57.
Last Alarm
Chapter 57
"The Alamo"
Part Eight
"And maybe just remind the few, if ill of us they speak,
That we are all that stands between the monsters and the weak."
Michael Marks
"and, if he fails, at least fails daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory or defeat."
Theodore Roosevelt
Dedicated to the memory of my good friend,
Bexar County Sheriff's Deputy David Castillo
Born January 31, 1960
LODD April 11, 1991
Rest easy brother, we got it from here.
At one time, "It" was human...
But now, "It" is not...
For anyone to now gaze upon the monstrous abomination now known as "It" with "It's" frothing jaws snapping hungrily at the air and "It's" hands savagely clawing away at the other Infected pressing in all around, that person...any person, would be hard pressed to believe that at one time, "It" too had once been a normal, flesh and blood, living human being blessed with the ability to experience happiness, hate, joy, anger, sorrow, elation, empathy, kindness, caring, compassion, and most importantly...love.
Because believe it or not friends, at one time, "It" was human...
But tragically, now "It" is most definitely not...
But yes, at one time.
"It" was human.
Location: Taiei Shopping Town
Multi-story Shopping Mall and Recreation Center Located near the downtown area of Tokonosu City
Time: Evening
Z-Day Plus Two
As she stood all alone on the fourth floor of the large shopping mall, five-year veteran Police Officer Rina Matsushima was swearing a blue streak under her breath as she continued to fiddle with the channel knob of her police-issue Motorola radio, her frustration with the useless piece of technology in her hands growing with each passing minute as she tried to discreetly conceal her efforts from the eyes of the many groups of survivors wandering aimlessly around on all floors of the large shopping mall.
Having labored fruitlessly in her attempts to make contact with the outside world for the past few minutes, the young woman's temper had now risen to an almost dangerous level as her eyes anxiously switched back and forth between the radio in her hands and the dimming light visible through the full-length glass windows of the main entrance leading into the building.
And as the last rays of the setting sun began to rapidly disappear over the city, Officer Matsushima's already foul mood was now on the verge of becoming explosive as she continued to switch back and forth through each and every channel on her radio in a desperate attempt to contact somebody…anybody, which might still be listening.
Yet, try as she might, all that she had heard in the past forty-eight hours had been nothing more than an eerie silence in response to her desperate pleas.
After several more desperate attempts to make contact on all the other emergency channels had passed without success, the young policewoman then made one last desperate attempt to contact her Precinct Headquarters where two days earlier she, along with all other available officers from the Higashi Police Department, had been deployed to assist with crowd control over the thousands of people attempting to flee the downtown area where the anti-riot police had been reported to be busily engaged in trying to subdue a supposedly "large number of rioters".
Or at least, what Command had believed had been "rioters" at the time.
"How little did we know." Rina said in disgust as she finally shut off the portable radio in her hands and reflected bitterly on how on her one day off that week she had been texted by her Sergeant ordering her to report for duty, and how such a routine call had become anything but routine afterwards.
Reacting angrily at first with the thought that perhaps once again one of her fellow colleagues actually suffering from a hangover had called in sick, Rina had stormed furiously through the doors at her assigned precinct intending to raise all sorts of hell to her Sergeant, only to find everyone at Headquarters in a complete uproar as Rina listened in complete shock at the first of many maydays blasting over the police airwaves over a large "traffic incident" that had supposedly occurred in the downtown area on the first day of the Outbreak.
Dubious at first that a large traffic incident could possibly be the cause of all the chaos that she was hearing over all the police radios, Rina had been about to inquire further from the desk sergeant when a Police Captain with a wild look in his eyes suddenly ran out into the lobby and up to the desk and immediately screamed at her and another group of off-duty officers that had just arrived to hurry up and change into their uniforms and report back to him in two minutes as Rina and her fellow officers immediately hurried off to comply, their curiosity and anxiety mounting at all the chaos going on all around her as well as the panicked looks on the faces of her fellow officers.
And as Rina leaned on the aluminum railing surround the floor she was standing on, she then frowned at the memory of how the Captain they had reported to afterwards had initially told them that the result of all the chaos at Headquarters was not a "traffic incident" as the police dispatchers had first reported, but rather, a "large city-wide, possibly anti-government riot."
"A riot..." Rina snorted in disgust as she slipped her radio back into its leather holster and snapped the flap shut and then reconnected the lapel mike back on the lapel of her duty jacket. "...geez, how could any of us have been stupid enough to believe that?"
While no one could blame the young policewoman's bitterness towards the mistakes made on that horrible day and the disastrous results that had occurred afterwards, in reality there had been very little information received at Police Headquarters about the so-called "incident" that was occurring in the downtown area by any of the first arriving patrol units on scene, who for some unknown reason, had mysteriously ceased all communications almost immediately upon their arrival.
And so understandably, despite Rina's bitterness, no one could have blamed Command for becoming extremely alarmed that the so-called "traffic incident" that had initially been reported by the first arriving units was beginning to appear more dire than previously believed, and fearing for the lives of their officers on scene, choose to immediately order more units to be dispatched.
And at first, it seemed that Command had made the correct call, especially after reports of "fighting in the streets between gang members and police officers" in the downtown area began to flash over every TV and radio channel in town.
But then the shit had really hit the fan when TV film crews at the scene began filling the airwaves about reports of "shots being fired", and Rina recalled how she and all her fellow officers had immediately gasped in shock at the sight of multiple bodies lying on the ground as the television monitors suddenly cut over to live video feed of the downtown area coming from a news helicopter flying overhead.
And amongst those bodies, many of them dressed in the dark blue uniform of a police officer.
Alarmed that a number of their fellow officers had apparently not only been overwhelmed, but also murdered by the alleged "rioters", the Police Commissioner had immediately ordered all available mobile units everywhere to be dispatched from all precincts, as well as ordering all precinct commanders that all off-duty personnel be recalled to duty, immediately.
And like most of her fellow officers who had come in on their day off on that day, Officer Rina Matsushima had been given only the briefest of briefings before she and several other teams were rushed out onto the crowded streets Of Tokonosu City that was now filled with thousands of panicked civilians fleeing for their lives.
But as she and her fellow police officers made their way past panicked civilians, traffic-clogged streets, and the occasional curious onlooker, the already jammed airwaves suddenly began to be filled with the sounds of field commanders screaming for more back-up, and not just in the downtown area either, as Rina's eyes widened at the calls coming in from different sectors of the city.
And from the sound of the terror-filled panic in their voices, Officer Rina Matsushima and her fellow officers then realized that what they were heading into was something definitely far more sinister than just a "riot".
And as if to confirm their suspicions, they hadn't traveled much farther down the crowded city streets before the sounds of screams and running feet filled their ears that the small group of police officers were immediately forced to take cover in order to avoid nearly being trampled to death by a huge wave of thousands of fleeing civilians who suddenly appeared out of nowhere, every one of them obviously desperate to escape whatever it was that was hot on their heels.
Flattening themselves against the concrete buildings as best as they could to avoid being knocked down and trampled by the flood of bodies rushing past them, the group of officers had barely been able to collect themselves afterwards when they suddenly found themselves face-to-face with the very same monstrous abominations that had been chasing the civilians.
"And to think, at the time I just thought they were on drugs or something." Rina scoffed scornfully as hot tears began to well up in her eyes at the memory of the unbelievable horror that had suddenly turned and attacked them, and the ear-piercing screams of her fellow officers as they were torn apart right in front of her with no chance whatsoever to draw their weapons and defend themselves.
Of the small group of twelve police officers in her tiny group on that terrible day, only the seven male officers had been armed with their department-issue .38 caliber revolvers, none of which any had been able to draw from their holsters before they were immediately overwhelmed by their attackers and torn to pieces.
And tragically, thanks to an antiquated Department *SOP prohibiting female officers from being issued firearms made by those with an even more antiquated mindset during a time when male ego amongst the higher ranks of the Police Force often replaced reason, the remaining five female officer's fates were also sealed as they too were attacked, their department-issue *ASP batons no match whatsoever against the wave of death that fell upon them all.
(SOP- Standard Operating Procedure)
(ASP Baton- Collapsible, Police- Issue Baton)
And a loud whimper suddenly escaped Rina's lips as she remembered how she had watched helplessly as her fellow Police Academy graduate, and best friend Officer Hikari Nakamura, like all of the other officers, had been savagely knocked to the ground and then gruesomely torn limb-from-limb before her very eyes.
