Chapter 81: Collision of death
Aversion mixed into the disturbed expression Namie showed as she unfroze from her spot in the corner of the balcony.
"Wait-" she hushed in a quiet voice of fear, but Izaya was already climbing down the iron ladder.
They didn't have the time to wait until she got her shit back together. The sun had set to a point where it would be easy for the flatworms to come out of the underground systems if they still remained. And as much as Izaya hated the idea of walking around with the potential danger of those nightly creatures closing up on them, he disliked the option of having to do so during nightfall even more.
Quick and agile like a cat hunting for a set of resting birds, Izaya made his way through the vast amount of corpses that had piled in front of the station.
Only dully he noted that they would serve a natural border in the future and slipped into the car's seat.
The bricks he had picked up earlier and used to activate the honk had fallen to the side when he pulled the rope and he quickly rearranged their earlier mechanism.
The car's honk resounded once more and Izaya cringed at the volume. It hadn't increased or anything like that of course, but now with the border of light securing the flatworms inside the underground train system gone he felt the doubled weight of his risky action.
Shizuo turned up right next to him only a second after the hellish device started screaming and Izaya quickly slipped back out of the car.
The plan was easy.
Lure the fungi to the flatworms.
Have the fungi kill the majority of the flatworms, if not all.
Lure the fungi back out and check how many of the flatworms were left.
It was a two step plan suggested by Namie, executed by Izaya and supported by Shizuo's strength as their ultimate joker if anything turned south.
Because at the end of the day he was the only one capable of taking on even a single one of them if it were to rush towards them.
Loud enough to reach within the far ends of the tunnel system it didn't take longer than half a minute for the first fungus to appear.
Blood in spades and a missing arm marked his appearance and Izaya dully noted that most of the fungi used to assassinate the flatworms were not going to make it either.
The scenario reminded him of those video shorts on the net in which people were putting two animals against each other looking for who would kill the other first.
Watching humans was one of his hobbies, but he never quite understood their thrill of exerting cruelty on that level on minor subjects.
Grunting the fungus approached the car, only to be stopped by the engine hood. Blood smeared across the silver surface and Izaya slowly retreated to the side.
More and more followed their friend. Some suffered a fate even worse than the first, some were in a better constitution, but most importantly, none of them were flatworms.
The rope in Izaya's arms tensed as he pulled it from the ground and the bricks accurately finished their job as they slipped from the steering wheel once more.
Of course Izaya could have simply left the car behind and ensured no one heard them as they moved due to the background noise, but at the end of the day they had no idea just how many fungi were still in the area.
And he could really pass on accidentally hoarding a million of them over here.
Finally thawning her limbs Namie had started to move as well.
Reluctance marked each of her steps as she squinted her eyes into the dimly lit area. Anyone could tell at first glance that she didn't want to be here at all.
A short nod was directed at Shizuo and the blond nodded.
No more talking.
Not until they were safe.
They were surrounded by fungi, but as long as they didn't attract too much attention the grunting noises from the hoard that had gathered at the car should prove a sufficient distraction.
Cocking his head towards the tunnel, Izaya approached the former flatworm territory.
The sun's light had almost vanished and their eyes had gotten used to the lack of light. Due to that Izaya was able to spot a sign on the side of the wall that he had failed to see earlier.
It was a green metal plate with an arrow pointing inside the tunnel and the counter number 50 beneath.
Squinting his eyes Izaya could see another not too far, reading 40 and with a quick smile he nodded towards Shizuo.
This was what he had been looking for.
Moving on, a quick shove forced Izaya behind Shizuo's back as he advanced with caution.
The message was clear even without having Shizuo tell him. He wanted to go first in case there were still any dangers waiting for them.
Izaya had long lost sight of Namie, but judging the speed she was handling herself with he suspected she was still stuck at the front of the entrance, eyeballing the fungi from afar and fearing the existence from flatworms down here.
Torn bodies and the stench of rotten flesh filled the entire tunnel system and Izaya lifted his sleeve to his nose to ward off at least some of the stench.
The goal of their destination wasn't far.
30.
20.
10.
Izaya knew what the sign boards were pointing at and his steps accelerated simultaneously to the increasing tension in Shizuo's body.
An iron door, huge and locked by a lever twice the size of Shizuo's arm, presented itself in front of them and a grin flashed across Izaya's lips.
This.
This was it.
Grasping the cool iron Izaya forced the lever into its designated direction and prayed internally for it to please, please, not be locked.
And it seemed his prayers had been heard, because with the sound of rust screeching along a floor of metal the heavy door moved.
As if on cue a rattling sound coming from the tunnels jerked Shizuo's and Izaya's body-
Birds. Zombie birds.
Izaya had no idea how he even came up with that idea, but after having seen humans turn to zombies, dogs turn into even more of a nightmare and knowing birds had a higher body temperature and might sustain the virus longer than the canines could he suddenly came up with the new horror on the spot.
His fantasy kicked into gears with more horrors sustaining his theory and quicker than intended Izaya jumped forward into what he presumed to be a safe space- and faced light.
Artificial light.
A room of a much grander size than expected spread out before them and lightbulbs of bluish color doused everything inside.
Body jerking into even more tension at potential dangers that could be residing in here Izaya looked around.
But there was no one.
The room was pretty much empty except for a chair placed in front of long blackened surveillance screens and nothing except a wall of cupboards filled the rest of the area.
"A solar panel?" startled Izaya turned his head to face Namie.
Apparently she had decided tagging along with Shizuo and Izaya was safer than remaining above even ground by herself and Izaya released the breath he had held.
