Last Alarm
Chapter Twenty Six
"A Child's Love"
Part Three
UPDATE 6-13-2014:
Based on some suggestions by a few of my readers, this chapter and several others have been dramatically altered.
However, because of what I've done, these "altered" chapters might appear crudely written.
Eventually, I'll get around to "polishing up" these "altered" chapters so that they won't be so crude a read as they are now.
The reason for this "alteration" is because many of my readers became confused as to what I was hoping to accomplish by what I had originally written, and since it's looking like it'll take a couple of years to finish this story, I decided it wasn't worth continuing with what I was doing after all.
As a result, the glimpse into the future that was written into this chapter has been omitted and a completely new ending for the story will be written when the times comes, with a completely different outcome for all the characters.
I apologize for the confusion and the inconvenience.
Time: Morning Z-Day Plus 3
Location: Tokonosu City, Japan
Outside Residential Condominium of SAT Officer Sgt. Rika Minami
Takashi, family name Komuro, a young boy of age sixteen whose only concern two days earlier at the beginning of "The Outbreak" was a young girl he had loved who had betrayed his love for the affections of another, who had also been his best friend.
A friend whom he had looked upon as a brother, and whose life he had to snuff out to keep him from becoming the very same monster that had condemned him to death the very moment Hisashi had been bitten.
Few teenagers would have the strength to endure what Takashi had experienced in the past three days and remained sane afterwards.
And now Takashi was even going a step further, and putting his own young life at risk for the sake of his friends.
Komuro, Takashi. Age sixteen.
A teenager and former high school student.
Komuro Takashi, now a boy no longer but a man choosing to stay behind and face an unknown destiny with two of his companions, alone.
However, at a time when many have thought themselves alone, the love and strength of their friends has shown them that they are indeed,… not alone at all.
And fortunately for Takashi, the sight of him courageously walking towards his doom had been too much for one of their group to bear, as Rei suddenly screamed his name and ran up to him.
"TAKASHI!" Rei screamed as she closed her knife and slipped it into a pocket of her skirt, and then ran up to him, grabbing him by the arm and spinning him violently around.
Takashi was startled by Rei grabbing his arm and forcefully spinning him around to face her, as he then gazed upon the tear-filled eyes of his childhood friend.
The love of his life.
The one who had betrayed him.
And yet, the one who his heart still yearned deeply for.
The one that even now, he was willing to die for, just so that she would go on living.
"Rei." Takashi began, in a last ditch effort to try to convince Rei to leave with Yuriko and her entourage as Rei stared deeply into his eyes.
And then without any warning, slapped him hard across the face.
Takashi stumbled and nearly fell back from the force of the blow as he rubbed his cheek and stared in shock into Rei's face as she glared angrily at him, tears running down her cheeks.
"If you think you're going to stay here and play hero while the rest of us sneak away to safety, you are out of your mind, Takashi!" Rei yelled as she suddenly reached up and placed her arms around his neck and kissed him deeply, to everyone's utter surprise.
Takashi was too stunned to react as Rei kissed him long and deep and then parting her lips from his, she then lay her head on his chest and held him tightly as Takashi tried to catch his breath, still in shock at Rei's sudden boldness .
"I'm not leaving your side ever, you BAKA!" Rei said crying as everyone stared in shock at the young couple.
To everyone standing around watching, the kiss and the words of endearment Rei had so boldly displayed seemed to be merely another example of typical teenage love and storybook romance that quite frankly, could have been saved for a more appropriate time when impending death was not a mere stone's throw away and coming fast.
But to some people, the open display of affection was also a deliberate message for any potential rivals to "back-off, he's mine!", that the men standing around gawking were completely unaware of.
Everyone that is, except for Saya, who looked like she was about to blow a gasket.
And of course Yuriko, who had noticed the visible rage boiling within her daughter as Saya glared angrily at the couple standing there in each other's arms.
"I'm not leaving either." Kouta suddenly announced as well, as everyone turned their heads to stare at him in amazement as he reached over and gently took the knife from Shizuka's hand and closing the knife, placed it in a pocket of her robe.
He then placed Alice's hand in Shizuka's and then started walking up to join Takashi and Rei as all of the adults watched the teen in astonishment.
