-๑-๑ ஜ ๑- Chapter 51: Make some noise -๑ ஜ ๑-๑-

Fast.

Faster.

Legs flew across the pavement as Izaya ran. Blood of various kinds stuck to his head, his hair, his clothes. The nightly creature had made a mess of him, but not as much as it had of Shizuo.

Heart pounding against his chest, Izaya took the way back to the small shop.

It hadn't been far off.

An hour maybe two by walking- if he ran all the way he would be there in under thirty minutes.

And every minute was precious.

Desperation thrived as the all too vivid expression of torment on Shizuo's face resurfaced in Izaya's mind. He had to get Shinra and he had to do so fast.

Getting a car had been an option, but it was dawning. With night falling there was no worse idea than to cause a commotion except he wanted to attract even more of these bastard creatures.

Roads passed, zombies too. It was funny, maybe it was due to the zombie blood sticking all over him but they seemed to pay Izaya no mind.

Dust, dirt and the beginning fall of rain all impaired Izaya's vision as he dashed through the streets.

Hope and dread was burning in his lungs with every step he took.

It was a gamble.

Shinra might have remained exactly where they had stayed. At the campside. But he might as well be gone from that spot.

Travelled on.

There were a lot of reasons to do so. One if too many of those creatures gathered around them- and the other….. much more disturbing option.

That guy.

He had waited for them at school. He had known Izaya and Shizuo were staying there and set up a trap.

… who was to say they didn't do the same to Shinra?

Guts dropping low, Izaya tried to ignore the odds. An incredible urge to turn around on the spot and hurry back to Shizuo overwhelmed all sense of reason.

He knew there was nothing he could do. Fixing a minor wound or even a deeper cut would be one thing. But this?

Just from Shizuo's reaction Izaya could tell he suffered internal injuries. What kind he had no idea,- hell he didn't even know if they were possible to be treated-

Fear spurred the raven to newfound speed.

He didn't feel the rain hitting his skin, nor the cold creeping up his body. Nothing, just the steady rhythm of his heart's beat and lungs giving all they had.

Like roaches, zombies started to climb up their way from the pits of hell that used to be coffee shops and stores.

He didn't put in any effort to be quiet in his chase.

Cars were checked, one after the other.

The apocalyptic setting had been going on for too long.

Despite not having met a particularly large number of people, most of the car`s tanks were raided.

No fuel.

No food.

Somewhere in the back of his mind Izaya realized with dooming certainty that the guy that had been waiting for them inside school, had not been acting on his own.

Rain hit his skin in never lasting aggression as his eyes finally spotted what no one had looked at.

A motorcycle.

No one would dare drive around with something as loud and unsafe as this in the middle of a horde of zombies.

Rushing over he checked the wires- the tank.

It wasn't full, but not emptied either.

Both its mirrors were broken and the sidestand stuck underneath a brick of gray concrete. Seemed like it had been involved in some kind of accident.

Blood smeared along the leather seat and Izaya could vividly envision the moment some poor guy had gotten dragged off the motorcycle by a horde of zombies.

He wanted to laugh, set the vehicle aside and call the guy a fool and madman for not thinking his actions through.

Instead he pushed all his might into his palms as he yanked the vehicle from the ground.

Clattering the broken stand flew to the side as Izaya twisted the key that had been left inside the socket.

The engine roared- and he swore to god, he really had to love this man for giving his life right here.

One after the other the gruesome sight of zombies filled the roads.

With dread Izaya's eyes snapped around, looking for any of the nightly creatures as the engine roared.

The road wasn't exactly clear, but moving by two wheels had its own qualities as he easily made his way through the wrecks of a dozen cars mixed in a smash up.

Izaya's palms gripped the steering wheel as if his life depended upon it as he maneuvered his way through the debris.

He had never quite driven a motorcycle. Sure he had pretended to or tried sitting on one maybe once or twice in his life, but actually steering one was not exactly something he could brag having any confident skill in.

