I OWN NOTHING FROM HOTD!
-CHAPTER FOUR: ENEMIES
Tokonosu City
Tuesday
01:02:00 AM
Bang!
A flare shot into the air, lighting up Onbetsu bridge as several of 'Them' wandered aimlessly towards the structure.
…
'The so-called "Killing pandemic" that's been occurring all over the world continues to spread with unprecedented speed, the number of patients of the killing pandemic has already reached over two million. It's speculated that the number could reach ten million within a day or two.' The female radio host said, the group of girls nearby ignoring the woman's words as they undressed.
"Are you looking at me?" Saya said, weirded out by Rei who stared intently at the pinkette's curvy form.
"C'mon don't be such a prude," Rei responded, a grin forming on the brunette's face.
'We request you stay in your homes no matter what, barricade your doors, and do not let any infected individual in,'
"Come on, the waters warm," Serry said, following Aika into the duplex's large bathroom.
"Heard that? Let's go, Ms. Shizuka." Yumie said, pushing the busty teacher into the large room.
"Ms. Yumie!" Shizuka said in slight protest.
'This will be our final broadcast for now, farewell everyone,'
"Hurry up!" Saeko said, waiting until the rest of the women entered the washroom.
'And I wish you all the best of luck.'
The purplette quickly closed the door, the showers switching on just moments later.
…
"Sounds like they're having fun," Takashi said, hearing the moans and giggling from downstairs.
"You wanna go have a peek? You know we're supposed to right," Kohta stated in response.
"I don't wanna die just yet," Takashi said sadly, "It's gonna piss me off if there's nothing in here, she should've just left a key somewhere,"
"There has to be, we found the ammunition so there's gotta be some serious stuff in here," Kohta responded.
"Doesn't matter, let's hit it!" Takashi said, taking his position on the pry-bar.
With the combined force of the two teen's they counted down, as soon as they hit one the two teens put their full weight into prying open the large locker door. The door flew open, revealing several rifles, a crossbow, and a scoped shotgun. Takashi, being the first one to recover simply shrugged when he laid eyes upon the weapons, Kohta on the other hand quickly pushed him out of the way after getting a glimpse of the guns.
Kohta's face warped into a devilish smile as his eyes went wide, "I just knew it," he screamed out, clutching his fist in excitement.
"Well, that's Rika for you," Takashi said.
…
Rika sneezed, her nose flaring in response.
"What's the matter?" Tajima asked, setting his scope down.
"Someone's talking about me, don't have very many friends so it's either your boy or Shizuka
"Huh?"
…
Kohta chambered a rifle, aiming it downwards, "Springfield M1A1, Super Match. It's semi-automatic, I can put twenty bullets in the magazine, illegal in Japan, illegal!" he finished with some laughter, reaching back towards the second rifle in the locker.
"Chill out bro," Takashi said, chuckling slightly, "Hello? Hirano, man."
More laughter erupted from the chubby teen before he half-screamed out, "Knights SR-25 Rifle. No, you can't get that in Japan, so they completed modified an AR110?" Kohta chambered this weapon as well, "What's left in the locker is a crossbow, descendant of the one Robin hood used, Barnett Wildcat C5!"
Takashi rummaged through the locker, unhooking the large brown shotgun that sat in it. He held the large weapon out towards Kohta, awkwardly at that.
"That's an Ithaca M37 riot shotgun! It's a super-sick shotgun made by Americans! It played a big part in the Vietnam war too!"
Kohta screeched, watching as Takashi chambered the shotgun and pointed it at him absentmindedly, "Are you nuts! Don't point a thing like that at anyone even unloaded, but when you do, shoot to kill!"
"Roger," Takashi said, aiming the barrel at the tan-lined rug that lined the room. A small frown graced the tan teen's face, his eyes trailing downward in disapproval, "I know that's not the only thing I'll need to point at," Kohta's face also became slightly more serious, understanding what his friend was conveying.
"You know," He paused, "If it ever comes down to that," he smirked, staring up at Takashi with confidence, "If I ever happened to get bit, don't think twice about blasting my head off."
"Yeah, same here," Takashi formed a smile, nodding to his friend, "Then eventually, if we do get somewhere safe, we can come back and give Morita and Hisashi proper burials." Takashi's face shifted to a look of seriousness.
"It's a deal!" Kohta smiled, fist-bumping the black-haired teen.
…
"Ow!" Saeko groaned, unable to resist the groping Rei.
"God! More big ones!" Rei said, ticked off by the purple-haired woman's impressive pair of boobs.
"God, get back in the closet, Rei!" Aika said, causing the rest of the girls to chuckle much to Rei's dismay.
…
Kohta and Takashi sat together at the foot of the bed, loading several magazines with an assortment of bullets, sometimes fiddling with a mag and flipping it into the air.
"So you practiced with airsoft guns?" Takashi asked, poking fun at the chubby teen.
"No way, with the real ones," Kohta answered, shocking the black-haired teen slightly.
"Seriously? You've done this before?" Takashi questioned.
"When I went to America, I was trained by this instructor, who use to work for a private military company, Black Water, for a month." Kohta said, "He's an ex-captain of Delta Force."
"Holy crap, I've always known you've been cool, but shit, to think the class nerds a card-carrying member of the N.R.A," Takashi said. He smiled awkwardly at Kohta, turning his attention forward moments after, "Shit, I'm glad we're on the same side,"
"Yeah," Kohta agreed, "Anyway, how'd this chick even get all this? It's legal to purchase these guns and parts, but the way they're assembled is illegal."
"No clue," Takashi said, sighing a breath of fresh air.
"Miss Shizuka said she used her roommate use to be in the military, and you said you know her right?" Kohta asked.
Takashi shrugged, standing up and picking a pair of binoculars before walking over to the balcony, "Yeah, I do, her name is Rika and she's a hard-ass. Not to mention a brutal demon hiding in the body of a petite woman.
