A Contract with the Devil

It was after the moment we left the library, that I realized I had forgotten about the table/sleigh we used to move the meat around. I tiredly sighed, while scratching my head awkwardly.

“What’s wrong?” Cher asked upon noticing my sudden change.

“Ah-well, it’s nothing really, its just we forgot about…” I trailed off, briefly pausing as I mulled things over. “You know what, nevermind. We can just find something else to carry the things around with. Maybe a wheelbarrow, or one of those carts they have.”

“Ah, um, okay?”Cher tilted her head while her face scrunched up in confusion.

Currently, the atmosphere was light and at ease. For Cher, this was due to the fact that we finally left the library. She was a weak willed person, and more than likely, spending any time anywhere near that place caused her some form of enmity. I was excited for a different reason. The One-sided negotiations had proceeded well beyond my original expectations. I myself couldn’t help but break into the occasional smirk or smile at the prospect of how well things went.

Well, although the more I thought things over, the darker my thoughts turned. For one thing, I needed to decide what to do.

Truthfully speaking, I never really liked this school. It was ridiculously big, and filled with alot of annoying people. Now that it has turned into a literal hell hole… my dislike had turned to hate. I’ve already spent two weeks, trapped in this shitty place. Even for me, spending anymore time here is quite taxing. I want to leave.

The simple matter is I want to leave.

Also, I am somewhat curious as to the condition of the outside world. From my little glimpses through the window, the city isn’t faring so well. Buildings burned down, fire almost every other night, and most likely monsters. A whole slew of monsters. I was curious about these things, but rather than just the city, I was curious about everything else. What about the rest of the world? I sure as hell don’t believe this living hell happened only in this particular place alone. How were things coping across the seas?

Have governments fallen already? Maybe whole countries were wiped out in the face of a ridiculously overpowered monster. Did the military react? Do military weapons even work?

Thinking about all these things, only further fanned my curiosity. The need- the want to break through this dungeon was growing, pushing me forward.

And to do that, I needed to kill the boss.

****

[Perspective Change]

Back within the confines of the library, the atmosphere took on a rather dreary tone. The source of this despair can be traced back to the Cafeteria’s scouting group, who, although received a virtually life saving offer, felt as if they had contracted with the devil himself.

After a while, after they were certain that the man named Hide had left the library, the President- Hokusei stood up. His expression was awkward, one that held both despair and hope. Upon his rise, slowly, the others mimicked.

They all wordlessly walked over towards the indicated Archive room, all holding their breaths. Hesitancy and doubt were just among the myriad of emotions they currently felt. Within those emotions, was a heavy sense of regret which passed unknowingly to everyone apart from Hokusei.

As they reached the room with the slightly opened doorway, a girl with almost platinum blonde hair peaked through, timid in her actions. Her brother, a boy with almost identical features and with the same pelt of blonde hair, followed suit.

Hokusei though, ignored their trepid motions and simply pushed on through, almost flinging the door wide open as he guided the rest of his party inside.

Before them, was the usual archive room, one that the brown haired girl named Emiko was quite familiar with. After all, she had been part of the Library Committee before the apocalypse happened.

She was the first to notice the oddness of the room. For one, it reeked of blood- but not the one she familiarized herself with. Rather, the blood- the freshness of a meat market- that type of smell permeated throughout the room. Also, there was a particular object in the center of the room. A lump. A massive pile of- something, covered by a white sheet stained with scarlet.

The others were also quick to notice, and with synchronized trepidity, they moved towards it.

In the quiet, almost silent room, the first to speak up was the former teacher. He had a rather shy-subordinate like personality. Even back then, he was often found being led around and ordered by his superiors. It didn’t take long for this type of man to fall quickly in line.

He spoke up, breaking the stagnating silence. “T-this is it…?”

The others all held the same awe and doubt which he conveyed with his simple words. After all, they had seen the herd. They had tried fighting it, they had failed miserably, losing one of their comrades in the process. They knew the herd’s strength, and knew about the difficulty hunting one possessed. That’s why the authenticity to Hide’s promise was still questioned, even after the display of cooked food.

