[33] No More Weak

The infected surged against the damaged barricade again. The whole thing shifted inward as someone beside me fired until his magazine ran dry. The others who couldn't fight helped by carrying the injured back.

I raised my gun and fired. One infected dropped through the gap, but many more filled it. The ones who were bitten at the forefront were turning too. Some froze when they recognised them, and that hesitation was getting more people killed. 

Bang.

Another climbed over the one I'd just shot.

There was no end to this.

I found some cover and opened Private Communications.

I needed Lunallu back. The reply came soon after. ...At least she was coming.

But it had already been some time since Lunallu left. I had no idea if she'd make it back before this was over.

Talk about bad timing...!

I closed the message and returned to the barricade. More infected were forcing their way through, and the defenders were already giving ground. A few people had noticed my shooting by now and started keeping clear whenever I raised the gun.

"We're pushing them back, keep shooting!"

No we're not. You're running away, goddamn it!

I kept firing into anything that made it past the barricade. Hold the line, keep the infected out, and buy enough time for the civilians to move away. There was no strategy to a wave tactic. Our resistance was only attracting more zombies.

A middle-aged man stumbled close to me with blood running down his arm.

I immediately put him at gunpoint.

"I-I'm not infected! Look!"

I gave a cursory glance, grabbed his shoulder and pushed him toward two others carrying the wounded.

Without pause, I stepped into the space he left behind. Three infected crowded the opening. I put the first down, shifted to the second, then had to kick the third back when it got too close. Someone beside me finished it with a metal bar.

"These things are fast... brother, thank god you're here— Shit!"

Another explosion hit farther down the barricade. Part of the line folded inward and people rushed to brace it with whatever they could find. I moved with them, firing through the widening gap until a table and two sheets of corrugated metal were shoved into place.

A bottle sailed over the barricade. Those bastards came prepared.

"Move!"

People knew to scatter before it shattered across the road. Flames spread along the ground, cutting off part of the retreat. I shot an infected trying to push through the confusion, then another behind it.

Across the fire, I caught movement beyond the infected.

Someone threw another bottle. I tracked the arc, fired, and the man ducked out of sight before I could get a clean shot. The bottle hit short and burst against the road instead, splashing fire across several infected. Two kept moving even as their clothes caught, stumbling forward through the flames before the defenders brought them down.

"Keep shooting and scare them off! It's working!"

It was too early to celebrate.

"Keep that side closed! We have cover fire!" someone yelled.

Two men dragged a metal shelving unit into the gap while I covered them. An infected reached through and caught one by the sleeve. I shot it through the head before it could pull him closer, then stepped over the body as another climbed across.

The defenders were starting to settle into a rhythm around me. People carrying the wounded stayed low, anyone moving ammunition kept behind cover, and those near my side stopped crossing in front of the gun.

Another burst came through the PA system.

Several people winced. I kept firing.

"Why the fuck are they doing this?!"

"Crazy bastards!"

"Someone check the tower control room!"

A second explosion went off farther along the barricade, followed by a section of shouting that didn't stop. I moved toward it, passing two bodies on the road and a woman pressing both hands over a man's stomach while someone else tried to pull her away.

The barricade there had split wide enough for infected to force through one at a time.

I raised the gun and started clearing them. The fourth dropped before it reached me.

Pew! Something struck the wall beside my head. Concrete chipped across my face.

"Fuck!" I ducked behind the barricade and looked toward the road outside.

A man stood behind an abandoned vehicle farther back, a firearm braced over the roof.

Shooters too? You must be joking. They're not afraid of attracting zombies to themselves.

He fired again, the round punching through the sheet metal above me. Someone behind yelled and dropped flat.

I leaned out, fired twice, and forced him back behind the vehicle. That was enough. I shifted position before he could return fire and put down another infected squeezing through the gap.

"They've got a gun too!"

"No shit!" I cried out.

The warning spread quickly. Anyone near the exposed side dropped lower while the defenders behind the barricade started firing back whenever they caught movement beyond the horde.

