, his mouth hanging open as if lost in a trance. Not knowing what else to do, he bit down on his bottom lip and was lost in thought.

"Mister, can you help me?" Her words broke through Kia's thoughts, bringing him back to the present.

Kia blinked, and his eyes widened. "What?" he repeated, slightly hoarse.

She looked at him with big, innocent eyes. "Can you help me take a bath?" she asked again.

The air became awkward for Kia as he tried his best to hide his embarrassed face. "This is what we will do," he said and pulled her hand, guiding her across the small hallway and stopped in front of the bathroom door. He opened the door and shoved her in before she could react.

"Undress yourself, get in the bathtub, and do as your father taught you," he blurted out, his face burning with embarrassment.

Confused, the little girl blinked. "But Papa isn't here," she said softly.

"Just do what feels right."

The words came out in a jumble. He was about to step out of the bathroom when Sofia spoke again.

"I can't get my pants down." Her head was lowered as she struggled with her tiny fingers at the buttons of her pants.

THUD!

The sound of the door being slammed against her face left her confused.

"You're six! That's the perfect age to figure it out yourself," Kia said, standing behind the closed door with Sofia now locked inside all by herself.

He heard an exaggerated sigh followed by the sound of water, which signaled that Sofia had started her bath. Thankfully, there was still water flowing through the pipe. Kia let out a sigh of relief, happy to finally have some quiet. Now, all he had to do was figure out a safe way out of here. He sniffed his shirt. "Agh... I need a shower too," he muttered to himself.

Beep! Beep! Beep!

Kia was still seated on the floor when he heard a beeping sound coming from his watch. He looked down and saw a red light flashing from the watch.

"What is it this time!" he sounded irritated but still pressed on the button.

A holographic screen appeared before him.

[SYSTEM STATUS: ACTIVE

|SYSTEM TIME: 28hrs

|POINTS: 130

|RANK: SILVER

|ABILITIES: Spotting infected.

|DAILY TASKS: Incomplete.]

That was weird, Kia thought as he stared down at the screen. The "daily tasks" part of the screen confused Kia. It was showing completed just yesterday and now showing incomplete. What does that mean?

But then it immediately clicked as he recalled what the system had mentioned earlier. With a sigh, he pushed back any reckless thoughts.

"Alright, let's see what we are dealing with here," he said aloud, tapping on the screen to bring out more information on the daily task.

[DAILY TASKS | 50 points]

-Gather food and water from nearby buildings

-Secure the perimeter of the safe zone

-Collect supplies for the abandoned warehouse.

"Wait, what is this?" There indeed wasn't food in this house and only a bottle of water left. Gathering that wouldn't have been an issue as he had to do it anyway, and the same could be said for securing the perimeter of a safe zone. It wasn't different from what he had done here. But what he couldn't do was collect supplies from an abandoned warehouse, which was the number one hiding place for zombies in horror movies.

What was the point of putting oneself in a dangerous situation when one could avoid it altogether? He was going to die, after all; there wasn't any need to rush the process. He just needed to get Sofia safely to her mom, and whatever happens afterward becomes irrelevant.

Kia remained on the floor, and as the silence stretched on, he found himself wondering about Sofia's mother. What if she had also been infected by the illness that was turning people into zombies? What if they found her and she attacked them? He would have no choice but to defend themselves.

His mind raced with scenarios, each one more dire than the last. He shook his head and sighed. This would be harder than he thought.

A few more minutes passed; Sofia was done taking her bath. She put on her old clothes and waited for Kia to be done with his shower.

When Kia was done, he put the bottle of water in a bag and placed the gun in his pocket. The two of them stood in front of the main exit to the house, staring through the broken door.

"Ready," Kia said.

Sofia's heart was beating fast as she clutched Kia's hand tightly. Kia glanced down at the little child who nodded in response, her small face determined, but Kia could see the fear in her eyes.

He sighed, knowing there was no backing down now, and took in a deep breath. With a reassuring squeeze, he led the way out of the house.