Chapter 4

For the majority of five hours, they were caught in a tangle of limbs, blood stains and dried tears.

Five hours, and Kidou's infected bite still hadn't spread to the rest of his body, or more specifically, to his brain.

It was a miracle; Fudou looked at him as if he were the second coming of Christ. He had actually counted down the hours on his rusted watch, becoming increasingly bewildered every minute that passed. There was no discolouration of his skin (besides the clamminess from pain and blood loss), no signs of aggression and his eyes were still as clear as glass.

It simply wasn't possible. The longest period of time that someone had remained sane after being bitten was a little above an hour. Fudou wondered if it was just a delayed reaction in Kidou's body, if it was nothing more than an unexpected anomaly of the virus. Despite the many decades since the disease outbreak, little information had been uncovered about the origin and details of the virus itself. It wasn't surprising really, since government scientists weren't exempt from the cruel and long arm of the infection.

Fudou anxiously tapped the barrel of the gun against his wrist, waiting for his companion to awaken. He had to forcibly wring the weapon out of Kidou's grasp and knock him out by the back of his neck.

Kidou had almost shot himself.

"Please, I don't want to hurt you."

Fudou squeezed the bridge of his nose between his fingers. His entire torso was trembling in trepidation that Kidou would eventually turn into one of those things. He had basically no idea what course of action to take either. Should he take the risk and bring him back into the quarantine zone? But, doing so would lead to a potential outbreak inside one of the last few safe zones of Tokyo. It wouldn't be a responsible decision to endanger the other civilians, however they couldn't stay in the tunnel forever, not when Kidou's wound was starting to spew out yellow pus. If the virus wouldn't kill him, normal bacterial infection would.

Moreover, Kidou might, and here Fudou held his breath.

Kidou might just be immune.

The abrupt static from his radio transceiver jolted him out of his thoughts, and quickly he yanked it from his waistband. It was a small, black device, and incredibly useful. He had stolen a couple of them from the guard's office a few years back, and it had allowed him to communicate with the other members of the group effectively, proving to be highly efficient in many occasions. There was only one person capable of calling him now, since Fudou had trusted him with the other set. He was the one person Fudou did not want to talk to in his current situation.

The device in his hand turned into a frightening black machine, one that he wanted to smash onto the wall and watch shatter into a million pieces. He knew he had to face the consequences of his actions eventually, but he definitely wasn't prepared for it. How could he ever explain what he had done?

The repetitive buzzing subsided when he finally pressed the button, his jittering fingers bringing it up to his ear.

"Fudou! Where the hell are you? It's almost midday! Is Kidou with you?"

Sakuma's loud voice sounded strangely dislocated through the speaker, yet it was still as sharp and shrill as per usual. Fudou drew in a shaky breath, regretting ever giving the transmitter to one of the most temperamental people he'd ever met.

"He— he got bitten," Fudou admitted, shutting his eyes. "A couple hours back, but somehow he's... still... still human."

The silence that ensued was petrifying. He could almost imagine Sakuma's face hardening into a mask of disbelief, and the realizing thought of how much Kidou meant to Sakuma struck his chest like a bullet wound. Sakuma treasured Kidou as a close friend, as a confidant and the person he would go to for advice. Their friendship was unbreakable, tight and well-bonded over years of knowing each other. Fudou ground his teeth together, his nails digging into the palms of his sweaty hands.

"It was my fault," Fudou continued, the confident voice that he wore so often draining into nothing but a guilty husk.

"I went outside through the tunnel, and he went after me. We wanted to come back, but he— he got bit. It's all my fault."

"...You...you what...?" Anger— No, raw fury dripped from his every word, the syllables painfully dragging out as if he were having trouble choking them out of his throat. Out of all his ferocious outbursts of rage, Fudou had never heard Sakuma's voice in such a wrathful tone.

"Kidou got bitten? I can't fucking believe you, Fudou!" Sakuma was so close to screaming that Fudou had to pull the device away from his ear. "Please tell me you're joking. Are you serious? You let Kidou get infected? Are you fucking serious?"

"He hasn't turned," Fudou interrupted hastily, clearing his throat as his voice faltered. "It's been at least five hours."

Sakuma was temporarily dumbfounded, but the rage promptly rushed back as vexation.

"Where is he? Where are you both? Wait, you know what, that doesn't matter. Bring him back to your place, now. You hear me?! Now."

With that, white static blasted back into Fudou's ear. Sakuma had slammed off the transceiver in the midst of his infuriation, and judging from his colourful words, he probably wouldn't mind seeing Fudou's head on a skewer at the moment.

Not that Fudou expected to be greeted with forgiveness and understanding in the first place.

The front door burst open violently, the wooden frame slamming against the drywall and rattling the entire living room's scarce furniture.

