"I'm sorry for the loss of your friends, really I am, but right now we need to keep moving. This place isn't safe. And the more distance we can put between them and ourselves, the better," said Rika after being briefed of the day's tragic events.
"Where were you all this time?" asked Shizuka-sensei, wiping away her own tears.
"Surviving," she answered, "I was with my team at the Tokonosu International Airport. We were ordered to take out these monsters, and we did―or at least as many as we could." She shook her head. "There were just too many of them. Everything went to hell afterwards. I lost some good friends that day."
"We're sorry to hear that, Minami-san," Kyoko-sensei said, bowing slightly.
Rika nodded. "From then on, I joined the SDF. Fought alongside them until we were overpowered by hordes of them in the city. During the retreat, I got separated from my unit―had to hide in a skyscraper for a week before things calmed down. Didn't know if anyone else survived. Ever since, I've been on my own, trying to avoid whatever these things are." She smiled. "And here I am today."
"We're glad you found us," said Saeko, smiling back at her.
Rika looked over at the group and the backpacks they were carrying. "Shizuka left me a phone message saying you guys borrowed my guns, but I don't see them with you. What happened to them?"
"Don't ask. It's a long story," Rei said, waving away her question.
"Let's move while it's still daylight. We don't want to take any more chances with these suckers," Takashi said. The team nodded and headed down the main road. They were still shaken up by the day's tragic event, but grateful they had found a new member to join their group.
They walked as far away as they could. Along the way, they were met with all-too familiar scenes: cars overturned or burned down in the middle of the road, sometimes even crashed into buildings, decaying corpses with their guts spilled out, giving off a retching stench that could be smelled from yards away, and desolate streets with towering buildings that elicited an unsettling feeling of being watched. A few hours later, the team finally arrived to a new city just as the sun was setting.
"We need to find a place to spend the night. Preferably something with a balcony," said Rika, scanning the area.
"How about that?" pointed Takashi to a five-story building with a balcony on every unit―the typical concrete apartment complex found in most Japanese cities. The grey monolith towered over the rest of the houses and buildings in the neighborhood.
"Perfect," she grinned. The group made their way to it, and as they had done before in every place they'd stayed, they cleared every floor for any unwanted guests. Once finished, they settled in a unit on the fourth-floor. Rika brought a chair to the balcony and started stacking boxes on it she'd found in one of the room's closets. Pointing her sniper riffle to the street below, she adjusted her scope. "The minute they come into range, it's going to turn into a shooting gallery. It'll be game over for these suckers," she said to Takashi who was standing behind her. He nodded in approval.
In the living room, Kyoko-sensei was seated on the floor, taking inventory of their supplies that were spread out on the coffee table, while the rest of the girls were searching for new ones left behind during the evacuation.
"Find anything?" called out Takashi from the balcony.
"Just these," Saeko answered from the pantry, holding two bags of instant chicken ramen.
"Everything else here is spoiled." Shizuka sensei rummaged through glass containers and food cartons left inside the refrigerator. "But at least we have electricity, for now."
Rei made her way to the kitchen sink and turned on the faucet. The pipes underneath began to rattle and vibrate until water gushed out into the sink drain. "Yay! We have water!" she shouted, clapping her hands together and bringing them to her cheek as she jumped in jubilation. "I can finally take a shower."
After going through every room, cabinet, and drawer, the group did not find any new supplies. "Let's search the rest of the units on this floor. They must have left something," suggested Saeko. The team agreed and went through every unit on the fourth floor. Nothing. They marched up to the fifth floor. Still nothing. They stormed downstairs, ransacked through every room, and repeated the process until they were back were they had started. They found nothing. Exhausted and hungry, they plopped themselves on the living room couch.
"What a waste of time!" groaned Rei, covering her face with her palms.
"Either everybody took with them what they needed or this place got raided long before we got here," remarked Rika-san.
"We might as well start dinner," Shizuka-sensei sighed. She looked at the girls. "I'll need the two of you to help me on the stove." Saeko got up, slowly followed by Rei, as the trio made their way to the kitchen. The rest of the group stashed away the remaining supplies they had into their backpacks.
