Saviors [GiyuShino] [Apocolypse AU]

Chapter Eight: The Outside

I avert my eyes as Kocho cuts into the zombie, covering my mouth and nose with my hand to stifle the stench of the corpse. She opens up it's torso, and I turn my back, unable to stomach the sight of it's decayed insides. I may be a soldier, but I have no experience with autopsies, nor do I want any.

I hear the little girls gasp. Despite their medical knowledge and experience, they've never seen a corpse this damaged and contaminated. Their disgust is expected. The pink-and-green haired woman gags, pessing her hand to the wall in front of her as she doubles over in disgust. Her husband has his eyes closed, rubbing comforting circles on her back.

I hear the sound of scalpel cutting through flesh, and the youngest girls shriek, burying their faces in their elder sister's arms. I hear rustling as they turn away. And I hear Kocho's shallow breathing as she calms herself down.

"The zombie's blood is stale, and all organs have failed. It didn't need a heart or lungs, or even a brain to move. It's almost as if these corpses are being controlled by something else," the doctor pauses, inhaling sharply.

"It's almost as if someone is manipulating the dead." she whispers, her words laced with disbelief. "But that shouldn't be possible."

The other's whirl to look at her, faces tense with fear. We stare at the doctor, bent over the table, eyes roaming over a test subject that shouldn't exist.

All is silent as we stand together, united in our fear.

Suddenly, I hear the scuff of shoes on wood, and spin towards the doorframe. There shouldn't be anyone else down here. My hands are already grasping the handles of two daggers, and I send them flying. Footsteps thump away, running down the hall, somehow evading the lethal traps planted throughout the house.

"All of you, stay here! Protect the doctor at all costs. I'm going after the intruder." I bark the order, and my soldiers quickly shift into a defensive formation. Kocho has daggers of her own in her hands, and stands in a stance that leaves little to no openings. I take off down the hallway, slamming the door shut behind me.

I skid around the corner and come face to face with a white-haired boy who doesn't look like any human I've seen before. The aura he emanates is different, eerie. His long white robe seems to float around him, as if suspended by the air. His eyes are closed, and when he opens them, I jump backward.

The part of his eye that should be white is red, and his cornea, pupil and all, is a strange turquoise color. But his strange appearance isn't what sets me off.

What startles me most of all, is the number six, etched into one of his eyes.

His voice is like silk threads. "I am Rui of the Twelve Moon Demons." he says.

I rush at him, dagger poised to slit his throat ear-to-ear. He simply drifts away, as if swinging on some kind of invisible thread. My eyes travel to the ground where his feet should be, preparing to sever the tendons on the back of his ankles. But his feet aren't on the ground. They swing in the air, just barely inches from the wooden floor.

He's floating, hanging from something the human eye cannot see, he swings. The finger's of his right hand grasp something above his head.

"Your doctor..." he begins, trailing off as he locks eyes with me. "Cannot be allowed to live."

I throw another blade, aiming for his heart. The steel clatters to the floor uselessly, smacked to the ground by an invisible force. Rui's eyes never leave mine, but his other hand is outstretched, pointing at the air where my dagger had been just a second ago.

As my brain tries futilely to come up with a logical explanation for the phenomenon that is in front of me, a single fact clicks.

This boy is not human.

A/N: Sooo, kind of a short chapter. I'll make it longer next time, I promise! Anyway, I have a couple things to say.

First, shoutout to @Chinanumbaon! Check out their new GiyuShino story, 'A Promise'! :)

Second, I just started a new account for original stories! I haven't posted the first chapter yet, because I still have to finish Character Designs and Plot Maps, but I would really appreciate it if you checked out my account, and I'll post an Announcement on this account when I post the first chapter! The account is @WordMage13. <3