HOTDR Chapter 19: The Dead Among Us
Rika (thinking): Where am I… I can't see anything. Am I.. dead…?
She was surrounded by a shroud of darkness, unable to see in front of her own eyes. Nothing was clear to her, not where she was, not her name, not who she was. All she knew is that she was surrounded, until light flickered in front of her. She began walking towards the faint glint of light and found herself standing in front of a door that appeared to be locked. She twisted the handle and it opened with ease. When she stepped through the door, she found herself standing under a night sky, faintly lit by the moon above. She looked to the sky and noticed storm clouds moving in on her quickly. She looked around and was in the middle of a street, trying to piece together where she was. As she focused back to the middle of the street, she saw a little girl in white garb standing in the middle of the road. Rika was startled to see her, but slowly began approaching her, calling out to her.
Rika (calling out): Uh… Little girl? Are you okay?
The little girl didn't answer.
Rika (calling out): Can you tell me where I am? And why it's so dark?
Suddenly, a red tint of light shined faintly behind the little girl, and it began to rain. Rika held out her hand and saw that it was starting to rain, but rain wasn't falling. She looked to the sky and saw that blood was raining from the sky and then focused back onto the little girl. She began walking towards Rika with a butcher's blade in hand that she acquired out of seemingly nowhere. Rika began taking steps back and once she took 4 steps, the little girl ran full speed at her. She turned around and began to run until she came across a two story house. She didn't dare look behind herself and continued to the house. She rushed the front door, opening it and slamming it shut. She looked around the living room and saw a small one seat sofa and pushed it against the front door.
Once she turned around again, she was back outside and it was still raining blood. She heard a young child's laughter and frantically searched for the girl again. What she did see, was a homeless man sitting against a brick wall under a tarp, protecting himself from the rain.
Rika (frantically): Sir, sir! Have you seen a little girl? She's running around with a knife and I think she's trying to kill me!
The homeless man looked to her and then looked back to the ground, seeming to ignore her presence. She heard the young girl giggle and it sounded nearby, so she backed away from the man and searched for her again.
Rika: You need to get out of here. She-
When she looked back to the homeless man, she saw the girl and witnessed her place both of her hand in his mouth and rip his head open vertically. Blood splashed on the brick wall behind the man and the girl looked to Rika with blood covering her persona. Rika froze, unable to move. The girl lunged at her, tackling her to the ground and pinning her to the ground with a sinister grin on her face. Her fingers were elongated and were needle-like. She stared Rika in the eyes, grinning and not saying a word to her. Terrified, Rika tried to look away from her and closed her eyes, but the little girl grabbed her face and force Rika to look at her.
Little Girl: Open your eyes, Rika.
Rika opened her eyes, following orders because she was terrified of death. But as she opened her eyes, the sky was blue, the fluffy clouds were out and the girl wasn't the same as before. Everything had changed.
Little Girl: Why are you on the ground, silly? That's not how you play hide and seek.
Rika looked closer at the little girl, studying her appearance. The girl got off of Rika and she stood, still studying the girl.
Rika: You… Your hair. Your eyes. Your skin… Are you… me…?
Little Girl: Hm… I don't know… Am I? I can't tell. I suppose we look alike.
She was still wearing the same white garb and no shoes as the demonic girl was. But this girl was peaceful and resembled Rika a great bit.
Rika: Are you that same little girl from before?
Little Girl: What little girl? It's only been me the entire time until you arrived.
Rika: Where… exactly am I?
Little Girl: You're in the waiting place, silly.
Rika: Waiting place?
Little Girl: Yeah! You don't know what that is?
Rika: No. I don't know where I am.
Little Girl: Well, actually… you're not anywhere. You're dead silly!
Rika's heart dropped at what the little girl said. That thought hasn't crossed her mind at all and she thought that this was just another dream or something along those lines. But no… she is being told that she's... dead…
Rika: Dead…?
Little Girl: Yeah! This is a peaceful waiting place. This is where people go when they are waiting to go to Heaven or Hell.
Rika: B-But people die all the time! Why are you the only one here?!
Little Girl: Because people always see their younger selves before passing on, silly. Oh… I guess that means you are me! And I'm you!
Rika: This… This isn't right. I'm not dead. I don't remember dying!
