The group waded through a field of pampas grass, their guns fully-drawn, on high-alert for any signs of trouble and ready to terminate such threat if it presented itself, as they approached the back parking lot of the building. In the distance, a murder of crows circled above, screeching nonstop. Saya shudder.
"What's wrong?" Saeko asked.
"Nothing. I just hate the way they sound, that's all," she said, without glancing at her.
As they darted across the parking lot, they could see a couple of parked cars but no Amazon semi-trailers anywhere in the vicinity. They reached one of the loading docks and immediately tried to pry open one of the doors with a crowbar, but to no avail.
"Let's try the front, it'll be easier to open than these," said Saya.
"All right, let's go," Takashi said, leading the group.
When they finally reached the main entrance, Kohta used the same crowbar and managed to pry open the door. Takashi went in first, while Kohta was right behind him, pointing his MAC-10 into the dark office. Takashi shone his flashlight throughout the room, while holding his gun with the other hand. He signaled the group in and they quickly went inside, while Saya ran towards the alarm box that was across the room. She tried to cut off the wires to deactivate it, but noticed something wasn't right.
"That's strange," she said with a puzzled expression.
"What's wrong?" asked Takashi.
"The alarm is off and isn't running on the backup power."
"So, is it still a problem?" Kohta inquired, looking over his shoulder while he continued to point his gun into the dark room.
"We have to find the power disconnect box. It should be inside the warehouse floor," Saya inform them, "But before we go," she cut off the alarm wires with her pliers. "There. This shouldn't be a problem anymore."
"Ok, let's go find it," Takashi nodded.
The group left the office and slowly made their way across a dark hallway, their flashlight beams illuminating the eerie corridor. Along the way, they encountered signs directing them to the warehouse area. The walls were covered with posters instructing the employees on proper safety protocols, motivating slogans, and pictures of the people who had been awarded the honor of being Employee of the Month. The group looked at their happy faces, their beaming smiles full of pride, without knowing how many of them managed to escape to safety or if they were even still alive after the disaster struck. They passed by an empty lunchroom, which caught Rei's curiosity, prompting her to peered through the small window door. Inside, she could see microwave ovens, coffee makers, vending machines, and some lunch boxes, that were left forever frozen in time to mark that faithful day. They reached the end of the hallway to where a pair of aluminum swing doors stood. Takashi pushed through them, with Kohta and the rest of the group trailing behind him, as they walked inside to the warehouse floor.
"Takashi, over there," whispered Kohta, illuminating the power disconnect box with his gun-mounted flashlight.
"Yeah, I got it," he said, making his way towards it. He opened the box and pushed the switch to turn the power on, and within seconds, the entire warehouse was flooded with light.
"Wow," the group said, standing awe-struck and looking at row after row of bright-yellow shelves that lined up across the distance, each one with bins that held a variety of items. In the center of the area, dozens of orange-colored robots that looked like Roomba vacuum cleaners, but were larger in size, sat there quietly. Based on its size, the building looked more like an airplane hangar that could house a fleet of Airbus A380s than a warehouse. But then again, this was an Amazon warehouse―everything was bigger.
"Let's split up and go find supplies. Remember, get nonperishable food and water and anything else we may need for our trip. Get as much as you can carry," Takashi ordered. "And watch out for any zombies, since we haven't cleared this place."
"Right," they answered, as they darted off in different directions.
Saeko went into an aisle and started scanning the shelves for the essential items Takashi had told them to find. She spotted a familiar looking box containing something the majority of the group desperately needed―tampons. Without any hesitation, she grabbed all the boxes from the shelf bin, stuffed them into her backpack, and continued on with her search. In the next shelf, she quickly found some protein bars and she grabbed those, as well.
Two aisles away from her, Saya was filling her backpack full of canned chicken and vegetable soup. No longer would the group have to eat plain instant ramen, but instead, they would feast on a more nutritious and delicious meal. And for once, Rei would finally shut up and let them all eat in peace.
At the other end of the building, while she rummaged through the bins, Kyoko-sensei found an expensive moisturizing cream. Just because the world has gone up in flames, doesn't mean I should look like an old hag, she thought, throwing a couple of them into her bag and moving on to the next shelf.
While that was happening, at the opposite end, Shizuka-sensei found a couple of bottles of sake and some sweets, much to her delighted surprise. I can't wait to try this! It's been so long since I had a drink. Oh, how I missed these things, she smiled and giggled ecstatically.
Sitting at the top of the shelf, Rei found the object of her desire: A pack of 4-ply toilet paper. She glinted with happiness, as she reached for it and snatched it. Once she held it in her hands, she gazed lovingly at her prize. The gift of a clean ass would no longer be a distant memory of the Old World but a new reality in the New One.
