Chapter Text
2036, 15 years after the fall.
Running. Running. Running.
The girl sprinted through the pitch-black tunnel, scrambling past long abandoned vehicles.
This girl wore a gray, ragged hoodie that hid her face. Her pants and shoes sharing that same worn color, caked with dirt and grime. The old sneakers threatening to give out entirely from the looks of them.
“Hah”
The girl huffed as she ran. Her mind focused on only one thing at the moment.
“G-gotta run! Can't let them catch me!”
She continued forward at a quickened pace. The reason behind her concern made itself known.
“Scraahh!”
A hoarse screech sounded somewhere behind her.
Her legs moved even faster in response to her pointed ears picking up such a sound. She hadn't been quiet enough and ended up disturbing the nesting creatures.
She internally chastised herself.
“He taught me better than this! I should have left them in the dust ages ago!”
She weaved between more rotting vehicles as she heard several pairs of feet chasing behind.
“ At least six… I can't fight that many. Not without a weapon.”
The last “weapon” she had shattered on a biter’s skull three days ago! Between fight or flight, the latter seemed like a better option. She stood with that conclusion and sprinted down the tunnel. At the end of which, light had be seen.
“There!”
She raced straight for the flicker of light as the monsters got closer. She did not dare look back as she jumped onto a car, using the momentum to launch across a tipped-over van. Landing on her feet, she ran ahead as more screeches filled the air.
She closed in on the now abundant and bright light, exclaiming in panic as a raging, rotten-smelling viral lunged at her from behind a rusted ambulance. She quickly ducked under the monster’s attempt to tackle. She didn't bother to look back as the infected missed and fell, writhing, to the ground.
Virals were dangerous almost entirely due to their speed and agility. They were known to be able to sprint faster than most men and climb easily to catch people where other zombies could not. Their flesh had not decayed very much, and they were still very lively. In some instances, they could easily be much stronger than they were pre-infection.
Their main weakness being sunlight. Speaking of which-
Passing into the light, Emilia found herself facing a forest. The roadway continued as an overpass toward her objective… or it would have had it not eroded as it did. The path over the hills to get to the city had long since become rubble. More importantly, part of the road directly ahead of her had collapsed and there was a whole nest's worth of infected on her tail.
The girl made a split-second decision. She sprinted even faster than before. Right as she came to the crumbled segment of the highway, she leaped. Her momentum carried her forward. Reaching out, she barely managed to grab onto a crack in the collapsed road and avoid falling completely. Looking down, she can see bits of asphalt from where she had leapt fall down the steep cliff and toward a thin and rocky creek far below.
That fall would certainly be lethal.
She looked behind her to see a small horde of infected run out of the darkness and into the sun. Some shielded themselves with their arms and retreated into the tunnel while screeching in pain. Others, namely the more recently turned, continued sprinting forward and attempted the jump themselves. Many fell straight down, splattering on the rocks. Just a few made it to the collapsed section but they all failed to find anything to grip onto and also slid into the chasm below.
The half-elf climbed onto solid ground and pats her knees and arms. Catching her breath as the viral’s screeches echoed through the valley. She lowers her hood, revealing her shining-silver hair. Her amethyst eyes took in the view of the forest and the mountains.
“Well, that was a close one… if I'd slipped…”
She really didn't want to think about that. Dying now, when she was this close to the answers she needed…
Emilia took a moment to breathe, winded after running from the infected. Suddenly, another voice rang out alongside a series of claps.
“Whoo-hoo! Looks like you still got it!”
That voice was a familiar one. She smiled as she looked up at the owner of said voice.
Standing atop a hill, a dark-skinned, old man could be seen smiling.
“You know, this whole “game” used to be more fun?!”
Emilia yelled out with a happy tone despite her exhaustion.
“And you used to be younger.”
“And a lot dumber!”
The man chuckled before continuing.
“What matters is you're still just as fast. Because a slow pilgrim’s a-”
She finished his sentence.
“A dead pilgrim. You drilled that one into me. You re~ally don't have to remind me.”
She reminisced on the teachings she had received those years ago. They’d kept her alive a lot longer than she’d thought she would ever last.
“Get up here. There's something I gotta show you.”
Shaken from her memories,she jumped over the highway railing and followed the dirt path up toward the cliff he had stationed himself at. She scaled some vine-infested ledges and found herself just below the man. The elder's face was wrinkled and dotted with scars.
“You’ve grown. You look even stronger than when I last saw you.”
The girl smiled. She noticed the path led to a ledge adjacent to where the man stood and moved up it. Making it to said ledge, she leaped, attempting to reach the man. He quickly grabbed her and pulled her up. His real name was Spike but, she always called him-
“Puck. It's been a while since we last met up.”
With a hearty grin he spoke, “Far too long, Lia. Far too long. But, hey! Don't get all mushy on me now, come on! It's up ahead.”
He walked off into the woods. Emilia followed behind. After a second contemplative silence, he spoke.
“It's incredible really.”
She tilted her head in confusion.
“What's incredible?”
The old man explained.
“Most pilgrims don't last two, three years on the road. Now, you've been kicking around for what… four years now? And you're still in one piece.”
Emilia questioned playfully.
“Can't I say the same about you?”
He only let out a couple of chuckles before smiling.
“Yup, you see, the difference is that I'm just fuckin’ awesome!”
Emilia laughed as they walked.
“Hah, you can be so silly sometimes.”
Puck chuckled at her childish comment.
“Seriously, I'm getting old and I wish I had half as much energy as you do.”
He looked away. Clearly thinking about something before turning back to the girl and questioning seriously.
“Got a new lead on Jane?”
A familiar question. She shook her head. Jane was much harder to locate than she thought. She’d learned that since the last time he asked.
“Couldn't find much after New Ganaks.”
He only inquired further.
