Izaya slowly opened his eyes with a pained groan and sat up with a hiss as his hand came over his injury, the other raising to touch the back of his head. "Shit…" Izaya winced when his fingers touched the sensitive bump that had formed. Did I blackout? Izaya suddenly remembered his situation, and slowly, he grasped the armchair beside him to pull himself up. He peered over the top to check the surroundings, and once he'd deemed it safe, he stood up. Looking outside the window, Izaya noticed the sun had risen, casting light across the neighborhood, but he didn't want to hope the daylight was any safer. Izaya turned to face the mess inside: collapsed shelves, glass scattered from various objects, and – Izaya saw the body of what used to be a human and cringed. He was positive it was dead now.
Izaya had been lucky to survive.
I never want to run into one of those things again.
Three hours earlier.
Izaya's eyes snapped open, and he turned to Nanaka with a frown. Had he seriously dozed off just now? Izaya shook his head, wondering how that was possible at a time like this. Sure, he was still injured, but since when did he just fall asleep? Izaya looked out the window as streetlights sporadically lit the car as they passed. It was still dark. "We're almost there," Nanaka told him as she turned onto a street.
Izaya could now see houses around them, and his eyebrows furrowed immediately; it was eerily quiet considering the chaos from before. Izaya glanced at the clock on the dashboard and was relieved to see he hadn't been out for long. Twenty minutes, maybe, and he wondered if Nanaka had even noticed. Izaya checked his injury and grimaced when he saw splotches of blood seeping through. Great. If an infected one attacked them, Izaya was unsure if he would even last two seconds, but there had been times when he had exceeded his limits, so he was somewhat hopeful. The shock of the events was still with him, so until he accepted the reality of what happened, he was just as vulnerable as anyone else. Izaya tensed when the car rolled slowly into the driveway of what he assumed was Nanaka's home.
When Izaya searched the hospital, it had been abundantly clear that the building had been overrun for some time before he woke up, so it made him wonder just how long Nanaka and her husband had been out of contact. She had been the only one still alive except for the nurse who got her insides torn out right in front of him in his room. Izaya sighed at the queasiness in his stomach and unclasped his seatbelt. He glanced toward his rucksack in the back, debating if he needed it, but figured it'd be safer where it was for now until they gathered more supplies. Izaya stepped out after Nanaka, pleased to see the same confusion on her face. No one was around. "How long since you spoke with your husband?"
Nanaka pulled out the door key from her pocket when they reached the porch. From the darkness, Izaya could distinguish the small neighborhood and imagined it to be a close-knit community. Izaya grinned with amusement as he looked for infected ones while Nanaka opened the door and wondered how long this close-knit community took to become savage, selfish beings when the outbreak hit. The area was quiet, but Izaya could see signs of break-ins, cars either overturned or smashed in their haste to escape. The street lamps were barely working now, so Izaya couldn't see much of the pathways along their short distances, which unnerved him.
Since the community was small, it seemed the people had moved on quickly, but that didn't make Izaya any less concerned. The raven frowned when he realized Nanaka was taking too long, and before he opened his mouth to voice this, she spoke. "The door won't budge. It's like something heavy is in the way."
Izaya instantly became alert from that information, and he hoped Nanaka realized the same thing. "Somebody didn't want anyone getting in," he said and moved to look through the window beside them. "Or out." Both were a possibility, but he rather hoped for the former. Izaya turned his head since he couldn't see inside and cringed when Nanaka pushed against the door. Izaya stepped beside her as the offending items seemed to budge slightly. Shrugging, Izaya decided to help, and the added weight shoved the door back. A loud bang caused them to jump, and they realized a large piece of furniture was probably keeping the door barricaded.
Nanaka carefully stepped through the gap, and Izaya gripped the knife in his jacket and pulled it from his pocket before following her inside. They discovered a large, fallen bookshelf splintered before the doorway. "Hello?"
