Last Alarm

Chapter Twenty-Four

"A Child's Love"

Part One

"The broken soul is healed in the company of children."

Old English Proverb

Time: Morning Z-Day Plus 3

Location: Residential Condominium of SAT Officer Sgt. Rika Minami

Saeko stared horrified at the sight of Jim, her guardian, friend, mentor, and surrogate father, lying face down and unconscious on the floor, bleeding heavily from wounds cruelly inflicted by the repeated blows from a guard's rifle butt, to his head and face.

She also watched helplessly as Saya's mother Yuriko Takagi, stood nearby looking down at the unconscious man while the same man that had struck him down, also stood over him with the muzzle of his rifle pointed directly at the fallen American, as Saeko and the rest of her friends were being dragged, kicking and screaming for all they were worth, out of the room.

And despite her fierce struggling she could not take her eyes off the American lying completely still on the floor, not showing any signs of life despite the loud commotion of everyone struggling against their captors as well as everyone's extremely loud shouting.

And as she then looked directly into the man's face that was covered with blood from the wounds sustained to his face and scalp which was beginning to pool on the floor, Saeko began to re-live the moment just before the man was knocked senseless, directly in front of her.

The guards had overreacted from the American's inability to comprehend their words when they were shouting orders at him in Japanese, and losing patience, one of them had hit him in the side of the head with the butt of his rifle.

The American then reflexively lashed out at the guard, throwing an elbow strike into the guard's groin and sending him to the ground howling in pain and causing the rest of the guards to become outraged at the sudden attack on their comrade and began beating the American mercenary with the butts of their rifles.

Saeko had yelled for them to stop only to be struck herself by one of the angry guards across the face, knocking her back against a wall from the force of the blow.

The American had seen her being struck and in a blind rage had then attacked the guards throwing one of them into the rest and knocking all of them to the floor as he then tackled the man that had struck Saeko and then began to pound the guard viciously in the face with his fist.

She had seen the hate in the American's eyes when he attacked the man that had struck her and it had frightened her at seeing the normally calm and sometimes silly man so horribly enraged.

Saeko cringed at the memory of watching him beating the guard like a man possessed despite her pleas for him to stop.

And then she watched helplessly as she was grabbed and held down by one of the other guards as the American then attacked the guards once again when one of the guards hit him again with the butt of his rifle, trying to force him away from their barely conscious comrade.

The scene had turned into utter chaos as the American went wild and started swinging furniture in blind fury and injuring several other guards and even stabbing one of them in the leg with Rei's spear that was contaminated with the blood of an Infected person on it causing the wounded man to "change" as the dried blood on the end of the spear mixed with the guard's blood and infected him with the Contagion.

Finally in the midst of all the chaos, one of the men armed with a rifle hit the American in the back of the head with the butt of his weapon, stunning him. And as the guard pulled back his rifle to hit the stunned mercenary again, the American suddenly turned his head and gazed directly at Saeko.

Saeko had seen the same look before and she nearly cried as she re-lived the agony she had just experienced already the day before.

The look on his face was the same as the one he had given her just before he had plunged into the river trying to escape the Infected on the bridge yesterday.

However he hadn't jumped because he thought he could survive the fall.

He had jumped for another reason entirely.

And the look on his face now, was the same look of pain and sorrow she had seen when he had intentionally let go of the railing to prevent her and Takashi from trying to rescue him, knowing that they would have been killed in the effort if they had tried.

And also knowing the hurt he was causing her having to witness his ultimate sacrifice.

"I'm sorry," was what she read on his lips, the rush of the river too loud to actually hear the words being spoken, before he let go of the railing and fell, disappearing into the rushing water below as Saeko screamed in horror.

Now, Saeko saw the same look of pain and sadness in his eyes as she saw the guard raise his rifle in the air to strike the American once more.

And then the man's head suddenly snapped forward as the armed guard struck him again with his rifle butt splashing blood over his face as a part of his scalp tore loose from the blow of the metal buttplate of the rifle striking him and tearing away the flesh.

Saeko screamed at the sight, and also of seeing him being hit once more as he finally fell unconscious to the floor and didn't move.

"STOP!" Yuriko Takagi had roared, trying to prevent her guard from killing the American as blood began to pool on the floor from the open head wounds.

Saeko could only stare helplessly as her friend slowly bled to death from the hanging flap of scalp tissue as the guards held her down while she struggled to break fee.

And now she and her companions were being dragged away outside to awaiting vehicles parked somewhere nearby to be whisked away to whereabouts unknown, while the American who had been guardian, friend, and surrogate father to them all was to be executed once they were taken out of the room.

"The man was an unnecessary risk they could not afford to leave behind alive." Saeko had heard Yuriko Takagi say.

And now as Saeko struggled desperately to free herself from her captor who held her in a vise-like grip, the last thing she saw as she was about to be dragged out the door, was Yuriko Takagi's guard placing his rifle against his shoulder and aiming the muzzle at the American's head.

"YAMERO!" Saeko screamed at the top her lungs as she was roughly dragged out the door by her captor.

Once outside, Saeko struggled even harder to escape from the man's iron grip who finally in frustration at her constant struggling, then grabbed her around her waist and lifted her high in the air as she flailed her arms and legs frantically trying to break loose from his grip.

As she was bodily being carried by the large man who was following closely behind the other guards who were also having a hard time dealing with their struggling captives as well, Saeko then suddenly stopped her useless struggles and then screaming at the top of her lungs in frustration and rage, suddenly shot her elbow twice in rapid succession into the guard's face as hard as she could.

The man howled in pain as he dropped Saeko and then grabbed his heavily bleeding nose as the now freed teen then turned around and savagely brought her knee up into the man's groin as the man then made a strangled cry from the pain of the blow and then fell to the ground in a heap, gasping for air as his hands covered his groin.

Now that she was free, Saeko then reached under the large tee-shirt she was wearing as a nightgown and removed the large folding knife she had concealed underneath that was clipped to the strap of her underwear.

Saeko then stood up and yelled out to the others, who had already stopped moving along with their their captors, to watch her fighting with the much larger man and then stare in shocked surprise as they saw her break free from him.

