More will be revealed...

As usual, please PM, review, like, follow etc.

This is perhaps one of the fastest uploads I've ever done. I finished this in about three days, which is quite fast.

And speaking of fast, I hope to start on working on GDR stories after I update this story.


Girls Dead Rise

Chapter 9: Double Runaway

Six hours ago...

Japanese Senshadou Federation Commander Ship

50 miles west of San Francisco, California, USA

5:30 AM; July 9, 20XX

"They WHAT?"

"Well, this is going to be interesting."

"Why are you so calm? They flew in a helicopter!"

"And left the safe abode and went east...into California."

"How could she do that?"

"Well, I guess she cared for them."

"A girl like her should be smart enough to stay away! Arrghh! How can I explain this to Shimada-san! I will be in a BIG trouble for this!"

"Calm down, Renta. It is I who is going to be in trouble, not you."

"But they will blame me for this still, Shichiro!"

"What is going on here?"

"Uh-oh..."


"She left..." a mature, beautiful woman with light grayish-brown hair spoke, her pale skin appearing paler than usual. "I cannot believe that my daughter Alice left."

She vaguely resembled her daughter, especially with their similar hair color and the black ribbons that both wore. She stood, breathing deeply as she tried to reconcile with the terrible news. Renta and Shichiro were the two men on separate seats. Renta appeared like a professional businessman, except that he appeared as if going bankrupt. Shichiro, however, was calmer, like a mature, bald man who was ready to accept his fate.

"Shimada ma'am," said an American captain, tilting his naval cap. "I am afraid that all of our helicopters have somehow been sabotaged."

"What?" Renta roared. "How was that possible? The Trio?"

"Actually, no," said the captain. "Somehow, the little girl alone did it."

He took out a remote, and showed the display on a semi-futuristic screen. It revealed multiple security camera shots, all of them blank, except for three of them, showing the image of a little girl, holding a Boko doll with her left arm. In her right arm was a strange device.

"Jammer," a voice boomed. Everyone looked back; Renta shivered. Shiho came in, her tall, dominating figure a sight to behold. Her black jodhpur boots made strange tapping sounds on the hollow floor.

"Yes," the captain replied, sweating a little. "The little girl somehow got hold of one of our secret weapons; she apparently found one of our secret vaults by accident. Man, I should have checked that area more closely! When used right, it disrupts all electronics on a helicopter, so that it takes a day or so to even fix one."

"Not that it matters," Shiho continued in her deep, formidable tone. "What matters is why she would even do that."

"Man..." a voice groaned faintly, as the main door opened. Everybody looked at the three women, looking injured and tired.

"You three!" Shichiro exclaimed, standing up in surprise. "Kanon, Remi, and Hibiki! What are you all doing here?"

"Director," they groaned. "We have something more to say about that matter..."


Two hours ago...

"I can't sleep."

Alice lied on her bed, something clutching her. She held up her Boko doll, which looked similar to the one Miho had.

No, she realized. It's not you who's clutching me.

"I...I..."

Tears flowed down, blurring her vision. Suddenly, she noticed what she thought was a ribbon-like wave of light magenta color, fainting shining in the darkness. However, her tears partially blinded her, so that she merely thought she was seeing things.

"Why do I want to go back?" she cried to herself. "It's dangerous there! And-and-but...my friends..."

She got up from her comfy bed, and turned the light on. Rubbing her eyes, she looked around her neatly tidied room. Everything looked fine, so fine. However, she walked back and forth, having no peace in her heart. The strange wave of light was gone, but she somehow felt that something was there. Shaking herself, she kept pacing back and forth, holding her Boko doll tight.

"And that dream, for the third time in one night..."

Alice found herself in the middle of a black field, barren. She then saw two roads, one on each side. On her left was a narrow, brown road, with what looked like scratches and bloodstains on it. On her right was a very wide road, like a highway, and colored golden.

She instinctively walked to the wide road, but as she went, the road started to turn black and sticky. Alarmed, she stepped away, and went back to where she was. The black stains did not disappear, and she thought she saw something on it. A body of a woman of someone familiar...

Disturbed, she then turned to face the bloodstained road. It disturbed her too, making her hold her doll very carefully.

"You feel chained, aren't you?" a voice echoed.

Without thinking, she nodded.

"Enter through the narrow..." the voice trailed off. "...narrow the road that leads to life..."

Scared but determined, Alice breathed and stepped on the road.

As she went, the stains started to disappear, and flowers grew where the blood was. Suddenly, she saw a circle, and gasped as she saw it facing the coast of California.

"Go back there," the voice said, and Alice saw her vision blurred by a ribbon-like wave of magenta color.


"And I woke up at that point," Alice mused. "Which means..."

She sighed.

"Mother," she said, despite being alone. "I am sorry, but..."

