Things were calmer inside the auditorium. Everyone who still remained in this place had banded under Johann's group and were mostly organized. I had to give it to them, whatever they did, they really managed to find some semblance of structure in there. From my point of view at one of the doors, I could see a few bags bundled together in a corner under the watchful eyes of two burly men. Their body language was somewhat tense and their eyes were sharp. They either took their job way too seriously or previous trouble had made them wary. I was curious.
I made my way as discreetly as possible toward Mrs Aya and Mr Kando, but inevitably I invited looks from people in the group. I avoided their eyes. It would do me no good to get into a confrontation. They were probably thinking I came here to ask for food, and certainly they wouldn't be very keen in giving food to someone who hadn't helped or even cared to sit down with them before. They were quite a large group to begin with, around three or four dozen people. I understood their likely irritation, but I wasn't about to flaunt myself as a self sufficient dude. The less attention I drew, the better off I was.
The couple saw me before I reached them. I smiled and gave a friendly wave. Mrs Aya was happy to reciprocate with a smile of her own, but Mr Kando was less enthusiastic. Probably thinking the same thing as the others in the group. I wouldn't have expected any different from him.
"Hello Mrs Aya, Mr Kando." I said while sitting down on a nearby chair.
"Oh, hello Young Leo. Where have you been?" Mrs Aya looked eager to have someone else besides her grumpy husband to talk to. Mr Kando gave me a grunt of acknowledgment.
"I couldn't keep myself cooped up for long. I decided to explore the outside, see what this place was." I had no reason to go into more details; the less she knew, the better.
"Oh, you young ones are really something. Can't stay quiet for a minute, can you?" She giggled. "But you should be more careful. It could be dangerous outside. We don't know what kind of place we are in or what kind of people could be waiting to find someone alone." Mrs Aya warned me with a serious tone, like a loving mother scolding her naughty child.
"Haha. You don't have to worry so much Mrs Aya. It was fine. This place is pretty much empty. I think we are the only ones here." I said, a little uncomfortable under her reproaching gaze.
"Hmm… That is what Mr Johann and Mr John have told us as well. They have sent people to explore the area and find a way for us to ask for help, but with all the phones down things have been slow. It seems they have run into some kind of problem." She leaned closer and spoke almost in a whisper. "I am not sure what it is, but I heard them whispering that there is a wall around this place."
"A wall? I wonder. I haven't seen such a thing, but I didn't go too far. This place seems to be quite large." I lied. If they were keeping the barrier as a secret I wasn't about to put Mrs Aya in a difficult spot with the leadership of her group. I decided to change the subject. "You spoke of Mr John, Mrs Aya. Who is he? I know that Mr Johann is the firefighter who called out to us."
"Oh. Yes, you haven't seen Mr John yet. He is a police officer who is helping Mr Johann organize everything. He is the one who has been leading the group outside in exploring and bringing food."
Mrs Aya tried looking around for John, but it seemed he was out again. No matter. I am sure I was eventually going to bump into the man.
"Mrs Aya, tell me. Have they given you food yet?"
"Well, they did but, you see…" As Mrs Aya hesitated in her speech, Mr Kando was happy to jump in.
"So that's what you really wanted, huh? Freeloading off of the work of others? Showing up just to eat after going around like a vagrant? Let me tell you already, boy. There is barely any food to go around for us, people who are actually helping. There isn't going to be anything for you. You better try your luck outside or start helping." Mr Kando's voice was a little louder than I was comfortable with, but he wasn't exactly shouting. His sharp tone attracted some curious glances, but mostly people were still keeping it to themselves.
“Dear! Calm down, I am sure this is not what, Young Leo meant.” Mrs Aya jumped in to appease her husband.
Even she looked surprised at his sudden outburst. But I could understand where he was coming from. Even if I hadn’t actually asked for any food for myself, he assumed that was where I was going to lead the conversation. He did jump the gun on that one though. Now, I could act like an asshole and embarrass the man in many ways, but I wasn't about to. Not because he was elderly or because I was sympathetic towards his wife. It was simply because I wasn't a jerk. This situation was probably fucking up with his already bad temper. I am not saying I was going to take anything he threw at me, there was a limit, but we weren't quite there yet.
"Mr Kando, I see why you would think that. But I assure you, I didn't come here to ask you for food. The opposite, I came to ask if you are in need of food and water." The shock and doubt on his face were evident, but I pressed on. I wasn't going to allow him time to keep on with his antics. "You see, during my period of 'vagrancy' I stumbled upon a couple of cans of food and some water."
The visible change on his expression was satisfying. Mrs Aya smiled at me, while sneakily pinching Mr Kando. I tried to be furtive about it, but I am sure if someone was paying proper attention to our exchange they would be able to see it.
I brought my suitcase to my lap and opened it slightly to review the water bottle and the two cans of food inside. Mr Kando didn't hide how ashamed he seemed to be.
"Now, now dear. I believe you owe Young Leo an apology. Don't you agree?" Mrs Aya patted Mr Kando on the back while encouraging her husband to do the right thing.
"I am sorry, Mr Leo. I might be a... difficult person sometimes, but this isn't like me. I am afraid I have shown an ugly side of mine. I ask for your forgiveness."
Mr Kando bowed his head a bit further than Mrs Aya had done earlier and I was immediately uncomfortable.
