A little girl sat under the playground's funhouse, curled in the fetal position. Her white hair had recently been hacked off with something closely resembling old, rusted sheers, and now it barely hung to her shoulders. Her big, green eyes looked dull, swollen and red from all the crying. Her red dress, which had once been covered in frills, was now tattered and torn, huge rips along the end revealing too much skin for an eight-year-old.

Unfortunately, her dress wasn't the only thing ripped.

Several deep cuts covered her legs, trailing all the way up to her mid-thigh. They were still bleeding, staining the mulch under her red, and would surely leave scars.

That was her second beating that day, and in a fit of desperation, she had ran out of the house, going as far as her legs would take her. She didn't know how long she had been running before she emerged out of the forest and landed herself at some park. Too many people were around, though, staring at her, pointing, so she hid in the first enclosed place she could find: the playhouse on the edge of the woods.

It was big enough to fit someone a few inches taller than her, so she didn't have to crouch to get in, and there were two pink, plastic chairs near a plastic table covered in mulch, but it was under a window, so she hid beside them, situating herself in the corner. With nothing to do, she had listlessly examined the rest of the little house. A kitchen set sat on her right, complete with a white, plastic mini fridge, a matching plastic stove, and a counter filled with pink, plastic dishes. She could see etches of what was supposed to be a dishtowel, but years of wearing made it flat and faded. On the left, next to a pink, plastic corded phone, a window on the wall to her left showed kids running around, passing the house like it was invisible. No one would find her; she was safe to cry into her knees until she felt like going back.

Hisashi's eyes searched for a place to hide. He couldn't hide in the jungle gym—Takashi had found him when he had hidden there a few rounds ago—and the fountain was too far away to make it in a few seconds, not to mention the looks he'd get if someone found him crouching in the water. Takashi reached 5, and he almost dashed to the jungle gym anyway, but he saw the old playhouse on the outskirts of the woods. He and Takashi had made a deal not to hide in the trees this round—it took way too long to hunt someone down in so much forest—but the house was just on the edge, so he wouldn't be breaking any of the rules. Just as Takashi reached 10, Hisashi bolted over to the faded house. The door was small, almost too small, and Hisashi had to inchworm his way in, flat on his stomach. As soon as he was in, he let out a relieved sigh, but stopped short when he met the eyes of a terrified girl.

His eyes widened as she dug her back against the wall, tears welling in her big eyes.

"Ready or not, here I come!" he heard Takashi yell.

He ignored it, fairly sure he was safe in the house, and made his way over to the girl. He had to duck down from the roof, though, because the stupid thing was just too small for him.

Her breathing hitched, and she could feel the plastic clock on the wall digging into her back, but she didn't care.

Someone had seen her!

Hisashi paused his advanced about a foot away from her. She looked terrified, like he was going to hit her or something. "What's your name?" he asked, going for friendly as he tilted his head. "I haven't seen you in school before."

She didn't answer, avoiding his eyes like he had the plague.

"I'm Hisashi Igou," he tried again. "You?"

There was a long silence as the girl watched him, gaze torn between desperate and suspicious. "Yuki," she finally mumbled, voice hoarse. "Yuki Hatsune."

"Nice to meet you, Yuki." He smiled, glad he finally gotten her to talk.

She didn't return it.

"Hisashi! Where'd you go?" Takashi shouted outside. He was close. So close, Hisashi scooted against the wall and lied flat on his stomach again.

He heard the footsteps, saw the look of sheer terror on Yuki's face, and then they were gone, wondering off to the next place he figured Hisashi had hidden.

He let out a breath and sat up. "That was Takashi," he explained, trying to ease the fear in her eyes. "He's a friend from school."

She nodded stiffly, barely moving her head.

He almost sighed. It was clear she didn't want to talk to him, but Hisashi would feel awful if he left her in the house, sobbing. She couldn't be much older than six, but it didn't seem like anyone was looking for her. Surely her parents were worried, right?

"Do you want me to get your parents?" he asked.

Her eyes doubled in size, and she shook her head, panicking. If he told her dad she was crying in a playhouse, he'd laugh and beat her until she couldn't cry.

The reaction surprised him. "Why not?"

Her eyes welled up with tears again, and she continued to shake her head vehemently.

"Okay, okay," he said quickly, "I won't."

She looked relieved, even relaxed a little. At the very least, she wasn't jammed against the wall anymore.