"But I'm not kissing you, pal. Sorry." Kouta said with a grin, as he moved over next to Takashi and clapped him soundly on the shoulder as Rei smiled at him and giggled at his attempt at humor as Kouta then turned to face Saya.
"Saya-san." Kouta said affectionately, looking over at Saya who was still too busy glaring angrily at Rei.
"Please go with your mother where it's safe, and if you would, please take care of Marikawa-sensei and Arisu-chan too please." Kouta said as he walked past Saya. "It's far too dangerous for any of you to stay here much longer."
Saya however, was still far too enraged at Rei, who was still being held tightly in Takashi's arms to think clearly, and her already foul mood was only further intensified at Kouta's words.
"WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE, TELLING ME WHAT TO DO, YOU FAT OTAKU?!" Saya screeched suddenly, in response to Kouta's request.
Yuriko cast an angry glance at Saya for her extremely rude behavior towards the obviously caring young man, and was astonished at Kouta's gentle reply to her daughter's ugly rebuff.
Without any visible anger at Saya's angry remark, Kouta merely turned his head and smiling kindly, replied in a voice so gentle that even Saya was dumbstruck at his amorous reply.
"Forgive me, I don't mean to sound bossy, Saya-san." Kouta replied, smiling at her. "But like Komuro-kun, I just want the person I love, to be safe."
"Because if something ever happened to you." Kouta continued. "I would no longer wish to go on living either."
Saya immediately blushed at Kouta's obvious expression of his affection for her and was momentarily at a loss for words.
And then noticing that everyone staring at her and waiting for a response, Saya immediately tried to blow off Kouta's obvious display of his affections for her, in order to preserve her dignity.
And as always, her words to Kouta were anything but cordial.
"Shut up, you fat jerk!" Saya shouted.
"Unless any of you has any medical training, and I don't believe any of you do." Shizuka said suddenly as everyone then turned their heads to gape at her.
"Then I believe I will be staying too." Shizuka said as she then walked over towards Yuriko and placed Alice's hand in Yuriko's and then turned to face the small child who was still holding her pet puppy in her arm.
"Arisu-chan." Shizuka said gently to the young girl. "I want you to go with Saya-oneechan and her mother, okay?"
"Why, Oba-chan?" Alice asked, afraid at being separated by the woman that she had "bonded" with, who had treated her so kindly since her wild rescue last night.
"Saya-oneechan and her mother are going away to a very nice house, Arisu-chan." Shizuka tried to explain, trying not to upset the small child whom she could tell was already beginning to grow afraid at the very thought of being separated from her.
''And I want you to go with them so you can be safe from the "bad people"." Shizuka said gently.
"But Oba-chan, what about you?" Alice replied, beginning to sense that she was never going to see "Shizuka-obachan" again from the way Shizuka was speaking.
"Aren't you coming too?" Alice said her eyes beginning to tear.
"No Arisu-chan, I'm going to stay and take care of "Ojii-chan" because he's hurt and needs our help." Shizuka said using the honorific that Alice had used when referring to the American, as she brushed Alice's hair with her fingers.
"Then I want to stay with you, too!" Alice replied releasing Yuriko's hand and looking into Shizuka's face as big crocodile tears fell from her eyes.
"You can't,it's just not safe here, Arisu-chan." Shizuka replied kneeling down to look at the girl in the face. "The bad people are coming, and I want you to go with "Yuriko-Obaachan", where you'll be safe."
"I'll be back soon, I promise." Shizuka said, although the look on her face and the tone of her voice was completely unconvincing.
Yuriko's eyes narrowed at Shizuka's obvious attempt at a hidden insult by calling her "Obaa-chan" (old lady) instead of "Oba-chan" (aunt) but said nothing so as not to interrupt Shizuka's attempts to convince the little girl to leave with them.
"When will you be back?" Alice asked starting to sniffle.
"I don't know." Shizuka replied trying to be consoling. "But don't worry, I'll be fine."
"No you won't!" Alice yelled, tears falling as she began crying again. "You're not going to be all right! The bad people are coming and you're going to die just like my Papa!"
"Arisu-chan." Shizuka began, trying to comfort her.
"NO!" Alice screamed as she placed the puppy on the ground and then wrapped her arms around Shizuka's neck and squeezed as hard as she could, nearly choking her.
