***Note: Another Prompt from Tumblr! Nykamito requested I write an apocalyptic AU and this was what I came up with! I shamelessly admit I was heavily inspired by Last of Us. I listened to the soundtrack of it while writing. ALSO WARNING: Angst, Language, Blood, and Gore... but I mean, it's a ZOMBIE AU, so should be expected. Anyways, enjoy!***
A crash of thunder startled Hinata awake with a gasp, instantly reaching for the dagger on the splintered bedside table. She scanned her golden eyes around the decayed and disheveled room, only to realize it was the rain outside that disturbed her slumber. Letting out a breath, she leaned back on the ripped mattress, hearing the patter of heavy raindrops against the clouded window. She tensed further as she felt Riku's arms tighten around her.
"It's just the rain," he mumbled sleepily to her, burying his face in her red hair. "It woke me up earlier, too."
Hinata nodded, kissing his forehead as she allowed herself to relax once again. She glanced towards the window, seeing the overgrown world outside. It was barely recognizable as a neighborhood, covered with overgrown foliage and abandoned, rusted vehicles. The occasional wild animal could be seen prowling through the streets, their thin skin clinging to their ribs as they searched for any sort of food.
She and Riku were hidden away in a makeshift haven, in a room they had blockaded inside an empty home, abandoned long ago. A dresser was pushed in front of the door that was barely holding together with holes and mold growing along the sides. Clothes were scattered along the floor, as if the people that had once lived there had packed and left in a hurry; back when the first outbreak had occurred.
It had all started out as a simple illness, only a few thousand people in the county contracted it and even fewer died. That was before it mutated, when an almighty cure was invented. A serum that was meant to solve everything, entering the bloodstream and eradicating the sickness. Instead… it began changing the people it injected. They seemed to turn almost feral, attacking anything that moved with the tenacity of a wild animal. With every bite, the sickness spread. Soon it was an epidemic and thousands were infected in a matter of days. The media and government tried to keep it under wraps, but it wasn't long before the entire country was in danger of a full out apocalypse.
People fled in a frenzy, trying to get to a plane, a boat, anything that would get them out of the country; only to realize that they were being quarantined. No one came in… and no one left.
The government tried to keep things under control, but it was futile. Everything was in ruins and hope was running thin. Soon there was no law, no leaders, nothing to keep the peace. Food and resources began running scarce as some people gathered together, while others became maniacs, hordeing as much as they could and slaughtering anything in their way. All the while, the infected spread through the streets.
Bombs had been sent once the rest of the world realized there was nothing to be done, but they hardly finished the job, taking out more survivors than anything else. Supplies and resources had also occasionally been flown in, dropped from helicopters hovering above, allowing the people below to gather them like ants, carrying back to their shacks they tried to call homes. But one day, it all stopped. No more bombs, no more helicopters, just silence. They were left on their own to survive.
Hinata swallowed hard, trying to coat her dry throat as she looked up at the ceiling, noticing it chipping away. "We should be getting ready." She spoke up with a hoarse voice. "We only have three more days."
Riku let out a long breath, "Yeah…" He tightened his arms around her for a moment before he sat up and ran his callused hands over his face.
Looking around the room, he spotted their tattered backpacks leaned against the wall. They were folded in on each other, barely having anything inside their fabric. He pushed off the bed and went to them, kneeling as he unzipped them.
"How much is left?" Hinata asked, already knowing the answer as she had triple checked them before heading to sleep the night before, but she hoped he would find more than she did.
Riku shook his head, "An extra handgun clip for both of us and enough food to last us till tomorrow."
"No water," Hinata sat up, looking towards her dirt encrusted nails.
"No water," Riku agreed, zipping them back up in a rush and slinging his bag over his shoulder, before tossing Hinata hers. "Let's search through the house before we go. Might find something."
Hinata nodded numbly, knowing they wouldn't find a single thing. Too much time had passed. Everywhere was picked clean. She got up from the bed, looking down at the watch on her wrist, reading six am through the cracked class. "We slept in."