While Shizuka-sensei, Rei, and Saeko were in the kitchen, Rei bickering with Saeko on which flavored-ramen soup to cook this time, Takashi slipped out of the unit, into the hallway, and walked up the stairwell leading to the rooftop. Once he opened the access door, he was greeted by a half-crescent moon set against a sea of glittering stars. In the horizon, square and rectangular silhouettes dominated the skyline. What used to be a bustling and hectic city, had been reduced to eerie silence. The city looked like Godzilla had laid down and gone into hibernation, uncertain to everyone when it would wake up. Takashi reached the edge of the rooftop and leaned against the handrail.
A couple of lights flickered on in the distance before they turned dim. Takashi stood up, his heart racing. Maybe there are other survivors, he thought. But he quickly realized the lights were more likely turned on because of a timer than actual people. He sighed and leaned on the rail.
"Are you okay, Komuro-kun?" a voiced behind him asked.
Takashi glanced over his shoulder to see a silhouette standing inside the doorway of the exit. The figure stepped forward. It was Kyoko-sensei. She walked towards him.
"I'm sorry about your friends, Komuro-kun," she said, standing next to him. Takashi didn't answer her and looked at the city instead.
"It's okay to be sad and angry, that's perfectly normal, you know. I'm here for you if you want to talk."
Takashi stood there for a minute without saying anything. A symphony of crickets playing and the occasional howling of a wolf could be heard in the distance.
He banged on the railing, startling sensei. She could see tears rolling down his cheek. She hugged him as he started to cry.
"Sshh. It's okay, Komuro-kun. Everything's going to be okay," she whispered, stroking his hair.
"It's all my fault I couldn't save them," he cried.
"No, no it's not your fault. You did everything you could to save them." Sensei rubbed Takashi's back as he cried over her shoulder. "Please don't blame yourself for this." Takashi continued to cry while sensei consoled him. They stood in their embrace, unaware of time. She gazed at him and stroked his cheek. Takashi looked at her. She looked at him. And she leaned in for a kiss.
"There you are, Komuro-kun!"
They were startled and sensei quickly broke away from Takashi. They turn to see Rika leaning on the doorway. "Dinner is ready. You better hurry before it gets cold."
"W-We were just talking," said sensei, blushing and readjusting her glasses.
"Sure didn't look like talking to me," Rika responded, wearing a smug grin on her face.
"I-I'll go see what the girls have prepared for dinner," sensei said. She bowed and made her way to the exit door. Rika stepped aside to let her through.
Takashi turned around and went back to watching the city skyline, resting his chin underneath his arms on the handrail. Rika stood next to him and leaned back on the rail. She gazed up at the night sky. "People in the city used to complain about light pollution preventing them from seeing the stars at night. Now that you can finally see them, there's no one around to appreciate their beauty. Except for us, of course. Ironic, isn't it?"
Takashi remained silent. Rika turned to him. "I lost my partner at the airport, and then my squad mates when I was with the SDF. You feel it's your own fault and no matter how times you run the event in your head, again and again, wondering if you were only standing in this place, if you only shot in this direction, then somehow they'd all still be alive. The truth is, we don't know if that could have been enough to make a difference."
Takashi continued to ignore her.
"Komuro-kun, you can't dwell in this forever!" She snapped at him. "Your group needs you to lead them!"
"I can't be their leader, not after what happened to Kohta and Saya," he said softly, pressing his forehead against the cold handrail.
"The mark of a good leader isn't being invincible in battle, it's being able to lead when everything looks hopeless and quitting looks attractive. Every good leader has experienced the same thing you're going through. Or worse. But they didn't give up. They pushed through."
They stood there in silence for a minute while a gentle breeze swept across the dark city.
Finally, Rika spoke. "Mourn your fallen friends, but tomorrow be ready to lead the ones that are still here with you. It's the best thing you can do to honor their memory," said Rika, and then headed towards the exit door.
She opened the door and turned back. "Are you coming to dinner?"
"I'll be there in a minute," he said.