"Well, that checks out on that," Kohta said. He heard several groans coming from the downstairs, rousing a smile from the chubby teen, "They should really keep it down there,"
"No dice. They aren't hearing the girls," Takashi said as he observed the desolate residential streets, save for a few of 'Them' every now and then. His gaze shifted, unable to see the full extent of the large arches of Onbetsu but able to see the many flashing lights that highlighted the horizon.
Kohta stood shortly after, walking over to the black-haired teen and standing by. The chubby teen saw nothing out-of-the-ordinary, besides a few stray biters shambling around. Takashi shifted his gaze, handing the binoculars to Kohta before walking over to the TV.
Seconds later Kohta spoke up, "Turn on the TV,"
Takashi obliged, swiping the small remote up and turning on the flat-screen TV. The TV's pixels flickered before coming to life, showing a rougher-looking man wearing a white hard-hat yelling at the top of his lungs at a crowd of people. Takashi instantly zoned out, his thoughts drifting from the man yelling about some 'Biological weapon,' frankly, he didn't give a fuck, and neither did Kohta. They were teenagers, after all, choosing to ignore insane ramblings from insane-looking people.
"Love for infected patients? Is this a joke to these people?" Kohta piped up, watching the screen intently as his question drifted in the air for a few moments.
"No idea, I'd assume they're talking about 'Them'" Takashi said, shaking his thoughts as he watched the camera pan towards broken down ambulances and biters shambling around towards the center of the bridge. "Killing pandemic? It may be a fucking joke to them since they think science could explain why dead corpses are walking around fucking eating people," Takashi finished, anger brewing within the teen.
"Just some shitty government propaganda," Kohta agreed, watching as the protesters continued yelling.
The two teens watched longer before recognizing the camera shift towards an older-looking man in a police uniform. He approached the crowd quickly, stopping in front of the hard-hat-wearing man with a stern gaze. There was a dispute, the rougher man yelling at the older gentlemen after some words were exchanged. Kohta sighed warily as the officer drew his service pistol, taking aim and putting a bullet clean through the skull of the man.
"Fuck," Takashi said, switching off the TV with a shocked expression. Kohta shared the same expression as he quietly cursed.
"We needa' get the fuck out of here,"
"No way, Takashi! If we leave now we'll get ambushed in the dar-" Kohta said, stopping his sentence midway as a shadow embraced Takashi from behind.
Shizuka roughly collided with the black-haired teen, reaching for his crotch before roughly kissing him on the lips. Much to her shock the teen instinctively pushed her hand away, but instead of breaking off from the kiss returned fire, slipping his tongue into the blonde's mouth and wrapping around her own. She gasped, attempting to pull away from the teen's one-sided battle. A few moments later she was let go of, smiling lustfully at the two teens.
"My bad, instinct y'know, Tajima always teaching me the ways of being a gentleman," Takashi responded hands-on thighs staring forward.
"Naughty boy, Tajima teaching you huh?" Shizuka responded, wiping her lips before her gaze fell upon Kohta, her next victim.
Kohta wasn't prepared for the long and moist smooch that the blonde delivered to his right cheek, the teen doubling over with a severe nosebleed soon after she departed from his cheek. The boy face was red, looking as if he'd just been the victim of an unforgiving sunburn. Takashi attempted to revive the boy, but it was all in vain as the teen stared starstruck towards the ceiling.
"We should really keep it down," Takashi said, attempting to shush the loud Shizuka.
"No way! I'm gonna stay right here just like thi-" The blonde protested, slowly falling limp into the black-haired teen's arms, "I'm so tired, I might just pass-" and boom, she was asleep with a small groan.
Takashi groaned as well, "You know, you could help me out here," he said, eyeing Kohta as he walked out into the balcony once more.
"Uh, I'll keep watch!" The chubby boy stammered, quickly closing the glass door to the outside and staring off into the distance.
The black-haired teen palmed his own face, hoisting the blonde teacher up onto his shoulders. She failed to get the message and fell backward, being narrowly saved by Takashi who had to catch her by the ass to keep her balanced. She moaned, leaning into the teen's ear and gripping his shoulders.
"Naughty Takashi," She poked him, her voice sweet and inviting, "So fuckin' naughty,"
Takashi groaned once more, walking over to the spiral staircase with the teacher firmly secured on his back.
"If this was another time and place, It would be so fuckin' hot,"
Just then Rei stumbled up the stairs, gazing at the teen and teacher, an angered look forming on the brunette's face. Although her nightclothes was having an opposite effect on Takashi, he simply ogled at her curvy form.
"Am I interrupting something?" She asked.
Takashi's face hardened, well slightly, "Nope, nothing." He tried not to choke out a laugh due to the situation he was in.
"You look really good in threes!" Rei cheerfully said, much to Takashi's confusion. The brunette soon fell backward, shocking Takashi.
"Rei, you okay?" The black-haired teen asked.
The brunette groaned and rubbed her temples, "Yeah, I'm..I'm just exhausted." The girl stood once more, leaning against the nearby railing to steady herself, "I just can't believe it's only been one day,"
Takashi's gaze narrowed, feeling the weight of Rei's words. He understood what she was feeling, knew she was lost constantly in thought, shit he was too, although he'd rather not think on it, because once he began to take in the situation they were in, a part of him would surely break.
"I can't reach mom or dad, and Hisashi is-" She paused, starting to sob as her gaze trailed downwards. Takashi couldn't do much, so he simply laid a free hand on the brunette's head, patting lightly at her hair with a somber expression.
…
Takashi covered up the all but naked form of Shizuka, she had passed out soon after the encounter with Rei and she was now covered up asleep on the carpet near the couch. Takashi ignored the woman's slight groans in her sleep and looked up, gazing upon Serry and Saya who were both fast asleep on the two leather couches. A grin tugged at his face, slight relief filling his body at the sight of the two girls looking peaceful.
