« Why does she never listen to me? I'm not that stupid, am I? No, no, impossible… Aaahhhhh, she's going to drive me crazy. »
Jack was talking to himself when he heard an alarm blaring on the other side of the building.
« I don't know why, but I'm almost sure I know the person who triggered it, and then they come and call me stupid—honestly. »
Jack didn't pay attention to the alarm, thinking that if Yumiel had any trouble, she would use the walkie-talkie.
The arcade Jack was in was the food section. Nevertheless, absolutely every shop had been looted; only scraps remained on the floor, along with rats followed by insects.
Jack quickly passed through that aisle, moving on to the next one, arriving in the technology arcade.
That spoke much more to Jack, stopping at almost every store, but leaving immediately since nothing inside was intact, as if someone had destroyed all the computer equipment.
It was only toward the end of the arcade that Jack came across a shop that was still closed. The metal shutter was slightly damaged but not open. Jack slid both hands underneath and pushed upward, lifting the metal shutter.
Behind it sat a woman, very thin and gaunt; she clearly hadn't eaten or drunk a drop in a long time. Barely holding her shotgun, she slowly raised it toward Jack.
Jack had trouble reacting—she was all alone and would obviously die within a dozen hours if she didn't drink water. He thought about killing her, then suddenly had a vision, remembering Yumiel telling him that she aspired to be something other than a mere monster.
Jack hesitated for a long moment before scratching his head and replying, « Fuck your weapon, I'm going to help you. »
The woman struggled to raise her shotgun toward Jack's head. « I… know… people… like you… » She had trouble speaking, stopping often, her voice dry.
Jack simply backed away, returning to the food arcade. It took him several long minutes before he finally managed to find some food and a bottle of water that had slipped under the shelves.
Jack hadn't been gone long, but it was enough. « BOOM! » A gunshot rang out. In the arcade where Jack was, the noise had come from where the woman was. He ran at full speed. It barely took him a minute.
Jack then became witness to one of humanity's sins. Lust—a sin harbored by many men. In front of him, the woman was on the ground. One man was holding her down, and she couldn't defend herself given how weak she was. Another was on top of her, undressing her, and the third had his hand in his pants, watching the scene.
Jack reacted instinctively. He moved in, putting his hands around the face of the one closest to the entrance and snapping his neck. The man holding her saw the scene and reached for his pistol, but Jack was faster, shooting him in the head with his Glock. The last one turned around, his pants half down, limiting his movements. Jack stepped closer and beat him until his face no longer resembled anything.
Once it was over, he glanced at the woman, who was staring at Jack with very strange eyes. Jack had never been good at analyzing that kind of thing. Not knowing how to interpret it, he simply gave the woman water and food.
The thirsty woman opened the bottle of water, drinking in small sips, one after another. Jack grabbed a chair and sat down in front of her; he decided not to eat the men's brains so as not to traumatize her further.
« But if you're so thirsty, why don't you drink it all at once? »
The woman looked at Jack the same way Yumiel looked at him when she thought he was an idiot.
« Ah, I know that look! My partner does it often. »
The woman finished drinking her small sips before answering.
« I think I know why. Anyway, thank you. » She took another small sip, then continued. « My name is Poppy. And yours? »
« Poppy—that's a dog's name, isn't it? I'm Jack. »
Poppy now opened the packets of dried meat and other dried foods. At the same time, Jack felt awkward about Poppy's half-naked body and grabbed the jacket of a dead man to give it to her.
Poppy took the jacket, put it on, and zipped it up.
« I didn't think you were sensitive to a naked body—after coldly killing three men and calling me a dog. »
Jack no longer knew where to look, apologizing. « Uh… actually, I expressed myself badly… »
Poppy cut him off. « I'm teasing you. I'm not going to hold it against my savior. »
Poppy calmly ate the dried meat and the other food. Jack knew he had to move on; time was very precious.
« Now that I've helped you, I'm going to have to leave. Take care of yourself. »
Poppy stood up, even though it took her an immense effort. Jack walked out of the shop; Poppy followed him, even though she was walking slower than he was.
Jack kept walking, heading toward another arcade. He arrived in front of a casino—the casino wasn't very big, more like a junction between the technology arcade and the next one.
Jack glanced behind him, noticing that Poppy was still following him, even though she was still quite far back. Jack decided to let her be, thinking she would give up after a while, and went into the casino.
The interior was damaged. The slot machines were all broken, the tables worn, as if people had played on them like madmen without taking any care.
Heading toward the casino bar, he saw four men drinking without saying a word. Jack approached, pointing his SA-80, ready to fire if needed.
« Tap! » One of the men slammed his glass down on the table before turning around, raising his hands in the air.
« Come on, let us drink to quench our thirst. »
One of the men beside him tried to draw his weapon. Jack took no risks, shooting him before finishing off the other three.
Sitting down at the bar, he tore out their brains and began to eat them. He noticed that the man who had tried to draw a weapon had actually been reaching for a water gun. Jack stared at the gun for a moment before saying, « Yeah, whatever, » and simply kept eating. Yet he forgot about Poppy, who had caught up to him.