GTAG Chapter 75: Living Together
What is the hardest thing for people to accept in this world?
Years ago, many wouldn't have had an answer. There were simply too many horrors to choose from, too many tragedies to endure.
But now, everyone could agree on one thing:
"Turning into a zombie."
That was why so many chose to end their lives the moment they were bitten.
And yet, many others couldn't accept it. They would hypnotize themselves, believing they might not turn, clinging to hope until the very signs of transformation took hold—only to deny it even at the final moment.
For her, surviving after being infected by the virus was already nothing short of a miracle. She dared not ask for more.
But in her heart, a single phrase echoed. Words her mother had spoken with trembling lips, filled with love and fear, before the end came.
"Live well."
She didn't want to die—not for herself, and not for her mother.
"You don't understand what this means," Hank said suddenly, his voice louder than before, making Colette flinch. "After drinking my blood, I can't guarantee what changes might happen to you. You could even become like me."
"But… haven't I been fine so far?" she whispered, almost to herself.
Yet Hank's sharp hearing caught every word.
For some reason, anger flared within him.
"Just because nothing's happened yet doesn't mean nothing will! I thought it was only a small problem at first too. But look at me now—can you still believe nothing will happen!?"
He turned to her, roaring. Spit flecked her face.
Silently, Colette wiped it away and avoided his gaze, brushing her damp hand against the seat.
That roar confirmed it. He truly was the Hank who used to visit her house.
But this was no time to dwell on that.
"Mister Hank… did you also get infected by some virus, is that why you became like this?" she asked quietly.
"…I don't know."
The fight drained out of him at once.
He had no explanation for the changes in his body. He both loved and hated them.
Without them, he would likely have died to the zombies long ago. But because of them, he had become… this.
Even now, he still couldn't fully accept it.
"It's fine. Maybe I'll become like you too. I'll stay with you."
Her voice trembled, but her resolve was real.
And in her heart, she wished that if she did change, perhaps she could shift freely between human and dragon-like forms.
Children accepted the strange and the new more easily. Colette had already come to terms with it. The only part she disliked was that turning into a "dragon" might look cool to boys, but for girls, appearance mattered. Becoming hideous was her greatest fear.
What she didn't realize was that her innocent words struck Hank harder than any blade.
His guilt deepened further. After all, she had drunk his blood—that was undeniable.
"Mister Hank, where are we going?"
"…To find Umbrella Corporation."
"What kind of company is that?"
"…A very big one."
"Why do you need to find them?"
"…Umbrella wants to capture me, to experiment on me in their labs. I won't let them."
"Oh."
"…."
The little car carried a strange pair—a young girl and a dragon-like man—across the wasteland, their voices rising and falling in awkward conversation.
...
Without humans to maintain it, the city was crumbling rapidly.
Zombies roamed the streets, keeping beasts away, but plants had taken root everywhere. Creepers and vines smothered the steel forests humans once built. From afar, the city looked swallowed by green, with only the tallest towers resisting nature's advance.
Down below, zombies lurked in every alley and corner. Some stood motionless, their bodies overtaken by climbing plants. In some cases, roots had pierced straight into their flesh, merging plant and corpse into grotesque hybrids.
These plant-bound zombies weren't particularly stronger, only tougher to kill.
If they weren't disturbed, the city might almost look… peaceful.
Then—
"Boom!"
A thunderous crash broke the silence.
The front doors of a skyscraper, marked with Umbrella's red-and-white logo, exploded inward. The sound reverberated like a blast.
Zombies, long still, stirred at once.
They raised their heads and howled, then shambled toward the source.
But…
"Crack!"
Some collapsed instantly, spines snapping as they twisted. Others broke their legs mid-step.
Their bodies were too far gone after years of dormancy. The fact they could move at all was already a miracle of the T-Virus.
Without Umbrella's artificial feeding, these zombies would soon crumble into dust along with the virus itself. Perhaps no vaccine was even necessary—time alone would erase it.
Still, even those with broken backs and shattered legs clawed their way forward, drawn by something irresistible within the building.
Far away, on the rooftop of a tall building, Colette—dirty and disheveled after weeks of travel—watched the slow tide of zombies crawling toward Umbrella. She sighed.
"Really, that Hank… doesn't he know how to be quiet?"
It had been more than half a month since she started traveling with him. They were familiar now, almost comfortable with each other.
Even her way of calling him had changed.
And just as Hank had feared, changes had begun appearing in Colette as well.
But unlike his grotesque transformation, her changes were far milder.
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