Hokusei nudged the male sibling, a boy with blonde hair and delicate features, over towards the pile, motioning for him to unveil its contents.

Timidly, the boy acquiesced, walking slowly over towards the white sheet. In one swift motion, he unveiled its contents, revealing the slabs of deep red meat that lay underneath.

“...”

For a moment, the group was left speechless. Looking closely, the meat was cut up in awkward slices. To a professional butcher, this would have been a disgraceful lump, a pile of meat they wouldn’t dare serving to their customers. But to them, this was salvation. Something worth killing for, something that would keep them alive and sustained.

Just knowing the fact that this was only the tip of the iceberg, that their benefactor, a mysterious boy who had enough strength to hunt what they thought impossible, knowing that that type of guy was going to willingly provide them with more food in regular intervals…

Hokusei breathed out a heavy sigh in the midst of his companions’ excitement. He lamented over the past. Over his own weakness, both mentally and physically. Questions like, “Why now?” or “Maybe if-” circulated through his mind, but he could do nothing but express all that into a heavy sigh.

“It’s really real, huh…” He mumbled to himself, following a single streak of blood that trailed across the floor with his eyes. After silently staring for a while, he finally dropped his shoulders. “Well, there’s no use lamenting over the past.” He muttered to himself, not even attempting to hide the bitter regret in his voice. “After all, you can’t really change what’s already happened…”

Hokusei quickly regained his composure and once again donned on the smiling mask which he so often showed to the others. Without a moment’s waste, he quickly ordered the others to retrieve the meat, as they once again returned to the cafeteria, this time, earlier than usual.

****

[Still changed Perspective]

The well established dreariness of the cafeteria was something its residents had long grown used too. With nothing else to look forward to other than death and starvation, most of the survivors- teachers and students alike- all curled themselves up into various corners of the room.

The cafeteria itself looked like a mess. The usually neatly ordered rows of tables were used for other purposes. Propped onto its side, the tables cordoned of various areas in the cafeteria, separating, and dividing them into various “rooms” which the survivors spread themselves out into.

As Hokusei opened the Library’s heavier than normal double doors, and entered the cafeteria, the first thing he took note of was the dreary atmosphere. Many of the survivors who sat idly near the Library, raised their head in acknowledgment. While it was unusual for Hokusei to arrive so early, not many people paid it any heed, simply since thinking became something that wasted energy and calories.

With a deftly sigh, he proceeded to walk into the Cafeteria. He had came earlier than his companions, leaving it to them to carry the meat downstairs while he prepared the freezer.

The first to greet him was a lone figure. It was a girl with a somewhat blank expression on her face. The girl herself was unlike the others, healthy, and not as malnourished. She was pretty, short and petite, but definitely pretty. With shoulder length black hair, and a small stature, she looked like a middle schooler, but her facial aesthetics rivaled that of a model’s.

For some reason, she was wearing a wizard’s hat. It wasn’t anything special like a monster drop or something. In fact, Hokusei recognized the hat from something he had seen during last winter’s theatre production. In short, it was just a prop. But the girl whose head fit snuggly into the hat, didn’t seem to care.

In a somewhat hostile voice, the girl asked, “Why are you here so early?” Her expression was dark, obviously filled with enmity.

Of course, Hokusei understood why. In fact, it wouldn’t be a stretch to believe her hostile remarks were all due to his precedent actions. In truth, the girl before him was one of the survivors that joined up with the cafeteria group after Satou’s betrayal. She had joined before a time when he had started rejecting outsiders. In fact, if it weren’t for the fact that this girl was a skill possessor, then Hokusei would have kicked her out by now.

Her usefulness was what kept her around. And likewise, it was the cafeteria’s “provisions” which kept her confined to this place. Although, right now, those “provisions” had since long run dry.