Meanwhile, Kohta was going from shelf to shelf, hoping to find some batteries or, by some stroke of luck, a satellite phone. However, he found something more to his liking. There, in the middle of one of the shelves, was a collection of H-mangas and magazines. With his pulse quickening and blood running down his nose and to his lower region, he browsed through such illustrious titles as My Sensei is an Amateur Porn Star and My Neighbor Can't Be This Hot of a MILF?! He also found a copy of Bikini Island, a magazine similar to Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition but without the beached whales that were prevalent in its American counterpart. Each page featured plenty of nudity because with the women already half naked, why not take it to its logical conclusion?
"All right! It's got the calendar special!" he said elated, stashing his newly-discovered collection into his backpack. Just as he was going to reach for more tittles from the shelf, a hand popped out from it. Kohta screamed, falling back, with the hand trying to pull him in, as the entire shelf fell over, reveling a zombie hiding behind it.
Takashi turned around, as he heard Kohta's scream echoed throughout the warehouse. More screams could be heard, and it was at that moment he pulled out his gun and ran in the direction they were coming from. With adrenaline rushing through his veins, Takashi turned a corner, just as gun shots rang out.
Kohta was leaning on one of the shelves, trying to catch his breath. Lying next to him, was his would-be aggressor with a couple of bullet holes riddled on his chest.
"GET DOWN!"
Kohta immediately hit the floor, as Takashi fired three rapid shots, each one hitting three different zombies that were standing a couple of feet away from them. The bodies dropped to the floor like bags of cement.
"What's going on―AAHH!" Rei screamed, as she encountered zombies coming out from some of the aisles. She pulled out her Uzi that was hanging from its sling, pressed the grip safety, and began to open fire at them, hitting the entire group. Rei turned around and sprinted to find her friends, leaving the floors splattered with the blood and internal organs of the diseased.
Not too far from Rei's position, Saeko was busy slashing and piercing a couple of newly-awaken guests of her own, "Saya, go find Takashi! We have to get out of here!" she warned her friend who was standing at the end of the aisle. Saya nodded and ran off to find Takashi.
By this time, the rest of the group was well aware of the situation currently unfolding and were rushing to be at Takashi's side.
"Komuro-kun!" screamed Shizuka-sensei, her massive breasts jiggling violently as she ran, with two zombies following her. Her treasure throve of alcohol and sweets she was carrying was weighing her down, causing her to slow down.
SMACK!
Kyoko-sensei swung her barbed-wire baseball bat to break off the jaw of one of the assailants. She then turned to the other one and delivered a skull-breaking blow, causing it to fall to the ground with its spilled brain matter.
"Thank you, Kyoko-san," gasped Shizuka, trying to catch her breath.
Kyoko eyed the heavy bag she was carrying, "Take off your bag and leave it. We have to find the others and get out of here. This place is crawling with them and you can't possibly run with something this heavy."
"No, I can't!" Shizuka said, hugging the bag protectively, "I can't leave these things behind."
"Your life or your things? Which one are you going to choose?" Kyoko warned her.
"Fine," Shizuka grumbled, dropping the bag and leaving it on the floor, "Let's go find the others."
The two women ran off in search of the rest of the group, with Shizuka glancing over her shoulder at her beloved prize for one last time. Her eyes were filled with sadness at how close she came to tasting the nectars of the gods yet again.
At the other end of the warehouse, Takashi and Kohta were busy dropping zombies left and right. The two of them moved in unison, with Takashi covering the 9 o'clock position, while Kohta took care of the 3 o' clock. They were in the zone, as Takashi performed a tactical reload while Kohta provided cover fire with his trusty MAC-10, careful not to run through the entire magazine as it was easy to do with this type of gun. All those hours of playing Modern Warfare and other first-person shooter games were paying off. But unlike the video games, this was real life and there was no escape button, multiple lives, health kits to collect, or respawning. Once you were out, you were out for good. There was no room for error, and these guys were performing flawlessly. With the last one of them lying on the floor with a bullet hole through its head, Takashi spotted Saya and Rei running towards him.
"Where's everyone else?" he asked the girls.
"Here we are, Komuro-kun!" called out Shizuka, running towards them with Kyoko-sensei alongside her.
"Saeko said we need to get out of here," Saya informed them.
"Where is she?!"
"A couple of aisles down, to the left," Saya pointed, "She was slashing a group of them when I saw her."
"Let's go Takashi!" exclaimed Kohta.
"What about us? What should we do?" asked Kyoko-sensei.
"Sensei, take the rest of the group and go outside. Don't go into the grass field, just stay in the parking lot. And if we don't come out after fifteen minutes, leave with everyone else as fast as you can. Understood?" Takashi instructed her.
