Volume 1 - Chapter 32

On Zombie Watch

I stood guard at the shed, thoughts swirling like a storm.

I thought about Yuki, trapped inside with a bite that could turn her into something like Genta, or maybe a speedy boy like the one all the women had encountered.

I decided to wait a while before checking in. It gave her some space, and myself more time to process the situation.

As I stood there, the wind picked up, rustling the leaves in the trees around me.

The midday sun cast a warm glow, but didn't ease the chill settling in my bones.

I thought about how our morning had turned to utter garbage. We had been to the city twice and each time we had barely survived.

We were lucky the first time when escaping from the police station.

The second time was different. We were swarmed by a horde of zombies at Zag Zag, barely getting away with seconds to spare.

Ryotaro and I had survived Genta’s hybrid zombie aura, while Aiko, Chiemi, and Mio managed to get away from some type of runny boy.

Now we had a nine year old kid to worry about, and on top of that, poor Yuki was bit and was going to turn into something. I didn’t believe she would die again.

I felt bad for Yuki. We left her and Mio unprotected during the first trip. Then she felt safer with us on the second trip. All that, and she was the only one bit.

She was paying the price for our mistakes. Or at the very least it was a cruel world and the worst had happened to the gentlest of us.

I tried to push the thoughts out of my head, but they kept coming back like a relentless tide.

I looked around at the trees, trying to find some sense of peace in the natural world. All I could see was eventual death, and a planet that felt hollow just beyond my vision.

I had no idea if humans would survive this, let alone our little group.

As I listened to the wind, I felt a sense of hopelessness wash over me. If Ryotaro was correct in his assumption of the numbers in the sky, then we had to survive 363 more days of this?

There was no way. We were screwed in this new zombie world.

We were outnumbered and outmatched, and every day was going to be a struggle not to die.

It hadn’t even been three full days and we had encountered zombies I never thought possible. Fast ones? A hybrid with untapped wi-fi potential?

I laughed, thinking about how stupid that sounded.

I worried about Aiko, Mio, Ryotaro, and Chiemi, and then Haru. Protecting them was already far beyond the level of difficulty I imagined before.

Trying to calm my racing thoughts, I took a long slow breath.

I needed to stay focused and alert, but it was hard when all I could think about was the dangers surrounding us.

After a while I looked back at the shed, wondering if Yuki was okay. I knew I should check on her, but the fear of what I might find caused hesitation.

It had to be done at some point.

I took a heavy breath and pulled open the door to the shed. Hinges creaked softly in protest.

Dim lighting from two small windows at the back barely illuminated the space, casting long shadows across the floor. It was tidy, with a few storage containers neatly arranged against the walls, but otherwise empty.

My eyes found Yuki, sitting on the ground with some pillows propped up behind her. She turned her head slowly towards me, eyelids heavy and weary.

The bandage on her arm, where the zombie had sunk its teeth into her flesh, was stark white against her pale skin.

To me she looked like a ghost, her once vibrant features now washed out and lifeless. Sweat beaded on her forehead, trickling down her temples. It drenched her shirt.

Yuki's eyes were sunken with dark circles beneath them. I took a step closer, my heart aching at the sight of her.

The air in the shed was thick and stale. It was much warmer inside than it was outside, and I felt bad that she had been trapped inside a dark sweat box.

I could see tremors running through her body, her muscles twitching and spasming as she fought against an infection that was starting to take root.

"Hach…Hachiro…" she said.

Her voice was weak and her eyes downcast. It looked to me like she was using all the energy she had left in order to sit up and maintain herself.

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I knelt down beside her, seeing no signs that she would attack. I was cautious, but I also didn't want her to feel abandoned and alone. I knew what that was like as a child who grew up without real parents.

"Hachiro," she whispered, her voice barely audible. "I'm scared. Where's Chiemi?"

I swallowed hard, fighting back tears. I had only known Yuki for two days but I knew she didn't deserve this.

"She's with Aiko for a while."

Yuki looked away from me and started crying. "She's afraid of me… of what I will become."

I shook my head. "No."

Deep down I knew there was some truth to that even if Chiemi would never admit it.

"You don't have to… lie to me, Hachiro."

I stayed quiet, knowing she was right. It still didn't make anything easier.

"I know," I said. "I will try to be completely honest with you if that's what you want."

She nodded weakly, eyes closing as she leaned into me. I looked down at her arm, where the veins from her infection had spread out from beneath a bandage. It looked the same as Genta's arm, only the bite was in a different place.

"Tell me the truth. Are you here to kill me… before I turn?"

"No."

She didn't react physically but I knew she let out a long nervous breath she had been holding in. I considered the question a rational one, so I knew she still had her ability to think.

"Why not?"

I had to fight back my own tears. It was another valid question in this new world. I figured I would probably want the same thing if I was facing such uncertainty.

"We don't think you're going to die. At least, not like the others. I think you're going to have severe fever and chills for a while as the infection takes over you."

"And then I'm a zombie?"

"Yes and no. Maybe?"

She turned her head to look at me. "What does that mean? Yes and no? I'm going to be like that speedy fast zombie thing that bit me?"

I shook my head again. "I don't know."

"That's not… very helpful."

