Chapter 5: Black Light

Dr. Wataru Watanabe sat in front of his computer and set his steaming hot coffee onto a nearby coaster. He was in his highly secure laboratory in the lower levels of the Japanese Umbrella facility located deep under Hokkaido. He logged into the computer's service terminal and began to read through several pages of notes. Dr. Wataru hummed as he read the notes written by another fellow Umbrella bio researcher in America, Dr. Alex J. Mercer. The notes he was reading were regarding the seven different G-Virus strains developed by Umbrella and his primary employer, Albert Wesker.

At the thought of Albert Wesker, Wataru grinned in excitement. The man was a revolutionary, as his goal was to push the human race to the next step in its evolution. Wataru was one of the few scientists allowed to join Wesker into the world. This was thanks to his exceptional brilliance in developing one of the seven strands of the rare few strands of the G-Virus.

Wataru's strand would allow its host to command the fast-growing infected subjects and their ever-evolving mutating bodies. A valuable asset in corraling Weskers future army and followers. However, he was baffled about how Wesker handed out the precious strands to the masses. As Wesker put it, it was done by a random lottery rather than carefully choosing their hosts.

Wesker's idea was to place the strands in random vials of the recently made flu vaccine they had tricked the world's governments into injecting into the population. This left everything to chance, which Wataru wasn't fond of. What if one of the vails with the strands were dropped or discarded? That would mean hundreds of hours of research would have gone to waste. The strands weren't created to survive without a proper host! It was extremely reckless!

Wataru sighed and sipped his hot coffee to calm his growing frustration. As he drank his caffeinated drink, he couldn't help but think that using the fake flu vaccine to inject the greater population with lesser strands of the virus was a genius, which would allow the base version of the T-virus to mutate at incredible speeds.

"Ah... I'm getting distracted." Wataru said.

Back to the notes he was reading, Wataru could not help but be impressed. At the same time, he couldn't stop being skeptical about what Dr. Alex J. Mercer described what his strand of the G-virus could do. It was simply impossible. According to Mercer, It would allow its host to continue to evolve and expand its abilities to no end. With enough time, the host could become the ultimate life form! But that couldn't be.

Typically, Wataru would have called and discussed Mercer's strand with the man. But that was no longer possible due to Mercer being killed by one of the infected during the outbreak in New York three days ago. The fool. This meant that Mercer's research had died with him due to the man's very secretive nature. The notes he was reading were the few recovered handwritten notes found in Mercer's apartment.

"Vial BL-062009... I wonder where that one ended up."

X X X

BL-062009 was unsure of its current circumstances. Its host had died from severe trauma to his internal organs and an injury to the lower right ventricle. The brain seemed to have also suffered a major injury to its frontal lobe.

Usually, this situation would allow BL-062009 to take control of its host body to begin its true purpose of following its father's commands. Unfortunately, the injury to the right ventricle had injured its upper body. If it were to move towards the brain to take control, it would most likely perish during the process.

Suddenly, the host's dead body jerked and twisted. BL-062009 knew immediately that outside forces were currently deconstructing the host body. The brain stem was currently being attacked and mangled; if BL-062009 didn't do anything quickly, then the host body would be destroyed beyond use. It would mean BL-062009 would have failed in its objective and its father. That was something BL-062009 would not allow.

BL-062009 immediately began to fuse into the host's unmoving heart. This was in opposition to its goal of combining with the brain, but due to the current conditions. It had no choice but to adapt to the situation. When it was done, the dead organ began to beat once again. With the heart again active, BL-062009 began to spread small portions of its still-developing viral body throughout the host body through the host's bloodstream.

The reaction was immediate; BL-062009 sensed its newly found control over the host body. Using its freshly found control over the body, it began to force the flesh and organs to regrow and heal. But when it reached the brain, it was highly damaged. For BL-062009 to survive, the host must continue living until BL-062009 grows in strength to fully take over its host body. Despite its prime directive, BL-062009 began to put the brain back together. It couldn't fix the damaged portions of brain matter, so it would simply leave them blank and new. The host's brain function was its top priority, not its memories or personality. However, BL-062009 needed more biomass to do everything it needed.

BL-062009 needed to consume.

X X X

Wet squashing sounds echoed as five undead bodies ate and tore away at the cold body of a young man with dark hair and sharp eyes.

