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Chapter 7
The first exchange the shopping center survivors had was short, and honestly let them with more questions than answers. A Humvee and a tank came and went after a brief stop, but the biggest question remained what would they find when they reached the police station. Even before the electromagnetic pulse Tokunosu had been going insane. The sudden loss of power, and then a night in the dark followed by the arrival of the two evidentially military vehicles just added to the craziness of this new world.
Still the answers they had gotten at least gave some idea of what shape the broader city was beginning to take since the crisis began. Tamaru, who unlike Shimada had never indulged in the idea of joining an ultra nationalist organization, knew a fair amount about guns, but they both understood the gunshots that had echoed in the distance. He also understood that officer Matsushima simply hadn't had the ammunition for a prolonged gunfight... then there was the whole issue of reloading.
Shimada might not have been a 'gun expert' but he understood from what little had been exchanged that Takagi Organization was clearly well armed, and ready for a fight. This knowledge appealed to both men, especially as no police response seemed forthcoming. There had been nothing from the government, which in itself was disconcerting. He also was willing to learn as much as he could from Tamaru about guns while they waited around.
With Officer Matsushima gone there were only a dozen people left in the mall, and Matsushima's kohai was unarmed in a situation where gunfire rattled through the city. Tamaru crosed his arms over his chest, "All this fighting..." It was true that most of the gunfire had been sporadic bursts, but some were different. Obviously in theory, given Japan's gun laws, the bulk of the gunfire must have been from police weapons, "we've been hearing automatic weapons," That was something even the green officer Asami had pointed out recognizing the gaijin's MP5 as a model also employed by the police of Tokunosu, "the Heckler and Koch Machine Pistol model five is used by police during Narcotics raids," and also carried on those operations targeting organized crime. The stipend Tokunosu had received from the National government for police equipment had been admittedly generous... thanks in large part to the presence of the likes of the Tokunosu offshore Airport, and the hydroelectric dam nearby. The first bursts of legitimate automatic fire though had admittedly shocked Tamaru, "I knew something was really wrong when I heard them." as if the flesh tearing undead hadn't been a big enough indicator. "I've got to wonder what kind of guns the ultranationalist have access to."
"The gaijin has a tank," Shimada pointed, "thats got to count for something," and it meant plenty in his opinion. Shimada had been for a long time sympathetic to the ideology of ultra nationalist groups like the Takagi... though had never actually attempted to seriously join. Shimada simply wasn't political or interested enough to do more than vote for more right wing members of the LDP, and up until now that had been as far as he'd been willing to go. Things were different now.
Tamaru scratched the back of his head. When things had started going insane officer Matsushima had gathered everyone up. That had been more about getting away from the infected. Under her guidance the shopping center had been secured. Barricades had been built, and the zombies had passed them by while they waited for police help that never came. He looked down over the railing where the survivors who were still here were still moving about. The newspaper writer was the biggest complainer about the latest development. The old couple didn't seem to mind, but the writer was vocal enough as he talked at them about the news.
Shimada leaned on the rails, "He won't screw up our chances do you think?" He asked looking down at the middle aged man. After all they'd been stuck together out of sheer chance... "Where are the cops anyway. I mean we keep hearing them, shouldn't Matsushima have brought them to come get us." He demanded angrily. Tamaru didn't have answer to that.
"The police aren't the only ones we're hearing though," He pointed out. Normal people could have gotten their hands on shotguns, but the ultra nationalists would likely have more... there just weren't enough police to account for what they'd been hearing. "Tokunosu's police," for some officers, mostly newer officers, "issued semi automatic berettas," admittedly it had been a point of contention when the NPA had allocated those funds but it was part of what had gone along with other purchases. "I really wish they had adopted Glocks instead," He lamented more to himself. He hadn't bothered with the office supply store, until after the humvee and the lav had left, principally because there hadn't been any reason to, but now he was furiously scribbling anything useful he could think of whenever ever he got a chance.
"Whats the difference?" Shimada asked leaning back... wasn't like there was much for him to do in the meanwhile than talk.
