53.
Last Alarm
Chapter 53
"The Alamo"
Part Four
"For every good reason there is to lie, there is a better reason to tell the truth." - Bo Bennett
Time: Zero Dark Thirty– Exact Time Unknown
Location: Takagi Manor – Second Floor Bedroom (Saya's Room)
Z-Day Times Five
"Saeko…they're here." The former American firefighter said in a low, and unmistakably troubled voice, as he then pulled Saeko close to him in a crushing embrace as Saeko suddenly felt as if the room was beginning to spin as the impact of the man's words hit her with all the force of a sledgehammer.
"They're here…?" Saeko said, her own words sounding distant and hollow in her ears as she began to feel her own heart beginning to beat rapidly against her chest.
"Are you sure, Ji-san…maybe you saw something else..?" Saeko said in a daze as she felt the American release her from his embrace and then hold her at arm's reach as he gazed at her with a worried expression as she gazed unseeing into the American's eyes.
"Hey…hey…hey…c'mon sweetie, snap out of it…I need you to be focused now….." The American said snapping his fingers in front of Saeko's face as her eyes fluttered before coming into focus.
"Eh…?" Saeko said as she gazed blankly back into the man's face.
"You okay, hon?" The man said suddenly becoming extremely concerned as Saeko finally snapped out of her daze and then finally nodded her head in response.
"Hai, gomen nasai, Ji-san…"Saeko replied as she noticed the other women in the room had gone completely silent at the man's words.
"I was just um…a little surprised by what you said…" Saeko added as the man nodded and then patted her gently on the shoulder.
"That's okay honey, it's not your fault…" The American said with a troubled sigh as he brushed the top of Saeko's head with his hand. "…I know that was a tough nut to chew there."
"Ano…Jimu-san?" Shizuka interrupted hesitantly as she held Alice tightly in her arms who was staring wide-eyed at the American, having obviously realized that danger had fallen upon them despite the language barrier.
"Just exactly who do you mean, is here?" The former school nurse said innocently which would have been comical if the situation had not been as extremely tense as it was, as everyone in the room gazed at Shizuka in stunned disbelief.
"Holy crap Sensei, are you really that dense…?!" Saya said irritably as she flashed an angry look at Shizuka despite the warning look her mother gave her. "….He's talking about the Infected, of course!"
"Oh…" Shizuka said with a hurt look on her face as Saeko returned her gaze back towards her adopted father.
"Just exactly how many Infected are there Ji-san?" Saeko said gazing back into the man's face as he pursed his lips together and glanced over at Saya's mother before answering.
"I don't know sweetie…" Jim replied with a sigh as he then gazed down at the floor as if trying to avoid Saeko's eyes. "…a lot."
"What do you mean by, a lot?" Saya interrupted her voice cracking slightly as she spoke. "…do you mean like, maybe a hundred or so?"
"That's not important, Saya-chan…" Saya's mother suddenly interrupted before the American could reply. "…What is important, is that all of you…."
"Thousands, Pumpkin…" The American interrupted before Yuriko could continue as the eyes of each of the women in the room widened in disbelief, including Alice who seemed to comprehend the seriousness of the situation even despite the language barrier.
"Th_th_thousands?!" Saya said with a croak as she struggled to maintain her composure in response to what the American had just said. "….How could there be, thousands!...Where did they all come from…how did they know we were here…how…?!"
"I don't know Pumpkin...!" Jim snapped in frustration as Yuriko tapped her daughter on the knee and shook her head at Saya as a warning to not press the issue any further, as the tension in the room immediately sky-rocketed at the American's outburst as the former firefighter then took a deep breath before addressing the group of frightened women in the room again.
"All we do know, guys…" The American continued in a calmer tone as he glanced at each of the frightened women in the room before speaking again. "… is that a whole bunch of them suddenly appeared out of the darkness, and right now they're all bunched up outside the front gate with more and more coming up the hill by the minute."
"And it's because there are so many out there…" Jim continued with a sigh. "…the Takagi's and I thought it best to relocate on the grounds outdoors and move them inside the mansion."
"Well if you're moving everyone indoors, then why are we being moved?" Saya asked suddenly growing suspicious. "….And what's up with all of us having to wear these stupid glow-sticks?"
