CH21 - Change of plans

[Lyon's POV]

'Son if you're reading this then please forgive your parents for being unable to welcome you home. On the same day all of this began, soldiers from a military convoy entered each house and rounded up all of the families in the neighborhood. One of the soldiers was a friend of your father's during his high school years so we managed to ask for a bit of information. The military is rounding up all of the survivors they can find and is bringing them to either Tohoku Iwate Academy or Yoime City Medical Center. Your father told me that he left the keys to that box in a man's paradise. He wouldn't tell me where exactly, saying that you'd easily understand what he meant by it. Please, stay alive my son.'

'Tohoku Iwate Academy... I'd have to go back northeast for this. It should still be outside of the urban sector but they're basically just a few streets apart.' I think to myself after reading the letter that my parents had left. It seems they at least heeded my words to not go to work today but I didn't expect them to be brought to one of the military refugee camps.

I quickly glance at my companions, they had most likely already read the letter by now too which means they're aware of the letter's contents as well. I fold the letter up and tuck it away in one of my pockets, we'll... have to have a meeting on how to proceed from here during dinner.

"Chisato, I need you to gather the contents of the kitchen cabinets. Pile them up on the dining table so we can separate and allocate them to our bags fairly." I tell Chisato who promptly nods to my words, dropping her bag on the living room's floor.

"Ren, your task is the usual. I need you to block the front door with the couch, use the armchair as a barricade for the garage door, and this desk for the door in the kitchen, make sure to lock each door and window beforehand." I tell Ren while pointing my finger to the living room desk as he wordlessly acquiesces to my command.

"Alyssa, I need you to check on the stove to see if it's working. Once you're done, I need you to go look for toiletry supplies like unused toothbrushes, shampoos, soap, and toothpaste there should be some in the kitchen bathroom and the second-floor bathroom." I tell Alyssa who reluctantly lets go of my hand while sporting a worried expression as she heads to the kitchen.

With everyone doing their tasks, I was now left alone inside the living room, it didn't last for long though as I start moving upstairs to go back to my parent's room. I knew exactly what he meant by those words so I entered their bedroom and locked the door behind me as I went closer to the clothing cabinet

'Seriously, you take the weirdest of things with utmost care dad.' I jokingly complain to myself to lighten up my mood as I open one of the drawers which was where his underwear was stored. I empty its contents and remove the false bottom drawer, presenting myself with various playboy magazines that my father kept even after they got married out of a genuine wish in protecting his pre-marriage identity.

I pick up the first magazine on the pile and directly opened it to the central page of the entire magazine, a deed done quite easily considering how a special "bookmark" was taped right in the middle of the chest of a woman wearing a bunny suit. I take out the key and throw the magazine on the floor before turning my attention to the opened cabinet.

I reach deep into the cabinet's interior, taking out a metallic toolbox-like vault that had a length that was longer than my entire arm. I gently leave it on the bed before going to the bedside desk and kneeling on the floor, opening it before taking out a smaller but much wider vault that had the same design as the longer vault.

I open both vaults with the same key I had taken from the magazine and find my father's Type 99 Arisaka Rifle inside the lengthier vault. The wider of the two, in turn, had 3 boxes of 7.7x58mm Arisaka ammunition, one of which had only half of its original number of bullets which meant I only had 50 bullets. Beside the ammo boxes was a gray pouch, similar in size to a fanny pack but smaller in a side-by-side comparison.

'Looks like it's supposed to be secured in place with a belt.' I think to myself as I glance at the pouch's side which had an extension on the top side of the pouch that was supposed to be placed over the belt, and secured in place with an extension that came from the bottom of the pouch. I put it on and empty the contents of the ammo boxes inside before making sure that it's locked in place, sitting down on the bed and laying the rifle on my lap only after I was finished.

