Six to One

After leaving the garage, they kept moving throughout the evening. Nobody spoke a word, still thinking about the loss. Evade, for the first time in so long, sobs audibly in front of them. "I should've gone with her... I could've helped... I could've..." Recon pats Evade's back, trying to calm him down. "It's not your fault, we all saw it. I would love to take a different route and have her live, but..." Recon sighs as he hasn't processed this enough yet. "She would want you to keep going. She'll do anything to make you proud, so you must be strong. We'll be by your side. We won't leave you just because we lost a friend." They keep walking, not knowing where to go yet. "I know what you're saying is true, but this is a burden we... I... must carry. I told myself that I'd never forgive myself for getting my own friends killed... Even worse, she was killed by... by..." Evade is close to crying out loud but keeps his tears at a minimum while Mei and Botany tries to hug him to calm him down. After he calms down a bit, they continue to walk. Kiln, along with the others, were very curious about something. "Do you think she has any resentment towards you?" "Well, all I know is that she never left my side, and I never left hers." They were all quiet from this, but smiled lightly, finding the line heartwarming. "How long has it been since we met? I forgot already... Time sure flies by." The rest of them nod in agreement. One day they were happily messing around at the mall, the next day an apocalypse breaks loose. As they kept walking, they found a small hut in the middle of nowhere. Seeing it was getting late, each of them nodded to each other, agreeing to spend the night there if it was safe.

As they reach the hut, opening the door to enter it, they find it empty. It was just an empty room, which is perfect for what they need. Surprisingly, they found a small car battery that still has power, testing it by connecting a light bulb they found. As they settle down to spend the night, they each take some time to eat something. As they ate, a stick breaking broke the silence. All of them were sure that something was outside. They slowly stood up, but the light switch flipped off, and darkness filled the room. Three things can be heard during this moment. Two gunshots, a scream of pain, and the door flying open. In panic, Mei quickly turns on the light and screams. "W-WHAT?! Are you kidding me?!" Everyone stares in shock as they see Evade flung out of the hut, Kiln with a gunshot wound on her left arm, and Recon dead, shot right on his neck. Evade rushes towards Recon hoping for a breath of life, sadly already gone, almost bursting into tears. "First her, now him... Do I have a curse or something?!" Botany quickly grabs a first aid kit and tends to Kiln's wounds as Evade angrily walks outside with a gun in his hands, ready to shoot. "Whoever did that, show yourself and face me! Come out!" He was furious, shouting without being careful. Mei grabs his arm and pulls him back to calm him down. "Please, this person might want you to fall into a trap to kill you too! We lost two, and we cannot afford to lose you too!" Reluctantly, he follows Mei back into the hut, worried someone else will die soon. Upon returning, he finds Kiln tightly holding Recon's body, crying over him. "Why?! I didn't want this to happen! Why?!" Evade looked at her with sympathy, almost wanting to cry along with her, but held it back. He turned off the light and sat down. "We'll bury him in the morning... For now, we need to be careful. There is a killer close to us, and they do not like us one bit." Kiln slows down her sobbing, eventually falling asleep, exhausted from crying. One by one, everyone falls asleep, Evade being the last person to fall asleep.

That night, Evade had a nightmare he never thought he'd get. It starts with him enjoying his time with his friends, walking along the sidewalk of Echolysis City before it was destroyed. Laughing, singing, joking, and enjoying each other's company, it was a pleasant dream for him. It took a wide turn when the world slowly gets dark, and dark, murky hands break the ground, rising out of the Earth. Six hands were present. One of them grabs Logic, pulling her away and sending her to the ground. Evade panics, and Recon gets grabbed too. Evade held on to him but couldn't hold on for long enough. Then, Botany gets taken, then Kiln. Finally, Mei gets taken. Evade tries his best to not let go of Mei, but another hand grabs him, separating him from her. Just like the rest, he also gets buried underground into the depths of the earth. When his dream went dark, he wakes up, hyperventilating. He stepped out of the hut, seeing the sunrise. Mei joins him and holds his hand, also looking at the sunrise. "I believe we can make it. We just got to believe, stay together, and keep moving forward." "Yeah... I sure hope it's that simple." When the rest of them wake up, they dig a grave for him using shovels they found in the hut. They found a rock nearby, so they carved his name using a hammer and nail. Mei puts a small keychain with a picture of her on it, given by Recon. She puts it down on his grave, sobbing. Kiln puts down the fragrance she picked up earlier at the port and a neckless picture of them both. She had another spare picture, so she left one behind. Botany puts down an orange flower he found near the hut. Evade puts down the casing of the bullet that killed him, as well as a sticker that says 'best friend forever' on it. After saying their final goodbyes, they continued their journey, but with two people lost.