"Glad they could finally rest, huh?" Yumie spoke, startling Takashi who turned towards her. The blackette was draped over a nearby club chair, clad in a sports bra and shorts. He smiled at her and scratched the back of his head in response.
"Yeah." He said.
"I'm gonna join them as well, but before that, I'd just like to say thanks," Yumie said, wrapping herself in a nearby blanket that sat on one of the arms of the chair.
"For what?" The teen questioned.
"For worrying about us, dumb ass." Yumie finished, pointing a small grin at Takashi then shutting her eyes.
Takashi shrugged, unsure of how to respond, "Goodnight, Yumie."
…
Takashi quietly opened the fridge, 'What's that violet-haired demon got in here?' He thought. Gazing around in the appliance for a few seconds until he heard Saeko speak.
"Komuro? Late-night snack will be ready soon, and tomorrow's lunch too." She said, her voice cool and calm. It had a certain charm that the black-haired teen couldn't put his finger on, but he grinned either way.
"Man, I love girls' apartments." He said, picking out a juice box. "Everything's so sta-" He turned his head, his gaze trailing up Saeko's body. She was dressed in nothing but an apron and thong, showing off her athletic and curvy form, his eyes focused on her ass for a good few seconds before he stepped back.
"Uh! Stocked! I-I mean stocked, yeah!" Takashi stuttered loudly, his face heating up more and more as he focused his gaze.
"What's wrong?" Saeko questioned, a curious expression on her face as she turned towards him.
Takashi took a few more steps backward, seemingly guarding himself, "Um, nothing at all!"
She smiled, "Oh, you mean this old thing?" She faced Takashi, flicking the apron up and unintentionally making her breasts jiggle slightly. "Terrible isn't it? Couldn't find a size that fits me so until I finish doing laundry I'm stuck wearing this. It is a little too revealing I guess."
"Nah, Uh, It's okay, I hadn't noticed a titt- a thing!" Takashi stammered, speaking the last bit of his sentence a little louder. He covered his nose, which threatened to bleed. "We should be prepared. They could come attit- attack!"
He had flings before, one-night stands, hell even Rika bothered him when he'd stay with her, but with the day they were having, everything gets to you. Takashi struggled and covered his crotch, Saeko noticing but seeming to let him off the hook.
"You and Hirano are watching out for us and that's sweet." She said, holding her small smile. Her features were graceful, something Takashi hadn't noticed beforehand, everything about her spoke civilized to him. "I want you to know how much that means to me, Takashi. I mean I really want you to know, really." She finished.
A genuine smile formed on the black-haired teen's lips and he nodded to the swordswomen.
"You were just staring at her ass for a pretty good minute, Takashi." Aika's alluring voice spoke. She was sitting at the table, munching on some cereal. Her hair was put up in the usual low ponytail and she was dressed in a pair of tight shorts and a large flannel, which covered most of her body.
Saeko's face went red, understanding why the black-haired teen was so pent up in their conversation. "Uhh, I guess It is the appropriate response for our age group, I guess." she stuttered, turning herself back to the pot of brewing vegetables.
"Perv," Aika said, getting up and poking at the black-haired teen's chest. Takashi shrunk slightly, he was guilty after all, just wishing for a lifeline at that point. Aika smirked, clearly scheming against the black-haired teen.
"She's smirking, Ms. Busijima!" Takashi said, whining slightly as he tried to pin the attention away from himself.
"It's okay, really. It's fine, heh." Saeko responded. A few moments went by before the woman began giggling, clearly amused at the Takashi's embarrassment and Aika's instigating. "Really It's okay, Komuro."
"You aren't mad?"
"No, It's only an appropriate response, after-all I am quite attractive," Saeko said, her voice slightly soothing Takashi, who scratched the back of his head awkwardly. Aika simply shrugged, choosing to walk behind Takashi in an attempt to put the teen in a chokehold. "Quit flirting, asshat." The red-haired woman said, tapping the black-haired teen's head.
"Takashi! Get up here!" Rei yelled, causing the black-haired to turn, gazing up at the brunette girl who was half sticking out of the stair's railing. He noticed her uninterested look, and within seconds she disappeared back into the staircase.
"You'd better pay attention to her. At times, a girl likes to, well pretend to be helpless." Saeko said, her attention now fully back on preparing food.
"Yeah, a bit too much." Aika chimed in, disappearing into a room nearby soon after.
"Do you, Ms. Busijima?" Takashi asked, curious.
Saeko chuckled slightly and turned to face the black-haired teen once again, "I want to be called Saeko by my friends."
"Uh, Sa-Sa," Takashi tried.
"You can call me that after practicing." She smiled, causing Takashi to gawk a little in his thoughts.
"Come on! Get up here! Takashi!" Rei yelled once more, this time seeming more agitated from before.
…
Kohta glared through his binoculars for a few seconds, that is of course until his nose started furiously bleeding, causing the teen to shake his head and wipe his nose. After a few seconds, he snapped out of his trance, still recounting the events that transpired with Shizuka an hour ago.
"Solid first kiss." He spoke to himself.
…
"He was always so nice to me," Rei spoke, her tone saddened. "He always paid attention to me."
Takashi simply sat there, listening to the brunette as he sipped his juice slowly. He was impassive after all. The black-haired teen still couldn't comprehend his two closest friends dying in front of him either, although the teen wasn't ready to face that problem yet, so he just sat quietly.
"I mean, when we went to karaoke he really got into it. He wouldn't just sit on his phone." She said, directing the last part towards Takashi. "When I was lonely, he was always there to listen to me. Even about me repeating the same grade."
