Return Before the Apocalypse: The Countdown Only I Remember

Chapter 4 - Nightfall's True Face

Kil kept his eyes off the crib. Age had offered no protection in the world he remembered. Nor had the old social order survived: frightened people had measured one another by brute strength, stripping women of standing they had once taken for granted.

“Come with me. We'll find weapons, then head to the roof.”

Axel dragged himself up and followed.

Another eighty minutes passed. The house's previous owner had collected all sorts of things, including weapons.

Kil climbed to the roof with a spear in his right hand. Two katanas hung at his left hip and the fire ax at his right. It looked a little excessive, but it still suited him.

Axel, meanwhile, carried a round shield in his left hand and a spear in his right, with swords hanging at both hips.

He looked at the lush rooftop garden and asked,

“Are we fighting the boss now?”

“No.” Kil shook his head.

“Then what?”

“We're going to sleep.”

“Huh?”

Ignoring him, Kil placed his weapons within reach. He sat beneath a tree, leaned against it, closed his eyes, and went to sleep.

Axel watched him for a moment, then lay down as well.

***

Late that afternoon, as the sun slipped toward the horizon, Kil opened his eyes.

“That was a good sleep.”

Axel stirred and rubbed his eyes.

“Now what?”

Axel sounded dazed.

The city sounded different now. Kil gathered his weapons and looked down from the roof toward the gate.

“The tutorial's over. Time for the real survival game.”

“What do you mean by that, Kil?”

“Nothing. Get ready.”

Axel got to his feet. He felt sluggish and, more than anything, terribly hungry. Then his hunger vanished.

“W-Why am I getting chills all of a sudden?”

He looked at Kil and shivered.

Kil buckled on his gear. Axel fumbled with his own straps, glancing toward the stairwell between each one.

ROAR!

Roars rolled across the city. Axel dropped his shield, then snatched it up and drew a breath behind its rim.

“W-What kind of creature makes a sound like that, Kil?”

“A zombie.”

“Are you kidding? We've fought all kinds of zombies! None of them sounded like that.”

“Trust me, that's just a normal zombie roaring.”

“That's a normal zombie?”

“Think of the ones we fought before as defective versions. The ones coming now are the normal version.”

“H-How do you know? And why were the earlier zombies defective?”

Kil left both questions unanswered. An explanation would raise questions about him that he could not afford.

When the worlds merged, the change took time to settle. People would later call that interval the tutorial period. It lasted roughly sixteen hours; then the first transformation was complete.

A second transformation would follow six weeks after the merger, with further stages beyond it. By then, biting and clawing zombies would be among their simpler problems.

Sixteen hours to adapt. Kil had spent much of that time securing a roof and weapons. He looked at Axel's unfinished preparations.

The interval was over whether they were ready or not.

“I thought we'd stay unnoticed until shortly before dawn. But thanks to you slamming that shield down,

“our guests are arriving ahead of schedule.”

Several zombies were rushing down the street toward their house. Instead of lurching along like malfunctioning robots, they were running faster than an average person could sprint.

Axel turned, saw the crazed creatures, and could not help protesting.

“I didn't drop it on purpose!”

“It makes no difference.” Kil shrugged. “Get ready to welcome our guests.”

He gripped his long spear, his expression cold.

Zombies poured through the entrance below; others caught the walls and climbed. Axel backed toward the rooftop door.

They no longer looked like merely pale, walking corpses. Their frenzy was more pronounced now, with saliva dripping from their mouths.

“Like I said, don't let them scratch you, let alone bite you. I don't want to kill my own friend.”

Kil reached the roof's edge as the first zombie climbed over it. His spear drove beneath its jaw and through the cervical spine.

Before it could react, Kil kicked it away. It fell from the third story and smashed apart with a muffled impact.

He thrust, withdrew, and kicked each body clear before the next climber reached him. Wet impacts rose from below, like watermelons splitting on pavement. Axel kept his eyes on the roof.

“Hold that shield tight, Axel.”

“What's wrong?”

Confused as he was, Axel obeyed.

“Face left.”

“I asked what's wrong, Kil!”

Axel turned despite his protests. Almost at once, the door burst open and zombies lunged through it.

CRASH!

The first impact jolted Axel's shield against his chest. The next drove him back. Claws scraped around the rim as he braced his feet.

The zombies pressed harder, biting and clawing. His broad round shield covered him, but the strain soon spread through both arms.

“Are the sword and spear just for decoration?”

Axel peered at him over the shield's rim.

“I'm using both hands to hold the shield and keep it up! Could you stop making smart remarks and help your dying best friend?”

Kil kept his spear moving at the roof's edge. Several zombies broke away from Axel and rushed him; he could not leave the climbers long enough to turn fully.

He thrust once more with his right hand while his left drew the fire ax. Its blunt back knocked a reaching claw aside. He hacked into the zombie's neck, then pivoted and kicked it off the roof.

Axel stared at the weapons moving independently in Kil's hands. A snap of teeth near his face drove him back behind his shield.

“Holy shit! Aren't we both human? How can he even do something that bizarre?”

Axel stole glances at Kil between impacts against his shield, trying to follow the two weapons.

He lost track of the ax whenever he watched the spear.

“Keep gawking, and I'll kick you myself, Axel. Draw your sword and follow my commands.”

“Tell me when. I can't watch both sides!”

“Just do it!”

“Tsk! If I die, I'm never forgiving you, man!”

Axel shifted the shield to his left hand alone and blocked several zombie attacks. It felt much heavier than before.

Gritting his teeth, he gripped his sword in his right hand.

“Block!”

Axel immediately took a defensive stance. A zombie slammed its head viciously into the shield.

“Push!”

Axel drove his legs forward behind the shield. The zombie reeled, its feet skidding out of position.

“Slash!”

At the next command, Axel struck at the zombie, then returned to his defensive stance.

“Tsk! It didn't die!”

“Technically, a zombie is already a walking corpse. So—”

“That's not what I meant!”

Kil's mouth curved as Axel's protests grew steadier and his movements less frantic. The fight settled into a rhythm, though Kil still killed most of the zombies.

By first light, they sat slumped on the roof, sweat drying on their skin and hunger gnawing through their exhaustion.