On the second night since everything began, we realised we were still human when we saved one little girl.
Now, nearing a week since the beginning of the end, we can't be so sure of that anymore.
As much as I will fight to protect my friends, the only thing that has filled my head for this last week was confirming the safety of my family. But what if… what if I'm with my family right now? Would I be willing to sacrifice their safety at the price of my own satisfaction?
What kind of a leader am I?
H.O.T.D. Season 2: World of the DEAD
Act 3: Searching for the DEAD
Saeko lay still in the comfy apartment block, peaceful for the time being.
Having slept already and being confined to the bed, she spent the few remaining hours before dawn looking at her surroundings, casting her eyes over the features of the room.
She was lying on a modest double-sized bed covered with a quilt of light blue, brown and cream. It matched the subtle beige colouring of the walls, which were mostly bare excluding a picture of a young man and woman smiling and holding each other as they looked at the camera. Other than the bed there was little furnishing in the room, save for two bedside tables upon which each rested a single lamp, and a wardrobe opposing the bed.
It was a relaxing room, meant only to sleep in. Saeko wouldn't have minded a room like this herself… she couldn't help but wonder how long the young couple had been living together before the outbreak.
The rest of the apartment was much the same. Sparsely furnished and with a newly moved in feel, yet strangely homey and inviting at the same time.
If she wasn't so frustrated she may have appreciated it more.
Saeko thought back to the vexing diagnosis she had received from Shizuka upon their arrival at the apartment block…
"Busujima-san, this boot needs to come off before I can see how badly you've hurt your ankle," Shizuka began, her bright and bubbly personality hardening into one of calm and clinical professionalism.
After nodding her consent, Shizuka crouched and gingerly pulled the long boot off of Saeko's leg, trying to avoid as much discomfort as possible. Saeko was unable to help a grimace of pain as the footwear jostled her already swollen ankle, however Shizuka did not stop until the shoe had been fully removed.
The next boot came off much faster, and Shizuka looked up to make sure Saeko understood what she was about to do. She reached up under Saeko's skirt to unclip the stockings she wore from her garter – just as Hirano stepped into the room.
The gun lover froze, and his face went pale with shock.
"Ah-um, Shizuka-sensei…hmm, um, okay."
Saeko watched on, not embarrassed (he couldn't possibly have seen anything) but amused as Hirano tried to find the right words.
"Uh. Uh! Um, Busujima-sempai, Miyamoto-san and I have checked up to the fifth floor, and most of the apartments units are locked. All of those that aren't are empty, but there were signs of struggling on the fourth staircase going up and around seven… bodies in the elevator."
"I see," Saeko said thoughtfully, considering their options as Shizuka began to tick of a medical checklist in her head.
"Do you think it is necessary to barricade the stairwell?"
Hirano shook his head.
"Negative. We didn't check all the floors, as there were another five to go, but the stairwells are blocked on each level by a pretty solid door, and we dead bolted all the doors behind us as we came back down. If there are any of Them on higher levels they shouldn't be strong or smart enough to break through those four doors, providing we don't make some hellishly loud noise down here. And the elevator is out of commission after the EMP strike."
The indigo haired girl nodded to herself as Hirano explained, and smiled up at the boy when he finished.
"You've done a fine job Hirano-kun. You have my thanks. …Please thank Miyamoto-san for me as well."
Hirano nodded and saluted before mumbling something about giving them some space.
"Ah! Hirano-kun!" Shizuka called out before he could leave.
"Could you send Takagi-san up here with the bag of medical supplies please? It's the smaller bag that Alice-chan carried."
Shizuka smiled winningly, which was unnecessary as Hirano had practically raced out of the door.
The school nurse turned back to Saeko, and her expression turned serious.
"Now, there is obviously some nasty swelling here, which instantly stops you from being able to run and jump around. So no action for you." Shizuka waved her pointer finger in Saeko's face warningly.
She reached out and gently wrapped her fingers around the swelling, prodding at it experimentally.
"There's some lovely bruising coming through too, but it shouldn't hurt unless you poke it." Saeko began to ask a question but flinched when Shizuka poked the bruise, her finger disappearing into it up to the first knuckle.
