HOTD Classmates of the Dead

by The Celestial Sky Dragon

Three friends, an Archer with a paranoid father, a baseball player who sucks at pitching, and an islander who fights with his fists, find themselves in a world where the dead walk and the living become the prey. they will have to band together with friends and foes to survive the cruel reality they have been thrown into. this isn't a movie, or a game. its real life.

13. Chapter 13

Highschool of

the Dead

Chapter 13

Dead Mall

A/N: Here it is everyone, the final Chapter of Classmates of the Dead. Thanks for everyone who stuck with it until the end. I'm still working on Part Two and trust me, it won't be what you all think it will be. thanks and enjoy the story.

When the sun fully went down, was when everyone truly saw how dark the world was. Thanks to the EMP, the entire city, if not country had been thrown into the Darkness. There was no light anywhere, other than the obscure light being cast on the world from the moon. Other than a few fires that had been set, the city of Tokonosu was completely dark. The Mall was Four Blocks away, but four blocks in the dark was way further than anyone could ever walk. With them hanging around, it was even harder. Cody snuck to the side of an abandoned police cruiser. He held his hand up, signaling Rei to stop. He peeked around the front of it, finding it clear. He silently opened the car door and used his flashlight to look around inside.

"Are you sure there are flares here?" he whispered.

"Yes, its standard protocol for all officers on duty to have 12 flares in their cars should they need them." She replied. He nodded and grabbed the keys from the ignition. He slipped them into the glove compartment door and turned it, slowly opening it. Just like she said, inside lay 12 Road Flares. There was also an Orion 12 Gauge Flare Gun with Six Flares for it. He smiled and passed the road flares to the young spear user. He grabbed the Flare Gun and opened it, finding a flare inside it.

"Okay, Six Shells, one in the chamber. This will help us a lot." he muttered, stuffing the shells in his jacket pocket. He put the gun in his empty holster and stood up. He held his flashlight up and flicked it on and off a few times. The rest of his team caught up to them.

"Any luck?" Kohta asked.

"Yeah, we got 12 of them, and a Flare Gun with seven flares. Anyone who doesn't have a flashlight, take a flare. To use them, take the cap off, underneath it is a red strike pad. You pull the white cover off and strike the flare on the pad. It should last a good twenty minutes, but use it only if you need it." he said. They nodded, each taking a flare.

"So now what? Its darker than hell out here." Bishop muttered.
"We keep walking toward the mall, Lily come in." Cody muttered, speaking into his radio.

"Lily here, we're all clear up head. There's a truck I'm using for cover. Over."

"We found some flares, heading to your location now, over."

"Copy that. I'll keep and eye out. Over and out."

Cody stuffed the small device in his pocket and started moving forward. He strained his vision a bit, but was able to see the truck Lily was using for cover. They were near an off ramp, most likely the one Takashi had used to get down to the river. He broke into a sprint, being as quiet as he could. He took cover behind some yellow water barrels. He peeked over them, seeing nothing.

"Hey, we should fill our bottles here." Saya muttered.

"Good idea sweetheart." he said, taking the cover off one of the barrels. Inside were several gallons of water. He took a handful, spitting it back out. "Sea water." he muttered.

"Oh well, it was a good idea." Rin said.

"Lets move." he muttered, standing up. He sprinted ahead, meeting up with Lily who dropped down from the top of the truck. She ran ahead again, being as quiet as she could. She ducked behind a car, disappearing from sight. However, the world wasn't going to make it easy on them. She let out a yelp in surprise, jumping back from three infected that had been finishing off their meal. Thinking on impulse, she let out three rounds from her rifle, their sound echoed through they empty streets. Cody grit his teeth.
"Run, stay down and be quiet." he said, ushering everyone to the front. They luckily made it out of the area fine, without attracting any more attention. They made it to another exit, and ducked behind the water barrels, all of them were breathing hard.

"Sorry, I had to do it. It won't happen again." Lily said.
"Don't worry about it. I know it makes noise, but never hesitate to pull that trigger." He said.

"How close are we now?" Rei asked. Saya strained her vision to see the sign. Cody shined his light to it.

"Half a mile." she muttered.

"We're not doing to bad. If we keep pacing ourselves and aiming for the exits, we can make it just..."

"SOMEBODY HELP ME."

Cody's head snapped to the other direction. He looked around, trying to find the source of the scream. It was clearly feminine, and near them. The girl screamed again, her voice echoing through the streets.

