Day 444, 6:13 AM
"I'm glad you arrived on schedule," CC announces as he drops an ice chest before them. He stares at his clients before taking a step back, with Cardiac behind him acting as a bodyguard.
The people standing in front of the paramedics are the First Gen survivors now being led by Mayday. Mayday steps forward and hooks her hand to the ice chest. She opens it and peers inside. She mentally counts the internal organs before shutting it. "It looks like you delivered as promised. Okay then. Well, a deal is a deal." She takes something out of her pocket before presenting it to the Paramedics. It looks like a cigar.
CC takes it. "Thank you very much. Oh, and... what about the other payment?"
Mayday glares at him.
"What? We still need medical supplies and everything. You got your order, sure, but we need to make sure we're well stocked just in case you guys need more organs or whatever."
She grunts. "Fine. Take this. You pill popping fucking bastard." She takes out a medicine bottle of antacids. "It was all that we could find."
"Hey, we'll take anything. Whether it be an antacid or happy pills, we'll take it because we're the only ones who are probably going to need it."
"But what if I get sick?"
"You'll be one. We'll need it because we need to keep our patients alive for as long as possible, and I don't see you needing bodies anytime soon. Am I right?"
Mayday smiks. "You're half-right, man. You see, you think you're the only one who needs bodies, well, it's somewhat true. You see, my team is about to go to war with another group of survivors, and we lost several of our members to a wildfire a little over a month ago."
"Oh yeah, I remember. That night, my crew and I relocated all of our medical supplies in case of an emergency. Not only that, but the fire started at the site of a drop-off point for one of our clients. Mr. Overhaul said that the organs burned up, but he was willing to forgive us since the wildfire wasn't our fault."
He wasn't going to mention the fact that he and his paramedics had to head out into the woods, locate the bodies of the First Gen's fallen comrades, and harvest what they could off of them. They were barely able to make Overhaul's new deadline, but still, it was a bit nerve-wracking, and he wasn't planning on waiting until the last minute to do things anymore.
"And it wasn't your fault. This is nature, and sometimes, things happen in nature, man."
"Like that war with you and that other group. Are you willing to uh... give us some supplies if you need us to help?"
"No. You're doctors, not soldiers. If something happens to you, we're screwed because in this day and age, we still need doctors."
"But bodies?"
"Yeah, we're in desperate need of new recruits. I can't believe I'm saying this, but if you're selling a human, I'm willing to buy. Age or sex doesn't matter."
CC's eyes widen as he strokes the chin of his mask. "Interesting. What say we make a proposal right now?"
Mayday nods. "I'm listening."
"We have a little girl with us." He turns to Cardiac. "Head inside and tell CPR not to kill Eri yet."
Cardiac salutes him. "Roger that." He retreats back into the medical center.
"Eri?' Mayday studies him. "Cute name. How old is this Eri?"
"About seven, but I'm sure you can find some use for her. You see, this girl, we want to kill her. We so desperately want to kill her because she killed our friends. She broke out of her chains and killed one of our friends. And for that, she has to pay. If we're lucky, one of my men hasn't operated on her yet. Normally, we would kill her, but we live in a world with so few resources, and we have to make use of those resources one way or another, no matter what shape or form they're in. Use Eri as a suicide bomber or something. Either way, make sure she dies, okay?"
Mayday laughs. "No promise, but I have to wonder: why are you so hell-bent on killing a 7-year-old?"
"Like I said, she killed our friend. She killed him, and then she tried to blame it on the Kansai Ripper."
"The Kansai Ripper?"
"Yeah. You know, that serial killer in the Kansai region? We encountered him at midnight last night, and I put two bullets in his brain and killed him. Then we harvested his organs and put them into storage. Then Eri comes along, breaks out of her shackles, and kills one of our friends before saying that the Kansai Ripper was responsible. It's not possible because we harvested every piece of his organ and I cut out his fucking brain."
"Sounds like a serial killer in the making, this Eri girl." Mayday laughs again. "We'll take her off your hands. We could use a suicide bomber. Or at least, some kind of distraction."
"How could you?" a new voice speaks up as someone steps forward.
Xanax.
He stands between the two groups, his eyes filled with shock, horror, and anger.
"How could you guys be so casual about this? She's 7 years old, she's just a little girl. What happened to you guys? Back then, children were adored, and now we're casually talking about harvesting a little girl's organs and setting her up as a suicide bomber? What happened to you? We used to be paramedics who saved people's lives, and now saving people's lives is the farthest thing from our minds. How could you guys do this? She's just a little girl."
CC stomps towards him. "Stay out of this. This... this is how serial killers operate. They prey on the weakest minds and get them to come over to their side. Is that your problem, Xanax? You've always been the stupidest person in this group."