"Stupid f_cking old assholes and their stupid f_cking, bullshit rules!" Rina Matsushima swore out loud as the tears then began to fall from her eyes, the sound of Hikari's screams still echoing in her ears as she reflected on how the things that had killed her friends had then immediately turned their attention on her afterwards, as Rina was then forced to fight desperately for her life as bloodied hands reached for her.
Fighting as desperately as she could at the monsters clawing away at her, Rina and the only other survivor, a young female rookie by the name of Asami Nakaoka somehow managed to miraculously escape the clutches of the monstrous beings before turning and running away from the massacre as fast as they could.
Unfortunately, all other routes of escape had been quickly being cut off by a sudden wave of the blood-thirsty monsters who seemed to be coming out of nowhere as the two surviving female officers were then left with no other choice but to duck through the open door of a nearby building and then out the back before running for their lives for several blocks before finally ducking into the only accessible shelter nearby inside a large shopping mall where hundreds of other panicked civilians had already taken shelter as they frantically locked and barricaded the doors behind them.
Believing themselves safe for the moment, the two surviving policewomen had no idea that their nightmare had only just begun.
Cut off from the outside world and unable to call for back-up due to all the mayday calls erupting over the airwaves and with all cellular towers overloaded with panicked calls for help, after several hours of trying Rina had then given up on her attempts to call for back-up and the focused her efforts on securing the mall for the night and settling down the rest of the panicked survivors hiding inside the mall with promises that help was soon to come.
Adding to her already growing anxiety, several hours later after Rina and Asami had finally managed to coax everyone into bedding down for the night, for some unexplained reason all power inside the mall suddenly went out at the same moment at exactly the same time as all radio traffic on Rina's portable radio, suddenly and mysteriously, went silent as well.
Her anxiety now bordering on panic, Rina once again frantically attempted to make contact with the outside world with both her cell phone and her portable radio, but once again the only response to her frantic pleas had been dead air.
It was almost as if everyone in the Police or Fire Departments had suddenly and for no reasonable explanation whatsoever, had just stopped transmitting... everywhere.
Despite the late hour, and barely keeping her own panic in check, Rina had then made her way through the dark, empty stairways of the mall before exiting onto the roof, hoping to spot a passing patrol car or helicopter and signal for help.
But as hour after hour passed with no vehicles spotted anywhere near her location and the only aircraft in sight being the ones departing from the offshore International Airport lying several miles away in the bay, Officer Rina Matsushima quickly realized that help would not be coming anytime soon after all, as she then dejectedly climbed back down the stairs leading into the mall, as the power within the mall suddenly and unexpectedly, came back on again.
No sooner had Rina made her way back downstairs however, than she and the rookie policewoman Asami Nakoaka were then forced to deal with the impossible task of trying to maintain order amongst the several hundred terrified civilians who had suddenly began screaming in panic when the interior of the mall was suddenly filled with the echo of those so-called "rioters" slapping their hands against the windows and doors of the large mall.
Barely able to keep her own fear in check that night, and despite the ineptitude of her "partner" who seemed to only muck things up even worse, somehow Rina had miraculously managed to quiet everyone within the mall with the promise that if everyone remained quiet, eventually the "rioters" would lose interest and go away.
It was a desperate hope bordering on a lie of course, yet to Rina's surprise eventually the "rioters" did indeed seem to lose interest after a while as the echoing sounds of their beating on the glass widows of the mall began to diminish before disappearing altogether as a collected sigh of relief sounded amongst the hundreds of civilians, including Rina, as she and everyone in the mall then uttered a silent prayer of thanks for their miraculous deliverance from the hands of death.
Desperate for help to arrive, before the first rays of dawn had even begun to peek over the city skyline on the very next day, Rina wasted no time as she immediately rushed to the roof, hoping to spot any other police officers that might have survived as she once again tried to make contact with anyone on her cell phone and portable radio.
But as before, her attempts to make contact with anyone from the outside world were once again met with silence, and as morning passed with no signs of any police vehicles on the ground or patrol helicopters flying overhead and only small handfuls of terrified survivors slowly dribbling into the mall, Rina's hopes of help arriving anytime soon began to wane.
But it wasn't until later that day however, when Rina's hopes of help ever arriving, were finally dashed altogether.
It had been almost noon when she and one of the other survivors, a man named Tamura who had offered to keep her company and provide an extra set of eyes, had suddenly shouted at her frantically from the other side of the roof of the mall and beckoned her to join him.
Upon seeing his excited reaction, Rina had immediately felt her heart beginning to beat much faster, her spirits soaring as she began to hope against all hope that at long last, help had finally arrived.
But those hopes were immediately dashed the moment she ran over to where Tamura stood and then gazed in the direction he was pointing.
Instead of there being a swarm of police vehicles rushing in and setting up a perimeter around the mall or even a single patrol car approaching her position, there in the middle of the parking lot stood a lone figure dressed in a police uniform, slowly shambling in a parallel course away from the shopping mall at a snail's pace.
Excited to see a fellow officer, even if alone, Rina and Tamura had then both shouted at the figure and waved their arms frantically in an effort to get the man's attention, but had then quickly stopped when to their horror, they saw the man suddenly turn his head in their direction and then suddenly stumble and fall heavily to the ground.
Alarmed that her colleague might have been injured by the ensuing chaos in the city and was in need of immediate medical attention, Rina had instinctively turned and began running back towards the rooftop access stairway in an attempt to get down to her fallen comrade and to render assistance when Tamura had suddenly shouted at her to stop just as she about to enter through the open doorway.
"Matsushima-san...WAIT!" The urgency in the man's voice causing Rina to come to an immediate stop as she then glared at Tamura in annoyance wondering just what could be so important that the man felt that he needed to stop her, when Rina suddenly noticed the strange look on Tamura's face as he frantically pointed down into the parking lot and frantically beckoned her to come back.
With an irritated sigh, Rina reluctantly walked back over to rejoin the man who was pointing excitedly down into the parking lot, and as she gazed over the wall of the roof in the direction the man was pointing, she immediately gasped in shock at what she saw.
"Oh, shit...oh shit...oh shit...oh shit...oh, what the F_CK?!" Rina had muttered under her breath in horror as she instinctively took a few hesitant steps back away from the edge of the rooftop as she continued to stare in shock at the wounded policeman on the street below who had somehow managed to get back to his feet and was now slowly shuffling towards the front doors of the mall.
And the horrifying sight that had put Officer Rina Matsushima in such a state of shock was the horrifying sight of the man's face which was now minus his lower jaw, the light blue shirt that he wore completely soaked from blood dripping from the man's grotesque wound as well as from his right arm which was missing below the elbow, as Rina also noticed that the reason the man was limping was that one of his feet was twisted at an impossible angle, forcing him to drag it along.
And as the man drew nearer, even more shocking to Rina and Tamura was the fact that the flesh on the man's arm and face appeared to have been gnawed upon, as they continued to watch horrified as the man shuffled forward without any signs of being in pain as a trail of blood and gore continued to spill out onto the black asphalt of the parking lot as he shuffled forward.
And it was then that Rina could hear that same horrifying sound that would haunt her and all mankind the world over for the rest of their lives.
That terrible, blood-curdling moaning that would be the source of nightmares for all humankind for years to come.
That had all occurred just yesterday, with even more of those "things" eventually showing up until about a couple dozen of them were aimlessly shuffling about the parking lot.
With strict orders to Asami and the other survivors to keep away from the locked doors and not allow anyone from outside to be let in, Rina had then greatly increased her efforts to insure security within the mall as well as increase her trips up to the roof in order to call for help.
But as Rina had once again been about to make her way up towards the stairway leading up to the roof of the mall, a sudden increase of movement occurring out in the parking lot caught her eye, causing her to halt suddenly.
It had been quickly approaching evening as Rina was headed up towards the roof, as was her routine, and already the sun was beginning to set in the distance when Rina suddenly noticed out of the corner of her eye that the normal amount of shadows that usually began to form on the parking lot outside had seemingly and unexpectedly increased in number.
And as she peered through the glass windows surrounding the mall, to Rina's alarm she could now see that instead of the dozen or so of the "things" she had seen shuffling about in the parking lot, there numbers had increased significantly in the past hour that now there were literally dozens of them
And as she gazed upon the dozens of blood-covered Infected shuffling around on the parking lot below with an assortment of injuries and missing body parts on their person, Rika shook her head in disgust at the memory of how all the civilians trapped inside the mall had first reacted upon catching sight of the mangled policeman that had arrived at the front doors of the shopping mall.
Until that point, few of the civilians had ever seen the so-called "rioters" up close as Rina and Asami had, and for those who had, including the two policewomen, not one of them were completely sure as to what it was that they had actually seen with even Rina having initially believed that the behavior she had witnessed earlier had all been merely drug-induced.