"EVERYONE, LISTEN TO ME! THEY'RE GOING TO KILL JIMU-SAN!" Saeko shouted as everyone stared in shock at her standing on her own two feet as her captor lay writhing in pain on the ground.

"DO YOU UNDERSTAND?!" She screamed in anger, snapping them back to attention. "THEY'RE GOING TO KILL HIM!"

Everyone continued to look at her in shock, obviously still uncertain as to what to do about this new development or make any effort to free themselves.

Saeko in desperation, screamed at the top of her lungs trying to snap everyone out of their shock.

"LISTEN TO ME! JIMU-SAN GAVE US THESE TO DEFEND OURSELVES!" Saeko shouted as she raised the still closed folding knife in the air for everyone to see.

In the shock of the sudden raid and the terrible tragedy unfolding inside, the knives the American had given the women to defend themselves from attackers had been all but forgotten as everyone was being dragged away too shocked and frightened to think clearly.

Now as Saeko raised her knife in the air and yelled for them to act, Shizuka, Rei, and Saya, remembered the hidden weapons still on their person, each knife having not been discovered previously during the raid due to their captor's reluctance to thoroughly search the struggling women more thoroughly, a lapse in security that Saeko had used to her advantage.

"NOW, FIGHT BACK!" She yelled, her eyes blazing in fury. "FIGHT BACK, OR HE'S DEAD!"

Saeko then turned on her heel and ran back towards the shattered door of the condo as once again the sounds of her friends struggling with their captors filled the air behind her, along with the screams of fear and yelps of pain from the guards as she ran for the door.

Yuriko Takagi waited until all of the children and the nurse had been forcefully taken out of the room before she turned to her most trusted retainer Yoshioka, and nodded her head for him to carry out his grisly task.

Yoshioka nodded as he then aimed his rifle at the man's head and was about to squeeze the trigger, sending the bullet that would end the American's life, when Yoshioka was surprised to see Yuriko raise her hand up again suddenly, stopping him from taking the shot.

"Yoshioka-san, matte." Yuriko Takagi said, as she looked over at the few men left in the room with them that were trying to help one of the guards that had been knocked unconscious by the American, while others were still trying to subdue the now Infected man Doi, who was struggling mightily against them, snapping his jaws and trying to break free from the plastic cuffs binding his hands and legs.

"Doshita, Takagi-sama?" Yoshioka said as he looked up from the sights of his rifle and stared at her, curious as to why his mistress had suddenly prevented him from pulling the trigger.

"Let's wait until the men take Doi-san outside, first." Yuriko said frowning as the men struggled even more desperately with the Infected man.

"In his condition now, the sound of the shot will only aggravate him more and make moving him all the more difficult for them." Yuriko sighed. "And I'm not leaving him here. He deserves better than that."

"Wakatta." Yoshioka relied, lowering his rifle as the struggling guards finally managed to duct-tape the snapping man's jaws closed and then began duct-taping his arms and legs attempting to restrict his violent movements even more.

"What a mess this turned out to be." Yuriko said with a deep sigh, as the guards then managed to catch their breath for a moment and then attempted to drag the still struggling Infected man towards the doorway leading out to the street, as the other guards in the room waited for them to leave so they could carry out their unconscious comrade in relative safety.

"Doi-san was a good man." Yoshioka said quietly.

"Hai, and more importantly, he was a great friend Yoshioka-kun." Yuriko added sadly.

"Hai, Takagi-sama." Yoshioka replied.

"That he was." He said as he gazed upon the troubled face of the female head of the Takagi household.

Yoshioka could plainly see how saddened Yuriko was at the loss of the family's long-time servant and closest friend who had been one of the first to volunteer for this dangerous mission to rescue the child of the Takagi household.

Now their friend was gone, and Yuriko was blaming herself for his death, even though what happened was not something anyone could have foreseen.

The mission itself had been a risky one, the rescue plan hastily made with the intelligence they had received from General Ihara, who had taken a great personal risk himself at "appropriating" for them the intelligence of where the teens and the American "terrorist" had taken refuge, as well as all the information they needed to carry out the raid, not to mention the ultra-secret travel route in the service tunnels running underneath the river as well as providing the weapons and ammunition they had armed themselves with.

It had been a great risk for the General, but Saya's uncle had no intention of standing by and doing nothing while his niece wandered all alone with a few of her schoolmates, helpless in a city full of dangerous men and bloodthirsty monsters while in the company of a suspected "terrorist".

And despite all the help from the General that they had received, the risks were still very high, especially since most of the "guards" on this rescue weren't really guards at all and had no experience with weapons either.

And even then, there was just no guarantee that there wouldn't be any casualties no matter how prepared or how careful they were.

And now despite their best efforts, they had indeed sustained heavy casualties.

"But now was not the time to grieve." Yoshioka thought as the threat of an entire city full of Infected heading their way loomed ever nearer.

"It was also his choice to come with us to rescue Saya-sama as well, Yuriko-san." Yoshioka said quietly, looking directly at her. "You must not blame yourself for what happened."

"You've always been a great friend Yoshioka-kun." Yuriko replied looking up at him with a weak smile. "And I thank you for your kind words. But perhaps we should have looked for another way to rescue Saya-chan."

"Perhaps." Yoshioka replied staring at the two casualties being taken away.

"But the most important thing is that Saya-sama is safe. That's all that matters now, my lady." Yoshioka said as he then glared at the American lying at his feet.

"And now that the Infected are heading our way, we need to focus on our escape now, and grieve for our friend later." He said shifting the weight of the rifle in his arms.

"Hai." Yuriko replied quietly, the loss of such a close friend of the family still weighing heavily on her.

The sound of a woman's scream piercing the air outside snapped everyone's attention from the tragedy inside the room as they then turned their heads towards the door behind them.

The sound of the scream that everyone heard was quite different from the shouts coming from the rest of the young people screaming and yelling in protest as they struggled against Yuriko's guards.

In fact, the scream was not the sound brought about from someone reacting out of pain or fear at all.

