He'd never been in this type of situation before.
He'd never known what the "great triumphant hero moment" felt like.
All he'd really understood to that point ever since the beginning of what people called "Z-Day", was the endless adventure that was this hellish version of the world he'd grown up in.
He knew that his main objective was to find Cole, but after the explosion that took place at the airport, Zeke really didn't have much hope.
That is, until that broadcast came on.
He'd been walking around his new roommates home, as they took him in much earlier that day, though it was becoming crowded quickly.
It was then that that broadcast came on.
Zeke thought it was one of those insane guys who just wanted to have a moment in the spotlight (he knew that there were people who were willing to wave at the camera in a silly way when a news camera came on, even if it was during the mourning of a dead person, the stupid bastards), so he didn't surprise himself when he promptly ignored it.
But, when he started to hear electricity, he looked back at the TV, convinced that it was broken.
However, he was met with a sight that surprised him.
Cole, his same friend, looking alive and well... was hauling ASS to single handedly deal with a bunch of zombie freaks, using what seemed to be electrical powers.
As he watched the battle unfold, it went on for several minutes before a wave ripped destructively through the ground, right at Cole.
Zeke yelled out to him, in spite of the fact that he couldn't hear him.
His friend dove out of the way, and the wave ripped past where he used to be.
Cole clammered back up to his feet, and stared as he saw the source of the attack.
A woman wearing a red hooded jacket and pants, who also had red hair with black streaks and eyes as red, if not redder, than her hood.
She made a lunge like movement then, light consuming her and her appearing in front of Cole before blowing him away.
He got back up, and Zeke stared in shock as this happened.
How the Hell could someone teleport?
From the distance the cameraman obviously was from the camera, Zeke couldn't hear what the two said to each other.
Only vaguely read their lips.
As he looked, Zeke squinted behind his sunglasses, only barely making out what the woman said.
"...forgot about Sasha!"
Not much, and definitely not enough to make out what they were saying.
But the long fight that ensued afterwards soon left Zeke and many of his new roommates captivated, eyes glued to the television screen.
The entire fight was abruptly stopped however at the scream that filled the room suddenly, emitting from the TV set.
Next moment, the camera fell to the ground, right on its side.
The sound of moans left Zeke with a stunned expression, and he finally noticed that the people on the other side were screaming.
All were screams of agony and fear.
Then, pale, bare feet appeared before the screen a split second before the reception was lost, replaced by a sign that said something along the lines of "technical difficulties" from what Zeke could tell (he'd taken the Japanese class with Cole, but ironically, it had turned out Cole actually was better at it than him, despite him being the "brains" of their "brain and brawn" duo).
The lights were turned out next second, and Zeke could hear the banging on the door below.
"Come on, PLEASE!" A man's voice said outside, "At least let my kid in!"
Zeke looked at the doorway, taken aback to see that five people crowded around the door.
After hearing the man speak of having a child, a man at the front of the door spoke, "Please go away!"
A threat to bust down the door convinced the man to open the door, and though Zeke knew that the extra people would make it that much more cramped, he couldn't help feeling as though it were necessary.
Here was just a guy who was obviously just trying to get his kid to safety.
He just needed to find shelter.
Not anything else.
The door opened, and Zeke was just about to go to help the guy and his kid.
They'd probably needed some comfort after all the crap they'd gone through-
The sound of flesh being ripped made him stop in his tracks, staring in surprise when he saw the man standing at the foot of the door stabbing the father.
He caught a glimpse of the kid, red haired, looking to be a little girl, eyes staring at the event that had transpired before her eyes.
The man within the house pulled the makeshift blade out, and he spoke, "I'm so sorry..."
He slammed the door shut just as Zeke watched the father stumble backwards.
Zeke watched the door for a moment longer than it really was.
The man who'd stabbed the father looked down, sobbing as he did this.
A woman next to him rested her hand on his back, "It's alright. You did what you had to do."
"But..." The man sobbed harder.
The woman wrapped an arm around him, guiding him away from the door, the other 3 staring at the door, solemn expressions on their faces.
One was a woman, talking to herself, "This isn't wrong... this isn't wrong..."
Zeke looked in the drawer next to him, the scowl on his face not even given the slightest fraction of a ounce of effort to be hidden, pulling the pistol out of there (he knew it was there because that was the first thing that the family had told him about).