But after seeing the mangled remains of the policeman as he shuffled towards the mall, there was absolutely no doubt left in Rina's mind as to what these creatures actually were.
To Rina's disbelief however, most of the survivors seemed to be in complete denial of what it was they were actually seeing as to Rina's astonishment, many of them began to actually demand that she open the doors to the mall and let the wounded policeman in and give him medical aid.
"What the hell were those idiots even thinking?" Rina said laughing bitterly without humor at the memory of how, despite what they were seeing with their own eyes, most of the survivors were still convinced that everything they had witnessed, even now, was just another horrible display of human cruelty.
"Like I really could have done anything to help that guy with just a box of band-aids, bandages and some eye rinse, anyway." Rina said with a scoff as she once again switched to the primary police channel on her radio and keyed her lapel mike.
"This is Officer Rina Matsushima of Higashi Precinct of the Tokonosu Police Department..." Rina said speaking into her radio and delivering the same message for perhaps the hundredth time that day. "...I am broadcasting on all channels to any and all Higashi Precinct police and other emergency units in the area of the Taiei Shopping Town."
"If anyone can hear this transmission please respond!" Rina said as she released the transmit button and waited for ten seconds before trying again.
"This is Officer Rina Matsushima of Higashi Precinct of the Tokonosu Police Department broadcasting on the emergency channel. If there are any officers from the Police Department or any other emergency services listening, please respond!" Rina repeated as she waited a further ten seconds before she finally turned off the radio and clipped the device back on her belt.
"Stupid piece of junk." Rina growled with utter disdain for the radio as she then turned her head and gazed out longingly towards the city as the sun began to settle behind the skyscrapers that were standing like silent sentinels as they casting their dark shadows all around the city.
Well, at least there's still some power working around the city." Rika mumbled to herself as she noticed that already some street lights were flickering to life near the highway and some of the streets below, including the parking lot although night fall wouldn't be for another two hours yet.
"Excuse me, Matsushima-san?" A familiar voice interrupted Rina's troubled thoughts as she turned and gazed into the familiar face of Mitsuko Aramaki, one half of the elderly couple that had been nearly trampled outside the shopping town in the parking lot yesterday, whom Rina and Asami had miraculously managed to get to safety inside the mall on that first wild day of the Outbreak while all hell was breaking loose around them.
"Ahh, Aramaki-san..." Rina replied awkwardly as she respectfully bowed to the elderly woman, never having even heard the woman approach her and wondering just how long the elderly woman had actually been standing there behind her. "How are you feeling?"
"I'm quite fine dear, there's no need to worry..." The elderly woman replied as she raised a withered hand and waved the officer off before offering her a bottled water. "...your fellow officer, Asami-chan, said that she didn't believe that you had anything to drink and asked if I could bring this to you."
"Ah,...domo arigato gozaimasu, Aramaki-san." Rina said smiling politely as she took the offered bottle of water and mentally cursed her junior officer for being so irresponsible as to make the elderly woman take the beverage to her despite the issues the poor old woman had to deal with walking already, especially after losing her cane during all the chaos.
"That airhead, what was she thinking sending this poor old woman all the way over here?" Rina grumbled under her breath as she thanked the elderly woman for bringing her the bottle of water and took a long swig before screwing the cap back on and then placing the half-empty container on a nearby table.
"Have you managed to get in touch with anyone yet, Matsushima-san?" The elderly woman asked Rina guardedly as she leaned against the railing next to her.
"I'm afraid not, Aramaki-san..." Rina replied with a heavy sigh avoiding the elderly woman's gaze. "I don't know why though. The signal's clear and the battery still has half a charge, but no one seems to be picking up on the other end, however."
"I see." The older woman replied with a disappointed look that immediately disappeared upon noticing the dejected look on Rina's face.
"Do not worry dear..." Aramaki said smiling as she placed a comforting hand on the younger woman's shoulder. "...you and the rest of the police of this city are the best in the country."
"And I'm sure your friends will sort out all those "hoodlums" in no time." The elderly woman said waving in the direction of "the hoodlums" as Rina turned her head and smiled at the praise the older woman gave her, genuinely grateful to have received such a heartfelt compliment for a change rather than the frustrated words and angry looks that she and Asami had been subjected to since their arrival at the mall.
In all the years that had passed since she had joined Law Enforcement, Rina and most of her fellow officers had always been the target of abuse and threats of violence from the public for reason's still unknown which seemed to be the new norm towards those daring to wear a police uniform.
And while it was quite normal to see television news waves abounded with stories about public outrage with the police in other foreign lands, it had been almost unheard of for such public dissent to be displayed against any police officer in the Nation of Japan, until recently, that is.
"It sure is refreshing to actually hear words of praise for once..." Rina thought to herself as she reached over and grasped the older woman's hands in hers and squeezed.
"However, those things out there are most certainly not your everyday 'hoodlums'." Rina thought to herself as the elderly woman then squeezed Rina's hands back in a friendly gesture as Rina then reflected on how of all the people gathered within the confines of the mall, only the elderly woman and her husband had treated her and her junior officer with any type of respect.
"Well, I must be going...my husband must be getting worried that I've been away for so long..." The elderly woman said breaking Rina's thoughts as Rina stood and helped steady her.
"Thank you for the water, Aramaki-san..." Rina said as the older woman patted Rina on the shoulder gently.
"My pleasure, Officer Matsushima..." The elderly woman said as she placed her right hand on Rina's cheek in a loving gesture that reminded Rina of the way her grandmother always used to do to her when she was a child.
"And don't worry my dear..." Mrs. Aramaki said as winked and then patted Rina's cheek gently. "...I have absolute faith that everything will turn out alright, thanks to you and Asami-chan."
"You be careful now, and don't stay up too late..." The elderly woman said as she turned and began to shuffle slowly away as she headed towards the stairway on the other side of the mezzanine leading down to the lower floor.
"I will, Aramkai-san." Rina replied staring sadly at the old woman as she painfully made her way across the mezzanine and then began to make her descent down the stairs.
"That poor woman." Rina said aloud as she then heard a sound that sent a sudden chill up her spine as she cautiously glanced over the railing right next to her and quickly scanned the floors below.
"Shit!" Rina swore under her breath as she then quickly drew back out of sight upon spotting a group of three teenagers milling about on the ground floor three stories below, their excited voices echoing beneath her as Rina suddenly realized that her breathing and heart rate had suddenly increased substantially.
While the vast majority of the civilians hiding within the mall seemed to regard the two female police officers mostly with growing contempt due to the fact that no help had arrived from either the Police or Fire Departments as of yet, there still was actually one group of civilians, that like the Aramaki's, had only high praise and high regard for the two policewomen.
But more than anything, Officer Rina Matsushima would have much preferred that the small group of teenagers would just kindly go away and leave her the hell alone.
It had all happened on the first day of the Outbreak when the two female officers were struggling desperately to get the Aramaki's and themselves to safety, when suddenly one of the few people who had stopped to help them had been a group of high school exchange students from Belgium who had helped them fight their way through the panic-stricken crowd who were actually trying desperately to bar their way into the mall.
Grateful at first for the help of the brave young teens, Rina had at first been amused by the hero worship that had been immediately heaped upon her and her junior officer afterwards by the group of teenage foreign exchange students.
However, as time passed, the constant attention given her by the teens soon began to wear on the senior officer, and it wasn't long before Rina was no longer amused by their constant presence to the point that by the next day she had began to hate the sight of them and desperately made every possible effort to avoid them
More afraid of the teens than she was of the so-called "hoodlums", as Aramaki-san had called them" Rina tried desperately to calm herself and allow her breathing to return to normal praying that she had not been spotted by her newly made fan-club made up of Eren Jaeger, the group's self-made 'leader' who was by far the most annoying of the lot, followed by his sister Mikasa Ackerman, who was actually an orphaned Japanese National whom had been adopted by his family in Europe and was the group's designated 'second-in-command'.
The other two remaining exchange students who weren't exactly on Rina's shit list but were still no less annoying as their peers were Sasha Braus, a tall, skinny-looking girl with a long pony-tail and an enormous appetite whom always seemed to be munching on something that she had obviously stolen from the supermarket located in the mall, whenever Rina saw her.
The fourth and final member of the group that was almost but not quite annoying as Eren Jaeger was Armin Artlelt, a small blond-haired boy who was not only the smallest of the group of teens but by far was also the meekest who was constantly trailing after the others like some lost puppy wherever they went and always whining about their current predicament, to the point that Rina almost wished she could just slap the kid rather than have to listen to him whine for even one second longer about the hopelessness of their situation.
