Wishful Dreaming

08

Seven was by himself then, and had to figure that out alone, suffering from the guilt for weeks on end. He wouldn't let Mono do that to himself, not while he was right here. "Yes, he's dead." He started out blankly, and Mono looked back over the door, before the boy could go back into a whirlwind of pointless thoughts, Seven continued. "Though I wouldn't dwell on it too much. It was bound to happen one way or another. If not him than us." His words were what he told himself all those years ago, he didn't know if it was helping Mono any, but he hoped that it brought some sort of comfort.

Mono listened to what Seven had to say, his words circling in mind on repeat. Mono then understood that Seven has been through this before, that he has killed somebody before. Mono looked at Seven more intensely than a few minutes prior, wanting to know what all the boy had been through. He knew that wherever Seven came from was rough, but he never thought it went that far. It made Mono realize much more that he didn't understand everything about this world or how cruel it may be. Perhaps he would have if he could remember more about his past.

Seven's words made Mono feel somewhat grounded to the point he no longer felt like curling in on himself. He looked at Seven, who was now looking away and at the floor, and smiled. He wasn't alone anymore.

Both were taken out of their thoughts when Seven's stomach let out a loud growl, causing Seven to grip his shirt where his belly was at and curl inward. The pain Seven felt was worse than before, probably since all the adrenaline he just had wore off while they were talking. Mono then remembered what he promised Seven and stood up, ignoring the fact that his body ached and that his stomach was also clawing him in pain. He needed to find them some food, or at least some for Seven, Mono believed that he could make it a little bit longer without anything, it was the small boy he was worried about.

Most kids in this world were scrawny and underfed, stunting their growth and discoloring their skin. There were a few that still managed to maintain a healthy diet, and even fewer that got so much food that they didn't have to ever worry about starving. Unfortunately, these two boys were part of the majority and ate whatever food they could find whenever. Although it would get them by for the most part, a lot of the times they would go to bed hungry or burn more calories than they were ingesting. Dying by starvation was a horrible way to go, but it wasn't the worst, so they kept pushing.

Mono was now out of the old shack, going out of the window behind them instead of the busted doorway with a dead man right outside of it. Seven insisted on coming with him, but Mono forced him to stay behind, convincing him by telling him that he needed to keep watch in case The Hunter was still alive. It was an excuse more than anything, but Seven took it, as long as he didn't feel completely useless.

It took longer than Mono would have liked it to, but he did eventually find a few mushrooms that he learned were edible after he saw The Hunter gathering them and eating one. He didn't try to think about how his stomach turned sour at the thought of the man or how the picture of the door getting blasted burned in his mind. With a couple of mushrooms in his arms, that were a little hard to carry due to the fact that they were about half his size, he returned back to the shed he left Seven in.

That's when he realized he wouldn't be able to go back through the window again. He stopped dead in his tracks, the thought about stepping over the man and going through the door made him feel sick again, the smell of the mushrooms not making it any better. He closed his eyes and thought about Seven's words again, and then told himself that he needed to hurry to the said starving boy. He made his feet go one in front of the other, making his way to the door. The smell of blood and the hum of several flies almost caused him to throw up, but he swallowed it down and looked the other way. He hopped over the splintered wood of the door and quickly made his way to Seven, setting down the mushrooms in front of him, before spinning around. He put his hand on top of his mouth and begged his body not to vomit, he needed to keep what little nutrients he had inside his body.