Happy Valentine's Day! *Insert foreveraloneface here*
Here's a story written on a whim, inspired while listening to "不死之身" by JJ Lin. Enjoy!
(And yes, I was studying my Veterinary Science topics when I wrote this. Pardon the use of biology in this ^^;)
EDIT 11/3/2012: Thank you guys for supporting! It meant so much to me with my first Vocaloid fanfic :D I am overseas now BUT I will update constantly! The final chapter is Chapter 4, and though it is up, it is unfinished. I'll make my next update the last update, I hope. (:
EDIT 13/3/2012: This story is officially COMPLETE! Read on to find out that lies ahead for Rin and Len~
The wind blew across the barren land, while a crimson moon hung over a blood-red sky. The skyscrapers that once stood tall in the city were no more, and only remnants of the metal and glass were left, jutting out of the cracked, cemented ground like a writhing dragon's spine.
A lone emaciated dog staggered into the gaping mouth of a once-proud Append Corporation. It sniffed around, looking for any food items it may consume, but to no avail – the racks were filled with torn and withered books and tables lined with broken flasks and test-tubes. It leaped onto a desk, sending a grimy, dust-encrusted book onto the ground. It whined in dejection and wobbled unsteadily out of the building.
The book flipped open. It was a diary.
February 14, 2010: A scientist by the name of Kaito discovered a new strain of the Orthomyxovirus which is highly mutated from its parents and is highly virulent. The effects it causes are unknown.
October 19, 2010: Dr Kaito and renowned epidemiologists Professors Luka and Miku conducted a joint research. One of the findings is that it is resistant to all preventive and prophylactic treatments, and has a high rate of spreading like the common flu.
April 3, 2011: Biologist Gakupo enters the team. A world-wide screening is conducted, and ¾ of the world population is known to be carriers, who exhibit common malaise symptoms as well as delusions and depressions.
May, 2011: Many riots broke out globally. Possible reasons might be due to recessions, but the team did not rule out the probability of the effects on the Central Nervous System by the virus. They termed the virus "Cephalospirae". Dr Kaito worried that the virus will cause corollaries in mankind history.
January, 2012: More riots and economic downturns. A certain bill passed through XXX country which caused uproar globally on the Internet. Gakupo and Luka began to exhibit symptoms of Cephalospirosis, including severe euphoria on sight of open wounds. Is this a variation of rabies?
February 14, 2012: The efforts of the team led by Dr Kaito yielded results. Antibiotic "Miri-am (Miracle-Ampicillin)". It was injected into afflicted mice and they recovered. Gakupo and Luka returned to normal and were released from their confinements. Dr Kaito proposed the drug to governments and health agencies in order to cure the population.
March 18, 2012: His proposals were rejected. The authorities deemed that our researches were too shallow and there weren't any justification that the virus is causing problems – they have everything "under control". Moreover, they casted off our drugs as a failure due to a lack in data supporting its effects.
March 20, 2012: The mice began exhibiting aggressiveness and cannibalism. Deformities seemed to have formed as well…are those the side-effects of the drugs?
March 25, 2012: Dr Kaito refused to meet anyone and locked himself in the lab. His eyes were…different.
April 4, 2012: Gakupo and Luka started attacking us and destroying the facilities! They seemed to have entered a berserk state. Again, they have to be confined. I'm so, so sorry…
April 18, 2012: Dr Kaito exit his lab, his face grim. He stated that "this is a turning point of human evolution!" with a disturbing smile that we have not seen before. He has bio-engineered a population of fast-breeding mosquito vectors that carried "Miri-am". He unleashed them into the outside world. We couldn't stop him – he was too strong for us to handle. What has become of our team? Maybe we shouldn't have researched into this virus in the beginning. This is a catastrophe…
May 26, 2012: We believed that almost all of the human populations are "vaccinated".
