This chapter is a little late and I am so very sorry buuut it's here now! This chapter answers the question of "what happened at the pension when the horde attacked?"

Chapter 27

48 hours earlier…

"Good luck everyone" Misuzu spoke up, swallowing hard as Ranka stepped up beside him.

"If we go out… we go out in a blaze of glory… right Misuzu?" Ranka grinned to his friend who nodded.

"In a blaze of glory" Misuzu echoed the words with determination.

Everyone moved to take position, afraid yet determined to stand their ground until the last. Nobody wanted this situation to occur but here they were and now was the time to nut up or shut up.

Ritsu stopped at the top of the stairs and exhaled slowly, watching as the zombies outside began to push their way in. The barricade was failing, each thrust of the horde had it slowly scraping its way across the floor. He was trying to formulate an escape plan quickly.

"Can we not evacuate?" Came the nervous voice of a woman who was quaking in her shoes near the back of the group gathered.

As those words left her mouth there came more crashing from round the back of the pension which caused her to bring her hands to her mouth to cover the scream that escaped her.

Hikaru moved quickly to the windows that looked out the back of the pension.

"I… I don't think so… we are surrounded…" his words sounded so hollow, like he was only now realising his own mortality.

The woman that asked broke down right there where she stood, slumping to her knees sobbing nonsense about how she wished she had less regrets, another of the women rushing over to pull her to her feet. There was no time to sit and cry, not when the undead were breaking down the doors.

Ritsu raised his rifle and started stepping down the stairs one at a time "good luck everyone… make each shot count…"

Time was up. With one large thrust the barricade had moved enough for the first few zombies to pour into the foyer.

Bang!

Ritsu fired off his first round once he made it to the bottom of the stairs, though the bullet whizzed over the heads of the ones in the foyer and struck one of the zombies outside right between the eyes with a sickening crunch before dropping to the floor. He grunted in annoyance, moving forward as he aimed to fire again.

As if it was some kind of cue, everyone followed down the stairs and began firing into the crowd of zombies, trying to stem the flow of those making it through the barricade. The woman who had broken down moments before turned tail and ran back up the stairs, heading for the attic that unbeknown to her would be where she'd die.

"Maru-chan come back!" one of the other women screamed, having seen her dashing off.

"Let her go!" the gruff voice of one of the men rose above her shout "its fight or flight and she chose flight"

"Kasanoda! behind you!" Kaoru shouted as the zombies that had broken in through the back were now joining the battle in the foyer.

Ritsu turned and ducked out of the way just as a zombie grabbed for him, firing a shot into its head before turning to fire off at another before the first had hit the floor.

"Haruhi, duck!" Tamaki cried, raising his shotgun as a zombie grabbed at her.

She squealed and wriggled out of its grasp, ducking out of the way just in time for Tamaki to fire, blowing it's arm off from how close he was standing to it. Kaoru ducked in to shoot it in the head as Tamaki grabbed Haruhi and tugged her behind him.

"Cover me Haruhi…" he smiled softly

"Of course Senp- I mean Tamaki…" she nodded, moving to stand with her back to his, covering his ass and him covering hers.

"Hikaru… me and you… til the end right?" Kaoru asked as he fired at an approaching zombie.

"Always Kaoru… always…" Hikaru smiled sadly, using the butt of the gun to thwack a zombie that had made a lunge for his twin.

"Kasanoda... " Kyoya spoke up, realising everyone else had pretty much paired up, moving to stand with the redhead "I'll cover you"

"Thanks…" Ritsu mumbled as he took aim again "I mean it… thank you Kyoya..."

"Misuzu to your left!" Ranka yelped as a zombie dived for his friend.

"ACK!" Misuzu went down as the zombie tackled him heavily.

"MISUZU!" Ranka roared, kicking the zombie hard enough that it looked up only to be met with the barrel of a gun.

Bang!

Ranka pulled Misuzu to his feet "Are you okay?! you didn't get bit did you?!"

"N-no… I'm fine" Misuzu mentally shook himself before pushing Ranka down to fire at a zombie lurking just past his shoulder.

It didn't seem to matter how many zombies they shot, as they dropped dead more zombies came to take their place. The floodgates had been opened and now there was no stemming the flow of zombies entering the pension.

"Shit!" one of the men cried out as he fought to reload his was dropping bullets on the floor as he attempted to reload, his hands shaking like crazy as he fumbled to slip the bullets into the chamber.

"Here!" one of the other men thrust his rifle into his hands and took the pistol to reload it.

It became apparent to everyone present that their only choice was to retreat upstairs and try to find a way out and so almost as one they moved for the stairs, firing at the zombies as they went.

"I have a plan!" Ritsu called out to the others over the noise of zombies growling and shrieking.

"Let's hear it!" Ranka called back, trying to keep his eyes on Misuzu and Haruhi the best he could.

"Second floor windows open onto the outside pergola, if we can wait by the windows long enough for the horde to mostly be inside, we can escape out onto the pergola and down into the garden and run for it" Ritsu panted as he made it to the top of the stairs.

The pergola ran almost the entire way along the backside of the pension, giving shelter for the summer heat when guests wanted to lounge outside, overlooking a beautiful koi pond and all the plants and flowers Misuzu had grown himself.

The idea of waiting for the horde to enter the pension was quickly tossed out as the horde suddenly got ramped up and excited over something, rushing the pension and scrambling over each other to get inside.

"GO! JUST GO!" Ranka yelled out "SPLIT UP AND RUN FOR IT! DON'T LOOK BACK!"

"EVERYONE HEAD FOR THE SCHOOL!" Kyoya called out as he wrenched a window open, helping one of the women out of it.

"WHAT ABOUT NANAKO?!" Misuzu wailed as Ranka tried to make him climb through a window further down.

"I'LL GO LOOK FOR HER I PROMISE!" Ritsu yelled as he helped Tamaki and Haruhi out, the horde racing up the stairs.

Those were the last words he spoke to anyone as he scrambled out the window himself and climbed out onto the pergola. He had no idea where anyone else was or who was behind him or with him as he climbed down into the gardens and made a run for it… all he knew was this had probably been a big mistake as he heard screaming, crying and gunfire either side of him in the darkness. All around him for as far as he could see were the stragglers from the horde closing in on him.

"Shit…"