The shooter appeared again, but I fired first as he peeked.

He jerked away from the vehicle and disappeared behind it.

I didn't wait to see if I'd hit him. Another infected came over the barricade, followed closely by two more. I dropped one, someone beside me took the second, and the third crashed into the shelving unit hard enough to shove it backward.

"Hold it!"

Three people threw their weight against it. I stepped beside them and fired through the opening until the pressure eased.

Another shot cracked past us.

This time one of the defenders went down.

"Arrgh! My arm...!"

"Motherfucker!"

"Jason! Medic!"

Two people dragged him back while I looked outside again. The infected were packed too tightly to see much, but I could still catch figures moving behind them between the abandoned cars and buildings.

More than one shooter. More bottles. More explosives.

None of them were coming any closer than they needed to.

What bothered me more was that the infected weren't going after them. Gunshots, shouting, explosions—they should've been attracting at least some attention, yet almost every head was pointed our way. The PA system might've been drawing most of them toward the settlement, but that didn't explain why the people behind the horde seemed so comfortable moving around.

I watched one of them cross between two cars. Several infected passed barely a few metres ahead without turning.

...How are they doing that?

I looked back toward the barricade. We were losing people. The line that had been packed shoulder to shoulder a few minutes ago was already thinning, with some dragged away bleeding and others simply left where they fell. The few EDF soldiers I'd seen holding the front earlier were down too, their bodies mixed in with everyone else's near the broken sections.

Am I really going to die here with these guys?

That thought flashed by me.

Another part of the barricade gave way and people rushed to fill it, but there weren't enough of them anymore. I fired into the opening and dropped two more infected. Someone beside me swung a pipe, missed, and got pulled down. Farther along, I caught sight of Mason stumbling backward from the line. An infected had both hands on him before he could recover. He shoved at its face, screaming, but it sank its teeth into the side of his neck.

...Shit. This is too fucked.

The defenders around me started giving ground. Not panicking yet, just running out of people.

Another burst screamed from the PA towers.

I looked up.

"Hey!" I grabbed the nearest guy as he reloaded. "Someone went to check the tower control room, right? Did he come back?"

He glanced at me, breathing hard. "I don't know!"

It had been a while already. Too long.

"Where is it?"

He pointed back through the settlement. "That way. Near the old office block."

Behind us, the line finally started breaking.

"Fall back!"

"Move! Move!"

"Everyone still here, get farther in!"

"Stop standing there and run!"

People peeled away from the barricade in groups, some covering the retreat while others dragged the wounded with them. A few civilians farther back were still moving too slowly and got shouted at until they started running.

I reached into my Inventory and pulled out a smoke grenade.

"Get back!" I threw it toward the broken section. Smoke began spilling across the road, cutting off the attackers' view and giving the retreating defenders a little more cover.

"Bring me there, quickly!"

The man looked at the collapsing line, then back at me.

"...Fuck! Alright..."

He shoved the magazine into his weapon and started running.

I followed, sweat running down my face.

...Could this timing get any worse?

Another burst tore through the PA system behind us.

Luna, hurry.

"Ethan, behind you!"

I spun around and swung the baseball bat with both hands. It cracked against the infected's head and sent it sideways into the wall. I hit it again before it could recover, and it dropped.

For some reason, the impact sent a rush through me. My heart was pounding, my hands tight around the bat, and I realised I was smiling.

I wiped the expression off my face and looked back at Celeste and Linda.

I'm strong. I'm the guy here.

They needed me.

I can protect them.

The adults we'd been following were already gone. One had fallen when the infected came through the alley, and the others went down trying to hold them back. Now it was just the three of us again.

"Come on. We need to keep moving."

We cut through two more streets, following whatever route looked least crowded. Each one only bought us a little more time. The infected were spreading too fast, forcing us to turn again and again until I wasn't even sure which side of the settlement we were on anymore.

