Hi everybody. Well, this officially marks what will no doubt be the longest thing I've ever written. Seriously, I've looked over all the chapters of the HOTD manga I've covered so far, all of those were an average of 30 pages. This one: 56 FUCKING PAGES! You have no idea how close I was to making this chapter a two-parter. But you all deserve better than that. So to show you all my appreciation for your constant reading of this story, here's Chapter 7 for all of you. You all know the drill. Read, review, recommend to any Scandinavians you or a friend online might know, and most importantly, enjoy. I don't own HOTD, the Sato Brothers do. I only own the OC's, and whatever pairings may come to be as a result of their presence, and the changing of events as a result of their presence. Anyway, enjoy.

Also, much like last chapter, halfway through this thing, my quotations key got screwed up again, so halfway through, I'll once again be using my same alternative as last chapter in place of quotes. If this ends up becoming a repeating problem like I'm fearing, this may become something of an expectancy in later chapters as well, so I figured I might as well give you all the heads up ahead of time.

Kapitel Syv: Den, Der Sparer ét Menneskeliv, Redder Verden Hele (D: Chapter Seven: He Who Saves One Life, Saves The World Entire)

Hvordan skete det? (D: How did this happen?) The last thing I remembered was suddenly getting grabbed by a drunken Marikawa-sensei, nearly getting smothered like a little girls' abused teddy bear, then Alpi grabbing me and dragging me out of bed by my leg. Next thing I know, I'm out on the balcony with almost everybody, and finding a steadily growing horde of zombier(D: zombies) filling the street just outside our doorstep, drawn by a loudmouthed little dog. Nobody was able to say anything at all, cause I think we all collectively knew we were royally screwed now. There was a deafening blast down on the street, and when we all looked, there was a single living man running down the street, weaving between multitudes of Them, firing a shotgun at clusters of Them, reducing the bodies to splattered meat. I'm sure my stomach was twisting at the sight, but I didn't feel a thing. I officially knew from what Takagi-san had mentioned a while back. Both that dog and that man were making way too much noise, and it was only going to attract more and more zombier with each passing second.

Unfortunately, just as was expected by now, the guy was suddenly out of ammo, and before he could even begin to reload, an entire mob of Them swarmed on him, and his dying screams of agony echoed throughout the empty night air, and we could all too clearly hear the sound of him getting his limbs torn off, and the collective groans of the dead as They ate whatever part of him They could get their hands on. All the while, that dog just kept on barking nonstop.

None of us could bring ourselves to do anything. All we could do was just stand on that balcony, and just listen and watch as more and more of Them came, congesting the street more and more. Alpi was just watching through his detached scope along with Kouhta-san and Takashi-san, while Busujima-san had come up shortly after we had all gathered, and had taken the binoculars so that she could've observed as well. I still had no idea where Fritjof and Takagi-san were, and almost as soon as we had seen the one shotgun man step out into the open, Rei was almost instantly back in the house and down the stairs. I'm guessing she knew what was going to be in store for him like we all did, only she was smart enough to try and avoid witnessing it.

It was several minutes of this dreaded observation before Takashi-san finally just slammed his fist into the railing, his face bristling with anger. "Dammit! This is just too cruel to just stand here and do nothing!" he exclaimed as he began to turn and head back into the house. "Komuro!" Kouhta-san suddenly yelled after him, forcing him to stop and look back at us. "What?"

"Do you think we should shoot?" Kouhta-san asked grimly, his grip tightening on his gun. Takashi-san's face was just filled with shock and frustration as he exclaimed: "Isn't that obvious! Of course we shoot Them!" Just as he began to continue on, Busujima-san suddenly spoke up. "Have you already forgotten? They react to sound, Komuro-kun." she said calmly as she followed after him, prompting the rest of us to follow suit. She then made way for the wall, flicking the switch to turn off the bedroom lights. "What are you doing, Busujima-san?" Bjarte asked confusedly as she looked back at us.

"There's something else we all need to take into consideration right now. Survivors will come flocking to this place if they see the lights and our figures through the windows. However, even if we use everything we have, we don't have the power to keep that many people alive." she explained, leaving the rest of us completely speechless. It wasn't even a second before Bjarte answered: "So you're just suggesting we stay in here sitting in the dark while people looking for shelter die out on the streets?"

Busujima-san just looked over her shoulder at him, her eyes narrowing. "Yes, Bjarte-kun. That is what I'm saying." Bjarte's face was nearly glowing red with anger, accentuated by his full head of curly dark-blonde hair. "That's not right. I know that what you're saying makes sense, Busujima-san. But those people deserve just as much a chance at survival as we do! Leaving them out there to get eaten like animals and ignoring their cries for help is just inhuman!"

"Without a second of warning, Busujima-san had suddenly turned on her heels and smacked him across the face with a deafening clap. "I don't like the idea anymore than you do, Bjarte-kun. However, you have to understand that we can't afford to help each and every person that we meet out there! They have to survive out there on their own. That's exactly what we're doing. I'll understand if all of you disagree." she said, now looking over all of us, looking us each in the eye and looking us all over carefully and considerately. "I know from both seeing and hearing, that in spite of severe circumstances, each and every one of you stood up like men and faced Them at the risk of your own lives. However...if you must be reminded, go out there on that balcony and look for yourselves." she said coldly, pointing out towards the balcony behind us, holding the binoculars in her hand.

"I strongly suggest you each get used to it. By now, the world we once knew has become a place where those with noble causes alone won't survive." she finally finished. Without so much as a word, looking up at her I just held my hand out, taking the binoculars out of her hand. With that, she began to make her way down the stairs before Takashi-san just muttered: "I think we had all gotten the impression that you thought differently, Busujima-senpai." that made her just stop in her tracks, and for a few seconds, she didn't look at us or say anything. Then she looked over her shoulder and answered: "Don't get the wrong idea, Komuro-kun. I'm simply stating the facts for the benefit of all of don't have to like it or anything." With that, she continued making her way down the stairs and was out of sight.

I looked over at Bjarte who was now rubbing his hand against the left side of his face, his expression completely dumbfounded. "you okay, Bjarte?" I asked him worriedly. Lowering his hand, he just looked at me and just nodded. "I'm fine." he grumbled as we all made our way back out to the balcony. Lining ourselves up at the railing, Kouhta-san looked up at us from his seat on the chair, smiling that freaky smile at us. "If you guys are going to look outside, make sure you do it discreetly. Don't want to be seen by someone dangerous." he said as we all got down on our knees, our head barely peeking over the railing that lined the solid stone wall.

I brought up the binoculars as everyone else raised their scoped weapons to get a better look down at the street. The very first thing any of us saw was a single man who had most likely attempted to run through the crowds of Them, but to no avail. He couldn't even scream as his voice box was getting torn out by one, whle the others were either ripping off his arms or chewing his torso open. This time, I did feel my stomach turn as he was literally torn to pieces by Them. "This is hell." Takashi-san muttered, clearly horrified at all there was to see.

I brought my gaze a bit closer to the buildings across the street. There was another survivor who had made his way through a small group as he ran into the yard of another house. He was desperately pounding at the front door, screaming for someone to let him in. He never got that answer. Within seconds, another mob of Them had closed in on him from behind, and all we could hear was his final screams as They all swarmed him, bringing him down to the ground, his one hand still clutching the doorknob as They tore him apart. I couldn't handle looking at this anymore. I just turned around and sat myself down against the wall, holding my hand over my mouth to avoid wretching a second time. I know we had all decided to look out there in order to help prepare ourselves for what we would have to face out there, but I just couldn't take seeing all these people getting eaten alive, torn apart by what used to be their fellow men and women and children.

