Setting of the Sunday
Ch. 2 Out of the frying pan
I do not own Highschool of the Dead or the Walking Dead
The family of Author Daisuke Sato owns HOTD.
Walking Dead is owned by Robert Kirkman and Tony Moore.
Positive reviews are welcome.
Ch. 2 Out of the Frying Pan
Last time
"Come on," Takashi said softly, "we have to keep moving."
As Ryan made to rise, he grabbed and gripped his bow tightly, his knuckles whitening as his grip was enhanced by his emotional state. With a look of fierce determination replied, "Yeah, we do." With a few calming breaths and a sniff into a handkerchief to clear his nasal passages, he pocketed the now used cloth and pulled his arm back, grabbing an arrow and notching it, he began leading his fellow schoolmates back into the school.
Current time
"Do you think we'll find any survivors while were roaming the halls?" Takashi asked in as low a tone of voice that he dared to use. Since re-entering the school, he watched as Ryan effortlessly put down almost a dozen walking corpses with his arrows with expert precision, his arrows never missing their mark.
What ones that were struggling to stand, he himself took care of as he bashed them in the head with the metal bat as they made to reach for he and his companions. Unlike almost half an hour earlier, Rei had found her courage, and after having made the mistake of stabbing an undead body in the chest, a walker that had come from another class off to their left, Ryan was forced to remind her that body shots didn't work. That aiming for the brain was the correct advantage for staying alive.
She corrected that mistake as she forced herself to not speak, but pull the metal shaft out. This would have been a problem as the creature made to fall forward all the while reaching out for her, but Ryan kicked it with a forward kick, causing it to fall on its back. A nod from him as he looked at her and pointed and nudged his head at the thing that had once been a human teenager, she gulped nervously and nodded, quickly walking forward up to and with a burst of strength, remembering to be silent as she struck, she jammed the pointed end of the shaft down into the corpses head, its moaning ceasing as did its bodily movements.
She had to take a moment to breathe as Takashi slowly came up to her as she leaned on the shaft in hand. He placed a hand on her back as a means of reassuring her that what she did was a necessary thing in order to set the body of the deceased free from whatever viral organism had taken over. Ryan of course did the most killing with Takashi aiding as best as he could, which was saying little as their archer friend left little for them as he was insanely fast and accurate in his kill shots still. His aim never wavering, despite the evident perspiration and tiredness his arms must have been feeling as he unleashed death upon the walkers.
Rei aided by retrieving the arrows from the fallen bodies, cleaning the arrow heads on the bodies and helped to make sure Ryan didn't run out of arrows. It was during this time that he answered, "I don't know." he said, taking a moment to pause, leaning against a wall to take a few deep breaths. The bottle of water he had on hand was now half full as he retrieved it and took a few gulps of the precious liquid. "It's possible. I mean, there's always a chance that there are a handful or more that is capable of surviving this epidemic."
"We should hook up with them," Takashi said, "help each other get back home. Even though we live in the dorms, everybody's from in town. Something should come from it."
"Yeah, maybe." Ryan replied as he wiped his brow with a handkerchief that he had on hand and replaced it in a back pocket once his face was free of the sweat that threatened his eyesight. Now that he had cleared the hallways in which they journeyed, he made sure to keep his now clear eyes and ears pealed for both sound and movement of whatever was ahead of them.
"My father's a Police Officer, you know. He could still be alive." Rei said from behind as she placed another set of retrieved arrows back into the quiver on Ryans back.
"One could hope, Rei-San. And I mean that in every sense of the word. I hope neither of you the same pain as myself. I've now lost both of my parents, making me an orphan." He paused as he thought he heard something, but wasn't sure as he made to slowly work his way down a flight of double steps off to the right, all the while keeping his senses open to any possible sounds. "Takashi, have you tried calling anybody yet?"
"I can do that later." he answered, "My dads on a business trip and my mom's an elementary school teacher, so she wouldn't be home. If we called, she'd make a racket about interrupting her."