The blonde giggled lightly and jumped in to speak before Saeko could try to interrupt.
"The good news is that it doesn't feel like it's broken! It's definitely sprained though, and you made it worse by giving it a nasty bang when you fell over. It sounded and looks a lot worse than it actually is which is excellent news, however…"
Shizuka trailed off, taking their circumstances and normal procedures into careful consideration. Saeko waited with a growing sense of apprehension as she waited for the verdict.
What a pitiful time to become a burden!
"Well," Shizuka sighed resignedly, "Under normal circumstances I'd just say get some bed rest and avoid walking on that leg as much as possible. Short, light walks would be fine after a day or two, but…" She paused again, and shot a small smile in Saeko's direction.
"Truthfully, we all need you. We need you to recover quickly. But you need to help yourself to recover, so I want you doing as little as possible until I say otherwise. How long that takes is up to you. But one week at the very least."
Saeko was taken aback by the woman's truthful words, and thanked the nurse as she masked her annoyance. Truly, Shizuka was trying to help her as much as she could, but that didn't make it any less frustrating.
Takagi chose that moment to enter the room. Handing the bag she had brought with her, the teenage genius inspected Saeko's injury for herself, asking a few questions of Shizuka as the blonde began to strap Saeko's ankle in a tight bandage.
Her work was quick and efficient, and she clipped the end of the bandage down with a little hooked pin.
"If only we had a pair of crutches…" Shizuka murmured to herself, before instructing Saeko to get some sleep…
One week… At least one week.
They had been hard pressed to survive this last week already, and everyone had been able to work together that entire time! How were the group supposed to double the length of their survival when she could not help them?
Saeko would be patient… however she could not hide her relief when Takashi arrived at the door to help her to the foyer – it was time to reclaim the Humvee.
The group was quick in their preparations, spending little time in distributing the few bags they had with them. Takagi quickly devised the best formation they could move in on their way back to the mall, with Saeko taking the unfamiliar center position with Shizuka and Alice. The plan left Takagi herself to potentially fight and kill the undead, but she shook off Hirano's initial objections.
Truly, Saeko thought, she is becoming a strong woman.
Not wasting any time in leaving the apartment block, the group made their cautious way back to the mall's car park.
From within the safety of the middle of the group, Saeko looked ahead to the newest member of the team as Miyuki lead the group alongside Takashi. The red head had come to properly introduce herself to Saeko soon after their arrival at the apartment block. They and Takashi had talked for a little while, not about the apocalypse, but just little things about themselves.
Somehow, the topic had never really shifted to their past, but Saeko could tell that Miyuki and Takashi had had some kind of connection before the outbreak. Their leader acted awkwardly around Miyuki… but Saeko didn't want to think she was another Rei. She liked Miyuki.
Her musing was cut short as the group – led by Takashi and Miyuki, guarded on the left and right by Rei and Takagi, and brought up by Hirano – left the alleyway and entered the car park for the last time.
Scoping out the situation, Rei stood guard with her firearm as the rest of the group save for Saeko and Alice got into position to tip the Humvee back on its wheels.
"O-kay people, we do this on my count!" came Alice's commandeering voice as she waved her arms through the air like a conductor for an orchestra. Saeko smiled from her position next to the child, watching the team as their arms settled under the open window sills of the vehicle.
Alice counted down with Zeke barking along with her, and as "3!" left Alice's mouth, four pairs of arms were successful in tipping the vehicle the right way up. Shizuka fluttered around, seemingly oblivious to the fact that she had not helped.
Takashi stepped back and dusted off his hands triumphantly.
"Great work guys. Okay, we should get moving as quickly as possible. This is… Teiei Shopping Centre, so…" Takashi's voice trailed off and looked over to Rei.
"That means my house is closest."
Rei, Saya and Hirano all nodded determinedly. As Shizuka slid into the driver's seat, Hirano took shotgun with Alice happily sitting on his lap as she petted Zeke soothingly. Saya helped Saeko into the back seat, and after some consideration insisted she lie out.
Saeko sighed wearily.
"There will be no room if I take up the back seat."
"I can fit in at the end if you sit up against the door, and someone can sit on the floor. But a couple of people will need to get comfy on the roof…" Takagi looked up to Takashi, who immediately volunteered to take the roof, as did Rei.