"Oh my god, look." Bjarte piped in, his voice visibly trembling, which drew everyone's attention further up the street from where I had last looked. I wearily got back up on my feet and brought the binoculars up to see what else was going on. Further up the street, running towards our direction, was a middle aged man holding the hand of a little girl, weaving their way through a few stragglers towards another house.

Who I could only assume was the dad got the front gate open and they were immediatley running for the front door. He had started pounding at the door, yelling for whoever was in there to let them in. I had a feeling there was someone there because that was the only other house in this neighborhood I could see that still had lights on inside. He continued knocking at the door for a few seconds until he suddenly stopped, taking a step back. He then reeled his arms back, carrying what looked like a large wrench and started shouting something about breaking the door down.

Then, the door actually opened. I was relieved that this meant somebody out here now had a better chance of survival. That was the feeling I had, but I wanted to keep watching just to make sure they'd make it in alright. I lowered my binoculars for just a second, wiping away the cold sweat I had been feeling for the last several minutes. I then brought the binoculars back up again, and I couldn't believe what I saw next.

Whoever was inside that house had suddenly jabbed what looked like a butchers knife duct taped to a long pole, right into the fathers chest. I couldn't get a view of whoever was in the house, and just as instantly as they had opened the door, they tore the knife out and shut the door on the two of them again. I just kept watching as the father stepped back, collapsing onto the ground against the stone wall that lined the yard.

His daughter came running to his side, holding onto his hand for dear life. It looked like he said something to her, I couldn't get a good look at his face anymore, but then I saw his hand go limp, and the little girl just clung onto him for dear life, crying out so much that I could hear her even from here. We all could. When I brought my binoculars down again, I realized I had just been crying without even realizing it, but how couldn't I? That girl...she couldn't possibly have been any older than 9, 10 at the most. And she had just seen her father die right in front of her.

"Shit." I heard Takashi say through clenched teeth as I brought the scopes back up. This was even worse than I had feared. That girls crying was now attracting several of Them right to her. Nej! (D: No!) I told myself. Nej! I didn't care what Busujima-san said, I was not going to let a child die like that! I knew it, none of us were. "Let's rock n' roll!" Kouhta-san suddenly howled with excitement as he and Alpi simultaneously fired two shots from their rifles, instantly nailing the two closest to that little girl. Perfect, clean headshots.

Getting up on my feet, I slapped a hand on Kouhta-san's shoulder. "Kouhta-san, you and Alpi keep your eyes on that gate, and don't let a single one of Them get in!" I was suddenly barking orders at him as if I were some kind of Danish Patton-clone or something. "Roger!" he said in response, that large excited smile never leaving his face as he suddenly capped another one right in the temple. I then placed my other hand roughly on Alpi's shoulder, and he didn't even glance at me as he fired another round of his own, never missing his mark. "Alpi, du bare gøre, hvad du gør bedst, og give dem helvede!" (D: Alpi, you just do what you do best and give Them hell!) I shouted into his ear to break through all the deafening rifle blasts. He just nodded his head once before firing another shot, practically obliterating one of Their heads into a fine red mist.

Wasting no time, I was immediately heading back into the house, Bjarte and Takashi-san following after me. "Well Ditlev-san, when did you suddenly become the no nonsense, nerves-of-steel commander?" Takashi-san asked jokingly, although clearly impressed with this sudden change of attitude I had. Not even bothering to turn back to look at him, I just said: "When I saw Them getting ready to eat a lille pige (D: Little girl), that's when!"

I kept making my way for the stairs, being sure to grab my now trusted fireaxe from the corner, as I heard Bjarte and Takashi-san start talking amongst each other. "Takashi, why did you just put the shotgun away! If we're even thinking about going out there, you'll need that at your side at the very least!" he was yelling in confused frustration, to which Takashi-san only answered: "I have no idea how to use it."

"Well I don't have any idea how to use my gun either, but I at least know to keep it with me!" Bjarte argued as we continued our way down. Halfway down the stairs, we passed by Rei who looked at us confusedly as we all three made a beeline down past her.

"Takashi? Bjarte-san? Guys, where are you going in such a rush?" she asked concernedly as we all stopped. "We're going to rescue a little girl." Takashi stated as I turned to look up at her to see what her reaction was going to be. With almost no hesitation, her expression became much more serious. "Then I'm going with you guys."

As soon as those words left her lips, Bjarte was the one to put his foot down in response. "No, Rei. There's too many of Them out there, and since we're going out there, we'll need you and everyone else to manage the gate so They don't get in." The way he said this, I'd never heard Bjarte talk like this with anyone. It was like the perfect balance between stern and soothing. Rei remained completely at a loss for words for only a moment or two before she looked back down towards us, the concern never leaving her. "But if there's so many of Them out there, how are the three of you even going to hope to get through? It's suicidal." she exclaimed.

That look of foolish confidence never left Takashi-san's face at all. I knew he wasn't as sure about this sudden plan of ours succeeding any more than anyone else was, but I did rather admire how he always tried his best not to show it to anyone, so as to keep morale high. "We're going to take the bike. We'll be able to plow through most of Them with it at least." I had to admit, I'd almost completely forgotten about the bike, and he had a point, with it, not only could we have been able to break through the mobs, but since it was so fast, it would be difficult for any of Them to actually grab us. The only problem was, it was going to be the three of us heading out there, and Takashi-san was the only one who knew how to drive it. What's more, deep down, I wanted to pull this thing off by myself. I really didn't want any of the others to feel they needed to stay by my side, I didn't want to throw any of their lives in danger.

"Takashi-san, Bjarte...I should tell you now, you don't have to come with me. If anything, I'll head out there myself. I'm basically the smallest of you guys, I've always been rather quick on my feet. If you guys were to just stay here and keep me covered with the guns, I'd be just fine." I explained to them, the faintest of smiles appearing on my face. "Forget it." Takashi-san suddenly argued, forcing me to turn to look up at him, eye to eye.

"We both agreed to stick with you through this the instant we followed you inside. If you think we're just going to stay here while you have to fight your way through the mess that's out there, you've got another thing coming, pal." he went on, a look of sheer determination accompanying that confident grin of his. Bjarte had a look that spoke the exact same words to me. I honestly was at a loss for words. It was next to certain death going out there, and these guys really were willing to stick with me going through the shit?

"You guys..." I started, unable to find anything else I could possibly say. "There's no point in arguing with them, Ditlev-kun." I suddenly heard Busujima-san pipe in from behind me, forcing me to turn back to face her. She just leaned back against the stairs railing, her head slightly bowed down in thought, smiling. "You're the one who came up with this little idea, and they've decided to follow you all the way to the end with it. You three men have made your decision." she finished, looking up at us, and the smile never left her face. I admit, I felt kind of bad about just throwing her words of advice from earlier out the window, but I was surprised that she was this alright with us doing this. I really felt that I needed to apologize for just ignoring her well-meaning words.

"I'm sorry, Busujima-san. It's just that...she's only a little kid, and if none of us do anything..." I started to explain, but I just couldn't think of the right thing to say to really emphasize why I was so driven to do this. If I were to pick the most likely reason, I guess it's just because my mother's love for children sorta spread to me as well. I always got along with them better than most people in my age group, anyway. Before I could've said anything, Takashi-san suddenly interrupted with: "We just wouldn't be able to live with ourselves if we just let that kid die." He took the words right out of my mouth.

Busujima-san just nodded her head in understanding. "I knew that the instant I heard you coming down. Of course. If this is what the three of you truly wish to do, than just do us all a favor and come back safely, and do your best to keep that little girl safe." With that said, she grabbed that wooden sword of hers from the foot of the stairs, and with a single impressive twirl of her weapon, swung it down so as to show it was ready for action. "We'll take care of things here, so don't any of you worry. Now go."