It was the sound of a scream uttered from intense hate, anger, fury,…..rage.

And what startled Yuriko and the rest of her guards even further were the sound of a man's scream of pain that followed directly afterwards, followed by a woman's angry shouts and then more yelps of pain and surprise coming from the rest of the guards outside.

"Yoshioka-kun!" Yuriko shouted, fearing the worst, as she drew her pistol and pointed towards the door.

"Hai!" Yoshioka replied as he stepped away from the unconscious American and moved hastily towards the open doorway, raising the muzzle of his rifle up as he approached the door.

"YOU MEN, GET TO THE VEHICLES NOW!" Yuriko shouted over her shoulder as she followed closely behind Yoshioka as he was about to rush through the door.

Yoshioka then stopped abruptly as he was about to pass through the open doorway, causing Yuriko to accidentally bump into him as a shadow suddenly appeared at the door, blocking their path.

Yuriko was stunned at first after she had accidentally bumped into the guard's back wondering what it was that had caused him to stop so suddenly.

And then confusion switched to alarm as Yoshioka then dropped his rifle.

And as she heard the sound of the weapon clattering to the floor, she then heard him gasp as if he had been struck and then she saw his hands rise up, seemingly to be clutching at his throat as if he were unable to breathe.

And then to Yuriko's further shock, Yoshioka's head then snapped back and he fell hard against her as if struck by a powerful force, knocking her down to the floor as well by the impact of his body colliding into her.

The force of the collision knocked her pistol out of her hand, and then Yuriko gasped as the larger man then fell on top of her, leaving her lying helpless and gasping for breath, the wind knocked out of her by the weight of his body.

Yuriko, seeing the predicament she was now in and sensing danger, then reached desperately for her pistol lying on the floor next to her almost reaching it and then cursing in frustration as it was suddenly knocked away from her reach and sent skittering across the floor.

Struggling even more desperately now to free herself from underneath the semi-conscious man, Yuriko roughly managed to push his body partially off of her and somewhat free herself as she sat up and then gasped in shock at the sight before her.

As Saeko ran around the corner of the building and then finally reached the open door hoping that she was not already too late, the armed guard that had been pointing his rifle at the unconscious American suddenly appeared in the doorway.

The man hesitated a moment on catching sight of the young girl standing before him, his eyes widening at the sight of seeing her standing there and no longer captive, as Saeko reacted instantly, taking advantage of his hesitation by slamming her left hand on his rifle knocking it to the side, and then using the closed folding knife in her right hand as a kubotan, forcefully slamming the end of the knife handle into the man's windpipe, causing him to instinctively drop his rifle and grasp for his throat, struggling to breathe.

Saeko then slammed the end of the knife into his nose with a crunch, snapping his head back and knocking him off balance.

Saeko then lowered her body and slammed her shoulder into the man's abdomen with the full weight of her body, knocking him backwards into Yuriko, who then yelled in surprise dropping her pistol,as she fell to the floor, with the man then toppling down on top of her and knocking the wind out of her.

The woman's pistol clattered to the floor and Saeko watched Yuriko desperately reach for it and then almost succeeded in placing her hand on it as Saeko then quickly dove to the ground and slapped it out away from Yuriko's grasp as she then rolled towards the wounded American.

As she got back on her feet, Saeko then crouched low, flipping the blade of the folding knife out as she then held it out in front of her in a reverse grip.

Saeko glanced at the people in the room and then seeing no one reaching for their weapons, too stunned at the sight of her to move, she then crouched low over the fallen American as she then focused her attention on Yuriko, who gasped at the sight of the young teenage girl who had so soundly beaten them.

The attack had been so sudden, so unexpected, that by the time Yuriko Takagi had finally managed to partially disentangle herself from underneath her friend and family guardian Yoshioka, it was all over.

Now she lay helpless, her pistol knocked away and Yoshioka's rifle also nowhere within easy reach.

The few men still left remaining in the room with them that had been trying to help their unconscious comrade and also trying to subdue and carry away the now Infected retainer Doi, were no less as shocked as Yuriko was at the sudden attack, and for the moment, found themselves unable to move as well.

It was not only because of the shock of the sudden attack that they found themselves unable to move.

But it was because that they could also see that the moment they made any move to reach for their weapons, their mistress was as good as dead.

Yuriko was stunned at how quickly the tide had turned because of the actions of this small girl crouched before her, and as she listened to the shouts of the children and the rest of the guards yelling in fear and anger outside, Yuriko could only sit helplessly and stare wide-eyed in shock at the sight of the young girl before her dressed only in a man's tee-shirt crouched over the body of the still unconscious American.

Yuriko could not help but be shocked by the realization that the teenage girl was actually trying to protect the American from them as she held everyone at bay, brandishing a rather large, tan-colored folding knife clutched in a reverse-grip in her right hand.

The sight of the large knife in the girl's hand, who was supposed to have been unarmed in the first place, was surprising enough.

Evidently, Yuriko's staff had done an exceptionally poor job of searching the children, and the fact they had somehow missed such a large knife while searching this young girl as scantily clothed as she was, was inexcusable.

That mattered little now, however.

Now the situation was reversed, and Yuriko and her staff were no longer in control, with Yoshioka lying on top of her, half-conscious with a broken nose, pinning her to the floor with the weight of his body while the young girl crouched nearby within easy striking distance, ready to strike out with her blade.

And there was nothing Yuriko Takagi could do about it.

But it wasn't the knife that frightened Yuriko so much as it was the look in the young girl's eyes.

After all that had happened, it was to be expected that the child's eyes would be full of anger and hate, with tears running down her face as the girl became overcome with emotion.

Instead, the look in the young woman's eyes staring at her made Yuriko's blood turn cold.

The teenager's eyes were like ice.

Expressionless, emotionless, haunting, … cold.

The eyes of a killer.

And when she finally spoke, her voice was no less frigid than her stare.

"Takagi-sama, I realize you came only to rescue your daughter and not to intentionally harm anyone, and therefore I wish to thank you for your concern in wishing to protect the rest of us from someone whom you mistakenly think is an enemy." Saeko said in an unnervingly calm voice that seemed to chill the room.

