Incandescence

by flyestsk

A virus infects nearly the entire population and Tadashi Hamada is a survivor of the aftermath: a man who has lost his wife, Aiko and his child. Yet after a friend gets involved with the rebels, he finds himself in a desperate race against time to deliver a boy to a destination in San Fransokyo. AU Set in the LAST OF US universe

1. Chapter 1

incandescent

ɪnkanˈdɛs(ə)nt/

adjective

adjective: incandescent

1.

emitting light as a result of being heated.

"plumes of incandescent liquid rock"

2.

full of strong emotion; passionate.

"she felt an incandescent love for life"

PROLOGUE

It had begun at two in the morning.

The television in Tadashi's room had turned on by itself, broadcasting entire communities running amok on the streets in their nightclothes. He shifted off the bed and drew the blinds quietly, careful not to wake his daughter up. House lamps lighted up one after another and people made mad scrambles for their vehicles, stuffing them with their most important belongings. Screams filled the air as people streamed past, carrying their belongings, children, pets, baggage or whatever they could manage in their arms.

A persistent sting of fear had already set in on Tadashi as well and he had simply swept up his sleeping daughter into his arms, grabbed his pistol and mobile before dashing out of the house into his own car.

He had heard about the rumors of the outbreak of a mutated virus that made people "crazed with an insatiable hunger", the vaccination hoax and now the widespread pandemonium, but he never expected it to hit them with such speed and force. There had been a long enough grace period for Tadashi to know who "they" were and to plan an escape, but he had chosen to ignore it.

Now there were consequences to face and they were merciless.