Resolve of the Undead
Chapter Thirteen:
Saturday, Three Days after Z-Day
Saeko woke first, the early morning rays of sunlight had trickled under the doorway of the shrine. She could hear "them" outside of their small sanctuary. She closed her eyes and willed the monsters to go away. She was comforted by the steady rhythm of Takashi's heartbeat. Her mind couldn't forget what waited for them outside, regardless of the pleasure she took in sharing these quiet moments with Takashi.
"You don't suppose the Giants are playing today?" Takashi whispered.
Saeko smiled in spite of the situation. "I believe they rescheduled."
"That's a shame, I was looking forward to attending the game with you," Takashi said. His fingers ran through her hair, untangling the long tresses. "I wanted to continue to share lunch with you, go shopping at the market, and meet your father." His fingers stilled in her hair.
Saeko would have liked those things too. "I wanted to see you on the baseball team wearing that tight white uniform with the blue stripes."
"I hadn't even tried out for the team yet, but I had imagined looking into the stands and seeing my girlfriend, the upperclassman, shouting out for me. Everyone on the team would be jealous," Takashi said. "They'd want to know how a punk like me won the affections of such a beautiful lady."
Saeko laid against him for a few moments longer, before she sat up. "If you'll excuse me, I need to make use of that portable toilet," she said, blushing in embarrassment.
"Ah, well I think I'll go make use of that potted bamboo plant in the far corner," Takashi said. He took hold of her face and sealed his lips against hers. "Nature calls, don't be embarrassed about it, Saeko."
They took care of their respective business and then Saeko returned to their make-shift sleeping palate. She kneeled on the blanket and picked up her sword and examined its fine blade.
Takashi returned and sat lotus-style next her. "We'll have to make a run for it. I can hear that many of "them" have gathered outside. We won't know how bad the situation is until we open that door," he whispered.
"We know they follow prey based on sound. Do you think they can smell us as well?" Saeko asked.
"I don't know," Takashi said with a shrug. "Maybe, but I don't think so. They don't seem to notice us when we're moving between them quietly. Surely, there are other noises to have attracted their attention — animals in the wild, the water buggy — though I'm sure it's run out of gas by now, and other survivors."
'Unless there were no other survivors,' Saeko thought. "After the shopping center, we'll head to the police station and then the elementary school?"
"Yes," Takashi said. He stood and offered his hand. Saeko took his hand, appreciating his strong, dry grip. "Let's go."
Takashi opened the door of the shrine, Saeko held her new katana over her shoulder ready for action. His gun was loaded, but he would try to avoid using the ammunition. He hefted the wooden board they used to secure the door and he frowned. 'Too heavy,' he mouthed to her.
She nodded. They would be relying on Saeko's defense. Their immediate path looked clear. They stepped out together, walking several meters before the hordes of zombies became visible. The ground had been littered with the broken, bloody bodies of humans, cats, rabbits, rats, what looked like a deer, and several other unidentifiable creatures.
Saeko stood frozen before the scene of carnage and felt absolutely lost. How could she clear a path for her and Takashi? Was it all over before it ever began? If she did clear a path wouldn't she become a monster herself? Wouldn't the carnage she left behind be just as savage? A tear slipped from her eye.
Takashi stood behind her, his chest pressed flush against her back and his groin snug against her buttocks. His right arm banded around her chest and he held her breast possessively. "If you need a reason, then do it for me, Saeko. No matter how tainted you are, I'll still admire you for as long as I'm alive! I still think you're an amazing woman! So don't die! Don't let me die! Be your true self, along with all your faults," he whispered vehemently in her ear.
Saeko felt a calm wash over her. The calm that a warrior would feel before the savagery of a battle. "I'll consent to that."