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Speaking of glocks... Takashi was busy adjusting his belt, which was still holding the holstered nine millimeter even as he picked through the shelves. Taiei Shopping center raised questions even amongst them, but it wasn't enough to stop them from going on to the Police Station. With any luck the police station would have radios... and guns. In hindsight well it should have been understood that the police would have taken their stuff with them if they were going to abandon their station. Still leaving the survivors at the shopping center had put them in high spirits, and it had been reciprocated by sharing with them the information about the situation that was developing at the Takagi estate.
Shimada in particular had been interested to know that not only were they not cops, but they were armed, and looking for people. The construction worker would likely be recruited quickly... Tamaru as well when they got back. Still Tokunosu was changing, and certainly not for the better.
"Did you grab deodorant?" Takashi blinked and nodded awkwardly, "Put some on," David grunted as he screwed the long black tube onto the barrel of his H&K. Takashi had the decency to flush, but started ruffling through the bag he'd thrown stuff in from the gas station they'd hit before coming up on Taiei. "and... never mind" He muttered swapping magazines before pulling the charging handle on the sub machine gun.
The police station was much like they'd left it, which meant it was still eerie... and empty. Rei didn't like it at all. It was bad enough that she was fully prepared to run off half cocked into the who knew what was in the station, because whatever was in there it was certainly not police.
"We should head back after this." Saeko interjected looking upwards, and she had a good point given the slow moving storm clouds that were growing. It probably wouldn't be horrible, but it was certainly going to mean rain in an hour or so. "Returning to the Takagi estate allows us to accomplish more, than having to spend our time trying to find somewhere safe." She told an already ready to protest Rei, "Its best to tell the Takagi about them now, and about whatever is in there," She waved a hand in the direction of the police building.
For whatever reason the police had bugged out, and the police car laying on its side just added to the bad vibes. "we're not going to find out anything just standing around, but should probably try and see if there are any of them in there first. Can I see your iPad?"
David grimaced, and went back to the rear of the Aslav, and pulled the door open. Thankfully all of his electronic gear had been safely ensconced in the protective hull of the vehicle, which had also been off when the EMP had seared Japan. Other electronics that had been at the estate had survived but most of those had been off, or in the case of Matsudo's work computer in what amounted to a Faraday cage. Still it wasn't like it was a bad plan... even all it amounted to was Kohta using the iPad to blair AC DC in the lobby, while they sat just outside of the police station.
It wasn't likely for there to be another nuke getting popped... he hoped... hopefully there would radios. Without normalized power repeater stations were going to be a pain, and the humvee's radio wasn't suited for what they needed in a second set. At least not for a set supposed to keep everyone in contact. There was a radio set in that bus, but again they, maybe, ran into the repeater problem if the Takagi were serious about driving up to the dam. That was part of the reason why there was an interest in scrounging police equipment. The problem was no one had the 'specialized' skill set to provide anything other than an improvised solution. The kind of improvisation that meant either burning fuel or lengthy down times. Even then coverage was going to be iffy.
Kohta set the tablet up and pressed play, and then hurriedly scooted back as Thunderstruck filled the lobby of the police station. It didn't take long... a few minutes of wait time and the dead trickled into the lobby. Bumbling through the hall, and down the stairs, but there were fewer than expected. The police had obviously not abandoned here because it was overrun. So the question became why... why had they given up valuable ground that was defensible... especially before the EMP had gone off in the skies over Japan.
There weren't any piles of corpses. No shell casings spread out in the hall. Just a handful of meandering dead. A couple of which were cops. Cops which had equipment. These were men in blue who should not have been left behind... and yet here they were. Why flee?
"This MP5 has a suppressor on it," Kohta remarked cradling the weapon delicately as he examined it curiously.
David cleared the corner as Saeko cleaned the bloody sop off her sword, "Yeah, and I think thats all of them." He stopped as Saya pulled a crossbow bolt out 'Detective Kato's' face, and grimaced. She had left the luger in the ASLAV, because it would just be loud, and she hadn't even shot it so far. It didn't make sense. From everything they'd seen so far there should have been dozens of dead here instead it nearly as empty as it looked on the outside... and there was a backup generator running, which was one more question that needed to be answered. It also raised the issue of what the other police stations in town were like this.