"Goddamn it bitch, shut up." Nick muttered. Cody strained his vision, trying to see.

"Its coming from down there, near the over pass." Rin said, using her Night Vision goggles to see. Cody saw a few fires had been set in that area. Another scream tore through the area, and he grit his teeth. He looked around, trying to find something he could use among the abandoned cars. He succeeded in finding a Skateboard. He ran to it and grabbed it

"Uh..what the hell are you doing?" Saya asked.

"Someone down there needs help. If there's someone out there worth saving, then I'm going to help them." he said, heading over to exit.

"Goddamn it, don't risk yourself for someone you don't even know. She could be dead by now." Bishop said. Another scream tore through the area, followed by groans. He smirked.

"She doesn't sound dead to me." he said.

"That's not the fucking point, remember what Takashi.."

"I know what he said, that I was the leader if he died, so what..I've made my choice, I'm not letting anyone else die if I can help it. So back off. Kohta, lead them to the mall. I will send a signal flare in Twenty Minutes, if I don't..then I'm most likely surrounded or worse." He said. The teen nodded in understanding. He looked over at Saya who had her arms crossed.

"I'm not going to say anything. I know your coming back. Bitten or not, I'll expect you back." She said.
"Don't worry, I'll be fine. After we make it to the mall, we'll spend some time together, just you and me. I love you babe."

"Love you too, now go, before she becomes lunch." She said. He smiled and forward. He hopped on the board and rode down the downward incline. He pulled out one of his shotguns, cocking it back. He took aim at the first infected and pulled the trigger, he used the gun's kick to change his direction a bit. He cocked it back and fired again, blowing an infected's shoulder clean off. He cocked it back once more and did a Nose Manual on his board. He grabbed the back end and jumped off of it, breaking into a sprint down the hill. He grabbed his gun's stock tightly and fired it, killing a fourth infected, he spun on his heel, and took out a fifth with his board. He reached the bottom of the hill, and looked around.

"Where is she?" he muttered dryly.

"HELP, PLEASE GOD HELP ME."

His head snapped to the right, seeing a shadow being cast on a wall, thanks to the flaming barrels that had been left behind. He hopped on his board and rode there was fast as he could. He reached another street, finding the source of the screaming. A young girl, possibly his age was on top of a Van. Several infected has surrounded her and were shaking the van. She had curly blonde hair, and was wearing a blue blazer, which was ripped and stained with blood. She also had a loosened tie around her neck, with a white dress shirt, which had been unbuttoned to half way, revealing her cleavage. She had on a plaid red skirt, part of it was ripped, and she was wearing dirty white socks, with black boots. She let out another scream as an infected reached for her leg. Cody got off his board and gave a shrill whistle. The infected looked his way and started shambling toward him, though a few still tried getting the girl. He smirked and cocked his gun back.

"Come at me bitches." he said, pulling the trigger. His first shot blew apart two infected. He took a second, and a third, blowing off arms and legs. He fired his last shot, blowing an infected's head clean off. He grabbed the gun by the barrel and rose it above his head. He brought it down hard, snapping an infected woman's neck. He brought it up again and took her out, teeth and blood flew all over the place. He he took a step back, almost tripping on his skateboard. He grit his teeth as he hit the side of a car.

"Okay, way in over my head." he muttered. He kept walking toward his right, loading shells into his gun. He cocked it back and took aim, blowing three infected apart.

"Look out." the girl cried, he turned around, almost being hit by an infected. He jumped back a few feet, scared out of his mind. Before him, an infected stood, at a low crouch. He was wearing a black hooded jacket, with the hood up. Its hands were covered in blood, and it was walking barefoot. He could see duct tape around the pant legs and sleeves, almost as if it did that to reduce air resistance. It let out a low growl. All the other infected backed away for some reason or another. Cody took a few steps back.

"What the fuck is that thing?" he muttered to himself. The infected lunged at him, almost as if it were a pouncing cat. He reacted quick enough to slam the butt of his gun into its face. He quickly blasted it in the face. It merely jumped back, unaffected by the close range blast. He grit his teeth, looking for an angle. He smirked and drew his flare gun. He remembered it had a round in the chamber. He pulled the hammer back and stared at the new infected. As soon as it lunged, he fired the gun, the red flare slammed into its face, setting its hood and hair on fire. It screamed in apparent pain before dropping to the ground limp. Cody loaded another flare into his gun and took aim at the car's gas tank, if it exploded, it would kill all of the infected near it. He closed his eyes and fired the gun. The flare hit its mark, igniting the tank. It caught fire rather quickly, before exploding. Thankfully, he had taken cover behind an overturned Pick Up truck.