Little Girl: Nobody ever remembers dying. It's too traumatic! Like being born. You don't remember being born, do you?
Rika: Of course not. Nobody remembers being born.
Little Girl: Exactly! Nobody remembers dying either!
Rika (thinking): I… I'm dead…?
Little Girl: Yes, you are!
Rika: Gah! How did you hear me?!
Little Girl: Pfft! I'm you, silly. We share the same thoughts! See, what's this.
The girl closed her eyes and began thinking hard.
Little Girl (thinking): Hi!
Rika: I… I heard that… This is insane… I-
Little Girl (demonic): You what? Can't accept being dead?
Rika: Huh?!
She looked to the little girl and saw that she was flickering, going in and out of the innocent girl and the psycho killer.
Rika: You! You're the crazy girl that's trying to kill me!
Little Girl (innocent): What? Oh… you mean Akir… Yeah. She's pretty mean.
Rika: Mean?! Is that what you call it?!
Akir: Who are you calling mean, you wimp!
Young Rika: Hey, stop being mean to our older self! She's having a rough time right now.
Rika: Because that little demon is trying to kill me!
Akir: You're already dead, stupid. I can't kill you twice.
Rika: Then why were you chasing me with a knife? Huh?!
Akir: Because I was bored and thought it would be fun. Ha ha!
Rika: Little bitch…
Young Rika: Akir, come on. Knock it off. Let's play nice with future us.
Rika: How… How can I get back?
Young Rika: Get back?
Rika: Yes! I want to live! I need to be alive to help my family!
Akir: Good luck. Ha ha. They'll all die soon too!
Rika: You shut your mouth! You don't know what you're talking about!
Akir: I do know that you're dead. And that you're going to Hell… with me! Ha ha!
Rika: I haven't done anything wrong to go to Hell, you demon!
Akir: Oh? What about the countless people you've killed on missions?
Rika: Those were mission orders! I had to! And they were evil human beings that needed to be exterminated.
Young Rika: Okay, fine then. I can help you.
Rika: Help me? How? Help me how?!
Young Rika: I can Force Wake.
Rika: Force Wake? What does that mean?
Akir: Ugh. She's so stupid, it's irritating.
Young Rika: Hush. Force Waking is returning you to the human world. Pretty much giving you a second shot. This has all been a near death experience for you, silly!
Akir: What a moron.
Rika: "Near" death? I…
Young Rika: You have to live a good life from here on out. No more killing people, okay?
Akir: Or you get to go to Hell with me! Ha ha ah ha!
Young Rika: And neither of us want that. I'd much rather hang out with my older self in Heaven. And if she goes to Hell, I have to go with her. We're all the same person.
Akir: And if we go to Hell… I get to have fun with you for an eternity!
Rika thought back to the events that she saw after her, Rodack and Tajima crashed and more recently, the events she just witnessed.
Rika: It was you… You made me have all of those horrible thoughts while I was unconscious!
Akir: Oh… The pig figured it out.
Young Rika: Enough. It's time for you to get back. This is your second near death experience… So I don't want to see you again until your time is up, okay?
Akir: I want to see her again tomorrow!
Young Rika flickered into view clearly and walked over to the still stunned, older Rika and placed her hand on her stomach. A white flash of light happened and Rika's vision went black once again.
? (hazy, faint): Rika!
Rika began to slowly open both eyes and saw that Rodack was knelt over her, trying to wake her up.
Rodack: Rika! You're okay… She's alive!
Rika: What…? What happened?
Rodack: No time to explain. It's time to go.
Opening Theme Song: I'm Still Breathing by Maon Kurosaki
Rodack (over radio): Alright everyone, that's it! Plan B! We're going to plan B!
Kiba (over radio): What's plan B?!
Momosuke (over radio) You don't pay attention to shit! We're evacuating!
Kiba: OH! That plan. Saeko, Raven. We're moving out!
Saeko: Okay!
Raven: Right behind you!
Kohta, Rika, Rodack and Iori abandoned their post with their weapons and began descending into the hospital. They stopped by the infirmary to check on Totsuka, who was bandaged up and has stopped screaming in pain.
Rika: Is he okay?
Shizuka: He'll be back to normal in no time! It's all thanks to Saya… She really helped us out and even kept us focused!
