Chapter 2: Break out

-scene break-

Across Tokunosu... and across the world everything seemed to be going to hell. The spread of the zombie plague happened quickly... some people like Teshima and Hayashi had turned extremely quickly while others took longer. Already governments, and people, were beginning to panic, but the worst was the people caught with no where to flee to faced with the inevitable.

In the coming days that would be realized by all survivors. It wasn't just the population density of major cities that made them a death trap it was public transportation. Busses, subways, and trains had been ferrying people across town and such only needed one of the undead to turn to infect dozens even hundreds of people. People in planes weren't much better off, and airports and stations started to be overrun fairly quickly.

The government of Japan's first steps were to issue cautionary warnings. Unsure, and divided on what to do, but even if they had been decisive there wasn't much to do in the early hours as by then Tokyo's subways, and many others across the country were already crawling with the dead. The advisory to stay side was actually sensible given what was known... still it did little to change the situation. The police were ordered to shut down crossings, to try and stem the outbreak, but that only bottlenecked people... and that started panics.

Some people panicked on their lonesome, but some chose a different way to vent their frustration and while it wasn't given an 'official' name these 'crazy gangs' became even more of a threat than the dead. Tokunosu's situation was far from unique. The police followed the orders they were given and began to mobilize, with plans to consolidate, but short on manpower and equipment they moved en mass to their orders. This resulted in the impression that the police had disappeared from entire swathes of the city in the face of complete insanity... especially when the police suddenly stopped getting orders from the NPA in Tokyo.

So fringe groups stepped forward. The first to come forward were the Yakuza, and the Uyoku Dantai. The various organizations were much quicker to take up arms than ordinary Japanese civilians. Where the 'crazy gangs' roved burning and killing these groups declared swathes of town their territory and were prepared to defend them.

Coinciding with this neighborhoods, and to a lesser extent other groups, including foreign gangsters, banded together to barricade themselves inside their buildings for safety. This was the option most people chose including the bulk of those who survived Fujimi High. It would result in a mere two weeks, an uprecedented upheaval. The result would be a complete upheaval of social order, and organization that would have been unfathomable to the pre crises Japanese government... not that many of them were alive.

Today though was just the beginning, but no one in Tokunosu would have thought how important a single [High] school, no matter how prestigious, would effect future politics. Takashi Komuro, Miyamoto Rei and Takagi Saya were the children of the focal points of two wildly different enclaves of survivors. The friendship between students may have prevented a city wide conflict between the Uyoku Dantai, and the remnants of the Police forces. It was just part of how Fujimi high was important in this new world... or at least for Tokunosu.

There was stacatto burst of gunfire and spent casings of intermediary cartridges spilled across the pavement. It was wasteful, but to be expected. When a man first gets ahold of an automatic weapon there is nothing more appealing than to fire it 'rock and roll style'. The man firing wore a set of loose fitting load bearing equipment laden with magazines for the weapon. He also wore a black uniform, with a white armband. The ensemble was the same as two of his friends. Both of whom were also carrying guns.

The three men were members of a Japanese Ultranationalist group. The weapons they were carrying hidden away in a secret compartment inside a Shinto temple. It had been the easiest way to assure that police forces, whether local or from the NPA would be able to stumble upon them. The order to break out the weapons was the real sign that things had gone completely sideways.

Testutaro Doi emerged from the hardware store ahead of another pair of men, and spared a glance at the subway entrance, "Enough you're only wasting ammo. We must return to Takagi-sama!" He declared shuffling over to the truck the two heavy 'plastic' containers of fuel he had clutched in his hands.

Painted across the sides of the large black vehicle were 'inspirational slogans', and the Rising Sun Flag plastered along side them, but within was another story. While there were speakers on the outside of the truck, there was more than sound system. It had been through digital equipment that the Takagi Organization had been able to realize something was very wrong. Even before it had hit the news the police had been cawing about a violent mob in the subway system, and that had been how the plague of undead had spread so fast.