A woman in her late thirties was pulling and tearing away at the young man's large and lower intestines with manic rage. The young man's left arm was nothing but naked bone as two young undead children chewed and gnawed away at the flesh. Kneeling over the young man's chest was a thin old man with dirty black and grey hair. In his hands was the young man's right lung. The old man held the dead organ in his bloodied hands and began to crush it into a gory mess. Finally, a middle-aged woman dressed in a red winter coat pulled and clawed away at the young man's neck as she tried to remove his head from his body.

They ate and tore the young man's body apart under the pitch black sky of the night sky. Their growls and moans resounded in the park they sat in. Off in the distance were several large pillars of smoke and fire from where all the bridges over the Hanami River were destroyed. Off over the sea were the beginnings of the familiar sight of Japan's rising sun.

The infected looked down in surprise when their plaything and feast jerked. Before they could react, several red and black tendrils erupted out of the once still body and wrapped around their bodies. They moaned weakly as their bodies were broken down to their last molecule and absorbed into the young man's body. Several more tendrils sprang up and swarmed the pile of bullet-ridden bodies a few feet away; they were dragged over to the young man's body and were absorbed as well.

Tendrils and biomass danced around the body and slowed to a stop. They sank into the young man's body to reveal a perfectly healed body. There wasn't even a scratch left behind from the undead's attack. The black-haired teen's eyelids slowly blinked open to reveal a pair of crimson eyes.

X X X

Three Days Ago…

Yui, Yukino, Iroha, and Haruno watched Hachiman, Saki, and Keika quickly disappear around the corner of the east wing building of the Community Center. Haruno sighed and turned to everyone.

"All right, everyone. Let's get moving." Haruno said, causing all of the room's occupants to look nervous and scared.

Everyone began the slow process of repelling down the curtains. Haruno was the first to drop, and she watched as everyone else climbed down the rope. She grew worried a few times as some of the less athletic students came close to slipping and falling off the rope. Once everyone was on the ground, they sneaked into the supply room and grabbed whatever they could as weapons to defend themselves.

"Okay. We're going to move just like we planned." Haruno said as she looked at everyone carefully while looking over her shoulder at every sound. Since she was the oldest, it was agreed she would become the de facto leader. Haruno squeezed the metal bat in her hand. "Stay close and move quickly. Remember, stay silent."

Yui frowned and squeezed the broomstick in her hands. Yukino nodded and looked down at the tennis racket she had chosen as her weapon. Iroha had decided to grab a bat to use as her self-defense weapon. Yumiko and Hina also decided to use tennis rackets. Meguri and Zaimokuza grabbed a bat and a shinai, respectively. Kaori and Tamanawa had grabbed bats of their own while the rest of their schoolmates grabbed bats, shinais, and metal pipes.

"Okay, first group." Haruno said.

Hayato nodded; Yumiko, Hina, Meguri, and Zaimokuza walked along the abandoned streets and headed toward the agreed-upon building. Haruno counted in her head and looked over at the Kaihin group.

"Second group." Haruno said. Tamanawa nodded shakily.

Kaori, Okada, Kumiko Yamada, Suto Chiasa, Tomoko Yamada, and Tamanawa began to move after Hayato's group. Yukino watched them leave with a nervous expression and turned to her group. It comprised Yui, Iroha, Haruno, Kawano Kichirou, Akiyama Masa, and herself. Kawano and Akiyama were two of the annoying student council members from the Christmas event. They had tried to keep at least two boys in each group to round out their overall strength. However, Yukino couldn't help but look at their skittish expressions with some unease.

"Okay, our turn." Haruno said as she turned to them. The remaining group nodded and began heading towards the meeting location quickly.

"Ack!" Iroha squeaked silently as she spotted one of the walking infected come out of the tight alley across the street.

Everyone froze as they watched two more of the undead follow behind the infected man. Yui's hands shook as she looked at the ripped remains of the undead woman dressed in a black jacket and white skirt. The infected woman hobbled into a wall. Yui felt her stomach churn as the woman leaned forward and vomited a stream of dark red blood. The viscous liquid splattered onto the ground, and the woman walked aimlessly.

"Yuigahama-san. Let's go." Yukino whispered as she grabbed Yui's left hand. She pulled the pink-haired girl along, and they all continued onward.

"Yukinon… I don't think I can do this." Yui whispered and felt her legs shake. Haruno turned back and walked closer to the petrified girl.

"Yui-senpai…" Iroha whispered as she looked over to her upperclassman.