I inspect the gun, taking note of its sling, the awkward monopod, the rear sight that was too outrageous for how much it demanded of the user, and its well-maintained overall appearance. I disengage the safety with my palm, the round shape popping out before I pulled the bolt open and carefully pushed in one bullet after another until I had 5 of them loaded in. I push the bolt close and re-engage the safety before standing up and slinging the rifle over my back with the muzzle facing up.

'I don't think anyone else in my group has any experience with guns except for Alyssa, I'm not sure if she has any for shotguns though.' I think to myself as I leave the room and close the door behind me. I hear the sound of a door closing from my right side which was caused by Alyssa who was just leaving the bathroom with a closed box of soap, two bottles of liquid cleaners, and a sealed bottle of shampoo.

She notices me leaving the room of my parents as well before turning her gaze at the rifle that I had slung over me. Her expression morphs from one of worry to shock as she eyes the rifle, probably trying to ascertain if the rifle was the real deal and not just some airsoft gun. She shakes her head and walks up to me with her expression turning back to one of worry, clutching onto the fabric of my hoodie with her free hand while the other held the hygienic supplies from the bathroom.

"The stove is still usable for now at least, I'm almost done with piling up the hygienic supplies too on the dining table. Do you need me for anything else?" Alyssa asks, reporting to me her progress with the task that I had assigned her earlier.

"Yeah, once you're done with your task, come join me in my bedroom since I might need your help." I tell her as I began moving toward my door. Intentionally leaving my request vague as she just gawks at me with her face dusted red with embarrassment before she ran down the stairs to either finish her task or just run off to calm herself down.

I enter my room and eye the furniture inside, ones that I won't be using anymore after tonight since we didn't have the luxury to stay here for long. I leave the rifle on the bed before I moved closer to my cabinet, pushing away the duffle bags that contained the three month's worth of canned food and bottles of water to take out a small locker from deep inside. I throw it onto my bed before sitting down on my chair, a computer desk standing in front of me with both of its sides flanked by drawers.

The desk had a small space beneath its center, a white fake wall that hid a much bigger vault behind it which needed to be pushed aside for it to get out of my way. The vault was too gaudy for me to carry out of its small space so I had to push the chair away before forcibly fitting myself inside said space.

I take out my set of keys and use one of them to open the vault, the Miroku MK60 shotgun being exactly where I had left it. I take it out of its vault and crawl out of the small space as I hear the door to my room open. I glanced at Alyssa who was still nervously fidgeting with her skirt before stopping altogether as she glanced at me who was still sitting on the ground with the unloaded shotgun in my arms.

"...Hi?" I greet her as we spend the first few seconds of her opening the door just staring at each other. I stand up from the floor before sitting down on my chair again as she enters the room and closes the door behind her before looking at her surrounding, observing the contents of my room while I just wait for her to finish with what she's doing.

"What do you need me to do?" Alyssa asks as she sits down on the bed while facing me. I stand up from my chair and sit beside her as her eyes follow my every movement, I put my free hand on the small locker that I had left on the bed earlier and pull it closer to me. I leave the shotgun to the side and settle the vault down on my lap before using another key from my set to open it. Revealing to both of us the boxes of 20 gauge shotgun ammo that I had bought prior to the outbreak, all of which accumulated to a total of 200 bullets.

"I need you to tell me whether or not you have any experience with firing a shotgun." I answer Alyssa's previous question before leaving the small locker on my bed beside the shotgun as I stood up and moved closer to my cabinet to look for something to carry the ammo with.

"Just a bit, my father only taught me how to use his handgun which was an M911. I did try using a few similar sporting clay shotguns a few times though, just not a real one." Alyssa replies, not knowing that my attention had been taken away the moment that she had mentioned her father's handgun. My hands turn numb as my grip over an actual fanny pack that I had taken out of my cabinet fails me, the bag falling to the ground as Alyssa finally notices that there was something wrong with me.

"I'm sorry but, please don't let me turn into one of them." A request that carried a voice similar to Alyssa's rings through my head with the only difference being the maturity and the lack of "life" behind her tone. My perception flashes back to a house with her laying down on my lap as I felt her pale and cold hands hover over my cheek.