-scene break-

The timing had been very close... more so than David had expected... or desired. If there had been more zombies in the courtyard... or the ASLAV had been parked further away then well it could have been messier. "Should have said 'wait ten minutes'," He muttered to himself as he checked over the M792 rounds in links. The 25 in ASLAV 25 stood for the Bushmaster 25 mm housed in the turret of the vehicle. The M242 autocannon made the 9mm HK seem silent in comparison... and stowed safely in the turret with the electrical motor running David was pulling on a set of ear muffs to further protect his ears. The single shot fire mode still made a god awful racket, and he was going to feel sorry for anyone not wearing ear protection even if they were sheltered in a building.

The real problem was he couldn't drive and shoot... it had to be one or the other. In theory the HEI round had an incendiary radius of 5 meters, this varied depending on things like how the wind was blowing and such, but the real advantage was it did burst. It was the entire point in shooting the ground, which might not have been particularly range safe ... but it was either that or risk melting a barrel on a MAG.

When the single round was fired from the M242 without warning nearly everyone did one of three things freeze, take cover... or nearly jump out of their skin. On the roof of the school more than a dozen students panicked. When they peaked out the round detonated at ground level cratering in the concrete path of the courtyard and well it was the signal that the people in the frontal hall had been waiting. Of them Kohta had been the only one who had snapped up the spare pair of earplugs. The group went rushing past the surviving zed as the thirteen odd ton vehicle rolled through the gates. It was Kohta who stopped, which admittedly prompted Saya to snarl at him. "Fatass hurry up, we have to go."

"Its a MOWAG derivative, a LAV vehicle," He muttered, "M242 Bushmaster chain gun. That's an Autocannon..." He stopped midway in his analysis, and looked across the hull, blinking, "Those aren't M240s." The otaku muttered as he continued to survey the hull, taking note of details others would have missed. "Hey are you going to open the back?" He asked as the gaijin popped the driver's hatch.

David shook his head, "No your just going to going to have to ride up top for a few minutes." It was a downside to having the interior packed full of bullets.

"Like a Bradley?"

"Sure." He replied shaking his head, "Get on." The big problem was that while the courtyard was clear this probably drew every walker in the area towards them, which on the other hand might save people inside the school, and give them a chance to get to safety. The American dropped back into the hatch. The heavy Detroit diesel engine rumbled as it shifted into drive, "We're moving out," He shouted over the noise. The armored vehicle started moving it wasn't that far so the people who couldn't get on to the ASLAV could still run out to the side of it while it drove along.

Kohta scratched his chin, and turned to Takashi to explain his thinking. It naturally wouldn't be as safe but if you could do it in Iraq with wounded well then a few hundred feet to a parking lot should be fine. The distance was only roughly about a football field so hardly a joyride down the autobahn. Really the LAV series in a lot of ways was pretty much like driving a very large truck. Low overpasses were the only thing to worry about... and just like a large truck naturally fuel efficiency was a little lacking, but over all it was a nice ride. It wasn't a hundred percent ideal, but it was at least a B- as far as vehicles went.

"Why couldn't we get in the back?"
A mildly sheepish expression crossed his face, "Its a little a crowded back there. We can fix that later, for now we need to leave. Do you have the keys?" He asked as they scrambled down from the IFV.

Shizuka nodded as she clutched her purse. She snapped open the high price bag, and pulled out the requested object. "Oh yes they're right here," The easy part was getting people situated the bus was even already unlocked. There was also the question of how long they had... and of course... "There are other people coming." Takuzo announced, and he was right. Someone had probably seen them making a break for it, or figured now was as good of a time to make their own escape.

Adjusting, and then lowering his nail gun. Slowly with an eye wary of the approaching crowd, and the zombies that would no doubt be on their heels the gadgeteer and the gaijin made their way to the rear of the ASLAV. David moved the spare tire out of the way, as Shizuka started to get the bus situated.

David opened the rear, which was still packed full of diminutive boxes. "Thats," Kohta took a tentative step back as if the little gears in his head were turning and whirring as he did some mental math.

"Why I can't have passengers." He replied. "I'll need a pair of hands," Then he banged his hand on one of the external cargo bin's side. "These are mostly empty, beside my bags." The bags he'd much rather have stowed inside the vehicle. He pulled the lid off the rear bin, and clambered up.

