A rumbling could be heard throughout the supermarket as a speeding shopping cart shot through aisle after aisle. Chaos was left in its wake as items of all kinds spilled off of the store’s shelves and, many times, onto the floor below, missing the cart.

“Hey, hey, do we need this?” Redlette, emerging from a pile of items in the shopping cart’s basket, held out a neck pillow towards Herring who promptly swatted it away and then slowed down to pick it back up and place it on a nearby shelf. Despite being relegated to the cart due to making countless impulsive decisions, Redlette still found a way to accrue useless items within it.

“I can’t imagine a reality in which we’d need a neck pillow.” Herring sighed, returning to the cart and placing his hands on the handles once more. Then, motioning to the large travel backpack they’d put in the cart, he continued, “You do realize everything we get will have to fit in this, right?”

“Yeah, but… There’s just so much cool stuff.” Redlette whined, disheartened. “I never imagined this much stuff even existed, but it’s all just sorta right here. Ripe for the picking!”

Herring began to stroll more cautiously, giving himself the time to filter out Redlette’s knickknacks she endlessly snagged for their adventure. In a sense, he could sympathize with her. Although he’d been going to them his whole life, even he knew how much of a phenomenon supermarkets were. Moreover, though, he found it very sad that, despite the many years Redlette had lived in America, she’d never once been to one.

“...Well, I’ve seen them on TV, I guess. But that’s totally different! So much of what’s on TV is total BS.”

“Yeah, I suppose it would be different.” Herring conceded, momentarily stopping to scratch his head. His friend was a pain, but an understandable one at least. She’d likely never been permitted to go out due to her otherworldly features. It was only due to the guise of the Halloween season that he’d felt comfortable taking her out, himself. And now that she could go about and roam to her heart’s content, she was about to leave the world… Leave the world… It still sounded strange. “Anyways, try to be a bit more selective, won’t you? Look but don’t touch, and whatnot. You’re making a mess.”

“Fine…” Redlette moaned, sticking out her lips and pouting. This fake-cutesy reaction only irritated Herring, though, and all it did was cause him to want to bop her on her head. So, he did—not like it’d hurt her. All it did was cause her to flinch and break her out of her mood. “We’re just shopping, aren’t we? It’s not like anybody’s gonna do nothing—”

As if raising a flag, it was then that the two were taken out of their interpersonal dispute by the distinct sound of an “ahem” from behind them. Craning their heads with looks of poorly cloaked anxiety and guilt, the two looked upon the person who’d emerged to their sides. With a look of gentle yet intense hostility on his face, the person—the store manager—gazed upon the ruined aisles that he’d waded through to get to them. Then, with the coldest intonation conceivable, he spoke, “Excuse me, dear patrons, but I fear I will have to ask you to leave.”

And thus, they were thrown out of the store, having been swiftly escorted to its exit and practically shoved out the door. They’d been forced to leave with nothing. Redlette had near pleaded with the man to let them at least check out first, but their antics were no longer entertained. He wanted them gone.

Lingering in silence for a bit, the two slumped up against the store’s outside walls. The excitement and energy that was previously held in the air had fully dissipated, leaving nothing but awkward silence.

The silence was broken by Herring who couldn’t go without getting a few chide words in. “I feel like I’m meant to say something here, but you already know what that’d be. Isn’t that right?”

Recovering from the searing bleakness that had burned its way into her soul, Redlette sighed and pepped up. Speaking with a knowingly slow draw, she taunted her friend, “Hmm… I dunno… Oh, you wanna say that you’re just enjoying my company, so so much—”

“I told you so! And you’re an idiot!” Herring blurted, not willing to entertain her mocking. At that point he was near literally fuming, his sweat-soaked forehead almost steaming from the sheer embarrassment of the confrontation. “Ugh… there isn’t another supermarket for another hour’s walk. We’re wasting daylight.”

“Mmm…” Redlette bit her tongue as she was about to say words of encouragement and optimism. Instead, she started with admitting her wrongdoings, “Sorry, man. Guess I just got a bit carried away. My bad.”

Herring, calming down, stood up and wiped off his pants from where he was on the ground. He’d completely dismissed his earlier spite. “It’s whatever. We just gotta get going.”

“Mhm! Let’s go!” Redlette followed his lead, plucking herself into a standing position. Together, the two of them prodded across the parking lot. Even though they’d been momentarily held up, they wouldn’t let that keep them down.

They were nearly off the property when someone called out to them.

“Waaaaaiiiiiittttt!!! Hold up, you damn kids!” A gruff voice called out from behind them followed by the squeaking sound of a crappy shopping cart and the heavy stomping of a pair of boots. It was a hefty man who looked as though he could be a lumberjack and was clad in grease stained clothes that had approached them, screeching to a halt as he nearly passed them due to the momentum built from his cart. By the time he’d arrived he was hunched over and completely out of breath.