Cars were fine, but he was quite unfamiliar with the additional factor of having to keep your balance.

It was about a few minutes of riding that he realized going faster was actually lessening the felt weight underneath his thighs that threatened to fall over.

Weather growing worse and worse by the second. Izaya wondered if maybe some kind of cruel god was getting off to watching this show of a nightmare.

Would be fun for sure, first cultivating a set of humans, only to throw them into despair and look at what they would do.

Seeing as there surely weren't too many people left to watch, maybe the cruel god wanted to test his resolve as Izaya faced yet another obstacle in his path.

A wall.

Consisting of the remains of a bridge that had somehow met its doom.

Supposed to lead from one edge of the city to the other it had broken off halfway, effectively blocking the road.

Clicking his tongue Izaya threw the useless vehicle to the side as he jumped down the chunks of concrete.

It didn't matter-

He wasn't too far off from the campside.

He had long passed the grocery store they had tried to raid. It was the last place he had seen Shinra and the rest in.

Faster.

Faster-

Like a cat chased by dogs he made his way through the streets.

Rain hitting harder, Izaya finally came to a standstill. Iron taste prickled in Izaya's throat.

"No-"

A puddle was draining his shoes up to his ankle but he didn't even feel it.

Slowly, as if not quite ready to stop running, the raven's legs continued to walk around the campside.

Shinra's campside.

A campside that was abandoned.

Eyes scrunching up and stabs of tears stinging his lids, Izaya's head turned.

They couldn't have gone far, Shizuo and him had only been gone one night. One night was- ..

.

.

… who was he kidding?

One entire night?

It was time enough to end up god knows where.

This was it.

Shizuo was going to die.

Moments of past events flashed through his mind. Shizuo's birthday. The day they found Seiji. Their silly play of red riding hood. Billiard-

Trails of hot, salty water mixed with the rain trailing down Izaya's cheek.

If he turned back right now, he might be able to see Shizuo again. One last time.

Hear his voice.

See his eyes, that gentle expression he only directed at him.

And then-

Funnily enough Izaya couldn't help but think about the time they entered the hospital. The day Izaya talked about how he wanted his body to be burnt in case he died.

Shizuo had been mad. He didn't want Izaya to talk about dying.

Funny.

Izaya had never quite been able to understand what was so bad about spelling his wish.

But right now he did.

He did to the point it hurt. Like a cage closing in on his lungs and throat.

His body felt numb.

… what now?

Turn around?

Give up?

Legs moving on their own Izaya walked on. No. There had to be a hint.

Shinra had left him one on each occasion. Back at the hospital. The door. Shizuo had told the doctor that they would be gone only for a while.

Shinra wouldn't leave them behind- at least not without a choice.

And suddenly he heard it.

A shot.

A gunshot.

Head turning around Izaya looked into the direction of the noise.

It was a gamble, as much as his trip here, but what choice did he have? Speeding up he dashed towards the sound.

Voices, noises and the faint hint of a commotion entered his vision.

One after another the zombies popped out from their shadows and barracks- they had been attracted by the noise. Ignoring Izaya completely, they blindly headed for the source.

Whoever pulled the trigger of that gun was in deep trouble now.

But that certain someone might as well be Shinra.

Following the noise Izaya blended in with the creatures. Driven by their endless hunger for human flesh it was quite comical that they didn't notice Izaya among them.

Was it the blood on his body? The rain? He would have expected the creatures to at least notice as much as a running meal between their rows but appreciated the fact they didn't.

Waste was abandoned, car wrecks passed and suddenly he spotted it.

The source of all that noise.

Blond long hair tainted by blood in various places defended its position.

Vorona.

And not only her.

Situation becoming clear at first sight, it took Izaya only a few seconds to react. Standing on top of a trash can Vorona was trying to fend the creatures off. Namie was up there too, but obviously injured as she had sunk to the ground with an expression of strain. They had somehow gotten trapped.

The wild beast of a woman tried her best shoving the masses of danger away, but it was quite clear that she would run out of strength all too soon.