"Jeez, attract all of them over why don't ya?" he heard the girl said. He chuckled and came out of hiding. A few infected still lingered, nothing that he couldn't handle. He took them out with the last of his shells. He held his hand out to the girl.

"Sorry, sometimes you have to get reckless if you want to live." he said. She rolled her eyes and took his hand, jumping off from the car roof. She hugged him tightly.

"I don't care who you are, but when we get to safety I am rewarding you any way you like." she said.

"Sorry miss, I have a girlfriend. Names Cody, you?"

"Melanie, Tokonosu Public High School, Class 2-B, Roster 32." she said, shaking his hand. He looked around the area, hearing a few infected.

"Alright, lets get out of here. Take this." he said, handing her one of his side arms, a Beretta 92FS and several magazines.

"I don't know how to use this." She said.
"Well your going to learn today. Flip the safety off and pull the slide back. When you run out of ammo, press the side button and load a new magazine into the handle, push till it clicks then pull the slide back. Simple. Now lets move." he said, pushing her ahead of him. At least if he had a clear view of where she was, he'd be able to protect her better.

"Where are we going?" she asked, still a bit shaken up about before. They got to an open street and took cover behind a dumpster.

"The mall, I got friends there. We were on our way when we heard you. Lucky for you, I'm a good guy." he said, loading more shells into his shotgun.

"Y-yeah. I would have surely died if it wasn't for you. My friends and I were blasted off the bridge by the cops. I was the only one that made it to shore. I met up with one of my friends on the other side, but he..."

"I understand. Alright, we got a long walk if we want to make it back onto the highway. Its dark as hell, so stay near me. Your gun has a flashlight, so turn it on and don't fire unless you have too." he said, standing up. She fumbled with the flashlight for a second before turning it on. Cody rose his gun to his shoulder and looked around, just in case he had to fire. His mind was still trying to figure out what that infected was. The way it lunged at him made him reel back. Its yellow eyes still bore into his mind. He didn't know what the infection was doing to human bodies, but that certainly wasn't a normal infected. He ran up the street, turning at the corner. He clicked his tongue and looked around for something to use. Maybe one of the cars around here still worked.

"Hey, Melanie, do you know this area?" he whispered.

"A little bit. Me and my friends used to ditch school for the arcade. Looking for something?" she asked.

"Is there a Bike Shop around here?" he asked.

"Um..I think so." she said, looking up at the sky. She was lost in thought for a few seconds, before gasping. "Yeah, its this way. But bikes and cars don't work, why would we go there?" She asked.

"Just lead me there, I can handle the rest." he said. He looked at his watch. The Twenty Minute deadline was almost upon him. They quietly moved up the street, passing by a few stores. They both stopped at the street corner and peeked around the building. There were a few lit oil drums around the area, as well as lingering infected.

"What do we do? The Bike shop is up that way." Melanie muttered.

"We're going to kill them." he said, walking around the corner. He slammed the butt of his gun into a car window, shattering it on impact. All the infected turned to him and shambled his way. He took aim and pulled the trigger, nailing the first one in the chest. He cocked his gun and took a second shot, blasting its head off. He shot the second one in the side of the head, and took out the one behind it. There were three left. He looked at Melanie, who was shaking in place, gun raised.

"Shoot." he said.

"I'm scared." she said.

"I get that, but this is life now. Its either you pull that trigger, or you get killed by them. Make a choice." he said.

"I wanna live." she said, pulling the trigger. She yelped a bit from the kickback. The bullet sailed past the infected, who kept walking toward her.

"Steady your breathing, take aim and pull the trigger." He said.

"Why don't you kill it?" she shouted.

"You need practice. And what better way than hands on?" he said. She couldn't really argue with his logic. She took a deep breath and steeled her nerves a bit. She took aim at the infected, who snapped its jaws at her. She pulled the trigger, shooting it dead in the nose.

"I did it." she cheered, jumping a bit. Cody tried to ignore the bouncing breasts and took a shot, nailing an infected in the abdomen. Blood and guts poured out from the hole and it fell back to the ground.