Kohta followed up the side and blinked at the pattern, but didn't say anything. The otaku too busy trying to imagine how many bullets there were... and the amount of firepower. Without commenting David grabbed the bag by its side grip handles and jumped off. It might have been easier to rifle through on top of the vehicle... or maybe not, but people were still getting situated. They would make it to the bus or they wouldn't. Chances were if they didn't they'd get eaten if they couldn't find somewhere else to hide. ... and more people were coming, and on their heels zombies of course. "I don't know my way around so don't drive fast, but don't drive slow either. I'll need to be able to follow you." That was the part he was really dreading, because there was no telling what the roads were like right now.

Outside the bus Takashi was shouting something to Saeko about more survivors coming this way. That was about when Rei started berating him about the teacher running amongst the group of students. The man's name was Koichi Shidou, whose father was a politician. Specifically a politician who had been connected to a corruption investigation headed by Rei's father. Not that Rei felt like sharing the nuances of the political struggle that had ultimately resulted in her being withheld.

"Are we going to leave them?"

"We should have enough time for them." Saeko declared firmly. "but it will however be cutting it close, and the noise will draw more of the dead."

David nodded, and opened the bag, "Here take this Ishi." he said holding out a black metal rod. It would be better off if it didn't come to need it but an impact baton was better than an iv tree, or a pole. It seemed the least that could be done at the moment.

-scene break-

The noise of the 25mm autocannon had been enough to draw some of the zombies in the school towards the outside. Inside the school those still alive either fled outside (or tried) or fled further into the interior (and upwards).

Most of the students who made were too busy running to watch some of their fellow students make it to a bus and escape. Most was not all though. Some of Fujimi's population had made it to some degree of safety already. The students on the roof well... most took cover, but most was still not all... and some did get up to watch. The people who were inside on the third and fourth floors well some of them came to look at what was happening in the courtyard.

About thirty people crammed into the bus, and then Shizuka revved it up, and made for the parking lot exit. By that point the zombies were already going towards it. The Gaijin had already clambered back into the eight wheeled vehicle. "Date, what should we do? One of the seniors asked his classmate. His was name was Shibata, and it had been his idea to start shoving anything they could find to block doors, and staircases. However it left them... stuck here. The situation they found themselves in started to wear on people quickly.

"We're stuck here... and with Muromachi-sensei. That old fool will get us killed." Date remarked darkly, "and how many people are still alive here? They'll need food, and water. The dorms will have blankets, but we don't have any real weapons."

Shibata nodded, "I don't know how many people survived." He admitted before stopping. The teenager shushed his friend as the biology teacher approached. With more than a thousand students at Fujimi High there were sure to be plenty of zombies if they couldn't stem the outbreak, and Muromachi-Sensei had made it clear that the sum of his plan was for everyone to stay put. To stay put and wait for the government to respond the teacher had said. "But he's got us doing nothing, and you saw what happened out there."

Jubei found himself uninvolved in the conversation but still nodding along. It wasn't his discussion though the seniors who'd escaped onto the third floor had not a whit of intention of discussing anything except amongst themselves. The idols of the school conglomerated around with one another, but also frequently in what were basically echo chambers of their fans. Then of course students like Jubei found themselves free wanderers. He'd watched as much as he could from the roof. Then after the bus had peeled out he had come back inside, because there was nothing more than the zombies to watch. That was how he'd wandered into the discussions that were ongoing.

Of course this wasn't the first group talking that he'd walked past... and some students were doing more than just talking. Even though it had at first been Shibata's idea to make barricades others were considering going further. Beyond that though some of the surviving delinquents had started to gather what they could... and it wasn't just broken chairs, or planks. At the same time though Jubei consciously recognized they weren't guns, and certainly not a cannon. It didn't fill him with a great deal of confidence, but he even admitted, to himself, a blunt instrument was better than nothing. Not that he had anything like that... that would change...just like this city was.

-scene break-

Shizuka drove like a mad woman, which ordinarily might have been a bad thing given traffic laws, and just traffic, but in a crisis? It didn't stop people from complaining about it, but in this case it go them away from the school fast. It also didn't help the bus was over crowded... not so much to be dangerous but enough to be cramped. Of course it was cramped because of the people that had been able to be saved, but even that didn't stop complaints.