"Gahama-chan. It's okay, you can do this." Haruno said in a supportive tone. Yui looked at Haruno in mild surprise and nodded. With the help of both of the Yukinoshita sisters, Yui could keep moving.

"That girl is going to get us killed. What the hell is Tamanawa-san thinking?!" Akiyama whispered to Kumiko as they looked around nervously at the bloodied streets and far off infected. They were far enough that the women of the group couldn't hear them.

"Shit… what do we do?" Kawano whispered as they watched the women of the group walk towards them.

"The first chance we get… we run for it."

X X X

Iroha yawned and sat up from her spot on the floor. She winced in slight pain and rubbed a tender area on her lower back. Standing up, Iroha stretched her tight body and looked around the dark room where everyone had gathered to sleep. Most of them lay on the cold, hard ground like she did to sleep, while others slept against the room's walls.

Iroha walked over to one of the windows and looked out at the dark city of Chiba. It's been two days since they began traveling towards Haruno's home. They've been progressing slowly due to traveling in such a large group. They have been lucky so far not to have garnered the attention of any of the undead. Haruno had done her best to plan their routes and detours to walk around the mindless infected. While this method worked so far, it also slowed them down immensely.

"At this rate, we should be there in about three more days." Haruno said once they settled in the room, they were all in.

Iroha had never appreciated the modes of transportation she had taken for granted like she did now. Her aching feet reminded her of all the miles she had walked and the short instances she had to run to avoid the undead.

A low rumbling echoes from her stomach as she presses a hand over her thin belly. She was getting hungry and thirsty, as was everyone else. All the groceries and convenience stores they'd passed had been full of the undead, making it impossible for them to gather food. Tamanawa and his fellow council members argued that we should take out the infected in the previous convenience store they passed. Haruno quickly shut down that idea, stating it was too dangerous and that there would be more opportunities to collect food. Much safer opportunities.

Iroha still remembered the angry and indignant looks Tamanawa and the rest shot Haruno as she turned away from them. Never had she wanted her Senpai more than she did then. Hachiman was always very good at determining what someone was thinking. What Iroha wouldn't give to catch a glimpse of their thought process as the Kaihin groups whispered to themselves while shooting Haruno and the rest of her schoolmate's negative looks.

"Senpai." Iroha whispered as she touched the cool surface of the window. "Please be safe."

X X X

"Okay, go."

Yukino watched as Haruno motioned for group two to begin moving after Hayato's. The group led by Tamanawa started heading down the silent street.

They were now in the Wakaba Ward's residential area. While their family's main home was in Denenchofu with the rest of the wealthy upper class, traveling there from Chiba on foot wasn't feasible. So, instead, they headed to Yatsukaido, where Yukino and Haruno's father kept a second home when he was away for business. They've been on foot for the past two days and are beginning to feel the effects of traveling with little to eat.

It didn't help that they had begun seeing more and more of the undead. So, they had to repeatedly slow down and take a different route that would only slow them down even more. Yukino couldn't help but think that reaching her family home in Yatsukaido was unattainable. She could even see the worry and fear on her sister's face. Haruno realized that heading to their home was a good idea in theory, but it was an extremely challenging task in practice.

"Nee-san." Yukino said, gaining Harunos attention. "I think we should rethink our plans."

Haruno frowned, her face scrunched up tiredly. Yukino thought Haruno would argue back and support her decision like she usually would, but in the end, Haruno didn't refute her. Haruno placed a hand on the brick wall beside her and sighed.

"… you're right. We've been walking for three days and still haven't gotten halfway there. There's just too many of those things." Haruno whispered. Yukino couldn't help but be empathetic of her sister's position.

Haruno was only three years older than her, and she suddenly found the heavy burden of being responsible for several students. Not to mention, she had to guide them all through a Hellish landscape carefully so no one would get hurt or worse. It was a miracle that they hadn't had to fight any of the undead so far. It was a testament to her sister's quick thinking and ability to manage every situation they encountered properly. But Yukino could see it was all beginning to weigh heavily on Haruno. It was too much.

"We should find a large enough shelter and secure it as best as we can. From there, we should focus on finding food and water. Otherwise, we all won't be able to keep going." Yukino said. Yui nodded beside her while Iroha felt her stomach growl. Akiyama and Kawano looked upset, but they quickly calmed down.

"Okay. Let's meet with the rest and look for a proper place to set up camp." Haruno said with a sigh.