"I'M NOT GOING!" Alice cried as she held onto Shizuka's neck in a death grip. "I'M STAYING WITH YOU!"
"Arisu-chan." Shizuka said hugging the crying girl with tears falling from her own eyes as well.
"NO! NO! NO! NO!" Alice kept yelling over and over as everyone's heart broke at the sound of the small child crying in fear.
Yuriko watched in stunned amazement at the unswerving loyalty the children had for one another, and her heart was deeply moved by the visible display of extreme devotion that had developed between them.
One of the astonished onlookers standing nearby however, was not impressed at all by the group's devotion with each other.
"HAVE ALL OF YOU PEOPLE LOST YOUR MINDS?!" Yoshioka roared as everyone flinched at the Security Chief's sudden outburst.
"THIS IS INSANE! Are Yo,_ "He began, as he was about to say more but stopped as Yuriko suddenly raised her hand.
"Yoshioka-kun." Yuriko said calmly as Yoshioka quickly turned to face her.
"Enough." Yuriko said as she looked at the small group and saw the determined looks in their faces and unlike her Security Chief, realized that it was pointless to argue any further.
There was no way she was going to convince any of them to leave now, and Yuriko knew it.
"There really is no other choice left, I suppose." Yuriko sighed as she finally made up her mind on what to do about their current predicament.
"Eh?" Yoshioka replied not comprehending, as the next words that came out of Yuriko's mouth nearly caused him to blow a fuse.
"All of you!" Yuriko said in resignation to the small group gathered around Takashi. "I want you to go back inside and check on your friends and see if they're alright and then wait there for me to arrive."
"I'll be there in a minute with a vehicle to help all of you evacuate your American friend shortly." Yuriko said as she motioned for all of them to get moving.
The reaction to what Yuriko had said was the same for the children as well as for all of the adults after hearing Yuriko speak.
They were all left dumbstruck.
"What?!" Takashi replied, not quite believing at all what he was hearing.
"You heard me, go back inside the condo and see if they're both all right." Yuriko said as everyone gawked at her in disbelief.
"And if he's still alive, then we will try to take your American friend with us if we can, but we don't have much time, and I will not sacrifice my daughter or any more of my men for his sake or yours, so move fast!" Yuriko commanded as she waved them all off and then quickly became irritated when she saw that no one was moving, no doubt everyone still in shock at her suddenly reversing her prior decision to save the American mercenary, instead of ending his life.
"What are you doing still standing around here looking at me for? You want to save your friend?! MOVE!" Yuriko yelled as she pulled her pistol out of its holster and checked the magazine.
Instantly, everyone snapped out of their trance and began hurriedly moving as Takashi and Rei immediately spun around and began running through the open gates.
"Kouta-chan!" Shizuka yelled over her shoulder as she grabbed Alice's hand and both of them bounded after Takashi and Rei towards the gates. "Grab my medical pack out of the Humvee, and hurry please!"
"Hai! Kouta yelled as he quickly ran towards the trunk of the Humvee to retrieve the white medical-pack that Shizuka had been carrying ever since they had left Fujimi High.
As Saya watched her friends run through the gates she found herself unable to move, torn between the love of her friends and the love she had for her mother, cursing herself for her inability to decide on what to do.
Noticing that her daughter was hesitating, Yuriko walked over and placed her hand on Saya's shoulder.
And as Saya looked up into her mother's face, she was surprised to see that her mother was actually smiling at her as she spoke.
"Saya-chan,.." Her mother said gently. "Go along now with your friends my child, I'll be joining you in a moment."
"Mama?" Saya said
"And Saya," Yuriko added as Saya looked into her mother's eyes. "I'm sorry, …for everything."
"Mama,…." Saya began, unable to find the words to express her own regret at the angry words she had said to her mother earlier.
Or the love and gratitude that she had for her mother now.
"We can talk about this later,… now go on my child." Yuriko said as she hugged her daughter tightly and then gently pushed her towards the gate as Saya looked back into her mother's eyes.
"Saya-chan." Her mother said to her as she then turned away and walked towards Yoshioka.
"Hai?' Saya asked as she felt her eyes burning with tears at the sight of her mother walking away from her.