Chie: She did awesome. Proud of my little sis.
Saya: Little sis?
Iori: That's great and all, but we need to evacuate right now. We've lost this place.
Rodack: With the amount of explosives they've got, they can just blow us down.
Lars: Then let's get the women and younger ones out first. They don't need to get caught in the crossfire.
Rika: He's right. Let's get a move on.
Shizuka: Where are the others?
Rodack: Scattered throughout the hospital. They'll make it to the evac point.
Rika: Shizuka, grab your bag. We're leaving.
Shizuka quickly gathered her medical supplies in her rolling bag and everyone left the infirmary; Chie helped Totsuka walk, who was still weak after losing a lot of blood. Kiba, Raven and Saeko were fighting it out against the invaders on the staircase, trying to hold them back and stop them from getting upstairs. Kiba tossed his M4 to the side and pulled his 1887 T-series lever action shotgun from his waist and began firing rounds at the enemy.
Kiba: Saeko, Raven, you two get a headstart! I'll hold them for a bit!
Raven: No way! There's like 20 people down there!
Kiba: I'm not asking you, I'm telling you! Get out of here!
Saeko looked to Kiba who was focusing on the enemy at hand and turned around, trying to hold back her tears.
Saeko: I'm coming back for you.
Kiba: Don't worry about it. I'll come to you. I promise.
Kiba looked back for a brief moment and winked to Saeko, who was looking over her shoulder. Saeko grabbed Raven's hand and the two continued up the stairs and Kiba followed behind them, getting the height advantage over the enemy. He stopped right in front of the door that led to the second floor as the girls went through it. As they ran through the second floor, they came across Momosuke, Takashi, Tak and Rei.
Rei: Saeko, Raven! You two are alright!
Saeko ran into Rei's arms and hugged her briefly.
Momosuke: Where's Kiba?
Saeko: He… he said he'd be right here…
Momosuke: No…
Nado: I'll go get him.
Nado ran past them and went after Kiba, going to help him get away from the enemy; Tak followed behind him. Rika and the others found the second floor fireteam and Rika began rushing everyone to the evacuation zone.
Rika (to Takashi): Where's Nado and Tak going?
Takashi: To get Kiba. He's holding them off at the stairs.
Rika (thinking): Ugh, why does he have to be a goddamn hero.
Momosuke and the others had left the area and had begun loading up the vehicles with the equipment. Saeko and Takashi were now the last two on the floor along with Tak and Nado while everyone was preparing to leave their home. Tak and Nado had reached the door that Kiba was keeping the enemy at bay, but as soon as they arrived, the door swung open, a man fired a round from a pistol and the bullet pierced Nado in the center of the forehead, causing his body to drop lifelessly to the floor. His eyes were still open, confused about what had just happened.
Tak watched Nado's body in shock, unable to even stop his body from hitting the floor. Takashi and Saeko also witnessed Nado's quick and painless death; both unable to speak. As he hit the floor, blood splattered on the ground behind his head. Everything had gone silent for a moment; everything seemed to have went inaudible. Tak, still in shock with his jaw dropped, looked to see a man standing in the doorway with a sinister grin on his face. The man standing at the door… was Koichi Shido.
Tak: Mother… fucker!
Tak jumped at Shido and Shido raised his gun to him, pulling the trigger. The only sound was a click, signifying his magazine was empty. Tak punched Shido in the face, but Shido used his hand to guide Tak's fist away, reducing the damage dealt. Shido brought his knee up and kneed Tak in the stomach, then held his pistol by the barrel and hit Tak on the back of the head with it, causing him to hit the ground.
Takashi frantically picked up his weapon and aimed it for Shido, but once he pulled the trigger, he also heard a click.
Takashi: S-Shit! No!
Takashi quickly searched for ammo on his waist and had no more magazines available. Saeko aimed her M93 Raffica at Shido and as she pulled the trigger, the barrel of the gun locked; the weapon jammed. Shido stomped on Tak's back, keeping him still while he unloaded and reloaded his weapon.
Tak: You… son of a bitch! You'll get what's coming to you! You-
Shido: Shut up.
Shido fired 5 rounds into Tak's back, silencing him immediately.
Shido: You talk too much.