"Dammit, I hope they didn't see me." Rina swore as she began to slowly back away from the railing and walk backwards across the mezzanine in an attempt to conceal her presence from the teens.
"Matsushima-san...?" A small voice came from behind her nearly causing Rina to jump out of her skin.
"Gaaaah!...I f_cking spoke too soon!" Rina screamed inwardly believing that the youngest teen, Armin Artelt had somehow snuck up behind her as she turned and came face-to-face, not with the young blond-haired boy, but her subordinate, Asami Nakaoka who was standing almost directly behind her and wringing both of her hands together nervously.
"Dammit Asami, you seriously scared the shit out of me there for a minute, what the hell is it?!" Rina asked in a calm voice despite the fact that the vein on the side of her head was throbbing.
"Have you been able to get in touch with headquarters yet, Sempai?" The younger officer asked, her voice hopeful as Rina stared at the young woman for a moment and then let out a heavy sigh of frustration, both at her junior officer's bad habit of addressing her as if they were both classmates still in high school and the fact that the girl was as inept as any rookie that Rina had ever met.
But despite herself, a part of Rina could not help but envy the young officer's inexperience and her naiveté. Despite all she had witnessed, Asami was still firm in the belief that this entire incident was still all related to a riot by some citizens going on a rampage that would eventually be cleaned up by the prefectural police departments and the city would go back to the way it was within a few days.
But being an experienced officer with nearly five years of police service under her belt and with all the riots, protests, and crime scenes she had reported to in the past, Rina knew that if anything, there was no way things would ever get back to the way they were before anytime soon.
No...this 'situation' was definitely no riot like anyone had ever seen...it was something else, altogether.
"I'm afraid not, Officer Nakaoka-san..." Rina said gazing over at her junior officer with a frown. "...I've tried making contact through all police and other emergency service frequencies, but there's nobody answering on the other end."
So, you're saying there's nobody at the police station?" Asami squeaked, the naiveté of her question finally sending Rina over the edge.
"I don't know, Asami!" Rina snapped angrily at her junior officer who immediately flinched as if struck.
"I don't know where the other officers are...!" Rina continued barely able to keep her frustration in check. "...after what happened last night they could be all over the city, and with things being as hectic as they are right now I wouldn't be surprised if the station itself has been evacuated!"
"I'm sorry, Matsushima-sempai!" The young traffic officer said apologetically as she bowed deeply over and over again in the same manner as she always did whenever Rina scolded her. "...I- I didn't mean to pressure you...I only meant to_."
"Forget it Asami, it's not your fault..." Rina said with a frustrated sigh as she rubbed her forehead with one hand and then gazed back at her junior officer who was already looking as if she were about to cry...as usual.
"Look kid, I'm sorry..." Rina began, mentally chiding herself for having lost her cool with her subordinate whom only meant well at whatever she did, but could be as dumb as shit sometimes.
"But right now Officer Nakaoka, we are clearly on our own..." Rina added, trying to speak in a calmer, and more professional manner to her junior officer. "...but if there was somebody at the station they would have responded to us by now."
"And that being the case, until Command is able to contact us either by the radio or by other means, we are on our own..." Rina added gazing sadly at the young frightened woman standing before her for a moment before Rina then turned her head and gazed through the large window panels of the mall at the sun slowly disappeared over the horizon.
And as both policewomen gazed out through the windows of the mall onto the huge parking lot outside, both of them watched in silence as the street lights in the city finally winked to life, casting the city streets with an eerie glow as the groans of the Infected outside began to reach their ears, becoming louder and louder as the sun finally disappeared beyond the horizon and cloaked the dying city in darkness.
Location: Taiei Shopping Town
Multi-story Shopping Mall and Recreation Center Located near the downtown area of Tokonosu City
Time: Midnight
Z-Day Plus Two
"So, uhh…Rina-san, how long have you been a police officer?" The young teen, Eren Jaeger asked as Rina tried to prevent herself from wrapping her hands around the young exchange student's throat and strangle the life out of him.
After having endured the stress and the pressures of the last two days with little or no sleep, all Rina Matsushima had wanted was to have a couple of hours rest, a chance to grab some form of sleep and maybe even a little bit of privacy on top of that.
But being stuck in a building with over several hundred paranoid, panicky, and even becoming violent civilians, privacy and sleep of any sort was a luxury that from all appearances, was merely a fool's dream, especially now that she had her own little fan club always tracking her down wherever she went.
The constant level of alertness and constant stress had worn her down considerably, and so after finishing one of her routine patrols around the mall, Rina had then relayed to Asami that she was going to lay down for a while and for her to keep a sharp eye out as she then passed by some of the other occupants of the building and eventually found herself outside one of several furniture stores set up inside the mall which was spacious enough to hold quite a number of people, although granted, more than a few people had to sleep in chairs or on the couches, although no one seemed to complain.
And as she walked into the department store and waded through the people that were already asleep, Rina eventually found herself in the storage room located at the back of the store where she was hoping that perhaps some other mattresses, bedding, and frames might still be stored, as Rina walked by several containers had already been opened and the materials within already taken.
Barely able to keep her eyes open as she scrounged around for something she could use as a bed, eventually she was able to find a large cardboard box containing a roll out futon and a couple of pillows as Rina then made her way back through the department store and found herself a small, dark and secluded spot away from the others in a nearby women's clothing store.
Making her way through the store she then tossed the futon and pillows on the floor behind the cashier's booth before placing her bottle of water, radio, and flashlight on the countertop before reaching down and rolling the futon out onto the floor.
As she kicked off her shoes and removed her jacket, Rina then lay on the futon and rested her head on the comfortable pillows using her jacket as a blanket as she then allowed herself to free her mind of any thoughts, responsibilities, and worries that she had been carrying for the last seventy-two hours as she lay on top of the futon Rina let out a very loud sigh.
Rina was tired, no doubt about that. But the sigh she exhaled was not so much from fatigue as it was from frustration due to her wishing, as any normal human being would, that for a fleeting moment that she could be anywhere but here in her present situation.
There was no need to remind herself that as an officer it was her duty to take charge of the current situation in the mall and make sure that all the needs of the people here were being met to the best of her ability.
But at that particular moment, after all she had been through with the angry civilians constantly badgering her as to when help would arrive ad why they were all still stuck inside the and not allowed to leave, the tired, frustrated, and just plain, burnt-out young policewoman couldn't have cared less about anything else at this point.
That was however until she heard footsteps approaching as a pitiful, heart-rending groan of misery escaped Rina's lips as her mind quickly deduced that the source of the footsteps could only mean one thing.
They'd found her...again.
Shit.
"Are you sure about this?" A familiar soft, feminine voice reached Rina's ears confirming her worst fears as Rina resisted the urge to burst into tears...barely.
"Yeah, I saw her come this way, I just wanted to ask her a few questions." A young male voice replied in an unmistakable European accent as Rina began to mutter profanities that would have made her grandfather, who was an old-school Imperial Japanese Marine Drill Sergeant during the Pacific War, blush like a girl.
"For f_ck's sake...can't I even get five f_cking minutes to myself?!' Rina fumed as she heard the footsteps draw closer as she covered her head with her jacket hoping that the annoying teens would see that she was sleeping and go away.
"Ah-hah...see, I told you she was in here!" The young male said sounding extremely pleased with himself as Rina's hopes were dashed completely.
"Oh, for f_ck's sake!" Rina swore under her breath as her hand reflexively began to reach for the handle of her ASP baton without her even realizing it, as the sound of footsteps stopped and she actually felt the eyes of the teens boring through the thin fabric of the jacket that covered her body as Rina then angrily flung it off of her head and bolted upright in a seating position.
"WHAT?!" Rina shouted in a no-nonsense tone of voice as she found herself looking at two of the transfer students from Belgium, Eren and Mikasa who seemed not all affected by Rina's angry outburst.
"So, uhh…Officer Matsushima-san, how long have you been a police officer?" Eren asked staring at Rina with that same star-struck look he always had on his face every time Rina saw him, unlike his adopted sister Mikasa, who was standing directly him and staring back at her with that same unnerving gaze behind eyes that seemed almost dead and always gave Rina the creeps.
"Huh?!" Rina stammered awkwardly in response, slight taken aback by the boy's genuine sincerity which did indeed seem a little odd to her that anyone would be interested about her career as a police officer especially under the present circumstances, much less these two with even Mikasa seeming as if there was something important that she wanted to ask her as well.
