“Well, the best place I can think of right now, is the mall. We could use that big-ass fountain in the main hall to take a bath and we will probably find some new clothes there as well. And we can equip ourselves with pretty much everything else we need. Plus,“ Jake took a deep breath, “ This might be a good place to look for...well, you know, other people. There must be survivors, somewhere.“
While he was addressing Jane, there was no actual need to convince her of his decision. She would follow him blindly wherever he went. But since the city had suddenly become a dangerous, a life-threatening place, Jake needed the feeling he was doing the right thing. Even more so since their encounter with the nagas and the blob. Usually he didn't give things much thought, but now that his smart and deliberate sister was unable to advise him, he knew he had to try and think carefully before acting. No, he wasn't trying to convince Jane. He wanted to convince himself and he successfully did. Yes, the mall was probably their best choice, offering solutions to several problems at once. It was also a place they knew rather well so it would be far easier to hide or flee from sudden threats, unlike the labyrinth of the subway. Thus, he winked at Jane and showed his most confident smile.
“Let´s do this, shall we?“ He didn't really expect an answer, but he was sure Jane was moving her lips a little. 'She´s trying, give her more time' he told himself. With his new resolve in his heart, he took his sister by the hand and led her through the streets. They were lucky, chance had brought them within eye shot to their new target already, so it was rather easy to go on. As easy as it could be, walking through a post-apocalyptic ghost-town. Naked on top of it, which even increased the feeling of an end time scenario.
It was dead silent and pretty cold. There was little movement between the forsaken houses and cars and half of it was probably just the product of their fantasy. The other half was...most likely not human. Several times, they found themselves hiding behind a car or in the corner of an entrance. Several times Jake´s arm almost went numb, so fearfully Jane clung to him. And several times, they got away undetected and unharmed. They never really saw the things lurking in the shadows of the city, though. Maybe the twins were just lucky. Maybe fate had even worse things lying ahead of them. In the end however, they made it to the mall.
It was an ugly block of concrete, large and now, no longer packed with people and activity, menacing and silent. The young boy could feel his sister grasping his hand even tighter as the building towered above them. And even Jake had to swallow several times until he finally took his first courageous steps towards their destination. Maybe it wasn't such a great idea after all?
No, there is no turning back now, after walking all the way through this nightmarish city!
With a familiar 'Swwsh' the automatic door slid open and the twins entered to building. Carefully, both of them looked around. Nothing suspicious could be seen. No monsters, but no people as well. In the lobby, water dabbled down different levels of the large fountain like it always did, unimpressed by the lack of humans. Everything was as normal as it could be, there was no reason to be frightened. And still, a forsaken mall felt scary in itself. The water of the fountain echoed through the corridors and so did the teenagers´ footsteps. God knew what creatures they might wake up.
“Ok, lets get rid of this disgusting stuff, then!“ They indeed needed to wash themselves badly, the smell they gave off was nearly unbearable by now. Before approaching the fountain, however, they took a little detour through a nearby fanshop, which was advertising towels with anime motives in the showcase. Jake noticed them and realized they might spare them catching a cold, assuming it wasn't too late already. And so, they equipped themselves with towels. Jake had gone for 'Dragonball Z', for Jane he chose one with a smiling schoolgirl, 'Haruhi Suzumiya', on it, striking a victory pose. He was sure if she had been able to do it, Jane would have picked that one herself. It was actually their first time 'stealing' something and even though the world was turned upside down and most people had vanished, it still felt strange just taking something from a shop without paying. They had been taught that stealing was a bad thing and so far neither of the two had broken that rule. But in the face of an apocalypse and the general absence of humans, that feeling was easy to overcome of course.
And so, finally, Jake and Jane stepped into the cool water together. while the water from the fountain wasn't exactly clean, it still felt great getting rid of all that dirt and...body fluids covering their bodies. Jake completely submerged several times and once he felt like he was more or less done, he made Jane do it was well. Due to her stay in the naga´s stomach, her condition was far worse than Jake´s and it took quite some time to wash her clean. The boy rubbed her back and noticed with relief, his sister was doing the same to her front. Having to take care of those parts of her body as well would have been...embarrassing to say the least. It also proved that, while still in a state of shock, Jane was starting to recover a little. He prayed silently she would regain her voice soon, as well.
Jake noticed that the bath also helped his sister´s injured body. Her skin burning red when she had left the naga stomach had changed into a bright pink on their way and now started to tone down a bit, slowly returning to it´s original color. Still, there were several wounds and it would probably take some time for them to heal. But for now, Jake concluded his observation, his sister was definitely looking better. At the same time he wondered whether she was still in pain. Judging from her body, she most likely was and had been ever since her miraculous rescue. And still she had followed him all this way, without breaking down, without crying, without any (non-verbal) complaints at all.
I really DO have a tough sister.
Even though she was mute, Jake was glad to have Jane by his side. The thought of having to deal with this whole situation completely on his own was...frightening. He had no idea if he would have been able to go on without her. Still, he wished they would find another living human, if only as proof they were not the only survivors of the catastrophe. Someone who could help him carry all this responsibility.
Once they felt more or less clean, and significantly refreshed, the siblings left the water and proceeded to towel themselves off. Again, Jake had to aid his sister and he had to do it carefully, rubbing too hard made Jane wince with pain, another proof that her wounds were far from healed.
For only one moment Jake looked at the anime superheroes on the towels and wondered if their own story would have a happy end as well. While the world had indeed turned into some kind of fantasy realm, he and his sisters had remained weak, fragile humans. Only their enemies were superhuman. It was so...unfair. Hopefully, this was one of those fantasy realms, where in the end the good prevailed anyway.
Fantasy or not, it was time to grab some clothes and then leave this creepy place. Jake couldn't wait to feel the familiar sensation of cotton on his skin once again.
“C´mon sis', lets go shopping!“ He smiled. The shop was on the first floor and after climbing the stagnant escalator, the twins entered it, avoiding to make too much noise and carefully scanning their surroundings for hidden threats. Jake breathed a sigh of relief as soon as he was positive there were no monsters around.
This place wasn't unknown to the them, they had been here many times, so they easily found their way through the hall stands and racks. Unknowingly, Jake led his sister to the girls wear department first, only to be confronted with an unexpected problem. He had no idea about Jane´s dress size. Or cup size. And Jane´s only response to his request to pick some clothes herself was a questioning look. A little irritated, Jake decided to put some clothes on himself first. If he was to dress his sister, it would probably be better if he was not naked. Just...in case. And maybe, just maybe, the reason Jane didn't tog by herself was that her brother was around, watching her. It was a small chance, but better than nothing. So, after repeating his request and assuring Jane he would be right back, he left for the boys wear department.
It was strange, but while they had been wandering around naked so far, he was uncomfortable with the thought of having Jane watch him robe. He would just do it fast and be back before something bad could happen to her. Soon, he reached his destination Jake was pretty straight forward when it came to clothes, so it certainly wouldn't take him long to pick a few things. In the end, it didn't matter much what he looked like during apocalypse. Jake was quickly scanning through the underwear and had just picked some underpants, when he suddenly heard a noise. He couldn't possibly describe what it was and for a moment he was sure it was just his wrought up imagination, but then he heard it again. He still had no idea what it was, but now at least he could make out where it came from. His eyes met with a changing cubicle. No doubt something was in there.
The boy gulped nervously. He had to make a decision quickly, leave or check it out? It could be another human, after all. And even it it wasn't it might be better to find a predator, before the predator found them. And so Jake...
