Yet another new story idea, one I haven't seen for Shugo Chara so I thought I'd give it a try. Welcome to the land of the living dead.
In the Flesh
"The dead should stay dead."
Chapter One: Virus
It all started with a noise coming from the kitchen that had awaked Amu Hinamori. At the time Amu hadn't taken much consideration into getting up and checking what the noise actually was. Being half asleep also didn't seem to help, but what shortly fallowed after was a loud crash of glass that had Amu up in her bed immediately. Pulling her bed covers off herself, Amu placed her feet on the freezing floor. Cautiously she opened her door that lead into the hallway, just as a scream and yelling irrupted from down stairs.
"Tsumugu!" Amu heard her mother scream, a scream that sent shivers down the pinkette's spin. She didn't hesitate to run down the stairs, only to freeze in her spot horrified. There in the kitchen were stains of crimson, Tsumugu on the floor with Midori holding a towel to his neck. Besides them was the neighbor, Anna, a young adult- about twenty five maybe, not much older than Amu herself. Anna's head was bashed in, skull was broken and the murder weapon laid besides her father who was whispering something to her mother.
"I love you, Midori. Please let me go." Tsumugu whispered so lowly that Amu had to strain to understand. What was going on? Amu didn't understand, but only watched as her mother picked up something that laid besides her. Amu felt as if this was a nightmare because Midori placed the end of the barrel of her father's revolver to Tsumugu's forehead.
"I love you too, Tsumugu-koi." Midori whispered through her tears, closing her eyes as she pulled the trigger. A yelp escaped Amu's lips, causing Midori to whip her head around to look at her eldest daughter, who had no doubt witness everything.
"Are you crazy?" Amu asked, just above a broken whisper. She was shaking in fear as Midori stood up, clothing soaked in Tsumugu's blood. Her mother snapped, that was it. Amu tried to rationalize every possible reason, but no made sense. Why had Midori killed Tsumugu? Or why hadn't he fought back?
"Amu-Chan, please listen to me- I can't explain right now but you need to go get Ami, while I grab food. We need to leave." Midori begged for her daughter to understand, to listen just this once, but of course Amu wouldn't. Not when she witnessed a murder.
"Why? So the police won't catch you? Mama- you just shot Papa in the head. What reason do you have?" Amu interrogated, golden eyes cold towards her mother.
Midori sighed, "No Amu, that isn't it at all. You see Anna there?" Midori pointed a finger to the dead blond. "She was infected by a virus, and she bit your father. Your father didn't want to become that Amu, so I did him a favor."
Amu eyes widen, no longer doubting that her mother had lost her sanity. Infected by a virus through a bit, shooting Tsumugu in the head. Her mother believed in zombies where real, that Anna had been a flesh eating monster. They weren't real, nor would they ever be real. Not to Amu's logical mindscape, but here her mother was all stained in blood holding a gun and claiming so.
"You killed them Mama." Amu said cautiously, as if Midori was a dangerous stranger.
"Amu, I want you to quietly look out the window, and tell me what you see. "Midori says, moving aside for Amu to walk.
Amu walked quickly to the widow, careful to not step in the pool of blood on the floor. Which she didn't successfully do since blood was all over and so she still turned her white sock red. Amu noticed Midori on high alert and watching the window while Amu peaked out. Amu felt as if she could faint. People were yelling on the street, running and honking car horns, causing these other people- things, to fallow growling. On the street men and woman were being torn apart by children digging their nails into them and violently pulling their organs out. It was a frenzy that left Amu feeling nausea.
"You're serious…" Amu whispered with disbelief. Never once had she believed in zombies or vampires or werewolves- all fictional character. So were the shugo chara's, but Amu believed in them, hell she had four of them until they went back into the eggs cradle along with the others. Now here zombies were.
"Go get your sister Amu. We need to leave soon." Midori says gently.
Amu shook her head, "Aren't we safer here?"
"No Amu-chan. We are sitting ducks." Midori said seriously, going into the kitchen. Amu took that as her cue to go upstairs to get Ami. Distantly she heard the vibration of her phone, and quickly she went into her room to see that it was a group phone call. Quickly she answered.
"This isn't the time to talk." Amu says, rushing to Ami's room.
"Amu! Thank god you answered!" That was Utau, who was currently with Ikuto.
"We were worried, you hadn't answered." Rima lightly sobbed. "I'm with Nagihiko, he came and got me after an attack on his house- my parents are gone."
"Rima, please suck it up. This is not the time." Utau snapped through the speakers.
"That's a little insensitive Utau." Amu said, grabbing a bag and shoving Ami's clothing into it with her favorite stuff animal.
"Tadase, who's with you?" Utau ignored Amu.
"Kukai and Yaya." Tadase answered.
Utau got straight to the point, "Okay, listen closely. In twenty minutes my jet will be taking off. Kairi, Nikaidou and Yukari are already here. Now you all have to get here in those twenty minutes so we can leave town and plan what we are going to do."
"Sounds like a plan." Amu rushed. "I have to go."