"Fuck." he muttered. Melanie took another shot, getting the last infected in the eye. She ran forward, aiming at the one on the ground.

"Choke on my lead bitch." she cried out, pulling the trigger. Blood splattered all over her shirt and legs.

"Alright, no more catchphrases. Lets move." he said, running past her. She quickly caught up, the sounds of her boots clacking on the ground echoed through the area. They reached the shop, which was pitch black on the inside. Several motorcycles and regular bikes were parked outside. He looked around, finding all of the ones outside useless. He tested the doors, but they were firmly locked.

"Stand back." he said. Melanie nodded and took a few steps back. He slammed the stock of his gun on the glass, shattering it. He stuck his hand through the hole, careful not to cut himself and turned the lock. He opened the door, and let the blonde girl inside, before stepping in himself. He locked the door behind them.

"What are we going to find here?" she asked.

"New gear. I'm almost out of shotgun shells, and I only have my spare Spas, which I don't want to use unless I have too. We need to move fast, with all of those shots we let out, this place will be swarming. Not to mention, I have to make sure my friends are okay." he said, he pulled a flare from his belt and struck it against the pad, a bright red light filled the room, giving him a better view of his surroundings.

"Man, you even have road flares. You must be well prepared, I like guys like that." she purred.

"Sorry, like I said before, I have a girlfriend." he said firmly. He looked around the store for something they could use.

"Hmm, well she can join us if that's an issue. I'm sure in this world, she'd want to try everything she could before dying."

"I somehow doubt my girl would enjoy kissing another girl. She's pretty straight." he said. He grabbed a vest from a rack and looked it over. It wasn't too bad, but not good enough.

"Bummer." She said, playing with a strand of her hair. She leaned up against the counter and crossed her legs. He grabbed some Elbow and Knee pads and tossed them to her.

"Put those on, we don't need you to break a joint." he said. She nodded and ripped the packaging open.

"Uh..there's one outside." She said, looking up at the doors. Cody calmly walked over to the doors and unlocked them. He pushed the door open, letting the infected into the shop. He swept it off its feet, slamming it hard on the ground. He stabbed his tactical knife through its forehead, ending its life. He drew the knife, splashing blood on the clean floor. He locked the doors and went back to looking. He grabbed a black shirt and threw it at her.

"Take your shirt off and put this on. At least until we reach the mall. Your skirt is fine for now." he said. She smirked.

"Is that an excuse to see the girls?"

"No Melanie, its really not. After, put on this jacket, we'll be ready to leave then." he said, placing a black leather jacket, along with some fingerless leather gloves on the counter top. He moved towards the show room, where several models of bikes and motorcycles were on display. He'd have to siphon some fuel from the cars outside, or maybe by some miracle of God, there was a working pump around them. He looked around, finally finding what he was looking for.

"This will definitely work." he muttered to himself. The bike he had selected was a Kawasaki KX 85. A really good model dirt bike. Luckily, it was a kick start model, which would survive an EMP blast. He opened the tank and smelled it, he sighed.

"Outta gas. How the hell are we getting this to start?" he muttered.

"There's a pump out back. Its really old and might still work." Melanie said. She had taken off her blazer and torn shirt, replacing it with the black shirt and tight fitting jacket. She left it halfway zipped, leaving her cleavage to show. He looked away, almost having a nose bleed. He grabbed the bike and pulled it from its display. He put the kick stand up and wheeled it towards the doors.

"Grab my Shotgun, and the flare." he said. She nodded and grabbed his gun off the counter. She smirked a bit and slowly bent over, making sure her skirt was riding up.

"Come on, you know you want too." she said.

"Sorry, the answer is still no." he said, though in his mind were a bunch of other things.

"Then I'm just going to have to fuck you both. But I'm not dying a virgin. That's for damn sure, and I don't want any of your friends, I want you." she said firmly. He sighed.

"I really screwed the pooch with this one. Maybe I should have kept walking." he thought. He immediately felt guilty for thinking something like that. He opened the doors and wheeled the bike out, heading toward the back. Luckily, the few infected that were around didn't hear him. True to her word, at the back of the shop, a vintage pump stood. It was in perfect condition too. He parked the bike next to it and grabbed the nozzle.