“Which route did you take? Through Baines or Garry?”
Her face shifted a little in pity.
“Baines. I'm not even sure if I can call it a village… Nobody there seemed to know much about her.”
He thought for a second before speaking.
“So she must've gone to Garry. In that case. I'll head north.”
She shook her head again.
“First, you should head east. Then, you can think about going north.”
“Why?”
She explained.
“The old bridge by Skra got swept away in a flood. You're gonna have to use the bridge further upriver. The other pilgrims told me to pass that along to you.”
He cursed to himself.
“Shit.”
It was then that he looked up and his mood improved.
“Ah well, it looks like it's just up ahead.”
They continued walking until they came to a gate. Beyond it, a modern house could be seen.
“This is it.”
The man quickly pushed the gate open a smidge allowing the two to slip inside. She looked around at the dilapidated home. Though, it was less a home and more a very small manor.
“Wow.”
It still awed her. Even after greenery had begun to retake the home and its surroundings, she almost couldn't believe that people built such structures. Spike admired the building's façade.
“Someone had a nice crib… Come on! Maybe the owners left something good inside.”
He ran up to the front door and tried to open it.
“Dammit, locked. I'll keep trying here. Maybe see if you can find another way in?”
Emilia nodded before taking on a mischievous expression.
“Sure. Just hope you know it's finders keepers!”
She heard him chuckle as she ran around the side of the house, smiling as she quickly examined the home's exterior for a way in. She immediately noticed the garage door was slightly open. She had developed an eye for this sort of thing over the years.
Emilia crouched down and ducked under the mostly closed door. Two long abandoned cars sat in the now forsaken garage. Time had not been kind to them. Emilia had long learned to not even waste time trying to salvage parts from such heavily damaged and eroded vehicles. The parts were heavy, and nobody would want to buy them for anything significant.
There were some shelves in the room as well, but the girl saw nothing of note on any of them. No, instead, she was immediately drawn to the door into the rest of the house. Examining it, she smiled.
“Still, locked.”
Where there was a lock, there was a guarantee of first dibs on the loot! She walked over to the door and gave it a good kick.
The door swung inward. Emilia marched in and noticed a medicine cabinet right next to the door she entered from. Raiding the container, the half-elf only found disappointment.
“...Empty.”
Turning away, she walked into the kitchen and searched a nearby basket.
“Nothing here.”
The fridge…
“Nothing in here.”
This place was threatening to be a letdown until she checked the sink…
“Ah! Finally!”
Emilia raised the bar of soap into the air. It had been a while since she’d had a real shower or bath. While soap could still be bought in larger settlements, those weren't scented and were rarely made to spec of the stuff before The Fall. Maybe she could spoil herself with a proper bath for once!
“Yes. That's what I'll do.”
“Well, after I get into the city.”
She shook herself from her thoughts to see a poster on the wall. Reading it, she could only look at it with confusion.
“Party? 2023? But the fall had happened by then?”
She looked around the room, attempting to find anything else that could possibly explain the poster. She finds nothing besides an old newspaper about the Haran outbreak. She tries the set of double doors by the window, but they seem to be jammed. Kicking the door down doesn't work so, Emilia simply decides to explore the final closed door she can see.
Opening the door quietly, she’s immediately hit by the dim room's musk. Mold spores floating through the air. The eerie-ness of the place sets the girl on edge. She looks around as she walks and doesn't notice as she walks into and tips over a glass jar.
Scaring the shit out of herself, she looks over to see it was a jar.
“Oh, come on!”
She mutters to herself. The sound of something heavy being moved can be heard before a familiar voice speaks from the other room.
“Emilia? Everything good?”
Emilia shouts over her shoulder.
“Yeah, it's nothing.”
Emilia, still annoyed after startling herself, searches the room. Much to her joy, she finds her favorite food. She runs out into the kitchen again. Spike is there now. Seemingly waiting there for her.
“Look what I found!”
She holds up the bag of dehydrated rice she'd found under the bed. Food stores like this could be pretty commonly found hidden in odd places. People back then hid them in such places hoping to keep their foodstuffs safe from thieves and burglars.
“...Your favorite kind, too! Feel kinda bad for whoever left it there, though.”
Emilia seemed to understand with a neutral expression.
“They never got to finish it, did they…”
Emilia suddenly takes on a more optimistic tone in her voice
“Maybe they just forgot about it and left it here.”
Spike eyed her with doubt.
“Folks don't just leave stuff like this.”
Emilia ignored him. She decided to see the bright side.
“Well, I doubt the owner would want it to go to waste so~, it's mine now! I won't waste it… Did you find anything good?”
Spike looked like he was about to say something. Then, he seemed to hold his tongue. Instead, he motioned to the next room and walked over. She followed excitedly. Entering, they could see faded party decorations hung up on the walls and ceiling.
“After we search this place, let's talk. I found something I'm sure you'll want to know.”
Emilia nodded.
“I'll be right back!”
Emilia quickly wandered off into one of the adjacent rooms. She searched the room for minutes on end but couldn't seem to find much of interest besides an old laptop she shoves into her backpack. As she exits back into the main area, she hears something curious.
https://youtu.be/FDkIGgtL0Ok?feature=shared
A piano. Something she'd heard only a few times in her life. The piano hummed melancholically as the dark-skinned man played. His face was hidden from her as she watched him play. He played the tune gracefully as if he’d practiced for this song and this song alone for many, many hours. All while seemingly unaware of Emilia’s presence. Almost as if the rest of the world had faded away from him. As if all that was left was him and that piano. Emilia stood mesmerized by the piano as it rang out dramatically and emotionally.
It was as if the instrument itself had a soul. No, as if the song itself had a soul. One that was being mourned. One that was dearly missed. Emilia tried to get a look at the man's posture and face. She could not and simply stood there as the song played out to the last note.