Takashi came back from the end of the hallway, "There is another station across the river, but..." He stopped and looked around... and pointedly out the glass of the windows out front. That meant going back across the river. That, in itself, wasn't an issue, but bridge situation from the first night came to mind. There was no telling what was going on... over there. "When we left Shidou-sensei and the others it was already like this." He pointed out. The police had been gone by the time we'd gotten here on day one.
Rei had come along because she wasn't going to stick with Shidou, and Takashi had come with us for her sake. David could only presume Shizuka and Ishi came because of what Saeko and he had done at the clinic. Hirano wasn't going to pass up being around this kind of hardware to deal with some high school teacher, and Saya had come for similar if more common sense reasons.
Rei had finished prying the revolver out of Kato's hands, and stood by the two slain zombies who had come out first. "They probably came looking for help after he got bit." She remarked looking down at the twenty something pair.
Getting into the armory was at first difficult, but the thing about security precautions is that it doesn't matter how invincible the lock or even the door is... if its only drywall around the frame. Kohta had swiped a hand cranked drill from the school... and apparently kept it tucked away in his school bag for the last several days. Pulling the door open and out of its frame wholesale was just a bit of elbow grease... and for nothing.
The shelves were bare. Not a trace of ammo. Racks, and cages were empty. The police had not simply abandonned the station, they had had time to methodically strip their arms lock up. "Rei do you have any idea what all would have been here?" The answer was unfortunately not specific enough, so David thumbed through looking for papers. Most of which were paper work on certifications, and range practice times. Scheduling and such for maintenance shooting.
"Anything?" Kohta asked.
He leafed through the mainteance log, and bobbed his head towards the taller storage rows, appropriate for full size bolt action rifles. "Those were probably Howa M1500," The MP5s were probably kept in hardbody cases... maybe. Still if there was a checkout log then it was entirely possible the police had gone so far as to take it with them when they'd left. Still it figured the cops had of course stripped the station armory of all their nice toys before they'd booked it, and gotten the hell out of dodge.
Still there was actually one other place to look... and well to be brutally honest it looked like something a hoarder had come up with. The evidence lockup was a cluttered mess. Shelves ran from floor to ceiling stacked boxes that were all crammed together. There was no telling how old some of this stuff was...
David would have been lying to say he'd not been disappointed by the emptiness of the armory down below, but then he hadn't been sure what he'd been expecting in the first place. He hadn't known anything definitive about how the Japanese Police worked, or more importantly what they carried as far as weapons other than a handful of second hand anecdotes, and some vague readings. It was a let down... and yet he glanced over his shoulder where Kohta was now taking the time to show him the m1014 shotgun. He glanced down at his own finds.
"What is it, sensei?" Ishi asked curiously.
"Norinco Type 54." He answered deftly raising the gun against the wall. "Its 7.62x25 peppy little round. Its the Chinese clone of the TT-33." He paused, "I think I have a yugo or maybe its a Romanian knock off somewhere back home." There was some ammo to go with it, but it wasn't like crooks liked to sit on ten thousand rounds. He ejected the magazine and started loading, when he was done he sat it down, and handed a similiar pistol to the high schooler. "This is a 213 its in 9mm." He gestured to another almost identical gun, "So is that one. I guess who ever was carrying them switched because it was easier, or maybe," probably more likely, "they took whatever they could get." He stopped and grabbed at the paper that had been stabled to the report, "Rei is this right?"
She shrugged, "I guess so," The policeman's daughter responded before handing it, the contents report for the box, to an eager Kohta.
"Gun seizures from the Yakuza have been going down for years. They've been getting better at concealing them. Its really only the low level thugs who get caught, and the police aren't really interested in little fish like that."
Rei rounded on him, defensively, "Hey, whats that supposed to mean?"