We were no longer on a familiar road.

"This way!"

I pulled Celeste around the corner with Linda close behind. Three infected appeared at the far end of the road.

We turned back. More were already spilling into the street we'd just left.

Linda stopped short.

"...Ethan."

I looked around.

Another alley. Blocked. A shop entrance. Locked.

Behind us, the infected were getting closer.

"Keep moving!"

We squeezed between two parked vehicles and cut toward the next road. Someone screamed somewhere nearby. Gunfire answered, then stopped. Linda's breathing was getting ragged.

"Wait... slow down... my leg..."

"We can't...! Linda, keep going, you can do this!"

"U-Ugh...!"

She stumbled once, caught herself, and kept running.

The next corner opened into another road.

More infected.

"Shit!"

We turned again.

Linda's foot caught on something behind us.

She went down hard.

"Linda!"

Celeste turned immediately.

Linda tried to push herself up, but her leg gave under her.

"Wait—!"

The infected were already closing in.

Celeste started back toward her.

I grabbed her arm.

"Ethan, what are you doing?!"

"There's too many!"

"Linda's right there!"

She pulled against me, but I tightened my grip and dragged her back.

"Ethan! Help me...!"

Linda looked up at us.

The first infected reached her.

"No! No, wait—! Ethan, ETHANNNN!!!"

It dropped onto her before she could get away.

Linda screamed.

Celeste tried to tear free from me.

"LINDA!"

I shut my eyes and pulled her with me.

More screaming came from behind us.

I didn't look back, dragging Celeste with me as I winced at the wet gnawing and choking sounds behind us. Celeste was sobbing uncontrollably now, her breathing coming too fast as she started to hyperventilate.

Once we made it around the next corner, she ripped her arm free the moment I loosened my grip.

"Hey, hey, calm down—"

I reached for her.

She slapped my arm away.

"Fuck off!"

I froze.

She was staring at me like she was scared of me.

"What the hell is wrong with you?!"

"Celeste, I saved you!"

"You left her!"

"There was nothing we could do!" I cried out in frustration.

It's not fair. It's not my fault! 

The zombies. There were too many of them.

I just wanted to save us... at least some of us... is that wrong?!

Linda screamed again somewhere behind us.

Celeste flinched. I looked back toward the road we'd come from. The screaming kept going for a few more seconds before breaking apart beneath the noise of the infected.

Something twisted inside me.

"...She fell!"

Celeste stared at me.

"It wasn't my fault. It wasn't my fault!"

My grip tightened around the bat.

"I kept you alive... Celeste, why aren't you thanking me?!"

The words sounded right. They had to. Otherwise, what have I...

A laugh slipped out before I could stop it.

Celeste took a step back.

I looked at her.

"...What? Why do you look at me like that? Celeste?"

She didn't answer.

Another scream carried from nearby and I glanced toward it for barely a second.

When I looked back, Celeste was running.

"Celeste? Celeste!!!"

She didn't stop.

For a moment, I just stood there watching her disappear between the buildings.

I realised where she was going.

Of course.

My smile came back.

"...That guy."

I started after her.

The entrance to the control station was covered in bodies.

Most had been stabbed. Blood streaked the floor and walls, and one man near the doorway was still alive, choking on it as he tried to breathe.

"Jesus..." the man beside me muttered.

I rushed over and crouched beside the wounded man. "Hey."

His eyes found mine, then shifted weakly past my shoulder.

Behind me.

I turned.

The man who'd led me here barely had time to react before a knife plunged into his neck.

"G-hhh!!"

"Fuck!"

I fired. The attacker dropped immediately, a strange mark drawn across his forehead.

The man beside me collapsed with both hands around his throat. Blood poured between his fingers. I caught him before he hit the ground, but there was nothing I could do.

Within seconds, he stopped moving.

I looked back toward the first wounded man.

He was gone too.

"...Shit."

I closed his eyes and got back up.

...I need to hurry.