I smiled and nodded in appreciation as we made our way down the last steps of the stairs, beginning to make our way towards the garage. Then I saw Fritjof make his way out of the kitchen, carrying a large duffle bag over his shoulder. "I heard everything, you guys. Normally I'd try my best to talk you out of this psychotic plan of yours, but it's like Hirano-san said earlier back on the bus. Normality doesn't exist anymore. Besides, you've all proven to be better fighters than me, so I know you'll be able to do this." I just looked at him in utmost confusion. Fritjof was right about one thing, normally he would do anything to talk me out of any of the stupid ideas I would usually come up with, yet now he was supporting my rush into the dead zone without even a belittling comment.

I just looked down at the duffle bag he was carrying, and unable to think of anything to respon with, all I could say was: "So...what's with the duffle bag?" He just chuckled and shook his head as he set it down on the floor. "Saeko and I worked to make enough food for all of us to last for a couple days. I figured that if you were heading out, this would pretty much be the sign for us to hit the road again. So I got all the food packed away here, and I'm gonna get whatever weapons we can carry all into the Humvee." he explained, and I just couldn't help but smile at how optimistic he had suddenly become. Normally, he was the one who would be going on about how impossible our chances of surviving out there would be, and yet here he was, more than ready to do whatever it took to survive instead of cowering in the corner. Something else that really got me off guard was how he referred to Busujima-san. "Whoa, Fritjof. When did you suddenly become the informal one?" I couldn't help but ask.

With that, I noticed his face go considerably red as he mentioned how Busujima-san insisted that by now we were all friends and that in that case, she would prefer we all refer to as he just did. She even nodded her head to confirm this statement.

All I could bring myself to do was just nod my head in agreement as we all made our way for the door to the garage. Then just as we were about to make our way out, Takashi-san making sure to kill the lights in the living room as well, Rei suddenly spoke up. "Takashi..." she said as I turned back to see the two of them. Rei immediately held out her hands, and in them was the five-shooter that Takashi-san had gotten back when we were separated. "At least take this with you."

Without a word, but a grateful smile, Takashi took the weapon out of her hands, slipping it into the pocket inside his school uniform jacket as he slipped it back on. Throwing the door open, the five of us made our way out, Rei making her way to the gate getting ready to open it on our word. "All of you, keep in mind not to use the guns too much. If you do, the sounds will just attract more of Them." Saeko mentioned as Takashi rolled the bike out onto the driveway from the garage.

"Well, that's good advice, Saeko, but the bike itself is already going to make a lot of noise." Takashi-san answered as he got himself set on the drivers' seat. Busujima-san just bowed her head as she continued. "That's true, but in order to use the bike, you'll have to make noise either way. But even so, the gunshots you make when you fire will only attract more of Them. Many of Them are already out there, so if more were to show up, I regret to say your chances of getting away would become that much more difficult."

I felt the color fade from my face as I took her words into account. She was right. The more we were to fight with our guns, and the more shots Kouhta-san and Alpi fired off, the more of Them would come. Thankfully we had our melee weapons as well, but in a mob that dense just outside the gates, I really didn't know what good they would be able to do us. Just then, the engine of the motorcycle rumbled to life as Takashi-san got it lined up for a full frontal dash through the gate. Now all we needed was for me and Bjarte to get on the bike and at the ready. Alpi had previously mentioned a while back when we first got back together of how Rei had managed to get the three of them on the bike at once, so I guess we all just silently figured it was going to come down to that again.

Slipping my pistol into my pocket, and slinging my assault rifle over my back, clutching my fireaxe in my hands, I just needed Bjarte to get on the back so I could get between. Me being the smallest in stature among the group, and therefore the lightest, this obviously worked best. I looked over at the gate only to find that Bjarte appeared to be talking to Rei about something I couldn't hear over the rumble of the engine.

aaa

I understood perfectly what it was we were all planning to do once we had gotten out onto the driveway. We'd use it to plow through the crowds of Them, save that little girl, and hopefully be able to get back behind our gates before too many of Them would show up. Afterwards, we'd all gather up in the Humvee, and hopefully Marikawa-sensei would be sobered up by then so she could be able to drive us all out of here. I had already run the whole gist of this last minute plan in my head, but at the same time, something was just preventing me from being able to completely focus, and I knew what it was.

It was these bizarre feelings I'd been getting lately whenever I was around Rei. Go ahead and call me stupid for not realizing what these feelings really were, but I'd never felt a kind of this magnitude before. As Saeko, Takashi and Ditlev had basically gone over what we were all going to do, all I could really think of was that before I was to go out there with them, the one thing I wanted to do was just be able to talk to Rei one more, I didn't care what it would possibly be about, how brief it would be. I had a nagging feeling in the back of my mind that I wouldn't be making it out of this alive, and all I wanted before sealing my fate was to just talk to her one more time.

In the few minutes it took for the others to get themselves all ready, all I could bring myself to do was to just walk up to her, and just think of something to say. Sooner than I had hoped, I was there, and I just said the very first thing that came to mind when she noticed me. "Bjarte-san, is something wrong?" she asked before I could get a word out. For gråte høyt (N: For crying out loud), I could not tell you how much I hated this new nervous feeling I was getting every time she looked at me, or anytime I was near her. I mean, I hadn't had this problem at all when I had first reunited with the whole lot of my fellow survivors back at the school. If I had to think back as to when I started getting like this, I think it might've been when we had gotten reunited earlier that day after the others and I had abandoned the bus.

"No, nothing's wrong." I finally said after racing through a thousand thoughts a minute of something to say. "I just wanted to say before we head out there, that no matter what happens out there, I'll make sure to get Takashi back safe and sound." Once those words were out, Rei could only look at me with faint confusion, but mostly surprise. Not waiting for a response, I decided to just go on and give her my reasoning. "Out of the rest of us, I think he's the most fit to be our leader if the situation should ever call for it, so..." before I could say another word, Rei placed her hand on my shoulder, causing me to snap out of the little speech I had been running through my head. I once again felt my face get warmer when she was looking me right in the eyes.

"Don't make those kind of promises, Bjarte-san. I want all of you to come back safely. We all do." she said softly, never breaking her gaze away from me. I couldn't bring myself to answer her, all I could do was just look at her as she took a step towards me, taking my hand in hers. "So if you're going to promise anything, promise us that you'll all come back." she went on, and I'm not sure if it was the rumbling motorcycle engine playing tricks on my hearing, but I think her voice might've been trembling as well.

Just when I was about ready to give her the only answer I could, I suddenly heard Alpi yell out to us from the balcony as Kouhta-san had kept firing every several seconds.

"Hei, meillä ei ole rajattomasti ammuksia täällä, pojat! Luuletko että voisimme kiirettä tämän?" (F: Hey, we don't have unlimited ammo up here, guys! Do you think we could hurry this up?) he shouted as he fired off yet another shot. That's what finally kicked us all into high gear. I immediately snapped my attention back to Rei and placed my one free hand on the one she had on my shoulder and nodded my head once. "I promise."

With that, I was on my way to the bike and practically jumping into the back seat. Saeko joined Rei at the gate, and Ditlev wasted no time climbing up between us, fireaxe in hand. I followed suit, unsheathing the machete as Takashi revved the engine, and then gave a single nod, and just like that, the gates were open, and we were speeding down the driveway. At the very last second, Takashi did what I think was called a "wheelie", because we practically flew for a few seconds out onto the street.

Immediately on impact, we were darting down the street, a virtual wall of Them closing on us from both sides. Wasting no time, I unsheathed my blade, and clutching the handle in both hands, I held the blade out to the right side of the bike, and noticing this, Ditlev followed suit, holding his axe out the opposite side. Much to my surprise, this instantaneous plan actually worked for the shortest time, cutting clean through several of Them, severing limbs and heads the whole way. Every couple of seconds, there would be the noticeable pop of one of our two snipers from behind, followed by a quick head explosion of whichever of Them was closest to one of us. Then my blade ended up getting stuck halfway through one's torso, and it ended up wrenching the handle right out of my hand.