"Its true," Kohta picked up the last of the three of Tokarev type pistols,"it used to be this was all they could get. Soviet guns, Chinese knockoffs, or American revolvers... Smith and Wessons like the police still carry, but today they can get glocks, and even sigs easier. The Yakuza gets guns from smugglers out of China and the Phillipines mainly, but trade with the drug cartels mean new sources of weapons. Foreign gangsters have an even easier time getting guns now."
David nodded; in truth Kohta's explanation sounded worse than things were... at least before this whole mess with the walking dead. "Alright well thats good to know," He looked around... this was too crowded to strip effectively. They'd just have to come back with people from the Takagi estate. "Lets move on. Find what the generator is powering," and see if Rei's dad had left some kind of message, because it was evident that he wasn't here.
By the time they'd methodically swept upwards through the communications room, with its active Japanese Alert System terminal, and to the Public Safety Divison's office it had started raining. "Do you think it'll last much longer?" He asked adjusting the coffee press he'd set up while they waited so they could break for lunch as the rain splattered against the glass facade of the police station.
"It looks like it'll rain for a time." Saeko responded as she crossed her arms.
Right now he was wishing for an almanac... and one in English, but that was probably a bridge too far. He looked out through the rain, and at the police cars... "Kohta you said Tokunosu received a large stipend from the NPA for National Security Counter Terrorism Preparations, and modernization right?
"Yep," Kohta pursed his lips, and nodded looking up from the MP5 he was in the process of stripping. "They built a new training center for the Kidotai..." He stopped, because according to not simply that scrawl on the board, but also the SDF evacuation notice on J-Alert the evacuation was zoned for Shintoko Third Elementary School.
The question of why go to the school... why abandon their stations for that. It wasn't like the Maritime Self Defense Force would have the capacity to lift more than a few hundred people off shore. "Forget that for a moment. Motorola would have supplied the police radios though, right?" A nod, "We need a police radio, and I'm betting there is still at least one around here, either in one of those cars or somewhere in this station."
"My dad is at Shintoko," Rei interjected, "We can just go there. We should already be heading that way."
Saya snorted, "Its raining what do you want to do out in this mess? If we just go out there with out a plan we'll just be making a wasted effort. Searching for people in the rain isn't going to work, and we have to consider it'll be harder to see, and what the means for fighting."
"The Takagi estate is safe, we can sleep there." Kohta commented.
"and you can sleep on the ride we have cars damn it." That was the main thing we'd been up for an extended period of time just because it was hard to sleep for most people during a crises. Statistics put a significant number of people as going through temporary, what was called transient, insomnia during major periods of disruption.
Kohta slapped the bolt closed on his freshly acquired MP5, "What do you think Takashi?
"Ishi come with me, we're going to see if we can't get this police car started," David grunted picking up his own HK, "Kohta if we can't get it started we're going to push it in front of the main entrance," ... hopefully it would make the building a bit easier to tell if people were in it when they got the chance to come back.
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The rain brought with it dampened spirits. There was no point in trying to light the bonfires in this weather, but it didn't mean they had to do nothing. "I'll need more propane." Matsudo remarked to Yoshioka as they stood in the Takagi garrage.
Ever since the power had gone down there had been... an increasing undercurrent of unease... of course part of that was the temporary break through of the undead through the gate. On the other hand part of what Yoshioka was feeling was the fact the don wasn't here right now. The don's concerns about the Yakuza weighed especially on Yoshioka. "I know," He responded looking out over the rain soaked grounds. A key part of his responsibility now was further reinforcing Higashi Hill. Not just simply against the undead either, because the Yakuza had a long history of pipe, and fire bombs... even the occasional lobbing of a grenade into an office to make a point. What might they do now that the world had gone insane, and without the police to crack down when they got too out of hand. People needed to be moved into houses as well so they were not stuck living in tents. Yoshioka was loath to allow total strangers into the inter sanctum of the Takagi, which only further heightened the need to move them into the neighborhood homes. "I will see about it tomorrow, please just do what you can Matsudo-san."
"I hear you," The old man responded. Yesterday had complicated things, "It isn't as if we can do as much as we hoped with the weather." Concrete wasn't an option right now.
