Author's note: Surprise, surprise, Izaya speaking~ Since I want to update and since Shizu-chan's unavailable at the moment and I forgot to ask for the author's note from him before, I'll simply present his chapter without him. That's for what partners exist, ne~? So, here you go with Celty's chapter. Say bye-bye to peacefulness, action is coming. Have fun~
Title: And they lived happily ever after.
Rating: M (gore, adult topics)
Pairings: Shinra x Celty, Shizuo x Izaya
Disclaimer: We don't own Durarara! or any of its characters. We could claim to be the owners of zombies, but...Celty took care of them ^^"
The Day. When the chaos stirs.
The restless morning was unusually quiet. Celty Sturluson clutched her hands tightly around the handles of her motorcycle, zooming past the streets. She turned around every corner and maze like she had the whole city memorized. By now, she had every pathway familiarized, and every shortcuts noted down. The city was practically hers to explore after having lived here for years. In short, she's been following a pretty accurate map in her head.
Well, if she had one that is.
There weren't any clouds that morning. The moon stared at the city without pause as it was high in the crystal, clear sky, even though it was still morning. The sun didn't rise just yet. The streets of Ikebukuro was cold, creating an atmosphere as if the whole city was freezing. If Shinra was out in days like this, he would probably sought comfort with having a hot drink. Celty would've thought that it was just another beautiful sight of a Winter morning's day, if she wasn't feeling too uneasy.
She just couldn't shake off a funny feeling in her gut. A funny feeling that there was something definitely off about really fishy. And worst of all, the headless woman can't really put her finger on it.
But wait, was the city usually..this..empty?
Usually, the sound of her roaring motorcycle was enough to catch the people's attention as they walk around the city. And if you listened carefully, you could almost hear an echo of a ghostly horse's neigh in the dullahan's wake. People from all ages would get caught in her trance, their eyes following Celty as she rode past them, completely captivated. It's another perk of living in Ikebukuro for years, because everybody came to know the black rider. Some fear, some think it's bullshit, and even some who simply didn't believed it, if they didn't get to see the famous Black Rider with their own eyes.
But there weren't any people. Perhaps everybody was staying home today?
Shrugging, she decided to savour the weekend peace and quiet the city was offering her and make the most of it. She had a number of jobs as a courier to do today, and one of them was to deliver Izaya's package he'd asked her to do some time ago to a client, and another was to deliver a letter to one of the yakuza members in Ikebukuro.
Nobody would suspect that in just a few hours, Ikebukuro will be more of a train wreck than it is now.
Lights was reflected on her yellow helmet as she sped across the highway, her engine growling and her motorcycle gleaming in a ghastly way. Celty expertly flipped her PDA open from her wrist as she carefully followed the navigation to the place where she's supposed to meet her client. The Dullahan was very focused in completing both of her jobs so that she can spend time with Shinra at home.
Soon enough, Celty reached her destination besides an old flat building. She halted to a brake in nothing flat, parking Scooter, her trusty motorcycle just beside the road. Dismounting her bike, Celty took a good and long look at the building before her. The paint was weathered and peeling off in spots, and the slats in the shutters on the upstairs windows were mostly broken out. It mostly looked isolated and grim, with small graffiti on its walls.
She flipped her PDA open in a flash and tapped her feet, her patience running out.
[Meet me in front of the entrance. 10.00 am.]
She read the message her client sent her again and again as she waited, leaning against her bike by now. The shadows which gathered in her helmet spread out in one big cloud of smoke, forming a black, dense ball around the package she was supposed to deliver. It receded back to normal flow once again as she kept the package safe and afloat, the sick feeling in her stomach returning.
''I've been here since half an hour ago. I wonder if he couldn't make it?'' Celty sarcastically wondered to herself, crossing her slender arms.
Of all the nerve..
One last look around the building, and Celty knew that her client wasn't going to make it. Her shadows flared and burst as she grudgingly engulfed the package back to keep it.
Taking one last look at her PDA, she heaved a heavy sigh. Climbing back on her bike, Celty was just about to power the throttle and change to full gear before she felt a breeze brush up against her neck. She glanced at the building warily. The air felt still. Brushing it off, the woman's attention was back to starting her bike up, but then another chill crept up her spine. There was a faint, shuffling noise coming from the building and she didn't like it at all. She looked at it again and knew instantly that something was out of place.