"How old are you, Yuki?" he tried.

She stared at him for a long moment. "Eight," she said finally.

Hisashi blinked, taken back. This girl was only two years younger than him? There was no way.

Completely thrown, he eyed her again.

She looked a lot younger than eight. She was pale like a ghost, skin almost translucent; he could practically see the blue vein bulging at the surface. Her body was small, much too small, and seemed to be nothing but skin and bones, like she hadn't eaten in weeks. Her strange colored hair looked ragged and disheveled, bringing out her light green eyes. Below that, he saw small lips, blood dripping from a cut along the middle. His eyes widened as he inhaled sharply. How he had missed the bruises along her upper arm and the gash along her leg, he'd never know.

She was abused.

"Two years younger than me," he muttered, trying to keep the conversation going without sounding alarmed. "Do you come to this place often?"

She hesitated before she shook her head. She wanted to trust him, but she had seen the look on his face when he caught a glimpse of her injuries, heard his intake of breath. She wanted to trust him, but he had only seen a little of what was happening, and already looked horrified.

His smile was warm, and it was as if the warmth filled her. "Then I'll make you a deal: I'll meet you here tomorrow around the same time and we'll play until I have to go home. Sound good?"

She bit her lip, studying him. "O-okay," she stuttered.

No one had wanted to play with her—all the kids her age avoided her, turned away by the rumors of her father. She didn't know what the boy was up to, but she selfishly hoped it was out of kindness and not pity.

She couldn't handle another pity party.

–xxx–

Observatory on the Roof, Fujimi High School

Z-Day 3:52pm

–xxx–

The sun is blinding me, reflecting off the stained towel draped over Hisashi's head. It's not pleasant anymore, not warming my skin or making me smile. Instead, it's highlighting the thing I'd like to forget.

I'm staring blankly at Hisashi's bloodied body, trying desperately not to think about what happened and wishing this nightmare we're in will end soon so I can wake up and tackle Hisashi, but I know it's a stupid wish.

Takashi is sitting next to me, back against the wall with one leg propped up, the other lying straight out. His face is concentrating, lost in thought almost, with his brows drawn together. Rei is on the other side of him with her knees under her chin, arms wrapped around them. The sadness and disgust hasn't wiped from her face yet, but I'm fairly certain she doesn't hate me anymore.

All three of us are thinking about the same thing: Hisashi.

No one's talking still. We have talked since I stopped crying, the only noise being the undead clawing at our barricade. I'm fairly certain I made Rei feel bad, though, because she hasn't looked me in the eye since Takashi let me go. I can't really blame her. If I just found out the guy I loved was living with my best friend, I'd be speechless too.

I almost groan.

I shouldn't have broken down like that. I should've let Rei take a few attacks at me, get her anger and grief out, and gone on with life, but, instead, I let my emotions take over and revealed things I shouldn't have.

Still… what am I going to do without Hisashi?

The question leaves a heavy feeling in my chest.

"What's the matter?" Takashi asks.

I jump, surprised to hear him say something. "Uh, nothing," I lie, relaxing against the wall again. "Just thinking about how we're getting out of here."

He sighs, but doesn't say anything, looking out at the sky.

"What about you?" Rei asks, looking at him. "What's wrong with you?"

He glances at her before facing forward. "I was wondering the same thing as Yuki."

"That's pretty straightforward," she mumbles.

"What's the point in lying about it?" he retaliates, scratching his head.

She smiles as she watches him, a small smile that she usually held when he did something that surprised her, and stands up. "I think I should let my dad know I'm okay. Can I use your cell?"

He blinks, surprised, and listlessly hands it to her. "I get that he's a police officer," he starts, standing up, "but we can't even connect to 110."

She dials a few numbers on his cell, and I'm pretty sure she's ignoring him until she puts the phone to her ear. "I know this secret number he gave me in case of emergencies."

With a small sigh, I join them, stretching before standing on the other side of Rei.

"It got through," she says as I faintly hear the ringing stop.

"Takashi? Is that you?" a man on the other side asks.

"Dad, listen!" Her voice is filled with relief, but she talks fast. "Daddy, we're at school and there's been—"

"Hello? Takashi? You must have gotten this number from Rei," the man rushes, "Is Rei okay? Is she with you? Are you both alright?"