"And I realize how things must seem to you, although I assure you, we were never in any danger from the American at any time." Saeko said as the expressionless look on her face slowly twisted into anger.

"And while I do not wish to cause your daughter who is also my friend, any pain, I promise you this…."

"If you or any of your men do anything to try to hurt Jimu-san any further." Saeko said as her eyes seemed to burn with a great intensity as Yuriko could see the knuckles of her hand growing white as she gripped the knife even harder and her small body tensed as if coiling to strike.

"I will kill you."

Yuriko stared awestruck at the sight of the young girl in front of her poised to strike. The viciousness of the attack and the boldness that the young girl displayed in fending off her and her men left Yuriko speechless for a few moments as she stared into the steely eyes of the young teen.

Her trance was then broken at the sound of one of her men yelling her name as he stumbled through the door and then suddenly halted as his eyes focused in on the tense stand-off in the room.

"Takagi-sama!" The man with the now bloody nose and sore groin who had held Saeko captive earlier yelled as he gazed upon the deadly predicament his mistress was in, hesitating for a moment, the words he wished to say momentarily forgotten at the sight of the young girl having gained the upper hand.

"Takagi-sama!" He repeated as he found his words again.

"I'm sorry Lady Takagi. She caught me off guard!" He said, glaring at Saeko who ignored him and kept her eyes squarely on Yuriko's face, ready to strike the instant anyone made a wrong move.

"You're not the only one that was caught off guard Kukugari-san ." Yuriko said with a smirk as she stared back at the teenage knife-fighter as Yoshioka moaned in pain.

"Hai." The guard Kukugari replied. "I'm sorry Takagi-sama, but we have a problem outside as well."

Yuriko rolled her eyes and sighed at the man's words.

"Now what?" Yuriko thought to herself as she stared at the girl's face and shuddered involuntarily at the teen's eyes that seemed to be boring into her.

"Please handle it for me, Kukugari-san." Yuriko replied, her voice beginning to betray her frustration. "I'm a little busy at the moment."

"I understand my lady, however." The guard stammered. "It concerns Saya-sama."

"Is she all right?" Yuriko asked worriedly, fearing her daughter had been injured, and wondering if it had anything to do with all the yelling she had heard earlier.

"Yes and no, my lady." The guard said reddening. "It's best you come out and see for yourself."

Yuriko rolled her eyes once more and cursed under her breath in frustration at her predicament.

Here she was currently caught in a life or death stand-off with a knife-wielding teen who had knocked her and the much larger man Yoshioka-san, ass-over-tea kettle to the floor with barely any effort, and was now preventing her and her men from doing anything to get out of their tense situation.

Meanwhile, unknown multitudes of Infected were now converging on their location and would be soon cutting off their escape at any moment now.

And as if that weren't bad enough, now her guards were asking her to come outside and handle some new disaster concerning her daughter that they were too embarrassed to talk about?

Yuriko wanted to scream some very unlady-like oaths at her predicament but restrained herself from losing her temper and gazed at the young barely-dressed girl in front of her.

The tension was extremely thick in the air as everyone in the room stared at the young girl wielding the large folding knife crouching over the unconscious American.

Even the now Infected retainer Doi was no longer moving as much anymore, although it had more to do with how tightly he had been bound than anything else.

"What is your name, child?" Yuriko asked with a heavy sigh as her face fell in frustration.

"Busujima, Saeko. Age eighteen." Saeko replied, still staring icily into Yuriko's eyes.

Yuriko's face perked up in surprise at Saeko's answer and Saeko could see Yuriko's eyes studying her even more closely as she continued speaking.

"Busujima?" Yuriko said, her voice betraying her surprise. "Are you Busujima, Hiroyuki's daughter?"

"Hai." Saeko replied, not wavering. "He is my father."

"My husband was one of his students." Yuriko replied genuinely surprised. "How is your father?"

"I do not know." Saeko replied, still being alert for a possible surprise attack from one of the guards. "He was at one of our dojos overseas. I have not heard from him since before the Outbreak."

"I see." Yuriko replied as Yoshioka began to stir and then blinked his eyes as he regained consciousness.

Yuriko then quickly grabbed ahold of the man that had been lying across her legs all this time as she tried to prevent him from making any sudden moves as he suddenly became aware of the tense situation they were all in.

"Takagi-dono!" He yelled in surprise and anger as rolled to the side and glared at Saeko, his nose bleeding heavily.

"WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING, GIRL?!" Yoshioka roared as Saeko's eyes narrowed and she shifted her weight in preparation for an attack from the angry man.

"STOP IT! ALL OF YOU!" Yuriko yelled in command as everyone else in the room suddenly tensed as if to rush the young girl.

"I'm handling this, so every one of you stand down!" Yuriko commanded as Yoshioka slowly removed himself from off her legs and then sat up, still glaring at Saeko.

"Busujima-san." Yuriko continued, speaking calmly so as not to aggravate the situation any further.

"Is it all right if I send my men outside to take away our wounded and check on my daughter and the others?"

"Takagi-sama!" All the men in the room said at once causing the Infected retainer Doi to start struggling even more aggressively from all of the shouting voices.

"ALL OF YOU BE QUIET!" Yuriko yelled as she continued to focus her gaze on Saeko.

"Busujima-san." Yuriko said in a pleasant tone. "You have my word that we won't try to harm you or any of your friends. I promise you."

"But I beg of you please." Yuriko said bowing her head. "Please allow my men to see that my daughter is safe and to move our wounded out of here."

"And I will stay with you as your hostage in the meantime." Yuriko said, looking up.

"Takagi-sama, …NO!" Yoshioka replied in shock. "We won't leave you this way!"

"We came here for Saya-chan, Yoshioka-kun!" Yuriko replied firmly. "And all of this will be for nothing if she's hurt."

"Now do as I say." Yuriko commanded sternly.

"Hai, Takagi-dono." Yoshioka said resignedly.

"Do we have your permission, Busujima-san?" Yuriko said turning to face Saeko again.

"Dozo." Saeko replied still wary of an attack.