"…I'll sit on the floor then." Miyuki smiled. Takagi raised her eyebrow at her response.
"Welcome to the group," she said sarcastically.
Miyuki chuckled in response.
"I'll get used to it. It's… well…" she looked around at the group as Takashi helped Rei onto the roof of the vehicle, and as the other members settled themselves inside.
"…Strange not having to make all the decisions now," she finally finished her sentence, taking Saya off guard.
The pink haired girl grinned, and gestured for Miyuki to get in the vehicle.
"You'll see we have a great leader here."
After Miyuki and Takagi had seated themselves inside the vehicle, Shizuka confirmed everyone was set. Takashi opened the hatch from above and leant down to give directions to his house, but warned the nurse not to drive dangerously.
"We're off!" Shizuka exclaimed.
The engine started up with a rumble, and Shizuka spun the wheel to the right. The Humvee turned 180 degrees before the steering wheel was quickly turned to the left, and the group drove out of the car park and onto the street.
The road seemed to be free of Them, and Takagi spoke up from the back seat.
"It should take us about 20 minutes to reach Komuro's house, and it's probably not a good idea to stick around for too long when we get there… we don't want to attract any unwanted attention," the genius sighed, and she took off her glasses to polish them of the sleeve of her shirt.
"Is anyone else's houses nearby?" Miyuki asked from her position on the floor.
"Miyamoto-san lives nearby, I think," contributed Hirano from the front. "The leader'll probably want to check the police station too."
"What about yourself, Miyuki-san?" Saeko enquired quietly. "Where do you live?"
"Not too far away. About half an hour away from Takashi's house and towards the south."
The other members in the car raised their eyebrows at Miyuki's referral to Takashi – straight to his first name and without the use of honorifics. Hirano frowned to himself. Just how well did Takashi and Miyuki know each other before the outbreak?
The red head noticed the silence following her response and rubbed her eyes with her hand forcefully. The vehicle was quiet for a time, in which Saeko watched Miyuki as she grew more and more fidgety. She began glancing up to the hatch, and shifting in her seat.
Finally, just as Shizuka announced that they would arrive at Komuro's house in just a few minutes, Miyuki broke.
She was suddenly on her feet, crouched as she reached up to the hatch.
"Hey, what are you doing?" Saya exclaimed, thinking about moving to stop her.
Hirano and Alice turned around just as Miyuki's eyes flicked over to Takagi, to Saeko and then back to the hatch. Before she could hoist herself up, Saeko leaned over to grasp her wrist.
"Whatever it is you need to say, remember that we live in a different world now. You may not all understand that yet."
Miyuki's eyes widened with surprise as Saeko fixed her with a level gaze.
She pulled her hand away, and heaved herself onto the roof of the moving vehicle.
Takagi made to stop her, but was halted by Saeko's outstretched hand.
"She has made this decision, Takagi-san. We have no right to stop her now."
Saya slumped back into her chair and assured Shizuka that everything was alright. Her eyes connected with Hirano's for a moment. He had a strange expression on his face – tender, almost.
Blushing a little, Saya looked back out of the window as they closed in on their destination…
As Miyuki's legs left the interior of the vehicle, she could see the backs of Takashi and Rei, who were facing the direction they had driven from. The dark haired teen must have heard her settle on the roof, because he – and in turn, Rei – turned to face her.
Takashi… already looked like he knew what Miyuki was about to talk about. He looked at the newest addition to the team with muted encouragement in his eyes – better to get this over and done with before they reached his house.
"Is everything okay Miyuki-san?" Rei asked hesitantly.
Miyuki sighed, and shuffled around so that she was sitting cross legged. Her hands rested casually in her lap, and she took a deep breath, as if to compose herself.
"About… Hisashi," she finally began.
Rei immediately looked down at her words and brought a clenched fist to her chest. Takashi seemed apprehensive, and possibly even slightly ill, but his eyes didn't leave Miyuki's as she began to speak.
"You don't mind if I call you by your first names do you?"
Takashi and Rei shook their heads simultaneously.
Miyuki gave a slight smile.
"… You went to the same school, and were in the same class."