Kyoko-sensei nodded.
"I'm coming with you," Saya said determinedly.
"And me too," Rei responded.
"No! All of you have to leave! We can't take any chances," Takashi replied furiously.
"Komuro-kun!" Shizuka screamed, her face petrified with fear, pointing behind him.
He turned around to see more zombies marching towards them, their mouths wide opened, screeching aggressively. Takashi loaded a new magazine into his pistol and looked at his friend. Kohta nodded and grinned. It was go time for them. The duo ran into the zombies, opening fire to pass through, hoping they would find their friend alive and unharmed.
"Wait for me!" Rei pleaded with them, just as Kyoko-sensei grabbed her by the arm before she could take another step.
"You heard him," sensei said sternly, "You're coming with us!"
"No, I don't want to!" she squirmed, trying to break away from her grasp. Shizuka-sensei helped Kyoko-sensei in restraining her, as they made their way to the nearest exit door.
So, what's the plan, Takashi?" Kohta asked, as they were running, leaving behind a trail of dead zombie bodies on the floor.
"Find Saeko, rejoin with the rest of the group, and get out of this city. Hopefully, the next place isn't as infested as this one," said Takashi, shooting another zombie that was hiding behind a conveyor belt.
They ran across stacks of flattened cardboard boxes, when Takashi bumped into someone coming out from the corner.
"Saya! What are you doing here? I told you―"
"Shut up! I couldn't leave you two idiots by yourselves. You need a genius like me in these types of situations," she shot back.
"Fine, stay close and don't do anything stupid."
"I can take care of myself, thank you very much," she said, sticking her tongue out.
The three of them continued to run and came across a staircase leading to an elevated platform overlooking the entire warehouse floor. They walked up the stairs and started surveying the area below them.
"Over there, Takashi!" pointed Saya.
Out in the distance, pinned between two conveyor belts and a giant robotic arm behind her, Saeko was in a death match against a pack of eleven zombies. They were trying to get near her, but each time they tried to grab her, she would cut them off with her sword. But the process was proving to be exhausting for Saeko, as each zombie she killed only brought out two more reinforcements from nearby. She didn't know how long she could hold on before one of them would succeed and turned her into one of them.
"SAEKO!" Takashi called out.
She looked up from her fight, surprised and relieved to see him, but frightened, nevertheless. She slashed three other zombies that were getting too close to her, the katana slicing cleanly across their torsos, like a sushi knife cutting through tuna.
"I don't think I can get a clear shot from here, not with this gun, at least," declared Kohta, looking at his target through his gun's sight.
"We need to create a distraction," suggested Saya.
"But how?" asked Takashi. He knew they had to think of something fast, he didn't know how long Saeko could last at this rate.
Kohta snapped his fingers, and smiled, "I got it! I'll be right back," he ran down the stairs and into the labyrinth of yellow-colored aisles.
"What's that fat ass up to now? He's going to get all of us killed," remarked an irritated Saya.
Kohta grabbed various supplies off the shelves, and by mixing some common household cleaners, he MacGyvered a couple of IEDs. He then returned to his friends perched on the platform and told them his plan.
"We throw a couple of these," he showed them a couple of steel thermos bottles with lighters and stopwatches attached to them, "blown them up, and Saeko can finally escape."
Oh, yeah?" Saya scoffed," What happens if the blast kills her, idiot? Did you think that through?"
"It won't kill her because she can hide behind the robot. It's strong enough to resist a blast like this one," Kohta responded confidently, "This is our only chance. We don't have any other choice."
"What do you think, Takashi?" Saya looked at him, worriedly.
"Let's do it," Takashi nodded, "and let's hope this work."
"Saeko, can you take cover behind the robot?" Saya yelled out to her.
"Yes, why? What are you guys planning to do?" she responded, while piercing a zombie and kicking another one in the chest, causing it to fall back.
"You'll find out soon. Just take cover and close your eyes, alright?" said Takashi.
Saeko immediately hid behind the robot and crunched down to the floor, her heart pounding wildly with trepidation and anticipation. She held her katana close to her, hoping whatever her friends were about to do, would succeed. Kohta threw one of the steel bottles and it rolled next to the foot of one of the zombies. Dumbfounded by it, the zombie looked at the bottle, while the rest of them stood there watching, as well.
BOOOOOOOOOMMM!
The blast took out the entire group of zombies, their body parts splattering everywhere. Their organs oozing on the conveyer belts and covering the floor in crimson liquid, leaving a nauseating stench.
"YEAH!" shouted Kohta, pumping his fist triumphantly.
"Yes!" both Saya and Takashi cheered, slapping each other high-fives.