"How the hell do these things work again?" he asked himself. He uncapped the bike's fuel tank and put the nozzle in it. He looked around the pump, finding a small lever, which he pulled down. A soft ding was heard and the fuel started pumping. He sighed and looked around for infected, hopefully the ding wouldn't attract them. He drew his Flare Gun from his holster and pulled the barrel down. He pulled the spent flare casing out and tossed it aside, before replacing it with a new one. He had a minute before he had to fire that flare.

"Uh..Cody..we got an infected coming this way." Melanie said, a bit worried.

"Shoot it." he said.

"Next to a fuel pump?" she asked.

"Not like we have a choice. Use the Shotgun, raise it up to your shoulder, leading foot first, aim for the chest and lean into it before pulling the trigger. Then just cock it back to release the empty shell." he said leaning back against the pump.

"Dude, why don't you do it?"

"You wanna live? Learn to use a gun." he said simply.

"Fine, but if I kill it, you have to kiss me." she said smugly.

"Kill it and I'll consider it." he replied, looking away from her. She took a deep breath and rose the gun to her shoulder.

"Okay Melanie, you can do this. Leading foot forward, lean into the gun, aim for the chest, pull the trigger." she thought to herself. The infected inched ever closer. She took a deep breath and pulled the trigger. The kick back forced her back a few inches, but she was able to blow its head clean off. She smiled and looked at Cody.

"Do I get my kiss now?"

"I said I'd consider it, that wasn't a yes. Anyway, I'm done fueling." he said, pulling the nozzle out of the fuel tank. He put the cap back onto the pump and swung his leg over it. He pressed a switch on the handle bar, and pulled out the kick starting bar.

"Um, are you sure this will work?" Melanie asked.

"I used to ride these to school back in Paris. The laws there are looser than they are here, so I learned to ride one of these when I was younger." he said. He kicked down as hard as he could, igniting the engine. "Yeah, it still works." he said, feeling extremely happy.

"Good, more infected coming at us." She said, jumping into the bike. Cody revved the engine a few times to warm it up. He smirked.

"Hang on. This is going to be a bumpy ride." he said, she placed the shot gun in the empty space of his vest and clung to his waist. He shifted to first gear and let go of the brakes, zooming past the infected. He took a left turn, going up the side street. Thankfully, this bike had a head light so seeing around wasn't so bad.

"Okay, this thing is making a helluva racket. We need to reach the mall without attracting the infected." he said.

"Take a left here. I know this whole area like the back of my hand. There's an off ramp at the end of his street." Melanie said, pointing forward, he nodded and sped up. Melanie let out a yelp in surprise as he popped a wheelie and having it been her first time on a bike, she wasn't expecting it. He moved through a pile up of cars, all of them heading toward the off ramp.

"Fuck, all of these cars are in the way." he muttered.

"Uh...take a right then, and swing around, there's another off ramp that way." she said. He nodded and slipped through the gaps left between the cars. Once he was clear, he floored it up the street.

"Fuck, there's a shitload over here." She cried, glancing to her left.

"I take it the off ramp is in this direction?" he asked, looking at the crowd of infected that now were shambling his way.
"Yeah." she muttered. He cracked his neck and reached for his pocket.

"I promised my sister I'd use this for emergencies only, but fuck it." he said. In his hand was a Frag Grenade. He pulled the pin and tossed it into the crowd.

"Jesus Christ." Melanie cried, as the grenade exploded. Blood, guts and limbs rained down on the street. He floored it past the bloodied street, avoiding the now visible pot hole in the ground. He shifted to fourth gear, speeding up the ramp. He drifted into the highway, almost slamming into a van that had been parked on the shoulder. He pulled to a stop and drew his flare gun.

"What are you doing?" she asked.

"Signaling my friends." he said, pulling the trigger. The flare burst into the sky with a loud popping sound. A large red ball flowered in the sky, and was slowly coming to the ground. With that taken care of, he floored it up the street, avoiding cars that had been abandoned on the lanes. Melanie sighed and leaned against his back.
"I'm so tired." she muttered.

"Go ahead and rest if you want. We'll be at the mall soon enough." he muttered. She gave him a light nod, before falling asleep. He made sure her hands were secure around his waist, in case he had to do a bit of off road riding. He dug his hand in his pocket and pulled out his radio.

"Lily, status report."

"Cody, thank Christ. We're at the mall parkinglot. There's a lot of them here. We're currently surveying the area from a nearby roof top. What the hell is that sound?"

"Nothing important. I'm on the freeway with the girl I rescued. She passed out from exhaustion, so I'll need a volunteer to carry her. ETA 10 Minutes."