It could have been worse if people had had time to bring stuff with them. It could have even stayed at grumbling. Rei was prepared to do just that, grumble about Shidou, but one person chose to take it a step further.

There were the legitimate complaints about how potentially dangerous Shizuka's driving was, and then there were the complaints Tsunoda made complaints about that, but it was about everything else as well, about not being given a say in anything... and that was just coupled together with having to work through traffic, and car wrecks too.

The real problem was when Shizuka actually pulled off the side of the road when the shouting, and complaints finally got to be too much to deal with. That was when Tsunoda chose to switch targets and started to antagonize Takashi... and well that brought Rei into it. That was to say while Tsunoda was focusing on verbally attacking Takashi Rei caught him by surprise with her improvised weapon of a pole.

For a brief moment the bus went quiet, and in the time it took David to get out of the ASLAV and walk to the bus a new problem presented itself. That was how quick it happened, because Kohta had already radio-ed about the arguing back and forth, but more importantly about the gas station that they'd passed back on the road.

The problem with being the stranger for David was that even someone who was from the school couldn't know everything. Maybe Tsunoda really did hate Takashi, maybe he was just lashing out, but either way that wasn't the real problem. No the thing that threatened to fracture hastily gathered together survivors was a gambit for leadership.

Koichi Shidou was the son of a politician. While not the most physically able the teacher was a survivor. Most of that came from his conniving nature, and careful if vindictive nature. He saw an opportunity and jumped at it. He saw the opportunity to take control of the situation, and be the leader. Being the leader was what he wanted all along. Shidou was measuring everyone careful though, because he was willing to wait. He wasn't willing to jeopardize his safety, or even that of the group by causing too much of a disturbance if it couldn't be helped. That latter fact was perhaps a small saving grace. Shidou wasn't willing to risk a full break, or an internal conflict... especially not on the side of the road.

No one truly grasped the depth of Shidou's nature, but the teacher himself... and only Rei truly had an understanding of the lengths the man would go to. The problem with those assertions were they sounded unreliable with all of Rei's anger behind them. Even pissed off Rei recognized that, which made her more inclined to simply walk off the bus.

Ironically Shidou opposed this... though more out of pragmatic interest of survivability. Rei had a weapon, improvised as it was, and more importantly the demonstrated skill to use it effectively. A fact that had just been hammered home on Tsunoda, which made her doubly valuable as far as Shidou was concerned. That Takashi, who was also armed, was prepared to go with her would further weaken the group, which already lacked a safe place to go to. It was pure pragmatism on Shidou as improvised weapons were better than nothing.

"Well I was going to bring it up anyway," And since they were stopped already, "we need to pick somewhere to actually drive to,"

Kohta nodded grasping the problem, "Of course I understand there must be fuel concerns, the bus and your LAV are reliant on processed petroleum so if we drive around aimlessly we will be wasting vital supplies." He muttered to himself rubbing his glasses. That was enough to divert things from talks of splitting up... at least for the moment. "We have to find somewhere to go."

The problem with that was it didn't address the leader issue, and its own way it was compounded by real life not being nBSG. It wasn't just a question of school teacher or guy with the firepower. These were students of the teacher and a soldier of a foreign... if allied military in a crises. Shidou wanted to be leader and was willing to put it too a vote, because there were only 3 'real adults' on the bus, and Shizuka wasn't stepping up either. It should have been easy enough, but Rei wanted to split off, and he didn't see being able to convince, which was something even he admitted out loud.

"We could go to Higashi police station," Takashi butted in when no one suggested anything productive other than doubling back. It should have been Rei's idea, after all they'd tried to call her dad back at the school.

So that was what was done. Shidou nodded, and everyone more or less fell in line. It didn't stop him from trying to work out a plan to best turn this to his advantage. Still if he could keep the group together, he knew it was for the best. Busajima, and Miyamoto, regardless of history with the latter, were not simply armed but skilled with their respective weapons. The baseball bats that some of the boys carried might not have been ideal but they were better than nothing, and had proven themselves against the zombies. 'This new world would not tolerate weaklings,' Shidou mused, 'if we are to survive we must be strong, and leadership must be decisive.' He settled for plotting as they drove, just a bit slower, on through the streets weaving past wrecks and the for the moment the mere handful of dead wandering the streets.