He directed his attention to Takashi and Saeko, who were standing there, helpless. Shido aimed his pistol in their direction and Takashi grabbed Saeko by the arm, quickly running and closing the emergency exit to the second staircase behind themselves. Shido lowered his weapon and chuckled.
Shido: I'll get you Takashi. I'll kill all of your friends and force you to watch. And then, Rei Miyamoto will be mine. *chuckles*
Takashi and Saeko ran down the stairs and reunited with the others; Saeko was crying. They had 3 vehicles prepared, the pickup truck, the 5 seater sedan and the 8 seater SUV. They had all of the supplies loaded into the back of the pickup truck and Rodack was driving with Kohta in the passenger seater. The sedan had Rika as the driver, Saya sitting passenger, and the backseat was Chie, Totsuka and Raven. In the SUV was Shizuka driving, Rei sitting passenger, Iori was sitting on the far left on the second row, and Momosuke, Alice and Lars were sitting in the third row of the SUV; Alice was covering her ears and hiding her face on Lars' shirt. Takashi and Saeko got to the SUV and opened the back door, letting themselves in and sitting in the second row next to Iori.
Saya (thinking): What the hell? Where's Kiba?
Kohta (thinking): Tak? Where's Tak?
Chie (thinking): Where are Tak and Nado?
Rika (thinking): Kiba?! Where's…
Shizuka: Where are the others?
Takashi: Drive, Shizuka-sensei. Please, just… go.
Rika (over radio): Takashi! Where in the hell are the others?!
Takashi didn't answer… He couldn't answer. He witnessed Tak and Nado murdered before his very eyes and Kiba… He doesn't even know where he is.
Momosuke: Takashi? Where's Kiba? And did you hear Rika?
Takashi (over radio): They didn't make it.
Everyone went silent. Nothing else needed to be said. Rika's face became enraged and she slung her car door open and charged for the door. Rodack, who had gotten out of the truck, stopping her.
Rodack: Where do you think you're going?
Rika: Move out of my way, Rodack.
Rodack: I can't do that.
Rika: Move, or I will move you.
Rodack: Then that's how it's going to be. I can't let you back in there. We have to go.
Rika: My brother is in there!
Rodack: You are not about to risk the safety of the group for one person!
Rika: He's not one person! He's my brother! Move!
Rika tried to force her way through Rodack, but she was unstable. He quickly detained her and began walking her back to the vehicles. She managed to break free, elbowed Rodack in the face and ran for the door. Momosuke and Lars grabbed her, bringing her back. Rodack went over to her and helped the boys bring her back.
Rodack: Rika! Listen to me! I know he's your brother, but… he's dead. And there's nothing we can do about it now. We have to go. We have to…
Rika, unable to do anything, began to tear up and snatched away from the boys. She began walking back to the car.
Rodack (over radio): Saya, can you please drive? She's a bit… out of it.
Saya climbed over the seat and got into the driver's seat. Rika got into the passenger seat and sat quietly, putting her head against window.
Rodack activated the garage doors and the opened, allowing them to leave. They pulled out of the garage and noticed that the infected began to draw near, attracted by all the noise. Understandable, considering how much gunfire there was. The three vehicles pulled off, dodging the undead as they drove. They were followed out by a few gunshots in their direction, only to attempt to scare them. Shido wanted them to get away. He came prepared. It seemed overly prepared as a matter of fact. He had them right where he wanted them from the start. But now, they were homeless, broken, and wounded and they just needed some time to heal.
COMMERCIAL BREAK
The three vehicles were cruising down the street, trees passing them by, birds flying high overhead, and not a word spoken. Momosuke was sitting with his head leaning against the window, watching as the trees passed and the shadows danced.
Momosuke (thinking): I can't believe this… Kiba is… dead…
Takashi kept replaying the events in his head over and over again, unable to think about anything else. All he could hear were the gunshots that killed two of his friends. Alice was sleeping on Lars' arm; they've been driving for a little over an hour and a half. They hit a bump in the road and it startled her awake. She frantically looked around, alarmed.
Lars: It's alright, Alice. We just hit a bump in the road.
Alice: Oh… Sorry. I was having a bad dream anyway…
Rei: A bad dream? What was it about?
Alice: I don't remember… But I know I was running from something.
Shizuka: Well, it's over now. And it was just a dream.
