What Remains (Book 3): Epidemic

by Barrett, Tyler

  Looking back from the window, Kenji focused on the armored Humvee in front of him. The thick metal was designed to stop small arms fire, and explosives shrapnel from penetrating would be extremely helpful against any Yokai they came across. Kenji still called them Yokai rather than the infected or any other name the media had come up with. They were still, after all, to Kenji, demons hellbent on killing everything he loved.

  As they got closer to their destination, Kenji could feel his stomach tighten. He would be lying if he said he wasn’t nervous. Why did I volunteer for this mission? The image of Kiyomi laying on his bed peacefully the morning after he had proposed to her, popped into his head. He closed his eyes and laid back against the side of the aircraft, enjoying seeing her once more.

  She was the reason. Kiyomi, and all those others he had lost fighting their way out of the country or simply trying to survive. It was for redemption, mostly, but Kenji would be lying if it wasn’t for revenge in the slightest. The Yokai needed to be eradicated entirely, and Kenji would be the one to do it. He glanced at the other men that he accompanied on this mission, wondering if they were up to the task at hand. It wasn’t that he doubted their skills, but their motives and dedication. Kenji was invested differently than the others.

  It wasn’t personal to them. Not only did he lose his entire nation, but Kenji had also lost the person he promised to spend the rest of their life with. They hadn’t watched, holding the person they loved with their whole being, die to the infection. They didn’t have to plunge the blade into the brain of the person they loved dearly to give them eternal peace. Kenji made no mistake; he was on the warpath against the Yokai.

  “Kenji,” said Muller interrupting his withdrawn thoughts, “Try to get some sleep, we will land in six hours. I need you ready and alert.”

  “You don’t need to worry about me, Muller. I think I needed this. I’ve felt empty ever since we left Japan, and this is my shot at redemption. My chance to prove that I earned the title hero, the world has bestowed upon me,” Kenji said with conviction.

  Muller slid into the seat beside him, “I don’t worry about your willpower for one second. I am concerned about your alertness. I’ve seen you in action; I remember your strength behind your sword, and I need that with us on this mission. I worry about you facing the infected again. You’ve improved so much since you joined the IVC, but all that can be undone if you aren’t careful. I need you well-fed and well-rested.”

  King interrupted their talk, lifting the hat drooped over his face, “Some of us are trying to get our beauty sleep! Shut your gobs, would ya?”

  Kenji smiled, chuckling at King's remark. Muller, turned toward King, “Sorry, your royal-ness.”

  King pushed his hat back over his face, “Yank bastard.”

  Muller patted Kenji's shoulder, “I have my faith in you. Get some rest; I’ll wake you up an hour before landing.”

  ✽ ✽ ✽

  The sheets felt soft, his pillow plush, inviting him to stay as long as he liked. Even with his eyes closed, he could feel the warmth of the sun upon his face. The noises of the city, muffled, but ever-present, invaded his peaceful bedroom. Beside him, he could feel the gentle breathing of his fiancée, Kiyomi.

  Kenji opened his eyes; her beautiful features glowed in the sunlight. She still slept, breathing slowly and methodically. Her beauty, matched by her kindness and caring, more intelligent than himself, these qualities made Kenji love the woman that lay next to him beyond that of simple true love. It was something deep in his soul, something that he could feel through every fiber of his being. The woman before him was his everything.

  He had the privilege to call her his fiancée, something was beyond grateful for. Kenji cherished every moment they spent together, no matter the situation. Kenji slid his arm under her head, bringing her head to his chest. Kiyomi nuzzled into him, resting her arm across his torso. This was his favorite moment. The times when they held each other, resting peacefully. All worldly cares melted away, and they seemingly intertwined as one. Blissful thoughts filled his mind as he closed his eyes, drifting off to sleep again.

  Kenji heard an obnoxious noise, reverberating throughout the room. He jumped up out of bed, only to see dozens of the infected opposite of him, staring, unmoving, but moaning in excitement. He froze; Kiyomi lay in bed asleep, oblivious to the infected in the room. Kenji didn’t remember grabbing the pipe he held, but nonetheless, it was in his hand.