"Daddy, what's the matter? Can't you hear me!?" Rei's voice goes up an octave: she's panicking.

"Listen carefully," he continues, "the entire city is in panic mode ri—" a gunshot causes all of us to flinch "—you need to get out of there! You understand? The city is in panic mode. You need to evacua—"

Suddenly, the connection is cut, the busy signal buzzing in its place.

Rei takes the phone away from her ear and looks at it. "No service?" she says in disbelief. "But I just called him! I don't understand!"

Her eyes well up with tears as Takashi tries to get her attention.

"Rei, what happened?"

With a feeble turn of her body, she clutches the phone against her chest, looking at Takashi with broken eyes. "Takashi—my dad—he—he didn't know it was me," she mumbles, tears falling. "He didn't even know me."

Takashi looks at her, surprised, and puts a hand comfortingly on her shoulder.

I bite back resentment and turn to the city, watching as more and more madness breaks out. In the distance, I see an ambulance smash into a cable pole, the cable wires sparking as they break apart and fall to the ground. As the guys in the vehicle try to escape, a mob of men—who don't look like they're undead—ambush them, shooting both of them and taking off with their supplies. As they approach a horde of zombies, they try to run over them, but there's too many and the vehicle flips, sliding on its side into a fire hydrant. It bursts open, water firing high in the air, so high, Rei and Takashi look over at it.

"That's it!" I say, turning around and running to a wooden door near our barricade.

I try to open it, but the door is locked. With a frustrated breath, I kick it. There's a pleasant crack from the wood, and I smirk. With as much force as I can gather, I bring my foot back and ram it into the edge of the door. The metal lock breaks off and the door violently swings open, hitting the inside of the room with another crack.

"Hell yeah!" Takashi cheers. "Nice kick, Yuki."

I chuckle a little and step inside the room.

It's the Astronomy Club's storage area. Ten or eleven telescopes of all sizes are stacked in the room along with sleeping bags and a mini fridge in the corner. I don't pay attention to them, though, feeling the wall on the left side, searching. When my hands touch cold metal, I smile.

"Guys," I say, "I have an idea."

Takashi steps into the doorway and looks at me. "What kind of idea?"

I nod to the fire hose, smirking. "Remember that time in eighth grade when the firefighters came to school, and I decided to see how strong the water pressure was?"

Takashi chuckles. "Yeah. You ended up getting us out of classes for two weeks because of water damage and busted windows."

"Think I can do something like that again?"

His eyes widen as he gets what I'm suggesting. "Yuki, you're a genius!"

I laugh, cheeks heating up as I rub my head. "I don't know about that."

There's a loud humph, and Takashi and I turn to Rei, who has a pout on her face, arms crossed. "If you two are done flirting, I'd like to get out of here."

I clear my throat and turn back to the water pump. There's a long, thick hose next to it, wrapped around a metal stand. When I manage to find the end, I twist it onto the water pump and make sure it's tight before handing it to Takashi. "Point it at the tables," I instruct. "The pressure is intense, so it'll probably be a little hard to control. Might want Rei to help you. When you two get situated, tell me and I'll turn this wheel."

He nods and carries the hose out of the room. After a few seconds, I hear, "Turn it!"

I turn the wheel as fast as I can. It takes a little more strength than I anticipated since it hasn't been turned on in forever, but after a few hard turns, I manage to get it going. The sound of water going everywhere fills outside, though, and I shake my head, smiling.

The idiot didn't listen to me.

Takashi cusses, and I can hear water raining on the roof.

Quickly, I run to the doorway and see Rei standing behind him, trying to grasp for the possessed hose.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah," Takashi says, holding the end of the hose in the air, successfully soaking all three of us.

"I told you you needed Rei's help," I mutter.

"Not the time, Yuki," he grumbles, situating himself. As he gets a hold of things, his face hardens. "I didn't like most of you pricks then, I sure as hell don't like you now," he growls. "Eat it!"

The pressure from the water breaks the cellophane tape, causing the tables to tumble towards Them, crashing all the way to the ground at the bottom of the stairs. The sound of mangled groans grows silent as the water hitting everything takes its place. Some zombies still attempt to crawl towards us, but the water beats them down mercilessly, either smashing their heads against the concrete flooring or pushing them over the railing on the opposite side.

"The fire hose…" Takashi starts, "Not too shabby."

I smile, walking down the stairs behind Rei. "Thank you; I do try."