Rei grit her teeth, feeling her eyes prickle hotly.
Miyuki continued.
"Takashi, you were his best friend, and Rei was his girlfriend. It makes sense that you would be together at the beginning of the outbreak."
"What are you doing?"
"We're going to need weapons to defend ourselves with."
"I have a black belt, so I'll be fine."
"Hisashi wasn't stupid." Miyuki almost seemed to be talking to herself now, and yet her gaze held Takashi's. Occasionally her eyes would skim over to Rei, whose wide eyes drank in every word that slipped from between Miyuki's lips.
"He was certainly smart enough to stay alive… I'm sure he wouldn't have panicked like many people did."
"Hisashi, are you alright?"
"It's just a scratch, nothing to worry about."
"He was smart, but he was also strong. He could take care of himself."
Takashi broke Miyuki's gaze, his pained expression masked by his bangs. The red heads eyes slowly closed in response.
"He was such an idiot though; he must have thought that he could take one of Them on bare handed. Taking one of Them on… trying to help someone more like."
Rei looked up sharply, tears beginning to gather in the corners of her eyes.
"It's Them. They infect you with some kind of disease. We're being attacked by corpses, but this isn't some movie or video game."
"So they're Them."
Miyuki's blue eyes opened with a start.
"But I can't believe that he just died on the spot. He would've kept fighting."
"What do we do?"
"Get up to the observatory. We can block the stairs!"
As Miyuki didn't continue, Takashi looked up. Besides him, Rei was staring furiously at the ground, her eyes now dry but her cheeks flushed with emotion.
"Taka-" Miyuki began.
"He was bitten." Takashi said abruptly. "We didn't know what would happen. We ran, and hid, but eventually… he began to cough."
Miyuki looked paler than usual, her eyes wide.
"He wanted to remain… human until the end, but I-" Takashi's hand balled into a fist. He looked up, straight at Miyuki and told the truth.
"I want to die as myself."
"Can you help me?"
"I couldn't kill him until after he turned."
The red head was still, processing Takashi's words. Inside the Humvee, Hirano sung softly to Alice and Zeke, hoping to distract them from the sombre words floating in from the roof of the vehicle.
After a minute, Miyuki spoke once more. A sad smile made her look older than she should have at seventeen years of age.
"You were his best friend. He… Hisashi would have been so grateful for you stopping him from hurting anyone… As his sister, I can't express this enough…"
Miyuki inhaled deeply, and made sure both Takashi and Rei were looking at her before continuing.
"Thank you."
H.O.T.D. Season 2: World of the DEAD
The group was distracted from their thoughts by Shizuka's quiet call.
"Everyone, we're here."
Takashi shook away his recently relived memories and ducked down to give directions to the school nurse once more.
"Park about halfway down the street. Rei's house isn't too far from here, so we can head there next."
"I can see some of Them!" Rei called from the roof.
The mood instantly turned serious, and everyone readied themselves for the task ahead.
Shizuka cut the engine as Takashi swung down from the roof and opened the driver's door. The Humvee was now parallel to the curb, facing away from Takashi's house. Miyuki and Rei also hopped down, and stood to face the oncoming dead.
"Alright. Shizuka-sensei, you and Alice-chan should stay in the car in case we need a quick getaway. Sorry Saeko-san, but you need to stay put too. We can handle this." Takashi's voice turned serious, and he fixed Saeko with a forceful gaze. The wounded swordswoman nodded, and turned away to hide her frustration.
"Takagi, I need you to stay and guard the people here. You'll need to get word to us quickly if any more of Them come so we can make a quick getaway."
Saya nodded, and grabbed her weapon before vaulting out of the car. She came around to Takashi's side and immediately began scanning the area in front of the Humvee. Takashi quickly walked to the girls as Hirano awkwardly transitioned Alice off of his lap and climbed out of the passenger's seat.
"Me, Rei, Miyuki and Hirano will go inside and check to see if… if anyone's home. Hirano, we may need you by one of the upper floor windows as a sniper if things get bad." Takashi continued.
Hirano's glasses flashed as he nodded, and he saluted to his friend and leader with a grin.
"It's not going to get bad, so long as They don't bother us," Rei spoke up, pointing to the small group of undead that were approaching from a distance.
