Louis Wain is an English artist who is best known for his drawings of anthropomorphized cats. He is believed to have suffered from schizophrenia, and his drawings became increasingly abstract and surreal in his later years. Some believe that, instead of being schizophrenic, Wain may have instead suffered from Asperger’s syndrome.
He spent the last fifteen years of life institutionalized when his sisters could no longer deal with his erratic behavior, and many of his most florid and colorful artworks were done there. The hospital that he was institutionalized in had a colony of cats living on its grounds.
Chapter Seven: Kill the Night: Part IV: The Million Man Horde
A/N: Merry Christmas you filthy animals!
A/N: RIP Careless Whisper, Princess Leia, Princess Leia’s mum, and the Rev. M.A.S.H.
Also RIP 2016 you piece of shit year, stop killing everyone you prick. Also, Jesus Chirst I have to keep editing these stupid Authors Notes just to include ‘In Memoriam’ notes. This is depressing as hell.
Space. The black infinity. Suns beyond starlight. Starlight beyond suns. Suns beyond the void.
This very galaxy we live in, is alone home to trillions of intelligent lifeforms. And in the darkest voids of space – a cadaver lay afloat. Green beams. Green beams elapsed the body into motion. A vortex. A vortex of light swallowed the cadaver into a giant metal machine. Metal Machine. This metal machine was the Star Dragon. The Star Dragon was a spaceship, once belonging to the Universal Conglomerate – a league of planets now long fallen, its resources now scavenged by pirates.
“Major! We’re picking up movement from the oncoming input” the alien spoke from a long flapped mouth. The alien observed the cadaver through the heat sensor telescreen. A furry orange monster jumped up to the giant hyper-screens, there was a HUD displayed information about the object approaching them. Even in the frozen tundra that is space, the being still emitted heat, just barely.
“Well, what are you waiting for, bring it in!” the Major said in his foreign tongue.
The green vortex sucked the cadaver in like a vacuum cleaner. The body landed into the loading bay, surrounded by a company of curious patrons. The Major approached the being and poked it with his golden cane. The body was frozen, but the inside of the bay had been equipped with gravity locks, and heaters.
A doctor began to speak, “Sir, this creature is dead. Perhaps there were errors with the machine... Wait…”
The body was slowly starting to reanimate. This was the body of Chihiro. Half her body was missing and yet the human still could move. Her neck, with the ice melting away, allowed blood to pump and spill on the floor. This gruesome sight led many crew members to back away in disgust. The Major and his doctors leaned forward. The woman’s only remaining eyelid ripped open. A bloodshot iris stared at the captain.
The Major stammered “W-What the-”
Chihiro sparked an inhuman grin and spat blood into the Major’s mouth…
* * *
My mind was slowly returning to me. The sky was growing dim and rain was starting to pour down. My consciousness was still in a wreck. For the past half hour I was fine but now my mind is playing tricks on me. My mind focused back to my reality. I was lying down on a cold concrete building, looking down through the scope of sniper.
“Shit!” I grunt, what time is it? How long had I been day dreaming for? My watch said that half an hour has passed. Didn’t Rito say to come for him if he wasn’t back in like fifteen minutes or something?
“Oh fuck!” I scream, my voice echoes into the dead city.
Above the city were the hills that’ve protected us from floods, from ancient wars and even Donald Trump (A storm prevented his plane from coming to our airport so he went to the next one over). But these old rolling hills can’t protect Saipan from the horror I was seeing now. I didn’t even need to look through the sniper to make out what they were. Thousands of them, all slowly making their way down the hills. No it wasn’t the hippies my friends, it was the walking undead. Zombies. The Million Man Horde. Without a bike, it’d take me at least half an hour to get to Yuuki’s house. Before all of…this happened, my father was teaching me how to drive. I needed a pair of wheels, and fast.
* * *
As I scaled the fire exit, I would pull the fire exit door to each floor. Eventually I realised the futility in this, so to open the door on the next floor down, I stood and the top of the staircase and readied my sniper.
“Okay Yui Baby, you can do this. This isn’t the dumbest thing you’ve done all week” I tried to pump myself up.
The sniper shot off the lock and hinges in one precise shot. The noise was deafening, and the building shook. I kicked in the door until the whole thing was off its hinges so I could finally enter. The lights were still on for many offices. No one was inside. If any zombies was around, they would’ve heard the commotion and come right to it. Steadily, but still pacing myself, I bolted inside. All the offices were locked. Through the glass walls of one office, called ‘Ito and Co: Uzumaki Agency’, was a collection of cubicles. On one desk was someone’s bag. There was no promise I would find any car keys but it was still worth a shot. I grabbed a large pot plant and heavied the heavy thing through the glass wall. It shattered easily. A siren went off. Now my heart was pounding. Any zombies would surely find me soon. I found the source of the sirens. It came from three sound speakers. I shot them out and continued my search in the office. Only the red light remained, this was okay.
In the cubical was a poster of Rosey the Riveter saying ‘We Can Do It!’ and… 70s porn star Ron Jeremy? I didn’t bother to think about this weirdness. The contents of the bag were chucked out onto the desk. I noticed that my shirt and jacket were practically destroyed. Pant’s weren’t in the best condition either. A shirt had been in this person’s bag and it looked big enough to fit me. Gazing from side to side to make sure no one was here, I quickly got changed. Resting underneath the shirt was a large key and a hat. Might as well get some sun protection for later. Lifting up the car keys, the name read on the keychain read – ‘Cock Goblin’.
Oh dear, what have I got myself into now?
My gun was now down to its final bullets. The bathroom was empty. I assumed the residents of this whole entire building had evacuated as soon as the infection hit. The clothing I had picked up was…weird. Yet, oddly appealing. This shirt was a large print of American celebrity Oprah Winfrey. It was just her smiling face, stretched out over the whole shirt. The hat was a perfect fit. A black snapback with large bold writing that read ‘TOP NEP’.
What’s a Nep? Why was it so ‘Top’? Was this one of those ‘anime’ things?
This whole new look gave off the impression that I was a hipster from Shimokitazawa. Maybe the owner bought them from Harajuku? That seems like the place you’d buy these threads from. Whoever was the original owner of these beautifully weird clothing could’ve made for a fascinating conversation.
Then I wondered what my life would be like if it were an anime? Maybe it’d be called, ‘Highschool of the no-longer-living-but-still-active-and-violently-dangerous’ or To Love…Carnage. Maybe something like that.
Nah that’d be stupid.
* * *
Before the elevator was a red emergency fire axe case. An axe would definitely help me deter the monsters in close combat. I’ve lost almost everything useful to me, all of my equipment was all left on my bike. That was back at the apartments. I raised my heavy Doc Martin combat boots with all and kicked the glass sheet in with all my spirit. But because I’m an idiot, I couldn’t help but get my foot stuck in the case and I fell over, one foot stuck in the wall. I’m glad no one else was around, otherwise I would’ve felt like a bigger schmuck that I already was.
* * *
The elevator had power, but the rickety cage made every inch lower feel like diving deeper into hell. The doors had glass window and each floor told a story. Floors that were in the darkness, I felt, that these stories had ended. On other floors, I swore could see people wandering around, but as I came close to making out the figures, my room with a view would leave the floor and let a tale go unfinished. Were these survivors not yet contacted? Were these monsters? Were these apparitions? I’d never know. But with each floor closer to the carpark I grew more nervous, my grip tightening on the fire axe. This wasn’t a descent to a carpark, no, this was an elevator to hell!
As I stood in the half-light, no music playing, a memory lingered on my mind. I came back to a holiday I had in some ocean-side town I had forgot the name of. It must’ve been years ago, away from heavily civilisation and the air pollution, the stars shined brighter than I had ever seen. My family had a campfire on the beach, behind us was a steep cliff and a lighthouse. Its beams shooting over the horizon. However, this truly beautiful sight was ruined by my older brother’s ghost story.
“They said that the 13th floor was forbidden, so much so that the elevator’s button going to that floor was burned out! But behold, the doors started to creak open. All the man saw was darkness. Then TEKE! TEKE! A sound kept crawling, crawling ever so closer to him. The man’s only light was in his elevator, and that started to flash on and off. On and off.” My brother told the story with incredible panache.
He waved with fingers around a torchlight. By now I was cowering in fear. My parents had gone elsewhere and my brother and I sat with some older kids. All I was trying to do is not to cry.