"Copy that. Over and out."

He focused on the road ahead. If the parkinglot of the mall was filled with infected, that meant he had to clear them out before making a way into the mall. They didn't need to attract unwanted attention. With his engine though, he'd have a hard time avoiding them. Maybe he could use that to his advantage, round them up and the lure them elsewhere. Then there was that infected he saw. He hoped never to see one of those again, but the way the world was currently, made him realize that he might not get his wish. He sighed in relief when he saw the sign that said Taiei Shopping Town Up Ahead. He sped up, closing the distance to the off ramp. He swung around as fast as he could, once the guard rails had ended, he went off road, cutting across the grass. He almost wiped on when he hit asphalt, but fixed himself in time. He reached the entrance to the mall and pulled over. He saw tons of infected roaming in the area. He killed the engine as to not attract any unwanted attention.

"Cody, I can see you, turn around."

It was Saya's voice this time. He turned around, seeing a fairly large building behind him. All of his friends were on top of the building. Kohta was of course Scoping the area, and Lily was lining shots up with her Hecate.

"I see you too. What's the plan?" he asked.

"Now that you have an actual working bike, we can lure them away from the mall entrance."

"Do you think a satchel charge would be enough to take them out?"

"If you want to alert all of Tokonosu. Remember what happened back at the estate? That could happen here, and we don't want that."

"Your right. Send someone down here to take Melanie, I'll distract them and you run for the doors." he said.

"You know, for once I'd like it if someone else would alert the infected. I'm sick of seeing you risk your life."

"Sorry sweetie, it'll be quick I promise." he said.

"Fine, Nick is on his way."

Nick cautiously walked over to where Cody was parked. He gave him a little smirk while slinging his gun across his back.

"You seem to attract all the ladies." he said.

"Oh trust me, I wish it would be that way. This one has a thing for me now. Don't let Saya know, she'd probably shoot me." he said. Nick picked the girl up and started walking back.

"This is going to make a real racket, so don't move from there until its all clear." he said.

"Will do." he replied.

"Also.." he paused for a second, thinking his words over. Nick looked at him oddly, glancing back in curiosity. The girl in his arms stirred, but remained asleep. "I don't know how to explain this, but on the way here, I ran into a new breed of infected. Don't tell anyone about this until we're all in the mall. If you see any of them wearing a hood, don't hesitate to shoot it. Make sure it hits multiple times, single shots don't work." He said. Nick looked at him wide eyed before nodding.

"I'll keep my eye out." he said, walking off. Cody pulled the kick starter down and rested his foot on it. He sighed.

"I seriously need to stop being the bait." he said, kicking down hard. The bike whirled to life. He revved the engine a few times before flooring it up the street. He drifted into the parkinglot revving the engine has hard as he could. All of the infected turned toward him, heading his way. He drove off as they got nearer, stopping every so often so the heard didn't loose interest. Once he lead them out of the parkinglot, he lead them up the street, as far as he could. He left the bike parked on the road, having taped the brake handle so it wouldn't move, he shifted it into Fourth gear and ran off. Leaving a good bike behind was hard, but he couldn't risk it at the moment. It took him Twenty minutes to reach the mall, since he had to stay hidden from the infected, but once he made it, he ran as fast as he could. The front doors had been left open, and once he slipped inside, he locked them and firmly taped the handles so they wouldn't open. He found himself in the Food Court.

"Is everyone here?" he asked, looking around the spacious area. The tables had been moved to the side, but a few of them were being used by his friends.

"All present and accounted for, except for Saeko and Takashi that is." Kohta said. Cody nodded and looked around, the sky lights were at least providing sufficient light from the moon, but the rest of the mall was pretty dark.

"It looks pretty safe, be we take no chances. We'll need to barricade all entrances on the first floor. We'll leave the fire exit on the second floor open for when Takashi and Saeko reach us. For now, we need to clear the area of infected. There's no knowing how many are in here, of there are any at all, but treat this situation as if we were outside. We'll need a scout on the roof, volunteers?"

"I'll take the roof. I need to make myself useful." Rin said, grabbing her M 200 and slinging it over her shoulder. Bishop grabbed his rifle off the table.

"I'll go with you." he said.

