"Don't sacrifice your time for people who wouldn't do the same for you, "
We all have tough times. Sometimes we just need to take a step back and think hard on our priorities. It is hard, but it's better than taking the wrong step. For a step may lead to a fall. A long and dark one. So choose wisely.
Well, sorry if that was kind of random but yeahhh anywayyyy
Hewwo I'm still alive after not updating for some time bwuahaha 0w0 Here's another chappie~~
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He had to admit. The were one hell of a group. Going through a zombie apocalypse, facing a plane crash and ending in the Amazon was definitely not among bucket list for the year. And now? He was gonna add another new accomplishment-- being surrounded by an angry mob of tribal women. How did they even manage to get themselves in such a mess in the first place?!
"All of you except the women. Raise your arms up," the woman in the middle spoke, head held up high. The girls surrounding them moved closer with their spears and not-so-friendly weapons, prompting them to move closer together.
Hiroto mentally sighed as he stood closer to everyone and followed the orders. He watched silently as the others--well, except Fubuki--followed suit. He had to say, as mean as she is, the queen still scored high for looks. Not that that matters in any way.
“What do you want with us?” Gouenji questioned with a stern expression.
“Silence!” a girl with light teal hair exclaimed. “Queen Alkaia has yet to grant you verminany permission to speak!”
“Greecia, it’s alright,” the woman—Queen Alkaia spoke gently before putting on a cold expression. “What do I want with you? Is it not obvious that you are the trespassers here? Unless you can prove otherwise…”
“Wait! We can explain,” Endou took a few steps forward despite the glinting spears pointed at him. “We did not mean to trespass. We are merely trying to get to Kansas when our plane crashed here,”
“Oh? And why is that? What were you planning to do?”
“For your information, there is a worldwide scale pandemic going on right now turning healthy humans into zombies and we are merely trying to fight for survival ow-!” Kazemaru was cut off as he was given a hard knock on the head by one of the girls nearby with the butt of a spear. He was slightly annoyed but decided to keep his mouth shut.
“Oh? Zombies?” an eyebrow was raised. “Elaborate,”
“Sure, but would you please help our friend first?” Haruna asked in a meek voice. Since the boys had to put their hands up, she had taken up the obligation to support the immobile Fubuki. From his looks, he didn’t really seem pleased with the fact that he had been poisoned either.
“Talk and we’ll consider,”
“But what if he doesn’t make it till-“
“Then we’re done talking-“
“Wait,” Kidou voiced up. “We’ll tell you everything we know-”
“Wise choice,”
“-in return you give our friend the antidote to whatever poison that is,”
There was a few moments of silence before a small smirk broke through the queen’s cold exterior.
“Very well,”
It took awhile but Kidou fulfilled his end of the deal by explaining the whole situation. Throughout the explanation, a mix of emotions could be seen from the girls around them— worry, anxiety, fear, disbelief. Meanwhile, there was a short moment of silence while their words were processed before the queen finally spoke.
“You claim that the city, as it is now, is in ruins and that civilisation has come to an end?”
“Yes,”
“You claim that people are turning against one another, devouring those they hear and making them into one of them-”
“That’s right,”
“And that this city of Kansas is the only hope left being quarantined from such a disastrous disease?”
“Precisely,”
A bead of sweat glided down the side of his cheek. He was sure that he had presented the information quite well. Nonetheless, if the queen decides to go against what he says….
“That is quite a story but I think that we should not deny that it may very well be happening in the world right now,” the queen finally spoke. Everyone visibly let out a sign of relief.
“However that does not change the fact that this is our sacred land that you stumbled upon and therefore, should be held responsible for the consequences. Take them in,”
W-What…?
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Kazemaru’s POV (Point of View)
It was all over more quickly than I had expected. The girls charged at us once the queen had dropped the order. Not only were we vastly outnumbered by the Amazonian tribe, there was also the fact that most of us weren’t really fond of having to hurt girls. I mean, wasn’t it bad enough that our daily routine consisted of haaving to bash the undead already?
We boys were immediately restrained and blindfolded at the slightest given chance. Apparently, they weren’t feeling really happy about exposing their location to us. Although I had to admit that I was slightly peeved at how the queen had made us spit everything out before capturing us anyway. What a cunning move. She shouldn’t have made Kidou waste his breath if that was her plan from the start.
I had never thought that plant fibre could be weaved into such strong ropes. Furthermore, the hands that gripped to my arms were tight and unmerciful, their fingernails digging deep. It’s not something that I couldn’t bear but needless to say, it was pretty uncomfortable and definitely something that I could do without.