"Six… no, seven of Them. That's not too bad." Takashi said to himself.
"So long as we stick together and don't start shouting at each other, we'll be fine." Miyuki added somewhat cynically as she looked after the approaching threat.
Rei and Takashi looked at her with raised eyebrows, and she turned to them with a shrug.
"Past experience," the red head said bluntly.
A shadow passed over Takashi's face, and he hoisted his gun in front of him.
"We'll want to advance as a unit. I'll take point, and you Rei," he pointed to the teen, "will cover my left side while Miyuki," he pointed to her, "will cover my right. Hirano," Takashi pointed to him as he joined them, "will bring up the rear and make sure we aren't surprised by anything from behind."
"T-" Saeko tried from the backseat of the Humvee, but Takashi cut her off before she could even begin.
"I haven't got my hopes too high, but I still need to check." He said morosely.
The indigo headed girl frowned slightly, before opening her mouth once more.
"If I were able to help you, I would volunteer to lead. As it is, I think it is Miyuki-san who should enter first." Her words were calm, calculated and heartfelt – much like herself.
Takashi looked over to her in surprise, his brown eyes wide.
"You may not be able to defend yourself in the event of the worst case scenario," Saeko elaborated, her eyes searching Takashi's for his reaction.
The leader swallowed hard, but nodded.
The worst case scenario… the worst case scenario being that his family were dead and waiting to kill him too.
In turn, Miyuki looked at Saeko with carelessly veiled shock. Killing Takashi's family… she knew she could do it in the heat of the moment. Hell, killing Them was all they had been doing since everything began. Killing and running.
So yeah, she could kill Takashi's family if she had to. How that would affect him was another thing entirely.
"…We won't be long," Takashi informed the members of the group who were staying outside. He stepped back to allow Miyuki to take the lead. It wasn't an unfamiliar position for her to be in, but this time it felt different.
This wasn't a group of people who were going to turn their backs on each other at the first sign of danger. It wasn't a group that cared more about their own personal gain and glory over the safety of others, and it wasn't a group that was being blindly led into the dark by someone drunk on their own perverse desire for power.
This was a group of survivors, and she was going to make damn sure that she survived with them.
The unit of four began to quickly make their way towards the Komuro household, and Takashi and Rei were discouraged that the only moving people on the street were dead.
The four took particular note of the dead that had been initially moving towards the Humvee, and were relieved to see that they appeared to have either lost interest, or had forgotten that they had made any noise in the first place.
They reached the curb, and Miyuki turned back to look at the leader.
"How do you want to do this?"
Takashi didn't take long to answer – he'd been thinking about this during the first half of the trip.
"We'll circle around the back – if my mum is inside I don't want to scare her by barging in through the front door – and check to make sure the outside is secure. We'll see if we can break in through the back and then check the house from the bottom to top floor," he said with conviction.
"Won't your mum freak out more if we break in through the back?" asked Rei, sarcasm colouring her tone.
"I'll handle that," Takashi said surprisingly.
Hirano took Takashi's vague reply in stride and motioned forwards with his gun.
"After you ladies."
Trying not to roll her eyes, Miyuki stepped forward and onto the property. The Komuro household was quite modest, and much smaller than the Takagi manor. It was a two storey building, relatively modern looking with a small expanse of unruly grass growing out the front.
Their feet crunched over the grass that was slowly dying without a gardener's care, and the team approached the gate which separated the front yard from the back at a moderate pace.
The metal gate stood disturbingly wide open, and Miyuki had taken nigh on a step into the back yard before Takashi pulled her up.
An arm, soon followed by the rest of the zombie's rotting body, appeared around the corner. It hadn't noticed them, and Miyuki's eyes flickered back and forth between Takashi and the monster.
He had that look in his eyes. He recognised the woman in front of him.
"My God… that's Mayanoka-san from across the road!" Rei exclaimed as she identified the monster, her shock causing her to forget the need for silence.
Takashi started at Rei's words, and began to run forward. He drew back his weapon, preparing to use it to club the woman over the head and froze as her dead eyes swung around to meet his.
This… this was the woman who always gave him cookies as a kid. Even when his mum had told him he couldn't have any more, Mayanoka-san would always sneak him just one more.
