Last Chapter 104: Chaos
"Bсе в автомобиле." The words were whispered into the damp smell of cold grass and fresh air. It was still dark. But not for much longer. Faint clouds started to demonstrate their shapes as they grazed the horizon and painted the sky in a deep purple.
One last time Izaya looked at his surroundings. It was astoundingly quiet. Not a single soul, be it infected by fungi, flatworm or healthy, was to be sighted.
Izaya had determined the mall's exterior to be safe, but not this safe.
Tilting his head into his neck he looked at the sky and the vanishing lights of stars above. Night was passing and day breaking. If he was correct, then everything depended on this day.
Car parked not too far Izaya slowly moved into the direction of the mall.
He had kept his distance on purpose when approaching, after all he didn't want to trigger any unwanted attention and now that fact played into his favor as he saw movement.
Vorona. Her blond hair was spotted easier than others, but it seemed she had executed his order perfectly as a couple more shadows followed quietly in the distance.
Shinra was amazing in many ways, but his anticipation of a situation similar to this was not to be laughed off.
Grasping the warmed plastic of the walkie talkie inside Izaya's hand and the bag across his shoulder, he couldn't help but feel his adrenaline spike.
All or nothing. Now or never.
Crimson and orange started to mix in the brightening horizon and only enhanced Izaya's anticipation. Red. Like the blood they had seen. Red like the first car he hijacked. Red, like the theater play of red riding hood.
Maybe he was just searching for cinematic hints that would predict his mission as a success, but somehow they made Izaya feel as though he was walking a winning path.
Breathing in the last breath of unbelievably fresh air Izaya walked up to the back of the van. It was the one good thing the apocalypse had brought. Room to breathe free of chemicals or waste.
And with that the handle of the backdoor leading into the camper was pulled.
"Izaya-" Karisawa jerked in her seat at the unexpected guest and the same went for the rest, except for Vorona who had anticipated his arrival it seemed.
"What the hell, can't you knock?" Namie cursed but Izaya had more important matters to address than the woman's mental well being. Dropping the bag onto the bed on the right side he quickly unpacked its contents.
"No time." Syringe after syringe was pulled from the confines of his bag and Karisawa's expression fell slightly at the unmistakable conclusion of what it was that Izaya meant to do to them.
"Shizuo," Izaya whispered, as though he was afraid someone was listening in and he turned.
Their glances met.
Complaints, worry, reluctance and many more emotions were visible in Shizuo's eyes. Izaya understood. He left him behind with not more but a simple order and a curse. Shizuo stayed because he understood what it was that Izaya had wanted to tell him, he might even have realized that something was off about Shinra's zombification, but that didn't change the fact that he left.
Again.
Despite promising to stay in Shizuo's vision of sight. It was a promise that he gave with the intention to keep, but Shinra's plans had spoiled those intentions.
Izaya almost expected a complaint, the start of a quarrel, but his eyes and the urgency in his voice seemed to be enough to convince Shizuo to delay his arguments.
Moving over he didn't even ask a single question as he bared his arm instead. Izaya wanted him to be the first to get the antidote- the vials that Kujiragi had kept on the control table.
"Is that-" Namie asked, but faded out as if she were worried to jinx the answer by prying and Izaya nodded while pushing the liquid of light beige into Shizuo's arm.
Vorona seemed to be a bit skeptical despite having followed Izaya's previous order as she stared at the syringes. The walkie talkie was resting in her left palm almost as if she were expecting another order.
"Vorona," Namie called her name to snap her out of her deep frown locked into the syringes. One of the needles had found its way into the scientist's hands as she copied Izaya's action. Doubt grazed Vorona's expression, but with Namie supporting whatever it was that Izaya was doing she had no reason to resist.
"As long as you haven't been infected it should keep you immune," Izaya continued as briefly and detailed as possible.
They didn't have a lot of time at hand from all Izaya had concluded and his actions showed that as he quickly moved over to Karisawa. Glancing at the second syringe in his palm she swallowed shortly before looking away. "Sorry, I can't see needles," she whispered and kept her eyes shut tightly while offering her arm midair.
A soft smile grazed Izaya's lips for a second as he made a quick job of the second shot.
"Doesn't the immunisation take a few days at least?" Namie mumbled with the cap of her own needle between her teeth as she administered the drug to her own veins.
"Not with Shinra's solution," Izaya informed as he approached the last of their rows. "The crazy bastard cooked up a two in one solution, keeping you guarded from the virus by reversing any fungifying processes before they even begin and coupled that with my antigens, guarding against both fungi and flatworms the second his solution loses its potency." Glancing at the beige contents of the syringe Kadota couldn't help but cringe slightly. Izaya understood why. It looked like sewer water.
"How did you even get out so quickly?" Izaya asked as soon as the syringe's contents were distributed and suddenly, as if on cue, a knock followed at the backdoor.
