Haikyuu: Apocalypse

CHAPTER THREE: SHOYOU HINATA

  Hinata had to stop himself from crying at the sight of bodies strewn on the streets.
  "Oh, god," he whimpered, feeling bile rise in his throat. Even Nishinoya seemed severely affected, trying not to stare at the blood and the half-eaten corpses.
  "Shhh, they might still be lurking around here..."
  The two of them slunk along the brick walls, casting furtive glances in every direction. Hinata decided to follow Nishinoya's suggestion and keep his mouth shut.
  They were now in an area with a lot of shophouses. Most of the windows were broken, and there were signs of a struggle evident everywhere. Nishinoya was leading Hinata to the provision store to get supplies like food and bottled water... and also, Hinata needed to use the toilet. Badly. But then again, this was an apocalypse, so the last thing people would judge him for was peeing in the bushes.
  "It's right down this corner," Nishinoya whispered, bringing Hinata back to reality. Gesturing to the seemingly innocent and safe shop, Hinata and Nishinoya crept forward until they reached the entrance.
  Realizing the door had been smashed, Hinata could take a good look inside. The lights were flickering, but at least they weren't off, so it would be easier to see. There was some blood on the floor, but no bodies, and Hinata decided that the shop owner must've escaped.
  Good for him, at least.
  "What should we get?" hissed Hinata. Suddenly, everything in the shop seemed useful, from the instant noodles to the women's shampoo to the pepper spray.
  "Water and food are top priorities, but medical stuff and weapons are important too. We pack everything in a plastic bag, then we take turns to go to the toilet."
  "That sounds good."
  Hinata nodded. He'd never been much of a planner, but Nishinoya's survival plan seemed solid enough.
They went aisle by aisle, grabbing at least at least half a dozen one-liter bottles of mineral water. Bread and biscuits had just been made their staple food, and gauze and band-aid went straight inside the plastic bags.
  Unfortunately, the provision store didn't sell knives.
  "I guess we'll just have to stick with sticks for now, huh, Hinata?" Nishinoya grinned weakly at his lame pun.
  "I guess..." Hinata faintly smiled back. "Can I go to the toilet now...?"
  "Yeah, it should be around the back. Watch yourself, okay?"
  "Mmmhh."
  Hinata found his way to the back of the provision store. There were two doors- one was the toilet and the other was the storage room. Hinata was in the toilet in a flash, and released the burden he had been holding for so long.
  He finished his business quickly and was washing his hands when he heard a scratching sound coming from the storage room, as though someone was dragging their nails on the other side of the door.
  Hinata's heart went straight to his throat.
  "Nishinoya-senpai!" he nearly screamed, running back to the provision store, where Nishinoya was waiting.
  "What!? What?! Are there more?"
  Nishinoya braced himself to run, but Himata shook his head.
  "W-well, at least none that are after us. But I swear there was a scratching sound coming from the inside the storage room."
  "You think it could be a zombie?"
  Hinata shook his head.
  "I...at least I hope not."
  "Should we take a risk and check it out?"
  "Do you think we should?" Hinata answered.
  "Worth a risk, don't you think? We should just arm ourselves in case it really is one of them."
   Nishinoya picked a big chunk of debris off the ground.
  "If I hit a zombie with this babe, it's toast. Now where did you say that storage room was?"
  "Here," Hinata whispered, creeping to the back of the store with Nishinoya behind him.
  Still the scratching sound continued, and Hinata looked at Nishinoya, and saw fear reflected in the eyes of his senior.
  "You open the door, if it's a threat, I go in for the kill," Nishinoya replied, smiling reassuringly and trying to sound confident.
  Hinata nodded soundlessly, and he was suddenly aware of the cold sweat gathering on his chin and dripping to the ground below.
  The bright-haired boy rested his fingers on the doorknob, and it felt as though he was going to unlock Pandora's box and unleash hell upon the world.
  Then he turned and wrenched the door open, squinting his eyes shut.
  But there were no sounds of a vicious battle, and Hinata opened an eye to see Nishinoya standing shell-shocked at the thing that had fallen out of the room.
  It was a human, one of their kind, barely alive. He had a few scrapes on his face, but they were minor compared to the gashes on his arms and the large one on his stomach.
  "Q-quick, get the gauze!" Nishinoya ordered, while Hinata nodded fearfully. He almost tripped several times, but he managed to get a roll of gauze and return back to Nishinoya's side.
  "A-are they gone?" the person whimpered. It was a man, it seemed. "Are they f-finally gone?"
  "We're safe here." Nishinoya tried to reassure him, but his voice trembled. His hands fumbled clumsily as he tried to bandage the man's torso. The said man was so horrified and so scared, and though he was bleeding his guts out and staining the dusty floor with his blood, he didn't seem to care.
  "W-what's gonna happen, are all us humans gonna die, what-"
  "Don't talk, save your breath," Hinata urged, and the man finally relented, resting his head on the floor and closing his eyes, spent and exhausted.
  "At least I'm dying near brethren..."
  "Don't talk like that, stupid! You'll be just fine! Come on, just-"
  The man's breathing stilled, and his body went as limp as a rag doll.
  "...breathe," Nishinoya finished, his eyes wide. "C'mon, man! If you lie here forever, they're gonna find you and eat you!"
  "N-nishinoya-senpai, I-I think he's dead," Hinata whimpered, wanting to cry all over again.
  "No! No, no, no!" Nishinoya spat. "Damn it, why did those zombies even come here? Why?" His hands were stained with the dead man's blood.
  "We didn't even know his name..."
  The sound of crashing glass broke them from their state of grief, and try turned around to see shadows blotting out the light from the sun.
  The zombies. The scent of blood had attracted them.
  "Hinata Hinata GRAB THE STUFF AND RUN!"
  Nishinoya was on his feet in less than a second and Hinata screeched loudly, chasing after him as they grabbed their supplies. The zombies gave their low growls and chased after them.
  "Quick make a break for it GET OUT THE DOOR!" Nishinoya yelled, shoving Hinata as hard as he could outside before grabbing a can of soda and hurling it at the nearest zombie's face.
  It was a small diversion, but it was enough. They were both out on the streets again. They ran for about half a minute before realizing the zombies weren't giving chase.
  "Why didn't they try to get us?" Hinata asked. Then the answer dawned on him.
  "O-oh god," Hinata choked. "D-do you think they found-"
  "Definitely. It was what brought then here in the first place," Nishinoya spat, disgust clouding his gaze. "They ate his corpse."
  The two of them stood on the puddle-filled street, trying to register this information, all alone, seemingly hundreds of miles away from any other living human.