She pushed past the zombies. Takashi kept close behind, navigating their path for her. She bobbed and weaved past the hordes, pushing some aside and either slicing off heads or impaling through the soft tissue of the eye socket and mouth of others. Her main concern was whether or not her sword would become stuck within the skeleton of one of "them", but fate was on her side that day. Many of the zombies were able to be redirected, and she was able to utilize quick thrusts of her blade to disconnect the brain of many of the others.
They ran past the park to see that the water buggy had exhausted its gas supply. Dozens of zombies shuffled past the swing sets and circled the fountain. The crunch of the fallen autumn leaves under their feet seemed to attract the zombies attention, but their slow movements allowed Saeko and Takashi to easily outrun them.
Saeko utilized her skills in competitive Kendo to analyze the movements of "them". They shambled and they lunged, but they weren't particularly fast. However, they didn't seem to grow tired. She remembered a children's story her father used to read her about the tortoise and the hare. Slow and steady won the race.
Navigating the abandoned vehicles in the streets proved one of the hardest struggles. Not only did they have to worry about the zombies wandering on foot, but they discovered the undead inside the cars, and sometimes under the cars.
Takashi gripped Saeko's arm and pulled her back towards him. Saeko enjoyed a moment of being held against him, her free hand rested gently upon his chest just over his pounding heart. He pointed to the beige sedan to their right. Underneath the vehicle one of "them" pulled itself forward with claw-like hands, it slid out from the car and created a gory trail behind it where its intestines dragged upon the asphalt. The lower half of the zombie's body from the waist down was absent. It could have easily grasped Saeko's ankle without her having enough warning to evade.
'Thank you,' she mouthed to Takashi. He winked at her and then continued to point out the direction they needed to go. With reluctance, Saeko stepped away from Takashi's protective embrace and led. She kept a wide berth of the vehicles this time.
Winded, but otherwise unharmed, the duo covered the distance from the shrine towards the shopping center. They ran at their maximum capacity the entire duration. Saeko's heart pounded from the intense cardiac exercise and her adrenaline levels soared. It was hard for her to tell if she was excited or terrified — probably a blend of both.
"Takashi, I have something to ask of you," Saeko said. She flung the blood and gore off her blade onto the concrete at their feet. She'd have to take some time to properly care for the blade once they reached relative safety inside the shopping center.
"What is it?" Takashi asked. He wiped the back of his hand across his forehead. His school uniform was stained a darker color with sweat. His face was flushed from the excursion of their mad dash to the rendezvous point.
"Takashi, take responsibility. Do it for me," Saeko said. Lord Takagi said Takashi was their leader, but he couldn't take responsibility. She didn't believe that. She would follow Takashi Komuro to the ends of the earth.
"Your wish is my command," Takashi said. He turned towards her, his hands grasped her shoulders, and he pulled her in for a demanding kiss that left her breathless. Her knees would have given out from under her if it wasn't for his strong grip. "We're a team — you and I. No matter who or what might try to get in the way. Until the end. We're together in this."
"Until the end," Saeko agreed. It wasn't exactly marriage vows, but considering the world they now lived in, it was probably better.
OoO
Takashi and Saeko reached the front entrance of the Taiei Shopping Town. There were corpses scattered about the ground, signs of smoke damage, and a firefight. Were their friends involved in the fight or was it the people at the mall during the outbreak?
"Takashi," Saeko whispered. She held her katana out, pointed towards the broken glass container for the emergency fire axe. It was empty. He followed the glass shards and saw the axe in the bloodied ripped off arm of a dead man.
Takashi crouched over the remains of the man's fallen body, braced his shoe against the remainder of the forearm, and pulled the axe out of the rigor-mortis stiffened hand. He held the axe out and twirled it once in his hand. 'Melee weapon,' he mouthed to Saeko. She nodded with a sly smile.
They walked towards the directory posted in the middle of the hallway.
"It reeks in here," Takashi whispered, swallowing down the bile that threatened to rise up his throat. It smelled like rotten meat and it was coming from more than just the corpses littered about them. He tapped his finger on the position of the sporting goods store on the directory map.