Alice: Hey… where's Nado? And Tak? And Kiba…?
Everyone in the SUV was quiet, unsure on how to answer. Lars petted her hair and looked to her.
Lars: They… aren't coming with us.
Alice: What do you mean, scary oni-chan?
Lars: They… Uh…
Rei: They… aren't alive anymore.
Alice: They're… not alive…?
Rei: Yeah, Alice. They aren't alive anymore.
Alice: Did they turn into spirits like my daddy?
Lars: Yes, they did Alice. They can still see us though. We just can't see them.
Alice: Oh…
She laid her head down on Lars' shoulder again, not trying to think about her friends that she's lost. After a few more minutes of riding, Rodack and Kohta felt the truck jolt forward and then started to decelerate on its own. Rodack slammed his hands on the steering wheel.
Rodack: Ah, son of a bitch!
Kohta: What was that?
Rodack honked the horn, gaining everyone's attention. All of the vehicles came to halt and Rodack got out of the truck, irritated and angry.
Rodack: Dammit. Kohta, open the hood.
Kohta reached down and pulled the latch, opening the hood of the truck. A cloud of smoke emerged from the truck; Rodack fanned it away and covered his face. Momosuke and a few of the guys came from their vehicles to help.
Momosuke: What the hell happened?
Rodack: I don't know. I think it's overheated. We aren't going anywhere in this truck until I can figure out what happened.
Rika walked over and looked at the clouds of smoke emitting from the hood of the pickup truck. She looked around and saw that they were surrounded by a lot of trees and decided it was too dangerous to travel with only 2 working vehicles; all of their supplies were in the bed of the truck.
Rika: We set up here.
Kohta: In the woods?
Rei: That doesn't seem like a great idea.
Rika: Do you have a better idea, Rei?
Rei: Well..
Rika: No? Then shut the hell up and follow orders.
Rika walked away and went into the woods, leaning her back against a tree. Rodack shook his head in disappointment.
Rodack: Well, you heard her. We set up here until we can get the truck going.
Chie: We can have runners go out and scout ahead, maybe find the next town?
Momosuke: I don't know if I like that. What if the runners run into a horde up ahead and can't come back to warn the others?
Rei: Just take a car with you. Those things are strong, but they're not fast.
Iori: I'll go. Let's take a team of 4. So I need 3 other people.
Chie: You already know I'm in.
Momosuke: I'll go.
Saya tugged on his arm in a disapproving manner.
Saya (whispering to him): You don't have to go…
Momosuke (whispering back to her): I need to take my mind off of… a lot.
Saya looked away from him, not liking his decision. He grabbed her and hugged her tightly, letting her know that he'd be back for her. Unable to resist, she returned the hug. No matter what was happening, if he hugged her it seemed like everything would be alright.
Raven: I… I can go too. I want to help.
Iori: Alright, that's what I'm talking about. Check your ammo, grab a bag and get a bottle of water. We head out in 10.
Chie: You got it.
Momosuke went over to the SUV and grabbed his bow and arrows that were in a bag. Rodack walked over to him.
Rodack (whispering to Momosuke): Scout ahead only about a mile or two. Try to stay close.
Momosuke (whispering to Rodack): Keep an eye on Rika. You know what's going on with her right now, just… watch out for her.
Rodack (whispering to Momosuke): Don't worry about her. I've got her.
Rodack patted his shoulder and walked away. Iori had his Remington 870 shotgun in hand, Chie grabbed her UMP-45 submachine gun, Raven checked her magazines on her G18s, put them away and put her knife in her thigh sheath. Momosuke put the backpack on his back with the arrow feathers sticking out, ready to grab while he held the bow in hand. The group loaded up in the sedan, Iori as driver, then set out. Momosuke was in the backseat with Chie and Raven sat in the front passenger seat.
As they left, Rodack turned his attention to Rika, who was sitting with her back to a tree and facing away from the group. Her rifle was lying on the group next to her. He made his way over to her and sat to her right.
Rodack: Hey.
She was quiet and he could see tears going down her cheeks.
Rodack: You gonna be okay?
Rika: It's hard to stay strong… for my family… when we keep losing people.
Rodack: We're in the apocalypse. It's going to happen and sometimes, there's nothing we can do about it.
