Common sense survived surprisingly well during a disaster.
People might panic, rumours might spread faster than anyone could verify them, and an entire street could become unrecognisable after a few bad minutes, but the world itself was still expected to behave. Things had weight, machines occupied space. If something large enough to leave a crater was sitting in front of several dozen witnesses, it could not simply decide that it had never been there.
It happened in seconds, before anyone could react.
The soldiers surrounding the crater saw the violet light withdraw first.
It travelled backward through the seams of the pod, concentrating around the open chamber before the white shell began to break apart. There was no blast to accompany it, nor any sudden heat or shower of debris. The material simply loosened into specks of violet light and drifted upward, thinning until even those vanished against the grey sky.
...Then the two people standing where the chamber had been disappeared as well.
Their disappearance gathered a much louder response.
"CONTACT!" Rifles came up almost together.
For the briefest moment, the woman was still visible beside the civilian. One of the chains hanging from her body had curled around his wrist, and a thin distortion passed over both of them, bending their outlines until the ruined park seemed to show through their bodies.
Then even that vanished.
"Where'd they go?"
"Thermal!" Suspect of some kind of optical camouflage, someone yelled.
But they couldn't see anything.
"Check the drones!" The drone circling above the park dipped sharply as its operator brought the camera around.
Nothing. The thermal feed showed cooling ground, scattered civilians and the soldiers themselves. The unknown woman and the man who had opened the chamber had disappeared from every useful sensor at once.
A few rifles began sweeping across empty space.
"Stop your fire!"
Soldiers spread around the crater while technicians stared at screens that had become useless. One of them took two steps into the depression where the chamber had stood before.
This, however, were the least of their troubles.
Bad luck rarely needed anything dramatic. Sometimes a few small mistakes simply happened too close together.
Behind them, metal crashed.
An ambulance had been trying to reverse away from a small horde of zombies, but it clipped one of the temporary barriers.
No one had noticed at first.
The frame toppled sideways and struck the portable generator powering part of the evacuation network. The machine rolled hard enough to tear a cable from its housing.
A domino effect.
For a second, the speakers around the park hissed. Then they screamed.
A burst of feedback tore across the surrounding blocks. Hands went to ears. Several soldiers flinched. The noise cut out just long enough for people to look toward the generator.
Then the emergency tone began.
WOOOOOOO—
The temporary speaker network had been installed so evacuation instructions could carry over crowds, engines and gunfire.
At full output, it carried much farther than anyone had intended.
"Shut it down!" A technician ran for the generator. The damaged controls didn't respond.
Another man reached the junction box farther down the line while somebody else started pulling cables.
The siren continued.
WOOOOOOO—
The infected had already been drifting toward the park.
Movement thickened at the northern junction.
The first infected came around the corner at a run, followed by more spilling from the access roads behind them. Shapes appeared beneath the elevated tracks, through apartment entrances, across the pedestrian bridge. The scattered groups that had been wandering toward different sounds gradually bent toward one source. Like moths to a flame.
EDF opened fire. The front ranks went down quickly. Soldiers fired in controlled bursts while the line shifted to cover whichever entrance was taking the worst pressure. Bodies accumulated near the road, forcing the infected behind them to stumble and climb over their own dead.
Then another street emptied into the fight. And another.
The siren finally died. Nobody noticed. By then there was enough gunfire, shouting and human movement to replace it.
"LEFT SIDE!"
"RELOADING!"
"MORE THROUGH THE SERVICE ROAD!"
"FUCK, THEY'RE CLOSING IN!!!"
The northern line stretched. A squad shifted to reinforce the road, but that left the pedestrian entrance thinner. Several infected broke through there and forced another unit to turn.
The civilians inside the perimeter saw soldiers changing position and understood only one thing from it.
The line was moving. Somebody ran. The people nearest him followed. Once enough people started moving in the same direction, the crowd no longer needed an order.
"FUCK, HOLD YOUR POSITION! HOOOLDD!!! AAHHHHHH!!!" Bullets were unloaded into that mob, the gunfire being swallowed by the screaming coming through the barricade.
South offered the clearest route out of the park.