The monster – formerly kind Mayanoka-san – reached out to the frozen teen, and as his conscious sluggishly tried to keep up, the monster fell to the ground with a clean gouge in the base of its skull.
His arms shook slightly, but Miyuki had already whipped around the corner. Shaking himself, Takashi closely followed by the shaken Rei and focused Hirano, quickly manoeuvred the corner. Miyuki was in the far corner of the small yard, and at her feet was yet another woman turned monster.
It's left leg had been lacerated severely enough by one of Miyuki's blades that it was unable to stand. Takashi shook his head at Miyuki's blank gaze. Not his mother.
The red head nodded, and disposed of the monster with a quick bash from the hilt of her weapon. Miyuki turned and made her way back to Takashi, before a guttural groan filled the air.
The third monster stepped out from an obscure corner of the yard that was filled with climber plants which covered the western wall. This one was male – and unnervingly dressed in Fujimi High School's uniform.
He had certainly been no older than they were.
Takashi let out a growl, and now wasted no time in swinging his gun around and smashing the zombie's skull in.
"We're clear, Komuro," Hirano said cleanly as the monster fell to the ground. "We'll need to be wary of the situation inside."
Takashi nodded and set about removing the window to the kitchen. Meanwhile, Rei and Miyuki were looking at Hirano with surprise on their faces.
"You're kind of impressive, Hirano," Miyuki said in slight awe.
Kohta just chuckled and scratched his head.
Takashi stepped away from his handiwork, and broke away from Saeko's suggested formation by entering the house first. They couldn't blame him.
Miyuki and Rei were quick to follow. (When they told the story later, Hirano chose not to mention his own furious tussle with the window.)
It was clear that the kitchen was empty. However the cupboards hung open and packets of foodstuffs had been knocked off the counter and onto the floor. Upon further inspection, they found that most of the cupboards were empty. There was no canned food of any description remaining, and after Hirano opened the fridge a mild sour smell filled the air.
A couple of plastic wrapped schnitzels, a block of spotty cheese and a half empty carton of milk looked to be the culprit.
The discoveries made them uneasy, and the group – back in proper formation – moved clockwise through the house, doing a thorough check after the sudden arrival of the teenage monster in the backyard.
The lounge, dining and bathroom area looked completely normal. Asides from the fine layer of dust that had already settled over everything, the house seemed much the same as it had when Takashi had left for school seven days ago.
Seven days that felt like a lifetime.
The group moved back through the house to the garage. It was a small area – and it was empty of any vehicles.
"…I remember that mum caught a bus to her elementary school that day," said Takashi, referring to the day of the outbreak.
"So she came back here?" Rei asked, hope lighting up her features.
"If she did, she was in a hurry," Hirano pointed out, looking specifically at the tire marks on the cement floor.
"But the rest of the house seemed normal…" Rei murmured.
"Let's keep checking – we don't want to be here for too long." Miyuki was looking around the room as she spoke, as if checking for something.
"What is it?" Takashi asked suddenly.
"It's just… if your mum caught the bus, would she really have come back here to grab a vehicle? And the kitchen was a mess too…" Miyuki mused aloud.
She shook her head and moved back to the doorway. Moving slower than earlier, Takashi, Rei and Hirano followed.
Motioning to the right, Takashi gestured towards the staircase.
Miyuki had taken two steps when she paused, and raised her twin blades in front of her. She turned her head back and mouthed two words.
The carpet.
The three behind looked past her to the staircase – in particular, the carpet runner that ran down the middle of the wooden steps. It was all bunched up towards the top of the staircase, as if someone had kicked it behind them when they were fleeing down the stairs.
The group slowly ascended the staircase.
They placed their footsteps slowly, carefully, attempting to make as little noise as possible. Three stairs from the top, and Takashi's pulse was thumping in his ears, and sweat rolled off the tip of his nose as his anticipation for what they would find grew.
Immediately next to the top of the staircase to the left – his parents room.
Takashi inches past Miyuki at the landing to the master bedroom, and instinctively raised his Ithaca in front of him; ready to shoot!
He kicked the door open and pointed the barrel of his gun directly at… a note pinned to the wardrobe door.
