FSE

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Jenna held Bizzy with her arm and tucked him against her side while gunshots echoed, clutching the paper in her hand and feeling it crinkle. Her breathing quickened to the point where she could barely catch it as she began to panic. Her stomach heaved with rapid breaths, and her vision began to blur.

It was happening, and she was terrified. Instinct told her to run and try to escape what was coming with Bizzy, but that would be nonsensical as death was in their best interest. Jenna just couldn't fathom that she was in this situation.

Bizzy hugged her quivering arm and glanced around as shots rang, each signifying a death. It was eerie knowing it was coming their way. He'd lose Jenna, and she would lose him, but they would meet the same fate, so neither had to mourn.

Jenna looked up at another soldier entering while raising their rifle, her breaths stammering and her eyes widening in pure fear. She opened her mouth and could barely get a word out.

She couldn't be ready for death no matter how much she prepared. It hurt terribly that she couldn't properly catch air, and she coughed several times, feeling lightheaded and as though she'd pass out.

Jenna watched them move forward and point the barrel at her head, and she put a quivering hand up to shield her face, speaking between breaths to the best of her ability. "W-Wh-Wait." She didn't want Bizzy to witness her death. "Him f- h-him first."

The soldier shifted their aim to Bizzy, and Jenna held him firmly, more tears streaming down her face than before. She heard a blaring point-blank gunshot and felt him fall limp in her hold, flinching and shutting her eyes while letting out a sob.

She kept her eyes closed and braced while rubbing his twitching hip. She heard the next shot, followed by abrupt silence and darkness.

Jenna opened her eyes to harsh sunlight permeating her room, saturating her pink walls. She sat up, feeling her leg brush something, and pulled the covers up. Bizzy was asleep, as was her absol at the bottom of the bed. She grinned and covered Bizzy back up, then slid off and looked herself down.

Jenna was in panties and a tee, so she put on pants from her dresser to cover up, then walked into the living room to see her father wiping the kitchen counter while her mother sat at the table. "Morning..." she yawned. Jenna saw her buneary on the floor, likely awaiting breakfast. "Hey, Ipa." She leaned to pat her head and glanced at her ear as Ipa curled it.

"Weren't you awake half an hour ago, Jen?" her father asked.

"Probably fell asleep again. You should stop going to bed so late, Jenna. That'll hurt later on," she chuckled. "Oh, and would you mind running to the Mart soon? We're out of milk."

Maybe Jenna had dozed off. She couldn't recall. She really should start working on her sleep schedule, though. "I'll go now. Let me get ready." Jenna felt well-rested, so she didn't need extra time to wake up. She went back to her room and saw her absol stretching while sitting up, "Morning, Kamo." Jenna patted and kissed his head.

"Sol." He nudged her hand in return.

"I'll be back. I'm going to the store," she said while entering the restroom nearby to ensure her hair wasn't a mess and washing her face before exiting. Her current outfit would do for a quick errand.

Jenna went to the front door and slipped on her shoes before opening it, and upon stepping out, she was walking east in boots, a black jacket, and jeans. A rifle dangled by her waist under a gloomy overcast. Jenna wore a tired and grim expression from helping construct one of the base's walls for hours on end with occasional fifteen-minute breaks.

"Jenna!"

She turned and saw Chris wearing what would soon be referred to as a defender's outfit along with a few other armed men and women standing guard at the complete western wall. Behind it was a long line of citizens waiting to be let in, and many had been already. Anyone that tested negative was ordered to stay grouped in a large lot by the cafeteria and was given food and water.

Jenna approached and wiped the dirt from her cheek. "Yeah?" she answered glumly.

"Progress on the posts?" Chris needed them built as soon as possible and knew Jenna had been a significant help. Things were getting worse by the day, so all available hands were needed.

"Two out of four. I've been working on the main northern one and some general walls on its westmost end. I'm just taking another break."

"Go grab something from the cafeteria then. Keep it up. Proud of your contribution," he grinned before turning back to a woman with a young child.

That's where she was going. Jenna kept heading toward the building and ran her fingers over her blistered palms.

Hundreds were helping build, and it's been hectic.

Men sat in and controlled heavy machinery, using demolition claws to pick up parked vehicles or ones abandoned on the road and driving them outside the base's would-be walls to create space.

