There are things in life that are forgettable. Nothing about them warrants a second thought or a front row seat in the brain's neurons and supportive cells.
Then there are things that are unforgettable. Something wonderful. Events, sounds, sights, or smells so special, that they are burned into the soul itself.
For Kaname, this night would be neither of those.
That is because there are also events that by their very nature, should be unforgettable. But, because they are so horrid... so harmful... so scarring... the mind puts them within wall after wall, behind anatomical locks and emotional chains.
Little that she could possibly face in life would surpass the sheer terror and loss of this chill evening.
The line between fantasy and reality would henceforth be blurred.
There were more howls. Followed by more screams. Then, more gunfire. A bright spot appeared in the sky, framed by distant drifting smoke before it faded away.
'Sousuke. What are you doing? What have you found? Is it coming this way? Why aren't you here? Sousuke...'
Someone had to do something.
The student body was becoming increasingly edgy.
It wouldn't take much to send them into a panic.
"Those noises are coming this way, guys. I don't think we should just stay out here roasting our buns near the fire!" Kaname felt a need to take control. "We should get everybody on the same page. Fast."
Her friends around the fire nodded their heads, but when she shouted to people at the other fires, they looked at her as if she were speaking in tongues. This wasn't school. They weren't in class any more. No one was inclined to listen to a class representative or student council vice president.
They were too scared. Too worried.
Rightfully so.
"It's only noises, so far!" Kaname said as loudly as she could. "We should stay in control. Be brave. We need discipline. Please!" No one was paying any attention to her.
The noises were too close. The sounds down below were too disturbing. The students' imaginations were running wilder than they were themselves.
The impartial full moon shone down upon them all, casting grotesque shadows on the hard-packed dirt of the camp site. The creeping fog worked hard to erase those ill-defined shapes, blanketing the area square foot by square foot. The tall ancient trees took no notice of the actions around them. Shivering monkeys, clinging to one another in animal desperation, watched will baleful eyes.
Kaname shrugged sadly, her heart filled with disappointment and her spirit weakened by duress. She turned her attention to the people around her own fire.
"We should probably head towards the cabins while we can. Pick up anything that looks like it might serve as a weapons or means of defense. Valor is superior to numbers. And opportunity is superior to bravery."
She felt her heart jump in her chest.
That quote came from Sousuke. Kaname couldn't remember where he had gotten it. Some old Roman guy. The words 'flavor' and 'vegetable' tweaked her thoughts mischievously. She shook her head angrily. There was no time for mental shenanigans.
Even in calmer times she wouldn't have remembered Flavius Vegetius Renatus.
"It is not a problem..." She trembled after reassuring herself. She never really realized just how safe she felt around Sousuke, despite the fact that his mistakes and judgment often set her on edge.
Still, not being able to recall something he had said-even if it was a stupid useless dead guy's name- made her feel uneasy and irresponsible. He was out there. In the middle of whatever was going on.
Alone.
If Sousuke were here, maybe he could have done something drastic enough to get the mob to work together towards a common goal.
Another quote snuck into her head as she waited for her friends to follow her advice.
'A handful of men inured to war proceed to certain victory... while on the contrary, numerous armies of raw and undisciplined troops are but multiples of men dragged to the slaughter.'
No one here had any experience with the fear, danger, and unpredictability of battle. Even those who acted in disciplined fashion at school had thrown that characteristic onto the fires along with twigs, sticks and branches.
The word 'slaughter' echoed inside the confines of Kaname's mind.
Her pulse quickened.
Every pore in her body worked at a feverish pace, helping to cover her in a coating of fresh sweat. He shirt clung to the contours of her chest underneath her sweaters.
Her breathing came in short quick bits, as the exhaled cloud of her breath merged imperceptibly with the chill fog. She twitched ever so slightly, her 'Fight or Flight' mechanism trying to convince her to adopt the latter. Her heart strove to burst free of her chest, beating wildly and impatiently.
'Listen to yourself,' Kaname forced herself to think. 'Slaughter? There might not even be anything out there to truly worry about. Gunshots? Even so….'
'You know Sousuke...'