She dropped her Boko doll, and picked up a smaller one, and packed it into her purse. She then wrote on a small piece of paper.

"I am going back."


She opened her door carefully, looking around.

"Good," she whispered. "No one around."

Suddenly, she ducked, and crawled underneath a desk. A security camera slowly rotated on its axis, scanning for any signs of life. Finding none, it turned back around. Alice peeked at it, observing it cautiously.

"I have to find a way to deactivate those," she said to herself. "Or just...bring it."

She sneaked in the opposite direction, sometimes tiptoeing by, and sometimes running at full force, all to minimize her detection by the security cameras.

"Good thing those are old-type," she pondered. "But...where are the-oh..."

She glimpsed at a dome security camera, which looked like an orb stuck to the ceiling. Alice hid behind a wall, and eyed it.

"Nope," she realized. "Too hard to see whether its eye is moving or not."

She backed away, and leaned against her body at a wall.

"Hah..." she sighed. "What can-"

She stopped, feeling something odd. Turning around, she felt the spot with her left hand.

"A bump?" she wondered, and pushed it. A strange door opened up.

"Eh?" she blinked. "What in the world...A secret door? Hmm..."

She went inside, and found herself in a room that felt like a janitor's closet. Piles of buckets, mops, and other washing tools littered and stacked on the cramped floor.

"Eww..." Alice groaned. "Wait, if this is a secret room, why is it designed like a janitor's room?"

She analyzed every nook and cranny of the room. She found nothing of interest.

"Oh please!" she groaned. "I thought I was...wait."

She noticed something blink. A single blue light flashed, then disappeared. She reached for it, and grabbed what looked like a remote control, with an old piece of paper taped to it.

She took both up, and read the paper.

"Jammer," she read. "It can stop any electronics temporarily..."

She immediately got out, and touched the wall for any button to close it. The door closed, and she readied the device.

"OK," she said. "Here I go."

She pointed it at the dome camera, and clicked a button. The camera's green light flashed red, then turned off.

"Good!" she realized, and ran down the hallway, shooting at the cameras like a shooter in a game. All of the cameras shut down, and Alice finally felt free at last; she even bounced a little like a happy girl.

"Oh!" she stopped at the stairs. She stared down, and heard footsteps. She quickly read her paper.

"OK," she craned her head, watching the security guards. Two men were walking up, with their walkie-talkies. She aimed the jammer, and clicked another button.

"Arghh!" screams went out, as the jammer's signal attacked the men's devices. The walkie-talkies then fired out special pulses of electricity, which acted like a taser. The two grown-ups went down in a flash.

"Good!" she said, coming up the stairs. She then stopped, and went down to check the guards. All of them were breathing, but apparently knocked out cold.

"Strange," she said to herself. "This device was hidden; something this powerful should have been secured more properly."

After checking the guards, she gave them a small bow, and ran back up the stairs.

"Now," she checked the doors as she continued upwards. "Where is the helipad..."


"Shimada-chan~" three adult women called out, trying to sound cute and happy, as they approached Alice's room. All of them were wearing gray and black uniforms, which were the uniforms for their Senshadou Team. They were the famous Bermuda Trio, serving directly under Alice, who was their commander.

The women approached the door in a line, with the first having light brown hair, the second with long brown hair, and the last the shortest, sporting grayish or bluish hair and wearing glasses. The first woman checked her clothing.

"Shouldn't we have changed our clothes?" asked the first woman. Unlike the other two, she did not wear the undershirt or the tie that came with it; she kept sneezing as a result.

"Azumi," the long-haired woman groaned. "Wear more clothing, then."

"Pipe down you two," the bespectacled woman whispered to them. "Azumi, Megumi. We better try and surprise her, you know?"

"OK-OK," Azumi rolled her eyes. "But come on, Rumi. I don't think she's up right now."

"Then why are we doing this?" asked Megumi.

"And why did you follow us, then?" Rumi snickered back.

"Quiet!" Azumi raised her voice a little higher than expected.

"What?" the other two asked, then became quiet upon seeing the door.

It was open by a crack.

The women looked at each other, then charged in. Azumi leapt at anything in her way, while Megumi turned on the light. Rumi stayed at the door to block it.

"Bermuda Trio!" the three women roared. "Stay away from our cute-"

The three stopped cold. The room showed no signs of struggle. Everything was tidied up and neat. On the table, Azumi noticed a piece of paper.

"Girls!" she told them. All three huddled around the paper.

Their hands shook, as Azumi let the paper drop.

"Alice..." Azumi stammered.

"No way..." Megumi mumbled.

"This is crazy!" Rumi retorted. "She-she can't be serious!"

"Now that I think about it," Megumi said. "She mentioned about not wanting to leave her friends behind..."

"We've got to find her!" Azumi screamed, and tried to bolt out the door. Megumi and Rumi both restrained her.

