Surviving Deadland [Up For Adoption]

Act 004: The Dead Family

Act 004: The Dead Family

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｢Ryuu's POV｣

"What do you say we head to a convenience store and get some stuff?" I asked as I drove, my eyes remaining on the road.

When Takane didn't answer me I glanced to the side, "Takane?"

She was sound asleep, curled up on the seat like a little kid.

I smiled slightly. 'She looks so peaceful when she's asleep... Too bad she's like a fire breathing dragon when she's awake.' I winced slightly at the thought.

I gave her one last glance before deciding not to wake her. I would drive to a convenience store and wake her up when we reached there.

I was focused on driving but every now and then I would look over to her to see if she was okay.

I wasn't normally this fussy over her but...

My mind went back to the moment atop the stairs at school, the moment I'd asked her why she wanted to test Saya's theory. The look on her face...it was hard to give an accurate description of it. She looked like she'd already resigned herself to her fate - like she didn't care. It was almost like she wanted to die...

I'd never pegged Takane as the type to simply throw her life away. She always seemed so strong yet so kind, even when she was in a mood. It made me wonder, 'What burden could be weighing on her so heavily that she believed she could no longer bear to carry it?'

I glanced at her again. Her hair had fallen into her face and she was frowning slightly, her nose twitching as hair brushed against it. I chuckled softly at how adorable the simple action seemed especially from someone as combative as her. I leaned over and gently brushed the hair from her face, tucking it behind her ear and she made a small sound before settling back into sleep.

I found myself staring at her face for a lot longer than necessary, an odd feeling coming over me. I suddenly remembered that I was driving and my eyes snapped back to the road. I cleared my throat and blinked a few times to clear the odd feeling away.

'What was that?' I had to wonder, the odd little feeling giving me pause.

Dismissing the small feeling as something unimportant, I went back to thinking about the issue at hand - there was something going on with Takane and whatever it was, it seemed to be something more serious than anyone knew of.

The incident on the bus popped into my head and my hands tightened around the steering wheel as I thought of Shidou. 'Whatever is going on with Takane... I'd bet anything that that snake has something to do with it...'

And if he did, I'd make him pay. Someone needed to put a stop to him and I'd gladly volunteer for the job. The humiliation both my sister and father suffered at his hands made my blood boil. Never, never, had I ever seen my father cry. He was always strong for his family. And because of Shidou, my father was on the verge of tears as he apologised to us for something that he shouldn't have had to apologize for. He was doing his job, that was all. But that day he apologised for doing something he lived by. I vowed that day to make Shidou pay. And if he had made Takane unhappy then I would make him suffer that much more.

***

We must have been forty minutes into our drive and I still hadn't seen a single open convenience store. Or a single open anything for that matter. I wasn't entirely surprised but it was frustrating. It was getting dark and we hadn't found anywhere to stop for the night or get supplies. At this rate, we'd have to spend the night in the Hummer. I glanced at the fuel gauge and grimaced. If we didn't find somewhere to get gas, we'd be forced to abandon the Hummer and continue on foot. I sighed at the thought of parting with this beauty. We had at least an hour of gas left so I wasn't completely worried.