Vanilla Dusk ✓

Life Part 6

A week passes and Shann has finished half of the food in the backpack. He reckons that he's going to run out of food one day and is bound to look for supplies. He has never seen Elis eat in front of him, but occasionally, Elis would disappear for a while. Shann doesn't know whether he is out there hunting for other prey or downstairs mingling with those MUTANTS. He always returns clean and tidy though.

When they're stuck in the room together, Shann will read to Elis, chat with him and even show him how to draw. They've found a set of board games hidden in the wardrobe and Elis has fun learning how to play chess. Shann shares with him things about himself, his life before the outbreak, his family and school life. Elis makes a comforting audience. He doesn't retort, or interrupt, or debate with you. He simply listens, nods in acknowledgement, and sometimes perks up at fascinating details. He is now able to utter a lot more words and even create simple sentences, but the word he articulates most accurately is still Shann's name, the very first one he has assimilated.

Shann wakes up one day and finds Elis missing. After faltering for a while and leaning his ear against the door to assure that it's drop-dead quiet outside, he turns the knob and walks out. He tiptoes cautiously to the stairs and peeks down. As expected, the other four MUTANTS are still there, wandering in the sitting room and the kitchen. They are each indulging in something. Elis's brother is standing near the window peering out, seemingly in a trance. His spiky-haired cousin keeps his eyes fixated on a painting of a sculptured vase filled with sunflowers on the wall. The bespectacled one is sitting at the dining table and the shortest one is lingering around the kitchen sink. Shann tiptoes backwards and decides to sneak into another bedroom before retreating to the one he is staying in. He enters the room where Roy has knocked down a pile of crates from the wardrobe. The crates are still scattered on the floor. He rummages through them, only managing to find some clothes, bedsheets and glass figurines. A dusty photo on the wall catches his attention though. Shann stands before the photo and wipes the dust off, gasping as he finds those familiar figures in the frame.

Elis is inside and looks a bit younger. He is wearing a graduation gown and holding a rolled certificate with a slightly blushing face. And his brother is standing on the left, an arm around his shoulder with a proud smile. On the other side stands his cousin with a wide grin on his face and a thumbs-up. The other two friends are there too, each holding a fluffy stuffed penguin dressed in a graduation gown like Elis.

Shann walks out of the room and bumps into Elis, who is holding a box of canned food.

'Woah, where...did you get these?' asks Shann.

Elis blinks and then leads Shann to the stairs. He points at the bottom of the stairs and a meter away, there is a door on the ground, one that they have missed while ransacking the house. It probably leads to the cellar.

'The cellar?'

Elis drags Shann back to the original room and shuts the door.

'N-No...out,' growls Elis.

'Right, I know, but you disappeared,' says Shann. 'I got curious and went out to look for you, but saw your...er...family and friends downstairs. Hey, do you know that this is literally your own house?'

Elis creases his brows.

'Elis,' exclaims Shann as he marches up to him and shakes his shoulders. 'I saw a photo of you with your family in the next room. This is your own house. Do you remember anything?'

Elis shakes his head.

'Then how did you know that there's food in the cellar?'

Elis shrugs.