Chapter V: Gathering Supplies

They were already meters away from Kaya and the others. The apartment building can even barely be seen from their distance.

As they keep on moving, Eurus kept looking around their surroundings, looking left, then right. Surrounded by different buildings. A high-rise building, office buildings, a mall, even. But some are infested with Ghouls and Shadow demons, so going in is like a suicide attempt.

It was a busy city. He sees people riding bicycles, People walking along the streets, crossing the roads. Vehicles rushing through the busy highway.

The scenery made him feel that he's in the real world. It was probably the closest to being alive that he ever felt since he entered the game.

They continued moving and moving, but Eurus's mind barely converges on their tasks.

He kept on imagining himself being part of the world, the real world.

His mind kept on having pictures of what the real world would look like. What is it like? Is it the same as this? Is it better? He thought.

He never knew. He wished he knew.

But the thoughts on his mind instantly led him to hopelessness. Are we to return to our normal lives if we get out? He thought, and kept it to himself, didn't bother wasting his own breath on asking questions.

The thought of it, alone, made him wonder what life he has before the game.

Luke nudged Eurus with his elbow-a wake-up from the reality of the situation, startled him out of his thoughts.

"Here we are," Luke said. They stopped staring up and down at a building-a supermarket.

Eurus quickly snapped from his thoughts. "Why he-" Eurus responded, but he was immediately cut short by Luke, unable to finish his word. Luke then put his finger on his lips. "shhh."

They both paused and waited in silence. They both went near the entrance and listened to if they could hear a hollow-growling tone, but none came.

"I think we're good," Luke said. "Just keep it low."

They tiptoed as they enter the supermarket, Minimizing the sound they make.

With every footstep that Eurus makes, his anxiety rises. Eurus kept on looking at their surroundings inside the supermarket. In fear that some Shadow demons or probably a Ghoul might be present inside.

Eurus' whole demeanor was just covered in anxiety and embraced by fear.

They are surrounded by the people inside the supermarket, people that are intangible to them, going in and out of the building. Everything seems fine, nothing unusual to their eyes, at least.

As they were inside, they went directly to the gondola shelf, searching for supplies.

Eurus then sees rows of canned goods on the gondola shelf, he tried to pick some of them, yet his hands slipped right through it.

He tried it once again, yet the result was the same. Everything he touches seems intangible. "How the fu-" he told himself, with a low-pitched voice.

"How the fuck are we supposed to gather supplies?" His words continued as he asked Luke.

"I told you, it's not that easy," he answered. He was behind Eurus doing the same thing as him. "You can only touch those if those exist in 7:00 p.m time."

Eurus shook his head as he continued searching through the shelf, doubting that they could find anything.

"Just continue on searching," said Luke.

They both continued and continued searching through the gondola shelf-searching for something edible at least. Luke was able to find some, though it was not enough.

Three canned goods which they put inside of the duffel bag.

They move and move to different gondola shelves that they could see, hoping that they could find more.

At the last moment, Eurus finally was able to find two baked beans, He unzipped the duffel bag open, and as he was about to zip it back close, He suddenly smelled something foul, seemingly a trail of a decaying corpse. It was new and unusual to him. His mind was trying to figure out what that unfamiliar stench was.

The stench was getting worse, professedly getting nearer towards them.

He covered his nose with his left hand. He then looked over his right shoulder, "What is that smell?" he asked.

Luke didn't notice at first, so he stopped for a second. He breathed the air longer than usual to have a better grasp on the stench.

He suddenly recalled what that stench was. The stench was familiar to him. Worry suddenly flooded across his face.

"Run," Luke stated, out of a sudden. Eurus was not able to react quickly, though Luke was aware of it. He then repeated what he said while simultaneously grabbed Eurus' right arm, pulling it, as if he wanted him to react, "Run!" He repeated.

Luke immediately moved without delay and started sprinting away from the supermarket.

