Vol 2 Ch 19(Kenneth):R.E.M

Bringing the kids with us seemed like a bad storm brewing, anyone of them could give us away, yet, you can't teach people without letting them give it a go themselves first.

"Kenneth?" I looked down and to my right and noticed a boy pulling my jacket. "It's...Kenneth...right?" The kid talked slow, i don't blame them, the way i acted before was uncalled for.

"Yes?" The two of us were walking behind everyone else, another kid, a girl, was chatting to Lee and Sam, and another was talking to Nicholai.

"I...I'm sorry, for taking it" So it was him... "I-I...just...wanted to take care of my sister...i don't...really trust any of the adults here...and she's really sick" I could feel myself tense up, i wanted to tell the kid, but he stopped me before i could. "I-it's not the sickness that turns people to those monsters...it's just...something that popped up...it's popped up before too...she needs medicine but they don't think it's serious" It was getting to the point i hated the adults, yet, kids can exaggerate, i used to be that type of kid with Nicholai, i remember talking about how she worked herself to death every night...maybe i still say that often though.

"If it's popped up many times, maybe the adults just don't have the right medicine, for some illnesses you need certain medicine for them to get better...and, it's hard to get certain medicine in this situation, but" I stopped walking and knelt to the boy's level, placing my hand on their shoulder, while putting something in their pocket. "I'll do my best to find the medicine your sister needs, now, you should go explain the symptoms to Nicholai...she's...she's a good doctor" I stood up as the kid ran over to my sister, seems he didn't notice what i gave him. I was walking alone in the back now, Nicholai almost jumped up from the kid popping out from nowhere when he was with me. The kids weren't too loud, if anything, they were really quiet, i couldn't hear any of them unless i got close, they listen well i guess...though i do wondered why they do. After talking to the boy i saw her look back at me, her walking got slower until she was beside me, then she resumed walking her normal pace.

"What're you doing back here?" She had her left hand in her jacket's pocket while i had both of my hand's pocketed"

"More quiet, the kids mostly ignore me anyways, so I'm just making sure they don't run off somewhere" It was easy keeping an eye on everyone when you were a few feet behind everyone, since Lee and Sam were sort of swarmed by them they would have a harder time watching them all, it'd be best to stay back here.

"So, thinking about anything?" I didn't know why, but it felt like Nicholai had this change in personality, maybe she was just being nicer since she was worried, after all, we got used to our powers only for it to be taken just a second after, and from what it looks like, no one is coming, yesterday was our only day off, someone should've noticed by now, we'd have to fix whatever enhances our powers ourselves.

"Just, how much a pain this all is, though i guess it is therapeutic to deal with what's happened here now than later."

"I guess you can take it as a learning experience, that's the way i think of it anyways, as we get more and more missions we may encounter situations where our magic doesn't work"

"And I'll probably be the one setting the tech up" The group came to a sudden halt, i was going to question the two up front but Lee already began talking.

"Alright, this building, at least last i checked, had a decent amount of supplies. First things first, this may be a scavenging run, but we do not split away from each other unless absolutely necessary" The kids silently agreed. "Good, since power is on, we'll start from the top and work our way down, if we work our way up then if something happens we'll most likely be on the top floor when it does happen"

"I sense flawed logic here" I spoke up and walked towards the group. "Sure we'll be on the top if that situation happens after we begin looking around. but what happens when, zo- Monsters, appear immediately."

"I understand what you're saying, in my opinion though we're less likely to be noticed by them if we start on the fourth floor, not to mention a building is right next to this one, if needed we could go back upstairs and go through the windows onto the rooftops"

"But if we start on the bottom we can't do that"

"Sorta right Ken, depends on how we're surrounded, but either way, starting from the top guarantees a good chance we can get back up since we've already cleared it."

"I get it, alright, let's go" The four of us, and the kids walked inside the building, it seemed a bit empty, however, there were already a few zombies shambling towards us after we got through the double screen doors. The kids seemed more scared and tense.

"It's alright" Sam began to calm them down. "They're slow, and not very smart, as long as you stay calm you can always find away through it, and you kids have an advantage." Lee took his Krambit out...i...didn't have a weapon thinking about it now, i had a tazer but that doesn't do much to zombies whom already have their nerves and muscles tensed to hell. "Ken" I turned to Sam who handed me her stun baton, last i recall when we were humans in school Lee had this, he got in a lot of trouble, but in the end was allowed to keep it on him...weird school...and ironic that when the breakout happened, that was the one day he didn't have it.

