Bgdjbfjdns classes have begun once again and all of sudden it's been days since I last updated this draft. I'm updating a teeny tiny bit every day so I'm not sure when the chapter will be officially ready =.= but my eyes are like gonna become so tiny just constantly typing in that tiny screen +.+ I had to copy everything back to Word to format and bold and italicise because I CANT FIND THE BUTTONS ANYMORE IDK WHY (any kind souls who know where the bold and italicise buttons went in phone, please tell this human thankiew in advance AHAHA) anyways, let's not dally any longer bwuaha xD on with the chappie~~ >:3
“Danger does not lurk at every corner. It’s just hanging out waiting for fear and horror to show up.” -Unknown
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Just when he thought that he had survived nearly being butchered alive by some angry female warriors, they were saved by chance. Hiroto was starting to think that maybe the sky didn't hate him all that much after all--maybe his previous built-up bad luck was for the sake of bailing him and his friends out of this sticky situation. With that in mind, he had shrugged off the minor scratches and injuries from the first few days of the jungle, deciding that it was all worthwhile to save them from their sorry fates. But just as he was about to have the luxury to just explore Dreamland, something else came to him first.
Saginuma stood with his back towards the former captain of The Genesis.
"Saginuma-"
Before he could say another word, the raven had turned to him, eyes widened in terror as what seemed like an arm had stuck itself out of his gaping mouth. His bloodshot eyes were rolled to the back of his eyes as a second arm had pushed itself out of his jaw, tearing the edges of his lips as his mandible was forced to stretch beyond its limits.
But that wasn't as horrible and as illogical as what came next. Saginuma's skull expanded. Infecteds--who had too much of a resemblance to Reize and Ulvida to be a coincidence--literally clawed their way out of the former captain of Epsilon's mouth with sheer will, breaking his jaw. But instead of a full body that followed, both Reize and Ulvida had only half of their bodies still intact. Therefore, they fell like lumps of meat into the crimson-coated ground, twitching and spurting more blood as their supposedly dead bodies continue pumping more blood out through the arteries. Their eyeballs were rolled to the back of their head, yet they moved as if they could see, tearing the already tattered Saginuma apart like he really was nothing but a pile of minced meat.
Hiroto's eyes widened in shock as he took a few steps back, heart pounding furiously in his chest as he behold the scene before him. Before he realised it, a pair of cold hands gripped into his shoulders and he felt teeth chomp down into his neck.
Hiroto screamed.
When he opened his eyes again, he was welcomed by yet another familiar scene-- The store where he watched all of his friends get beat-up by some unknown men. Only this time, he was the one getting yelled at. But whatever the man said, it only turned out as static for he couldn't hear a thing. Everything was blurred out and sounded far away, almost as if he were watching things from underwater.
The man then gripped his arm and forced him to take off his jacket. It seemed strange that he even had one anyway.
Glancing to the side, he saw Endou being held up unconscious, what seemed to be blood running down his nose and head. The rest were either unconscious of huddled up in the corner in fear, trembling as they held each other close. It unnerved him to no end that Fubuki and Kazemaru were lying lifelessly on the ground while Kidou was nowhere to be found.
Hiroto tried to scream for his captain to wake up but he found he had no voice. No, he couldn't even see the faces of the men. Maybe it had to do with the way he was kneeling on he ground, for they appeared like giants with shadowed faces towering over them.
Just then, one of underlings stepped forward, a smug grin laced with malicious intent. If it weren't for all the red, Hiroto probably wouldn't have noticed the blade he held his hand as he gestured a thumbs-up. Somehow, a deep burning anger burnt within him despite not having a clue of what was going on.
But before he could turn those feelings into solid actions, the man who seemed to be the leader of the thugs pointed towards him, index centimeters away from his emerald eyes.
"This one's next,"
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Hiroto jolted awake for real this time, sweat gliding down the side of his cheeks as he panted. Pushing himself to an upright position, he could've sworn he felt a stab of pain in his nape right where the infected sunk its rotten teeth into his flesh. He have himself a few stretched and sighed.
It was that dream again...
He had no idea why he was having reoccurring dreams of them being attacked in that same shop. It just seemed too unreal that he was the one actually experiencing what seemed to be like a premonition. I mean, as much as he thought his life was some movie with him playing as the main actor, it was a whole lot more confusing than scary than that of those depicted in gruesome suspense movies.
But what disturbed him the most was Saginuma. How long has it been since he last saw him? And Reize and Ulvida. They were among the closest to him in all of Aliea Academy. He had secretly wrestled with his worry for them every since this apocalypse shit had gone down and he was starting to succeed suppressing it with all the turmoil that had been going on in his life trying to survive. Why was it that they would resurface into his subconscious now of all times? Okay, it's official. He needed to rant.
Looking around, his eyes searched the darkness for that familiar silver hair that glinted in the dimmest of lighting but was only met with a blank spot where their leader was preciously sleeping. Further observation showed that he wasn't the only one missing either. The flame striker's spot too was empty.
