Go Forward
1841 Words
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“Lady… Sayuri,” mumbles Jack, covered in ashes and sitting on the sand. The ashes are all over his body, except his face.
Oso and Gwen find him under the shade of a wing of an aircraft. They are curious to see a man with broken prosthetics, mumbling about a goddess. Gwen goes to him and starts to brush away the ashes on Jack using her hands.
“Let's find a safe place to stay, Gwen,” says Oso. “Leave him.”
While kneeling, she turns around looking at him with her eyebrows crooked. She could not believe Oso would say something so cruel. “How could you?!” she bursts out. “He needs help!” Then she continues to clean Jack.
“There's no helping him,” he asserts. “He has been exposed to the toxic elements. Sooner or later, he will die after putting a burden on us. It's best if we leave him alone. And…” He has a deep thought that he is about to say. “how could we even do good things now, when I'm a part of this mess?” He sighs, holding his forehead.
She stops cleaning Jack and says, “Even so, we need to help him.” with a regretful tone. “I'm the one who put you through all of this in the first place. It is my fault to go to Earth so badly... You can leave me here.” She ties fabric over Jack's nose to avoid inhaling the ashes even just for a slight.
Oso looks at her from behind as she lifts the unconscious Jack. She has her sight on the horizon, not knowing where is the best place to go. Oso finds her pathetic because she does not know what she's doing. He is stuck on that same ground, contemplating what is he going to do now. He catches up to her and grabs Jack from her back.
“You're going in the wrong way,” he says. “Let's go there,” he points to the east, opposite of the way she was about to go.
She squints to see what is there but she could not. The ashes become thicker as the distance grows. She stirs and realizes he is walking towards there now. “To where?” she asks, excitingly grinning under her mask.
“To the City of Ra—if it still exists.” He narrows his eyes.
“What's it like there?”
“If it was before this, I remember it was like Skadi Mons but bigger, with towering buildings and millions of people.”
“Wow!” she exclaims. Her eyes shine through the goggles of her mask.
“Don't keep your hopes up. It's probably doesn't look like that anymore.”
The City of Ra is indeed, does not look like that anymore. Jasper can see it clearly as he watches it through the hole in the wall of a building they decided to stay. He can see the nearest crater where he thinks Jack was. Judging by its size, and the whole week they tried to search but not a single trace of him, they accepted that he never made it.
“Jasper,” says Hiroki behind him. “I have rations to share with everyone. You should come.”
Jasper scratches his head—that has been always itchy for a while now. He looks at Hiroki over his shoulder and says, “I'm fine. Others can have it.”
“No, you are the thinker and the right hand of Lady Sayuri. You should eat to think clearly.”
“Yes, I'm a thinker but not the only one. She has you and Prisha now. Also, she never said that I'm her right hand as far as I remember.”
“She didn't but that's what you are to her as we see it.”
“Right,” he nods in realization. “Alright, I better eat.”
They return to the room where they stay. When they enter, Sayuri is in the dark corner of the room, cleaning her katana with a cloth. Hyun is lying on the ground with sheets over his body although he does not need them. He has not taken in any blood for a while now. Sleeping is the best thing he could do to pacify his hunger. Prisha is sitting on a chair, thinking about Steven. He has been a brother to her for a long time. Losing him puts great weight on her heart. Hiroki goes to her and has been trying to comfort her but never worked. He is disappointed in himself. Jasper stands there at the door, looking at his comrades' faces. Never have he has seen such a sight of his comrades having no idea how to continue. The apocalypse is unforgiving.
“I guess just simply surviving won't do us any good,” he says. Sayuri, Prisha, and Hiroki look at him. “We can't stay here, do nothing, and starve to death.” Slowly, his grin turns to a smirk. “We got a lot of hell to go through before we run out of ideas in what to do. Lady Sayuri,” he calls her. With a glare, she gives him her attention. “I have the impression that those masked dudes are behind all of this. They will be out in the open somewhere in parts of the world. Sooner or later, we will find out where the guy with the golden mask is. If we stay here, we won't be able to-”
“I never said I'm gonna stay here,” she cuts.