While Saeko could see that the female head of the Takagi Household was sincere and more than likely true to her word. Saeko had seen the murderous look in the eyes of the Takagi guards directed towards her and the American.

And despite Yuriko's command, Saeko was still very untrusting of the guards, whom she believed would make an attempt on her and the American's life the moment an opportunity presented itself, no matter how sincere Yuriko Takagi was at promising that they wouldn't be harmed.

Yuriko nodded to her men as three of her guards carried off their still unconscious comrade while the remaining men carried off the still struggling Infected man Doi.

As they all left the room, the two remaining guards Yoshioka and Kukugari, continued to glare angrily at Saeko as she fearlessly glared back at them, completely non-plussed at their obvious rage at her.

"Gentlemen, hurry and see to my daughter, if you please." Yuriko said trying with all her will to keep her voice even and trying with much difficulty not to display any of the mounting panic she felt growing within her at the thought of Saya possibly lying hurt outside.

"Hai, Takagi-sama." The two men replied as they grudgingly turned around and headed towards the door.

"Yoshioka-san." Saeko said calmly as the man stopped and then turned around to face her.

"Do not try to retrieve your rifle or attempt any tricks of any kind whatsoever." Saeko said, her voice dropping the air temperature around them a few degrees as she spoke.

"Because it will go badly for Takagi-san if you try." Saeko said still staring at Yuriko, as she then turned her head and met Yoshioka's eye with the same icy-glare.

"And then I will kill, you." Saeko said not blinking an eye.

Yoshioka glared at Saeko with mounting fury and took a step forward towards the young girl, and then stopped and forcefully calmed himself as he met Yuriko's eye as she glanced over at him.

"It'll be all right, Yoshioka-san. Don't worry." Yuriko said smiling, as he then nodded his head and turned around and headed out the door without saying a word.

Yuriko sighed as she then looked back at Saeko who continued to watch her with that same icy stare.

"You are very brave, Busujima-san." Yuriko said looking at her.

Saeko only stared back and said nothing.

"Do you mind if I call you Saeko?" Yuriko asked pleasantly,trying to calm the girl and ease the tension in the room.

Saeko nodded her head but said nothing as she kept alert for any sounds of betrayal, listening for the tell-tale sound of a boot on glass trying to sneak back through the door, or the sound of a gun's safety being flicked off, or anything that would indicate that the men outside were trying to rush in and overpower her.

Although in truth, all any of the guards had to do was threaten the lives of her friends outside, and Saeko would have no choice but to surrender.

"Do not worry, Saeko-chan." Yuriko said, as if reading her mind. "My men will not hurt the rest of your friends either."

Yuriko then moved away from the wall she had been pressed against and knelt closer to Saeko, placing herself now in even closer striking range than before and in even greater danger.

It was a move that would have given her guards, Saya, and her husband a heart attack, but Yuriko had her reasons for placing herself in so dangerous a position.

And the main reason for Yuriko's questionable action of placing herself even closer to the knife-wielding teen, was to offer a clearly visible gesture of trust to the young woman crouched protectively over the wounded man.

"Now that the men are gone, we can finally talk woman-to-woman, at last. " Yuriko said as she settled herself within arm's reach of the silent girl.

"Neh, Saeko-chan?" Yuriko said smiling slightly, trying not to appear threatening in any way.

Saeko merely continued to closely watch Yuriko and said nothing.

"He means a lot to you, I presume?" Yuriko asked Saeko as she nodded towards the unconscious man.

"He has been our protector the last three days, Takagi-sama." Saeko replied, her voice not nearly as cold and unfeeling as earlier. Yuriko's attempt at trying to earn the girl's trust seeming to be working slightly, although the situation was obviously, still very tense.

"And he is also our friend." She added.

"Much more than a friend, I think." Yuriko replied, studying Saeko's face closely for any reaction.

"I beg your pardon?" Saeko asked, slightly confused.

"What I mean is, Saeko-chan," Yuriko continued, speaking casually. "That for you to be putting your life at risk like this for this man whom you've only known for three days, it tells me that he is much more to you than just a friend."

"He's treated us as if we were his own children." Saeko replied calmly. "Including your own daughter as well."

"I see." Yuriko replied as she glanced toward the open door beginning to get anxious as to what was happening outside.

"Be that as it may, he is still a wanted man by the Japanese Government, Saeko-chan." Yuriko said frankly.

"Your point being?" Saeko asked.

Yuriko was taken aback a little by Saeko's seemingly nonchalant reply, but continued to try to reason with her, hoping to convince her to give up on the still very tense stand-off over the American.

"My point being is that in the eyes of the Japanese Government, he is a wanted criminal." Yuriko continued.

"So I have to ask you Saeko-chan, do you really wish to lose your life here over a man that is probably already near death anyway?" Yuriko asked looking for a hint of uncertainty in the girl's eyes and finding none.

"And even if he does survive." Yuriko continued.

"He may still very well be put to death for crimes against the State. Is that worth you dying here today, for him?" Yuriko said starting to grow a little frustrated at the girl's seeming unwillingness to listen to reason.

Saeko in turn, didn't even blink an eye at Yuriko's words.

And when she did speak, her own words were as strong as her conviction.

"Takagi-dono, say what you will. But I will not abandon him, nor will I allow you or any of your men to harm him." Saeko replied, as unnervingly calm as she had before.

"And if any of you make any attempts to kill him or try to take me away from him, before I fall, I promise you, you will most certainly fall with me." Saeko said icily.

Yuriko reacted with surprise at the young girl's answer and then closed her eyes and shook her head in exasperation.

"This child is more aggravatingly stubborn than Saya-chan." Yuriko thought, as she tried hard not to scream in anger at the young girl who was really frustrating her every effort to try to reason with her and prevent her from getting killed, just because the child felt some sort of perverse loyalty to a dangerous criminal who had somehow duped all of the children into thinking he was their friend.

"Saeko-chan, you do realize that there is a large number of Infected headed this way?" Yuriko asked trying a different tact as she closely studied the teens face, looking for any chink in her armor.

"Hai." Saeko replied.

