2. Awakening

As night fell, Kael, his mother, and Miss Nanami prepared to move, gathering all their resources and self-defense weapons.

"Kael, please go and call your dad. We need to move quickly," Kael's mom Miyuki urgently instructed him.

"I won't bother calling him; he's on his own. If you're so concerned, feel free to go check on him yourself," Kael retorted, his expression showing annoyance.

Miyuki didn't reply; instead, she went to call her husband. Soon, all of them were gathered together, united in their purpose.

"Kael, Miss Nanami," Miyuki urgently said. "I observed from above that there are zombies on the road. We shouldn't risk taking the main road, considering there might be more lurking nearby, out of our sight. Using the back window to escape is our best chance; we can move through backyards, and since all the backyards are behind the houses and filled with plants, we're less likely to encounter zombies that way." Miyuki suggested.

"Well, we don't have any other choice do we"? Kael said and started taking off his shoes.

"Kael, why are you taking your shoes off?" Miss Nanami asked, puzzled by his actions.

"I'm doing it to avoid attracting the zombies," Kael clarified. "They're drawn to noise, and with my shoes off, there'll be less noise while walking."

"Yeah, it might be a good idea for all of us to take our shoes off too," Miss Nanami suggested. She and Miyuki both took off their sandals, except for Kael's Father. They ignored him because talking to him would be like hitting your head against a stone wall.

Silently, Kael slid open the window door and cautiously glanced around to see if anyone was there.

"It's clear, let's go."

"Nanami's building was merely six houses away. They had safely passed four houses, but upon reaching the fifth, they encountered a lurking zombie inside. Because of that they couldn't proceed any further otherwise the zombie would notice them.

"We can only proceed by going flat," Kael whispered, his voice barely audible in the tense silence. He lowered himself to the ground and started moving. Miss Nanami, Miyuki, and his father followed Kael, mirroring his actions, their bodies pressed close to the ground as they slowly advanced.

They safely passed all the houses and entered the alley. Now, they were in front of the building, there were no zombies in sight. So they increased their speed, hurrying toward the building, and quickly pressed the button to call the lift down.

The lift came down and as the door opened, two zombies lunged at them. One attacked Miyuki, while the other on Kael's dad, catching them off guard.

The zombie was about to bite Miyuki, but she quickly thrashed its head with her knife, knocking it down. Meanwhile, Kael's dad, consumed by fear and selfish desperation, seized the opportunity to save himself. He pulled Nanami towards him, using her as a shield, and sprinted toward the lift, rapidly pressing any button in his panic. Caught off guard by Kael's dad's ruthless act, Nanami let out a piercing scream as one of the creatures sank its teeth into her hands.

In a swift response, Kael, filled with anger and protectiveness, quickly used his knife and shoved it into the zombie's head, taking it down before it could cause more harm.

"Oh no, Miss Nanami, you've been bitten by a zombie," Kael said, his voice trembling with fear and anxiety.

"Kael, Miss Nanami, the lift is about to close! Run fast!" Miyuki shouted urgently, her voice filled with panic and she ran towards the lift.

As she shouted, other zombies in the area heard her and sprinted towards them, drawn by the noise.

"Kael, y-you should go," Miss Nanami's voice quivered, her eyes filled with tears as the weight of her situation sank in. "I am now infected. I-I will turn into those zombies. I will hold them off; you should go." Her words trembled with a mix of fear and determination, her selflessness shining through the despair.

With shaky legs, she lured the zombies approaching the lift to the room which was opposite the lift and quickly ran inside, locking the door behind her to avoid getting eaten by the approaching zombies.

Seeing her in that state, Kael was consumed by anger, fully aware that it was his father's fault. The lift doors were still open because Miyuki had wedged her legs between them to prevent them from closing. Kael sprinted towards the lift with lightning speed, landing a powerful punch on his father's face. The impact reverberated through the confined space, and blood sprayed from his father's nose.

After receiving a punch from Kael's dad, his face flushed red with anger, his eyes wide with fury. He screamed loudly, "Bastard! How dare you!" With that, he quickly stood up, ready to retaliate against Kael. However, his shouting had attracted zombies towards them. Swiftly, Miyuki intervened, stopping both of them. The door successfully closed, and all of them reached the sixth floor safely.

Kael's dad spitted blood onto Kael's leg, further fueling Kael's anger. He quickly approached his dad with his fist clenched, ready to strike again, but suddenly Miyuki came between both of them.

Miyuki angrily scolded Kael, "Kael, how dare you behave toward your father like that! Have you ever seen any child raising their hand against their own parents? Is this how I raised you? You should respect your dad and be ashamed of yourself!"

Kael was taken aback by his mother's words. "Mother, I can't believe that you're still siding with this piece of shit, especially when you clearly saw that because of him, Miss Nanami was bitten by the zombie," he exclaimed in frustration.

Just as they were arguing, they heard the sounds of zombies approaching, but they didn't know where they were coming from.

"Oh, no, they're climbing up the lift wire! What should we do?" Miyuki exclaimed, her voice laced with fear and desperation.

Kael rushed into Nanami's apartment and grabbed two containers. "Mom, this is a gasoline container. We should pour it in the lift, set it on fire, and send it down. It will blast, putting the zombies on fire."

