Chapter Text
In the early hours of the pandemic, television, radio and social media were flooded with information, making it difficult to use the networks. It was impossible to understand what was going on, with some even thinking it was a joke, but it was nothing of the sort.
A virus from who knows where was spreading through fruit and making people aggressive. Once infected, it could also be transmitted between humans through bites, scratches, or even simple blood contact with one of these creatures.
In that case, there was only one thing left to do: pray. Pray to become a Gifters, a human immune to the virus. No one knew exactly how it worked, but these people received powers. Rumours circulated that this immunity was only granted to people who had eaten fruit, as very few Gifters were born from human infection.
To think that some people risked their lives by eating infected fruit to gain power. The only thing they surely gained was becoming disgusting human flesh eaters. I have never seen a Gifters with my own eyes, but I cannot deny that they exist with all the testimonies I have heard about them.
I will remember for the rest of my life the day when everything changed.
Events had unfolded rapidly in this small town, and the authorities had been slow to issue the order to evacuate the area and head for the refugee camps. The young girl was packing provisions and a few other belongings with her sister, Nojiko. As they were about to take another bag to the car, the only thing they saw was the tip of a gun barrel barely sticking out from the door, and their mother collapsed after being shot by that gun. A shot to the chest. It was completely gratuitous.
Belmere had been a retired police officer since she adopted her two daughters. She had been cowardly killed by someone she probably didn't know. Someone who had simply taken advantage of the general panic that was slowly rising to satisfy their murderous urges on the stay-at-home mum.
At least, that's what I thought at the time.
The sisters hadn't seen the person who had fired the shots, but without a moment's hesitation, they threw their bags on the floor and rushed towards their mother who, was lying in a pool of fresh blood. They hadn't been given a last word, just the frozen smile on Belmere's lips as she accepted death. And as they gathered around the body of their now deceased mother, tears streaming down their cheeks, the nightmare continued.
I looked up to see an infected behind Nojiko, whom we hadn't heard, was focusing too much on the death that had just shaken us. I barely had time to react before the undead's teeth sank violently into my sister's shoulder as she screamed in agony. At that moment, without thinking, I grabbed the service weapon that Belmere had kept after her retirement and which she carried at her waist. And I fired.
The transformation normally takes a week, which is how her and Nojiko ended up being taken in by a neighbouring couple who had witnessed the scene. They had settled them in their attic, laying the newly infected girl on a mattress. The blue haired scar had healed surprisingly quickly, but it had filled with whitish pus.
I watched over my big sister. If I count correctly, she has one day left before she transforms, but the old man told me about the Gifters, so please, don't leave me alone, Nojiko, and become a Gifter, please.
However, the next morning…
The transformation began before her eyes. Screams of agony quickly filled the room, then the entire house. That day, a white-haired man with a scar over his right eye stood beside her. The man who had taken her in a week earlier. He cleaned the lenses of his glasses before placing them back on the bridge of his nose and pulling out a pistol. Checking the number of bullets, he only said:
‘Finish her off. She'll suffer less than if she becomes infected.’ He placed his weapon in front of her eyes.
I was so nervous at that moment, I took the gun with trembling hands. I pointed it at you as you continued to scream. I couldn't hold back my tears. I had to look away when our eyes met. I'm making the right decision, right ?
“Sorry, Nojiko. I'm going to find the person who did this to Belmere and live for the three of us. You don't have to go through this anymore.”
I pulled the trigger, and the sound of the shot replaced the screams with a flat silence.
She dropped the weapon on the ground, not daring to look at her sister's now lifeless body. The man placed his hand on the girl's head to pull her back against his chest. Understanding the message, she cried her heart out.
I was only 18, for God's sake.
Two years have passed since the disappearance of my only family. I've gotten used to this world, even though it's still populated by the infected and the Gifters are becoming more and more present. You don't need a government to see that society has gone to hell.
I am currently part of a survivor camp located in the former village of Cocoyashi. A camp not affiliated with the army or any of the many organizations that have been created over the last two years.
She was currently sitting in the back of a rusty pick-up truck. She was wearing a black tank top and khaki shorts with military boots that she had taken from the corpse of a soldier three months ago. She also had a military-style jacket wrapped around her waist. A rucksack was placed next to her.
It was quite common to find military equipment since the refugee camp uprisings against the World Government that took place a few weeks after the pandemic. Massacres of soldiers had become commonplace since that event.
The World Government was now nothing more than a facade, and the military was made up of survivors. Some who wanted to ‘set our society back on the right path’ had banded together in an organization called Sword. So while finding corpses had become commonplace in this ‘new world’, finding former soldiers was even more so.
I looked up at the city in front of me, my new target, before tapping on the roof of the pick-up truck, which stopped almost immediately. Putting my bag on my shoulders, I jumped out of the vehicle and then walked over to the passenger window, leaning on it.
“I'm going, Rayleigh.”
“Be careful here, I already warned you that it's more dangerous here than in other cities.”
“I know.”
“Here, you never know.” He handed her a magnum, which she put in the back pocket of her shorts. “In case your pole isn't enough. How long ?”
“Three weeks minimum. I'll bring as many useful things as I can.”
“I have no doubt, good luck, Nami.”
“Come on, get out of here before they arrive.”
The car sped off, so I started running towards the city. I could already hear the infected getting closer. Zombies usually tracked their prey by sound or smell. The noise of the car would surely attract them. I grabbed the pole hanging from my left thigh and gave it a sharp tug to extend it a little and make electricity shoot out of the tip. I struck the heads of the first zombies that slipped past me, easily dodging their blows.
I turned in to an alley, grabbed onto a bin, took a running jump and landed on the fire escape stairs. That led me to the roof of this small building, where I had a beautiful view of the city.
‘Marineford, eh?’ I smiled.