June 14, 2012: 80% of human population 'changed'. Everyone is either dead or became one of them. I'm alone in the biosafety facility. Kaito, Gakupo and Luka's bodies were barricaded out. Oh God…their faces…
…
…
December 21, 2012: I couldn't take it anymore. There is no cure. There is no hope. We're all finished. This is the end. The buildings are collapsing. The Afflicted are everywhere. I don't see any normal living beings around. If there are survivors, which I believe is a slim percentage… I'm so sorry…Kaito, I'm so sorry…
...
…
The ashen-gray sky shone a mournful yellow under the sun. The stench of burned waste and the iron-tang of dried blood lingered in the air of the dead city. All was lifeless.
Then, as a current of wind blew the sands – how much of its composition are human bones no one knew – a pair of moving figure advanced through. Two of them bore similar traits, with golden hair and even in the face of such calamity their blue eyes shone with determination.
The determination to live.
"Rin, we're almost there. Just hang in there." The boy with sharp features asserted. His face had streaks of dusts, and he wore an outfit of layers of shirts covered by a black coat, with long black pants and a pair of leather sandals.
"I will, Len. Don't worry about me." The girl smiled back. She sported a similar outfit, with tight-fitted leggings instead of the cargo-pants.
They braved through the sand-storm in the outskirts of the city and entered the perimeters. The tall buildings had buffeted the incoming currents, and once they felt the stinging wind off their skin, they stopped to rest, panting.
"Are you alright, Rin?" Len asked, concerned.
"Yes. I wonder which city we've entered… After that, everything looked different."
The boy scowled, knowing that what his twin sister mentioned is true, and looked up. Debris of the urban structures was everywhere, and through the lifeless landscape, all they've known as a 'civilization' was gone. The air was thick and suffocating, and he couldn't help but thought of the rolling greeneries and animals that once shared the world with mankind. Now, the only other person alive he knew was his dearest sister, and the other life form was a puppy they had rescued from the streets in the previous town. However, in the strict environment where food and water were scarce, in addition to the various diseases that plagued the canine, it passed away. Not even his skills as a veterinarian helped the poor soul.
But it's a better end than the rest of the dogs he saw, Len figured.
Indeed, the world has changed. After the 'incident' that occurred a few years back, nuclear wars and chaos broke out. People became psychotic and lawless, attacking everything they could find. In their eyes glinted a terrible madness that reminded him of rabid animals.
Everything happened so fast. The orphanage they grew up was set on fire, the friends they knew became Afflicted, and they barely escaped by hiding in the mountains. Time passed, and the world they had known was gone, replaced by a post-apocalypse state of their memories. Then, they observed something.
It seems that the Afflicted life forms, be they humans or animals, developed immerse strength and a thirst for blood, along with deadened nervous system that render them unable to process pain stimuli. Both Rin and Len, trained professionals in the biology field, also discovered that somehow they all had high activity of the telomerase – in other words, they because immortalized, blood-frenzied monsters.
It was then that they started running, moving from places to places to scavenge in the daytime where the Afflicted slept, and huddled in corners and in trees when the monsters roamed at night.
"As long as we stay together and not make a sound, it will be fine." They reassured each other in the darkest of nights, where pairs of lifeless eyes and bloodless bodies roamed. Somehow, just somehow, they were immune to whatever that transformed these people. One speculation made by Rin was that, via their exposures to animals with virus and pathogens and different antigens, perhaps their bodies have developed some sort of immunity to this accursed disease. Perhaps, like them, there are other survivors out there, waiting.
Len looked back to his right, back from his reminiscence, and grinned. His sister smiled back. We must keep our hopes high, we must never give up. "Let's find some resources." For you…I will never give up.
"Here it goes!" Len packed all he could find from a nearby convenience store – canned foods, packet drinks (most of them were crushed under the racks, so he could only salvage a few packs), bandages and plasters…
"Brother! Come over here!"
"This is-" The youth ran over to where his sister were by the train station. She excitedly picked up a discarded can – looking at the faded out labels its content were tuna flakes – and pointed out a fact that seemed trivial but carried a huge meaning. Len reached his finger inside and touched the inside of the cold metal. It's still moist from the tuna oil, even though the scent of fish had worn off. "Does that means that…"
"Someone was here days before us." Rin's face burst into joy, her eyes shimmered with enthusiasm. "Another survivor."