"Saya-chan!" Yuriko hissed at Saya warningly as the American wearily held up his hand.
"Look guys, I know all of you are scared and probably have a million questions you'd like to ask…" The former firefighter began as he glanced over at each of the frightened faces staring back at him as he continued to speak. "…but right now, we just don't have the time."
"The only thing that you need to know right now, is that we're not in any danger at the present moment…" Jim said as he reached for his carbine and placed the sling over his head. "…and everything we're doing right now is purely as a precaution."
"But…" Saya pressed stubbornly and then yelped loudly in surprise as her mother suddenly reached over and pinched her hard on her arm.
"Saya-chan…that is enough!" Yuriko snapped angrily before grabbing one of the glowing chem-light necklaces laying on Saya's bed and roughly placing it over her daughter's head as Saya rubbed the sore spot on her arm.
"We have wasted enough time already!" Yuriko snapped as Saya stared back at her mother in shock at her unexpected outburst.
"Now hurry up and get dressed…all of you!" Yuriko snapped glaring angrily at everyone as the other women in the room flinched at her unexpected outburst.
"Move it!" Yuriko snapped again at everyone as they all glanced at one another in hesitation.
"What is wrong with all of you?!" Yuriko said irritably as she heard the American suddenly clear his throat in an attempt to get her attention.
"Uh…actually, I think they're probably all waiting for me to leave the room so that they can get dressed, Mrs. Takagi." Jim said sheepishly with a visible smirk on his face as he stood up and positioned his carbine in a more comfortable position as it hung from its sling.
"Oh, of course…" Yuriko replied, slightly embarrassed at not having taken the other women's modesty into consideration. "I hadn't thought about that."
"No worries, ma'am…" The American said with a chuckle as he then glanced down at Saeko who was still sitting up in her futon staring at him as he then reached behind his back and pulled out a large knife encased in a plastic sheath that he had kept tucked under his belt.
"Take this, Saeko…" Jim said handing Saeko the large survival knife as she gazed at the large knife in the man's hands.
"For some unknown reason, all of the knives that I gave ya'll a couple of days ago, somehow just "magically" happened to disappear…" The American continued with a snort of disgust as he gestured for Saeko to take the large knife from his hand. "…but fortunately, this one was locked up in Mr. Takagi's office along with the rest of my gear."
"Go ahead and take it, sweetie…" Jim urged Saeko as she then gingerly reached for the survival knife and then removed the fighting blade from its sheath and then closely examined the edged weapon with its partially serrated blade under the dim glow of the red chem-light hanging from her neck.
Compared to the smaller folding knife that the American had given her and the other women just days earlier when they had all sought refuge back at the condo belonging to Shizuka's friend, the knife that Saeko now held in her hands was huge, resembling more of a short sword than a mere knife as Saeko hefted the weapon in her hand and was surprised that despite its large size, the knife had almost no weight to it at all.
"This is not like any work of steel that I've ever seen before…" Saeko said as she tested the edge of the razor sharp blade with a finger. "…I do not recall ever holding a blade that was so light."
"That would be because that particular blade is made of a titanium alloy…" Jim replied watching Saeko as she continued to examine the blade. "…it's a lot tougher than steel, and is far more corrosion resistant to salt water as well as being lighter in weight."
"But most importantly, it's also non-magnetic…" The American said taking the knife from Saeko's hands and placing it back in its sheath. "…and that's because it was designed for military divers so that they could dispose of mines and other explosives without triggering any that might be magnetically-sensitive."
"Keep this with you at all times, Saeko…" The American said in a low voice as he held out the knife to Saeko. "…I don't want you going anywhere without it, understand?"
"Hai…" Saeko said as she timidly accepted the knife as the American then moved as if to leave.
"Ji-san…?" Saeko said still staring at the knife in her hands as the man stopped and then turned to face her.
"Yeah, sweetie..?" Jim said a worried frown forming on his brow as Saeko continued to stare vacantly at the knife. "…what's up?"
"Did you give me this because you think I will really need to use it…?" Saeko said lifting her head and staring directly into his face, her eyes filled with worry. "…are things truly that bad outside?"
"No, no honey…not at all…!" The American said trying to sound nonchalant which only served to make Saeko all the more anxious as her adopted father reached up and patted her shoulder in an obvious attempt to calm her.
