Are We Dead Now?

Seven

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Rin was tired.

So, so tired.

He didn't know how long he'd slept, but he wished he could never wake up.

§~•~§~•~§

Rin dreamed.

He dreamed of Shiro, and Yukio, and the clergymen. Dreamed of Birthdays and Easters and Summer Breaks, and Festivals.

He dreamed of the times when Yukio wasn't so harsh to him.

Dreamed of his days spent in the old man's bakery down the street.

Dreamed of his last days with his brother.

That was where the pleasantness ended though.

He should've shot Yukio. Should've cut his head off. Should've kept him from becoming one of those things. But instead, he ran, and left Yukio to be eaten by them in a horrible, gruesome death. Now, his corpse probably stumbled around in Tokyo, mindless and rotting.

§~•~§~•~§

On the outside, in the real world, a tear slipped down his cheek.

§~•~§~•~§

Suguro dreamed.

He dreamed of his mom, his dad, Shima, and Konekomeru.

He dreamed of picking a cucumber and bringing it to the shrine to chant with his father.

He dreamed of birthdays and Easters and Summer Breaks and Festivals.

He dreamed of the days when his temple wasn't poor and shunned.

Dreamed of the days his father would spend time with him and Mom. Dreamed of his last days with his father.

The happiness ended there.

They'd been arguing lately. But then, those things attacked and he hadn't gotten the chance to apologize for what he said, or even say "I love you." one last time.

They should've chopped off their heads. But instead, they ran. And their people, their families, had turned into those walking corpses, only to die again at the hands of their own loved ones.

§~•~§~•~§

In the real world, a tear slipped down Suguro's cheek.

§~•~§~•~§

Rin woke up eventually. He didn't know how long he'd been out, but it seemed like quite a while. He was in severe need of food.

He stumbled to his feet, eating the few berries he had left and set out to hunt. He shook his initial dizziness off, drinking the rest of the water he'd boiled to drink. It was cold now, so it may have been only a few hours or maybe even days judging by the heaviness of his limbs. Whatever the case, he needed to get his strength back or he'd pay out and die.

He found a bushel of cherries and just as he went to pick them, he spotted see he hasn't seen in a long time.

Rabbit tracks. He blinked a few times, rubbing at his eyes-which probably wasn't a good idea with how dirty his gloves must be-just to make sure he wasn't paranoid. He knelt down, lightly touching the tracks. They were fairly recent. Holy shit, they were recent!

Rin took a deep breath to calm his hammering heart at the thought of real meat, real food to eat and energize him.

"Alright, alright. Follow the prints. Find the rabbit. Hope it's not a zombie." He told himself, his mind going a million miles a minute. He picked the cherries and ate some as a snack on the way, but saved the rest, stopping to pick some mulberries as well. Found some mushrooms he'd cooked a thousand times before when life had been normal and zombies were just a cool story plot in books.