Finding a True Smile System

1.1

Misha listened to the sounds coming from the other side of the door. When the noise subsided he cautiously peeked out the window. Confirming nothing was there he opened the door and was greeted by a zombie in the middle of devouring a man alive. Misha tensed up as the man Misha come through the door.

"I-It..hurts! P-P-P-Please! Help meeee!"

The zombie glanced at Misha but it was too preoccupied with it's meal to care. Misha didn't spare another glance as he quickly left the scene. While Misha was looking through the map Wyatt pointed to the city's western port area. He notified Misha that it would be a stronghold in the future and many strong and clever people would gather there due to the abundance of resources and close proximity to a navy base. Most of the people at the port tried to run back to the city either for safety or to look for their families so there were relatively fewer zombies.

Misha hid behind debris and buildings as he made his way to a working car with its front door open. Not caring about the blood and broken glass littering the front seat he quietly closed the door. As he checked the gas and buckled his seatbealt, hands suddenly shot through the broken window.

"That's my car! I saw it first! Get out you little motherfucker!"

A hysterical woman was shouting at him as she tried to pull out of the car. Her eyes were bloodshot from fear and madness. Misha suspected she was most likely having a mental breakdown.

[Misha! Shake her off and go! The noise is attracting the zombie's attention!]

Misha didn't need to be told twice. He grabbed a large piece of glass and electrocharged it. He then smashed it into the raving woman's mouth. The automatic gag reflex stunned her as she unconsciously let go. Misha floored it.

Misha's eyes widen. "Wyatt I forgot to tell you something"

[What?]

"I don't know how to drive!"

[What?! You're 16 didn't you start learning how to drive yet?!]

Misha: "The orphanage didn't want to pay for driver's education or the necessary fees to get a license. We could only go to places regulated by the orphanage on foot or if we stole some money for a bus fare."

Wyatt gave off a snort in disgust.

"...I only stole once when I went too far and my feet were blistering from walking back."

[No! That wasn't directed at you! I was simply appalled by the sheer inadequacy of the adults who were supposed to raise you. I don't care if you stole a hundred or a thousand times for a bus fare if it meant you didn't have to walk back with bloody shoes. How then, are you managing to drive right now?]

Misha: "Why do you think I bothered sneaking around to look for a car that was already on? Plus how is this driving! I'm just trying to not hit anything!"

[In some countries of your previous world that's really all you needed to know. You know which is to go, stop, turn and reverse right? There won't be any traffic police here to stop you from driving on the sidewalk as you are being chase by a horde of zombies.]

Misha: "wait what?"

[Eyes on the road mister!]

Misha whipped his eyes forward.

[Don't worry I'm keeping an eye out to make sure you get to your destination safely. You just focus on driving.] (I wouldn't want to scare him with the frightening scene behind us.)

A crowd of zombies chased behind them. Some even trampled one another leaving behind a mangled smug that would continue to hobble after the car. Others had bugs crawling from infected wounds which simply added another layer to the horror. It was unknown what happened to the woman Misha left behind but one could guess her fate was not pretty.

Misha made it to the outskirt of the port at dusk. The drive was smooth once they made it out of the populated areas in the city. The only mishap was small store caving in when he stopped for a bathroom break. He also switched to an electric car he found on the road as he was able to fuel it himself instead of stopping at dangerous gas stations. He saw a few people ambushed at the stations by other humans out for themselves.

Pulling up into the port town, Misha found a resort facing away from a cliff. The reason he chose it was because it was high enough to overlook the port and planned to find a boat he can park underneath the cliff in case he needs to make a quick getaway.

[Misha I know you're tired and this place is safer compared to the city but you need to barricade the building and ensure nobody can rob you of this place. It isn't hard to figure out this resort has a vantage point over town.]

Misha blocked all the doorways and windows with heavy furniture. He also laid out traps using the kitchen's large assortment of cutlery. While scanning the surroundings Wyatt noticed Misha was massaging his temples in front of some powder laying in front of him.

[What are you doing? Are you okay?]

Misha: "Just something I saw one time during a war documentary. They described how bombs were made and I thought I could put that to use. And don't worry about me I've had these migraines for a while."

[Have you made one before? You look pretty confident in what you're doing.]

Misha had a confused expression: "How's it possible I made one before I never would have had free access to anything at the orphanage. It's just I remember clearly what the narrator said."

[They must have made you watch it a thousand times if you can remember every step so clearly]

Misha: "No? They only showed it once because they were trying to impress some government officer to donate to the place. We never saw it again. Look can you not talk for a while my head hurts."

[...]

Wyatt whispered softly into his mind: [Be careful and go to sleep soon. I'll keep watch so you can at least rest easy at night.]

Misha had his eyes closed as he massaged harder: "I'm probably not going to get much sleep tonight. These migraines always keep me up at night."

[Even so your body needs rest. Just go try, I'll sing you to sleep.]

Misha: "I doubt that'll help but you're right about my body needing the rest I can feel my back aching from that long drive."

Misha went to the top room and laid his head on the pillow ready for the long sleepless night. As he did he heard soft tenor humming coming from his head. And it might have been because he was too exhausted but the stabbing feeling in his head seem to lessen just enough so he could get some sleep.