AN: Septorex- I don't think I'll ever do a lemon to be honest. It's just something I would be uncomfortable writing. I would feel awkward, but don't get me wrong, I read lemons myself I just would rather not write one. So nothing ecchi on this author's page.

Thanks to JDUBZ for being an awesome Beta Reader as usual!

Chapter 4: Save Everyone

April 27, 2015

2:33am

Subaru opened his eyes again for the fourth time. Same night, same exact time. The only thing different was Subaru. While the zombie banged on the front door, same as usual, Subaru immediately got out of bed and retrieved the metal bat from his parent's room.

Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump!

Subaru rotated the bat so he could see the signature in the metal, "Don't fail me now." A fiery look replaced Subaru's previously scared one. He approached the door with determination and hatred. He thought about what these things did to Rem, to Ram, and their father. He hated what they had almost made him do and what they did make him do. He wanted nothing more than to see them dead. They'd caused him so much pain that he was going to make sure they felt it too. Every last one of these fuckers are dead.

He made sure the other two zombies approached the door before taking his place at the couch. He sat in it with a good view of the front door, waiting. Finally, after what seemed like ages, the zombies tore through the door. And when they did, Subaru was waiting.

There was a fire in Subaru's eyes, and a boiling pot of hatred settled in his stomach. It was something he'd never experienced never before. So much overwhelming rage was about to be expelled by force.

Grabbing the lamp next to the couch, Subaru got ready with his bat. He threw the lamp to the floor, shattering it with a loud crash. The zombies instantly turned towards the sound and began to quickly move towards it.

Subaru raised the bat high above his head.As hard and as quick as he could, Subaru brought the bat down on top of the woman's head. Her skull caved in, sending shattered bits of her skull deep into her now destroyed brain. Red chunks of what could only be brain flew from her head, some landing on Subaru's clothes.

Subaru almost threw up, not expecting such a gruesome outcome, but kept it inside. The bat was miraculously somehow stuck inside the woman's head. Hesitant, he placed a foot on the limp walker and kicked the corpse off.

The two other walkers stopped in their tracks, the sound of the woman falling the floor catching their attention.

The two zombies turned to where the woman was. The bloody one bent down and grasped at the woman. While he did so, Subaru was still trying to get over the first kill. Before, he never he would ever have to kill someone, but now he had. All he could do to reassure what he had done was good was knowing that these monsters were anything but nice. They would just kill others if he left.

After successfully preventing himself from throwing up a second time, Subaru looked back at the two others. He was interested at their behavior. The bloodied one was bent over the woman, appearing to be smelling her.

Subaru watched the other zombie join in as well, bending down and cradling his nose just above a part of her exposed flesh. The bloodied one lifted its head back up, appearing to exhale a ghastly moan just before picking up the woman's arm and tearing off a mouthful of flesh from it.

Again, Subaru tried not to throw up as he witnessed the two zombies begin to eat the woman. The one armed zombie bite at the woman's abdomen then used its hand to tear it open and shove intestine into his mouth.

This went against what he'd originally thought. In zombie movies, the zombies never ate eachother, even after death. But these guys didn't seem to care. She had been infected so wouldn't that mean she was safe from being eaten? At what point do the zombies eat their own kind?

Apparently the third time wasn't the charm and Subaru found he was going to puke. The smells and the sights were just too much for his stomach. Turning around, he ran for the glass sliding door, not caring how much noise he made. His hand over his mouth, he found it harder to hastily open and close it with only his other hand. Finally outside, he found the nearest potted plant and emptied his stomach into it. He felt sorry for the plant when he finished, lifting his head and taking deep breaths. He never found the cool, night air any more refreshing than he had that moment now that the smells of stomach acid were no more.

Throwing his head back, he tried to recollect his thoughts.

The zombies had eaten their own kind, but only after she died. And just before doing so, both of them had used their sense of smell to detect something come off of the woman. Did zombies have their own smell? Is that how the blind ones determined who was and wasn't a zombie? Maybe. Subaru thought of his previous life where he experienced something similar. After being bitten, the zombified Ram had reached him, but didn't do anything but leave him. He remembered that she had gotten close to him, but for what? Maybe to smell his wound, to sense if he had already been turning? It was too weird because of that was the case then the zombies were more intelligent than he'd given them credit for.