Amu hung up, picking Ami up from her bed. The thirteen year old was surprisingly light. Quickly Amu went back to her room, laying Ami into her bed before Amu packed a bag of her own clothing. Then picking Ami up again, Amu carried her down stairs.
"Amu, go put Ami and the bags in the car." Midori says, leading her eldest daughter into the garage. The car was already un locked, which made it easy for Amu to toss Ami into a seat.
"Hey! Watch it!" Ami hissed, opening her eyes.
"Shut up." Amu whispered.
"What's going on?" Ami asked, watching as her mother put the bags in the seat next to her. The poor girl was ignored.
"Amu, come here." Midori motioned for Amu to step aside with her.
Amu listened to her mother, but a dreadful feeling was building up in her stomach. She just had this feeling that whatever her mother was going to tell her wasn't going to be good news. Everything was surreal, in this very moment it felt as if Amu was the one that had gone crazy. It was difficult to wrap her mind around, but who could blame Amu? It wasn't every day you saw a zombie in real life, only in movies.
"I need you to take your sister and go." Midori flipped the handle of the gun towards Amu. "Protect Ami, Amu-Chan. Do what me and your father failed to do."
Amu's eyes widen, "Mama, you're not coming?"
In that moment, Amu's heart sank like the Titanic when hitting the ice burg. Midori wasn't going with her children; she had something she had to do. Something that if her daughters found out, Midori would be hated. So Midori kept her mouth shut, shaking her head and watched as her eldest daughter's eyes grew fearful.
"Mama, you have to come!" Amu begged frantically. "Utau can take us to safety on her jet-"
"I can't go Amu." Midori interject, reaching for the keys in her pocket. "Use that gun, more bullets are in that bag. Aim for the head, that's how to kill the damn things."
"Mama how do you know this?" Amu questioned as Midori pushed Amu into the driver's seat.
Midori smiled warmly, tears pooling in her eyes. "Because Amu, I'm to blame. I'm going to stay here and find a cure…. I love you both greatly." Midori looks at Ami. "Listen to your sister Ami, and Amu- be safe."
With that Midori shut the driver's door, running to the garage door leading into the house. Amu started the engine, signaling for Midori to open the garage door. Within that second, the infected spiraled into the garage, bagging on their door causing Ami to scream. With one last look, Midori shut the house door, and Amu pressed the gas pedal, car in reverse and swerved out onto the street.
"Amu, what's going on?" Ami cried out. "Where is Mama?"
Amu sighed, she didn't know how to explain any of this to Ami, but right now she also couldn't be focused on Ami's questions, but on the road. Amu ran over anything in the street, dead or dying, she didn't care. Right now Amu had to get Ami to safety and that was with Utau and the others. Amu's mind though did keep going back to her mother's words. Because Amu, I'm to blame. I'm going to stay here and find a cure. Had Midori know about this before? No, Amu couldn't believe that, but it would explain the arguments with her parents, the ones were they yelled about how it wasn't safe.
"Ami, I need you to calm down okay? Take deep breaths." Amu instructed, turning a sharp corner. She looked through the rear view mirror, seeing that she was being chased by a crowd. Gripping the stirring wheel, Amu pressed the gas pedal harder, speeding past things in a blur.
"You're going to fast!" Ami shrieked.
"Ami! Do you want to die like Papa?" Amu eyes widen as she said that, instantly regretting those words coming out of her lips.
"Papa is dead?" Ami whimpered.
Sighing Amu nodded sadly, "See those things chasing us? Papa got bitten by one. He wasn't safe Ami- he wasn't going to be Papa anymore."
Ami let out a soft cry when she looked out the review window. To her, being the child at heart she was, they were monsters, things in nightmares. Where all of this was slapping Amu in the face, coming to that this was the reality of things right now and at any given moment- Amu could lose Ami or herself.
"Ami, we are going to be safe. I promise I won't let anything happen to you." Amu swore, turning the wheel. The car spun out, Ami screaming and Amu shouting. Then nothing as the car hit the lamp post.
From the roof tops, Kukai stopped jumping while Tadase and Yaya kept going. That scream was familiar, so was the car that was bent around the pole. A flash of pink hair caught his attention. No. Kukai mentally whispered, seeing the infected approach the car. Then a loud bang, and an infected was down, and Amu Hinamori crawled out of the broken glass window.
"Ami, grab the bags quickly!" Amu coughed, holding the gun and shooting the infected. Kukai had to admit that Amu had aim, but this was not the time to be thinking about that.
"Amu-chan!" Kukai called, gaining Amu's attention. Which was a bad idea because it messed with Amu's focusing. So he rushed what he was going to say. "The fire escape! Climb up it!"
Amu, glanced at Ami to see if she had the bags. She did. With that Amu shot a few more shots before grabbing Ami and racing towards the fire escape. Quickly she pushed Ami to go first, shooting as the infected chased after them, and when Ami was safety onto the first fire escape and climbing the second Amu went up. Then a hand wrapped around Amu's ankle.
