We grouped near the door and reported our find.
Louis, with military discipline, called our names to hear our reports.
"Zoe!"
"I didn't see anything."
"Lucien."
"Just a wanderer. I took care of it."
"Dante... Dante! You are with us?"
"Uh... what did you say? Sorry, but the smell is antagonizing my nose, I can't concentrate."
"You noticed anything?"
"Ah! Yeah, the snack aisle is full of rats who ate through the packaging. I guess it's the same for everything except canned food.
Due to us cleaning the place and opening the doors, we let in a bunch of animals, so there isn't as much food as we thought."
"Fuck!" Rhea exclaimed.
Then Louis, worried, started to talk.
"We accounted for six days of supply, but now it should be three to four days only."
Without a thought, I blurted out what I had been thinking all along.
-"There are too many mouths to feed. And most of them aren't useful."
Zoe flipped and, in a fit of anger, took it out on Alex.
"Don't say that! We can't just abandon them, they are human, and as we are, we should help them. They are not deadweight!"
I saw everyone glaring at me. I looked at Louis for a way out, as the leader should resolve conflict, but instead, he looked at me with a neutral but serious face, waiting for my answer.
-"I didn't mean to say we should abandon them, I just stated an objective truth—that most of us are children or scaredy-cats.
And it's a problem, as we have limited workforce. We need to manage the base, look after the children, and there's only us six to fetch food.
I just wanted to point out that we were lacking working force."
Zoe kept glaring at me with an intense glare, then she breathed out to calm herself down.
Louis cleared his throat and cut in.
"Well, Alex was clumsy in his wording, but he's not wrong. It's time to actively make the able help by creating new exploration teams."
Lucien, playing with his long black hair, spoke his mind too.
"We should do half rations. There are 200 of us, so if we stretch the rations, we should have 10 days of food with what we'll bring today."
We got sidetracked, and everyone didn't have to report.
Louis finished the meeting, most likely because he knew if there was any danger, we would have said so.
"Ok, let's start. Dante, Rhea, you stay in the aisles to fetch what we left here. The rest of us will take care of the stockroom.
We almost didn't loot anything there."
Dante went to the pickup and grabbed the empty bags, which he distributed among everyone.
Louis ordered Zoe to stay with me, as it's my first loot in team.
We walked in, and none of us started the conversation.
Contrary to the others, we could hear chatter in the shop.
She must think I am heartless. I made a blunder. I really am not good at socializing.
Sorry, Lana, making friends is tough.
Finally, Zoe, who was in the front, turned back and finally spoke to me.
"So, grab the canned food and dried food like rice and pasta.
If you find water bottles, don't put them in your bags yet."
-"Why?"
"Well, it's heavy, like really heavy, so we take it last to make fewer trips.
And don't cut me off next time."
So cold!
What did I do to her? Is it about what I said?
"Look for any piece of medical supplies, even if you don't know what they're for. We have enough storage space in the school, there is no need to worry. Better collect things that we can throw away later than lack something.
Also, don't forget about essentials like soap, toilet paper, or lighters—even things that could be used as weapons.
Basically, everything that might be useful is good.
Got it?"
-"Yeah, thank—"
"Good. This was the real priority, but if you find clothes, toys, or books, take some.
The leader didn't ask us, but it's important.
Children can't grow up without toys.
And it's obvious we need clothes.
Now you can talk, I finished my explanation."
That's smart! I also thought about all of this, but it still surprises me. I thought she was hot-headed and not much of a thinker.
She broke my train of thought.
"So, you heard me well?
You're thinking something rude, aren't you?"
She is sharp!
Is this what they call a woman's instinct?
-"I heard you loud and clear, thank you. I was just thinking that you were smart to take everything into account. You are really thorough, I didn't even consider toys, clothes, or anything that is not food."
We started looting and she didn't say anything more for a while, so I gathered enough courage to start a conversation.
-"I am sorry about what I said. It seems I unknowingly hurt you."
She turned back and her expression softened.
"...Thank you.
It's just, I have a little sister in the school, so when you implied they were deadweight, I flipped.
There are just the two of us, our parents died."
-"Well, that's my bad. I can be insensitive sometimes. I really am trying to get along with you all.
But I am not very good at it, sorry."
She let out a soft laugh.
"Don't worry, it's not your fault. With time, you'll get along with everyone.
It's just, you are new, and trust is expensive these days."
---
17:00
Louis called us for a break.
"Okay, that's all for the day. Good work today. We'll set up in the same place as last time."
-"Where?"
Louis pointed on the other side of the road.
"You see that two-story house? We cleared and barricaded it."
---
Once inside, I am shocked to see the state of the house. It's a genuinely good house.
There is no dust—they must have cleaned the place.
While in a daze,
Louis cried out, "Main bedroom's mine!"
Then Rhea followed up with, "The guest room is mine!"
"I sleep on the couch," Lucien exclaimed.
Zoe and Dante were downcast.
"Fuck, I was too slow again!"
I didn't understand until it was too late.
-"So where do the rest of us sleep?"
"Well, just use the sleeping bag you brought."
-"But I didn't bring anything, I thought you would, when Dante put one in the car."
"Yeah, I put one—mine."
Then Rhea, standing against the doorframe of her room, mockingly added,
"The ground it is then. I'm envious of how well you'll sleep." Ha Ha
This bitch.
No one told me about this.
They really are bullies.
-"Anyone that got a bed, can you lend your sleeping bag?"
No one answered my plea.
What a team...
21:00
We ate our fill—not half ration. And we spent our time talking and getting to know each other.
With difficulty, I finally fell asleep.