"Yeah he was pretty gr-" Takashi tried quietly.
"All you ever do is get upset about it, but." Rei continued.
"Yeah," Takashi responded, looking down into the living room where everyone was passed out. He needed something to ground himself so his gaze met Serry and Yumie's sleeping visages. He smiled, finding some semblance of joy that he could at least get some people he cared for out of that hellhole of a school. A small tug on his shirt brought him back to reality, canceling out his dose of serotonin.
"Are you even listening?" Rei said, accusingly.
"I'm just tired," Takashi responded, sounding more beat down than ever. "Just tired, that's all."
"What the hell is that? See what I mean? You're just boring." Rei said, bite evident in her words.
"Well yeah, I guess that's why you dumped me back then. Unfortunately, that was a long time ago."
"There are always-" Rei tried.
"Sides to every story? Would've been nice if you heard my side." Takashi responded.
"It would have been nice to hear it. At least Hisashi actually fucking talked to me." Rei bit once again.
"I swear to god. Every chance you get you bring up Hisashi, and unfortunately, I'm not Hisashi. I will never be Hisashi, we're two different fuckin' people." Takashi said passively, though there were several hints of aggression in his tone. "Besides, he's dead, and I couldn't do a single fucking thing to save my two closest friends! He never stopped being my brother, even if he was with you." Takashi snapped, the agony finally starting to catch up with the teen.
Rei's breath hitched in her throat, tears threatening to break out. She thought he hated Hisashi, after all, he was the one who ended up with his ex a few days after they broke up. Although this reaction from him, the first real emotion Takashi had shown to her in who knows long proved to be different.
"I- Takashi I'm sorry." Rei tried, recognizing the pain, anger, betrayal in the black-haired teen's eyes.
"I'm not him, Rei. We're both still alive so focus on the now, I'll do my best to protect you as my last debt to him, but please-" He paused, trying to form some more confidence. "Just please, stop, stop mentioning em." He breathed roughly, using all of his self-control to not shed a tear.
"Takashi," Rei said, gripping the teen's chin so he faced her. "I'm sorry, really I am. I didn't know-" She thought for a second, "I just couldn't cope with it at the moment, It's alright, I won't mention it again."
Takashi forced a pained smile, pain evident on his face. "You're good, Rei. I'm alright, just tired."
…
Barking startled the two teens, causing them to stand and apologize to each other. Rei quickly scaled down the stairs and Takashi went up, passing by Aika who eyed him warily, unbeknownst to him she'd heard the entire conversation on the stairs. Takashi quickly entered the master bedroom, stepping out into the balcony where Kohta was scanning the streets.
"Hira- What?" Takashi started.
"Bad news, man," Hirano said seriously, holding out the Ithaca shotgun towards Takashi. The black-haired teen grabbed the weapon before staring down into the streets. They were now filled to the brim with Them, the entirety of the streets clogged up with those monsters and few pockets of people fighting against them, like some demented warzone.
Takashi and Hirano stared at the bridge's arches, noticing the red lights that had previously been illuminating the sky were now gone. Takashi gripped the gun tighter, his knuckles turning white after a few seconds. They watched as a kid, no older than they shot down an undead. The gunshot echoed around the block. The two teens watched as the kid dropped shotgun pellets, scrambling to pick them up before looking up at Them only to be ripped apart. As the kids screams echoed, eventually being drowned out by the sound of flesh tearing, Takashi and Hirano could only feel dread at the scene.
"It's worse. It's getting much worse." Saeko said.
Takashi looked over to another group of people, a family, two children, and their parents running through the street away from the house they were in. He watched as the mother was grabbed, causing the one child to be dragged down along with her. The husband stopped to try and assist his wife, fighting violently to shake off the biters that were tearing chunks out of her body, but this only resulted in the child he was holding being forcefully grabbed and ripped apart. The man stood in shock, eventually being dragged down into the horde, blood spraying from the biters sinking their teeth into him.
"Fucking! What the fuck, those were kids, I can't stand this shit." Takashi snarled, walking back towards the balcony door.
"Komuro! You shoot them then what?" Kohta shouted after his taller friend.
"Isn't it obvious? I'll shoot them, and if I get fucked over I'll beat them till the skin off my knuckles rips o-" Takashi started, getting cut-off shortly after.
"What happened? Did you forget? They react to every little sound, Komuro." Saeko spoke, hushing the black-haired teen who stared down at her. "And as for the living-" She said, walking into the master bedroom and turning off the lights. "They just swarm around like bugs, looking for the light, and us. We aren't capable of saving all the lives out there. Take a good lookout there, and get used to it." She finished, handing off the binoculars to the teen.
"I'm afraid just being manly is no longer good enough to survive anymore."
Takashi took the binoculars, looking back at the purple-haired woman. "I thought that out of any of us, you'd look at things a little differently."
She smiled slightly, "I'm sorry Komuro, this is just the way things are now, I'm not saying that I like it." With that the woman disappeared down the stairs, leaving Takashi to stumble back out into the balcony. He nodded to Hirano who was against the railing and brought the binoculars to his eyes. He watched several living people being grabbed, ripped into, and eaten, like some shitty movie. Anger was brewing within the teen.
His eyes focused on a brightly lit house, where an older-looking grey-haired man was guiding a pink-haired girl into the empty yard. The man quickly directed the girl into the house's yard, shutting the steel fence-gate that separated them from the undead. Takashi watched as the older man began banging on the door of the house, causing the bright silhouettes inside to frantically move around.
Takashi barely heard the shouting and bangs as he watched the man continuously hit the door, he raised the large monkey wrench, maybe intending to break the door down before it was opened. As the door was opened a knife taped to a broomstick jutted out, impaling the older man in the chest. Takashi bit his tongue, drawing blood as he watched the man stumble back, the door close, and the daughter beginning to cry as she watched the man fall against the fence-gate, opening it. The girl's wail caught the attention of Kohta, but also the undead.