“…”
“Ah. I didn't expect you to come back so soon… I only noticed it coming back in.”
Spike wiped his eyes. Emilia sat down on a nearby sofa.
“Where did you learn to play that?”
Spike breathed in deeply before exhaling.
“Learned it after a friend passed. Back then, the group I ran with loved her to death… w-when we lost her, we came up with this song as a way to… honor her I guess.”
He looked away, clearly holding back a tidal wave of emotions. Quickly, he stood up.
“...I’ve messed around long enough. Let's get going.”
He stood up and went to walk out to the backyard. Emilia followed without a word. Not wanting to encroach on his boundaries.
Walking into the next room, they were hit by the smell of rotting bones. Sat or lying around the room, many skeletal bodies were scattered. All having lost their soft tissues long ago leaving nothing but their skeletons. Emilia walked up to the counter where one of these figures sat on a chair.
Looking over its shoulder, she could see a note. Written on it-
“I’m sorry Dave.”
The figure was wearing a dress. On the counter, empty bottles of wine sat next to an empty prescription of pills.
“...”
Emilia understood what had happened and that's all she felt about the situation. There was no other way to explain it.
Simply heartbreaking .
“They went out on their own terms… at peace at least…”
Spike stood beside her for a moment. He put his hand on her shoulder. Then, after a second of silence, he spoke.
“I'll be upstairs, on the balcony.”
He walked out to the backyard and climbed up to the roof. Emilia searched the yard, no longer excited as she passed the long-dead partygoers. Only managing to find worn photos. All of which were of the people who were here or their families.
Emilia had been taught to suppress her emotions. To worry only for herself but, even still. She could not escape her kind and soft-hearted nature.
On a table by the inground pool, she finds dozens of framed photos. Lifting up one, she finds a note.
Dear Mary.
I'm sorry I ran from you. They say once sickness gets you, you're gone forever. That can't be true, I know you're still In there, underneath all that pain and disease. Either way, I'm coming to join you. No more running.
The photo atop it was of a man in his late twenties.
Every skeletal corpse was the remains of someone who had given up. Someone who couldn't find it in them to continue living in a world without their loved ones. In a world that had forgotten them.
Emilia couldn't hold back tears. They flowed quietly down her face.
“Gosh…”
She put away the note and took a moment to breathe as she silently prayed for these people. Even so long after their demise. She couldn't ignore them. She hoped they had found peace.
Above, Spike's voice called down.
“Emilia. Are you coming up?”
The girl calmed herself down and wiped her tears away, recollecting herself.
“Yeah... Yeah, I'm coming over.”
She walked away from the depressing scene and climbed up to the balcony. There, she found Spike sitting on an old chair. He motioned to the chair next to him.
“Sit down.”
Emilia went to sit and noticed the baseball bat lying beside it.
“That's for you.”
Emilia picked it up and examined it.
“A gift?”
Spike chuckled.
“Nah, a gift from the heavens to be more accurate. Just found it by its old owner. It's definitely of more use in your hands at least.”
Emilia sat down and put the bat away in her backpack. As she sits, The man holds out an unopened but, clearly long-expired beer to her.
“Wanna drink?”
She obviously accepts it and takes a sip.
“Flat.”
He laughs.
“Look at you and your sophisticated palate. Drink.”
She shrugs and takes a shot alongside him. Her taste buds having long acclimated to bad and unsavory flavors.
Spike looks out into the forest under the setting sun's golden rays. The leaves and branches rustling as the world breathes onto them.
“Who would've thought the end of the world could be so… peaceful.”
Emilia sighs.
“Well, until night falls.”
She takes another shot. He does so as well.
“True… still wish Crane could’ve seen this.”
Emilia recalled Spike speaking about a woman he had deeply respected and missed over the years.
“Crane… is that her name?”
Spike nods.
“Yeah, part of it. It's never been the same without her. Even though I only knew her for a month or so… In that time, she became like a sister to me… She cared about people even when she barely knew them. When she shouldn't have given a shit about them… She was…was a lot like you in that way.”
Emilia simply listened as Spike spoke. It stayed like that for a while until he had finished.
“Puck, you miss her.”
He took a shot.
“Yeah. Yeah, I do… I miss all my brothers and sisters more than anything.”
He finally took a breath. A long moment passed.
“Enough about my past… I tracked down that guy for you.”
Emilia leaned in with a jovial demeanor.
“So that's actually why you brought me out here? You should've started with that!”
He laughs seeing her eagerness.
“When I tossed you a beer. I thought you'd figure out we were celebrating.”
He cleared his throat.
“Just as you'd suspected, the guy’s in Villador… Supposedly, he knows something about this ‘Waltz’ dude.”
Emilia breathes in and out deeply. This was massive.
“Villador… So they were that close?”
It's then that Emilia remembers something important. A debt she needed to repay before she found him . She didn't know how long it’d be before she was on the road again.
“Oh, can you deliver this to a guy in Garrys? It's on your way too.”
She pulls a parcel and hands it to him.
“They might give you weird looks, but the pay is good. You’d get more out of it there than me anyway.”
Spike only scolded.
“And what’d I tell you? Don't let bigots push you around! A deal’s a deal and you shouldn't let ‘em short you.”
Emilia sighed.
“Okay… but can you do this for me? I'm going straight to Villador after this. It's better that you take it seeing as your going that way anyhow.”
He rolled his eyes thinking for a second. He sat there like that for a few moments before finally relenting and putting the parcel away.
“Fine, but you owe me one.”
Emilia chuckled.
“Way more than just one. So, is there anything else you know about the guy?”
Spike looked back at Emilia.
“Talked with him over the radio. He didn't give me a name. Sounds like he's got something to hide.”
Spike took another shot from his bottle.
“That antenna up in the heart of Elior?”
