Breathe in, breathe out.

Breathe in, breathe out.

Breathe in, breathe out.

I slid down the wooden door of the small apartment, a hand covering the bleeding wound I had previously sustained. The bite was itchy, pulsating and extremely painful; it was probably a culmination of the zombie virus finally kicking in, my fear and anxiety, and the emotional hole in my heart.

My breathing was shaky but quiet, my arm hanging limp by my side. I let it bleed as I lolled my head to the side, letting it rest on my shoulder as tears ran from eyes. I successfully held back strained sobs, letting my mind cry and scream instead. My backpack was on the wooden floorboards ahead of me.

"So…this is it, huh…?" I muttered to myself, staring down at the bite mark. The skin around the bite was slowly turning grey, my veins and nerves easily becoming visible through the decaying flesh. I flexed the bitten arm once, watching as blood spurted from the wound in a deranged amusement, and let the other hand return to its proper half of my body.

It was covered in a thin but viscous crimson.

It made me feel sick.

"The blood starts to thicken…?" I asked myself, watching the essence of life pool above the wound until it was forced to run down to the floorboards. I grimaced and slid further down the door until my head was resting on my chest. It was uncomfortable and that was enough to keep me from passing out.

It's not that I was tired, or shocked, or running out of blood.

It was because the infection wanted me to sleep; it wanted me to forget who I was and what I was supposed to be doing so I could peacefully die and return as a member of the undead army. Knowing that was an almost comedic thing as a terrible disease wanted your mind to peacefully die so your body can suffer.

I quietly chuckled, my eyelids becoming heavier by the second.

"What…was I supposed to be doing…?" No matter what I did, the infection would have its way. It was too late to cut my arm off, too late to say my goodbyes and it was too late to save my…friends? Was that the thing I was supposed to be doing? Saving my friends?

But who are my friends?

Right. The infection wanted me to forget everything, including my friends…but what are friends?

"Matsu…da…and…Moto…hama…?" I was dehydrated. The infection wanted me to die as fast as it could manage, so it would dehydrate me and starve me until those two things killed me. Unless it was able to evaporate all of the moisture in my body and disintegrate all of the proteins and glucose inside of me, I wasn't going to die. And it felt as it was going to do just those two things.

"That's right…I was supposed to be saving Matsuda and Motohama…but where?" I fumbled around for a radio that was supposed to be on me, but I couldn't find it. I quietly laughed as I realised what had happened. Tetsuya…who's Tetsuya?

"I'm…slowly forgetting…huh?"

All I wanted to do was sleep.

Sleep was all I wanted to do.

All I needed to do was sleep.

Sleep was all I needed to do.

My eyelids fluttered as I tried to stay conscious. My mind was becoming weak and so was my body. I was forgetting my life; all of my childhood experiences, the fun I had had with Irina, the day he left, my lonely middle school years, my introduction to the art of perversion and pornography, all of the things I had seen with Matsuda and Motohama, the beginning of the infection, the gruesome death of some people I knew…and my eventual downfall…

Should I…sleep?

"No…" I whispered, my voice coarse and dry. I tried to push myself up into a more comfortable sitting positioning, but found that my muscles were practically useless. Neither of my arms would work properly, and my legs were less despondent. I couldn't waggle any fingers, move any toes or lift my neck up. The only thing I could do was talk and look around.

Such a pitiful end to my existence.

I had thought I was born for some kind of grandeur or romance filled life, but here I am. I am here, in a seemingly abandoned apartment, slumping against a door as I uselessly lay in a small puddle of my own blood. No emotions, no words…and a few thoughts and emotions that were soon to fade with my blurring vision.

I'm slowly forgetting everything…including my name.

What…was my name…?

Iss…

So painful to remember…

If only…

I…

Could…

Remember…

Heat…in my arm…hurts…stabbing in…my arm…blurry vision…pain…death…?

"Urrghhagh…" Sound…? My body…moving…? What was my…name? I'm…hungry…

So…hungry…

Fresh…meat…blood…

I can smell it.

It's somewhere past this thing. This thing that keeps on blocking me. I hit it, bash my body against it and groan as I hit it. It doesn't break, but my body does. Red liquid comes from my bashy things as I hit the blocking thing over and over again. I don't feel anything, but red liquid comes from me.

My bashy thing grabs a cold thing and turns it. The blocky thing moves out of my way and I leave the trap place. My moving things make me move as I head towards the fresh blood…the fresh meat that I want. Red stuff runs out of my meat eating place and I lick it up.

It is blood, but it's not fresh.

Icky.

There are some…steps…? My head hurts as I think about the step thingy. Best to not see it. I move away from the bad place as my head starts to not hurt. I feel something inside of me and it makes my head hurt. I claw at the thing that covers me but it does nothing. I want the feely thing to go away.

I go back into the trap place and see another blocky thing. My bashy thing makes the blocky thing move and I move into the new trap place. I see something looking at me and my head starts to hurt. But the looking thing looks like fresh meat. So why is my head hurting? My bashy thing bashes against the looking thing and it explodes.

