From the Ashes - chapter 3
title: From the Ashes
author: draelynn aka oracle_dreams
fandom: WK / Saiyuki (in later chapters)
rating: R - for horrorshow violence
summary: The end of the world has arrived and it is not the one anybody could have anticipated. But assassins are uniquely qualified at surviving a zombie apocolypse. Can they overcome their differences long enough to save what little is left of the world?
They were already two hours into their return journey and it had been fairly uneventful. Crawford never imagined that his talent would be put to use in such mundane ways; finding gasoline and supplies, heading off crises as the infrastructure began to fail around them, and, in potentially saving a few lives along the way.
Nagi looked to Brad as he drove silently along. He no longer minded the stereo being kept quite so loud as they drove. The music came from Nagi’s iPod - all the radio stations ceased broadcasting weeks ago. That flat look of long drive boredom on Brad’s face seemed a bit more focused than usual though.
“Brad?” Nagi recognized a vision when he saw one though one of this length, while Brad was actively driving a vehicle near one hundred and twenty kilometers an hour, caused a bit of concern.
Brad’s control was rock solid as ever, maybe more so since this apocalypse. With the smaller population came fewer and fewer possible futures. With less to foresee, Brad was able to manipulate his visions with a precision he hadn’t quite had before. Nagi knew Brad could multitask, but he kept close watch on the road and Brad at the same time just in case.
“Relax. He’s fine…” Schuldig confirmed from the armored vehicle following behind them. “Just give him a minute.”
Nagi bristled at the intrusion but he also realized he’d just need to get used to it. Schuldig was always in all their heads now. Even though he was his usual annoyingly charming self it was just a front. He needed them as an anchor. The vast silent mindscape was beyond isolation for a telepath as skilled as the redhead. They used this same sort of isolation to break telepaths in Rosenkreuz, and Schuldig was no stranger to it. The tentative fear of it lingered just at the edges of everything Schuldig said or did.
‘He’s not driving your car…”
“Like you couldn’t stop it dead if you wanted to.” There was a long pause. “He’s out there… months ahead I think.” Nagi could hear the squint in his voice. “Just give him time to find what he’s looking for.”
“I thought it hurt to eavesdrop on his visions?”
“It used to… it doesn’t anymore. And don’t ask why...”
Nagi figured he could just ask Brad later. Brad would have theory. Brad always had a theory.
Brad suddenly blinked, his hand instantly raising to the comlink perched around his ear.
“We’re taking a small detour before heading home. We’ll gas up at the next likely station.”
“This ought to be good…” Schuldig had sped up to pull along side them, his slow grin nearly beaming from the other vehicle.
‘I think we’ll all be pleasantly surprised. That is, if we can get there in time.” Brad passed a glance to the redhead over Nagi’s shoulder.
“Where are we going?” Nagi knew Brad wouldn’t get Schuldig’s hopes up for nothing.
“The last place we want to be…”
Nagi rolled his eyes. It was just the four of them and still Brad couldn’t resist being cryptic.
“Tokyo. We are going home.” Farfarello chimed in as if the answer were obvious. There was a tinge of anticipation in his voice too.
Brad just smiled as he floored the accelerator. They had another hours drive.
Tokyo was indeed the last place they wanted to be. The most populated city in the world was literally crawling with corpses. Ten miles out, Brad veered off road and followed a rural rail line into the city. It was eerily vacant unlike the occasional glimpses of elevated highways along their route. Cars were scattered all along its lengths, the massive pileups in the outbound lanes were impassable. At some point in the panic, the inbound lanes had been opened to the panicked citizens as well. There were plenty of corpses weaving their way through that steel maze.
At the interchange yard, they turned out onto the city streets and into an almost instant assault. But much of the dead were weeks old; fetid, rotting shambling mounds of putrid flesh. The entire city reeked of old death. Schuldig and Farfarello, though, were unphased by the overwhelming stench. They were having entirely too much fun bulldozing their way through the streets, taking out as many bodies as they could. Nagi simplified the process much to their dismay, clearing entire city blocks with a thought, tossing bodies and cars out of their way as easily as swatting at flies. After a half hour of entertainment, Brad reigned them all back in.
“We’re getting close.’ Brad’s hand went to his ear. “We are going to need to rely heavily on Nagi for this so Farfarello - you and I will cover his back as needed. Schuldig…”
“Oh, I already know…” The redheaded purred over the open channel. “Brad, this might be the best present you have ever given me…”
Brad just chuckled. He knew the desperate telepath would go looking for live minds. “I thought you’d appreciate it. Can you tell how many on the rooftops?”
“Ten total, six in the air, four on the ground running ammo…” Schuldig cut off his own words. “And they have radio capability.”Schuldig opened the psychic link he established in his team years ago. “Mostly Yakuza with a special forces type running the show. Very organized.”
“And how are our friends doing?”
“About to run headlong into their trap. Do you want me to warn them?”
“No. They wouldn’t need rescuing if we did that…”
The shiver of delight coursed through Schuldig’s thoughts to each of his teammates. The promise of fresh mayhem was exactly the sort of vacation the telepath needed right about now. And none of them could honestly admit that they didn’t agree.
[ Chapter 2 ] [ Chapter 1 ]