"We needed it," Riku reminded her, walking to the dresser and getting to the side of it, "Come on."
Hinata wordlessly obeyed, going to the other side of the large dresser and grabbing the sides, feeling the splinters spiking into her skin. The wood screeched along the ground as they slid it away from the doorway, allowing them to leave. Their footsteps creaked the floorboards in the halls as Riku quickly went to searching the rest of the house. Hinata followed behind with a slow, cautious step, one hand on her dagger, the other hovering over her handgun. The house appeared to be empty and thoroughly ransacked. Nothing of value was in any of the drawers or cupboards. The furniture was rotted and covered with thick layers of dust, emitting heavy scents of mold as rain leaked heavily from the ceiling. Hinata placed one of her hands under the drip of the rain, watching the water mix with the dirt on her palm.
"We need to go," she spoke up again as Riku double checked the kitchen for any left over water bottles or remnants of unspoiled food.
He stopped, the fridge door in his grasp as he let out a heavy breath. "There's no way we'll make it without food and water."
"We'll find some," Hinata assured him, looking out the window. "We can collect some of the rain water."
"It won't be nearly enough." He reminded her, slamming the fridge closed. "Are you even sure they'll be there?"
Hinata shook her head, her eyes focused on the rain drops dripping down the glass window panes, "No… But-"
"I know," he cut her off, stopping in front of her. "Their radio transmission was the first one we've gotten in over a year." He glanced down at the old yellow radio attached to the leather belt on Hinata's hip. "I don't know if we'll make this trip though."
"It's too late to turn back," Hinata shook her head. "I told you that you didn't have to come with me."
"I know," He grabbed her hand. "I wasn't about to let you leave on your own though. No matter how determined you were."
He ran his thumb over her wrist, feeling the outline of one of the many scars she had received over the last five years. She wasn't the same girl he had fallen in love with all those years ago, back when they were just a couple of kids stealing kisses between their high school classes. Everything about her had hardened: the glow in her eyes had dimmed, the natural blush in her cheeks had faded, her skin pale and caked with a layer of dust and bruises.
She looked up at him, their eyes meeting, and suddenly all the memories of everything they had gone through together came rushing back to him. How he had vowed he'd keep her safe and that everything would be alright once the outbreak had spread to their own school. They had been huddled together in the locker room, Riku over her as an infected burst through the doors. She had screamed, watching in horror as classmates were attacked and bitten, three of them being taken down before a knife had been jabbed into the neck of the infected.
After than moment, they were forced to defend themselves for their own lives. Watching as people they had known their entire lives were killed or infected themselves, but they had managed to grab Sora and Kairi and bring them to safety. The world fell apart around them as their own families were turned or killed. They each had to learn how to fight, how to kill to survive and they relied on each other. Their laughter and lighthearted moments became fewer and fewer until there was barely ever a smile shared between them. Years had passed, and they had managed to find an abandoned farm to make as their haven. They grew their own food, managed to stay out of the factions of survivors… until a month ago when Hinata received a transmission over her radio.
A female voice had spoken of a true haven, a protected city where survivors thrived and resources were plentiful. All of it sounded like propaganda, the same angle many gang factions would use to lure unsuspecting souls; but the part that caught Hinata's attention was the mention of the Cure Faction. They had been regarded as a myth, a ray of false hope of a group of scientist survivors that were working together to find a cure and undo the damage. The transmission assured that they were real and on the cusp of finding a cure. They only required one more thing, an immunity to the initial illness before the vaccine was invented and Hinata had that. She just needed to get to the coordinates indicated by the transmission in three days, that was her only window.
Riku came back to reality and leaned down, meeting their dry, chapped lips together. It was nothing like the warm, shy kisses they would share before. All the passion had faded, only returning on lonely nights where it felt as if the only comfort they could find in the world was in each other. Hinata kissed him in return, her other hand resting on his chest for a moment before she pushed him back, a dry cry in her throat.
