- Chapter 3 -

You're with us

She was squirming around on her bed, the conquering fear not allowing her to get a wink of sleep. Sakura stared breathlessly at the ceiling and patted her growling stomach, the food deprivation hitting her hard. Her eyes fell on her faithful companion, the device which had connected her with help.

Without overthinking it, she took it in her hand and pressed the button, "Sasuke."

As expected, silence greeted her from the other line and she turned back to laying on her bed and staring at the ceiling carelessly.

"Yes?"

Sakura was taken aback upon hearing his voice being emitted from the device and she quickly grabbed it, "Are you still awake?"

A huff echoed in the microphone, "I should be asking that."

"I can't . . . fall asleep. Obviously," Sakura spitted out and fondled with her long hair strands. "Can we talk a bit? For whatever."

"Sure."

"So, um . . . " she began, biting her bottom lip out of plain awkwardness. "Tell me more about you."

"Sorry, I already have a girlfriend."

Sakura let out a curt laugh after a small pause and heard Sasuke leaving a short chuckle soon after his lame joke. She swiped a strand of pink hair which had fallen on her face to the side and listened closely to his voice.

"I'm twenty-five. I still live at my parents' and I'm studying Criminology. I adore riceballs with bonita filling and I can't stand people who take selfies the whole time. This shit's annoying, you know? Ah, what else . . . I have the blackest hair in the region and my eyes almost have the same color. I'm also as pale as toilet paper and I really don't know from where I inherited this. Ah, sorry, I got carried away."

Sakura giggled softly, "Then you'd probably love me. And you sound like one of these tough guys who have an alpaca collection."

". . . Lies."

"I knew it!"

"Sasuke?"

The male figure in front of her shot her with an unexpectedly confused look as he knelt down in front of her, "Who?"

Sakura sighed painfully and clutched her fist besides her, feeling the road pavement scrapping her skin. Of course it isn't him. What are you even thinking? How could he come here?, thought the girl as she gazed at the man in front of her who was inspecting the area for any more walkers. A sudden sharp pain electrified her whole shoulder and she screeched curtly, grasping the part which hurt her, only to manage to intensify the pain.

"Don't touch this part," the man exclaimed as he grabbed her palm and removed it from her bloody arm. An enormous amount of blood was jumping out of her arm in a quick rate to the point Sakura felt the world spinning around her.

Thus, the last thing she saw was the mysterious man with the black suit shouting for help in his radio.

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The rippling pain on her arm was the thing which completely and absurdly woke her up. Sakura growled from the immense pain and managed to open her dry eyes after blinking a  few times. A dim light resembling a sun ray greeted her at first but after her vision cleared, she realized it was a lamp besides her. The soft bed sheets under her body caused her to panic; was it all a dream? Had she missed her chance?

"You're up."

Sakura was startled by the voice which reached her ears and she managed to crane her neck to the side. The same abyss black eyes, pale skin and pitch black hair greeted her just as they were the last things which had faded away before her deep slumber. Despite seeing something human and safe, her muscles never relaxed.

"Who are you?"

The male who was seated besides her bed cocked his head to the side a bit, "I should be asking you the same."

Sakura knew that pressuring him to tell her more information about himself wouldn't get her anywhere, thus she opened her mouth first. "I'm Sakura Haruno. Twenty-two years old. I was trapped in my apartment since these . . . events broke out and today I attempted to escape. But I got swarmed by a group of these things and you arrived and . . .  now I'm here, wherever 'here' is."

"Two days ago, you mean," he corrected her, making Sakura's mouth gape open.

"Two days?!" A wave of panic almost drowned her, her mind flying to her device and Sasuke. God only knew what could have happened to him these past days. Maybe he was dead. Maybe he thought she was dead. Or worse.

"But the question here, Miss Haruno," the male cut in, his eyes never leaving her figure. "How the hell are you still alive?"