The control room was just ahead. I stepped past the bodies and noticed the same mark on another corpse near the wall.

Something felt wrong.

I drew my gun.

The body opened its eyes and lunged forward with a knife.

"Fuck you!"

I fired into his chest, then again before he could reach me. He collapsed against the wall.

I stood there breathing hard and reloaded.

Some kind of group...

The marks. The way they were willing to die here.

Religious? A cult?

I moved inside.

Two more rushed me almost immediately.

"For salvation!"

"Fucking freaks!" I fired.

The first dropped. The second kept coming even after taking a round, screaming something I couldn't make out before I put another through him.

Silence returned.

"...Jesus."

Something shifted beneath a pile of overturned chairs and equipment.

"Don't shoot! Don't shoot me!"

A boy in what looked like a high-school uniform crawled out with both hands raised. His bangs hung low enough to cover most of his forehead.

I kept the gun on him.

"Move your hair."

"What?"

"Your hair. Lift it."

He hesitated, then pushed it back.

Nothing. I lowered the gun slightly.

"You're alright. What's your name?"

"Finch, sir..."

"Finch. Do you know how to work this thing?"

"Y-yeah."

"Good. Which one shuts the PA down?"

He pointed toward a large switch mounted beside the control panel.

A label above it simply read: POWER

I grabbed the handle and pulled it down. The station went quiet in an instant.

"That's it?"

"That's it."

I exhaled.

"Now Finch, I need you to listen closely."

Finch swallowed, his eyes still wandering to the barrel of my gun as I reloaded.

"O-Okay."

"The settlement's under attack by people and zombies."

"By people, sir...?"

"These lunatics." I gestured toward one of the bodies.

"Look for marks on the forehead. Tell me when you spot someone like that. And stay close, got it?"

"Marks... forehead... got it, sir."

I nodded and stopped just short of the doorway, checking the immediate angles outside before moving. Once I committed, I stepped hard to the side instead of lingering in the entrance, sweeping the nearest blind spot first before bringing the gun across the road.

Nothing close enough to grab us.

"Sir! Those guys with the marks!"

Yeah. I can see them.

More people were coming up the road.

Not infected. Men and women with the same marks on their foreheads, sharp knives in their hands.

The student stiffened behind me.

"...Sir."

"I see them."

I raised my gun.

"Finch."

"Y-yes?"

"If you're not used to this, close your eyes."

He swallowed.

"...Got it."

They came at us all at once.

Not carefully. Not even trying to dodge my line of fire. They seemed to have placed their trust in numbers. ...Just like zombies.

They rushed straight at me despite the gun, climbing over one another whenever the people in front slowed.

...These cultists!

I fired into them. One dropped, then another, but the rest barely reacted. A woman stepped over the man in front of her without even looking down. Someone behind her screamed something about salvation again and kept running.

Finch backed into the wall, horrified.

"Stay behind me!"

"I... I think I'm gonna puke...!"

I fired again. The slide kicked back, another body hit the ground, and the crowd simply closed around it.

There were twenty, thirty more of these fuckers.

I couldn't shoot fast enough. 

Pilgrim won't do it. The R-17 Shock Baton? I'd get swarmed. Maybe the lightsaber sword—

One reached us first.

I stowed the PZ400, equipped the Vector-Impulse Gauntlets and slammed both hands into him. The impulse sent the cultist flying backward into several others, knocking them down.

"W-What was that!"

"Move your ass, quick!"

It barely mattered. More were already climbing over them.

"...Fuck."

I hesitated before pulling the Cyber Katana Mk II from my Inventory. The blade came alive in my hands, and the first cultist rushed straight into it.

I swung.

The blade passed clean through his torso.

Movement flashed from the crowd.

A knife spun toward me.

I jerked aside. It struck my arm hard enough to knock my grip loose, and the katana twisted dangerously as it slipped from my hand.

Shit!

I desummoned it immediately before the blade could come down across my own arm.

"Sir!"

