There's always a way (3)

One month before the quarantine...

*knock knock knock*

"I'm coming!"

After hearing the words "I'm coming", the deliveryman giggled, especially because it was a feminine voice.

Norman's job was delivering food and parcels. He liked this job very much. Not only was it much easier than construction and repair, he also gets to see beautiful women.

After the war, everyone was left to fend for themselves, even the young ones. At age 16, Norman was at the peak of his puberty, and he is more than "curious" about his own body.

So once he heard the feminine voice say the words "I'm coming," something is already rising within him (and it isn't the shield hero).

The awaited moment finally arrived, the door slowly turned wide open.

Of course, Norman was a professional, he wouldn't be blinded by beauty which might cause him to not do his job properly.

Or that was what he wished.

Once he saw the beautiful face and figure behind the feminine voice, Norman couldn't help but imagine certain not safe for work scenarios, as he imagined doing things to her that would make her shout "I'm coming."

That only lasted a second though as Norman immediately recovered from the initial shock.

'Beautiful, but not as pretty as that girl. She not only had big 'assets', she also had giant 'bombs'. Well proportioned bottle glass and beautiful mask.'

Norman was a weird guy, but he was smart. As he thought this, he spoke.

"Are you Miss Cortiz, miss?"

Isabella, who was used to the certain gazes of other people, didn't mind how Norman looked at her and answered.

"Yes, Isabella Cortiz, is that my package?"

Each word that Norman heard from this beautiful female in front of him, his body turned as hard as a rock. Good thing he always wore his sling bag in front of his 'package'.

'No one would know, hehehe.'

"Yes, miss. You ordered a..."

Norman took a look at the package he was holding.

"...a set of kitchen utensils, right?"

"Yes, yes, a set of kitchen utensils that's right."

After working as a cook from a famous fast food chain in her area, Isabella started thinking about setting cooking food as her other job whenever she got home after work.

Compared to when she was modelling, the daily wage of being a cook at a fast food restaurant was far lower. Each picture she was in was half a thousand pesos after all, and she has to take 20 to 30 shots every time she's called. Adding the natural talent that she had when she's doing a pose which she discovered after getting into modeling, her talent fee eventually rose.

There was also the fact that she successfully graduated and also got scouted as an architect for a big company, so she was definitely, if not then eventually became used to having a lot of money.

Until the war happened three years ago. Just like almost everybody else, Isabella was also separated from her family. She got conscripted into the navy and was transported, along with other people, to Samal Island.

Like most others, she fought and survived the war. She learned how to follow orders and learned how to have the discipline of a soldier.

But like most others, she also wanted to leave. She wanted the war to finish as soon as possible because she wanted to see her family.

Isabella wanted to go back to her previous life, but life didn't agree.

It was lucky of her to be on a patrol ship at the time of when a giant explosion happened at their base.

No, it was lucky for everyone who was away from the island that they were not there when the giant explosion happened.

Finally, like others, she was lucky she survived.

Five months after the war, Isabella already had a job. She found that busying herself and doing work calmed her mind, and lately, she needed more.

That was why for a long time already she wanted to do another job besides being a cook at a restaurant. She debated for a few weeks already whether she should or she shouldn't. There was an issue of time and an issue of effort. And finally, she decided that she was going to do it.

That was why she ordered a new set of kitchen utensils.

She was going to start selling homemade food for delivery, and wanted to gain more money, too.

Isabella handed Norman the agreed payment, and Norman handed her the package.

"Please sign here."

Norman said. Isabella then took the clipboard and the pen from Norman's hand and signed at where Norman pointed at, before giving it back to Norman.

"Have a nice day, Miss Cortiz."

Norman looked at Isabella intensely, as if imprinting her face and her figure into his mind. His ears perked up as he memorized the voice from the woman in front of him.

Isabella, of course, noticed and slightly frowned, before going back inside her apartment.

She didn't want the 'that' to happen again.

And so, Isabella spent the next few weeks working at the restaurant and selling her homemade food that she cooked. It looked like people liked her cooking and sought to buy more of her food. Most of the buyers were of course those who were so busy in their lives they didn't have time to cook, so they'd rather order some cheap meal.

Isabella continued living like this until the notice for the quarantine was released, and she stopped going to work.

"We need to close the shop down for now."

Isabella's boss said. Inspite of how well her coworkers hid their emotions, it was clear that they were shaken and nervous, just as she was.

"The Mayor gave her instructions, something about a pandemic and that we need to stay at our homes for a month or two as we wait for the cure to be made."

Gasps could be heard after Isabella's boss said that sentence, and Isabella knew why.

'First the war, second a pandemic?'

Was what everyone thought of at that moment.

"Don't worry, though. After this, you will still need to report back here and work. None of you are getting laid off."

Silence.

"Just... stay at home for now. I have already packed our supplies here and divided them for all of us before you guys arrived. Just take them as you go home, you'll need it."

And so, everyone went home, and Isabella who was carrying two big bags of food, thought about something.

'This will last me a while, but just in case, I should buy more supplies.'

A week before quarantine.

Everything seemed normal.

Nothing out of place.

Well, except for a corpse in the morgue of some hospital eating the corpse right next to it.

Nobody knew this, and Isabella didn't, too.

In the comforts of her home, with books to keep her entertained and a few montha of food and supplies, she was ready to endure another war.

Not against people, but against a virus.

Of course, just like last time, Isabella didn't know that an explosion far larger than what she saw happened on Samal Island was about to occur.

No, in fact, almost everybody didn't know that a bomb was about to drop.

Something more silent and more deadly than a fart.

...

Rando stood outside Isabella's apartment. A clear look of shame can be found all over his face, and the sound of the door slamming continuously rang inside his ears.

He realized he had been too rash.

Even Rando didn't know what was happening outside. Well, not until he went out and almost got killed. So it was understandable that Isabella would think of him as a crazy person.

'And it looks like she won't believe me no matter what I say.'

It was the worst possible scenario, and it looks like he will have to do things alone... for now.

Rando went back to his apartment and was greeted by his dog. He laid down on the floor and hugged Browney as he thought about the things he would do next.

He was currently lost with no clear path to his destination. Rando knew he had to go forward, but he didn't know which way.

But Mark Anthony Rosal, who is with Lieutenant Mickey, did.

Mark knew the way. After all, he did live in around there before.

"Ah, so this is Sasa."

Lieutenant Mickey said. He was both surprised and glad that he brought this junior along with him in this dangerous mission.

'Or else we would be lost.'

"So, the road to the right leads to Panacan. Isn't there a road that leads from there to Indangan?"

"Yes sir, there are a lot."

"Which is the nearest?"

"Malagamot Road, sir."

As Lieutenant Mickey heard the words Malagamot Road, he remembered somebody.

"Oh, that's good, looks like we may be able to finish this mission in one run after all."

That's right, Captain Dante didn't just mean Rando when he said 'best men', he meant five people. Two of which were in the army right now, and the other three left.

Lieutenant Mickey's mission is to get these three people one by one.

But it seems that there's a way for him to finish this mission sooner than expected.

Despite the tear in his plan, Lieutenant Mickey managed to fold his paper. The first step in making a paper flower is to fold all the creases, and Lieutenant Mickey can finally start folding the form.