There were ambulances there, military vehicles, roadblocks that had not yet failed and medical personnel farther down the evacuation corridor. Nobody had planned to send the entire park that way at once, but every smaller decision pushed in the same direction until it became the only direction left.
EDF began falling back with them. At first it remained a proper withdrawal. One section moved while another fired, then the positions reversed. That lasted until the civilians filled the spaces between them.
A man stumbled at the edge of the road and brought two others down with him. A soldier left formation to drag them clear. Someone screamed that the infected had broken through. Another group surged around the ambulance lane before anyone could stop them.
The gaps widened.
Infected entered those gaps.
"FALL BACK!"
The order spread faster than anything more complicated could.
The soldiers went south. The civilians went south. The wounded were already being transported south.
Behind them came the infected, drawn along by the noise and the simple movement of prey.
Nobody at the park had chosen the hospital as a defensive position.
But it was the only way away from being bitten.
"Luna?"
"I'm here."
Her voice came from somewhere beside me.
I almost laughed.
They really couldn't see us.
Not even a vague silhouette or a translucent outline.
A soldier ran straight toward us.
I tried to step aside, but flinched from static.
The soldier got closer.
"Luna."
"..."
"Luna?"
He was going to run directly into me.
I tried moving again, but I jumped from the shock.
"Luna... we need to— h-hey what are you—!"
An arm slid behind my back.
Another hooked underneath my knees.
My feet left the ground.
"...H-Hold on."
Lunallu lifted me up completely.
"...This way's more convenient, Doctor."
I heard a tone of mischief from her voice. My invisible body settled against another invisible body while the soldier passed through the spot I'd been standing in a second earlier.
Then, I felt the body temperature of a person.
"...Why?"
I stared at where I assumed her face was.
"The... infected that you're talking about, and the soldiers here, we're deep in enemy territory."
"...But in this position?"
"Yes. Is there a problem?"
"It's a—"
"—We need to leave quickly, right? I'm sorry to say, in this state, it's hard to move you by foot."
Right, Imprison. Lunallu's ability is technically a crowd control ability. She was the only one who could move freely while invisible.
I succumbed to the princess carry.
Another soldier seemed to hear our voices, and turned this way.
Lunallu immediately moved. Fast. My stomach lurched.
I tried to grab her shoulder—
"—Hnng...!"
"A-Ah, sorry!" I immediately found an arm, and locked it with mine.
She turned sharply around a concrete barrier.
My legs swung with the motion.
Somewhere very close to my ear, Lunallu whispered.
"Are you enjoying this, Doctor?"
I tightened my grip.
The EDF personnel around us were still searching the crater.
A drone passed overhead. I craned my neck upward.
Its camera rotated directly toward us... and passed us.
We were completely invisible, and just like that, Lunallu carried me past the southern edge of the crater, in a princess carry.
Lunallu's arms tightened slightly as she changed direction.
"Doctor."
"Yeah?"
"You're heavy."
"..."
Another quiet laugh. I couldn't tell whether the Affinity system was making this easier or whether Lunallu had always enjoyed this type of banter.
The buildings along the southern side of the park drew closer. A maintenance lane opened between two rows of shops, partially hidden behind delivery vehicles and concrete loading bays.
"There." I pointed.
"Alright."
Lunallu carried me behind the first truck.
The moment the road disappeared from view, the pressure around my body changed.
My legs suddenly worked again.
"Oh."
My arms reappeared first.
Then my knees.
Then Lunallu.
She was still holding me.
We stared at each other. Her purple hair had fallen across one side of her face from running, and one arm remained firmly underneath my knees. Her eyes were sharp, and her eyelashes were pretty long. As expected, gacha characters were really beautiful.
"...You can put me down now."
She didn't.
"Uhh... Luna?"
A pause. Then she lowered me onto my feet.
We went pretty fast, but it didn't even seem like she broke a sweat.
I immediately checked whether anyone had followed.
Nothing. The park was partly obscured by the buildings, although I could still hear soldiers shouting behind us.
I opened the System.
The Daily Mission was still sitting there, and something in its description caught my eye again.
"...Luna, join my party."
"Okay."
I saw another interface flickered in front of her. Her eyes seem to follow it.
Seems like characters recognise the party function somehow.