"Uhh, why do you want to know that, Jaeger-san?" Rina asked immediately feeling ashamed at her angry outburst and also the fact that her hand had instinctively reached for her weapon when she had initially heard the teens approaching as she quickly removed her hand from the handle of her ASP and then reached for her water bottle on top of the countertop.
"Well..." The boy paused as he swallowed hard before continuing. "...me and my friends are…well, we were in our final year of high school and we had all been interested in careers in the police service back home, and we wanted to ask you about how it has been for you since you became an officer."
"Don't you really mean how f_cked up I've become because of what the job has done to me...?" Rina thought sarcastically to herself. "...or how the job has affected my social life, as in none at all...or about how about how society absolutely f_cking hates us now and we all have to walk around with a target on our backs?"
But despite her sudden burning impulse to unload years of bottled-up pain and anger on the youth, Rina remained silent as she reflected on the fact that despite her annoyance with the teenage boy, he wasn't one of those whom she had encountered on the streets of the city that had ever spat on her, or cursed at her, or threatened her with assault, or make lewd remarks to her whenever she was wearing her uniform.
No, the young boy had never done any of those things to her like so many others had over the years and not because she was a woman, either...
But because she was a police officer, and genuinely respected her for being one.
"Uhh…Officer Matsushima...are you all right?" Rina heard the young boy say with a noticeable hint of concern in his voice as she snapped quickly back to reality and then gazed back at the two teens who were staring at her with worried looks on their faces as Rina hesitated a moment before she then took a deep breath before answering.
"I'm going to be honest with you kid..." Rina said at last a deep frown on her face."...being a police officer, it's not been easy for me and it's way less exciting and glamorous than all those cop shows you see on TV."
"For starters, I had very little time to be social outside of work and being as that my first assignment was in one of the stations nearly a mile from the city center where there was very little need for anything more than my being a meter maid..." Rina added as the two teen leaned closer and listened to her intently. "...and even then I still had to deal with citizens that would be screaming for my help one day while on other days they would be screaming for my blood because I had given them a traffic ticket."
"And it wasn't long after putting up with that bullshit for a while..." Rina continued trying as hard as she could to keep from sounding as if she were merely venting, without much success. "...that every day I kept asking myself 'Is this job really for me?' and, 'Has it really been worth all the sacrifices I've had to make?"
"And do you want to know what the answer was to all those questions I kept asking myself?" Rina said as both of the teenagers staring back at her with intense interest.
"What?" Eren and Mikasa asked together with eyes widened in eager anticipation of her answer.
"Well, when I find the answer, I'll let you kids know..." Rina said flatly as she took a swig from her water bottle before putting it back down as the faces of both teens fell in disappointment.
"Now, if you both don't mind, it's been a long couple of days and I would very much like to get some sleep." Rina said coldly as she then turned and lay back down on her futon and covered her head with her jacket as the two foreign exchange students stared at the irate policewoman for a moment longer.
After an exchange confused looks and shrugged shoulders with each other the two disappointed teens then reluctantly turning around and began quietly walking away as Rina waited until she was certain that both of them were finally gone before she uncovered the jacket from her head and then sighed deeply as a sudden twinge of regret began to nag her.
Despite her annoyance with the teens for disturbing her, Rina knew that she had been unnecessarily cruel in the way she had spoken to the kids, after all, it wasn't their fault that the job she had once loved and taken pride in had also left her so emotionally drained and a mere shell of her former self.
Society…people, they had been so unimaginably cruel to her and her colleagues over the years, and not just to her friends in Law Enforcement, but to anyone those who ever tried to help them, it seemed.
Continuous cutbacks, staff being laid off because of the budget cuts or more recently, unfair termination of several officers in her own precinct recently by order of the higher ups trying to cover their own asses had started to become the norm, in response to "complaints of unnecessary aggressiveness" made by well-known repeat offenders who were blatantly using the recent public animosity towards Law Enforcement to their advantage.
"Yeah, when I find out the answer, I'll definitely let you know, kid." Rina mumbled to herself bitterly as she then turned and lay on her back and stared at the ceiling and listened in silence as the other people in the mall began to settle down for the night as she then allowed her thoughts to drift, knowing that what she had told the teens earlier hadn't been the complete truth.
"Sorry kid..." Rina thought to herself bitterly as she once again rolled over onto her side and closed her eyes. "...that was bullshit, and you two didn't deserve that."
And as much as Rina hated to admit it, as ugly as the job had been and as frustrating as it was to be the target of anger and hate every time she walked the streets in uniform, the real reason that she had remained a cop all these years despite the ugliness of it all had been for one simple reason.
"I dunno, maybe the truth is kid..." Rina thought to herself as she stifled a tired yawn. "...despite all the shit I've been through, hell yeah, I still love this job."
"And even though there's been days that sucked worse than others..." Rina said out loud as the fatigue finally began to overtake her. "...there hasn't ever been a time that I've ever felt like it hasn't been worth it."
"Yeah, I wouldn't give it up for the f_cking world, kid..." Rina mumbled as her minds drifted off into nothingness as she at last fell into a deep and satisfying sleep.
Location: Taiei Shopping Town
Multi-story Shopping Mall and Recreation Center Located near the downtown area of Tokonosu City
Time: Dawn
Z-Day Plus Three
After one last unsuccessful attempt to make contact with anyone on her radio, Officer Rina Matsushima finally admitted defeat and made up her mind to forego any further attempts to try to reach her superiors as she switched off her radio in order to preserve what little remained of the battery's charge.
With tensions already high amongst the grumbling civilians in her charge due to lack of any police response to their situation, and with even more of those "things" idling about around the parking lot outside all the time, Rina realized that unless something was done and soon, it wouldn't be long before a full-scale riot broke out within the walls of the mall.
And with only the rookie Asami and herself against several hundred angry and frightened civilians ready to tear them apart, there was little if anything, they could do to stop it.
And with that being the case, Rina knew that she could no longer afford to wait for help and despite her better judgement, she realized that she had no choice but to find help on her own as she then reluctantly made her way over to the mall's security office which located on the third floor of the mall.
On the first night that she and Asami had arrived at the shopping mall, Rina had wasted no time in thoroughly checking each and every corner of the building to make sure it was secure before she then went up into the surveillance center of the mall's security office where she then scanned the monitors displaying the views from all of the exterior view cameras as well as the underground parking lot where she saw what little remained of the security staff that had been on duty.
Days after the security staffs remained had been thoroughly consumed, the underground lot had been completely clear of the creatures which mattered little since all methods of ingress and egress into the mall from the basement had been closed off and no vehicles remained there anyway, thus making any attempts to sneak down into the basement and commandeer a vehicle moot.
"Shit, I really hoped it wouldn't have come down to this." Rina swore out loud knowing that with no outside contact being made and the situation inside the mall becoming more dire every day, there was no other choice left for her but to undertake the possibly suicidal measure of leaving the relative safety of the building on her own and finding a safe route to the nearest police station or blockade on foot, as she reached down on the control panel and panned the camera's facing the front of the mall in all directions in order to see which direction was the least congested with the Infected and then began to focus on her next plan of action.
Location: Rear Service Doors located on First Floor of Taiei Shopping Town Mall
Time: Mid-morning
Z-Day Plus Three
As both policewomen stood near one of the doors leading out into the loading docks of the shopping mall, Matsushima suddenly felt a repeated twinge of guilt as she gazed down at her feet at the pair of brand new, sparkling white, Nike athletic shoes that she now wore.
Over the past two days, Rina reflected on how she had been doing her best to dissuade people from being tempted to loot the mall even despite the desperate situation they were in, which had only served to further aggravate the growing tension between the disgruntled survivors and the two policewomen.
However, officer of the law or not, Rina realized that she wouldn't get very far on her journey wearing her police-issue flats, and thus swallowing her pride, she had then walked into a nearby athletic store located on the fourth floor of the mall and unceremoniously discarded her work shoes in favor of a brand new pair of Nike sneakers which she promptly donned before walking out of the store, ignoring the accusing looks of those around her as she met up with her partner and the two policewomen then headed towards the rear of the mall, being careful to avoid being spotted by the Rina's fan club who remarkably, were nowhere in sight for a change.
"Matsushima-San, how long do you think you will be?" Asami asked her nervously as her fingers twiddled with the collapsible ASP baton that hung on its case on her belt as Rina was busily performing several stretch and warm up exercises.
"I can't tell you that, kid, because I honestly don't know." Rina replied with a sigh of frustration as she then stopped her exercises and then sat on a nearby chair and then tore part of the seam on both sides of her skirt in order to give herself more mobility.
"Do you know far you're going to have to go?" Asami then asked as Rina had to physically stop herself from clamping her hand over the young officers' mouth in an effort to shut her up as Rina let out another sigh of frustration and then leaned back in her chair.