My leggings slosh around in my shoes because of how wet I am, and every step Rei and I take splashes from the water, but none of us acknowledge it as Rei takes her place by Takashi and I stand next to her, not in the mood to set her off for being too close to him.

"I think it's okay now," she says enthusiastically.

"How I admire your optimism," he says sarcastically, causing me to chuckle. "You sure about this?"

As if to say yes, she steps down to the same step as him and holds out his bat. He reaches for it, but their fingers brush against each other, causing them both to stop. They stare, surprised, before Takashi grabs a higher end of the bat, looking away.

"Let's go," he says plainly.

Rei looks away and nods, flushing.

Again, the jealousy burns my chest, making me clench my teeth.

This is no time to be getting worked up by some high school crush, Yuki!

I shake off the bitter feeling as Takashi and Rei start running towards the door, knocking over the undead as they attack us. We take the stairs two at a time, heading down to the outside hallway. Without wasting any time to look at the havoc all around us, we speed into the school building, coming into contact with more undead. Surprisingly, there aren't as many as I expect—considering the amount of students in school—and we easily deal with them.

We don't talk much, focused on getting through, but when we reach the stairs to the second floor, Rei speaks up.

"Where are we going?" she asks.

Takashi pauses, taking a minute before turning to us, smiling. "My house," he says. "We'll go there to get supplied we need, and meet up with other people who haven't been bitten yet. Then we'll work together and get someplace safe."

I study him, disbelief filling my features. Sure, his plan is logical, and probably the best thing to do, but his smile worries me. I can still see a hint of something in his eyes—fear? Worry?

"Yeah, you're right!" Now that I know my dad's okay…" She pauses, glancing back at me. "Yuki, we should call your house and see if everyone's okay. You too, Takashi."

The thought of my father being okay makes me nauseous.

Rei's eyes widen as she realizes what she just said. "You lived with Hisashi…" she says slowly, processing it and connecting the dots. "Did you two live together…alone?"

It's a question that causes my heart to speed up. Familiar, angry grey eyes flash in my mind. A sharp pain in my back, glass shattering, Hisashi frantically talking to me…

"Yuki?" Rei reaches out a hand to me, but I cringe away from her touch.

"S-sorry," I mumble, trying to pull myself together. "Y-yeah… we lived together alone."

"For how long?" she persists, getting angrier by the minute.

I gulp, not willing to answer.

"How long?" she repeats, now glaring at me.

"Rei, leave her alone," Takashi snaps, pulling me behind him. "She doesn't want to talk about it."

I blink, surprised. Takashi standing up to Rei? For me? That has to be some sort of miracle.

Her eyes narrow, but she sighs, giving in as she looks at Takashi. "What about your parents, Takashi? We should probably call them."

"Waste of time; nobody's home. My dad won't be back in town till next week, and my mom's a school teacher, so she won't be home till five," he explains, turning towards the stairs. "Besides, they get on my nerves."

Rei laughs. "Well, they're parents; that kind of comes with the job."

Takashi distracting her seems to have worked—she's not angry anymore.

As we head down the second floor staircase, there's a high-pitched scream that causes all of us to look at the door to the second floor. We look at each other, and Takashi nods. Hastily, I jerk open the door and rush in, heading down the hall and in the direction I thought I heard the scream—the faculty room.

It's not the faculty room, but the room next to it. We arrive the same time as a girl I've never seen before and the school nurse, Ms. Shizuka. Immediately, we all look into the room and see Takagi in tears, a drill in her hands that's pulverizing one of Them. Blood is splashing all over her, covering her in a rain of red as she trembles.

"I can't take it anymore!" she cries over the loud drill. "Someone, please!"

"I'll take the right side," the girl says, holding up her wooden sword.

"I'll hold down the left!" Rei shouts, taking a run after the undead in the room.

As they take on the small horde in the room, I head over to Takagi, kicking the zombie in the head. It crashes to the floor with an unappealing thud next to her, hitting its head against the glass case. She drops the drill, shaking terribly.

"H-Hatsune…" she quivers.

The room falls silent as all the zombies are killed off, only the sound of Takagi hyperventilating softly resonating in the room. I stand next to her, debating on whether she would accept me comforting her or simply push me away. She's looking at herself in the reflection of the trophy case, horrified at how bloody she is.

