"What happened to our world, Nester?" Delta asked, hoping the one walking beside him had the answers. "No clue, but I think we have been forsaken by god."
"Was that supposed to be a joke?"
"It was, but looking at this place, I think it might be the truth."
The group wandered the empty streets. There was nothing, deafening silence emanated from the flickering of gas station lights. The light drops of rain were subtle, but left behind such a loud splash against the lone puddles.
Silent, they stepped into a nearby convenience store. Dud stuffed his pockets full of candy, and there was nobody willing to stop him, for all the others did the same. Delta stole sport drinks and bottles of water, Nester stole the plastic bags behind the counter and stuffed them full of potato chips, and Sage stole the few clothing items for sale.
With their stashed goods, they hurried out the door. Dud stared up at the nearby security cams still active, pondering if he would go to jail once things go back to normal.
"We have this world all to ourselves now. I thought it would be a little more lively than this." Delta sighed. "Where to next, leader?"
"Don't call me that." Nester responded. "We should gather a little more than this, let's see if we can find a few shopping carts somewhere."
"That's your plan, steal more stuff?"
"Yeah. Nera's group is searching the hill. They likely won't find anything up there, but they might come up with a few strategies for the future."
With an expression of disgust, Delta pointed ahead. "When I first arrived at the orphanage, I remember seeing a mall. I'll lead the way. If we come across anything, just tap me on the shoulder."
"Why?"
Delta pulled out a cell phone and started playing music with his newly stolen headphones. "You stole that from the car we passed, didn't you?" Ignoring Nester's confrontation, they trudged on.
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"The doors are locked." Nester obviously pointed out. Picking up a nearby brick, Delta launched it through the window. The alarm blared, as he crawled through. "Hurry up, I need your help with finding the security office. I'm not wanting to listen to this noise all day."
"We didn't even try the back doors yet?"
"Why should we? This is much more convenient."
Sage turned on the lights. "If any of you want a game console, or something expensive, now is your time to get it!" Delta explained, shattering a display case filled with luxurious items. "Hey, Sage. If you want to look classy, try these on."
"Gloves?"
"Yeah, black lace gloves. I know you love fancy clothing."
She smiled devilishly, grabbing a steel bat from a rack. "Oh no! What do you two plan on-" They destroyed anything that had a lock on it; they grabbed shopping carts and filled them with their heart's content.
"You're not grabbing anything?" Dud asked, in the electronics aisle, with his cart full as well. "No, I already feel guilty after that convenience store."
"I feel the same, but like Delta keeps pointing out, whose going to stop us?"
"I know, but-"
"They don't feel guilty, because they have the right mindset. Nobody wants anything to do with us. They wouldn't even donate a few gifts during the holidays. So, why should we care about what is morally right?"
Nester didn't know how to respond. "Come on, I found you something you'll probably like." Dud reached into a bin and pulled out a few horror movies. "Why would I want these?"
"Wouldn't a movie night with all of us be fun? I'll find some with a lot of blood and stuff."
As Nester left Dud to his antics, an aluminum can bounced off his forehead. "Ow, who threw that?" Delta's laughter could be heard from the top of a shelf. "An empty can of soda. Do you want one?"
"Sure, since you three are driving me up the walls."
"You're the only one to blame for being so stubborn." Nester caught the can of cola, still cold from the freezers. "Live a little, or you will never live at all." Delta cheered. "Is that what your parents said when they left you on the doorstep?"
"That's cold... but I like it!" Nester climbed the shelf and sat down beside him. "Tell me, did you know your parents before you ended up at the orphanage?"
Delta shook his head. "No, what about you?"
"Yeah, they directly told me they didn't want me. My grades were bad, I had no interests or hobbies, so they gave me away; told me they would try again for a better kid."
"What the hell?"
"I was hoping I would see a brother of mine here someday, or maybe a younger sister. I'm guessing they might've found their dream child."
"Or they got arrested for abuse or something."
"That... might be a fair possibility. Do you think there is another orphanage around here somewhere?"
"Let me go find a map or something, and I'll let you know when I look over it." Delta looked down at his new watch. "Crap, how long has she been outside for?"
"Who, Sage?"
"What other female is in our group, moron?"
"Let's go check up on her."
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Car alarms went off as Sage broke into vehicles. "Come on, there has to be something good in here." A red sport's car, the keys still inside the vehicle. She could drive away right now if she wanted to, but rather her attention was taken away by something else.
She popped open the glove compartment and found a 9mm semi-automatic pistol, fully loaded at that. "Woah, I hit the jackpot!" Her eyes lit up with joy as she hid it away in her new leather jacket.
"I better make sure nobody sees it. I might need it if the worse case scenario happens." Within the backseat was mostly garbage, along with a few erotic magazines and medical supplies.
"I'll be taking that!" She grabbed the rolls of bandages and inhalers. None of the children had asthma, but she thought it might be useful in case of a panic attack, or if they develop lung disease.