Like wildfire, his excitement lights up with his eyes glowing green. “Of course, you do, my lady,” he bows. “Prisha,” She looks at him. Her eyes are tired of crying all day. “I'm not good at showing my condolences but I consider Steven as my friend just like all of you here. And I know it when I say that he wants you to go forward. He's the type of guy who would want that to his little sister.”
His smile is not a smirk but a normal yet kind one. This unusual expression from him makes Hiroki and Prisha know that he is sincere. She sobs even more and tries to get rid of her tears. Hiroki rubs her back and holds her hand. For a moment, Jasper thinks that he just made it worse so he smiles looking to the side with his eyes wide open.
“Okay,” she sobs. “I'll keep moving forward… for his sake.”
“That's our Prisha!” he points two of his index finger at her. He clasps his hands then walks to Hyun—still sleeping on the floor. “Hey,” He pokes him with his foot. “wake up.”
With a blank expression on his face, Hyun's bright red eyes open to look at Jasper. “What is it?”
“Your lady wants to go and kill someone. Are ya gonna just stay here and sleep?” he laughs.
“Stop saying that as if you don't know me.”
“I do and I know that you're ready to go asap just like all of us now.”
Jasper smirks while helping Hyun sit up. His thin and pale bare chest is showing. Except for him, everyone else eats the food Hiroki has gathered for them. They are not that bad since they are made up mostly of canned food. After that, they prepare to leave. They gather their things, wear their masks, and set out.
In the streets, dead bodies are everywhere. They are getting buried by the radioactive ashes. If Sayuri and her companions are not wearing masks right now, the stench will be unbearable. For they can smell traces of it going through the filters of their masks. The survivors are “lively” as they run around scavenging things from every store. Everything is free. No need to be polite and pay at the counter.
All of a sudden, Sayuri quickens her pace and goes ahead of the group. She turns to the left and enters a store. The glass panes are shattered. She goes through it and sees the racks where food and beverages are filled, now empty like soulless bodies. The fridges are empty, save the money in the cashier—which is not important anymore.
“I said, give me that!” shouts a man. His angry voice fills the place. He is right around the corner, covered by the racks. “Don't let me say it again or I'll kill you!”
“No!” a voice of a boy denies.
Sayuri goes there and sees a man with a knife, threatening a little boy holding a pack of chips. The man looks back and sees Sayuri. He points the knife at her.
“Whoever the hell you are, go away!” he threatens. All he gets from her are her narrowing eyes. With a tilt of her head, she makes the tip of the knife barely touching his throat. He walks back, afraid of the knife until his back is against the wall. “What the… a goddess?” he asks. He wants to swallow because of his fear but he is afraid that his throat will touch the sharp knife if he does.
She turns to look at the boy as he looks at her in amazement behind that fabric covering his face. Then he runs away without saying anything. The knife clatters on the floor after ceasing her control over it. The man runs away panting after holding his breath for too long. She bites her lip in anger. Everything is not right. This apocalypse made a man desperate enough to kill a little boy for a simple bag of chips. Her palm is squeezing her forehead trying to keep herself calm. Then she stops just as she senses shady presences from afar.
Just as she exits the store, Hyun is devouring a masked man's blood. His weight returns to normal as well as his energy and appearance. Hiroki and Prisha are looking calm but Hyun and Jasper are sneering, looking at the far end of the street in the north.
“It seems that there's a street masquerade party today, my lady,” says Jasper, chuckling.
“Well, do you mind if I dance with them?” she asks, unsheathing her katana.
“Enjoy yourself, my lady,” he retorts and giving Hyun a fist bump. “Enjoy your first dance with her.”
“I am honored,” he bows to him and they laugh. He rises, their faces drop serious.
No more jokes, as their lady is already walking in the middle of the street with her violet fire. Even the ashes are burning again.
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- Writer