Slowly getting off from her bike, she proceeded to cautiously walk her way towards the cheap flat once more. Her senses sharpened, she strained her hearing once more for the strange noise. For all she could care, it could have been just an injured person or animal. But, something was peculiarly out of place with this one.
'…'
Silence.
There was no sound for a minute or two. Seconds felt like hours passing by as Celty stood there in the unsettling silence. However, just as she was about to give up and leave, the odd sound returned yet once again, only closer this time. Celty was sure of it now, the sound wasn't just any other sound. This one was more… eerily erratic. Her calm composure slowly started to dissipate as she slowly started making her way towards the source of it.
''Haaaaa…''
Wait, what?
''….Grr..''
Sounds of somebody chewing something wet was heard. Celty almost though that it was somebody eating, but eating didn't sound that ridiculously loud.
'H-haaaaaaargh,' moaned an unknown, hoarse voice. Celty stopped in her tracks at the unidentifiable sound coming from right behind the building. It was almost as if it was animal, but it wasn't. She wasn't sure whether to continue or not, but in the end, finally made up her mind to inspect the suspicious situation anyway. She calmly collected back all her cool, as she pushed away the worst of her thoughts to the back of her mind. Walking now with more confidence, but also sure to take in the utmost care, Celty walked briskly to the back of the building. Slowly, but surely, she arrived at her destination. Unfortunately, what she saw there wasn't what she had expected at all.
Gasping unconsciously, Celty froze in place at the sight of the scene before her. She had never seen something like it before in her entire life. Even if she was able to break free from the sight, the image was already embedded deep into her mind. The rotting smell of corpses and fresh blood together radiated throughout the air, causing her head to spin and whirl, liable enough to incline her to fall if she wasn't careful. There, on the ground, was a man with his abdomen exposed, his intestines spread out. His lifeless eyes stared lifelessly at Celty, almost seeming to beg for her aid. But what came as a shock the most, was the other person who was gouging and devouring at his body again and again, almost unable to be satisfied. Its skin was unnaturally discoloured and close to falling apart, the rotting flesh peeled out at almost every possible adjacent of his body. Celty could've sworn she could also see bones sticking out from underneath its skin. Its clothes were ripped apart and tattered, dirty mixtures of red and brown patches can be seen. The revolting sight was enough to make Celty's stomach hurl in disgust.
Immediate fear struck upon her as the grotesque being moved his attention from the dead body to her instead now. Its eyes glinted for a moment as it caught sight of the woman frozen to her place. Letting out a groan, it slowly rose up and limped unsteadily towards her in a hobbling gait. Celty was unable to peel her eyes away from the ghastly features of the creature. Its face was sunken in, and its eyes unfocused, moving around in circumduction. Its jaws were slightly displaced, as drool dripped out from them. Its teeth were uneven, jagged and stained with deep red, fresh from his last meal. On the other hand, its eyes were like that of a predator, eyeing Celty as if she were its next prey.
Celty's heart pounded loudly in her chest, her arrhythmic heart beats boomed in her head. Even though her body wasn't exactly human, she felt complete and utter disgust. Her senses were heightened by now and her body wavered slightly. Her knees slightly shook. Just the sight of the creature made her body unable to move. She wasn't sure to either confront the source of her fears or to flee away from it. Adrenaline was already pumping through her veins by this point, causing her palms to tremble uncontrollably. However, the creature wasn't willing to wait for her answer, as it kept on moving slowly towards her, its eyes dead set against her.
She backed away unfalteringly, her sight still set on the walking dead corpse. What was she to do in such a frightening situation?
Its lips were bloodied and bruised, like it has been chewed off, and its eyes were a greyish, but penetrative colour. She soon realized that it wasn't human. From its clumsy movements, there was no chance that it was a living, normal human.
And if she had a head, only if she had a head, she'd scream.
Feeling desperate, the headless woman had to think fast. Before she let panic take control over her, she calmed her nerves and conjured up her dark scythe from her dense shadows, holding it high above her head. It's sharp, misty edges faded out in the air as she instinctively bent down, in her battle stance.
