That day, Vivienne and Kayen rode back in the same car, huddled together whispering in the backseat, tending to their wounds by themselves without letting anyone even their closest friends help. Everyone else was left utterly bewildered, wondering if they'd lost their minds from the blast. When did they get so close?
"What did you just say? The slime that got on my clothes and that kid's… what kind of virus is it?"
Will raised a hand to cover one ear, the booming voice of his huge friend making his eardrum feel like it was dancing.
Kayen had been checking lab results every single day for three days straight, asking questions more anxiously than a father waiting for a child to be born.
Ever since returning from the operation with the Special Security Unit, Kayen had been acting… strangely.
Even for him, that was unusual.
His anxious obsession with the research results was certainly unlike the usual hotheaded man everyone knew.
"It's a zombie virus it makes you dazed, insane, mindless. That's why it's called a zombie virus."
"And…?" Kayen began to speak, but Will interrupted, knowing full well that his friend's imagination was as extreme as his own.
"It's not like in the movies.
That kind of thing couldn't happen…the cellular structure is far more complex than that," the long-haired researcher, covered in tattoos, explained.
"The strain might still be developing," Kayen added, trying to cover up the fact that he had been bitten by the creature and silently warning the clumsy kid Vivian to keep his mouth shut or the authorities would inject him with who-knows-what.
"But compared to normal, this one's superior, stronger… it even has something like human genes. The slime that stuck to us it's like… human semen," Will muttered, his voice low, following the most probable conclusion from the research data.
"Shit… how does it mix, how does it spread, if it bites someone, does it implant embryos inside?!"
Kayen lunged and grabbed his friend by the collar, shaking him violently, eyes blazing.
Will raised an eyebrow, silently asking what the hell was wrong with him. Seeing the sharp black eyes on his collar, Cayenne finally released his grip.
"What's wrong with you? Why are you going berserk all of a sudden?"
"Sorry I've just been a bit on edge lately."
"But I think that tiger… is probably the alpha… the big daddy. It's likely Patient Zero, or something like that. Like in those movies creatures escaping from labs and doing weird experiments."
Will chewed gum as he worked, handling experimental samples like he was just playing around, not really working.
"Could it be… it needs to reproduce? Like… if it doesn't breed, it could go extinct?"
Kayen continued asking, worried because he hadn't told anyone the truth, making him even more anxious than usual.
"It's possible. Its cellular structure is like an ovotestis it has both sexes within itself. But reproduction with a partner would make it more complete. Of course, it has to be a compatible mate. Regular animals probably wouldn't work."
Semi was still reading the lab results, confused, because viruses from animals shouldn't behave the same way in humans. Even with modern limitless viral mutations, this was unusual.
"And if… it does have a compatible partner?"
"Then it would have offspring, a kind of lineage, like humans. But it might only reproduce in batches at a time. It's complicated… even I don't fully understand. If it's dangerous, it would be… quite a spectacle."
"What do you mean?"
"Let's assume… it's a zombie. A perfect zombie. It can reproduce like a human, hunt in packs like animals. Its body doesn't need to regenerate broken bones, torn flesh, it still survives. Eating is easy, it'll even eat its own kind.
It's basically a self-protecting army that's hard to defeat… fucking badass."
Thunk!!
"Bastard!"
Kayen slammed his massive fist against the wall with a deafening crash. Will jumped, startled, as his friend suddenly became irritable and agitated, snapping at everything.
"Why the hell are you cussing at me, Kayen?!" Semi frowned in confusion.
He knew his friend was hot-headed, even at his age, but lately, it seemed like Kayen's temper was flaring even more easily like a man going through some midlife chaos.
"Sorry… I was cussing at whoever thinks like that," Kayen muttered, patting his friend's shoulder lightly, then sitting down to calm himself.
"Yeah, right… and you're acting weird too. Go get your mental health checked or something. What's with that tense face? No wife, no kids, and you're wound up like this?"
Semi shrugged, not taking offense after all, their friendship allowed for this kind of ribbing. He didn't notice Kayen 's hand repeatedly scratching one side of his stomach.
"So… how far have you gotten checking the vaccines?" Kayen asked, curious because he knew he'd been acting strange since the bite.
He hoped there might be some medicine to ease the chills and restlessness creeping through his body.
"It's… normal," Semi replied. "Normal like… taking a painkiller."
"What? What kind of damn vaccine feels like a painkiller?!"
"I don't know… it's… weird. I still can't tell exactly what's in it.
But it's not the one that was officially listed. This one was imported by the government, right?"
"Yeah, imported in bulk. They've just thrown it at people till they drop. Wasted the country's budget on it."