But that still didn't explain why the two other zombies had turned on the woman once she died. Wouldn't they still smell whatever she was giving off for being ome of them? Many theories went across his mind, but none many any sense. In the end, Subaru determined he was just wasting time and needed to leave. He got up and took one last look at his house. What he saw gave him goosebumps.

The bloody zombie appeared to be looking outside, possibly even at Subaru. It wasn't doing anything other than staring at him while the other zombie was still eating. There was a tense moment where Subaru wondered what it was going to do. But then he remembered what he needed to do and got up, leaving through the back gate.

3:02am

Subaru reached the brick wall again. Using his memory, he chose to climb up the part of the vine wall that was more sturdy. He reached the top and was making his way to the other side of the brick wall when he heard a woman.

"Harold? What is that?"

A deep, male voice responded, "I don't know, dear."

Subaru stopped in his tracks when he remembered the woman's voice. He turned his head to see the same woman from his previous loop. Holding her hand was Harold, alive and well. He was wearing the same overalls he would die in.

Harolds voice boomed as he yelled at Subaru, "Hey, kid! Get down from there before I call the cops!"

Subaru stared at the couple for a moment or two. The woman was holding her husband's hand tightly as she looked uncertainly at Subaru. Harold, who was a foot taller than his wife, stood with his chest puffed as if daring Subaru to try anything.

Knowing he couldn't waste any more time, Subaru knew he couldn't stay to help themLooking at Harold, Subaru could tell the man prided himself for being strong and relied on strength to solve problems. And obviously that wasn't the right way to do things. Subaru grunted and tossed his father's prized bat onto their backyard.

Harold put an arm in front of his wife, being skeptical about what ever it was Subaru had dropped in the dark.

Before leaving, Subaru left them with knowledge he hoped would save both of their lives without him having to be their. "Keep you're distance from them. Don't get bitten."

Subaru dropped down the wall and started to run to Rem's.

3:56am

The silent night remained undisturbed on Rem's street, not a single soul was out when Subaru arrived. Running by the dark houses, Subaru began to think of what he'll say when he got there. They, of course, wouldn't believe him if he said that zombies were only a few blocks down. Damn it.

He'd only have to hope they believed him one way or another. I'll come up with something hopefully when I get there.

A few minutes later, Subaru stepped onto the porch of Rem's house. He sat down on the steps to rest for a bit before knocking. In the distance, an ambulance siren was going off. The night was so peaceful here compared to the bloodbath that was occurring where he lived.

Subaru scanned the street for any sign of a zombie before knocking on the door.

Knock Knock Knock

"Hmmm...huh?" Ram woke up at the sound of knocking. She blindly reached for her phone on the nightstand next to her bed. After rummaging around a bit, she was able to wrap her fingers around the device and press a button. A bright light practically blinded Ram as it assaulted her eyes.

She put the phone screen down on her chest and squinted her eyes. After raising the phone again, she was able to make out the time on the phone. Looking at it, she whined in a sleepy voice, "4 o'clock in the morning?" She dropped her phone onto her chest. She turned over in her bed hoping the person would go away. She closed her eyes.

Knock Knock Knock

Ram cringed when the knocking came back, squeezing her eyes shut and gripping the blanket in a tight fist.

KnockKnockKnock

She opened her eyes and looked up at the ceiling, sighing with annoyance, "Uhhhhhhhh!" The blanket fell off the bed when Ram removed it to see who was at the door. Before leaving her room, Ram grabbed the taser, next to her kendo trophies, that her dad put in her room to use in self defense for the times he wasn't home. Only use it in emergencies, like a house intruder or something, he had said.

Rem was walking down the other side of the walkway when Ram exited her room. Rem was trying to rub the sleep from her blue eyes, but to no avail. "Who is it, sister?"

Ram walked up to Rem and hugged her with a bright smile, "I don't know, Rem. Just go back to bed. I'll handle it."

Sleepily nodding her head, Rem slowly stumbled back into her room, "OK."

Ram kept her smile until Rem was out of sight. Now frowning, she made her way to the front door. She yawned as she looked through the peephole. What she saw was Subaru, his hands shaking as he kept looking behind himself. She wondered a lot of things about why Subaru was here.

Despite being friends, this sight didn't sit well with Ram. "What are you doing here, Barusu?"

Upon hearing Ram's voice, Subaru's face quickly relaxed as he let his arms go limp. He slumped his body forward and sighed, "Oh thank god! Ram, let me in. I need to talk to you and Rem before your dad gets here." Subaru was one of the few friends that knew that Rem and Ram's father worked late.