"SHIT!" I couldn't help but shout as Ditlev pulled his axe back away from the thinning mob. "Over there!" he yelled out, pointing his arm over Takashi's shoulder, and sure enough, there was the house, and there was the scattered headless bodies of Them to prove it. "Hang on tight, guys!" Takashi yelled back as he immediately hit the brakes, causing the tires to screech as the bike skidded in a turn towards the open gate. Just as the bike stopped skidding, a single one of Them instantly lunged at me, but there was a single pop, and its head immediately splattered in another fine red and grey mist.

With another rev of the engine, we began tospeed forward into the yard with another wheelie, but there was a sudden bump beneath our one grounded tire, and the next thing we knew, our bike flipped and threw all three of us to the ground. My head was ringing for several seconds as I tried to get back on my feet. Looking back at the numbers of Them that were heading for us from the street, me and Takashi sprinted for the gate and slammed them shut. I threw the lock down, so at least now we had a few more seconds on our side.

Hearing a furious yell, I looked back and saw Ditlev slamming his axe into the head of one of Them from behind. The other two began to make their way towards him, but like a shot, Takashi was on the nearest one with a crowbar, and as much as I desperately had hoped that I wouldn't have to do this, I quickly pulled out my pistol from its holster, and making sure to turn the safety off like Alpi had shown me not even an hour ago. After taking only half a second to aim, I fired my first shot, nailing the last one in the neck. The sudden burst of my gun caught Ditlev and Takashi's attention, but luckily it also drew the stragglers' attention away from them. Once it began to move towards me, Takashi slammed his crowbar into the back of its skull, and it was finally down, and we were safe at last...for now, at least.

"Why did you shoot, man? Busujima, er...I mean, Saeko said the sound would only attract more of Them!" Takashi yelled as I tucked my pistol back into its holster. "I lost my damn machete on the way over here. I don't have anything else but my guns." I explained as calmly as I could, but still venting some frustration at my preferred weapon. I looked at the corner of the yard wall towards the gate, and I saw the body of that little girls' father. There was that large wrench I had seen him carrying, lying next to him. I'll tell you now, I felt terrible at that moment of thinking about stealing from the dead, but I knew I needed something handy for close quarters if I wanted to survive, if I wanted to help the others chances of surviving, so I decided to just go through with it, and take it. It did feel good to have something in my hands again at least.

I then noticed Ditlev kneeling near the corner. We both slowly approached him, and I had begun to fear that perhaps we had waited too long, that that little girl we had come here for was dead. Then I could hear the sound of a faint whimpering as I got nearer. "Are you alright? Did any of them hurt you?" I heard Ditlev ask as I could finally see over his shoulder. That little girl was huddled up as far back into the corner as she could go, curled up into a ball with her arms over her head, and her whole body was trembling like crazy, and for very good reason too.

Ditlev just looked over his shoulder at me, looking concerned before he turned his attention back to her. He slowly reached his hand out towards her. "Hey, I asked if you're alright." he said again, this time causing her to slightly raise her head and look up at the three of us. She didn't say anything, but she slowly stood back up onto her feet, staring at all three of us with either fascination or fear. "Are you hurt?" Ditlev asked again, still keeping himself crouched down so as to be at the same eye level with her. He had started smiling again, perhaps to show that we weren't dangerous. That made the most sense, cause once he started smiling, that's when she finally said something.

"N-no..." she muttered, still sounding a bit nervous, but it seemed to be enough for Ditlev, as he finally stood up and rested the handle of the axe over his shoulder, breathing a sigh of relief. "What's your name?" he asked, the smile never leaving his face. I feel he was really happy that the kid was safe. "A-Alice...Alice Maresato." she answered shyly, still looking over me and Takashi with uncertainty.

"Alice-chan, you don't need to be scared anymore. We came here to take you somewhere safe, okay?" Ditlev asked as kindly as he could, even going so far as to kneel back down to her level again, always smiling. Several seconds of uncomfortable silence followed, and she would keep looking at me and Takashi nervously, but then back at Ditlev, and she seemed to be less frightened with him. Can't possibly imagine why. He always did get along better with children than most people in his late-teens age group. Fritjof even sometimes said he had the mind of a child, so perhaps it showed to her, and that's what made her more comfortable with him.

Finally nodding her head, Alice grabbed onto Ditlev's free hand, and I figured that meant it was okay for us to go. I hadn't heard any gunshots from back at the house for the last few minutes, so I felt that meant everybody was now officially ready to go and were just waiting for us. "Um, guys...we have a bit of a situation here." Takashi suddenly said, his voice low and grim. We all turned to look, and Takashi was standing over the bike. It was just our luck, that crash landing we got into totaled the damn thing. I then slowly approached the gate, and I just went white when I saw just how many of Them had all been drawn to our part of the street. This wasn't even a mob, it was a miniature army of Them.

aaa

"Alright everybody, I've gotten as many of the weapons into the trunk as I can fit, so may I suggest you all drop whatever it is you're doing and get in?" I announced as I fit the lastbag of ammo boxes into the trunk of the Humvee and slamming the door shut. It had only been a couple of minutes since Bjarte, Takashi and Ditlev had gone off to perform their little rescue mission, and thankfully now everyone was awake. Takagi-san was able to get into the groove of what was going on pretty quickly, and while I was glad Marikawa-sensei also caught on as quickly, I would've at least appreciated that she'd put some clothes on first before running around the house to gather whatever medical supplies and other essentials we might've needed. Now this was a prime example of why I never intended to drink.

In the rush of getting everything together, I practically had to drag Alpi and Hirano-san away from their little snipers perch, afterwards making sure to grab whatever ammo boxes I could find. We couldn't afford to go without a single box at this point. Anyway, once I had gotten everyone's attention that everything was all packed away and ready, I noticed Saeko looking over the top of the wall, and I could just make out a hint of concern in her expression.

Me and Takagi-san both made our way towards her, neither of us bothering to look ourselves at what had her so concerned. "Busujima-san, everything's ready. Come on, we have to get in so we can go!" Takagi-san said impatiently, but Saeko didn't bother to look at us when she told us what was going on. "That's the least of our problems right now. They're surrounding Komuro-kun and the others. They don't have any means of getting out of there." she explained, and like I had foreseen this happening, I was alongside her staring out through the small slots of the wall railing, and just as she had said, there was a gigantic mob of Them swarming the very part of the street Bjarte, Ditlev and Komuro-san had gone off to.

"Mikä on vialla? Miksi kaikki ovat etsimässä niin huolissaan?" (F: What's going on? Why's everybody looking so worried?) I heard Alpi ask as I saw him walk towards us, a very faint sign of a limp in his movements; a much bigger improvement compared to how he had been earlier. "Bjarte, Ditlev och Takashi är i trubbel. Det finns en enorm pöbel av Dem svärmande sin del av gatan och de kan inte komma ut." (S: Bjarte, Ditlev and Takashi are in trouble. There's a huge mob of Them swarming their part of the street and they can't get out.) I quickly explained to him as I turned back to look at the house my friends had gone off too, desperately trying to think of how we could get them out.

"This is really bad. There's way too many of Them for them to get out with the bike." Takagi-san muttered, for once actually sounding genuinely concerned rather than impatient or agitated. Scratching at the back of my head in frustration, I began to start pacing before I suddenly heard Marikawa-sensei speak up: "Well, why don't we just pick them up with the Humvee?"