Tsunoda groaned.

"You'll have to be careful Tsunoda," The teacher remarked, "Komuro-kun is not someone to be taken lightly." Shidou remarked, "He has a not unsubstantial potential in this new era, but you survived as well. You shouldn't squander it." He counselled.

The high schooler took a moment to rub his tender side, "Yes sensei," He responded politely but also tiredly. He didn't miss one of the warnings in the advice, but the other he missed entirely. He wouldn't underestimate Komuro Takashi or his friends again... or rather Rei. Kohta Hirano, Busajima Saeko, Kazu Ishi, and Takagi Saya didn't filter in... neither did the school nurse or the gaijin. Still the baseball bat and the spear wielder each were enough on their own.

Shidou kept watching out the window of the bus at the deteriorating situation on the other side of the glass. Already there were buildings and cars that were burning. He'd already thought about the matter of weapons. A sporting goods store was definitely somewhere to go as they'd have baseball bats, and that what Takuzo, and Takashi both chose as their weapons of choice. Still avoiding conflict would be best until they could get situated.

-scene break-

Takashi's suggestion was the best put forward... not that it was actually put to a vote... even though Shidou had wanted to try for that. The real goal established was getting into the city, and for the moment getting off the road, and away from other drivers. As it was there were already plenty of crashed cars, and other fires which meant EMS and Fire would be stretched thin to begin with. Then of course there were plenty of reasons to panic besides just the fires so chances were people were calling emergency services. Still the police station was the best of a bad situation.

Besides if there were police then that meant a better chance of survival in theory, and hopefully more guns... as Takashi pointed out. Nobody was having fun yet at the breakdown order, but that would come once the panic abated, but it too would be temporary. The real truth was that they should have taken two buses, but that couldn't be helped.

Kohta Hirano came from a well off family one that supported his 'specialty hobbies' and perhaps they did so a little too much. He knew that once they made it to the police station then that would be it... Shidou was going to make another push for leadership, and that would break the group. The way there was already showing how insane things had gotten.

A full-size Nissan bus had crashed along the side of road. It had flipped sideways, and hit a wall, but maybe not in that order. Kohta had really wanted to see what a 25mm APDS would have done to it, and whether it would be useful against 'Them'. That had been not far from where they had stopped and had burning zombies roving around it... and that was just the start. Shizuka abruptly came to a stop suddenly, which was admittedly something they'd gotten used to, but this was it. They'd gotten here... and that was when they saw the problem. The police station was deserted, more than it was eerie just to look at. So much for them being able to help.

Shizuka opened the doors letting everyone finally get out of the bus. That was the good news at least. The parking lot was empty. There wasn't a zombie in sight. The emptiness gave time to think, and reflect on their situation.

In a normal situation Kohta expected that they'd have been able to climb inside the armored hull of the LAV series. Shidou was already putting forward his leadership vote, and well he was the only candidate. Kohta turned, and sure that Takashi was occupied talking with Takuzo made his way to the opened rear doors. "Good you can give me a hand moving these." David remarked as Kohta took a look inside.

The otaku knew what they were in an instant, "Thats a lot of bullets,"he reiterated aloud and that was an understatement. Each individual box was either a box of 20 .308 rounds, or a box of 50 9x19mm rounds. They were stacked from the floor of the LAV's rear compartment to the ceiling. It was indeed a lot of bullets. Unfortunately they took the entire rear section of the vehicle, leaving little to no room to carry people... and carrying people was what they needed to do if they were splitting up.

He'd been careful to park the LAV behind, and to the side of the bus. Getting through traffic had been more about avoiding the wrecks than anything, but it hadn't meant there hadn't been other moving cars on the roadway. David scooped down an armful of the shorter boxes. "Yeah I was going to top off the rest of the upper ammo boxes." That was when Ishi joined them. "Not to your liking over there?" He offered an armful of boxes "Here put these in that bin there should be some up there already."