"Thanks" I took and swung it down right so the full length of the baton could release, i didn't know how to activate the stun part however.

"Sam's right, they're fragile too...if you have an issue with blood, you should look away now." With an exception of a very small few including Sam, the kids mostly watched. "It's a simple strategy that allows you to deal with them one at a time even with many around" I walked with him through the building, Nicholai stayed behind with her pistol out incase something happened. When a few zombies got close, Lee kicked one in the leg, knocking it over and onto the floor, while i whipped one in the head staggering it, Lee stabbed the other zombie through the bottom of their jaw, from what i saw it took a bit more effort for the krambit to pierce through then he first though. As the zombie i was handling was looking the other way due to being whipped with a baton, i wrapped the baton around their neck and began twisting, until this echoing crack could be hear and the zombie went limp, i kicked it away and looked to Lee who stomped the head in of the last one. After that was said and done we looked to the kids who seemed a bit scared at what we did...i guess the two of us forgot they're kids...but they seemed to relax a bit after everything settled.

"S-....so, what happens after? What, do we do with...t-the bodies?" The boy that spoke to me earlier asked a question. One that i would answer again.

"Depends on what you believe in i guess...some bury them, some burn them, some just leave them...what...do you kids wanna do?" I looked at the kids who all seem conflicted.

"We should bury them! They...deserve that right? Even though they're monsters? I heard that even people who've killed others get buried...a-and...they, didn't really do anything wrong...did they?"

"No" Nicholai responded to the boy. "No one would...no one sane would become one of them" Nicholai changed her sentence, she probably knows that some people...cut themselves short of a chance at a normal life.

"As much as i would like to do that" Lee was crouched over one of the corpses. "We don't have shovels and I'm not making you kids shovel dirt with your hands...if...if we do find shovels though, we'll come back, alright?" Lee took an ID card from one of the bodies and went to the elevator, using the card to call it down. "We should get searching now." We all waited for the elevator in si-...well, not in silence, the kids were quietly talking to one another. When the elevator came down we all walked into it. "Alright! Fourth floor" He put the ID in front of the dimly lit scanner again "here we come" The doors closed and the elevator began going up...very slowly. I looked around the elevator and noticed a person limit of six people, there were four of us, and about six kids, nearly double what it says.

"Lee" He looked at me and noticed what i was looking at.

"Oh, don't worry, the elevator is just slow cause the building is running on reserves from the power stations run by the people freely giving it. Besides, this isn't some horror movie, or zombie game or movie...we'll be fine" I expected some jinxing as is always what happens, but in the end, we arrived easily to the fourth floor, where Lee gave this smug look at me and patted my shoulder as he left the elevator "Told ya"...childish, but, it was Lee. We all left the elevator when i heard something snap. We all stood in silence at the elevator, it didn't look any different, and it didn't fall after any time, it may have just been everyone's weight getting off.

"Hey Sam!" The girl who played the game before ran over to Sam to tell her something, looking down at her i noticed the boy from two times before beside me while everyone else began searching the place.

"Need somethin" The boy jumped a small bit before looking at me. "N-no!...maybe...what you guys did earlier...you made it looked easy...but...we can't do that, we're small"

"Being small has it's perks, you're harder to grab, harder to notice, people underestimate you, and even then, you can do that strategy, you just have to kick hard enough to knock them down, even if it hurts." I watched over everyone else as the kid talked to me.

"But, where am i meant to kick?"

"If you want the monster to fall back, kick a bit above the knee, if you want it to fall towards you for whatever reason, kick below the knee, since you're already kicking hard enough the force will move them in that direction. Like a gear kinda" The kid seemed to understand.

"I...think i get it now..."

"Alright, i got a question for ya"

"hu-huh? I, don't think i can answer anything though"

"It's a question about you so I'm sure you can" The boy looked up at me. "Why're you hanging around me?"

"Well...Lee, Sam...Nikaloi-

"Nicholai" I corrected him.

"R-right...they're nice people but...i find you more...i dunno...inspiring"

"Thanks...i guess" I scratched the back of my neck. "You shouldn't think like that though, you should always be wary of people you don't know" He seemed confused."Wary means cautious, as in you pay attention to the people around you and make sure they're good people before trusting them."

"O-oh! See! You teach me a bunch! You don't keep me indoors like the adults do and...you didn't get mad at me for taking your"

"..." I sighed.

"What I'm trying to say is, i want you to tutor me! Teach me what i need to live my best life!" He thought far ahead at least he has that optimism going for em.