They cautiously made their way to the store. Kohta Hirano stood outside with his arms folded over his chest, leaning against the first floor entrance. He no longer wore his school uniform, instead he wore camouflaged cargo pants, a jacket, and a green and brown desert hunting hat. He had his rifle slung over his shoulder and a pair of handguns at his sides secured in belt holsters. He unhooked a walkie talkie off his belt and whispered something into it.
A flash of silver caught Takashi's eye and he looked up to the second floor to see Hisashi wave down at him. He held a crossbow in his other arm.
"It's clear," Takashi said, speaking quietly. He lowered his fire axe as Saeko relaxed her arm with the katana.
Kohta ushered them inside. "Nice," he said, gesturing towards the axe.
"Picked it up near the entrance of the shopping center. It would have been useful on the way over though," Takashi murmured.
"Yeah, I feel the same way after having gone shopping yesterday," Kohta said with a grin.
Saya, Rei, Alice, and Shizuka were not far from the checking counters in a circle sitting in portable canvas lawn chairs. In the center of that circle was an assortment of backpacks and various weapons. Zeke raced towards them yipping in excitement with his pale tail wagging in enthusiasm. Why did they decide to bring along a barking dog when the zombies pursued prey based on sound? It was too late now to do anything about it. Alice needed the dog and while they couldn't return her parents to her, they could at least let her keep the dog.
Saeko leaned over and rubbed the dog between the ears and he quieted down. She straightened and met Takashi's gaze. For a moment, he forgot that they weren't alone and he really wished they were back in the shrine. He shouldn't have cared about a little noise.
"It's about time," Saya said. She rose from her chair and walked briskly towards Takashi and Saeko. She looked between them, her amber eyes narrowed behind her glasses. Then she grabbed Takashi by the lapels of his uniform shirt and hugged him fiercely. "We were worried about you two." He dropped his axe carefully to the floor, worried he might accidentally injure someone.
"We found some clothes in your size for you to pick from," Rei said, standing and moving to join them. Takashi felt a wave of worry as he wondered what his ex-girlfriend would do. He didn't want to embarrass her, but he would if she tried to make another move on him. He promised Saeko that they were a team and not even Rei would get in the way of that promise. Rei turned towards Saeko. "We're about the same size so I brought some long pants for you to look through."
"Thank you," Saeko said, stepping past the welcoming party and crouching over the new supplies.
"Did you guys have any problems?" Takashi asked. He awkwardly patted Saya on the shoulder, her pink hair had tickled him under the nose. He cleared his throat and she stepped back, but not before he saw her dash a knuckle under her eye to wipe away a tear.
Hisashi made his way down the stairs, a pair of long leather trench coats draped over his right arm. He wore a coal gray trench coat himself, the back trailing behind him like a master thief. "We had a debate over the best coat or jacket. I selected leather for myself as an added barrier against gnashing teeth. These others," he said gesturing towards the rest of the group, "haven't come into close contact to certain doom as I have. They opted for protection against rain and wind."
Takashi had a mental flashback of Hisashi's close call with a zombie on the school roof. If it hadn't been for Morita, Hisashi would have been a goner. He still needed to tell Saya about Morita's sacrifice. Maybe he would do so that evening when they settled down for the night.
"You want the brown or the black one?" Takashi asked Saeko. She looked up from the backpack she was holding and glanced between Takashi and Hisashi. "The black would be flattering to you," she said.
"Brown for the lady, black for me," Takashi said.
Hisashi tossed the black coat towards Takashi and he reached up and caught it. "So, I don't suppose there's any food here?" Takashi asked.
"Jerky and trail-mix," Saya said.
"That will have to do," Takashi said. He walked towards the portable lawn chairs and took a seat in front of where Saeko was crouched. She selected a backpack and then sat next to him. She leaned back, closing her eyes. "If you don't mind, maybe we'll just take a little break."
"We need to get out of here," Saya argued.