"I'm sorry," she whispered. "I didn't mean to drag you into this."
"You didn't drag me into anything," he assured her, squeezing her hand in his. "We'll make it in time. I'll make sure of it."
She nodded, her eyes shut as she took in a deep breath. "We should get going."
"Yeah," he agreed, releasing her hand and leading the way towards the front door.
Hinata cracked the slightest smile as the cool rain pelted her skin the moment she stepped outside. She could feel the grime washing away and her hair sticking to her skin, not remembering the last time she was able to wash it properly. Reaching into her backpack, she pulled out a thick plastic bottle, opening the lid to catch as much rain as possible. Riku did the same beside her, keeping his eyes forward as he scanned their surroundings. Thankfully with the weather, the infected would most likely stay hidden indoors, but that wouldn't stop the hungry animals or faction gang members.
They walked along the street, welcoming the rain while also trying to stay hidden in the foliage rather than be right out in the open. Hinata could see the occasional person peering at them from their window, their skin thin and eyes dimmed. She tried to send them a slight wave when their eyes made contact, but they would skitter away in fear.
Hours passed in silence, their legs ached, but no more than usual as they continued on their daily trek. The rain continued at a steady pace, soaking their clothes and splashing mud around their feet with every step. The neighborhood transformed into a city. Tall buildings towered around them, the once glossy windows of the towers were scuffed and shattered, glass scattered over the broken road.
As they approached a long highway entrance, Riku came to a stop, holding out his arm to stop Hinata as well, before kneeling down behind a rusted truck. "It's guarded." he simply whispered to her, motioning his head towards the highway.
Hinata peeked over the side of the truck, seeing the large vans and wooden crates blockading the entrance, the exact way they needed to go. She could overhear the voices of men and women even through the rainfall, as they were gathered in small groups, guns and scuffed blades on their hips. "If we take them out, we'll probably get those supplies we needed." She sent him a wry smile, making him chuckle dryly in response.
"If we had more ammo? Maybe," he shook his head. "It's too risky." He scanned the area, "We could go around, through the woods, but-"
"That'd add too much time." Hinata finished for him.
"Yeah…" He agreed, looking towards a warehouse that was on the opposite side of the street. It was right beside the blockade, going past them with an exit right behind it. He placed his hand on her shoulder, pointing towards the building. "It'd be risky, but we might be able to slip past in there."
Hinata tensed, whispering, "It will be crawling with infected."
"We can handle those," Riku reminded her, "Just take it slow and quiet. It will add a bit of time, but not as much as going through the woods would."
Her stomach twisted, remembering the last encounter she had with infected. It never got easier. Swallowing hard, she nodded, "Alright…" She glanced back at him, "Lead the way."
Riku kissed her cheek, "We'll be fine."
He crawled backwards with Hinata right behind, leading their route across the street as he snuck behind abandoned cars and foliage. Rushing into an alleyway, he had Hinata help him push a large dumpster towards the shattered window. He climbed up first, glancing in before giving a quick nod to Hinata for her to follow.
"I can already see two of them," Riku whispered as Hinata climbed up, pointing them out to her.
"I'll take the left," she told him, already slipping in through the window, wincing as she felt the broken glass of the window scratching against her skin.
She rolled as she landed on the floor, a cloud of dust erupted from her fall, but the sound was masked from the calls and grunts of the infected. They were entering through an office, old fashioned computers with shattered screens and piles of paper covered the rotting desks. Hinata hid under the nearest desk, watching as Riku entered and went to the desk across from her. They sent each other a quick nod before getting to work.
Hinata pulled out a dagger from her belt, carefully peeking under the desk to see the bloodied feet of the infected dragging along the ground right outside her hiding spot. She could hear it growling, gnashing its teeth together as it looked back and forth, noticing the scent of something to eat. Taking in a breath, Hinata, crawled out from the desk, going around the side of it until she could see the back of the infected. She glanced at it, seeing that it was once a young woman, seemingly around her age. Their ribs were showing, clothes soaked with blood and smelling of rotting flesh.