I pulled the PZ400 back out and turned.

One of them had already slipped around my side and was almost on Finch.

There wasn't enough room to aim properly.

I stepped between them.

Something cold punched into my side.

"—Fuck!"

I jammed the gun against him and fired. The cultist folded against me, and I kicked him away before he could drag the knife out with him. The blade stayed lodged in my side.

Fucking hurts...!

"Finch! Why are you still here?! Inside!"

"But—"

"Go!"

He stumbled back through the doorway as I reached into my Inventory with my free hand and pulled out a smoke grenade. There were too many of them coming at once out here. If I could force them to push through the doorway instead, they'd have to come one or two at a time.

I pulled the pin and threw.

The grenade bounced once between the bodies before smoke began pouring across the road. For a few seconds, it worked. The people farther back disappeared behind the grey cloud, and I backed toward the entrance with my gun raised.

Shapes started pushing through the smoke almost immediately.

Of course.

They weren't slowing down at all.

I fired at the first shadow that broke through, then another. My thoughts weren't lining up anymore. Reload. Step back. Shoot. Don't let them reach the door.

Something moved on my left.

Too late.

Another blade tore across my side and I staggered into the wall. Pain hit all at once, hot enough to empty my head.

"Argh—!"

I shot the cultist at point-blank range and nearly dropped the gun with him.

More shapes were already coming.

Blood was already soaking through around the knife, and the fresh slash wasn't helping.

That's... bad.

My legs felt lighter than they should have.

The smoke kept moving. So did they.

My hand went to the Inventory again.

...Nanohealing Pill.

For half a second, I almost pulled one out.

Then I remembered the description.

★★★ Nanohealing Pill — Consumable

A compact emergency medical capsule containing dormant repair nanites. Once ingested, the nanites enter the bloodstream and respond to instructions issued through an implanted Meridian Bio-Interface Chip, rapidly stabilising trauma and accelerating tissue repair.

Heals for 2,000HP, then 10% of max HP over 10 seconds.

Functions only for Operators above LV20.

I stared at the last line.

...I'm not an Operator.

If I'd learned anything from Cyverse items, this definitely wasn't made for me.

Another shape emerged through the smoke. I fired, but my arm was getting heavier. My vision blurred at the edges as I backed toward the doorway, blood running warm beneath my hand.

One cultist stumbled through. Another followed behind him.

I raised the gun again.

My arm barely came up.

...Shit.

They were getting closer.

Is this really it? 

Was I unprepared? 

My thoughts went to Yoru, who was waiting for me... and I gritted my teeth.

No. It can't end like this.

I forced myself upright, pulled the Cyber Katana back out with my free hand, and stepped forward before my body could argue. The first cultist came through the smoke and I shot him, cutting down the next when he tried to rush past. Pain tore through my side with every movement, but I kept going. Fire. Swing. Step forward. Another shot. Another body.

If I was going down here, I wasn't making it easy for them. 

My vision blurred from the blood loss. What little strength I had left was slipping away.

Finally, the approaching cultist stopped.

No, something's wrong.

His hands flew to his ears. The others did the same almost at once.

"What...?"

They dropped where they stood, screaming.

Some curled against the road while others clawed at the sides of their heads. Blood started running from their ears. One slammed face-first into the ground and kept twitching.

A sharp crackle came from somewhere among them. Small sparks flickered near their ears. Within seconds, the screaming stopped.

I stayed where I was with the gun raised, breathing hard.

None of them moved.

"Yoru..."

I turned and ran.

Pain tore through my side immediately as I desummoned my weapons. I clamped one hand around the knife still lodged there and kept moving, half-stumbling through the smoke and bodies without looking back.

I didn't want to think about the sparks at their ears. The marks. Why they had all died at once.

None of it mattered right now.

"Sir! Hey, sir!"

Finch called after me from the doorway, but I kept going.

I had to get back.

Yoru...

My breathing turned ragged as I forced myself onward.

Yoru...