Meanwhile, the others were still fast asleep. Kazemaru and Kidou turned to their respective sided while Endou slept with his arms wide apart and one on poor Eric's stomach. Adam and Kristian leaned against the hut, head down and eyes closed.
Saa, what should he do?
Before he had time to ponder of he should go on and search for the two, said platinum blonde burst into the hut, eyebrows knitted and panting hard.
"Minna (Everyone)...! Wake up!" Gouenji exclaimed, receiving reluctant groans from the rest who have been awakened.
For a moment, Hiroto was puzzled. Were the Amazons trying to pull something on them again? Maybe they really hadn't put the whole castration issue behind them despite the truce? But the next words that came out of Gouenji's mouth had almost seemed alien to him, having not heard it for quite some time now.
"...The infecteds are here!"
As if an awakening spell had been castes upon them, almost everyone lost their will to sleep instantly, eyes snapping open.
"Oi oi oi... Could you have mistaken it for a rat or something? We're in the middle of the Amazons for goodness sake..." Adam muttered before cursing under his breath, groggily rubbing one eye with his hand.
"No. It is possible. Remember the account from Fuyuka. She and Fubuki had encountered one of the villages roaming with the dead," Kidou deduced. As expected of the genius, he already seemed fully awake despite the abrupt awakening.
"Speaking of which... Where is he anyway?" Endou asked after realising that their leader was no where to be found in the hut.
All eyes fell on Gouenji. Gouenji looked conflicted as a bead of sweat glided down the side of his face--as if he wasn't so sure he should tell them.
"He's taking them on by himself,"
With that, everyone promptly got up.
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To others who observe, it seemed like a battlefield, a fight to the death--the end of the world. But to him, everything was but a mere RPG game, the targets limping slowly towards him like they were walking through slush, the occasional infecteds that popped up from behind him from behind the trees and beyond the darkness which his vision would not allow. It had been long since he played this game.
And he missed it.
Fubuki tore through muscles and dead tissue like slicing butter with a knife, relishing each and every crunch of the bone and spurt of blood that came with it. Some were even warm indicating that they had only died recently. The thrill of the fight-- no, massacre coursed through his veins, pulsing with every heart beat.
They just kept coming. Mindless yet mobile. He loved them.
He wanted to kill them all.
They weren't that strong, but when all of them come together at an area of high density combined with the rough terrain, it might just prove to be one hell of a stimulating challenge. In addition, it wasn't as if his body was actually back to optimal functioning state already seeing that he had just recovered from nearly being poisoned to death this afternoon.
Nonetheless, it wasn't something he couldn't handle. At least, not yet. He was merely in a situation on par with walking on a tightrope--where each and every movement had to be balanced in order to cater for each and every one of the infected that swarmed around him. Simple as it may seem, he had to be careful for a single mistake could also mean tipping over the precarious balance he was maintaining. In short, he's got his hands full at the moment.
Unknown to him, a piece of vine had been dragged across the battlefield as prying, alert eyes pinpointed its prey on the darkness.
Fubuki maintained his focus. After all, players do die in RPGs if they weren't careful enough. As time progressed, it seemed like he didn't even need to think on what to do next. His body just moved on it's own accord as it ravaged the infecteds around him and rendered them to useless piles of meat. It didn't help that his self-control was almost zero when it came to disembowelling moving corpses--not that he'd try to anyway.
The edges of his lips curved sligjtly upward as the dark look in his eyes held true as he continued his task with the stealth and agility of a wolf. The slick, wetness that drenched his katana only added to his exhiliration as heads fell to the ground one by one. He almost felt as if he was merely playing a game of golf.
Just as he thought he was finally starting to cut their numbers, his feet tripped on something. Fubuki deadpanned as he felt his weight shift backwards.
'You've gotta be kidding me'
Everything moved in slow motion as he reached an arm forward in a desperate attempt to stop himself from falling into one of the infecteds right behind him. He was almost pretty sure that this was it.
But just then, something swung and all of a sudden, he was swooped up by a net made out of vines and hung from a branch--much to his surprise. Fubuki was currently suspended right above the mob of undead, though their snapping teeth just centimeters below him. He let out a sigh of relief as he realized he had escaped that close call. Guess he had to thank the Amazons for setting up their traps in the right place this time . However, his relief was short-lived as heard a slight crack. Fubuki stiffened.
Shit.
He just realised that branch that was holding the net up is far too thin to be supporting the weight of a human. It was probably meant for hares or foxes.
Crack.
Fubuki tched. If it weren't for the fact that he was currently trapped, he could've easily switched branched or climb up higher where the infecteds could not reach. He needed get out of this net.
Crack.