  His mind raced. If he moved, so would the infected, but Kiyomi was defenseless. He had to save her; he had to protect her. Carefully Kenji inched toward the foot of the bed, hoping to block the infected from reaching Kiyomi. As he rounded the corner of the bed, the infected growled, turning their focus toward Kiyomi. He froze again, but slowly raised the pipe ready to swing at any infected that moved toward her.

  As quickly as Kenji could move, he slid moved toward Kiyomi's side of the bed. It was one fluid motion as he slid over the corner of the bed to block the Yokai, using himself as a shield. The movement sent the Yokai into a frenzy, and they moved toward them. Kenji bashed the first Yokai in the head with all his might, stopping its advance. Two more lunged for Kenji, and he expertly dodged one, swinging the pipe into the second Yokai.

  The first Yokai he had dodged fell toward the bed but didn’t quite make it far enough. Kenji kicked the Yokai in the mouth, stunning it long enough to raise the pipe over his head and bring it down. Blood splattered everything, the wall, and Kenji. He had already dealt with three of the Yokai, but many more remained. Before he knew it or had time to react, four Yokai grabbed him, throwing him to the ground.

  Quickly, Kenji got up, shoving back as many Yokai as he could. The Yokai had crowded around Kiyomi, but he heard no scream from her. Kenji didn’t check to see if the Yokai had reached Kiyomi as he yanked the final one away from her. Primal rage filled him; his vision tunneled as he swung the pipe wildly. He had no regard for his safety, only to put an end to the Yokai that threatened Kiyomi.

  He felt the pipe vibrate after every hit that connected. Blood and brain matter covered his face and chest, but none of that mattered, only ending all the Yokai. Kenji quickly killed Yokai after Yokai, leaving nothing left of each one. Finally, the last one stood before him.

  Kenji charged the last Yokai, using his shoulder as a ram directly into the center of its chest. The blow connected, and the Yokai fell on its back, unable to keep its balance. Kenji climbed onto its chest, pinning it down, swinging his pipe at the last Yokai until it lay motionless. His arm sore from overuse, and out of breath, he fell off the infected, catching his breath.

  Still gasping for air, he got up, moving toward Kiyomi. Blinding light filled the room, coming from where Kiyomi was lying. Kenji raised his arm using it to block out some of the light. Slowly Kiyomi began to float up until she hovered over the bed in a standing position. Kiyomi extended her arms, forming a T with her body above the bed.

  Blood flowed from wounds, dotting her arms and legs. The blood dripped freely and began to pool underneath her on the bed.

  “Kiyomi!” Kenji cried, trying to reach her.

  Kiyomi was still unresponsive. Kenji forced his way to her, finding it harder with each step as if he had weights tied to his feet. He wouldn’t let this slow him down and eventually closed the distance. Kenji reached out and grabbed Kiyomi's leg. She fell, Kenji's touch breaking the spell that made her float.

  Kenji easily caught her and brought her head into his chest. He was too late, and he knew it. Tears flowed free from his eyes as he wept again for the loss of his love.

  “Kenji,” whispered a voice faintly.

  With hope in his heart, he quickly pulled back Kiyomi’s head, hoping it had been her. Kiyomi's head fell back without his support to hold it up. It had been a cruel, sick mind trick; she was still unresponsive.

  “Kenji,” the voice said louder.

  Kenji felt Kiyomi lift her head. He opened his eyes to see hers staring back at him. Red, blood-filled eyes stared, pier
cing through him. Kenji knew she had turned, and now had two choices. End her suffering or join her.

  Kenji didn’t want to do it. Kenji didn’t want to bash her head with the pipe. He was tired, so tired, of having such a hard choice. He knew the path led to only more death and destruction, but It was the right thing to do.

  He gently laid her down and grabbed the pipe. Raising it, stopping above his head. This was the moment, the moment everything changed irreversibly for Kenji. With all his might, he brought the pipe down. As he swung it, everything faded to pure white.

  “Kenji!” screamed the voice.

  ✽ ✽ ✽

  Muller shook Kenji's shoulder, “Kenji!”