Every step sent another sharp pull through my side.

Yoru... Yoru... Yoru...

Master had left Yoru.

Yoru knew why.

There were people outside. Screaming. Dying.

Master... saves people. Not just Yoru.

He had told Yoru to stay.

So Yoru stayed.

Yoru's hands still wouldn't stop shaking.

The hood made the sound quieter, but it was still there. Faint. Distant.

Every time it came, something inside Yoru twisted.

White rooms. Cold metal. Hands holding Yoru down.

That sound reminded Yoru of those days.

No.

Master wasn't there. Yoru's breathing came faster.

He had been there before. When Yoru woke up. When Yoru couldn't speak properly. When everything around Yoru was strange.

He fed Yoru. Touched Yoru's head. Let Yoru sleep beside him. Took Yoru outside. Waited when Yoru was scared. Smiled when Yoru learned something new. The people here had smiled too. They gave Yoru food. Gave Yoru headpats.

People. They aren't bad. Yoru was happy.

But... Master had gone outside because Yoru was useless. Because Yoru was weak.

"...Master..."

Yoru's fingers tightened around the gun.

Something felt wrong inside Yoru.

Too hot. Too tight.

Yoru breathed through her mouth. Yoru's gums hurt.

Yoru touched them with her tongue... fangs were longer.

"...Hah... hah..."

Yoru's chest rose and fell faster.

Yoru didn't understand. Yoru hated this feeling. Yoru hated sitting here.

Master is in danger...

The door slammed open.

Yoru snapped the gun up.

This girl... Yoru knows her.

She stumbled inside, face ugly from crying.

Breathing broken, clothes dirty and stained. But... not pig.

She stopped the moment she saw the gun pointed at her.

...She called Yoru's name.

Yoru kept the gun pointed at her.

The girl stared at it for a moment.

And rushed forward anyway.

Yoru's finger tightened around the grip, but Yoru felt nothing bad from her.

No anger. No killing intent. Only feelings... like Yoru's.

Girl is... sad... scared.

She wrapped both arms around Yoru and buried her face against her shoulder.

Yoru froze.

"...It's okay..."

The girl was crying so hard the words barely came out.

"It's okay... it's going to be okay..."

Her arms tightened.

Yoru could feel her shaking too.

Maybe she wasn't only saying it to Yoru.

"...Okay..."

Yoru slowly lowered the gun.

The girl stayed there, holding her.

The sound from outside suddenly stopped.

Yoru waited for it to come back. It didn't. Her breathing gradually slowed. The pressure in her head began to fade, and the trembling in her hands eased little by little. The girl was still crying against her. Yoru looked down at her. Master had told Yoru about friends before. People who stayed close and helped each other. Like Lunallu.

Yoru's grip around the gun loosened.

...Friend?

"...Why, here?"

The girl pulled back slightly, still struggling to breathe between sobs.

"I... I came here because..." She wiped at her face, then suddenly looked around. "Voss... Where's Voss?"

Yoru went still.

Master had told Yoru before.

Yuna. Yoru's name here. Voss... secret.

But friend knows Voss. Knows Yoru.

Yoru shook her head eventually.

The girl looked like she was about to ask again, but Yoru wrapped an arm around her instead.

"...Don't worry."

She held her tighter.

"...Yoru, protect."

Footsteps stopped outside the doorway.

Yoru looked up. The girl in Yoru's arms stiffened.

Guy stood there.

Breathing heavy, stick in hand. Clothes dirty, sweaty, eyes... ...Pig.

"...Celeste."

The girl, no, Celeste flinched.

Celeste. Yoru remembered it.

"Come here."

Celeste didn't move.

His face tightened.

"I said come here."

"No."

Yoru felt Celeste grip her clothes.

Guy stared at that hand for a long moment.

"...Why are you holding onto her?"

"Stay away from me, Ethan...!"

Ethan.

Yoru looked at his face.

...No. Pig.