Eurus paused for a second and stared at him for a moment. He had no idea. He then glanced to what's behind him, nothing unusual, at least. Just an orange-colored concrete wall, and just behind it, was a dark storage room.

But seeing Luke's sudden reaction, he was startled, and fear once again gripped into his mind. He then quickly snapped and promptly followed him at the same pace.

They hurried towards the exit.

They were already meters away from the supermarket, and as they were both running, Eurus glanced back, to see a ghoul exiting from the supermarket, looking left and right. It suddenly jerked its head in their direction and started sprinting towards them.

"Shit!" Eurus said with his voice stirred up with fear. His eyes went back to focus in front of him. He then started running as fast as he could.

"Don't look back now, squiggy," said Luke. He was just beside Eurus, running with the same speed as him.

Eurus was carrying the baseball bat in his left hand, and the duffel bag in his right. He was struggling to carry both at the same time, seemingly weighing him down.

As both were running, Eurus accidentally dropped the duffel bag. He hesitated for a moment. He slowed down from running for a second and wanted to pick up the bag.

But Luke quickly noticed and stopped him from his thoughts. "Leave it!" He expressed aloud.

Eurus promptly followed.

They continued running and running in random directions with no destination in mind.

Left. Right. Right, then left.

Continuously running in different directions, trying to outrun the ghoul.

Luke was more experienced. He's been stuck in the game for two months. He knew they can't outrun the ghoul with ease. Then something suddenly came up to his mind, an idea.

He suddenly stopped at a corner of a street, beside a small, glass-facade-designed coffee shop.

Surrounded by parked vehicles.

"Wait!" Luke said to Eurus, all of a sudden. While simultaneously gesturing him to stop. His voice sounded higher than he'd expected.

Eurus' mind was startled. He stopped, then glanced back at him, and was slightly ahead of Luke-maybe fifteen feet.

"Let's hide under those cars," Luke stated his idea. Eurus didn't pause and promptly followed his command. And both hurried and hid under the shade of the parked vehicles.

Just seconds later, as they were under the parked vehicles, they heard rushing footsteps, seemingly coming from a Ghoul. It stopped in their position for a bit, looking in every direction, searching for their presence.

Both were laying flat onto the ground, with Eurus just peeping at it, observing its movement under the parked vehicle. He was holding his breath a bit, with his face flowed down with fear and uneasiness.

The ghoul continued moving and started rushing away forward, away from their position. Eurus felt a slight relief. They waited and waited until not a single footstep was heard.

Moments later, silence settled all over their place. The atmosphere has calmed down a bit. Luke then got up from the ground, to where he was hiding. He surveyed their surroundings for a moment, seeing no ghoul in their presence. "I think we're good," Luke said. Eurus promptly followed and got up.

"That...Was...fuck...ing...close..." Eurus said, with his hands on his knees. He was having a hard time trying to spit some words.

He was breathing heavily. His whole bearing just screaming in exhaustion.

Luke even barely understood his sentence. He just stared at him with his mouth slightly open, breathing rapidly. He put his hands over his hips then let out a long sigh.

Then all of a sudden, another Ghoul suddenly showed up, coming from the right side of the coffee shop. It looked in their direction and started rushing towards them. Luke did not notice at first, as it was coming from his behind. But hearing the racing footsteps towards them, startled his mind. He jerked his head, facing its direction.

The ghoul jumped into the air-just enough to reach Luke. Both crashed onto the floor, with the ghoul on top of Luke. The ghoul slammed his shoulder with an intense grip onto the ground. It positioned its head, snapped its jaw wide open, with its mouth oozing with saliva, and was about to bite his face off.

But luke reacted hastily and was able to block its mouth with the ax that he was holding.

With his left hand holding onto the knob of the ax. While his right hand, holding onto the right side of it.

Luke was pushing its mouth away from his face, with every inch of his strength left. But the ghoul was overpowering him.

He kept on struggling from his position.

Everything happened in just seconds.