It was with a knot in his heart, a broken gaze and clenched fists that Kurao rushed at full speed toward the zombie.
Before the zombie could reach him, Kurao delivered a powerful right hook straight to its face. The zombie, still running, was thrown off balance by the blow and fell, crashing against the wall under the window.
He took a few steps forward, tears in his eyes, grabbed the computer screen and stood facing the zombie, lifting his hands into the air.
— Forgive me, Mom, I wish things could have turned out differently… he murmured as he prepared to strike.
He stopped dead near the zombie's face when the sound of a car alarm began ringing, and he turned his gaze toward the office door.
As the car alarm tore through the silence, the zombie took advantage of that moment to lunge at Kurao, who had lowered his guard.
Before the zombie could bite him, Kurao placed the screen in front of himself. The zombie bit into the screen, and both fell to the ground. Kurao grabbed the zombie by the shoulders and used his right foot to kick it toward the door, leaving the screen on the floor.
He hurried to get up, picked up the screen, and struck the zombie before it could rise. The zombie's groans of pain sent chills down his spine.
After several blows, the zombie's face was covered in blood, while Kurao's tears streamed down his own.
Kurao raised his hands in the air, tears in his eyes, full of sadness, ready to deliver the final blow, when lightning split the sky and a muffled voice called his name.
His eyes widened at the sound of his mother's voice; he dropped the computer screen and his lips began to tremble.
— Mom… Is that really you? he asked, tears filling his eyes.
— It's really me, sweetheart… You can stop crying! she answered.
クローバーの約束 : 零
⟩ KURO-BA NO YAKUSOKU ZERO : THE PROMISED OF CLOVER : ZERO ⟨
An original work written by Hashira Senpai
PART 1: DAWN OF A NEW DAY
CHAPTER 03: MOM, I'LL SAVE YOU NO MATTER WHAT IT TAKES!
A few minutes earlier, while all the zombies in the neighborhood were heading toward Kurao's house, one of them was still in his car.
Strapped by the seatbelt, the zombie struggled to get out and eventually moved the gear shift by accident, causing the car to move forward.
The vehicle crashed head-on into another car, triggering the alarm and redirecting the zombies' trajectory toward the sound.
At Kurao's house, in the office, he had removed his white coat, folded it, and placed it under his mother's head.
Then he stood just behind her, holding the computer screen against his back, his gaze darkened as he looked at the broken glass scattered on the floor.
— Mom, is it really you? he asked coldly, sounding distant.
"It can't be her… Zombies have no consciousness… Am I imagining things? Or am I turning into a zombie myself?" he wondered, intrigued.
The right side of the zombie's head was regenerating from the wounds inflicted by Kurao. After his question, Kurao's mother remained silent for a moment before a tear fell from her left eye.
"I need to be sure… I need to remove all doubt…" he thought while glancing at a shard of glass.
A powerful thunderclap echoed, signaling the storm that was forming. Kurao pressed his thumb into a shard of glass, causing a slight bleeding.
"I did feel the pain… This can't be in my head… It's real, my mother is actually speaking to me," he thought as he wiped his tears.
— Why are you asking this, sweetheart? Don't you recognize your mother? the zombie replied in a muffled, barely audible voice.
"If I can understand how her consciousness resurfaced, I can help her get better," he thought, gazing at her with melancholy.
— Forgive me, it's just… the emotion, he said more gently.
— Kurao…
— Yes, Mom! he answered curiously.
— Why am I so cold? she asked sadly.
Kurao looked at his mother and noticed that her regenerating face was emitting a faint smoke, then he turned away.
— It's because you're sick… But don't worry, everything will be fine, I promise!
— Tell me, why is it so dark? I can't see yo— Grrrr!
The zombie barely had time to finish before it began growling.
Kurao reacted instantly and struck the zombie on the head before it could scream, leaving the screen lodged in its skull.
— Why did this have to happen to you? What did you do to deserve this? Why is the world so unfair? he cried, punching the floor.
He slowly closed his eyes and saw a faint memory of his smiling mother baking a cake. Kurao regained his composure after that flash.
"I have to be strong… At least for Mom," he thought as he wiped his tears again.
— Mom… I'm sorry for hitting you! he murmured as he removed the screen from the zombie's head.
He took the coat he had placed under her head, cut it, and tied the zombie's hands first.
— Kurao… she called.
