Supplies

Chapter 4

Avenne’s POV

I decided to look for food first.

I had a list in my mind of everything I needed, but food had to come before everything else because I had no idea how long the supplies already left in the city would last, and the longer I waited, the harder it would become to find anything useful.

I remembered seeing a supermarket a few streets away before everything changed, so I headed in that direction, keeping my eyes on the road as I walked.

The city felt completely different now.

There were abandoned cars everywhere, some with their doors hanging open, while others had crashed into walls or each other, and people moved through the streets carrying bags, boxes and anything else they could use to carry supplies.

Nobody looked relaxed, nobody walked as if they were simply going somewhere.

Everyone was searching, everyone was looking for something.

I understood why when I reached the supermarket.

The place had already been cleared.

The glass doors were broken, shelves had been knocked over, baskets were scattered across the floor and empty boxes were piled in the corners. People were still searching through the remaining rubbish, opening torn packages and checking beneath shelves as if they believed there might still be something useful hidden there.

I walked inside and looked around, hoping I would at least find a few cans or bottles of water.

There was almost nothing.

I checked one shelf after another, but all I found were empty wrappers and damaged packages that were no longer useful.

A woman was fighting with another person over a small bag of rice, while two men were searching through a fallen shelf for anything they could eat.

I stood there for a moment, watching them.

Food was already becoming a currency.

People were no longer taking what they wanted because there was plenty.

They were taking whatever they could find because they did not know when they would find food again.

I turned around and left.

There was no point wasting my time in a place that had already been emptied.

I continued walking, searching through smaller stores and roadside shops, but I found very little that could help me.

Then I heard someone shouting.

“Move!”

I turned toward the sound and saw a group of people coming down the street.

Two men were carrying another man between them.

His head hung against one of their shoulders, and blood covered part of his clothes. His face was pale, his breathing was weak, and every few seconds his body jerked as if he was fighting to stay conscious.

“We need to find somewhere to treat him,” one of them said.

“There is nowhere left,” another man replied. “The clinic was already cleared.”

“Then find something!”

“What do you expect me to do?”

Their voices became louder as they argued, but none of them seemed to know what to do with the injured man.

I watched them for a moment before I stepped forward. “Wait.”

They all turned toward me. “I can help him.”

The man carrying the injured person stared at me. “You can? What can you fat girl do?"

I nodded. “Yes.”

He looked at me for several seconds before glancing down at the man in his arms. “You don’t even know what you’re saying.”

“I do.”

His expression made it clear that he did not believe me.

I looked at the injured man again.

His breathing was getting weaker. “Give me a trial.”

The man almost laughed. “A trial?”

“Yes.”

“And if you can’t?”

“Then you lose nothing.” I pointed toward the injured man. “But if I can save him, you give me water and food.”

The man stopped laughing, he looked at the others, then back at me.

I could see him thinking about it.

I added, “And anything else you have that I need.”

That finally caught his attention. “You’re serious?”

“Yes.”

He looked at the injured man again.

Then he nodded. “Fine. I’ve got water, food, batteries, medicine, containers and a few other things.”

“Then let me help him.”

They lowered the injured man carefully, and I immediately knelt beside him.

My hands were shaking slightly, but I forced myself to stay calm.

I had used my ability before, but I was still learning what it could do and how much control I had over it.

I closed my eyes and focused.

The System appeared before me.

[Scanning target.]

[Severe blood loss detected.]

[Internal injuries detected.]

[Fractured ribs detected.]

[Organ damage detected.]

My heart tightened, there  was much more wrong with him than I had first thought.

For a moment, I wondered if I had made a mistake by promising that I could save him.

Then I remembered what I had told them.

Give me a trial.

I could not back down now, I placed my hands over his chest and focused on the strange power inside me.

It moved slowly at first.

I felt the energy leaving me, spreading through my hands and entering his body.

The injured man’s body suddenly trembled.

Someone behind me gasped.

I ignored them, I focused on the damage inside him and pushed the healing power toward every injury the System had identified.

It was not easy.

My head began to ache, and my breathing became heavier as the energy inside me slowly decreased.

I almost stopped.

Then I saw the man’s chest rise.

His breathing had become steadier.

I continued.

The bleeding stopped, the damage inside him began to repair.

His breathing became stronger.

I could feel the exhaustion spreading through my body, but I refused to stop until the System appeared again.

[Treatment successful.]

I slowly removed my hands.

For several seconds, nobody spoke, the  man who had doubted me stared at the injured person.

The man who had been barely breathing moments ago slowly opened his eyes.

Everyone went silent.

He looked around weakly, as if he could not understand why he was still alive.

The man who had been carrying him turned toward me.

His expression had completely changed. “What… are you?”

I looked at him, I had no answer, I did not know what I was either.

I only knew that something had changed inside me after the world fell apart, and somehow, that strange power had allowed me to save a man who should have died.

“I don’t know,” I finally said.

He continued staring at me.

I did not wait for him to ask anything else. “You promised me supplies.”

He blinked, then seemed to remember our agreement.

“Yes.”

“I need water containers.”

He nodded.

“Preserved food.”

Another nod.

“Batteries, a communication device, medicine, cooking supplies and seeds.”

He stared at me for a moment.

“That’s a lot.”

“You said I could have anything you had.”

He sighed.

“I did.”

“And I saved him.”

He looked toward the man who was now sitting up with the help of the others.

After a moment, he nodded.

“You did.”

He kept his word.

I followed them to where they had stored their supplies, and I was surprised by how much they had managed to collect before the supermarket was emptied.

There were bottles of water, bags of rice, canned food, dried food, batteries, medicine, cooking equipment, containers, several small communication devices and other useful items.

I took what I could carry without making myself completely helpless on the way home.

By the time I returned to the house, my arms were aching.

I placed everything down and stood there for a moment, looking at the supplies.

This was more than I had expected to get but  I knew it was only the beginning.

I could not simply fill the house with supplies and assume I would be safe.

I needed to organize everything.

So I started working.

I cleaned the rooms first, removing the dust and dirt that had gathered inside. I wiped the floors, cleaned the windows and checked every corner of the house carefully.

Then I arranged the food.

I separated the preserved food from the things that needed to be eaten sooner and placed everything in containers that could keep them dry.

I stored the medicine in one place and the batteries in another.

The water went into the containers I had brought back, By the time evening arrived, my hands were dirty, my clothes were dusty and my entire body was tired.

But when I stood in the middle of the room and looked around, something felt different.

It felt like a place where I could survive, I looked at the supplies I had gathered, I had not begged anyone.

I had not waited for someone to come and save me.

I had found a way to get what I needed.

My healing ability had saved a life today, but it had also given me something else.

A way to survive.

I looked down at my hands.

If people were willing to exchange food, water and supplies for healing, then perhaps I did not need to depend on anyone.