Okay, things are gonna slow down a bit in this chapter just to get a few questions answered. Not all, but enough to make everyone happy I hope. The next chapter will be back to the usual stuff like in the previous two. Trying to stay pretty close to the story-line while adding in some other stuff so that it isn't just a non-stop shootfest that will bore everyone.
Dark Sanctuary
Chapter 3: Explanations
"This is fucking great," Kouji muttered, lighting up a second cigarette. "We're stuck on this fucking building surrounded by those nut-cases at the bottom...."
"I think I have a plan, but it's still in the works," Takuya replied. "Give me another few minutes and I should have all of the technicalities worked out."
Zoe sighed, hugging her knees to her chest. "That was a close one back there. But I lost both of my pistols, dammit...."
Takuya shifted, and took two pistols from his belt. "Remember how we found these in that room with all the ammo and shit? Well, these were amongst them, so hang onto them."
"Thanks," the blond said, taking them from him.
"They're already loaded," he told her.
Zoe nodded, absently stuffing them into her coat pockets for the time being. She then wrapped her arms around herself, shuddering slightly. Noticing this, Takuya quickly draped his heavy camoflauge coat over her shoulders.
"No, I can't take this," Zoe objected, about to pull it off.
Takuya stopped her, however. "Just hold onto it for now. I'm sweating my ass off right this second so I don't need it. I'll take it back when we leave, unless of course, you're still cold."
Zoe gave him a grateful smile and wrapped it around herself even tighter.
Tommy looked over the side of the building and grimaced. "You said that there were other infected people that were stronger than the normal ones. What exactly are they?"
"Well, along with the ones you've already encounted, there are three more. They are known as Chargers, Spitters, and Jockeys. And before you ask, they all suck in their own way. But personally, I find Witches and Tanks to be the worst," Takuya said.
Kouji glared at him. "How the fuck do you know all of this stuff, huh? I mean, you seem to know how to fend them off and even know what the hell they're called. What are you, part of the damn government or something?"
Takuya threw him an annoyed glance. "No, I'm not part of the government."
Kouji snorted, taking another puff of his cigarette. "Yeah, as far as we know."
"Think what you want," the brunette said. "But I'm not part of the fucking government. I was on the verge of finishing up boot camp to become a soldier when we were called out to help with the fucking pandemic. It's been two weeks since the first signs of it, and it's spread like a wildfire ever since. My commrades and I were told to help quarantine the area off and lead people to helicoptors for evactuation. But the pandemic has already infected several cities surrounding this one. It's a fucking mess...."
"How did it start?" Tommy asked.
Takuya shrugged. "Don't know. At first, people were only feeling like they had a flu-like sickness. But within a few days, the people infected began to act like zombies. Some died at first from seizures, but most just transformed into these savages that we've leared to love for the past few days. Now look at this fucking wasteland."
"It's unbelievable," Zoe said, looking somewhat sad. "It's like a cruel way of telling us that we're all screwed. The town has been overrun with them for nearly a week."
"Yeah, and I noticed the first signs of the special infected people about five days ago," Takuya told them. "Me and a couple of my friends were looking in this area and came across a Boomer. The thing fucking puked everywhere and before we knew it, a horde of those fuckers came running out. My two friends, Wesley and Seiko, helped me shoot the group down. We lasted for another two days, hiding in abandoned buildings and shit so we could sleep. But....a Witch was hidden in one of the rooms we were hiding in. I killed her...but not before she tore my friends to pieces...."
Zoe looked at him sympathetically. "I'm sorry..."
"Don't be," he told her. "We knew what we were in for before we came here...."
"Were any more of your commrades sent here?" Tommy asked.
"Yeah, but I haven't seen any of them alive. I saw a few of their corpses, and had to kill five of them who had been infected." He sighed. "And I've been on my own for the past two days. Glad to know that I'm not the only one left. The infection spreads mainly through bites, but you can still contract it like a flu virus. I wouldn't be surprised if we all became infected in a matter of hours...."
"I tried to leave the area when they were evacutating, but the helicoptor was full," Tommy told them. "I didn't get a chance to catch another one because I had to get out of the area immediately. It was swarming with the infected."
"So, why are you here?" Takuya asked Kouji.
Kouji adjusted his blue bandana. "None of your fucking business."
Takuya shrugged, not really caring. "Whatever."
"Now shut up and don't talk to me until you think of a plan," he muttered, turning away. "Just because I'm stuck on this rooftop with you, it doesn't mean that I trust you..."
Takuya smirked, but left the raven-haired man alone. However, he didn't see the guilt written all over Kouji's face.