"Lock and fuckin' load!" Kohta yelled, firing off several shots which probably startled the sleeping residents of the house.
Takashi watched as several shambling corpses stumbled into the yard, all being gunned down in a matter of seconds. He dropped the binoculars in response, a grin coming to his face as he nodded to Kohta, a thumbs up coming from the chubby boy.
…
"Be right back. There's a girl who needs our help." Takashi said, stepping into the hallway and out into the hall at a fast pace. He was followed by Yumie, Saeko, and Rei.
"You go knock 'em dead, cowboy." Saeko teased, holding the door out for the teen that lead into the garage. "I'll hold down the fort until you get back."
"Takashi, take this at least," Rei said, holding out the revolver to the black-haired teen who took it, stashing it into his jacket quickly then running into the garage.
…
"Be careful when you shoot. Firing a shot, it'll be like ringing the dinner bell." Saeko said, gripping the gate handle as Rei formed a makeshift ramp with some wooden planks.
Takashi revved the engine of the motorcycle as Yumie slipped herself onto the bike, bokken in hand. He revved it several times before giving a thumbs up, Saeko opening up the gate doors instantly, the bike jutted forward soon after and hit the ramp, flying over the heads of the undead before hitting the asphalt and driving forward. Rei and Saeko looked onto see the black-haired teen slammed his foot into an undead that reached for Yumie before the two teens completely disappeared beyond the crowd of Them.
...
Takashi revved the bike again, soaring throughout the street as gunshot after gunshot went off, Kohta clearly laying into any undead that got in his friend's path. Takashi stared in awe as a shower of blood greeted him at a constant, impressed at his friend's accuracy.
"That's it, Yumie!" He shouted, watching as the brightly lit house came into view.
"Affirmative." She responded, tone cold and serious.
Takashi drifted, the bike slamming into an undead woman then flying into the house's yard past the girl. Yumie jumped off before it crashed into the ground, slamming her bokken into two undead that was circling the young girl, receiving a bark of appreciation from a little white black spotted dog. While that was going on, Takashi stood up, quickly running towards the gate as two undead women slipped through. Two bullets pierced their skulls, sending them back to the grave with a spray of blood.
"Nice fuckin' shot man!" Takashi shouted, even though he knew Hirano couldn't hear him. The teen quickly slammed his foot into the gate doors, forcefully locking them. He turned, watching as Yumie bent down to comfort the screaming girl, who had been screaming for her mom and dad. Takashi turned, slamming his crowbar into two stray undead with a shout before stopping near a clothesline.
"There's one behind you!" The little girl's voice sounded, cracking due to the constant stress.
Takashi turned just as an undead woman lunged at him, he responded by turning his back heel and slamming a right hook directly into the thing's chin. The thing collapsed violently to the ground before attempting to get back up, being met with a bullet in its head soon after.
"Thanks, kid! You just saved my ass!" The black-haired teen shouted, turning to smile at the girl. She waved her hands in response, the dog giving Takashi his own bark of appreciation.
…
"Hirano!" Saya shouted.
"Takag-" Hirano said. The teen turned quickly and stopped his sentence quickly, blood leaking out of his nose. Saya was in a pair of shorts with a matching sports bra, but that wasn't what he was focusing on, instead he was focusing on the sleepy blonde-haired woman who was standing near the girl, completely naked. With that, he finally hit his limit and his nose erupted with blood.
"What the? I'm getting outta here, there's no goddamn way we can stay here after all this noise." Saya said, pulling Shizuka back into the house with her. "I want you packed up and ready to go!"
"Yes ma'am!" Hirano saluted, stumbling around for a second.
…
"Rei, let Ms. Busijima handle it and give me a hand," Saya said as she scaled down the stairs, Shizuka was sleepily stumbling behind her. Behind them were Serry and Aika, who were carrying several bags that they quickly piled into the trunk of the Humvee. "You! Put on some clothes!" She reprimanded the blonde teacher before shoving a large bag into her hands.
"Saeko, we need to get the car ready," Saya said.
"Now's our chance to get it. While the zombie contingent is out there after Komuro and Yumie." The purplette responded, stepping down from the pillar she was watching the horde from.
"What?" Aika said, looking over the railing at a large gathering of shambling corpses. At the end of the street was a bright house, seemingly the attraction for the horde.
"What are we gonna do about that? At this rate, they won't be able to come back even with the bike." Serry chimed in, clearly worried for her friends.
"If so, we've got no choice but to get them." Shizuka piped in, buttoning her shirt. Everything eyed the woman, not because she still had no pants or underwear on.
"Sounds like a plan," Aika said.
"She's right! Hell-ova-plan we rescue Yumie and Komuro, then haul ass to the other side of the river!" Saya finished, smiling in a victorious-looking pose. "Come on, get ready!"
…
Takashi, the girl, and Yumie stared at the scene around them. Several undead bodies and blood splatter littered the grass of the yard, while a wall of undead attempted to push through the locked gate, their faces squashed against the steel bars.
"Hey, mister." The girl said, tugging at Takashi's blazer. "That man." She pointed, "That's my daddy." She said sadly, Takashi observing the suit-wearing bloodstained man who lay next to the gate. Yumie grimaced, patting the pink-haired girl's head.
Takashi was silent as he walked toward the body of the little girl's father, quickly yanking a white shirt down from the nearby clothesline and staring at the body. He signaled for Yumie and the little girl to come over so they did, stopping short when they watched Takashi bend down, laying the white shirt gently over the man's body. He gazed to the side, picking a few purple flowers up out of the grass.
"What are you?" The girl asked.
