At the hospital where silence is the only companion.
Two figures moved along the dark grim corridors, each carrying two bags filled with multiple things.
"This place looks depressing as fuck, take a look" Billy spat pointing at a half-eaten corpse lying in front of them.
He caught Sasuke leaving after getting back with Katniss and driving in two fucking humvees full to the brim with weapons and ammunition they got from the military camp around there.
And he didn't take a no for answer stating he would either come along or Sasuke stay and get some rest.
"That man who woke up here, he was lucky this section is bare of any walker"
"Sure he is, man looked like a lost puppy thrown at the moon when we first found him in a house near us. He is supposed to contact Morgan at dawn" Billy opened the door leading to the stairs slowly, flashing the light.
While Sasuke just kept silent as he knew what is waiting for Rick and was somewhat anxious.
Anxious that things may play out differently and they lose Rick which will only bring about regret and guilt to him for not following the man.
" next is the cafeteria, you think we will find food down there?"
"Either that or we will be the ones being served" Sasuke shrugged taking the lead down, one hand holding his blade while the other is finally being armed with his silverballer, now having the much needed ammo for it.
"That is optimism in my book, guess we gonna find out–oh shit!"
2, 5, 9...16 walker turned simulataneously toward them the moment Sasuke opened the door to the hall that is the dining area for the staff working in the hospital.
Billy's nerves get worked due to the darkness yet Sasuke simply aimed his gun and started firing.
He achieved headshots like he was playing a game, each bullet resulted in a walker down and soon he fired all 9 in his chamber.
Billy took turn holding his silenced glock and too started firing as sasuke cast the light at them while reloading.
Billy took the remaining 7 down with 9 shots as two hit the neck area due to a sudden move from the walkers.
"Well done, like usual, let's keep our attention up... something is not right here" sasuke said as both of them walked to a side looking around.
The place was as expected, stinky, bloodied, and a mess all over.
Sasuke noticed the area closed at the side, the supposed kitchen and storage section that are behind the locked double iron doors.
Holding his fist Sasuke pointed at the side and Billy occupied a door with Sasuke leaning on the other looking at each other before peering from the small glass.
"Think someone is in there?" Billy whispered.
"Let's find out" Sasuke tapped the metal door with the hilt of his sword.
Once, twice, thrice.
There was a shift but nothing else.
"We are entering" Billy nodded keeping light on the place while Sasuke worked on the lock and soon the double door opened.
A heavy foul smell assaulted them even through the masks they were wearing.
Moving forward Sasuke kept looking at everything around ready to react.
Soon they were in the kitchen and both saw the source of the noise.
A naked walker in all but a boxer was tied to a rope, possibly a suicide.
The thing is...he is turned even when he should be dead by suffocation, and sasuke knows why.
It was the same with Rick's friend who woke as a walker after being shot.
An intact brain always results in a walker after death.
And so they found the source of the heavy stench, multiple bags around were filled with...bodily wastes.
"Another one who chose to end it, was he bitten?" The walker was rotten all over, you can't even know the front from the back if not for his mouth facing their way.
"Doesn't matter" Sasuke thew a senbon ending his struggle.
"There is too much food wastes around that can be only consumed during more than a week's periode. Maybe he tried to escape and got injured before retreating to end it or maybe he did it from despair of holing up here in the dark alone for too long"
"And like others we discovered, turned after death..."
"Let's go to the storage area" with that they left the kitchen walked down the corridor and soon arrived at another metallic door.
*Tap* *tap* *tap*
They waited and after few breaths sasuke pushed the door open stepping back with billy flashing their lights.
"Guess luck favored us tonight" maybe because the hospital expected a lot of people, maybe because the only survivor here gave up his life after a short periode, in any case.
The big room inside was stacked.
Boxes atop boxes were piled all around.
Some of them were wet and had a bad smell. Others were good.
A further stash in the corner revealed more than 10 bags of flour.