Ryan smirked while Rei tried to suppress a giggle. She lightly rapped him on the arm, "Don't make me laugh at a time like this."
Of course, Ryan who smirked at the soft playful tone, could also see the seriousness Takashi hid behind the false facade.
As they descended down the first flight with cautious steps, he kept his arms down, but ready to rise at a moments notice. Blood was everywhere they moved. Several bodies with bashed in heads laid bare in odd locations upon the steps and square corners, some from stampeding footfalls, and others with odder damages to the skulls.
"What in the world could have done this?" The raven haired bat carrier asked as he knelt alongside Ryan who touched and maneuvered the head in order to examine it more in closer detail.
From what he could make of the size of the indentations in the skull and the trajectory of the damage inflicted, he was sure that there was indeed more survivors as he realized what it was he was looking at.
"Kendo. This damage was caused by a Kendo stick or Bokken sword."
"Th-That means that there are other survivors, right?" Rei asked.
"Yeah." Suddenly, the sound of gunshots could be heard from somewhere close by. All three shared a look before they double timed their speed, thankful that not many walking corpses were around. What ones were, were put down quickly and quietly as they rushed on. Rei of course made sure to collect the arrows for Ryan as best as she could, but he also made sure she didn't take back as many as he demanded that she stop doing so and just keep up, sure that he'd be able to find more before too long.
Meanwhile
Saeko Busujima was bored. Sure, things got hairy when the Dead-ites attacked, creating even more Dead-ites. She watched as many a classmate and friend died, and in the ensuing madness of it all, she was forced to fight and kill. She was in the moment at first as she struck out with her Sunuke Bokken that she carried on her at all times.
Saeko was someone whom came from a long lived lineage of warrior Samurai and hoped to keep the tradition alive in her family, despite being female. Her father wanted a son, but accepted that fate had given him a daughter, and so trained her accordingly to the best of his abilities and marveled at how well she soaked in his teachings that had passed from father to son in her family for many generations. The knowledge he passed down to her made her strong in both body and mind, despite the fact that she, like many of the youth of the current era, had changed her traditional raven colored hair, to a violet tone.
He had almost died of shock, but his wife found it amusing and reminded him of how at one point in their time as teens, they too had rebelled in their own ways with their own parents in some form or other, causing him to be flabbergasted at being reminded of the times long past.
Despite her hair color, she didn't let up in her swordsmanship, and only trained harder in order to be the best, having been inspired by not just the Legacy her family expected her to maintain, but she was also inspired by the Legend of her secondary idol, Miyamoto Musashi. Her fathers stories of the man he too admired, made her all the more determined to be strong, despite her gender.
Now, her school was overrun by an infection where students were dying only to rise again. Some didn't have that luxury as they were being feasted on by hordes of the undead. Everywhere she walked, she struck when they crossed her path, her Sunuke Bokken doing serious damage to the skulls.
In her journey to trying to escape the undead corpses, she had came across the school nurse, Shizuka Marikawa and rescued her from another student who had seconds before had turned and tried to take a chomp out of the big breasted, blond haired medical matron.
Grabbing a black hard plastic Med-kit, the elder woman followed her after being offered a chance to follow. Of course, the woman she had saved had seemed a bit weird and if she was to be honest, a bit under whatever she had been taking if her physical movements were anything to go by. They had little to talk about as Saeko led her through the school when she blocked an arm that sought to pull her in.
"Let's go to the Faculty Room...what an absurd suggestion."
With her Bokken, she managed to keep the snarling corpse back as the end of her wooden sword was hard pressed against its throat, keeping it temporarily back.
"But, we can get away in my car. All of the keys are there." Seeing the student turned corpse grabbing the end of the bokken, she then said, "Why don't you do them in, once and for all? It'd be easy for you Busujima-San."
With a scowl, the purple haired teen warrior replied, "Tch, crushing the head of everyone we come by is the same as trapping ourselves. We'll be surrounded. Besides, their quite strong!" she grunted with a bit of effort. "Once they have you in their grasp, it's difficult to get away."