Takashi opened a tired eye at her. "We're not that far from the police station."
"Are we still going to the police station?" Hisashi asked. He laid the brown trench coat over Saeko's lap. "Check to make sure it fits. There are other sizes if it's not right," Hisashi said. "Maybe we should head straight to the elementary school."
"We stick to the plan," Rei argued. She sniffed, the sound of tears barely withheld making everyone uncomfortable. "We need more information."
"We don't need to go to the police station. We found plenty of weapons here," Hisashi argued. "And there's no way your dad is still at the station, Rei. He'd be somewhere on the streets helping people."
"The guns aren't always a viable option," Kohta said. He sat across from Takashi in one of the chairs. "What I'd like to do is break into the confiscation section of the police station. I bet the police have stripped the Yakuza of a few silencers. If we could silence the shot we'd be able to utilize our guns."
"Won't the police have security?" Shizuka asked.
"If it runs on electricity it won't be much of a barrier now," Saya reasoned. "Well, if we use a little bit of explosives. You know how to do that?" she asked turning to Kohta.
Hirano shook his head. "I know many things, but not how to make a bomb. Sorry."
Saya shook her head before directing her attention to Takashi. She tossed a bottle of hand sanitizer and then a bag of trail mix to Takashi. He squirted some of the cleansing liquid into his hands and then did the same for Saeko. Afterwards, he opened the bag of trail mix and held it out to Saeko. She took a handful of the food.
"Saeko, you need a gun," Kohta said. He picked up a handgun from a nearby checkout station and a box of rounds. "Here," he said, holding the items out to Saeko. Gingerly, she took the items. "It's important to have a backup. If not for yourself, you might need it to save an ally and be too far to help with your sword."
Takashi locked eyes with Saeko, both reflected on how she paused at the zombie children.
"So what's in all the backpacks?" Takashi asked. He closed his eyes and relaxed in his chair. The tension in his shoulders eased up just a hair.
"I could give you a massage, Takashi," Shizuka offered, her eyes bright with concern. She held her hands up in peace. "I promise nothing kinky. You too, Saeko, you both could use a massage." She gestured towards a cot that had been set up a few meters away.
"I won't complain," Saeko said. She pushed out of her chair, set aside her new coat, and crossed the distance to the cot. She laid down on her stomach, her chest sunk deep into the forgiving surface of the cot. Shizuka gathered Saeko's hair and pulled it to one side, out of the way. The nurse then began to rub the violet-haired girl's neck and shoulders.
Takashi stared lazily at Saeko. She made some moaning noises that aroused him and made him wish they were alone. Maybe they could have a private conversation in one of the changing rooms. He'd help her out of her clothes, especially that dark bra and thong. Her violet hair would be loose and he'd start kissing that little juncture between her throat and her collar bone. He would grip her bare breasts, weigh them carefully in his palms, and then—.
"Food, extra clothing, walkie talkies, ammunition, matches, rope, you know, your basic zombie survival kit," Hisashi joked, breaking the mental image Takashi had going. "By the way, you're going to want to change shoes. We really lucked out finding this shop so well stocked."
"We noticed the unlucky ones outside," Takashi said, meeting Hisashi's silver eyes, and remembering the corpses and carnage he and Saeko had seen outside of the shopping center.
"Takashi, you've got to let Shizuka get her hands on you," Saeko called out. "Her hands are magic."
Takashi wiped his nose with the back of his hand.
Hisashi smirked at him. "Need a tissue, my friend?" he whispered.
Takashi shoved him lightly on the chest. "Shut up."
A/N: Thanks to my ever supportive beta, Gentizm. I appreciate your reading, following, reviewing, favoriting, etc. I wanted to announce that I'll be taking a brief hiatus due to con-season and various upcoming trips this summer. I'll be back with a vengeance after I've written out a few more chapters. I've got the outline, but it takes more effort to write it out with detail! Thanks for your patience and enthusiasm!