"I love you, my daughter." Yuriko said as she tried to keep control of her emotions in front of her men as she walked away from her daughter to give what she knew could possibly very well be her very last orders to Yoshioka.
Saya watched her mother for a long moment and then wiped the tears from her face.
"I love you too Mama." She whispered as she turned around and ran through the open gates.
"Yoshioka-san?" Yuriko said walking up to the Security Chief who was still standing frozen in shock at having just witnessed Yuriko suddenly out of the blue, order the children to go back inside the condo and help the American when just earlier her orders had been for him to kill the man.
"Hai." Yoshioka said sounding as if he were in a daze, which in fact, he was.
"Get all of our wounded on board one of the vans and have Doi placed in another with a few men to keep him secure." Yuriko ordered as Yoshioka nodded his head, as Yuriko faced him knowing her next orders were going to send Yoshioka through the roof.
"And then I need you to get someone to pull one of them up through the driveway and up to the rear door of the condo." Yuriko said, her jaw set firmly. "We're taking the American with us."
Yoshioka already knew what Yuriko was about to order him to do, even before she said it. But to hear her actually give such insane orders as they were about to be overrun by the Infected was still too much to for the shocked man to handle.
"TAKAGI-DONO!" Yoshioka thundered in disbelief.
"I knew he'd be pissed." Yuriko sighed as she looked into her and her husband's old childhood friend and finished giving the rest of her orders that even she had to admit sounded insane.
"And as much as I hate to ask this of you Yoshioka-san, I need you to take what men and weapons you need, and try to buy us a little time." Yuriko continued, interrupting him as she looked into his frustration-filled face.
"I'll try to hurry things along, here." Yuriko added as Yoshioka looked at her as if she had gone mad.
"He thinks I've gone insane, and I have to admit, he's probably right." Yuriko thought as Yoshioka tried to protest further.
"Yuriko-san." Yoshioka began his eyes pleading as he tried to find the words to convince his mistress to turn away from her present insane course of action as Yuriko suddenly cut him off.
"I know what you're thinking Yoshioka-kun, but we are taking the American with us, regardless." Yuriko said firmly. "IF he's still alive, that is."
"Yuriko-san,…This isn't,…."Yoshioka tried once again to protest.
"I know, this wasn't our mission. Yoshioka-san." Yuriko said interrupting him.
"And this man's life was never our concern when we came across the river." Yuriko said as she watched the crowd of Infected shuffling closer towards them at the end of the street.
"We only came here to rescue Saya-chan and her friends,…" Yuriko added. "But if Saya chan and the rest of these children won't leave here without the American, then we'll just have to take him with us if we can."
"But,"…. Yoshioka stammered still trying to get a word in edgewise.
"Ken-san." Yuriko said, using Yoshioka's first name, something she never did in the presence of others before as Yoshioka realized just how desperate Yuriko Takagi really was now.
"I'm not asking this of you lightly, old friend." Yuriko said as she faced Yoshioka, her eyes pleading.
"All of you have given so much already for the sake of my family." Yuriko added as she cast her eyes downward. "And after all that you and your men have already sacrificed, I regret very much asking any more of you and your men."
"But, if what Busujima-san said is indeed true that the American did indeed save my Saya from being,….." Yuriko continued and then hesitated at the thought of the horrible fate that had almost befallen her daughter.
"Then what we did to him is inexcusable, and I owe him my life for saving my child." Yuriko said with a deep sigh.
Yoshioka sighed as he realized nothing he could say would change Yuriko's mind.
"Please, Ken-chan." Yuriko said as she watched the teens and their nurse run up the driveway and around the corner of the building out of sight.
"I've made so many mistakes already." Yuriko said the guilt in her voice clearly evident. "Please help me correct the mistakes I've made to Saya-chan and her friends."
"And for Doi-san." Yuiko added.
Yoshioka was too stunned to say anything in response to that as he stared at Yuriko's face.
"Please." Yuriko said as she bowed deeply before Yoshioka to the shock and surprise of Yoshioka and his men.
The Chief of Security was dumbstruck at his mistress's act of humility and was about to say something in protest, until Yuriko Takagi stood up straight and then looked him straight in the eye as she raised her left hand and tapped her watch.
"We don't have much time my old friend." Yuriko said as she then turned around and ran towards the gates.