Brown hair, a limp walk to his side and a surprised expression showed on Masaki's face as he looked at the one person he had not suspected to find inside the camper.
"Izaya-" he whispered disbelieving and his eyes trailed to the contents sprawled on top of the bed. Empty syringes and more, still filled, were poking forth from the bag's inside and his expression lit up. "Is that-"
But Izaya had no time to explain. Grasping the soft fabric of the bag he quickly moved it over before shoving it into Masaki's arms.
"I trust you know who you can trust inside that mall?" he asked and answered the question without telling as Masaki glanced at the group.
Everyone's sleeves were pulled up and pressed to keep any blood from spilling from the puncture and he quickly nodded as his expression grew serious. Tight, as if his life depended upon the bag, he pulled it closer. "I will be right back-" he announced quickly and the door shut.
So that's how they had left the mall so easily. Masaki had helped them. It was a one time token of gratitude that Izaya just consumed, but it was the only favor he needed.
The slightest sliver of orange and gold finally merged at the horizon as the first peak of sunlight grazed past the abandoned buildings.
Getting civilization back would be challenging. Especially inside an environment like this. So much had been ruined. Electricity was gone too as for the rest-
"Why the sudden hurry?" Namie suddenly asked, snapping Izaya out of his thoughts.
he hadn't really noticed his daze and the few minutes that passed. Might be lack of sleep, might be the strain of the past few days, or maybe it was the dump of adrenaline that had started to decrease the second he administered the antidote to Shizuo's veins.
They were safe. At least from being infected. And that knowledge was too assuring to keep the tension.
"The priest is trying to fumigate everyone left inside the mall with the virus," Izaya quickly explained what it was that he had come to understand from Masaki's intel.
"Today?" Karisawa whispered horrified, and even Kadota showed signs of horror on his face.
An explosion- or was it a controlled blast? Izaya didn't know, didn't see and couldn't tell, all they heard was the sound and the smoke they now saw through the window.
Izaya had ordered them back into the camper in order to administer his antidote but that was not the only reason.
Jumping out of the camper Izaya looked towards the mall.
A glass window from the first floor had shattered and smoke streamed from its insides and his guts dropped as he realized just how close they had all been to becoming mindless monsters.
"Right now-" Izaya whispered and he spotted Masaki running out of the building. The bag filled with syringes was still dangling from his shoulder, but judging from his expression he had managed to hand them over to most of his men. Shadows as fast as him followed right on his heels as they dashed towards the camper.
It was laughter traversing the scene that brought their legs to a standstill and turned their heads towards the mall.
There he was.
On top of the roof.
"It's too late to run! Accept God's will!"
The priest. The priest and Shijima. Grinning equally broad, those two hypocrites stood atop the building where nothing but fresh air remained to keep their own fates from that which they tried to enforce onto their men. It was cowardly beyond means and Masaki's eyes narrowed as he glared towards the roof.
But then they followed.
The rest.
The people that Masaki had not managed to reach. One after the other they stepped out of the window fronts. Coughing, retching and awfully disoriented.
Izaya knew their sight. He remembered it well enough.
Shiki. Back at his own apartment. He had been bothered by what he believed to be some kind of infection for a few days. But it seemed the priest's virus was working even quicker-
Swallowing hard, Izaya's eyes narrowed and he felt the slight touch of doubt freeze his mind. What the priest had created, what if it was more potent than the already ravaging flatworms or fungi?
Avid sounds and choked screams resounded from inside the mall and suddenly they were there.
Dogs. The dogs they had kept in the basement. Running free they had either killed their owner or were abandoned by his infected body. But no matter why they were here, they were a threat- not only virus wise.
Rushing towards the camper, Izaya quickly advanced to higher ground as he climbed to the top of the vehicle.
"Vorona!" he called as he offered his hand to help Karisawa climb up as well.
The blond woman understood the order immediately and a gun he kept inside the camper was pulled from a shelf. A second of loading, a second of aim.
Dead.
one dropped dead.
Two.
Pulling Karisawa up it was Kadota who was next as Shizuo made his way up by pulling himself up from the side.
And suddenly it was there, a helicopter above their heads- fast flying past it served a gush of wind and distracted Izaya for just a second.
Three. Four. Gunshots resounded.
The dogs were five in total and Namie was the last to get up as she slipped on the ladder. One rushed closer and teeth were bared as it charged at her-
But Vorona was quicker. Calmer. And held precision to her mind that no one else but her would be able to sustain.
Headshot, right between the eyes, the infected dog dropped to the side and Namie released the breath she had held.
Her arm was grabbed and Vorona quickly helped her up.
Masaki was suddenly there too, having climbed up from the front of the camper he looked around. "Fuck, what's going on?"
But Izaya was a bit too overwhelmed by the set of events to answer as he looked towards the approaching infection from the mall, the mist streaming from the inside, the dog's corpses and now the helicopter, what was that? Where did it come from?
