Incomplete Rapture Part 2

Back on the road after a few weeks and some rest, you two returned back to the streets of Japan. The luggage bags you two carried were now replaced with a cart since you two couldn’t help but take more than what was necessary. In particular, both of you decided to bring along a few musical instruments for the journey. Kanata brought along a finely tuned acoustic guitar while you decided to bring a lighter, more portable recorder. Whenever you two needed a break, both of you would play together. After all, music helped made the journey much more enjoyable and was a much nicer way to call for an outsider’s attention without having to scream endlessly at the wind.

Kanata led the way, looking at the map and occasionally peering up at the street signs for directions, you followed, pushing the cart while playing your recorder. You didn’t have much experience with instruments and had no references to use, so you had to make up whatever song you played. Judging by the way Kanata was bopping her head and swaying alongside you, she seemed to be enjoying the music as well.

You kept playing for her until you grew dizzy and tired. The moment you stopped, she turned back to check on you but went back to looking at the map. It became harder for you to see clearly and see what was ahead of you. You had to lean heavily on the cart to maintain balance, but you kept pushing to keep up the pace with Kanata. However, her presence kept growing more distant and closer to you at the same time. Your vision was getting blurry, and it became harder to see where you were standing. Unable to maintain balance, you leaned in one direction too hard and fell down, tipping the cart over and spilling the contents out on the sidewalk.

Kanata immediately turned around, dropping everything to head over to you. “Are you okay?” she reached out her hand to you, picking you up. You got up but immediately fell again upon taking another step. This time, Kanata managed to grab a hold of you before you fell. Carrying you by the shoulder, she carried you to a nearby bus stop seat and had you lie down. “Wait, the stuff, Kanata,” you reminded her, but she didn’t even look back. She put her hand on your forehead, “It’s a fever,” she told you. You tried to get up, but she gently pushes you back down on the seat, “It’s fine. I can keep up,” you insisted.

“No, no, it’s not fine! You need rest. Just stay there, I’ll get some medicine for you,” she went back and searched through the spilt pile of your remains. Shifting through some manga, books, preserved food, and batteries, she couldn't find anything. “Did we…Did we pack any?” she asked you. Awkward silence permeated the air when you both realized that it never came to either of your minds to bring any. You try to get up once more, but she motioned you to stay where you are, “It’s okay! I can go get some, no problem! Just stay there. I'll be back soon!”

She hurried off in the direction of one of the intersections, searching for a pharmacy. You look out at the distance to see the sun about to set in the late evening. This was the first time in a long while since you’ve had time to yourself. Ever since you found her after the rapture, you were always by her side because, well, you were afraid of being alone again. Back then, you had spent weeks or even months wandering the neighborhood communities as though you were in a ghost town just wandering, scavenging, and calling for help. The anxiety of being alone creeped in. You could only sit there and worry about what would happen now. What would happen if she gets lost and drifts away from you? Maybe you should come after her, but then again, she told you to wait here. You had to put your trust in her, so you remained where you sat.

Out in the distance, Kanata searched far and wide across every block for any place that sold medicine. Leftover clothes, trash, overgrown trees, and weeds covered the districts. Wild animals fled from the sound of her footsteps wherever she went. She looked out at the sky and saw the dimming the sunset, meaning she had to hurry before sun fall. She went from briefly checking every store to running across each street to find any sign of a pharmacy, getting more worried as more time gets wasted.

Time kept passing, and the sun was now setting. You were getting worried now. The last bits of sunlight were giving out, and you needed to hurry and find her before something bad happens to her. You took a flashlight from the pile and went in the direction you saw Kanata go. You had to keep leaning on walls to stay upright, and pounding headaches would occasionally stop you in your place. If you had to cross the street, you would end up falling and then had to crawl your way across until you reached a wall. Regardless, you kept marching on in search for your only friend.

Kanata made her way out of a pharmacy, taking several bags of medicine with her, but by now, nightfall had taken over. The streetlamps were dead since the city no longer had any more power at this point. She could only make her way through the dark fog of night, occasionally bumping into walls and tripping and falling onto the stone-cold pavement. “Ow, ah. Should’ve taken the flashlight,” she muttered to herself. Before moving any further, she took a moment to look up at the city skylines. “He’s far away. Maybe he won’t notice me from over here then,” she thought to herself. Kanata closed her eyes and focused as a large set of wings emerged from her back. Her halo materialized above her head, providing a faint glow around her. Using her halo to see where to go, she flew up to the rooftops and to look around. Out in the far distance, she noticed another faint source of light, darting from one place to another.