Izaya didn't really think about it, really.

He was no saint, never had been. Maybe it was Shizuo's influence, maybe sheer good will.

Maybe it was the way Vorona looked.

It was strange, Izaya had no idea what their relationship was, nor did he feel any interest on that topic - but somehow the way that woman protected Namie felt too similar to Shizu-chan to ignore.

Eyes growing in rage, the woman flared- and a zombie appeared from behind. It was a blind spot for both women. Having succeeded in climbing up the trash the creature growled in obvious delight.

Vorona turned-

Namie's head jerked to the side-

They had reacted too late.

Teeth baring the creature leaped-

And a knife pierced its skull with the precision of a shotgun.

Shrieks resounded as the lifeless body dropped to the side.

Vorona flipped around, her eyes searching for the one responsible-

"You are a pretty bad assassin if you didn't even see that coming." Izaya yelled- loud. Louder than the creature's noises.

Almost instantly the masses of danger turned, looking right into Izaya's direction.

Speechless Vorona looked at the raven. No words left her mouth as she caught her breath and sank to her knees all the same.

And Izaya ran.

Into the opposite direction.

Adrenaline of two kinds filled his veins.

One for having a horde of zombies right at his neck- the second stemming from joy. Because if Vorona and Namie were there then there was a chance Shinra was as well.

Dashing along a row of buildings his eyes flickered to a fire ladder not too far.

He was drawing them towards himself, to distract them from the two women.

Turning at corners he made it a point to disperse the crowd before leaping up the fire ladder.

Smart as the creatures were- climbing wasn't part of their capabilities. With ease he flung his body up the wall, then down the other side, because intelligence was also no skill the creatures were blessed with.

Eyes darted around checking for more of these monsters- but he was safe.

Nothing apart from the steadily thrumming sound of water hitting the road filled the air and he bent down to lean on his knees for just a minute.

Hell, not even the chases he used to have with Shizu-chan used to be this exhausting, he must have really gotten out of shape.

"Over here-"

Quiet, like a bird chirping from the side the female voice resounded and his head turned.

Karisawa.

Holding open what seemed to be a cellar window she signed for the raven to move over.

Glance flickering left and right the raven moved quickly as he slid down into the hideout.

It was nothing worth mentioning. A small room, run down. It had obviously been flooded a couple times as a gross tinge of brown made up half the wall.

It was a location Izaya would never want to be in.

Trapped underneath the earth with nothing but dirt and the possibility of drowning in rain- and yet he couldn't have been more delighted by the sight- because he was sitting there.

Doctor's gown was more bloody and dirty instead of white like a god Shinra was kneeling next to Kadota.

A cut was running along his upper arm and the brunette had a pincette at hand with what Izaya suspected to be a cotton ball drenched in alcohol.

"Izaya-!" happiness radiated off the bespectacled friend like a halo as he dropped the device with ease. Kadota sighed visibly relieved as well, swallowing any complaint about his interrupted treatment.

"Good to see you again."

"Where have you been?" Karisawa shot next, and really, Izaya would have loved to catch up with them all, ask them why they had moved their camp, what the hell they were doing here and how he found Namie and Vorona outside.

But none of that seemed to matter when Izaya's throat constricted at Shinra's sight.

"I need you to come with me."

to be continued~

Ufffff things are getting stressy here~

Also how did Kadota get hurt? Why did they move their camp? Where is Celty?

Questions over questions~ and oh my, will Shizuo die? Is he already dead?

C:

Let's see next Saturday 3

I will be upating every Saturday from now on xD 3 Should very much be able to haha

PS.: Bcd and SD volume one are on amazon now, but I am afraid amazon only sells/ships to England, USA, germany/austria and maybe one more place :C I can't really widen that by myself since I'm just a freelancer here T^T

But for those who can/want to buy those copies, the originified rework of "The wish to disappear" will be coming out next week :3 I will be updating an extra chapter on that story with the info xD