FluffyBirdie 750079 | Name: Sorania (Sora for short) | 1,759 wordsThe first thing Sora did when she woke up was to check the number of tails she has. Two. A good sign on a scouting day. She sighed, not realizing she was holding her breath, relieved to see her normal amount of tails. She swung out of the hammock and landed with practiced ease, launching straight into the bathroom to brush her teeth, and saying a brief hello to the people she passes along the way. There wasn't much for conversation, as everyone focused on preparing for the day ahead, so the only sounds she heard was running water, rustling clothes and teeth brushing. Only at the dining area did noise pick up, filling the air with conversations and the clang of cutlery on plates as people talked about nothing over warm-ish meal. Sora joined the hubbub of sound, speaking lightly with the people nearby, no one keen on keeping a conversation going as they had to clear the room quick for those on night shift to come in. And arrive they did, right as Sora finished her meal and went to join the line to wash her plate. And as always, the sound died for a moment, as everyone focused more on the incoming group, eyes scanning over the entire party for information. Their expressions were okay. Tired, but not panicked or distressed. Their clothing was fine, covered in the usual grime. No one looked injured. There was no one being carried. There was no one missing.
The room had a collective sigh of relief, before people started to greet and welcome the group, the mood visibly brighter and the dining space busier as people moved more quickly now, in and out. The chatter was louder too, as those on night patrol shared stories, and goodbyes were said to those leaving for morning activities. Sora would have to catch them later in the evening, when she returned from her morning scout. Her, along with her group, exited the room into the main space, now busy with strapping on gear, grabbing weapons, clearing backpacks. Boron, the second-in-command, stood at the door, impatiently shifting his weight around as he waited for the group to assemble.
There wasn't a lot of new things to say to the party she was in charge of. Their small group of 6 had done scouting many times, and knew the plan well. Boron outlined the area they're exploring, the supplies to focus on getting, the weather predictions. Sora told them again about formations, emergency plans, signals. The nerves in the party were high despite their experience, but there was no quelling the unease - who wouldn't feel anxious leaving the safety of camp and heading out into danger?
Sora pushed open the doors, and led them out of the building into the fenced area surrounding their base, the outdoor space covered in gardens, equipment and miscellaneous, 'useful-for-later' items. It was dim, with them leaving before sunrise. Most importantly, it was quiet outside. No sounds of fighting, bodies slamming against the metal fence, or worse, gunshots. Despite this, her heart was racing, as it always did. She might never get used to seeing the gate doors swing open and tensing, expecting horrors to come in.
They left swiftly, moving in single file out the barely open gate, which shut in a hurry behind them. The metal clang showed the finality of the situation - it was just them outside now. Everyone's heads were on a swivel, looking in every direction at the flat plains they were on, keenly watching for any danger. She led them slowly out to the main road, before pausing and staring at the skyscrapers in the distance, starting to be more visible as the first glows of sunrise came in. It was a sight they were used to before, in the past. Buildings soaring past multiple floors, highways, cars. She couldn't imagine going there now - even going to the outer suburbs was a risk they took only for scouting and supply runs like this. She unstrapped her skateboard from her bag, as did everyone else, and got on, riding towards the orange-lit buildings. It was the best form of transport: their hands were still free, they moved faster, and with the weather being the only thing now to wear down the roads, it wasn't too noisy. On more damaged roads they walked, but here on this highway, with strong visibility and few hills, it was almost freeing to travel, rumbling along with the wind in their face. She could almost pretend they were a group of friends, skating around the streets. Carefree.
***
They arrived at their destination - the edge of the map. Well, not quite - the streets they knew, as someone had a book showing all the roads in the city and the suburbs. But that was it - just roads and rectangles for buildings. What was in the shopping malls? The homes? Any clean source of water? What plants were in the parks? These were things no one would think to mark on a map. Not until the modern world ended.