With a roundhouse kick, the undead body spun around until it hit the floor. As it tried to rise, with an experienced set of arms and a firm grip of her Bokken, Saeko rose the wooden weapon, and with a precise strike, brought it down upon the skull of the Dead-ite corpse.
She turned suddenly when she noticed that the nurse had tripped over her own two feet with a cry as she landed on her naturally (should others call them otherwise) giant breasts.
With the Med-kit beside her, Shizuka-San rubbed the back of her head, "Awww, what else could go wrong?
Saeko could only lift a brow at the womans comment as she quickly knelt and after setting her weapon by her side, she grabbed the hem of the skirt that the woman wore and tore it open for better maneuverability.
"Huh!?" she cried out in disbelief at the mere audacity for what the sword wielding had just done. Her clothes after all were expensive and had come from very a fashionable and well known sources of clothing chains. "Aww, this is Prada!" she lamented as she held both sides of the now torn skirt, her bare legs now revealing beyond just her thighs, but the pink waist line of her panties.
"Brand clothing or your life...Which do you value?" she growled.
"...Both!" came a snarky reply.
The Bokken wielding teen was gonna going to voice her own indignant reply when the sound of what could only be construed as gun fire caught her attention. From the area it seemed to come from she could only guess, "The Faculty Room?"
In the Meantime
Kohta Hirano was in his element. Years of first person shooting games were paying off, despite his somewhat overweight status. He wasn't heavy, but even he had admitted to himself even now, he wished he that he didn't eat so much as the weight he now possessed only decreased his stamina, thus slowing him down. And his height didn't help matters either.
When the madness began and the students began stampeding from the class rooms, some dying as they collapsed and were trampled on from the mad dash to quickly evacuate from the school. Then the other students who weren't quite so lucky, became food for the flesh eaters, others in mere minutes after being bitten turned and spread the cursed blight upon others when they managed to violently dislocate themselves from their flesh hungry attackers. With the aid of his one time friend and secret crush Saya Takagi, he managed to keep calm under pressure as both managed to find themselves in and secluded in the Wood Shop class. In minutes, with a bit of selfish banter from Takagi-san, Kohta managed to be inspired with the tools around him, put together a fully powered nail gun with an extended clip.
Afterword, both then gathered their courage and entered the halls. An unknown amount of time has passed with the heavy teen keeping them alive at the moment, as every time a walking teen corpse entered his peripheral vision, he put down with a single shot.
At the current moment, Kohta noticed he was running low on nail ammo, with Takagi hollering in his ear while he knelt down on a single knee behind a set of double doors leading down another set of corridors.
A set of steps allowed several more of the undead to wobble about until they turned and began heading towards the scared , untouched students.
"You aren't even trying to figure out how they act!" Takagi shrieked in Kohta's ear.
With a pleading voice, Kohta cried back a reply, "Please fight too, Takagi-san."
"Why should I have to do that?" she screeched.
"My magazines going to be empty soon!" As Kohta managed to clear them enough space to get to the now clear stairs as the last Zombie fell with a nail in their head, another male flesh eater with falling noshing teeth, quickly hobbled his way near the pink haired teen who stumbled and fell on her backside on the first few steps nearby while Kohta was desperately trying to keep even more approaching walkers. Before she could plead uselessly for the hungry predators to keep away, an arrow had whistled just over her head and buried itself in the things skull, the force of which threw it onto its back.
A large, lithe body jumped overhead and managed to side kick a female undead into a side wall. She then noticed the bow in the now identified males hand and the quiver on his back. The body he kicked, he then stomped on its head with a single move, the sound of a skull being crushed with blood and brain matter spewing forth could be heard as two others rushed past her as well.