The leader slumped in the doorframe, recovering from the anticlimax of the discovery.
The room was obviously empty… but he stepped back and pushed past his friends.
"What about the note, Takashi?" Rei asked.
"We still have the upstairs bathroom and my room to go. The note can wa-"
"Read it, Takashi-san," Miyuki cut him off with a small smile. "We'll finish checking up."
Takashi was still for a moment, his mouth open in a comical 'o' reminiscent of when he was a child. He eventually closed his mouth, and nodded. He turned back to his room with Rei at his back.
Hirano and Miyuki quickly confirmed the upstairs bathroom was empty, and stepped into Takashi's bedroom.
It was a pretty typical room – a messy, unmade bed took up most of the space, covered with navy sheets. There was a small closest which stood open against the wall, and a moderately sized desk, upon which rested an open laptop and an adjustable lamp. Next to the desk were three shelves, upon which were stored several manga and some game boxes. There were a fair number of posters on the wall – mostly of manga characters and musicians, but Miyuki spotted two of posing girls in bikinis. Those two posters were right next to the closet against the wall, and on the wall to the right of the bed.
It was almost as if Takashi had put them up half-heartedly – they weren't in places you could easily notice them, especially from the bed and desk.
After they confirmed the room was clear, Hirano moved to the window, and pulled up the pane of glass to look outside.
From their position, they could clearly see the group camped out at the Humvee. Saya was looking steadily to her right, and Hirano looked left to see what she was looking at. His expression fell at what he saw.
The numbers of the undead had swelled to over twenty in the time they had been in Takashi's house, drawn by something unknown. They were still quite far down the street, and Saya obviously hadn't thought them a big enough threat to shout for them yet.
Hirano brought his gun over the edge of the windowsill. There was something about this scene…
A shout.
"Takagi-san!"
Miyuki, who was further back in the room, quickly moved to the window.
"Did you hear that?" She asked hurriedly, taking in the scene.
The shout had only just carried to the house – whoever had screamed had remembered not to be too loud in any case.
A relatively small number of undead had effectively jumped the Humvee, appearing from behind as Saya's focus had been on the larger number of zombies in the opposite direction.
The pink head spun around in shock, and Hirano jumped into action. Getting a solid stance on the floor, he braced the butt of his weapon under his arm, and raised the scope to his sights. He adjusted his grip, aim, accorded for the slight breeze and squeezed the trigger.
Miyuki raced back to the door, leaving Hirano to his scary talents and headed to the master bedroom. She burst through the door, quickly taking in the scene: Rei stood too close to Takashi's elbow, leaning over his side and she stared at the note he held. Her cheeks were flushed and her eyes looked watery. Takashi seemed stunned, paying no attention to anything other than the A4 piece of paper. The red head had to snap them out of their reverie.
"We have to go. Now."
"Takagi-san!" Came Saeko's cry from within the Humvee.
Saya spun around, and her eyes went wide with shock.
Just five feet away were five stumbling ex-humans, their flesh an ashy grey in the mid-morning light.
Completely forgetting her protocol to call for help, Takagi raised her new gun in front of her, the tip of the bayonet shaking slightly as a result of her nerves.
Not that she would get a chance to use it.
Inside the vehicle, Alice was beating a fist against the window, and almost looked as if she were… cheering?
That broke through to Saya, and suddenly the bayonet was held level in the air.
She raised the gun to her chest, and set the closest monster in her sights.
There was no way she could miss.
She was a genius after all.
Bang!
She squeezed the trigger, and halfway through the motion, the zombie collapsed.
What the…?
Saya turned back to Takashi's house, and raised her hand to her forehead as the sunlight glinted off of something.
She was met with a crazy gun nerd grinning like crazy as he pulled his trigger twice more. Two more monsters fell to the ground.
Before he could get off another shot, Takagi spun and pulled the trigger almost instinctively. The next undead fell silently to the floor, and her ears rung with triumph.
She turned to look back up and smirk at Hirano, but he was nowhere to be seen. Suddenly, the front door was flung open, and four people ran out, led by Takashi.
He ran at a remarkable speed, and as Hirano brought up the rear, Takashi raised his gun and efficiently crushed the skull of the remaining monster.