My head doesn't hurt anymore, but I want the fresh meat. I look down at the little pieces of the looking thing and my head starts to hurt again. I pick up a piece of the looking thing and it makes blood come from my bashy thing.

I lick the blood up but it doesn't taste good.

Icky.

I drop the looking thing and leave the new trap place and stay in the old one. I walk around until my moving things stop moving and I am stuck. I hit the cold thing below me and stay like that. My eyes begin to close.

It is dark now and I am hungry.

All I want is blood and fresh meat.

Not that icky stuff that comes out of me.

Not the icky stuff that comes out of my…friends…?

My head hurts again. I want to know what this friends thing is. Is it fresh meat?

Things like the looking thing are appearing in front of me and my head hurts more.

I claw at my head as it hurts.

Black hair and glasses…? Motohama? What is Motohama?

Brown hair…totally normal…? Kamito…what is Kamito?

My head hurts too much now.

I need fresh meat to help with the hurt.

But I can't get fresh meat. The steps stop me from getting fresh meat. What will I do to get fresh meat? My bashy things are meat. Is it fresh? The blood isn't fresh so the meat isn't fresh.

Icky.

Tatsuya…he uses…radios? What is a radio?

Kamito uses a gun.

Motohama likes his bat.

Matsuda likes his hatchet.

Hanako tells me where to go.

Chiharu doesn't like me.

The hurt is too much right now.

How do I get rid of the hurt?

Do I find the fresh Motohama and Matsuda meat? Wait…wasn't I…supposed to be finding the Motohama and Matsuda? What about the Kamito, and the Tetsuya, and the Hanako, and the Chiharu? Can I find those meats?

No, I can't. I was meant to find the Matsuda and Motohamas.

My looky things open and my body moves. I go down the steps and leave the big trap place. Other hurt people are looking for Matsuda and Motohamas too, aren't they? They want the fresh blood and meat just like me.

Well, they can't have it. The Matsuda and Motohamas are just for me. Their fresh blood is mine.

I push past the other hurt people and wander around, looking for the Matsuda and Motohamas. I wonder if they taste good. Are they fresh? I hope they're fresh. Fresh will help with the hurt. I can't deal with the hurt. I can never deal with the hurt.

Should I stop thinking about the fresh Matsuda and Motohamas? It'll stop the hurt. But if I stop the hurt, I won't get the Matsuda and Motohamas and I'll still be hungry.

The hungry hurts more than the hurt, so I'll find the Matsuda and Motohamas before the other hurt find them. The Matsuda and Motohamas are mine. Their fresh blood is mine. Their fresh meat is mine. I need them before the other hurt get to them first because they're mine.

I see two not hurt running into a small outside trap place. I get to there before the other hurt do because they didn't see the not hurt. Are they the Matsuda and Motohamas that will stop the hurt and hungry? I hope so. The hungry and hurt is too much.

The two not hurt make my head hurt when my looky things look at them.

One not hurt has a bat and glasses. The second not hurt has a hatchet and a shaved head. They look at me with their looky things and not blood comes out of their looky things, "Oh no…Issei, is that you?" The bat not hurt says.

"Graurghhhh." I make a sound and my moving things make me move at them. The hatchet not hurt raises his hatchet and the bat not hurt grabs his arm.

"He still has to be in there somewhere, right?" The bat not hurt sounded. The hatchet not hurt takes his bashy arm from the bat not hurt.

"It's too late, Motohama…Issei died and has been replaced by this monster."

"Nghaaaaaaaaaa." I move towards them again, but my bashy things are raised at them. The hatchet not hurt moves towards me and raises his hatchet into the air.

"I'm sorry, Issei, buddy…I'm sorry…please forgive me, Issei…"

Issei…who is Issei…is that me? Is that what the fresh Matsuda and Motohamas are calling me? Am I a fresh Issei?

The hurt is too much.

My bashy things scratch my head as I lie on the cold…road…

The hatchet not hurt steps back.

"What the…" The bat not hurt uses his looky things to look at something and pushes the hatchet not hurt out of his way. A light thing misses both of them.

"Oh my, what is this?" A black feather thing lands in front of me. I reach a bashy thing out to grab the fresh meat but I cannot reach. "I thought I killed Issei, but it turns out he was turned into an infected instead. How sad!" The hurt is too much. Who is an Issei? Is that me? I need fresh meat to stop the hurt. The hurt is worse than the hungry now, but I want to know what an Issei is.

"You…we thought you were gone for good!" The bat not hurt shouts as the hatchet not hurt uses his moving things to stand. The black feather laughs.

"You think you can kill me?" The bat not hurt raises his bat.

"Yes! You've hurt us more than enough, so it's time you pay for what you've done!" What hurt? The two not hurt aren't hurt at all. What did black feather do to them to hurt them? They don't want fresh meat!