"Man, you really speak your mind, Kayen. No wonder you don't have a wife. You're getting older, everyone's dead or gone, only guys left. And you've been hassling me from graduation till now… I swear, your grumpy face all the time just makes me want to scream~"
"Damn it! If nobody wants me, don't blame me for it."
"You're the same. Stay away! If anything happens, I'll tell you!"
"Yeah, thanks."
A week had passed since that bizarre, nightmarish event so unreal it felt like something out of a twisted fantasy game.
But the small wound on his calf was a harsh reminder that it had really happened, inflicted by something undefinable, and he had no idea what the consequences of having the virus inside him would be.
Why the strange itching?
Down there… it was hard.
Hard in a way that couldn't be ignored, and there was a clear, sticky liquid slowly oozing out.
A clear mucus, reminiscent of… an arousal, seeping out.
The amount was small, but it immediately reminded Vivian of the slime covering that creature in the shipping container.
"Vivian, why are you always hiding your front with your bag? Are you ashamed? And that leg… you keep scratching it, do you even shower?" Henry asked, concerned for his skinny friend.
"I shower… eight times a day, Doctor!" Vivian muttered awkwardly, his voice flat.
Henry frowned, surprised at how seriously his friend was taking such a casual remark typical guy teasing aside.
"I'm just gonna go to the bathroom for a bit." Vivian thought, feeling his mood swing irritably and realizing how hard and tense his lower region had become, making him even more frustrated.
Bang!
Huff, huff.
The bathroom door shut behind him, and he was left panting, his body feeling all wrong.
Hunger.
Thirst.
Desire… something he didn't understand, leaving his already skinny frame thinner than before.
Puffy, bloodshot eyes, some days more noticeable than others, watery as if he had cried all night.
"Why is it always hard…?
Does my body even smell… or is it the virus?"
Vivian muttered, sitting on the toilet, pulling down his pants to stare at his rigid, heated shaft, muttering under his breath.
"And what about that old man who got bitten… how is he doing?"
"Kayen, you've been acting weird lately. Staying away from everyone… what's up with that?"
Semi asked, noticing how distant his large friend had been, avoiding anyone including him.
The occasional crashing and swearing from Kayen's private office could be heard like a wave. He wasn't yelling at anyone this time, just venting. He had even reduced his patrols, letting Semi take over, while he stayed inside doing paperwork which was odd, because Kayen usually preferred fieldwork.
"I… I'm dizzy, probably from all the sun, rain, dust, and smoke. Don't want to be around you guys, scared of getting infected," Kayen replied, only turning his face slightly toward his best friend.
His voice was hoarse, body frail and thin, with sunken, red, bruised eyes. Semi couldn't help but worry.
"You never complain about being sick, even once in a hundred lifetimes. Must be bad. Go lie down already. Smells like rot… is it all gone yet? Ha ha ha."
Semi joked, not seriously, but the one worrying about the worsening bite wound was the big man, who quickly went into his office, shutting himself in.
He slumped into his chair, tilting his head back and breathing heavily, exhausted and struggling for air.
Fuuu… huff, huff…
Kayen Rotting… smell… itchy… the bite… don't tell me… am I turning into that thing? And that kid, he got bitten too…
His large, calloused hands grabbed his phone, dialing while pressing against his temple, trying to ease the dizziness.
"Vivian… come meet me. I need to talk to you."
The drawn-out voice came through the line so unlike the usual rough, hot‑headed Kayen.
"…Okay."
Vivian answered shortly and hung up. A moment later, the address was sent to him by text.
Normally, Kayen would have stormed straight to someone's place if he had business to settle.
But this time… it was probably the hardest moment of his life.
Vivian decided to go to the older man instead.
After all, he had been bitten less his symptoms should be lighter.
His long legs carried him into the luxury condominium reserved for high‑ranking officers, a skyscraper so expensive that its price matched the number of floors it had.
Ding!
The spacious elevator shot upward, carrying his slim figure to the upper levels in silence.
"…Hah."
A heavy breath escaped his lips.It felt like someone walking toward death, going to meet a fellow doomed soul at least going to hell together would make it less lonely.
Knock, knock, knock.
"…Yeah."
A faint reply came before the door opened. The broad figure standing there looked thinner than before, his face just as worn and hollow.
"Are you close to dying yet,
old man?"
Vivian muttered weakly, looking at the dark circles under the other man's eyes, at his body barely holding itself up as he leaned against the wall.
"Not yet… I'm waiting to die with you" Kayen rasped back, his hoarse voice low as they both moved to sit on the sofa.
"You look bad like, really bad. You probably won't make it through tonight."
"Look who's talking. You're pale as a damn corpse skewer.
If I die, you're dying with me, you little pain in the ass."