So she was the "bird" they had heard earlier.
"This is much more than I expected to be honest," Izaya whispered and quickly slipped inside the room.
Shizuo followed right after Namie who overtook him with swift speed.
Funny how she could move this fast after having remained frozen like fresh meat in a refrigerator for half their plan's duration.
But for once Izaya decided not to point that fact out in his usual heaps of sarcasm as he analyzed what laid before their eyes.
They had light, they had a room. Electricity of a simple kind, probably coming from solar panels just as Namie had said.
Which made sense since this was a surveillance room and possibly an emergency retreat should there ever be a fire or anything similar breaking out in the midst of the tunnel.
Closing the heavy metal door quickly Shizuo brought down the lever attached to the inside and sighed with relief.
They were safe.
At least for now.
This room was empty, he could tell at least that much and considering the windowless space there was no option to enter this space except for the heavy and very secure iron door.
The screens were inspected, some buttons pressed on the mainboard in front of the chair by Izaya, but as expected there was no response to any of them.
Had it not been for the solar panels still feeding light to the bulbs this room would have been dead for all it had.
But like this?
It was perfect.
"I swear to god I really hope this room was worth it." Namie sighed as she sat down inside the swivel chair.
Whoever had been watching the screens daily had certainly made sure he was doing it with utmost comfort. Compared to most work utensils usually provided by companies this was definitely a self improved seat. Cushions softer than expected and a function that allowed to lower the backrest into a horizontal position made for sleep only served as more indicators supporting that idea.
Opening some of the cupboards Izaya seemed further pleased by their find as he looked at a variety of long living snacks, cans of food and bottled mineral water.
He wasn't quite sure if this place had been abandoned before the apocalypse or whether someone had actually used this place as a hideout at some point, but considering the dust layered thinly on the ground it had been longer than just a little while since any living sane person had entered this space.
In other words.
It was safe.
Safe for them to use and safe for them to stay.
"This room is worth more than your weight in gold," he smiled and skipped back to the door.
Agitation rising once more Shizuo looked at Izaya with eyes of doubt, "Where are you going?"
Hands on the lever and head cocking into the tunnel's direction Izaya smiled.
"To the car. We need to get everything in here if we really want to make this worth our stay."
Groaning softly, Shizuo steered away from the control board and towards the raven.
"Can I stay?" it was Namie's arguably soft voice that had whispered the question into the room.
Even she with all her pride and common sense seemed to understand that her request was anything but beneficial to their group, but Izaya welcomed the question with utmost pleasure.
"I would actually prefer it if you do," he agreed quickly, and Namie's expression relaxed. "No offense, but taking you with us wouldn't exactly be a benefit."
Izaya wasn't even trying to flame the woman for acting the way she did or asking what she had in the first place.
But seeing how she had reacted to the sight of a fungus up close earlier, Izaya realized she had more in common with Karisawa when it came to those monsters.
At the end of the day she was a woman, and she knew her bodily limits when it came to defending herself with nothing but sheer strength alone.
Compared to Karisawa she was taking the sight of them even worse.
Probably because she knew exactly what made these creatures this way.
Shaking her head softly she denied Izaya's worries quickly.
"None taken."
And so they moved.
Out of the safe room and back into the tunnel.
By now the sun had actually set and Izaya felt his hair stand on ends just by being outside. But if his deductions so far had been correct, then the flatworms should be avoiding this area due to the high density of fungi around.
And the fungi were blind.
Sneaking out of the tunnel Izaya looked towards their car.
The darkness around wasn't exactly making it easier to not feel like food presented on a silver tablet the second they did as much as move in a wrong way, but their precautions did.
Because the car was empty.
The apheresis machine as well as everything Izaya had gathered so meticulously had been carried over to the front of the tunnel by them before initiating their operation because Izaya figured their car wasn't going to be of much use after serving as fungi bait.
And he was correct.
Gathered around the vehicle like mice around a pile of fresh cheese and ham they gnawed at the car's sides. Some form of intelligence had to be active inside their brains as they obviously thought burrowing through the surface would reward them with the joy of humanoid food like opening a can in a supermarket.
The sight and idea were both revolting and unsettling and Izaya quickly brushed Shizuo's arm with quick orders.
It was too dark to sign anything by glances and even whispering was something Izaya didn't want to risk in such an environment.
Words forming orders appeared on Shizuo's skin and the blond moved.
Together, fast and without any further complications they made their way down the tunnel.
First the apheresis machine, then the rest.
Not bothering to move everything inside they set down what they had right before Namie's door and after twenty minutes of careful steps and even fainter sounds Izaya opened the iron door again.
Stiff in both body and mind it took only a second to spot Namie at the corner farthest from the door. A broom she had probably found inside on of the shelves rested in her arms as she clutched it like her life depended upon it.
Only upon seeing Izaya's complexion did she relax.
"Done?" she whispered, as if she had never freaked out upon their return and Izaya quickly slipped inside with as much as he could carry at once.
"Done," cocking his head to the side he signed towards the front of the door.
The apheresis machine was standing there and moving it with the power of three was going to be much easier than for only two.
Understanding the request Namie moved over despite disliking it and quickly added the bit of strength she could spare.
"Could they make this any heavier?" she cursed under sour lips as soon as the heavy door closed and the safety of four indomitable walls returned.
Shoving the machine into the far corner of the room Izaya shrugged, "You are the scientist, you tell me."
to be continued~
Alright we made it through the zombies without casualities- a novum! xDD But don't worry I won't make everything as easy as this mission C: C: C: C: xD