On the low wooden table is a a full bowl of rice topped with beans and a soft poached egg, four small bowls of onion soup, a dish of chicken and eggs layered with mayonnaise and a dish of cold tofu stacked with scallions and a black sauce. The Signa family with chopsticks in hand served themselves from the common dishes. Morning light shines in through the wide bay living-room window.


“Have you been studying like you should?” she teases like all older sisters do.

With a sharp glance he points his chopsticks stabbing towards her. “You have seen me with my text books! All I do is study.”

“Jasper.” Winifred snaps at which Jasper brings his chopsticks back to his food sheepishly.

“I was just saying.” He defends.

“If you studied you should do fine Jasper.” Apricot states leaning over to give him a slight hug.


“History. I don’t understand the names of anyone. It’s so confusing and boring, none of it matters anyway.” Jasper pouts.

“Hmmm, I know I was not much a fan of history myself when I was your age.” Mr. Signa remakrs.

“Apricot, would you mind watching the house for a couple of nights?” Ms. Signa asks.

Apricot shakes her head. “It’s not a problem. They got you flying out on a long trip again?”


Apricot’s Dad raises an eyebrow. “Wow, all the way over to Castor? I have some interesting news myself.” he adds. “They selected me to work on a new project.”

Jasper’s eyes light up, “What kind of project?”

“I will design an atmospheric elevator for the Uchellian space department. We will suspend a hydraulic rail system reaching to the space station for supply shipments.” Her father‘s news blows Jasper’s mind as he elaborates with a techno-jargon that completely evades Apricot’s understanding. She couldn’t help but snicker at Jaspers reaction. He is always a geek when technology is the subject but that’s his defining personality trait. She beams over at her mom who clearly thought the same thing. Her Dad and Jasper are carbon copies.



Ms. Signa nods. “I hope you do nothing so reckless again.”


“Wo, guys look.” Jasper quakes pointing to the television. Apricot turns her head to set eyes on an emergency broadcast. An image of an medical crew and police blocking off the scene is on screen. A news reporter is speaking but the volume is too low for anyone to hear it. Along the ticker announces “Roe Okabi Commits Suicide by jumping off the Okabi building.”

The clangorous wheels of the subway creates a constant rolling ambiance. Apricot notes that the cart is far more empty this morning. Searching through the few people on the cart she spots a man lying on an entire bench. Gripping tightly to the overhead rail, Apricot makes her way towards the black-haired man dressed in tattered clothing.



The man rolls his eyes “Heh,” he slumps back into the bench his face turned up toward the ceiling. “Don’t suppose you want to buy it from me.”

He still has it to her relief. A soft smile spreads across Apricot’s face. “Well, yeah!”

“Listen, girl, you should have bought it the other day,” the man fumes before lowering his head to stare at her in the eyes. “I already sold the damn thing.”


He sighs. “Yeah well, too bad I ain’t got it.” A frown emerges on her face as she turns away. Within her first steps her hair stands on end as a hand grabs her wrist. She turns back to meet the scruffy man standing up. He shoves his hand into her stomach while he places an object on her arm. “I don’t need your pity,” he growls with an upturned lip.

Apricot glances to identify the camera resting in her arms. “I don’t?” Apricot frowns.

“I know what you are doing!” the man says with a down-turned glare. “Poor Cortez needs help cause the mean men beat him up,” Cortez sarcastically states to her. “Well, I don’t want your charity. Just stay the hell away from me ok.”


Cortez glowers at the camera and spits at the air. “Keep the damn thing I don’t want it anyway,” Cortez growls. Striding towards the divide he opens the sliding door and steps through to the other cart. With a loud hiss the door closes behind him. Apricot observes the camera with a tightness welling in her throat. It soon blows over to her relief knowing she can repay Sato.






Apricot draws a step back to inspect the row of boxes to make sure they are evenly placed on the shelf. She glances over toward her left to spot a man staring at the fixture she had arranged. He is mumbling to himself about something she could not make out. She grabs another box out of the cart and continues disregarding the man’s strange behavior.







She screams while she kicks her feet away from the pile of flesh and twists her body from the creature. Apricot leaps to her feet slipping on the blood-covered floor landing on her knees. It hurt but at the moment the pain is the least of her worries. She watches a man smashing a glass bottle on the back of the thing’s head. Several shards of glass stick out. The creature turns towards the man. It grabs his head in its fleshy fingers. He screams before the creature rips off his head as if plucking the blossom of a flower. “Holy shit!” Apricot screams running as fast as she can away from the thing.

She rounds the corner and runs past the aisles towards the produce section where the warehouse is located. A crash directs her sights to the shelves avalanche like dominoes. The creature runs over the shelves towards her vaulting like some kind of feral animal. Sprinting as fast as she can Apricot heads towards the warehouse diving past carts of various vegetables and fruits. A young boy stands in the produce’s middle section frozen with fear.

Apricot grabs the boy’s hand “Come with me.” she belts, yanking him along with her. The boy drags for a moment before he runs beside her. Once inside the warehouse, they run past several iron shelves. To the back of the room. Several other people had arrived including a few of her co-workers.





“Hie, fight!” commands the voice in her head. Apricot takes a measured step before she a surge of fire running down her arm. Her head down turns as she steps in front of the group. The drumming of her heart is like a ancient tribal war-song.

The creature comes rushing through the entrance charging towards Apricot with its strange parasitic mouth open, claws like bone extended. Right before it impacts her a metal pole lances the creatures chest. It lets out a scream, breaking Apricot out of her adrenaline rush. Her co-worker holds the snapping creature in place. “Get back!” he yells. A hiss escapes the monsters strange mouth as its tongue launches out wrapping onto the man’s neck. Apricot takes a step back as the butcher passes her with a knife, with a berly slice the knife glides through the tongue releasing her co-worker. He tumbles to the floor. The creature turns its head to the man letting out a roar, but the pole jabbed in its chest buries itself deeper as the co-worker twists it letting out a roar of his own.