"Take some flares, if you see them, light their path. That leaves us with the searching. If the stores are closed, try finding some keys. The security kiosk should have some. Kohta, you and Lily take the Third Floor, Nick and Rei take the second, I'll check the First with Saya. Shizuka, Alice and Savannah, barricade this entrance. Be as quiet as you can. Also if you can, check to see if there are gas stoves here, their igniting mechanism should still work, but in case it doesn't we can always use matches to light them." he said.

"Alright, you got your orders, lets move out." Nick said.

"What about survivors?" Rei asked.

"If their hostile, kill them." he said simply.

"We can't kill people. What the hell man?" Bishop asked.

"I don't give two fucks what you think. They try to kill you, you kill them. Or you die. Simple as that." he said, grabbing his rifle. He turned its light on and started out of the food court.

"What about the new girl?" Nick asked.

"Induct her into our group, give her a gun and don't let her out of your sight. And for the love of all that is good in the world, don't let her near me. I doubt I can survive another hour alone with her." he muttered. Saya narrowed her eyes, but remained quiet. They stopped, having reached a gate of sorts, which blocked off the area to the Grocery half of the mall. He looked around for an opening, but found none. He set his gun down and took a firm hold of the gate. He pulled up with all his might, grunting a bit.

"Need some help there?" Saya asked.

"Sure, if your willing to hurt yourself." he said with a chuckle. She rolled her eyes and grabbed the gate as best she could.

"One..Two..Three."

With a grunt and some elbow grease, the lock snapped and the gate rolled up, slamming into the ceiling with a loud clang. He sighed and grabbed his rifle.

"Well, now we'll know if this place is filled with them no?" he asked. He trained his gun ahead of him but nothing came. Saya jingled some keys, a smile on her face.

"Man, this place was run by shit security." She said. They moved on to the nearest door and opened it. The hall looked clear of them, but one couldn't be too sure.

"This looks clear, but just to make sure." he gave a shrill whistle, which echoed down the hall. He waited for a few seconds before closing the door. "Yup, all clear, lets check the other side before heading through the Grocery Store." he said. She nodded and lead him back towards the West Hallway.

"Listen, what did you mean? Not being able to live another hour alone with her?" Saya asked. He sighed.
"That girl, Melanie was surrounded by lots of infected. Since I rescued her, I think she gained an interest in me. She sees me as a hero and feels the need to reward me. She tried getting me to have sex with her, and she was making everything increasingly difficult. I couldn't do anything without her trying something." he said. He unlocked the gates and rose them up. The next area seemed to be clear as well.

"So, she wants you to have sex with her? Any reason why?" she asked.

"Something about not dying a virgin. She also said she'd fuck you if it came to it."

"I don't think I'm down for that. I'll keep her in check, you just focus on this." She said. They reached a door, but as they went to unlock it, they saw several screws had been screwed into the frame, through the door. Several boards had also been added. He tapped the door lightly, only to receive groans.

"Infected. Someone must have trapped them, which means there's other people here." he said. He glanced at the Escalators, the only way other than the Fire Exit to the second floor. He pulled the bolt of his gun, loading a round into the chamber. He slowly made his way up to the second floor. It was pitch black, as no skylights were over the area. Unlike the First Floor, which had the Food Court's Skylights, the second floor had no such fixtures. It made it all the more difficult to see. Once he made it to the top of the Escalator, he sat down, leaning on the railing for cover.

"Saya, do you still have that Flare?" he asked.

"I do. Your gonna use it? What if you start a fire?"

"I doubt that'd happen. I just want to know, in case something happens." he muttered. He slung his rifle and drew his Five Seven. He turned the Flashlight on and switched the safety off. He shined it up ahead, seeing nothing but closed off stores, their gates still lowered. He also saw a large Map Kiosk, with several maps still on it. A few tables were over turned and several papers littered the floor. Even a large plant had been tipped over. He clicked his tongue and looked at Saya.

"I'll go ahead and get a map. Wait 30 seconds before moving ahead."

"Got it." she whispered. He turned back around looking at his target, he moved up to the last step and broke into a sprint. He took cover behind the large kiosk. He looked ahead of him, shining his light. At the far end of the hall was another gate, which seemed empty. A few manikins had been thrown around, and another pot had been tipped over, along with a few broken benches. He grabbed one of the maps and opened it. He was able to find the Second Floor Kiosk rather quickly. He looked behind him and matched one of the stores with the map. He nodded to himself.

"Right place. Right spot." he said. Saya joined him, having crouched down behind the pot.