"There is no need to go so far, Mr Kando. I understand we are all on edge here. It's a bit much to take on in such a short amount of time. I am just happy to repay Mrs Aya and your kindness from earlier. I just ask you to keep it quiet. I don't want people to think I have lots of food, the misunderstanding could prove… troublesome."
Mrs Aya and Mr Kando seemed to catch on quickly, which reinforced my suspicions about an earlier incident. They didn't strike me as the kind of people who would readily pick up on these things, not without a fresh reminder.
"Do you have a place to hide this? Maybe wait until the next time they distribute the food and then you exchange the empty can for the full one. I think this way it's unlikely that people will see it."
They silently acknowledged my words. Mrs Aya picked up a large shoulder bag from somewhere under the chairs and I discreetly moved the water and food inside it. No one was paying any attention to us at this moment. No one I could see anyway.
I ended up staying longer than I initially had planned. Chatting with Mrs Aya was almost therapeutic. Such a high spirited and lively grandma had a positive effect on my mood. She spoke of her family, her kids, even her early years when she met Mr Kando, for which the man became almost red with embarrassment as she shared his teenage antics. It was a welcome moment of light heartedness. But as all good things, it didn't last long.
With a loud bang on the door a group of people entered the room. There were around eight people. Almost all of them had backpacks that seemed filled to the brim, almost bursting at the seams. A tall dark skinned man led the group.He was the biggest fellow I had seen since I got here. He walked in a manner that reminded me of military school. He had a scar on his left forearm running from his elbow to the back of his wrist. He wore a normal purple t-shirt and the same kind of thick denim that I had found earlier. I don't know where he found something for his size, his legs were quite jacked, but it somehow fit him. Taking a better look at the group I realized that most of them were wearing the same kind of denim pants. Some even had the jacket as well. I had initially suspected they were quite common, but now I was sure. Maybe I can come dressed in them next time. We will see.
"Ah, Mr John is back. I wonder what they discovered this time." Mrs Aya was the first to react from the three of us, while Mr Kando stared at the back of the group. I promptly followed his line of sight, curious as to what had the man so fixated.
A man, probably in his mid thirties, followed a few steps behind the group. Potty bellied and with his shoulders slumped, he stared at the ground pitifully. He didn't have any of the outfits I had seen the others wearing and sported shorts and a sleeveless T. The kind of clothing one would wear at home. When he lifted his head to better navigate the rows of chairs I saw the reason why Mr Kando was so interested in him, or probably the consequences of that reason. His left cheek and the lower part of his eye socket were swollen. He had taken quite the blow there. I started to imagine what might have transpired, but I was too curious to keep it in my imagination.
"Mrs Aya, what happened to the man at the back? Did someone hit him?" I asked.
"Oh. That would be Mr Krazinsky, I think. Dear, what was his name? Krazinsky?" Mrs Aya turned towards Mr Kando looking for his input. Satisfied with his nod, she turned back.
"Yes, Mr Krazinsky. He is a very rude man. When people were distributing food after the first time that Mr John's group came back, he was arguing that the people who went out to get food should eat more. Mr John and Mr Johann didn't agree. They got into a heated discussion until Mr John had to help Mr Krazinsky calm down."
That was quite the way to put it. Mrs Aya had an interesting way with words. It hasn't even been a day since we got ourselves in this situation and there are already some twats trying to create division. I assumed the big man in the front was John, but if there was any doubt, Mrs Aya's comment was enough to dispel them.
One can never underestimate the mean nature of some people. But I guess it makes sense. If there are people like Mrs Aya, who are kind to a fault, the opposite should also be true. Thankfully the leadership seems reasonable enough to not listen to this sort of mentality. Maybe I was worrying too much. They might be fine after all.
I thanked Mrs Aya for the information, while she excused herself and Mr Kando to approach the center of the group. According to what she had told me, when they came back from the outside they would have a meeting to discuss what they found. She invited me to join, but I didn't feel like it was a good idea. Plus, I knew they were hiding stuff from them; I doubted whatever they were going to tell the general group was anything worth the trouble of putting myself in their midst.
I left the auditorium while the group was in session and returned to the general vicinity of my hidden spot. I raised my head and checked the sky clock.
12:23:31
The sun had already set, but the moon hung in the sky quite brightly. There were no street lights and no light inside the buildings. The smaller ones had a lot of window space and moonlight flooded inside.
There was something I was determined to do but, with only a little over twelve hours left, I had to be back with enough time to rest and get ready tomorrow morning. While chatting with Mrs Aya I had a flash of inspiration and was eager to implement it before the day was over.
I entered one of the smaller buildings and started moving the furniture around into a tight barricade with the stairs to my back. If I was ever in need of an advantageous position to fight, I could always run for this place and use the barricade and the stairs. On the top of the two story building there was a fire ladder leading to the back that I could use to lose pursuers in the alleyways.
I honestly had no idea what was going to happen when the sky clock reached zero, but I didn't want to be caught unprepared. This city, the standardized items, the ominous pyramid and the foreshadowing emissary thing, they all reminded me too much of a game. Even though it was hard to accept it, I was experienced enough in gaming narratives to imagine what would probably happen when the time was over. Better be ready and not need it, than need it and not be ready.
THANKS FOR THE CHAPTER
