our last night alive

Act 4

14th of November

Megumi

I'm down in the woods, searching for some sticks for the bonfire.Yuji, George, Anastasya and I took care of this job, parting ways in order to find more material. I obviously don't agree with that decision but had no choice. That's the first time I've exited the refuge since I arrived there. It is already getting cold and there's fog. Due to this foggy climate and cloudy weather the atmosphere here inside the woods is literally disturbing, furthermore no sounds can be heard. There's complete silence. One of the many times I crouched down to gather as many branches as possible, I decided to stay in that position, looking around for signs of danger. It made me suspicious not to sense or hear any presence. The fog limited my view, it spread through trees incredibly, making it completely impossible to see anything within a few metres. I looked at my back, glancing quickly back and forth to the bushes and paths. I started even wondering if the others were still alive. If they were, they were absolutely far from me. I got goosebumps, everything was disquieting and quite scary.There was absolute quietness. Not even birds could be heard. I slowly got up, continuing along the path while putting the few branches I gathered inside my backpack. If someone attacked me there, it would have been hard to escape without completely getting lost. I sighed, deciding soon after to go the way around, in order to meet the others easily and in less time. I was feeling inappropriate. The ground was muddy, causing me to get disgusted. Suddenly, I heard a noise from behind me, it sounded like the breaking of some branches.I cautiously hid behind a tree, taking my gun and keeping it close. I observed the place I heard it from carefully. All the fear zombies had made me feel, slowly started to transform in anger. I'm angered simply by their own existence. I heard some steps coming in my direction. Judging from how the figure seemed to move, I understood soon after that it wasn't any kind of human. It was shuffling down calmly. It must have sensed my presence but still not certainly enough to locate my position. I reloaded the gun as quietly as I could, looking back at him after. He appeared from the bushes and just by looking at him from afar, I could smell his intoxicating stink. I began feeling nauseous quickly, resting my head against the tree trunk and momentarily closing my eyes, breathing heavily and swallowing. His steps moving closer made me open my eyes and glance at him again. He couldn't see clearly, but just like any other zombie, he surely sensed my human scent. He emitted a deep growl, as I grew more and more nauseous. I held my gun more tightly as I mentally prepared myself to shoot him.Then, when he was close enough, I shot a bullet directly at the centre of his head, hurrying back on the same path I followed before.

Yuji

"So, let's see...we have gathered quite much material. We all did a great job!"George said, satisfied as we surrounded a stockpile of branches and sticks. I was crouched down staring at the result just like the others.

"We should get going. It's getting dark and it isn't safe here."Anastasya, the Russian woman, said blankly. I observed the environment surrounding us attentively. Although it was clearly unsettling, there was something that profoundly fascinated me about that place, nature in general, especially when she shows a darker side of herself. That was it, until my gaze fell on Megumi. He always wears a moody and blank expression, making it impossible for someone who doesn't know him to understand or foresee what's going on inside his head. I don't blame him, though. He lost everything within a few days, it can't be easy for him. My stare fell then on the ground below me, in the absence of something else to meditate on. I sighed, before coming back on my feet. We started making our way towards the refuge again. Everyone was certainly waiting for us impatiently. We walked in pairs; George and Anastasya on the front while Megumi and I walked in the back. I glanced at him a few times before I finally decided to talk to him a little. Until now, we hadn't talked at all. I hoped to get along with him, since we are the same age and the rest of the people in the group are fully grown adults, but I didn't manage to. The more I observed him, the more he looked reserved and closed in himself every time.