Both like him were alive and seemed to be not afflicted with whatever caused this epidemic. The archer didn't appear to be wearing his school uniform jacket as both of his his arms were covered in what appeared to be several layers of what remained of the jacket itself. One of the sleeves seemed to be stained in darkened fluids, no doubt the stain itself was drying blood, but from the size and width, it appeared to have been caused by a blade as if wiping the blood off of a massive bladed sword of some kind, from what Kohta could deduce.
Both Kohta and Takagi recognized their fellow school mates Rei and Takashi, but the Archer, they were not so familiar with. Said Archer pulled an arrow out of his quiver and stabbed a walker in the eye, only to yank it out as it fell lifelessly to the floor and notched it, pulled and released as it flew passed mere centimeters by another familiar face in the form of Saeko Busujima and the school nurse Shizuka Marikawa.
Rei ducked under the arm of a walker with a huge piece of its right bicep missing and sent the metal shaft she carried straight through its chin and into its brain while Takashi bashed in the head of another on his left. Saeko was smiling at seeing more students alive, knowing that she and the drunk Nurse weren't the only ones alive let alone fighting to stay alive.
"Well, well..." she mused as with two jabs of her Bokken, she managed to stagger two walkers, one of which she bashed while the Archer whom she could not put a name to, ran up and with both feet, drop kicked the last walker straight out of the window its back was to. The was a loud shriek as it fell several stories to its second and final death.
Once the hall was cleared of walkers, the teens took a moment to catch their breaths. Recognizing the pink hair of Saya Takagi, Rei ran up to the catatonic teen girl, "Takagi-san, you ok?"
"M-Miyamoto...?" the girl whimpered.
With her Bokken defensively at her side in a single grip, Saeko spoke in a challenging tone, "I take it that you know Nurse Marikawa? I am Saeko Busujima, Third Year, Class A."
Takashi took the initiative and replied for his group, "Takashi Komuro, Class 2 -B."
With a shocked and yet amazed look in her eyes, Rei spoke up enthusiastically, "You're Busujima-Senpai, who won the National Tournament last year! I'm Rei Miyamoto from the Spear Club."
The nail gun carrier then spoke up nervously, "Ah, I'm K-Kohta Hirano, from C-Class B."
With a nod and gentle smile, Saeko returned a smile of her own that was sent her way by Miyamoto-San as she replied, "Nice to meet you." she giggled.
"What's got everyone all slack-jawed over..."
"Holy sh..., you're Ryan West, National Grand Champion of the Archery Tournament almost several years ago, one of the top 5 Qualifying Champions before dropping out due to personal reasons." Kohta spouted in recognition of the Archer.
"You never said anything about being a Champion Archer." Takashi said.
"You never asked," he shrugged, "and it wasn't like I wanted the recognition in the first place. I have my reasons for having dropped out after winning my last run in, despite taking first place for the first and final time." He then looked to the girl with the bubblegum colored hair, "Hey Frenchy, what's got your pig tails all in a bunch?" As he said this, he collected the last arrow from the first corps he had killed as he came upon the others, having already collected his others arrows from his kills.
Somehow knowing that the question was aimed at her, "Do not mock me!" she shouted tearfully, "I AM A GENIUS! IF I WANTED TO, I WOULD NEVER LET ANYONE BEAT ME!"
A gentle hand rested on her right shoulder and ever so slightly, pulled her back, "It's ok now. Stop this." The hand belonged to the sword wielding, violet haired teen who slowly turned the younger girl around in order to allow her to take in her appearance via a glass wall off to the left.
Seeing the state of her clothes and the blood that had stained them from when Ryan killed the walker that tried to take a bite out of her, her eyes widened as as she gazed at the state of her being, "Ah...Ahh...Aww, I got so dirty. I'll have to tell my mom to take this to the cleaners..." she murmured.
It was then that the days events had begun to take in their toll om the younger teen as she fell to her knees, Saeko holding on to her as she took a knee, allowing the poor girl to grasp her uniform and finally let it all out. As she released the emotions against Saekos shoulders, her arms circling the elder teens neck as Saeko laid a single hand on her head in support of the shaking girl.
