"…Unidentified crisis, we urge all citizens to remain calm and report to the safe zone up northwards immediately… Northwards… Evacuation Camp…"
Tadashi cursed under his breath as he repeatedly twisted the knob of the radio in frustration. There had been a moments where he contemplated stepping out of his car to make a mad dash for the Times Square, but it was an impossible idea with a child in tow. The decision to drive was not even an option, given the rampaging mass outside his car. He let out an agonized groan, as the radio did nothing more than gracing him with its occasional fizzle and buzz.
"Mama?"
"Working in the lab." Tadashi answered absent-mindedly, swiping at his phone. Hell, even the wretched mobile had a different plan, refusing to give him any signal as a time like this. "We're going to a new place… On a vacation." He would have to break the news to his daughter somehow, but he decided to deal with it later.
"Mama come?"
"She'll come too, Sara. Hopefully."
"Uncle Fred and W'sabi?"
"Yeah."
"Aunt Go go?"
Tadashi nodded slightly, caressing his daughter's cheek with a free hand. Sara took hold of his hand and nuzzled it affectionately, a small joy of parenthood.
Wasabi had been the first on his hotline. Tadashi knew he could trust the man to hold down the fort and watch out for Aiko. But that didn't negate the need to ensure they were safe. He dialed repeatedly and the monotonous drone of the dial tone filled the silence until a familiar voice finally answered. "Tadashi! You have no idea how long I've been trying to get hold of you." The voice sounded irate, but Tadashi was just relieved to hear it. "You need-"
"Wasabi, are you with the gang?"
"Yeah, uh, we just got out of the building. I'll get Honey on the line."
"…Tadashi?"
His muscles relaxed at sound of Aiko's voice- it gave him all the reassurance he needed. His child had her mother and he had his wife. Alive.
"Give me a sec-" Tadashi turned the mobile on speaker mode.
"Tadashi? Are you there?"
"Mama!" Tadashi's heart sank as he watched Sara grab the mobile and place it on her cheek, holding it as if it were the most important thing in the world.
"Oh, Sara!" Aiko went silent for her few moments and her voice returned trembling. "You'll be a good girl, right?" At this Sara nodded her head solemnly. "Daddy's…going to bring you…. safe…Listen to him." The ruckus in the background was making it difficult to make out what Aiko was saying.
"There's still time. I can get to the laboratory and get us all out." His voice was hardened with resolution.
"No!" Aiko almost yelled into the phone. "You need to get back onto the road, Tadashi. Drive northwards... Not to the concourse. We can fend for ourselves. You must take Sara to the safe zone."
"Honey, I can get there. I can get you guys out, you just-" He was desperate to do anything to get them out.
"Listen, Tadashi. You'll be killing yourself and Sara if you come here." Tadashi listened helplessly as Aiko stifled a sob. "Promise me that you will keep her safe…See you soon…I…"
There was a crackle.
"Aiko? Honey?"
The line crackled again at one final attempt to grasp hold onto connection, but soon went dead. Tadashi growled and slammed his fist against the dashboard. There wasn't even enough time to say a proper goodbye. The vehicle shuddered slightly and the radio suddenly sprang to life, but instead of a radioed emergency announcement, it began playing Stevie Wonder's "What a Wonderful World." The sweet melody rang out sickeningly as sirens blared madly and radios bleeped in the background. Tadashi kicked the reverse gear roughly and swerved the car off the pavement, knocking down the lamp behind. No one would notice if it were destroyed anyway. It would simply be an additional prop to the scene outside. As his car sped past, there were people running amok on the streets, smashing glass panes and grabbing whatever their hands could find.
"Call Mama?" Sara asked, trying to take the mobile from the dashboard.
"No. Not now Sara." Tadashi replied curtly, removing the device from her reach. Bad move. The little girl immediately burst into tears. He wanted to give his daughter some form of comfort that she badly needed. After all, the child was barely three and even the whole night scene was beginning to take a toll on his twenty-five year old body.
Sara's sobs soon descended into a frightened scream from the sudden impact of a man as he threw himself against their windscreen.
It startled Tadashi just as much and he swerved into the crowd, breaking only in time to stop the car from going out of control. The man, now on the road, was gripping his head as if something inside him was trying to escape. He convulsed wildly against the ground as his face and neck contorted in an unnatural manner. In a few seconds, he was groping blindly around the ground, his lips flared up to the sides, a grotesque display of canines and saliva.
Instinctively out of shock and fear, Tadashi reversed the car, speeding over the limits until they reached the road leading to the highway up north. In his haste to leave he hadn't brought anything, and it dawned upon Tadashi that now he and Sara were as good as homeless. He berated himself for the hindsight but there was nothing he could do except to continue driving. The road to their apartment was now completely jammed up and there was no way their car could get through the crowd anyway.
Behind them was a surging mass of people running for their lives while plumes of grey smoke and fragment littered the pavements as cars rammed into each other. The road was now pillowing with smoke and the acrid scents filled the air so thickly that it seeped through the windows of their vehicle, causing Sara to cough and wheeze. Tadashi pulled his daughter away from the door with his free hand and slammed down on the door locks.
"Don't go near the windows, Sara –"
As soon as Tadashi spoke there was another scream from behind. That was when he saw them. Silhouetted by the hazy smoke and darkness, they seemed to be making some kind of eerie grand entrance. The group of about fifteen slouched steadily towards the chaotic mob, moaning loudly and audibly as they shambled forth, unaffected and indifferent to the havoc and useless clutter around them.
The little voice beside him let out a small sob and Tadashi stared down at his daughter; it had always stunned Tadashi how he saw Aiko in Sara, especially in those lavender coloured eyes. He drew in a breath before taking Sara's hand in his own and squeezing it.
"I know it's scary, baby girl. But I won't let them hurt you." Tadashi took a final look at the limp bodies dragging themselves through the roads before he stepped on the accelerator, banging roughly past several cars blocking the entrance of the highway. He turned his face away from his daughter, hoping she would not see the tears.
There was no going back now.