"Wait!" Rumi cried out. "It's not whether we can find her; it's what to do next..."

"Wait a minute," the others began, their faces paling. "Are you saying..."

"Well," Rumi fidgeted. "Didn't...we?"

"We have already decided, didn't we?" Azumi asked.

"Well..yeah..." Megumi said reluctantly.

"Seriously, for Alice dearie..." Rumi stammered.


Alice panted badly, as she managed to use her jammer to immobilize five very tall, ominous security guards, who were standing at the helipad door. Slumped down on the floor, they wore a variety of electronics attached to their heads, which Alice took advantage of. However, two of them struggled to get up, frightening Alice into unleashing her jammer. She quickly took their pulses, to make sure that they were alive.

She sighed in relief.

"Man," she panted. "I don't want to go that far again."

She tiptoed over the men, and opened the door. A single helicopter stood silent on the single pad on the ship.

"That's not from the Japanese Senshadou Federation," she mumbled. "An MH-60S, one of the latest variations of the Sikorsky SH-60 Seahawk. Americans own this thing, and it's called the 'Knighthawk.' Ah, now that I remember, two of the guards I incapacitated were Americans...No wonder they were harder to take down. Man, Americans sure seem tougher than Japanese."

She then searched the pouches of the men, then left them alone, feeling guilty that she would be stealing.

"No-no," she decided. "I am going to find where they hide the keys..."

She walked over, looking around outside. She glimpsed a room, which she suspected to be a guard house. She tiptoed over, and found the door open.

"Huh?" she wondered, and went in. She checked around, looking for where the keys were held. She found a pile, but had a feeling that the key was not there.

"Why do I feel..." she began, but ducked down as somebody tried to bind her. She then dodged over two more figures, all of whom collapsed together as Alice ran out. Panting, she tried to open the door back in, but found it locked. She then ran to the sole helicopter, and turned around.

"Vice commanders," she managed to say out.

"Shimada-chan!" the three women panted. Megumi and Rumi both dusted their hats, and put them back on.

"I know you want to go back," Azumi said. "But it's too dangerous, you know!"

Alice held her purse tight.

"How did you find me so fast?" she asked them with a serious tone. "I even removed the tracking device from my uniform too."

"You told us how worried you were about Miho and the others," said Azumi. "We suspected what you would do next."

"But your mother!" Megumi exclaimed. "How would she and others feel?"

"I know," Alice said. "But I had a dream..."

"A dream?" asked the three.

Alice quickly told them her dream. It felt like minutes, but after finishing, Alice felt like only a few seconds passed by...


"But a dream is just a dream!" Azumi tried to convince her commander, after she finished her story.

"And we're here to keep you safe!" Megumi cried.

"I don't want to be in trouble either!" Rumi yelled. "And I don't want to lose a cutie like you."

"If I don't," said Alice. "I now realize it now. If I don't leave, you all will die."

Silence.

"W-wai-wait-what?" the three gasped.

"Remember I told you the dream?" Alice explained. "I told you that I saw someone on the golden road? Now that I remember, I wondered why it happened three times in one night."

"And?" the women asked her, shaking.

"I saw each of you die," she finally said, shaking. "If I don't return to California, you all will die."

"Ho-how is that possible?" Azumi roared.

"Are you kidding?" asked Megumi.

"I think you're losing it!" Rumi declared, approaching her. Alice stepped back.

"Please," Azumi said, approaching her. "Ca-can't you...well...let's just get to the point."

"Are you serious?" asked the others.

Azumi sighed.

"Shimada Alice-chan," she said to Alice. "You know, even before you told us the dream, we decided that...you are our Commander. We will guard you, watch you, and follow you with our lives."

Alice blinked, her mouth a little open.

"Yeah.." Megumi said, approaching her so that all three women were lined up. "When we read that, we've always known that you wanted friends, and we've been wanting to know how...it feels like to be alone. Being alone in a school where everybody else was grown-up, and you being alone..."

"You kept talking about not only Boko," Rumi said. "But also Miho a lot. We got jealous, of course. Then, we realize that you really DO feel alone. We remember you..."

"Crying the whole time," Azumi said, fidgeting. "Admittedly, I feel guilty of not telling the other military personnel to save everyone."

"That's...that's not your fault," Alice said, trying to not sniffle. "You all heard me convincing them, but they won't listen. They said about 'not having enough personnel' to save everyone or something. I was so mad..."

Alice then could not hold it. She cried into her purse.

"Well," Azumi said. "We-we're not sure about us dying in your dreams, but we decide that...we will stick by your decision, no matter what."

"That way," Megumi said, smiling. "You won't be blamed for the escape."

"And we'll take the blame," Rumi declared, wiping away her tears.

"You all..." said Alice, sniffing. "You're real-really my...friends."

"YYYEEEEAAHHHH!"