Ryan on the one hand, looked down in shame for his remark. But he wasn't going to apologize. The girl had an air of arrogance about her, and if they didn't nip it in the butt soon, it could eventually become a problem later on, that is if she was to join he and the others as a surviving group.
Finding the Faculty Room wasn't difficult as it was very much close by and on the same floor. Because it had double doors, all three male teens took the time to barricade the doors with desks and heavy bookshelves once all of them were inside the room. Once done, all three looked upon one another and nodded in appreciation that was returned in tandem.
"That'll do." Ryan said as he pulled out his bottle of water and chugged back the rest of its contents.
With another nod, Takashi agreed, "Let's rest for awhile."
Turning and gazing upon the rooms inhabitants, Both Ryan and Takashi noticed that Nurse Marikawa had collapsed in a chair and was nursing her head in the crook of her arms that laid upon the desk in which she sat.
Ryan noticed that Busujima-San was nursing her right shoulder, no doubt having pulled a muscle, her Bokken laying against the same desk that the nurse had passed out on. As he made his way to her, the other two male teens also separated elsewhere in the Faculty Room. His bow having been laid to rest against the wall, he retrieved and placed on the secondary desk in front of the one in which Saeko sat.
He touched her shoulder with both hands. She hissed at first when she felt him touch her and looked at him with disdain. He raised his hands up, showing he meant no offense. "Easy, I just want to help. You look like you could use a bit of aid in relieving the pain in that shoulder."
Her right hand was almost to her weapon when he said this, but could see he indeed meant no harm. Knowing this, she nodded and laid back, her arm lowering as he nodded in return, placing both hands once more on her shoulder and began massaging the sore muscle and joints applying the right amount of force into her shoulder.
Saeko could only moan in pleasure and relief as his hands worked their magic to get the kinks out of her body as one of his hands discontinued from the right shoulder and began working on the left. She leaned into him as he worked out more stiffened muscles she wasn't at then aware of.
"Oohhh, where have you been all of my life?" she asked with a look of contentment.
"Oh, here and there. You know how it is." At this, they both shared a laugh. Opening her eyes while he worked, she turned and gazed at the others who all wore looks of a variety of expressions. Sadness, tiredness, anger, rage, and so on. "Everyone's out of breath."
"It's a given, seeing with what we're all facing at the moment."
"Agreed."
"So, A sword huh?"
"And you, a bow?" she replied with an arched eyed.
"Touche, Busujima-San." Ryan remarked with a soft smile.
His smile somehow touched something in her. Ever since that night, all of those years ago, did she not ever allow a man to get to her like this. She lived her life with a code, and yet had a dark side that enjoyed inflicting pain after she nearly killed her would be rapist. She realized that night, after returning home, that she relished in the power it made her feel. The suffering and sadism of it all, it was all she felt and yet, somehow, this man, this Gaijin, managed to penetrate her mental defenses as her cheeks reddened a bit.
Exactly what was she supposed to do with these emotions that were slowly worming through her psyche.
"What's your story besides being a fellow champion of the Arts?" she asked.
With a sigh, he pulled up a chair on her right so he was facing her, leaning forward, he folded both hands together and placed them against his mouth, trying to come up with a way to shorten his story. "After my third attempt at the Nationals and finally winning first place, I learned that my mother was dying. Breast Cancer they said. Try as they might, the Doctors realized that it had spread to areas I can't even begin to pronounce or even think about."
"So..., you quit?"
With a nod he said, "I wanted to be there for her and devoted as much of my energies into take care of her. Dad was a Lieutenant in the Navy. He wasn't around much because he like so many of my kin on his side, they were all Military through and through."
"And your mothers side?"
"Uncle's a Deputy Sheriff of the King County Sheriffs Department in Kings County, Georgia back in the US. He has a wife, Lori. And a son, Rick Jr...I think that's his name. I haven't seen them in some time. Got an unofficial Uncle in his partner and closest friend, Shane. Dad's gone now. Died earlier. What about you?"