“TEKE! TEKE! The sound came even closer. A figure appeared in the darkness, it didn’t seem to move. It just…appeared” For dramatic effect he turned off the light. He almost looked like the monster I was imagining.
“Then what happened?” A boy leaned in with fearful curiosity.
In his shadowy figure, Yuu’s lips stretched into a twisted smile. It was obviously a normal grin, but in the darkness, it appeared as if his whole body had warped.
“The things that happen in the darkness are the things that cannot be explained with logical nor human rationale.”
Still to this day I had no idea what that was supposed to mean. He probably didn’t know either.
The boy laughed nervously, “But seriously, what happened?”
Yuu grinned, “Y’know the light in the elevator – it turned off”
“A-a-and?”
My brother laughed, “When it came back on, the man saw a-”
Ding!
I let out a frightened cry as I snapped back to reality, the elevator bell gave me a fright. But what was even worse than the mechanical sound, the entire carpark was encased in darkness. The only light came from the elevator.
Oh come on! I readied my axe in one hand, car keys in the other. The key’s lit up on one end, the car lit up on the other. The car was somewhere in the middle of the long room. Against the floor, a sound emerged. TEKE! TEKE!
Perspiration dripped down my forehead from the hot elevator and stinking room. The smell of corpses were pungent. Tears formed in my eyes. I finally knew what happened to the people in this building. The thing about this new world I lived in was not of the amount of death I’ve seen, but how people die. You only have to do something small and stupid to meet your end, and this was the dumbest thing I’ve probably ever done!
I flicked on my torch light. I could only see one of them, a woman, missing the lower half of her body - and her eyes – and her skin – and – and – and. This was a corpse, not a victim of the disease but of the carnivorous nature the infected suffer. This woman was partially eaten, and still survived long enough to become a monster. Her fingernails scratched over the concrete floor. In one hand I held the torch, the other was the car keys, my thumb pressing down hard on the unlock button.
There was a feminist who made a powerful statement on empowering women like myself, even in the darkest of times. She was a Vietnam War survivor and had a powerful mantra that always kept my spirits going. Except now I’ve forgotten it!
The groans become more predominate and intense. I screamed and bolted out of the elevator, torches shown zombies in between cars, some wedge forcefully, others roaming aimlessly. The car light flashed on repeatedly. The icy, grotesque smell of rotting trash lingered at my neck. I didn’t even bother swinging at it – I leapt forward into a diving roll. The half-eaten zombie tried to crawl towards me, instead, I stepped on her head. Kicked off, and landed into a zombies grip. My torched dropped to the ground. It shattered and the only light I had left was gone. The elevator door shut behind me. The room had elapsed into complete darkness. It was as if heaven’s gate was shutting behind me.
I screamed and swung my axe wildly. The axe connected with a sickening sound. Of course I couldn’t see, I just continued to press down hard on the car keys. The car was right beside me now! The torch was gone, but at least I had the car. I wanted to use my sniper, but in the darkness I couldn’t even see how to unbuckle it from behind me back.
Another moan came from the side of the car. The car light flicked on again. In the low orange haze were eight or nine of them. All at the sides of this car. How did they manage to do that? I had no idea, but I already knew now not to underestimate these creatures. I prepared for one of the most dangerous fights I’ve ever been in. No light, no perception of the dark. Close quarters, a horde of them. And here I am, only an axe and the physical capabilities of an eighteen year old teenage girl.
I pressed the unlocked door keys one more time. The zombies ran forwards. I jumped in the air, pulling my legs into my torso - then kicked outwards. My boots made contact. They fell back onto one another – three stooges style. My hands ran along the car until I found the door handle. The car lit up with a white led light, like looking into another heaven. No one inside, thankfully. A pitter-patter of hands rubbed against the metal sides and the glass. The door locked successfully and I let out a big sigh.
Hey Yui, remember that horror movie cliché with the killer in the back seat-
I whipped my hatchet around the back of the van. No one was there, just purple shag carpeting. My face hit the steering wheel in relief. The engine turned on without a hitch. The car automatically began to play ‘Sweet Soul Revue’ by Pizzicato Five. Very jazzy. The car was a manual. I knew how to drive stick, but not as well as an automatic. It wasn’t great but it’d do. The car headlights showed maybe twenty of these demons, all staring at me. All smiling. In turn, I gave a sinister grin. I shifted the car into first gear and slowly drove off toward the exit gate. Bodies that were left on the ground suffered under the weight of a huge van. Crunches and snaps were audible, even though the sounds of the 90’s Japanese pop group. The gate slowly opened automatically. I flicked on my sun glasses expecting an evening sun, but instead I was met with rain. Great. A storm too. Any zombie that was holding onto the car before was flushed away with a foot tall flood. With the gate open, I realised I didn’t have to drive responsibly, so I floored on the speed pedal and shot out of the building like a jaguar hunting prey.
* * *
Rain fell on this deserted city. It felt as if the city itself were alive, and now cried at its own apocalyptic destruction. Thunderous booms ripped apart the dark sky. Military fighter jets soared through the sky, coming in hundreds. They flew over the mountains. On the mountains were figures, at first it looked like the forest themselves were moving, but like Shakespeare’s Macbeth, it was not the trees but zombies, rotten green like the flora.
The Million Man Horde had entered the city. Exiting the car, I noticed the city had a quiet peacefulness about it. Not like the sun after a storm, but the eye of a hurricane.
This was for the first time I noticed the car’s design. Coated in black, pink and purple colours, it displayed a lime green graphic font. It read, it only the most superfluous and 70’s porno funk of fonts, “The Cock Goblin’”.
I stared at the design, accommodating the words was the image of a goblin with a seedy boner (Also, delighting himself in said boner). At first I felt like proclaiming ‘how shameless!’…but this was way too weird for me.
“What the fuck?”
Shaking my head, and heading back inside, I sped off. The music boomed loudly as the car turned on, I wasn’t sure how to turn it off, the knobs didn’t do anything. The song now playing was ‘Girls on Film’ by Duran Duran. For once I actually listened to the lyrics. The song, though very catchy, still had pretty sketchy lyrics. Its toe-tappingly shameless!
* * *
As I turned up to Rito’s house, I could only let out a whisper, “Oh no”.
There were twenty of them, all entering his house. I needed to get their attention somehow. I pressed the car horn. The Mexican hat dance song shot out. I just sat there confused but still ready for a fight. A weird emotion.
The zombies turned around and came towards me. I revved the engines. They lingered over close…close enough for me to ram them! The process was simple enough, bring the car closer to the open front door – get a few zombies out, and run em’ over. It took only two minutes until they learned my behaviour. Still, a pile of violent mush laid strewn over Rito’s front yard. Twenty bodies soaked into the lawn.
“Rito!” I screamed, “Rito! It’s me Yui! Are you in there?”
Laughter came from within the room. Who’s laughing? The laughter continued even as I bashed the door down. Something whizzed past my head. I jumped back in fright.
“Wh-whose there? Get away! You’ll never…” Rito was down the basement, in a chair, holding a small child, his gun aiming at me. He must’ve tried to shoot me!
Moving back into the hallway and out of his range, I knew I had to calm him down.
“Rito! It’s just me, you’re safe now!” I yelled, “Just…Just put down the gun. I’ve got a car, we can go back to base…Is that your child? Is she hurt?”
Rito didn’t reply for a moment or two, then slowly, as if the gears in his brain were restarting like a century old locomotive, he slid the gun across the basement floor. The skittering sounds of metallic against concrete, finally hitting exposed wood, echoed around the room. He stayed in his chair as I descended the steps. His gun was now out of ammo. He ran his dirty hands through his equally filthy hair and began to sob. I found myself almost stalking towards him. I picked up the sleeping little girl, this must be Celine. Rito took my hands and buried his face into my stomach. I patted him on the head, took him by the hand and rushed out of the house. I strapped Celine into the backseat. Rito just stood outside the car. Pointing. He was pointing down the road.
“Rito what are…you…doing”
Suddenly there were thousands of them. Crawling through on the roads, creeping on the gutters, scaling roofs. Thousands of them. Thousands of zombies all charging toward us. All hungry.
“Fuck!” I screamed
We hauled our asses into the car. The keys were bashed into the ignition. It wasn’t starting.
“What’s wrong?” Rito screamed
“It’s not working!” I cried
“Oh fuck! Oh fuck! Oh fuck!” He continued to cry.
The horde was only metres away from us now. We were going to get swarmed!
