VIRUS

Chapter 1- Ache of Guilt

  You don't look the type to join the army," they said, casting a skeptical look in my direction.

    "I want to fight," I replied. "I've lived too much of my life not knowing what horrors were affecting everyone. I don't want people to have to go through that." They didn't seem to be buying it, or at the very least they thought there was more. They sighed and stood up, shaking my hand.

    "Welcome to the army. You'll be in our squad, Squad 352. My name is Logan Catiyama, but you can call me Logan." I smiled.

    "Nice to meet you. My name's Brady Akiyama-- sir," I quickly added. Logan chuckled.

    "I'm not in charge. It's merely my job to bring in new recruits. We don't really have ranks and generals in squads, but Clarissa Hamada is hands down the leader of the squad." Logan lead me out, and we headed towards a small building that seemed somewhat isolated from the others.

    "Well, I hope I don't come off as rude to Hamada..." I said with a laugh. Logan laughed too, but there was nervousness in their voice.

    "Hamada is the best of us all, no question. But, she may not be exactly what you expect..."

Yeah, she certainly wasn't anything like I was expecting, I thought, remembering this morning. I looked out the window, watching the scenery go by as the train chugged along. I didn't know anyone else in the squad, so I didn't have anything else to do. I wasn't here to make friends, anyway. I'd ralk to them and laugh with them so they knew I was on their side, but I was here to fight. That was all.

    "Clari, lemme see your sword."

    "The result won't change, no matter how many times you try, Sam, but if you really want to..."

    I looked over at the other members of the squad, all huddled together in friendship. None of them bothered to talk to me, except Logan. I didn't care. I was curious about Hamada, though. She seemed too young, too sweet, too... Weak, I suppose, to be in charge. And yet, people seemed somewhat nervous or even afraid around her...

    Sam reached for Hamada's massive sword which leaned against the seat happily. Sam seemed rather hesitant, but she reached for it regardless. I was confused as to why it was such a big deal. But then Sam touched the sword. She burst out screaming, retracting her hand immediately. Her fingers were burned. People swarmed around Sam, making sure it wasn't severe. They quickly treated her, giving her some ice.

What is that thing...?

Hamada sighed then chuckled softly.

"I told you, Sammy," she said while pulling the sword towards her. "It's not going to work, no matter how many times you try it."

Hamada isn't at all what I expected...

----

    "Brady, don't play over there, it's dangerous."

    "But Mom, Tony protects me. If anything ever goes wrong, he'll use his wings to rescue us."

    "Tony may be a demon, sweetie, but he's the same age as you. He doesn't have the strength to cary another perosn, let alone fly on his own."

    "But I know Tony would protect me! He'd try with everything he had! Because he knows I'd do the same!"

"Akiyama..."
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"Akiyama..."
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"Akiyama! Get up!" I woke up, startled, meeting the face of Logan. "You fell asleep. Come on, we gotta get movin'. The train doesn't take us any farther." I got up and followed Logan and the others out of the train. I looked around, wondering where all the life had gone. This place seemed so different from the villages and cities we passed when coming here.

    We walked for a little while, and my legs grew tired. The friendly chatter stopped amoungst the squad. The dying sun colored the sky with red and purple chalk. We must've been close to Red Wolf. Hamada lead us to a building that she claimed was an inn. I questioned whether it was an inn or not, it being weird that the inn was in the middle of nowhere. But then I remembered Red Wolf, and how the inn wasn't always a lone building.

We walked inside, greeting the innkeeper and her family. The inn wasn't in that bad shape considering everything. They showed us to our rooms. We were the only ones there, and were likely to be for a while, so they innkeeper gladly gave us all three rooms, which made it about two people per room. I couldn't help but feel remorse and sympathy when the innkeeper mentioned that if we had come here before Red Wolf, we would have each had our own room.

    I ended up sharing a room with Logan, which I didn't mind, but again, I had no intention of making chit chat. We both fell asleep pretty quick, knowing what tomorrow would bring. I wished for tomorrow to come faster.

I woke up in the middle of the night with a pounding headache. I don't know where it came from, but it grew and grew, a pounding drum beating on my skull. I got up and searched for the bathroom, but I couldn't find it. I carefully walked walked down the stairs, looking for the innkeeper so I could ask her for aspirin. The hall was dark, and I had to lean against the wall as I made my way around. I finally saw a silhouette, but it was smaller than the innkeeper. I stopped and watched the person, unsure of who they were. They seemed nervous, hesitant to come near me. They finally walled near me. It was the innkeeper's daughter. She gave me some aspirin she seemed to be carrying around, noticing my discomfort.

    "Thank you," I said, taking the pills an holding my head in my hand. "Why are you carrying those things around?"

    "They're for my foot. Mommy says I can take two every five hours, bu they don't help much."

    "What's wrong with your foot?" I asked, glancing at her feet. I couldn't see anything wrong with them. She shifted nervously.

    "I have a silver foot. I got it because of Red Wolf." she replied.

    "'Silver foot'?" I questioned. She lifted up her left leg. Her entire left foot was a prosthetic.

    "The doctor says it's not supposed to hurt, but it still does. Mommy and the doctor say the silver isn't on right."

    My heart panged at the sight of her. She couldn't have been much older than five. She lowered her foot.

    "You and the others are in the army, right? You'll kill all the monsters? Stop Red Wolf?" she pleaded. I didn't know how to respond. We couldn't stop Red Wolf. Red Wolf already happened. All we could do was fight, probably in vain.

    But how could I say that to a little girl...

    I sighed and swallowed those truths, looking down at the girl.

    "Yeah. We're gonna stop it." She smiled up at me, and then ran off back to bed. I sighed, a lump in my stomach. We couldn't stop something that already happened. We couldn't get her foot back. We couldn't get the town back. We could fight, but that was all. We could win, but we can't change the past.

    I crawled back into bed, Logan's snoring rumbling from the other side of the room.

    And as I tried to sleep, a pounding took over my head.

    But it wasn't a headache.