"I was going to give it to you as a gift anyway, sweetie. I_…" Jim said and then recoiled as Saeko's hand suddenly darted out as she grabbed him firmly by the arm.
"Ji-san, what is it you're not telling us…?" Saeko said in a low voice so the others wouldn't hear as the man stared into her face for a moment before turning his head away as if afraid to answer.
"Please Uncle…I need to know…" Saeko said as she heard the man sigh heavily before turning to face her again.
"It's ugly out there alright, hon…" The American said keeping his voice neutral although there was no mistaking the fear in his eyes. "… but trust me, we got a handle on it for now."
"All of this is just merely a precaution, ladies…" The American said aloud as he then gazed upon the faces of the other frightened women in the room. "…and we just thought it might be best having all of you near us, especially since it's about to get very crowded in this house now that we're moving everyone indoors."
"So don't worry, okay?" Jim said as he patted Saeko gently on her hand.
"Just so you know hon…" The American said as he patted Saeko comfortingly on her shoulder. "…just because I gave you a knife doesn't mean the world's about to end."
"In fact…" Jim said winking at Saeko. "…where I'm from, the gift of choice for most fathers to give their daughter leaving home to go to college, is a handgun."
"So when you think about it, me giving you a knife is really not that big a deal…" The American said with a chuckle as Saeko stared at him vacantly.
"In fact, most people back home would probably say I'm being a real cheapskate for giving you a knife instead of a handgu_." Jim continued but was interrupted when Saeko suddenly reached up and threw her arms around him in a crushing embrace.
Taken aback by the unexpected move, the former firefighter didn't react at first apparently unsure as to how to respond to the teenage girls' embrace as Saeko leaned closer and after taking a deep breath, whispered softly into his ear.
"Dad…?" Saeko began, her heartbeat racing as she heard her adopted father and everyone else in the room gasp in surprise at her words before she then felt him wrap his arms around her and squeeze her tightly.
"Yeah, baby…?" The American replied his voice filled with emotion as hot tears ran down Saeko's face.
"I know you're lying…" Saeko said as she felt the man's body suddenly stiffen before she then heard him let out a tired sigh of resignation.
"I've been waiting my entire life to hear someone call me that…" Jim said sadly as Saeko felt her heart tearing apart at having intentionally toyed with the man's emotions in order to get to the truth.
"Sounded real nice to finally hear it, at last…." Jim said as Saeko felt her own emotions beginning to spiral out of control.
"You little stinker…" The American said with a chuckle after a few moments had passed as he then hugged Saeko even tighter. "...why did you have to be so damn smart?"
"Guess my brother was right, I'm a horrible liar…" The American said with a sigh as he suddenly felt the young woman's body beginning to shake uncontrollably.
"Hey, hey…c'mon now…it's okay…" The American said as Saeko fought to keep from sobbing uncontrollably as she suddenly felt her adopted father gently patting her on the back in an effort to calm her.
"Jimu-san, I'm sorry…" Saeko said apologetically as she felt the American shaking his head.
Don't worry about it hon…." The American said gently. "Under the circumstances, I don't blame you at all."
"But I do want all of you to understand that we're just being cautious, in case the worst should happen." Jim said as he held Saeko tightly in his arms for a moment longer before pulling away from her and held her at arm's length.
"But we're not at that point yet…" The man said in a gentle tone as he brushed Saeko's hair away from her face with his right hand.
"But we do need to be ready in case things do go south…" Jim said placing his hand lovingly on Saeko's cheek. "…so I need you to be strong for me and get dressed as quickly as you can and be ready when I come back with the boys."
"Okay, sweetie?" Jim said as he leaned forward and kissed Saeko gently on the forehead as Saeko gazed into the troubled man's face for a moment longer before she then reluctantly nodded her head.
"Hai…" Saeko replied as she quietly reached for her yukata that was hanging by its frame near her futon.
"Uh, uh….not the kimono, Saeko…" The American said shaking his head as Saeko gazed at him with a puzzled expression on her face.
"I want all of you to put on something that allows you more freedom of movement…" The American said as Saya Takagi's eyebrows immediately rose in suspicion.
"Freedom of movement?" Saya said aloud as her mother sighed in frustration at her daughter's suspicious nature. "…What do you mean by that?