"Hey Sage, we were just about to leave. Did you find anything valuable?"
"I found a bit of medical supplies in this car."
Delta congratulated her and they set off back towards the orphanage.
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"Do you think we can make it up the hill with these?" Dud asked. "If you two can't do it, leave it to us."
Dud looked at Sage, realizing she was the other half. "I can do it, so you won't need to worry about me." Sage said confidently.
"Where are the girls at? They should be back right now." Delta realized. "Can't you communicate with your sister, Sage?"
"She isn't in danger at the moment, or she would've contacted me, but if you insist."
With her hand against her forehead, she felt her sister's presence. She was still in the forest, stressed and sorrowful. She was blaming herself for something, but she didn't know what. "Something is definitely wrong." she bluntly told the others. "What is wrong, sis? Please, tell me so where we can help!"
Their thoughts disconnected, and Sage rushed into the forest after her.
"Sage! Wait for us!" Nester shouted, chasing after her. "Delta, are you coming?" Dud asked. "No, I'll get the supplies up to the orphanage, just promise you will be careful."
"Don't worry, nothing hurts me."
"Right. I'll try to keep that in mind."
Dashing through the woods, Nester lost track of Sage in no time at all. He tripped over an exposed root, rolling down into a river. His foot was wounded, scraped and bleeding, but luckily not broken or fractured. He pulled himself back up, only to hear someone shouting in the distance.
"Nera! Nera, follow my voice! Nera!"
He heard footsteps approaching, and standing in front of him was Winter. "W-Winter, what is going on?"
"Where is your group, what are you doing here?"
"We returned with carts full of things, but we realized you guys never made it back. Sage reached Nova, and she sounded like she was in danger and-"
"That's enough. Long story short, we lost track of Eri. It's our fault, we should of been paying attention but-"
"Now you're the one rambling on. Calm down, we'll find her. With all of us, there are much better odds."
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Hours passed and they found nothing, not even a strand of hair or cloth. Delta remained at the entrance, hoping for good news. Yet, in the corner of his eye, he spotted something glowing in the night. "Is that a flashlight?"
There was more than one, along with a pistol. A revolver with only two bullets. A name was carved on the side, 'Harold Melody'. It was the name of Ms. Melody's father; she told quite a few stories about the man.
"Wait a damn minute. She had a gun, in this orphanage?" he muttered to himself. "Did she try to shoot at something, or did it always have two bullets?" He checked the ground for shell casings. "Nothing."
The other orphans emerged from the woods as a group, their eyes filled with tears and contagious grief. He wanted to ask, 'Did you find her?', but he already knew the answer. Still on his knees, he threw the gun towards them.
Sage patted her pocket just to make sure it wasn't the one she found. Picking it up, Winter gently spoke. "Ms. Melody, this was her gun. When did she ever have a gun? Was she trying to protect us from something?"
There were too many questions with no answers. "This sucks, who even let this happen? Why did it leave us here? Why?" Whining, Nester collapsed to the ground beside Delta, who was struggling to hold back his tears.
"It's getting really late, let's just get some rest, shall we?" Winter suggested. "Yeah, that would be for the best." Nera agreed. "If something like this can happen, then maybe-"
"No!" Nester shouted. "No, it won't! Things won't go back to normal, Nera!"
"I'm just trying to give us some false hope, it has it's uses you know."
"Sorry, I shouldn't have shouted like that."
"I'll see if I can make something with the things you brought back." Winter rushed inside, digging around their findings until she had a recipe in mind. She boiled some water and threw a handful of noodles into the pot.
Finally her concoction was finished. "Uh... Winter. What is this supposed to be?" Delta complained. "Well... mixed pasta with uh... some sort of dressing."
"The noodles are still hard, but I appreciate the effort."
"Thanks, Delta."
The children were still struggling to get over Eri's disappearance, only managing to spill out a few short phrases from their lips, before sinking back into sickening sorrow.
They knew Eri couldn't take care of herself out there. She was complaining about the cold getting to her before she vanished, and now they had to accept it was likely too late.
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As all the others slept, there was a knock on Winter's window. It was rhythmic and subtle, the knocks of a lost, lingering young child. She stared at the window, her eyes widened in fear, staring at the skeletal spirit of her lost friend.
" W I N T E R ! "
Winter knew this could only mean one thing. It was too late, and now her friend was an earthbound spirit of her world. "Nooooo! Nooooo!"
"Did I do something wrong, Winter? Help me, Winter! I don't like this place!"
Winter couldn't see her, because the tears see spilled blurred her vision. Her voice continued crying for help, until the spirit vanished. The door flew open. Now holding her tightly was Delta. "Winter, it's okay. Whatever you saw is gone now, I promise."
It wasn't the sight of the ghost that bothered her, but rather, that it was someone she cared so deeply for. She couldn't help but take the blame for not watching over her at all times. The night was frozen still as a flurry of rain pattered against the window.
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