Without even speaking a word, he bolted his ass out of there, thrusting the door open with enough force to make it slam open, revealing the girl about to get grabbed by one of yhe zombies.
"Mr. Dunbar," one man said in his language, "What are you-"
Zeke wasn't listening as he aimed quickly, pulling the trigger, the gunshot drowning out the sound of the man's voice.
As the bullet hit home, the zombie spun for a reason Zeke honestly didn't care about.
He only whipped back around, "What the HELL is wrong with y'all?!" He roared as the once trembling family stood frozen at the door.
Receiving no answer (not that he expected one) Zeke turned back towards the zombies, shooting several of the dead that started coming close to the girl.
But as a horde of zombies were crowded around the entrance to the property, Zeke found it a rather difficult task.
That was until the shrill sound of an engine broke through the night.
Several crashes and sickening crunches, and next thing Zeke knew, a guy around his age came on a motorcycle and blew half the zombies away.
But, of course, all actions had an equal or greater reaction.
Takashi Kumoro was subject to that rule of life.
One of the wheel's of the bike slipped over an unmoving corpse, and next thing he knew, he was sent flying through the air, body tumbling on the ground.
Takashi cursed inwardly as he landed, pain setting in his body.
So much for playing the damn hero...
He grunted, recollecting his scattered bearings as he currently could not move at all without them, pushing himself back up onto his feet forcibly, holding his arm as he stood back up on his feet, teeth gritted tightly.
The dead were gathering at the fence now. His bike was probably trashed now, but that didn't stop it from making noise.
The engine kept sputtering loudly, almost like a person coughing, only more retch invoking.
He breathed a quick breath, then pulled the metal bar Takagi had given him from his pocket, his body pumping adrenaline through him.
He forced the pain out of his thoughts, rushing to fight them, swinging at their heads with not too much strength, for he feared the extraneous momentum would cause him to not be able to recover and react in time if a zombie were to try and latch onto him.
But, with the support of both Hirano and the other guy who was shooting the dead, this probably was a paranoid thought.
But better safe than sorry.
The fight would drag on for minutes, and several times, Takashi almost found himself getting bit.
Had it not been for Hirano though, Takashi would be screwed over about 12 times over.
However, for Zeke...
A dog was constantly barking behind him, as he aimed through his sunglasses, watching as the animal that seemed to have come out of nowhere (or maybe he just didn't notice it till now) and sometimes tried biting the zombies to hurt them (to which they, needless to say, didn't feel, or at least showed no signs of feeling).
After a minute, Zeke had burned through the bullets of the first pistol, but quickly replaced it with 2 spare clips he'd snatched up from the drawer the pistol was in.
But, he burned through those quickly too.
Left without much of a choice, as without bullets he'd be deadweight to anyone so long as a zombie was around, he immediately thought of how to say "I'm almost out of bullets!" in Japanese.
Nothing came to mind.
Literally and figuratively pushed into a corner, Zeke shouted his thought out in his native tongue.
He was sure at least SOME Japanese people could speak English.
Right?
"I'm running out of bullets!" He yelled so the guy could hear over the dead's moans.
The guy put some necessary space between himself and the dead, and looked at him, a strange look on his face, "Nani?" Zeke heard him speak.
He cursed under his breath, knowing that was a way of saying "what" in Japanese.
"Um... he said..." Zeke heard the kid say, and as she spoke in Japanese something Zeke didn't understand at all, a look of realization passed over his newly made ally's face.
Then he scowled deeply.
He shouted something Zeke thought meant "Catch!" in his native tongue, and he threw him a six bullet pistol.
Zeke caught it, placing it in its proper position, only for his eyes widen.
"Watch out!" He yelled as he saw a zombie walking up to the guy, wearing a wedding dress as it moaned.
Takashi heard the portly man's shout, and he began to look back, eyes widening as well.
He instantly began moving to avoid getting bit by it.
But too late.
It grasped him, right hand on his turning shoulder, left hand grasped in an impossibly tight grip around his forearm.
Before the boy could do anything, the zombie leaned up, and bit very deeply into his flesh.
Takashi didn't scream, though he felt more pain in that instant than every other moment in his life put together.
Nor did he react in the way most had reacted, with fear lighting up his widened eyes.
He only stood still, eyes widened as though met with a great surprise.