Yoshioka understood the weather had its effects on his work as well. The rain limitted visibility, which worried him as it potentially bore the risk of allowing the dead to encroach further... or potential human threats. Though reduced from the threat category... for the moment... the leftist hag Hiromi also weighed heavily in discussion. Without any shooting needing to be done, at the moment, she was was vocally complaining about the need for the weapons to be publicly visible... claiming they were being used to intimidate normal Japanese citizens.
It was almost litigious in character... and at the same time it was possible she had a point. Still he wasn't prepared to risk a security crisis just because some of the refugees felt threatened. It was a crisis after all... no one was forcing them to stay as far as he was concern.
"Yoshioka-san what should we do about the entryway," One of the older field officers inquired delicately, as he subtly tapped his watch. The rain was bad enough, but it would evening soon... and even if the rain did let up, which it didn't look like it would, it would be dark... very dark without power. "We still expect some to return to night."
He nodded, hopefully the gaijin would have the sense to get back sooner rather than later. Then again there was equally as great of a chance he'd found somewhere quiet to start shooting at the dead... or maybe the not so dead. Yoshioka steeled himself. "You are correct," Still the don had discouraged him from using the generator except as necessary, which limitted their options. So he did the smart thing when faced with something he didn't know and asked Matsudo. "What would you suggest Matsudo-san?"
"A light?" Fire was out obviously... and they didn't have time to try and cobble together a hand cranked dynamo of some kind... even if it was a good idea. It also didn't do anything about the communication issue, which arguably the bigger problem. When the EMP had went off they had lost people because they'd been dependent on their cellphones... and the don had yet to provide a method to fix that deficiency. He turned to the bus, which was still waiting to have more steel plates, and slats welded on to it. It wasn't complete, but "Take the bus." It was really the only radio set they had that wasn't with the don... as the one in the house didn't have power. It was far from ideal, but it was large enough for a sufficient number of troopers to sleep in out of the rain. That had been the whole point of armoring the bus after all. He'd send Nishimoto, and hopefully nothing bad would happen.
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Shidou groaned and banged his head against the side of the bus. Days like this were the worst. Days like this were the absolute worst, he thought, and this had absolutely nothing to do with the whole zombie apocalypse. Admittedly that kind of sucked as well, but he knew this was going to be laid at his feet, and it wasn't entirely wrong to do so. "I don't suppose you happened to find Mrs Miyamoto?" He asked his student tiredly. He hadn't... damn it. Shidou looked around this was not how he had wanted this to play out. Still in hindsight it made sense. "Then we'll just have to go back,"
The police and the ultranationalists might not have been as bitter of rivals as the Yakuza were to either, but they both held enmity towards one another. At the moment Miyamoto-san's neighbors were more concerned, enamored, about the idea of safety. Still they weren't Ultranationalist material either. Some of them, definitely, once they were safely sheltered behind the walls of the Takagi estate, or somewhere in the neighborhood in Higashi Hill, as was more likely they'd likely go over to Hiromi after a few days.
Not that that bothered him. The opposite really as Shidou knew he needed the extra leverage to get anywhere in the camp. Ironic as it might have been Shidou recognized that Souichirou was moderate compared to the fringes of his own organization. Keeping a leftist like Hiromi around would help keep the heat off of himself, Shidou recognized.
None of that dealt with the present problem. Whether or not these survivors went over to Hiromi in the end meant nothing when they were already turning against Miyamoto-san. "Rei certainly inheritted her mother's personality," without the maturation brought by age, and unfortunately there was the question of whether there was time for that. "We'll have to leave." and hopefully cooler heads would prevail but Shidou wasn't going to hold his breath. Maybe they'd pass her on the way out... he could give her a lift back to the estate... yes that would work nicely.
The biggest single issue was still that of the Ultranationalists versus the Police... however nonexistent that conflict was now. Miyamoto had been a police officer once upon a time too, and her husband or other police officers were still no where to be seen. "Sensei?"
"Yes," He responded tiredly. "What is it?"
The boy fidgeted' a combination of nervousness and abundant energy no doubt. "Shouldn't we be looking for guns?"