"How can a 7-year-old traumatized girl kill someone? Did you see her when she picked up? She was so scared and crying her soul out."
"You never should've become a paramedic, Xanax."
"You're not Doc Savior."
Doc Savior, the one doctor in the country of Japan who was probably still a nice guy. Xanax missed him.
He bolts for the emergency medical center.
CC does not attempt to stop him as he turns back. "Forgive my internal affairs, but-"
"No, I understand. So, about this Eri girl, I was thinking... in light of what I heard from Xanax that... maybe..." She gulps. "We do need more people, yes, but... right now, morale at our group is so low that we need someone there to comfort us and..."
"Don't tell me you're falling for Xanax. Xanax was never the sharpest scalepl in the medical kit. Listen, don't believe any of Eri's lies, okay? Eri will do nothing but lead you down a path of destrctuon and chaos, got it? As soon as you get your hands on Eri after you pay us, then make sure she suffers. My teammate was a good man and he deserves that much."
Mayday shakes his head. "What we do with our products is none of your business. The only thing you should be concerned about is selling us what we came here to buy, under-fucking-stand?" She sneers at him before turning to the others. "Load up the organs. I'll be with you guys shortly. And BtB, head back to base."
"Got it." BtB grabs the ice chest and, with the help of Miss Piggy, carries it to the back of his jeep. He loads it up before hopping in with the others. Miss Piggy, Ice Pick, and Piton fill the remaining three seats and drive off, leaving Mayday behind with her car.
Now's my chance.
Jumping from the bushes, Eri runs to the back of the jeep once it starts up and slides underneath. She quickly grabs onto a handhold and hangs on for dear life as the jeep takes off. If it weren't for the jeep being parked next to a set of thick bushes, she was sure that CC would've seen her and gone after her. But no, he didn't see her. She wasn't sure what her plan was, but she knew that she wouldn't survive in the wilderness amid a zombie apocalypse. She was hungry and thirsty, and if she's lucky, she can convince these people to give her food. Or maybe she would sneak in.
She heard what Xanax said, and as much as she wanted to warn him, her fear overpowered her. After seeing what Samama did to CPR, she wanted out of there as soon as possible.
I'm sorry, Xanax.
CC turns to Mayday, about to say something when-
~AAAAH!~
CC turns back to the emergency medical center and groans. "Uh, could you excuse me for a minute, I uhh... I'm pretty sure Eri is up to no good."
"This better not be one of those salesmen's techniques where you force me to wait so I'll be quick to purchase whatever you're selling."
"Luckily for you, not my intention."
With Cardiac
Heading ot the loo where the operating room was, he was hoping to catch up to IV and CPR before CC called him back. He quickly jogs through the hallway and stops a few feet away from the storage area where the incinerator is. He pauses upon seeing the open door and tiptoes towards it. "Hey buddy, what's going-"
He gasps when he spots a mangled corpse on the ground. It didn't take him long to realize that it was CPR and that his face had been caved in and his inner knees had been stabbed. He gasps loudly enough that he forgets how to breathe.
"CPR! No!" He runs to his friend's side and holds his head up, trying to assess the damage. He backs away and grits his teeth, his fear replaced with anger. "Eri, what have you done? I swear to god-"
He turns around.
"Surprise!"
Cardiac stands face to face with a familiar face. The Kansai Ripper.
He screams at the top of his lungs.
PUNCH!
He falls backwards, and Sama shoves him into the open furnace. He wedges his head between the hatch and the furnace and presses the hatch together against his head. The flames jump up onto Cardiac's hair and rise until they reach his hairline. From thereon, he gives a bloodcurdling scream as the fire spreads to his face and slowly burns him. He claws at his attacker, but he's too pain-ridden to be able to focus, and even so, he was still hungry from having skipped breakfast, so he didn't have much strength. Adding on is the fact that he barely got any sleep last night. He was completely helpless and at the whims of this man he thought was dead.
"HAHAHAHAHAHA!" Sama laughs. "Aw, man, why did I bring some chocolate, marshmallows, and Graham crackers?!"
Cardiac puts up a good struggle for another thirty seconds before his body goes limp, and Sama opens the hatch to let his corpse collapse against the incinerator, his face completely burned to ashes, and only his skull remains.
"Cardiac!" someone shouted from the hallway. "You can't hurt Eri!" He stops in the doorway and feels his soul leave his body at the sight before him.
Sama stands over Cardiac's roasting corpse, the serial killer casting one deadly glance at Xanax to show that he's in a bloodlust state, and he's the perfect prey.
"Boo."
Xanax screams and runs off.
