Trash in the Apocalypse

Chapter 7: Floating Names

Jun had a bitter smile on his face after hearing those words. The first thing that he thought when he started seeing 'things' was that he gained some kind of exceptional ability. It turned out that others can see it too.

The disappointment clearly showed on his face, but it only took a few seconds for him to regain his composure.

"3...2..1..." Jake counted down.

A white flash came from his hand.

It didn't even take a second for the glow to vanish, and a diamond-shaped crystal appeared on his hand.

It was 2-3 inches long and was almost transparent, making him see his magnified palm through it. It seemed to be radiating some unknown power, as a weak pulse came from it.

Jake was holding the crystal when the grandma's body began to decay. The skin dried up at a quick rate, giving it a look of dehydration. Web-like cracks started to appear and spread on every part of the body.

A few seconds later, it shattered and turned into dust. The dust became sparkling particles and disappeared before it could even reach the floor, leaving nothing on the floor except for some clothes, blood, and brain matter.

Jake was staring at the crystal when he unconsciously asked himself, "What is an essence shard?"

Everyone was looking at him. A dead body just vanished into nothingness, and he didn't seem to care. Instead, he spoke of something gibberish, and only one person seemed to understand what he said.

"Don't you know how to read?" Jun said, filled with sarcasm. He was sure that everything that he needs to know about that essence shard should be on the screen in front of him, but this guy chose to ask around.

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He took his phone from his pocket and dialed a number. The line won't connect, and it just kept ringing.

Jake can only smile wryly, seeing that he was getting mocked. If it was any other person in this room, he might have been able to talk back and win an argument or two.

He's a famous baseball player at his university. There's a lot of people who line up just to talk to him.

After having the first-hand experience of what the streets have to offer, he naturally thought that being inside a building will help him feel safe; it did not.

When they first entered the building, he saw how panicked everyone was. Even the guard on duty was visibly scared as he cautiously moved forward. He also saw the manager, who is the only other male, cowering at the back of some female employees.

Comparing the clueless, and somewhat idiotic expressions of everyone to that man's overbearing aura brimming with confidence, he efficiently managed to make a choice.

The only plan he had right now was to suck up to this asshole. He would stick with him until his legs fully healed then ditch him.

He waved the crystal in his hand while saying, "There's really nothing to read here, though."

Jun turned around after hearing those words. He saw that Jake appeared genuine on what he said, so he took the transparent crystal from Jake.

[Essence Shard - Low-tier]

[Description] A shard fragment. Use to increase EXP by 1.]

"See! I'm serious! There's nothing else on the screen. It just says essence shard and nothing else!" Jake raised his voice after having the small crystal taken away from him.

"That's true." Jun lied as he put the small crystal in his pocket, his eyes turning savage.

He seemed to be thinking of something as his eyes darted up and down Jake's head. He made a huge smile then strode forward, stopping in front of Jake.

Something was floating on top of Jake's head, and everyone inside the bank also has it.

A floating name.

When Jun first saw him inside the car, there was a white-colored question mark above his head. It was a question mark at first but changed to Jake's name after he heard him introduce himself.

When he went near the car and found Jake stuck on the driver's seat, it changed to yellow. When he searched the car and took a pack of cigarettes, the name changed to black. When he started bossing him inside the office, it turned reddish-black. But now, after taking the crystal, it completely turned red.

Once again, Jun is not an idiot. He realized what those color patterns meant after some time. 

It's the other person's attitude or thoughts toward him. 

White simply means the person was neutral to him, yellow can go anywhere from happiness or delight, black could mean resentment or hatred, and red is killing intent. The reddish-black is a simple mixture of black and red. 

He already noticed everything earlier, and even now, everything was still an assumption, but having some kind of way to know if people hate or like you is somehow convenient.

He started patting Jake's shoulder as he put his hands inside his jeans pocket, taking out the shard.

"You want this, right?" Jun asked as he swiftly stabbed the shard under Jake's chin. Jake only managed to widen his eyes at the absurdity of the situation. His eyes filled with unwillingness and hatred. Blood started flowing on Jun's arms as he made a twisting motion with his hands.

The people who finally calmed down started to feel scared as they witnessed something that will make them unable to sleep.

One woman near the entrance shrieked as she became hysterical. She kept on begging, asking Jun not to kill them. Pablo pulled his .45 pistol and aimed at Jun.

"Don't move! Please put your hands in the air where I can see them!" Even though Pablo was shocked. He was able to calm down and collect his thoughts; his occupational reflex, which is to secure the bank and its employees, activated by itself.

Before Jun could follow what he ordered, or if Jun would actually listen, a loud banging sound came from the door.

A beautiful woman with a bloodied mouth and an open stomach was pounding on the door. Every hit she made increased the fear of everyone's hearts.

The clanging noise that was created by the glass door attracted more infected in the area. As two more infected hit the door, the pounding grew louder, and cracks started to appear on the glass.

All this while, Jun remained standing, watching a green bar that appeared on top of the door.

[Glass Door - 86/100]

[Description] A glass door made from low-quality materials.

Every time the door got hit, the number on the left decreased by 1.

***

"Move!" Jun shouted as he ran to the door and Pablo never took his eyes off him, aiming his pistol at Jun.

"I told you to stop moving! Stop!"

Jun ignored him and opened the curtain that was blocking their view of the door.

He saw three infected in front, banging on the glass door. Luckily, there was limited space on the doorway. There's two more infected at the back, trying to squeeze there way in after being blocked by the three in front.

"Hey, man! I've never thought of you as an idiot! Are you going to help me or not?!"

Jun ran to a 2-meter tall, metal locker beside the stairway to the second floor.