Alice blinked in surprise, as the three women cried out in unison, hugging each other.

"Finally!" Azumi roared.

"We're in!" Megumi screamed.

"In the friend zone!" Rumi yelled, giving a "yes" posture again and again.

All three quickly cooled down, when they saw their commander's puzzled face.

"Well...then," Alice said. "Shall we go?"

"Wait!" Rumi said. "None of us know how to drive the Knighthawk! It's an American helicopter!"

"I know it," Megumi said. "Remember I went to Saunders before? This is going to be a piece of cake."

"Oh yeah," the others remembered, nodding.

"Thanks, you all," Alice said, as a few drops of tears ran down her cheeks.

"Alice!" three voices suddenly roared from the closed door.

All four turned around.

"Uh-oh," said Azumi.

"Looks like they found us," replied Megumi, shaking her shoulders.

"Let's do it," Rumi blinked at Alice, throwing her a key. "Keep that helicopter key safe. We'll deal with them..."


"...and we got knocked out," said Kanon, representing all of the judges. "Somebody took each of us, and ambushed us. We glimpsed Alice running to our left, before we passed out."

"The Bermuda Trio," murmured Shichiro. "Alice sure is charismatic enough to convince them to join her."

"But that's ridiculous!" Chiyo shook, standing up. Shiho went by her side, making her sit down to calm her.

"Hang in there, friend," Shiho said in her usual cool voice. "Director and captain, can we send any helicopter to find the Seahawk? Maybe from your own command center?"

"Unfortunately," the captain fidgeted. "The little girl Alice found a grid somewhere in the guard room, and apparently found a few lines that directly link to our main communication network. She somehow figured out that one of them allows me to warn my center, so I cannot contact them soon enough."

"And furthermore," Renta ranted. "Our ship was one of the fortunate ones that did NOT sink! We got reports of some of the ships mysteriously exploding for no good reason! And the planes too! That's why they shut down all airports AND seaports!"

"And told us to stay put for now," said Shichiro.

"So then," the captain said. "Guess we have to stir our ship back, but keep at a safe distance, then."

"And report to the US military about our VIP," Shichiro added in, nodding to Chiyo as she tried to restrain her tears.

"That's the best choice," said the captain. "I can do that; she did not disrupt that part of our grid."

"So," began Renta. "What is the status-"

"Captain!" one of the sailors ran out, panting.

"What is it?" he asked.

"We got a report!" the sailor stammered. "The-the other carrier-no, the-the-the other..."

"Calm down!" the captain told him, grabbing him and gently putting him in a seat. "Who's coming?"

"Those ships..." he stuttered, brining out a piece of paper. The captain took it, and read it. His face paled.

"Both of them?!" he retorted, dropping the paper to the ground. "From Japan AND from the US..."

"Ha..." Shichiro sighed, but calmly fanned his white paper fan. "Guess carriers from both sides are in hot waters right now, eh?"


Fortmart Warehouse

Between Los Santos and Los Angeles, California, USA

11:30AM; July 9, 20XX

"You are in hot water right now, Mr. Joshua Cracker," Maho warned him in a stern, ominous voice. "So, make it quick."

She cracked her knuckles, and Erika emulated her from behind.

"OK-OK!" Joshua breathed, trying to stay calm.

"Train is moving in about 30 minutes!" Nakajima called out, as she came in with her whole team.

"Then we move by noon," declared Maho. "So, who's guarding the train?"

"The two animals," said Hoshino. "By the way, we haven't even given them names yet."

"That's not the point here right now," said Maho, raising her gun and turning to face Joshua. "Now, do it."

"OK!" Joshua sighed. "Let me tell you about the very, VERY beginning of it all: the Orb."

"Go on," Miho told him in a soft voice, which soothed him. She sat next to him, which Joshua was glad.

"The Orb," he began, clearing his throat. "Is a mysterious artifact we found a long time ago. Let me warn you that this is what I learned from the only scientist who survived that: Doctor Rudolf."

"Who is he?" Miho asked.

"He was one of the scientists," Joshua replied. "Before we got split up, he shared with me and my other guard and friend Caleb as much as he could about the apocalypse. Unlike Caleb, I wrote down as much as possible."

He pulled out from another patch of fake skin a large pile of paperwork.

"He sure has a lot of fake skin," mumbled Kinuyo nervously, and those around her agreed.

Rummaging through, he tidied up the notes and cleared his throat.

"OK," he said. "Let's begin, starting at Parkfield, California..."


Flashback


Parkfield, California, USA

10:00 AM; July 8, 20XX

"Mr. Rudolf," said Joshua. "I will drive the car, on the condition that you tell us everything."

Joshua and Caleb, the two surviving guards, glared at their scientist, as they managed to get out of the building. Alarms sounded all around the field, as the three men rushed towards a parking lot nearby.