Inside his head, Subaru scolded himself. Stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid! Why'd the hell you make it sound so weird?!

Ram squinted her eyes, "I'm not doing that, Barusu."

Subaru knew she was going to say that, but had nothing to say that would change her mind. "Can't I ju-."

"No."

"You didn't even hear my whole question."

"I don't have to, the answer is no."

Subaru held his hand out, "What if my question was to ask if I can't come in your house? Then your answer was no, meaning I can come in."

Ram sighed loudly so Subaru could hear it through the door, "What do you want, Barusu?"

Subaru raised his hand so Ram could see it, holding up a few fingers, "Just one, no two. Waitwaitwaitwait….four minutes of your time or more depending on whether you believe me or not."

"The chances of me believing you are slim." Ram looked Subaru up and down, a shiver ran down her spine. The sight made her even more certain she wasn't going to open the door.

Subaru began to talk in a more panicked sense as he glanced behind him. "Believe me or not, Ram, but there is something out there changing people." He pointed towards the the direction he came. "It's making them…..violent, crazy, blood thirsty…..hungry. Like, well, like a zombie!" Subaru shuffled closer to the door to whisper even though no one else was nearby, "People are eating other people, Ram. I don't know what it is, but something is making people attack anyone they see, anyone." He thought of their dad, Quarke Tenshi, killing them.

"Why are you covered in blood, Subaru?"

Subaru looked down at his shirt. Splatters of blood were stained it. The result of killing the zombie at his house. Even his hands had blood on them, some of it coated into his fingernails.

Hesitant, Subaru looked up at the peephole, "I did what I had to do to survive. Please believe me when I say this, Ram, but…" Subaru hesitated for a second. Tell her. No, don't tell her. She'll find out anyway, so tell her. You tell her, she won't believe you. Why not try?, "...your dad's turning into one of them."

Silence. Ram said nothing. She looked through the peephole, glaring at Subaru, who couldn't see her.

"Ram, please. When he gets here...he will kill both you and Rem."

Ram threw open the door in anger, surprising Subaru. She quickly raised the taser, aiming it at Subaru. Yelling, she claimed, "My father would never do something like that! You know nothing, Subaru! He and I would give our own lives before we let anything hurt Rem!"

His eyes fixated on the taser, Subaru tried not to make sudden movements. When Ram finished speaking Subaru could only look at her sadly, "You haven't seen what's been happening. If anyone here knows nothing, it's you." He started to raise his voice, his emotions that he kept pent up were directed towards a shocked Ram, "I've seen it all! I've been face to face with those things! I had to kill one! I had to take the life of a people I never even knew! I didn't know what else to do!"

Subaru started to choke up the more he was reminded of his past experiences in his new 'world', "No, Ram! You're the one that knows nothing! You may think that you're protecting, Rem, but the longer you stay here the worse! I came here to keep Rem and you safe. If I have to, I will force you to come with me! I don't know how but I will!"

Ram backed into the house to retrieve the house phone, keeping the taser pointed at Subaru the entire time.

Dialing her father's number, she put the phone up to her ear.

Subaru looked sadly at Ram, "If you're calling the police they won't answer. Whatever is happening now is happening almost everywhere."

Ram practically spat at Subaru, "I'm calling my father to come back and get rid of you."

Subaru said nothing as the call went unanswered. Ram looked at Subaru hatefully as she removed the phone from her ear.

"Sister?" Rem came up behind Ram. Ram and Subaru's yelling must have woken her up again. "Who are you talking too?"

Her eyes lit up when she saw Subaru, "Subaru?" Pausing to take in what was happening, Rem saw Ram with a taser aimed at him, he had blood on his shirt, and an ugly expression was on his face.

Instantly, Rem's face dropped as she looked at Subaru with unease. "Subaru, what….what are you doing?" She scooted slightly to hide behind Ram.

Seeing Rem look at him like that and seek Ram for protection crushed Subaru. He was trying to help them, both of them. However, he didn't seem to have gained their trust. There was no way he was going to get Ram's appraisal, but maybe he could get Rem's. He was her best friend, surely she would believe him on some degree.

"Rem, I came here to save you and Ram. I know it's far fetched, but there's an infection that's spreading fast and it making people go mad. I don't-."