Closing her eyes, Rina then began some simple breathing exercises in an effort to mentally prepare herself for the difficult task at hand, which wasn't getting any easier thanks to the rookie cop's constant bombarding her with questions that both women already knew the answer to.
In the past twenty-four hours, neither of the two policewomen had observed any signs of activity on the ground or in the air other than the sound of an occasional burst of sporadic gunfire somewhere in the inner city that had completely ceased by mid-afternoon.
And now with all communications with Command having been non-existent and with only thirty percent battery charge on her radio left, the only option left was for Rina to travel as far as it was necessary in order to find help, even if her task took days to accomplish.
"You know the answer to that, kid..." Rina replied as she opened her eyes at last and gazed over at the young policewoman. "...I'll go as far as I have to go."
"And you also know I can't say how long it will take to get to the station through the streets as we have no idea how things are out there." Rina added as the look on the frightened rookie's face fell in disappointment at her answer.
"Oh, okay," Asami replied in a small voice as Rina stared at the young woman for a long moment and then shook her head.
"Geez Rina, give the kid a break, she's just barely out of diapers as it is." Rina thought to herself as she mentally chided herself for having been so impatient with the young woman over the past few days as she then gazed again upon the rookie policewoman who looked like she was on the verge of bursting into tears.
"Hell of a way to grow up, that's for sure." Rina thought to herself as she then pondered her next words carefully in an effort to encourage the frightened young girl with the weighty task that she had been left with, and then upon finding none she then arose from her seat and stretched out both of her arms towards Asami.
"Come here, kiddo." The elder woman said gently as the younger woman made her way over towards her and both women held each other in a final embrace.
"It's gonna be okay kid, it's gonna be okay." Rina whispered gently as she held the younger woman in her arms and felt her own heart sink as she felt Asami's body trembling against hers.
"I'm so sorry, sempai...!" Rina heard Asami's muffled voice as she held her in her arms. "...I'm really trying to be strong!"
"I know kid...I know." Rina replied her heart becoming racked with guilt for the enormous load she was placing on the younger woman's head in her absence.
"Maybe the others have managed to control this thing in the city and have yet to reach us, or…" Rina added her voice suddenly trailing off, as she became unsure as to how to finish her sentence as she then gazed down upon the frightened young woman barely out of her teens whose body shook in her arms.
And as Asam's body trembled against her sit reminded Rina of the time years ago when she had first joined the force of just how unsure of herself she was and of her abilities on that very first shift she worked and whether or not she had what it took to be able to take care of someone in need or take charge of a situation where a strong and capable leader was required.
"Poor kid, if she only knew just how much I wanted to cry onto my mother's shoulder just like this after my very first day on the job." Rina thought to herself with a sigh as she patted Asami gently on her back knowing that with patience and with the correct nurturing that one day Asami would eventually become a respectable and respected officer of the law, just as Rina herself had become.
Unfortunately, their present situation no longer allowed them the necessary time needed for Rina to train Asami to mentally and emotionally prepare herself for the huge task of keeping over several hundred frightened and edgy civilians in line, and on her own, until help arrived.
Being left behind on her own to look after the others was indeed a big…, no, a huge responsibility for her to undertake by herself, and deep down despite the fact that the young rookie could be a total airhead at time, Rina knew that the young woman could handle the situation and wouldn't let her down.
But that still didn't mean that the kid wasn't scared out of her mind.
Unfortunately, for the young rookie policewoman only three weeks out of the Academy, the time had come for her to either sink or swim.
After a few moments had passed the two women finally separated from each other and then wiped away the tears, as Rina offered some last words of comfort and helpful advice to Asami before she then gazed through the shatter-proof glass slit in the door leading out to the outside loading dock before returning her gaze back to Asami.
"Okay kid, the coast is clear, it's now or never...time to make my move." Rina said as she removed her ASP baton from its holster and with a sharp flick of her wrist, extended it to its full length.
"Have you got everything you need, Sempai?" Asami asked as Rina reached behind her and patted the military-style knapsack she had "appropriated" from a nearby airsoft supply store located in the mall.
"Food, water, flashlight, first-aid kit, and my radio." Rina replied as she readied herself near the door.
"Do you know the route you are taking?" Asami asked in a voice that was almost a squeak as Rina nodded her head in response.
"I already know the route by heart, but if any of the main roads heading back to the station are blocked then I'll have no choice but to take a detour or two down the side streets and back alleys..." Rina replied as she then turned her gaze back towards Asami, who was staring back at her and standing almost as rigidly as a statue, waiting with visible dread for the inevitable. "...and if that's the case, I doubt I'll be able to get there until at least mid-afternoon."
"Listen kid..." Rina began as she placed both of her hands on the young woman's shoulders. "... I know I'm always giving you a hard time, but I have faith in you and as much as this sucks leaving you here with all these people, I know you can do this, okay?"
"Rookie cop or not, you are still a cop Nakoaka-san, got it...?!" Rina said firmly as Asami nodded her head in response her eyes as wide as saucers. "...that means you don't take shit from nobody and you make sure these assholes understand that you're not gonna put up with any of their stupid shit while you're around, or else you're gonna kick their ass, got it?!"
You got that, Asami?" Rina asked as Asami nodded her head in response her lips quivering.
"Hey kid...you got that?!" Rina snapped angrily at Asami and scowled deeply at her as the rookie cop sucked in her breath at the veteran policewoman's outburst and then hurriedly straightened and composed herself.
"I got it, Matsushima-sempai!" Asami replied at last, the frightened look on her face slowly disappearing as she bravely attempted to give off an appearance of being more confident of herself although Rina could still see the strong look of fear in the rookie policewoman's eyes.
"Look kiddo, just keep your cool and do your job and make sure that the people here are kept safe and don't get into any trouble yourself, okay?" Rina said giving Asami a reassuring pat on her shoulder. "...I'll be back with the cavalry before you know it."
"Understood, Matsushima-sempai." Asami replied with a firm nod an air of conviction in her voice causing Rina to smile despite herself as she then gave Asami's shoulder a gentle squeeze before turning and facing the door.
"Okay kid, it's time." Rina said as she gazed through the small window in the door and scanned the area beyond when she suddenly heard a sharp sound coming from behind her like the click of two heels clicking together as she glanced back over her shoulder and was astonished to see Asami standing at full attention almost directly behind her, with her right hand placed over her right eye in a crisp military salute.
"It's been and honor and a privilege to serve with you, Matsushima-sempai." Asami said, hot tears falling down her face as she stood ramrod stiff at attention as Rina's eyes began to moisten at Asami's heartfelt gesture of admiration and respect as Rina then turned and snapped to attention herself.
"The honor has been mine, Officer Nakoaka." Rina said returning Asami's salute before then lowering her hand as Asami then followed suit.
If anyone else had been present there as the two women saluted each other, the exchange may have seemed to have been a mutual display of friendship and respect between the veteran policewoman and her junior officer.
But in truth, the gesture conveyed so much more than words could ever convey, because despite Rina's reassuring words and Asami's encouraging display of admiration for her superior officer, somehow both women knew deep within their hearts...
That they would never see each other again.
Feeling her courage and her confidence failing quickly, without another word Rina immediately pushed her left hand against the panic bar of the exit door and walked out closing the door silently behind her as she then quickly scanned her eyes all around the loading dock area for the presence of any hidden danger before she then made her way down the small set of stairs leading next to the loading dock and made her descent onto the rear parking lot.
Mustering up all her strength Rina moved quickly, yet silently out onto the parking lot, the only sound being the low howl of a gentle breeze drifting overhead as Rina's eyes darted all around scanning for any immediate danger, her ASP baton at the ready.
Halfway across the parking lot, and with no signs of any of the Infected milling about Rina took one last look behind her and waved back at Asami who was still watching her through the window, and then flashed her a smile before turning back and making her way down the almost empty parking lot without looking back.
Location: Two Miles North of Taiei Shopping Town
Time: Late Morning
Z-Day Plus Three
She had progressed well at first, starting off at a steady pace, her foot falls light and delicate as she jogged in the direction of the main road that would lead directly towards the edge of the shopping district in which her target location, the Higashi Police Precinct building was located.
It took almost a minute of silent jogging before she finally reached the vehicle entrance to the large parking lot and finally made her way out onto the empty main street where she jogged almost two blocks before being forced to come to a stop as huffing lightly, she made a quick scan of the area in front of her and was stunned at the level of chaos on the city streets all around.