"**** it!" Caleb roared. "All of the cars are sabotaged! Who did this?"

"Except for one!" Joshua pointed at a military jeep. "But Rudolf, remember your promise!"

"OK-OK!" Rudolf exclaimed, panting (he was not as physically fit as the guards). "Even before you said that, I intend to tell you all everything!"

"Then get on!" Caleb roared, as they filed into the green jeep. Caleb then drove the jeep, while Joshua sat by Rudolf, gun in hand. The jeep revved, then roared into gear as it approached the gate, which was closed.

"Hang on!" Caleb roared, accelerating.

He rammed through the metal door, since it was jammed shut. Despite the broken headlights, the jeep was able to bulldoze through the barrier. As they sped off, Rudolf and Joshua watched behind.

All ten mutilated zombies went up the stairs, shielding their hands at the sudden glare. Joshua shook his head, horrified.

"My poor friends..." he moaned. "Now, they are no more."

The ten former guards all had partially tattered uniforms, which waved in the dry wind. They hissed, and growled for any sign of life to attack.

Suddenly, one of them spotted the jeep, and screamed. All ten then followed it.

"Faster!" Rudolf exclaimed. "How smart are they?!"

"Calm down!" Caleb roared. "I am trying!"

They kept coming down the hill, with the zombies suddenly speeding behind. The men passed by a sign that read:

WELCOME TO PARKFIELD, ON TOP OF THE FAMOUS SAN ANDREAS FAULT! DON'T WORRY; WE ARE SAFE AS SOUND.

"Safe as sound, yeah right," remarked Joshua sarcastically. Caleb snorted in agreement.

"Go down that road!" Rudolf said, pointing at an apparently dense area of vegetation.

"That? It's blocked!" Caleb objected. Joshua looked at where Rudolf was point at, which looked nothing but a giant mass of weeds and trees.

"It's camouflaged," explained Rudolf curtly.

"What?" Joshua cried out in alarm.

Caleb gulped, and on impulse dived into the road. Sure enough, the jeep went through what appeared to be a passable wall of weird liquid-like matter, as if going through a bubble wall. The jeep stopped, right next to a strange tower-like device and a clearing.

"That tower," said Rudolf. "Is one of our inventions: a device that creates this camouflage wall."

The three men then heard a roar, and turned to look.

The zombies stampeded down to where they last saw the jeep. Confused, the zombies just followed the usual road down to the little village below.

"Good!" Caleb said, as he and the others went out. "We lost them."

"Thanks to this device!" Joshua said, touching the device. "Man, this is great for real-life combat!"

"Before we even do anything," said Rudolf. "I will tell you everything."

"You have to!" both guards roared, both taking out their guns. While Caleb pointed it straight at him, Joshua lowered his to the ground.

"But in return," said Rudolf. "Once you know the whole truth, the US government will go after you."

"What?" the two guards reacted, aghast.

"How will you," asked Joshua. "Telling us about this will get us in trouble?"

"They don't know yet," Rudolf replied. "But now, I am afraid they know now."

"W-what are you talking about?" Caleb yelled, holding his gun unsteadily. He was shaking.

"Shush!" Joshua grabbed his friend, calming him down. "Rudolf, you promised to make sure tell us everything, or else."

"OK-OK!" he replied, breathing. "Here I go..."


"Oh," Maho noted. "Sorry about that."

"It's alright," said Joshua. "Your reaction is completely normal. Think about it; somebody knows the answer to the apocalypse, the horrible truth, and that person hid it from you. Obviously, anger is a common response."

"Go on," Maho said, this time softer.

Miho smiled, and nodded at him.


"We call it by multiple names," said Rudolf. "The Orb is known as the Light Magenta Orb, Magenta Orb, the LMO, and other names. My personal favorite is the Reviver."

"Reviver, eh?" asked Caleb. "So, that thing can revive the dead?"

"Correct," Rudolf replied.

"But how?" asked Joshua. "Reviving is scientifically impossible!"

"Anything that gets you power," said Rudolf. "Is fair game. You heard of the Nazis?"

"Yeah?" they answered.

"Adolf Hitler was not very enthusiastic about Christians," he replied. "However, since the churches at that time had a lot of power, he and his Nazis were willing to ally with them. The Nazis were more interested in power, than in actual morality."

"And why do you say that?" asked Joshua.

"Like the Nazis," Rudolf said. "The US government is officially secular, but anything that gives you power, it will go after. Even something as mythical as the Orb."

"So, the Orb was hidden from the government?" inferred Joshua.

"Very correct," Rudolf replied. "To be honest, the secret company that we worked for, do you know who it was?"

"Nope," said the two guards.

"Project Aqaba Management Center," said Rudolf. "What you've known as PAMC."

"PAMC," said Joshua. "To be honest, that sounds lame."

"Not as weird as Umbrella," retorted Rudolf. "Organizations these days make up all kinds of lame names."