Riku caught Hinata's eyes, readied with his own blade on the other side of the room. Sending him a quick nod, she sprang to her feet, wrapping her arm over the infected's shoulder and stabbing her dagger into its neck. It tried to screech, but its voice was muffled by the blood pooling in its mouth as Hinata sliced her blade through the soft skin and kicked it to the ground. Hinata watched the life drain out of it, barely a grain of remorse in her gut; that had left a long time ago.
She looked up in time to see Riku's infected fall lifeless to the ground, decapitated. Riku tossed the head to the ground, rushing to the doorway and leaning his back against the wall. "You good?" he asked, his voice barely audible.
"Yeah," she replied, joining him on the opposite side of the doorway.
They could see the main factory of the warehouse. Massive machinery was set up in an assembly line, some of it whirring with life as a few careless infected were caught in its clutches, being smashed and processed as if they were a type of food. Hinata held back a gag from the smell, shaking her head as she realized it was only going to get worse the further in they went.
"Our exit," Riku pointed towards two double metal doors on the complete opposite end of the factory.
Hinata nodded, scanning over their battlefield. There was more than enough cover to get them started. The machinery and desks would allow them to sneak by and kill a few without being noticed, but there was a good fifty feet between the end of the assembly line and their exit.
"The doors are rusty," Hinata pointed out, shaking her head, "No way they won't hear that. Them or the gang outside."
Riku nodded, "Maybe we can find a window to get through. I can't see enough to pinpoint where yet."
"Yeah," she agreed, wiping her blade's excess blood on the doorway. She was about to head in, before she paused. "Riku…"
"What?" he looked over at her.
She took in a breath, "If… if I get bit-"
"You won't," he interrupted her sternly.
"But, if I do," she didn't take her eyes away from the dozens of infected she saw inside the warehouse. "Don't hesitate... I don't want what happened to Sora and Kairi to happen to us."
Riku froze, a teary glaze covering his eyes for a moment before he shook his head, clearing his throat. He looked out at the assembly line, regathering his thoughts. "...I won't…" he finally replied.
She looked back at him, wishing she could say more. Instead, she took in a breath and went in, hiding behind a marbled counter. Riku followed suit, barely inches behind her as they carefully strafed around the infected. If one would stray too close to their hiding spot, Hinata would grab them over the counter, pulling them over for Riku to slice their neck before they could alert the others. Even with the few they killed, dozens more still wandered the huge factory.
They came up on a hallway to their left that was lined with offices, and escaped inside to get away from the thick crowd of infected, shutting the door behind them. The lights flickered above them, casting unnerving shadows along the shredding wallpaper and blood smeared on the wall. As they carefully walked, they could hear infected eating, tearing away at something. Their teeth clacked and bloodied limbs could be heard falling to the floor. Hinata and Riku exchanged a silent glance, both of them hoping they wouldn't run into whatever was going on.
As they turned the corner in the hall, they came to a stop, Hinata eliciting a gasp before quickly covering her mouth and slinking behind a filing cabinet. In the center of the hallway was four infected, devouring a bloodied unrecognizable mass. They all turned their heads at Hinata's voice, their nostrils flaring as they smelled the fresh blood. One of them stood, allowing the others to get back to their feast. Riku was across from Hinata, hidden behind an overgrown potted plant that poorly concealed him.
Hinata's breaths were shallow, keeping her head down, unable to peek at the infected that crept closer. It let out a high pitched cry, getting the attention of the others. It had seen something. Hinata could hear the skittering of their feet as they scrambled to follow their leader, sniffing loudly as they closed in on the scents. She hovered her hand over her handgun, but ultimately went for her blade, knowing a gunshot would only alert the mass in the factory.