"We will at some point," He assured, and they would. "Did you have something in mind Miura-kun?" He inquired. Right now the Takagi were talking about spears, (and swords of course) and even Miyamoto had picked up a spear. Shidou had been quick to appropriate bats, yes, but the idea of intentionally fighting the dead, at least at this stage, seemed ludicrous... much less with the weapons of the feudal period. "Revolvers are supposed to be good to learn to use," He added calmly. For now though the bats were enough for self defense... hopefully nothing else would be necessary until then. Shidou had no moral objections to the use of guns, but he more importantly was under no delusions they'd magically fix anything.. and then there were safety concerns.
With little else to do in the neighborhood, and that the rain didn't look like it was going to let up Shidou decided it was time to head back to the estate. All things considered today hadn't been completely unproductive. Souichirou Takagi might have been going after construction sites, and of cours the hydroelectric dam, but Shidou had more obvious targets in mind. Gas stations, and the mini marts in particular.
He spared another sideways glance at the improvised fortifications, which had been cobbled together. They clashed with what days ago would have been pictraesque normalcy the neighborhood had no doubt prided itself on. "Miura wait-" he called out abruptly, "We'll give them two bags of rice then we'll leave." He decided unlocking the storage compartment of the van. Humanitarian had nothing to do with it... the forty kilograms of rice was food, and a potentially advantageous gesture of openness with resources. An openness that Takagi were not likely to demonstrate. It too less than five minutes, and then they were able to get back on the road.
The rain would no doubt last until well after dark, which was good hopefully it would keep the roving band of psychopaths inside. That first evening had been bad enough, but the rampaging mobs, of which there were certainly more than one, seemed emboldened by the lack of a police presence or response to their actions. Or maybe the police had tried, because as Shidou had unfortunately noticed... thankfully with a pair of binoculars, one group had at least one police submachine gun. Shotguns would have been bad enough in the teacher's opinion. The very idea of gunfights on the streets of Japan bothered him.
The wipers went across the windshield, as he shook his head and reached for the heater to fight off the chill from his dampened suit. Hiromi had prattled on about the fortifications. The nailed together pieces of hardwood and plyboard and the guns, on top of that, were just a great big slap in the face to her, and she was happy to rail on about it.
So caught up on the concerns that that harpy might prove to be more problematic he barely noticed when they'd gotten closer to the entrance than he'd meant to. Nishimoto certainly noticed, and from the sour look the middle aged man wasn't particularly pleased.
Shidou carefully eyed the organization members. Even Nishimoto's M16 was old, but at least it was kind of modern. Nearly all the others had positively antique rifles from the second world war... and they had those bayonets to go with them. "I suppose I should go talk to Yoshioka now that we have returned," Nishimoto made a noncommital sound and slung his american made rifle over his shoulder and walked around the bus once before asking about the situation. "Its complicated."
"Elaborate then," Nishimoto grunted cocking a fuzzy eyebrow.
The teacher gritted his teeth, and bore with it. The man was intransigent... it was like talking to a rock... or, he supposed, a human hammer, "I suppose the best explanation is that I saw another mob. They had police weapons..." And thankfully that was enough to get Nishimoto's attention.
"You mean in addition to shotguns, and petrol bombs." Shidou nodded, "You're correct sensei you should go speak Yoshioka-san. He should still be working, I'll go with you." He rounded on the men at the entrance. "Stay here. Don't let anything through until I get back." The ultranationalist officer climbed into the bus and grabbed onto the rail, and waited for Shidou to drive on through. "Was there anything else? More tanks?"
"Do you mean the SDF?"
Nishimoto snorted, "Those spineless cowards? They've disappeared. They have to have gone somewhere... its important we know where." An entire company of tanks, and supporting infantry had vanished from the edge of the city since the start of this. Then of course there was the question of the GSDF Blackhawk, and Air Self Defense Force aircraft that had been seen over Tokunosu on day one. The police and the self defense forces they'd all vanished... and on day one that had been one thing.