Those words just made us all stop what we were doing, even Alpi; though I think that's just because she mentioned the Humvee. She looked at all of us confusedly, and then immediately started spazzing out in embarrassment, going on about how she only brought it up because she had the keys. Either way, it sounded like a solid plan to me. "Alright, then that's the plan. We'll use the Humvee to pick up Komuro, Bjarte and Ditlev. Then we'll commence our plan to get to the other side of the river." Takagi-san stated as we all immediately made way for the Humvee en masse.

aaa

We were in really deep shit now. I had been feeling a nagging feeling in my gut that this wasn't exactly the smartest idea I could've come up with, but I hadn't even thought that it could turn out like this. Now we had absolutely no chance of getting out onto the street without those bastards tearing us all to pieces, and I couldn't honestly think of any way we could get out of this yard. "Anyone got any bright ideas?" was all I could ask Bjarte and Takashi as we had all been looking for some way to at least signal the others that we were in trouble, but to no avail.

Then I felt Alice-chan tugging at my arm. "Onii-chan..." she spoke quietly, but nevertheless getting my attention. It had only been a couple minutes since I'd gotten her to first speak, and already she was referring to me like her brother. I already knew this name was officially going to stick, but I had other thoughts in mind, but I felt that I needed to hear her out. "Yes, Alice-chan? What is it?" I asked her, trying to sound as calm and optimistic as I could. I didn't want to scare the poor kid anymore than she no doubt already was. Yet, when I looked at her, she wasn't anywhere near as scared as she was sad. Tears were already rolling freely down her face when she pointed back towards the body slumped against the wall next to the gate. "My daddy...he died..." she went on, and I knew she didn't have to say anymore. How could I have forgotten such a devastating fact so quickly? I looked at Bjarte and Takashi, and they both looked back at me, then at Alice, who was now openly weeping behind me as I could hear, and then they both looked at the body of her father, and I knew we were all thinking the same thing.

As luck would've had it, there were some laundry lines in the yard with some sheets hanging. We all grabbed onto the largest one, and without a single word shared amongst any of us, we gently laid the sheet over his body, and I had to brush a stray tear from my own face as well. Out of all the things I had witnessed since this madness started, this was by far the most tragic event I'd ever had any participation in. No child as young as Alice-chan should have ever had to go through something like this, watching their only family die right in front of them. Yet, here we all were, doing the only thing we could to give her father a decent burial. It wasn't anywhere near as much as we should have done, but it was our only choice.

Once we had draped the sheet over his body, Bjarte grabbed what looked like a flower from a small garden that had no doubt been grown by the family that was hiding in this house. The very same family that killed the man we were 'burying' at that very moment. "Onii-chan?" I heard Alice-chan ask curiously, but surprisingly, she had been talking to Bjarte rather than me. Well, at least it didn't take long for her to get used to him. "Denne mannen ga sitt liv for å beskytte deg. Det sier seg selv, var han virkelig en flott far.' (N: This man gave his life to protect you. It goes without saying, he was truly a great father.) he said to her as he held the flower out to her. To both me and Takashi's utter astonishment, she didn't just cock her head to the side, asking what the heck he just said. Instead, she just took the flower from his hand, got on her knees and placed the flower on the sheet where his head was.

Just like that, she started weeping loudly, clutching onto Bjarte's sleeve, sobbing uncontrollably as he just placed his hand on her head in an attempt to comfort her. I just looked at Takashi, and I swear to you now, he looked like he was about to start shedding tears of his own. I knew I had started to as all I could hear was Alice-chan's sorrowful sobs. This little girl who couldn't possibly have been any older than 7 had just lost what was most likely her only family. She had experienced what all the rest of us feared the most for our own families, and this experience only made the possibilities of them already being dead seem that much more possible for us.

After a minute or two, Takashi finally breathed in deep and placed his own hand on Alice-chan's shoulder, causing her to stop crying for a minute as he placed a finger over his lips. 'Please, not so loud, Alice. Otherwise more of Them might show up, and They might be able to get in.' he whispered as Alice-chan slowly wiped the many tears from her face. 'Can't we get out of here?' she asked, her voice still noticeably trembling as we all got back onto our feet, carefully looking everywhere for a way out. I had a feeling that whatever we'd come up with, we'd still end up feeling stupid for not thinking about it before.

"Erm, Onii-chan?" I heard her say as she grabbed onto the hem of my shirt again. By then I was so anxious for a way out, I had dropped the calm tone altogether. "Alice-chan, not now. Onii-chan's trying to find a way out." I said through gritted teeth, until she started tugging harder, forcing me to whip my head towards her, no doubt an angry look in my eyes, seeing as she seemed to shrink back in fear.

"W-well…couldn't we just go over them?" she asked as she pointed towards the perimeter wall. We all three just looked at it, and I was right. We did feel stupid for not having seen that before. "Alright, we've got ourselves an escape route. The walls aren't that thick, so we'll have to be careful walking them." Takashi-san said as he jumped up to grab the edge, pulling himself up onto the edge. Bjarte quickly followed, and before I came up, I grabbed Alice-chan below her arms and lifted her up towards Takashi-san.

"Takashi-san, do you think you could be able to carry Alice-chan on your back?" I asked. I would've gladly done it myself if I were strong enough to carry her the whole way; but alas, that wasn't the case. I was beginning to fear he would ask why Bjarte or I couldn't do it, but when I felt Alice-chan get lifted from my grasp, I just sighed in relief, immediately climbing up after Bjarte.

"Takashi, do you think we should think up a way to signal the others when we get close enough to the house?" Bjarte asked as we began to make our way, walking carefully along the thin edge of the walls. "If Alpi and Hirano are still up on the balcony, they should be able to see us just fine. I think they can tell everybody when they see us." He answered, not looking back at us as we all needed to keep our balance. I tried my hardest not to look down towards the street as the hordes of Them moved about just under our feet, all trying desperately to reach the top of the wall for our feet. I really, really hoped the others would see us soon.

aaa

"Okay everyone, do you have all the stuff you needed to grab in the Humvee? Alpi, har du och Hirano-san få allt du behöver för ditt vapen? Absolut allt?" (S: Alpi, did you and Hirano-san get all things you'll need for your guns? Absolutely everything?) I went around asking as everybody was bustling about to get the very last of the supplies into the trunk. Alpi and Hirano-san had to end up going back upstairs to get some ammo boxes the rest of us had missed earlier, and now everyone was filing into the Humvee, Marikawa-sensei jumping into the drivers seat.

Alpi came fast-walking out of the house with a single duffle bag slung over his shoulder, tossing it into the trunk before he nearly collapsed against the side of the humvee, trying to catch his breath. "Okej, Alpi. Är det den sista av de kulor?"(S: Alright, Alpi. Is that the last of the bullets?) I asked once everyone else had finally stopped hustling and bustling about. He just looked up at me and nodded.

Taking a deep breath in preparation, I turned to everyone when I suddenly noticed Hirano-san wasn't among us. Alpi must have noticed as well, because before I could say

anything, I felt him grab my shoulder, and when I looked at him, he pointed up towards the balcony. Sure enough, there he was, watching the street through the binoculars. "Hirano-san, we've got all the ammo and the supplies loaded up! We gotta stop wasting time and get moving, so come on!" I yelled up to him, looking back to make sure everyone was getting in. Saeko seemed to be the only one staying put.

"Fritjof-san, I just realized something." I heard Hirano-san yell down to me. "The Humvee doesn't have a sunroof." Sighing, I looked back up at him, all the while feeling at my beltline to make sure I had my sidearm and holster on me. I had made sure to get it on the moment all the weapons had been fully loaded earlier, and good thing too; if I hadn't, I don't think I would've even known where to look in the rush we were now in.

"So, what's your point?" I asked, growing more and more impatient with each passing second. "Well, we can easily plow through that crowd up the street with the Humvee. However, once we actually rescue Komuro and the others, how are we going to get them inside? There's too many of Them packed together to make any kind of breathing room for them to get in through the doors."