"Father was a Master of the sword. He taught me the ways of Bushido. Been learning and mastering the ways of the sword from a young age. That's about it."
"You sure? I sense that there's more to the story."
"I don't know you enough to reveal all of my lifes secret."
"Fair enough."
Both looked at one another a few moments more when the voice of Takashi got their attention, "Marikawa-Sensei, where are your keys?"
Raising her head up as Rei handed Takashi a fresh bottle of water and then did the same for Ryan and Saeko, and then doing so for Kohta and Saya, she opened her purse and began rustling through it as she answered, "Ah, in my bag."
"Can it fit all of us?" Saeko asked.
With a nervous chuckle she said, "Oops! It's a Compact."
Being near and looking out the windows, Kohta called out, "What about the Mini-bus the clubs use for field trips? The key's on the wall rack. Turning to looking at everyone and pointing out the window he then said, "It's still here."
"A bus is fine and all, but where to?" Nurse Marikawa asked.
"My place." Ryan replied. "I have fresh stock of weapons, ammo, and whatever supplies we need. I also have various vehicles to which we can use to get to whoever has family left alive. Once we know which of us has surviving family, we'll see where we can go from there. I have kin in the US, I have to know they too are alright."
"So we have a plan." Saeko said.
Sitting against a desk while on the floor and nursing a bottle of water courtesy of Rei-San, Takashi felt that the plan was solid, "We'll stop at everyones house, starting with the closest, and if necessary, help them out. Then we'll look for somewhere safe."
"We're sure to find a spot." Saya mumbled as she held out and looked at the hem of her school uniform. "The Police and Special Forces should be on call, so there's gotta be shelters like when the Earthquakes hit."
"Forget it, the Special Forces don't give a damn about us. They passed by earlier, flying out to gather VIP's and such. They ain't gonna do nothin'." Ryan said with disdain in his voice.
It was then that Rei caught Takashi's attention, "What is it?" he asked as he walked up to her. She was looking up into the television as reports were coming in all over the news.
"What's going on...?" she queried fearfully.
Looking up into the televisions screen, he queried again, "! Rei, what...?"
Seeing the remote in front of her, Saeko rose and turned the volume up as a woman in a beige long sleeved shirt and tan khakis came on screen, "...in response to the riots raging all over the country, the Government has enacted Emergency Counter Measures. However, the Special Defense Forces Public Security Operation is paying no heed to the current opposition party, and there is a strong argument for more Cautious Action..."
"Riots!? What do they mean, Riots!?" Takashi demanded to no one in particular.
The onscreen journalist continued with Emergency Services Personnel behind her, loading up a black body bag onto a stretcher and into a Red striped white Paramedics vehicle, "...Already, casualties are estimated in excess of one thousand. Prefectural Governors are declaring a State of Emergency and requesting disaster relief..."
Suddenly, the sounds of gun fire were heard as the Journalist had to take cover while putting a hand to her ear in which a small radio receiver was located, enabling her to listen to whoever was speaking to her from the News Station.
"There are gunshots! Police have already started firing! I don't know the situation but...EEEEKKKKK!"
All eyes were glued to the television as the cameraman caught her dropping her Mic as his attention zoomed from her now open hand to the black body bag on the stretcher as well as another body bag on a secondary stretcher began to rise, moans coming from within them. Suddenly, the bags ripped and the bodies inside began to tear their way free, only to fall to the ground and then slowly rise. Their unseeing eyes locked on both the Journalist and the Cameraman. Arms and hands outstretched, they began their march to the closest food source, the need to feed self evident.
"No...what!? It can't be!" Now realizing the danger she was in, the News Journalist cried out helplessly, "H-HELP ME! VWAAAAAAAAAAHH!"
There was a moment of trepidation in the Faculty Office of the school as the teens looked on in shock as it seemed the viral epidemic was running wild as was wont. The dead was rising and at an exponential rate, their numbers increasing with every body that fell only to rise and repeat the cycle.