"...I saved you, and you treat me like this...? Haha... hahaha..."

Celeste started shaking again.

"Is this about Linda?"

Pig's grip around the stick tightened.

"Linda, Linda, Linda! She wanted me first! She was the one who kept coming to me! What was I supposed to do?!"

"What the hell are you talking about, Ethan?! Linda's dead!"

Pig came closer as if talking to himself.

"But you're here... as long as you're here, I don't need anything else. ...Don't you like strong guys, Celeste? I'm strong! I killed zombies! I saved you! I did it for you, Celeste. I like you too. I love you!"

Pig's voice rose enough that Yoru's ears hurt even through the hood.

Yoru pulled Celeste closer.

"...No."

Pig's eyes moved to Yoru.

"What?"

"...Go away! Pig!"

Pig stared at Yoru.

"You again..."

Pig stepped closer.

"Ethan, stop!" Celeste screamed. "Just stop! Stay away from us!"

"Us...?"

Pig's face twisted.

Yoru raised the gun.

"...Stop!"

Pig stopped, eyes moving between the gun and Celeste.

"You'd choose her too?"

"What are you talking about?!"

Pig lunged forward.

Yoru tried to raise the gun, but her arm reacted too slowly. The sound was gone, but Yoru's strength hadn't returned with it. 

"Ghhh!!!" Pig knocked Yoru's wrist aside and the gun clattered across the floor.

"Ethan, stop!"

Celeste grabbed Pig from behind. Pig twisted around and struck her away with the stick.

"Stay there! Let me deal with this bitch!"

She hit the edge of the table and collapsed beside it, dazed and barely conscious.

Friend...!

Yoru moved toward her, but Pig caught Yoru first.

"Uugh...! Pig! Pig...! Pig!"

Yoru's back hit the floor. Pig dropped his weight over Your and forced both wrists down, keeping Yoru's arms pinned where Yoru couldn't reach the gun.

"Not so strong now, are you?"

"...Let go. Pig!"

He laughed.

"A pig?"

Pig's smile disappeared.

His face went dark.

"...You know what? Fuck Voss too."

Yoru stopped pulling for a moment, as Celeste stirred weakly at the side.

"Voss... ....Always, always acting like he's better than me. Everyone listens to him. Everyone gets out of his way. And you..."

His fingers tightened around Yoru's wrists.

"You follow him around like some fucking dog. Why? Why? WHY?!"

Yoru bared her teeth.

"...P...ig...!"

"Even my girlfriend ran here looking for him. NOT ME!"

Pig glanced toward Celeste with a fierce look.

"I saved her. I was there. Not him."

"...Shut... up."

"But somehow it's always Voss."

His mouth twisted.

"Voss... Voss... Voss... VOSS! Maybe... he should know what it's like too...!"

Pig looked back down at Yoru.

"Maybe then he'll understand."

Pig's eyes moved over Yoru's face, then slowly down the rest of her body.

Something inside Yoru snapped tight.

"He'll finally know what it feels like..."

Yoru's arms trembled beneath his hands.

Weak. Again. Always weak.

...No.

Yoru's gums burned. Pressure returned beneath her skin, hotter than before.

Pig kept talking, but Yoru wasn't listening anymore.

Something inside Yoru gave way.

Her body moved.

Pig's eyes widened as Yoru ripped one wrist free.

"What the—"

Yoru caught his hand.

And squeezed.

Bones cracked inside her grip.

Pig screamed.

Yoru pulled him down and bit.

Her fangs sank deep into his forearm.

"AAAGH—! GET OFF!"

Blood flooded Yoru's mouth.

Pig swung at her with his free hand. Yoru didn't let go. She bit harder, felt flesh tear beneath her teeth, then jerked her head sideways.

Something ripped.

Pig fell away screaming, clutching what was left of his arm as blood poured between his fingers and splashed across the floor.

Yoru sat up. Blood ran from her mouth and down her chin.

"Not tasty."

Pig stared at her.