"He says father is infected too and is coming here just to kill us."

Subaru took a step towards Ram with a finger pointed towards her, an irritated expression on his face. "That is NOT what I said!"

"Then how do you know, Subaru? How do you know anything about what my father plans to do?"

Subaru paused before answering, knowing that Ram and Rem would never believe him. "Because….I've seen it already. I don't know how, but I've already relivedthis night three times already. In each of those three nights, I die, but I wake up back in my house when I do." Subaru saw Ram roll her eyes. "Each time I die, I learn more about the infection that's spreading. I know you keep a gun locked in a safe under a table with the lock combination hidden in the table's top right drawer. I know you'd pull it on anyone, including me, who threatens to hurt, Rem. I know that your father will come here, not knowing how the infection works, and kill you."

Ram was taken aback at the mention of the gun, no one except Ram, Rem, and their father knew about it. However, this still didn't sway her into believing him. "When my father gets here, you plan on using that on him?" She gestured to the gun while spitting acid at Subaru.

Subaru looked at the cowering Rem, her eyes told him that she was scared of what he'd say.

"Only if….only if I have to." He looked down in shame.

"Wrong answer."

Two metal rods penetrated his skin and sent electricity coursing through his body. Subaru convulsed and fell to the ground when his legs were no long able to support him.

"SISTER!"

4:24am

Subaru woke up one the floor, handcuffed to the piping of a kitchen sink. He groggily looked at the metal ring surrounding his wrist and gave it a shake. "Huh? Wha-What is this?"

"It's for your own good and our safety, Subaru." Ram was standing next to Subaru, looking down at him with a frown.

Rem was in the living room that was openly connected to the kitchen. From the kitchen, Subaru could see the front door, the couch, almost everything. "I'm sorry, Subaru darling. I didn't want Sister to do it, but…..she knows what's best." Rem looked down at her hands. Rem was always dependent on her sister. She always considered Ram as her superior just because she was a few minutes older. Subaru never got why she thought this, like seriously? Just like….2 minutes or less. Maybe not even a minute, could be seconds. Either way, it still didn't make sense to Subaru. He had brought up the subject to Rem a few times, but every time he asked it was always, "Because my sister is the greatest."

Subaru looked back at the cuffs that rendered him helpless. He was the only one of the three who knew just how dangerous this was. He gave the cuffs a more vigorous shake as he looked at Ram pleadingly, "You don't know what you've just done." Their dad was on the way here, and when he gets here and Subaru is still stuck…. I'm going to die.

"Give me the key, Ram. I'll..I'll..I'll..I'll just take these off and be on my way, I swear!"

Ram shook her head at him, "Do you really think I would do that after what you told me." Her eyes lowered.

Subaru looked down at his bloody shirt, realization struck him, "Nonononononono, it's not like that! I already explained it to you! This was out of self defense!" Good reason, good reason.

Rem walked up to Subaru as Ram walked away with a disappointed look on her face. "Subaru….Rem wants to believe you….but father will help sort this all out." Rem bent down to Subaru's level, but kept her distance. When Subaru noticed this, it broke his heart. "Rem needs her Subaru to stay strong." It was too late for her comforting words, Subaru's hope for this loop was gone. Ram didn't trust him, Rem was scared of him, and their father was going to come and kill everyone including him. It was over.

"I've tried, Rem. There's only so much I can take, only so much. I don't think there's anyone in the world strong enough to truly fit in now." He looked at Rem, his mind made up, "This isn't our world anymore. It belongs to them." He pointed outside the window at the front. Flashing blue and red lights illuminated from the dark. Ram noticed the lights and began walking tot the front door. "He's infected, Rem, and when he turns….it won't be pretty."

"Father…" Rem stood up to walk outside with Ram.

Subaru reached up to grasp Rem's hand. He pulled so she would look into his eyes that were on the verge of tears. "Rem, no! I don't want to see you both die again! Once was still too much!"

Rem was confused, "Seeing me die? When did I die?"

Subaru ignored her, "Run from here, I don't care where you go, just leave before it's too late! Please!"

Rem looked at him uncertainly until she heard Ram.

From outside, a panicked Ram was trying to carry her injured father into the house. His blue hair was matted with blood while his blue eyes were drooping. With a muscular build, he was pretty big compared to his children. His right hand was clasping his neck, trying to slow down the bleeding from a large wound that was in it. Drops of blood fell to the floor ground, making a trail.