As the screens Emergency Alarm sounded along with a picture of a wild flowered field, the message of 'Please stand by' in several languages. A moment later, the news returned with two more Journalists sitting behind their table at the News Office Station.
Both men that appeared onscreen listening in to whomever were giving them more information via their own radio receivers. With papers being handed to them, one of the cameras turned to one of the Journalists, "….We appear to having technical difficulties. We...We will continue coverage from the studio."
Takashi was beginning to sweat, "That was it...? How can that be it?"
"They don't want to incite panic." Saya said as she approached the now gathering group.
"She's right." Ryan agreed. "The last thing anyone wants to cause is mass panic, though much good that will do." he scoffed as he had already went to and grabbed the bus keys that were hanging from where they were labeled.
"Isn't it a little late?" Rei-San asked.
"Fear gives rise to chaos. Chaos gives rise to the collapse of Social Order." Saya-San continued, "And when Social Order collapses...how do you propose we retaliate against the Walking Dead?" she finished, pushing the rims of her glasses up.
The blond teen nodded in understanding as the Reporter returned to looking into the camera after a few moments of silence, "...The streets are a very dangerous place right now, so please refrain leaving your homes, if possible. Also, please barricade windows and doors and reinforce glass windows where you can. If, for whatever reason you are unable to be in your homes, please head for the nearest shelter in your area..."
Clicking the remotes channel button to another station, one CNN World News, a blond female reporter then spoke into the camera with a look of fear in her eyes, "Authorities can't find a solution to the abnormal situation that has spread all across Europe."
"My God, it's fast." Ryan said as he clenched his fists tightly while keeping his eyes to the television screen.
An image of what appeared to be a satellite picture of the grounds of Washington D.C. And the White House, more reports were coming in, executives of the Federal Government have abandoned the White House...and have announced that they are moving the Cabinet to a Carrier in the Ocean."
More images and videos were showing battles between soldiers and the Walking Dead from all over, from Washington D.C., to New York, and more. Chaos was running rampant everywhere as the reporters kept doing their jobs of keeping everyone informed.
"Furthermore, experts predict that this move is in preparation for the deployment of Nuclear Weapons. This just in, we have lost contact with Moscow."
A visual image showed Peking as a Fairchild-Republic A-10A Thunderbolt II flew over and dropped a payload of bombs that blew up and incinerated more walking undead corpses. "London is keeping relative order, but...looters are running rampant in Paris and Rome."
Looks of concern passed over the faces of all of the teens.
Kohta murmured to no one in particular, "When I surfed the net this morning, everything was fine..."
"It can't be...In just a few hours, the whole worlds gone to hell." Rei said as she then turned to and grasped Takashis' arm, "I'm right, aren't I? There's got to be somewhere safe, right? Things have got to go back to the way they were..." she pleaded.
"Fat chance." Saya said with a snort.
"Watch your tone, girl." Ryan growled out. Unlike her, he knew there would eventually be places to seek shelter. It just needed ears and eyes to be kept peeled for any sign of life.
She flipped him off as she began to monologue. "This is a Pandemic, got it? There is nothing we can do."
"Pandemic...?" Nurse Marikawa queried.
"I mean, an explosive infection. As in, the same illness breaking out all over the world."
"Like the flu?" Takashi asked.
"Except, this isn't your garden variety infection." Ryan stated.
"Yes, the Spanish Flu in 1918 was the same. And more recently, the Bird flu was feared to have the same potential. You know how you can't take the Flu lightly, right? The Spanish Flu hit more than 600 Million People and claimed the lives of 500 Million."
"It could be closer to the Black Death from the 14th Century." Nurse Marikawa said.
"Back then. A 3rd of Europe died."
"How did the spread of the illness stop?" Takashi asked.
"There are different theories, but...when enough people died, it just petered out. Because there's no one left to infect." The Nurse replied.