Izaya frowned at the stupidity of this human. Why would you alert your presence in a darkened, barricaded house in the middle of a fucking apocalypse! Izaya immediately took back his thoughts from before; this human was an idiot. Izaya sighed and quietly scanned the house. It didn't look as chaotic as he initially thought it would. Everything was mostly intact besides the broken bookshelf, but that only confirmed his fear. Somebody didn't want to get out. Izaya thought about the cause of the outbreak. What if someone was humane and selfless enough to realize their symptoms and locked themselves away before they caused harm? Izaya knew humans were capable of selfless acts, so the idea seemed plausible, but the acts were rare in these circumstances. A person capable of such a thing wasn't your average human, but rather someone who was trained.
Izaya's eyes widened when he realized. "We should leave," he tried to warn Nanaka, further inside, as he stepped back. She had driven him this far, so his warning was merely conventional. Izaya watched the woman from beside the bookshelf, close enough to the door if he needed to escape. Izaya's grip tightened when a noise sounded from the back. Taking another step back, Izaya prepared to bolt at the first sign of danger, but since he wasn't far enough into the living room, the woman was out of reach, so Izaya would leave her behind.
Nanaka stilled and glanced up when movement sounded from the side in the archway.
"Let's go," Izaya hissed, trying once more to warn her so that they could both escape.
"Izuki?" Nanaka stepped forward slightly when the shuffling of feet sounded in the near silence. Izaya watched her facial expression for signs of threat and cursed his own curiosity as he stepped further inside. Izaya slightly relaxed when Nanaka breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank god, I was so worried." Izaya refused to drop his guard completely because something about this reunion still had him anxious. Nanaka had never answered his question regarding the length they'd been out of contact, and now that they'd discovered the husband here, it confirmed what Izaya had already dreaded. "I thought you were going to Haneda." Nanaka frowned when Izuki wasn't replying, and finally, she stepped back from him. "What's wrong?"
Izaya and Nanaka watched him shuffle forward until they could catch a glimpse of his appearance in one of the only street's working lamps, bright enough to cast light across half the room. No skin deficiency or visible wounds marred Izuki's body that suggested an attack from other infected humans. By normal standards, you could say he still looked human. His muscular appearance confirmed his military status, much like his uniform. Izaya furrowed his eyebrows in thought. Why was he barricaded inside if none of the infected got him? Izaya couldn't imagine a soldier trapping himself inside to keep people out; such a cowardly act would go against everything a man like Izuki stood for.
Izaya gasped. He had only assumed that if the husband was here, he was clearly infected, but he hadn't considered this surprising outcome. "He used the drug," Izaya whispered, unable to voice his discovery boldly due to shock. Izuki's appearance might not have changed yet, but his actions proved Izaya's theory.
Assuming it took the infection a few days to kill the part which made them human, Izaya figured Izuki had already returned when the outbreak started, contacted Nanaka to inform her of the evacuation, but had no intention of heading there himself, knowing his mistake. "Why?" Izaya heard her ask. Ah, at least she believed it. "Why didn't you tell me before I came here!" Nanaka's lack of concern for what used to be her husband surprised him; she seemed angrier that he put her in danger, but Izaya supposed it was a fair point.
Izaya could see a fraction of humanity left in the soldier as he seemed to stare confoundedly at Nanaka, almost as if realizing she was important to him, but the raven was no fool; this soldier was no longer human. Izaya chewed his lip anxiously while slowly raising the hand holding the knife. He had killed a human before they succumbed to infection and several infected ones, so killing an almost turned one shouldn't be any different. It's still distracted, so it should be easy enough.
Through the head, and it would be over.
Izaya thought back to the hospital's entrance and how he froze. He froze on the second floor before those group of infected too. Both times, he had been saved, which annoyed him because he hadn't realized how fearful he could be until then. Izaya knew he'd have to get over his fear of them eventually if he wanted to survive; there would be many times that he could simply run away or avoid them, but now wasn't one of them. A snarl snapped him out of it, but Izaya noticed it hadn't come from Nanaka's former husband. Izaya and Nanaka turned to face the entrance to the living room. Izaya's eyes widened when a clearly infected one appeared in the light. They hadn't seen any sign of one outside. It must have recently risen. Now what? It's blocking the fucking exit!
"Izaya… we're trapped. I'm sorry."
Izaya gritted his teeth. No! He would not die yet! Before either of them moved, Izuki growled when the infected human shuffled toward them, rushed forward with surprising speed, and shoved a fist through the body before pinning it down.