He points at an antenna that can be seen in the distance past the treeline.
“Informant said to use it to contact him tomorrow at sunrise. He’ll be listening at a frequency of one hundred forty point two megahertz.”
He looks back at Emilia. She listens intently.
“I told him he’d hear from you.”
Emilia was ecstatic to hear this. The only concern was… well-
“This seems a bit too good to be true. He's has to want something for payment.”
Spike shrugged.
“He did sound like the kinda guy who wants something in return.”
She only chuckled.
“I don't think any other kind of guy exists.”
Spike looked at her with mock offense.
“What about me?”
She only smiled smugly.
“I guess there are other types. You're type who likes racing me and getting me asking around for his crazy girlfriend!”
He shrugged.
“Jane’s not crazy… she just… okay, maybe a little hot-headed.”
He reminicsed.
“Now, she does get herself into a load of trouble but, if you could get a load of her big beautiful-”
Emilia cut him off. Not wanting to hear about her adoptive father's tastes.
“Whoa-whoa-whoa! Stop! Isn't it early to be talking like that? Are you sure you haven't had too much to drink already?”
Spike completed his thought. A small blush on his face.
“-Eyes… I was gonna say eyes. Big. Steely. Beautiful. Huge-”
Emilia eyed him skeptically.
*I don't think I've ever heard someone get so worked up over eyes.”
Spike quipped.
“That's because you don't know shit about women, or men for that matter.”
Emilia pouted.
“But I AM a woman!!”
Spike ignored her. Much to her chagrin.
“Well, you'll see. I'll find her. We’ll settle down in a shack out here. I'm gonna stop wandering like a moron and nobodies gonna drive us out.”
Emilia stood. Thinking for a moment.
“Once I find him … who I'm really looking for, maybe we’ll both join you and Jane.”
Spike smiled.
“That sounds nice. A nice little family.”
Emilia raised her beer.
“I’ll drink to that.”
Spike raised his own bottle in a toast. Clinking the bottles together, they went bottoms up with their bottles. Finishing them entirely. The father-daughter duo chucked the bottles into the pool below.
Spike turned back to Emilia.
“Well, I think we're about to part ways again. Just be careful. I know why you're looking for him, but this Waltz guy is dangerous. I’d tag along but, I would only slow you down.”
Emilia scratched at her arm through her sleeve at the mention of Waltz.
“I know Waltz is dangerous but, that's why I've gotta do this. If that monster still has him…”
Spike put his arm on her shoulder.
“Look, you do what you have to for your family. I wish you luck.”
He looks at the sun which is perched just above the horizon. He pulls away from her and grabs his backpack.
“Well, time's up. Suns heading down.”
Emilia reached forward and hugged him. He reciprocated.
“When's the next time I’ll see you?”
“Two years, a year, or maybe even just a month or two from now? I can't be too sure. Just take care of yourself, Emilia.”
She smiled, happy to have gotten to see him again. She hoped they cross paths again sooner rather than later.
“Take care of yourself too, Puck. I'll be cross with you if I found out something happened to you.”
Puck chuckled at her slip of outdated vernacular.
“Hey, I should be saying that to you, missy!”
She laughed.
“Alright, Puck. But I'm serious!”
She said even as she giggled. The two separated. Emilia watched as Spike climbed over the roof. They waved at each other before he climbed up and out of sight. She immediately stood up, collected her things, and then climbed down and started toward the radio tower after hopping the fence.
Puck stood atop the rooftop watching Emilia leave. He spoke in a low enough volume for even Emilia to miss it.
“Be careful Lia… Don't leave me behind like everyone else.”
His words were lost in the winds of the forest.
————————————————————
Emilia recalled where Spike had told her to go and she began making her way toward it, eager to make contact and find the truth.
Walking a little down the path, Emilia reached a cliff overlooking a lake. Opposite the cliff, a small home sat abandoned. Emilia decided after seeing how deep the water was and judging it to be safe, to jump down into it. Landing safely, cushioned by the water, she swam to the surface and made her way to the shore by the house.
As she got out of the water, she suddenly heard a loud bang. Looking at the house, she can see the door had been broken down and that rotten figures were shambling out.
“Biters…”
She pulled out her newly acquired bat. Leveling it, preparing to swing it into a creature's face. One zombie groaned as it looked up and finally spotted her. A low, guttural growl escaped its maw as it stumbled forward.
Emilia swung without hesitation. The bat went into the side of the creature’s skull at great speed, causing it to fall on Its back. Blood and spit flew out of its rotting face.
Emilia had learned not to hesitate when it came to the infected. They may have once been people, but now any semblance of personhood had long disappeared. The brains within their skulls having decayed to an extent beyond anything medicine could fix. Even those with knowledge of healing arts long forgotten by this world wouldn't be able to dream of restoring such damage.
Their skin was rotten and smelled of death. Hands stained with blood, much of which was not their own. And insatiable hunger for human meat were all things to be associated with infected.
Biters specifically were not too dangerous however. The result of a viral being exposed to sunlight and/or starved, they lacked any of the speed or mobility virals were known for. Now, they shamble toward the living at a fairly pathetic speed. They had very little muscle mass and were very susceptible to losing their footing. Much of the time, they fed on other rotting carcasses like vultures. Feasting on rotting remains and garbage just to continue ‘living’. They became dangerous in large groups, alongside regaining the virals agility and aggressiveness at night.
No matter how you looked at it, what she was doing now would be considered a mercy even if she didn't particularly like it.
Emilia walked over to the fallen biter and raised her bat overhead. Swinging downward, the scrambling infected’s skull caved in. It went still. She retracted the now blood and gray-matter-stained bat and held it ready as another one came at her.