A frantic wave of monkeys burst out of the forest. They were scared of the Jindai students, but not nearly as frightened of them as they were of something not far behind them. Their eyes impossibly wide, and saliva trailing out of their open mouths, some monkeys were so spooked that they actually singed themselves jumping through the campfires.
"Perhaps we should begin moving towards the cabins..." Atsonobu's strong calm voice was like a beacon to ships in a foggy harbor. Still, not everyone cared for his advice.
Further down the clearing, a pair of deer rang out into the clearing. One jumped over a frightened girl who fell to the ground, just avoiding a hoof to the head. Another stepped into a small charcoal pit, shattering the bone in its leg. Bleating with fear, it hobbled along on three legs, periodically collapsing to the forest floor before disappearing from sight.
"NO! We should stay by the fire. Wild animals don't like fire. Grab some of the longer branches. We can use them as torches hurry!" One boy followed his own advice, picking up a flaming tree branch, nearly catching a nearby girl's hair on fire..
"I said I believe that Kaname is right. We should head to the cabins, getting as many girls inside as we can. Only young men should be left outside if there is room for the ladies." Atsonobu adjusted his glasses... grabbed Ren's hand... and pulled her to her feet. He whispered in her ear and pushed her towards a cabin. She hesitated. Her eyes showed that she were worried about him and afraid of whatever was drawing near.
A wild boar skittered this way and that, its eyes crazed and its muzzle red with cuts from brambles and sharp stones. It took no notice of the running humans. There was only one instinct at work. Run. Run more. Run until there could be no more running. Survive.
AHHHRRROOOoooooo ooooooo ooooooo ooooo AHHH AHHH AHHH RRROOO ooooo oooooo ooooooo
"Screw that!" Another boy took of at top speed, heading for the nearest cabin. He knocked down one girl who stumbled into his path. "Move it you stupid bitch!"
"Go! Run. Come on!" Shinji shoved Kyouko, then Mizuke. That broke their trance. "hurry!" He grabbed Ryo's hand and nearly dislocated her shoulder.
"What's going on..." Ryo tried to keep up with her friends. It was hard to keep track of them. Every step away from the fires brought greater cold and deeper darkness. Every meter run brought them into a tighter and tighter knot of frantic students.
The herd instinct had taken over. Once a fair number of guys and gals started running, many others followed suit.
Things progressed rapidly from disorder to pandemonium.
AHHHHHHHHH HHHHHHHHH AHHHHHH HHHHHH AHHHRRROOO ooooooo ooooooooo ooooooo
"Slow down. Give each other room. We don't even know what it is. There might be something we can do as an organized group. As a team!" Kaname shouted herself hoarse, trying to make the best of the rapidly deteriorating situation.
"Get the Hell out of the way, idiot!" One charging boy bumped hard into Kaname, sending her tumbling over a folding chair. Atsonobu bent to help her up.
Those actions saved both their lives.
No howl.
Not even a growl.
A furred rocket of sinew and teeth bound out of the forest... over the one fire... past Kaname and Atsonobu... and directly onto the trial of the ruffian. He never had time to look behind him before the beast grabbed him in both arms and leaped back out into the blanket of darkness.
"Nooo I ahhhhhhhhhhhhargrllllgrlllll..."
The terrible shout and gurgling sound was followed by snarls, the ripping of cloth, and the crunching of bone.
The sounds pushed the students to the brink of pure mindless action. Elbows were thrown. People were purposely pushed aside or thrown down. The lightless interior of the huts and building that had seemed so foreboding before now reached out its shadowy arms for a loving embrace.
This was like a lottery. Winners had a chance to live. Losers had to face a waking nightmare closer up.
AHHHROOO ooooooo ooooooo oooooooo ooooooo ooooooooo oooooooo ooooooooooo oooooo ooooo oo
AHHH AHHH AHHHRRROOO oooooo ooooo oooooo oooo ooooo oooooo ooooooo oooooooo ooooo
Whatever that fanged monstrosity had been, it was clearly not alone.
Darwin would have been shocked. Not by the beasts, as he was no stranger to the wonders of Nature. No, he would have been shocked. This was not survival of the fittest. Watching the Jindai class members, he would have theorized survival of the fastest, most frantic, and most ruthless.