A yell escaped the leader as it pounced on Riku. He was quick to react, stabbing his dagger into its chest repeatedly before it could meet its sharp teeth with his skin. Hinata jumped up, throwing her dagger and impaling the middle of the three other infected, all who were yelping in unison ready to swarm on top of Riku. The infected stumbled back a step from the impact, as Hinata vaulted over the cabinet and grabbed the handle to her blade, ripping it out and impaling the neck of the infected beside it. She dropped to the ground, rolling forward and grabbing her handgun, ready to shoot the uninjured infected before she saw it fall to the ground with a dagger embedded in its back. Riku stood near it, covered with blood, his chest heaving.
Hinata holstered her gun as she stood back up, running forward and pulling Riku into her arms. "Are you ok?" She asked him, her own voice shaking.
"Y-yeah," he assured her, breathless, putting his hands on her shoulders as he gently pushed her back. They stared back at each other for a moment, and he wiped away some of the blood that was splattered on her cheek. "You?"
She nodded, taking in a breath to recompose herself. Patting her shoulder, he went past her, retrieving his blade as well as Hinata's and holding it out for her. She took it, wiping off the blood on the leaves of the plant Riku had hid behind. Their moment of respite was short lived, the door leading into the hallway rattled, muffled growls and yelps behind it. Hinata spun around, already hearing the wood splintering as the infected forced their way in.
"They heard them." Hinata realized, being pulled forward as Riku grabbed her arm and ran ahead.
She shook her head, focusing and keeping up with him, no need for being silent anymore. The door fell behind them, a mass of infected toppling on top of it. Hinata pushed herself to run faster, hearing the yells and cries closing in. Riku sprinted around the corner, back into the factory, slamming the door closed behind him once Hinata was through and shoving a filing cabinet in front of it.
"Get to the door," he told her, grabbing his handgun and double checking if it was loaded.
Hinata nodded, sprinting to the door as she heard Riku's gunfire echoing over the machinery. She reached the rusty doors, cursing when she saw a thick chain forcing it shut. Pulling out her gun, she shook her head at the waste of bullets and was about to shoot, before an infected jumped on her back.
She screamed, somersaulting and shooting its head as it flung onto the floor in front of her. Spinning around on her knees, she was barely able to see Riku standing on the top of a desk, before she saw the infected darting towards her. She got to her feet, shooting the front two as she ran for any sort of cover, scrambling on top of a tall machine that was the front of the assembly line. The infected reached for her, climbing over each other and some of them being caught in the blades of the assembly line. Hinata fired a couple more shots, running out of her already low clip. She reached for her backpack, but yelped as an infected yanked on it, shoving her back, her head slamming down on the machine and making her yell out. Her eyesight blurred, her mind throbbing as she numbly watched the infected successfully climbing onto the machine with her, part of her ready for it to end.
Her heart skipped when she saw Kairi flash through her mind: the pure sorrow and fear in her eyes as she begged Hinata to keep fighting after she was gone. Emotion strangled her throat as a new rush of adrenaline filled her heart. Shaking her head, she kicked the infected clawing its way on top of her, dislocating its jaw. She grabbed her dagger, slicing through its throat before she got to her feet and jumped through the opening. Barely having a chance to catch a breath, she fell forward, but pushed back up and ran. Grabbing a glass bottle off the ground, she spun and slammed it against the head of an infected as it grabbed her arm. The glass shattered along with its head, its weakened bones almost withering from the contact.
She vaulted over a desk that lined a makeshift barricade from a previous group that no doubt attempted to take on the infected. Reaching into her backpack again, she grabbed another clip, her last clip, of bullets and reloaded her gun in seconds. She leaned back against the wall, watching as the infected toppled over the desks and counters Makeshift glass spikes sliced through their arms and legs, some of them falling over with a scream as they were merely climbed over. Hinata fired in quick succession, exploding heads and chests all around her, until she heard the dreaded click of an empty clip. With a huff, she discarded the clip, holstering her gun and grabbing her two daggers.