Rika: I'm well aware of that, but why did it have to be us? It seems like as soon as we hunker down somewhere, we don't stay there long. You remember the airport…
Rodack: Everyday…
Rodack thought back to the airport being bombed as he, Rika and Tajima left. He shook his head to try to clear that memory away.
Rodack: But what we can't do is wellow in the past. We have to keep moving forward.
Rika: That's easy for you to say when you haven't lost a brother.
Rodack was silent for a bit, unable to think of anything to say in response to Rika's comment. She wiped her face, but the tears kept rolling.
Rika: I'll be fine. I'll… get over it eventually.
Rodack: You have to. Between you and Takashi, he's not doing too hot.
Rika looked over to see that Takashi was still in the car, sitting quietly with a blank expression on his face as Rei sat with him. Saeko was standing on top of the SUV, keeping lookout. Kohta was sitting with Totsuka, who was starting to wake up, surprising Alice and Shizuka.
Shizuka: Yay! You're awake!
Totsuka: What the hell happened?
Saya. You were shot. Your sister and Nado brought you up to us and we helped you with the wound.
Totsuka: Aw, sick! Where is Chie and Nado? I need to give them both a hug! *flinch* Ah.. pain in my shoulder.
Saya: Chie left with Iori, Momosuke and Raven to scout ahead.
Totsuka: Oh. Okay. Yo, Nado! Where you at, dude?
Kohta: He, uh… He…
Totsuka: He what? He's taking a leak in the woods?
Saya: No… he… He's dead, Totsuka.
Totsuka froze for a moment, debating in his head whether or not Saya was kidding.
Totsuka: Okay… You aren't smiling or anything. Cut the shit, where is he?
Shizuka: He's gone, Totsuka…
Saya: Tak, Kiba and Nado were all killed. According to Takashi and Saeko, Shido killed Tak and Nado.
Totsuka: No way…
Saya nodded her head, Saeko looked away, lowering her head.
Totsuka: That motherfucker! Where is he?!
Rodack: Hey, keep your voice down.
Totsuka looked to notice that Rodack had walked over to the vehicles to greet him.
Rodack: We're not at Gansho anymore. We were forced to leave.
Totsuka: They forced us out of our home?! I'm out cold for 20 minutes and we lose everything?! This is bullshit!
Totsuka threw open the car door and began storming off into the forest. Everyone looked away, understanding his pain and frustration of losing family. Losing three of them in rapid succession hurts, a lot. Saya walked over to Rei and Kohta, gaining their attention.
Saya: So, what's the plan?
Rei: I'm not sure… Takashi is… out of it and Rika? She's not okay.
Kohta: We need a plan. I'm pretty sure we can't stay in the forest for the rest of our lives.
Saya: Don't be an idiot, fatass. We aren't going to be out here for very long, just until Rodack can fix the truck.
Rodack (calling out): We aren't going anywhere. The truck is shot.
Kohta, Saya and Rei walked over to Rodack.
Saya: What happened?
Rodack: The alternator is dead. And when the alternator went, it killed the battery because the truck was running off of it. So, basically… we need a new battery and a new alternator to move this truck.
Rei: That's really shitty.
Rodack: Tell me about it. And I thought I fixed it up good, too. This just isn't our lucky day.
Kohta: Somebody should check on Totsuka…
They looked to see him sitting with his back against a tree, facing away from them with his forehead on his kneecap.
Saya: I got him.
Saya walked over to Totsuka, knowing what he was thinking. He and Nado had just gotten close, close enough for him to see Nado as a brother. And now Shido took him away. And Tak, those two had fun all the time together. From music interests to skateboarding, those two had bonded and knew each other like siblings. Saya sat down next to him and put her hand on his back.
Saya: How you doing, kiddo?
Totsuka: This is fucking insane. We shouldn't have stayed. We were outnumbered, cornered like rats.
Saya: There's no way for us to know who was challenging us. Besides, we didn't expect to fight an army.
Totsuka: Wait, weren't you all for us leaving? You didn't even want to fight.
Saya: Yeah, but since we did, there's no point in looking back on that now. We stayed, we fought, we lost. And it's over now.
Totsuka: We didn't just lose. We were destroyed. I got shot! And worst of all, I don't have my music.
Saya: Where are your headphones?