"And if we stay here much longer, we will not be able to escape and will all die here. Do you understand that, as well?" Yuriko asked, not taking her eyes off the young girl.

"Hai." Saeko replied calmly, much to Yuriko frustration.

Yuriko tried hard to resist the urge to slap the young girl across the face at her brazenness, but miraculously kept her cool as she continued to try to reason with the girl.

"Your friend here may have been involved in an incident at the airport two days ago and I personally watched a video of him killing some people yesterday. Are you aware of that?" Yuriko asked, her annoyance at Saeko beginning to show.

"Hai." Saeko replied calmly, surprising Yuriko greatly with her answer.

"Hai?!" Yuriko replied in horror. "YOU KNEW?!"

"Hai." Saeko said unwavering. "He explained to us that he is a mercenary. And he also told us that he and his friends were attacked at the airport as well, and as far as killing those men last night, he also explained that to us as well for the most part."

"When did he tell you this?" Yuriko asked frowning.

"He explained that he was a "Military Contractor" yesterday." Saeko answered. "And as far as the attack on the men you claim that you saw, he told us about that last night, immediately after it happened."

"And as far as why he killed those men, Takagi-sama." Saeko continued. "He did it to protect us."

"I'm sure that's what he told you Saeko-chan,…" Yuriko began.

"And it's also not the first time he had to do so." Saeko continued, interrupting her.

"He has also had to kill four members of a street gang who attacked us and tried to rape Marikawa-sensei and your daughter, Takagi-sama." Saeko said gently, seeing the visibly horrified expression appearing on Yuriko's face and realizing what a shock her words must have been to Saya's mother.

"WHAT?!" Yuriko said horrified as she stared at the unconscious man.

"I'm afraid it's true." Saeko replied calmly. "If not for Jimu-san, I shudder to think what may have happened to your daughter as well as the rest of us if he had not intervened."

"My Saya-chan was nearly raped?!" Yuriko thought to herself in shock, the horror of one of the most brutal acts that has ever been committed against a woman having nearly occurring to her own daughter, while she and her husband were completely unaware of what had nearly befallen their child as they busied themselves with trying to restore order amidst the chaos of the Outbreak.

Yuriko cursed herself that while she and her husband were so busy trying to establish command and control of the situation, and disperse personnel to obtain supplies, , power, food, and water for their servants and their families as well as the crowd of refugees seeking shelter on their property, their own daughter had nearly been victimized by a crazed bunch of thugs.

And the only reason that hadn't happened was because of the actions of this man lying unconscious and bleeding to death in front of her that only moments before, she had given the order to end his life.

"TAKAGI-SAMA!" Yoshioka yelled, snapping her out of her thoughts as he suddenly reappeared at the door, causing Yuriko to flinch at his loud shout. "Please come quick! It's your daughter!"

Yuriko instantly got up to one knee and prepared to dash out of the room, but then stopped herself to look back at Saeko who then smiled and nodded her head for Yuriko to leave.

"Thank you!" Yuriko said gratefully, as she got to her feet.

"Takagi-sama." Saeko said gently just as Yuriko was about to dash towards the door.

Yuriko turned her head, and was surprised to see Saeko smiling calmly as she lowered the knife and then knelt down next to the unconscious man.

Yuriko was shocked at the sudden change in the girl's demeanor from just a moment before. No longer were her eyes as cold and frightening as they were before.

Instead, the expression on the young girl's face was serene, and when she spoke, her voice was calm, even gentle, towards her.

"Takagi-sama, please take your daughter and the rest of my friends away from here while you still can." Saeko began. "And if they ask you what happened to me, please tell them I decided to stay with Jimu-san."

Yuriko Takagi was thunderstruck at Saeko's words and was aghast at what the teenager was saying.

"You're not serious!" Yuriko replied, horrified by the young girl's decision to stay behind even though it was obvious that neither she nor the unconscious man would survive once the Infected overwhelmed this area.

"Saeko-chan, that would be suicide! Why would you want to do this, child?!" Yuriko said baffled by the young girl's decision to remain behind.

"You stated earlier that this man must mean something more to me than just being a "friend" Takagi-san." Saeko replied smiling slightly as she then looked down at the still form of the man. "And you were correct in your assumption."

"What do you mean?" Yuriko asked still dumbfounded by Saeko's decision to stay.

"This man took it upon himself despite the increased danger to his life, to be our guardian." Saeko began.

"But even more than that, he has treated all of us like his own children, even though I have found it more than a little annoying when he tries to scold me as if I'm still a child." Saeko said laughing a little.

"And despite the dangers we have faced he still refuses to abandon us even though staying with us has put his life in danger time and time again, and nearly cost him his life already trying to protect us." Saeko continued.

"And I truly believe that the reason he does so, is because somewhere in his heart, he really is protecting his own children, because he really does love all of us."

"And we have all come to love him as well, Takagi-san." Saeko said as she placed her hand on the unconscious man's shoulder and gazed sadly at his still form.

"And since this man refused to abandon the "children" he has come to love so much." Saeko continued.

"Then I refuse to abandon the "father" that I have come to love as well." Saeko said as she gazed back at Yuriko.

Yuriko was aghast at the young woman's reply and found herself momentarily speechless. And then once she found her voice, she could only shake her head.

"Saeko-chan, this is crazy! You're only going to get yourself killed!" Yuriko managed to say, all efforts to try to reason with the teenager now abandoned as Yuriko realized reason no longer applied here.

"You have a real father!" Yuriko continued, nearly shouting. "What about him? What would he think about you dying over this man?"

"I love my father very much." Saeko replied softly. "And even though I'm not sure whether he's still alive or not, I do believe he would understand my decision to stay."

"Forgive me for saying this Takagi-sama." Saeko said smiling somewhat sadly at the shocked expression on Yuriko's face. "But I do not expect you to understand."

Yuriko stood speechless now as she stared at the young girl in disbelief, until Yoshioka walked over next to her and began to speak.

"Takagi-dono." Yoshioka began. "The child has made her decision. There is nothing more we can do here to change her mind."