Remember Yui! Start the car, put your foot over the third pedal. Right. Then slowly push the speed pedal and release the third pedal slowly. Okay?
The car kicked into first.
“Yes! Let get the hell outta here!” Rito cheered
Rito’s daughter groaned. She was just waking up. The Cock Goblin’ sped off hard and fast. I felt like Vin Diesel in Fast and the Furious. Our cheering stopped. Rito and his daughter looked at the roof. Handprints…One of the bastards was climbing on the car. A body jumped onto front windscreen. We all screamed.
“What do we do?” I said
Rito leaned forward and flicked the windshield wipers on. The zombie groaned as the wipers lightly hit him. Rito pulled the lever and water spurted out. The monster made a sort of scream as it slipped off the car and fell onto the hard road.
We sighed deeply.
“Cool car you got here” Rito commented “And nice threads, whose is it?”
I thought for a moment, then replied; “The coolest cat in the universe”
* * *
We drove in silence, turning around at roads littered with abandoned cars, or abandoned forts. Everything was abandoned. We turned down a street, once the outskirts of the central business district, now just an empty wasteland. Only a few blocks to our east would be the high school. No doubt the friends I lost would have just been left there. It sickened me, and I tried to repress the memories of the day into the back recesses of my mind. I wish I could go back in time, save them. But it’s the sad truth that it’s never going to happen. They’re gone and they won’t come back. Ever.
“Say, Yui” Rito asked, “Do you hear a rumbling sound?”
Come to mention it, I did.
The sound erupted into total chaos, and the ground shook like an earthquake. Out of the Hakai Building a horde smashed through the glass doors and windows. Thousands of them again!
I veered the car to the left. The horde already took over the street. I didn’t think about my actions, I just acted. The car bumped up the concrete pavement of the Tonzura Plaza. Rito swore, his daughter screamed and I roared like a warrior as we smashed through the glass window, driving past looted store.
“Yui! Yui watch out!” Rito screamed in a high falsetto.
We smashed off a balcony. Time seemed to slow as we fell off the second floor to the ground. We landed hard but the competition prize Ferrari below us broke our fall. I could almost shed a tear to a waste of a good Ferrari. The van gentle rolled off the car and was ready to continue. The zombies tailed us behind, falling off the balcony to their doom. In seconds piles of broken corpses had formed, and those that survived slipped and climbed off one another. They charge at us as if the fall were nothing. I floored down on the pedal, trying not to stall the car again. We dodged trolleys and benches.
“Papa” the little girl cried into her daddy’s chest.
“Don’t worry Celine, we’ll be safe. Miss Kotegawa is a great driver” he assured her in a tight hug.
Yeah… I sighed deeply. I wish I could believe that myself. I was just trying to remember what these mall hallways led to.
I muttered to myself, “Okay, down this hallway would meet a fork and with a hard right leads to… Uniqlo, that area…no, that’s not the right direction. I must go left…past that smoothie place”
“Yui! Corner!” Rito screamed
“Oh fuck!” I slammed the car to the left, sharply avoiding a corner. As I sped down the next hallway, bohemian plastic tables and modern AstroTurf cube seats obliterated into a thousand pieces of pipe tubing and fake grass, scattering over the car, chipping away at the windshield.
“Christ Yui! Can you actually drive this fucking car?”
I thought you said Miss Kotegawa was a great driver?
“Shut the fuck up!” I replied “I bet you can’t drive any better you cunt! Now let me…Oh fuck!”
The horde didn’t just have power in numbers, but strength as well. They ripped through shops, destroying even the hardest of concrete walls. The made a shortcut and smashed through the left and right hand sides of the buildings. Above us were the horde, falling off balconies and railings. Some up ten floors high. Many fell to the deaths, other fell onto the car and latched on. They were like spiders, thousands of them coming out from every orifice, just to kill the three of us.
“Floor it Yui! Floor it for gods…oh Christ” Rito’s crying voice softened to a desperate whisper.
I bashed my foot on the pedal, the gear was already at its highest, the engine was growing ever hotter, and any more stress on the motor would cause this car to bust!
It’s...it’s the exit, not the flat road exit…it leads down to Deguchi way...Which is on a steep hill. Wasn’t that one of the streets that was torn up from a huge crack going down the middle of the road…Yeah, from the meteors…Then we’re coming to the…stairs. Oh shit!
“Rito, Celine. Hold on. This…this will be rocky.” I spoke sternly.
“Rocky…Rocky? Yui what do you mean Rocky?”
“I mean that we’re going to smash out glass doors and fly down a large flight of stairs. Either that or face what’s behind us”
Rito looked behind himself, I glanced in the mirror - the horde was approaching hard and fast, like families of lions chasing prey. I tightened my seatbelt and gripped the steering wheel. The exit was in close sight. Zombies still suicide dived at the car. The tires crunched hard over the corpses and would almost lose its grip.
“Come on baby, you can do this” I grunted to myself
The rain poured heavily outside. The street might as well be a river. The headlights could only illuminate us now. The car was now positioned directly for the door. If it could even take the height of the van I would be surprised. But fuck it. Now we either live or die horribly. I began to roar, Celine shook and yelled in anger, Rito screamed like a pussy.
The car connected to the glass door. It shatters, the car’s windshield is totally cracked. We shot off the staircase - soaring in the air. For a moment it’s a beautiful weightlessness. The very next moment – complete horror. The g-force was not controlled. My hair flew to the roof. Rito held Celine as she was lifted off her chair. Outside the zombies break through the building’s exit like an explosion of the dead. We passed the entire road, and kept on flying in the air. We’re above the ground by two stories. We’re…we’re gonna collide with the next building!
Okay, I screamed like a pussy as well.
We blasted through the glass window of the Kuso-Doujinshi building. The van smashed through a drywall, a glass screen door and soon enough we close to the outside. The van skirted along a cobblestone walkway, the car was shaking like it was going to fall apart right there. I kicked down on the breaks and the van swung to the side and to a complete stop. We sat hyperventilating. The coast appeared to be clear.
“Okay” Rito voice was an exasperated whisper, “Did anyone mess their pants?”
Celine and I confessed to the crime in unison, “Yes”
“Okay, so I’m not alone on that one…Cool...Can we go to the camp now”
I smiled, “Yes. Lets.”
* * *
Only with a miracle and my chaotic Asian-lady driving did we make it out alive. Unfortunately the Cock Goblin’ had since lost all its lustre- I’m sorry I can’t even finish that sentence.
The van was fucked. Drenched in blood and gore – now looking like churned red slime. Beaten beyond repair. The spluttering mess of an engine left us a kilometre away from the camp. As I turned in my seat to deliver the news, I saw Celine crying into her dad’s chest. Rito, eyes tearful – face solemn, returned with the type of hug only a father could give. At first I felt the joy that a daughter and father were reunited thanks to my help. But then I realised they were crying because of the ungodly series of hand-and-foot movements I call ‘driving’. Nonetheless, after this fiasco, we were happy to walk back to the camp.
There we met a worried witless Tearju, and Mikado, whose rage could be felt in the air like an open oven. Mikado saved her anger for other means. She stated that the army would evacuate her first. Since she was a doctor, she held priority over anyone else and had arrive at the quarantine centre safely. The helicopter was reserved for the ill, crippled and their doctors. We followed her to the chopper pad.
“So if you’re leaving first, what’s going to happen to us? When are we leaving?” Rito asked
No one answered. No one answered because no one knew.
The guards blocked us off from Mikado, “Miss Mikado! Can I ask you a favour?” he called out to her. She came back. The two looked at Celine, who was holding her dad’s hand. Rito gave Celine to our former school nurse. The little girl was too feeble to reject her father’s decision. Celine had enough minor injuries to set any healthy carrier off, we were all rest assured that the little girl was uninfected. But she was still young and injured, enough to be taken in with Mikado and the crippled patients. Rito gave her a tight hug.
Celine looked at me, “Mauuu” she exclaimed in a thin tenor.
“She wants to hug you” Rito said to me, giving me a nudge with his elbow.
I nodded and gave her a soft squeeze. She smiled weakly and held onto Mikado. Celine held her hands to the chopper window as they descending in the air. She was now crying, only faking the appearance she was happy to leave. Mikado let out a few tears too. I felt like trash, she’s given us a lot of strife these past weeks, but only out of her care for care. The chopper ascended into the air and disappeared over the horizon.