Gallons of water and canned food were in another corner.
Canned soups, fruits and meat enough to last their group for a long time.
They both ignored the refrigerator in the side.
"This will take time to move" Sasuke stated not liking the idea one bit.
Moving those alone would take many trips due to the lack of manpower, not including the risks.
"Now i see this, i have something to ask you boy. Look, don't get it wrong. I just want to have it out of my mind"
Billy spoke as they started searching around to make sure no place was unchecked as they did every supply run.
"Don't worry and shoot, i will clear it for you if i know something" Sasuke said as they both sat on carton boxes holding sugar packs inside.
" Like i said boy i hope you don't feel bad, it's just that my head can't stop thinking about it"
Billy patted his back making sure Sasuke understood his point.
"C'mon old man now you are scaring me, just say it don't worry i have a big heart"
"I saw things in the building we are in when we were helping to clean the mess in there. I didn't think about it too much at first, but this morning when we were running to get fuel around i get close to the mall"
'he knows hah' Sasuke didn't mind tho, he figured it would be much better if someone he trust knows their advantage so they can plan better and act more effectively.
"Items, like...every fucking useful thing in both places were missing. I know you are damn strong and all corpses there were dead by your style. Like i said Sasuke, i'm not accusing, i'm not interrogating you or anything. I'm just sharing my thoughts like we've always done.
I see you take things from that backpack everytime we need a specefic item like you saw the furure and knew we were gonna need it. Even a freaking lock, no one travels with a big, heavy useless lock"
"Well, i honestly wasn't sure about wether to tell you or not. Guess i'll just say it"
Billy waited, he was just curious and didn't want those stupid doubts to stay rolling in his head.
"You know about runes?, power of words and all that yada yada"
"No horseshit, ya think i would be askin if i knew?" Billy laughed lighting a cigarette.
"Well now you do, believe it or not, long story short i got fucking secret superpower, technology, curse, name it whatever you want that enable me to store non-living things into a pocket dimension" Sasuke spoke and saw Billy checking the cigarette as if afraid he used the wrong thing.
"Or, you can think of it as a personal hole where instead of having my dick disappear into, i got to put other things there safely and retrieve them whenever i want. Time stops there" before Billy reacted to the words he just heard he saw Sasuke suddenly make weird gestures before pressing his palm under the box he was sitting on.
Billy felt the sudden lack of physical support under him as he fell to his ass, his cigarette falling beside him with an astonished look on his face, mouth agape as he turned looking around trying to find the box that was under him just a second ago.
"Didn't tell you cause i know how freakish would that look, happy now?" Sasuke spoke with tired tone not knowing how is the man gonna react to this.
It was honestly a gamble that can turn really bad in moments.
Yet once again, Billy surprised him by that freakish ability to adapt to anything that was thrown at him.
"Ya serious? You think i would fear ya motherfucker for having a shit this awesome? And to think we were busting our asses all along when you could just...fuckin hide'em in a dark corner of this fucked up world!!" Billy stood dusting his pants looking at sasuke like he was seeing an open gold vault.
"No shit. I would better have even a fucking ghost as a friend if that meant i wouldn't be worrying about our shit getting stolen when we ain't lookin', food getting spoiled, and how much can possibly two tired fuckers carry and run." He held his forehead looking around with a wide grin still in disbelief, he even thought he may had switched a normal cigarette with cracks and he is losing it now.
"Well we are good then, but seriously man...i don't want this getting out"
sasuke stood and looked at him with a serious expression, one of the few Billy came to see those days from him.
"Look at me Sasuke, i'm not a stupid asshole, i would lay my fucking neck for ya- nah fuck that. I will just bust my head myself if i turned to be that stupid. Now can you please do that fucking magic? My back is hurting like a bitch now"
Billy put his hands on the boy's shoulders looking like a homeless man leaning on to look at a golden mansion he found hidden behind the public toilet.