"Uhm, what I mean by that is ya'll need to wear clothing that won't easily snag on something like a kimono, or a long skirt would…" The American said quickly which only served to arouse the suspicions of all the other young women in the room as Saya's mother rolled her eyes in mock disgust at the man's goof.
"And I also want all of you to be sure to wear comfortable shoes…" Jim added quickly before anyone could speak as Saya leaned closer as if she were studying the man's face for any signs of deceit. "…ya'll might be standing up for a long time what with all these people that'll be crowding the mansion."
"I'll be back in a few minutes with the boys…" Jim said as Yuriko nodded in response.
"By the way, be careful where you step…" The American warned as he began waving his hand back and forth, fanning the air. "…from the smell of it, I think the dog may have pooped on the floor somewhere, so watch out."
"I noticed the smell as I came in…" Yuriko said nodding her head. "I looked all around as I walked over here, but I didn't see anything."
"That's because what both of you are smelling isn't because of the dog…" Rei said grumpily in Japanese from her futon. "...Saya's ass is the real reason it stinks in here."
"MIYAMOTO-SAN!" Shizuka said in horror as Alice snickered loudly. "That was extremely rude of you to say!"
"Well it's true…!" Rei shot back. "…putting up with her snoring was hell enough, but the farts coming out of her butt are so bad I almost thought I was going to die."
"So, ne…?" Saeko said nodding her head in agreement as Saya's face turned beet-red from a mixture of embarrassment and rage at the two girls as Alice suddenly broke out into loud laughter.
"That's enough!" Yuriko snapped loudly before Saya could open her mouth to respond as everyone flinched as if shot, including Alice, who immediately stopped laughing.
"There is absolutely no time for all this silly bickering….!" Yuriko snapped as she flashed everyone an angry look. "…and you will all stop it this instant!"
"Mrs. Takagi is right, we don't have time for….whatever it was ya'll were arguing about_." The American began with a growl but was interrupted when a soft knock sounded at the door as he then stood erect and walked over to the door and opened it to find one of the Takagi's maids with eyes as wide as saucers standing on the other side holding a large bundle of clothes in her arms.
"Come in, Sachiko…" Yuriko said waving her maid in as the unmistakably frightened young woman bowed quickly and then entered the room and deposited the pile of clothes onto Saya's bed and then stood with her head bowed low as she quietly waited for any further commands from the Lady of the Takagi House.
"I asked Sachiko-san to bring some clothes of mine for you to use, Saeko-chan…" Yuriko said waving to the pile of clothes on the bed as Saeko arose from her futon and began to peruse through the small pile of clothes.
"Unfortunately, I rarely ever wear slacks or jeans…" Yuriko said apologetically as Saeko closely examined each garment in the dim red light emanating from all the glow-sticks.
"But perhaps you might find something there that might be of use…" Yuriko said as she nodded to her maid who then, without a word, quickly bowed and began to hurry out of the room.
"As I was about to say…" The American began again as he quickly stepped out of the way to keep from being bowled by the frightened maid's hasty exit out of the room.
"We don't have any time for "twenty questions", or for any of that other nonsense…" Jim said in a low voice as he gazed over everyone in the room. "…so quit screwing around and get dressed like Mrs. Takagi said."
"You girls have exactly three minutes…" The American said gruffly as he placed his hand on the door and turned the knob.
"Three minutes?!" Shizuka said with some apprehension in her voice. "But_"
"Skip the hairspray, eyeliner, and deodorant, ladies…" Jim said with a tired sigh as he opened the door and stepped outside.
"Because if you're not dressed and ready to "di-di" by the time I return with the boys…" Jim said in a threatening tone. "….I'll drag your asses buck-naked out of this room, if I have too."
"Don't think I won't, either…." The American said as he closed the door behind him as everyone gazed at each other in horror before fixating their gaze on Saya's mother.
"Don't look at me…" Yuriko said as she walked away from the bed and moved over to the door and stood staring at everyone with her arms crossed. "…I was the one who told all of you to hurry up and get dressed ten minutes ago."
"By the way, you now have two minutes, thirty-three seconds left…" Yuriko said gazing down at the luminescent hands of her gold Rolex as everyone gazed at her with looks of disbelief on their faces. "…so unless all of you really want to give the boys a free show, I'd hurry up and get dressed before Cxxxxxxx-san gets back."
