Looking at the starry night, I get my snack and eat it. The sky looks beautiful today, except...

Those mutants on the ground lingering around this location. There are mutants with tiger-look-like. Its body is two times the size of the normal. The fur color is yellow and it has four eyes. Their appearance is quite gross... I mean, those eyes are not symmetry and act on themselves.

"That's... Unique..." Said my wife beside me. She doesn't know how to react to that mutant.

"Sigh* There is still a giant flamingo in the city. You should look at it someday." Said me joking around.

She didn't laugh. Her face is sad and she looks down. I think I make her worried about me.

"Sorry..." Said me.

She was surprised and asked me. "Huh? What for?"

"Hahaha... I am sorry that I forgot to bring some coffee." Said me remembering that the ruined store must have had some.

The night breeze... It's cold and makes me chill. The moment feels different from what we used to see. We usually talk about our story, work, and some random event that occurs in our lives. But now, we are talking about something serious. Whether to die here or die in our adventure.

I look at her with a serious face. "So, what's your answer?"

She looked at me but... she laughed.

"Pfft... Your face." Said her with a low voice.

But, I still can hear it. "Huh? My face?" Asked me confused.

She moved her hand to my face. "Here, I help you." Said her while pinching something on my face.

There is some snack near my lip and she eats them. I don't know what to say but... Is that gross?

I look to the starry night again. It's just beautiful. She seems not to want to answer the question this night...

"You know... I already thought that we should go adventure." Said her while looking at the star.

I am smiling. If that's your answer then it's okay.

"Let's do it." Said me with an assertive voice.

"But..." Said her again.

Huh? It's that any problem?

"Where we should go anyway?" Asked her wondering about it.

Ah! So that's it... I thought that she wanted to do something before leaving or something else.

"How about Niagara Waterfall? You once said that area is so beautiful." Said me remembering the ten most-visited places in America.

She was surprised that I remembered it. "Ah! But! How about amazon?" Asked her.

Sigh* I move my hand and point out the tiger mutant. She seems confused.

"Look, if there is a mutant like this... Do you still want to see Piranha Mutant?" Said me while remembering that the Amazon was most likely the habitat of animals we didn't know.

"Hey! It's not like all mutants get oversized. Maybe we can see a tiny version of Anaconda." Said her trying to joke around.

"Haha... I bet it will be ten times its size." Said me with a bit laugh.

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She gets more near beside me. She held my hand. I look at him and she seem fidgeting around and glance at me several time. Huh? What did she want me to do? What with this woman? Is she okay?

I brave myself to ask. "Um... Need something?" Asked me flat.

She glanced at me several times and asked me. "Hey... It's the mood alright?" Asked her to get fluttered.

She moved her lips several times. She wanted to kiss!? Ah... Fine... Why not? I grab her face and kiss her. I am right... This night is beautiful today.

...

The day has come. After waking up, I remembered that we didn't have any backpacks. I look around and am confused that Lily has woken up first.

"Lily, what are you looking at?" Asked me confused why she stared in the same direction after I woke up. I don't know how long she stared.

She suddenly drops her tears. After that, she cried loudly. Huh!?!?!?!?

"Lily... What's happened?" Asked me gently. I tried to hug her but she rejected me by hitting my hand.

It's shocked me really. Just what happened to my daughter?!

My wife woke up. She was startled because looking at our daughter crying loudly. She grabs her shoulder and hugs her gently. She calmed down a bit.

Am I an outsider? Sigh* it makes me sad but if she prefers Stephanie rather than me, what am I going to do anyway? Children have their favorite parents. Either their mom or their dad.

Still, it hurt my heart a bit.

"So, you can't comfort our daughter?" Said her still drowsy.

Ugh... That's... true...

"Ehm... Anyway, I will go explore for a backpack and some tools for us." Said me while looking outside.

"Huh? Won't we go today?" Asked her trying to remember what I said.

"I never said we would go tomorrow. I said that we should take it easy because we still have food left." Said me with a sigh.

She smiled at me. I know she worried about me and tried to act tough in front of me. Even if she worried, I should go. If that is something to higher our chance to survive outside then it must be collected.

I get my hammer and Thompson. Packing some food and water and go.

Is this my daily life now? Being a scavenger and collecting some trash stuff? I never imagined that the day I would be a non-employee would come. At least, I have a record with tech and reparation. I mean, I created the generator in this house so, it's the proof that I am good with this thing.

While walking, I am thinking about something. Where are they? There were some mutant tigers last night but where they have gone?

Crack*

"..." What was that?

Crack*

It's not like before... It seems there is something that would come.

Grrr...

Oh... That's... Three tigers running at me!! What the hell!!? Knowing that I hid in the ruined house beside me. They are running quickly. Maybe not faster than the dog mutant but it was still fast however I could see.

The ground cracked behind them. I can feel the vibration. It's... Worm!!? With agility like an eagle, it maneuvers its body to jump and avoid the ruined stone while chasing those tigers.

It's open its mouth!! Its teeth are so powerful. It even can eat the mutant tiger in one bite!!

My heart is beating fast. I can't face it, let's look another way.

Ngrr...

Huh?

I turn my head to the right. That worm stared at me. Its teeth move in rotation like a drill but inside. Its fluid spit out from its mouth to me. The smell is not that bad and does not hurt me. It's just... Terrifying. What should I do? I can't move my leg. My legs are trembling.

Sniff*

Huh? Is it sniffing me? Huh?

It looks another way and goes down to the ground. My leg, I gave up and kneeled down.

"Ha...ha...ha... That's almost made me pass out."

How we could go adventuring in this world full of mutants?

...

I am sorting out the food. It seems there are some more than we thought. Maybe because of that snack? Or maybe because we didn't eat that much? Whatever it reason, it waste of food if we leave now.

Yep, we just need more water to keep hydrated.

"Mom..."

I look at my daughter. She seems stared to outside and starts to point out something with her finger.

"Look, Father is meeting with a Mr. Worm." Said her while looking and pointing in the same direction.

"Huh?"

What did she say? Ah, her imagination! Kids nowadays should be like this. But... Father?

"So, what daddy do?" Asked me to try to match up the story.

She put down her hand and said. "Daddy is in trouble... Oh! Mr. Worm had gone to the ground."

"Okay, so our daddy is safe now?" Said me with a gentle smile trying to make my daughter happy.

She looks at me and smiles. "Yes! Daddy is safe!!"

She didn't have any trouble even in this situation. The power of innocence makes me think twice to understand what my daughter thinks. It's really wonderful to see the world with a fluffy and colorful feeling.

Here we are waiting for Alex. It most likely will be our daily routine.

"Hey, honey~ Want to hear some story?" Asked me while remembering one of some books I read back then.

We sleep with each other. Still noon and I suggest telling a story. Why not? There is nothing to do anyway.

"You should promise something with Mom..." Said me smiling at her.

"What's that?" Said her wondering about it.

"After the story ends, you should sleep well. Okay?"

She nodded at me and said yes. We are cuddling each other in the bed. This is the story I knew before my fifteen. The story of someone's adventure to see the world outside.