Power Fantasy

by Scottie Futch

  “Fine. Have everyone strip down in the back and check each other for bites or scratches,” said Scott. “Unless, you want to be sitting next to someone who is potentially about to turn into a flesh-eating sex fiend.”

  “What? You expect us to get naked in front of you, you perve!” cried one of the girls in the back.

  “No. I want to get everyone who is covered in blood washed up, and have everyone checked for injuries,” said Scott. “We don’t know how long we’ll be on this bus, and I certainly do think that we need to grab supplies for at least the night.”

  “Looting? You expect us to rob a store?” asked Shit-do, as though such a thing seemed morally reprehensible. In a normal emergency, such as the aftermath of a hurricane it would make sense to feel similarly. This was no hurricane, however. It was more akin to survival in a war-torn land.

  “Yes,” said Scott in a matter of fact tone. “If the police are able to actually bother arresting looters then clearly things aren’t that bad. If not, then we need those supplies because we’re essentially on our own.”

  “Why are you making decisions for everyone?” asked Momoko bitingly. “Who elected you our leader?”

  “No one,” said Scott. “If you have a better idea feel free to speak it. I’m keen on doing anything better than driving till we hit a roadblock or run out of gas.”

  “There is no need to expose ourselves to danger,” said Shit-do dramatically. “Surely, we will find emergency service personnel soon.”

  “I can’t believe I’m saying this…” said Tosh. He looked at Scott then over to Momoko. “He isn’t wrong… I’m starving.”

  As though the flood gates had been unleashed a tidal wave of growling stomachs crashed down upon the near silence of the bus. One of those growling stomachs belong to Shit-do. In the end, the bus democratically elected to stop at the next available place to pick up supplies.

  Chapter Three

  The next available place to stock up proved to be a small convenience store. The bus plowed into a zombie shambling around in the road and pulled to a stop. The bits of corpse now stuck to the grill of the bus slid sickeningly down the front then fell to the ground in a disgusting display of unnecessary gore.

  Scott made a quick save and hopped off the bus while citing that he would scout the area. Surprisingly, Saiko opted to join him.

  Once they did a quick circle most of the way around the building, dispatching two zombies in the process, she stopped him before they went all the way back to the front. Unseen by anyone on the bus, she drew her sword and pointed it at him.

  “What are your intentions?” she asked him casually.

  Scott looked at her wooden sword then back into her eyes. “My intentions are to find supplies, and to get cleaned up. There might also be further news.”

  “Really? Nothing else?” asked Saiko.

  He shrugged at her. “If there’s a working vehicle here, it might not be a bad idea to separate from the people at the back of the bus.”

  “I see. So, you intend to leave everyone?” she asked him in a casual tone.

  “No. I intend to give everyone options,” said Scott. “Our two groups aren’t going to become one survival group with that douchebag trying to start his own cult or whatever.”

  “What exactly happened back at the school?” she pressed. “You seem to be personally offended by his presence on the bus, not unlike Jade.”

  Scott quickly related the events to her in no small amount of detail. He did not want to take to long to explain as the rest of the people on the bus might notice the length of time it took them to scout the area.

  “He did that?” she asked him curiously. “I can see now why you would not want to take orders from him.”

  “I don’t care who ends up calling the shots. Worst case scenario, I find the situation intolerable and leave,” said Scott. “What I do care about is whether or not they’ll be likely to get people killed just to save their own ass.”

  “Agreed,” she said calmly. Saiko eyed him for a moment then slashed her blade to the side. “You continue to impress me.”

  “Are you perhaps, a sheltered child?” asked Scott. “I’m not that impressive, you know.”

  She practically barked out the laugh that erupted suddenly from her innermost depths. The light twinkled in her eyes. Scott did not need to check her waifu stats to know that she had increased her opinion of him once more.

  “Anyway…” said Scott. “While I don’t mind standing around basking in the glow of your awesomeness and all that, we have things to do.”

  She grinned at him then motioned forward with her wooden blade. “Lead the way.”

  He grinned back at her in kind then turned around. Before he took a step, however, he looked back at her and wiggled his butt a little. “Don’t fall in love with what you see. I’ll break your heart.”

  “Just go!” she exclaimed with a laugh.

  He laughed as well, and they walked back to the front of the store. Once they made it back around, Tosh poked his head out of the bus door. “Is it clear?”

  “The outer perimeter needed to be cleaned up a bit, but it’s fine now. Need to check inside,” said Scott.

  Tosh looked to Saiko. She nodded. “There weren’t many.”

  He nodded at her then hopped down from the bus. “I’ll help.”

  “Cool,” said Scott.

  He turned back to the store and headed for the doors. A chime echoed as they entered the store. The first thing he saw other than the food and water lining the shelves was a man standing behind a store counter.

  Scott recognized him slightly. In one of the earlier episodes of the show, the survivors drove past a store with a clerk basically standing around in shock. The store clerk at this store looked similar to real-life version of that man.

  “Yo, you alive?” asked Scott loudly.

  The man did nothing but blink. Scott tried to get his attention for a moment, but the man did not respond.