Saeko got up and ran away from her hiding place. She was able to escape to a more secure location. The blast however proved to be counterproductive, as more zombies came out from various parts of the warehouse.
"Nice going, moron. Now you woke up the entire place," Saya nervously remarked. "And judging by their uniforms, it's the entire Amazon warehouse workforce."
"Saeko, get out of here. Just run straight ahead, you got a clear path. The rest of the group is waiting for you outside. We'll meet you there. Hurry!" Takashi shouted from the staircase. She did what she was told and sprinted towards the exit door. The rest of them ran down the platform, their weapons drawn and ready for the fight of their lives. The zombies were heading there way, and it wouldn't be long before they were surrounded.
"Kohta, we're you going?!" shouted Takashi, seeing him run in the opposite direction.
"I'm going to distract them. There's no way the three of us can take all of them."
"You can't do this by yourself, you moron!" Saya protested.
"Yes, I can. Trust me you guys, I got a plan. Just run outside and I'll meet you there," Kohta said, running towards the conveyor belts.
"Saya, let's go!" called Takashi.
"Idiot," mumbled Saya, as she turned around and joined Takashi, racing down the middle of the warehouse floor.
Kohta pulled out his crowbar from his backpack and began to hit the shelves as he ran, the loud noise echoed throughout the building. "Hey! Over here!" he shouted, catching the attention of the zombies. They turned around and began following him, providing Takashi and Saya with the perfect diversion for them escape.
"Where's Kohta?" asked Shizuka-sensei, upon meeting the pair in the parking lot.
"He's still inside," responded Takashi.
"Why did you leave him behind?!"
"He says he has a plan, sensei. Or at least, let's hope he does," Saya added.
Meanwhile, Kohta reached one of the conveyor belts and punched the start button. Immediately, the system started up and began to move. He then put one of the steel bottles on top of the conveyor belt going one way, while he put another one going in the opposite direction. With the first part of his plan completed, he moved to the next phase, bolting towards the center of the building and placing the remaining IEDs at the entrance of different aisles. Once finished, he made his escape towards freedom.
Like clockwork, the bombs went off, each one in different areas of the building, taking out dozens of zombies with them. Takashi and the rest of the group waiting outside, watched as one of the explosions ripped open part of the roof.
"KOHTA!" they instinctively shouted.
"Is he going to be ok? asked a terrified Kyoko-sensei.
"He'll be alright. I know he can make it," Takashi answered. Turning his attention towards the building, he said, "Come on, man. You can do it."
With only a few feet away, Kohta could see the sunlight coming through the open door. He ran as fast as he ever did in his entire life, faster than all those other times at the annual fitness challenge held during PE class. Almost there, he thought, feeling the cool air of the world of the living.
A pair of zombies popped out from a stack of pallets, screeching wildly. Kohta quickly shot them, blowing off their heads. He pointed at them with a sly smile, "Fulfilled, motherf―"
BBBBBBOOOOOOOOOMMMM!
"AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!" screamed Kohta, as a huge fireball erupted, sending him flying into the air. Unfortunately, he didn't see the flammable products in some of the aisles where he had left his explosives. As a result, the blast radius proved to be larger than anticipated.
"KOHTA!" the group yelled. They watched in horror as he crashed head first into the windshield of one of the cars in the parking lot. They rushed towards him, hoping that by some miracle, he would be alright.
"Hang in there, Kohta!" shouted Takashi, being the first one to reach the scene. He used the muzzle of his gun to break the driver's window and open the door. He jumped right into the seat and looked at his friend, lying unconscious on the backseat, his face covered in blood and his back badly burned.
"I'm here, Kohta. We'll get you out, just hang in there, bro," Takashi pleaded with him.
The rest of the group arrived, with Shizuka-sensei making her way to examine Kohta. Takashi opened the passenger door so she would have better access to treating his friend, while the rest of them crowed around the car, hoping Kohta had only minor injuries and would soon be back in action in no time.
"Is he gonna be okay, sensei?" Takashi asked panicking, the second time he had felt this way since the world had changed.
Shizuka-sensei pressed her two fingers on Kohta's neck to feel his pulse. Her lips began to quiver and a tear rolled town her cheek, "He's dead," she answered, with a shaking voice.
"No! That's can't be! Sensei, that's not true. Tell me we can still help him," he begged her.
"I'm sorry, Komuro-kun," she sobbed, "But he's dead and there's nothing we can do."
Takashi ran out of the car and let out a guttural scream.
"DAMM IT!" he yelled, falling down to his knees. He pounded the asphalt with his hand before he broke down in tears.
Having heard the news, the rest of the group burst into tears, as the fire behind them engulfed the entire building and pages of H-mangas and magazines rained on the parking lot.