With a heavy voice, Hokusei replied back, “Get ‘those guys’ out of the freezer, I hav-”

“What?!” Before, he could properly explain, the girl’s voice flared up. She sent a glare towards Hokusei, forcing him to take a cautious step backwards. “What do you plan to do with them, no- with him!? If you hurt him, if you so much as-”

“No, no, stop, its not like that…” Hokusei sighed once more. He had noticed that lately, the wizard hat-girl had developed a rather weird relationship with one of the people who lived in the freezer. Well, in retrospect, Hokusei could understand the girl’s reactions. After all, as “outsiders” from the cafeteria, the girl and the others shared that trait incommon. But lately, something else aside from comraderie was clearly evident in the girl’s seething rage.

“Ugh, enough already, where is Mr. Tei?” Hokusei snapped, irritation almost taking over.

At the mention of his name, an old, oriental man with haggard features stood up from amongst a crowd of survivors. His eyes held deep and dark patches, while his sunken cheeks indicated his hunger. His voice was thin, almost raspy, a frail sort of voice that seemed as if it would blow away with the wind. The act of speaking a mere challenge, the man struggled to form words. “Welcome back Hokusei, what do you need this old man for?”

Mr. Tei was an electrical engineer. Hired directly out of college in the past, and since then, has worked all his life for the school. Under Hokusei’'s instructions, he was the man responsible for redirecting the school’s electrical generators over to the cafeteria.

Hokusei’s tired eyes slightly eased upon seeing the old man approach. Ignoring the still slightly peeved wizard hat girl, he walked over to him, and spoke. “Mr. Tei, I’d like you to turn on the Walk-In freezer.”

Mr. Tei’s brow scrunched up in response. “The freezer? Well, I know its summer, and it's been rather hot lately, but to turn on the freezer? You know how much electricity that consumes?”

Truth be told, the Cafeteria’s electrical source was not infinite. They did not know how long it would last, but little by little, each successive use, from maintaining the lights to keeping the fans working sucked up more and more electricity.

“I know, I know, but just hear me out. We won’t be using it for something so petty as an air conditioner. Soon, that old hunk of junk will become a sort of life saver for us.” He flashed a faint smile, hoping to reassure the old man. While still dubious, Mr. Tei readily agreed, putting his utmost faith into the youth who was more than twice as young as him.

***

Followed by the Mr. Tei and the Wizard-hat girl, Hokusei approached the freezer.The freezer was located within the back of the Cafeteria’s expansive kitchen. It was larger than your average sized freezer, and would approximately fit 7 people with room to spare.

Truthfully, the freezer’s power had been cut, but it had another function these past few days. The freezer was were “those guys” lived in.

Those guys were a group of late survivors who joined up with the cafeteria group after Hokusei changed his mind regarding his outsider policy. Under normal conditions, he would have rejected the group, but since they entered the cafeteria through the main entrance, he could not stop them in time..

Indeed, he had the fullest intention of kicking the newcomers out, in fact he even had the backing of the rest of the cafeteria group in his decision, but was unfortunately stopped by the Wizard-hat girl.

Under her protection, the newcomers holed themselves up within the freezer, away from the misdirected anger, suspicion, and hostility of the others.

As he approached the freezer, he noticed that its metal door was slightly ajar, held open by a wooden box. Out of habit, he knocked on the door, sending out a reverberating rattle throughout its insides.

After a slight pause, a feminine voice replied back. “Who is it?” It was soft voice, but held no fragility in them. It distorted under the guise of the door blocking its way, but its intentions were heard loud and clear.

Without a slight pause, the wizard-hat girl replied back. “I’m coming in.” She nonchalantly opened the door and entered the room. Her movements were fluid, natural, as if she were accustomed to such easy going actions.

“Mi-miki?!” Another voice from within yelped at the Wizard-hat’s sudden entry. This time, the voice had a soft squeak to it, as if its owner of the voice was that of a child.

“Yo,” The wizard-hat girl- Miki, replied back as she continued deeper into the Freezer’s depths.

With a heavy sigh, Hokusei entered the room. Mr. Tei, who had waited outside, was now gone, off somewhere to a different location in order to turn the freezer on. He was rather ecstatic for a weary old man, slightly skipping in his step as he moved away. This was probably due to the unexpected good news he had received, but Hokusei paid no mind to the old man’s change in mood.