"Izaya-" and the horrors were not over yet.
Shizuo's voice, dire and quick, reached Izaya's ears and he turned towards the highway. The highway he had used to get to the mall earlier.
His car was abandoned further ahead and out of sight, instead he viewed something else.
Zombies. Or rather. Infected people. Fungi. Monsters. They had served them so many names during their fight for survival and now they faced more than they had ever seen before.
Masses.
A few hundred? A thousand? Izaya couldn't tell. All he could was hold his breath as he looked at the approaching army of death from behind.
Their current position on top of the camper was going to protect them from the zombie dogs. But not from a mass of people as grand as that.
Why?
Where did they come from? The museum? Did they not clear out enough? How?
Laughter traversed the air as the priest too had spotted the oncoming danger and for a second Izaya's guts dropped as he realized this might as well be what the priest had planned.
The visit at the museum, the music playing in front- who was to say the priest didn't set up a second place like that with the intention to flood the entirety of the mall and area nearby to make sure no one escaped?
A hand found its way to squeeze Izaya's and Shizuo looked at him. Was this it?
Grunts approached.
Groaning all in front as the masses limped towards them.
"Izaya-" Karisawa whispered scared, looking back and forth between their surefire death and the two scientists inside their group as they approached.
Izaya could see them. Those at the front.
Dressed in rags, dirty from head to bottom and skin pale as a sheet of paper.
And the eyes- and suddenly Izaya stilled.
Because the eyes were not blind.
The glassiness he used to see in fungi had vanished and his lips curled into a smile as a girl at the very front of the crowd drew near.
Her hair was tangled and she was dressed in blood more than clothes as she looked up at Izaya with the roughest voice ever heard.
"... do you have some water…?"
She was… sane.
She was sane-!
And so were the others.
Slowing down a woman much older stopped next to the child as if only having realized that moment that she was there.
"What happened?" she asked in a similar croak and as if having started a wildfire the flame of consciousness licked towards the others.
Confusion, sense of reason and the question of where they were walking, or rather why they were walking in the first place spread among the masses.
"What the hell-" Masaki voiced as he tried to make sense of what he was seeing and a familiar noise suddenly soared in the distance. The helicopter that had flown past their heads returned and Izaya grinned as the aircraft lowered towards the parking lot-
Checkmate.
The priest's plan and Izaya's had aligned much more beautifully than Izaya could have ever hoped for as the side of the helicopter opened.
Kujiragi.
Sleep deprived in her long white lab coat emerged and cling to the aircraft's frame for dear life.
A megaphone was pulled to her lips and louder than Izaya had ever heard her speak she yelled into the object-
"THE APOCALYPSE IS OVER. I REPEAT. THE APOCALYPSE IS OVER."
Unbelieving, disoriented and confused the masses turned to the woman's presence.
Clouds of beige accompanied the helicopter and Izaya finally noticed the damp dust in the air stemming from the aircraft as the antidote.
Zombies from the mall, or rather freshly infected fungi approached only to feel their symptoms subside.
They slowed down- and came to a standstill.
"Masaki?" one of them called his name and the right hand man turned with an expression of disbelief as he looked at a guy he had missed to inject with the antidote.
"Are you kidding?" he whispered and choked as tears threatened to take over his sight.
Landing everything but smooth, the helicopter settled upon the pavement and the rotor blades finally stopped. A doctor, old friend and supposedly dead Shinra jumped out of the front as soon as it did and Karisawa choked.
"Shinra-!"
And it was as though all reason seemed to vanish at her outburst as the masses started to realize what was going on.
"My wife- where is my wife-"
"I'm here!"
"Grandpa? Grandpa..?!"
"I will help you look- What's your name?"
Voices over voices multiplied in a matter of seconds and Izaya smiled as he watched Karisawa hug Shinra at a speed so harsh he almost fell over.
And somehow it was only then that Izaya truly understood Kujiragi's announcement.
The apocalypse was over.
With this antidote and so many people on their side- it was only a matter of time until they reversed the infection.
And so Izaya's head turned and he looked towards the cursed mall.
There he was.
The priest.
Shijima.
But their expressions had fallen.
"Bastard-" Vorona suddenly said and the rifle she had used to kill the dogs was pulled to her eye.
Six shots. She had used five for the dogs. Meaning there was still one really nice and very well deserved bullet left.
A heap of breath clouded the barrel's vision and a hair brushed past her lips as the target aligned with the priest's chest. The priest was alone. And Shijima next to him- and the explosives on his body.
And so the trigger was pulled.
Straight, precise aimed better than she should be able to, the bullet flew and pierced the priest's chest-
Breaths were held and Izaya's eyes narrowed as the bastard sank to his knees- but there was no explosion. There was no grand firework distributing his blood mid air and Izaya snorted as his suspicion was confirmed.