Totsuka: I think they flew off of me when I got shot…
Saya: You were wearing them in a gunfight?
Totsuka: So?
Saya : *sigh* When will you learn?
Totsuka: Chie asks me that a lot. I don't think I will.
Saya chuckled, smiling at Totsuka.
Saya: Glad you're feeling better.
Totsuka: Pfft, whatever. I lost some really good friends today… but I think I'll be alright.
Saya: Chie and the others will be back soon. We just have to stay quiet and be alert until they get back. We don't want to attract the dead.
Totsuka: Alright.
Saya: Come on.
Saya stood up and held her hand out to Totsuka, helping him up. The two walked back over to the convoy of vehicles and Rei put her hand on Totsuka hair, comforting him. She opened up for a hug and Totsuka hugged her, continuing to pat his head.
Saeko: Does anyone know what to do if we have to leave and the others aren't back?
Rodack: Easy. We leave them a trail of breadcrumbs.
Iori and his team of runners were about 2 miles ahead of the group, scouting ahead and checking for resources. They came across a small town that had a very limited number of buildings; a gas station, a few hotels and restaurants.
Chie: Where are we? This looks like a small tourist area. Like a rest stop kinda.
Momosuke: Yeah. It doesn't look like it had a lot of attention, even before the outbreak.
Iori: Let's park here and go on foot. Don't want the car to attract whatever dead might be in here.
Raven: Good thinking.
Iori pulled over and parked the car. Everyone cautiously exited the vehicle and loaded their weapons.
Momosuke: Everyone good?
Raven put one of her G18s in her left thigh holster and held her knife in her left hand, using the right hand for the other G18. She crossed her hands like a cop would with a pistol and a flashlight, tactically prepared to shot or to stab. Iori loaded shells into his Remington and pumped it, ready to fire. Momosuke had an arrow placed on the bow, ready to fire at a moment's notice and Chie had her UMP-45 set to full-auto mode.
The group advanced slowly into town, the sun was still high in the sky. Iori lead the way, Chie followed close behind him, Momosuke was behind her and Raven brought up the rear. As they walked, they heard a hiss.
Iori: Eyes up, got a dead one.
Momosuke: I got it.
To their right was one of the undead walking slowly but surely in their direction. Momosuke approached it and jammed an arrow into the side of its head, causing it to drop to the concrete. He put the arrow back to the bow and got back to the others. They first went to the gas station, searching drinks and any gas they could find for the other vehicles. Once at the station, one of them stood up from a dormant state, almost like it was sleeping, and began walking towards the team. Chie approached it with her knife in hand and stabbed it through the eye, killing it.
Once they were inside, it looked untouched. No blood, nothing knocked over. No trace of struggle.
Momosuke: This gas station looks like it's in great shape. It doesn't even look like it was scavenged.
Iori went over to the register and opened it.
Iori: It's still full of cash.
Chie: So it wasn't even looted when the outbreak first hit? Was anyone even here?
Raven: It's possible that they were closed the day of the outbreak. It would explain why there was no struggle to leave.
Momosuke: I guess that makes sense.
Iori: Let's spread out, groups of two. Chie, Momo, check for gas. Raven and I will check for any medicines or food and drinks we can find.
Momosuke: Cool.
Chie: Come on.
Momosuke and Chie went outside and around to the back of the building to find gas cans lying around. They both grabbed one and began carrying them around to the front of the station.
Chie: How are you holding up, Momo? You okay?
Momosuke: Well, my brother is dead. I feel like the group is falling apart… We lost Tak and Nado. Nothing seems to be good right now.
Chie: Don't look at it like that. It's not all bad. We still have each other.
Momosuke: Yeah, well that's easy for you to say. You still have your brother.
Chie was quiet for a moment. She looked over to their left and saw one of them walking towards them. It was a female and was missing an arm.
Chie (whispering): Psst.
She got Momosuke's attention and nudged her head in the direction of the undead woman. Momosuke took notice and set down his gas can, preparing his bow and arrow. As he took aim, he felt Chie tap on his shoulder. He looked back to her.
Chie: Can I try?