"Why did they hide that from us?" asked Caleb. "All these secrets about the Orb, you PAMC jerk."

"It's to be safe from the prying eyes of the government," said Rudolf, sighing. "Ever since Snowden managed to expose the government, the US government had gotten a little...hysterical. It is going a little too much of a Big Brother."


"Big Brother?" the girls asked.

"Oh!" Kay and Darjeeling both replied, raising their hands in unison. Both then stared at each other, then put their hands down in embarrassment. Kay cleared her throat.

"Darjeeling and I read that book," said Kay. "Big Brother is a villain from Nineteen Eighty-Four, which is essentially a totalitarian government that keeps watching you, depriving you of freedom."

"Correct," he said. "You thought Renta was bad enough, trying to shut down your school, Oarai."

The girls from Oarai shivered.

"Now," he continued. "Imagine that same person, but watching ALL of you, and preventing you from freely making your own decisions."

Most of the girls, especially those of Oarai, shivered.

"Back to the point," Joshua continued...


"Talk about the Orb," said Joshua. "We know enough of government trash, so continue."

"OK," Rudolf continued...

Around the 1950's, before the US government got officially hysterical about cover-ups and all, a secret, private company that would become the Project Aqaba was just doing its own archaeological research. It was basically a no-name company, interested in finding unusual artifacts from around the world. We've collected in particular one strange artifact.

"What is that?" the two guards asked.

"You heard of Antikythera Mechanism?" asked Rudolf.

"I did!" Joshua replied, while Caleb tilted his head in confusion.

"We found another one," said Rudolf. "Something we hid from the public, because it actually was...working like a real machine."

"The Antikythera had a relative?" asked Joshua.

"This one, however," said Rudolf. "Was created by a strange group of Greek-speaking Jews called the Watchers."


"The Watchers!" cried out Miho. Everybody looked at her.

"Ah, you've seen them, eh?" asked Joshua. "I've heard rumors that the Watchers have strange powers, including the ability to contact with people in the future."

"Which happened to me," said Miho.

"Eh?" everybody, including Joshua, asked.

"I met someone named Watcher Convent," said Miho, then stopped when she saw Joshua's face pale.

"You've..." stammered Joshua. "You've met one of my distant relatives. Official reports say that he was killed by a cave-in in a tomb, but I was there at that same tomb once, and there was no sign of a cave-in."

"Who was he?" Miho asked, nervous.

"He was known as Moses Mendelsohn," said Joshua. "But he and his Watchers were seen as traitors by both Jews and non-Jews alike. Jews hated him and his kind, because they were Jews who converted to Christianity. And non-Jews hated them, because they were Jews."

"And he had a strange necklace too," Joshua continued. "The secret company that apparently murdered him wanted that necklace, but could not find it."

Miho felt like wanting to show the necklace, but felt a strange urge to not show it. She kept listening.

"So yeah," Joshua said, sighing. "Let me continue..."


"The Watchers?" asked the guards.

"The Watchers were advanced beyond their times," he explained. "They believe that the Almighty God does not leave humans vulnerable. They have the mysterious ability to craft items that can contain even the powers of God. They created the likes of the Orb, in order to show to the world that God exists."

"Wait a minute!" Caleb interjected. "There are other objects like the Orb?"

"Fortunately, no," said Rudolf. "The Watchers started to realize the errors of their ways, and destroyed all of the artifacts. Remember the computer-like artifact earlier? We tried to save it, but one of the Watchers successfully put some kind of a 'curse' on it, forcing us to leave it and let it explode. Fortunately, those annoying Watchers did not destroy the documents talking about making them, since the artifacts can only be created through prayer to God. That's what I heard. They destroyed the artifacts, as a sign of penance; however, one of them somehow was spared."

"The Orb," said the guards.

"Exactly," Rudolf said. "The Orb somehow could not be destroyed, so the Watchers believe that it has a greater purpose. They hid it in the Gulf of Aqaba, by driving a caravan of wagons drawn by donkeys into it."

"Why donkeys?" asked Caleb.

"Donkeys were less valued than horses," Rudolf explained. "And the Watchers knew that well; everybody cares about horses, but few care for donkeys, especially the very stubborn kinds. After that, under the guise of archaeologists, Watchers like the Watcher Convent pretended to find new discoveries, when they really were ensuring that nobody will find it."

"Unfortunately, their plans ultimately failed. Remember the secret company I mentioned? That company acquired a traitor, a former Watcher who knew a little too much. Once the truth was discovered, the company risked everything it had to find it. Eventually, it split its forces into two: one to search the Red Sea, and the other to search the Gulf of Aqaba."