Fudou unsteadily staggered into the room, arduously limping with Kidou's arm draped heavily over his shoulders.

"Mom!" He called out. "Mom, are you here?"

Perhaps it wasn't such a good idea to call for his mother when he looked like he'd just been through hell. His entire body was splotched in sweat, mud and partially-dried blood. His exhausted eyes were droopy and red-rimmed, his hair chaotically sticking out at different angles with the front locks clinging desperately onto his pallid face.

Kidou didn't look much better either.

"Fudou... Where are we?"

A feeble voice, but a voice nonetheless. Fudou couldn't even find the words to describe his relief and happiness of hearing Kidou speak for another day.

"We're back at my place. You gotta rest, so don't move too much. I'll get you some bandages and water."

Kidou managed a small nod and a grunt as a response, heavily collapsing onto the hard sofa as soon as Fudou guided him there.

The soft shuffling from the kitchenette made Fudou glance up to see his mother.

"Akio. You're home at last," She wiped her hands on her skirt as she appeared in the kitchen doorway. The sight of her had always managed to give Fudou a sense of reassurance in the past, but now all he could feel was pure, unadulterated dread pulling at his stomach like an invisible vice.

She had subtle eye bags framing her glazed jade eyes and her chestnut hair seemed to flutter in the glare of the sunlight through the open window, appearing about as thin and translucent as spider webs. She seemed to have aged decades since the last time he'd seen her. Then again, Fudou couldn't even remember when he had last been home.

She gasped at the sight of him, her pale face twisting into one of shock. "What happened to you?! What's going on? Why are you covered in blood?!"

A thousand excuses flitted through his head, trying desperately to think of a good enough reason for his disheveled appearance. Her questioning gaze dipped down to Kidou, who was still clasping onto his injured arm.

"We got jumped on our way back," was what he eventually settled for, smoothly lying through his teeth. Fresh sweat droplets sprouted and poured down his face as he caught her stony stare, and instinctively he moved to block the sight of Kidou.

Realisation blossomed on her face as she balled her fists, knuckles sizzling ice-white with anger. "You couldn't lie to me even if your life depended on it. Tell me the truth," she said, stomping forward without waiting for a response.

Without missing a beat, she shoved him out of the way and snatched Kidou's arm up, immediately dropping it like a hot iron when she caught sight of the tell-tale teethmarks dotted on his skin.

"You brought an infected person into the quarantine zone?!" She cried, her voice wavering on a thin line between panic and fear. "Have you gone insane?! Why did you bring him here?"

"He's different," Fudou rebutted. "He's immune. He hasn't turned in nearly five hours now!"

His words were paper pellets to a bullet-proof vest. She pushed him away and shuffled back, as if she were facing a serial killer instead of her own son.

"Have you been bitten too?"

"It's just me, ma'am," Kidou said softly, but he could tell she wasn't convinced in the slightest. Her face twisted into a strained contortion of uneasiness and fright.

"Well then you need get out of here now! Do you have any idea of the danger we're in?" She kept a good distance from the two boys as she shuffled anxiously towards the door. "I'm leaving if you won't!"

Before Fudou could respond, she rushed out of the apartment, not looking back once as her footsteps gradually dissipated. Fudou watched silently as his chest wrenched with guilt. He hated burdening his poor mother when he knew she was already stressed out her mind. He would talk to her and calm her down once she returned. Kidou was far more important at the moment.

"You okay?" Kidou's eyes fluttered weakly. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have come here with you."

"Yeah, 'm fine. Where else could we go, honestly?" He sighed. "Let's get you patched up."

Fudou brought the medical box to his injured friend. It was a reasonably easy process with nothing complicated in the least. Fudou had treated countless injuries, cuts and bruises before this. All he really needed was some water, antiseptic ointment, gauze and bandages. He wiped off the excess pus, added pressure to stop the bleeding and tenderly dressed the various breakages in the skin before wrapping Kidou's entire forearm with bandages. He was finally at ease that the bacterial infection was contained at the moment. He could only imagine the amount of pain Kidou had to endure up until now.

The front door slammed open for the second time in the day, the force used this time around so brutal that the metal hinges flew off the wall, causing the main entrance to come crashing down in a chaotic mess.

Sakuma doesn't even glance back at the destruction he caused, his single amber eye blown wide and overflowing with unmitigated anger focused on Fudou's frame. The guilty convict stood up at his arrival, which only served to inflate Sakuma's already immeasurable ferocity.

"You son of a bitch!" Sakuma's hard fist connected squarely with Fudou's cheek, forcing him to stumble back, his shoulders slumped in defeat. Sakuma's outburst through the transceiver was apparently just the tip of the iceberg. Fudou doesn't glare at him, doesn't snarl, doesn't do anything. He had absolutely no right to defend himself, hopelessly savouring the thought that Sakuma would deliver a punch hard enough to break his jaw.