Fubuki tried tearing the openings of the vine open with his bare hands but apparently his physique wasn't allowing it to the moment. He wasn't even sure if it was even physically possible to do so anyways. With much frustration, he resorted to the only other solution he could think of. Fubuki began sawing at the vines with his katana as fast as he could, yet careful not to be too aggressive to the point that he would aggitate the branch further and cause it to snap and plunge himself into a horde of hungry zombies out for his blood.
CraCk.
"Fubuki!"
He whipped his head just in time to see the rest of his friends rushing towards the scene. From their bewildered expression, he, too, could see that they were quite surprised by his current predicament. I mean, it wasn't every day you'd find youself caught in a net dangling precariously by a soon-to-be broken branch over a throng of undead, right? No?
Nevermind that.
The rest immediately got to work, making noise to divert the infected's attention and making spread further apart where they would be easily taken down one by one than they would together.
It was then, Fubuki realised, how efficient that their group had worked in clearing out the infected. No longer were their movements as hesitant and as fearful as they were before as they aimed for the heads. Unknowingly, a small smile crept onto Fubuki's face and he couldn't help but wonder how he hadn't realised how everyone's progress all this time. He had to admit he was glad he saw it now. Guess being suspended a few feet in the air had it's perks.
They've really grown.
The infected's numbers have finished greatly and soon they were left with a measly few who staggered, walking on their decaying limbs. Gouenji and Hiroto helped bring Fubuki down from the net by forming a brace underneath it.
Meanwhile, Endou dealt the final blow, knocking the last infected's head right off it's shoulders with a mere branch.
Just then, there was a rustle in the far left. No one noticed but Fubuki saw it running away and he froze.
It was an infected.
There was no denying the glisten of greyish rotten skin and missing scalp. But the thing that threw him off was that it was running.
Running like how a normal human being would when they got caught in the act.
"Daijoubuga (Are you alright), Fubuki?" a voice asked snapping him out of his trance.
"Yeah, Arigato (Thank you) for saving me -"
Without any further word, he took off after the infected. He tuned out the voices of his friends calling for him as his mind was focused solely on what was before him. There was no doubt about it. As he ran, he watched as the infected consciously evaded trees in order to get away. It wasn't fast running on decaying human body so he picked up the speed.
Just as he was about to grasp onto the tattered shirt it wore, sand was thrown into his eyes.
"Gah-! "
He rubbed at his eyes furiously in attempt to remove any sand that remained. Once he did, however, it was gone. Nowhere to be found.
He tched and punched the tree nearby, pissed. It was then his friends had caught up with him.
"Fubuki!!" "Why'd you run away like that?!"
They abruptly silenced themselves when they saw saw the deadly glare those silver eyes gave out. They could almost literally feel the anger rolling down from him in waves.
But just when they thought they were about to be slaughtered by their somewhat-pissed leader, he took a deep breath and calmed himself--reverting back to a face of mere annoyance.
"Gomen (Sorry), I lost it for a monent," Fubuki stated, as if nothing had happened.
"Then? What did you see?" Despite his michevious and fondness for teasing, he was good at cutting to the chase when he wanted to know something. Some of the others had puzzled expressions. Ah... Seems like not everyone realised that he had a reason for suddenly disappearing off and getting pissed.
Fubuki remained silent as pondered for a moment. It was merely an alleged speculation since he had seemingly let the infected go and had no other means of tracking it down without risk getting separated from the others again. Would telling them do them any good? After all, who knows. Maybe it was a mere figment of his imagination or some hallucination due to the after-effects from the poisoning. But now that he thought about it, he didn't remember any vines on the ground when he was talking to Gouenji. It seemed to much of a coincidence.
Fubuki frowned slightly. Then again, they did have the right to know. If what he thinks is true, they may be in big trouble. It would be best if they at least be aware of the possibility, right?
"Well?" the redhead prompted while the others stared on in silence.
"What I'm about to say might not be entirely true and may very-well be a side-effect from the poisoning but..." there was still a slight hesitation as his stormy grey eyes flickered onto the ground for a few moments before saying the next words.
"...There's a possibility that some of infecteds possess a certain degree of consciousness,"
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Anddd CUTT YASS FINALLY as I said from above uni started so I have to resort to updating a teeny tiny bit every single day but it's finally done xD YASS dunno about the quality though cuz this isn't something I wrote one shot. It's updated every day and by every day I mean having a different thought pattern and mentality and mood every day. I'm not sure if it's gonna affect my writing to some degree but hope y'all enjoyed it somehow !
Update: brain like mush now NFKSNDNSL ITS LATEE
Also uhh I once dreamt of being stabbed in the neck by a syringe filled with some strange green liquid and woke up feeling that ghostly feeling of pain so I decided to incorporate it while describing Hiroto's awakening xD
Oooofff I only realised the length of each paragraph has been shortened when I put in the computer for fornmates editing xD Anyways, what's gonna happen next?? >:3 could it be true? Could it just be a false alarm? Let me know your thoughts and see y'all in the next chappie (づ￣ ³￣)づ ehehe