"Fuck." Amu muttered, pulling to free her leg. "Let go!" Amu shouted, pulling the gun and aiming it right at the head of the damn thing, only to freeze. "Tsukasa?" Amu whispered, watching the chairman growl at her. Her finger was shaky on the trigger, and she remembered what her mother said, You're Papa wouldn't want this life. Amu was willing to beat Tsukasa didn't want this life either.
"I'm sorry." Amu whispered, pulling the trigger and watched as his lifeless body fell into the crowd below. Regaining her state of mind, Amu climbed up after Ami, reaching the rooftop after five floorings. From there Kukai pushed the latter down, nothing else was coming up here.
"Come on, Tadase and Yaya are up ahead." Kukai said, jumping to the next roof top. Ami and Amu fallowing in pursuit. It was one thing to shoot people that you didn't know that turned that shooting someone who guided you in school. Guilt was in Amu's head, even if she knew it wasn't her fault.
"You look good with a gun Amu, sexy." Kukai winked, getting an eye roll from the pinkette.
"Not in front of my sister Kukai." Amu joked, seeing that Kukai was trying to act like nothing was going on.
Within a few minutes Amu, Ami and Kukai reached Yaya and Tadase, who had sight on the jet that Utau stood in front of with Ikuto, Nagihiko, Rima and the others. Tadase was the first to notice Amu and Ami, and he looked worse that Amu. Tadase eyes held a haunted look, red stained his clothing and his skin and he wore a frown. His warm ruby eyes were a bit distant and cold.
"Amu-Chan, I'm glad to see your alive and well with Ami." Tadase greeted, about to ask where her parents where when it hit him. They were gone.
"Yeah, but Amu nearly killed us with her driving." Ami cracked a smile, one that was broken.
"Shut up twerp." Amu sighed, pointing to the jet that was surrounded by a fence that the infected where piling up on. "How do we get it?"
Kukai grinned at Amu, "We have to zip line."
"What?" Amu was expecting him to say it was a joke.
"Zip line." Yaya said, not sounding happy. She lost her cheerfulness. "This was the spot that zip liners practiced. From this rooftop down into the runway, which was abandoned by plains a few years back."
"Yaya, how do you even know that?" Amu asked, surprised the girl knew more than her candy.
"I pay attention in history." Yaya bluntly said, grabbing a harness.
"There is enough for four of us." Kukai stated the problem, leaving it silent. "I can hold someone- Ami?"
"No." Amu disagreed. "No you might drop her, so you're taking me."
Kukai grinned at how protective Amu was of her sister and put his harness on and hooking it onto the line. Yaya and Tadase had already took off, and Amu was quickly helping Ami- watching as her sister sailed down, right over the infected and into the runway.
"Come on miss big sister." Kukai said, holding Amu by the waist as they kicked off the rooftop and sailed down the line into the runway. There landing wasn't grateful. It ended up with Amu being tossed to the side when Kukai found it difficult to stop and him crashing into the floor.
"Should of hung onto Hinamori- I'd landed on something than the floor." Kukai moaned in pain.
Amu groaned, rolling over to glare at Kukai. "Geez, thanks. Remind me again never to go zip lining with you."
"Amu!" Ikuto called out, relief spreading to him as he saw the pinkette there on the ground. Human and alive. Bleeding, bruised, and scratched sure, but alive.
"Ikuto!" Amu smiled weakly as he helped her up.
"Don't I get help?" Kukai whined.
"No!" Amu snapped. "You dropped me."
"At least it wasn't in the pit of zombies!" Kukai retorted, getting up. "Besides, that was a crash landing."
Ikuto sighed, "Well at least your safe, that's all that matters. Ami and Tadase and Yaya are inside the jet already, come on."
The three made their way into the jet where the old Guardians, Nikaidou, Yukari and Ami sat. Utau was in the pilot space, checking on things when she suddenly rushed out. A panicked look on the blond pig tailed singer's face.
"What's wrong Utau?" Kukai asked his girlfriend worriedly.
"The jet isn't starting up!" Utau cried out.
Ikuto sat straight up, "Kairi, couldn't you tell me how to fix it?"
"I could but there's no time." Kairi said, glancing out the window to see that the infected were gaining in numbers.
"Then we all are going to die or we make time!" Ikuto snapped, grabbing the green haired male.
"Let go of him!" Yukari shouted in defense for her brother.
Amu eyes widen as she watched with Utau as the fence holding the Infected broke. Quickly, Utau rushed to seal the door, but a hand grabbed her arm. Tadase pulled Utau away from the control room.
"What the hell do you think you are doing Tadase!?" Utau snapped with a shout.
"It's simple Utau, we aren't getting anywhere without this plain being fixed." Tadase nodded at Ikuto. "Amu, grab your gun. Ikuto, we have your back- just hurry and fix the problem."
Author's Note
I feel like this chapter was crappy, but I just couldn't get it right now matter how much I tried because I had a difficult time starting it, but I know what the plot line is! How did you readers like this?