"N..." He found it hard to even have the air to speak, or the air to even breathe. And yet he was able to say one thing, "...not... now... there's... no way..."
The wedding zombie released him from its massive bite, and Takashi could hear his heart slowing down, each pulse bringing an incredible amount of pain.
Then he felt the beats gradually and rapidly growing in time space between each other.
Until it was completely gone.
He stumbled back, then in one last desperate attempt to help, gripped his bar, swinging it at the zombie's head.
It dropped and crumpled to the ground, unmoving.
Then he turned to the zombies, running at them, swinging madly.
He didn't care about the chance they'd try to bite him again, for he'd been bitten already as it was, blood gushing out of his wound. Dropping as many of the dead as he could before reaching the gates, Takashi was surprised to realize they no longer seem to pay him any attention, before he returned his attention to the gates, which he tightly closed with his remaining strength, taking the bar and using it as a way to keep it shut.
With that problem solved, Takashi let himself stumble back, until his back was resting against the wall.
He tried to breathe, yet found he couldn't.
All that resulted was a wheeze sort of sound.
He looked at the man and the kid, and he mouthed, "Cover your eyes." To her.
She stared in horror and surprise, but complied a moment later, small hands covering her eyes.
Seeing this, he looked up at the balcony where Hirano was, seeing him staring in surprise as well.
Takashi forced himself to give one last smile, then did something that he surprised himself with.
He made a fist with his right hand, made his thumb, fore- and middle fingers go straight, the latter two fingers held tightly together while his thumb pointed away from his hand as it would allow, and he pressed it against his head.
He was making a finger gun point at his own head.
He made an inaudible "bang" motion, moving his lips to even fit the onomatopoeia.
Hirano seemed to understand instantly, and as he nodded, he saw Kumoro close his eyes, smile on his face still as he aimed right for his head.
And he pulled the trigger.
The bullet shot through the air, and for Hirano, it was almost as though it were going in slow motion.
Taking its time as it went for his friend's head.
Possibly his first true friend...
He clenched his eyes tightly, awaiting the sickening sound of blood splattering the walls.
Instead the sharp sound of metal scraping against metal filled his ears.
He opened his eyes, jumping in surprise as he saw a man in a white cloak and using a metal hand to hold up his arm at the bullet's point of direction.
Moving his now clenched hand, the man held up the bullet and surveyed it as though it were a new specimen of interest and he was a scientist who was bored enough to do something life threatening just for something to preoccupy themselves.
Then he launched it up as high as he possibly could get in the air, which seemed pretty high.
Anyone watching would know where the bullet was.
For Kessler launched a rocket right at it, and the conductive blast made it form a large sphere in the air, like a distress signal a person would use once lost during a camping trip to the woods at night.
And one duo got the message.
Sasha looked back at the light that suddenly lit up the sky.
Seeing the white electricity, Sasha instantly felt herself come to the realization of who caused the light.
And to Cole's surprise, she teleported herself and him to that location.
He landed on the other side, right where the light was above.
"What the hell was that Sasha?" Cole exclaimed.
Sasha jumped off of his back, and frantically looked around, roaring at the top of her lungs, uncaring of the new unspoken rule of being quiet, "KESSLER! WHERE ARE YOU?!"
When she found no sign of Keser, she went ballistic, "KESSLER!" She roared towards the sky, red eyes glowing terrifyingly.
"M-Mommy? Is that you?" A young girl's voice spoke, and just by that voice, Sasha visibly deflated almost instantly at the recognition of the voice.
Slowly, she turned, eyes widening when she saw her, scared and trembling, peeking through her fingers.
"Alice?" Sasha said, red eyes softening.
She started walking towards her, only for Zeke to aim his gun at her.
The two stared for a moment.
But when Arisa ran from behind Zeke, right towards Sasha, and jumped into her arms, clinging to her as though for dear life, who would blame Zeke for lowering the weapon?
After all, the kid no longer had a father, and the resemblance that the two had made it almost impossible for them to seem to not be blood related.
And so he turned his attention to Cole.
The thinner of the two stared back, before sighing deeply in relief.
"Thank God you're alright Zeke..." Cole head his head.
"Same here brother." Zeke responded, smiling as well, then walked next to him, speaking in a hushed voice, "But would you mind explaining to me why the hell you're running with this crazy ass chick?"
