Chapitre 41: Another Bite

Crowds of the infected had gotten relatively close to Kazuichi and Tris when they landed on the ground. To Tris's surprise, Kazuichi didn't think twice about picking her up on a princess carry. She let out a yelp, but Kazuichi didn't bat an eye at her exclamation.

"Hang tight," Kazuichi warned her when they touched down.

With a groan, the nearest infected leaned forward, swiping its bony and shriveled hand toward Kazuichi in a poor attempt to grab hold of him. Kazuichi leaned back to dodge the gesture, but doing so prompted the other infected to grab him from behind, locking their arms around Kazuichi's armpit before sinking their teeth into his shoulders. Everything happened so fast. By the time Kazuichi became aware of the bite, it had already happened.

"Gah~!" Kazuichi instinctively snapped as he swung his body sideways, throwing the infected who were pinning him down. Just before the crowd closed in on them, Kazuichi made a break for it, plowing through the infected as if he was a plane passing through clouds.

"HAH! Are you okay?!" Tris's pupils dilated as her gaze landed on Kazuichi's shoulder. It was not that grotesque compared to the half-eaten bodies she saw on her way to the forest, but it was certainly disturbing, seeing a portion of someone's flesh missing, and a bloody gaping hole left, exposing the joint buried in layers of muscles.

Every step caused Kazuichi to grunt in pain, and his shoulder throbbed as if someone was still sinking his teeth into it. With every swing of his arm, blood spurted out of the open wound, and Tris had no choice but to turn away from the sight.

"Are you... going to be okay?" When Tris asked for the second time, her face shifted into an expression of deep concern. She was unaware that Kazuichi was actually a Hybrid, and that's why she concluded that it was only a matter of time before Kazuichi turns into a mindless infected.

Guilt was written on Tris's face as she kept her head away from Kazuichi's gaze. She knew all too well that it was partly her fault Kazuichi was bitten. Had she not asked for his help, he would've been able to escape without suffering any injuries.

"For one, stop fidgeting. I might drop you if you keep doing that." Kazuichi grunted as he readjusted his grip on Tris's back and thighs. She was not heavy per se, but the wound on his shoulder certainly bogged him down. Tris let out another yelp as she felt Kazuichi's fingertips on the side of her breast, but after noticing that Kazuichi wasn't paying attention to it, she decided not to bring it up.

Thankfully, the forest provided good cover for them, and Kazuichi managed to weave his way through the trees as he tried to outrun the horde of infected. At one point, he felt a bit worried since he could still detect the lingering scent of a couple of hybrids in the vicinity, but they didn't bother chasing him down despite the tempting wound on his shoulder. Kazuichi heaved a sigh of relief.

"You don't feel anything weird?" Tris asked. She had already steeled her mind to ask Kazuichi about him turning into an infected, but before she could blurt it out, she felt compassion towards him. That's why her question came out as something indirect.

At the end of the day, Kazuichi saved her from being trapped atop a tree with nowhere else to run. Even if he did so out of his own selfishness, he still saved her. She was grateful for his gesture, at the very least.

"What are you talking about? Of course, I feel weird." Kazuichi turned away, pursing his lips as his face reddened. He didn't say anything about it, but the supple touch of her skin couldn't be ignored so easily. "And she smells good to boot. Seriously, how could someone smell this good during an apocalypse?" He muttered to himself as he cleared his throat.

"What was that?"

"N-nothing. We're almost there." Kazuichi pointed his lips towards the edge of the city. After five or so minutes of running away from the horde, they finally reached the city.

In hindsight, the city contained more infected compared to the forest, but it provided better cover for those who were trying to escape the clutches of the undead. If one were to compare the city to a forest, then the city would be a hide-and-seek spot while the forest would be an open area suitable for a shooting range. In other words, it was easier to get cover in the city despite its cons of housing more infected.

"You see that small penthouse atop that five-story residential over there?" Kazuichi pointed his head towards one of the large buildings on sight. "That's our aim. If you find a better one, though, tell me as soon as possible."

"No, that's okay," Tris murmured. At the back of her mind, she could still see the bite on Kazuichi's shoulder, but she decided not to dwell on it too much. Right now, Kazuichi still hasn't shown any signs of becoming infected, so she believed tha they'll be able to reach the penthouse before he turned.

'If not, then I'll just make do wherever and whenever he drops me.' Tris said in her mind.

Kazuichi noticed that Tris couldn't really look at his wound, and he just assumed that she couldn't take the sight of blood. His lips curved into a smile, finding it weird that Tris survived this long even with her fear of gore.

Meanwhile, Tris found it weird that Kazuichi could afford to smile even after he was already bitten. 'Don't tell me... he doesn't know what happens when you've been bitten by an infected?! It's been half a month or so since the outbreak occurred. How could he not know?!' Tris screamed in her head as she looked at Kazuichi in bewilderment.

"What is it Is there something on my face?" Kazuichi asked in between his pants. He was short of breath, but there were only a couple hundred meters until they reached the building he was aiming for.

Then the expected happened.

Before Kazuichi knew it, he fell to the ground, dropping Tris as he did so. His lungs constricted as he tried to breathe and he felt like choking.

The virus, it finally took a toll on him.

L’AVIS DES CRÉATEURS
DaisukiDayoSenpai

Wow, who would've thought you could get infected a second time :)

Oh, and if ever you find any typo or you just found an interesting paragraph on this novel, feel free to comment. I enjoy reading your comments ^-^ Have a great day ahead!

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