"He died trying to protect you; your father was a brave man," Takashi said, holding out the small array of flowers to the girl. She began to tear up, lightly setting down the small dog and taking the flowers out of the teen's hand. She bent down near the man's body, laying the flowers near his heart, "It's okay to cry."
The girl shook slightly, grasping the teen's shirt as she began to sob louder, tears of loss and anguish. Takashi wrapped his arm around the girl and patted her head, letting the girl sob into his blazer. "You have to be a strong kid, you aren't alone," Takashi said, feeling his heart sink at the girl's crying.
...
The girls all stood gathered in the garage, staring at the large pile of supplies they managed to pack together in the short window of time they had. They all nodded to one another, opening the gate and running towards the humvee nearby, and loading it up. Saeko and Aika stood to watch in front of the large truck while the rest stocked it full of supplies.
"Done!" Serry whispered.
...
"Listen, sweety, you've got to try and be quiet. The noise will only bring more of them." Takashi said, holding a finger at his mouth as the girl looked up at him, her bright pink eyes staring sadly into his brown ones.
"Can't we get away from them?" She asked.
"We're gonna try," Yumie assured her from nearby. The blackette was staring in disgust at the undead trying to break through the gate, picking on a little girl? Seriously? she thought.
"Can't we just go over them?" The girl asked curiously. She took a glance at the gate then quickly snapped back to Takashi, scared of the monsters that were just trying to eat her a few moments ago. The dog nodded to her statement, its tongue sticking slightly out of its mouth as he stared up at Takashi.
Squelch~! Riiiiiiip!
Takashi's perked-up, unease was evident in his visage as he stared onto Yumie who was also sharing the same feelings of unease. They continuously heard flesh-ripping or tearing, something of the sort. Takashi quickly patted the girl on the back, his face turning stone cold as he stared around quickly. He noticed how the nearby brick fence led back into the direction of Rika's house; he stood up soon after.
"Listen Yumie, use the fence to get back," Takashi said, rousing the blackette's attention. She watched as the teen pointed towards the nearby brick fence, nodding as she walked over to the girl and smiled.
Crash!
The sound of bodies slamming and blood spraying drew the two teen's attention forward, causing them to look at the fence warily. They watched as blood showered the undead who were all violently shoving themselves against the fence, groaning and moaning viciously. The girl began to sob slightly out of fear, Yumie quickly covered her mouth and the girl calmed down quickly and fell into silence, watching as the blackette bent down and exposed her back, letting the small girl climb up and secure herself on Yumie. Takashi signaled the blackette towards the fence once more and she nodded, running over to the base of it and securing her shoes, there was no room for error after all.
Thud!
"Go!" Takashi shouted, causing the blackette to quickly scale the fence. She balanced herself quickly, starring off to the side where the group of undead was. She sweatdropped as she noticed several glowing purple eyes meeting her gaze, they groaned violently, but she was used to that. What she wasn't used to was the glowing purple-eyed zombies ripping apart the non-glowing ones. "Zeke!" The girl shouted from the blackette's back, Yumie looked back to see the dog barking viciously at the gate as some more zombies fought among each other.
"I'll take him don't worry!" Takashi said. He went to scoop the dog up, but before he could do anything a black shadow hopped over the fence gate, flying straight towards him. He couldn't move fast enough, raising his arms in a high guard before being impacted by the shadow. It sent the teen flying straight into the door of the house, which was now completely dark.
Crack!
"Takashi!" Yumie screamed shrilly, panicking slightly. This caused the girl to wobble, only catching herself by kicking away an undead on the side of the fence to regain her footing. The girl screamed as well, watching as the black figure stared up at them, red eyes glowing brightly.
…
"What the fuck is going on down there?" Kohta said, watching as several glowing purple-eyed undead ripped apart a group of their own kind. He saw the black shadow leap over the group into the yard, but he couldn't do anything now that he was on the ground floor near the Humvee.
"Do you guys hear that?" Serry asked, sticking her head out from the back of the Humvee. This caused everyone to listen in, hearing a slight scream off in the direction of where Takashi and Yumie had gone. All of the teens, and teacher, began to feel a sudden sense of dread, speeding up the process of packing the car and loading in quickly.
"Get in the car, now," Aika demanded, throwing the rest of the supplies inside sloppily and throwing herself in.
…
Takashi felt himself drooling, a feeling of immense pain tagging every censor in his body. His eyes snapped open, immediately noticing he wasn't drooling, he bleeding from the mouth. He coughed several times, ignoring the sinister laughter nearby as he steadied himself, pushing up from the ground and shakily standing on his feet. The teen's mouth leaked more blood, causing him to spit a wad of blood and saliva out onto the ground. His head pulsed intensely, a headache so painful he'd have to choke down at least 4 ibuprofen to get rid of it.
"Oh, so my nose wasn't lying to me, huh?" A deep English voice said, causing the teen to stare at the source of the noise.
Standing a few feet away from the teen was a man, appearing to be somewhere in his forties, with black swept-back hair, sharp features, and a hellish piercing red gaze. His skin was pale, matching the darker monochromatic cassock he was wearing, signifying he was some sort of priest. Takashi stared harder, his vision blurring slightly as he seemed to see the man's fangs, 'The fuck?' the teen thought, clearly oblivious to who, or exactly what this was.
"Your friend will make an excellent fuck-toy." The priest said, licking his lips and staring at Yumie who was sweating profusely as she watched Takashi wobble slightly where he stood. "After I'm done drinking your blood of course."
"Leave him alone!" The little girl screamed from Yumie's back, anger, and frustration apparent in her cracking voice.
"Silence! You'll be left to my ghouls to feast on you fucking brat!" The priest screamed in retaliation, silencing the girls screaming. He starred up at Takashi who had just finally managed to stop wobbling, his arms dropped to the side.