"She's cool man. Don't worry." Cole said.
Zeke gave him a hard look.
"I think." Cole admitted sheepishly.
But...
Sasha squatted next to Arisa, listening to her explain how her father had been killed.
Hearing this, the mother turned to the corpse of the now dead father, and took her daughter's hand in hers, walking to the man and kneeling down again.
"Your father was always a good man." Sasha told Arisa, "He always looked out for others, and would probably give up his own soul just to keep us safe..." She looked down, mouthing to herself so her daughter couldn't hear her, "I only wish I had realized it before..."
She sighed, then felt arms wrap around her.
She looked, and Arisa was wrapping her arms around her.
"I'm... I'm glad to hear that Mom..." Arisa whispered, tears slipping out of her eyes.
Sasha looked, then lifted her hand, wrapping it around Arisa's again.
She looked back at Takashi then, eyes going wide as she saw his features as he lay unmoving.
"Cole, can you do me a favor?" Sasha looked behind her, and Cole walked up to her, only then noticing Takashi, laying behind the clothes wires.
His blue eyes went wide, "Takashi!" He ran, checking his condition.
Seeing the bite, Cole froze.
"Zeke, was he..."
"Yeah, but he hasn't moved an inch since then. I think he's gone."
For a split second, Sasha narrowed her eyes and relaxed them in quick succession.
After looking for a moment, she shook her head.
"He will reawaken. Just give it time."
"How are you so sure?" Zeke asked.
"I was involved with a scientist who helped cause this happen, and I learned that anyone who gains a type of virus before most types of death, they become reborn after a set of hours."
"How do you know he's got the virus?"
"Maybe because he's not of the undead already. Or because of my abilities as a conduit."
"Conduit?"
"People with powers." Cole explained shortly, flaring up his hand with electricity for emphasis.
"Yes. Cole and I are both conduits. But one of my abilities enables me to expand my senses for a short amount, seeing amd hearing practically everything around me, even to the point of seeing someone else's skeleton. All by concentrating on my heartbeat."
Zeke took a moment to think.
"Radar Pulse..."
"What?" Sasha looked up at him.
"Yeah, Radar Pulse. A name for that power. If what you're saying is true." Zeke said bluntly.
"It is true!"
"Then prove it to me. I don't trust government chicks, to be frank."
Sasha didn't care about the fact that her child was right there.
She only stood up, walking to him, then making a stab like motion at him with her fingers.
He flinched, and Sasha still pressed her sharp nails against the left side of his stomach, barely centimeters under his lowest rib, "Your heart is right here. And if you stereotype me or question me again, I will rip it right out. Understood?"
Zeke looked at her, and nodded, "Yeah. I understand."
Barking filled the silence that followed, and Sasha looked to find a small dog barking its head off.
At her.
Sasha took a step back then, looking out at the dead still crowding at the gate.
"We'll need to get out of here. Though I can teleport, getting to the other side won't be an easy task with all of us."
"Maybe I can try using one of those tornadoes again..." Cole mused thoughtfully, following her gaze.
"There'd be too much damage caused to the streets. Though I don't mind a little disaster, I don't want to endanger my child." Sasha said idly.
"What do you propose then?" Cole looked at her.
Sasha responded with action, teleporting away in a flash of red light.
The ground felt as though it were rumbling next moment, and a red wave blew all of the dead away next moment.
Sasha had happened to be at a certain house, just as the inhabitants opened up the gates.
She looked, blinking and covering her eyes as headlights shined brightly in her face.
Then she moved out of the way as the driver started pulling out.
But to her surprise, the car - a humvy from what she could see - stopped when it was next to her.
The door opened, and a light brown haired girl with matching eyes who wasn't wearing anything but clothes for bed.
She gave her a blank stare, "Get in. If you're with Cole, then come with us."
Sasha calculated her face, looking through her own memory to place it.
Miyamoto, Rei
17 years old.
Currently repeating 2nd year of High School.
Daughter of Police Cheif Miyamoto.
Member of Sojustu club at her school (or at least what used to be there).
How Sasha knew those things was simple.
She'd been working with Kessler directly, and almost everyday, he'd be reciting those same information points by heart, as well as several other names and information.
Why Kessler showed such interest in this girl was beyond her.
