Trash in the Apocalypse

On one of the houses of an exclusive subdivision.

A young girl at the age of nine shouted as he watched her father board the black luxurious car.

"Take care~ Always. Be. Careful."

The child waved nonstop, jumping excitedly from her spot. Her mother stood behind her, worriedly staring at the black car. She bade farewell to her husband without a single word.

"When will father finish work?" the child curiously asked.

"Maybe a few months. You should study hard so you can show your grades when dad comes back, okay?"

The child nodded her head vigorously. The mother combed her daughter's hair using her hands. She then turned and followed the vehicle in the distance with her eyes.

Just then, a maidservant brought her phone towards her. She took the phone and saw the caller. She looked at the little child in front of her, then kissed her on the forehead. She went to the side and answered the phone.

"What is it? This better be important since you to disturb my day off."

After a few seconds, her complexion darkened. The call finished and she hurriedly went back to her room. When she came out, there was a bag slung on her shoulder. She kissed her daughter then bade goodbye.

The child watched as her mother hastily left her. The maidservant noticed the child's face turning sad, so she hurriedly comforted her.

On the cabinet near them, numerous medals were displayed. There were bronze, silver, and gold medals. The most noticeable medal was the lone medal on the top row. On the medal was a golden cross with a triangle at the center. Inside the triangle are three stars, projected around the cross is a Sampaguita wreath. The cross is suspended by a link from a gold bar bearing the inscription "KAGITINGAN".

This medal is the PNP MEDAL OF VALOR. It is the highest award of the Philippine National Police. It is awarded to any member of the Philippine National Police who have performed in action a deed of personal bravery and self-sacrifice above and beyond the call of duty so conspicuous as to distinguish himself clearly above his comrades in the performance of more than ordinarily hazardous service. This award may be given only if the enemy force is so overwhelming as compared to the government troops.

"Marianne, are you okay?"

The maidservant panicked when the bubbly child suddenly became quiet.

***

"Marianne, are you okay?"

"Marianne..."

"Hey!"

Marianne jolted awake as her body suddenly shook. She focused herself and replied to Sheila who was sitting in front of her.

They were in the kitchen enjoying some fries. They bought various snacks from Dyna using their saved up points. Sheila happily stared at the four-digit figure on her card hologram. She then tapped on the history link and smiled at her earnings.

Since sales employees couldn't go out and level up, they were missing a lot of things. But considering that if you ever choose to become a saleslady, that should mean that you weren't interested in fighting or adventuring outside. Without them asking for anything, a new system was added to their personal cards by Evo. An employee would receive twenty percent of their total sales for the day as an extra tip.

Everyone became happy about this new change. Evo didn't tell them that 'money' was infinite since they seem to have forgotten about it. They might have forgotten about it or chose to ignore it. He then remembered an old saying, "Ignorance is bliss."

Currently, there were three kinds of cards. The first one, which is the anonymous card, where the card doesn't have a name but only has numbers for identification. The second one was the personal card that has the owner's name on the hologram. Lastly, the third card is only used privately by the Black Haven staff. Any business transaction they made would be done by using this card.

Sheila dipped the fries in ketchup, then stared at Marianne.

"So, what do you think? Is he playing hard to get or he just doesn't like me?" Sheila blushed, then looked around the area, making sure that no one heard what she just said. "I mean, a few days ago, I felt like we were onto something. Then suddenly, he acts cold and distanced himself as if I'm a plagued. I tried talking to him, but he would just disappear!"

Sheila angrily took a few fries from the plate, dipped it down on the saucer, then drove it to her mouth. "Is he crazy? He thinks I like him so he's acting like that!"

Marianne managed to get a grasp of the story after hearing her grumbling speech. She grinned as she took some fries from the plate. "Maybe something happened? Anything that comes to mind?"

A bottle of gin appeared on Sheila's hand. She swiped on the air a few times as if she was crazy, then suddenly frowned. "Do you have any can opener? I don't have any in my storage."

"I don't, but I can open that for you." Marianne smiled then took the bottle of gin. A small bone dagger appeared on her hands.

Sheila stared amazed at the dagger. It was extremely white with not even a speck of dust clinging on its body.

Marianne showed-off the dagger. "Beautiful, right? I bought it from Old John. He said this was a failure, but this dagger looks perfect for me. Maybe it's just the level of professionalism."

Marianne shrugged, then used the dagger to open the cap. She pierced the center of the cap, and it easily went through. The cap easily split into two after she pulled the dagger out.

"You shouldn't drink that," Marianne warned her, not knowing if some metals fell inside the drink.

Sheila raised the bottle and shook it. "Looks clear to me."

As she drunk almost a third of the bottle, she grimaced and placed it down. She blinked a few times, wobbled, then fell face-first on the table.

The impact was hard and Sheila woke up with a bleeding nose. A moment later, someone came running towards them.

"Hello, I'm sorry about this. My daughter can't hold her liquor well. I hope this doesn't trouble you."

"No, it's okay." Marianne smiled sweetly, calming the old man.

Noel picked up her daughter. He asked where her room is as they walked away.

Marianne watched the scene lovingly.

After they were gone, she was left alone on the table. She took the bottle and drunk the remaining liquor inside. She chugged down everything in one sitting, making her throat felt like it was burning. She then stood up and left towards Jun's room. When she arrived at the room, it was empty. Just like what she's currently feeling at the moment.

***

At the police station...

Jun was busily training his new soldiers when he suddenly felt a bad feeling. He ignored it, thinking that it was most probably his imagination.

He continued the training until everyone was able to master the technique. He was teaching them how to use energy.

At first, they were unwilling to follow Jun's call of order. But after a few beatings, they couldn't ignore the shrieking pains that their bodies were receiving. Though most of them tried rebelling, some smart ones followed at the first order. It was the boy and a few others with varying ages.

They were taught the most basic energy control and one of Jun's commonly used skill, Sprint.

Several minutes later, the same boy from earlier managed to make a small dot of energy. The dot of energy was way bigger than what Jun could have made. The others followed after a few minutes later, all of them were the younger ones. Some of the old folks haven't even reached the stage of being able to feel the energy.

Just then, the wireless earphone that he always kept on his pocket vibrated. He wore the item and immediately heard laughter coming from the other side.

"You're so beautiful when you look angry. You know, I really liked you. But you never paid attention to my feelings. You always followed the boss even though he always ignored your advances. Why not focus on me?"

"Get away from me!"

Jun widened his eyes in realization. He knew those voices!

It was Marianne and one of his own gang members. That smooth voice, that manner of speaking!

Richard!