In fact, Hokusei had practically ignored the rest of the cafeteria’s excitment and uproar upon hearing the good news. To him, the news was both good and bad. Something to regret, and something to be excited for.

As Hokusei entered the room, he saw four figures, with the addition of Miki, playfully bickering within the freezer. They were seemingly arguing over something and things were getting quite heated up, but the mood still retained its easy going nature.

Due to the obstruction of the shadows, he could not properly see into the freezer’s depths. As a result, the lone figure, the figure of the one directly at the center of the turmoil stayed masked, unassuming even.

“Ah- you can’t do that!” Another voice spoke out. The voice this time around was the owner of the first voice that Hokusei heard through the door. “It’s my turn to play with him! Isn’t that right, Ki-”

“Che, move over, you saggy tits monster.” Miki rudely remarked as she glomped onto the arm of the single figure. That set of actions caused the owner of the arm to fluster, as he struggled with no real intention of shaking her off.

“Saggy ti-, you’re just angry that your flat, Miss washboard!” The owner of the wavy voice replied back.

“Washboard… uuu…” As if she had been the one insulted, the owner of the childish voice- a slightly small, petite female with a childish stature, groaned while she despondently placed her arms over her chests.

“Rude… He obviously likes them like this.” Miki replied back, a look of absolute confidence on her face. She puffed up her nonexistent chest while smirking slightly. She then turned one eye over towards the center of her attention, and in a semi-sultry voice, spoke, “Isn’t that right, Ki-”

“Ararara” Another voice interrupted, this time from a female with a pretty dynamic figure. She squinted her pristine eyes while she hugged the figure from behind. “It’s not nice to fight, you know.” She then tilted her head to face the one she was currently hugging. “You don’t like fighting do you, Ki-”

““Butt out, you vixen!”’ In almost perfect unison, Miki and the other one, yelled, a sort of fire lit up in their eyes. It was easy to tell, but these two apparently saw this new female on a much higher threat level than the other. Someone who held an absolute advantage over them regarding the concepts of love and romance.

“ah ha ha…” A weak and awkward laugh escaped from within the room. The owner of the laugh was from the man who held the center of all this attention. “Well, let’s try not to fight too much, okay girls? Moving around wastes a lot of energy…” He tiredly remarked while gesturing to his stomach.

“Ah, you don’t have to worry about that anymore!” Miki suddenly stated, as she drew closer to the man and cooed slightly. “I have good news! Ah, although it may be good news, it means that you'll have to leave the freezer... but don't worry, Miki will protect, I promise! After all I"m...” Miki rattled on like an overexcited little kid, not even aware that her conversation partner had long stopped listening.

“Good news?” The man repeated, tilting his head, and accidentally butting heads with the one who hugged him from the back.

At this time, Hokusei choose to step forward. As he drew closer, he saw the man’s face for the first time in a while. The face of a normal person with slightly above average looks came to view. He was an awkward looking guy who had no real merits- at least in Hokusei’s eyes, but somehow or the other, had several females around him.

An inexplicable situation which Hokusei had no answer to.

“Ah, Hokusei,” The man bowed his slightly as he greeted Hokusei. “It's been a while. How are you? And what did Miki mean when she said ‘good news’?”

Preparing himself to explain the current situation, Hokusei let loose all his tension with a single sigh. The man in front of him was by no means intimidating, rather from seeing how he was constantly swayed by the surrounding females, the man seemed like a rather weak willed individual. But even with all that into play, Hokusei couldn’t help but feel apprehensive. As if somewhere deep inside those almost puppy dog eyes, was a sort of hidden intention. A feeling which Hokusei himself could not explain, but undeniably still felt.

After a brief pause, Hokusei began. “Kido,” He uttered as he lightly greeted the still smiling young man.

****

Author's Note: If you liked this chapter, or this story in general, please rate or review. I really appreciate the feedback, it always helps.