Helvete. (S: Goddammit) That was all I could think the instant he brought that up. I knew he was right, and I knew as well as he did that there was no way for them to get in once we even got there. What would we do then? We would only be able to drive out of the crowd while the three, possibly four of them would have to cling onto the roof and just hope they don't fall off. That plan was flat out suicidal, so I was once again back to having no possible idea of what to do next, and I highly doubted anyone else would be able to think of something.

Acting on a whim, I made my way for Alpi as he got himself situated in the far back seat. "Alpi, vi har ett problem. Det finns inget sätt för Bjarte, Ditlev och Komuro-san att komma in i Humvee när vi kommer till dem. Om det är möjligt, tror du att du skulle kunna göra dem lite andrum med din pistol så att de kan få in genom en av dörrarna?" (S: Alpi, we've got a problem. There's no way for Bjarte, Ditlev and Komuro-san to get into the Humvee once we get to them. If it's possible, do you think you could be able to make them some breathing room with your sidearm so they can get in through one of doors?) I hurriedly asked. Without even a moments hesitation, Alpi whipped out his pistol from its holster, clicking the safety off, and giving me a brief smirk. "Ei ongelma." (F: No problem.)

"Hirano, hurry up and get down here!" Takagi-san yelled up to the balcony before I heard him shout out excitedly: "Hold on, Takagi-san! Look across the street! I can see some people walking along the walls! I think it's them!"

In an instant, I was already pulling myself up over the edge of the wall to get a better view while everyone else ran up to the gate to see for themselves. I could already tell from where I was that it was them. Bjarte standing nearly a head taller than Komuro-san, and Ditlev nearly a head shorter. I could even make out the shape of a small child on Komuro-san's back. 'He's right, it is them, and they have the kid with them as well! Come on, we have to get them!'

aaa

'You holding up okay, Takashi?' I asked as we continued carefully inching our way along the wall, listening to the collective groans and moans of Them beneath our feet as multiple hands futilely reached for us and grabbed nothing but air. 'I'm doing alright so far.' he said as he carefully stepped from the end of this wall to the start of the next. It was a slow pace we were going, but at least we were getting somewhere. 'How about you, Alice-chan? You doing okay up there?' I asked asked again as I saw her clutching onto Takashi's jacket even tighter as she looked down at the street.

'Just don't look down at the street, Alice-chan. Just keep your eyes closed and just keep holding onto Takashi-niichan, and you'll be just fine.' Ditlev yelled forward as he hopped forward onto the new wall, keeping himself balanced the whole way. I couldn't help but laugh for a second at his little nickname for Alice to give Takashi, and I'm sure if he were able to look back at us, he'd be glaring daggers at us right then.

'Hey Takashi, if you get tired, I can carry her the rest of the way.' I yelled up as I could see Takashi was beginning to walk just a little slower, though it was probably cause he was trying his best not to look down himself. Of course, how could any of us even try to pretend like we weren't as terrified as Alice-chan was at that time? It would only take on wrong step, and they would tear us all apart just like that. Just thinking about it needed me to try and tell myself to just keep looking at the wall I was walking on as well. I needed to worry about keeping all four of us safe, not just myself, and not just one person. I was going to keep my promise to Rei and bring us all back to the others safe if it was to be the last thing I'd do.

As I thought this all over, Takashi suddenly stopped and I thought I heard something like whining coming from him. Then Alice-chan looked over his shoulder and yelled: 'No, bad dog! Bad!'

Me and Ditlev both stopped at the mention of that. 'Dog? When did you find a dog, Takashi?' I asked as he glanced back to me, and I could clearly see just how nervous he was, just as much as I no doubt looked to him. Yet, he still tried to maintain that calm, confident tone of his, that really did make him seem like that much better of a leader than anyone else.

'I found it in the yard we just came from. He was with Alice-chan the whole time.' Thinking back to how this entire predicament had started, I suddenly remembered just what had originally brought all of Them to our part of the neighborhood in the first place. 'That dog isn't a white puppy, is it?' With that, Takashi only nodded as he began to continue his way forward, and we were quick to follow as expected. 'Takashi, you know that dogs barking is what drew all of Them to this street in the first place right?' Ditlev asked as we hopped towards another wall.

'Yeah, and I know where you're going with this, but Alice-chan really seems to like him, and I wasn't going to just leave him there.' he said back as we both just remained quiet. He was right, it was only the right thing to do. Whether it were human or animal, nothing deserved a fate like getting eaten by Them, so I just looked back at Ditlev, and we both silently agreed it was the end of discussion.

'Hey Alice-chan, are you scared?' I heard Takashi ask as she looked down again at the horde. 'Yes. Are you scared, onii-chan?' she asked back, holding onto him tighter. 'No...of course not.' i heard him answer, but I could hear the strain in his tone, and I knew he was lying through his teeth, but it was for a relatively good reason. When you're dealing with children in a relatively frightening situation, it's best not to show them you're afraid, otherwise it might cause panic. Another example of basic survival psychology.

Going along, I couldn't help but marvel at just how long it was taking us to get back to the house. Yeah, it only seemed so short before because of the bike, but it literally felt like we weren't getting any closer. If they couldn't see us from the balcony, I at least hoped they were getting that Humvee ready. Deep down, I knew it was officially time for us all to go.

aaa

With the final slam of the trunk door, at long last everything was set and we were about ready to hit the road. At one point, we had lost track of Hirano-san, but he came out completely adorned in bullet belts, and a headband with two flashlights taped under it, facing skyward, and he was wielding Komuro-san's shotgun and his own rifle. I could only just sigh in exasperation and tell him to just get inside the Humvee with the others. I had managed to be surprisingly patient with all this last minute evacuation prep, but when someone comes out looking like the freakish offspring of Rambo and Reb Brown, that's where I myself draw the line nowadays.

Once everyone else had gotten inside, it was just me and Saeko left as we both looked out through the gate, and I could still see the distant forms of our friends, slowly making their way towards us, but whether they would make it was anyone's guess. 'So is everyone absolutely sure everything's in the Humvee?' I asked.

'Yes. Hirano-kun said himself he looked in every single corner of the house for spare bullets. We've got everything we need for while we're out there.' she answered as we both began to make our way back to the Humvee. 'I must say, Fritjof-kun, you've displayed an impressive bit of authority over the last several minutes. You didn't let a single thing miss your eye that you thought we might've needed for later.' she went on, and I felt my face start going pink again.

'Well, I have my relatives to thank for that. I was raised by my fathers' belief that efficiency should be one of the things you treasure most, and then my uncle is a police officer, and he would sometimes tell me what the best methods were to maintaining and controlling a large group of people. Constant reminders being one of the best ones for children.' I had started to explain as I looked through the back windows to the trunk, simply marvelling at just how many bags of ammunition we now had, along with the spare guns that hadn't been taken by everyone else yet.

"It sounds like you they both taught you very well." she chimed in with another smile as I once again loosened the collar of my shirt in embarrassment. Yes, it goes without saying that I never was one that took compliments lightly. "Well, this is the very first time I've ever done something remotely similar to this. Besides, compared to what Komuro, Bjarte and Ditlev have on their hands right now, I would dare to say this is too easy." I said with a semi-confident smile as I looked back to the gate.

Opening the passenger door, I poked my head inside to make absolutely sure for the last time everybody was here. "Alright Saeko, now we just get in, and then we're off." I said as I gestured my arm inwards for her to get in. When there wasn't an answer, my very first instinct for once was to look up, and there I saw Saeko standing on top of the Humvee, wooden sword drawn. "You go ahead and get inside, Fritjof-kun. I'm going to help keep Them from swarming us when we have to stop to get the others."