  “Is he one of … Them?” asked Tosh.

  “Not sure… Might just be in shock,” said Scott.

  “Can you blame him?” asked Tosh.

  “No. I’m surprised all of us aren’t acting like that,” said Scott. He looked back at Tosh and Saiko. “I’ll go check on him. If he’s alive, that means there probably aren’t any of the dead in the store.”

  “Yeah. He’s pretty quiet, but I doubt they would not have found him by now,” said Saiko.

  Scott walked over to the catatonic man and began to look him over. There were not obvious signs of injury. So, Scott reached out and took the man’s arm. “Still nothing?” he asked quietly.

  “So?” asked Saiko.

  “He’s alive, just catatonic I guess?” asked Scott.

  “Ah!” shouted the man excitedly.

  “Eh?” asked Scott, even as the formerly catatonic man began to flail his arms and scream.

  It took quite some time to calm him down, several minutes in fact. Enough time passed that Jade came to inspect the store. The shouting could not be heard outside, for some reason, so no one knew what had happened.

  “So, you found a survivor who was in shock?” asked Jade.

  “Yeah. The place is clean of Them,” said Tosh.

  “I’m heading back to the bus,” said Scott. “Gonna let everyone know what is going on.”

  In the background, the thoroughly shaken man drank from a bottle of water and tried his best to get warm. His body temperature seemed fine, but he felt cold somehow. The world itself seemed to be chillier than it was earlier that day.

  “No. I’ll go,” said Jade. “I …”

  “I get it,” said Scott. “I don’t want to risk that shit bird locking us out and driving away, either.”

  She nodded at him then left to head back to the bus. After she left, Scott began to look around. Summer soon came inside to check on the shocked clerk, bus keys in hand.

  While she checked him over, Scott decided to head to the rest room in the back. On
the way, he found a vending machine.

  “Really? Why put a vending machine in a convenience store? Isn’t that just begging for a shoplifter?” In his opinion, that machine needed to sell something the rest of the store did not.

  Curious, he reached out and touched the machine without any expectations. Happily, the Japanese language shifted into English. Even more interestingly, a message window appeared.

  System Store Location Unlocked

  You have unlocked a system store. The first store is free. Future unlockable locations must be purchased at the time of discovery. System stores generally appear in locations that would be considered natural for such places to appear. Actual stores, market stalls, and vending machines are common locations.

  “So, this is a system store?” asked Scott. While he was more than a little annoyed that his first free store would turn out to be a vending machine he would never visit again, he was still excited to see what he might do with his points.

  The vending machine items seemed to be normal drinks, albeit parody brands of popular sodas. He splurged one hundred item points to buy a Mella Fella soda.

  Mella Fella

  A popular drink known to restore health and energy.

  - Restores 5 Hit Points

  - Restores 20 Energy Points

  The blurb alone was interesting, but he soon received further information. This drink would work on people who did not have access to his system and could quickly heal minor injuries.

  He bought another Mella Fella, and then tried a different drink, Dr. Spice. It proved to have the exact same effects, however.

  Scott slipped them into a bag he grabbed nearby, then headed to the bathroom. He had a drink to chug.

  Scott noticed something in the backroom of the store as he was about to walk into the rest room. Boxes. Lots and lots of boxes. More to the point, there were piles of clothes laid out on a table.

  He investigated, and it did not take long for him to realize that this was a seasonal thing for the store. Leftovers from a back to school sale after the summer break. There were a few book bags, which would be useful for carrying food, and different kinds of clothing. Most of those clothes were the kind of thing someone would wear during physical education classes, however. The schools in the area required uniforms, after all.

  “Convenience stores in Japan really are convenient…” he said lightly.

  Curious, he performed a quick search of the clothing options and discovered a simple outfit in his size. It would leave his arms and legs exposed, but at least he would not be covered in gore.

  Scott grabbed a pair of running shoes that seemed likely to fit, some socks, and of course a shirt and pair of shorts. There was a section for travel items, such as really small bars of soap. He grabbed a handy travel bag filled with such things and headed to the bathroom.

  Not long after, he was clean and dressed less appropriately for the apocalypse. Even so, he did not have to worry about zombie blood getting into various places on his body. His Dr. Spice, the drink he chose to partake of, went down smooth and did the job it was designed to do.

  Some of his energy restored, he opted to itemize a few things on the shelves while he loaded up a backpack full of water bottles and food. Unlike American convenience stores, the stores in this color saturated Japan had a lot more food options. It wasn’t all just junk food. Admittedly, it was a small selection, but it still existed.

  He grabbed up a plate of fried chicken and began to stuff his face while he worked. It would go to waste if left unattended, so he might as well do his part for the environment.

  “I thought we were getting supplies, not stuffing our faces?” asked a new arrival in her customary biting tone.

  Scott glanced over toward Momoko. She and a few of the students from the back of the bus had come in not long ago. “If you want some chicken, just ask. There’s not enough for everyone, you know.”

  Momoko snorted at him, but then her stomach rumbled a little. “Whatever. Hand it over.”

