Finding A Safe Haven

Chapter Four

"Takumi, I have to say something to you. You see, your brother is...."

I was cut off by a loud hiss of a zombie and a shout for help from somewhere out there in the streets.

"Help me! Help me! Please!"

Takumi and I automatically look at each other, both of our eyes widening before the two of us run quickly to where I think the desperate call is coming. My heart is beating faster in adrenaline, dread slowly slipping in and moving to all parts of my body, making my run like my life depends on it.

When in truth, yes, a life depends on my hands. A life of someone I think is not ready for this new era we all now face. For every second, minute, hours and months. It could even be in a whole lifetime.

We skidded into a stop in front of a toy shop. Takumi immediately signal for me to pick up my weapon but before I could do, I stopped.

Everything has stopped.

The world had slowed. My heart had paused. My breath trapped inside my chest tightening as my eyes gazes on those innocent milky brown orbs and before I know it, I'm already moving to do something, they showed up.

On the other end of the shop, if the little girl did not halted, her baby pink shoes scraping on the asphalt, she almost headed straight into the pack of zombies not more than a twenty feet away from her. Six of them all turned and for a moment seemed shocked to see her in front and they look at me and Takumi, as if asking why is there a kid shaking in terror.

Then the chaos started. They let loose an animalistic growl, which instantly makes my heart races for her. Not knowing Takumi is feeling the same.

In his mind, if he couldn't save this little child, it would felt like failing his own brother in a way.

The little girl screams. Her palpable torment piercing through my soul.

"Run!", I yell for the kid to go towards me and miraculously, she listens. She turned around, running towards me. Her doe eyes tearing up, sparking in the sunlight while the zombie goes for her.

Takumi already used to this kind of situation readied his shotgun and gives me a look. I know what it means before he even says it.

"Grab her and I'll protect the two of you"

There is only a problem in his plan. Three headed towards him and three closed in towards me, more interested on the knowledge of two flesh in one attack.

I stared down at the kid, her hands clutching tightly on my jacket and maybe because of the fear or she knew I would save her, she allows me in carrying her up into my arms.

"When I said close your eyes", I whispered gently to her ear, picking up my revolver from my pocket. "Close your eyes, okay?"

She nods while sniffling and do as I say.

The three zombies going for the two of us were all a large men, wearing the police uniform that had, for sure, once patrolled in this area. One has a broken bottle lodged in the side of his cheek, while another has part of jagged long metal stick jutting through his shin, straight through the rotting flesh, grayish and yellowish.

The sign of death.

While the other three were running towards Takumi all wore a construction shirts, and the other one still wore his hard hat, that will make it hard for any gunshot or attack to pierce through his head.

I draw out my revolver and fire, thanking the lessons I once had from him.

Would he be proud watching me now?

The head of the first zombie police exploded, sending gutted brain pieces to the other two and down the ground. Mindless and only have one goal in their mind, the remaining two were unaffected and continued their pursue of me as I run, keeping my eyes on them the same time I tighten my hold on the kid.

One runs forward, and I panickly fire as he attacks, cutting through his throat and guess what? It hadn't killed him. His head pops back up, looking at me with near small smirk on his jagged teeth and in my mind, this is his way of saying he got me.

He got me dead.

Maybe he was kind of right as I've gone breathless for a second there, falling over and to my panic, I shove the kid rolling away from me when the zombie takes the opportunity by jumping atop my body.

Before I can react, his grimy hands grabs my shoulder and leans in to take a bite.

I hought it was already the end, closing my eyes in grave prospect but as it always did, someone was always coming to my rescue.

I heard a shotgun fired and felt the zombie falls sideways, his body flinging hard on the ground, bringing me with him as his hands were still on my shoulder then the sky before my eyes rolled the same time your body did.

There's a sharp pain in my back and the smell of the rotting creatures the devils made me realised I'm still alive and not done to fight as I sit up to see the last zombie crawling up to my feet.

Then I was suddenly brought back to when I first met them. His group saving me that day. It was just like this too - a zombie grabbing my foot and reaching out to the exposed skin of my ankle.

But this time no one of them came for me. I'm on your own and I have an innocent kid to save. No one is dying anymore at my watch.

I will not let someone die before me. Unlike what you had let happened to Howard. I already learned from that mistake.

Just as I feel for my revolver in the ground, I hear more gunfires, growls and what made me stand up in alarm, a little girl's scream.

"Help!"

Then another memory comes back. The call of my mother for help that I had ignored and in that way, I lost her without me having to do anything because I was naive back then, but now learned not to be ignorant of every possible dangers coming in.

The zombie brings his jaw down my ankle and unlike before I first met them, I did not freeze on my feet.

Instead, I slam my foot into the zombie's face with all the strength that I could brought in that kick.

I must have gotten stronger as he stumbles backward, and I jump up to my feet, glimpsing in the corner of my eye that Takumi finishing his last zombie with an ease.

I tried to search for the girl though I failed as the creature starts to rise, and with the reminder of Howard's eyes looking at me with a zombie on his neck, I lift your foot up and crashed it down to the zombie's head.