Sama laughs at the top of his lungs. "Man, I love it when they scream like a 2-year-old." He steps into the hallway and watches him vanish down the hall. "Hey, come back, I was only just playing. You see, due to global warming, it's colder than usual outside, and he got his tongue stuck to a pole. I was just using the fire to get his tongue free of the pole. I promise!"
He chases after Xanax.
Xanax bolts through a door and slams it shut. He locks it behind him before taking off. It was the cafeteria. He runs past several tables, nearly tripping on a chair, and kicks an old trash can out of the way. He bolts for the other side and makes it through the emergency exit. "Shit, shit, shit!" He makes a run for the right, remembering where the exit is, and looks over his shoulder every few seconds. Sama isn't in sight.
"Keep running, keep running, keep running." He takes the stairs down to the first floor.
As he bolts through the stairwell door, he feels someone tackle him.
Sama lands on top of him, holding a dagger. They struggle with both men rolling over. With no other choice, Xanax activates his quirk.
This is going to hurt.
He screams as he throws a fierce punch at Sama, clipping him in the nose with three times the force of a normal punch. Sama lands on his back, the inside of his mask turning red from the nosebleed. Meanwhile, Xanax clutches his forehead.
Almost in a dazed and drunk state, he climbs to his feet and makes a run for it. Instead of heading for the main door, he heads for the door on the side. He runs through the emergency exit and vanishes into the woods.
"Pig!" Sama grumbles. "I'm going to get you!"
Remembering that he was in the lobby and the front doors were before him, he realized that the survivors should be outside. He observed them from the window and saw the jeep drive off earlier. He saw Eri sneaking off and climbing under a jeep and clinging to it as it drove off. No, that won't do it.
I gotta find her, Sama thinks. You're next, Eri.
He hides behind the counter and takes a peek outside. CC was gone and Mayday was left standing by herself outside. It looked like she wasn't leaving anytime. CC was gone but given how loud everyone was screaming, surely he was back in the building. Good. First, he'll take care of CC, then figure out what to do about Xanax and Mayday.
With CC
"What is going on up here?!" CC takes his first step through he doo and onto the floor wherethe chaos and ruckus happened. He spots the open door to the storage area and steps inside. To say he was shocked to see two more of his teammates dead would be an understatement.
One of them got their head smashed in, and the other looked like their head was burned off. The good news was that the fire was slowly dying out and not spreading. He steps back and clenches his knuckles. "Eri, how could you? You.. you little bitch. That's it. I've just about had it. No more fuckign games."
He heads towards his office on the third floor. He stomps up the stairs, each marching step echoing throughout the hallway and probably throughout the whole building. He was trying to think of what to tell Mayday that he couldn't hand Eri over and must dispose of her immediately. After all, it's the least he could do for his friends.
He heads for his office and gets behind his desk. "Let's see Eri try and pin this on Sama now." He pulls out a pistol. "The man was shot twice in the head." He turns to the jar in his office, the jar with the Kansai Ripper's brain inside. He looks at it and smiles, his pride and joy. "I put two bullets in his brain; even zombies can't survive-"
He stops mid-sentence when he notices something. Stepping towards the jar, he picks it up and looks it over, studying it hard.
I put two bullets in his brain, right?
His eyes widen with horror when he sees that there isn't a speck of any ballistic damage to the brain. No, the brain was in perfect condition and looked brand new, but most of all...
There were no bullet holes.
This revelation made him drop the jar in horror. Before he could compose himself, a voice at the doorway sent shivers down his spine.
"Mama always said I was an open-minded person."
CC's eyes land on the Kansai Ripper and sceams in horror before raising his pistol. "Who are you?"
"Someone who is dying to know where Eri went, that's all." Sama laughs. "What, was that not a good pun?"
"What, no. You're... you're fucking dead!"
"And that's a big surprise? Come on, man, dead people come back to life all the time, dude. We live in a zombie apocalypse for god's sake."
"Stay back, I'm warning you you fucking freak?"
"Nobody ever called me a fucking freak before."
"I'll shoot you."
"Oh yeah, go ahead."
Click.
"What?" He pulls the hammer. Click, click, click.
"HAHAHAHAHA. Missing something." He pulls a handful of bullets out of his pocket. "Never leave the cabinet tp your gun unlocked, man, gets you in trouble every time."
CC backs up, covering himself against the wall. "How... how are you still alive?"
"Shhh, it's a secret."
"I cut you open. I... I took your heart, your brain, and your..."
"You took a lot of things from me, but you've never stolen my heart; that honor belongs to the Arsonist of Isihkawa. As for my brain... well, I guess it's true that you 'picked' at my brains before."
"Stay back, stay away from me."
"Don't worry, man, Covid-19 is over and has been over for a long time now. Now tell me what I want to know. Where's Eri?"