I smirked, knowing it wasn't. "True. But I don't want to lie to you. We just don't know. You could end up like that one, or like Genta."

"The man… from the walkie-talkie?"

I realized she had no idea what I meant. Yuki wasn't with us, and I explained it to Aiko but not her. I hoped that either Aiko or Ryotaro was telling Chiemi, that way I didn't have to repeat it all over again later.

Practicing patience, I went through the entire thing about what happened with Genta.

Yuki listened, but I could tell she was distracted by the infection taking hold in her body. My estimate was that it had been a little over an hour since she was bit.

“I’m not feeling so good,” she said.

She hadn’t looked well for at least half an hour.

I didn't know how long we sat there, lost in our own thoughts and fears. Time seemed to slow down, the minutes stretching long as we waited for the inevitable.

Just to be on the safe side, I kept my left hand held tight on the rifle. I wanted to make sure Yuki knew she wasn't alone in this, but I also needed to protect myself.

My ultimate conclusion was that I should be fine. If Genta never hurt the boy when he turned, I didn’t see why Yuki would hurt me.

I wouldn't give up on a friend. I couldn't. In this new world full of zombies this was the only thing that really kept us human.

It was what real friends did. We stood by each other through thick and thin, until the very end.

Aiko and Chiemi returned after what felt like an eternity in the hot afternoon shed. I turned my head to see them approach, but Yuki was oblivious.

She was asleep leaning against me and the shed wall, her skin burning warm and her heart barely pumping.

For a second I got the feeling she was dead, but there were signs of life. When I shifted to stand up, she rolled against the shed and continued sleeping, slowly making herself comfortable again.

I checked her forehead and the temperature was hot. She was radiating like a heater furnace.

Aiko and Chiemi looked in at us. Their feminine silhouettes cast shadows into the shed, sunlight glowing around them.

I had to cover my eyes as I stood, my eyesight not adjusted to looking outside.

Haru appeared next to the two women, and I looked at him curiously. The boy stepped into the shed and waved at me, then looked at Yuki.

“She needs water,” Haru said.

I considered being a smartass and telling him that was obvious, but I knew he was just a kid.

“That’s a good idea,” I said.

Haru nodded. “Genta drank a lot of water, but I had to make him do it. He kept trying to push me away from him. But my mom always made me drink lots of water when I was sick.”

I smiled. Then I gave the two women a look of amusement and returned my focus to the kid.

For a second I wondered what happened to his mom. If he witnessed her turning on day one, then he had held up well.

That was my opinion I guess, but I didn’t have any experience dealing with how kids handled this type of thing.

“I got a couple of questions for you, since you helped Genta,” I said, “and I know you helped him with the fever and chills.”

Haru nodded. “He’s probably still alive. I stabbed him with a pencil and it healed quick.”

I smirked. “You stabbed him?”

“Yes. He was a stranger when he took me to that apartment. I was scared. It took me a while to know he was just trying to help me.”

I nodded. The boy could be feisty. I knew he had a good head on his shoulders, and this proved it to me.

It also raised more serious concerns. If the hybrid zombie man could heal from a gunshot wound, then we were in the garbage even deeper than I was thinking.

“You think the gunshot wound will heal?"

“Yes. In episode seventy-eight of Mighty Zombie Johnny, he gets his legs blown off. Then they regrow like nothing ever happened.” Haru stood confident. “So that’s probably what will happen to Genta.”

I looked away so the boy didn’t see my unbelieving face.

He was comparing the real world to a cartoon show. On the other hand, it sounded completely unrealistic. On the other, nothing felt real anymore. Our new didn't make sense in plenty of ways.

Aiko and Chiemi watched me with amusement. They saw me struggling to process the conversation with Haru. I had never been good at communicating with children on their level.

I wondered what the boy thought about Yuki’s condition. It seemed weird asking a kid but it had worked out well with Genta.

“What do you think about her arm?” I asked.

Haru looked at it. Behind me, Chiemi and Aiko stepped into the shed and both of them knelt down beside Yuki, checking on her.

“This is like Genta’s problem,” Haru confirmed, “except Yuki is a woman.”

I held back a laugh. It was difficult not to say something like ‘no shit,’ but I thought better of it.

Haru was a smart kid, but at the end of the day he was just a kid.

I watched Aiko and Chiemi comforting the infected woman. It looked like she was experiencing the worst case of flu in existence.

Chiemi looked up at me. “Thank you for giving me a short rest, Hachiro. Now I think maybe you deserve one also.”

I nodded, watching the motherly woman sit with Yuki.

Aiko agreed. “You did good, love. We’ll stay with her now.”

I was reluctant to leave but also ready to sit down for a while.

“Let me know if you need anything.”

Aiko blew me a kiss. “Some water, a towel, bucket, and something that can help break a fever?”

“Sounds good,” I said.

Haru sat with the three women. Aiko saw that I noticed, and that my face questioned whether he should stay or not.

“It’s okay,” she said.

I nodded but didn’t answer. The boy probably felt more comfortable with them than he did with me.

That was fine. He had watched me shoot Genta, even if it was justified.

"Watch out for unwanted kisses," Aiko said, blowing me another one.

I smirked, thinking she was being funny.