The three girls emerged around three kilometers downstream. Ai emerged first, who pulled out Junko and Saki. Each of them stood panting for a moment. Even though they had only been in the river for a few minutes, all their green, dead skin was wrinkled from the water. Saki was the first to say anything. "Alright, now, where are we?"

"Nevermind where we are, we've gotta figure out what to do now! Look at your arm!" Ai pointed out.

"Yeah, that's a bit of a problem, but it's no big deal," she shrugged. "Figuring out where we are is kind of more important."

"Maybe she can just put on a jacket over it and it won't be too noticeable," Junko suggested.

"Plus, we're nowhere near where you said we should go! We went in the opposite direction! You don't even know where we are!"

"Well, we're somewhere in Karatsu…" Saki put her remaining hand to her chin. "The only thing we have to worry about right now is that damn producer." She began to walk inland, with Junko behind her.

Ai sighed. As the plan had gone haywire, she wasn't so sure about her decision to go with them anymore, but she figured that sticking together was the best way to survive. After all, there's safety in numbers. She jogged to keep up with them.

"I think we're in a park of some kind," Junko noted.

"Huh, you think so?" Saki replied. "What makes you say that?"

"Well, there are trees over there and a footpath this way…"

She observed. Junko was right. The area was awfully park-like. She started thinking about where they could be, forming a mental map of Karatsu in her head. So, we're definitely on the east side…

"Let's follow the footpath for now," Ai suggested. They all started walking alongside the stream while Saki brainstormed. "So what now?"

"Now we figure out where we are and where to get some bikes…" Saki replied, still pondering.

"Perhaps a change of clothes is in order first?" Junko asked. "I mean, look at us. We look ridiculous." She wasn't wrong. Each of them was wearing a pastel color T-shirt and a frilly skirt that Koutarou had made them wear. Saki's missing appendage was clear as day.

"You have a point…" Saki noted. "We should get moving before someone sees us. C'mon!" She started running down the path, followed by the other two. She crossed a bridge, made her way through a little patch of forest, and emerged in a field. "Yes! There's a stoplight! We'll probably be able to figure out where we are now. And from there, we can find a store and get some new clothes!"

"Wait, we don't have any money! How will we be able to buy anything?" Ai protested.

Saki blinked. Then she burst out laughing. "Wait- wait! Don't tell me you were actually expecting us to pay for that stuff?!"

Junko was alarmed. "W-wait, we're going to be stealing? I don't want to do something like that…"

She turned to her. "Listen, we don't have money. We look like idiots. We're literally homeless! We're gonna have to steal to survive! Besides, who knows! Maybe the owner will take pity on us and just give us the stuff!"

"Why would they take pity on us? We're zombies…" Ai pointed out skeptically.

"You don't actually believe that video Shades showed us, do you?"

"Well, it did happen last night…" Junko quietly reminded her.

"That was an exception! No way is that gonna happen again."

"How can you be so sure?" Ai asked.

Saki paused. She wasn't sure. She wasn't sure at all. Here she was, homeless, disabled, and a creature of horror films. She had no idea what she was doing. But she couldn't tell them that. They needed a leader. She gave them a confident look. "Trust me, if anything goes wrong, I'll take care of it. Just like I did last night."

Ai and Junko glanced at each other skeptically. Ai shrugged. "Okay."

"Good, now let's go." Saki turned and began sneaking across the field with the two others right behind her.

When they reached the intersection, they noticed 6 cars lined up at a red light. They all got down low behind a bush. "The roads aren't exactly empty…" Ai pointed out.

"Oh gee, really? I had no idea!" Saki replied sarcastically.

"Where do we go from here?" Junko asked.

She pointed to a building across the street. "There's a pawn shop right there where we can get some clothes. We gotta get there before we do anything."

"A pawn shop? Why would we be able to buy clothes at a pawn shop?" Ai squinted.

"Why wouldn't we? Don't they sell clothes super cheap?" she asked, confused.

"I think you're thinking of a thrift shop," Junko clarified.

"Ah. Well that's… damn it." Saki slumped down against the bush. She had no idea what to do. She put her hand to her forehead and took a deep breath. Damn it… what am I gonna do?

She looked to the others. "Maybe if we kept moving through the woods we could find a store that-"

"Who's there?" an unknown voice yelled.

All three of them froze. They looked up to find a couple who had clearly been walking in the park who were clearly under the suspicion that someone was watching them. "Uh, don't worry! We're just messing around in the woods!" Saki yelled.

"What? How many of you?"

"Uh, three?"

"You sound a little old to be messing around in the woods! What's going on back there?"

Saki looked to the other two and squinted. "Do they think we're…" She gestured obscenely.

"O-oh…" Junko blushed and looked away.