“We’ve arrived. The women may follow us. Throw the males there,”
Without another word, we were shoved to wherever ‘there’ had referred to. I couldn’t help but notice the fact that the word ‘male’ had been spat as if it was poison.
Darkness encapsulated the whole lot of us once we were shoved into the empty hut. I quickly shook my head to remove the blindfold. I guess, one of the things I could be glad about is how those talons finally released me.
My eyes quickly adjusted to the darkness. I could vaguely make out the outline of the others around me. It was a rather cramped space to be in seeing how everyone was squeezed together.
“Is everyone alright?” Endou asked. He, too, had removed his blindfold.
“Damn. This is infuriating. We could’ve just beat the hell out of them if they were not… a bunch of girls!” Eric growled beside me.
“Well, I wouldn’t complain. I’d rather not hurt a bunch of kitties,” Adam snorted. Kristian shot him a look which made him quickly add. “Unless they were a bunch of undead ones!”
Hmm, I wonder why.
“Fubuki, you alright? Can you move?” Hiroto asked in a concern tone. We turned our attention to the said silverette.
Our leader was in the worst shape. Apart from the injuries from the fall, he was drugged by whatever the hell that was on those bamboos. In addition, the girls didn’t think it was safe for him to be unrestrained despite being immobile. They had took the liberty to bind him up as well like the others. Since he was shoved in, he landed face-first on the ground with no other means of getting up on his own. I feel kinda bad just seeing him this way.
“I don’t think he can talk,” Gouenji stated after moments of silence.
Fubuki gave relieved look which said ‘Thank God for Gouenji,’
It was must be frustrating enough that the poison has robbed him from all means of movement, much less his ability to communicate through speech.
“It’s just a theory but it’s possible… that the poison will start to lose its effect as time goes by,” Hiroto muttered.
“What makes you think so?”
“Well, I mean, that at least explains why they felt the need to restrain him when he can’t even move, right?”
“Hiroto has a point. The only question now is how long…”
“If that is so, we shouldn’t have gave in to those wild women then,” Adam deadpanned. Everyone did a form of anime fall despite their given circumstances.
“Did you not forget that they would have did the same anyways?” I asked. There were hums in agreement.
“But what are we to do now? We don’t know what they’re gonna do with Haruna and the others and whether they are even considering feeding us,” Kidou stated sternly.
Mental images of our female friends being sacrificed for some ancient deity or being forced to commit hard labour flashed through my mind. Surely they wouldn’t go to such extremities, right…?
My mind tells me otherwise as I think of those fierce Amazonian eyes which spoke of coldness and cruelty. Didn’t the Mayans used to sacrifice their most beautiful women to their gods? A shudder ran down my back and I pushed the thoughts away.
Whatever they were going to do with them, they wouldn’t be able to do it time. Not when we barge into their little hut and claim back our friends.
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“Please make yourselves at home, sisters,”
Well, this was fairly unexpected.
After how the boys were treated roughly without any mercy, Haruna didn’t expect to be served in a feast. She glanced around to see that her female comrades had the same incredulous look, neither one believing what was going on.
Before them was a table served with the finest jungle dishes— gilded game roasted over a slow crackling fire, stuffed bird in sweet honey and berry sauces, bowls of crisp green leaves embellished with the red and yellow of fresh cherry tomatoes in salad sauce and many, many more.
For moments, they sat there in awe at the luxurious banquet before them. Ever since the apocalypse had begun, they haven’t had anything fancy, much less enough to eat. Meat had become a rare delicacy that they only had on an occasion of a successful loot.
“W-We are thankful for your kind hospitality but… why the sudden meal?” Fuyuka questioned meekly, her head low as she voiced all of their thoughts. Despite the all the grandeur, they cannot deny the fact that the two groups were in a deadlock just moments ago. It did not seem right to treat your enemies to a meal right after their capture, is it not? Unless, of course, the meal had been tampered with and that the glaze of honey coating the plump, red berries are actually a type of toxin or paralytic designed to seize and stop their hearts.
After all, the Amazons did seem to know their poisons well and had bountiful access to it here in the embraces of Nature. A few drops of venom from a pitviper or a an accidental ingestion of hemlock could get them all frothing at their lips for all they knew.
The edges of the queen’s lips curved upwards into a sly smile.