Yoshioka stared speechless for a moment longer as he watched Yuriko Takagi running up the driveway following closely behind the fat kid who was running as fast as his legs could carry him with the med-pack hanging off of one shoulder.
And then Yoshioka's eyes widened in alarm at also seeing that the boy was also carrying a high-powered sniper rifle slung on his back.
The boy had obviously re-liberated from the back of the Humvee where all the other weapons Yoshioka and his men had seized from the condo that had been placed inside the Humvee by two of his men, and in retrieving the school nurse's medical pack had helped himself to a weapon as well.
Yoshioka was about to yell at the boy to halt but then stopped himself, noticing that Yuriko didn't seem to be all that worried about it anyway, as Yoshioka sighed and just stood watching in resignation at the kid being followed by Yuriko Takagi until they both disappeared around the other side of the condominium.
"F_ck me." Yoshioka mumbled to himself as he then sighed heavily, unslung his rifle and then flipped off the safety.
"YOU, MEN!" He roared to the small group of men still standing in the street holding the Infected man Doi and the unconscious butler/guard. "Put Doi-san in the last van and stay with him and make sure he doesn't break loose!"
"You two Fudokawa-san, and whoever else is wounded in the second van, and keep all of the engines running!" Yoshioka barked as he pulled back the charging lever of his rifle and then glanced over at Kukugari who was standing nearby, awaiting his orders.
"Kukugari-san! You and Matsudo take the lead van up the driveway and park in front of the rear door of the condo." Yoshioka ordered. "Then help Takagi-dono and those kids get the American loaded up."
"Yokai!" The family chauffer replied as he ran towards the lead van.
"Matsudo-san!" Yoshioka yelled towards the mechanic. "Before you join Kukugari, I need you to check and see if you can start that Humvee first before you go, we're going to need it!"
"Hai!" The mechanic replied as he ran towards the big American-made vehicle and climbed in.
"I always wanted to drive one of these." Matsudo said as he happily started the engine and listened with a satisfied smile at the loud roar of the big diesel.
"Yoshioka-san!" The mechanic shouted as the Humvee roared into life. "I've got it started!"
"Good!" Yoshioka replied. "Now go with Kukugari and help Takagi-sama load the American into the van. Hurry!"
"Yokai!" Matsudo said as he reluctantly hopped out of the big vehicle and then jumped into the passenger seat of the panel van as Kukugari drove up and let him climb in, as they then sped crazily up the driveway headed towards the rear of the complex.
As he watched the van speeding up the driveway, Yoshioka felt a sudden presence near him as one of the groundskeepers, an older man named Sato who was well respected by all of the men including Yoshioka, approached him from the side.
"Yoshioka-san, if you don't mind my asking, why do we need the American vehicle?" The old groundskeeper asked. "We have plenty of room to transport everyone right now with the vehicles we have on hand."
Yoshioka took a quick glance at the end of the street and then looked back towards Sato.
"One of the reasons I have for wanting to take it, is because all of the children's belongings and their weapons are still on board, Sato-san." Yoshioka replied. "And the second reason is we could always use another working vehicle, you know."
"The weapons and vehicle we can definitely use, you're right." Sato grunted in agreement.
"Hai, and my third reason is because I don't know about you Sato-san, but I'll be damned if I'm going to come back here for any of those brat's personal belongings later if we leave that vehicle here and one of them starts whining that their f_cking "iPad" was left behind." Yoshioka said with a grin as Sato laughed.
Yoshioka then took one more look down the street towards the growing horde of Infected and then looked back towards his remaining men.
There was no time for inspirational speeches about duty, honor, or anything of the like.
It was time to move.
"The rest of you men, grab your weapons and follow me!" Yoshioka shouted as he and Sato then turned to face the new threat approaching from down the street.
"Yoshioka-san!" A cook named Kobayashi yelled as one of the young landscapers cried out as he tried to bind his wound with a neckerchief. "Some of these men are wounded badly!"
"Understood." Yoshioka replied grimly as he checked his weapon without stopping.
"Those of you too hurt to fight, get in the van with Fudokawa-san." Yoshioka ordered as a plan of defense against the Infected began to form in his mind.
