Chapter 17: Infection Crisis (Part 1)

Sosuke Kitahara braced his shoulder against the door and roared, "Push!" Utaha Kasumigaoka immediately slammed into it from the side. Her usually pale face turned bright red as she strained with all her strength, desperately holding the door closed. But the shriveled hand wedged in the door frame didn't react at all, as if it felt no pain, locked there like a steel bar. Outside, the frenzied zombies howled and shoved relentlessly, trying to force their way in. "Sosuke, there's there's another zombie inside!" Utaha suddenly screamed in terror. Sosuke glanced back, and his face instantly turned as white as paper. In the middle of the living room, a towering man in a black suit staggered into view. "How the hell... the door was locked. Why is there a zombie in my house?!" There was no time to think. Sosuke yanked open the drawer by the entrance and pulled out a gleaming kitchen knife. Bracing his shoulder against the door, he hacked wildly at the withered zombie hand stuck in the frame. Flesh split apart, white bone quickly exposed. Gritting his teeth, he shoved hard. With a final snap, the zombie's arm broke off and fell to the floor with a wet slap, dark, oil-like blood pooling beneath it. Sosuke slammed the security door shut. The next second, the suited zombie lunged toward him, maw gaping. "Go to hell!" A savage glint flashed in Sosuke's eyes as he swung the kitchen knife straight into the zombie's face. The blade sank deep, but the man's large frame surged forward with terrifying momentum. Pinned against the door behind him, Sosuke had nowhere to dodge. His legs gave out. The accumulated exhaustion from the brutal escape, plus the struggle at the door, had drained him. His footing slipped. He went down. "Sosuke!" Utaha's blood-curdling scream tore from her throat, raw and desperate. Her heart stopped as the zombie pounced on him. Just as she'd seen him slash its face, it had already slammed him to the floor. "Get off him! I'll kill you! I'll kill you!" Utaha shrieked, her voice cracking, her calm and aloof mask completely shattered. She yanked the knife from the zombie's face and, like a woman possessed, stabbed wildly into its skull over and over. The blade sank deep, punching countless holes through the rotting flesh until the head was nothing but a mangled mess. "That's enough! It's dead!" Sosuke grabbed her trembling hand. Utaha snapped back to reality, dropping the knife with a loud clang. She collapsed onto Sosuke, frantically running her hands over him, voice trembling as she pleaded, "Tell me you're not bitten! Please tell me you're not bitten!" Sosuke gave a bitter laugh and gently patted her shoulder. He raised his right arm. When she saw it, Utaha's face collapsed. The once fair skin was now torn open, revealing two jagged claw marks. In just a few moments, the edges of the wounds had already begun to turn black. "No... no, this can't be happening..." Utaha's tears fell uncontrollably, her heart breaking. How could someone as strong as Sosuke be injured? If he hadn't protected her, he wouldn't have been caught. Scratches. Wait. Utaha hastily wiped her tears and pulled him to his feet, voice shaking but resolute, "It's just scratches! You weren't bitten! You might not turn! Hurry, we need to clean it now. Do you have alcohol? I'll boil some water!" Sosuke let out a soft sigh. The virus didn't spread just through bites. A zombie's body fluids, even the sharp claws that carried the virus, were more than enough. Once the virus entered a healthy person's body, it would rapidly bond with living cells and replicate until the host fully transformed. There were no lucky exceptions. Only those with high-level awakenings had a slim chance of survival. But as far as Sosuke knew in his previous life, such people were nearly nonexistent. "It's too late." He gently grabbed Utaha's arm and shook his head, paying no mind to the furious zombie howls outside. "Utaha... some things have already happened. Whether we want to accept it or not, the truth is right in front of us. Besides... I'm not going to cut off my arm. Do you have any medical skills to stop me from bleeding out if I do?" Utaha wept uncontrollably, shaking her head as if trying to deny reality. Sosuke, weak and pale, still forced a soft smile and tenderly brushed his hand across her tear-streaked face. "At least... one of us survived. I guess it was worth it. Stay here a few days. Once the zombies outside thin out, find your chance to escape." "No..." Utaha sobbed desperately, gripping his hand as if her life depended on it. "Anyone else can give up but not you! You can't! Don't you dare give up! You like me, don't you? If you survive I'll be your girlfriend, I promise! Please, just don't die..." She clung to him, sobbing, completely unraveling. "You don't need to do this. Even if I die, I don't want love that's given out of pity. And honestly..." Sosuke's breathing grew ragged as he chuckled