"We're camping!" Ai yelled back.

"Camping isn't allowed in this park! Come out here!" One of them had become agitated and she began approaching the girls.

"We'd rather not!"

"Just what are you three doing in there?" She made eye contact with Junko. "There you are! What do you have to say for… your…self." Her voice trailed off as she processed the physiognomy of the girl. Then a piercing scream erupted from her lungs.

"We gotta get out of here!" Saki yelled, pulling Junko up. Ai had already started running by the time Junko had gotten to her feet. The three sprinted across the street, much to the surprise of the drivers and passengers of the cars on the road, passed the pawn shop, and kept on running. As they passed building after building, they garnered themselves more and more looks and more and more screams. After what felt like an eternity of running, they finally reached a four-way intersection already having run over a kilometer. They all stopped to catch their breath. Screams of terror were erupting around them. "We've gotta hide somewhere!" Saki yelled to the others.

"Where can we hide?" Ai shouted back.

They each looked to Junko for a suggestion, but she was already running into a nearby building.

"More people? The hell is she thinking!?" Saki yelled, running after her.

Junko threw open the doors and ran inside.

The other two sprinted after her. They each grabbed one of the doors and tossed it aside, slamming each one into its respective doorstop. Then they rushed inside and looked for her.

She was standing in the corner, catching her breath.

"What are you doing in here? We can't be seen in a shop like this one!" Saki whispered loudly as she marched toward her.

"Can I help you girls with anything?" A voice behind them asked.

They turned to see a woman who seemed to be in her twenties. Ai and Saki winced, awaiting the inevitable screaming bound to commence.

"Oh, we're just browsing, thank you," Junko replied calmly.

Ai and Saki opened their eyes. Huh?

"Wow, you girls really know how to pull off a convincing cosplay!" the clerk gushed. "You look incredible! I'm absolutely shaking in my boots!"

What? Cosplay? Boots? She looked down. The girl was wearing sandals.

"Thank you!" Junko smiled back. "We worked really hard on them."

"Well, it's nice to see people so good at it," she replied. "I can't remember the last time I saw one this good. Well, anyways, let me know if you need anything." She turned and walked back to her desk.

Ai glanced at Junko and raised an eyebrow. "What just happened?"

"This is a cosmetics store. She thought we were cosplayers," she answered with a cunning smile.

"Great, we fooled one person. Now what?" Saki asked.

"I have a plan." She walked confidently up to the counter.

She watched the girl execute her plan and couldn't help but grow a small smirk. Bringing her along was the right call.

"Yes. I'm so sorry for any inconvenience this has caused you." Koutarou paused. "Thank you for your understanding. I hope to work together again in the future. Goodbye." He turned off the phone and put it in his pocket. He stared straight ahead into the waters of the Karatsu bay silently, leaning on the railing. His hair was unaffected by the sea wind. After the whole bridge incident, he had immediately taken the remaining girls back to the house. Each of them were shocked by the events that unfolded on the bridge, but he couldn't let them be seen by other people who were also running over to watch the events unfold. After arriving home, he silently walked into the house and onto the back porch.

The girls were watching him through the window of their shared bedroom. "Do you think he's going to be alright?" Yuugiri asked.

"I'm more concerned about Saki-chan, Ai-chan, and Junko-chan," muttered Sakura. "I can't believe they would just run away like that…"

"Well he was pretty mean to them," Lily piped up.

"Well, yes, that's true…" she noted. They, along with herself, were the only ones Koutarou targeted the morning they woke up. "But I don't think that's enough to set them off…"

Koutarou opened the door and marched back inside. He glanced at the girls, who were now staring back at him, paused for a moment, then kept walking, eventually reaching the other side of the room and exiting through the door.

"I wonder what he thinks about all this," Yuugiri pondered aloud.

Sakura slumped down onto the floor. "This is all my fault," she whimpered. "I should have told him what happened last night…"

"What happened last night?" Lily questioned.

She glanced toward the child. "I was there for their first escape attempt. It was a disaster. There were rappers and a police officer and the officer pulled a gun. We were nearly killed… again. It was awful."

She looked down and tucked her knees into her chest. She seemed to regret asking.

"If I had just held on a little better, they wouldn't have gotten away…"

Tae moaned. She hadn't been fed any squid in hours. She was starting to go through withdrawal symptoms.

Yuugiri put a hand on her shoulder. "Nonsense. Regardless of how hard you had held her arm, it still would have come off."

Sakura looked away. "That's not really what I meant… I didn't mean for that to be taken literally."

She smiled. "Neither did I."

She turned towards her with a curious look. What?

"Seems they were going to escape regardless of what we did to combat it."

Oh, come on. She swiped the courtesan's hand off her shoulder and turned away. That's not true and you know it.