When Quark could barely support his own weight he had to lean on Ram, but she couldn't carry all his weight. She called out to Rem, "Rem! Father is hurt!"

In a flash, Rem was already running to the front door, Subaru tried to stop her, "No, Rem! He's infected!" She didn't pay attention to his words.

Quark didn't notice Subaru as he limped towards the couch with the help of Rem and Ram. He practically threw himself onto it as he bled into the fabric.

Ram had tears in her eyes as she inspected his wound, "Father, we have to get you to a hospital!" She and Rem helped apply pressure to the wound to prevent more blood from pouring out.

Through gasps, Quark was able to say, "Hospitals...too full…something is...wrong." He held onto Rem's hand and removed it lightly, "Rem, get…get the med...medical supplies from the closet."

Rem hurried her way to a door located in the hallway and retrieved a large medical box full of bandages, alcohol, swabs, bandaids, almost everything needed to treat a wound or rash.

Quark did the same to Ram, "Honey, get the gun."

Ram looked shocked at what her dad was saying, "Wha-What? Why?"

"I said get the gun!" Quak started clenching his teeth as a pain started to travel up his neck.

Ram stood her ground and tried to put her bloody hands back on the wound, "I'm not leaving you, we need to stop the bleeding."

Quark grabbed Ram's wrist and told her with pain in his eyes, "Get..the gun..now."

Ram still waited for a few seconds until she saw Rem come back with bandages, gauze, and alcohol. Then she went to the drawer to find the slip of paper.

Entering the combination to the safe, Ram retrieved the pistol. She held it uncertainly, never having used it before.

While Rem was bandaging up her father's wound, Ram held the gun out for him to take. He looked at her through squinted teeth, "No, I won't be of use with that right now. Give it to Rem, she's a better shot."

Ram handed the gun to Rem, hoping her shooting lessons with Quark would pay off.

Having already handled a gun like this during the many time her and her dad went shooting together, Rem still felt uneasy, "Father, why do we need the gun?"

Subaru could only watch in horror as their dad was slowing turning. They were so focused on bandaging the wound that they covered up the evidence of the purple substance spreading in his skin.

"There were...riots downtown...I was in...the thick of it...when someone...bit me." With the wound bandaged up and only slowly seeping through the wraps, Rem and Ram sat quietly to listen. "I...I...I took them down...and ran to...my car...I don't know...why, but they started to...chase me even though I was...I was driving away." He adjusted in his spot to rest his head on a part of the couch that didn't have his blood on it. "They were...angry. People like that...were everywhere...It was a mad house. That's...that's why we...need the gun...for protection."

Ram looked at Subaru. He was right.

"What is that, Father?" Rem placed the gun to the side and got up. She inspected Quarke's face, purple lines were traveling up from his neck. His face was scrunch up in pain. More lines were visible going down his arms.

Subaru's eyes widened, he began to tug hard to hopefully break the chain of the cuffs, "Rem! Don't go near him!"

Jumping back from Subaru's sudden outburst, Rem turned to look at Subaru, "Subaru, why do you yell at Rem?" She looked back at her father who was looking back at her with a strange look, his eyes were foggy. "Father?"

Rem screamed in fear when her father lunged forward and clamped his jaws on her shoulder.

Subaru watched in sickening horror as his whole world came crashing down yet again. "REM!" He started to kick at the pipe he was attached to. Kicking it with all his might, the pipe actually began to bend, Subaru kept at it hoping it would disconnect soon.

Rem forcefully tore herself from her father's jaws. She cried from the pain as she stumbled back and fell into Ram's arms.

Ram looked down in horror at Rem's shoulder, savagely ripped open and bleeding. Her father had done this, just like Subaru said he would. When she thought this, Subaru voice hit her like a ton of bricks.

"Ram, that's not your dad anymore! You have to kill it!"

Ram looked at Subaru with angry tears falling down her face, "No, I can't kill my father! He's done nothing but love us!"

"Ram!"

Ram looked back at her father who was now running at her. She threw Rem to the side and ran into the hallway, towards her room. She turned back around to see her father run into the wall hard. It would have been comical if the situation wasn't so frightening.

Ram couldn't talk because she was scared out of her mind on why her father was acting like this. She slowly back away, noticing that her father was now jerking his head around, looking..no, listening.

Bump.

Ram's back hit her room door, causing a loud bumping noise.