"She... she was telling the truth. You killed my friends. You.. you motherfucker!"
"Nobody's ever called me a motherfucker before. And duh, obviously. Seriously, man, as much as I loved framing that girl, including locking her up under the table the one time I snuck off to kill the third ugly guy here, no, I can't believe you didn't second-guess Eri. Now tell me where Eri is."
"What do you mean?"
"She's gone. She hopped on one of the jeeps and went with the guys you were selling some dude's organs to. Tell me where they went."
"I don't know where they went."
"Then tell me where Xanax is, the one who got away."
"I don't know where he is."
"You don't know much, do you? It makes me wonder how you became a paramedic to begin with. Eh, no matter. Even so, I'll set up a bomb and blow this place sky high if he dares to come back."
"Fuck you!"
"No, no, no, asshole, fuck you. Fuck you for being too fucking stupid to fucking live."
Sama charges for him. He performs a few CQC moves he learned from his early days in basic training and manages to pin CC to the ground. He stabs him in his inner knees, making him scream, before he places a hand over his mouth. He puts him in a chokehold before reaching for the jar. He smashes it over his head before grabbing his brain and holding it to CC's mouth. He tugs the mask off the paramedic before shoving the brain into his mouth.
"Gotta have your brain food!"
He strikes the nape of CC before squeezing him harder in a rear-naked chokehold. Once he's sure the brain is stuck in CC's throat, he laughs at the top of his lungs. CC's eyes widen and he struggles to breathe but finds it hard to with parts of a human brain stuffed down his throat, unable to upchuck or swallow. Realizing that he's going to die choking on an internal organ, he panics, screaming at the top of his lungs, but his mouth makes no sound, so he reaches for anything he can use to attack the Kansai Ripper. His fingers dangle around a shard from the shattered glass jar, but he loses the energy in his hands to do so. His eyes become too heavy for him to open, and he simply goes limp against the ground.
Sama tugs and tightens his restraint on the paramedic and doesn't stop for two whole minutes. Once he can feel the life leave CC's body, he removes himself and laughs.
"HAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Who's the brainiac now, bitch!" He climbs to his feet. "Nothing like a good choking to get the blood pumping." He steps over his corpse and heads for the doorway. "Now then, Eri, you're next. Now, what shall I do? I wonder."
He heads for a nearby window and peers out. Outside, Mayday stands next to her jeep, impatiently waiting for CC to return. "Ahaha, I found my way to Eri now."
With Mayday
Tapping her foot against the ground, Mayday checks her watch and groans. Her stomach growls, and when her stomach demands food, she knows better than to try and deny it. CC was taking too long with whatever bullshit he was working on and she didn't like it. Her time was valuable, and she needed to get back home soon. If she remembers correctly, there's a protein bar in the glove box.
Climbing into the driver's seat, she reaches over and pulls it out, taking a small bite of the expired food.
Too crunchy.
She takes a second bite before making a sour face.
Man, why did I choose peanut butter?
"Surprise!"
A belt wraps around her throat and strangles her.
Sama sits up from the backseat and laughs, watching her fearful expression in the rear view mirror. He pauses and softens his grip to give her some literal breathing room. She stares back at him in the mirror, a look of unadultered fear plastered on her face.
"Even in this day and age, I'm still choking woman. Kinda kinky and I like it."
"Y-you," she gulps, gasping for air. "Who are you?"
"Sama. But I'm sure you heard of me. The Kansai Ripper?'
"W-what?"
"What? You don't know me? How can you not know me?" He shrugs. "Eh, I guess it doesn't matter. Listen up here, bitch, you're going to help me. If you do, I might consider letting you live. You see, my accomplice, my lovely 7-year-old accomplice named Eri, bailed on me. And after I told her my real name and everything. And blaming me for all the crimes I committed? Seriously, no honor among thieves, am I right?" He laughs. "Listen up, protein bar woman, Eri snuck off on the underside of your jeep that left earlier. I want you to drive me back to where you sleep at night."
"What?"
"Yeah, you heard me. Now then, start this piece of shit."
Mayday narrows her eyes as she looks at the stick. "This car is a piece of shit?"
"Do it!"
"Okay, okay, please, please don't kill me."
"We'll see about it. Okay then, let's do it."
Mayday starts the car up and shifts gears.
"Heigh ho, heigh ho, it's off to work we go." He whistles. "Sing it!"
Mayday breathlessly gasps as she reaches for the wheel and drives off. Pathetically, she begins singing after Sama, eyes filling with tears.
"See, isn't this better than listening to the radio or Spotify?" He laughs again. "Heigh ho, heigh ho, it's off to work we go."
As he whistles and the car takes off, neither one notices that Xanax is clinging to the underside of the car as it accelerates.