  Kenji opened his eyes. Muller nodded at him, seeing Kenji was now awake, before moving toward the front of the aircraft. The Yokai still fresh in his mind gave him shivers down his spine. It had been quite some time before he had seen one, but that didn’t stop his mind from producing images of them as if they were right in front of him. Their demeanor was awkward and disturbing to watch. Mostly, it was a dead person moving toward you with a never-ending will to attack you.

  Kenji stood and stretched his sore muscles. Sleeping against the hard interior of the plane had made him stiff. He moved toward the front of the aircraft, where Muller and the rest of the group huddled, speaking together. Kenji grabbed one of the spare headsets, so he could speak and hear them over the loud engines of the plane.

  “Ok, now that everyone is here,” Muller started, “I spoke to command a few minutes ago. It has gotten worse in the past few hours. The original quarantine failed, and the virus has spread to about half the city. Estimates aren’t good, they have called in the military from all around to try and stop it from escaping the city. There will be a military convoy that is to escort us into the city and help secure the block where we lost the HVT.”

  Muller paused once he noticed Kenji giving him a confused look, “Sorry, Kenji, forgot you don’t know the military jargon. The HVT is the woman. She is the primary goal here, let’s hope she’s still in that building. If we do find her, quickly grab her and retreat to the Humvee. I want this to be an in and out mission. The longer we are in the city, the harder it will be to get out. Any questions?”

  “What’s the plan if the woman isn’t in the building anymore?” Asked Zach.

  “Well, I’m hoping for our sake she is, but if not, they were smart enough to give her an ankle bracelet with a tracking device. So, we can use that to locate her. The last ping they did on the tracker, it was still in the building,” Replied Muller.

  “How big is the building we are searching?” Asked Jackson.

  “It’s six stories tall,” Muller said, “There could be anywhere between fifty to a couple hundred infected in the building, depending on if people were there during the outbreak.”

  “Nothin’ like a good challenge, right lads?” asked King.

  “It will be a challenge, indeed, but this woman is extremely important,” said Muller, not amused by King's joke.

  “Did they ever discover the source of the infection? If this woman is a carrier, we need to be careful around her?” asked Kenji.

  “No. We are still to assume she is a carrier, but we don’t know for sure, it’s all just assumption at this point,” Muller replied steadfastly.

  Silence fell amongst the group for a brief period before Muller spoke, “Alright, I think we all understand the magnitude of this mission. Get the woman and get the hell out of the city.”

  The group moved to the other side of the aircraft and began opening the crates containing their gear. It was time to suit up, and Kenji carefully watched how to put on the armor, holster, and rifle sling. He grabbed his body armor, strapping it on, surprised at how light it truly was. After he made sure each piece was snug against his body, he slung his katana over his shoulder, letting the sheath lay against his back. He felt this was all the gear he needed but knew that they had brought him a rifle and sidearm as well. He tightened the drop leg holster and slid the handgun in. Next, he tightened his three-point rifle sling, attaching his rifle. He was impressed at the ingenuity of the sling, allowing the rifle to hang on his chest without falling, but easily accessible.

  Kenji was fully geared now, as well as the others were. He felt ready for war, and he intended to bring the war to the Yokai.

  Chapter 13

  The aircraft flew over the city of Busan, brightly lit, it stuck out below like a beacon. From high above, they couldn’t tell there was an infection tearing its way through the city. However, as they approached Gimhae international airport, they could see the mass exodus of people attempting to flee the city, and the deployment of ground troops to try and stop the virus. Traffic at several points was at a standstill, a sea of headlights all facing the same direction. Multiple first responder vehicles were parked along the tarmac, where even more soldiers readied to quell the numbers of the infected. It was organized chaos at its finest.

  Kenji had sat down, sitting awkwardly, angling his katana to the side so he could sit properly, and buckled himself in. His heart pounded with nervousness as the plane touched down on the solid ground once more. The wheels of the landing gear squealing loudly as the brakes tried to slow the behemoth of a plane. Once the plane came to a complete stop, he quickly unbuckled himself, following the rest of the soldiers to the back of the cargo hold.