"Takag—" Kohta starts, but is stopped as Rei and Ms. Shizuka run over. Ms. Shizuka's chest successfully hits the poor guy in the face, making him tumble to the ground hard.

"Takagi, are you okay?" Rei asks gingerly, placing a hand on her shoulder.

"Miyamoto…"

Since Rei's there, I walk over to Kohta, helping him up. "Are you okay?"

He smiles. "Yeah, I'm alright. Glad you're okay, Yuki."

"Of course." I grin. "After everything we've been through together, how could I not be?"

Our conversation is interrupted by Takashi, who closes and locks the glass door to keep everything out.

"You already know the school nurse, Ms. Shizuka, right?" the girl wonders, looking around at all of us. "I'm Saeko Busujima from class 3-A."

Now that everything's settled, I can finally see her. She's tall, a little taller than me, with violet hair that falls somewhere near the tip of her knees. Her uniform is more traditional, with the long green skirt going all the way to her knees. Long, black socks go up all the way to the end of her skirt, the usual sneakers covering her feet.

"Ah, I'm Takashi Komuro from class 2-B."

"Ms. Busujima, I remember you won the National Championship last year," Rei says, standing up and smiling. "I'm Rei Miyamoto. I'm in the Spear Martial Arts Club."

"I'm Yuki Hatsune from class 1-A," I say, feeling a little young.

Saeko nods, looking at me. "You're the girl that got in a fight with Tsunoda Satoshi this morning."

I laugh uneasily, rubbing my head. "Well, yeah, that was me."

"Oh, and I-I'm Kohta Hirano from Class B, just FYI," Kohta says timidly, playing with his fingers.

She sends him a friendly smile. "Nice to meet you."

Kohta gasps, mouth gaping open as his face reddens.

I chuckle. "Way out of your league," I tease, patting his shoulder.

Everyone laughs.

"Why are you guys being all warm and fuzzy?" Takagi asks darkly, standing up.

"What?" the guys ask.

"Why are you being so polite to her, Miyamoto? You flunked last year, so you're all the same age. She's not your elder. In fact, the only person who's supposed to be respectful is Hatsune, but she's talking to everyone like they're old friends of hers."

"What are you talking about, Takagi?" Takashi demands.

"DON'T TALK TO ME LIKE I'M STUPID!" she explodes. "I'M SMARTER THAN ALL OF YOU COMBINED! You should be lucky I'm even in the same school as you! I'm a—I'm a…"

Saeko walks over to her, placing a hand gently on her shoulder, as if she's afraid she'll break. "It's okay. That's enough."

It's like all the venom is wiped out as she looks over at the trophy case again, staring at her messy clothes and red-painted body. "Look at me…" she mumbles, voice cracking. "All these blood stains… now mom will have to take it to the cleaners…"

Takashi walks over to her, looking at her through the reflection with a solemn look, reminding her that it's okay.

The tears in her eyes fall over as she turns to Saeko and buries her face in her chest, gripping her sleeves tightly in her fists. With a loud cry, she breaks down. Everyone watches with sad eyes as both Saeko and Takagi slide to the ground, Takagi still holding onto her for life. She cries until she can't cry anymore…

When her sobs turn to hiccups and she manages to calm herself, she pulls away from Saeko, wiping her eyes.

"There's a sink in the faculty room," I offer, nodding to the room next door. I know because I was sent there just this morning. "You can wash your face there."

She looks up at me and nods.

"Alright," Takashi says, heading over to the sliding door.

After a quick nod, he, Saeko, and Rei all rush out the door, the rest of us closely behind. There's only a few of Them running around, so we get to the next room's door fairly easily—Takashi only has to take out a few that get in our way, and he manages to do it quietly. As soon as we're inside, Takagi heads straight to the bathroom, while Kohta, Takashi, Saeko, and I all start stacking chairs and boxes in front of the door, barricading ourselves in.

"What d'you think?" Takashi asks as we steps back, examining our handiwork.

Kohta nods his head. "Nice."

Saeko heads to a chair near a teacher's desk, rubbing her shoulder. "I think it's enough for now. Let's take a quick break."

"I agree," I say. "Besides, that's probably as good as it's going to get."

"Awesome," Kohta says, heading to the bathroom to see if Takagi's okay.

I let out a sigh and collapse on the nearest chair, leaning my head against a chair holding our barricade up and closing my eyes.