"You know, I'm not a good teacher, i go hard on the people i teach, i don't expect you to slack off and if you get left behind I'm not going back to teach you again, what I'm saying is, I'm gonna be harsh on you if you don't give it your all."

"And I'll give it my all!" I patted his head.

"Alright, when we get back then, prepare yourself for Kenneth's hardcore honors class" He seemed excited...i would have to create some curriculum now wouldn't i?

"Thanks Kenneth!" The b- He ran off to join the others, they seemed to have already found some stuff, but i noticed Lee crouched down near a filing cabinet paying close attention to some document, i walked over and peered over his shoulder. After around three seconds pass he noticed my shadow and jumped back.

"!Ken! If you wanted to see it just ask! I was gonna stab you!" I thought it was something he would hide, he had some track record for it.

"Alright, lemme see then" Lee got up and showed it to me

(Anything in () is Kenneth's remarks

?????LL Corporation (The lettering for the corporation was mostly ripped, it was seemingly done on purpose with how clean the tear was, meaning they're trying to hide the name of the corp, or at least, trying to lure us into finding out who they are.."

+$75,000,000-Funding for R.E.M Research 6/22/22 (This date...was during the apocalypse...meaning they got funding from some outer source)

+$70,000,000-Funding for R.E.M Research 3/27/22 (Still in the apocalypse...how long as this been going for? More importantly, what even was R.E.M...or what is...we wouldn't know if this is still ongoing, they could've moved, after all, this clearly shows they have some outer support.)

+$20,000,000-Funding for R.E.M Research 5/24/21 (The funding was a lot less...did they make some breakthrough in what they were doing?...this is before the apocalypse but i doubt something called REM would be responsible for it...yet, how would I know, i don't know everything. I hadn't realized it yet, but all of us were looking at it besides for the children, Sam kept taking peeks at the funding while making sure the kids were fine too)

The rest of the document is either ruined or ripped off, i wonder how far back it went. Lee handed it to me

"I can't have every important document now can i?" He was self-concious about his habit of keeping things, at least he was aware of it...for now.

"No, you can't" I took it and pocketed it.

"I've been looking for any other half, though the other files seemed unrelated" He sat back down at the filing cabinet and began looking through again.

"Lee, how'd you know this stuff was here?" I was sure this wasn't a coincidence.

"A few days before the outbreak i took note of a certain building, they were heavily contravioursal for their human testing...the people agreed to be tested, but people still didn't like it"

"hm, surprised i haven't heard of it then...and surprised you haven't talked about it" Lee finished one drawer and moved to the next.

"Never had a reason to search the place, thought that since we're letting the kids experience scavenging, then we'll go somewhere of interest."

"Alright, i get it" I looked at the large table in the middle of the room, there wasn't anything on it, there wasn't anything off with it, yet, it gave this eerie feeling to it. A part of me felt like the table was some sentient being going to kill me, yet that never happened.

"Hey Ken, you play any sports?" Nicholai was leaning on the table.

"Huh? Wouldn't you know?" I faced her while sitting on the same table.

"Yeah, but it's not like i can recall or know everything, you also don't talk much about your life outside of home...buuut i can't really blame you for that" it was silent for a second, except for talking students. "so?"

"None i recall, i just spent my time repairing stuff as practice."

"Shame, i feel you would've played or enjoyed some sport"

"Maybe, yet it's a bit too late for that"

"Kenneth, take this!" Sam tossed me a bag, when i looked in it, it had a decent amount of supplies.

"Why does a research facility have necessary essentials for survival?" I closed the bag and slung it around my other shoulder so my main bag wouldn't get crushed, i noticed something in the statement i made so i reiterated it "Well, i mean, clearly it's not a research facility, it wouldn't be in the center of the city with no defense if it was, but you all get my point."

"Maybe this is some outpost they made, after all, they're clearly doing research so they'd have to transport things somehow." Sam got her own bag as she gave her theory.

"I agree, the elevator doesn't lead to the roof and i don't see a place where a helicopter could land, meaning they'd have to transport it some otherway." I had an idea that went against Lee and Sam's

"What if they just airdropped it? Even if it's incredibly fragile they could just get it really secure" After I spoke my idea i looked out the windows, maybe there was a ruined patch of grass that proved what i said, yet i didn't find such a thing.

"I dunno, i doubt they'd risk it, especially if they find something that's one-of-a-kind...if they even found something like that."

"Hey!" One of the children called us over, when the four of us got there we saw a group of children huddled around something.

"Excuse me" Lee moved the children aside so we could see. Standing in the middle of the floor was this cat. The minute they saw Sam it looked ecstatic and opened its mouth, i expected a meow or some other noise a cat makes, but instead.