The teen took a sharp inhale, feeling his body flare up with that oh-so-familiar raging sensation again. After a few breathes he felt his body calm, ignoring the occasional bickering from the priest. He felt some semblance of strength coming back into his body, wondering where all of that pain had actually come from, not remembering the previous damage to his arms and head in the past two weeks. The priest's attack only caused him a bit of damage, a result of him slamming into the door of the house and it cracking open forcefully.
The priest, seemingly tired of waiting, began walking towards Takashi with a crooked smile painting his face. The teen was standing still now, observing the man's movements, but it was all for naught, after all, he was a vampire, he thought cockily.
Takashi observed as the priest kicked his crowbar in front of him, nudging his head toward it with a smile. Takashi formed a grin of his own, running forward at the man who matched his height.
"Yumie! Get back to the group!" Takashi shouted, sounding a bit worse for wear. This caused the blackette to turn quickly, slowly beginning to edge her way back towards Rika's duplex. The priest snarled at Takashi, so distracted by the fleeing girls that he didn't notice the little dog running up to his ankle, sinking its teeth as deep as possible and drawing blood. The priest yelped, glaring at the dog gnawing his ankle.
"Come on, pussy!" Takashi roared, stopped in front of the priest, and turned his back heel, effectively sending all of his power into a follow-up jab. The priest reacted by meeting the punch with all of his force, the two combatants' fists colliding, a loud thud echoing all around the courtyard as the fists met. Takashi felt his forearm flare, muscles and bones aching from the one punch, nothing was broken, yet the pain he felt from the contact was evident in his scrunched face. The priest was much the same, a mental battle playing out in his head due to the teen's resistance, how did he match my blow? The man thought, surprised by the teen's strength compared to his own.
"You lousy fuckin' human!" The priest roared back, ignoring the pain in his left forearm. He reeled his other fist back but was met with a hook to his liver, causing him to spit out a wad of saliva and fold over. He was a vampire that was true, but he'd never been in a true test of combat before, an all-out fight to the death, which his opponent had experience in. Impossible! He thought, feeling another barrage of punches connecting to his face and body.
Takashi slipped an incoming punch, thrown in desperation by the battered priest. Although being battered and older, his body was incredibly durable, much like Takashi's, the priest acted much like a demented punching bag, rather than the mysterious black shadow that had just crashed into the teen. The teen grabbed onto the man's shoulders once he folded over in pain again, slamming his knee into his nose.
CRACK!
The sound made the teen cringe, hearing as the man's nose broke, causing him to stumble backward against the fence gate holding his bleeding nose. The priest began throwing every insult in the book at the teen, cursing violently as the teen ran over and repeatedly stomped on his face, wasting no time to talk. Takashi continuously slammed his backheel into the priest's face, eventually hearing loud gurgling from the man. He knew what it was, a death rattle, but he knew something was off about the man, for god's sake the fucker has glowing eyes and fangs he thought.
"I will not die! I-" The priest shouting was cut off several times by Takashi slamming his foot down again his jaw, it cracked, rousing panic from the priest. "Human! I'm a v-vampire! I-"
CRACK!
The priest's pained screaming rang out, causing Takashi to stop his assault and step back. He felt the fatigue begin to set in, overexertion evident in the teen's strained muscles. He caught his breath as he glared down at the priest, watching as the red-eyed man clawed lightly at his now broken jaw, it looked unhinged, showing off what Takashi thought was fangs. He had ignored the priests angered shouting at him, only hearing the term vampire once and ignoring it.
Takashi turned, watching as Zeke ran towards him with a happy yap. He stumbled over to where the crowbar and revolver lay, quickly scooping them up and turning towards the downed priest. Only now the man wasn't downed, he was running full-force at the teen with his unhinged jaw agape. Takashi had no time to react as the man swiped at the teen, his fingernails slashing through his shirt and blazer in one fell swoop. He felt burning, looking down at the long streak of blood leaking from his chest, he had no time to react as the priest slashed his neck, luckily only grazing it.
The teen jumped backward, suddenly feeling the fatigue wear off and energy being restored, adrenaline finally kicking in. He drew the revolver quickly, slamming the remaining five bullets into the priest's body. The main wailed in response, flesh rippling and burning as the bullets were sent through him, he fell backward again. Takashi curiously stared at the revolver for a second before dropping it and running at the man with his crowbar, the main flailing his hand in an attempt to stop the teen. Takashi, with a loud blood-curdling scream of rage, sent his bars curved edge downwards, colliding with the vampire priest's frontal lobe.
…
"What about big brother!" The little girl said, causing Yumie to stop in her tracks.
The blackette looked around for a second, starring at all the hollow gray-eyed undead that crowded the street to the left of them. They were halfway there, but she was running out of options due to the fences beginning to run out.
"He'll be fine." She said immediately, trying to calm the young girl. The loud scream the blackette heard a moment ago was enough to tell her that he was still alive, at least for the time being.
HONK!
A loud horn roused the two girls' gazes, watching as a Humvee barreled down the street towards them with Kohta and Saeko prepared on the top of it. She smiled, relief flood through her body as she began to move down the fences once more. The blackette watched as the Humvee turned to the side, slamming into at least fifty undead, sending them scattering all across the neighborhood. It skidded to a half just at the end of the small intersection in front of them, Saeko jumping off the top and slamming her bokken into a group of undead.
"Hang on just a little bit longer!" Yumie said confidently.
"Yumie! Hurry up!" Rei shouted at the blackette, popping out of the vehicle's top hatch.
"Easier said than done!" Yumie responded, beginning to pick up the pace. "Takashi's still back there! He's fighting something!"
"Hirano! Buy us some time!" Saya said, also appearing from the top of the hatch.
"Jawohl!" Hirano shouted, quickly zeroing in lumbering towards the car and blowing them backward with several shotgun blasts that sent them flying. He cocked his shotgun back, firing again with the same result, another wave of zombies being violently blown backward.