As much as I wanted to tell her to get down from there, how easy it could be for her to get hurt or worse, I couldn't find the right argument to give, so all I could do was just do as she asked and just climb inside with the others. The whole time I was trying to convince myself that she was perfectly fine up there and that she didn't need any help, but at the same time, I kept feeling more and more like I needed to do something of my own to make things just a little easier if possible. Sitting back, that's when I noticed what looked like a door handle on the roof right above me.

"Hirano-san, do you think you could be able to help Alpi fight Them off from the side windows if They do indeed try to swarm us?" I asked in just a whisper as I began to pull my submachine gun out from over my shoulder. "Well, I haven't had as much practice with pistols as I have with assault rifles and sniper rifles, but I could still be able to take quite a few of Them down." The instant I heard that, I was prying the hatch door open, and ignoring the immediate view up Saeko's legs I got upon opening, I rested my arms against the roof, gun at the ready. "Marikawa-sensei, drive!"

aaa

I had been following Bjarte, Takashi-san and Alice-chan for a good ten minutes by this point, and I had begun to fear that my knees were starting to give out from having to practically tightrope walk the whole way. Luckily I'd been able to just keep my eyes forward and not get my attention drawn to the horde below. However, I was beginning to get a good feeling that Their numbers were finally starting to thin out just a little bit. Just so long as that dog wouldn't start barking again.

Suddenly Bjarte stopped right in front of me and I nearly ran right into him, but I just barely managed to stop in time. "Guys, what's going on? Why are we stopped?" I asked, anxious to get an answer. We'd gotten this far without any problem, and I didn't recall seeing a huge hole in any wall on the way over to the last house earlier. "Takashi, why'd you stop?" Bjarte asked curiously, and the only answer we got was Takashi looking back at us over his shoulder, the nervous face he had before replaced with what I could only describe as sheer embarrassment. "You don't want to know." was all he said, and we both figured if this was one thing we didn't want to know, out of all the shit we had seen so far, it was worth not digging into.

Suddenly, I heard a distant rumbling. Amidst all the moans I couldn't really make out what it was, but all I knew was that whatever it was, it was big, and it was headed right for us. Then two blinding lights flashed up front, and i don't think any of us could believe what we were seeing. At least I knew I couldn't. The Humvee was speeding down the street towards us, and Saeko was standing on top of it with her wooden sword drawn, and there was Fritjof right beneath her with his SMG drawn. Right before the Humvee met the horde, I swear I even heard him shout out: "Framåt! Kostnad!" and even Takagi-san shouting the same thing in Japanese: "FORWARD! CHARGE!"

Everything afterwards happened so fast, I'm not sure I could be able to explain it in a way to do it justice. At the very last second, Saeko got down on her knees, grabbing Fritjof's head, just as the Humvee plowed into the horde, the sounds of bodies getting crushed, bones snapping and bodies colliding with each other filled the air to the point it was nearly deafening. At first they sped past us, but then there came the screeching tires, and the whole thing skidded until it had turned back to face us again. There are seriously no words I could come up with to tell you how amazing this was, all three of us were nearly speechless until Alice-chan could only ask: "Onii-chan, are those friends of yours?"

Almost as if on a queue, all three of us could only just say it: "Yes. Very good friends."

The Humvee began to speed toward us again, but it passed us once more, this time coming to a stop right at an alley entrance. "Let's go, guys!" Takashi said the instant they stopped, and by this point we were practically running along the walls now that the Humvee had taken out so many of Them. As we ran, I suddenly heard the bursting of machine gun fire, and when I saw the brief hint of a muzzle flash on the roof, I immediately knew who it was. Fritjof was actually fighting now. I even heard a few blasts of pistol fire from one of the passenger windows, but I couldn't see who it was.

As we got closer, I looked to the alley they had blocked off, and there were a few of Them heading for the Humvee. I could then hear Rei shouting at us, but the unsuppressed gunfire made it next to impossible for me to hear a word. "Rei, look out!" I suddenly heard Takashi and Bjarte yell simultaneously as Bjarte actually leaped to the side down onto the streets below. The instant he landed on his feet, he was already sprinting for the back of the vehicle, and I shit you not, he actually leaped up and actually jumped off the roof, pulling out the wrench in mid jump, and brought it down on a single vandrere's (D: walker) head, one that had managed to get around the front of the Humvee and had nearly gotten to Rei as she had her head poking out the window.

The very next second, there was a deafening blast among all the other gunshots that came from the passenger window facing the alley. Several of Them had almost instantly been reduced to mush in that instant, and at the same time, Saeko actually leaped from the roof of the Humvee as Fritjof turned to face the alley, plugging three in the head in a heartbeat. Now I'm willing to bet he was just as freaked out at how good a shot he turned out to be as the rest of us were.

Everything that followed is just too much to be able to explain any form of detail. Saeko had managed to make very quick work of the majority of Them in the alley, while Bjarte practically went berserk on the ones that had managed to squeeze through whatever openings there were into the alley. Kouhta-san and Alpi had managed to take out a few others that got too close from the side of the street, and Fritjof was able to pick off any that tried to climb up to him. Me and Takashi were the only ones that weren't able to do any kind of fighting, seeing as everyone else had managed to take out the majority of Them by the time we had jumped onto the Humvee roof.

Once we had finally gotten ourselves some breathing room, Me, Takashi-san and Alice-chan climbed in through the roof hatch, and Bjarte and Saeko followed suit after us, and wasting not even a second, we were soon speeding down the street again. What our next stop was going to be...I had no idea, nor did I care at this point.

aaa

Any words I could come up with to tell you how relieved I was to finally be back with all the others and away from any threat of Them would be an understatement. I still can't believe I actually jumped off the wall and fought off several of Them with nothing but a wrench! Was it because I was so desperate for us to escape that I had gone into some kind of Vietnam-type of PTSD and practically went berserk? Was it because Rei had just been in danger of getting eaten right then and there? I don't know any more than the others do, or any more than you do.

Anyway, I was just glad to finally be out of the streets. We were all okay, nobody had gotten hurt, Alice-chan was safe, and best of all, when I decided to look in the trunk, we had even more food, water, weapons and ammo than I thought the house could've possibly had. When I had brought up how everyone had gotten all this stuff together, they all just told me it was Fritjof I needed to thank for that.

Once I finally got myself into an empty seat, I nearly lost all consciousness right then and there. All I could do was just listen to everyone as they discussed either what the next plan of action would be or which of the weapons that were left they'd go with. Afterwards, it was just listening to Ditlev introduce Alice-chan to everyone once we had all settled down, and after that I had finally slipped into unconsciousness.

I don't know how much time had passed once I woke up again, all I know is that it couldn't have been too long as it was still dark out. It felt like someone had been shaking me, but for a couple seconds I didn't see anybody move. Then again, I didn't hear the Humvee engine running either. That's when I felt a hand grab onto my shoulder, and if the voice it belonged to hadn't spoken up right then and there, I would've beaten that person to death with my wrench thinking it was one of Them. Thankfully that wasn't the case.

"Bjarte-san, are you awake?" I heard Rei whisper into my ear, and before I could say anything, I felt her finger against my lips. "We need to keep our voices down. Everyone's asleep." she whispered, and when I nodded my head that I understood, then she let go. Everything else was so dark inside, I couldn't make anything out. All I could see was Rei, looking me right in the eyes, her face illuminated by a single street light coming from behind the Humvee.

Once again I was left speechless at how close she was to me, so trying desperately to think of something to say, I asked the only thing I could think of. "I don't hear the engine. Where are we?" I asked, remembering to whisper as she had asked me to. "We haven't seen a single one of Them out on the street for the last few kilometers, so we decided to rest the night out in this empty garage we found. At first light, we're going to continue on our way across the river. Takagi-san even said there's a part of the river where the ground is closer to the surface, so she thinks we might be able to just drive across." she went on to say as I took in every single word, momentarily nodding my head to indicate I understood what this could all mean.