"But...the ones who die...attack others."
"That's because it's not of this world." Ryan blurted out. "Kohta-San, a few months ago, a cloud of what seemed to be dust particulates from space hit Earths atmosphere, correct."
Seeing all eyes on him, the brainy, trigger happy teen pointed at himself as Ryan nodded. "W-Well yeah, but the News said to think nothing of it as it was just space d...dust..." he slowly began to pale as the gears in his head began turning. "Oh my God."
"Exactly," Ryan said flatly, "When I called my old man earlier, a message was left for me just before he killed himself after being bitten. It's not a matter of who gets bitten in order to be infected. We already are, the bites and the shock just activates what's already there. We just need to outlive it, and hopefully build up an immunity otherwise, it's game over."
"And you're just now telling us this?" Takashi hollered.
"It was the Governments that told my old man to keep it quiet, not me. I just explained it to you that I myself just learned of it, and now, so have you."
"Does that mean there's no reason why it should stop?" Saeko called out in order to break the stare down happening between Ryan and Takashi.
"The weather will be warming up soon, so if the flesh rots off and there's only bone left, they might stop moving." Nurse Marikawa said as if the idea had merit.
"How long would that take?" Saeko asked.
"In the Summer, it takes about twenty days. In the winter, it takes several months. But before too long..."
"We don't even know if they'll rot or not." Kohta said as he placed himself on the floor and started looking over his homemade weapon.
"What's that mean?" Ryan asked with Takashi crossing his arms and nodding that he too had the same thought.
"The corpses reanimate and attack people. It defies modern science." Saya stated.
"But this is an Extraterrestrial Viral Agent we're talking about here." Ryan spoke up.
"Exactly. Worst case scenario is it takes forever."
"Enough. Once we've ascertained that our families well-being, the big question is where do we go after that." Saeko then said. "If we panic and run around, we'll never survive. As it is, even with this new information about the Viral Space dust, we're now a team." she turned her attention to Ryan, "Let's gather other survivors."
"Can anybody in here besides myself and Nurse Marikawa drive?" Ryan asked as he spun the key ring for the bus on his left index finger.
Everybody had the good graces to look down, Ryan rolling his eyes in annoyance, "Guess that means I'm driving."
"I can drive!"
"I'm not the one's whose somewhat intoxicated, no offense Marikawa-Sensei."
"Mmmmmm..." she groaned as he was right that at the moment, she just wasn't herself.
"Then here's how it's going to play out. There's going to be one speed. Mine! You can't keep up then don't step up, you'll just die."
"We've come this far, West-San. Let's go the rest of the way." Takashi said as he rested his bat against his shoulder. Saeko rested her Bokken on both of her arms while her right hand kept a tight reverse grip on the hand grip, a look of determination on her face. Despite still being somewhat pale, Kohta gulped and then nodded that he was ready. Even Rei nodded that she understood and was good to go.
"What about you two?" Ryan asked.
"I'm not being left behind." Saya replied.
Ryan looked towards the last of their small group, "Sensei?"
Despite her inebriated state, she had the good graces to nod that she was good.
"Then we go. Saeko-San, your job is to keep those two alive, you're fast and swift. Kohta-San, you're the spotter while Takashi and I are the shield. Rei, you and Saeko are the sword and spear, you watch Kohta's back and in turn, he watches yours. Remember, one speed. Load up."
Once supplies were gathered and water bottles were refilled, Grabbing his Bow, Ryan slipped it on his back as he and Takashi began clearing the barricaded doors. Once the barricade was removed, Ryan removed the bow from his back. Grabbing one door handle as Takashi grabbed the other, both males looked at one another and came to an unspoken understanding as with a nod, they opened the door and were the first to walk into the halls. Both looked down both ways and turned right in the direction in which was closest to the front exit of the school.
Time to clear the way to Hell.
Took me a bit of time to get this part done what with my eye still somewhat blurry. Ch. 3 will be in the works soon. Let me know what you think. Until next time.