weakly. "Honestly, I was mostly just attracted to your body. I don't even know how much of it was real feelings." His words stung, but Utaha didn't let go. She shook her head fiercely, her screams raw with regret. "No, that's not true! I didn't mean to reject you before I just didn't know how to respond! I'd never thought about dating anyone in high school! I just... I wasn't ready!" "I'm glad you told me that." Sosuke smiled softly. It wasn't in vain. Changing the fate she'd originally shared with Tomoya Aki, altering their connection it was worth it. He tried to pull her hand from around his neck, but Utaha held on tightly, refusing to let go. Feeling the weakness in his voice, she realized his strength was fading fast, but there was nothing she could do. Tears streamed down her pale face. "Please don't die, Sosuke! Please stay with me! I'll do anything any condition, I'll agree to anything just please don't die..." "Don't force yourself." Sosuke smiled faintly and shook his head. Suddenly, a sharp, burning pain shot through his body, spreading rapidly to his brain. His eyelids fluttered. Still, he softly patted her trembling hand. "Help me up. I need to get to my bedroom. Maybe I can still try something." "Okay! Okay..." Utaha wiped her tears and quickly helped him to his feet. Staggering, the two of them slowly made their way to his bedroom. It was her first time in his room. Contrary to what she imagined, it was actually very clean and organized. But there was no time to dwell on that. She helped him sit on the bed. "Sosuke, what should I do next? Tell me!" Every second was precious now. Without answering, Sosuke reached beside the bed and pulled out a sheathed katana. It had been sharpened specifically for zombies. He handed it to her. "Take this." His smile was bitter. Utaha's face twisted in pain as she shook her head, backing away. But Sosuke insisted. His grip was firm. He forced the sword into her hands, then shoved himself to the edge of the bed and, with a hard shake, tumbled to the floor. Utaha screamed and rushed to lift him back up. His face was ghostly pale, sweat pouring from his brow. "I'm fine." He gently pushed her away. "Don't cut off my arm. I don't want to live as a cripple. The alcohol is in the storage room. Boil some water. Pour it on the wound. Do your best. I can barely see now. Keep the sword with you for protection. If I turn into one of those monsters... don't hesitate." "No I won't! I just want you to live!" Utaha hugged him tightly again, crying so hard she couldn't breathe. But Sosuke's gaze was already losing focus. Though she was right in front of him, his vision had gone so blurry, he could only see her as a shadow. "Go. I'm not dead yet. But if you don't hurry, I will be." Utaha covered her mouth to stifle her sobs. She took one last look at his fragile figure, then bit her lip hard and clutched the katana. "I'll be right back, Sosuke. Just hold on!" "Yeah." He listened to her footsteps grow distant, finally letting out a long, shaky breath. It felt like all his strength drained away at once. His vision had completely faded now. All he could see was a fuzzy outline. Utaha's cries and hurried footsteps buzzed in his ears like bees. His whole body felt like it had been shoved into an icy coffin. He was freezing but still sweating like crazy. "Damn it... I'm not seriously turning into Arthas, am I?" Sosuke let out a miserable laugh, but the corners of his lips soon stiffened. Of course he didn't want to die. Why else would he have made so many preparations? Even in this cruel, rotten world, he still wanted to fight to live. There were so many things he hadn't done. He'd never dated, never gotten married, never even kissed anyone. He was still a virgin. If his previous life had turned out differently if Sayuri had survived maybe they would have had children by now. "Ah..." He sighed again, shaking his heavy head. His neck felt like it was filled with lead. His consciousness drifted, floating further and further away. But suddenly, his sense of smell sharpened a hundredfold. He could clearly pick up the faint scent coming from Utaha in the kitchen, even from such a distance. Such an exaggerated ability it could only mean two things. Either he was evolving. Or he was seconds away from becoming a zombie. Maybe he only had one moment of humanity left. On impulse, Sosuke took a few deep breaths, savoring the scent. It was a completely shameless thing to do, but so what? If this was his final moment as a human, he didn't care. Just as he greedily inhaled, a searing pain exploded in his skull. It felt like a thousand needles stabbing into his brain. His vision went black. His body went limp. And his consciousness was pulled into the abyss. ------------------------------------------------------------ If you're enjoying this thrilling journey through the apocalypse, don't forget to drop a Power Stone and leave a review! Your support keeps the story alive and fuels the next chapter!