"I knew it." He was just pretending to be spiked with explosives in order to keep everyone at bay. Masaki seemed to have understood as well as his eyes turned into cold blooded fury. "This asshole-!"
Faster than Izaya was able to react, the guy had jumped off the camper and rushed towards the mall.
The priest had backed down along with Shijima, but if they wanted to get out of the mall there was just one route to take.
"Shizuo-!" Izaya called and the blond's body jerked into motion as he rushed right after.
Shoving Karisawa aside, even Shinra followed albeit much slower with his impairment.
They needed to get the bastard.
For now they were safe. For now they held the key to an antidote- but so did the priest when it came to means of infection.
If worse came to worst the bastard went into hiding, invented something worse than the flatworms or fungi combined and interfered with their attempt to reverse the infection before they could even begin.
The door to the side of the mall burst open and Izaya's legs carried him with unreal agility. Shizuo followed close behind along with Vorona who seemed to want to take revenge into her own hands and Izaya nodded towards the railing of the first floor.
"Shizuo-" but Shizuo understood without having to be told.
Body slamming into the railing he turned his head towards the ceiling. It was just a second of a shadow he could make out, but more than enough for Izaya.
"Second floor!"
Rushing past the blond fast as lightning, Izaya flew up the stairs.
Of course he would be there.
Saving his research, hiding away, possibly use a secret exit-
"Go! I will cover you!" Vorona yelled from the side as one of the mall's inhabitants, infected but not entirely transformed, stepped into their way. The handle of the rifle met his guts and quickly toppled him over as Izaya rushed past.
Masaki was faster than Izaya by just a leap but instead of rushing forward his legs froze on top of the staircase.
Shell shocked and disturbed his eyes focused on something beyond Izaya's vision.
"What the hell-"
The second floor. None of them knew what the priest had been hiding up there. Experiments of some sort or a back up of infected fungi were what he expected, but upon matching Masaki's pace even Izaya felt his guts churn painfully.
Shizuo was next to stop, catching up only to show the same faltering expression.
Izaya had wondered where the women and children had disappeared to.
Now he knew.
Strung to the walls without clothes and in physical states that left not much room for speculation, Izaya quickly averted his eyes.
They were dead. Since long ago. How long? He had no idea.
Grasping the railing Shizuo heaved for a second as nausea brought every urge to chase the priest to an immediate halt.
But it wasn't even the display before them that caused this reaction.
Celty.
He saw Celty.
Most definitely dead, she hung amidst the rows, not decaying for reasons that had to stem from her dullahan bloodline and substances of white clung to her lifeless body.
It was steps rushing up the staircase from behind that caused Izaya's head to turn around. It was Namie, followed by-
"Shinra-" Izaya warned, wanting to prevent the doctor from seeing what they had, but he was too late.
"What on earth-" Namie whispered, horrified despite her work with various corpses while analyzing the virus and Izaya swallowed. It was then that Vorona caught up to them from below.
"Hey, what are you waiting f-"
Izaya didn't see Shijima.
Didn't notice the way he lurked in the corner waiting for the most dangerous of their group to approach. The shot came out of nowhere just as the scream splitting Namie's face as red painted Vorona's face-
"NO-!"
Alarmed Shizuo pulled Masaki to the side. Corpses hanging down and low served as a quick hide and Izaya slipped behind a rotten piece of flesh as well.
Where? Where did the bastard shoot from?
"Stay out of sight-!" he ordered loudly and everyone followed except Namie.
"Vorona! Hey-!" Having sunken to her knees she followed Vorona's path as she tried to cushion her fall.
Blood seeped through her beige vest and the woman frowned as she tried to calm Namie.
"It's okay."
"Don't talk-" Namie ordered and quickly took off her shirt.
"Namie-"
"I said don't talk-" Pressing the fabric against the stain of blood growing faster and faster in size she tried to keep the life sustaining liquid inside her. But her efforts proved little to no effect at all. The shot had aimed at her heart. Whether or not it had missed it was something Namie couldn't tell.
"Fuck-" cursing under her breath the woman tried to think of quick solution with barely any supplies around. But what was she supposed to do? She couldn't even operate here with Shijima and the infected crawling around like bugs of the night and the bloodloss proceeding at this pace-
"I love you."
Quiet as a petal touching a pond void of ripples Vorona's voice whispered into the fragile silence that seemed to cloud only the two of them.
A smile had spread across her expression as Namie was left to look at her in bewildered confusion. "I wanted to tell you that for a while," Vorona breathed slowly and somehow Namie's brain stopped working from one second to the next.
Too much were the impressions to process and too loud Shijima's laugh as he suddenly slipped forth from his corner.
"Serves her right," the bastard said and the barrel of his rifle aimed at Namie's head. "Don't worry you can follow her right away-"
No.