“She’s gone huh” Rito muttered, “She was with me for what, ten minutes? And like that…gone.”
He was remorseful, clearly tired, he needed a hug. He looked at me surprised. I backed away. Jeez, what going through my head, haha, gosh I’m shame-
“Thanks Yui” he replied with a sleepy smile. I returned the smile with my own hazy beam. We gazed into each other’s eyes for a while. But like a villain from a horror movie Yami appeared behind me. Naturally, as any strong leading female would do…I shat myself and screamed.
“Sorry” Yami said in a particularly unconvincing manner. She spoke nonchalantly, with a Ben Stein-esque, Rei Ayanami-like tone of voice.
Thanks a lot, mood-breaker.
She was dressed in a tight black suit, some sort of weird alien uniform. Over it, was a purple fur coat, around her neck were gold chain necklaces. Her head was dressed in a gold tiara. he was holding a large flat screen TV in one arm. In her other hand, she held a DVD copies of Cool Runnings and Snow Dogs.
“Yami…where did you get all that stuff from? Where did you go?”
She pondered for a moment, “Shopping”
I suspected that asking anymore questions would lead to less answers with her, so I dropped it.
Tearju walked over to us, she wasn’t smiling.
“So…now what?” I asked her
Tearju shook her head, “You missed it. Pardon my crude language but…everything’s fucked. Our situation is more fucked than Mariah Carey’s performance at the 2016/17 New York, New Year’s Eve Show with Dick Clark”
Rito and I stared at each other, he flashed me one of those ‘did she just say that?’ kind of looks. Sure, that reference is going to be remembered in a year. I thought sarcastically.
The former teacher continued, “The captain had a conference to everyone here, and it was broadcasted on the radios too. All the soldiers and the Civilian Army have to stay and fight”
Our faces went pale. We thought we had already escaped the horde. We thought we wouldn’t have to deal with it again. But now we have to fight it full force?
“B-but that’s suicide!” Rito cried.
“I know” Tearju turned away, “Talk to the captain or one of the subordinates…” judging by her voice, I could tell she had already been defeated.
She didn’t want to be here either. I think we were all regretting the decision to not just hide away with the regular civilians…or even hold onto Mikado’s helicopter. Her attitude was akin to a dying candle, once bright and full of passion, now fizzing out. Her face told us a story, the dark circles under her eyes showed the stress that waned on her tensions. Her eyes were puffy, clearly, she had been crying. Her hands were dirty, her manicured nails were broken. She must’ve been in that fight this morning, I’m not sure what she did in that chaos after we left, but I’m sure it must’ve been rough.
I placed my hand on her shoulder, “Don’t worry Miss Tearju, we’ll be alright”, I flashed a reassuring grin.
Her eyes flashed towards me before darting away again, they began to well, “It’s bad enough dealing with another war, but seeing you kids forced into this pandemic – I just…it’s not fair. War isn’t made for children…I wouldn’t be shocked if you didn’t understand what I was talking about…” she trailed off.
I paused, come to think of it, Rito and I joined the Civ Army to get back at the enemy. We were told we would fight for our city and the Japanese livelihood. But all we’ve seemed to do is cause more chaos for the city. Maybe even kill more humans than zombies. I couldn’t reply to Tearju’s remark. Meanwhile, Rito had drifted towards Yami, who was standing at the top of a hill, surveying the city. The clouds broke away for a brief time and the even sun shined in. The beautiful light glazed over our faces.
“Hey…what did you mean, another war?” I asked
She gave me a remorseful look, “The very reason I came to earth was to avoid the constant wars in space. Everyday some galaxy seemed to anger another solar system. Earth is practically the pits of the universe. That’s why a lot of immigrants escape here. Immigrants and criminals that is.”
After a moment of thought, I said; “So…Earth is like the wild west of space?”
A small smile cracked up, a tiny chuckle, she wiped her tears away with her wrists, “You’re right, I guess I’m kind of like a cowboy here”
The siren kicked back up again, this time, its screeching cry droned into my aching head even faster than normal. It had changed its tune this time, it wasn’t a bell or alarm, it was an orchestral tune, like a battle’s rallying cry.
“I’ve never heard that music before. What does it mean?” I asked
Tearju didn’t answer my question. Instead, she turned around and opened two large camo boxes. One was packed with ammo, sniper rounds. The other…
“Holy shit!” I exclaimed
The teacher picked up a huge object; black metallic chambers, gold links of thick bullets, one giant handle at the front, one heavy trigger at the back. She grinned, “This is something we don’t have in the final frontier”
In her hands, she held a weapon that looked like it could end all wars. A mini gun. The name was of course a joke, this thing was huge!
“I recognize that!” Rito sprung up, “It’s an ‘EX-17 Heligun’!”
“That’s right” the Nurse said, “You know what that siren means, Yui Kotegawa?”
I shook my head. Her eyes grew dark with bloodlust, her grin widened. She barely looked human, but having her on our side just made my heart pump with excitement. And fear.
She laughed.
“It means it’s time to kick some serious zombie ass!”
I thought I had her all figured out, former celebrity, egocentric, vain and downright full of herself. Then I found her pack of Red Bull drinks with the ‘Bull’ scribbled out and her name ‘Blu’ scribbled over the front – then I had no idea what the hell to make of her!
The door was unlocked, open slightly ajar. It was obvious that someone had broken in. But judging by the vinyl player and the TV had not yet been stolen, it was possible that the house was affected by the initial meteor blast from twos ago. Glass scattered around the floor and the paintings were knocked over had only further proved my belief. But then my senses tensed – there were hands marks around the walls and small drips of blood laced around the hallway.
Great. Now I have a mystery. All I need now is a talking dog, a stoner and a lesbian.
Fred and Daphne can get fucked.
Interested?...
ToLoveCarnage - Chapter Six: Kill the Night: Part III: Welcome Home, Yuuki Rito
By Mister Law
A/N: Originally I was going to have a bunch of jokes here but that’ll be at the end of this chapter. I would like to dedicate this chapter to the memory of Shelsea, she was a former schoolmate of mine who tragically passed away recently. It’s been five or six years since we last met but I still feel for her and her family. Rest in Peace.
I feel that most chapters now have a tribute to a person who had passed away, which is especially ill-fitting for a fan fiction so surrounded by death. But from my perspective, this is the best way to pay tribute to another life. Immortalized in writing on the internet, you may not know about these people, or care about them, but to me, these names will be remembered as markings online for as long as the sites I upload my stories to exists.
I still believe in provide you with an entertaining story, so this chapter includes the usually brand of splatstick comedy horror that I always try to provide. I hope that you do not take offense to my content after reading my tribute. Thank you.
The door was unlocked, open slightly ajar. It was obvious that someone had broken in. But judging by the vinyl player and the TV had not yet been stolen, it was possible that the house was affected by the initial meteor blast from twos ago. Glass scattered around the floor and the paintings were knocked over had only further proved my belief. But then my senses tensed – there were hands marks around the walls and small drips of blood laced around the hallway.
Great. Now I have a mystery. All I need now is a talking dog, a stoner and a lesbian.
Fred and Daphne can get fucked.
Virtually all the glass windows were shattered or at least fractured. The TV had been knocked over but not stolen. The house was completely quiet. Yoinks scoob!
I had my sword out, but coming across the realization that such a big sword in such a little house would be a useful as a white elephant. I had completely ran out of bullets as well. I hadn’t checked upstairs but I still deemed it safe to go yelling about. Jinkies!
Okay I’ll stop.
“Celine! Chihiro!” I yelled out. To recap, Celine is my adopted daughter and Chihiro is her babysitter. There was no reply. I felt hesitant to look for them. I knew I might not be happy with what I’d see. This sword was really riling me up with its uselessness. The Yuuki family sword! I remembered my family had an antique katana hanging up in a corridor. It was a family heirloom. I maneuverer around each room careful, eyeing every nook and cranny to make sure nothing was waiting for me. The sword was still hanging up in a wooden frame. I opened the case the back and revealed a beautiful red leather sheath. I pulled out the red hilt and found that the blade was coated in dust, but a quick wipe with a dishcloth and it looked good as new. Unfortunately, the piece of trash was blunt. Completely unusable. The tip was mildly sharp, but I doubt it could’ve even poke someone’s eyeball out.
I creeped through the house, katana ready for a jab. I turned around the short corner, I would now enter the kitchen. My mind seemed to be playing tricks on me, I saw shadows. Shadows of friends I once new.