"Once they found the Orb, it revived a variety of valuable animals. You may not realize it, but the PAMC used that Orb to secretly revive extinct species, such as the Indonesian coelacanth. They also used it to accelerate genetic engineering, which was how Dolly the Sheep was created. However, they did not want to do it all the time, in order to maintain secrecy. Unfortunately, the company got greedy, and pressured the Orb to revive more and more, and faster than it could do so."

"And the apocalypse happened," said Joshua.

"Exactly," Rudolf replied. "Before then, the Orb started to try to break free. The PAMC realized that the Orb somehow had a mind of its own, so they restrained it using pacifier beams. The beams were special weapons that are imbued with some energy from the Orb; they were used to keep the Orb in place. The Orb could not do anything about it, as long as the beams were in place. However, the constant instability of the Orb meant that the beams had to be manually activated, which me and other scientists did."

"Once Henry went mad with power, and got bitten by his mutant pet," Rudolf said. "Everything went ballistic."

"And the apocalypse," said Joshua. "Was its way of avenging against humanity."

"Correct," said Rudolf. "But you may not know this, but the Orb spoke to me once."

"Hmm?" the guards asked.

"While working, I heard a voice. I thought I was dreaming, but I turned around to face the Orb. It suddenly spoke again":

You know not what you deal with here

But see what I will do now to tear

I will make suffer the greedy

But spare the truly needy:

We will see and chill

When they shall rise and till

On this very dawn of day

Orb shall rise and say:

Cursed be those who die to despair

Corpse shall they be beyond repair.

But say! There is salvation

By the by there is redemption.

Chosen shall rise and fight

Curing the land with the light

And the living shall rise to right

To turn away the undead blight.


End of Flashback


"And before Rudolf could finish his last few words," said Joshua. "Three zombies suddenly appeared, unlike anything I've met before. One ran at me, fire breathing out of its mouth. The other ran after Caleb, wielding what looked like a frozen spear in its left hand."

Joshua was oblivious to the girls' shocked reaction, especially at the part of the strange poem; he was too focused on finishing his story to notice their wide eyes.

"And Rudolf threw the case at me," he said, his eyes downcast. "Telling me to take off, before distracting the last zombie that was throwing electric volts all around. They all split up, and I was alone, forced to deal with the fire-breathing zombie. I was stunned, then reacted by jumping into the jeep. The zombie jumped in, but I drove fast enough to shake it off. It kept chasing me, until I was out of sight. I then drove all the way down south, to Los Angeles, which was the only place other than Parkfield I've known. And then, I saw it in chaos, and I was forced to walk around, after the jeep crashed."

"How did it crash?" asked Yukari.

"I...got distracted by my thoughts," replied Joshua, looking ashamed of himself. "And hit a pole."

Miho giggled nervously, remembering how she hit a pole once while going to school.

"I kept wandering and wandering, until I sat down at a well-concealed shack, as the zombies continued the onslaught. Inside, I decided to check the case. Nothing. There was nothing, except for a pile of paper and a strange device that looked like a Rubik's cube. I took it up, and I realized what it was."

He then took something out of his pocket. It suddenly grew in size. The cubic device appeared jet-black, except for silver-colored edges. For some reason, all of the girls present felt some sort of a pulling sensation towards it.

"According to a note inside," he explained. "This is the Watching Cube, and it can shrink at will. It detects those who have the power of the Orb."

The girls paled.

"What?" he asked, blinking. "Wait...you all...OK."

He sighed, getting up.

"This Cube detects who you are," he said. "And what you can do. Miho, since the talking animals seem so intent on calling you 'Chosen,' take this."

He threw it at Miho, who caught it with her bare right hand. Suddenly, the cube shook and levitated on its own. It moved back and forth, the squares rotating around like a real Rubik's cube. Its color also changed; the squares became light magenta, while the lines inside turned golden. Suddenly,, it slammed into a nearby wall, and unfolded into a widescreen, and the girls gasped.

It showed a horde of zombies, shambling towards a helpless group of living humans. Suddenly, a wide slash of golden light cleaved through the whole horde; most of the zombies present ripped in half, and disintegrated into ash-like remains. The few remaining zombies tried to run away, only to be vaporized by a giant pillar of golden light, which crashed down upon them. The screen then switched to zoom into a feminine figure, wielding something that was flashing golden and magenta.

"Brum-brum-brum-brum-brrrr!" the familiar sound echoed out of the screen.

"Mi-Mi..." the girls tried to react, gaping and gawking.

Miho stared, jaws wide open.

"It shows who you are going to be," said Joshua. "It talked about the Chosen, who will rise to challenge the Orb. I guess you are going to be a cool one, and a good one, Miho."

"W-wait," began Miho "What do you-"

The whole warehouse started to shake, cutting her off.

"Get out!" Joshua, Miho, and Maho all screamed out, and everybody fled out. The earthquake intensified, as the girls started to run towards the train. Some of them stumbled, and others stopped to pick them up. The warehouse behind started to fall apart, with some debris from the ceiling collapsing down to the floor. Miho glimpsed a large section of the ceiling crashing down to where the whole group was.