Rika stepped inside and let the door slam behind her, leaving Takashi alone with his thoughts. He stood up and paced the rooftop. He interlaced his hands behind his head, his breathing became heavy, his lips started quivering, and a feeling of desperation started strangling him. He threw a punch into the air as tears started flowing down his eyes.
For a while, he stood on that rooftop and cried until his eyes were red and dry.
The next morning, the group left their building in search for more supplies. They connected to the main road and continued on it for a few blocks. Approaching an intersection, they spotted a Lawson's convenience store and went inside. The stench of rotting food and the sight of overturned shelves across the aisles, greeted them as they entered. "Not much here," said Rika, waving away a swarm of flies from her face once she got too close to what used to be the snack aisle.
"Or here," said Saeko, frowning at the moldy food wrappers and cardboard boxes that littered the floor, careful not to step on any of the dried-up liquid spots that, assuming, were juice or soda spilled during the looting and were prevalent throughout the store's floor.
While the girls rummage through heaps of trash, hoping to find something they could use, Takashi zigzag his was way to the corner of the store near the entrance. He stood with his arms across his chest, frowning at what was left in the magazine rack. Damn, he thought. All the mangas and sports magazines were gone, and so was the porn. There went his chances of having a good time. The only things remaining were newspapers and celebrity gossip rags. Takashi scanned the big bold headlines plastered on the covers with pictures featuring government officials getting caught taking bribes or embezzling funds, faggot boy bands going on tour, much to the delight of their equally insufferable fan base, and some jackass celebrity getting divorced from his whore wife, surprising no one with a working brain. He was in no mood to read this crap. All he wanted was to escape from this cruel reality, even if it was for a few minutes. Unfortunately, he would have to look elsewhere for his entertainment needs.
"There's nothing in here. Let's go already!" shouted Rei from the other end of the store.
"Well, this was disappointing," muttered Rika, glancing at the room. "Everybody, let's move out." She waved them to the door. "We'll have better luck at the next stop." The group exited the store and resumed their trek.
The shadows of buildings and traffic lights were growing while sunlight was dimming, as the group headed back to their shelter. After spending the entire day searching for supplies, they came back empty handed.
"This sucks!" yelled Rei, slumping into the kitchen table of their apartment as the rest of the group filed in. "We spent the whole day and didn't find a single thing."
Pulling up a chair next to her, Kyoko-sensei sat down. "We've been through these situations before, Miyamoto-chan. We just have to be patient and not lose hope."
"She's right, you know." Rika said, leaning back on the kitchen countertop while taking a much needed drink from her canteen. "I once went for an entire week without supplies before I finally found some at a laundromat-café. Who knew you could find MREs in a place like that?" She shrugged and took another sip.
"Rika-san is right. We can't give up now. Surviving is just as much psychological as it is physical," Shizuka added, turning on the stove and putting on top of it a pot of water to prepare their meal.
Rei violently shook her head. "That's all you people say! Stop lying to yourselves! We're all gonna―"
Saeko slammed both of her hands on the table, startling the group. "All you ever done since this pandemic started is whined about the food, weather, and clothes. What exactly do you bring to this group except nonstop bitching?"
Rei lunged at her and threw a slap, putting all her weight into the motion. Saeko slipped her head past it, causing Rei to miss and crash to the floor. "Miyamoto-chan!" the women shouted, coming to her aid, but it was too late. The damage had already been done. With a flushed face and nostrils flaring, she slowly got up, pushing away helping hands, and glared at Saeko.
"I'll kill you!" she screamed.
"I like to see you try," smirked Saeko. Rei charged at her, but was quickly held back by Kyoko-sensei. The girls began a shouting match with the adults trying to diffuse the situation, but to no avail.
"Shut the hell up!" yelled Takashi from the living room, making everyone turn their heads to his direction. He vaulted over the couch and rushed to the kitchen until he stood between the girls before they could start any fight.
The girls stood in silent, avoiding his irate eyes.
"I don't care who started this, but it's going to end right now," growled Takashi. He turned to Rei. "If you think this situation is hopeless, then leave! Get the hell out here!"
"B-But―"
"Get out!" shouted Takashi.