Quarke's head jerked in Ram's direction, listening for a confirmation noise of some sort. When Ram opened her room door, Quarke charged.

With his strong muscles and fast sprint, Quark was able to mow down the door with almost no resistance. However, being blind caused him to trip on the fallen door, slamming on the ground.

Reaching into her closet, Ram brought out her wooden kendo sword, a bokken, knowing that she would have to use it on her father if she had to.

Subaru had said that people were changing and that their father was one of them. She held onto the hope that maybe they can change back.

"Father, please stop this!"

Quark got to his feet and turned towards Ram's voice. He tilted his head a little before he started running at her.

Without thinking, Ram swung the sword and hit her father on the side. While it did possibly snap a rib and make Quark stumble a bit, Ram looked in shock and fear as he brushed it off like nothing. Her scream was muffled by he father's hand that had reached out towards he. Before she knew it, Quark had lifted her chin and tore his teeth through her throat. Weak gurgles escaped her mouth as her efforts to escape grew weaker.

Ram tried to hit her father while he ate her esophagus. The bite proved to be fatal, blood gushed out in large amounts as Ram went still. Her hands fell to her side as her mouth shut, cutting off the silent scream.

Rem ran into the room in hopes of helping, but found that she was too late, "NO!"

Hearing a new voice, Quark released Ram, letting her body fall to the floor. The sight of her father's face twisted with ugly rage and covered in Ram's blood made her sick to her stomach.

Subaru was right, this wasn't their father. Their father would never do something so horrible, so inhumane. Rem raised the gun she picked up at the couch. Her words were sad and hollow as she threatened the man who killed her sister. "Stop this now or I will….kill you."

Quark ignored the warning and ran at Rem, tripping on the fallen door again.

Rem retreated all the way to her bedroom door to put space between them. Quark had lost Rem again getting to his feet and only stood in place, listening. The sounds that Subaru creating to escape his imprisonment was what now caught his attention.

"Raaaaaggghhhhh…"

Quarke moved to the doorway of the living room and was going to make his way to the defenseless Subaru when Rem yelled at the man, her voice sounded angry, "No! I won't allow you to hurt anyone anymore!"

Hearing Rem again, Quark ran at her.

A tear formed in Rem's eyes as she pulled the trigger. A clean shot, straight through the heart. Quark stumbled but stayed on his feet. The power of the shot knocked him back a bit.

Subaru heard the gunshot, he began to hit the pipe harder. The pipe bent more and more every time he hit it. After hearing three more gunshots, the pipe broke off from the the connection point in the wall and sprayed Subaru with water. He was free.

When Quark didn't fall, Rem stared in horror as he turned to her again and ran. She fired three more shots into various parts of his body, but they all did almost nothing. Quark collided with a screaming Rem, and threw her to the ground, increasing the pain in her bleeding shoulder. The gun flew out of her hand, landing not far off.

Quark snapped at Rem, his bloody teeth trying to tear into her flesh. Rem closed her eyes and groaned as her shoulder couldn't push on him any longer. After only a few seconds of excruciating pain, Rem gave up, going limp. However, Quarke stopped when he discovered something. He sniffed the air, a smell only he could detect was coming from Rem.

Rem cried in fear as Quark lowered his head to put his nose against the bite wound he caused, the purple lines had already began to travel down her arms and up her neck. Rem yelped when he reached up to touch it. The yelp caused him to turn his head towards her, red saliva dropped down into her face as he growled.

The metallic sound of a gun being cocked brought his attention away from Rem and to his right. That's where Subaru stood, the gun in his hand.

"Raaaaghhhhh…"

Before Quark could close his mouth from groaning at Subaru, he inserted the barrel into Quark's mouth. Feeling this new sensation brought anger to Quark. He roared with the gun in his mouth and started to claw at Subaru. With a neutral look with no emotion, Subaru put a hole into Quark's head.

Red blood painted the walls as Quark's head jerked back. He fell limp, leaning on the wall.

Rem was still beneath him so Subaru shoved Quark's body off of her.

"Subaru." Was all Rem said as Subaru removed her father from on top of her.

Subaru dropped to his knees and rested Rem's head on his lap. He stupidly asked, "Are you okay?"

Rem looked into Subaru's sad eyes, her's filled with pain, "Rem feels...bad." Her skin was getting pale. Subaru softly held one of her hands and watched the purple lines spread to her fingertips.