As they began to follow behind the others, a sudden series of loud explosions could be heard off toward the southwest. More specifically, they originated in the Mihama Ward. Yui sprung up and turned towards the loud explosions with an expression of deep worry.

"I-isnt that where Hikki and Kawasaki-san are at?" Yui said numbly. Iroha's head spun, and they looked out towards the rising pillars of smoke in the sky. Yukino looked alert and ready to turn back. But before anyone could do a thing. Hundreds of moans and growls resounded through the area they stood in.

"W-what the hell is that?!" Akiyama roared and spun around as the wails of the undead began to grow louder.

"Oh no, those explosions are attracting them!" Haruno said, looking over at hundreds of infected people running down the once-abandoned residential street they were on. "RUN!"

Without wasting another second, all six turned and began sprinting back where they originally came from. Yukino briefly wondered about the others but was reminded she didn't have the privilege of worrying about them. Iroha turned her head and watched the incoming horde quickly gain at them.

"Faster!" Iroha yelled and pushed herself to run at even quicker speeds.

"ACK!" Kawano yelled as his left foot was caught behind his right calf.

Everyone turned in surprise as Kawano tried to stand but was quickly dog piled by several hungry undead. They began to bite and tear Kawano to pieces as his pained voice screamed. One of the piled-on infected was a middle-aged man. The man's skin was a rotting reddish pink, while a large portion of neck muscle was missing on his left side. The man grabbed Kawano's head and dug his bloodied fingers into Kawanos crying eyes; they exploded in splashes of gore.

"KAWANO!" Akiyama cried after his friend.

"Don't stop!" Haruno yelled through quick breaths. They kept running down the Mistuwadai Odori road, and she quickly spotted the glowing neon sign of the Cowbell Mitsuwadai restaurant ahead. "Up there! Follow me!"

Haruno turned the corner and ran towards the back of the restaurant with the others behind her. Haruno ran towards the back door and yanked on its handle. The door didn't budge; Haruno cursed and spun her head around.

"Nee-san!" Yukino yelled in a panic.

Haruno turned back and saw the terrified expressions on Yukino, Yui, Iroha, and Akiyama's faces. Haruno looked to the side and thought about breaking a window so they could all hop inside but quickly threw the idea out. The breaking glass would only attract the undead's attention. Before she could think any further, seven infected ran around the corner and turned to them. They unleashed a monstrous roar and ran in their direction.

"S-stay back!" Akiyama yelled as he waved his metal pipe around wildly.

Suddenly, the metal door of the restaurant swung open and almost crashed into HAruno's face. An old, frightened woman dressed in a black dress shirt and white apron looked at them and beckoned them inside.

"Hurry! Come in!" The woman yelled.

The five of them quickly ran inside the door. Once inside, the older woman slammed the door just in time for the infected to slam into it. Loud bangs slammed repeatedly on the door as the undead growled and moaned. An old man and teenage boy began to push a large freezer in front of the back door. They groaned in exertion as they pushed. The freezer was now sitting in front of the door. The old woman turned to them and smiled.

"Are you kids okay?"

X X X

The Present...

I gasped and shot up to my feet. My breaths came out quickly as I tried to regain control of my breathing. I looked around and saw that I was at the edge of a small park. Off to my side was a large dried-out puddle of blood. The soft morning sun hung over Chiba, bathing it in warm hues of yellow and orange.

"What the hell?" I said while patting my naked chest. A few tattered pieces of fabric from my school uniform were hanging off me. They offered me little protection from the morning cold, so I ripped them off and threw them on the ground. "Why... am I here?"

My head twitched as I heard the sounds of growling off to my right. I squinted my eyes through the park's trees and saw the far-off fence for the Chiba Municipal Special Education High School. Hanging off the fence were several hundred moving students. Their teeth clattered as they chomped at the air before them and uselessly banged their pale and purple hands onto the fence. Has my vision always been this clear?

"Stop right there!"

"That's my Onii-chan!"

"ONII-CHAN!"

"HIKIGAYA!"

My hands flew up to my head as scrambled memories flashed through my mind. I closed my eyes in pain and fell to a knee. I squeezed my head as I experienced the worst possible migraine ever. Thankfully, the pain my head was assaulted with quickly vanished. I jumped up and looked around wildly.

"KOMACHI!" I yelled. I took a step forward, and my foot rolled slightly. I bent down and picked up an empty bullet case.

"Sorry, kid. We couldn't risk it."

