Just two metres from the beasts head, Tatsumi had to suddenly arch his back and twist in mid-fall when the creature suddenly lashed it's tongue out at him, he dodged the tongue in time and struck it several times severing it in an instant but ended up falling right before harm's way, he had to dodge again; diving to the side when the creature tried squashing him with it's hands, but instead of running like the other two had, Tatsumi sprung to his feet and used the monster's hand as a springboard leaping as high as his muscles allowed him to and arching his back before stabbing downward with all his strength.
Practically crashing through the air with a war cry, Tatsumi landed and drove the blade straight into the creature's head and an instant fountain of maroon colored blood poured upward from the wound with the sound of muscle tissue ripping while he ground his teeth and forced the blade even deeper into the wound. The creature stood tall on its legs flailing it's arms and screeching in a bit to escape it's aggressor but Tatsumi drew out the blade and stabbed into the wound again screaming and twisting it, before another second passed, it collapsed dead as a doornail.
Tatsumi violently jerked the blade free from it's bloody head and jumped off its back, then ran back to Teru and Yukiyo, panting and shaking; he just couldn't believe it, Akugami, they came earlier than he rembered, they had come on the fifteenth, so what the hell happened?
Of course, he thought about the fact that he was reliving the apocalypse as well, reincarnation as far as he had thought was nothing short of fantasy, but he couldn't forget what he'd been through, and he was sure that it wasn't a dream.
"Y-you killed it..." Teru looked at Tatsumi dumbfounded, what the hell happened to him between a week of departure, he looked the same, but Tatsumi was a delinquent, a street brawler, when did he become so skilled with a blade, and what was with that unfamiliar gaze? "How?"
He seemed the same, but he gave off the air of a completely different person, and how did he know that striking a particular spot would kill it? The creature was as tough as an elephant.
"Forget about that for now- Yukiyo, are you okay?" Tatsumi brushed Teru's concerned gaze to the side and prioritized the girl's health, she was still bleeding from the shoulder. "Did you see any more of those things on your way here?" He asked her, but she was so shaken that she couldn't respond properly, all she could do was shake.
"Tatsumi..." Teru called to him as all three of them stared at the creature. "What was that?" A silent wind shook the tree they were shaded under after he asked, and Tatsumi's eyes went wide, it's actually happening, he was hoping with all his heart that they wouldn't return in this second chance he had been given, but not only did they return, but they came back the same time as he did.
Absentmindedly, he stared with blank eyes at the grotesque beast before Teru started looking around, his face turning darker as his mind jabbed at a sudden revelation.
"Where's everyone else?" he quietly asked. "Tatsumi... Couldn't we hear talking in the hall before now?" He looked to the one who seemed most calm at the moment.
They all looked around, but the street was empty. Completely empty, even more than the emptiness was the silence, they had become so accustomed to the silence, but suddenly, it was dreading.
He tensed after saying those words and they all looked to the town's hall.
Through his peripheral, Tatsumi saw Teru take the first step toward the hall.
"Wait," Tatsumi warned. "Don't, you don't know what's happening ye-"
"And you do, Tatsumi?" Teru snapped at him, grabbing the thirteen inch blade from his hand and taking another step, he was shaking but he kept one foot before the other. "Mine and Yukiyo's parents are in there, so too is yours!"
"Teru wait-" Tatsumi tried to stop him, Teru however didn't listen; he ran up the stairs, kicked the doors in and ran out of sight. "If you see anything just run!"
Yukiyo clung to Tatsumi's arm as the sound of Teru's footsteps faded, listening as he journeyed further and further inside of the large hall all while Tatsumi muttered, he had been relaxed before but he suddenly found himself unable to process anything, he had to remember, step by step all the good and bad decisions that he made in his former life, he would have gone in there to help his friend, but Teru was practically a stranger to him in his mind; someone he hadn't seen in over ten years, Yukiyo on the other hand had died a year ago, she was still there, he wouldn't allow her to die.
The sound of footsteps echoed again, once more signalling that Teru was coming back but their relief was short lived as they heard the blonde leaving a string of curses behind him.
"s**t, s**t, s**t, s**t!!" Teru cried, repeating the words like a mantra. "Run!"
Tearing outside, Teru practically jumped down the stairs, taking his bag of goodies along the way, but it was Tatsumi that took initiative, grabbing Yukiyo's hands before calling him along as they began running. "Tatsumi..."
"Wait, tell me when we're safe."
"You knew!" Teru gasped, but Tatsumi shot him a death glare and shook his head.
"I didn't." He responded in a low growl.
For the longest time, they fled.
Only the sound of their feet and breathing heard around, but slowly noise began sounding out around the area, screams, explosions, Tatsumi dreaded each sound he heard and recognized, it was really happening without a doubt the Akugami were coming again.
The two were exhausted by the time Tatsumi pushed them into an alley and covered their mouths, gesturing silence. "Teru, take us to the weapons and antiques store you work part time at." He ordered his friend, and Teru didn't hesitate a second, he was very confused but he understood that something was very wrong with salt springs so he quickly peeked around the corner then took lead and started running again.
