Disclaimer: Yu-Gi-Oh! is the creation of Kazuki Takahashi. No ownership of the canon characters, settings, or events is claimed and none should be implied.
Note: Despite the title, this story has nothing (beyond the fact that there are zombies) to do with The Walking Dead. While they bear some things in common with Romero zombies, mine do have some unique aspects to tie them into the Yu-Gi-Oh mythos and I claim credit for creating them.
Any resemblance between the fictional Solitaire Islands and real geography, living or dead (or undead), is purely coincidental.
Walking Shadows
By Lucidscreamer
And the angels sob at vermin fangs
In human gore imbued.
-Poe, The Conqueror Worm
(Prologue)
When he had accepted the invitation to attend the Pacific Gaming and Technology Expo, Yugi Mutou's main consideration had been that it was essentially a free trip to the Solitaire Islands for him and his best friend, Joey Wheeler. In exchange for some exhibition dueling and attending a few discussion panels, Yugi would get an expense-paid week of sun, surf, and games. There didn't seem to be a downside.
No one mentioned zombies.
(Chapter 1)
Yugi's first exhibition duel went off without a hitch (and with him as the victor, an outcome that had surprised exactly no one but his opponent). Afterward, Yugi went looking for Joey and found him waiting in a VIP room overlooking the auditorium where the dueling platform had been placed. He accepted Joey's congratulations with aplomb - and his invitation to go find lunch with greater enthusiasm. Dueling worked up an appetite, even when it was against a comparative lightweight like Zigfried von Schroeder.
The convention center held a food court with a variety of eateries in addition to the world-class restaurant on the upper level. Naturally, Yugi gravitated toward the restaurant that specialized in burgers. On the way, they passed a huge poster - easily ten feet tall - for a new Duel Monsters expansion set. Front and center was a large-than-life emaciated corpse, its red eyes glowing (thanks to cleverly placed LEDs) in a gray-skinned face. Its rotting hands, covered in dripping gore, reached out as if to grasp the viewer. Artistic blood spatters overlayed the image, and the silhouettes of an entire horde of similar monstrous corpses lurking behind the main zombie completed the picture.
"Ugh," Joey said, staring up at the poster. "That's almost enough to put me off my lunch."
"Don't look, then." Yugi wasn't letting anything get between him and his promised burger. His stomach growled as if to encourage his steps toward the food court level. "C'mon, I'm starving!"
"Yeah, yeah." With a final shake of his head, Joey turned away from the display and started walking again. "Ya got anything else scheduled for today?"
Yugi nodded absently, most of his attention on scanning the handy signs for the walkway that would take them to the burger place. "Not 'til this afternoon, but I've got a panel at... 2:30? I'll have to check my itenerary."
"Listen at you!" Joey smirked at him. "'Itenerary'. It's almost like you're adulting or something."
"Shut up," Yugi suggested, grinning. He spotted the sign for the burger restaurant. "There it is! Let's go. I don't want to have to gulp down my food, but I also want some time to prepare before the panel."
"Such an adult."
Still snickering, Joey followed him to the eatery, which was apparently owned by some famous chef. Appropriately enough, it was called "Burger." Joey laughed at that, too.
o0o
As it turned out, Burger made some pretty fine burgers, though Joey had a field day making fun of some of the more exotic options on the menu. ("Ground beets do not a burger make, buddy.") After their delicious meal ("These onions are hot pink, Yugi." "Just eat them, Joey."), the two friends decided to take a walk and explore more of the resort. It was a beautiful day, the sky a clear sharp blue that was reflected in the cerulean waters of the lagoon visible from the Kaiba Center. The heat struck Yugi as they exited the air-conditioned building, but it wasn't yet oppressive. The slight breeze helped, he thought, raising his chin and feeling the air brush over his face and tug at his hair.
"Where to?" Joey pulled out his phone and showed Yugi the map of the island resort that they'd been issued as part of their welcome packet.
"Let's just wander around and see what there is to see," Yugi said. He was still a bit jet-lagged, but a leisurely stroll in the tropical setting might be just the thing. Especially since it looked like a good way to avoid being waylaid by enthusiastic fans. While he appreciated his fans, Yugi just didn't have the energy to deal with them right now. "So far, all we've seen is the airport, the Kaiba Center, and the road in between. I'm sure there's more to this island than that, so let's try to see some of it."
