That night for the first time in days the power came back on. Lucas and Stacy headed down to the house where the meeting was being held.
They were welcomed by Alex and after a while the meeting began.
"I'd like to thank everyone for coming out," Alex spoke loudly, but with little enthusiasm.
"Is this all of us that are left? fucking hell…" One man said. He had a thick mustache and looked like he was in his late forties.
"Honey mind your language," his wife standing beside him said with a frown. She pulled her child in closely.
"I can't believe you're worried about that right now?" the man sighed with his hand on his face.
"She's almost nine, do you want her to start using words like that?"
Lucas stared at them from where he was standing, it was hard to believe they were arguing about that at a time like this.
'Married couples like these are always arguing at every given chance…' he shifted his attention across the room, trying to forget the awful reminder of his time with his parents.
'But he's not wrong, there's not more than 13 people present. There are seven houses on each floor, so seven times four… twenty-eight'
He exhaled,
'If we exclude the wife, the child, and those staying together, there are at most eight tenants present'
Everyone was silently doing the same maths, the air was heavy with despair.
Then a knock on the door pulled all their attention. Alex moved quickly to unlock it, his face brightened up the moment it opened.
"You're here! Come in, welcome…" he ushered the people in. His living room was way bigger than Lucas's so there was enough space for everyone to stand or sit comfortably.
"Is this everybody?" A man with a large shield asked the moment he stepped in.
He was accompanied by two other people.
"Yes this is everyone in the building that agreed to meet,"
"It's even less than the other one," he sighed before locking eyes with Lucas, a flicker of recognition in his eyes.
It was the same for Lucas, he recognized the man and the woman that followed closely behind him the moment they stepped in.
They were the two people that engaged the monster that appeared at the convenience store on the day of the Impact… in other words, they were the ones who saved his life.
But that wasn't the first time Lucas had met them, they were regulars at his store. If he tried hard he might even remember their names.
They both lived in one of those upscale apartments and had jobs that allowed them to afford good cars.
Lucas even heard the woman say something about owning a cosmetic company, it was hard to believe since she didn't look anything older than thirty. But her eloquent presence said otherwise.
Even now, she carried herself with a kind of grace no one else possessed. Her sweatshirt revealed just enough of her cleavage, and her shorts stopped well above her knees, yet even in such casual clothes and no makeup, she looked effortlessly stunning.
"lets just be thankful it's not empty," she said calmly, before stepping forward boldly.
"Hello everyone my name is Carol London, and we are here to offer you our assistance,"
"We have all seen the changes to the world as we know it, and I honestly don't think it would be going back to normal very soon,"
"She's right," The man supported. "Even as we speak, there are monsters flooding the streets. No one is coming to save us so we need to protect ourselves,"
He had a broad, imposing frame and stood tall. The gym outfit clung to him perfectly, making him look even more solid.
"First of all I have to ask how many of you haven't used the Karma Points you were given?"
Carol hissed with disgust, "Always so impatient…"
"What do you mean? We have to get what we need and get out of here. Do you think I want to go out there and risk my life fighting those monsters?"
He raised his voice his temper flaring up.
"No one is forcing you to," she replied harshly.
Once again a small argument was starting, if he hadn't known any better he would have even suspected that they were also a couple.
'Maybe they secretly are…'
But needless to say, this was not what he was expecting when they walked in.
"Arnold and Carol, you both should calm down," another companion said. He was an elderly man in his fifties with some gray hair, wearing a coat over traditional Japanese attire.
Although it seemed like those two were in charge they both gritted their teeth in silence.
"Sorry you all had to see that, it's been a rough few days for us. We have been visiting the buildings in the area, and even lost some of our people in the process so it's a bit difficult keeping it together,"
"If you haven't used up your Karma Points please I'd like you people to share with us so it can assist us in fighting the monsters," he said with a friendly smile.
"Why should we give you anything?" The man sitting with his wife and daughter asked, "The monsters aren't coming in here to disturb us, we'll be safe as long as we don't go out,"
"How long do you think that would last?" Arnold, the first guy asked. "Have you seen any of the monsters up close?"
"N-No, but I've got a gun…"
"Okay when they come swarming in here, you kill them with your gun?" His voice was heavy with sarcasm, "You'll be ripped apart before you can fire a single bullet,"
"No need to agitate them…" the old man cut in, his calm unshaken,
"My name is Saito Nakayama, I run a Kendo dojo down the street. On the day everything began, I lost my son and now only my daughter is left by my side,"
"I want to do everything to protect her, like I'm sure you want to do for yours too. If you aren't going out there to fight, then you should be willing to do this at least. It's your duty as a father,"