Maizen: Return of the Zombies

Chapter 28

As soon as it started moving, JJ was thrown off his feet due to the force and speed of going downwards. When it abruptly stopped at the bottom, he slammed into Mikey, and then, it zoomed straight ahead. In that time, JJ decided that it would be best to follow the directions he'd read earlier, and positioned himself so that both of them were side by side.

"JJ," Mikey said while rubbing his face from the previous hit. "It's kinda claustrophobic in here, I'm getting scared-"

"Then why'd you get in?"

"Because you told me to!"

"Alright alright, that's fair."

After that, it was a quiet ride. For a while, at least, before the path changed again; going in a zigzag a few times, and then speeding up. A lot.

"Are we gonna crash?" Mikey started panicking, making the admittingly stressful situation worse. "I'm too young to die!"

"I don't know, I don't know!" JJ was starting to freak out too. "I'm freaking out!"

The escape pod discoursed from the path it was on, and it was in the air for a few seconds before landing in what sounded like a body of water. Upon contact, it disassembled, and JJ and Mikey both swam to the surface to find out where they'd ended up at.

"Oh shit." JJ wanted to let himself sink.

"What?" Mikey asked. "Where are we?"

"Not where we need to be!" He snapped. "I can't even fucking see the ancient tower anymore!"

"There's no need for bad words, JJ." Mikey said casually, as if being stranded miles from their destination wasn't a big deal. "We can just walk back. Let's go!"

"We can't just walk back-" JJ explained through gritted teeth, trying his best not to get mad at Mikey for underthinking like usual. "The ancient tower is most likely miles away. We'd need to find food and supplies to take with us on the journey-"

"We already have swords. Soooo, food is the only thing we need? Okay!" With that, Mikey raced off into the trees. JJ didn't even bother calling out to him, because he knew he just wouldn't listen, or tell him that he's "overthinking" by expressing the dangers of exploring unknown territory in the middle of a forest, which is basic knowledge by the way.

"I might as well wait for him," JJ decided, letting go of his anger for now. "I just hope he doesn't get lost."

-

About twenty minutes later, Mikey was still gone, and JJ wasn't holding up very well. There were two problems: The first one was obvious; Mikey being gone for a concerning period of time, and the other... was that hunger was setting in. Intensely.

The thing was, JJ hadn't eaten anything since they started exploring the ancient tower; so, a few days; and everyone knows how long a person can go without food.

Water wasn't an issue; because there was a lake right next to him, but it was keeping himself fed that worried him most. He didn't know what to do right now, and it made him anxious. He wished Mikey was here...

"I've got bad news-" Mikey suddenly came out of the trees. Judging by his empty hands, JJ could already guess what the bad news was. "I couldn't find anything. This forest is really bare!"

"This is bad-" JJ said, resisting the urge to kneel over due to the forming pain in his stomach. "Mikey, if we don't find any food soon, then you know what will happen-"

"You're right! I should go look some more!" Mikey was about to run away again, but JJ stopped him.

"Don't, it's pointless, and it's too dark. Plus, I don't like being by myself..."

"Oooh, right." Mikey suddenly remembered how JJ had expressed his discomfort with being alone in the past. The longer he was by himself, the more scared he became. They'd both guessed it was a phobia; so, meant to be taken seriously. "So, should we just try and sleep instead?"

"I mean, that would be best. It would certainly calm me down," JJ decided to just reveal the feelings he'd been keeping in earlier. "Because I was really worried about you earlier. Like, I was really anxious sitting on my own and wondering if you're safe or not."

"Aw, JJ." Mikey gave him a hug, which instantly helped. "I was just fine. I know you tend to overthink, so I know how it might've been, but I'm here now, and we can snuggle."

"Okay, okay." JJ couldn't even describe how relieved he was when they both layed down in the grass together, and Mikey held him close to his chest as if he were in need of protection. As relaxing as it felt to be held like this, JJ couldn't ignore to growing pain in his stomach. He'd been trying to ignore it for a while now, but there was no way to now. He had no choice but to listen to the constant pained noises it produced while he tried to sleep, and it was driving him crazy. Mikey was already sleeping. Good for him; to be able to fall asleep instantly without any issues.

"Right in the morning, no, as soon as the sun comes up, I'm going to find food. I can't keep doing this-" While JJ was thinking to distract himself, he suddenly felt shifting beside him, and Mikey woke up. JJ could only guess why.

"What's that noise?" He asked, just as another one sounded to answer his question. "Oh, are you-"

"Yes, yes, I'm sorry," JJ confirmed, falling on his back and trying to relax his body, but it hardly helped. "It's just, I haven't eaten in days, and-"

"Days?" Mikey echoed, falling on his back too. "JJ, you're supposed to eat multiple times every single day! What distracted you?"

"Survival." He answered simply. The first day, he had to deal with Mikey getting bitten, and the second day, he'd been fighting for his life and ending up killing someone because of it. "That's more important than anything."

"But to survive, you need food." Mikey pointed out, staring at him with sympathetic eyes. "I know it's hard to search for things at night, but, if you want too, then we can."

"We can't." JJ wanted to say yes; to run into the forest and devour the first thing he finds, but he was already seeing the flaws in that plan. "We have to wait until morning. That way, it'll be easier to navigate, plus we won't be tired."

"I guess..." Mikey accepted his reasoning, just as JJ lurched forward in pain. He tried pulling JJ close to him to make him feel more comfortable, but it didn't help a single bit.

The pain was coming in waves. And that was the worst of all; feeling less hurt for a few seconds, but knowing the worst was going to come back. This was one of the waves where the pain was subdued for a quick minute.

JJ was taking deep breaths, and Mikey was stroking his face in an attempt to relax him. "I'm sorry JJ, I know you're hungry, but it's dangerous to hunt at night, like you said. Just, bear through it for now."

"I know you're hungry." The sentence swirled around in JJ's head. He was definitely right; he was hungry. So hungry, in fact, that while the pain was subdued, the desire for food was now what he mainly felt. So, as Mikey kept putting his hand to his face as a comforting strategy, JJ couldn't help but the let the impulsive thoughts win. He turned and bit him.

The moment he heard Mikey yelp in pain and surprise, he let go. Mikey frantically shook his hand for a minute, before calming down.

"I-I get it, you're just hungry-" He sounded like he was trying to convince himself that it was okay. "Just sit tight JJ, I'll help you find something to eat tomorrow. In the meantime, just try to resist those urges, okay?"

"Uh huh..."

"Alright."

Surprisingly, Mikey went right back to snuggling with him. The pain had seemed to go away for now, and JJ was thankful for that. He thought of random things to distract himself from the feelings he was experiencing right now, and that seemed to work too.

But in the back of his mind, JJ had a plan to distance himself, just in case the impulsive thoughts won again...