With a yell, she sliced across the infected's chest, stabbing another right between the eyes. She ripped her blades back, allowing the creatures to fall around her as she continued her barrage. Bodies piled around her, but more took their place. Her skin was sliced, scratched, bloodied, and bruised as she desperately worked to stay alive. She could hear the occasional yell and gunshot from Riku, unable to see where he was, but the mere sound brought her a push of energy as she knew he was at least still alive.
Soon she was forced out of her barricade, too many infected swarming around her. She kept her eyes on the infected as she backed over a desk, not noticing a glass shard before it took a generous slice out of her thigh. Warm blood soaked her pants as she limped back, biting her lip to keep back a cry as she tried to focus through the pain. A fallen body caught on her foot, making her collapse with a gasp, crying out as she landed on the glass ridden floor. She pushed herself up, the glass cutting into her fingers and palm, but she got to her feet, slicing away the infected in front of her as she backed up.
A yell from Riku caught her attention, and she took her eyes away from the horde in front of her, seeing infected piling on top of him. Her eyes widened, her heart stopping as she sprinted towards him, completely disregarding her leg screaming at her to stop. She ran into the infected, shoving them off of him and falling on top of them. She stabbed her daggers into them wildly, not even sure where she was hitting. One jumped onto her back, pulling her down further as it sunk its teeth into the side of her neck.
She screamed, feeling it being ripped away from her as Riku came to her rescue. Grabbing her arm, he pulled her up and ran, dragging her behind him. He pushed her forward as he entered an office, slamming the door shut behind them. Hinata fell to the ground, her entire body losing its will to move as she watched him pull desks and filing cabinets in front of the doorway as the infected already tried to claw their way in. The door rattled, their yowling and growls barely muffled through the wall.
"Are you alright?" Riku asked, stepping backwards and looking around the room, noticing a window covered with wooden planks. He ran over and began pulling on the weak wood, squinting at the sunlight that poured in once they were free.
Hinata placed her hand on her neck, wincing as she immediately pulled away, seeing a thick mucus mixed with her blood. Her heart went into her throat, her stomach flipping as she looked back up at Riku. "Do you… have any bullets left?"
"Two," he simply told her with a strained voice, stumbling back as a plank of wood snapped in half in his hands. "Why?"
"Riku…" she cried, tears spilling down her face as her shoulders shook, reality settling in.
"We're almost out of here," he assured her, pulling away the last plank that would allow them to get out. "We're just going to go through the woods, should have done that in-"
"RIKU!" Hinata cried out, making him freeze and look over. She pulled back the neckline of her shirt, showcasing the bite along her neck. Riku's face paled immediately.
"Fuck…" he breathed out, running his hand through his hair as he turned and paced. "FUCK!" He yelled, hitting his hands against a table top.
"Riku, you promised…" Hinata reminded him, her voice wracked with emotion. He looked back at her, a tense silence in the air that even overpowered the rattling of the door and the moans of the infected. "Please…" she shook her head, "I can't turn into one of them."
He shook his head, looking down at the desk. "No."
"Riku, please!" she begged, grabbing the side of a desk and pulling herself to her feet. She staggered forward, Riku rushing over to help her steady. She leaned against him, her body throbbing with pain as she felt her head clouding. "If… you can't do it, just give me the gun. I… I can-"
"No," he interjected, his voice thick with emotion. "We're getting out of here." he grabbed her arm, pulling her towards the opened window.
She pulled back, stumbling into the desk behind her. "Then leave me here. Get out, get somewhere safe."
Riku let out an aggravated yell, pointing towards the door, "What, and leave you behind to be eaten alive?!"
Shaking her head, Hinata pulled out her dagger with trembling hands, about to thrust it into herself. Riku rushed forward, forcing it out of her grasp and throwing it to the ground.
"STOP IT! Alright?!" He yelled, grabbing her shoulders. "Don't you dare do this to me! I'm not going to leave you behind!"