"The rest of you that aren't that badly wounded,…SUCK IT UP!" Yoshioka roared as the men all looked at the Security Chief. "I need every man who is physically able, to stand with me and help me buy Takagi-dono some time!"
"BUT, SIR!" Another man replied, understandably frightened at the sight of the large crowd of Infected looming nearby. "What can we possibly do against THAT?"
Yoshioka sighed as he stopped walking and pondered on the younger man's frightened words for a moment, and then sighed again and shook his head.
The men standing around Yoshioka were not combat soldiers.
They were a mix of kitchen staff, groundskeepers, and two of his Security staff.
Now, what few men he had, were even fewer now due to some of them being wounded in the rescue attempt and one of them, his right hand man, was no longer even human.
But despite their various backgrounds each of them had shown extreme courage and unswerving loyalty to the Takagi Family by volunteering for this mission, even though none but Yoshioka and his Security staff had any military experience whatsoever.
The men had been running on sheers guts alone, and now, their courage was almost near their breaking point as the screams of the helpless victims being overrun by the Infected sounded closer and closer.
And even Yoshioka was beginning to question his resolve as a man's scream of pain pierced the air just a few houses down the street as the crowd of walking death were now already past the pile of burned corpses and moving steadily towards them, no longer impeded by anything in their path.
With the exception of Yoshioka and his small band of courageous, heavily armed men standing directly in their path.
And for most of them, their courage was hanging by a thread.
"Now I know what Leonidas felt like against the Persians." Yoshikoa mumbled grimly as he searched deep within himself to find something inspirational to tell his men to help boost their courage.
And finding nothing, he did what most good commanders do when there was no easy answer to give his men when the odds were so highly stacked against their survival.
He told them what was in his heart.
"Against that, we can do exactly what Lady Takagi asked of us, gentlemen." Yoshioka replied, looking straight ahead at the large crowd of Infected shuffling towards them.
"Takagi-dono asked us to buy her some time." Yoshioka said staring straight ahead. "Not to conquer, not to vanquish, not to obliterate our enemy over there, but to buy her some time."
"And that's exactly what I'm asking all of you to help me do, now." Yoshioka said as the moans of the Infected were becoming more audible as they drew closer.
"Pretty easy assignment all things considered, don't you agree?" Yoshioka said as he looked over his shoulder at his men and grinned.
"Sir?" Sato replied, baffled by Yoshioka's sudden casualness in the face of impending doom.
"Well at least those people won't kick, stab, or scream at us like the kids who just handed our butts back to us, don't you agree gentlemen?" Yoshioka said in another rare display of humor.
There was a loud round of laughter from the men in response to Kenji Yoshioka's joke, as all of them, wounded included, grabbed their weapons and then courageously walked up towards Yoshioka.
And as they joined him, they all hastily formed a skirmish line next to him under his direction, and checked their weapons and awaited his orders.
"All right men, follow me." Yoshioka said as the handful of brave men then walked towards their uncertain future.
As the mix of kitchen staff, landscapers, and Security personnel walked towards the horde of looming death headed towards them, there was not one among them who was not frightened to his very core.
Yet, not a one turned to flee, and neither were there any mention made of turning back or fleeing amongst the small group of armed men as they moved forward with weapons ready, until they finally came to a halt 200 feet away from their waiting vehicles, and waited nervously for Yoshioka's command to open fire.
"These are good men I have here with me." Yoshioka thought as he gazed upon the brave men with him, each of them visibly frightened, but determined to make their stand with Yoshioka and help buy the precious time Yuriko Takagi sorely needed to accomplish this final insane mission, even if it might end up being their last stand.
"And these men deserve to know how much their courage is appreciated." Yoshioka thought as he cleared his throat and looked into the faces of his men.
"Gentlemen," Yoshioka began as another pain-filled scream rent the air nearby.
"I know that this mission has not been even closely related to your normal line of work." Yoshioka said as the scream rose in pitch.
"And I know that you've already gone above and beyond to help Takagi-dono rescue Saya-sama." He added as the scream was suddenly cut off.
" And we all know that we have all gotten a little more than we bargained for on this trip already, but I want to say with all my being,….." Yoshika said hesitating a moment as the Infected responded to the sound of his voice and quickly began to press towards them.
