Chapter 23

Needless to say, after having witnessed the 'proper' way to take care of humans, Tsuki was thoroughly determined to leave all the preparations of the meals to the others in the future. After the meal, he was also properly introduced to the others.

Veyn: "We should move out as soon as possible. The fact that those humans appeared in this isolated place indicates that they are starting to get desperate for food and that they are quickly adapting to the situation."

Alphonse: "We'll move out under the cover of the night. We have the advantage right now that you are all zombies."

Mercy: "I feel weird and normal at the same time. One thing is sure; I do feel stronger."

Riot: "We won't have to worry about the zombies on the way now. We can boss them around!"

Alphonse: "For now, we'll gather all the necessities before we out tonight. Go explore and bring back anything useful. We'll be taking the off-road vehicles, so load them."

****

Two jeep crawled slowly over the rough terrain under the bleak moonlight. Alphonse was calmly leading the way with Tsuki, Midori and Riot as companions. Veyn was following closely behind with the rest of the ragtag group.

Riot, who was quietly taking in the scenery with his new vision with his head leaning on his hand, suddenly spoke in a hushed tone, “Alphonse?”

Alphonse: “Hmmm?”

Riot: “…do you think they will try to take us back by force?”

Midori broke his gaze from a drooling Tsuki, who was dead asleep, to give him a profound look.

Alphonse glanced at him quickly before replying, “they’ll definitely try. But none of us will let them.”

“Yea, none of us will.” He whispered with a bittersweet smile.

****

The next time Tsuki opened his eyes, he found himself alone in the jeep. He glimpsed outside while wiping his drool, “……I am surrounded by mountains!”

Well to be more precise, he was surrounded by steep hills with a mountainous region further away.

Just at this time, Midori came running down one of the hills and stopped before him. Tsuki opened his mouth to loudly greet him before he was rudely shushed.

“Don’t talk loudly! A military troop is passing by just behind this hill. Talk quietly.” Midori whispered with a hand blocking Tsuki’s mouth.

Tsuki nodded and indicated to Midori to remove his hands, “are there a lot?”

Midori nodded with a glum face, “yes. About fifty vehicles. All fully armed. They are going in the direction of the city. The others are discreetly scouting the area to see if there are more of them.”

Tsuki got out of the car and quietly scanned the surroundings. “Everything will be going to hell from now on, won’t it?” He said with a hushed voice.

Midori went to stand at his side, “yes. We are going to have to increase our numbers and get our base settled quickly. Alphonse said we’ll be leaving as soon as the way is clear. He fears that the military will get a grip of the situation faster than he anticipated. ”

Tsuki nodded, “okay. Let’s wait in the car so as not to delay then.”

****

A few days later, they finally reached their destination in tense silence. Even Tsuki was quieter than usual. Along the way, he couldn’t help but send worried glances at Alphonse. The latter’s face looked it had frozen ever since they encountered the military troop.

They all got out of the car in solemn silence and waited for Alphonse to speak. The latter took in the area and zeroed his gaze on one of the tallest and biggest mountain. It looked nearly black from here, with splashes of green and brown here and there. It was also surrounded by the other smaller mountains; as if they were preciously guarding it.

He pointed a finger at the mountain and spoke, “this one will be our main base. As our numbers increase, the others will occupy the surrounding mountains. The zombies with higher combat power will live nearest to the main base and those that don’t want to fight will live in the surrounding terrain. They will be able to farm and provide for food here.”

Veyn nodded, “you seem quite used to the terrain here. Were you here during one of your missions before?”

Alphonse nodded tersely and Veyn knowingly nodded before changing the subject, “how are we going to divide the work?”

Alphonse, “Mercy, Midori, Riot and I will go search for zombies that will contribute to our forces while you, Tsuki and Steve start the constructions. We’ll send others on your way to help as soon as they are deemed competent and trustworthy. Veyn, I trust you know how to go about using the terrain to your advantage and how to carve the mountain?”

Veyn nodded, “are there any specifications?”

Alphonse: “Go with the labyrinth style. And Tsuki’s bedroom will be at the top with a balcony. Apart from that, do whatever you deem appropriate.”

Veyn: “Roger that.”

With that said the others tacitly left Alphonse and Tsuki alone to say their goodbyes.

Tsuki looked at Alphonse with pink tears brimming in his eyes. He wanted to say that he wanted to go with Alphonse but he ultimately knew that he would be a distraction. He may have behaved foolishly at times but could be sensible when the situation demanded it. So, he pressed his lips together and tried to prevent the tears from falling.

Alphonse gently wiped away the tears, “don’t cry. I’ll be back quickly. Listen to Veyn and avoid any mischief, okay?”

Tsuki nodded.

Alphonse: “I’ll also be counting on you to look after the two of them, okay?”

A nod again.

Alphonse, “don’t forget to eat and don’t be picky with your food. Also don’t go far alone. I’ll bring back delicious foods that I find along the way.”

The answer was only a nod. Alphonse gently tugged him and hugged him tightly.

Alphonse: “It’s going to be okay. Take care in the meantime, little moon.”

He kissed his head before taking a step back. He gave Tsuki one last smile before calling Mercy, Riot and Midori to him.

Alphonse: “You three, let’s be on our way. Midori say goodbye.”

He exchanged a significant glance with Veyn and Steve, gave Tsuki one last look before breaking into a run. Mercy gave them all a smile before following him. Midori gave Tsuki a quick hug before taking off after them. He couldn’t help himself from stopping midway and glancing at Tsuki quietly crying in the distance.

Tsuki gave a bitter smile as he watched Midori mouth ‘see you soon’ to him before running to catch after the others. Veyn and Steve put a comforting hand on his shoulder and thought to themselves, ‘don’t worry brother, we’ll take care of him as you asked.’