"Tick-tock ladies…" Yuriko said shaking her head as everyone then began scrambling like mad to get dressed before the American returned.
A Special Announcement from the Author:
On April 28th, just a few short months ago, I found myself in the unusual, and quite frightening position of being rushed to the hospital by EMS due to a sudden, and unexplained onset of shortness of breath.
As it turns out, the reasons for my sudden inability to breathe were due to my having sustained a severe internal injury that I wasn't even aware of which I received during a training exercise at work which resulted in two massive blood clots developing in both of my lungs, which had been slowly making their way towards my heart.
To make a long story short, I nearly died from my experience, which just goes to show how dangerous my occupation can be, even during routine training.
However, thanks to quick intervention by a pretty sharp critical care team, my life was saved, although I still had a long road to recovery ahead of me.
Unfortunately as it turned out, the blood thinners that had been given to me in the hospital to help dissolve the clots at the has well as the ones that were given to me after I was released from the hospital inadvertently caused me to have some really intense and painful side effects, as well as accidentally eating away at the lining of my stomach forcing me to return to the hospital two more times.
At this time however, my health is much improved and I should be able to return to full duty in another couple of months although it will still be awhile before I will be at full strength.
I've had several close calls in my career as a firefighter, but my being alive today is truly a miracle and I realize that if not for God watching over me, I would not be here today nor would my recovery be going as well as it has so far.
Of course, because of what I've been through these past few months, you can all imagine how hard it has been for me to focus on much of anything else but my health, which is why I haven't updated in so long.
Before my accident however, I did manage to write this last chapter that you have all read, even though admittedly, it is the shortest chapter I've ever written by far and is less than a third of what I intended to write.
But because I realize that so much time has passed since my last posting, I decided to at least post what I have for all you faithful readers and also post an explanation as to the reasons for the long delay.
Despite what has happened, I still intend to finish all four books of my story provided that my health does not once again become an issue since pulmonary embolisms are unpredictable and may return although I'm pretty sure this won't be a problem again.
However, as a precaution in case my health does become an issue again, I have started writing a synopsis of what is going to happen in all four books of "Last Alarm" and will be sending it to my co-author and good friend Andy (aka Poynton90) to post on fanfic dot net, in the event that something does indeed happen to me so that all of you can at least know the details of the events in "Last Alarm" if indeed the worst should happen and I never finish my books.
On a personal note, Andy has been a great friend to me all these years and has also been an enormous source of strength and encouragement the past four months, and I am so grateful to him for his friendship as well as for his creativity, which in my opinion, his introduction of his OC "Andrew" as well as all the chapters Andy wrote for me has helped make "Last Alarm" a far better story than I originally intended to write, and I am forever grateful to him for all he has done.
If all of you recall from my previous entries in the "Author's Notes", I had always intended to write two endings for "Last Alarm", in which Jim survives being shot, and one where he doesn't.
The one where Jim doesn't survive has already been written for the most part, and will be one of the things I send Andy besides the synopsis in case something ever happens to me.
Whether it becomes the actual ending for "Last Alarm" remains to be seen.
Andy, on the other hand, has written an extremely awesome story in which Jim survives as well as most ost of the characters from "Last Alarm" which he has appropriately named….."Last Alarm-Okinawa Offensive", which takes place shortly after the events in "Last Alarm".
Andy has spent a considerable amount of time and effort on his story, and in my opinion, it is an awesome story and to me, is the perfect sequel to "Last Alarm".
As of this time, he is still working hard on finishing up a few more chapters before he begins posting his story in a couple of months, but I can tell you that from what I have read, it'll definitely be worth the wait.
On another personal note, I also wanted to take the time to thank all of you loyal readers from all four corners of the globe for all of your support and all the kind reviews posted over the years, and it is my hope that despite what has happened, that I can continue my work in writing all four books of "Last Alarm" and finish what I set out to do almost four years ago when I first started writing this story.
It may take a little longer than I originally expected to finish now because of my health, but I think it will have been worth the wait in the end, and it is my hope that all of you will think so as well.
My sincerest thanks to you all….
Until next time, take care. Jim