"Demo." Yuriko began to protest.

"Yuriko-san." Yoshioka said, speaking more firmly. "You have done all you can, and now you have your own child to attend to right now."

Yuriko hesitated a moment at Yoshioka's words as she stared sadly at the young girl kneeling all alone next to the unconscious American.

Misguided loyalty or not, the young girl was determined to stay with the rogue American mercenary even if it meant her doom. And despite her best efforts, Yuriko finally realized that there was nothing more she could do to change the teenager's mind.

It was a tragedy that Yuriko could not prevent from happening, and with the possibility of Saya and all of their own lives in danger from the approaching Infected, there was no more time to waste trying to save this young teen from her own misguided affection for the American mercenary.

It was just too late.

"I'm sorry Saeko-chan." Yuriko said as she finally resigned the girl to whatever fate would befall her and then turned around and ran out the door behind Yoshioka.

"Yoshioka is right; there was nothing more I could do." Yuriko thought as she ran out the door and tried to forget the mental picture of the beautiful young woman all alone in the wrecked apartment resigning herself to death over a stranger she had come to look upon as a "father" figure.

Despite her sadness at the poor girl's tragic end, Yuriko pushed aside her thoughts of the young teen and ran closely behind Yoshioka around the side of the building and down the driveway, headed directly towards the gates leading out into the street.

As Saeko watched the two adults bound out of the room and out the door, she waited a few moments more, keeping alert for signs that any of the guards of the Takagi Household were going to come rushing in as soon as their mistress was no longer in danger.

And after waiting a few moments more and with no one making any attempts to charge in, Saeko released the two safety catches of the CRKT M-21 knife and folded the large knife closed.

Saeko then stared at the unconscious man at her side as she reached down and shook him slightly, trying not to look at the horrible sight of the man's partially exposed skull underneath the small flap of his scalp lying to the side.

"Jimu-san?" She said calmly, with no response coming from the wounded man.

"Jimu-san!" Saeko repeated a little more loudly as she shook the man harder and still gained no response at all from the man.

Saeko then reached over and gingerly placed her fingers on the man's throat, feeling for a pulse and after a few tense moments breathed a sigh of relief, relieved to have found one, albeit very weak.

She then leaned over and placed her ear on the man's back and listened to him breathe, finding his respirations to be very slow and shallow.

Saeko then looked at the unconscious man for a moment and then placed her hands on his back and shook him vigorously.

"Jimu-san, please wake up, we have to go!" Saeko said desperately as she tried once more to shake the man awake again.

The American continued to lay unconscious and unresponsive despite her efforts, as the tears that Saeko had been holding back, began to fall down her face.

"Jimu-san, please wake up." Saeko said as she lay her head on the man's shoulder and squeezed him hard.

"Please Jimu-san. "They're" coming." She said as a sob escaped her lips.

As the young girl lay with her head against the unconscious man's shoulder and held him tightly, there was no sound at all in the condominium that had just a few minutes earlier been had filled with the sounds of laughter and happy shouts from the teens enjoying the pleasure of each other's company and the happy prospect of returning to their families that day.

Gone were the sounds of Shizuka happily cooking breakfast for everyone as they ate and talked about their adventures of the past two days.

Gone were the sounds of everyone's laughter at seeing the American drag himself to the table looking like a grouchy bear that had been awakened from its den.

Gone were the happy sounds of Alice squealing with delight as she played with the stray puppy they had found when they had rescued her.

Gone was the sound of everyone laughing as Saya scolded Kouta for telling her to shut up last night.

All sounds of happiness and joy that had once filled the condo that morning were now gone.

And the once spacious and luxurious condo seemed to be all the more cavernous, dark, and uninviting, serving as a stark reminder to Saeko of just how very alone she felt right now.

Now in the once luxurious condo filled with the sounds of bustling activity, happy voices and laughter, there were no voices or sounds at all, and the once tidy interior was now in a shambles with the remains of broken furniture all around and splashes of blood everywhere staining the once expensive plush carpet.

The once happy teens and their nurse were now gone, all of them taken away by the guards of the Takagi House, each of them dragged away kicking and screaming in fear.

Now only Saeko and the unconscious American mercenary remained.

And they wouldn't survive much longer, either.

Saeko knelt helplessly at the man's side, unsure of what to do next, knowing that soon death would soon be on their doorstep as the Infected pushed through the area and spilled over the gates surrounding the complex.

Saeko felt more alone now than she had ever felt in her life.

With all her friends gone and no help to be expected from any of the Takagi Household and only the clothes she was now wearing and no weapon other than the knife in her hand. Saeko was quickly beginning to be overcome with a feeling of hopelessness that she had never experienced before.

All her years of training, both physical and mental to prepare herself to defeat all enemies before her in Kendo and to help her conquer her own fears in life seemed to fade away as she looked upon the empty room and then upon the still figure on the floor with the massive head wounds bleeding steadily on the floor.

Saeko wanted to go find a towel to stem the bleeding, but feared leaving the American alone.

No, not because she feared the American being left alone, she thought.

But because she now feared being alone.

The room was as silent as a tomb for a few moments, with only the sound of a gentle breeze heard flowing through the broken windows and doors of the condo adding to the lonely atmosphere.

And then the silence was finally broken by the sound of the young girl's gentle sobbing as the emotion she had kept hidden away from her enemies finally released itself in a flood.

"Jimu-san, please wake up!" Saeko said quietly as tears fell down her face.

"Please, I'm afraid, and I don't know what to do!" Saeko said as she began to cry uncontrollably.

"IS SHE ALL RIGHT, YOSHIOKA-SAN?!" Yuriko yelled in near panic as they hurriedly turned the corner and then ran down the driveway headed for the open gate.

"Hai, Yuriko-san." Yoshioka replied as he pointed to the group standing out in the middle of the street as they ran through the gate and then slowed to a walk as they went past the gate as Yuriko stared in disbelief at the group of people gathered ahead of them.

"Demo,….." Yoshioka said, his voice trailing off as he placed his hand on the back of his head and rubbed his head in embarrassment.