"I... was shot. Right?" I dropped the case and lifted a hand to my forehead. My fingers felt no scar or injury where I remembered feeling a sharp, dull pain. My hands then patted my chest and stomach, where I remembered being pelted with a hail of bullets. "I'm okay?"

Sighing in confusion, I ran over to where I remembered Komachi, Saki, Taishi, and Keika being shoved into one of the JSDF's humvees. I looked down at the tire tracks on the street and saw that they led up toward Masajokusunoki-Dori Avenue. In the corner of my eyes, I saw several pillars of smoke in the sky over the Hanami River.

"What the hell is going on?" I said and ran towards the river.

As I ran, I avoided and dodged the flailing infected with ease. I couldn't help but notice the lack of fear in me as I weaved under their swinging arms. I reached the school gates and felt an unfamiliar sense of confidence. I prepared my leg muscles and felt a surge of power swell in them. With a mighty leap, I easily cleared the six-foot-tall gate and rolled to a stop.

"That was… easy." I said.

I turned left and right and saw legions of undead students of the Chiba Municipal Special Education High School. Four male students roared and tried to swarm me. I performed a backflip over them and landed in a crouch. The undead crashed into each other and fell into a heap of flailing limbs.

"My legs." I watched as swirling tendrils swarmed over my legs and sank into my muscles. But instead of feeling fear and shock, I merely felt calm at the sight. I wasn't given much time to think about what was happening to me as a female student jumped onto my back and wrapped her bloodied arms around my chest; she then bit down on my shoulder with a snarl.

"Get off!" I yelled and grabbed the short-haired, infected girl by her arms.

With strength I didn't know I possessed, I pulled the girl off my back and slammed her down onto the floor before me. The infected girl's bones were crushed by the force I used, and a large splatter of blood erupted around her. My eyes grew wide at what I just did. I looked around at the incoming horde and smiled slightly. Unknown to me, my smile was sharp and sadistic.

This is wrong... I shouldn't be able to do this.

This is right... We are capable of this and so much more.

My body grabbed one of the male students by the throat. I gripped their neck and crushed it under my grip. I spun around and used the student as a weapon by slamming him into several more of the undead. I dashed forward and punched clean through the chest of a blonde-haired female student. Blood and gore splattered behind her as my fist exploded out of her body. I pulled my arm out and shot my right leg into her stomach, launching her back and causing her to crash into several of the undead.

Oh, god. What did I do?

I stopped and looked down at my bloodied arms and legs in horror. I shook my head as a new wave of pain shot through my skull. I was pushed into the ground by three infected students; I slammed into the ground with a grunt. From there, several more of the undead jumped on me; their weight began to press me into the dirt as they continued to pile on. This only caused my headache to increase to monumental levels.

"ONII-CHAN! NOO! YOU C-CAN'T LEAVE ME!"

"HIKIGAYA! LEAVE HIM ALONE!"

Red, hazy memories of Komachi and Saki trying to escape the holds the soldiers around them surged through my head. Komachi's distressed face filled my mind as she tried to run to me. Saki's devastated, tear-ridden face flooded my eyes as she elbowed the JSDF soldier in his gas mask, causing the glass to break slightly. Keika and Taishi's horror-stricken faces watched as I was shot in the head from inside the Humvee they were in.

You want to save them, don't you? Then, use our power. Hunt. Kill. Consume. Become.

Yes… that's right. I have to save Komachi. I have to save them all! No matter what!

"RAAAGHHH!"

I yelled and threw the large pile of infected off me with incredible strength. Tendrils shot out of my body and stabbed into several of the undead students and absorbed them into my body. I breathed angrily and watched the surrounding infected pause briefly. They stood around, unsure of what to do. I turned around and dashed towards the main school building, and jumped. I landed on the side of the wall and began running vertically on the wall. Once I ran up the building's three stories, I hopped onto the roof and rolled to a stop.

"I can run up walls." I said as I looked at the quickly healing bite marks on my body.

Instead of feeling fear of becoming one of the infected, I felt oddly calm. I instinctively knew that whatever caused normal humans to change into the undead couldn't affect me. I sensed the invasive virus inside me be immediately destroyed. I looked down at my body in amazement.

What have I become? Something less than human… But also something more.

Looking up, I was shocked to see several destroyed bridges across the Hanami River. They were what were causing the pillars of smoke in the sky. I felt a sinking feeling as I turned to look at the sprawling cityscape of Tokyo, Yokohama, and Funabashi.

"Komachi… where are you?"