[Lunallu Verionlight has joined your Party.]
Her status unfolded beside mine.
Health. Energy. Charge. Effects.
I could now see fluctuations in her Energy when she used Refraction. Charge sat near empty. Even the shortened chains attached to her clothes appeared when I focused on them.
"Can you use those properly?"
Lunallu looked down.
"For restraint. Not much else."
They were shorter than the weapons I'd seen in her artwork. More like pieces integrated into her clothing than the actual combat chains she normally used.
...Of course...!
I pulled my field pack around. As I rummaged...
"What are you looking for?"
"!!!" Her effeminate voice cooed right by my ear. She had squatted down beside me. I couldn't get used to her presence.
"...It's. Something I want you to test."
Lunallu tilted her head.
My hand went past the first-aid kit, torch and cord before touching a familiar bundle. I pulled out the toggle rope.
Lunallu stared at it.
Then at me.
"...And what is this?"
"Try using it."
"This is rope."
"I know."
She took it anyway. After a few seconds of examining it, she threaded one loop over her hand and wound the rope around her knuckles until the remaining length hung freely. It now looked like a crude whip.
The System recognised it.
[Toggle Rope]
Durability: 5 / 5
A scraping noise came from the far side of the loading bay.
Lunallu turned.
Two infected wandered between the parked trucks.
Neither had noticed us yet. It was a perfect opportunity.
"Try it."
"...Haaah."
My heart pounded in visible excitement, as I saw the toggle rope crackle with electric arcs.
The first infected noticed us.
It ran, but Lunallu's arm moved even faster.
The toggle rope snapped through the air and wrapped around its wrist. She stepped aside, twisted, and used its own momentum to pull it off balance.
The zombie hit the ground.
[Chained]
Durability: 4 / 5
Lunallu pulled once.
Durability: 2 / 5
Electricity crackled over her knuckles, and a powerful current travelled down the rope.
For one impossible moment, an army toggle rope glowed violet.
Then she pulled.
SNAP.
The rope broke. The infected convulsed, and had its arm blown off with an exaggerated pop of lightning.
It smelt of charred meat.
[Toggle Rope has been destroyed.]
The second zombie rushed her.
"Hmph."
She threw the crumbling rope away, and held on to her chains around her body.
Just a few centimetres before its hand could reach her—
—Electricity followed, this time, even more smoothly from those chains.
Purple light flashed between her eyes. In that brief moment, the zombie stopped its movement.
And with a punch straight at its head— it exploded, and fell flat onto the bloodied asphalt.
"..."
Lunallu turned back to me, and smiled, as she wiped off the blood on her gloves.
"Was the test useful, Doctor?"
For some reason, her smile felt unnerving to me.
But with physical strength like that, Lunallu would have no trouble killing zombies from now on.
As I thought of my future plans—
WOOOOOOO—
A siren started. The sound rolled over the buildings hard enough to make both of us turn.
"What was that?"
"It came from where we were." Lunallu answered simply, as if it was just a passing question.
Another howl followed.
Closer than any citywide warning system should have sounded.
From the park. Then came the gunfire. It went on for longer than expected.
"...Something went wrong."
Lunallu gave me a questioning look.
It didn't take long to see the basin spill.
In the distance, more people flooded through the intersection.
I watched the soldiers behind them firing as they retreated.
And only then did the direction register.
South.
The triage centre was south.
The PZ400 appeared in my hands.
"Luna. The people at the hospital up ahead are in danger."
Lunallu followed my gaze toward the retreat.
"Are they your allies, Doctor?"
"...Yes."
That was enough for her. She nodded.
"Lead the way."
We stepped out of the loading bay.
The situation had changed considerably in the few minutes we'd been hiding there.
People were pouring through the intersection now, some still carrying bags or children, others with nothing except whatever they'd managed to keep in their hands while running. EDF soldiers moved backward among them, firing toward the northern road whenever the crowd opened enough to give them a shot.
Going against that was going to be a problem.
Someone slammed into my shoulder before we'd even crossed the pavement.
Another group rushed past.
Lunallu caught my arm before somebody else could knock me sideways.
"This is inefficient."
She's right. But.
I looked at the crowd, and made a mental calculation.