With a flashlight in hand, you slowly made your way around. You were now developing pounding headaches, but you forced yourself to keep going. Wherever you were, you heard the sound of rushing water. You were now crawling your way around due to the headaches, and your vision made it increasingly difficult to make your way across. In a brief moment of pain, you dropped your flashlight, causing it to roll away from you. You tried to leap after it and grab it, but you severely miscalculating the flashlight’s location and fell over into a pit, plummeting to the deep dark waters underneath you.

Dazed and disoriented, you panicked and tried to swim up as high as you could, but where was up? Your flashlight drifted further away with you, leaving you lost and alone underwater. The headaches kept coming back in greater force, making it even more difficult for you to even move. You tried to swim and even flailed your arms and legs to regain control, but both washing currents and the fever made it unclear where to go.

Your lungs were getting tight. You spat out the remaining air you had left and lost control over your body. Your strength was leaving your body, making you unable to move without feeling more pain in your joints. Guess this was it for you. Stuck floating beneath the abyss, you had no way to call for help, nothing you can do to call for Kanata. You just had to sit there, thinking to yourself about how you’re going to leave her alone and couldn’t even say goodbye. Within your dimming vision, you saw a ray of light out in the distance. It was as though heaven was finally coming to claim you as well. With nothing else you could do, you closed your eyes and made peace with yourself.

Seeing you fall further down the river, Kanata immediately dove down. Her halo, once glowing a faint light, was now bright enough to illuminate the entire city, giving her clear vision underwater. She swam further down, desperately looking around until she saw your body being carried away by the currents. Seeing you in that state made her panic as she desperately made her way towards you. Upon getting close enough, she gripped your hand with all her might and pulled you close to her, wrapping her wings around you.
Fighting against the current, she headed towards the surface, both arms and wings wrapped around you. Inside, she was getting afraid. Leaving you behind was a mistake, a big damn mistake. After everything, she did, this would’ve been the one mistake that costed her everything. Damn it. Damn it. Damn it. She reached the surface and took a gasp for air. She threw your body to the shorelines before swimming over herself. She ran her hands on your chest, no breathing. She placed her fingers on your neck and felt a pulse. Still alive. Not knowing how to perform the Heimlich maneuver, she put both hands on your chest and kept pushing as hard as she could. She kept pushing with more force and speed but to no avail until out of sheer desperation, she started punching your ribs and lungs with all her might. Each assault grew in ferocity and power until you spewed out the leftover water in your lungs and began to cough for air.

“Thank god. Thank you. Thank you,” she told herself. She began to cry out of relief and held onto your unconscious body. Her wings were spread out but wrapped around you in her embrace.

Waking up, you found yourself on a warm bed with the morning sun peering out of a window. You looked around to see you were in an apartment. Your clothes and Kanata's clothes were hung to dry in a corner. On your side, Kanata, in an oversized set of pajamas, sat in a chair, quietly playing the guitar. She looked up to see you, showing her bagged and dreary eyes as though she didn’t sleep at all. “Kanata?” you asked.

She dropped her guitar and came over to you for another hug. “I'm not de-AAAAHH!” you screamed in pain as she hugged you tight, straining your fractured ribs. Upon hearing you scream, she immediately let go of you and jumps back. You fall back in bed, clutching your chest in pain.

“Sorry, sorry,” Kanata said as she opted instead to just pat you on the head. “You had me worried sick. I told you to stay.”

“Sorry,” you apologized back, “But, I was worried. Worried that if you left, you wouldn’t come back.”

“As long as you're here, I will always watch over you” she reassured you, "I promise." Kanata reached into her bags and poured out a small cup of medicine. She brought the cup to your lips, allowing you to drink the disgusting pink serum. You heaved a bit after finishing the cup, but nevertheless, Kanata seemed to be finally glad that you were taken cared of now.

“Eugh. Bleh. Guess we’re not going anywhere for a while, huh,” you told her.

She nods in agreement, “Don’t worry, I made sure to get everything we needed!” She poured out the contents of her bags to show a pile of canned food, water bottles, and a small stash of manga. “We can stay here until you get better. Well, do you need anything right now?”

You smiled back at her, “Not right now, but can you do me a favor and play a song for me?” Kanata honors your request by pulling up her chair and retrieving her guitar. You watched her play the guitar and sing a song she had been practicing during the journey, enjoying the moment and feeling grateful that you two still had each other.