  He briefly considered telling her to go fuck herself but decided against it. This was just how she spoke. He did not want to keep building tension between the original group members and himself.

  “Since you asked so sweetly,” he replied with a smile. Scott tossed her a little box of fried chicken. She popped the top open and then sighed softly. Comfort food. It truly was… comforting.

  Momoko started snacking and elected to stay close to Scott for the moment. This of course put a damper on him trying to itemize various things. The few things he had itemized in the store so far only gave him a point each, anyway. Most of what he found were items that his system chose not to itemize anyway.

  It was inevitable that people would notice that they were eating. Several of them were angry at first, until Scott pointed out that it was all perishable stuff and there wasn’t a lot of it. The convenience store guy had calmed himself down enough to interject. There was plenty of chicken prepped in the back. It just needed to be fried.

  It was soon agreed upon that the store clerk and two volunteers would cook some of the perishable stuff in the store so that everyone would have a chance at a hot meal. Meanwhile, they would load supplies onto the bus.

  Shit-do, for all his bluster about becoming the leader of the group did not so much as step foot off the bus until it was time to eat. It was obvious that he was hoping to take the chance to steal the bus, but the promise of a hot meal had seduced his cult followers away.

  “So, you really don’t want to come with us?” asked Scott.

  The store clerk shook his head. “No. This place has tinted shatter proof windows, and concrete walls. If I don’t go outside, they won’t see or hear me.”

  Scott nodded to him. If he locked and barricaded the door then there would be enough supplies here to last him for several weeks, possibly months if he was alone. It wasn’t a good long-term solution, but it was not a bad short-term plan if someone was alone.

  “I just… I can’t go out there right now,” said the man. He nibbled softly at the sausage he had acquired for himself.

  “I get it,” said Scott.

  “C-can I stay?” asked a timid sounding voice. It was one of the guys from the back of the bus.

  A few more people spoke up asking for the chance to stay behind. The clerk did not mind. He was honestly happy about the idea that he would not be alone. The matter would have been settled save for Shit-do speaking up once more.

  “This is not the time to separate! As a teacher it is my responsibility to ensure your safety until we can reach help!” he exclaimed.

  This time, several of the students who had followed him previously turned belligerent eyes toward the man. This store was not a fortress, but it had food and water. The walls were tough, and there was even a television to watch in the little side break room. It was like a mini fort in the apocalypse. How would riding around on a crowded bus be safer?

  More and more of the students from the bus opted to stay behind after that. Seven of them in total. Shit-do, of course decreed that this meant that they should all stay.

  Scott spoke up immediately upon hearing that. “Won’t work. That’s too many people staying here.”

  He looked to the clerk. “Unless there’s another store to raid nearby?”

  The clerk shook his head. “The closest other store is a gas station about, I dunno… five kilometers down the road?”

  Those words were taken into consideration as Scott thought things over. In real people numbers, that distance was a little over three miles. They could walk that far, but the clerk probably had a car. If most of the people chose to stay, they could probably survive a week or two if they gathered supplies now.

  Of course, the matter could not be ended so simply. Shit-do began spouting off about how they could not be allowed to take the bus with their precious provisions.

  This time, those who chose to stay turned their belligerence toward Scott and those who wished to leave. The store clerk was the only o
ne who remained neutral. If not for Scott and the others, he would probably still be staring blankly at a wall.

  “You people really are the neediest, least thankful, assholes on the planet. You know that?” asked Scott.

  In the end, everyone chose to stay except for the original core group and Scott. Even the guy Scott had saved back at the school chose to stay. Though, in his defense he had an injured ankle. He couldn’t exactly make a run for it when something inevitably happened to the bus.

  Scott gave the injured teen one of his drinks and some Tylenol that he had found. Hopefully, it would help his injury heal faster. The Tylenol was to mask the effect of any lessening pain so that the guy wouldn’t know that it was the drink that made him feel better.

  Taco and Nami came up to Scott as the group was getting ready to leave. “Thank you, for everything…”

  Scott smiled at them and waved his hand dismissively. “It’s cool. I’m glad you both made it out.”

  “We can’t go back out there right now… but we didn’t want you to think we were like the rest of them,” said Taco. “We appreciate what you did for us.”

  “Yeah,” said Naomi tearfully. “If you hadn’t stayed back to help us… we...”

  Scott nodded to her then offered another smile to them both. “It’s cool. You two should get inside before we draw another crowd.”

  They had killed off a few zombies that wandered over to the store due to the noise of loading the bus earlier. It should have ended there with the groups splitting off, but a loud feminine outcry pierced the air.

  All eyes turned toward the source. Shit-do had Summer by the arm and was trying to drag her back inside.

  Scott immediately rushed over with his brush axe at the ready. “Let her go.”

  “You can all leave with the supplies you stole, but we need Ms. Oppai to stay here!” exclaimed Shit-do.

  Before Scott could reach him, however, a pfft of air signaled a change in the narrative. Shit-do suddenly screech in pain then clawed at a nail that had sunk deep into the meat of his shoulder.