Izaya and Nanaka watched in horror as Izuki ripped the being apart with nothing but his strength. "Fuck…" Once the infected stopped moving, Izuki immediately turned on them. Izaya didn't have time to think about what way was safer, avoiding or attacking, and raised the knife. Izaya cursed when the blade pierced just below the neck and not the head like he had hoped. The loud growl suggested those who turned because of the drug still felt pain. Izaya tried to free the blade, but it seemed stuck, and he was forced to let go. Izaya turned to see Nanaka snap a wooden floor lamp in half by smashing it down. Izuki shot forward, and Nanaka jolted to the side to avoid him as he smashed into the tv and its stand with incoordination. Izaya frowned, and before he could suggest escaping, Nanaka shoved the broken stand through Izuki's side.
Nanaka jumped back when her attack only made Izuki more aggressive as he turned swiftly and knocked several objects from their positions. Izaya couldn't believe the endurance of this turned human as it rushed at them. Even the fucking knife was still in him! Izaya concluded with horror that even if they escaped now, it would just follow them, so their only option was to try and kill it. Izaya gasped when he suddenly remembered his other weapon. He pulled out the gun from inside his jacket and clicked the safety off. Izuki rushed forward when Izaya pulled the trigger, but the raven missed due to panic. He's too close! Izaya yelped when Izuki slammed his hands against his chest and sent him flying. Izaya hissed when his head hit the wall and groaned as he slid to the floor. Shit… can't…pass out…
"Izaya!" Nanaka lunged forward, grabbed the fallen gun beside Izaya, and leaped at her husband, sending them both sprawling to the floor. Nanaka aimed the gun for Izuki's head before an apology escaped her lips, and she pulled the trigger, but not before a hand sheered through her chest simultaneously. Blood splattered from her mouth when she pulled back, and tears streamed down her face. "I love you…Izuki," she said softly and collapsed forward.
Present.
"Nanaka?" Izaya called out quietly as he stepped over broken glass. The infected one was dead, which only left – and then Izaya saw them. "Shit." Izaya sighed and bent down to pull his knife from Izuki, hidden just underneath Nanaka, easier now that his life wasn't in danger. Izaya lifted his shirt. Bruises had begun forming over his chest from the blow that knocked him out, but his main concern was still his stab wound. The bandage was patchy with blood, but until he found a secure place to rest for a while, he couldn't treat it.
Izaya found the bedroom in the backroom and glanced longingly at the bed but knew it was dangerous to loiter here, so he continued his search. This was a soldier's home, so surely there were weapons hidden around somewhere.
After searching the house, Izaya only discovered one handgun and a knife, but anything was better than being defenseless. Especially if I ever run into another one of those aggressors.
Izaya couldn't help but wonder about his discovery and if it might be important as he cautiously stepped out of the house, relieved to find no immediate danger. Izaya slipped into the driver's seat and locked the doors with a sigh.
So far, Izaya had witnessed two stages of 'zombies.' There were those displaying symptoms due to inhaling or smoking the enhanced marijuana, like Izuki, and it seemed to affect their strength as well as their rational mind, but Izaya noticed that the former soldier had no desire to eat human flesh; they were simply uncoordinated and destructive. Aggressors. Izaya hoped by now they were rare since all other encounters had begun decaying. Then there was the bitten type. Those he fought at the hospital were slower and weaker but no less dangerous because once they had you – game over.
Izaya turned the keys still in the ignition and pulled out of the driveway after checking the gas; there was enough to get him to Shinjuku at least, then he'd have to switch cars or steal some gas. Izaya had no intention of changing the plan he and Nanaka made.
It had been some time since the raven had driven a car since he preferred bullet trains and reaching places on foot. Izaya thought about his favorite cities and realized things wouldn't be the same when he reached them, and his situation would only worsen from now on. If Shinjuku and Ikebukuro had been affected the same way as Sendai, Izaya would have to be constantly alert. He couldn't afford to be careless; every decision he made changed the way survived. It was time to face the new world.
Izaya turned onto the main road with only one goal on his mind, the evacuation zone.
Now, he truly was alone.