"Sounds good." Joey put his phone away. "I think there's some kinda sports complex behind here-" He waved at the building and beyond it, vaguely in-land. "-and that fancy hotel casino dealy is over thataway."
Yugi's gaze involuntarily followed Joey's gesturing hand and he squinted into the bright sunlight. He thought he could just glimpse the top of the purported hotel above the waving crowns of the palm trees. Walking paths branched from the center courtyard into a lushly planted garden, dotted with decorative statuary, fountains, and benches. It would be an attractive walk, if nothing else. He set off toward the distant hotel, just for a direction to go, and Joey kept pace beside him.
The walking paths were paved with natural stone and lined with some kind of crushed seashells that were blinding white in the sun. Low and raised beds held various plants: hibiscus blooms as big as his hand, nodding green leaves the size and shape of elephant ears, and a profusion of tropical shrubs, trees, and flowers he had no names for. The thick plantings soon blocked out the sight of the buildings, as if they were walking through an impossibly tidy jungle. The air was heavy and humid, redolent with the perfume of a thousand flowers. There were surprisingly few people about, and a hush fell over them as they walked deeper into the shade of the garden, broken only by the scuff of their shoes on the stones, the rustle of movement in the thick foliage, and the occasional outburst of birdsong.
And then there was something moaning and hissing, and lurching through a break in the lush plantings. The thing was gray-skinned and red-eyed, and clothed entirely in bloody rags. Its outstretched arms clawed the air, reaching for Yugi. Now it was close enough that he could see the strips of rotting flesh hanging off its face, the dark crimson smears on its teeth and hands, the...
...pamphlet it was holding out to him?
Joey yelped, grabbed Yugi's collar and swung him out of the thing's reach, then picked up the nearest object (unfortunately, a fallen palm frond) and slapped the creature in the snarling face.
"Hey, man! Watch it!" the zombie said, dropping the act and ducking away from the flailing palm frond.
"You, you-!" was all Joey managed, still swatting at what was now clearly a man in theatrical make-up and contacts. "What the hell, dude?!"
"Sorry." The actor-zombie didn't sound particularly apologetic. "It's my job."
"Oh, fer cryin' out loud. It's like a perfume counter ambush but with more blood and guts," Joey complained. Letting go of his death-grip on Yugi and dropping his leafy weapon, Joey snatched the pamphlet from the "zombie's" hand.
Now that Yugi was looking, he spotted several more actors dressed in rags and corpse-like theatrical make-up lurching around the garden. He sighed wearily. "It's a publicity stunt."
"Yeah." Joey's sour tone revealed his thoughts on the matter. "Promotin' that damn expansion set." He flipped the pamphlet over so Yugi could read the cover, which featured the same art as on the enormous poster they'd seen earlier.
Weakly, Yugi said, "I think I'd like to go back inside, now." He wondered if he looked as pale as he felt. "I need to get ready for my afternoon panel, anyway."
Joey nodded. "Yeah, sounds like a good idea, pal. Let's go."
The "zombie" shuffled off back into the greenery, presumably to give some other hapless conventioneer a heart-attack. Joe and Yugi headed back inside the Kaiba Center. As they passed the fountain in the center of the atrium, someone screamed - followed by slightly hysterical laughter. Another zombie ambush, Yugi guessed and shook his head. "Come on, we've got a panel to get to."
"Yeah, sure - Just so long as there's no freakin' zombies in the audience!"
o0o
Some time during the night, the gorgeous weather had taken a vacation of its own, because Yugi woke up to a sullen sky weighted down with leaden clouds. From his hotel room window, he could see whitecaps racing across the usually placid lagoon. Beyond the reef, the water looked wild and dangerous as it flung itself toward the shore. Closer to the building, the palm trees thrashed against the sky, a further testament to the rising winds.
He hoped the approaching storm wasn't going to be a severe one.