The creature that was approaching her doesn't seem to be intimidated in any way. As she gripped her weapon hard, Celty swung it round the zombie's neck, effortlessly the skin. She managed to cut a deep wound at its head and neck, as more blood gushed out.
Its body finally fell to the ground with a thud. The bony fingers flinched to and fro before finally becoming limp. Celty stood there and tried her best to regain control from her shaken composure, but the grey eyes from the zombie really burned in the back of her mind.
Everywhere she faced, the zombie's bleeding face flashed in her mind.
She quickly clenched her fist and shook her head, rubbing her neck as if to soothe her fears. Waving her hand, the large scythe immediately vanished into a thin puff of vapour. Her lustered suit shined gleamingly as she hastily bent down next to the laying corpse. Celty's hands hovered over the body, but not really daring to touch it.
Yep, dead.
Finally feeling a tad braver, she turned the zombie over so that it laid on its back and looked at the skin carefully. The skin was darker than usual, with stains of blood here and there.
''So they die when I cut their heads? Is the head the vital point?'' the dullahan wondered to herself and traced her thin fingers across the corpse's neck. She then retracted her hand away like the body was a hot object, reacting to stimulus.
This sounds like a job for Shinra.
No way is she gonna stay there longer. Who knows what else is lurking behind the shadows, ready to pounce on her anytime. So after lifting up the body, she dumped it at the back of her bike frantically. She didn't even bother to carefully adjust the body's position as it drooped down from her bike, just kicking it back up instead. After she tied the no-longer animate creature tightly, Celty started Scooter up and zoomed away, the horse's haunting neigh echoing throughout the streets.
Zombies literally roamed the city. Everything in the video became reality.
She must of missed the news. Seriously, if one of her hobbies were watching interesting TV shows, how could she possibly miss the news this morning? Of course zombies were bloody everywhere! Of course nobody dared to come outside their houses. The disease was spreading like wildfire and the time where it'll consume everybody in the city was near. Celty felt stupid and angry at the same time, and when she couldn't take it anymore, she accelerated her bike on the road.
''Now that I think about it, I was only on the internet yesterday,'' she thought. ''If only Shinra didn't embarrass me like that, then I could see the news on TV! That…! Moron!''
Celty wasn't her usual self that afternoon, she was shaken up badly until her shoulders shook. So afraid that her dark shadows weren't normal and calm as usual. She couldn't even concentrate on the road when she nearly hit a truck that was driving past her. She was too lost in her own train of thought, and when the loud horn with blaring headlights shone on her, she quickly turned her motorcycle to the right, past the driver's window.
As she dodged the incoming truck in slow-motion, the driver on the truck cursed at her and he tried to spit, but luckily she was too fast before he can curse even further. Was he..
Was he on the run to escape the city?
Celty was not in the mood to think about all that. Because all she could think about at this point was what happened to her just several hours ago. Not to mention her complete terror and paranoia at the zombie she tied on her bike behind her.
Blood was splattered on various regions in the city. Windows were broken and public property was busted. The windows on some cars were shattered. More importantly, mindless creatures were scratching the doors of buildings and literally lurked around every nook and cranny of this god-forsaken city. She should've known why there weren't any people playing in the park earlier.
It was the little details that she didn't realize.
Her dread worsened more and more as the zombies followed after her trail. She just knew it. Celty stuck to the highway route on the way back to Shinra's, figuring that it was safer, since the zombies gathered a lot on the housing areas. Fortunately, there weren't many zombies as soon as he reached home.
2:00 pm.
It was long after noon as she arrived. Unceremoniously, she dragged the body of her bike as it clumsily fell to the ground. She kicked it a few times to move it to the door. Truly disgusting, the dullahan though.
Well, at least for now she could have Shinra come and take a look at it.
Thanks for stopping by to read a chapter~ Reviews are highly appreciated, as usual. It's a really big help and you actually can help the story progress, when you feed us some motivation to write. Especially me...Well, the adventure is still at its beginning, we have a ling time to go~
Next chapter: Shinra and Izaya are risking their lives for certain information. And in the end of the day, Shizuo stands behind the door to join this little group of survivors.