Rei was stunned and her eyes welled up. "I hate you, Takashi!" she cried, and ran out of the kitchen, slamming the door on her way out. Kyoko-sensei chased after her.
"Komuro-kun, don't you think you were a bit mean to her?" Shizuka-sensei asked with a concern expression.
Takashi plopped back down on the couch. "We don't need pessimists in our group, we have enough to deal with already."
The rest of the group went to prepare dinner. Shizuka-sensei opened a bag of noodles and tossed its contents on the already boiling pot. She stirred it while the rest of the girls were setting the table with chopsticks and bowls.
After finishing eating dinner, and with Rei having calmed down and gone to sleep in the unit next door, the group gathered around in the living room. Rika stood in front of them and gave her assessment of their situation. "We have enough supplies to lasts us for a month, maybe even longer if we ration them further. But we need to find more if we are to stay here."
"What happens if we can't find any?" asked Shizuka-sensei, sitting on the couch next to Saeko and Kyoko-sensei.
"Then we'll have to move to another city. We can't be sitting ducks in here, especially when we don't know if this place is infested with them. Every city we stop in has to serve as a refueling station: we gather new provisions, rest and recover, and then move on to the next one, until we reach a safe zone."
"But does a safe zone even exist?" Kyoko-sensei said with a worried look. "It's been more than a month now, and we don't even know how many survivors are out there, let alone if the government has regain control of the situation."
"When I was with the SDF there were rumors of mountains in the Chubu region being zombie-free, as well as parts of northern and southern Japan. None of this was ever confirmed, though."
"What about Okinawa? Isn't that a safe zone?" asked Saeko.
"That's strictly off limits to civilians. American and Japanese forces are using it as Central Command. And even if you wanted to go there, the military wouldn't hesitate to kill you on sight."
"So where do we go?" spoke Takashi from his armchair. "You said it yourself none of these places have been confirmed to be safe. If that's the case, shouldn't we be looking for a place that's far away from the cities, somewhere we can grow food and easily defend it from any threats, until this thing blows over?"
"Osumi and Amami Islands. That's where we can go," she answered.
"But that's too far away!" protested the group.
"Think about it," Rika began, "these islands are away from the mainland―and the cities―and we can grow food there. Plus, the military would never allow these monsters to take over them because they'd be getting closer to their own front yard if they let them, so that solves our security problem."
"But that would take us months to get there at our rate," Kyoko-sensei countered.
"How do we know those islands haven't been taken over by these monsters?" added Saeko. "We could be making this trip in vain while putting ourselves at risk."
"At the rate everything is going, moving to a secluded island might be our only way of surviving."
The rest of the women began to object to Rika's idea. They cited again the long distance to the islands, the changing weather they'd face, the thousands of zombies they'd encounter along the route, the possibility of getting injured, or worse, killed along the way. Rika tried to reassure them, but their voices kept getting louder to the point they might wake up Rei next door.
Finally, Takashi stood up. "Minami-san is right," he said, silencing their protest. "We have to prepare just in case things don't work out in here. It may not be those islands, but we have to find a place were we can ride this situation out no matter how long it takes."
The women slightly nodded. Rika added, "Today's mission was unsuccessful, but we shouldn't give up. There's still plenty of buildings we haven't searched so we're bound to find something of use. All I'm proposing is to prepare ourselves for the possibility of seeking shelter elsewhere, like in a remote island, away from these dangers until the situation improves."
Rika glanced at her watch. "It's getting pretty late. How about we all go to bed and discuss this tomorrow?" The group nodded, some of them yawning. "Great. Will go searching for supplies after breakfast, so be sure to get a goodnight's sleep," she smiled.
"Ok," the group answered. They wished each other goodnight and went to their respective places, with Shizuka-sensei, Kyoko-sensei, Rika, and Saeko to the bedroom, while Takashi unfurled his sleeping bag on the couch in the living room. He laid inside of it, thinking about what had happened today and what Rika had said about the islands. The image of Saya and Kohta flashed through his mind. It was there he vowed to do anything he could to protect the group, no matter what. Even if it meant leaving the mainland.