Not today-
Leaping forth as the closest nearby, Izaya lunged at the bastard from the side. The firearm was ripped from his hands and a few shots triggered in the heat of fight-
Screams hallowed by both the infected below as well as some people nearby as they got filled with lead.
Masaki was one of them as he groaned and clutched his knee.
A grin spread across Shijima's face close up and for a split second Izaya was reminded of the way they first met. The way he grinned before letting a flatworm loose inside the cafeteria to kill Shizuo.
He had cursed the bastard so many times, but it was not his turn to do him in.
A punch flying from the side connected with Shijima's face, head on- Blood and spit splattered and Izaya ripped the firearm from his grasp- but the bastard refused to go down as he pulled a knife from his pants instead.
Aiming at Izaya he intended to bring it down into his neck, but Shizuo was faster.
Grasping the blade head on it pierced his palm before flying off to the side. The second punch was the final nail as Shizuo's fist connected with Shijima's head once more.
Heaving, Izaya looked at the guy and the victory he presented over the past they shared.
But Shijima was not their goal-
As if on cue a shadow moved from the side and Izaya's head turned-
The priest-
Shizuo moved and Izaya did too.
A sprint of one second, that's all it was that Izaya should need. The priest had to have lost a lot of blood from Vorona's shot, had to be slow- but he wasn't.
Grabbing the holy bastard from the side, Izaya tried to hold him back- only for his balance to tumble.
He didn't know what it was that had thrown his calculation off- the fact that he thought the bullet had hit the priest or the way he seemed to be all prepared for Izaya's advance?
He wasn't sure- all he knew was that He was suddenly facing a free fall and two stories below his body.
The railing- it had loosened and Izaya was thrown right into it.
It was a split second that remained as Shizuo met Izaya's gaze and the bastard dashed off.
Izaya.
Or the priest.
The choice was obvious.
Running for dear life the priest rushed down the stairs faster than any of them had been as Shizuo's arm grabbed Izaya by his leg.
Grunts of pain followed instantly as Izaya braced himself for the impact that met his back as he was forced into the wall.
"Shizuo-" he called, not needing to check to know who it was that saved his ass.
A quick pull to the top and a worried expression was what he met next.
"Are you alright?"
"I'm fine- where did he go?" Izaya's head turned, but the priest-
He was gone.
Pulling the vials and various papers showing their calculations close to his body the priest ran.
His lungs burned and his chest hurt.
The shot he suffered earlier had hurt despite the bulletproof vest he put on. He had figured that at some point someone would see through his pretense, but the shot had still come unexpectedly.
A smile grazed his lips as he slipped into a store on the side. He knew there was a second exit just for staff. One the rest of them would find far too late.
Shijima's capture was unfortunate, but with this- He glanced at his vials.
Yes.
His mission was far from over.
He could resume what he tried to do in another place. Maybe go about it with more finesse. Preaching about god had only proved half as effective as he had hoped, so maybe this time he should assume the role of a doctor.
Or scientist.
Looking towards the end of the store and the subsequent door leading to freedom he grinned.
This was far from over. Far.
And suddenly he felt it.
The sting.
The sensation of metal piercing skin in places it shouldn't and he whipped around.
A smile, broader than his own, met his face as he stared at the captive Izaya had escorted outside the day before.
Smiling brightly he held a syringe in his hands and a lab coat hugged his hips as he adjusted his broken glasses.
"I hoped I would meet you here."
Blurred, far away, yet close the voice distorted on the spot and the priest crashed into a few clothes with staggering feet. What-?
Where did he come from- what was that needle-
"You know I have been searching for a live subject to test the virus' extent upon," the guy laughed and only at that moment did the priest realize with horrifying certainty what the syringe had held. More laughter flew quickly from the maniac's lips as he opened his coat. "And I'm so glad you are volunteering for humanity's sake."
A saw, knives, multiple pliers and tools of even worse use caught the priest's sight as his guts dropped to the floor. "We need to analyze the virus, right?" Shinra smiled and his voice dropped to a whisper. "I am sure your god would approve of your assistance."
Regret. That might have been the emotion he felt the most upon facing the one guy he wasn't supposed to anger. But all he felt was the cold clutch of fear and blurry darkness as his consciousness faded.
Vorona suffered a similar fate as her mind slipped in and out of presence.
"Did you see where he went?" Shizuo asked Namie, but all she was paying attention to was Vorona's body.
"Lift her at a count of three, one, two-" Masaki suddenly ordered, despite the injury to his leg and grit his teeth as Namie supported Vorona's weight.
Groans were to be heard from the inside of the mall from the remains of the priest's believers, now zombified.
"Izaya-" Shizuo called and shoved a couple of the still slowly infected to the side.
"Fuck- where did he go-" Izaya cursed as he quickly aided Namie and Masaki in their transport.