Unlike the virtually empty streets surrounding the mall, Rina was surprised to find that the streets only two blocks beyond were completely choked with abandoned vehicles, many of them covered in blood and gore which Rina could plainly see had come from the vehicle's occupants whom had been savagely torn apart as she stared in fascinated awe at the enormous amount of human remains that lay strewn about all around.
Struggling immensely to keep from retching at the horrific sight Rina once again began jogging quickly and silently towards the edge of the business area of town which was still a two mile jog, from where she would then still have almost three miles to cross before she finally reached the station with no idea what other obstacles she would encounter on the way.
Carefully making her way between the abandoned vehicles and being mindful of the gaps between them in case any of the creatures were lurking around in between, Rina could not help but notice several high-end vehicles amongst all the vehicles, including a Ferrari, an Aston Martin, and even several Rolls-Royces making her wonder how desperate the situation must have been for someone to have left all those expensive vehicles behind with the keys still in the ignition.
When she reached the end of the street however, Rina was forced to stop at an intersection where a multi-vehicle pileup had evidently taken place recently, as Rina gazed in awe at the sight of several burnt-out husks which had once been a bunch of vehicles that had obviously collided violently with each other with their occupants still inside which Rina could see were still smoldering.
"Damn." Rina muttered in awe at the gruesome sight as the eerie silence around her was suddenly interrupted by the loud sound of glass being pounded on, nearly scaring Rina half to death and almost causing her to lose control of her bladder.
Her eyes scanning around frantically in all directions Rina finally found the source of the source of the noise as she noticed a flicker of movement coming from the fifth floor window of a nearby building where a woman was visibly standing at one of the many glass windows that made up the exterior of the building and was slamming her fists against it in a frenzy, presumably in an attempt to gain Rina's attention.
After making as quick check of her surroundings to ensure that there were no signs of danger present, Rina cautiously began to walk over towards the building while observing the woman as she continued to pound savagely at the window, who appeared to be in her late twenties or early thirties, and was absolutely filthy as if she hadn't bathed or changed her clothing in days.
Suddenly fearing that the woman was perhaps not trying to signal her for help but was perhaps trying to signal to her about some unseen danger, Rina instinctively began to rush towards the building when she suddenly noticed a large shadow appear behind the woman and pin her against the glass as Rina immediately came to a halt and watched frozen in horror as the monster's jaws opened wide and then clamped down on the screaming woman's neck, tearing away a large chunk of flesh.
Mortified by what she had just witnessed, Rina could not help but watch horrorstruck as a large gout of blood suddenly splashed across the window and was then smeared all around as the woman's body was violently pushed against the glass and then began to reflexively convulse against it.
And then adding to the horror of the brutality of what was unfolding before Rina's very eyes, without warning, the enormous pressure placed on it by the combined weight of the two bodies and the savagery of the monster's attack caused the window to finally shatter and give way as both bodies then plummeted to the ground and hit the concrete with a sickening splash.
In her five years as an officer of the law and having been witness to the aftermath of a murder or suicide countless times, Rina had always felt that she could handle anything thrown at her, but witnessing a person fall to their death while being gorged upon was a whole new level of messed up that Rina's brain was having difficulty in processing.
"What...the...F_CK...is going on?!" Rina muttered under her breath in stunned disbelief at what she had just witnessed before finally snapping out of her trance as she then composed herself and then continued walking down the abandoned street, her pace quickening as she passed by the spot where both bodies now lay in a bloody heap on the sidewalk as she quickly averted her eyes from the grisly sight and focused her mind entirely on her mission at hand.
Later, as she continued her trek down the ghostly silent streets Rina stopped occasionally to make several attempts at regular intervals to make contact with anyone on her radio including Asami back at the mall who was still in possession of her own portable radio, all to no avail.
But it was after she had jogged out another mile down the road and came out into the middle of an open intersection that was actually devoid of vehicles, that Rina was horrified to find that her radio was completely dead.
Horrified that she had misjudged how much battery power that she had left and had inadvertently allowed her radio battery to die Rina switched the radio off and on and stared at the readout on her radio and blew a sigh of relief when the light on the instrument panel blinked on and the battery indicator displayed that there was still "29%" of her battery charge remaining.
"Whew, scared the shit out of me there for a minute!" Rina said out loud in relief before the alarms in her brain reminded her of her current situation as Rina then frantically scanned her surroundings, before sighing in relief that her presence had not been detected by anyone, or worse, anything.
Realizing that time was of the essence, Rina attempted to make contact with her precinct once more before giving up and switching off her radio in an effort to conserve her battery power before resuming her journey making only brief stops now and then to catch her breath as well as to listen for the sounds of any of the creatures that might be lurking nearby, her ASP baton fully-extended in her right hand at the ready.
And as she hurried along the abandoned city streets that were littered with trash, abandoned vehicles, and pools of blood, Rina began to wonder to herself why amongst all the carnage did there seem to have been any signs of any police presence around when she suddenly noticed just up the road ahead of her was the familiar image of a hastily-made police barricade complete with visibly-marked police vehicles.
And as she approached Rina felt a sudden surge of hope that perhaps help or at least something useful was finally in sight as she quickened her pace towards the three department marked minibuses fitted with anti-riot shields sitting silently at the end of the street that she was currently traveling on which she could see had been set up to direct the flow of human and vehicle traffic away from the center of town.
She had only seen such a barricade set up in such a way before twice in her career with the first incident occurring during her days as a cadet at the Police Academy when she and her fellow cadets had been taught how to deal with riot control as a result of civil unrest and once more at a Nationalist party meeting that had ended in a bloody firefight between the Nationalist Leaders' security team and several psychotic and obviously high, Yakuza gunmen.
But now as she drew closer towards the police barricades her hopes of having found help at last began to quickly fade as she walked up to the vehicles and found them not only abandoned but appeared to be also completely stripped of anything useful, as Rina then proceeded to swear a blue streak in frustration before she then glanced up and down the once busy city intersection for any signs of life and saw nothing but abandoned vehicles as far as she could see.
And blood...lots of blood.
Her nerves instantly on edge at the sight of all the blood splashed all over the street, Rina cautiously began to search through each of the abandoned police vehicles in search of a weapon or anything useful when her foot slipped on something as Rina quickly regained her footing before she then stared down at the object that had nearly caused her to fall.
"Oh shit." Rina muttered as she stared at the object on the ground and then gazed all around at the dozens of shiny brass shell casings of all different sizes that lay strewn all over the road as Rina knelt down and picked up the spent cartridge she had slipped on and studied it closely.
"5.56x45mm J-S…Japanese Service rounds?" Rina said under her breath as she then dropped the spent casing and then glanced around in all directions, her eyes wide with fear.
The only two organizations that Rina knew of that could have had these particular rounds in their inventory were either the S.A.T or the J.S.D.F, since that particular round was not your normal police standard-issue round and was reserved for the units that were so-called "heavy-hitters."
But given that, from the looks of things, the firefight that had apparently occurred where Rina now stood had obviously not gone very well for the good guys based on the large numbers of spent casings lying all around and the large pools of dried blood on the road.
"They put up one hell of a firefight..." Rina muttered as her eyes scanned all around in search of an abandoned weapon, and finding none. "...but it wasn't enough, from the looks of it."
"But even if they didn't make it..." Rina thought to herself as her grip tightened on her ASP which felt almost useless in her hand now. "...where the hell did all their weapons go?"
"And what the f_ck am I still doing here worrying about the shit?!" Rina said aloud her nerves becoming unraveled as she then made a quick, but ultimately futile search of all the police vehicles in search of a weapon or any item that might prove useful before finally throwing her hands up in defeat upon finding nothing of use as she then gazed up at the midday sun standing high in the sky overhead and realized she needed to keep moving if she hoped to reach Police Headquarters before dark.
Regaining her bearings, Rina then began to walk towards the other side of the intersection and was dismayed to find that the entire roadway on the other side of another hastily-made police barrier, was completely congested with abandoned vehicles including the sidewalks, as far as the eye could see.
With time working against her, and realizing that any and all streets in the immediate area were more than likely as similarly congested with abandoned automobiles as this street, thus making taking a detour not worth the effort.
Quickly making a quick search of the police vehicles, and once again finding them completely stripped of anything useful, Rina then began to climb over the hood of one of the police minibuses in order to make her way towards a gap between the abandoned vehicles that was large enough for her to walk through without much difficulty.
Being careful to make as little noise as possible so as not to attract any unwelcome visitors, Rina cautiously made her way up on top of the hood of the minibus and then stood up and made a quick scan of the area to make sure the road was clear of any of the creatures.