"You're the boss, Fudou! You're supposed to protect us! Yet you placed him in danger and he almost died because of you! What were you even thinking?!" Sakuma grabbed the collar of his shirt, yanking him up and baring his teeth. Fudou was almost as limp as a rag doll in his grasp.

"Stop it, stop hitting him!" Kidou shouted, or at least he did an airy, exhausted version of one. He strained his tired muscles to push his body up and seize Sakuma's raised fist. "He saved me, Sakuma. We got chased by tons of walkers in the tunnel— hundreds of them. He carried me and ran all the way back even though I had already been bitten. He... he stopped me from killing myself. Please don't hit him."

His pleading words thankfully seemed to cut through Sakuma's fury, acting like a tranquilliser in a way. The anger diminished from his rigid stance, and his expression softened slightly. Almost begrudgingly, he released his hold on Fudou and shot him a dirty glare.

"Fine."

"So, what are you going to do?" Sakuma continued flatly when Fudou gave no response. "What's the big plan? If Kidou is immune, doesn't that mean that he's the cure? What now?"

Sakuma made no effort to hide his cynicism.

"First off, we need to find the people who are still working on a cure. Scientists—independent scientists might know what to do," Fudou replied, locking his dauntless gaze with Sakuma's.

Uneasiness rolled into the stagnant air. For once, Sakuma wished that Fudou, who was as irritatingly commanding as usual, didn't always have an answer in the blink of an eye. Finding independent scientists? That would mean leaving the quarantine zone and also drawing target boards on their foreheads.

"I overheard some patrolling soldiers talking about scientists about a month ago. They said a group of private researchers are gathered in Shibuya. That's where their base is, apparently," Kidou said.

Sakuma couldn't believe his ears. Was Kidou actually going along with Fudou's suicide plan? He opened his mouth, but promptly shut it when he remembered that Kidou could be the world's salvation.

"I'd say that's about ten to fifteen miles away from the underground tunnel. That's less than a day's worth of travel," Fudou said, finally easing his tensed muscles. He definitely had experience with traveling outside the walls, having taken illegal jobs of smuggling and trading goods, although he had never been further than Shinjuku. Still, it was feasible to get there.

Kidou dug his fingers into the hem of his shirt, feeling cold butterflies wriggle in the pits of his stomach. It was a huge responsibility to be the possible saviour of humanity, and that realisation was starting to dawn onto him.

"Well, the important thing now is to keep Kidou's condition an absolute secret," Sakuma sighed. Although he disapproved of the plan, there was nothing he could argue about when the fate of the world depended on this. Depended on Kidou. "He's not fit to travel until he's completely healed."

Fudou's ears caught wind of a strange murmuring from the apartment window that was starting to escalate into a commotion. Suddenly, Fudou's memory snapped back to his mother. His stomach churned uncomfortably as a dreadful sense of foreboding overtook his senses.

His heart leaped to his throat as he rushed to the window and leaned out until his stomach was dangerously bent over the metal pane, hoping to catch a glimpse of her petite frame on the barren streets. There! Fudou spotted her fairly easily, about three to four blocks away from their apartment complex. A group of patrolling soldiers had formed a ring akin to that of a cult circle around her as she made wild gestures in their direction, her mouth forming incomprehensible words. Fudou didn't need to hear what she was saying to know what she had done.

No fucking way.

Time seemed to have stagnated, tossing Fudou into a vacuum as he watched her arm rise with a deathly slowness, a bony witch finger uncurling, unraveling, pointing rod-straight at their window.

Fudou instantly pulled back from the window ledge, apprehension thumping in his chest like a sledgehammer. He was trapped in a never-ending nightmare, with life-threatening events greeting him at every corner. He cursed himself for not paying more mind to his mother.

Sakuma's brows knitted together at his uncomfortably stiff stature, skeptically staring at him like he had gone mad.

"My mother's informing the soldiers. We have to go," Fudou muttered grimly to no one in particular, his feet stumbling about in confusion for a brief moment.

"Why? What did she tell them?" Sakuma asked worriedly as Fudou bolted around, grabbing a pair of backpacks and tossing one to Kidou, who was getting progressively stressed from all of the commotion.

"She knows! She saw Kidou's bite! We have to go!"

Kidou forced himself up from the couch, visibly shaken by Fudou's warning. Anyone could tell that he wanted nothing more than a few extra minutes of rest, which he rightfully deserved, but he could do no such thing if he wanted to live for another day. With unsteady steps he followed a frantic Fudou into the kitchen to grab bottles of water and medical supplies. Sakuma scowled in confusion as his friends scrambled around the apartment.

"Sakuma!" Fudou shouted, suddenly noticing his stationary friend. Irritation was plastered all over his face as he marched over. "Hurry up and move your —"

The gunshot came before Fudou could say another word.