I swallowed hard and jumped around the corner and-
“Oh, hey Rito, what’s that sword for?”
It was…Lala. My friend, the alien princess. She was dressed casually, long hair tied into a ponytail.
“Oh…nothing, I…I don’t know why I even…”
I noticed the kitchen was its usually messy self. Leave a bunch of kids alone to a house for themselves and it was only obvious that dishes would pile up until someone finally got sick of the mess and would clean it up… Another girl walked into the room, it was Nana, wrapped up in a towel, still clinging to her thin body from the shower.
“…up”
Hmm, what was that? A sound echoed around the room.
“Hey Lala, where is-?” Nana said, she turned to see me staring, “What are you gawking at, you dog?”
“Wake…”
“Well?” Nana said. I still stood in the corner, sword in hand, I should be reacting, but instead I’m still.
“Wake up…”
Every girl I knew was suddenly in the kitchen. Haruna, Rin, Aya, Ren, Risa, Mea – all of them were here in this room. Blood in their eyes.
“Wake up, Rito!”
Wait…these girls…they…
“WAKE UP! WAKE UP! WAKE UP! WAKE UP!”
…are dead.
They are all dead.
A stream of heat burns my forehead. Cold blood trickles down my eyes.
“Gah!” I breathe out, and collapse to the floor. I gaze up to the kitchen. It’s empty. No one is here. Just me. The dishes are all scattered over the benches and the floor, most cracked. The kitchen is wrecked up. When I rub my forehead I find my dirty fingers smeared in blood.
I must’ve gone through the same thing as Yui. Dazing into a dream. A hallucination. To break myself out of it, I whacked my head with the flat end of the sword.
I lavished my cut with some Band-Aids I found in the medicine box under the kitchen sink. Inside the fridge were a jug of water and some cans of Red Tick Beer. Fuck it. Against my better judgement I skulled down a can, I felt like I really needed one. Because I wasn’t a huge pussy, the effects didn’t hit me as hard as I thought it would.
I tossed the family katana on the kitchen island and searched the room for any supples. I gathered the sharpest knives and any tools I thought might come in handy. I found some masking tape, spare AAA, AA and D batteries. A couple of flashlights. My phone charger and…my phone. I had left it here when I went to school that fateful day. My heart skipped a beat. I opened the cheap Nokia phone and found several missed calls and messages.
“Oh my god” I spoke out loud.
One was from my sister, Mikan, several from mum and dad and the last one…from Nana.
Nana. She is dead now. I still hadn’t fully registered that in my head yet. Too many worries had consumed me recently to even acknowledge some of my friends passing’s. No. Not passings. Murders.
I started with Nana. I breathed in deeply, exhaled, and then I pressed ‘PLAY’.
There were the sounds of screaming in the background, explosions, and other sounds I couldn’t make out. “Rito!” it was Nana’s trembling, frightened voice, “Rito! Where are you-…Why aren’t you picking up? Please Rito just let me know you’re safe [INAUDIBLE] –what to say…If I don’t see you…I- Oh god no…Just remember me and Momo always love you…and Mikian and Celine and everyone else and…oh god, I don’t know whats going on! I’m sorry I was a jerk to you sometimes and I-”
The message cut out. The message bank cut off her final words. My knees quivered and I collapsed into a chair. I wasn’t crying but glad I was sitting down. My world span for a moment before returning to normal.
“Okay…” I said, and gulped, “Next Message”
This was from my dad, there were the sounds of those zombies near him. “Rito! You’re not answering your phone! Please for gods sake just answer! Listen, when you get this message, take Mikian and Celine with you to the army. People online said they have a shelter of some sorts...
[by now the zombies roars came closer. The sound of wood was breaking, perhaps this was door?]
and, hey, I love you all, tell that to your mum too. Don’t come looking for me, these…things. They’ll…I guess they’ll kill me. Don’t come to the office because…yeah. I’m going to die. I love you Rito…Goodbye” Beep. Beep. Beep.
My hand grasped my mouth. I dropped the phone onto the island. Dad…was dead. He was a mangaka artist who usually slept at his office. His office was in the heart of the city. Hence why he wasn’t home. If he was here…maybe…maybe he could’ve had a fighting chance. He might possibly be a…one of…them now.
My hands shook as I gripped a glass of water and brought the warm liquid to my mouth.
My friends, my family. They died. And those who could speak, the ones who could give one last message…they’re last words were not of hate or regret. But of love. The love I didn’t appreciate until it was too late. It dropped me into an abyss of depression, a pit of anger. I couldn’t help but scream as I cried.
I cried again and again until the feelings were all out. Then I noticed the last message on my phone. I tightened my grip on the phone and clicked on Mikian’s message. I begged to god to let my sister be safe.
“Big Bro! Please, please, please call me back when you get this. I heard your school was attacked! You know my number. My school’s been evacuated. The army’s shown up! Please just call me back to let you know your safe…I spoke to dad and…just call me back”
I found myself nodding along. I did what she said and called her back.
No answer.
“Fuck!” I screamed. I threw a plate across the room. It obliterated into a thousand pieces and dropped a portrait of a sad clown to the floor. Fuck that clown. I didn’t care.
I clicked on the last message. From mum. The message was completely inaudible. People screaming. Sirens going off, gunfire, explosions. Then the sound of something cataclysmic overtook the phone call and it cut off.
I took my chances and called her back. The phone rang for a solid minute.
Then…
“Bonjour?” a feminine voice piped up.
I didn’t know how to react. This was definitely my mother’s voice. She began to speak in French.
“…m-mum?” I said
Silence.
“R-Rito…Oh my god!” she replied, “Rito! Wait! Change to video call!”
“Yeah!” I switched the call to video. There was my mum. Her eyes were bright even though the circles around them were grey. She wiped her teary eyes and cracked a smile so large I don’t think I had ever seen before. Her hair lack its artificially dyed flair but it was nothing too unfashionable. That was true to her nature, even in the most dire of situations she had to look stylish. After all, that was the way of a fashion designer.
“Oh Rito. I’m so glad” she barely could speak without crying. I realised I was crying too.
“What happened to you?” I said
She explained that she was visiting a small village in France for her job. But Paris, along with large scales of Eastern and Northen Europe, were decimated by meteorites. She was in one of the justly titled ‘Lucky Zones’ – small miles of land left untouched by the larger meteorites or the thereafter infections. She called my phone during what the French called “La Fin” a.k.a. ‘The End’. This was when she was escaping the growing chaos. The end of the phone call had a small meteorite blowing up in the sky before impact. The army was quick to combat the zombie hordes. She mentioned something about a strange organization called PUDA and she was now in one of their quarantine centres. I had to break the bad news. I had no idea what happened to Mikian or Celine. But I knew what happened to the others.
I had no idea how long we talked for, it felt like hours but was probably minutes. I told her about the Million Man Horde approaching Saipan and she told me to hurry up and get back to army. She also used a variety of colourful expletives that I never thought I would hear her say, let alone call me for engaging in such a dangerous task. I decided to not reflect on being forced to kill the zombies, or the other survivors, but somehow I think she had an idea of what I’ve had to do.
“I love you, Rito” she said softly
“I love you too, mum” I whimpered
She promised that she would either come back to Japan or bring me to Europe. Whichever would be more safe. I made a small joke about France having better wine and I felt that eased the mood a bit. We said our goodbyes and hang up.
I checked out the basement door. It was locked, and this time, properly boarded up. I knocked on the door. There was no answer. Even after saying my name. This meant I had two dead bodies in there…or two undead bodies.
Like a kid procrastinating from writing his assignment, I decide that I wanted to go upstairs instead of deal with the basement. There were no signs of damage upstairs. I entered Lala, Momo and Nana’s shared room. The room was messy, just like how they left it. On their desk was a small white cube. It emitted a soft blue glow around its edges. It looked all clean and futuristic like it fell out of Steve Job’s ass. This was Lala’s ‘Recordy-cordy-kun’. An alien tape recorder. On the top was a sticky note that read, ‘LALA DEVILUKE – TO RITO’.
After everything that happened today - the phone calls, the fight at Yui’s place, the fight at the base, waking up with Yui, hell the turmoil that came about last night with that fucking explosion – all of that stress pent up within me was starting to burst. So it was at that point that I decided Lala’s message, even though it would be her final, could wait. In my mind I was already telling myself, ‘she’s dead, the message can wait’. It was disgusting behaviour, I know, but every man has his breaking point and I simply didn’t care anymore. As I had cleared out the rooms upstairs, all I wanted to know now what was in the basement. I didn’t even care if I found Celine dead or alive, I just needed to know the answer.