— Yes, Mom, he answered tenderly, though his gaze remained desperate.
— What is happening? Why are you tying me up? the zombie asked in a broken voice.
After securing her hands, Kurao tied his mother's feet, then leaned his back against the wall and sat right in front of her, avoiding her bloodshot gaze.
"What should I tell her? How am I supposed to tell her she's turning into a corpse?" he wondered, staring at the floor.
— Kurao, please, answer me! his mother insisted.
— It's just that… there's a virus going around. It's very aggressive and makes people a bit crazy… he explained, voice heavy with sadness.
— I'm infected… aren't I? she asked.
Kurao immediately burst into tears, crying in front of his mother, whose head was still regenerating.
Suddenly, he threw himself onto her and hugged her tightly.
— Mom, I promise I'll find a cure… I won't leave you like this… I'll save you, no matter what it takes! he cried.
— I know you will! she added.
A few minutes later, Kurao was sitting, watching his mother sadly.
She looked weaker and weaker, her head tilted, her hair covering her face.
"How am I supposed to cure you? I don't even know where or when this damn pandemic started," he thought as he watched her.
— Kurao… I'm tired… she whispered.
Her voice was barely audible. Kurao stood up and helped her lie down. That's when he noticed her wound had fully healed.
"Her wound is completely healed, but she didn't turn back into a zombie… Yet last time, she transformed as soon as her wound healed," he thought, rising to his feet.
He opened the office door, stepped out, and closed it behind him.
"Come on, Kurao, pull yourself together and think this through from the beginning… Something isn't adding up," he said to himself while leaning against the door.
"When I woke up, the neighborhood was completely empty… There was only one person… a single zombie standing completely still," he thought while heading to the kitchen.
In the kitchen, he turned on the faucet, letting the water run, and used it to wash the blood off his face.
"The zombie reacted when it sensed my presence, and the others only woke up at night. I deduce they must be nocturnal… But I still need to confirm this," he thought as he opened a drawer.
Inside the drawer, Kurao grabbed five knives and slipped them into his pockets, then looked toward the staircase.
"The zombie in the attic might have awakened the others… I should keep that theory in mind, but first, I need to confirm another," he said to himself while climbing the stairs with determination.
Kurao pulled the attic hatch open and immediately pressed himself against the wall, holding his breath.
The sound of the car alarm reached him, but he could still clearly hear footsteps on the wooden floor.
"The bait took the hook… Now I just have to catch him," he thought as he watched the attic opening closely.
The zombie stood facing the hatch, silent, breathing like a wounded animal. It made no unnecessary movements, when suddenly it dropped through the opening and collapsed in the hallway.
Kurao slowly took out a knife and saw the zombie stand up, turning its head toward the stairs that led downstairs. Kurao opened his mouth slightly to breathe while keeping his eyes on it.
The creature then lifted its head and began sniffing the air, surprising Kurao, who immediately launched himself at it.
"He's using his sense of smell to find me… I can't let him make the first move," he thought as the zombie turned toward him.
Kurao leaped and plunged the knife into the zombie's throat with all his strength. Without wasting time, he put some distance between them and took a second knife, which he aimed at the creature's skull.
"The scream of this zombie is dangerous; letting him scream would bring the whole horde to my house… Now I just need to immobilize him," he thought as he charged again.
The overwhelmed zombie saw the knife pierce its skull. Kurao was already attacking again, cutting the zombie's tendons, causing it to collapse.
— Human anatomy… Any respectable scientist knows a man can't stand without his tendons… Now, little zombie, you're going to confirm my theory, he said with a crazed look.
A few minutes later, Kurao walked down the stairs, his face and clothes splattered with blood. He suddenly stopped at the last step and thought.
"They regain part of their humanity when the brain is damaged, and they fall asleep when they're tied up…" he thought while recalling the mutilated zombie.
Kurao stood and walked to the window, slightly pulling the curtain aside to look outside.
"I doubt this phenomenon is natural… The zombie doesn't regenerate normally and their consciousness doesn't return when they're injured," he thought as he observed the zombies surrounding the car emitting the sound.
Kurao left the window, threw himself onto the couch, and closed his eyes gently. He suddenly reopened them when thunder roared and stood up.
— I'm starting to get tired, and without electricity, I won't be able to do anything… No choice, I have to go out! he said, standing above a car with a vial filled with purple liquid.
To be continued…