"Hewo Sam!" I think we all thought we misheard something. This cat...just spoke... and it knows Sam too.

"Umm...have we met?" I spoke up since no one else would. Instead this cat just looked a bit confused, then Lee spoke up.

"If you do know us...or Sam at least, then it's most likely from another timeline, after all, Sam and I just switched timelines a few days ago" The cat went to Sam and looked up at her, probably expected something. Sam crouched down and began petting it, the cat seemed perfectly satisfied with that. I looked towards the kids who seemed just as confused...yet they're probably more confused considering they've yet to see anything supernatural yet.

"So, if you can talk, what's your name, if you have one" Sam asked the cat while petting it. After being asked the question the cat seemed to perk up more before answering.

"Kaz!" It looked as though something ticked in the duo's head, yet, Nicholai and I clearly didn't know or recall who Kaz was.

"Yeah, definitely another timeline...i don't really remember much of it though...yet, if you're here..." Kaz seemed to not get what Lee was hinting at, either that or we were far from being right. After Sam was done betting Kaz, she lept into Sam's arms where Sam would hold her near her chest. Kaz seemed really happy, if you described what i was seeing, i'd think two Sam's existed, their energy matched perfectly, i could sense that Kaz would turn the Lee and Sam duo to a trio...i don't think either would complain too.

"Hehe!~" Sam seemed completely distracted to notice anything else, she just kept petting the cat in her arms, and Kaz seemed content with it.

"Kaz, do you recall anything about some R.E.M research?" Sam stopped petting Kaz when Nicholai talked to her.

"Nwope! I was just looking for Sam and Lee!"

"Alright then" The kids seemed to register what was going on and began asking questions.

"You all know a talking cat?"

"Why is it talking?"

"So cute!"

"Umm" Whether it was questioning the speaking cat or praising how adorable Kaz was, the kids all had something to say. Nicholai did her best to try and calm them down.

"Well...we didn't really teach the kids anything." I spoke to Lee about it. Sam was...obviously occupied.

"To be fair, they just wanted us to bring the kids out and teach them to fend for themselves, we can do that somewhere else. Not to mention, i think the children learned a few things out of experience, i tried to teach some kids about how being fast is good, but being careful is better. And that you should only be fast when you know the exits, know where to find the stuff you're looking for, and then if there are any dangerous things nearby." Lee talked on until he finished. He did teach them about something useful, whether the kids listen or not, or remember it, is different entirely.

"Hey! We can bring Kaz with us right?" Sam held Kaz while asking the group. No one objected. "I'll take it as a yes then!" Kaz purred and slouched in Sam's arms.

"I don't think anyone minds" Nicholai stopped calming the kids down as they seemed fine now. "Any of the kids back at the station have a cat allergy?"

"Not any i remember"

"Course not!"

"Quiet down a bit" Lee broke the convo. "We'll keep Kaz of course, but I've noticed we're getting loud." The kids quieted themselves. "Good, now, we're supplied enough, this was more a trial...if you can call it that...so let's head back" We walked back to the elevator. The duo were engrossed to the cat, Nicholai was tapping the railing in the elevator. It got just as cramped as it was before, and just as before the elevator went down perfectly normal...except for the occasional short stop that the elevator made, though we were at fault for those, we were probably over the capacity limit for this thing. The elevator dinged as it made it back to the bottom floor, we didn't really search the other floors, but i think that was due to what Lee found...and for the talking cat that appeared. I was leading the group, i went from the back to the front, when i looked behind me to make sure they were following me, Lee somehow ended up holding Kaz while everyone conversed to each other. I started theorizing on what R.E.M could be, it reminded me of rem sleep, but then if it was that, then why would there be research for it, i doubt it's so important that it needs to be worked on mid-apocalypse. Perhaps it was based off of rem sleep but not rem sleep entirely. "What're you pondering about?" Lee walked over to me while he held Kaz, she seemed cozy in-between his jacket's sleeves.

"Just wondering what R.E.M is"

"Ah, i thought of it as some kind of sleep thing" He basically said what I just said but more...simpler. "Though, i think the main question for now should be who funded them, and why. When they were still around they didn't seem like some government building so i doubt it was them"

"Right, if we figure out why they did we might also figure out what they're doing" In response to what i said Lee snapped his fingers.