"So, you know Kohta?" Takashi asks, sounding genuinely surprised.

"Yeah," I answer, opening my eyes to look at him. "Remember when I used to sneak into the school? Well, Kohta was the one who used to help me avoid all the teachers."

"Really?" he wonders. "I thought only Morita and I knew about that."

They're just questions that would easily be answered, honestly, not pressuring questions that make me want to run away, but it's still unnerving. Takashi has never asked anything about things I do—he's always concerned with something going on with Rei. Only once or twice can I remember times when Takashi cared enough to ask me something, and those were only because he either caught a glimpse of old scars, or because he caught someone else tormenting me. But petty conversations about details from last year—that's Rei specialty.
It makes me wonder why he decides to be so interested now. Of course, he did just find out that I am—was—living with Hisashi.

Luckily, Kohta chooses now to talk to Takagi. "Are you alright?" There's a pause before I hear Kohta inhale sharply. In a high-pitched voice—that can only be categorized as pleasantly surprised—he asks, "Y-y-you w-wear glasses?" His voice even cracks.

"Shut up!" Takagi snaps in defense. "My contacts have been in for too long and are starting to make my eyes water."

Oh, lovely, she's back to her old self. Wonderful.

I let out another sigh and close my eyes, only to snap them open again when I feel someone approach me.

"Here you go," Rei says, handing a water bottle in her hands to Takashi. "And here's one for you too, Yuki."

I smile. "Thanks."

She returns it, although it's a little forced. It makes my chest tight that she's so mad at me. In the two and half years I've known her, she's never been mad at me. Upset? Sure, but never outright pissed like she seems to be now.

I groan softly and set the bottle aside, resting my head against the chair again.

Today's going to be a long day.

"Ms. Shizuka, where're your car keys?" Takashi asks.

"Oh!" She says it like she just remembers why our goal was this room in the first place. She starts digging through her brown backpack purse. "They're in here somewhere."

"Is your car even big enough to fit all of us?" Saeko asks.

"Well, now that I think about it…" she trails off, deflating.

"What about the microbuses we use for the clubs' away games?" Saeko offers. "It looks like the keys are on the wall hook."

Kohta opens the blinds enough for him to see outside. "I see the buses; they're out in the teachers' parking lot."

"That's fine, but where are we going?" Ms. Shizuka asks, turning to Takashi.

"We're going to make sure our families are okay," Takashi explains, sitting down next to me. "Since all of us live near here, we'll just start with the family who lives the closest. If you're worried about your family, or if they need it, we'll bring them with us. After that, we'll look for a safe place to stay."

"We're bound to find a place," I say, looking up. "The police and Self-Defense Force are on it, after all. If they handled this like they handle earthquakes and other disasters, then there should be a place everyone's being evacuated to."

Everyone looks thoughtful until Rei speaks up.

"What is this?" she mumbles, staring at the muted television screen mounted on the wall.

We turn to her.

The screen is showing a live news broadcast someplace near the park in the middle of Fujimi.

Saeko picks up the remote and turns up the volume. Takashi stands up to join the rest, eyes focused on the screen the entire time.

"The government has begun to reconsider the emergency measures against the outbreaks that have been occurring in locations around the city," the woman on the screen says, holding a stack of papers in her hands.

"Outbreaks?" Takashi repeats with agitation. "What do they mean 'outbreaks'?"

"However, all the political parties have been expressing their uncertainty as the—"

Saeko changes the channel, switching to another, more reliable news channel. This one has a newswoman standing in the middle of town square, men in the background carrying body bags to the back of an ambulance.

"It's been feared that more than ten thousand have been victimized in the Saitama area so far. The governor has already called for a state of emergency—"

There's a loud shot in the background, and the newswoman cringes away from her right, looking horrified. I jump up and head over to the rest, who have gravitated towards each other.

"It's a gunshot!" the woman says with more feeling. "From what I can see, they're—"

The cameraman turns the cameras towards body bags about to be moved into an ambulance. The black bags, which are supposed to contain dead bodies, start sitting up. More gunshots are heard as the police attempt to kill the already dead.

The woman's voice pauses. She's off-screen, so we can't see her, but we can sure as hell hear her. "No! NO!"

Suddenly… static.

We all stare with wide, horrified eyes. Unconsciously, I grip Takashi's sleeve, clenching my eyes shut.

What the hell is going on?