"Hmm…how have I hurt you…?" The black feather grabbed the bat not hurt by the arm and used her bashy thing to throw him into a wall. He fell to the ground. The hatchet not hurt tried to do the same thing as the bat not hurt and was also thrown into a wall.

"You…you nearly killed Kamito…and we had to leave him there…at the…" The bat not hurt screamed as he charged at the black feather. The black feather picked him up by the neck and held him in the air.

"That's not the worst thing I've done." The bat not hurt screamed as the black feather twisted one of his bashy things until it snapped. Fresh blood landed near me. "So I'm going to make you hurt real bad." The black feather dropped the bat not hurt next to me and went over to the hatchet not hurt. "Do you want to feel pain as well, little boy?" I grabbed the bat not hurt by the arm and pulled myself over to him.

He made weird sounds as I was above him.

"Issei…I know you're not infected…you're just playing around right? Remember all the things we did? Spying on the kendo club, getting beat up by the kendo club, trying to see Rias' panties? Do you remember all of that?" The bat not hurt raised his bashy thing and put it on my face. My hurt is worse and I want it to stop. The fresh meat is in front of me, but I won't do it.

I want the hurt. I want it to hurt even worse.

"Moto…hama…?" I made a weird sound as not blood came out of the fresh meat's looky things.

"Yes, I'm Motohama! I'm your best friend, Issei! Remember? Do you remember Matsuda as well?" I looked over to where the hatchet not hurt was and at the black feather. The black feather wanted to steal my fresh meat and blood from me.

She wanted to steal Matsuda and Motohama from me and I wasn't going to allow that.

"Raynare…you bitch…" I made a weird sound as my legs made me stand. Raynare turned to face me and I snarled, raising my hands to protect my face. I darted over to her and swung a fist. She tilted her head back and planted a foot on my stomach, using all of her strength to make my feet skid against the road.

"Oh? Issei's not infected, then. I guess I'll have to kill him again!" She lunged at me and I dodged her attack, feeling the hurt on my stomach make me remember something. The black feather was called Raynare and she had tried to kill me after I risked my life to save her. And for that, she was the one that was going to die!

"I'm going to fucking kill you, Raynare. You're going to regret what you've done!" I grabbed her hair and yanked her head back, a small yelp coming out of her as flung onto the road. I planted a foot on her chest, slowly pressed down on her ribs and watched with glee as she struggled to breathe. She grabbed me by the ankle, though, and tripped me up. I landed next to my Motohama and watched as a light thing flew towards my face.

I grabbed it before it hit me and crushed it in a single hand.

I jumped to my feet and slowly clenched a fist in front of me.

I was stronger now.

I was much stronger than when I was not hurt.

And that meant I could win.

Because the hurt is making me remember everything from when I was not hurt.

I want it to hurt even more.

I spun to the side and dodged a flurry of fists, sending a quick jab at the side of Raynare's head in retaliation. She deflected it with an arm and sent a fist towards my throat, but I caught it before it could connect. I stopped a quick hook with my other hand and stared into Raynare's purple eyes, a grin on my face.

"Fresh meat." Was all I had said before I pulled my head back as far as I could, along with my body, before I sent it flying towards Raynare's own skull. I grinned as I anticipated the ending of this duel.

However, my happiness was short-winded as Raynare planted both of her feet against my stomach with bent legs. My eyes widened and I prepared to curse, but the dislocation of both shoulders was enough to make me howl in pain instead. I bounced off of a wall, fell flat onto my face and felt blood come out of my cheek.

I felt the hurt go away a little as I tried to move my arms.

They wouldn't move. What are arms? I thought they were bashy things.

The hurt is going away. I was forgetting everything.

The black feather grabbed the hatchet not hurt's hatchet as they attacked the black feather. The black feather inspected the hatchet for a few seconds before she raised it into the air.

I knew what Raynare was going to do.

She was going to kill Matsuda, Motohama and then me.

And I'll have to suffer because I'll never get my fresh meat or blood.

Somehow, I managed to stand on my feet without using my arms. I limbered over to Raynare, pulled my head back to bite her shoulder, and felt her elbow connect with my forehead. My head snapped back so I was looking up at the grey sky.

What was I doing again?

There is no hurt anymore and I'm not hungry.

But my left arm burns.

Raynare's going to kill Matsuda, right? So I should stop that bitch before she can do it. Just thinking about it is making me pissed beyond words. I should stop her, but I can't. I'm infected, right? I can't control myself. I can't remember anything. I can't do anything.

But I can save Matsuda and Motohama and then kill Raynare.

After all, Matsuda and Motohama just aren't fresh meat.

"They're my best friends." I whispered to myself.

A white light blinded everyone in the alley all at once.


Yo. How was this chapter? It's different, right? Issei was infected, so that's why it was written weird. That's also why it may seem confusing. Anyway, did you enjoy the chapter? Was it good? Was it bad? Could I have done better?

Thanks for reading!

This was written super fast for my my buddy RedSS, so I hope you enjoy this chapter, friend!