"Lyon? Lyon, hey are you ok? What's wrong, do you need anything!? Lyon, I need you to focus!" She questions me, managing to slightly bring me back to the real world with her voice rising in volume in the latter half of her questioning. She stands up from the bed and moves closer to me, both hands crushing my two cheeks as she brings my face closer to her own.

I felt her soft and warm lips, the warmth became an obvious sign that she was there, that she was still alive alongside me and not a lifeless body because of my own hands. Her kiss became the final nail in the coffin as it fully brought my mind out of its dangerous thoughts. I reciprocated the kiss while pushing her down on the bed, making sure that she wouldn't get hurt by any of the guns and ammo that I had left on it.

We spent a few seconds savoring each other's lips, I wasn't stupid enough to do "that" sort of thing while everyone was awake downstairs so we merely hugged each other afterward. I place my head over where her heart was, her quickly pulsating beat becoming another form of comfort for me after being reminded of what I had done to her before.

"Lyon, are you okay now?" Alyssa asks, her voice carrying a worried tone as I felt her arms around me tighten with her embrace. I tighten my hold over her as well before raising my head in an attempt to answer her.

"Yes... I'm fine, everything's ok now." I quietly answer her as I pushed my head down over her body again, letting our tightly packed bodies feel each other's warmth and heartbeat. I hear the door to my room open, causing me to pull my head back up as I found Chisato standing outside of the door, her eyes betraying her otherwise calm expression as she stared at the two of us.

"I see... we're done with the tasks Lyon, Just come down once uhm "this" is done." Chisato tells us, coughing right at the end as she closes the door behind her while running down the stairs as quickly as she can. An action quite obvious considering how I heard heavy footsteps quickly going down the stairway.

I look at Alyssa who became a blushing mess again, her eyes darting around the room after she had lost the brave face she was putting on earlier. I return to the position that I had before Chisato's abrupt interruption, spending 30 more minutes just laying down on the bed with Alyssa's warmth comforting me before we went back to doing our tasks.

~2 hours later~

We were already finished with our tasks, and the duffle bags of 3 months' worth of food and water that I kept in my cabinet had already been left in the living room so that it'll be easier to carry into the car. I had yet to decide on who would use the shotgun though so the gun, the ammo, and the fanny pack that came along with it were still ownerless.

Our nightshift schedule changed quite a bit due to the fact that Ren had requested for me to switch schedules with him while Alyssa took my original shift which meant Ren now had the first shift. I didn't know why but the reason for it was the least of my concerns.

We were all sitting down at the dining table eating our dinner when I decided to tell them about the changes that would have to be made after reading my parent's letter. Chisato's house was southwest of here which was directly opposite of where we'd need to go if I wanted to pick up my parents and doing so meant that I'd be unfairly forcing them to go out of their way just for my parents.

"No, why would you even propose that?" Alyssa asks me with a bit of anger laced in her tone. The fact that we'd have to go north just to reach the academy that my parents had mentioned in their letter would force my companions to go further away from our intended destinations. This was why I had proposed to make changes to our plan, ones that had managed to ire a bit of Alyssa's anger.

"Look, I don't want to force you guys to go back north with me. All of you still have parents to meet up with too, Chisato your family is just west of here. Alyssa your family is south of here, albeit on the other side of the river, but you get what I mean right?" I reasoned to them since I'd feel better if all three of them were together since they'd at least be a group.

"Ren, you know how to drive right? He'll be more than capable of taking my role as a driver. We can just meet up somewhere along the way before we all cross the riv-" I explain to them, only to then be interrupted as Alyssa slams the table with her hand before leaving us alone.

"You should probably go talk to her, we'll clean up the table and wait for you two to come back." Chisato tells me with a sigh as she stands up with the dirty used plates in hand. I stand up from the table and see Ren give me a thumbs up before standing up to help Chisato clean the table as well.