But what I really wanted now was a rest, and put all that stress behind me. I just wanted a beer or a smoke, I didn’t normally do even of those things, but I wanted something to relieve me of this stress.
Music blasted through the house. I jumped in shock and whipped my head towards the door. Out the door and down the stairs and into the lounge room, a vinyl player had turned on. It was one of the few English speaking songs I knew the words to.
“it's a fine day
people open windows
they leave their houses
just for a short while
they walk by the grass
and they look at the grass
and they look at the sky
it's going to be a fine night tonight
it's going to be a fine day tomorrow”
‘It’s a fine day’ by Miss Jane. My dad played it whenever he worked at home before he opened up his studio downtown. It was a simple song, happy and calm. But the sudden appearance of the strange sounds gave off a whole new eerie tone. Goose-bumps formed on my arms, my hands were clammy and began to shake.
“Oh for gods sake” I moaned, “not this again!”
I readied the family sword (even though I knew it would do nothing), and stepped forwards. My sleeve got caught on something. It was the knob to Lala’s closet. The closet opened up as I shook my sleeve away. On all shelves were various trinkets and gadgets that belonged to Lala. Maybe they’d might come in handy?
My eyes flashed to all corners of my vision as I took each step downstairs with a slow, careful pace. There in my living room, was Chihiro. She had her back turned away from me. Her twin tails were bloodied. Actually her whole form was, the blood blended into her red dress.
“Ch-Chihiro?” I asked, it came out like a whisper.
“It looks like your safe, Rito. Thank goodness” she replied
I paused. “Chihiro why aren’t you turning around?” I asked
Chihiro giggled and turned around. I prepared to see something ghastly. But her face was clean, toned in make-up even. “You good?” she asked
“…yeah. I guess so.” I replied, “Where’s Celine?”
She glanced to the side in melancholically, “She’s…in the basement Rito”
“Wh-” I began, but she cut me off
“I just feel…so…restricted. By this clothing-”
“Emi. What did you do to Celine?” My heart was racing, my speech was becoming frantic.
Chihiro danced around the question by ignoring it. The blood on her dress and her hands became more predominate. Her speech began to slowly divulge into a rant, “You see Rito, I was wondering how long it would take you to get back. I mean, it was fine for the first week, there was enough food for two people. Enough furniture to block the doors. But then a week came by. You and Mikian and Lala and Nana and Momo’s phones were all buzzing and hollering and hootin’ but would never shut up, right? I did the good thing, stuck em’ up on the charger, just waitin’ for you guys to come home. But you guys didn’t-”
I was ready to draw my sword, “Chihiro…If you did something to Celine, I swear to god I will-”
“-Well after a week I had nothing left, so I locked Celine up in the basement…or is that down…I don’t know” she laughs, more screeches, actually. Like a harpy.
“Get to the fucking point Chihiro, I will murder you if you hurt Celine!” I scream, I whip out the sword and point it at her. She blinks. Gives no reaction. My threats are empty to her.
She continues, “Then one day I met a dog. He was a good boy. But then he scratched up his paws. Then he got angry at me. Then he bit me. He wasn’t a very good boy to be honest. Now…I just feel…I feel”
She kicked off her shoes. Though I was confused, I didn’t dare lose my composure. In one sweep, she pulled off her dress and stripped completely naked. Her body was slender and pale. She was definitely attractive. Okay, now I lost my composure. That is, until she started screaming, “Gah! Not good enough, not good enough. Aaaaagggh!”
She dug her nails deep into her skin and pulled. She ripped off chunks of her skin!
She was ripping herself to pieces!
Bile bubbled in my stomach and came up. I puked in my mouth. I was terrified on the outside, but inside my head I moaned, Oh for god sake, I can’t catch a break, can’t I?
I straightened the sword, shifted my stance – I remembered what I learned in kendo class – I leapt forwards. Chihiro’s body exploded when I got close. Organs became tentacles. Ribs became teeth. He skin darkened to a soy bean black colour. A shit-stain black.
The abomination grabbed me and lifted me into its ‘mouth’. I struggled but couldn’t find my footing. The sword dropped to her feet. I grasped onto anything I could. I got a hold of the ribs. She tried to munch me through. With all my strength I pushed. And pushed I did – until I broke and warped the monster’s body apart. I fell to the floor as the abomination howled.
“Fuck this!” I bolted to the kitchen. There was the back door and-
Chihiro was there. She looked completely fine now. She still had her clothes on.
“…What?” I whispered
She just laughed, fat blood spewing from her gurgling throat. In her hand she held a thick carving knife. I didn’t give her a chance to act. I ran in the other direction. She wasn’t at the record player anymore, there was just bloody remains and my sword. I picked up the sword and found her face – a centimetre away from mine – grinning. She was on the roof! She grabbed me by the head and tossed me into the record player as if I were a ragdoll.
Smashing through the glass cabinet, crimson obscurers my vision. I moaned in response.
“Ah ah ah ah Stayin’ Alive Stayin’ Alive” the record player sang.
Chihiro flipped back to the floor. I grabbed her ankle and pull it forwards. I snapped her bones and she crumpled to the floor screaming. Mercilessly, I grasped her thigh in one hand, and strangled her with the other. I position myself to my TV.
“Welcome to Prime Time, Bitch!” I screamed and torpedoed her into the flat screen monitor.
I bolted to the front door. The knob shook in my hands, someone’s reflection shown through the frosted glass. I shot a look back at the TV. Chihiro was gone! As I leapt to the closest thing I saw – the stairs, the entire door exploded in wood and glass. It was as if a cannon struck it let alone a small framed woman. I bolt upstairs and into Lala’s room. As soon as I turned around, Chihiro was already behind me, smiling through toothless gums. She lunged forward and took me by the shoulders – dirty nails digging into my skin. I grabbed her hands and rolled forward. Kicking her torso, she was propelled straight into Lala’s cabinet. The white cupboard shines and squeals with the sounds of gadgets setting off.
“Ka-Roooo!” Something animalistic boomed from inside the cupboard.
Some sort of monstrous boar broke out and threw Chihiro across the room. She broke the dry wall and her body hung limp off the ground. No doubt this creature was an alien. I narrowly dodged the alien’s five horns. The beast smashed into the dry wall on the other side of the room. Fell limp right next to Chihiro. It was rather comical. It could only let out grunts of rage.
I realised what just happened. Momo’s animal teleporter device was just set off. The white metalitic donut shaped box was a prototype Lala made and gave to her sister for her birthday last year.
As the two monsters were squirming out of their respective holes. I pulled out random oddly shaped devices from the broken cupboard. With an inflated ego boost, I pulled out a device that looked like a rocket launcher. The boar glared at me, snorted, exhuming steam from its orifices. It was so angry steam was literally coming out of its ears. It charged. I aimed the gun at it, I made a silent prayer to god and pressed the trigger. For a moment, nothing happened. No buzz, no laser beams, nothing. I looked at the device to see if it still works. Meanwhile, the boar had stopped in its tracks. With a twitch of its eye, it collapsed and roared in agony. Smoke puffed out of every nostril, its ears and tear duct in its body. Smoke seeped through its skin pours! When the cloud dissipated all that was left of the alien was the lifeless corpse of the beast. Its entire body had been pulled inside out. Guts and all. I turned to Chihiro. She was gone.
Fuck!
A hum came from the bathroom. I found the woman was ready to ascend into a green portal she had set up in the shower. The device was Lala’s Warp-Warp-Teleport-kun device. A machine that travels into anywhere in the universe. On the other side I could see the vacuum of space, and a gigantic metal object passing by in the far distance. The sight was amazing. I would have loved to enter that UFO. But then I remembered that Chihiro wants to enter that UFO. She’ll want to infect everyone on that ship, then infect the universe!
“Don’t...You…Dare”
She grinned and hopped in.
She didn’t wait for me to act. I couldn’t chase her. With no ideas left, I threw the family sword. It glided through the air, whizzing past her head. The sword jammed itself into the rotors in the back of the Warp-warp machine. The mechanism cut off and Chihiro was left on Earth.
Actually, that’s half-correct.