Two days ago
"Kouji, hurry up!"
Kouji looked at his twin brother, Kouichi, and quickened his pace. A group of infected people were catching up to them, and they had almost run out of bullets.
Kouichi opened the door of their apartment and rushed inside. He waited for Kouji to enter, then slammed the door shut.
"Come on! Let's get upstairs," Kouji said. "The ammo is up there."
The two of them ran up the stairs as quickly as they could, hearing the sounds of pounding against the front door. They made it to the second floor, and looked around for their roomates, who were also members in the gang they were in. The apartment itself was quite large, with five bedrooms, two bathrooms, and a lounging room upstairs. Downstairs there was a living room, one bathroom, a dining room, and a kitchen.
"Drew! Michio! Arashi!" Kouichi called out. "You guys here?"
There was no reply and Kouji cursed quietly. "Where the fuck are they?"
"Not sure," Kouichi replied, making his way to his bedroom. "I have some ammo in my room. See if you have any in yours."
"Yeah." Kouji hurried to his room and found a small pile of bullets on his cluttered desk.
He stuffed them into his machine gun, his heart pounding. "Drew! Michio! Arashi! Where the fuck are you?"
Kouichi walked into his room a moment later, his face dour. He had already reloaded his own machine gun and had stuffed a handgun into his belt.
"I found them," he said gravely. "They were all slumped over in Drew's room...The infected already got to them..."
Kouji swallowed. "Shit. You mean..."
"Yeah, they were ripped to pieces," the older twin said. "So that means there might be some of those fuckers already inside the apartment."
"Fuck!" Kouji exclaimed. "Now what?"
"Shoot the bastards," Kouichi replied. "We have to get out of here as quickly as possible."
Kouji sighed, then followed his brother out of the bedroom. He glanced into Drew's room and felt his stomach churn. Blood, organs, and limbs were splattered throughout the room, and he could vaguely make out Michio's severed head displayed on the bed. It seemed to be staring at him ominously, the eyes glassy and filled with horror. Kouji tore his gaze away, but jumped at the sound of a gunshot. A group of the infected had walked up the stairs and were now standing in the lounge. There was a rail over the side of the lounge, which overlooked the first floor.
"They're here!" Kouichi shouted, firing at a small group of infected humans. "Shoot 'em!"
Kouji complied, helping his brother annihilate the staggering infected beings. Blood and chunks of flesh flew off of the group in a sickening mess, staining the walls, floor, and furniture. Kouichi's face was stern and concentrated, while Kouji's was amused.
"Come on, you fuckers!" He shouted. "You like that?"
"Kouji, look out!"
The long-haired twin jerked his head just in time to see a Smoker thrust its tongue at him, knocking him over. Its long tongue began to wrap around his neck, and drag him over. Kouichi aimed at its head and fired, killing it seconds later.
"Fuck!" Kouji yelled, coughing as an explosion of smoke covered him. "What was that?!"
Kouichi pulled his brother up and supported him, using his free arm to continue shooting at the zombie-like group. "I don't know what it was!"
"Dammit, I can't fucking see," his brother complained, furiously rubbing his eyes.
Kouichi swore under his breath, his sapphire eyes narrowed. "Shit, you can't see anything at all?"
"Well, barely," Kouji replied. "It's clearing up a bit."
While he continued to rub his eyes, the short-haired twin shot one of the infected in the head, causing it to explode in a bloody mass. He suddenly saw a Hunter climbing up the wall from the first floor, ready to leap at Kouji. Before it could pounce, Kouichi brutally shoved his brother away and fired at it.
"Shit!" Kouji fell to the floor, blinking rapidly to clear his vision.
The bullet had missed the Hunter and it had jumped. It landed on top of Kouichi, viciously snarling at him. The gun had been knocked out of Kouichi's hands, just out of his reach. Kouichi was not able to grab the handgun from his belt, for the Hunter's leg was blocking it.
"Kouichi!" Kouji screamed in horror as the Hunter slashed down into Kouichi's chest.
"Run, K-Kouji!" Kouichi yelled. "Get the fuck out while you still-"
He was cut off as the Hunter sank its teeth into his shoulder, and began to scream in pain. Kouji went to shoot the Hunter off, only to be attacked by another that seemed to pop out of nowhere. He was thrown across the room, right into the glass window. Before he knew it, the glass had shattered and he began to fall to the ground outside. Luckily, he landed in a bush to break his fall, but he looked up into the second-story window in dismay. From inside, he could hear his brother's agonized wails, then silence.
"Kouichi..." He was vaguely aware of the tears running down his face.