The next creature saw her and reached its hands out at her, attempting to grab onto her. It wasn't given the chance as Emilia bashed its rib cage in with a swing of her makeshift club. It tumbled forward, about to crash to the ground. Emilia backed away to avoid being caught by the biter as it fell. Once it finally collapsed, Emilia stepped onto its back and pinned it down. Not wanting to damage her new bat further, the half-elf grabbed a nearby beer bottle. She smashed it into the infected's face eliciting more pained groans. Turning the sharp end on the zombie, she planted it into its neck.
The zombie went still. Emilia stood and wiped the sweat from her brow. The bat was of good quality, judging from how it handled being slammed into the zombies. She hoped she could make it last for the next few days.
Hopefully, she wouldn't even need to use it again.
She looked back at the house the biters had appeared from. She walked to the door and quickly raided it for anything useful before continuing toward the antenna. Eventually, She came to an overpass and used a crashed bus hanging off of it to climb up. The highway would take her up to the antenna, so she walked along it for a while.
Trudging past forlorn trucks, cars, vans, and buses, Emilia came to yet another tunnel. The entire entrance was overgrown with vines, aside from a small opening above an abandoned eighteen-wheeler. She quickly but cautiously climbed atop the old transporter and walked through the opening. As she suspected, dozens of hunched-over and sitting figures slept below on the pavement.
Emilia had seen bitters do this many times before and quickly learned that their senses were dulled dramatically while asleep like this. She simply, yet quietly, hopped from truck to truck making her way through until she had reached the end of the tunnel and the end of the highway. The road ahead had crumbled, so Emilia left it behind in favor of a trail marked by a faded sign.
Welcome To the
Elior Forest
National Park
She followed the trail for a while. It curled up and around a cliff. Much of the path had eroded forcing Emilia to make several jumps and detours. She even had to take a zipline to an alternate path at one point. Eventually, she came to a ledge that was almost the full height of her body above her head. For any normal person, that would be an impossible jump but for Emilia…
“Hya!”
She jumped her whole height and grabbed onto the ledge before pulling herself up. Emilia was much stronger than the average person. Even with a normal muscle mass, the muscles she had were stronger and tougher. Still, she had to be careful.
“Almost there.”
She walked as the sun faded under the horizon.
“It's getting dark. I hope I can find somewhere to stay for tonight.”
Infected became stronger at night. Horrors like Volatiles roamed the landscape. Nightmares that could rip a human apart in seconds with it's bare hands while shrugging off bullets and explosives.
Emilia knew her strength was nothing in the face of a monster like that.
She walked until she came to the radio tower. The station itself was a brick house that had probably been abandoned for some time, but she betted that the place was a safehouse of some sort. The place seemed to be locked up. Boards covered the first story windows.
“There's gotta be a way in… there!”
She climbed up a gutter and entered through one of the long-blown-out, second story windows. Emilia searched the place and eventually picked up a scent.
“Someone was here… recently too.”
She tracked it to a wardrobe in one of the rooms. She couldn't find anything of interest inside the cabinet but looking underneath…
“Scrapes on the floor… it's been moved?”
She walked over to the side of it and began pushing it aside. After she moved it over fully, she noticed a crawl space where it had once been. Emilia spoke playfully.
“Bingo~.”
Crouching down, she crawled through the opening to find a safe room on the other side. A radio transceiver sat on a desk by the far wall and a sleeping bag was set up on the floor. Unlit U.V. lights hung from the ceiling.
“No power… there has to be a generator.”
She quickly exited the secret room and climbed back out the window.
“Maybe there's a garage or shed? That's where people keep generators, right?”
She looked around the side of the home and found a garage. Approaching it, she noticed that the large garage door was slightly open. She crouched down and tried to lift the door.
As she struggled against the rusted mechanism, the sound of a door being bashed in could be heard. She quickly peeked behind her to see the front door of the station being broken by biters from the inside. Apparently, having all been trapped on the first floor. She tried to quickly open the door before the shambling bitters reached her.
The panicking Emilia then hears an odd noise. She whispers to herself.
“What the heck was that!”
She turns yet again in time to see something leap out of the second-story window and land behind a nearby rock. It was small. Maybe only four and a half feet tall. Emilia tenses further as she notices glowing yellow spores and fumes emitting from whatever it is.
“I've never seen anything like that!”
From what she had seen, the creature looked like a really fucked up viral. Its body looked like that of a woman, but it had degenerated into that of a beast long ago. She seemed to wear a worn, revealing black dress and been adorned with jewelry of all kinds. Massive talons had grown from its hands like claws.
A wealthy, elite woman turned banshee, essentially.
Moments later, it leaps out again. Its face emaciated yet, animated with malice. Now it lands on a bitters shoulders using it as a springboard to launch itself high into the air. Finally, it let out another high-pitched, almost bird-like, screech as it rocketed down toward the half-elf. Its massive talons ready to bisect the girl.
“Oh Shoot!!”
Emilia barely managed to dodge by rolling out of the way. Looking back, she could see the banshee begin to get up from its failed attempt. It pulled its claws out of the sliced pavement and growled. She acted quickly. Raising her bat and swinging it at the new creature's face before it could react. The monster crumpled to the ground. Emilia had guessed that its small stature made it susceptible to falling to the ground from hits in a similar way to biters.
Wasting no time, Emilia swung again at the creature's back. It scrambled away at the last moment and averted having its spine crushed. Instead, the zombie's hand was hit and all its fingers smashed from the impact. The taloned hand mangled beyond repair.
Screaming, the banshee took a step back before leaping onto the garage roof and attempting to pounce on the girl yet again. Emilia readied and swung her bat while shifting her head just out of the way of the creature's talons. The bat smashed into the airborne creep's skull and obliterated it. The creature's corpse fell to the ground.
Emilia breathed in deeply.
“Phew! That could have been really, really bad. I got the most problematic one out of the way.”