Yuriko Takagi took a few more tentative steps forward in disbelief at what she was seeing, and then stopped walking completely as she stood staring in shock at the sight of the strange, and totally unexpected spectacle in front of her.

The guards that had carried off their unconscious comrade, and the Infected man Doi were standing near the black cargo vans that Yuriko and her men had parked out in the street, all of them looking as dumbfounded as Yuriko did at the sight of the extremely unforeseen drama that had arisen unexpectedly right in front of their eyes.

Yuriko stared in shock at the sight of all the guards that had dragged off the teens and their nurse earlier that were now standing away from the small group of refugees, all of them nursing small bleeding wounds on their arms or legs, as their "captives" stood their ground facing them in a circle.

And the ones who were doing all the defending of the small group of former "captives" were the two teenage girls and the school nurse, all of them holding the same type of large tan-colored folding knives in both of their hands, brandishing them as if they were katanas.

Each of the women were fending off the guards with their large knives while the two unarmed boys and the little girl and her puppy remained protected within the circle.

And what surprised Yuriko Takagi even more was the sight of her own daughter Saya, standing there holding a knife two-handed like a sword and slashing away at the guards, as she then turned her head and glared angrily at her mother upon catching sight of her standing in the street.

Upon noticing her mother standing there and watching them in awe, Saya then spoke to Yuriko in a loud commanding voice so filled with anger and contempt, that the sound of her own daughter's voice speaking to her in such a harsh fashion shocked Yuriko even more than what Saya said.

"OKASAN!" Saya roared as she waved her knife at the nearest guard, her voice as angry as the scowl on her face.

"WE… ARE… NOT… LEAVING!"

UPDATE: 6-30-2013

I was trying to reorganize and edit the chapters in my story and ended up making a terrific mess instead.

So if anyone was confused by some sudden changes and some chapters posted that weren't supposed to be, that was my bad.

Just to clear up some of the confusion, I re-did the organization of the chapters a bit.

"Foreword" is now actually "Foreword", and not "Chapter One" like it was before.

"The Bridge" is now Chapter One the way it was supposed to have been, and the last chapter is now Chapter 24 instead of Chapter 25.

Sorry for the confusion.

I added some new dialogue in some of the chapters, especially "The Man from the Alamo City", and as time goes on, I'll be tweaking the story here and there so it makes the story go smoother.

Up till now, "Last Alarm" has basically been a "rough draft".

Now I hope to tweak it one chapter at a time and fix all the errors I made and add some stuff that I think will improve the story.

Again, sorry for the confusion.

And thanks again for your patience and support!

Jim

Author's Notes,

You,….Shall,….Not,….PASS!

LOL. Yeah, I'm an LOTR fan too, which is partially the reason I had Saya make such a dramatic stand against her mother.

Bet you didn't see that coming either.

Hope all of you had a great weekend.

And for those of you who went to the movies this weekend, hope you enjoyed World War Z like I did, although I think it would have been better if it had been another hour longer so, in my honest opinion.

Good movie, but it felt a little rushed, I think.

Anyway, after writing that little preview of this chapter last week, I was really inspired to finish writing the rest of it over the weekend.

I hope you're not disappointed with the end result.

I tried not to make it too emotional, but even the most stout person would find it hard to deal with such a grim situation and not want to break down like Saeko does in this chapter.

Fortunately, she is not as alone as she thinks she is, which will make for an interesting story next chapter.

And no, again, I'm not trying to leave the story on a cliffhanger.

But Saya making a dramatic stand against her mother was a great way to end this particular chapter I thought.

On another note, I had received a few suggestions as to what should happen to Jim after leaving him lying unconscious and bleeding on the floor, and I wish to thank everyone who offered a suggestion.

And I was also greatly encouraged by the reviews I got about Saeko's coming to Jim's rescue in the preview I wrote in the last chapter. It helped me a lot to determine what I was going to write in this chapter, and again, I hope you're not disappointed at the end result.

I had always intended for the teens to step up and take charge just like they did in the manga and anime. But since I wanted to be realistic in my story, I wanted it to be where Jim mentors the teens as I believe any caring adult would do in such a situation, and have him teach the teens to be able to take care of themselves and each other, as well as being their protector as they travel along.

Originally, when I began this chapter, I began to think about writing this story so that the teens are dragged away by Yuriko and her guards, and Saeko and Jim are left behind to fend for themselves, while Komuro and the rest have to deal with living without Saeko and Jim at Takagi Manor.

Part of my inspiration for wanting to go that route was from the new video game that was just recently released "The Last of Us."

I was thinking of having Jim recover from his wounds and having him and Saeko travel across the river and through town alone, and then later meet up with the rest of the cast at the mall after the EMP. I was going to have them come across the now battle-torn Takagi Manor and meet up with Saya's parents who had just barely survived the onslaught of the Infected and that Jim and Saeko would be treated a lot better by the Takagi's, Saeko would get her sword and Jim have his weapons returned as they went to find the rest of the teens.

Instead, especially after writing the part of the story of how lost and alone Saeko feels with Jim lying unconscious on the floor and all her friends carried away, I decided the story would be better if all of the teens finally stepped up and showed their stronger side and took care of Jim, and helped Saeko in their greatest moment of need.

Now that the direction of the story is now settled, I have had some readers ask me recently if the other teens will start to have more dialogue in the story, most notably Takashi and Rei who haven't said a whole lot up to now.

The answer?

Most definitely yes, especially now with Jim down for the count, so it really is the right time for Takashi to start taking charge, and also for Rei to show her strengths as well.

So bear with me, writing realistic dialogue for three teenage girls, two teenage boys, one female nurse and a ten year old girl aint easy for a forty-four year old man to do.

But I'll give it my best shot.

And as far as Jim and Saeko having a "Last of Us" scenario?

Well, after "Last Alarm" is finished, and if I'm not completely burned out by that time from writing, I might be interested in writing a sequel.

So maybe Jim, Saeko and "Mom" who will be identified in the story later, will have another story to tell, a year or so later after the Outbreak, in the near future.

Thanks again for all of your kind reviews and your continued support, and I'll be working on the next chapter.