Not letting him move. Not letting him bite. Again and again, I kicked his head until it was smashed into a disgusting slimy goo.

The memory of him crawling forward to me before he was bitten flashed before my vision and it made me so mad that I didn't stop crashing his head, his skull cracking into jagged bones at my deep hatred for them.

Why did they have to rise? Why did they have to kill so many and let me live?

I only stopped at my anger when I heard her little scream again.

Racing back to where I last leave her rolling away from me, I see another zombie who came out from the toy store having a good lead than me and Nicholas'ss words comes back to my mind as I hold up my revolver, gripping it tightly with both of my hands.

"You have to aim and feel whether the target would move or not. Besides, you can't always depend on how focus you are especially with a living dead chasing for you"

"Now fire!"

I pulled the trigger and he was not there to keep me up right as the bullet whizzed through the air and the little girl gasped in shock as the zombie targeting her falls down, spraying blood on her small face.

After that, I run forwards to her, kneeling down to her small figure and checking for any sign of bite all over her body. I breathed in relief when I saw nothing.

And I frozed this time, not because of a zombie but at the girl hugging me tightly on my torso. Her tears staining my shirt yet I didn't care and rubs her back to try comfort her even if I didn't think it would work. It worked.

It worked like a magic and when Takumi had returned to us awhile later, he let out a small smile on his face at the sight of me carrying the asleep girl in my arms.

I stared at him and glad to see he only had a few specks of blood in his shirt and nothing more.

What could I expect?

He was more expert in being the survivor especially at what he had told me of how he knew the zombies is coming before it even started to spread out of control in the continent and the government had done nothing to prevent it.

Although even that important part of a community in the old life was already devastated into ruins and will never return replaced by the new rulers.

The dead creatures they called zombies.

"So what now?", I asked him, starting to walk towards the path back to the haven. "What will we do with her?"

He followed my steps and he looks back on the killings we had done, then returned his eyes on you. His face changed into a certain expression.

"We will take care of her from now on"

And I knew then, like him, I'm certain I will do the same as a thought comes into my mind as I look down to the sleeping girl in my shoulder.

"Death knows the moment I saw you that I will give up my life to protect your innocence"

_______________________________________

There would be no light.

There is just the small lamp the three of them were circling in as they huddled together inside the farthest room from the entry of the deserted motel. They already learned the worse a few days ago where upon waking up, Takashi screamed out in shock as the first thing his dazed eyes met was a zombie closed to his face.

Thanks to Nicholas coming in time to shove the zombie away from him and to Howard's surprising agile, he was saved but they were not save by the knowledge something is changing to their friend's body.

Howard confessed it the night before.

"What? Is this for real?", Takushi was the first to react, directing his look on Nicholas who had gone quiet and was looking down on the floor.

If not for the lamp gazing on his face, they wouldn't see how his eyes were shaking like his body and without a word, he looked up - letting them see for the first time his vulnerability.

"What do I need to do? Why do it keeps happening to us?", he questioned them, his voice trembling as his eyes scanned Howard's guilty face. Tears flowed out of his usual emotionless eyes. "Is this change in you would be good for us? Or will me and Takashi witness you'll be one day succumbing into that disease?"

Howard looked away, trying to prevent the tears coming from his eyes as Takashui grew quiet and like the two of them, looked elsewhere but into each of their eyes.

The silence shrouded them and it tormented them in an impossible way as the truth of their miracle were revealed and it gnawed on them fiercely, laughing at them for expecting all is well.

As it turns out, the miracle is a hidden nightmare.

The miracle spoked out. "What is happening to me? Why did I survive and only to be alive like a zombie?"

That's the truth. Howard might not be completely one of that deadly creature who had bitten him except for one thing - he have gotten their unusual strength, their numbness to pain and resistance, and what scared them the most, he had no appetite for the normal food anymore. He was craving for something else.

He was trying so hard to quench that craving by eating rabbit meat or deer. He said to them when he revealed it, just kill him if there's not a chance for him anymore to fight through the disease.

Then Nicholas and Howard heard Takashi standing up, going to the center of their circle, his face set hard despite the tears threatening down in his eyes.

"We will not let this one thing stop us from going forward", he says, looking at each of their faces. "We've come through so much to let this scared us and what? Break the friendship we had built in this new f****d up world?"

He then turned to Howard with a much more harden expression. "And you? How can you dare asks us to kill you? I'll better die first before I do it. You're too important to us and it will kill me if you died for real"

Just like that, he gave into the sadness. The two watched him broke down right in front of them, their hearts clenching in pain as the youngest let it all out. He let himself fall into the ground and hide his face while hugging his knees.

All of the emotions he have been long supressing at hold pours out one by one, every sobs and every calls for his brother had made the two joining him in his agony. Nicholas and Howard literally broke into million pieces at what he had last said before he passed out from the intense and so much grief inside him.

"I only have one wish and that is to see my brother again even for the last time"