But there was no sight of the priest. Shijima was still unconscious on the ground, and Shinra-
Glancing towards the second floor Izaya quickly chased away the images it had provided. Where was he?
"Help! We need help!" Masaki yelled the second they got out of the mall and immediate heads turned in their direction.
Heads turned and for a second Izaya felt confused until he realized the infinite potential these vaccinated people offered.
"Is anyone a doctor?!" Namie yelled on top of her lungs and as if on cue an old guy beaten and visibly exhausted shed himself from the passes.
"Here! Me!" he announced loudly and limped over as his leg had obviously taken some damage during his time as a fungus.
The woman was placed onto the pavement and a deep frown grazed her expression. She had yet to lose consciousness- which was a good sign in Izaya's book- and suddenly he was there.
Hair of brown, broken spectacles and a dirty lab coat.
"What is the situation?" Shinra asked as he approached from the side like nothing had happened at all.
"Shinra-" the doctor turned upon hearing his name, and Izaya somehow voiced the first question that came to his mind. "Did you see the priest?"
There was much more he wanted to say. Different questions he wanted to ask. After having seen Celty- but not a syllable made it past his lips and suddenly Shinra smiled.
Brightly.
"Not a shred of him."
And Izaya stilled.
Just for a second something about Shinra's expression, about his smile, delightful, but not made for joy, seemed just so awfully sinister it brought the question to a halt.
Something happened.
He didn't know what, he didn't know why, but Shinra was at peace with his own mind in ways that Izaya didn't understand and he knew it was wiser to not ask.
"Fuck- where did the bastard go?" Masaki cursed under his lips as soon as he was released from the duty to transport the injured Vorona and looked around.
Izaya did the same- and so did Shizuo.
But all he could see were people. Alive. Confused. No zombies, no creatures just them and an infinite amount of possibilities.
It was over.
Shizuo realized that fact quicker than Izaya and Masaki did as his breath slowed down. The sun, finally having emerged successfully from the horizon, glazed the area and brightened their surroundings as much as Shizuo's mood.
"Does it matter?" he spoke slowly and Masaki turned as though he had just suggested setting people on fire.
"Huh?"
Izaya turned as well, but opposite to Mazaki he seemed to understand what Shizuo meant to point out as he nodded towards the masses and followed his gaze.
There were people.
Everywhere.
Sane.
No zombie. Not here at least.
Kadota. Karisawa.
Vorona.
She was still breathing.
Namie and the unfamiliar doctor were treating her- she might even survive. Another stranger started heading towards the cars and searched for anything helpful to aid the two.
Kujiragi still stood atop the helicopter and suddenly Izaya heard a familiar voice.
"Iza-nii!" Kururi.
Running over from the aircraft she quickly rushed towards her brother with an expression spelling pure relief. She was wearing new clothes handed by Kujiragi he supposed as they were much too oversized.
It was when her arms circled Izaya's body that he truly finally understood and his mind calmed down.
Shizuo was right.
It didn't matter where the priest was or what happened to him.
Because it was over.
The priest was nothing but a simple human. Now with immunity available to everyone.
It was over.
Truly.
"Does this mean all zombies are gone? From the whole of Japan?" one of the people nearby suddenly asked and as if on cue Kujiragi lifted the megaphone to her lips.
"Three days. I only had enough of the antidote to administer it to the closest area nearby. Shinjuku. Ikebukuro. The air itself is contaminated with a newfound substance filtered from immune blood." Pointing towards Izaya as if he were some kind of holy grail, dozens of eyes settled upon his body. "With your help we can revive the entirety of Japan within three days!" She announced like a professional stage speaker and Izaya couldn't help but smile.
She was really making a show out of this.
Her efforts and character would end up lucrative once humanity was established once more and she was ready to exploit that of course.
Gaze wandering towards Vorona, Izaya caught a short smile on Namie's lips.
A sigh of relief.
Vorona must have made it and somehow that revelation caused his own face to spread into smiles.
"You heard her!" he yelled and quickly climbed upon a parked car in the lot. "Doctors. Scientists. Chemist- gather at the helicopter-," Funny. Must have looked hilarious, seeing a guy wearing a waiter uniform of a restaurant instruct the remnants of humanity. "Police officers, special forces or even gang members, anyone with experience on gunfire, gather with me. We need people who can shoot the second stage zombies. A fast kind, the last threat to humanity. Less in number, but intelligent and dangerous." Was he the right person to instruct everyone? Probably not.
And yet right now he was probably the one possessing the most charismatic presence of them all.
As if having received an order the masses suddenly moved and agitated whispers were hushed to each other.
A bit of annoyance, and frustration was to be spotted as well as excitement and relief. Kujiragi was the first to pick up on that as she raised her voice once more.
"I know you are tired, and you are confused about what happened and why. But give us these three days and you will be able to return to your homes!"
Izaya had to admit, Kujiragi was not bad at motivating people either. Fired up by her speech, more and more of the masses moved and Izaya glanced to his right.