"You promised, Riku!" She sobbed, her voice breaking. "I-I won't let what happened to Sora and Kairi happen to us! You know that!
Riku's hands tightened around her, his nails digging into her skin as he shook and held back his own tears. "You have a few hours before it'll take effect." He reminded her, his voice hoarse and on the verge of weeping. "You were immune to the initial virus, it might not even infect you the same way."
"I-It's mutated since then," she shook her head wildly. "There's no telling when or how I'll change. Just like with Sora... Kairi said the same thing!" She took in a sharp breath, blurting, "He did everything he could to protect her, he'd never hurt her! B-but then he got bit and... " her voice cut off as she leaned her head forward against his chest, unable to keep her cries silent as her entire body quivered. "Riku, please, I'm begging you…."
Riku felt each and every sob wrecking through her as he wrapped his arms around her, taking every piece of her in. He looked up to the door, seeing the wood splintering and the arms of the infected reaching in, but the blockade he had built was keeping them at bay… for the moment. Time seemed to slow as he suddenly felt he was back in his school days, holding Hinata in his arms in between classes. Her sweet perfume was still in his memories. Her bright laugh and sweet kisses on his cheeks were still just as vibrant in his mind as they had been back then.
A lump constricted his throat as he was brought back to reality; the girl of his dreams, the only person left in his life that brought him any sort of meaning, was weeping in his arms. And he was forced with the choice to leave her behind or kill her with his own hands.
He pulled her closer, tighter against him until he could feel her racing heartbeat against his own. The stench of the bite along her neck replaced the sweet perfume she wore way back when. Riku glanced at it, noticing her veins beginning to transform into black, spreading through her. It had been the same with Sora, transforming him within a matter of a few hours. Swallowing hard, he reached back one of his hands, shakily unholstering his gun.
A revving engine of a car made both of them freeze. The spray of gunfire and yells made them look towards the doorway. Through the cracks in the door Riku could see a black van bursting through what was supposed to be their exit. It raced through the factory, mowing down infected with the thick metal grate attached to the front of it. In the top of the van was a girl in a cockpit of sorts, firing a machine gun while yelling out in rage. Riku grabbed Hinata, pulling her behind a desk as the gunfire sprayed through the walls, desolating the infected trying to force their way inside. He held her close, peeking over the desk every so often as he watched the strangers make short work of the horde.
"W-who are they?" Hinata asked, leaning her head against his chest as it was becoming difficult to even think.
"I don't know…" Riku told her, looking back towards the window, considering putting Hinata on his back and slipping out.
The door to their hideout was shot open with a blast of pure glowing energy, making Hinata scream as Riku immediately readied his gun. The same girl that had been firing the machine gun ran in. Her lavender hair was pulled back with an old bandana, a copper mechanical arm making up her left appendage. It glowed a bright blue at the seams as she fired bursts of energy at any infected that followed her in. She scanned her eyes over the room, spotting Riku and Hinata and waved her real arm towards the door.
"Come on!" She yelled at them, "Get in the van!"
Riku stood up, pulling Hinata with him. "Who are you?"
"We'll do the introductions later!" She bit, "Get in the damn van!"
"I can't!" Hinata yelled, her hand clenched tight over her heart, making Riku cringe. "I've been infected."
"I'm not leaving her behind," Riku told the stranger, pulling Hinata behind him.
The girl let out an exasperated breath, "Did I SAY leave her behind?! Get in the fucking van!"
Riku finally nodded, hoisting Hinata into his arms despite her complaints and followed the stranger to the van. The girl fired a few more shots of energy from her arm towards the infected as she shoved Riku inside. She followed, slamming the door shut behind them and giving the driver a nod.