"Right," Ishi responded enthusiastically. "I figured I'd stay with Shizuka-sensei, and Busajima-sempai has convinced her to come with us versus staying with Shidou-sensei."

He nodded, and stuck his head out and glanced at the mass of chattering high schoolers. Takuzo was speaking for his group, but that was the only really coherent group. Besides them there were only one or two other people, over there, who could be described as armed. "I guess we'd better figure out who all is coming then."

"I was hoping we'd be working together." Shidou remarked after the vote seemed to finish up, and confirmed him as leader of the 'bus group'. "It hardly seems prudent to split up."

David stuck his hand out, "Yeah, well if we'd taken two buses it wouldn't be this crowded. Right though, right now we got to split up." Until they saw Shidou again he'd wonder if he should have given him a gun… if he'd even need one. The teacher proved able enough to get by without one, and they'd see each other in a few days... not that either knew it, "I'll keep an eye on them, you watch the others?"

He, Shidou, closed his eyes and bobbed his head, and the two men shook hands. "Yes, and I am sure we will meet again. Tokunosu is only so big after all." It might not have been his desired outcome, but it was at least amicable. An amicable split was desirable, Shidou mused, it allowed the potential for future reconciliation. That was how Shidou, and most the students left. It left eight people standing around in a bare parking lot with a very important question left hanging.

"Where do we go from here?" That left them all standing around, and of course that also highlighted there other problem... sitting arangements, because now they didn't have the bus. "and we'll also need to get a hold of another vehicle."

"Something with at least four doors," David muttered thinking back to his brief glimpse of the nurse's two door roadster.

Naturally it would be Shizuka who perked up, "I know a place, my friend's has a car with doors that looks like a tank, and its nearby. We would be able to walk there, its near the river."

"Great, I'm going to get ties, we're going to have to figure where everyone is going to sit... Kohta can you manage riding on the top?" It was going start getting dark in a few hours,"I'm going to pop the hatches we're going to ride like that. When we get where we're going we'll have to clear some space in the back... and hope it doesn't rain." On the plus side now that Shidou was gone he didn't have to worry about demoralizing anyone by showing what was in the back... or in the bags.

Kohta Hirano looked around... no doubt the police had been forced to use all of their available manpower to try and respond to the crises, and anyone left in the station had been easy prey for the zombies. He looked up at the MAG mounted on the commander's cupola, and then down to his improvised gas powered nailgun. He wasn't going to throw it away, but now it had a use other than a weapon he could use it as a tool. "We should go there. We can make barricades, and actually be able to sleep, and..." He swallowed, "get something to eat."

There was one thing however. Kohta had been the one given the radio in the school parking lot and Shidou had never gotten one... not that Kohta had consciously decided against giving the teacher the radio. He just hadn't thought about it. There was no malicious intent involved.

-scene break-

Index:

Weapons List (Abridged)

M16A1: One of several early improvements to the M16. The M16A1 has three settings Safe-Semi-Auto. It fires the 5.56x45mm through a twenty inch barrel. As far as performance goes the M16A1 was signficant improvement in reliability over the preceding versions.

MP5: Perhaps the most widely issued 9mm submachine gun, and comes with numerous variants. Its widely popular with SWAT and other specialized military and police forces. The MP5 was originally chambered for the 9x19mm round, and has since been chambered in .40 S&W, and 10mm Auto.

FN MAG: A General Purpose Machine Gun (Literally the meaning of the acronym) manufactured by FN. It is chambered in 7.62x51mm and fires from open bolt. Widely used amongst NATO and other western allies the FN MAG was also developed into the M240 GPMG for the US military, and has since been continually developed from there along with other variants.

Organizations:

Uyoku Dantai: Ultranationalist Japanese groups. As with most ultranationalist organizations these can be subdivided into various politically motivated subfactions. Most organizations are characterized by the idea of a need for a militarily resurgent Japan.

NPA: National Police Agency is the oversight and management agency of the Japanese police agency. It regulates and coordinates training, and funding in addition to emergency management during periods of crisis.