Shizuo and Kururi. Standing there next to him, unharmed and alive- for a second Izaya couldn't believe his bliss.
He did it.
He saved her.
He saved everyone.
After that time somehow seemed to pass in a flash. The mall was recovered as a base for not the priest's army, but the vaccinated people. Wounds were treated, fresh clothes taken from the stores present and even the stocks of food were enough to supply the previously infected for a while. Nausea was a sensation felt in most of them at the sheer idea of food after learning what it was that they had done during their infection. It was to be expected.
Despite an all around lack of memory, everyone was aware of their actions and neither Izaya nor Shizuo could stop them when a few of them committed suicide from the top of the roof.
It was to be expected. A bit of a setback when it came to the anticipation of reviving humanity, of course, but at the end just a minor interruption.
The antidote Kujiragi created was quickly multiplied by putting most of the revived people to work and even the flatworms proved not a shred of danger as the sheer overwhelming number of people being alive and present seemed to shun them away.
The intelligence they gathered seemed to work against their favor as they simply left Izaya and Kujiragi alone.
Kujiragi had apparently snatched the helicopter from an airport. Seeing as Celty had been the last one to create the option of flying and she had seen her black aircraft traversing the sky, she had tried to locate the obviously uninfected group by steering for that place.
All she found was the helicopter she used to spread immunity and the same applied to the next few days.
It took a little more than the three days she announced. A week to be exact, but only because people started some fights. But after that she did it.
It took only a few flights until they found more people capable of steering an aircraft, more people willing to help and slowly but surely they restocked the buildings and flats with people who actually lived.
It was funny. Their humanity had faded in the face of an apocalypse but was restored quicker than even Izaya thought possible.
Looking at the lense of a camera and the first broadcast that was being sent across the land, Izaya felt almost a tinge of nostalgia at the way he lived far from humanity and modernity.
Izaya was more of a scientist than an information broker by now. Famous too, worldwide even as it seemed their zombie problem wasn't only secluded to Japan.
Kujiragi was still overseeing the process of producing more antidotes to save other countries and Shinra assisted her as the one that created the reversal drug.
The two thirds of rats that had died had stuck to animals it seemed as close to no one actually lost their lives to the drug.
Only the flatworms were beyond any rescue. They were shot and killed for the most part, but eventually they seemed to die by themselves after a few weeks had passed.
"And that's how we returned to the present day," Izaya concluded what had been a detailed summary of what had happened to him, to Shizuo and to their group during the apocalypse.
A lady not older than thirty was sitting opposite to him and listened to every single word he spoke. "We survived," she summarized with an expression of excitement and Izaya glanced over to the darkness of the studio.
Shinra was sitting behind the cameras. He didn't like the spotlight but was asked to at least leave a comment on the story. Same applied to the rest as Namie tapped her elbows in a short display of impatience.
It was when Shizuo entered the room with two bags full of sushi that Izaya's lips curled into a smile.
Complaints quickly followed from the sidelines and Izaya quickly brought his attention back to the reporter.
"Look at how smug he is," Namie snorted, but was quickly scolded by Karisawa.
"Shh they are still filming!" she reminded and quickly lowered her own voice as she received a glance from the camera man.
"I think it's fine to be proud of saving humanity," Kadota shrugged while moving his shoulder. The injury he had sustained had healed long ago, but running around with no proper treatment had left a certain stiffness in his limbs. Shinra had suggested surgery to fix that but honestly, he didn't dislike it too much.
Rolling her eyes Namie was only left to complain as she gestured towards Izaya.
"Come on. We had as much part in this as he had. Where is our interview?"
But she was quickly diffused with as much as a simple smile as a certain blond hair woman slowly sat down next to her.
"You are aware we will be questioned later," Vorona chuckled and Namie quickly got up to help her. The shot she had sustained had torn a few of her nerves, muscles and a vein or two. Food, shelter and supplies were the current number one structure that needed to be set before the majority of hospitals and surgeons could start taking up their work again and so her operation to fix what had been damaged had been postponed. An arm sling and a couple bandaids kept the area around her heart and shoulder as still as possible in the meanwhile but forced her to move carefully.
"But who wants to read our interviews once they read his?" Namie huffed, but all anger had already disappeared from her eyes.
"Jealous." Kururi pointed out from the side and Namie blinked.
"Wha- I am not!"
Quiet chuckles quickly traversed the air and Izaya as well as the interviewer glanced towards the interruption.
A professional smile was given by the lady as she snorted.
"It will be over soon, just one more question-" she announced and Izaya hummed.
"Mind if I ask one in between?" Surprised to hear the savior of humanity address her directly she quickly nodded. "Sure-"
And Izaya smiled, "What are you calling the article?"
