Chapter 17

Tsuki ignored Midori’s rant as he ran towards where the howling sounds were coming from. He skidded to a stop at the mouth of an underground tunnel and let out a surprised sound at the scene before his eyes.

Midori calmly came to a stop beside him, “Well, it doesn’t take a genius to understand what happened here.”

A big black dog was lying pitifully on its side with blood all around it. Big pieces of flesh had been torn from its body. It was howling and whining with pain. A little further away, there were two human corpses that looked like they had been mauled to death.

Tsuki exclaimed outrageously, “How could they do this to an innocent animal?”

Midori let out a sigh, “Desperation can make people do unimaginable things. They must have ran out of food and had to turn to the only source of sustainance available to them.”

Tsuki hummed to his words, “still, there is something else in those howls. Feels like….sadness? ”

Midori: “Didn’t it occur to you that it may have belonged to those two over there? It’s crying in pain and sadness because that is what betrayal does. I should know; I’ve been through it. But I wouldn’t feel sad from killing those who tried to do the same to me….. It’s stupid.”

Tsuki lightly smacked Midori on the back of his head, “Don’t say that you midget. For it to feel like this even though they did this to him…..Those two must have loved it dearly before hunger made them irrational. And it must have loved them as much back.”

Midori pouted at Tsuki before turning his head away. His bangs hid his face and he mouthed to himself, “at least it was loved.”

Tsuki turned to Midori, “you think it will attack me if I try to get near it?”

Midori shook away the bitterness in his heart. He shrugged and crossed his arms behind his head nonchalantly, “Who knows? Just try it. If it does, well, you already died once anyway. So… no worries, you are a zombie! You don’t even have to worry about rabbies!”

Tsuki: “Hey I may be an undead but that doesn’t mean that it won’t hurt! And having chunks of flesh missing from my body will leave a psychological shadow behind!”

Midori looked at him puzzled, “you scared of big wounds or something? But you seem to be okay looking at that dog?”

Tsuki: “ it doesn’t bother me if other people has holes in their body! It’s just the thought of my own body missing pieces that freaks me! I might seriously faint.”

Midori looked dumfounded, “wait a minute! You feel pain?”

Tsuki gave him an incredulous look, “Of course! I have an extremely high tolerance for pain but when Alphonse bites me it always hurts!”

There was an awkward silence at that statement.

Tsuki flusteredly waved his hands, “wait a minute! It’s not what you are thinking! I meant when Alphonse’s vampire side comes out and wants to drink my blood! That’s all!”

Midori: “I didn’t say anything! Why are you trying to explain yourself! That makes it more awkward!”

If Tsuki was physically able to blush, he would have resembled a ripe tomato.

Tsuki cleared his throat, “ anyway. You can’t feel pain?”

Midori: “No, not really. I secretly tested my strength on a wall when I first transformed. I didn’t feel anything and easily broke it. Granted it was a brief test.”

Tsuki grabbed his hair and rolled on the ground, “nooooo! Why am I different again! I am a failure of an undead!”

Midori: “ Hey, stop it! Maybe it would hurt if another zombie bit me? Who knows, right? Anyway, weren’t you worried about that dog? Look it’s on its last breath!”

The tactic worked; Tsuki got up and tried to approach the dog. It growled out a warning , then whined with pain as the action jarred his wounds.

Tsuki: “Hey, I want to help you. I won’t hurt you, promise. Can I come over to you? Uhh… good doggy!”

Tsuki slowly stretched out his hand to show his good will and slowly got closer whilst crouching down, “See? I smell safe right? Please don’t chomp on my hand, okay?”

The dog eyed him warily before tentatively sniffing his hand. It then unexpectedly licked Tsuki’s fingers before laying back down.

Tsuki looked at it dumbly before turning to Midori, “does it mean that it trusts me now?”

Midori crossed his arms and drawled, “Obviously.”

Tsuki let out a ‘huh’ before sitting next to the dog and caressing its head.

Tsuki: “It’s so pitiful. Such a beautiful dog too.”

Midori: “Yes, it is pitiful. Now, how about we go back before I become more pitiful than it?”

Tsuki: “So cruel! We can’t just leave it here like this!”

Midori: “Then what do you want to do? With those injuries, it won’t survive no matter what you do. You can’t heal it. Unless you want to kill it as an act of mercy?”

Tsuki: “No! No killing the doggy! And you are wrong! There is one thing I can do to heal him and allow him to live…well kinda.”

Midori: “…….please, don’t tell me….”

Tsuki put on an innocent expression, “Do you think my blood will work on animals too? A zombie dog sounds cool, right?”

****

On the other hand, Alphonse had successfully gotten out of the building with his teammates and quickly brought them to the trailer; only to find it empty.

One of the teammates cautiously asked, “Didn’t you say that there were other people, uuuh I mean zombies, waiting for you?”

Alphonse turned his head and gave him a blank stare.

The poor guy squeaked out a ‘sorry’ before scurrying to hide behind another teammate.

Said teammate scoffed, “you and your big mouth. I advise you not to question Alphonse carelessly again. He is even more terrifying now that he is a zombie.”

The one hiding behind him nodded, “no kidding! Just one glare and I nearly peed my pants.”

Alphonse ignored the conversation going on behind him and ordered, “get at the back of the trailer and tend to steve’s wounds. You will find some things you need back there. Make sure to get rid of the bloody clothes to avoid attracting other zombies. I have to go fetch a little nuisance and a midget. I’ll be quick. Wait for me to come back and be vigilant.”

The well-trained trained soldiers stood at attention and let out a ‘Yes sir’ before carrying out the order without any unnecessary questions.

Alphonse gave them a glance before following Tsuki’s scent at a run.

And this is how he arrived at their location only to find said nuisance sitting next to an injured dog and planning to transform said dog into a zombie.

Alphonse didn’t give Midori the time to open his mouth before ordering, “go back to the trailer. My companions are there. Don’t attack them. They will be joining us.”

Midori quickly gave Tsuki a peace sign and mouthed ‘I will pray for you’ before hightailing out of the tunnel.

Tsuki’s jaw dropped dumbly at being abandoned before stiffly turning to face an Alphonse with crossed arms and blank stare.

Tsuki’s thoughts were quite eloquent at this moment, ‘I am so screwed!!!Mommy save me!!!’