Half her body was left splattered all over the bathroom stall. Like a vertical Black Dahlia. The other half had set its course for outer space and was now completely missing. The family sword was shattered into a ton of metal pieces. Though this was no longer my friend, I still felt like I had to pay her some respect. I made a half-hearted promise to burn her to ashes if I found the gas for it. But even still, the truth was depressing. I’d need the gas more myself.
* * *
Rain began to sprinkle down and the darkening clouds slowly crawled over the red evening sun. Great. Dealing with a horde is one problem, but I haven’t dealt with them in the rain before. There’s so little I know about these creatures, who knows what they could manage with this weather.
I knew I was taking way too long. Yui would be getting worried about me and the Million Man Horde could be only mere minutes away. Time was of the essence and certainly was not on my side. I took out my phone before realising I no longer had her number. Damn. Once upon a time I did have it, but after a few sketchy mishaps with Lala’s devices and her sisters messing with my phone I decided it would be best to delete her number. I’m just glad she’s forgiven me for all of that.
I gathered whatever resources I found from the garage. A hammer, nails, a few metres of rope, roman candles, matches, a flash light, highly flammable lawnmower fuel, weed killer and some random blunt objects like a baseball bat and golf clubs. I tried to take it all but realised that, unlike games like GTA, I can’t carry a hundred objects at once. I roped around the baseball bat and the Gerry Can full of lawnmower fuel and a few random necessities. I used the hammer to pick at the nails and bust down the door. The basement was completely dark inside. Only the sound of taps dripping.
“Celine?” I called out.
No answer. I lit a candle, I decided they would be more of a burden to carry around than running out of batteries for a flash light.
“Celine? It’s daddy here. Come on out sweetie”
In one hand was the candle, the other, a baseball bat. Just in case. Even if Celine was…was one of them. I still would kill her. Her death would be out of love, to prevent infecting others. Yeah. That’s what I kept telling myself.
“Celine, I’m here…to rescue you”
Realising my getup, leather clothing, like something out of Mad Max, dressed in shades of dark blood and dirt, accompanied by a candle – wax dripping down my glove, and a Louisville Slugger Baseball Bat - how creepy I must’ve looked! It would be a better idea to just drop the bat. I ventured deeper into the basement. The candle flames licked at my fingers. The wax gently scorching down on my gloves. It looked like white lava, soft and precious, yet fiery and destructive. That was the least of my worries, there were so many boxes and shelves and junk around here. Plus being in the dark, I knew it would be hard to find my girl if she was scared to come out.
The light softly illuminated the room, it gave off a better range than a flashlight. If something was waiting to pounce on me, it would have a hard time trying to hide from this light. Alas, a small framed figure was whole up in a corner.
It was my Celine, as soon as she saw the flame, she turned away in fear. I could only hear her whimper. I crouched to one knee and whispered softly, “Celine. Its daddy. I’m here now”.
She looked at me with big, red, teary eyes. The candle appeared to hurt her eyes so I strayed it away from her face. Although, I could see she had a pillow from the lounge with her and her teddy.
“Pa…pa” her words were prolonged by her lingering breath.
She only could cry. Her whole body was filthy - hair messy – clothes soiled. The flower that protrude from her head looked a shade rotten. I begged to any higher being to let my Celine be okay. She turned her head away at the sight of the candle, it was stuck in the dark cell for long enough to have her eyes adjusted to the darkness. Her eyes, though had tired dark circles underneath, were still that beautiful blue eyes. I scooped her up. I embraced her tightly. A warm hug from her dad. She returned the hug, she’s never squeezed me so tight. This embrace had a darker cause though. If she was one of the monsters, pressing her close to my leather jacket would prevent her from biting me. I had to make sure she wasn’t a healthy carrier.
“I’m sorry kiddo, this is for your own good” I muttered
I took out a knife and gave her a small nick on her leg. She cried in pain. I held her even tighter.
Just thirty seconds my mind kept racing. I looked at my watch. A whole minute passed and her crying died down.
“C-Celine” my voice quivered.
Oh no…Oh god please no.
She was quiet.
My whole body quivered in fear.
“Daddy, it hurts.” her quiet voice cried
I collapsed to the ground, I felt like my very essence just died. She cried out again.
“I’m sorry baby, I’ll explain everything when we get out of here and back to safety” I replied
I laid her down and pulled a medical bandage out of my back pocket. I ripped off a small piece with my teeth and wrapped it around her leg. I feared the incision may had pierced her too deeply. I only wanted to cut the skin, not cause a laceration into her muscle. For now, in the heat of the moment, I could not tell. To detect a healthy carrier, the body needed to be ‘shocked’ for the virus to change the person into a zombie.
Tears swelled up as I noticed how poor of shape she was, her feet were bare and black and the stink of an abused dog lingered around her – my daughter was half dead. No child deserved such horrible treatment. She looked like she may have starved as well. Actually, scratch that, with Chihiro gone, there’s no doubt she starved. I did not know how long she had been left here. She had cans of food she clearly could not open since she was a toddler. She also had packets of biscuits and now-spoiled food from the fridge around her. That’s what she’d been living off this past two weeks. As my nerves calmed, I could breathe in deeply, but this made me close to spewing from seeing this disgusting array. I decided I’d take her outside where I could examine her further - and get some fresh air.
“Come on dear, let’s go. You’re safe now.” I reassured her.
I wasn’t sure if she was listening. She just wept softly into my jacket. Footsteps entered the room. My eyes darted towards the stairs. There stood a black figure.
I blinked. It was gone.
I muttered, “Lets get the hell outta here”
I readjusted the candle to my other hand, its light dimming from when I dropped on the floor, swallowed up by wax. The light was shown over empty shelves were cans of food used to be, a leaking drain pipe and a cup (maybe Celine was using that to drink out of?). In another corner was a pile of…
That’s disgusting.
It was a pile of shit. Jesus Christ. My poor baby Celine had to do this? Fucking hell. Just…fuck. I couldn’t fucking take this stress anymore! Fuck this house, fuck this town and fuck the apocalypse. Screw you guys. I’m going home…oh wait. Never mind, Screw this home, I’m leaving…to go! The candle waved its light on the stairs. A rotten corpse greeted me with bad breath and a wicked smile. It stood an inch from my face. It was so disfigured that I couldn’t even tell its gender.
“Haaaa” it moaned, its breath was a sticky hot wind.
“Oh fuck!” I screamed and dropped to the floor, Celine was still holding onto my jacket.
The Roman candle seared my fingers. I yelled, dropping it once more and fell to the ground, fizzling out. The light from outside was the only thing I could see, and even that was dark. I saw a shadow lunge towards me. I rolled over and shoved my daughter out to the side. I could only hear her yell, and land with a thud. The zombie must’ve fell to the ground too, its growls came from underneath me. I had two options, try to find my flashlight, and risk an immediate attack, or fight in the dark and still risk an immediate attack. My hands dart to the ground and I found the bundle of fleshy pulps that were the zombie. I found its head and body. Toppling onto its chest, I reached for my phone, its light shining below. I had a fear that I had just landed on my daughter like an idiot. No I was correct, I had landed on the demon. It buckled down and bounced. It attempts to throw me off were futile. I squashed its body, my ankles elapsed its biceps. Luckily, zombies, or at least this one, were not great fighters. They were rabid animals. They had strength in numbers. It was a miracle I could survive for this long. But now, in these two weeks I was no longer a child, I was now a man, I was a soldier, a hero, a murderer, a mercy killer, a friend, a pacifist, and a coward. I had become all of these things in one way or another. But now, the guilt of killing a long-time friend and babysitter has swelled up my senses and made me numb - seeing my daughter tortured like this has destroyed my perception of mercy - and being forced to kill the parents of the one friend that still cares for me has given me a new status.
Behold! Below me is the mindless animal that feeds. Above, I holla - I am the human that destroys. I am God. I grasp this faux-human’s head with my fingers – nerves pounding.
I scream an unearthly chant, “I am the conductor of the choir of death! Witness me! Sing! I will make you sing! Sing!”
I grabbed the cunt’s head, picked it up and slammed it on the concrete ground. Again! Again! The zombie sang in its moans.
“Sing! Sing!” I demanded
“Aaaaaggghhh!” My zombie sang.
“Sing!”
I kept on ramming its head into the pavement. Its head caved in. Brains rolled out. An indoor pool of blood was installed in the basement. My poor friend could not sing anymore. I desired to help him, even if he couldn’t, his body could still make noise!