"Any luck?" she asked.
"This whole hall is filled with Outlet stores. The Grocery store is on the first floor, it seems everything from here on out is just clothing stores." he said.

"So, we should be able to find something around here right?" she asked.

"Yeah, wait..says here that and the end of this long hallway, there's a Bed Store. We might find people there." He said. He took a look ahead of him, but saw nothing but pitch black.

"Then lets move." she said. He nodded and rose his gun. They walked as calmly and as quietly as they could. It was kinda hard to do with Saya's boots constantly clacking on the tile floor, but he pushed through it. They passed by a Victoria Secret and stopped, seeing a light within. It was one of the only stores without its gate down. Saya placed her hand on the door, about to open it when he stopped her.

"I'll go, you wait here. If you hear voices, use that Flare to signal the others. Oh, and scream, as loud as you can." he said.

"Stop being the hero. Can we for one not do this?" she asked. He kissed her firmly and took her hand off the door handle.

"Sorry, but its my job to protect you. Now go over there." he said. She sighed and walked off. He tested the doors, only for them to be locked. He reached in his pocket and grabbed his key ring, which had the Master key to every single store. After finding the keys to the Second Floor, he slipped one into the slot. He turned it, hearing a light click. He shoved the keys in his pocket and firmly grasped the door. He aimed his gun up and pulled it open, slipping inside. He heard voices, faint ones. Where every they were, it seemed to be the center of the store itself. He moved to the front counter and hid behind it. He tried to steady his breathing.

"Man, I can't believe those assholes locked us up in here. We're people too." a voice said, it was clearly feminine.

"Yeah, we have to fight back some how. Just because we're Highschool Kids doesn't mean we can get pushed around." another said, this one was clearly male.

"There isn't much we can do. For now we wait and negotiate some terms with them. After all, one of them is a Police officer. They can't hole up on the Third Floor for ever. If any thing, we can take the Second Floor over and prevent them from making their way down to the grocery store." a third voice said. This one was a bit stricter than the other two.

"This is bullshit. We can't just sit here twiddling our thumbs. I'm getting sick of looking at panties and lacy bras. And the power is still out. I need video games or something." the male said. Cody went to stand up, maybe he could form a little alliance with these people. If they were his age, then they'd be more lenient than adults. However, he made the mistake of grabbing the cash register, which had been an older model. It dinged loudly as the drawer opened. He grit his teeth.

"What was that?"

"Sounds like the cash register. Lets move."

"Fuck." he said, getting up. He made his way to the doors, slamming into a manikin that had been near the front. He burst through the doors, almost bumping into an infected.

"What the fuck?" he shouted.

"They got up here somehow, I don't know from where." Saya shouted, shooting the infected nearest him. Its head burst, splattering blood on his face and shirt. He grit his teeth and grabbed the flare from Saya's belt. He struck it on and threw it forward. It illuminated the entire hall, which had filled with infected.

"Holy fuck." he said, by the time, the people in the store had ran outside. He grabbed his rifle and opened fire, not caring if he was in Fully Automatic. The gun shots rung through the area.

"What the hell is this? This whole floor was clear when we were shoved in here."

"They must have lured them in here, in case we tried braking free."

Cody's eyed widened, recognizing the voice. He looked to his right, seeing a young girls face dimly lit in the red light of the flare. She was wearing a dark red blazer, which was buttoned all the way up. She also had a bolo tie, tied into a bow around her neck. She was wearing a matching skirt, and long black stockings. She also wore black combat boots, tied with red laces. She had long black hair, which reached down past her neck. Her face held nothing more but seriousness, even in their situation. She had an academy crest on her right breast, which looked like a shield, with two black squares and two white squares. There was a crown atop it, with wings on either side. On the bottom, the words High School were embroidered and at the top, it read Hope's Peak.

"Cody, what the hell start shooting." Saya shouted. He returned to the task at hand and loaded a new magazine into his rifle. He drew his shotgun from his vest and held it out.

"Big guy, can you handle it?" he asked. The tall teenager, who was dressed in a white shirt, a long trench coat and brown pants and boots smirked.
"Hell yeah." he said, taking the gun. He pulled out his Spas and held it out as well.
"Think you can handle it miss?" he asked, the brunette girl shook a bit but took the gun anyway. The last gun he held out was his Five Seven. He looked at the girl dressed in the school uniform, a smile on his face.

"Its a surprise seeing you too. But I hope you can handle it, Mukuro."

End of Part One