Sakura furrowed her eyebrows in confusion, finding herself being extremely perplexed and immediately forgetting about her previous pain. Her emerald eyes were planted in the male's onyx ones, seeking for an explanation, "What do you mean?"

The man stretched his hand towards her shoulder and tapped it, making her flinch even so slightly, "Ever wondered how you obtained this?"

The memories of two days ago filled her mind and she made a disgusted face, "These things took a bite out of me?"

"Actually, the just sank their teeth in your shoulder but that's not the point," he described, propping his hands on his lap. "Thing is that you've been bitten. And whoever has gotten bit has turned into one of these creatures."

Sakura could feel her intense heartbeat rippling through her body and her mind analyzing what he had just told her. She remembered hearing this from Sasuke and she had taken precautions because of this yet she was still bitten. How hadn't she turned into one of them?

""How" is what we're searching for too, Miss Haruno," the man pipped up, as if he had read her exact thoughts.

Sakura's eyes searched around for her faithful device but it was nowhere to be seen.

"For now, all I want is the device I had with me."

"This cannot be done. It has been taken by my men and is being analyzed in our labs. Truly amazing what you've constructed; did you build it on your own?"

The man stood up from his seat and Sakura glared at him, eyes almost boring holes in his skull. "I said I want my property back. I don't even know who the hell you are."

The man stood by the door, dull eyes staring at her figure, "I'm Commander Yamanaka Sai and you're with us now." With nothing left to say, he left as suddenly as he had appeared.

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All she could do was stare at the fabricated ceiling of the space she was in, millions of thoughts were running through her mind without being processed. She just existed, waiting for something to happen or for her body to get tired. 

Stand up, she thought to herself, using her good arm to remove the blanket from above her. She wasn't surprised when she realized she could easily move her feet after being out for days. Her feet touched the top of her boots and she squinted her eyes when she noticed the solid brown ground under them. Indeed, I'm in a tent.

Dragging her intravenous bags' stand along her after spending quite the time to slip in her boots, she managed to take a few weak steps. Sakura clicked her tongue and jiggled her feet around individually to stretch them out. If something were to happen, she wouldn't like to be defenseless. 

The girl could now move around freely and she took a moment of silence to listen to the sounds from outside. A few faraway chatters could solely be heard; nothing more, nothing less. Confirming that no one was close to see or hear her, Sakura walked at the end of the tent and opened one of the curtains.

"Oh."

The male who was previously in her room had appeared right in front of her, startling her once more to no end. The girl placed her hand above her now fast-paced heart and breathed out.

"You scared the shit out of me."

Sai stared at Sakura, eyes squinting even so slightly at her presence, "And you weren't supposed to start walking off on your own."

As if she had received a mental message, the girl gritted her teeth and walked back on her bed, sitting on it. Sai sat on the same chair as before and opened a file in front of them.

"Your blood tests have arrived and," he started explaining, pausing only to look at her, "you're clean. You're lucky."

Lies. Of course Sai knew that she wasn't lucky. After she had passed out when they found her, huge amounts of blood were jumping out of her shoulder, thus making it impossible for her not to be infected directly. There was something else in the middle that Sai couldn't quite put his finger on. However, he decided to keep that thought to himself for the moment, not wanting to trouble himself with any more puzzles.

Sakura sighed in relief but soon acquired a perplexed expression on her face, "If I was bitten, why did you take me with you?"

Sai remained silent for a moment before taking something out of the back of his gun belt, "Because we had already brought you here. Take this." A plastic bag containing Sakura's device was placed in her hands.

"Thank . . . you," she said, feeling a small smile forming on her lips. The item which was so familiar to her made her feel warm inside.

Sai cleared his throat, turning Sakura's attention on him. "You're currently in a military campsite in Tokyo. We will move out in half an hour to go to the nearest military base so get ready."

Without another word, the male disappeared again and left Sakura alone. Indeed, her old clothes felt better and more suitable on her body, giving her the familiar warmth they provided her whenever she was in them.