Then again, maybe not.
The saying 'be careful what you wish for... you may get it!' was in play. The first escapees who had made it into the cabins stood a good chance of being crushed or suffocated by the teaming mass of bodies following behind them.
"Kaname. Give me your hand. We should go. We can't stay here." Atsonobu helped Kaname to her feet. "This way. Let's use the trees as shields, as best we can."
They both froze. The first beast rose out of the underbrush, a hideous glow in its eyes and a warning growl in its throat. It was not looking for another kill just yet. The hackles on its neck rose, and it snapped its jaws shut fiercely, time and time again, driving the two students back so quickly they tripped over each other and fell.
It was protecting its meal.
Taking an ankle in its foul drooling maw, the monster ran off into the forest, dragging the remnants of the boy's body behind it.
"Sousuke..." Kaname murmured. She didn't have time to think about him. She just wanted him there.
Two more dark shapes jumped and ran into the campsite. The first leaped off of the back of a running girl, knocking her into the heart of a large blaze. She screamed, her clothes on fire. Her cries quickly died out as the second beast took her neck in its jaws and partially decapitated her head. It dragged the still flaming body into the middle of the clearing, where it contentedly turned around a few times before settling on all fours, beginning to feed.
Kaname couldn't help herself. She fell to her knees and vomited.
She was not the only one.
Man is not the only cruel animal. Not if the one beast was any general representation of its breed. The monster ran just fast enough to drive the running boy this way and that, ignoring the boys and girls it brushed up against when the boy tried to find safety in the crowd.
Finally, the urge to eat overriding the instinct to play, the smallish creature swiped out twice with both claws, ripping open the boys back and sending him rolling across the ground.
He landed on his back, quite conscious. His last moments were spent looking up at the frightful snarling creature, as it stood over him waiting, prolonging his agony. Eternal sleep came when its bite tore off more than half his face.
"WHAT ARE THEY-Y-Y-Y-Y-Y-Y-Y-Y-Y-Y-Y-Y-Y-Y-Y-Y-Y-Y-Y-Y!"
The scream echoed across the foggy little hollow. The two visible beasts lifted their heads for a moment. Folding their ears back, they sent their own cries out towards the emotionless moon.
OOOOOOO OOOOOO OOOOO OOOOOOO OOOOOO OOOOOOO OOOO
OOOO OOOOOO OOOO OOOO AHHH OOOOO OOOOOO OOOO OOOOO
Suddenly, their posture changed dramatically.
Bang bang bang bang
ooooooo ooooo oooooo uuuuu uuuurrrrrr rrrrrrrrrrr aaaaaaaaaa aaaaahhhhhhhh
Gunfire. Down the slope, but not at the other campsite. A different kind of howl. It was not in answer to the other howls. It decreased in loudness, tailing off into a near whimper.
The two monsters abandoned their kills. Their fur stood on end. The guttural sound deep in their chests spoke of emotion and anger. Ears flat back against their heads, they looked at one another... at the corpses near them... back at the struggling mass of humanity... then off into the forest in the direction of the dying cry. They ran off in that direction. Silent. One close on the tail of the other. On two legs at first, then on all four.
"While they're gone, everyone listen!" One boy further down the way made his attempt at restoring order. "We have to try and help each other. We have to attempt to protect one another. Come on!"
"He's right. We're not animals." A girl added.
"We might stand a better chance if we were!" A different boy pulled one girl out of the door in one cabin, taking the last place of safety before the other cabin dwellers shut and barred the door.
"No. NO! It's not fair. I was there first. I... was... (s-o-b) ...there... (s-o-b) ... first I... (s-o-b) ... was … (s-o-b) ... first ..." The girl's tears coursed down her face like water too plentiful for the gutter of a small house.
"Who says they're gone. How many are out there?" Another girl's question was one that no one wanted to ponder. There minds had been pushed far beyond the breaking point by what they had already experienced.