She raised her bat and smashed it into a zed's face. The biters from earlier had finally caught up. Emilia didn't want to risk leaving biters around to eventually breach the second floor or try to take bites out of the generator.
“Now, to clear out the rest.”
A few minutes later, Emilia lifts the garage door. Her bat was now drenched in rancid blood and pockets slightly heavier with whatever valuables she could scavenge from the zombies. (they wouldn't be needing it anymore and Emilia needs to eat.) As she walked over to the generator, She set the bat beside it before walking over to a nearby shelf and grabbed a gas can.
“This should do it… let's hope this hasn't been sitting for too long.”
The upper floor was clear of infected so, hopefully it had been used recently. Emilia turned her attention back to the generator.
She pours the gasoline into the tank, turns on the valve, choke, and ignition switches and begins pulling the recoil cord. After a couple of pulls, the engine growls to life. The lights within the garage and the station all light up.
“Finally.”
Emilia rushed back inside the now well-lit home. She quickly made her way to the crawlspace. Emilia’s nerves de-tensed as the ultraviolet lights touched her skin. Where this dark amethyst shined, no volatile or viral could enter. She was safe.
“Ahh… That was enough action for today.”
She plopped herself down on the cot. Her limbs suddenly felt heavy. Emilia put her backpack and weapon on the floor beside the bed and laid down. After the long journey, the old sleeping bag felt truly heavenly to the half-elf. It was no surprise that she quickly drifted off to sleep.
————————————————————
“Psst!”
Someone whispered, trying to get her attention.
“Emilia… Emilia-tan!”
She awoke. A figure stood at her side, shaking her awake.
“We gotta run!”
The little girl opened her eyes lazily. The figure was only a boy, Maybe eight or nine years old. He wore a simple black shirt and pants that matched his black hair and dark, sanpaku eyes.
“But do we have to go like… now?!”
“No, when we're old- Yes right now!”
Emilia sat up and stretched.
“We’re gonna need supplies.”
He happily presents a backpack stretched full. It sat on the floor next to the bedside table.
“I got everything here.”
Emilia looks around the sleeping quarters. All the other beds were empty. The room’s double doors sit on the opposite side of the room.
“It's so quiet. Where is everyone?”
As she spoke, a figure in a lab coat walked in through the two double doors. He spoke seriously.
“Let's go.”
The boy’s smile fades immediately. Replaced with a grim expression as he looks at Emilia. The man orders-
“Now.”
Subaru walks forward and Emilia stands up, following behind him. As they walk into the hallway, the boy looks at her with fear in his eyes. Plainly scared of what was in store.
“Everything will be fine.”
She took his hand and walked ahead following the man. The boy continued to look at her uneasily.
Eventually, they came to a room. Within, they found maybe a dozen children or so. The man shut the door behind them.
“Stay here.”
He walked off to and through a doorway. Emilia can hear him arguing with someone.
“Nothing good will come of this.”
He seemed to say. An agitated voice replied.
“Have you brought 12-346!?”
The man replied incredulously.
“We were supposed to take the patients back to the city!”
Emilia diverted her attention to the room around her. It had only one or two couches and chairs, the children were crowded onto them. Those who couldn't fit stood or sat on the floor. All looked distant and scared.
The boy leaned against the door and slid down it till he came to sit on the floor. Obviously, still scared. Emilia sat down next to him.
“Don’t worry Baru. I'm sure that they’ll let us go soon.”
He only teared up a little.
“I'm scared. What are they gonna do?”
Emilia pulled him into a hug.
“I'm here. Don't be scared, Baru.”
She spoke softly attempting to assuage the boy's fears. He leaned into her hug.
“Thank you… but what if they separate us?”
Emilia held him close. She had seen some of the other children ‘disappear’ before. She didn't know if they were released, killed, or… worse. She had to hope that there was a way out.
She looked down at his arm and then at her own. On both of them, matching scars from repeated injections had been carved on their skin in the same places.
“Even if they separate us, even if we don't recognize each other, this is how we’ll always find each other.”
She had always ended up being the one putting up a tough front for him. Maybe it was because he was physically weaker. Or, maybe it was because he was younger. She didn't know and she didn't care. It was a distraction and as long as she had her friend, everything would be fine.
It was then that a man in a protective suit approached the pair. His face is hidden behind a panel.
“Girl, follow me.”
Subaru looked at Emilia with tears in his eyes.
“Please don't go!”
Emilia breathed shakily. It was that time again, wasn't it?
“...I’ll be right back. I promise.”
She stood up, letting go of the trembling boy's hand. She follows the man into the other room. Looking back at the boy and trying to give him a reassuring smile.
She was pretty sure she failed. Her teeth chattered in fear for what came next.
They closed the door behind her. The man in the suit grabbed her arm roughly and rushed her over to an operating table. She panicked as she was forced onto the table and tied down. Someone spoke but she could not hear them over the sound of her own heart beating out of control.
Then, the man pulled out a syringe and plunged it into her arm.
“OwOwOw!!”
Pain shot through her little body. Her muscles spasm uncontrollably. It was like every fiber of her being was on fire.
“AAAHH!!”
Her vision was going white. She thought she was going to die and then…
“Fire! There's a fire in the lab!”
“No… worse! We have a code red! I repeat! Containment has been breached!”
She awoke coughing as smoke filled her lungs. The men were gone from the room. Emilia broke the restraints after a minute of struggling and deliriously climbed down to the floor.
“Baru… have to find Baru.”
She stumbled to the door and pushed it open to be greeted by flames. Much of the room was on fire.
“Baru! Are you in here!”
She walked through the room, avoiding the flames. There was no sign of him. Running out into the hallway, she only found more fire… no, it was worse.
“Scraah!”
Distant screeches could be heard alongside screaming, gunfire, and then…the sounds of munching.
She moved away from those sounds. Baru didn't go that way.