Others jogged past and around her constantly to many stations, hundreds gathering metal sheets, barbed wire, and more, bringing them to men and women hammering and welding what would be the base's surrounding walls, with sparks flying. This was all tireless work that couldn't be done without the help of many to accomplish in such little time, but whoever aided earned their spot here.

Trusted people of her brother with experience in construction, engineering, and more, which were far and few as of now, supervised and instructed workers while they built the walls. They had to be durable and as perfect as could be.

Citizens from nearby towns and cities were lining up to get into the base prematurely, and more than a few violent incidents had taken place resulting from positive cases being denied entry and people trying to break in. It felt like a never-ending nightmare.

There was once a sliver of hope that civilization would resume even with the virus stacking unending societal and economic pressure, but there were no ups and downs. It was like operating a locomotive with no brakes, and everything Jenna knew was nearing the brink of collapse and anarchy.

The media had mainly covered stories and constantly displayed live feeds of people breaking into stores, rampant murder and riots, and blurred content, such as the military in jeeps or on foot striking down extremist groups or unruly citizens with automatic rifles. It was becoming too massive of an issue for authority to handle, and all she could do was watch in despair as waves of inhuman violence swept the region. It had taken some of her friends already, and Jenna never thought she'd see anything of the like in her lifetime.

In short, they were running out of time, and this base may soon be the remainings' only means of protection, which Chris knew more than anyone.

The cafeteria was ahead with a long line of famished people and their pokémon wrapped around the building. Soldiers stood idle or walked back and forth to deter anyone from causing trouble. Jenna got dibs as Chris' sister and had the key to the back door, so she wouldn't have to wait.

However, as she entered the lot and went around the building, she saw a skinny girl around her age or younger sitting against the wall in a torn shirt and stopped. Her short black hair was unkempt, matted in a few spots, and she looked disheveled overall. Jenna was close to passing by but didn't have it in her to ignore the sight. She swayed to walk forward, but her feet stayed planted.

The sight tugged at her heart. She walked over and stopped at a distance. "Hi."

The girl looked up and glanced at the rifle Jenna had and assumed she wasn't supposed to be sitting here. "Sorry." She started getting up.

"You're fine where you are." Jenna crouched and ran her eyes over the girl. "What's your name?"

"...Abby," she muttered while looking away.

"May I ask how old you are?"

"Fifteen," she muttered again.

"Why aren't you in line? You're hungry, no?"

Abby looked at the line that more people got in by the second. She wouldn't eat for another three hours at the rate it was moving.

Jenna looked as well before turning back to her. "...Fair point. How about we make a deal then?"

She shot Jenna a glance.

Got her. "I'll get us something to eat, and we'll talk." Jenna stood and extended a hand.

That's all? Abby didn't understand why this person was being kind to a dirty survivor like the rest when she obviously had some kind of privilege here, but Abby took it and stood with her.

"This way. Quick." Jenna saw several people in line watching the exchange while she walked around the building to the back door, taking a key from her pocket and unlocking it. She didn't doubt a desperate person trying to steal the key or slip through upon seeing an opening. She would do or at least think about the same if she were starving.

Abby entered after Jenna into a small, unfurnished room and followed down a hall until they got to another with a couch and table.

Jenna flipped on the light. "We turned this room into a break area so those posted at the cafeteria could rest on site. You can sit. I'll be back."

She did, taking a soft breath and lying against the cushion. Abby hadn't slept in days since she hadn't had a stable place to stay. The person she'd been renting from had passed from SRC. Just her luck.

She'd narrowly avoided death and groups with awful intentions multiple times while outside-- hence the torn shirt, and was robbed of what little money she had from her recent job, so the silence and safety in this room brought her some solace. She struggled not to pass out where she sat.

Jenna returned without her rifle and had two wrapped dry sandwiches on a platter, water, and a damp washcloth. She sat beside Abby and set the plate and water bottle between them, handing her the cloth.

She took it and wiped her cheek, rubbing a light layer of dirt away.

"I'm Jenna, by the way," she said while opening her sandwich. "How'd you end up here?"

She shrugged. "I just overheard others talking about it and decided to follow. Nothing to lose."

Jenna took a small bite of her sandwich and noticed Abby had yet to touch hers. "Do you have family?"

It was only fair to answer her questions, although Abby didn't want to talk. It was pointless when no one cared for long. "Nah... I was an orphan. I chose the streets instead of staying with fake families. Not proud of it, but it's been my life."

She took the sandwich and handed it to her. "No longer."