The driver appeared incredibly similar to the girl, with the same lavender hair and bright eyes. He nodded in return, revving the engine and skidding the tires as he roared the van out of the factory. As they came back outside the rain instantly pelted the car. Riku saw the blockade had been decimated, bodies strewn through the street. He blinked in surprise, before looking back to Hinata as he set her down on the floor of the wide van. Her breathing was labored, the bite having a swifter effect on her than it had on Sora.
"Is she the one?" The driver called back, glancing back and making short eye contact with Riku.
"Don't know," the girl replied, getting to the other side of Hinata as she pulled open a metal cupboard that was built into the wall of the van. "About to find out."
"The one?" Riku repeated, looking between them. "Just who are you guys?"
"Test first, questions later," she told him with a distracted voice, grabbing a syringe and filling it with a glowing purple liquid.
Riku scowled, wanting to demand answers, but he fell to silence. He watched as the girl jabbed the syringe into Hinata's neck, right beside the bite. Hinata cried out, arching her back as the liquid was injected into her.
"Hold her down!" The girl ordered, sending him a glare when he hesitated.
He reached forward, holding Hinata's shoulders down as she writhed, making him look away. The stranger watched her intently, her eyes focused on the bite and the blackened veins. Her furrowed expression began to lighten, until she had a plain grin on her face. Falling back against the wall of the van, she let out a laugh.
"James, it works!" She spread out her arms, "It fucking works!"
"Are you serious?!" James yelled, glancing away from his driving to look at Hinata, letting out a laugh of his own. "Oh my God, you're right!"
"Alright, what works?" Riku demanded, "I'm going to need some answers. What was that shit you just put in her?"
"That shit was a cure," the girl wryly smirked, holding up another vile of the glowing liquid. She motioned her head towards Hinata, who had calmed down and fallen into a slumber. "At least it will be once it's combined with her blood."
Riku blinked, looking between her and James. "You're part of the Cure Faction."
"Yep," James agreed, waving his hand, "I'm James by the way, the foul mouth here is my sister, Sam."
"Fuck off," Sam laughed, letting out a breath of relief as she watched Hinata's veins fully return to normal. She shook her head, whispering, "I can't believe it actually worked." She looked up to Riku, "She's really immune to the M Virus?"
Riku numbly nodded, trying to wrap his mind around everything that had just happened. "Y-yeah, her whole family contracted it, but she never showed any symptoms."
Sam shook her head in disbelief. "And here I was thinking Velcia was sending us on a goose chase to get us out of her hair for a couple weeks."
"That probably was still a factor," James pointed out with a shrug.
"But, the transmission," Riku looked down at Hinata, "the coordinates were still three days away. How did you find us?"
"Tracking," Sam held up a tablet, its screen flashing a yellow dot along the road they were on. She motioned her head towards Hinata. "She was the only one that responded to that transmission Velcia sent out a month ago, and all of those radios have old trackers in them from back when the government actually gave a shit about any of us." She turned the tablet back to herself, "So I just hacked into the old tracking system, find an exact radio to track and wallah, I know where you are at all times."
"Where did you get all this stuff?" Riku asked, "Your arm, the van… we haven't seen that sort of technology in… years."
Sam looked up at him, a smirk growing on her lips. "You'll see."
"Velcia wasn't kidding about Cure having a ton of resources and scientists," James called back, easily navigating the van through the streets.
"We're just a bit… picky with our recruits," Sam shrugged. "If you hadn't had the cure, we'd have thrown you guys out, too." She looked back to her tablet, leaning back against the wall as she got lost in its screen. "But lucky for you, you'll get to join our little group."
Riku shook his head, having dozens of questions buzzing in his brain, but he instead remained silent, looking over Hinata as she slept peacefully. The faintest smile was on her lips, her hand limply around his, tightening ever so slightly every few seconds. He looked to her neck, seeing the bite slowly beginning to heal, mending the skin back together. The scratches and cuts along her skin were also disappearing, leaving her glowing and clean in a way Riku hadn't seen her in years.
Squeezing her hand in his, he let out a breath and spoke up with a whisper. "Thank you…"