With a deep, booming voice that broke between desperate pants for air, he raised a meaty finger at Redlette. “You… I shoulda known you were a troublemaker.”

“Hm…? Do you know him?” Herring, beyond confused as to who could know Redlette in his town, was baffled. However, she, too, was baffled and tilted her head in dog-like wonder.

“Eh? Do I know you?”

Now at a loss of breath for a different reason, the man’s jaw hung in the air, apparently unable to comprehend how he wasn’t known. Shaking off the shock, the man finally stood up properly and looked at Redlette in mild disbelief, but most of all, an exhaustion which Herring could deeply relate to. “You’re kidding me, kid. You give me a hundred dollar bill for a hot dog, and you don’t even remember me?”

“Oh… yeah… You’re that funny fat dude.” Redlette came to the realization of who the man was, earning her a “You didn’t really do that, did you?” side eye from Herring. He’d felt it best not to break the scene and say his disbelief aloud.

“Uh, yeah… I suppose I’m that funny fat dude… Anyways, here. Y’all got in a bit of trouble, so I took the liberty of—”

Not waiting for the man to finish, Redlette had peeked into the man’s cart. She immediately recognized the contents of it. Piled up in a large array of bags was every item that had found its way into their cart. “No way…! Herring, c’mere and look! It’s all our stuff!”

“You’re kidding…” Herring rushed over to Redlette’s side and sifted through the bags of items. There was no mistake, it was everything they’d bought.

“Think of this as me repaying you. I wasn’t exactly raised to take handouts. Especially not ones from a kid.” The man grew bashful from looking upon the two’s excitement at seeing their items. It was likely he hadn’t thought it to be as big of a favor as it was, but to them, it was their saving grace.

Overwhelmed with emotion and relief, Redlette leapt up onto the man and hugged him, wrapping her arms around her neck and swinging off of him. She’d done the same thing to Herring and it’d knocked him over, but the man didn’t even have to adjust his footing to receive the hug. “Thanks, man. We appreciate it.”

“Yeah, thanks.” Herring echoed, a warm genuine smile on his face.

Once Redlette let go of the man, he was taken back in a timid splendor. He’d just received such an intense thanks from a total stranger, after all. Anybody would be a bit flustered. So, he just broke out into a stammering chuckle. “Buhuhuh… It ain’t that big of a deal. It ain’t, it ain’t.”

“No, you really saved us. You don’t even know.” This time Herring took the initiative and spoke up, which was effective at breaking the man out of his trance.

“Yeah, I figured. A buncha this stuff is camping equipment. Y’all are probably heading out on a trip soon, huh?” Eyeing the bags once more, the man scratched at his stubble.

“Yup!”

“Yeah.” Very poorly half-lying the two quickly gave off responses, not wanting to explain themselves or be pressed further. It was unclear if the man had understood this or not, though, as he quickly changed the topic to a new one—payment. His favor was still a favor, but they’d purchased hundreds of dollars worth of items. Redlette’s tip wasn’t quite enough to cover it all.

After properly compensating the man, who introduced himself as Chance, the two were invited back to his food truck where they attempted to fit whatever they could in the dim gray and black backpack that they’d, or rather the man had, purchased while they lunched on mounds of greasy food… well, the mounds mostly went into Redlette. Whatever they couldn’t fit in the bag, they gave to Chance as forced gifts. On top of another hefty tip, the poor dude was practically smothered in generosity.

They wouldn’t need whatever they couldn’t bring, anyway.

»»»

The day grew into the eventide hours as the pair finished up their preparations within Herring’s room. Once they’d arrived back at home, the entirety of their efforts had went into putting together all the items and information they needed for their adventures. It was soon time to leave.

Throughout the day general details had been discussed about their journey, but for the most part they’d daydreamed. What kind of monsters would they face? Although, there were also unique creatures and animals to be curious about, too. What sorts of people would they meet? Evidently, there were numerous different races. What type of locations would they explore? There were apparently dungeons and areas of vast, unique wilderness. It all sounded so cool and so fantastical to Herring, who had lived his life where such things only existed in games and his dreams.

“We’ll be starting in a jungle, right?” Herring asked while rifling through his closet. As he was doing this, Redlette was laying out their hoard of isekai preparation items in a way in which it could be viewed from atop the bed in its entirety.

“In a jungle cave, yup! But there should be a town nearby.” Redlette chimed, placing the last item, a portable camping stove, in the corner of the room to the left of the door. Everything was spaced out sporadically in a manner that reflected Redlette’s lack of attention. It served its purpose, at least.