Her team paused for a break, gathering around the copy of the streets and reaffirming they've memorized it. There was no looking at a map in emergencies. They confirmed what buildings looked interesting. What route to take. And with the sun well and truly up and shining, they strapped their skateboards back on their bags, and entered the streets of the quiet suburbia.
Its hard to describe how different it was, walking down a street before and after their life changed. You didn't care about all the blind spots in the streets, what was behind buildings and doors, what a creak meant. You wouldn't even notice there was no birdsong, or any sign of life at all. Life was so...calm, back then. Now they were tense, flinching at wind rustling through trees and blowing leaves across the street. They were staring at every window, afraid they would see something looking back. It was quiet. But for how long?
Sora looked at the homes' front yards, peeking into the backyard if she could, looking to see if anyone had a garden. Any food grown that they could take and plant themselves. Investigating the homes themselves would be done on their way back - for now their aim was what looked like a small shopping street further into the suburb. And as they approached, Sora wanted to jump for joy. The street was lined with cafes, small grocery stores, and restaurants, how promising! She could see smiles spreading through her team, as they approached the first shop, a diner with a blank menu sign still sitting outside, the chalk long faded. A peek inside and--
Sora jumped back, but it was too late - the shrieker zombie had also seen her, and it let out a scream like a shock wave, blasting out a wall of sound and alerting every other monster nearby. The group immediately turned tail and ran, no longer caring about the noise they made as they pelted down the road, turning through the streets they memorized, desperately trying to reach the main road where they can jump on their skateboards and flee. Boron, who was at the back earlier, now led the team, meaning he ran headfirst into a sleeping sprinter, now awake from the screech, and now clawing into his side--
Everyone converged around the zombie and bashed it with the assorted weapons they had, and it worked - but it was - it's too --
Boron collapsed, and with more sleeping sprinters racing towards them they couldn't, it would be too slow to carry him, it's part of the plan, it's part of the emergency plan, everyone agreed to be left behind if--
***
It's hard to skate with tears. Hard to keep your balance. Hard to think.
They arrived back at camp, and the gate controllers immediately knew what happened. They arrived in the dining hall, and everyone immediately knew what happened. People were rising up to console the upset scouting team, but Sora was having none of it, and she pushed past the growing crowd, rushing to her belongings, and grabbing the sleeping pills no one knew she stole. She swallowed one and climbed up the ladder to her hammock, squeezing her eyes shut and waiting for the drowsiness to kick in. Others might think she was trying to escape from the grief. No one would guess at what would actually happen.
Do you want to restart the day?Its hard to tell if Sora is living in a game. Perhaps her world was a simulation, and she somehow achieved consciousness. Some way to break the meta. She didn't get this power until the world ended, but every time she went to sleep in the day, she saw this message. And she had a choice. Today the choice was obvious.
***
The first thing Sora did when she woke up was to check the number of tails she has. One. Ice ran through her body, and she stared at her tail for a while, frozen. Today's job was scouting. If past Sora restarted, then it must have gone poorly. Very poorly. There was a reason why her party is the only one so far without deaths. She swung out of the hammock and landed with practiced ease, launching straight into the main space, grabbing the map and trying to guess where it might go wrong. Was it along the way? On the shopping street? While exploring the homes? She could only restart once, only one second chance. Maybe she can change the plan and scout somewhere else? But there was a chance the same thing or worse would happen.
Options and what ifs were racing through her mind, her heart pounding in her ears, her body tense like she was already outside exploring. What to do? She definitely had to tell the team she had a bad feeling about this day, and for everyone to be somehow more alert than they already are. No one knew she had this power - she tried to explain and it just made her seem mad.
What do you mean, one tail? I see two? / What, like a game over screen? Are you feeling okay? She could cancel. But she would have to explain why. And how else to explain that a past you ran into a terrible ending?
Every day she woke up and hoped to see two tails. So rarely did she see one.
She's still learning to deal with the panic of seeing one.