Anxious to take his mind off the weather, Yugi hurried through his morning ablutions, and then spent ten minutes fighting with his hair before giving it up as a lost cause. The tropical humidity meant his normally unruly tresses were completely uncontrollable, even with copious amounts of hair gel.
Yugi had barely finished dressing when Joey knocked on the door. He looked frazzled, blond hair standing up as if he'd been running his hands through it. "You checked your messages yet?"
"No." Yugi looked around for his phone, then remembered he'd left it in his pants pocket the night before. As he was rummaging around in the pile of stuff on his nightstand, he asked, "Why?"
"Got a text from the organizers. If the storm's as bad as they say it might be, we may have to evacuate over to the big island." Joey was peering out the window at the bruised sky. "Assuming it's safe to fly, anyway."
Having finally unearthed his phone from beneath yesterday's clothes, Yugi tried to turn it on, and then grimaced. Dead. He sighed. Why did he always forget to charge the darned thing?
He shoved the useless hunk of plastic into an outer pocket on his carry-on bag, which he'd left on a chair near the bed. "Any idea what we're supposed to do in the meantime? I had another duel scheduled for-" He glanced around for the clock. "-about an hour from now. Is it cancelled?"
"Dunno. I didn't get an announcement, if it is." Joey turned from the window. "Where's your phone?"
"Dead."
Joey shook his head knowingly. "You wanna head down for breakfast? We can ask around, see if your duel's still on."
"Yeah." Yugi sent a last look out the window. The clouds looked even more threatening, hanging low and gray over the resort. He thought he saw the flicker of distant lightning out over the ocean. "Let's do that."
o0o
There was a breakfast buffet set up downstairs; convention goers were already clustered around the tables or perusing the various offerings. The biggest clusters were around the coffee stations, Yugi noted as he made his way to a miraculously empty table, plate in hand. A few minutes later, Joey joined him with his own plate piled high with Belgian waffles, strawberries, and whipped cream. He'd garnished the stack with a jelly donut and several strips of bacon. Plopping down onto the seat opposite Yugi, Joey immediately began stuffing his face with food.
Yugi had barely taken a bite of his own meal when the PA system crackled to life and a calm male voice called for attention.
"May I have your attention, please. Due to concerns about Tropical Storm Ushio, we are canceling all convention activities until further notice. At this time, we ask that all attendees prepare for precautionary evacuation to Patience Island, the largest in our archipeligo."
The announcement continued, with instructions for what they would be allowed to take with them on the flight, and asking those who required special accomodations to gather in the atrium to speak with a representative from the airline. The first evacuation flight would leave in half an hour, the voice over the speakers said; all flights afterward would proceed in alphabetical order. As they were evacuating not only the people at the Kaiba Center, but those from the other facilities on the island, the flights were expected to take all day.
"I guess we need to pack." Fortunately, most of his belongings were still in his suitcase. Yugi figured he could shove everything he'd really need into his carry-on bag. He began making a mental checklist. "We need to make sure we stick together-"
"Yug'!" Joey's voice had that note that meant he'd been trying to interrupt for some time.
"Huh?" Yugi looked over at his friend, who had a strip of bacon danging from his lips and a worried look in his eyes.
"We're not gonna be on the same flight, buddy." Joey dropped the half-eaten bacon onto his plate, grimaced down at it, then shoved the plate away. "'M' ain't nowhere near 'W'."
Oh. Somehow, that hadn't even occured to Yugi. He gaped at Joey a second before his mouth snapped shut and his shoulders squared. "No way! No way am I getting on a plane without you."
Joey shrugged, not meeting his eyes. "Whatcha gonna do, then? Swim ta the other island? Eh, no worries. It'll be okay."
"It will be okay." Yugi unfolded his napkin and began wrapping up everything on his plate that was transportable. "Because we're sticking together. Grab your breakfast and come on. We'll go back to our rooms and finish eating while we get ready to leave." He glanced up to give Joey a stern look. "They can't make me go without you, Joey. You'll see."
On the way to the elevator, they passed another of the promotional zombies, bent over a dark shape on the floor, half-hidden behind a potted palm in the corner.
"That's so creepy," Joey said, as they hurried past. "Remind me not to buy any of those damned cards."
"Yeah."