Cole, maybe.
But the information on her seemed extraneous, if she were to put it lightly.
Regardless, she never questioned him.
But now...
She put thoughts of her former husband out of her mind, nodding mutely.
Climbing into the car, Sasha stayed silent, even as many people in the car gave her looks.
So Cole, Zeke and Arisa, her hand wrapped around Zeke's, and Takashi being carried in a bridal style by Cole with his head laying on his shoulder, were understandably taken aback when a humvy rolled up in front of them.
They got the exact same command as Sasha, and they complied after a moment of staring at the car filled with girls, though the dog hopped inside as well.
When Cole, who was the last to get in, walked in and carefully placed Takashi on the ground, Rei looked at him instantly, "Cole, is Takashi going to be alright?" She said when she saw how much blood caked his body, staining his shirt.
He gave no answer, only sat Takashi upright, then grabbed Rei's hand.
Despite her surprise, Rei let him pull her hand, and he pressed it against Takashi's chest.
Her touch was met with a faint heartbeat.
Her mouth went open slightly in amazement.
"He did get bit, but I can remember feeling a zombie's throat once when all of this crap started. Guy had absolutely no heartbeat at all. But, when I tried healing him with my powers a bit," (Cole admitted it to himself, he wasn't really sure that his powers would work, but after healing that one kid, he thought it might work), "His wound closed right up. And it turns out that my power brought him back to life, though his pulse is almost gone, but still there. I tried." Cole smiled.
Rei processed this information, then broke out into a wide smile, throwing her arms around him, taking him aback and actually making the whole car shift before returning to normal.
"Thank you so much Cole!" Rei yelled, and after a moment, Cole realized that she was crying into his chest.
But when she looked up however, he could see that they were tears of joy.
Poor girl...
The stress of the new world must've taken its toll on her.
Yet as Cole looked around, he could see that everyone in the car, previously seen on the bus, all had generally the same reaction.
The black haired girl who held a wooden sword had her hand hanging off the small opening in the roof of the humvy, and as she looked down into the car, she gave a smile of relief.
The bespectacled pink haired girl only glanced back, and Cole could tell that she was a princess like type of person just from his memory of her attitude and tone as she spoke. And yet she visibly looked relieved, throwing her head on the back of the front seat of the car and sighing heavily, as though suddenly released from a deep burden.
She even had the hint of a smile on her face as this happened.
Cole couldn't see the driver's expression.
Nor could he see the portly kid's face, as he was still halfway out of the hole of the humvy.
Yet no one could see Hirano's troubled expression.
His own friend, the first genuine one he'd had in years, even if it was due to circumstance, had almost gotten killed.
And it was practically all his fault...
He sighed heavily, forcing his attention back to his surroundings.
He couldn't afford to make the same mistake twice, he told himself.
Sasha could be found looking back out the window, looking back at the house from which they escaped from.
If only she hadn't chosen her job over her marriage...
If only...
No, she stopped herself.
It wasn't all her fault.
Kessler was as responsible as she was.
If he had never started this, then her husband would still be alive.
A cruel sneer formed on her face, and she rested her head on the seat, remembering his face, smiling for the last moments of his life.
"Kessler... I'll kill you, you bastard..." she muttered to herself.
Kessler walked in the empty docks, hands in his pockets, leisurely walking as the moon watched over him.
When he reached an abandoned warehouse, he simply used a shockwave to blast its door open, and it went flying amd crashing in.
He walked in with his still cool demeanor, even as the exit was suddenly covered by thrown projectiles, seemingly from around the room.
Kessler simply lifted his hand, pumping electricity into his hand, bright light filling the pitch black room.
"What are you doing here?" What sounded like an old man's voice filled the rooms.
"I only wish to talk to you, Tate."
"Why the Hell would I ever talk to you?"
Kessler suddenly felt an invisible force gripping his body, lifting him up in the air, his hand no longer able to pump out his electricity, bathing him in cloak of darkness, "You bastard, you took away my birth right! You took away everything from me!"
"I'm only here to give you a gift. Or an exchange rather." Kessler replied calmly, not caring at all that he was at the voice's mercy.
"What woukd that be?"
Kessler smiled in the darkness, "How about you tell me the location of any person of my choosing, at any time possible?"
"And in exchange?"
"I'll give you the First Sons, Alden."