Having lived in salt springs for all his life, and being a misguided miscreant at some point in those eighteen years, Teru knew every nook and cranny of the business district, which was proven when he safely guided them through a labyrinth of turns alleyways and streets after seeing the most horrible sights on the main roads, those creatures were everywhere, they witnessed as people were attacked and bitten into, their bodies were sturdy enough to withstand being hit by weapons without leaving so much as a cut on their coarse skin, before their eyes, strangers and familiar faces alike were being killed, Yukiyo lost her footing several times and even Teru had brought up his lunch after witnessing as a mother and her babe we're mercilessly diced by several creatures, but Tatsumi kept them moving, no matter what they had to get out of the business district, it was the epicenter in his former life, and nobody there had survived.
Tatsumi lamented his fate, in his first life he hadn't discovered a single thing about these monsters, they had simply appeared and killed everyone in their path while mysteriously multiplying overnight over and over again, he kept this in the back of his mind as they moved before finally stopping at the front of a weapons store called "Mr. Kiki's"
Without a word, Teru opened the door and led them inside.
"Tatsumi, you know what's going on don't you, how is that even possible?" Teru was quick to ask, it just seemed too convenient, Teru had noticed that he could predict the behavior of the creatures and he had effortlessly led them to evade everytime one had spotted them.
"Keep your voice down" Tatsumi harshly whispered back. "Be quiet, the strong room in the back should help us stay out of harm's way for now..."
"Tatsumi," Yukiyo finally whispered. "W-why... are we, here?" She asked but insstead of answering, he led them through the interior of the store and opened a steel door at the back; without bothering to explain himself, he shoved both of them in and darted inside before locking it behind himself.
"Tatsumi, what's going on? " Task demanded, gesturing at the room.
He turned, and they felt apprehension bloom in their stomachs, immediately knowing that his answer was far worse than they had imagined, his face was as pale as a ghost's, his eyes wide, panicked, and brimming with terrified tears. His hands were shaking and his shoulders quivering in that moment, he briefly wondered if it would be better to die and not experience it all over again, but taking several deep breaths he calmed down enough to think properly. "I don't know what's happening Teru, I'm just following my gut here, but before that, why did you tell us to run away from the hall?" He asked, of course he already knew, he knew that more than likely everyone was already dead in there, it was just for show, but that didn't mean he wasn't hurting, he was still shaken, but his parents were dead once before and he hadn't seen them again so it was a small pang of regret that settled upon his chest.
"Tatsumi, Yukiyo," Teru whispered finding the next words bitter and unwanted. "They're... all... dead."
Tatsumi blinked, staring at him askance. "Dead?" He asked. "What? What do you mean dead?"
"Everyone who went into the town hall is dead," He said, shaking his face back and forth. "You ask what I saw... I saw blood, lots and lots of bodies and blood, along with five of those things... Those creatures."
"What?!" Yukiyo cried, eyes gone wide and hysterical. "That can't be, Teru-how-"
"They were eating them, like actual food," he whispered, sliding down against the wall. He gripped his blade and cursed under his breath, frantically rubbing his eyes. "Eating them." He whispered again, staring at the blood on his hands that had come from the one Tatsumi killed. "Like, food, like they were something delicious." His voice cracked.
"Why?" Tatsumi asked quietly, still numb to the reality he was being forced Into so suddenly again. "Why's this happening?" He asked himself aloud as tears finally formed and rushed down his cheeks, I didn't want this to..
"It doesn't matter why Tatsumi." Teru whispered, shaking his head and looking around the room. "All that matters is that It's happening, the better question is how the hell do we get out of this...this nightmare, how Tatsumi?"
He didn't have an answer for him that made sense, Tatsumi knew that fighting through was their only option, but for now he would allow them to accept as much as they could, confusion and disorientation was their only company.
Trying to figure something out when they'd only known it for an hour, was a useless feat.
The room they were in was a small twelve foot space with a small bed, a mini television, a phone, and one mini fridge
It was a Saturday, so almost everyone had been at the town hall... and the meeting was being planned before summer so everybody in the entire town had been prepared to go to to it.
Teru wiped the stale dark blood from the monster in his kerchief and threw it to the side. "There could be survivors right?" He whispered in numb frustration. "Someone had to make it out."
"If anyone is out there, they probably won't make it through the night, you saw what happened in the business streets, and they were already as far as my home, that's all the way across Salt Springs..." Yukiyo said through her sobs, Tatsumi ran his hand through her snow white hair, noticing that it had been dyed crimson at the tips by her own blood.
"Hey, that needs to be taken care of," Teru said calmly, digging around in his bag and pulling out a bottle of water, he threw it to them, gesturing to her wound. "Hey Tatsumi, how'd you know where to stab it?"
Tatsumi just opened his mouth to respond when something hit the door.
A loud bang resounded through the room, making them all jump.
Yukiyo grabbed him in terror and Teru rose, ready to fight.
Another bang came.
Then another.
And another.
Each one harder than the last.
Each one louder.
Each one faster.
And faster.
Banging until the terror consumed them and all they could hear was the sound of something heavy thundering against the metal door and all they could feel was their hearts matching the thundering.
Aksara