"Yumie let's go!" Saeko said, slamming her bokken against four more undead skulls, effectively dispatching them.
Yumie sweatdropped, starring back and forth between the Humvee and the house. She thought about dropping the girl near Saeko and walking back over to the house using the fences until she saw a battered-looking Takashi struggle up onto the fence, Zeke securely in his arms. She turned back towards the Humvee, running along the fence and leaping onto the top, ushering the girl into the truck before joining Saeko in beating back the horde of undead surrounding them.
"Just a bit longer! I see him!" Aika shouted, her gaze focusing on the black-haired who was far back along the fence. Kohta nodded to the red-haired woman and began firing his shotgun once again, knocking back even more waves of zombies.
…
Pain, waves of it surfacing on every single part of the black-haired teen's body. Blood; blood was dripping on the teen's sneakers, coating them in a light tint of crimson as he balanced himself, gradually stepping forward a foot at a time. He weakly stared upwards, watching as Yumie leaped into the air and onto the Humvee, a sound came out of his mouth, he could barely notice it. Everything seemed to get quieter and quieter, the burning sensation in his chest only intensifying as he walked along the fence.
Takashi's adrenaline was almost worn down completely, he was running off reserves, not to mention the intense fatigue from all the fighting. One foot at a time he stepped, closer and closer he got, farther and farther away was that monster from before. His head drooped slightly, Zeke licking his chin with a whine.
"You-" Takashi started. "You feel it too, pup?"
Zeke barked, licking the teen's chin again, causing his head to shoot upwards towards the Humvee. The group of zombies was growing around the vehicle, Yumie, and Saeko now inside of it due to the horde. Takashi watched as Kohta strained himself, turning right, left, and center slamming shells downrange. "Takashi!" The chubby teen screamed, noticing his friend's leg wobble under his own weight.
Exhaustion was setting in, Takashi felt his eyes close several times before he felt himself falling forward, his eyes opened quickly and he slammed his foot into an undead girl. This allowed the teen to catch his balance once again, causing him to start fast walking down the last fence. All that stood between him and Zeke's salvation was a fence gate he had to jump.
"Komuro!" Saeko yelled, panic evident in her voice as she watched the teen slump slightly. She noticed everything, the teen's blazer and the shirt were in tatters, the pieces still sticking to the teen's body glued on by a dark liquid red liquid. She saw the bruises that littered the teen's face and the slight limp he balanced with, saw the neck slashes he so narrowly managed to evade, that of which would've been fatal.
The corners of Takashi's vision went white slightly, a tinge of darkness highlighting his gaze. He shook his head several times, pausing before the fence gate. He slumped forward, watching as his life flashed before his eyes.
A group of people sitting together and laughing, a younger-looking Yumie and Serry in front of him. He watched as the two girls smiled brightly at him, only stopping when they were ushered by a teacher out of the room. It shot soon after to a younger Aika, seemingly yelling at the teen holding up a piece of paper with a large F on it. The girl sighed, putting the paper down and leaning against the boy sadly, eventually wrapping her hand up in his.
Takashi's vision shifted again, watching as a dark-haired, sharp-featured-looking man smiled at him. The man had a scar trailing up his lower lip, and he had bright brown eyes, much like Takashi himself. He watched as the man walked away, embracing a woman with black hair and blue eyes, she was beautiful, and she gave the teen a familiar feeling of comfort in her gaze. Another shift of his vision showed a dark background, a road in the middle with a car overturned, burning. He watched as small hands raised in front of his face, bloody and shaking. He looked up to see that familiar blue gaze staring at him, but it was hollow, lifeless as the woman was crushed under the flaming car.
The teen's vision shifted one final time, first, the aftermath of the car crash, in which a white-capped man wrapped the teen in a blanket, the scar that trailed through the man's left eyebrow the only thing he saw on his face. The man patted the boy's head, a comforting smile gracing his features. Another blank shift, he observed as Imamura, Morita, and Hisashi all came into view, they were all talking among each other, slapping Morita on the back who simply smiled at them. Takashi watched as his hands raised a glass with a clear liquid in it, the other teens dressed in Fujimi's uniform raising their own glasses.
They drank, all choking down the white liquid. Takashi's friends' faces turned sour, all laughing after the bite of the alcohol they were drinking wore off. Takashi felt himself tear up, unknowing if it was in the vision or real life, but he felt a sudden rush when his friends dropped their glasses, all starring at the teen with somber expressions. He stared at them puzzled, his own smile fading as they all opened their mouth to speak, all beginning to shout Survive! Survive! Survive! You promised us! Takashi panicked, watching as they stood up with confident smiles and held their hands out towards him, with a final shout they all screamed FIGHT!
"Takashi!" Aika screamed, worry and anguish evident in her wavering yell.
The teen stumbled forward, looking up to see the Humvee rocking side-to-side as Kohta continually shot wave after wave that surrounded the front of the vehicle. Takashi, with a final bellow, let seventeen years of raw emotion off into a scream, causing him to dash forward, clearing the fence gate and leaping through the air, looking down at the pitiful crowd of undead as he soared towards the Humvee's open hatch.
TO BE CONTINUED.
Author's Note: Hello! I thank you for reading the fourth chapter of HOTDA. First off I'd like to thank you all for 2.5k visits, it truly does motivate me to continue writing seeing the reviews and people who take the time out of their days to read my work, so I thank you. Second off I've rewritten chapters one and two for better flow and in general better writing. If you have time I'd appreciate it if you'd leave a review, comment, criticism, PM, suggestion, or whatever else you'd like to tell or share with me, even if you wanna have a general conversation about something. I'm all ears! Recently HOTDA has turned one year old! Here's to another year of hopefully better writing!
Thank you once again, and I'll see you all in the fifth chapter of HOTDA!