  Muller pressed the button to lower the ramp of the plane, “Shields, drive the Humvee out.”

  Shields left the group to start unwrapping the chords that held the Humvee in place. The rest of the group walked down the ramp onto solid ground, where as soon as their boots touched the ground, a jeep sped up, stopping alongside them. The soldier quickly threw the vehicle in park and ran to the other side, opening the door. An older man with a demeanor of experience stepped out and walked toward them.

  “Are you the team from the IVC?” the older man asked, as though he already knew the answer.

  Muller approached him, “Yes, we’re the team. I’m Muller.”

  “Good, things are bad. I’m General Sung-ho. I have a platoon waiting for your command to enter the city. They will escort you to the coordinates we received from your command. They will secure the perimeter until you are ready to exit the area,” he said, walking toward another Korean soldier who was standing nearby.

  “This is Jung-ho, he is the commander of the platoon that is going into the city with you,” The General said, introducing the two men, “Now I’m needed elsewhere, but I can tell you to hurry along with your mission. The Demon Virus is kicking our asses, and we’ve already lost the second quarantine perimeter. Chances are we won’t be able to hold the city for too much longer. I received the order to withdraw all personnel in four hours, then they plan on firebombing the city.”

  Jung-ho stood next to Muller, watching the General leave, “He’s right. The infection has spread rapidly. The further we get into the city, the more chaotic it will become. Out of the six hundred soldiers we sent to quarantine the original outbreak area, only seventy-two are still alive that we know of.”

  Muller wore a serious face, and he turned toward the soldier, “This should be a quick and simple grab. We shouldn’t lose any more men if we are careful. My men are all fully seasoned in combat with the infected; we need your platoon to lead us to the last known position of our team. All we need your men to do once we arrive at the location is to set up a perimeter to ensure we can leave without running into a horde. We will handle the rest. I want to avoid losing anyone if we can help it.”

  “Good, I don’t like sending my men into the heart of the outbreak, but orders are orders. We were just the unlucky to be the platoon chosen,” Jung-ho said abhorrently.

  Kenji watched his surroundings, transport trucks loaded soldiers onto them before leaving, presumably to attempt to slow down the Yokai. He felt like he was reliving Tokyo, the plague enveloping all life, unstoppable. The soldiers only slowed the inevitable; not even Kenji could stop it.

&
nbsp; King nudged Kenji is the side, “Friendly group, eh?”

  Kenji was having a hard time focusing, the sounds and activities overwhelmed his senses. His brain couldn’t process it all at once, and his legs began to feel wobbly.

  “It’s alright, once we are on the go, it won’t be so bad,” King said, picking up on Kenji’s uneasiness.

  Kenji nodded, trying to focus on what King was saying.

  At that moment, Shields pulled up in the Humvee, stopping beside them. Muller and the other two walked over and got inside, with Kenji following behind them, sitting behind the driver’s seat. As he closed the door, the sounds of the busy airport dulled, and they waited.

  Kenji found it easier to focus while inside the armored vehicle, and the uneasy sense he was feeling eased. Soon they saw Jung-ho waving them to follow his truck. Shields drove the Humvee behind the truck, driving across the tarmac.

  Chapter 14

  Jung-ho led the two vehicles through the gate and onto the street, passing by many other trucks filling with troops. These troops would be the last; no more reinforcements would be coming. Kenji felt the Humvee slow down and wondered why. The truck quickly jerked and bounced around as they crossed the small median meant to separate the lanes of traffic. Before Kenji could ask what was going on, it became clear; the road leading to the airport was filled bumper to bumper with cars and people all trying to make their way inside, hoping for a flight out of the city.

  The military had cleared one lane to allow for their own trucks to pass unhindered. A few soldiers formed a line to stop the exodus of people from overwhelming the airport. Even through the thick door, Kenji could hear the cries of the mob, begging the military to help them escape. The cars were so close together they created a barrier, forcing all the people onto the side of the road. Several people attempted to climb over the cars to bypass the mob, only to be greeted with soldiers aiming rifles at them, telling them to turn around. This was but a small window to the chaos; the infection hadn’t spread this far yet.