Chapter 64 - Theories

Aurum stood at the main door of the hotel, looking out at the world. He put the energy drink to his lips, chugging it down in one go.

GULP! GULP! GULP! GULP! GULP! GULP!

He pulled the empty cup away, crushing it.

"You should rest," Takashi and Hirano noticed him, they were filling the bags they found in the hotel with the necessities. Making Apocalypse-Aid Kits.

"I want to. But you don't know how much these girls scream in the bath. Good thing that this hotel has good soundproofing, or we'd be surrounded by zombies," Aurum threw the can in front of him, rubbing his eyes.

Hirano sulked, "hah, what would I give to be in the same room as the girls."

"Well, my little sister is there. This is a bonus," Aurum grinned, walking up to them, "that reminds me. Hirano. Your family...they are not here?"

"No, they are on foreign trips like I said," Hirano answered, "but I am sure they'd be fine. I hope."

Aurum patted his shoulder, "Takashi, your parents?"

"My mother is a teacher is an elementary school."

"Elementary school," Aurum rubbed the back of his neck, "Ugh...to see all those children turn into zombies. It could mess up any person. We might have to make your mother a priority."

Takashi looked up at him. He looked towards the bags they were packing and mountain of supplies, "thank you...but...it's far and everyone's houses..."

"No. We are not doing it like that. If this was just an Apocalypse, then it would be the best route," Aurum sat down on the couch, "Go to your family, protect them, move on. This is different. You saw those people."

Takashi and Hirano stopped. Hirano looked towards Takashi, since he was the one who closely met with them, "who are they?"

"Don't know. Whoever their Boss is. He has a Superpower. I doubt he was behind the Apocalypse, but the Apocalypse benefited him the most. More so than the ones who were behind this," Aurum rubbed his hair.

"What did he want with Hisashi?"

"If I had to guess. Then he doesn't want to experiment on his original body. So he plants his consciousness into other people. And I think it needs some sort of compatibility. Hisashi met the criteria. Maybe," Aurum couldn't tell them the truth about his power to turn back time. So, the next best thing he could do was give them a half-assed guess.

"And Rei?"

"What do you think? The zombies that he gains control over are different. The virus makes them deadly. He causes a mutation that makes them horny. Or so I thought at first."

"At first?" Hirano spoke up, "then you think it's something else?"

"I'll have to get it from my jeep but you saw it," Aurum gestured towards Hirano, "that drone."

"Draganfly V Ti!! Four Rotors! Tilt Rotor Camera Mount! Even a wireless video downlink!!"

"Yes, that," Aurum laughingly looked at his joy, "Eve was using it to keep an eye from above. The case I kept it in has a monitor that connects with it, and I have footage of zombies dying from climaxing."

"Ok, so many questions," Takashi stopped him, "why do you have that stuff?"

"Bro," Aurum gave him a disproving look, and Takashi turned to look at Hirano for support, who gave him a similar look.

"What? Some questions you don't ask," Hirano shook his head, acting like it was a code.

"Ok," Takashi leaned back on the chair, giving up on that question, "Ok, what about zombies dying from climaxing?"

"Here's my theory. They are not following biological instinct. I think that is something deeper, a drive, vengeance against the living. What they wish to devour is not dead flesh or they would eat each other. What they want to devour is life. I know I am getting into a bit of philosophical stuff. But the fact is...that might be the only answer why zombies devour the human."

"Now, in literature, zombies originated from Revenants. These were thought to be spirits or walking dead who came out of their grave to take vengeance on those who harmed them. They can spread disease to the living, and even go as far as sucking their blood, like vampires."

"There is no point. That is trivia I knew," Aurum blinked. He grinned, "Now. In ration, scientific, logical sense. I think zombie virus spreads through human body and it reached their brain and forms a core inside it."

He knocked on his forehead, "maybe towards the front? Or maybe the entire brain in the core."

"What they are doing is transferring this core through sex into one person. And losing that core kills them. Assuming I am right. What do you think happens to the person accepting that core?"

Takashi clenched the chair arm while Hirano gripped the water bottle he planned to keep in the back, feeling the tension in the air, "What?"

Takashi asked, but his voice didn't come out. He cleared his throat, "What?"

"I believe they are mutating. Not just them. Us too. I nearly missed a shot because I put more strength than necessary. That doesn't happen. Not after years of training. It was slight, but something about my body changed and it disoriented me," Aurum clenched his fist, "We kill zombies, and the virus latches onto us. It can't reach our brain, not directly. It gets broken down by our cells and absorbed by them. Or something like that. I don't understand completely how it works."

"What it does is. Increase our overall strength," Aurum leaned forward, "this has many rules. One of them I figured out is that we need to be near enough the monsters for the virus to latch on. About five meters or fewer? I'll guess. And we only get a bit of it."

"But those guys are using sex as a transfer, and they are transferring all of virus. Give them a few days and those women will become something different. Each one might be as good as trained soldiers with heightened strength and senses. And... a single scratch from them might turn us into zombies."

Takashi and Hirano gulped. Takashi got up, walking away from him, "then we should be getting away as far as possible."

"We could. We could. If you are ready to bomb the whole place down and kill innocent survivors. Or he will make an army of his. Intelligent monster army. And it'd be fucking unstoppable."

"It's that voice, isn't it?" Hirano muttered, "Yeah, that deep, confident voice. I mean I can't say no to anything you say. That's so unfair."

"Really? I tell you about the end of the world within the end of the world. And that is what you have to comment on? My voice?"

"It is unfair," Takashi nodded, agreeing with Hirano.

"Haha, joke in the face of disaster. Nothing more human than that," Aurum muttered. He took a deep breath, "Ok. Listen. I plan on staying and fighting, and start to make our first stand here. We are at the edge of the town. There are farmlands in front of us. And we can slowly clear this area. Stay out of cities and make our lives here. On top of that, we can split off. Get your families and more resources."

"Split off? That's dangerous. How are we going to?"

"Yeah, that's something I have to work on. You," Aurum closed his eyes, "I need you to make up with Rei. Take her to the gas station along with the bus. I need you two to bring as much gas back as you can. There is more than enough money for that in this hotel. Hirano and Saeko can protect others."

"As for me...there is someone I need to go pick up."