Now though it was something entirely else. Days had gone by, and there was still nothing. The ultranationalists like the Takagi didn't have the resources to take back the city... and the police were still no where to see. So really all their hardliners could do was bluster on, about how if the police or even the SDF would grow some spine and join them they could save the country from the undead. That was exactly was Nishimoto was doing, and Shidou understood that. It was a dangerous situation. If Tokunosu was like this... then what would a megapolis like Tokyo be like in this chaos.
-scene break-
Hanzo wiped the blood off the blade.
The walking dead couldn't see, but the crazy ones certainly still had working eyes. He straightened his jacket even as the pace of gunfire increased... it was past time to leave.
The younger yakuza gunmen looked at their underboss, and carefully reached for the dropped shotgun, and police machine gun. "What now?" One asked.
"We return to Raiga-sama." Hanzo frowned glancing at the street... the bickering of fools... that was how Raiga had described the fighting in the street. It was a waste of precious ammo... and provoked unreasonable behavior from the hot blooded young men. More than once they had to be told not to join the shooting... and that was dangerous.
This excursion was like running through the jungle surrounded by man eating beasts... except that there was truth to that idea... the walking dead though were far from the only danger. Hanzo stiffened stopping the other men from stepping out, as he lifted the suppressed stainless steel handgun from under his sports coat and splattered the brains of a looter across the blacktop. The man's aluminum bat clambered to the ground... a noisy clatter, only somewhat muffled by the rain around them.
Hanzo stared dispassionately at the mishmash of weapons, and clothes. They were little better than a mob... there was no order at all to this. It was uncivilized, just as Raiga-sama had said.
-scene break-
-scene break-
Uncivilized... Akechi Jubei had heard the word too many times as of late. As he understood it the gun slun across his back was a variant of the same model the gaijin carried. The MP5A4 had been taken from a fallen kidotai trooper... the man... no the thing that had become the police officer had died to a well placed strike. Well placed because they had all had significant practice... especially now that the power had failed.
The students of Fujimi Academy had divided into wings... things had become uncivilized. Akechi didn't care for the word, but it was better than being dead. There was no sign of the civilized world... no... no sign of the government until the thunder run of Self Defense Force's jets the night before. Instead of being a good sign it had just stirred up the students more... after all that had already happened.
Limited ammo, limited food, and... Jubei closed his eyes and felt the damp air on the wind, and strained to listen. The Helicopters were gone now. They had been like the ones that had flown overhead at the start of the outbreak, big a large body craft. There was supposed to be an evacuation... an evacuation... the notion seemed too good to be true.
"Akechi-san,"
"Kagewaki." He replied bluntly to his shotgun armed classmate.
"What are we going to do?"
"We're going to survive." There wasn't anything else to do. The police had failed. The teachers had failed... it hadn't taken one of Shibata's friends to throw Muromachi-sensei over the railing. At least at the beginning Shibata, and Date had agreed it was a mistake, but now it seemed they were less bothered by it... "What about Shibata-san?" Jubei asked, carefully using the suffix.
"He thinks we should go out again."
Of course he did. Shibata wanted to talk about respect a lot, but the switchblade knife the senior carried tended to come out a lot now that Muromachi-sensei was dead. Yamato was the only senior who wasn't Shibata's friend who could keep him in line... and that probably wouldn't last much longer... until they came to blows.
There was too much volatility here at Fujimi high. The more passive students wanted to try and make a run for it... get in the buses and try to get to the Elementary school. Shibata hadn't forbid it, but he had casually, and at the same time pointedly remarked that they'd be without the protection of the dozen scrounged guns distributed to the handful of students. On the other hand the bus would probably be safe from the dead as long as they drove carefully.
Kagewaki walked up joining him at the railing, "If we go out, maybe we shouldn't come back here... maybe we could find something."
"The police had guns," and training to use them, and they hadn't been able to stop the dead, whatever they had done wrong had... lost the city. "more than we did, and they still lost. Where would we go Kagewaki?"
"Somewhere were Shibata won't kill us, he's mad."
Weren't they all mad... walking around with guns, and bludgeons made from the legs of desks while there were flesh eating monsters roving the streets. Muromachi-sensei had been right to call them all uncivilized.
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