"Okay, take us there. Please."
Lunallu nodded.
One of the shorter chains around Lunallu's waist uncoiled and circled my wrist.
The familiar static ran through me.
My legs locked.
"...Can't get used to this."
She smiled faintly.
She bent down.
"Wait, wait, at least on your back—"
Too late. The ground disappeared underneath me again.
My arms went around her neck much more naturally this time, which was something I intended never to think about again.
Refraction folded over us.
The crowd vanished through my body.
Or rather, my body vanished from the crowd.
"...Ah damn it. Go!"
Lunallu moved.
Fast.
The difference was immediate.
People were still obstacles, but now nobody reacted to us. She slipped through gaps that I wouldn't have even tried taking, pivoting around shoulders and bags while I watched civilians pass close enough that I could see sweat running down their faces.
How was she running this quickly? The people passed us in a blur, and the wind blasted my face so much that I had to look down.
One man stopped directly in front of us.
Lunallu changed direction without breaking stride.
My legs swung dangerously close to a woman's head.
A soldier came running backward, rifle raised over our shoulders.
Lunallu ducked. I ducked because she did.
The rifle fired.
The muzzle blast cracked less than a metre from my face.
"FUCK!"
My ears rang. The soldier seemed startled from my voice.
Lunallu accelerated.
"What happened?"
"Nothing! Keep going!"
We passed the soldier.
Another EDF section was trying to hold the intersection ahead, but the retreat had already flooded around them. Two infected broke through a gap between vehicles and slammed into the back of the crowd.
People screamed. Someone fell.
Then everybody nearest them surged sideways.
"Stop here!"
Lunallu stopped.
Her grip tightened beneath my knees.
A woman was on the ground.
One infected had grabbed her ankle.
The other went after a man trying to pull her away.
We could keep moving. The hospital wasn't far.
Then I saw the woman's hands scraping uselessly against the road as the infected dragged itself closer.
"Let me shoot!"
The veil vanished.
My legs came back.
I landed badly, stumbled, caught myself against Lunallu and raised the PZ400.
The infected looked up.
So did several civilians.
Lunallu was already moving.
Her body chain snapped around the first infected's wrist, short enough that she had to close the distance with it. She stepped into the pull rather than away, dragged the thing off balance and drove her knee into its chest.
Electricity flashed.
Its body locked.
I shot it in the head.
First try.
"Hah."
The second infected released the man and came at Lunallu.
She didn't have enough chain to catch it properly.
But she didn't need to. Lunallu stepped aside, caught its arm with both hands and turned with the momentum. The zombie went over her hip and hit the asphalt hard enough that I heard the impact through the screaming around us.
She stamped on its shoulder.
Purple light burst beneath her boot.
The infected stopped moving.
"Go!"
The man was dragging the woman upright.
"T-Thank you! Thank—"
We were already moving.
Lunallu caught my wrist again.
"Doctor."
I braced myself.
She picked me up without a word.
We made another block.
Then the hospital came into view.
North Lincol's temporary triage site hadn't looked small when Hana and I arrived earlier.
Now it did.
The whole road leading toward it was packed.
EDF barriers had been pulled across most of the entrance, but the crowd had swallowed them. Medical staff stood on anything high enough to be seen, waving people toward different lanes that no longer really existed.
An ambulance pushed through the gate.
Three civilians squeezed in alongside it.
Soldiers shouted, but clearly nobody listened. Beyond the outer fence, people filled the covered walkways between the sports hall and temporary treatment tents. My stomach tightened.
"That one."
"The large compound?"
"Yeah."
Lunallu slowed.
Ahead of us, the road was filling faster than the entrance could swallow people. More EDF soldiers were retreating toward the compound, turning every few seconds to fire back down the same route they had come from.
Lunallu followed their line of fire.
"...They're bringing the infected here."
My stomach tightened. I looked past the running civilians. There. Between the abandoned vehicles farther up the road, bodies were moving in the gaps.
A lot of them.
"Yeah."
The hospital gates were already struggling with the crowd in front of them.
If that wave reached this place—
“Inside!” I called out.
Lunallu adjusted her hold, and without a word, carried me straight into the crowd.