"Will Rem end up like my father?"

Subaru was taken aback by Rem's question. It seems she understood what was happening to her.

The first tears of many that night finally fell from Subaru's eyes. Rem was going to turn, there was no doubt about it. Unless…

Subaru put up a weak smile as tears fell from his face, "You'll be alright, Rem. I'll make sure no one else hurts you, okay?"

With the purple lines reaching her cheeks, Rem nodded, but she didn't smile. Rem knew what was going to happen, no amount of lying from Subaru would change that.

Rem wrapped her fingers around Subaru's hand, "Please stay with me, Subaru darling. I want you with me till the end."

Subaru had a genuine smile on his face as he kissed Rem on the forehead, she was burning up, "I'd never leave you, Rem. We're in this together."

Rem tightened her grip around Subaru's hand, "Subaru darling..." An unbearable pain struck her as the purple lines sunk into her eye sockets. She let go of Subaru's hand to cradle her head. She screamed in pain through clenched teeth as if she were being tortured.

Subaru held Rem steady so she didn't fall off of his lap. He looked as Rem suddenly started to change into a zombie before his eyes. He could feel his will to live break as Rem was torn from his life in only a few minutes. He brushed away some of her hair that had fallen in from of her face, "It'll be okay, Rem."

Finally, Rem relaxed after a short ten seconds.

"Rrraaaaagggghhh…" Rem looked up at Subaru, her eyes bloodshot. Her face twisted in anger as she jerked towards him, but Subaru stopped her with his arm.

Subaru held Rem in a choke hold to prevent her from biting him. He looked away from her as she snapped at him. Her once innocent face showed only hatred and hunger. Will this happen every time?

Subaru brought the gun to Rem's temple. He wondered if Rem was able to see herself act as a zombie just as he was able to. She would see everything that Subaru was about to do. Please don't hate me.

Unable to control his own body, Subaru started to hyperventilate as he tried to pull the trigger, but couldn't find it within himself to kill her. He finally looked down at Rem, seeing her eyes looking up at him with hatred.

Her snapping teeth and horrible face cause him to look away again. He had to do it, if he didn't then she would go out and infect more people. He had to end it here, but he didn't want to lose Rem. There was only one way to save them. He looked at her father with complete hatred. It's all your fault.

He came to the conclusion as he looked back at Rem. "I'm going to save you." He shut his eyes tight as he pulled the trigger, feeling her blood splatter on his legs.

Subaru began to completely break down. His mind absolutely crushed under what he had to do. He gently moved Rem's body off of him, yelling in anguish, "Ahhhhhhhhh!"

There's no other way.

Subaru jerked the gun to his head. An image of Rem's beautiful face framed in the hallway made him hesitate. He was about to force his finger to pull the trigger and end his own life when the front door suddenly burst open. Several neighborhood men, armed with weapons of their own, flooded into the living room. Their reactions to the blood on the floor and furniture were nothing short of shock and terror. Despite having heard gunshots, they never thought they're walk into something so gruesome. It looked as if a massacre had taken place.

Their attention was directed towards where a trail of blood led them to the hallway that resided three of the people involved with the incident. They found Subaru with two bodies around him, both with bullet wounds. And what Subaru held in his hand could only be determined as the murder weapon.

They found Subaru, struggling to end his own life, but one of the men quickly disarmed him by knocking the gun away.

They all immediately held Subaru down, who gave no resistance to the treatment. His eyes were devoid of life, the youthful glimmer that normally accompanied teens his age was gone, having been lost not long ago.

Subaru himself paid no attention to what happened after. What happened after this was a blur. He remembers being yelled at by the men, but offered no idea that he had even heard them. But he does remember their faces. Looks of anger and disgust were the only expressions the people had for him. Their words were muffled, lost in his head in a sea of empty promises and hopeless goals.

He was roughly thrown to the asphalt, his face being squished against the rough rocks. The pain he felt during his citizens arrest went unnoticed by himself. His head was lifted up by someone who asked him a question. Unable to give an answer, Subaru allows the man to drop his head again to resume the mistreatment.

In the end, one decided to drive him to the police station since none of the lines were working. It was a sign they all saw as disturbing, but decided it would be best to bring him in immediately rather than wait.

His wrists tied together with wire, Subaru finds himself thrown into the back of someone's car. He gives no words when two other men enter the car.