I check both the living room and the garage for Alyssa but failed to find her in both rooms. I concluded that she was probably somewhere upstairs which was exactly where I went afterward. I check my parent's room only to find it empty before moving toward the door to my room, breathing in and out as I slowly opened the door only to find Alyssa standing in front of a window that faced the front yard.

"Lyon, back at the campus, we all agreed that we'd help each other out with finding our parents... right?" Alyssa asks me, her tone had gone back to the one she'd use while talking to strangers. A distant and cold tone that'd make sure that strangers would keep their distance from her.

"...Yes, we agreed that we'd help each other with finding our parents." I answered Alyssa as I close the door behind me, removing all traces of light that came from the hallway which darkened the room to a degree that only the area close to the window had small traces of light.

"Then why do you want to break that agreement, do you fully understand what doing so would mean for all of us?" Alyssa asks me as she turns to face me, an emotionless mask covering her face as she stared intently at me, waiting for my reply.

"Alyssa... we both know that I can't just ask all of you to come with me. It was purely coincidental that all of our houses weren't too far from our intended route but that isn't the case for the academy. Going with me would mean forcing everyone to move farther away from their parents, farther away from getting out of the city." I tell her, finished with spouting out my reasons.

"Then... take me with you at least. The academy is one of the military-controlled evacuation sites right? That'd mean that there's also a chance that my father is there and not at home." Alyssa begs me as she moves closer and tightly clutches onto my hoodie, her hands unknowingly clutching onto the bulletproof vest as well since she tried her best to hold onto me.

'She isn't wrong, we went to her house in the original timeline too but he wasn't there so there is indeed logic behind her words.' I think to myself as my mind wanders away while contemplating our situation. Alyssa's hands only continue to tighten around the fabric of both my hoodie and the vest as her eyes stared up at mine since I was taller than her.

"I... fine, but we should tell the others at least." I answer her, the previous emotionless mask that covered her face disappearing along with my words as her expressions turn to that of a smile. We leave the room and head back down the stairs before sitting down at the dining table with the others who were just waiting there the entire time.

"We've decided that we should go to the academy first before leaving the city. If you guys want to separate from us, you can take half of the supplies and the handgun as well." I tell them before preparing myself for angered replies or questions from the other two. I felt bad for leaving them considering how we all had an agreement to help each other out so I was more than ready to receive backlash from the two.

"Oh? Cool, when are we leaving and which destination are we gonna go to first? My house or the academy? If possible I'd like it if we go to my house first since it's nearer anyway." Chisato answers, her reply causing me to form a surprised expression on my face.

"Lyon, had you not decided to message me to go to the club meeting room that day, I'd probably be one of those zombies walking in the front entrance of the school. I owe you quite a bit so we can just call it me getting even, ok?" Chisato explains to me as my thoughts became obvious due to the face I was making.

"I don't mind going with you two, my family is way up north anyway and I doubt I'd manage to get out of this city all alone." Ren tells us before drinking the bottle of water in his hand, sighing in satisfaction after he gulped it all down. My eyes wander between the two before turning them to Alyssa who smiles as if she knew this was how they'd reply, she really is quite scary and perceptive sometimes...

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AN: Hey, looks like this is a dry week for power stones, maybe it's because the last chapter didn't have as many exciting scenes as the last week's chapter, who knows? Anyways, I completely understand if you, the readers, found the recent chapters boring but I can't exactly just make every chapter a testosterone-filled fight scene, so I'm sorry I guess.

As for the bad news I've been mentioning in these past chapters, well, my classes are about to begin in a few days and I've been procrastinating on my studies for the college entrance exams so I'll, unfortunately, have to return to the one-chapter-per-week update schedule(Chapters will now be posted every Wednesday starting now). I'll do two chapters per week updates whenever I can but that'd only happen when I don't have a stressful week (Very rare in my school).