For the first time in the last several hours, I actually felt optimistic. I ran all the steps through my head. We get across the river, search for each others families one by one, and then afterwards find out where the military could be holding an evacuation, and then we'd finally be out of this hellhole of a city. "It's only gonna be a matter of time before we're finally able to get out of this place." I muttered mostly to myself. Actually, I was in such a good mood at that very moment that I didn't even notice Rei place her hands on the sides of my face until I saw her start bringing her face closer towards me.

Before I could say a word, she closed her eyes and I suddenly felt the warm sensation of her lips against mine. I swear, my heart must've stopped beating for several seconds. I was absolutely motionless and at a complete loss for a single word or thought. I could not bring myself to believe what had just happened. We stayed like this for what felt like minutes on end, Rei's hands on my face and her lips kissing mine. By the time she had finally broken what was my very first kiss, all I could do was slowly turn my head and look at her like she had just turned into something unable to be described by words.

By the time I was finally about to say something, she put her finger to my lips again and this time she slowly brought her arms around my neck, resting her head on my shoulder. "I wanted to thank you." she whispered softly. "Thank me for what?" was all I could think of asking, and by the time she answered, I could feel warm tears come down her face onto my shoulder. "For...for coming back to us...for bringing Takashi back. For keeping him, Alice-chan and Ditlev-san safe." she went on, and I could clearly tell she was crying as she was saying this. Sighing, all I could do was just smile as I brought my arms around her waist, holding her close. "Well, I promised you I would, didn't I?"

She slowly raised her head from my shoulders and looked at me, and I just smiled again as I wiped a single tear from her cheek. "I think you've cried enough for tonight." I whispered into her ear. She showed absolutely no visible reaction as I began to lay myself back down into my seat, but just as I was about to close my eyes again, I suddenly felt her rest her head on my shoulder again, draping her arm over my chest and around my other shoulder.

Looking down at her, I had begun to think perhaps she was still just a tiny bit drunk from earlier, but I figured that wasn't possible at this point, but I still wanted to know what she was thinking. There clearly must've been something more than just bringing everyone back safely that was convincing her to act like this with me. Before I could say anything, she began to whisper again, so I just layed my head back as I listened to her every word.

"So much has already happened in such a short time. We've already gone past the point of no return, and there's nothing we can do to change it. Our families are out there somewhere, you and your friends' families could be absolutely anywhere back in your countries right now, and none of us have any way of contacting any of them. So many people have died already, and it hasn't even been two days. Hisashi's dead..." she had went on, and by the time she mentioned his name I was about ready to say anything to get her to stop. I really didn't want her to keep reminding herself of her biggest loss in this mess. When I was about to stop her, however, she took her head from my chest and got herself situated so that she was now sitting on my lap, with both her hands on my shoulders as she looked me directly in the eye as she went on, tears once again streaming down her face, bringing her face closer to mine again with each second as she continued opening up to me.

"When Hisashi died, I felt like I wanted to die with him, I didn't want to keep going. Yet, in all this time, you, Takashi and everyone else have helped me feel the need to survive again. Everyone has come to mean so much to me in such a short time, and if anything were to happen to any one of us...I-I don't know if I could be able to keep going. But...Bjarte-san..."

By this point, her face wasn't more than an inch away from mine, and whatever she would say or do at this point, not only would I have been powerless to prevent it, but I wouldn't have wanted to either. "...you and Takashi are without a doubt the most important people I have now, and if anything were to happen to either of you...I wouldn't be able to take it." By this point, her head was bowed down, and all I could hear was the faint sound of her sobbing as her shoulders shook.

Placing my hand under her chin so I could look her in the eyes again, I said only what I thought was right. "Rei, so long as we're all out here in this place, we're always going to watch each others backs. I cannot promise you that Takashi and I are going to be able to protect everyone. The only way we'll all be able to survive this is by protecting each other, fighting side by side when the time comes for it. So long as each and every one of us fights to protect ourselves and each other, then we will get through this, get everyone back to their families, and survive this nightmare."

As much as I wish I could've told her that I would do everything I could to protect everyone, I knew that I'd be lying. She didn't deserve to be lied to, especially not after we had all managed to get as far as we had. She didn't say anything afterwards, only stared at me with what I could only say was wonder. Neither of us could say anything else to each other, and much like last time, I didn't even notice she had brought herself that single inch closer until I had felt her soft kiss once more.

It didn't last as long this time, but I didn't mind. I knew by the smile she had afterwards that I had apparently said exactly what she needed to hear, even if she may not have known it then. She carefully laid herself down on the empty spot on the seat beside me, and I just looked down at her as she pulled a spare blanket over her body. Just as I was about to finally get back to my precious sleep, I barely made out one last whisper she made to me.

"Bjarte...what was that thing you said to me earlier tonight, back at the house?" she said softly as I thought back to when I had put her to bed when she was still in a drunken stupor only hours before. "Oh, that. Well, it was something my mother used to say to me and my little sister whenever we couldn't sleep, back when we were much younger."

I glanced down to see her soft brown eyes looking back up at me with a hint of wonder, that kind smile never leaving her face. "How did it go again?" she asked me, and I thought for a second I saw her cheeks turn a shade of pink immediately once those words left her mouth. I just smiled back at her as I layed myself back down, closing my eyes as I thought back to those sweet childhood memories. "Nyt denne fred, efter dette etter. Dette er en ting som ingen vil være i stand til å ta fra deg. It means 'enjoy this peace, cherish this serenity. This is one thing that nobody will be able to take from you.'"

Several silent, yet peaceful seconds passed before I heard her final answer for the night, before I finally fell back into a deep sleep. "It sounds beautiful. Thank you, Bjarte-kun."

Well, there's chapter 7. I'm going to admit to all you people out there, since there wasn't as much in this chapter in the manga as I previously thought, and therefore not much of an opportunity for me to take an original turn somewhere; as well as what I consider to be a bit of hokey dialogue and lazy writing at the latter part of this chapter, i'm not one-hundred percent thrilled with how this chapter turns out, but hey, it's you, the readers whose opinion matters. Besides, I know what's still to come, and I do have much better ideas in store for then. Well, at least I was able to find a good scenario for me to get out of the corner for the possibility of a Rei/Bjarte pairing that I felt I'd gotten myself into by the end of chapter 6. Anyway, you all know the procedure. Read, leave me a review, feel free to say whatever you want, I'm perfectly fine with constructive criticism if you feel the need to share it. And also, as I've mentioned before, be sure to tell any Scandinavian members you or a friend may know, about this story. I'd love to get some feedback from them as well. Anyway, I hope you all enjoy reading this chapter as much as I have writing it.

Song/Scene list (as previously mentioned in chapter 5) once again, this is all a matter of my personal opinion, these are just pieces I recommend people TRY listening to while at a certain scene to see if it has any kind of effect.

-For the scene when the guys are watching all the people getting eaten and/or torn apart by Them from the balcony, a song I felt really put in that feeling of dread, and emphasizing the fact that this may very well be the end of the world, a song I felt hammered that feeling home was another piece by Norwegian black metal legends, Mayhem, entitled 'Pure Fucking Armageddon.' Best version to listen to, the original version from the Deathcrush EP. The scene may not be long enough for the span of the song, but I felt it worked.

-For the whole ending scene between Bjarte and Rei, personally I felt a pleasant piano number from Coldplay really set the atmosphere, for me anyway. Either Clocks or Christmas Lights really worked in my honest opinion.

Anyway, enjoy, and you can expect chapter 8 sometimes next week.