"F-Fuck! Monster... fucking monster!"

Yoru looked at Celeste. Still down. Yoru looked back at Pig.

He hurt friend. He wanted to hurt Master. Because Yoru was weak.

Yoru stood slowly. Yoru finally understood.

Strength is returning. More and more.

Pig scrambled backward, one hand slipping through his own blood.

"Stay away from me!"

Yoru stepped forward.

"...Pig."

He grabbed the stick and swung.

Yoru caught it, and the wood cracked beneath her fingers.

Pig froze.

Weak. Yoru cannot be weak like Pig.

Yoru tore it from his hands and threw it aside. Pig was scared. Yoru liked that.

Pig tried to get up. Yoru kicked his knee. It bent the wrong way. His scream filled the room.

He collapsed, grabbing at his leg, but Yoru was already on him.

One hand closed around his throat and lifted him. Pig clawed at her wrist.

"Wait—"

Yoru slammed him into the floor.

Blood burst from his nose.

Again.

His head struck the concrete.

Again.

Red spread beneath him.

"Y-Yoru...! Stop!"

Celeste's voice.

Yoru stopped.

Pig coughed beneath her, blood bubbling at his lips.

Still alive.

Yoru stared down at him.

Her hand tightened around his throat.

Weak things get hurt.

Weak things make Master leave.

Weak things make friend bleed.

Yoru's fangs showed as she leaned closer.

Yoru won't be weak anymore.

Pig tried to raise his other arm.

Yoru caught it.

"No—"

And pulled.

The joint gave first.

Pig screamed as his shoulder tore out of place, but Yoru kept going.

Skin split. Blood sprayed across Yoru's hands and chest.

His scream broke into something raw and choking.

Yoru pulled harder. Flesh stretched, tore, and finally came apart with a wet rip.

His arm came free. Blood poured from the ruined shoulder.

Pig convulsed beneath her, mouth opening and closing without words.

Ah. ...Pig no more.

Yoru looked down at the arm in her hand.

Then dropped it beside him.

Yoru is... strong.

Footsteps came from the doorway.

Yoru turned.

Master stood there.

Master is hurt!

"...Master...!"

He looked from Pig to the arm on the floor, then Celeste, then Yoru.

Master's eyes widened.

Yoru suddenly felt small again.

Master said to kill zombies.

But Pigs... Yoru killed Pig.

Did Yoru do bad?

Does Master... hate Yoru...?

Master didn't say anything. He crossed the room and pulled Yoru into his arms.

Yoru froze. His body was warm.

"...Let's go home."

His grip tightened around her.

"Now..."

His weight suddenly sagged against Yoru.

"...Master? Master!"

His arms slipped loose.

Yoru caught him before he could fall.

"...Master! Blood... No...!!!"

No answer. Too much blood.

Yoru's eyes dropped to his side.

"...Master... hurt."

His eyes were closed.

Yoru's chest tightened. Yoru is angry.

But Master was still breathing.

Master was here. Master came back for Yoru.

Yoru cannot be selfish.

"...Okay, Master."

Yoru slipped one arm behind his back, the other beneath his legs, and lifted him from the floor.

She held him tightly against her chest.

"...Home."

Yoru looked once toward Celeste.

Friend was awake now, staring at them from beside the table.

...Hope Friend is okay.

Yoru said nothing.

She turned and left.

People were still running outside. Screaming. Fighting. Calling for help.

Yoru didn't care anymore.

Master was hurt.

That was all Yoru cared about.

Her body changed as she ran. Her legs shifted first, claws tearing through her shoes as fur spread upward. Yoru forced the transformation to stop there. Her arms stayed around Master.

She leaned forward and accelerated.

Buildings blurred past.

Yoru kept Master tight against her chest.

Master came back for Yoru.

Yoru was happy.

And now Yoru was strong.

Strong enough to carry Master.

Strong enough to help Master.

Strong enough that Master wouldn't have to leave Yoru behind again.