By this time, Shizuka had geared the vehicle into life, and Saya hopped back into the backseat as Takashi quickly helped Rei onto the roof. He hopped up behind her as Hirano jumped into the front seat, having a quick reunion with Alice before slamming the door shut.
There was no need for subtlety now – the horde was approaching.
Miyuki backed towards the vehicle, and Shizuka swung it around to face the horde under Takashi hurried instructions. Saeko swung the backdoor open, and Miyuki stepped into it backwards, awkwardly twisting to avoid knocking Saeko's foot.
The door was shut, and the accelerator pressed to the floor. They approached the slowing growing number of zombies at high speed, managing to knock over two as they sped past.
On the roof, Takashi slumped and again raked his eyes over the note from Tadashi Miyamoto.
It was the only lead they had at the moment.
First I was a hatchling waiting for my little bones to form
Next I was a fledging leaping from the nest despite the fall
Oh they fall, how we fall
But if I speak to you of days upon the ocean
I can speak to you of memories and dust
There won't be time for all of us,
I know there won't be time for all of us
I landed in the garden longing for the view behind the fence
Oh my god
I prayed my bones weren't brittle
For the air we float on can feel dense
Oh the weight of it aches
But if I speak to you of days upon the ocean
I can speak to you of memories and dust
There won't be time for all us,
I know there won't be time for all of us
'cause I saw two fall before they were ready to
And I found no sense or gain to bear the cost
Comfort comes to those with faith in mysterious ways
But for me faith don't make up for what we lost
But if I speak to you of days upon the ocean
I can speak to you of memories and dust
There won't be time for all us,
I know there won't be time for all of us
But in the morning I can smell you on my pillow
I need to know we won't get wrung out in the wash
I need to know there's time for us
I must believe there's time for some of us
'cause I saw two fall before they were ready to
And I found no sense or gain to bear the cost
Comfort comes to those with faith in mysterious ways
But for me faith don't make up for what we lost
Takashi leaned back over the hatch to explain the situation.
"We made too much noise here, and Rei's house is too close to go straight there now. Sorry," he added on, although the ginger remained unseen to those inside the Humvee.
"So we have to wait for things to quiet down a little bit, and then check the police station first," the leader continued.
"Shizuka-sensei, can you drive about for a little bit and gradually head east? Try to avoid Them as much as possible." Takashi sat back, now out of sight once more.
"Can do," the blonde said cheerfully. Miyuki rose quickly, and stood with her chest, arms and head above the roof.
"Hey," she said softly, drawing Takashi and Rei's attention.
"I shouldn't have brought up the past so close to your house Takashi. I don't want to… distract you." Miyuki had been going to say 'upset', but she wasn't willing to even bring the word up yet.
Rei shook her head slowly, and kindly smiled.
"We all know where we stand now… we just need to stick together." Her voice broke slightly, but Miyuki overlooked it.
"Good news?" She asked, motioning towards the note that Takashi held.
"I guess so," he said as he raked his hand through his hair.
"Yes!" Rei said quickly at the same time. There was an awkward pause, before Takashi cleared his throat and elaborated.
"It's from Rei's dad. I guess it was written before the EMP strike."
So he could be anywhere, or anything by now. But Miyuki decided to keep that particular thought to herself.
"So we know he's okay at least." Takashi continued, by deliberately kept his gaze away from Rei.
"The only problem is that he also says that most of the escape routes out of the city – and even out of Japan – are either blocked off, overrun or under lockdown. Basically…"
"We can't get out of the city."
I am not associated with the artist Josh Pyke, nor do I own the rights to his song 'Memories and Dust'.
Sorry for taking such a long time to update! Because of a little thing called life, I have been very busy. It shouldn't take me quite so long to update in the future though.
Also, if I were to write a supplementary story about Miyuki's survival story up until she meets up with Team Takashi, would anyone be interested? I'm writing and posting it anyway, but I'm curious xD
Thank you to Alex Mercer, The Queen of Water, the anonymous 'X' and MikeOfTheDead for reviewing. To 'X': I'm doing the best I can! I'm really glad you're enjoying it :)
Thanks for reading, and please review!
NEXT: ACT 4: Japan's finest DEAD