The car slowed to a stop.

From his vantage point on the roof of the sedan, Kohta looked from side to side, over his right shoulder, and then over his left. Nothing dangerous was in sight.

The car had been driving for, by his estimate, three hours straight. Although he still gripped his rifle in his right hand, his left was achy from his constant hold on the roof railing. He had not had to shoot any zombies on this tour. Saya had either swerved around them, or every now and then, plowed them aside. In moments like the latter, he had found himself clutching even harder on the railing and praying to whatever god there was to keep him safe.

By now, the sedan had gone through a villa district and was now in a park. Kohta blinked and scanned the green field, the cobblestone walkway, and the pond. He sat upright as the doors opened.

Takashi and Miku went out the left side, and Rei and Hisashi came out through the right. The four met at the back, and for a moment none of them did any more than stretch their legs and arms.

But eventually, the same topic was on everyone's mind. They looked from one to another. It was Rei who finally sighed and broke the silence.

"So, Shido is dead."

Miku hesitated, but nodded. "And Imamura is, too."

Rei fidgeted. "To think….I couldn't imagine wanting anything more than seeing him dead before. My dad investigating his dad, him holding me back, everyone gunning for me after, and...and m-my dad actually crying, first time I ever saw him do it…" She trembled, and Hisashi put an arm around her shoulders.

"And…" Rei jerked a finger behind her at the empty. "And now I find I'd go through all of it again if all of what's happened could be set back…."

Miku sighed. "In case you're wondering….I'm the one who killed Imamura. He'd already been bitten."

"Anger?" Hisashi asked.

"No," Takashi shook his head. "Mercy, or the closest thing to it, I guess."

Rei shrugged as she looked at Miku, recalling how she had subdued Imamura in the compound. "I don't know if I could have stopped myself if I were in your shoes."

"Takashi helped stop her," Hisashi spoke up. He looked at Rei and gave a slight smile. "As I would do for you." Rei returned his expression.

The four continued to stand, enjoying their respite from the cramped interior of the car. Presently, Takashi began to walk back to the driver's seat. From the roof, Kohta scuttled a bit to the side. He had not meant to eavesdrop.

Takashi tapped on the window, and Saya rolled it down.

"Curious about the place Father mentioned?"

"Yeah."

Saya turned to look straight through the windshield. "It's a small island right off the coast here. Too small for people or buildings. But it should be good enough for us, for now."

"We don't have a boat or raft or anything."

"No need." Saya adjusted her glasses. "There's a tunnel that leads underground and back up. The island's in some pretty shallow water."

"Will we have trouble on the way?"

"How should I know?" Saya leaned back and crossed her arms. "All I know is that it's the only potential safe haven for now." She looked at the watch on her wrist. "You guys should start getting back in. The rest of the group will need their turn stretching."

"What about you?"

"No need." Saya scowled. "I'm not leaving this spot until we get to that island or die trying."

Another couple of hours of driving brought the sedan right to the mouth of the tunnel.

It was just as Saya expected. Ten feet wide, ten feet high. A few zombies were loitering around the edges of the mouth. The ceiling lights that would have illuminated the space were out. And she had no way of knowing if there were other vehicles or zombies inside. Oh, well…

"Everyone, be prepared!"

She shouted the warning, and hit the pedal with her good forward, sailing straight past the loitering zombies, and then everything was dark. She hit something, definitely, but the sedan moved forward regardless.

It was just the group's luck that Takashi and Miku had not been able to scavenge a flashlight.

Then there was another bump, but the noise did not stop there. There was scratching and growling on the other side of the blocked windshield. Then there was a single gunshot, and Saya felt the wheels crunch over the fallen body.

She continued driving, and she gradually let a pinprick of light come into view. End of the tunnel. She continued to drive, gritting her teeth. It was coming closer and closer….

And when she let her pedal leg back to cut down on speed, it bumped into her bad leg.

She couldn't help it. She screeched, louder than she ever had before, and swerved to the side. There was a deafening crash, and everything seemed to shake all at once. Then everything became even darker.

Saya opened her eyes to find another pair staring. It was the little girl Alice, looking down worriedly at her. The creases in her face seemed to ease as Saya felt herself cough and spasm as she lay.

"Are you okay?"

Even in a time such as this, Saya found the energy to smirk. "No, but thanks for asking." She looked a little past Alice to see that there was a mess of leaves above the little one's head with a yellow stalk. Eggplant? No. She shook her head angrily. What a stupid choice of words, even just in her head.

"What happened?"

"We kind of crashed."

Saya scowled, remembering the light and the pain.

"What happened to the sedan?"

"Busted…"

"Did we get to the island?"

"Yeah."

Of course. The thing above Alice's head was a palm tree, after all.

"Are we safe?"

"For now...yup. We should be good."

Story idea by CRed1988 and writing by Jerviss.