Momosuke looked to his bow and shrugged. He handed it to her, helping her get a hand on it. As she aimed it, Momosuke took notice that her form was flawed, so he adjusted her to have better form. He put his face near her's to help her aim, and before she fired the arrow, she kissed him on the cheek. She smiled and fired the arrow, missing slightly. Momosuke took the bow from her, put another arrow on it and aimed, firing an arrow perfectly into the bridge of the undead's nose. It dropped to the ground with a slimy sounding thud. He walked over to retrieve both arrows.
Chie: Pretty good shot. Think you can teach me sometime?
Momosuke: Hm… I think that can be arranged.
The two smiled lightly at each other.
Inside the station, Iori and Raven we're having any luck finding supplies. Raven had wandered off to the back of the station, searching thoroughly. She ended up in an office type room; the room had pictures and awards lined along the walls for the employees that worked there. As she was looking at the pictures, she could see something in the reflection behind her. It was fuzzy and she couldn't make it out, so she turned to see one of the undead rushing her, quickly pinning her against the wall. She screamed out, loud enough for Momosuke and Chie to hear her from outside. Iori quickly made his way to her, throwing the undead off of her and flopping on the floor. She aimed her G18 at it.
Iori: No! No firearms! The noise will bring more.
Iori used the butt of his shotgun to bash in the skull of the undead man that attacked Raven. From the closet, another one popped out, seeming confused on what was going on. It randomly lunged forward to Iori, tackling him. Raven kicked it off of him, but tripped, falling with it. She bumped her head against the desk off in the corner of the room and the infected got on top of her. Out of reaction, she put her right forearm in front of her face to protect herself, but the infected man bite down on her arm, causing her to scream out in pain. Iori recovered and grabbed the undead by the shoulder, pulling it off of her. He pulled out his machete and swung it at the dead, but it moved to the left and made Iori miss his fatal strike and instead the machete stuck into the undead's back. He pulled it from its back and it charged him, tackling Iori to the floor. Momosuke and Chie arrived to help; Chie had out her knife and Momosuke had an arrow in hand.
Momosuke: Iori, move!
Iori pulled himself away from his potential killer just enough for Momosuke to kick it in the side of the head, causing it to fall over. Chie jumped on top of it and stabbed it in the back of the head, putting it down for good. Momosuke held out an arm to Iori, helping him up. Chie immediately went over to Raven, who was holding her arm on the floor. She was frantic, panicky.
Chie: Raven, Raven! What's wrong?!
Raven (crying): It-It bit me! It bit my forearm!
Momosuke: Oh no…
Iori: Goddamnit…
Chie: Let me take a look at it.
Chie helped Raven rolled up her shirt sleeve and saw small bite marks in her arm. You could clearly see where she was bitten.
Chie: These bite marks… He got you alright, but he didn't bite hard enough to break skin. You're fine.
Iori sighed in relief.
Momosuke: Oh man. That was close. I don't think I could've handled losing someone else.
The group heard guns clicking behind them and they had all put their weapons down for a brief moment. The only one that was still armed was Chie with her knife and Momosuke with an arrow in his hand.
Voice 1: Nobody moves. If you move, I'll splatter this kid's brain all over the walls.
Momosuke could feel that a gun was pointed at the back of his head.
Voice 2: Don't say a word. Don't make any noise. And do everything we say.
Voice 1: And MAYBE nobody will get hurt.
Momosuke (thinking): Oh, shit…
END CHAPTER 19
Ending Theme Song: Roaring Tides (Remix)
NEXT TIME ON HOTDR
Totsuka: Shit! She almost died!
Chie: Totsuka, shut up.
Takashi: He's right. She was almost killed… we need to be more careful out there.
Momosuke: Things happen when we're out there. It all happens so fast…
Rei: People die, it's a natural thing. But we can keep our people alive by watching each other's back.
Saya: From now on, I think we should run from the fight instead of charging in head first. We lost three friends today…
Rodack: No matter what we encounter, we will face it together. If it's too dangerous, we avoid it. No questions asked.
Rika: I don't give a damn about what lies ahead of us. I'll make them pay for what they did to us.
Lars: Next time on Highschool of the Dead Revamped.
Alice: To the Dead We Go!
Shizuka: That was a good one Alice! All by yourself!
Kohta: Does anyone know where I can find a change of underwear?
Momosuke: Uh… why?
Kohta: I uh…
Momosuke: Never mind.