Len understood what she meant, and he couldn't help but grin. All these while they were alone, and if there ARE other survivors, all were not lost from this world. One day, the Afflicted might recover, and one day, they will see the blue skies again. He tenderly touched Rin's cheek and spoke affectionately, "Rin, we will live, alright?" He lugged the haversack filled with medicinal items and foods onto his back with his left hand, and Rin nodded. Even in the face of darkness and doubts, they would have each other to depend on, and Rin would always be his princess and angel.
He looked up into the sky, it was getting dark. From his experience, he knew that it's time. The Afflicted will be awake from their unholy slumber and soon, they will walk the lands, dragging their legs heavily.
There were a few places that they could spend the night in, one being tall, hard-to-reach places. With their neurons degenerated, the Afflicted merely acted like mindless ticks driven by the desire to feed, and couldn't coordinate themselves well enough to climb. For situations like this, the duo kept a rope ladder handy. He'd locate a tree, determining if it's sturdy enough. Following which, he would throw the hook-embedded end of the ladder and secure it on a branch, and after both Rin and he were up, he'd keep the rope ladder back into his bag. Most of the time though, it was still unwise to attract any unwanted attention – the Afflicted were persistent, and once they had to stay awake all night due to Them crowding below. It was not a pleasant experience, and Len never wanted to try that again.
Just as he was about to take out the rope ladder, he spotted a movement with the corners of his eyes. It has a humanoid-shape, but it couldn't be an Afflicted, right? They were not active till dusk. He turned to Rin, and he knew she has seen it too. Both of them started running.
"Hey! Are you a person? We're here to help!" Len shouted into the streets. The sun was setting – the lights were disappearing from the horizons, he knew there weren't much time left. He couldn't risk it, but he couldn't leave the person alone either.
"Rin, wait." He halted the youth who shared his mirror image as he tossed the ladder expertly into the tree foliage. He then flung the haversack to his sister. "Wait for me up there. Once you're up, withdraw the ladder until I come back, okay?"
"What nonsense! It's dangerous to wander alone. Not to mention the Dark is coming. You know how well-"
"I'll be alright, eh, Rin?" He flashed his signature smirk, comforting her. "I just need to check out if that's the survivor we tracked. I couldn't just leave him out there. I'll be quick, okay? I'll be back in seconds. Just wait for me here." He looked at her sternly – and she knew that when her brother gave her that look, nothing could change his mind.
"Alright, please be back soon." A sinking feeling waved through her mind, but she dismissed it quickly.
"Thank you." He gently pecked her on the forehead as he drew a dagger from his belt, and ran after the shadow.
"Please be back soon…" Rin muttered as Len ran out of her sight.
How was it? Sorry I incorporated so many Bio terms in this fic :p Here are some glossary for 'em!
Orthomyxovirus – Causative agents responsible for the common flu.
Cephalospirae – Virus I made up. Good that it doesn't exist. Essentially, "Cephalo" means head while "Spirae" is spiral. I wanted it to sound as if the virus will cause someone's head to spiral into insanity. (:
Telomerase – All of your body cells have this 'telemere' which determine your cell's lifespan. The older you get the shorter it is, and eventually, your cell dies. Telomerase is activated in SOME cells to regenerate them. In cancers, all the affected cells' telemoerase are activated.
Yay! Learn scientific terms with a Vocaloid fic XD
I hope you enjoy this fic as much as I did when I wrote it. This story is far from over! I would appreciate all reviews and comments so get them piling in~ You'll get a free labcoat.
This is the first time I wrote a Vocaloid/shipping fanfic, so pardon me if my writings are awkward.
Meanwhile….here are some teasers:
"Please…all we wanted is to help you."
"Get away! No one can help. This world is doomed! Everything is doomed!"
…
"Len! Look out!"