"Exactly" Around the corner we heard groaning, it was most likely some zombies, i took out Sam's stun baton and extended it...i still didn't know how to turn on the stun part. Lee gave a motion for the others to stop, giving time for Nicholai and Sam to stop the kids. Lee and I prepped ourselves and when we saw a foot, we backed up a slight bit and prepared for a swing, that was until we noticed what was groaning. They looked like a group of highschoolers, one was on some makeshift strecher, they seemed to be accompanied by an adult as well. We lowered our guard slightly, but just enough so we could still counter attack if it was required of us. It was this weird silence as we all looked at each other. That was until one of them talked.

"We'll just be making our way now, if you won't mind us" They resteadied themselves and the person on the makeshift strecher and walked off. It was a weird encounter, but i hoped they would turn out alright.

It didn't take long to get back to the station after that, however...there was something off about it, it seemed devoid of anything. Nicholai walked ahead of us and got on the right side of the door with her left hand with the gun and right hand on the door handle. Sam told the kids something while she went on the opposite side of the door that Nicholai was on. Lee seemed to be staying with the kids and Kaz, so he took out his krambit and held it out for me.

"Give Sam her baton back, I'll get the krambit back later" I nodded as i took it. I got behind Nicholai until she noticed I was behind her.

"What're you doing? I'm the one with the gun, if someone is going to be behind someone it's gonna be me." She had a point, so me and her swapped. I got the door ready, I looked at the two and they nodded back. I grabbed the handle and turned it, opening the door with a very faint click. The door opened very slowly but Nicholai had my back as i opened it. After what felt like agony on my arms the door opened, and just like i had felt, it was all empty, not a single thing was here.

"The hell is this?" I could tell my voice got heated, i couldn't see the other children anywhere.

"No way they just left, there's no sign they were ever here!" It felt like we came into another dimension, but we weren't, there were signs that they were here...they were very minor, but they were still there.

"They packed and left in just a few hours..." Sam sounded worried.

"It means they've done this before...or at least is used to leaving fast." Lee and the other kids walked in with us. It seemed the children heard us talking.

"They left us?" The girl with the game looked as though she were on the verge of tears. Sam crouched to her level and tried giving her a pep talk, I don't recall it but i do remember it was something about how we've made it this far, so they'll be alright as long as we give it our all. That talk was enough to get her to calm down at least, but she still looked ready to cry. Sam didn't really know what to do after that, so she just hugged the girl as we looked around more. I decided to stay with them while Nicholai and Lee looked around more. I gave his krambit back so he would be alright. We were all in the station so with everyone's help we blocked the main door with a shelf. After Lee and Nicholai went into i room i heard them say something, but not loud enough to hear exactly what they said, but Lee seemed especially pissed off. I was going to go in with them but they shortly came back out of it....along with the rest of the kids.

"They abandoned them!" Lee sounded ready to kill someone...he probably would too.

"Hold on! I doubt the counselor would just leave us!" Sam tried being optimistic, but Lee shot it down.

"But they left the kids!?"

"Maybe they did it for the kids' safety?" Lee didn't deny this idea, it seemed plausible, but unlikely.

"If they come back, or if we find them, we better get some sort of good explanation."

"And soon" Nicholai added to Lee's comment

"Seeing the situation i have two ideas" I noticed the panic setting slowly into the children, Kaz seemed a little worried too. "We wither all move as one, or we have two of us stay with the children every time we go scavenging. Both have risks, then again, there aren't many children so we might be able to move quietly as one, one thing for sure though, we can't stay here"

"By the way, why were you kids in another room?" The question was on my mind when i saw them.

"We dunno, we were...just there"

"When we woke up the adults were gone, so me and a few of the other kids thought it'd be best to hide in another room."

"So you dragged the other kids?" I scratched the side of my neck a small bit.

"Hmhm!" The boy nodded..

"Well, i say we move as one, there aren't many of us anyways, it'd be best if we kept an eye on everyone" I gave my opinion as everyone finished grabbing everything.

"Nicholai, the school was in a fine state if i remember, right?" Lee questioned Nicholai, which she nodded to.

"We should be able to fix it up"

"That's where we go then!" The kids stayed silent, even after Sam finished speaking. they must've been worried. "Alright kiddos, we'll be heading out now, don't draw attention, don't run off unless we're in danger and we tell you to. Get that?"

"Yes!" Only a few kids responded, the others just nodded...well, that counts as a response i guess.

We all departed the station after that, not much was left behind, we had out tents, a few of us carried lanterns or flashlights, and Sam and I carried all the food, while Lee and Nicholai carried any stuff medical related, or stuff that could harm others. Our goal for now was making it to the school, making it there would most likely be easy, but it being easy doesn't mean we won't encounter obstacles.