"Thank you." Yoshioka said, as he raised his rifle to his shoulder as his men nodded their heads in respect to him.
"Just remember men." Yoshioka added. "Aim for the head, breathe out slowly, and then squeeze the trigger."
A chorus of "Hai's" sounded along the skirmish line as each man raised his weapon to his shoulder and waited for the command to open fire.
Most of the men that had volunteered to help in the rescue had never held a weapon before today much less fired one in anger before, and despite that each man held firm, determined to stand his ground.
The tension was thick as the nerves of each man were stretched to their absolute limit waiting for the order from the Security Chief to open fire. And as the Infected closed the distance and seemed to almost be within arm's reach, the order that the men had been eagerly awaiting finally came.
"OPEN FIRE! Yoshioka roared as smoke and flame erupted immediately from the muzzles of each man's rifle and the bodies of the Infected began to fall.
There had been little time to train his men on how to handle their weapons in preparation for the rescue attempt, and Yoshioka had been sick with worry because of it during the entire trip from Takagi Manor through the secret military tunnels linked underneath the river between each section of the city.
An ultra-secret route known only by the Military in preparation for mass evacuation of the city, or for covert insertion of troops and equipment in case of enemy invasion.
It would have been a court martial offense if news ever leaked out of General Isoroku Ihara having allowed the secret security codes to fall into the hands of civilians for them to gain access to use the tunnels, not to mention also providing them with the necessary arms and ammunition needed for the rescue.
Of course the mission still would not have gotten off the ground if General Ihara hadn't also kept the patrols protecting the entrance to the underground labyrinth occupied elsewhere and the security cameras turned off on that section of the tunnels.
But Yuriko Takagi's older brother had not hesitated in the slightest to provide anything that would help his sister and his brother-in-law in the successful recovery of his only beloved niece.
"Much had been sacrificed in this rescue attempt." Yoshioka thought as fired into the horde. "And we owe it to everyone who's sacrificed so much already to make it a successful one."
And now despite everything that had happened, the men were proving what brave souls they really were and how fiercely dedicated they were to the mission as each of the chefs, groundskeepers, and bodyguards stood their ground and bought the needed time Yuriko Takagi needed, as the men fired their weapons, hastily reloaded, and then continued their murderous rate of fire as the bodies of the Infected began to pile up on one another.
Yoshioka dropped his now third empty magazine from his rifle and then reached into his combat vest for a fresh magazine, and did a quick count of his remaining magazines as he looked out of the corner of his eye towards his men and also noticed that some of them were also beginning to run low on ammunition.
"Yuriko-san, please hurry." Yoshioka mumbled anxiously as he slapped another magazine in his rifle home and opened fire at an Infected policeman a mere 40 feet away from their skirmish line as the top of the Infected man's head exploded and the body fell to the ground.
Time: Morning Z-Day Plus 3
Location: Tokonosu City, Japan
Inside Residential Condominium of SAT Officer Sgt. Rika Minami
Inside the condo owned by Officer Rika Minami, Saeko Busujima was still kneeling next to the unconscious American, her arms wrapped around the man's shoulders as she lay her head on his back sobbing loudly.
All remnants of the fierce courage and stoic demeanor that she had displayed earlier in the face of Yuriko Takagi and her guards that had terrified them all, was now gone.
In the face of utter hopelessness and fear, Saeko had bravely faced it for as long as she could, far longer than most people, until finally, her remaining courage left her.
And now all that was left was a terrified young teenage girl all alone and afraid and not knowing what to do to help the man she regarded as a friend, and father figure, as the sounds of death came closer and closer.
With no one to help, and no way to defend herself with all of their weapons seized by the guards, Saeko suddenly lifted her head up from the unconscious man's back and shook the man violently, screaming loudly for the man to wake up, trying desperately to find some way of getting him to regain consciousness.
"JIMU-SAN!" Saeko screamed. "PLEASE! WAKE UP!
No longer thinking rationally as panic set in Saeko continued to shake, prod and scream at the unconscious man frantically, when she suddenly heard the sound of footsteps approaching.
Quickly wiping the tears from her face, she grabbed her knife from off the floor near her and was just about to snap the blade open and prepare to defend herself from attack when a familiar shout reached her ears.