As they begin to drive down the street, Subaru takes in the sight of Quark's police cruiser. Quietly, he asks himself, "Why me?"

One of the men hears him, but did nothing but shoot him a look of hatred.

As they drive it becomes clear to them all that something was terribly wrong. Slowly, they began to notice the occasional dead body lying on the floor.

If I just I had gotten there sooner. I shouldn't stop. I need to save them.

Subaru watches with the men as they notice the subtle then drastic changes. He regrets having ever done anything that wasn't saving his friends. He wanted the safe, but ended up doing nothing. His attempts to talk to them had gone no where so he knows it would never work.

A woman, her face smeared with blood, came running up to the car, pleading for the men to let her inside the vehicle. Subaru is lost in thought, his mind no longer tied to this world as the men let the woman get inside the car. She pleads for them to take her to the hospital since she appeared to be bleeding profusely. Her pained wails and the frantic questioning from the men went unheard by Subaru.

I can't save them if I can't get them to understand.

Quickly, the surrounding neighborhood began to look like a war zone. There were cars crashed into trees and houses, bodies littered the floor, puddles of blood flowed down into the gutters. People screamed, their cries for help being worthless since no one would come and save them.

But what if they're not the ones I need to save.

Slowly, Subaru began to function properly, his mind working away at the problem. Perhaps it wasn't Rem and Ram that needed saving. Maybe, just maybe, it was Quark that was the damsel in distress. He, technically, was the cause of everything with his problem saving Rem and Ram. If Subaru alone goes to their house Rem and Ram they won't believe him until it's too late. But if he had their father, healthy and well, then he can persuade them to get to safety.

It was a small spark of hope, but it was enough to pull Subaru out of his state of mental paralysis. "I can do it...I...I can save them."

The man next to Subaru asks, "What?"

Meanwhile, the woman began to wail in pain as a purple substance traveled quickly up her neck and across her face. Neither of the men knew what was happening, but Subaru did. He tried to say something, but the woman had already turned and was trying to attack the man at the wheel.

The sudden attack from the woman made the man lose control of the car and swerve it off the road. They drive across multiple lawns, tearing through wooden fences and leafy bushes before crashing head on into a tree.

Subaru almost blacked out upon impact, his head hitting the back of the front seat. His vision doubled, he could barely make out the totaled front of the car. Looking over, he could tell the man next to him had lived while the one up front had died. Apparently not aware of buckling up, the driver had not flown outside of the front windshield, but more so busted a hole out with his head alone.

Over the ringing in his ears, Subaru could make out the sounds of screaming. He lifted his head up, looking out the shattered windows. People were running everywhere while zombies chased them down, one by one taking a life.

Knowing he couldn't stay, Subaru struggled to get his head right. He tried to open the door, but found that it was jammed. He threw his body into the door then froze, noticing that the woman was waking up. The woman looked around until she caught sight of the driver and started eating at his corpse. Now trapped in an enclosed space with a slow eating monster, Subaru was more urgent to leave the car.

Again, Subaru started throwing his weight into the door, hoping it would be enough to budge it open. However, it didn't work and the woman heard him. Snarling, she turned in her seat and started crawling her way over to him. Subaru started to throw his weight quicker, but knew it wasn't making a difference. The woman reached out and grabbed Subaru by the collar, leaning her head in to have her first taste.

Suddenly, the window next to Subaru shattered completely, spraying him with glass. The woman's head was obliterated by a shower of pellets moving faster than the speed of sound. Her limp body fell into Subaru's lap, blood from the woman's neck soaking his pants.

Before Subaru could even wonder what had happened, he heard a voice come from outside the car. "Ah, what the hell? I was watching that!"

Looking over, Subaru could see two men; one dressed in a button down while the other wore a suit. Apparently, the button down had been the one whining.

"You take too much pleasure in watching people suffer," the suit guy said, a shotgun in his hand.

The button down rolled his eyes. "Is that not why you're in this profession?"

"I never wanted to be." Suit growled, his face turning sour. "I was forced to."

Button down chuckled, sarcastically saying, "Right, and I never wanted to have to kill my own friends. We don't always get what we want, we just have to deal the hand given to us." He pulled a gun out from his back pocket and pointed it at Subaru, whom was still trying to open the door. "You may not appreciate our job, but it's the only thing keep us alive. So you best start liking it or she won't like you."

There was a flash, and then Subaru's world went dark.