Preparing

"This should do it." Leo looked at his handy work and nodded his head.

"What is this?" Nora flew down from his shoulder and looked at the long sleeved shirt and pants that now had pads on them.

"Self made armor. My sewing skills are not the best, but I figure with this many stitches, it should hold up well. These pads are something I used to use in martial arts training when I was younger. It should help me at least protect myself when I go out in the morning." Leo had hoped he could have lasted a little longer, but he had no choice but to go out. He had to make sure he hit the stores before the zombies died down too much. If he went now, he had a better chance of getting the things he needed and could horde it better. For this reason, he already had his old duffle bag and a large camping backpack ready to go.  He planned to load up on everything he could that would last a while. One bag for food, the other for water.

[Learned Skill: Armor Crafting…]

"Hey Nora, I can learn new skills?" Leo asked.

"Yes.  As long as you gain passive knowledge in it. By creating this set of armor, you were able to unlock the armor crafting skill. Now you can gain experience by crafting more armor to upgrade your skill." Nora explained as she flew over and looked curiously at the armor. "This is not bad. It should stop a few bites from a zombie. "

"I am glad it gets your seal of approval. I think with this and my sword, I should be okay. I will use a bicycle downstairs as a mode of transportation." Leo did not know if he could ride it right away, but he felt if he had something extra to help move his load, he could get more things.

"Just try not to die!" Nora smiled as she said this and landed back on Leo's shoulder. "After all, I am finally free of that space and can roam around. I would hate to disappear so soon."

"Hmmm? Nora, if I die, does that mean….." Leo furrowed his brow. He could speak and talk to Nora, so he thought of her as a live person, just small.

"Each system is bound to its host. It's kind of like your world's idea of marriage, except there is no such thing as a divorce. Well, I guess death is a form of divorce." Nora replied. "So try not to die, okay?" 

Leo finally understood. Nora was only allowed to be here because she was tied to him. This meant her ability to continue on living was relying on his own abilities to stay alive. Leo sighed. He suddenly felt a huge weight on his shoulders. "I will do my best." He did not wish to die anyway, so he could only try harder. 

Leo yawned. He had been up all day sewing his makeshift armor. "I should barricade the door first…." 

Leo did not know what kinds of things would happen, so he could only do what he could to make sure his house was not invaded by zombies or at least have something in the way to give him a warning of what was to come. There was also the chance of other humans trying to rob him of his limited supplies. 

Leo did his best to be quiet as he moved what little furniture he had, including the bed frame itself, up against the door. He laid the mattress on the floor so he could still sleep and placed his sword next to him. 

"You can sleep. I will warn you if something happens." Nora could not do much other than give Leo information, but she could, at the very least, keep watch for him. 

"Thanks. I will be counting on you then." Leo knew the two of them were in this together. As long as everything Nora said was true, then the two of them were locked together till death did they part. 

Nora nodded and watched as Leo laid down and closed his eyes. She flew over and sat on his stomach, looking up at his handsome face. She was worried. She may not seem it by the way she spoke, but she was worried that Leo would not make it. She wanted to feel this feeling of limited freedom. She could also tell her host was not a bad person. She wanted to help him as much as possible, but she was limited on information unless it was system based. She only knew the world pre apocalypse. She was not given much information on how the virus spread. What caused it, or what things would happen in the future. She only knew that zombies would drop gummies to allow her host to reduce the infection, as well as other items to help him deal with the situations ahead.

Luckily, the night slowly ticked by. Leo did not sleep all the well, but he did get to sleep for a few hours. His mind just would not let him get a solid sleep. He figured he would need to get used to this new way of sleeping. Sleeping lightly will keep him alive. The only good thing about it was that every time he did wake, he saw Nora still on top of him, staring at the door, watching things closely. He felt grateful that he was not completely alone in this situation.

While Leo was trying to catch some shut eye, next door, in a studio exactly like Leo's, a girl sat looking at the items in front of her. "As soon as first light comes, I will need to head out."

The girl looked at the empty backpack and baseball bat. "Hopefully, I will be okay…. But if I wait too long, I will run out of food, and then there might be nothing left…."

The girl's brown hair was tied into two braids that draped over her shoulders. Her bangs were slightly messy as she kept going over everything. She pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose as he green eyes flashed slightly under the light from outside. The anxiety and worry was written all over her face. She knew what she needed to do, but she was worried about getting infected with the virus. She even had a scarf laid out to wrap around her face, just in case. 

She took a deep breath, trying to calm her nerves. "Becca, you can do this… You just need to muster up your courage."