A wind blew across the houses, coated with the smell of blood.
No more screams pierced the air. All I could hear were the moaning cries of zombies.
I fearfully looked at the wound on my right hand; the base of my little finger had been bitten, and the area around it had turned gray. I couldn’t bend my pinkie or ring finger properly anymore, either.
My entire body was filled with fatigue, and with every passing second, I felt closer to death. Soon, I would just become another hideous monster roaming around in search of prey…
Overcome with despair, I stepped out onto the main road. The zombies all around me immediately turned and looked toward me, but they lost interest when I raised my graying right hand. I guess they didn’t attack people who were already on their way to becoming zombies.
So I can freely roam this world? I laughed at myself for having a thought like that. It was the most meaningless discovery I’d ever made.
Aimlessly wandering down the road, I eventually came to a riverside where I’d often played as a child. There were no zombies around.
I fell onto the weed-covered slope and gazed out at the stagnant river before me. This is the last sight I’ll ever see…
It had been a while since I was bitten, so it was probably going to happen anytime now. I had to prepare myself.
—No. I don’t want to die.
To hell with that. I didn’t want to cease to exist as myself.
What would happen to my consciousness after I died? The more I thought about it, the more scared I became…
I was devastated, imagining the future that would become my reality in only a few minutes, when I heard footsteps approaching. I’d gotten so used to seeing zombies by that point, I didn’t even bother to check who it was.
Go ahead and bite me if you want to eat me—
“…Yuuma Kousaka…? Is that you…?”
As I sat there drowning in a sea of despair, a beautiful, clear voice called out my name. Stunned, I looked up and saw a girl with black hair standing in front of me, wearing the uniform of an all-girls high school.
“Yeah…”
“Thank goodness…!! You’re alive…!!”
She smiled with relief, tearing up a bit. The scenery had seemed gray only a moment ago, but now it turned to color where she stood.
“…Uh, who’re you?”
“Haruka Hyuuga!”
“Haruka Hyuuga… Takuya’s younger sister?”
“Yes!”
✦ ✦ ✦
Hyuuga wiped a tear from her eye and smiled as brightly as a cloudless sky. Seeing her like that, I couldn’t help but smile, too.
Who would’ve thought I’d run into the sister of one of my elementary school friends during the final moments of my life?
“Wow, I haven’t seen you in ages. It’s been what, five years? How’d you recognize me?”
“You used to come over practically every day. I’m more surprised that you’d forgotten me.”
“We were still in grade school back then. You’re in your first year of high school now? Wow, you look so different.”
“Hee-hee. Thanks.”
Hyuuga smiled and began walking toward me.
I suddenly regained my senses.
“—Stop! Don’t come near me!”
“Huh…? What’s wrong…?”
“…I was bitten by a zombie…”
“—?!”
Hyuuga was speechless, her eyes wide.
“N-no…”
“That’s why it’s dangerous for you to get too close. You have to get away from here right now.”
“…I don’t want to do that,” she said, lowering herself to sit next to me. I reflexively jumped back.
“Hey! I told you not to get any closer!”
It was only after I’d shouted at her that I noticed tears welling up in Hyuuga’s eyes.
“I want to talk to you some more… So please, let me stay with you until you’re not human anymore…” Tears were running down her face.
“Aren’t you scared? I could turn into a zombie at any moment…”
“…Aren’t you scared of going through it alone?”
The words got stuck in my throat. I’d be lying if I’d told her I wasn’t afraid.
“I can’t do anything to help,” she said, “but at least let me sit next to you until you die.”
I almost cried with her, hearing those words.
There was no way I could let her do something so dangerous. I had to get away from Hyuuga right now. Even though I knew that, I couldn’t help but think how grateful I’d be to have her here by my side.
I couldn’t think of anything that would make me happier than to take her up on that.
“…No,” I said. “I appreciate the offer, but it’s too dangerous.”
“Oh wait, that came out wrong… It sounded like I was the one doing you a favor, but I’d say it’s more than ninety percent for me. I’m just so exhausted; I don’t know how much longer I can keep going…”
I could tell everything from the way she’d said that.
“Hyuuga, were there zombies at your school, too?”
“Yes… All my friends were bitten… I was the only person able to escape, but when I went to see what was going on at home, no one was there… My phone doesn’t have a signal, either…”
“Ah…”
I knew how she felt, so badly it hurt. It’s impossible to describe that feeling of loss when the world around you suddenly falls apart and you lose everything. It shouldn’t be a surprise if she’d lost the will to go on.
“I was plodding along, not knowing what to do, when there you were. I wanted someone to talk to, so I’m really glad I found you.”
“Hyuuga, don’t tell me you’re thinking of having me bite you when I turn into a zombie?”
“Don’t worry; I’m not that desperate… But it would be nice if you let me rest with you a little while longer.”
“…All right. You can be with me when my life comes to an end,” I told her and sat down again in the same spot I’d been in before.
Hyuuga was going to have to live alone in this harsh world; the least I could do was talk to her and help her calm down.
She sat right next to me and looked into my face.
In that moment, a memory of the two of us spending time together on this riverbank flashed through my mind.
“…Now that I think about it, you used to be pretty stubborn. You never listened to me once you’d made up your mind.”
“Oh! So you do remember me?”
“Yeah. I was thinking about how I often used to bump into you around here after you’d had a fight with Takuya and run away from home.”
“Oh yeah, I remember. You were always the one who found me when I was waiting here by the river.”
“This spot is halfway between our homes, so I was sure to pass by.”
“I’d always come here when I wanted you to listen to my complaints.”
“You did? I thought it was just a coincidence…”
“All those times? Of course it wasn’t a coincidence. I pretended to run away from home and came here to wait for you.” Hyuuga smiled shyly. “By the way, do you remember the first time we met?”
“Oh yeah. Your brother and I were playing a racing game with friends, and you barged in, saying you wanted to play, too. Five of us were playing a four-player game, so we said the loser had to sit out every round… But you never gave up the controller.”
“That’s right. My brother got really mad at me, but you played peacemaker and took my place when I lost a round.”
“And after that, you came to me whenever you had a problem. Like when you spilled orange juice on Takuya’s manga.”
“Oh, I remember that! We couldn’t figure out how to fix it, though, so we decided to bury it in the backyard instead to hide the evidence.”
“Y’know, come to think of it, we could’ve just put it in a trash for the garbage collectors to pick up.”
“Yeah, definitely. Still, I have fond memories of you appointing me to stand guard while you dug a hole in the ground. I was so nervous the whole time.”
“Is it still buried in your backyard?”
“Probably. I’ll dig it up when I get home.”
“It’s like a time capsule.”
“I didn’t want to go home to an empty house, but now I’m feeling a little less scared.”
“I’m sure your family’s safe and sound. Don’t worry about me; go home and do whatever you can to make it through this. The moment our conversation’s over, assume I’ve turned into a zombie and run for your life.”
“You’re so nice, worrying about me at a time like this… In that case, we’ll have to keep talking so I can tell when you become a zombie. This is a big responsibility for me, since it’s going to be the last conversation you’ll ever have as a human being.”