"The virus will work within exactly one minute….. I've seen, Kawai. Aiko will turn into a zombie…. You need to go….. Now!" Kane snarled, as he motioned his hand.
Kane's breath became slower and deeper at each passing second. Despite his exhaustion showcasing in front of me, Kane wore a mask and told me everything was okay. It was a false hope Kane kept pressing on me, albeit at the scene at my fore.
It was just as Kane had mentioned. Aiko emerged from the ground as if he was a dancer with a seizure. That man tried fighting off the urge to transform into a zombie. But his fate was stronger than him, which morphed Aiko into the living dead.
My eyes refused to see him grow inhuman for a man who helped us. Emiko was right about Aiko and his character. He was an uncle that wanted to protect everyone around him, including his brother from another mother.
"I'm…. Sorry….… Kane….. I'm sorry….." Aiko snarled his last words before his voice became incoherent.
"It's alright….. Thank you," Kane meekly replied, and snapped his head.
Aiko and Kane must have thought about each other if this happened. The two of them never wanted to become zombies and take away innocent lives. And when Aiko turned into a monster, he allowed Kane to kill himself.
It was a brutal scene, but what else could I do? I couldn't stop them…. And I couldn't stop Kane.
"What about you, Kane? What about your daughter?! I can't just leave you here like this!"
I tried brushing off the brutal scene that Aiko had experienced and cut to the chase. Kane returned my gaze and shook his head. He reached his hands inside his pocket and threw me a box with a piece of paper.
It was an obsidian case strapped with a white string. The container was just as big as half of my arm. I didn't want to know what was inside the package as I threw question marks at Kane. Attached to the box was the letter Emiko gave Kane, which I found on my way here.
Before I could even ask him, Kane told me the answer to my question.
"Give it to my…... daughter, will you? Don't…..open the box…..And always remember…...who you are.... Always save people... Choose who you…..save."
After hearing those words, Kane flashed me a smile and returned his focus to the horde of zombies. It was him against hundreds of them inside the tunnel with his bare fists and teeth. Aiko fell to the ground and glared at the zombies approaching Kane.
I didn't want to waste Kane's sacrifice and rushed towards the wounded Asami. Those bugs tried pursuing them, but my feet became faster than their wings. Nothing mattered right now except saving Asami's life and her brother.
I did all of that without looking back at Kane. If my heart were still a human, it would have already burst into pieces. I also had parents that died in this zombie apocalypse. But their death did not pierce me like thorns on a red rose.
A tear fell from my eye as I hopped on the handcar and met the two. Asami still had her wounds on her chest, but her hands covered it all. I told myself that I could still help her soon after dealing with the handcar.
According to Kane and Aiko, this handcar operated like a train with higher specs than its design. Since it had those kinds of features, there must be a nitro boost for this automobile.
(Author's note: Yeah. Handcars are manually operated carts way back from the early (1860's I guess?). But since they're yakuza, they built scraps into something operable.)
Those zombified bugs and regular zombies chased us on our tails. Since the handcar still ran like a freaking bicycle, I needed to find the button that could unlock the speed boost of this shit.
"WHERE IS IT WHEN YOU NEED THEM! I'M LIKE IN A FUCKING HORROR MOVIE WHEN NOTHING WORKS WHEN I NEED IT THE MOST!"
Well, since my mixed emotions went against my way, my actions turned into a frenzy. My imaginary tears clouded my eyes with the remnants left by Kane still haunting my face. It wasn't my fault, but I could've done something about it. And after that, Aiko died alongside the man he treated as a brother.
As luck would have it, after a few seconds, I finally found the button. I slammed my hand against the red switch and activated the nitro. The handcar's exhaust blaze blue flames and zoomed in across the finish line.
The earthquake those bugs created went against them as the rubble above fell behind us. Those piles of rocks became an obstruction to those zombies and hindered them from chasing us any further.
When that finally happened, I returned to the two siblings. Touma embraced his sister and prayed for the best luck for our lives. I grabbed the only metallic rail beside the handcar and seized the two siblings with my hands. Since I couldn't feel pain, I glued myself on the two siblings and maintained my balance. It was because I didn't want them to fall off when the handcar raced against time.
However, our escape plan had turned into turmoil when the road ahead of us was a distorted trail. There was an opening at the end of this tunnel leading to the surface. Those mountains of stones became a ramp for this handcar to emerge at that hole it had prepared.
And when that occurred, our vehicle darted straight up the slope and flew above the sky. But along the road, those metallic rails tore the car apart. It was just the three of us hovering in mid-air while gravity delivered us from the kingdom come.
Touma yelled when he saw the ground fast approaching our faces. But I didn't let these two siblings die in vain. I switched places with them and used my back as a cushion. It was to protect the two siblings before plummeting onto the concrete floor. I wrapped my hands around their head and protected their skull and spine, hoping they wouldn't break.
As soon as we crashed land against the cold street, my body exploded and became a fossil excavation. Those bones left my body and fragmented like a million shards of glass. Luckily, my arms saved the two siblings. They didn't receive any wounds or scratches from the plummet we experienced.
Within a few moments, my body regenerated to its original form. Thanks to my system, I didn't die or feel pain, which had saved these two siblings' lives. If it weren't for me, Touma and Asami would have been dead for now.
'I should keep moving forward…. That's the best thing that I could do. Kane saved me for a purpose…. He didn't just save me but these two siblings,' I thought to myself and turned around.
However, Asami's figure told me otherwise.
Kane's sacrifice had immediately turned against me when Asami removed her hands from her chest. Her clothes got ripped off and her skin fell apart. Blood continued dripping from her breasts, creating a pool of crimson liquid.
Touma widened his eyes as he snuggled Asami's weak arms. "I don't want you to die…. I don't want you to die…. Onee-chan….. Asami."
"It's…..going to be alright."
Asami's voice grew weaker at every second while she caressed her brother's already crazed her. She slowly turned her head towards me and urged me to come closer. My frozen body acted out of instinct and marched my way in Asami's direction.
"Can you….. take care of Touma…. for me?"
"I….." With all my heart, I asked her this question. "Do you still want to live?"
Asami nodded at my query and gave me her answer. I held her hands and squeezed it tight as Asami returned my grasp. She curled her mouth upward, rejecting death with a smile. There was nothing that Asami could do but stare at the clouds, taking her away.
That was Asami's dying wish when she said those words. Within a few seconds, Asami breathed her last breath, with her hands falling to the side. I didn't catch her hands and silently stared at Asami's blank eyes.
"NO! O-ONEE CHAN! ASAMI! ASAMI, PLEASE DON'T LEAVE ME.... I don't know what to do without you….. Please….. Asami....."
Two deaths happened that day. I won the fight but lost the war. Even though Kane gave his life for the three of us, those zombies still caught Asami.
"Touma, I….."
No words escaped my mouth as I watched Asami's little brother weep an ocean of tears. Touma continued crying in front of her dead sister, wishing he could bring her back to life….
"Bring back to life…." I murmured, and grabbed the light bulb above my head.
I immediately activated my system and opened my skill's window. After browsing through countless pieces of information, I finally found what I needed.
"Zombie Bite!"