She had to hope he was still…
*Crash*
The ceiling fell down on top of her. The last thing she sees before her consciousness fades is a dark-skinned man rushing to her side.
Then, it all fades to black.
————————————————————
She awoke in a cold sweat. Tear stains on her cheeks.
“The same nightmare…”
She sat up on the bed. She’d been having these flashbacks for a while now. Every night for the last four years. She fully gets out of bed.
“I gotta find him… where are you, Baru?”
She hoped she was finally about to get some answers from this informant. Maybe she could finally put an end to the nightmares. Emilia walked over to the radio transceiver.
“I guess its time to finally get some answers.”
She sat down at the desk, turned on the radio, and set the frequency to 140.200 megahertz. She spoke into the hooked-up microphone.
“My name is Emilia… Just Emilia. Broadcasting from 140.200MHz.”
She waited a few seconds for a response.
“Hello, Emilia?”
A whispered voice came through.
“Yes. I was told to get in touch with you.”
He sighed audibly.
“I thought you’d have changed your mind. Why are you looking for Waltz, Pilgrim?”
Emilia answered honestly.
“To find someone else. His name is Baru- Subaru I mean. During the fall, we were experimented on in a hospital here.”
“I know who you're looking for, Emilia.”
He continued. She listened carefully.
“I'm also guessing you wanna know why Waltz did those experiments on you. Why you are so much stronger and more resilient than everyone else.”
“Look… I just wanna find him. I've been searching for him ever since I became a pilgrim so please… Can you help me?”
He said nothing for a few moments before finally replying.
“Maybe I can... Let's meet, pilgrim.”
Emilia smiled. Finally! A real lead.
“Where and when?”
“Entrance to the Metro tunnel by the bay. A G.R.E hatch should get you inside. I'll meet you there ASAP.”
Emilia stood up. She noticed a smaller, handheld radio transceiver; a walkie-talkie as Spike had called them. She picked it up and tuned it to the same frequency before speaking into it.
“I'm guessing you're not doing this for free. I hope I can pay it back.”
He responded through the walkie-talkie.
“I have to get out of the city but, I won't survive on my own on the outside. Get me to New Ganaks and we're even. I’ll tell you anything you’d want to know on the way. Over and out.”
Emilia quickly spoke into the walkie as she realized she had forgotten the most important question.
“Wait! I got to know. Is he alive?”
The man responded confidently.
“Yes, I'm sure of it. I'll be heading to the rendezvous. See you later, Emilia.”
The frequency went dead. Emilia quickly grabbed her things and left the station in a hurry. She ran toward the bay just down the hill. She was here. Answers were here. Subaru just might be here in that city! She ran, joy and excitement coursing through her.
She ran and ran until she came to a cliff overlooking a church and beyond it, the bay. On the shore, Emilia could already see the metro tunnel.
“Subaru. I'm so close. We will be together again soon. I can just feel it!”
She continued sprinting down, her heart racing.
————————————————————
A short swim later, Emilia found herself on the other side of the bay.
“I'm almost at the tunnel. Can you hear me?”
The informant spoke thought the radio. His voice even clearer than before.
“Loud and clear. That means you must be close.”
She replied while sprinting past and around groups of wandering biters. There were definitely too many to fight so she opted to just try to run around them. She made her way up towards the metro platform.
“I swam across the lake.”
She climbed up a building to avoid a horde before hoping over to another and using it reach up to the metro station. The man spoke quickly.
“You're at the tunnels then. Find the G.R.E hatch. I'm coming from the other side. Hurry up!”
Emilia noticed the worried tone in his voice as she walked along the tracks.
“Is something wrong?”
He didn't elaborate. Only frantically muttering again.
“Just hurry up!”
Emilia heard it in his voice. He was scared. She moved to the tunnels quickly. If something happened to this informant, she might lose her shot at finally finding him.
“I am not gonna lose my only lead!”
She quickly found an open containment door at the entrance to a metro tunnel and slipped inside. She radioed over.
“Entering the tunnel now.”
He responded in a lower voice.
“I can hear you. You should see me any second now.”
She walked further down the concrete tunnel and into a few abandoned metro cars. The inside of which was almost completely barren
Soon, the last vestiges of light from outside had disappeared. Right as she thought to turn on her flashlight, she hesitated due to one simple thing.
“That smell…”
She smelled blood. She crouched down and proceeded cautiously. Exiting the last metro car, she found quite the grizzly scene.
Piles of human and demi-human skeletons sat collected in the tunnel. Their bones are still covered in blood with flies hovering above them. The bones had been stripped entirely of the muscle and soft tissue.
“...Recently killed… Bones picked clean…”
A picture was forming in her mind. Emilia did not like it. She reluctantly continued forward. She whispered over the radio.
“Hello? I think we have a problem.”
No response. She wasn't going to back down now.
“What if he's in trouble? I can't waste this chance!”
She continued down the tunnel against her better judgment. Eventually, she comes to a maintenance door on the side of the passage. Eager to get out of the blood-stained tunnel, Emilia goes to open the door but-
“Huh?”
The door was blocked on the other side by something. She tries to shove it open but doesn't make any headway. One, two, three shoves doesn't do a thing.
“Next time’s the charm I know i-...”
Suddenly, every hair on Emilia’s body stood up. She froze on the spot as she heard something above. Something heavy.
Looking up, she spotted something on the maintenance platform above. Fear gripped her mind as watched the figure descend.
At first, she thought it was a volatile but, clearly, it was something much worse.
It had armor-like, bare skin similar to that of a volatile and the split jaw and protruding ribs of one too, but seemed to have a slightly slimmer build. The most terrifying thing about the being however was its eyes. They shone in the dark like shattered amethysts. The shadows of the tunnel hid many of its features which were further revealed as it descended onto the ground. Emilia could better make out the fact that its head also sported long, stained red yet, silver hair that hid pointed ears. She could see Its body shape was vaguely feminine as well.
