Crow's Nest

01: 3 Years later

Hinata crouched atop an old RV staring out at the desolate landscape of Nagoya with a pensive expression. He was supposed to be looking for shops to raid for food and medicine, but he'd gotten caught up in the nostalgia of the ruined city. Broken husks of cars littered the road, pavement cracked and bleached from the sun. Weeds and wildflowers had taken over the one sprawling cityscape, ivy creating a home in the shells of old skyscrapers and flowers blooming among the cracks in the asphalt. Sparrows made nests in the hollowed-out shells of old traffic lights.

It was sort of poetic, Hinata thought, that so many living things could thrive among so much death.

But he couldn't stew in feelings forever. He straightened up and searched through the line of shops for a pharmacy, figuring it was best to secure meds first. It was hard to find antibiotics three years after the Decimation-AKA the apocalypse that destroyed Japan and the rest of the mortal world several years ago. Hinata hadn't had much need for medicines so far, but he figured it couldn't hurt to have some lying in round the next time he happened upon a cold. A flu in the zombie apocalypse pretty much meant your head on a plate.

Luckily, there were a Vdrug a few feet down the block, and Kanayama Station was only a few feet away, which would have the rest of the supplies he needed. Retrieving his pack from the roof of the RV, Hinata slid down the hood, slinging his rifle over his shoulder and retrieving a machete from his backpack. As he walked down the street, he mimicked hitting a baseball, watching the edges of the street for signs of zombies. It was late in the evening, and typically they only wandered around late at night or early in the morning, so Hinata figured he would be safe if he stayed in the middle of the road where he had free range to attack in every direction.

As he reached the Vdrug, he stepped through the shattered glass door and approached the first set of shelves, which had mostly been picked clean. He retrieved only a single bottle of painkillers from the first shelf and waded further into the wreckage of the shop, picking aside shards of broken glass and empty drug packages. Hinata picked up a few packs of gauze pads and bandages as he headed towards the shelves farthest in the back, where he was more likely to find the antibiotics.

Just as he'd predicted, there were several bottles on the lowest shelves and Hinata stocked up on antibiotics, beta-blockers, aspirin, and diuretics. Hinata shoved them all in his pack victoriously, skipping back towards the front of the shop and heading towards Kanayama Station. A slight wind had picked up and he pulled the hood of his sweatshirt over his head, covering his mouth with a black bandanna, attempting to conceal his scent as much as possible. Luckily, a storm cloud was brewing on the horizon, which would provide enough cover to get him to the city limits after he got what he needed.

As Hinata reached the entrance to Kanayama Station, the first drops began to fall, coating the landscape in a veil of gray. He ducked into the first clothing store he saw to escape the downpour and dropped his pack behind the counter, keeping the machete strapped to his hip as he wandered farther into the store, stripping off his jacket as he went. The racks were still full, clothes not being the number one priority in Zombie World. Hinata usually gathered new clothes every few days: it was way easier than having to wash them.

After changing out of dirty jeans into joggers and pulling on a new gray T-shirt, he gathered some more clothes and returned to the front of the store, shoving them deep into his backpack as he pulled on his old cotton jacket and covered his head and mouth again before braving the rain. Next stop was food, which he a restaurant a few shops down, stocking up on dry goods and nonperishables.

His backpack was significantly heavier when he left, but food was definitely a burden Hinata was willing to bear. Besides, he'd made camp only a few miles away, so he wouldn't have to carry it far. Unfortunately, the rain was so heavy, it soaked him through and through, obscuring the city in a dark, dizzying cloud of water. Hinata frowned at the sky as he hunkered lower in his coat. It seemed like the type of storm that could last for days, which meant he wouldn't be able to move on until it passed.