Chapter 38: Supermarket And Farewell

“How about this?” Evan asked, holding up a package.

“No. What would you even do with this stuff anyway?” Kane asked.

“Well, it looks delicious,” Evan said.

“Stop picking up random items from the shelves and just help me get what we wrote on the list,” Kane said.

He took the item from Evan's hand and put it back on the shelf.

“I got some here,” Lime said, putting boxes of ingredients into their cart.

“I…. I think that’s everything for the cake. All that’s left are these. That was pretty quick….” Kane said.

“I’m a professional shopper,” Lime said.

“Apparently. Anyway, do you know where this stuff is?” Kane asked, showing lime a list of groceries that hadn’t been crossed out.

“I think the ice cream is over this way, but we should get that last. Other than that…. yeah. Follow me, they should be down isles 8 & 12. Baked goods and raw ingredients. That’s…. a weird way to put it. Raw ingredients? Anyway, we should have almost everything we need in those two isles.” Lime said

“Isn’t this your first time in this store?” Kane asked.

“Grocery stores are all the same. You can tell where stuff is because of how it’s laid out or the signs hanging above each aisle. So, while I’m not used to this one specifically, I know what I should be doing.” Lime said.

“Don’t you live in an apocalyptic world? Why the heck do you know so much about shopping?” Kane asked.

“Inside the safety of the domes, we even have 7/11s. Our supermarkets aren’t all that different than this. This one's just much, much nicer.” Lime said.

“You have 7/11s? How the hell is your world ruined?” Kane asked.

Lime paused, conflicted.

“....Just because we have a small city it doesn’t mean we have a good life. Our life in the wasteland is unique. We don’t have to fear monsters that much, we have food for the most part, and even if it is pretty loose and disorganized, we have a government of sorts. But it wasn’t what I would call good or not ruined. I’ve been out in the wasteland myself. I went to one of the cities that were built by the people who lived in the wastes. I have to say, until that day, I never truly appreciated or understood what I had for my entire life. They consider themselves to be lucky, too. They don’t have to survive out in the wasteland, they have guns to barely fight off monsters, and they’re living an all-around better life there, in their opinion. What shocked me most is that almost nobody knew about the domes. It was as if we weren’t there…..we didn’t help anybody besides ourselves. Until I met Evan, I didn’t understand why. It’s dangerous out there. And...that city I went to...it was destroyed by the gods, and overrun by monsters shortly after, who slaughtered hundreds. The amount of people who live in the wasteland is a lot more than you would think… some band together, some go crazy, some…. seek….fortunes….. it’s a ruined world. I don’t even have to know that better worlds exist to realize that it’s ruined. I mean…..it’s a world where cannibalism is pretty much a necessity for lots of people to survive. But we do. People have survived for centuries……” lime said, trailing off occasionally.

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“Oh….I see. Well. I can’t really respond to that. I haven’t had much hardship in my life. Other than Evan.” Kane said.

“There’s nothing you have to say. It’s not going to be like this for much longer. Evan will help us. I... don’t want him to get involved. But if he doesn’t, the world will always remain a wasteland. The scarlet sky that hangs over a dead world…. we would never be able to fix it ourselves. If it bothers him for even a second, I don’t think I can stand it, though…. I don’t want him to leave me. I want him to stay by my side forever. And if something like that were to make him leave…..” lime said, tearing up.

“You worry too much. Something like that wouldn’t make me leave. Lime, it’s the only home I have. I want to live with you forever. You’re my home. You’re where my heart is. I want to be with you, staying in our little apartment for a long, long time. Lime….I’ll never leave you. As it always has been.” Said Evan, hugging lime gently.

“Yeah..yes...as it always shall be, I’ll have you forever next to me. Be it in person or in spirit, I’ll never be alone. As long as I have you…I'm fine now. I’m going to go get the rest of the groceries.” lime said, rushing off with a big grin.

Her mood seemed to have brightened immensely.

“Smooth. How the hell did a romantically inept person like you say all of that?” Kane asked.

“I love her. That’s how. I just said what I felt from my heart.” Evan said.

“Still, that makes me want to ask you ‘what the fuck’ even more. Well….no. It’s your Lime, right. I think I get what you meant when you told me about it, now. It’s been so long since then….” Kane said.

“If you understand that she’s my lime, you understand how I feel. Let’s just make dessert already. We have to go soon.” Evan said.

Lime came back and put the rest of the groceries in the cart. They went to check out.

They left the store with bags in tow. Kane carried some, Evan had them floating around him, and Lime protected the precious ice cream and hot cocoa ingredients.

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“It’s dark out already…. It makes these alleyways look pretty spooky. I can almost see us getting mugged. Wait, what….” Evan asked.

A man held a knife to his throat, and another pointed at Kane with a gun.

“You know what we want, right? Oh, and the girl, our client wants her.” The man with the gun said.

“Um. Seriously? Hey, Kane. Can I waste ‘em?” Evan asked.

Kane sighed.

“Yeah, sure, knock yourself out,” Kane said, sitting down and yawning.

Lime did the same but watched Evan happily.

“Hey, I think we ran into a bunch of psychopaths.” One of the muggers said to another.

“So? Cut his throat. That might make them take the situation a little bit more seriously.” The other one said.

Kane let out a small laugh.

Lime grinned and started to hum.

“Oh, now I have some beautiful music to listen to while I beat the ever-loving shit out of you guys,” Evan said.

“Hey, I told you to cut his throat.” The gun-wielding mugger said.

“..........I-I did. It won't cu-” He started, getting 'cut' off.

Evan lifted him up into the air and diced the mugger with his own knife.

The other stared at him, frightened and horrified.

He emptied his clip into Evan.

Evan wasn’t affected at all.

“You literally can’t hurt me, idiot. This body is digital, after all. But that doesn’t mean that I can’t smack the shit outta you. Tell me about that thing you talked about. You said something about selling my Lime, right? Who were you going to sell her to? And how do they know about her?” Evan asked, breaking one finger on the mugger's hand every second.

“Ack! Ow! Stop! Please! I’ll talk! Boss Merryweather wants her. I don’t know why.” He said.

“And where is this...Merrywhatever person at?” Evan asked.

“Southside, eastern district. There’s a bar called Merryweather, you can find him there.” The mugger replied, cradling his mangled hand.

“....thanks. I’ll give you a qui….I’ll knock you out, and let Kane deal with you.” Evan said, looking at lime.

“Wait, what? Why me- annnnnd he’s gone. Of course he is. God damnit.” Kane said.