Emilia wanted to scream. This was a nightmare. It had to be a nightmare. That Creature…-
“W-why does it look like me?”
Emilia froze, her body shaking in terror.
Then, it saw her. Emilia’s ears rang as it let out a deafening and horrible screech. Emilia was shaken to action as it pounced. She jumped out of the way.
The creature looked straight at her. Clicking its mandibles together hungrily, purplish-yellow fluid leaking from them as the beast eyed her through shattered eyes. Then, something shot out of its back. Emilia quickly pulled out her bat to intercept the thing flying at her. She smacked it into the wall nearby. Looking at it, the projectile seemed to be a long, thin tentacle-like appendage. The end she had hit was shaped like a hand with a sharp, boney blade poking out the palm and had entrenched itself into the concrete of the tunnel. The same disgusting liquid found on it's mandibles seeped down it.
It looked kinda like a stinger to Emilia. She didn't want to find out what kind of poison it contained.
It's then that she noticed at least five more appendages coiling up behind the thing's back. She rolls out of the way of all of them but fails to escape the creature's second pounce. It pinned her down with its two true arms.
Emilia held her bat up against the creature's neck with her arms. Her heart was racing as the beast tried to bite its split jaw down on her jugular. The monster was so close, that Emilia could smell its rancid breath.
Emilia pulled her legs up, put them against the creature's exposed ribs, and kicked with all her might. The beast was thrown off her for a moment before it immediately smacked away her bat. Before Emilia could react, The monster grabbed her and bit down,
*RIIIP*
“AAAHHH!”
Emilia screamed as the beast dug into her arm. Her arm burned as blood spilled and the creature drank it gluttonously. The rotten mandible fluids seeped into her wound. It was then that an ultraviolet light breached the shadows. The creature screeched in pain as its skin burned under the light's touch. It jumped away from the dazed half-elf and into the darkness.
Emilia’s unfocused eyes saw another figure run out from the door she was at earlier. A bright purple light came from something in his hand. He ran over to her and took her arm. He examined the wound for a moment before picking up her bat and pulling her up. He quickly rushed her through the door. He dropped Emilia to the ground as he shut the door. The U.V. bar in his hand burned out as he pushed a metal locker in front of it.
The sound of roaring and banging emanated from the door until the man ran off to a circuit box and flicked a switch. The sound of lights turning on outside was followed by more pained screeching. The pounding on the door stopped. The man walked back over to the writhing Emilia. She barely managed to wrap her wound using gauze.
“How bad is it?”
It was clearly the voice of the informant. Emilia spoke through clenched teeth.
“I got bitten!”
Emilia wanted to curse. She made it all the way here only to get bitten by some doppelganger zombie. Finding Subaru was gonna be a lot harder now that she had to keep track of the disease.
The informant grabbed her good arm and pulled her back onto her feet.
“I think I know what that was. We're lucky to be alive. Hurry, we must get into the light quickly!”
Emilia blurted out.
“Where’s Subaru?”
The informant rushed her forward down a narrow maintenance tunnel.
“Later, we have to move before any more of those things find us.”
It was then that Emilia screamed as her body pulsated with pain. Dark Purple veins danced across her vision.
“Ughhhh.”
She wanted to puke… then the burning started.
“It Burns-It Burns-IT BURNS!!”
Emilia fell to the ground convulsing as a virus induced seizure took hold.
“Resist it! It will pass.”
“AAAGH!”
Emilia felt like she was on fire. Every nerve burned. Her mind threatened to give out from the maddening pain.
“Just stay strong. I’ll see if I can find some antizen.”
He ran off as Emilia’s consciousness faded into darkness.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The being shot back into the darkness and away from the now lit-up door. It growled as its prey hid. Through amethyst eyes clouded by darkened veins that spread like cracks in a gem, the monster noticed the light seemed to hold strong. The beast, impatient and hungry, crawled down into the sewer from the old metro tunnel. It growled. Those two meals had escaped… Maybe it could find something else to eat…
As it crawled along the pipes, echoes of a past long gone flashed through the back of its barely conscious mind.
A tower. A city consumed by a sickness. A struggle against a virus-...
Lucidity tried to claw its way back into her skull. The beast pushed it back.
Harran. Rais. Brecken…
Those names clawed at her. All for differing reasons.
Purpose. Foe. Friend…
The beast was pushed back.
Spike. Natsumi… Flugel…
It screamed in gluttonous rage.
Brother. Sister…
Her shattered amethysts uncracked a little. The dark veins had retreated somewhat.
…
“Where am I?”
A question that she asked herself almost every day. There was no point to it. She knew it was never anywhere good. She simply made her way upwards, through dozens of feet of pipes, until she made it to the inside of a manhole. She came in contact with the first ray of light leaking in from the top of the chamber. Touching it, her body burned, but she had long become accustomed to the sensation.
She powered through the pain and pushed up the circular object between her and the sun. She climbed up and onto the street above. Her flesh screamed for her to retreat into the shadows. The woman did not listen. Her extra appendages and hardened skin fell off and melted in the light. The extended ribs retreated. Her split jaw mended itself to the point of only leaving a scar down the center of her jaw. All while mind-numbing pain washed over her entire being.
She didn't cry or scream. This had happened hundreds of time before and would happen hundreds of times again.
By the end of the ordeal, a lone and seemingly healthy, bare woman sat on the vacant street. She stood and looked around.
“...I need to find some clothes.”
She spotted a bitter shambling toward her. She could spot lightly worn apparel clothing the creature.
“That’ll work.”
She walked toward the bitter. Another scenario that had played out time and time again for her.
“Another bitter. Another day in the life of worthless, old Crane.”
Another. Forsaken. Day.