Everybody managed to climb up the train, except Joshua.

"Come with us!" Miho said, reaching out her hand.

He shook his head, and handed her a pile of paper.

"Read them," he replied. "Because..."

Everybody except Joshua gasped, as a highway suddenly appeared out of nowhere from behind the warehouse.

"The Orb sure loves to make its own tricks," said Joshua, cracking his knuckles. "Rudolf also told me that in the past, the Orb likes to play 'dirty' tricks. You girls go ahead. I will distract them as much as possible."

"Here then!" Maho cried out, throwing him an M1 carbine and a few cartridges of ammo. He clicked it, and smiled.

"Farewell," he replied, and ran towards the far right of the parking lot. He then aimed his gun at two hordes that suddenly appeared.

"How did they suddenly appear?" roared Katyusha.

"A human and a zombie horde?" noted Assam, looking through a binocular. She suddenly went silent, pale.

"You OK, Assam-sama?" asked Rosehip.

"And they're..." she gasped. "...eating each other."

All of the girls who heard her shivered. They whispered what they heard, causing everybody else to tremble.

"They are," Joshua yelled, as the train started to move. "And good luck out there, Chosen! You girls try and be Chosen, and fight the good fight! Thank you for surviving! Don't worry about me! May our God be with you!"

With that, he roared and charged at the hordes coming in. He fired at them, forcing them to focus on him. As the train moved, a few humans and zombies noticed the moving train, and tried to go after it.

"Guns!" Noriko cried out.

"Save the ammo!" Maho roared. "Use something long to keep them away!"

The girls instinctively took out long wooden sticks from the intermodal container behind the locomotive, and used them to push the humans and zombies alike away.

"Who's the zombie and who's human?" cried out Azusa, shaking.

"Don't know!" Maho roared in response. "Just push them away! Don't kill them!"

The train sped and sped, and the girls kept pushing them away.

"Fresh meat," one of them grunted.

"Let me be with you," a young-looking man apparently asked, but he spoke more like a zombie than a living being.

"Get away!" Erika roared, stabbing him with a long stick. The man did not sustain any injury, but fell away, and rose to grab a zombie, and commenced to bite it...

"This is crazy," Miho mumbled, as the train sped fast enough so that the hordes could not catch up. She and others watched, as the warehouse continued to collapse. Humans and zombies alike continued to tear at each other, and the lone shot of the carbine was finally silenced in the distance.

"Farewell," Miho saluted Joshua, and others followed suit.

The train continued to roar by, as the warehouse disappeared from their views. The girls then sat down or stood still, the fresh, mountain air rejuvenating them. Forests after forests of green beauty stood in contrast to the burning scenes in the suburbs and the cities nearby.

Mika, Aki, and Mikko all sat by, watching the view silently, with Mika playing on her kantele, albeit with a slight nervous air.

Kinuyo and her five comrades all sat, knelt, or stood on their own tank, gulping and crying a little.

"Humans eat zombies?" Haru Tamada blurted out, shaking her head in disbelief. "Zombies, and now this?"

All of the Kuromorimine girls except Maho stood together, still as stone, but with tears coming out.

"That was..." Erika tried to say something, but trailed off in tears.

The Pravda girls all sat, with Katyusha still piggybacking on top of Nonna. They silently shook.

"Magical zombies," Nina said, shaking. "And now, zombie-eating humans?!"

The group of Anzio girls somehow managed to keep a portable stove running, cooking food on it. In reality, they were cooking to relieve their own stress.

"Pasta please," whispered Anchovy. "I am not eating meat for now, not when I saw a human bite a zombie..."

All of the Saunders girls wept, seeing what little they saw of America falling apart.

"Land of the free," remarked Naomi in a low voice. "Now, Land of the undead."

The five girls of the St. Gloriana stood by silently, not drinking their teacups.

"It's bad," Rosehip summed it up.

All of the Oarai teams sat by their own tanks, with various responses of silent stares, cries, gulps, and even a few bangings on their own tanks with their bare fists. Miho stood on top of the cargo container, watching the views all around with Maho by her side. The two sisters held each other tight.

"W-what are we going to?" a nervous voice asked. The two sisters looked down. Saki spoke, who apparently cried. She sniffed, expressing a rare show of emotion.

Maho continued to stare, letting Miho answer.

"We're on our own," she sighed, as the train sped through the clear air. "Again."


It's the zombie apocalypse, what can you expect?

Once again, the girls are on the run. They thought that the warehouse was safe, with no roads leading up to it. They were wrong; it was a good thing that the railroad was unaffected by the earthquake.

Once again, PM, review, like, follow etc. I appreciate every advice.

Update: Let me know if I need more details!

Tune in to next time!