The World's Consciousness

Chapter 5

A faint sound, possibly something at the window reached my ears. I got up to see sunlight seeping through my room and a sparrow pecking at the window.

I prepared some water in a small bowl for it and looked at the clock to see it was 6.07 in the morning already.

Even though it is Sunday, I have a long day ahead.

My shift at the call center starts at 9.00 am. It is important to work on the holidays because we can get extra money, and right now we need every cent we can get.

I was in the kitchen by 7.00 am, preparing breakfast for everyone.

"Good morning, Ichika," I heard Katie's voice behind me.

"How are you doing?" I asked her.

"I'm okay. Sorry, I woke up a bit late today," she said.

"It is fine. Can you handle that?" I asked her to take care of the eggs which were nearly done.

"Yeah, sure."

The next half an hour passed in a flash.

"It's done."

"Yes. we have to head for work, so could you go shop for the groceries? I will take care of the cleaning," Katie said.

"Yeah, I'll do that," I said and thought the conversation was over here but Katie looked like she had something to tell me.

"I have something to tell you, about last night. I am sorry for acting that way. I couldn't control it. What Trystan did was just..."

"No need. You had every right to act the way you did, and it should be me taking the responsibility for his actions as a team leader."

Last night was something we could not have prepared for in advance, worrying about what we couldn't avoid is useless.

"How's everyone doing on your team?" I asked her.

The survivors do not socialize properly. But teams are different. In a small group that works under orders from a leader, it is easier to talk to others as long as they are fine with it. Some of them even made friends with others they know or worked with in the screening.

"The guys are starting to come together in my team, I can spot them hanging out sometimes," said Katie.

"And while you are neither for nor against socializing, you rarely find a good opportunity," I said.

"Yes," she said and confirmed my observations.

"Is Christine doing okay?" I ask.

Last night Christine was hurt really bad. She was bleeding and in severe pain.

"She's fine. I've told her to rest properly for a few days before heading out again."

"What about Courtney?" I asked. She was the last remaining person on her team. To be honest I didn't really need to ask because I knew already.

"That girl is angry...like really angry all the time. I barely talk to her and she doesn't even come out of her room most of the time," said Katie.

Courtney is actively against socializing with others. I know that thanks to the time I spent with her during the screening.

"I think we should give them some time. Everyone has been through a lot and it isn't easy to recover and move on from that horror," I said.

"We are the same as them, aren't we? We need some time as well," she said.

Indeed. So let's take things slow for now. As long as we don't mess up, every survivor will get used to this new and distorted lifestyle.

I helped Katie a little bit before I had to leave for the supermarket. When I was in the common room, I saw 47. He was there with 420, or Kelan if I were to go by his name, and Taylor.