Sai kept his promise; the male was standing right outside the tent twenty minutes after and was waiting for her. Sakura peeked out of her tent with her one and only item in hand and promptly walked outside. It was night and she couldn't see much but she managed to distinguish a few neighboring tents and empty food cans here and there. 

"Are we ready to go?"

"You'll come with me," was Sai's only response as he started walking off, the girl taking it as a sign to follow him and walking right behind him.

Both were soon in the entrance of the camp where soldiers of the Japanese army were finishing transferring boxes in the military trucks. Sakura never left Sai's side as she was too scared of getting lost or attacked again in some way. Sai exchanged some words with his own men before motioning to the girl to follow him inside the third truck in line.

A man was already seated in the driver's seat but was soon dismissed and replaced by the Commander. Sakura sat besides him in silence as she fondled with her device in her hands.

"I can put it in my bag," Sai offered with his eyes steeled upon the item.

Sakura shook her head negatively, "I'd prefer a pouch to put it in, if that's okay."

Sai looked around in the front of the truck and grabbed a small piece of cloth laying around, "Found one but it's worn out."

"This will do, thanks."

Both sat in reluctant silence as Sakura placed the device in the single pouch, securing it tightly. Soon, the truck in front of them took off and theirs followed after.

The growling of the dead could be heard from outside the vehicles, disturbing Sakura. "If you're their Commander, how come you aren't seated in the first truck? And why are you driving?"

Sai snorted for the first time (or showed a different emotion than apathy, rather), his eyes always on the road, "This isn't the normal world anymore, miss. I may be their leader but my roles vary."

Sakura simply nodded and tried focusing her eyes on something else than the road. Sai peeked at her from the corner of his eye and tapped the plastic cupboard in front of her, "There is a gun in here, if that makes you feel safer. There will be no need for it though since the military base of Tokyo is one of the safest."

Sakura mentally thanked him for his reassuring words and nodded her head reluctantly, leaving a shaky breath out of nervousness. Anxiousness was twisting her guts and was leaving her out of breath every time she inhaled. She was more worried about her plan to go to Akita. She knew for sure that the military force wouldn't let her go; a spark of hope shined inside of her when she thought they could go and fetch Sasuke, ensuring his safety.

But there is no fuel left and he's one person.

"Where were you headed before, Miss Haruno?" questioned Sai, taking her by surprise. "You wouldn't be wandering out there like this randomly. No sane person would."

Cold sweat started forming at the back of her neck and she opened her mouth, no excuse or lie coming out. It seemed like she had lost every last bit of her vocabulary and all that there was left were random vowels. However, before she was able to voice anything, the truck came to a sudden halt. Both tried to distinguish anything from the trucks in front of them but it was impossible with the obscure environment around them. And then, the sound of shots being fired broke out.

Sai cursed out loud and abruptly opened the driver's door, jumping off. "Stay inside," he ordered Sakura before lunging forward where the lightning of the guns firing appeared to be.

Sakura glanced at the motionless glass of the truck and it took her no more time or second thoughts on what to do. She opened the small cupboard and snatched the gun, opening the truck's door and jumping off instantly. Her legs, as if they were programmed, started moving as fast they could, taking her away from that place.

She was blinded by the dark and the tears brimming from the corners of her eyes as she ran away. She was tripping on her way and standing up again, she was continuing to run away. Run away from the gunshots and the lightning streaks. Run away from the growls and the teeth sinking in the warm flesh. Run away from humanity.

Just run. Run. Run.

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Long time no update? Much like it. But I finally caught up on this baby! I missed it way too much and good news is that I've already started writing the next chapter so expect one or two more updates during Christmas holidays. 

What are your thoughts on this chapter? I really want to hear your opinions, c'mon, spit 'em out (￢‿￢ ) 

Dedicated to AnIdiotOnTheInternet for being a great friend and an amazing author! Seriously, go check out their stories, they'll leave you all out of tears (which isn't necessarily a good thing cOUGH).