“Alrighty then.” Herring brought three pairs of the same T-shirt and sweatpants combo from his closet and stacked them within a section of the room by the closet. Then, along with Redlette, he hopped up onto his bed and looked at everything they’d collected. “Let’s see here…”

“We got a whole buncha snack bars.”

“Solar-powered cellphone chargers. Plus, I’ve been downloading shows and songs for us while we’re there.”

“Oh, and you have that speaker!”

“This is making it sound like I only packed stuff for entertainment… We also have our—”

The two continued to go back and forth listing off items that they’d laid out for their backpack. Among these items were various camping essentials like a very small tent, a multitool, matches, a miniature lantern, and fuel for their stove to name a few. These items took up the entire bottom of the bag.

Above them Herring’s clothes were placed, rolled up or folded in the most space-saving ways they could manage. Then there were the items that they called the isekai trope pack, including things they never would’ve thought to bring if it wasn’t for meta knowledge—stuff like the solar chargers, a survival guide, and a book of modern inventions. After that, items they needed for comfort and entertainment were packed in.

Lastly, essential items were packed thoughtfully at the top of the bag and in its pockets where they would be most accessible. These were things like hygiene products, deodorant, shampoo, soap, and so on; food items, which mainly meant stuff that could be eaten on the go, with long shelf lives, or that could be heated up with minimal effort by the portable stove as well as bottled water; and also medical items like salves, bandages, gauze, and a half-empty bottle of rubbing alcohol that was stolen from under the kitchen sink, since they wouldn’t have been old enough to buy it.

All in all, Herring figured they were decently prepared.

“So, this is it then.” As Redlette picked up the bag full of items in a grunt, Herring looked upon his room, taking in every last corner and capturing it within his memory. He could feel his heart beating out of his chest, not stopping or calming for a moment. He barely noticed it, but he was trembling a bit. For a split second, he could feel his convictions wavering. Like with any big change, right before it occurred, it began to feel all too real. But with a deep breath, he reinforced his resolve.

“You okay, man?” Redlette asked, carrying a sincerity that Herring had never heard before. A distinctly sorrowful expression was stuck to her face. A few times she opened her mouth and stopped herself, likely not wanting to acknowledge the idea that Herring might regret his commitment, but eventually she said what she needed to. “I don’t want you to feel pressured. You don’t—”

“Don’t say that!” Herring nearly shouted before he caught himself. His emotions had finally come to a peak and briefly rose above his constitution. However, he swiftly composed himself. “Don’t give me an out. I won’t take it, because I want this… I really want it. More than anything.”

Silence hung in the air after Herring convinced himself with his own words. It was tense. Each thing in his room carried value to him, and further, everything in his house did. He hated them, too. He felt trapped and useless in his home, but it was also the embodiment of his life up to that point. So, leaving it all behind tugged at his soul. It was impossible to comprehend how different his life would be.

Redlette couldn’t stop a relieved smile from growing on her face, though. She saw and sympathized with her friend’s struggles, but she obviously feared the idea that he might change his mind. Now that she knew that he wouldn’t, she decided it’d be best to leave Herring to himself. “I’ll go on ahead and sneak out the window like we planned. Y’know, that way she doesn’t ask about the bag.”

“Oh…!” Temporarily emerging from his funk, Herring looked up at Redlette, “Yeah, even if she does know you’re here, it’s best she doesn’t see that. She might catch on. You sure you can take that fall?”

Opening and sticking her head out of the window, Redlette observed the drop. “Yup, no problem here! This is nothing.”

“I’ll trust your judgment, then. We’ll meet at the top of the driveway, okay?”

“Got it!” Redlette nodded, climbing up on the window sill with her giant turtle shell of a backpack on her. “You take your time, man. I get how you’re feeling.”

“Thanks…!”

“Of course. Anytime!” Turning to look back out of the window, Redlette wasted no time in leaping from it, disappearing into the now early, pale moonlight. When Herring rushed to the window to ensure her safety, she’d already disappeared into the darkness.

This left Herring standing in his room, alone there for the last time. He soaked in, paced, and touched every last thing he could, tidying up as he went along. He didn’t know how much time he spent simply familiarizing himself with his stuff that he knew all too well, but it was probably no small amount.

Eventually, he decided it was finally time for him to depart, too. Heading to his desk one last time, he grabbed the final item that he’d prepared and shoved it into his pocket. Seeing it from the side of his eye, he also took another impromptu item—a photo of him and Jenny that they’d been forced to take together on his last birthday. Their father had insisted that they were to display it in their rooms.

Then, with nothing left to do, he closed the window and left his room for the last time. The last time. The last time…

It was left tidy and dead as though he’d already been long gone.