"SAEKO!" Takashi shouted as he suddenly appeared at the door and then walked towards her to Saeko's surprise.
"KOMURO!" Saeko cried out as her shoulders dropped in relief at seeing Takashi walking through the door, greatly relieved that by some miracle Takashi had somehow managed to break away from his captor's and had run back to help her.
Saeko's joy then turned into shock as suddenly Rei also came through the door, followed closely by Shizuka and Alice stepped through as well, who then ran over to her to examine the injured mercenary.
And then to Saeko's further surprise Saya then walked through the door, followed by Kouta who was carrying Shizuka's medical kit with him.
"Minna-san!" Saeko said in surprise.
Shizuka said nothing as she hurriedly ran over and knelt down to examine the unconscious American as Kouta stood next to her trying to trying to offer any help if he could.
And then seemed to look as if he were about to vomit after seeing the American's large head wound close-up as the rest of her friends swarmed around her.
"If you're going to puke, move away from him, lard-ass!" Saya said hotly, dismayed with Kouta's queasiness, forgetting her own uneasiness at seeing the tip of her knife wet with Matsudo's blood after she had poked him in the hand earlier.
"Sempai, are you allright?" Rei asked as she hugged Saeko.
"Hai, demo Jimu-san." Saeko said looking over at Shizuka who seemed to be intently examining the man's head wound.
"He'll be all right now that we're all here." Takashi said with a grin. "Don't worry Saeko, everything's going to be all right now."
"Saeko-Oneechan!" Alice yelled happily as she also ran over to Saeko and hugged her.
The sudden presence of all her friends around her greatly overwhelmed Saeko as all of her friends surrounded her and offered comfort when just moments before, Saeko was in the deepest throws of despair.
And now she felt something she didn't think she would ever feel again.
Safe.
"What are all of you doing here? What happen_" Saeko was about to say when Yuriko Takagi suddenly walked through the door.
At the sight of her, Saeko suddenly tensed again and was about to reach for her knife when Saya reached over and touched her shoulder.
"It's all right sempai, my mother has agreed to help us." Saya said as Saeko looked at her wide-eyed in shock.
"What happened?" Saeko asked again.
"What made you change your mind?" Saeko asked Yuriko as she turned to face her.
"You told your friends to fight, Saeko-chan." Yuriko replied as Saeko gazed upon Yuriko's smiling face.
"And thanks to you, they did." Yuriko said with a smirk.
"And after we told my mother we weren't leaving without you and Jimu-san."Saya said. "My mother changed her mind and has decided to help us."
Saeko looked over at Yuriko and felt her eyes tearing up at the sudden realization that help had indeed arrived and the nightmare was indeed almost over.
Seeing Saeko's relief at having been saved by her friends, Saya hugged her as tears fell down Saeko's face as she began to weep from a mixture of relief and joy.
"And now we're going home." Saya said.
The sudden sound of gunfire coming from the street startled everyone as Yuriko walked towards the front of the room and glanced down upon the still figure of the American as she walked past.
"Don't celebrate yet." Yuriko said as she quickly glanced at her watch and then removed her pistol from its holster. "Unless we hurry up, none of us are going anywhere."
"Sensei, is he still alive?" Yuriko asked Shizuka anxiously as she glanced over at the nurse who was kneeling over the unconscious man and then turned her attention towards the front windows of the condo.
"Sensei?" Yuriko repeated after not receiving a reply from the school nurse.
"Marikawa-sensei? Are you alright?" Yuriko heard Saeko ask, noticing that the teenage girl's voice sounded very anxious for some reason.
And then when nurse still did not respond, Yuriko then turned her head back towards the school nurse and was alarmed to see Shizuka kneeling next to the fallen man, her face ashen, staring blankly at him spellbound it seemed, by the very grotesque sight of the man's scalp peeled back with his skull exposed and blood still oozing from the tissue surrounding the wound.
"Sensei?!" Yuriko said a little louder as she watched Shizuka continued to stare blankly at the unconscious man as all of the children looked first at the nurse and then looked up towards Yuriko with scared, anxious eyes.
"Oba-chan?" Alice said looking at Shizuka as Rei held her close.
Shizuka raised her head and looked over at Yuriko with tear-filled eyes.
"I don't think there's anything I can do." Shizuka said.