I punched its face - head bouncing. Its face squished and sploshed and made funny faces. I kept on screaming with the zombie’s final moans. I punched it again and again. I punched it once more and my knuckles cracked on the concrete. Then I sang in relief! I decided that was enough. I soon returned to reality. My daughter cried in terror. I breathed in deeply and looked at my fists, in the cell phone light I could see I was drenched in blood. The blood that dripped over the phone has gave the light a hellish red tinge.
I was no longer a child, I was a monster.
My daughter was still crying. Then my eyes widened. The Million Man Horde had arrived. I shoved the extinguished candle and phone back into my pocket. I picked up Celine, she was too weak to reject me. I ran up the stairs. Outside, already a mob of zombies had arrived. The Million Man Horde was already here. And they got in my house because I forgot to close the door. I forgot to lock the door. I forgot to lock the fucking door and zombies are in my house. They stood in the entrance and more lurked throughout the house. I grabbed my gun off the ground next to the door. I was temporarily hidden by the darkness. I unloaded my last three bullets into one single zombie. The first shot missed and the second got him in the shoulder, the third finally killed him.
“God…” I moaned
I slammed the door tight and locked it. That lock would do nothing as the demons would just break the whole thing down soon. I ran downstairs and found the light switch. The room buzzed on, Celine cried out as her eyes were blasted with light. The door was being bashed on multiple monsters. I collapsed into an old wicker chair, Celine on my lap. In the light, she could see me, doused in blood and gore. Her eyes rolled to the back of her head and she fainted. Her head gently resting on my stomach.
After a moment of silence, I couldn’t help but laugh. I just needed to go inside, raid the house, and collect my daughter. But how many fights have I been in just today? How many people have tried to kill me today? I couldn’t comprehend the answer, nor could I have cared. All that was certain was…
A/N: Wow what a chapter! What’ll happen next? Also, the song “It’s a Fine Day” was also popularised by the infamous ‘haunted Kleenex curse advertisement’. It was played alongside actress Keiko Matsuzaka who was playing around with Kleenex tissues with a baby Oni demon. It was a super creepy ad, and a poor attempt at associating ‘calamity’ or ‘peace’ with their product. Google it, its pretty creepy. Unpleasant dreams!
- The following comments were originally to be placed at the beginning of this chapter. -
A/N: Because of how long it took to write this chapter, the following author’s notes are progressively outdated.
Happy Halloween! Sadly, I was dealing with my last slog of uni assignments before I finished my degree. Also dedicated to Harambe. Rest in bananas, sweet prince. I’ll remember you when I eat my Gorilla Munch Cereal and whenever I feel like whipping it’ out.
I’ve been reading through other ToLoveRu fanfics, I’m proud to say that I deviate from the rest of the crowd. I possibly hold the record for Toloveru fanfic with the most swearing and the the highest body count. Also the first writer to have Yui Kotegawa use the “Cunt” as a catchphrase. Truly a high point in my life. Oh, and also the first Zombie Toloveru fic. I think theres another one but it’s in Spanish so I can’t read it. L
I can’t believe this monster project has consumed four years of my life (writing the first book before I even came to Uni, and planning it out back in high school!). Now I’m about to graduate. I wonder how long it’ll be till books three and four are completed?
The book signing was a disaster, three punch ups, a million threats and arguments and two times the police showed up, how could I possibly describe it in a way that’d make sense to you?
Well theres three types of book authors, popular ones, cult ones and niche ones. I was the latter of the three.
Popular ones have reviewers that either love or hate their work. Cult authors may be dismissed by most, but still gain that small loyal following, and then theirs niche authors. My fans, though they fund my works, absolutely hate me. They dismiss every plot development and every piece of dialogue as the signs of an ageing old hack. And then theres the fan boys, I used to write memoirs of sport stars. Now I've been writing geeky fantasy novels ever since the first industry went to bust. No one read book anymore, except nerds. Yet for the sport fan, they didn’t approve of this change, they despise it with a burning passion.
The manager couldn't possibly wait to get me out of the store come closing time. I had done nothing wrong, or at least that was what he said, but my fan's nerd-to-jock ratio forced the police to come and break up two separate fights.
My car was behind the building, the dusk sunset brought a grotty orange haze that gleamed between the alleyways of this city. At my red Mercedes Benz were four men, all leaning on it. They were bulky and didn’t look like the friendliest of hoodlums. Still, having the tenacity to lean their greasy asses on my car royally ticked off.
"Oi!" I yelled, the car beeped with the press of my car key.
They look at me, "Well well well, it’s the traitor"
Oh Christ It was these guys, they got in a fight with a group of cosplayers, then a fight with the cops and somehow manage to run away. There were six of them before, the other two were probably arrested.
"You put Roscoe and Max in jail, bro. We just wanted an autograph y'know, but you seemed to care more about your little butt buddies instead of your real fans" said a man with a sleeveless jacket and barbed wire tatts.
I didn't want to give them the satisfaction of a reaction.
I try to grimace and look menacing, "Get off my car or I'll call the cops" They look at each other, then at me, their skin all grows a shade darker of raging vehemence. They didn't speak any further, they didn't have to. The first guy jumped and pushed me over. My neck hit the curb funny, the evening sun seemed to turn to a pitch black night in an instant. But there were no stars. The pain hit my neck so a brief moment, like an electric shock. Then I began to feel a cool breeze flow across my brow. It took a moment to realise my eyes were shut this whole time!
I opened my eyes and found myself somewhere extraordinary. It was a grassy knoll, but close to the edge of a cliff. Beyond me were valleys upon mountains upon rivers. It was the most beautiful site I've ever witnessed. I knew I had never been there before, but somehow it looked familiar. I was now dressed in an Atlanta Falcons NFL Jersey.
"Wh-what?" I said, picking at the white stitching of the jersey. I was wearing black shorts, long white sports socks and black Nike Air Jordans.
I walked up to the top of the hill and found a tall man looking at the other side. I approached him, but before I could speak he did instead, "It’s a beautiful site, I'll admit"
"Who are you?" I asked with a jitter. He let out a low laugh and turned around. I could recognise this face through smoke. It was the protagonist of one of my memoirs.
"Shaquille O'neal!" I exclaimed
"That's right, its me. This is heaven, everything you imagined was created in this world." I smiled, this was amazing. Ever since I was a kid, I've always wanted to meet the character I created.
"All I have to say is..." he began. He put his large hands on my shoulders, I felt like a hobbit in comparison to the tall man. "...is that you're a FUCKING NERD!"
He knees my in the dick, my tiny balls explode on impact. I crumple to the ground.
"That's right, you're a nerd. You wrote books on sports stars, I was hanging with the greats. Magic Johnson, Ronaldo, Cathy Freeman, Rafael Nadal. But now I have to deal with fuckin' nerd shit. Like mutherfucking dragons, little hobbit people and some chick called 'Princess Nina' keeps following me trying to do battle. I don't even know why man!"
Princess Nina was a warrior princess who scours her world slaying giants with the hope of one day finding the giant that ate her groom on the day of her wedding.
"She keeps trying to stab me man!" he yelled
"Halt there! You giant scum!" A voice boomed through the air.
A shadow overwhelmed both of us and a dragon was in the sky. It bowed its head and aimed toward us. We both screamed as it suddenly morphed into a woman of a small stature. She aimed for Shaq's head and hit the target dead centre.
"Gah!" he screamed and hit the ground hard, "This is worse than working on Kazaam!"
He rolled down the hill and out of site. The woman stared down at me, "Art thou wounded, old man?" she said in a voice that boasted valour.
"Y-yeah, I will be" I replied
She took me by the hand to help me up.
"Wait, I know who you are" she said
Suddenly Shaq came back, "Wait!" he said
We turned toward him.
"Why are we fighting?" he said
"Because you are a giant" she replied
"That man wrote us into this stupid world, he would've killed your man too!"
She paused, then stared at me. "You are right" she said, "Lets kick his butt!"
"Uh oh" I said
And then they kicked my ass to no end. But that was the beginning of a new adventure. But for now, this is.
You Should Subscribe Here Now: http://bit.ly/VErZkw Did you hear about Macaulay Culkin and his pals singing pizza-themed Velvet Underground covers? Director:...
the fine folks at the coca-cola company made a website where we can create our own gifs with their coca-cola logo on them, and the gifs we create are going to help the coca-cola people sell a lot of their beverage i’m sure
