We spent the night sleeping in shifts in the salon. There’s no extra food, so we chose not to eat. The chairs and couches are surprisingly comfortable. We managed to set up most of the shop’s security, the manual portions anyway. Every so often a single grub will wander through the streets, but nothing like the hoards we saw earlier.

We’ve been passing the time trying to find more radio signals on my wrist comp. It’s made me popular. Just about everyone else here opted for an implant, but soldiers prefer wrist-comps because they can’t be manipulated as easily. When the government shutdown outside communication, that included neural implants. I feel for those with prosthetics that relied on those implants such as optics.

Conversations have been loud and nonstop about the best way to zero in on different radio stations. They’re forgetting these are essentially pirate stations. Signals sent out by unauthorized sources, fighting through whatever scramblers the government here enacted. At the moment Thore and Niko are arguing about the possibility of starting a small community on the outskirts of town. Niko thinks it would be better to build high, Thore wants to build in a valley. It’s all hypothetical. Aaimina has spent most of the time here sleeping or staring out the window.

“Will you two shut the hell up,” Marshall finally snaps on Thore and Niko.

I understand his rage, we’re losing time. But we decided to stay for a while longer, just until Niko can put weight on his leg for more than a few minutes. He hasn’t taken to being trapped well. At least with the hospital there was plenty of space to roam, and interesting things too see. Here there’s a few different magazines to look at for hairstyles that Marshall can’t pull off. I’m as frustrated as he is, but I can at least find ways to occupy myself.

“How you holding up,” I take a seat on the couch next to Aaimina.

“Still can’t believe Calista tried to burn us all up. I never liked her, and I didn’t think she was a good person. I just didn’t think that she would do something like that.”

“We never really know what someone is capable of until they do it.”

“I guess, what about you? You lost your friend Marki too.”

“Ah, I don’t know how I’m feeling. We had already lost her. We wanted to burn the body, just for prevention. I just thought it would be some kind of ceremony. But we never got a real chance to mourn and I think that’s what bothers me.”

“Everyone stop talking,” Marshall calls from the window.

Everyone panics and begins reaching for weapons when they see what he’s looking at. I’ve given my side arm to Aaimina. Thore is in possession of Marki’s rifle and Niko has her sidearm. We’re all prepared to shoot but Marshall instruct them to hold their fire. I take position at the window next to Marshall. A small hoard of no less than fifteen are making their way down the street. We’re entirely visible but they move past us, as if they can’t see is. It’s as if they make all of their moves based on instinct and scent. I think they’d be less scary if they just ran at us. At least that way we’d know there was no way to win. With them dragging their bodies down the street, moaning and lurching the fear is constantly present. The creatures bump into each other, occasionally slamming against the walls of the salon and giving us a fright but everyone is doing a good job of staying silent. Sound is one thing we know will draw their attention. A few stragglers wander aimlessly behind most of the hoard. We panic as one slams into the glass harder than the others.

Marshall and I both prepare our guns as it slams into the glass again. It’s mouth sporting a small set of pincers, leaking some yellow puss like material. Still it slams against, the glass. I’m unsure if it can see us or simply senses that someone is here. The glass can’t hold forever, and as it slams for the fourth time I prepare my rifle to fire. We’ll simply have to escape through the back, it was something we planned in the event of emergency. If it breaks through the glass, that’s an emergency and my sign to shoot. Niko hobbles across the room, not unlike the grubs. He places his hands on our guns, trying to keep us from firing. The grub is currently rubbing it’s face across the glass back and forth. Unsure why it can’t pass through the barrier. We hold our fire, as another grub bumps into. The two flail their arms at each other for a few moments before once attempts to bite. The two struggle before giving up, realizing it is futile for them to try devouring one another. Losing track of the hoard, they move on in different directions.

“We need to get moving,” Marshall speaks first when the terror has passed.

“We need to get out of the city,” Thore argues.

The two of them go at it verbally about what we need to be doing. Marshall argues they all agreed to help find the beacon. Thore argues they didn’t know it was so bad outside. Both are right. The argument would have been settled if anyone else had spoken to Marshall that way, or Thore. The huge size of Thore is only matched by Marshall’s confidence and pure threatening demeaner.

“Hey, look, we can get to the beacon. If that doesn’t get us off the planet we’ll find another group outside the city. It’s not like we’ve been able to contact anyone right now,” I try to calm the two down without stepping between them.

“Duane is right,” Niko intervenes. “We just need to get moving for now.”

“Can you walk,” I ask Niko as Thore and Marshall separate themselves.

“I can go for now, we just need to get moving.”

“Alright, then let’s get going.”