There was the sound of a struggle inside the house. The door opened. A moaning body was thrown out-the boy who had pulled the girl from her place of potential safety. That girl now walked into the building sobbing her thanks. The door closed again with the sound of a sinking reality. Those who now stood closest to the overstuffed edifice were also the furthest away from any other such structure.
Maybe it was time to work together after all.
"The bodies. We can't leave the bodies like that! O God. That's Kimi..." One girl's shouts suddenly ceased when she recognized the tattered remains of a skirt worn by the girl who sat next to her in home room.
"No. Oh, why him. It's Kutsumi. The other is Kutsumi..." The captain of the Baseball club recognized the risqué T-shirt worn by his one time left fielder.
Everything seemed to move in slow motion for Kaname.
She saw Shinji push Ryo and Maya into one hut, giving up the last opening to one of them. The image of Atsonobu and Ren wrapping their arms silently around each other seemed straight out of a dream. Caught up in the moment, Kaname involuntarily smiled when the quiet girl lay her head on his shoulder.
Students down at the other end of the campsite were fashioning torches and grabbing large sticks to make into rude spears. Some stood back to back, in areas between closely situated fires. Some were trying to dig under the few huts that sat on short stilts. Most were too frightened to think clearly. They were no more intelligent at that moment than the monkeys, deer, and boar.
Kaname put her head between her knees. It was not fear. It was not nausea. She was not catatonic, and she was not resigned to her fate.
Something hurt in her head. Strange numbers and letters swirled in her mind and before her eyes, as if the entire surrounding world was just her private movie screen. Babbled words pored out from her mouth…… words she did not quite understand, phrases and bits of sentences that she would never recall beyond that moment.
Lycanthropy... restriction endonuclease fabrication... genetically modified organisms and human stock... embryonic stem cells... gene transfer between eucharistic and prokaryotic vector cells... site directed autogenesis... argent and quicksilver contingency... expression vector multiplex... forced canine and vulpine genome incorporation...gene product purification for human transmogrification... Human Proteome Organization culpability... DNA introduction by tailored bacteriophages... lunar activation and reinforcement... clone library of original source...
The world was spinning. She was so dizzy. Where was she? When was she? Why was she?
As with many of her Whispered moments, Kaname would remember very little if anything of the scientific jargon she spoke. Even if she would remember it, she might never realize what it foretold.
A shadow group had nefarious plans. Scientists were drunk on the idea of playing God. Power players sitting in smoke-filled rooms, dreamed up the ultimate weapon: obedient soldiers... with animal strength, speed, and cunning... and a burning need to rip and tear the opposition. Even the smart can be outsmarted. The vile and vicious will always meet their match. Often, the innocent will suffer as a result of the hubris of those selfish greedy men.
They had chosen the wrong legends as their inspiration.. Their scientists had done their jobs too well. The security and safety measures were a veritable affront to all of mankind.
Somewhere beyond the crest of the mountains, a secret laboratory lay in ruins. Deep in the mountains, a new form of creature signaled its claim for the top of the food chain.
Mechanical weapons can be stopped.
The circle of life is much more resilient.
"Kaname. Can you hear me. Kaname, are you OK? Kaname Chidori, Vice President of the student council. Can you hear me?"
When Kaname's focus snapped back into focus as swiftly as it had left, only two things held her attention. There was a strange feeling deep within her head. She had no idea what it meant.
The other thing was more ominous. Quite deliberately, something made its way into the clearing... slowly... almost majestically... walking on all fours.
It was one of the creatures. Huge. Its fur silver, with slight black tips. Thick corded muscles shifted beneath the silky fine fur. A terrible intelligence blazed forth from its dark black eyes.
It sniffed the air. It listened to distant calls of its kind. Sitting back on its haunches, it opened its muzzle and looked to the sky.
O OO OOO OOOO OOOOO OOOOOO OOOOOOO OOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOO O OOO OO OOOO OOOOOO OOOOO O OO OOO OOOO OOOOO
Kaname placed both hands at her temples.
She looked past the great silvery monster. There were glowing red spots at the fringe of the forest.
One pair. Two pairs. No, three pairs. Make that at least four pairs of red glowing eyes.
"Oh…… Sousuke..."
Where was he?