Chapter 54

I was foolish.

Despite Azami-san's repeated warnings, I couldn't even follow them.

The newly arrived evacuee, a young, tanned man with a nose ring, had a slightly intimidating appearance, but he always smiled, showing his white teeth.

Yuki-san also said, "He looks tough, but he's surprisingly friendly," and laughed, adding, "But he's not my type at all."

It seemed that the other evacuees had a similar impression, and he quickly got along with everyone.

On the day he arrived, Azami-san said to be wary of him. We both nodded, thinking, "Since it's Azami-san, since it's our senior, we should trust her."

At first, I approached him with caution, but as time went on, I let my guard down. No, I still had my guard up. I always locked the door to my room, and when either of us had to go to the bathroom at night, we moved together.

However, when we heard that Azami-san was going out to get the car, both Yuki-san and I were too focused on that.

That day, Yuki-san and I, along with the other female evacuees, were in the second-floor conference room with a female police officer, looking at a map. It seemed they were soliciting suggestions from the evacuees for new food supply locations, asking us to recall as much as possible about the location, the presence of shutters, the internal structure, and other conditions.

Just as Yuki-san was pointing to a store on the map and explaining it to the female police officer, her radio crackled with the news that Azami-san had safely reached the car.

"At least we can relax now. Good job, Kaede-chan."

"Yes, really... I hope nothing happens on the way back."

We all sighed in relief, and the female police officer also seemed relieved. Seeing everyone's reaction, I felt very happy that Azami-san was well-liked, even though it wasn't about me.

"Excuse me, I'll just go to the bathroom."

Despite participating in the meeting, I was too distracted by thoughts of Azami-san. Hearing the report, I must have snapped out of my tension. Perhaps Yuki-san and the others felt the same way.

To avoid interrupting Yuki-san and the police officer, I casually said I was going to the bathroom and left the conference room. There was no women's restroom on this floor, so I went up to the third floor, where the living quarters were, and walked to the back.

Just then, the new male evacuee came out of a room.

"Ah... Hello."

I greeted him softly, but upon closer thought, it wasn't his room but another evacuee's.

"Ah, oh, it's Kaede-chan."

"…What were you doing in that room…?"

A bad feeling rose from the depths of my chest, and I took a step back, asking him.

Looking back, that wasn't a good move.

The man, who usually smiled, now had wide, panicked eyes.

"N-no, it's not what you think. I just got the room wrong..."

As he said this and took a step forward, I took another step back.

When I took another step back, trembling, the man suddenly approached me, pulled a small knife from his pocket, and pressed it to my neck.

"Shit... Don't make a sound."

The man moved behind me, covering my mouth with his free hand. The cold side of the blade pressed against my skin, and I hesitated to make a sound, allowing him to push me into the back room.

"I've killed living people many times. If you make a sound, I'll stab you without hesitation."

Once inside the room, he locked the door and made me sit on the floor.

"If you do this...?"

"Shut up! Can't you understand that you're not supposed to talk!"

As I tried to speak, he shouted and pushed me down.

"Shit, I can't use the radio, and the kid might see me. What should I do..."

Muttering incomprehensible words, he straddled me as I lay on my back, pressing the knife to my neck.

His eyes, dilated and seemingly insane, looked down at me, and he swallowed hard.

The meaning of his gaze seemed to change completely, and I felt a chill run through my body.

"It's already over anyway. A little bit won't hurt, right?"

With a lecherous smile, completely different from the one he had shown until yesterday, he leaned in and licked the side of my neck.

"Ah...!"

Disgust overflowed, and I could only exhale, unable to make a sound. Tears welled up in my eyes.

"Still... there's... time... ugh."

Trying to change the situation, I managed to speak, but the man punched my stomach with his free hand without hesitation.

"Don't talk. Don't resist. Got it?"

He said coldly, and I could only nod.

"!"

His hand, which had struck me, slid up and groped my chest. Tears streamed down my face, and I felt my heart tearing with regret for leaving the room alone.

The hard object pressed against my lower abdomen through my jeans, and a sickening feeling spread through my body. The man, breathing heavily, pressed it against me and roughly pulled up my hoodie.

No, no, no.

I don't want this.

Because I didn't listen to Azami-san, I...