“Since ancient times, we Amazonians have thrived in the jungle away from modern civilisation and away from our male… counterparts,” Queen Alkaia paused as if thinking for a polite word to say. “Men are merely horrendous beasts which revel in dominating women and only feeding upon their sufferings. They think they are greater than women, forgetting that that without us, they would cease to exist,”
The queen stood from her seat, taking long strides across the room. Her supporters nodding at every word she preaches.
“That is where we, the Amazon tribe come in. For years, we take in any visitors from the outside world. The men to be banished as the foul animals they are and the women to be offered a new life in a community where they can be themselves and flourish in their feminine strength. We teach them to hunt and to embrace the wilderness,”
Haruna fidgeted in her seat. It was pretty sure that she didn’t quite like the idea of her onii-chan and her friends being labelled as ‘foul animals’, much less treated like one. But in midst of these savage female warriors who were brought up as the hunters of jungle, she wasn’t quite sure what was going to happen to the guys.
The queen moved closer and caressed Haruna’s blue locks. Haruna stiffened at the sudden close proximity.
“Women as knowledge and as strong as you girls deserve better. All your lives, no doubt you have been subjected to submissiveness under the tyranny of those brutes that came in with you,” the Queen let go of her hair, much to Haruna’s relief. Haruna wanted to tell her that she wasn’t. In fact, the opposite had occurred where the guys would constantly put themselves in front of her just to protect her.
The queen moved onto Yuuka and pat her head. Bending down to her eye level, bright yellow met onyx, the latter cowering slightly backwards at the strong aura the queen held. The way she moved reminded Yuuka of a fox. Poised with elegance yet so very cunning indeed.
“Poor darlings, to think that even a mere child has to be brought up tainted with those vile creatures,” the Queen Alkaia regained her posture and continued to the purple-haired girl who sat just as anxious as the rest.
“Such beautiful fair skin,” the Queen commented bringing Fuyuka’s chin up, a look of satisfaction upon her features before letting her go gently. “Three of you would no doubt be wonderful additions to our tribe. You would fit right in with your sisters,”
“S-Sorry but… We cannot stay here with the rest of you..!” Haruna exclaimed. Her heart pounded loudly in her chest as a bead of sweat glided down the side of her cheek. She felt the tips of her fingers turn chilly. The Queen was just a human. But there was a threatening aura about her. One that made one tremble in fear while getting too close.
She recalled hearing a legend of the Queens of the Amazonian tribe in which whoever wants to be queen must cut off the head of their predecessor and sever off their limbs. The new queen would then have to devour certain parts of the previous queen in order to inherit the Spirit of the Wild and the blessings passed down from her ancestors. Should the queen die in old age with absence of strife, sisters would either raise a worthy successor or be turned against one another to fight for the crown. Haruna had an eerie feeling that Queen Alkaia had slaughtered her way to the top.
She shuddered. She shouldn’t jump to conclusions. It may just be her mind pulling tricks on her and frankly, she really hoped that was the case.
If there was any sign of disapproval on Queen Alkaia’s face, she didn’t let it show. In fact, it seemed as though she had expected such an answer.
“Genevieve,”
The female guard at the door moved forward, her spear still clutched in her hand as she gave a curt bow.
“Bring in them in and have them wait outside,”
“Roger,”
Both Haruna and Fuyuka’s eyes widened in horror while Yuuka brought both hands together in front of her chest, expression one of worry.
“Wait! W-What are you planning to do to them?!” Haruna demanded as she stood up from the table. But almost instantly, two other girls came and took hold of her. Just to make sure she does not do anything rash. She looks desperately to Fuyuka who was frozen in shock before turning back to the queen.
“I understand that you’ve grown to have an attachment to those filthy scum. I guess I can’t blame you girls for that,” Queen Alkaia stated with her back toward them. But just as she turned around, there was a strange look in her stony amber eyes. It was the look of someone who could disembowel someone without so much as batting an eyelash.
“Sef,”
The tan girl guarding the door straightened herself as she approached, frizzy hair swaying behind her.
“I have given you girls a choice of sisterhood and you have declined,” she muttered--almost begrudgingly. The girls glared at her while struggling against her captors.
The queen narrowed her eyes at distaste.
“Prepare the sacrificial grounds. I will have them executed one at a time,"
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Ouch. Kazemaru jinxed it, didn’t he? Okay, this could’ve come out so much sooner but forgive me I’ve started Uni and agalskfnvajrf Anyways, hope all of you enjoyed it! Even if it is a rather short chapter *winces* Do leave some comments and tell what you think xD until the next chappier~~
(P.S. I would appreciate if y'all would tell me which story you prefer to be updated next ;) winkwink)