When Kouji snapped back to reality, Takuya and Tommy were conversing. He quickly wiped his damp face, hoping that no one had seen his tears.
"Did your family get out, kid?" Takuya asked.
"No, they were killed three days ag," the younger boy replied solemnly. "My brother goes to school out of the country, so at least he's safe. I haven't been able to get in touch with him since my parents' death."
Takuya gave him a strange look. "Not to be rude or anything, but how old are you anyway?"
"Nineteen, but I'm almost twenty," Tommy said.
"Nineteen, huh? So, you must be in school too, then," Takuya speculated.
Tommy shook his head. "Actually, I graduated high school when I was fifteen. Went to college and graduated that on my nineteenth birthday. I was able to get a pretty good job as a junior system analyst. But...I was on the verge of quitting..."
Zoe raised an eyebrow. "Why? Sounds like a really good job to me. And if you graduated at such a young age, then I'm sure that you're intelligent enough to do your job sufficiently."
"Well, that's the thing....whenever I did something, my colleagues would push me around and take all of the credit. Probably because I was the youngest one there and I'm a bit of a pushover... One of my co-workers was the owner of the company's son, and told me that he could make my life a living hell. So I always just stood there in the backround and did everything, then let him take the credit and get on daddy's good graces. Little prick....," he muttered angrily. "As I said, I wanted to quit, but then the outbreak started so quitting wasn't exactly the first thing on my mind anymore."
"Damn, that's rough," Takuya said, shaking his head. "I would've kicked that guy's ass."
Tommy simply shrugged. "Well, he ended up getting maimed by a group of the infected, so if I survive this, I won't have to worry about him anymore. Did your family get away at least?"
"Luckily, they're out of the country on vacation. My parents were worried sick about me last time I checked in with them, but that was a few days ago. As long as they're away from this shit, that's all I care about," he told them. "Obviously, they wanted to fly out and come get me, but weren't allowed to. They originally were supposed to return six days ago. I also have a younger brother, but he's with them so he's safe as well."
Kouji looked at him suspiciously. "Even though you're a soldier or whatever, you still seem to know a lot about weapons and shit. You know more than the average soldier by the looks of it."
Takuya sighed. "My grandfather was in Vietnam and taught me most of the shit I know today. He died about two years ago, but by then I had learned to master almost every single type of gun out there, and knew about types of grenades and explosives. So if you want to keep bitching about how I know shit or how I'm in the fucking government, go right ahead. At this point, I don't care. I just want us to get the fuck out of here in one piece."
"How old are you?" Kouji asked after a moment.
"Twenty-three fucking years old," the brunette replied. "And don't even complain and call me a kid. You look about the same age as me."
"Yeah, I am." Kouji tossed his cigarette butt off the building, then glanced at Zoe. "What about you, Blondie? How did you end up in this situation?"
Zoe looked up, somewhat annoyed to be called by that nickname. However, before she could answer, Takuya jumped up.
"Shit!" He threw himself on top of Zoe, ducking them both out of the way of a Hunter.
The Hunter barely missed them and landed on a ledge, ready to pouce again. Just as it was about to, Kouji fired his machine gun and shot it squarely in the face. The Hunter froze in its tracks, its hood soaking with blood. A moment later, it went limp and toppled over the side of the building, where it proceeded to crash to the pavement amongst the other infected.
Takuya breathed a sigh of relief, heaving himself from Zoe. "That was fucking close...."
"What the fuck just happened? I couldn't see anything," she said, sitting back up.
"Hunter was about to pounce at you, I jumped on you so that it wouldn't, and Kouji blew its head off," he told her nonchalantly.
Tommy gripped his gun tightly, looking around the nearby buildings. "Well, maybe we should get out of here.... What do you guys think?"
"I think you're right," Zoe agreed, pulling her twin pistols out. "Takuya, is your plan ready yet?"
"Yeah, good enough at least. I think we should get to the hospital because I've seen helicoptors fly over them. So personally, I think that would be our best bet," he told them.
Kouji raised an eyebrow. "You're kidding me, right? To the fucking hospital? How do you propose that we do that?"
"Very fucking carefully, that's how," Takuya said icily. "I know this city well enough to know some short-cuts, so just go with me on this. Unless of course, you have a better idea."
The young man with the bandana stared at him for a moment, then sighed and picked up his gun. "You better not get us killed...."
Okay, that completes the third chapter. If you were bored, don't worry cuz the next chapter will be more exciting. Please review, and let me know what you thought. More of their pasts will be revealed in future chapters so don't worry, you wont be hanging forever, just a couple of years :p