Nostalgia of how everything started with the news and how the city went down the gutter within days filled Izaya for a moment. He could still remember the way he scavenged the city in search of supplies, medicine and weapons. His laptop, and ironically the number one most useless thing had been the first object he grabbed when he left his flat.
He couldn't even remember how often he watched those news reports on the virus. How he searched for any details that would save his life. He still remembered the last report, talking about how everything was in control.
This interview was like the starting shot of a new area and the first headliner in the first news since the apocalypse.
"I was thinking of -The way out of the plague- or something like that," the interviewer announced and turned to face the rest of the group. "What do you think?"
"I think we should emphasize on Izaya and Shinra," Karisawa was the quickest to voice her own ideas as she hummed. "Doctor vs virus- a legendary showdown," she grinned and Izaya snorted as he imagined Shinra inside a fighting ring, ready to box a human sized spiked ball that resembled the virus.
"What is this? A new wrestling episode?" Kadota accurately pointed out and the woman laughed. "Do you have a better idea?"
Tilting his head, Kadota tipped his lips before nodding to himself.
"How to survive an apocalypse." He announced but this time it was Shinra's turn to laugh. "Are you hoping for another or why are you searching for a guide?"
True.
Looking at Shizuo who was honestly just waiting for this interview to be over so he could go home with Izaya and enjoy the sushi he fetched, Izaya snorted.
"What about you?"
"I don't really care," he shrugged most accurately, but he didn't get out of the brainstorm session as easily as that.
"But if you had to choose?" Karisawa insisted and he groaned.
"... Ootoro tastes better than zombies?" he suggested half jokingly and Karisawa laughed. "What's that supposed to mean?"
Having been in thoughts himself it was not Shinra's turn to voice a suggestion. "How about, Resurrection of a nation?"
But his proposal only triggered a set of new ones as Vorona spoke up. "How about a question? Viral disaster or human success?" And Namie nodded, as if to agree with her title, but suggested another instead. "Science. The secret guardian of humanity. That's a good one," she announced and Karisawa made a face.
"That sounds pretty boring," she announced, and Namie frowned, "What why?"
And Izaya- Izaya could just look at them for a moment.
This entire setting. Karisawa, Kadota, Namie, Shinra, Kururi, Shizuo and even Vorona. Had anyone asked him how many of them were going to survive he would have estimated half of them at most.
Yet here they were. Alive. Kicking. Joking around. And Shizuo was ready to go home with him as if it were the most obvious thing to do while Kururi had started to bond with Karisawa over a few mangas she liked to read.
Mairu was gone forever. And so was Yuumichi. But somehow it seemed they found what each of them was missing in the other as Karisawa elbowed Kururi to show her a page of the manga that was resting on her lap.
Quiet smiles and curious eyes pulled the book over as they shared their read until it was their turn for the interview and Izaya smiled.
"She is right, you know," he argued, supporting Karisawa in getting on Namie's nerves as the woman rolled her eyes.
"Do enlighten us, what is your preferred title?" She challenged from afar, ready to nitpick about his decision, but all Izaya could offer was a smile of bliss.
"Actually I have a suggestion."
"Which would be?" the Interviewer asked and everyone went quiet for a second as Izaya looked at them. At everyone that was still here after everything that happened, and smiled.
"Survival of the doomed."
THE END
Yo xDDDD So… this is it hahahah 7700 words for the last chapter holy crap- I knew it was gonna be long but not THAT long xDD Well I guess I could say the same about the entire story xD
I hope the ending was satisfying :3 And healing I guess xD One of the reasons I wrote this was because I was traumatized by a certain zombie Shizaya fanfiction once- yes I am looking at you April 23rd! TAT xDDD Thank you for traumatizing me though because I think without reading your fic I wouldn't have felt the need to write this one haha xD
Well then, I guess this is it :3 if anyone wants a physical copy of this story (ent-Shizaya-fied) I'm actually publishing the story as an original version on amazon haha Part 1 is already out, part 2 will follow in a week and the third I need to rework still but I will try to hurry xD
So in case you want to support me and my writing, just google "Survival of the doomed Alexandra Breit" on amazon and you should find this story as well as the others :3
PS.: I'm also writing an entirely original fantasy story called "Yultesra" in case anyone is interested C: xDDD Plotted the story for 7 years xD It starts slow but I promise you will be in for a blast in the long run xD
PPS.: There will be no new weekly story following "Survival of the doomed" for now, because I am currently working on finishing the "Yultesra" series part 2-4, which will take a year approx. xD
But once "Impostor" is over, in roughly 12 updates, I will start a new fanfiction called "Haunt yourself" which will dive into a horror/fantasy kinda genre :3
and once "Sinful desire" ends in roughly 14 updates I will start the new story "Love knows no time" - which will be… … very, very, traumatizing xDDDDDDD
So yeah in case you are already missing some horror and drama- I am too xD
Love you all C: And see you again in the new stories! X3