"Yeah, let's do it quickly before they reach all the way up to the 6th floor," they both poured the gasoline into the lift.

Kael handed a long piece of paper to Miyuki and prepared to set the lift on fire. "Mom, step aside. I will press the button first, and you throw this paper into the lift while it goes down."

Miyuki set the paper on fire, and Kael quickly pressed the button, retreating backward. Swiftly, Miyuki threw the flaming paper into the lift, and the lift immediately caught fire.

A thunderous explosion reverberated from below, and flames surged up to the sixth floor. The impact severed all the wires connected to the lift, causing them to crash to the ground.

"Mom, I'm so tired I'll be going into the apartment." Kael sighed and went inside the apartment.

"A-Are they dead?" Kael's dad inquired, cautiously moving to the edge to peer at the scene below.

As he reached the edge, he heard a sound from behind and quickly turned around, startled. To his relief, he saw Miyuki. "Oh, it's you, Miyuki, you scared the hell out of me." He sighed and continued. "Thank God we are safe. I thought today would be our last day."

"It would have been our last day if Kael wasn't here," Miyuki replied.

"That brat. I'll deal with him later. How dare that piece of shit punch me," he said, his voice filled with irritation and anger.

"That brat? Are you talking about Kael, who brought the gasoline in time to save our lives?"

Kael's dad pulled Miyuki closer, his arms wrapped around her waist possessively. "Why don't we lure him here and throw him down? We can survive alone; we don't have to keep trash like him with us, and how about spending some private time together," he suggested, his voice dripping with disdain and malice.

After hearing that, Miyuki started laughing like a monster and yanked Kael's dad's hands from her waist.

"From the very moment you snatched the snacks from Kael's hands, my anger started boiling. I couldn't believe how that bastard dared to take my Kael's snacks, yet I kept silent. I ignored it because Miss Nanami was there. And you? You don't even deserve to be called a man after what you've done. Miss Nanami got bitten because of you, and how dare you touch my waist with your filthy hands? My body only belongs to Kael; only he has the freedom to do anything with it. Kael has always supported me in tough times, unlike you, who spends your days gambling and neglects your own family. And you have the audacity to call Kael trash?"

"That's unforgivable," she said, her eyes blazing with fury.

"Hey, what are you saying, Miyuki? And why are you acting so weird? Get back; we can talk later. Can't you see we are at the edge? We will fall! Just get back," Kael's dad stammered, his voice filled with terror, as he teetered on the edge, his fear palpable.

"There's nothing to talk about," Miyuki snarled, her grip tightening on his collar, and she hissed in his ear, "Sayonara, you filthy bastard. Rot in hell!" Her words dripped with icy rage, sending shivers down his spine.

"H-Hey, this is not a time to joke! Let go of me!" he pleaded, his voice trembling with fear.

Mizuki grasped her knife. With a swift, violent motion, she plunged it into his crotch, and pushed him to fall over the edge. His body burst into flames and other burning zombies jumped down to swarm him.

Miyuki gave a sinister smile while watching him burn. "Now there's no one between me and my Kael, it's only me and him. Hehe," and then she went inside the apartment.

Kael reclined on the sofa, trying to relax after the intense encounter. Miyuki entered the room and settled down beside him. Seeing her alone, he inquired, "Mom, where is he?"

"Probably burning in hell after what he has done."

"WHAT?! How did that happen?" Kael asked, his excitement evident in his tone.

Miyuki's words carried a chilling tone as she said, "Who knows? Maybe he jumped in between those zombies, feeling guilty after what he has done." Her voice oozed with a sinister satisfaction, hinting at her involvement in orchestrating the situation.

Kael didn't say anything and lay on the sofa with a smile on his face, silently acknowledging the situation Miyuki had created.

Miyuki leaned on Kael, her face inches away from his, their bodies pressed tightly against each other. "You seem rather excited, knowing that," she whispered, her voice laced with allure, her eyes reflecting a twisted sense of satisfaction.

Kael shifted his position from lying to sitting, creating a slight distance between him and Miyuki. "W-Well, yeah, I don't know, but I don't feel sad. Maybe it's because I've been suffering every day with that bastard," he stammered, his voice reflecting a mix of uncertainty and relief.

As they were talking, Miyuki's gaze fell upon two shiny diamond shaped stones placed on the table. "Kael, what is this? It's shining," she inquired.

"I don't know. When we killed those zombies, these two stones dropped, so I took them," Kael explained.

"Miyuki took a stone in her hands and examined it. She pressed it lightly, and a hologram appeared, saying, "Eat it.""

Seeing the text "Eat it," Kael took another stone and ate it hesitantly, but nothing happened. "Hmm, it tastes like sweet candy," he remarked. Observing him, Miyuki did the same.

For a few seconds, nothing happened, but then an excruciating pain gripped their stomachs. The pain intensified rapidly, causing both Kael and Miyuki to scream. Their veins bulged, and sweat poured down their faces as the torment became unbearable. Every moment felt like an eternity as the pain reached unimaginable heights. Just when they thought they couldn't endure it any longer, the agony abruptly ceased, leaving them gasping for breath. Kael slowly opened his eyes, and he was shocked to see Miyuki. He screamed, "M-MOTHER!"