Once satisfied that all was clear, Rina then began to climb down on the other side of the minibus and lowered her right foot onto the bumper of a small SUV that was abandoned on the other side.
But just as she placed her weight down on the bumper of the vehicle in order to climb down, Rina let out a loud shout of surprise as she suddenly felt her foot slip off of the metal bumper of the SUV causing her to fall down upon the hood of the vehicle before rolling off and then falling heavily to the ground.
"Shit!" Rina swore with a mixture of pain and utter frustration in her voice as she sat up and then winced at the pain in her back from where she had made impact with the asphalt.
"Dammit!" Rina swore again lowering her voice as she attempted to rise to her feet but then cried out as a sudden spasm of pain erupted from the lower part of her right leg.
"Aw shit, don't tell me I broke something..." Rina said as she ran her hand down her right calf and then winced again as a sudden flash of pain hit her again as her hand reached a tender area and she suddenly felt something wet.
"What the hell?!" Rina said aloud grimacing as she drew her hand back from her leg and then gasped in surprise as she gazed at the palm of her hand and saw that it was covered in blood.
Oh shit!...oh shit!...oh shit!" Rina swore aloud her eyes wide as she immediately twisted her leg and then breathed a sigh of relief that her injury was not as severe as it looked as she studied her wound more closely and saw that underneath all the blood that she had accidentally smeared all over her leg there was only a small gash there from which a small amount of blood oozed.
"Damn...scared the crap out of me there for a second..."Rina muttered with a dry laugh as she wiped her hand on the ground to get rid of the blood. "...feels like I almost cut my damn leg off."
"Just what the hell did I cut myself on_...OH F_CK!" Rina shouted in surprise as she glanced underneath the SUV she had fallen next to and saw the mangled remains of a corpse tangled underneath the frame of the SUV.
"SHIT!" Rina swore as she immediately scrambled away from the ghastly sight and slammed her body against the door panel of the vehicle behind her as she then raised her ASP up in the air in order to fend off the creature.
But after several moments had passed with no movement coming whatsoever from the mangled corpse lying underneath the vehicle, Rina began to realize that the corpse was exactly what it was, a corpse and nothing more.
"But just to be sure..." Rina mumbled under her breath as she extended her arm and cautiously began to poke at the rotting corpse with the end of her ASP baton several times before finally being convinced that the corpse presented no visible danger as she let out a deep sigh of relief.
"F_ck you!" Rina suddenly swore angrily at the corpse as she then lifted her baton up over her head and took a vicious swing at the creature and slammed the end of the heavy metal baton at the face of the corpse shattering several of its teeth as the metal ASP made impact with its face.
"You f_cking piece of shit, I nearly f_cking pissed myself because of you!" Rina shouted angrily at the corpse as she drew back her baton and then flicked it away from her as blood and fragments of teeth splashed across the sides of the vehicles nearby.
"Shit, I can't f_cking believe I nearly f_cking pissed myself." Rina muttered bitterly her face a bright shade of red as she got up off the ground and then stood up and glared down angrily at the corpse.
"Asshole!" Rina shouted at the corpse as she drew her left leg back and then threw a savage kick at the corpse's face and breaking away what few teeth remained with a sickening "crunch!"
"Shit...!" Rina swore as she drew back her now bloody sneaker away from the corpse's mangled face as she then glared at the corpse for a moment longer before throwing another savage kick at its face before she then stood up to her full height and then began to scan the area all around her until she was convinced there was no one around.
"Sonuvabitch, I don't f_cking believe this..." Rina muttered bitterly under her breath feeling completely embarrassed at having been so frightened at the sight of a mere corpse.
"Five years in all sorts of shit, and nothing ever happened..." Rina muttered sourly as she once again scanned the area to make sure no one was looking.
"And today I fall on my ass right next to a f_cking stiff, and nearly lose my shit..." Rina muttered as she angrily kicked at the corpse again.
"Unf_ckingbelievable..." Rina swore as she then regained her composure and then adjusted her skirt and glanced all around her surroundings again.
"Glad no one saw that..." Rina muttered with disgust before wincing as a sharp flash of pain erupted from the wound on her leg.
"Ah dammit, what the hell?!" Rina swore as she glanced down at her leg and noticed with alarm that the area around the wound was now a dark shade of red and was quickly becoming extremely swollen.
"What the hell, it looks like I got stung by something?!" Rina muttered under her breath as she reached down and touched her leg and then winced at the pain to her leg that erupted from her touch.
"Aw shit...it feels like it too!' Rina swore drawing back her hand as she examined the wound more closely for several moments, her leg throbbing slightly.
"Dammit, I don't need this." Rina whimpered breathing deeply in and out until the pain had subsided as she then slowly began to place her full weight on her right leg and breathed a sigh of relief when the pain seemed to have subsided, at least for the moment.
"Just what the hell did I cut myself on?!" Rina said aloud as a sudden wave of renewed horror flashed through her body as Rina immediately gazed down at the corpse and began to study it more closely.
"It didn't bite me when I fell..." Rina thought to herself as she examined the mangled remains of the corpse's face. "...and even though it looks like it was dragged along the bottom of the car, there's no broken bones sticking out of it."
"So what the hell_?" Rina muttered sourly as a glint of white caught her eye and she gazed upon a small object imbedded in the front tire of the SUV.
"Are you f_cking kidding me?!" Rina cursed as she gazed down at the small sliver of bone, about the size of her pinky finger, jutting out from the side of the SUV's tire that had presumably come from the corpse as the owner of the SUV dragged it along after running over it, which Rina had apparently scratched her leg upon as she fell from the hood of the vehicle earlier.
"I don't f_cking believe this!" Rina shouted out loud in a mixture of rage, disbelief and frustration, as her hand suddenly reached down towards her chest as she noticed that her breathing was suddenly becoming more rapid and a sudden tightness was beginning to occur in her chest.
"Hold on Rina...get a f_cking grip girl!" Rina thought to herself as she then spent the next few minutes trying to force her breathing to slow.
"C'mon Rina, no way that shit's happening to you, that stuff only happens in the movies!" Rina said aloud, trying with much difficulty to control the full-blown panic attack that she was now experiencing.
"C'mon girl, get it togeth_...oh, f_ck me!" Rina swore as she turned her head her eyes suddenly widened at the sight of several of the creatures about a hundred meters down the street from where she stood, all of them shuffling in her direction.
"Shit, dammit, f_ck!" Rina swore under her breath as she instinctively ducked and scrambled away from the buses and attempted to hide as she also attempted the difficult task of trying to calm herself in order to get her breathing and heart rate back to normal.
Frightened, wounded, alone, and armed with only her baton, Rina knew that attempting to evade the creatures by ducking between the abandoned vehicles and trying to sneak past was just not an option in her present state if she hoped to survive.
And since standing her ground and fighting the creatures with her bare hands was a sure way to get herself killed, as far as Rina could see there were no other options available other than to try to find a vehicle to hide in and wait for the threat to pass her by as Rina immediately began to frantically scan her surroundings in all directions until at last she spotted a large minivan with the windows still open as she then painfully limped her way over towards the abandoned vehicle.
Hurriedly making a quick check of the interior to make sure that the vehicle was clear, Rina then carefully opened the rear door of the minivan and slipped in, taking care to make as little noise as possible as she shut the door and then closed all the windows as rapidly as she could.
Quickly positioning herself behind a large pair of suitcases that lay in the back seat of the minivan, Rina then hid behind the suitcases and peered through the back window as she watched the creatures came closer before finally ducking her head as the creatures approached the vehicle she was hiding in.
As the creatures passed by the rear window of the minivan, Rina immediately gagged at the rotten smell of the creatures that wafted through the doors of the vehicle having never before been this close to the creatures before, much less smelled them.
The smell was revolting beyond anything that Rina had ever experienced before even with the windows closed and was far worse than any of the "decomps" she had come across in her career as Rina fought the urge to vomit as she pitched her nose closed and struggled to breathe through her mouth as the creatures slowly shuffled past her location.
Having never been out amongst the things after that first horrible day of the "riot", Rina's only interaction with the creatures up to this point had been when she had studied them from the safety of the roof of the mall where he had watched the creatures for hours as they bumped almost comically into each other as well as against the abandoned vehicles in the parking lot.
And it was during one of her observations of the behavior of the creatures that Rina surmised that the creatures might possibly be blind and were only attracted to anything that made noise due to the fact that the creatures seemed to shuffle about in no clear direction at all unless one accidentally bumped into a car and set off its alarm with the result that the creatures began to immediately flock around the vehicle and bang away at it.
And to Rina's relief, it seemed that her hypothesis had been proven correct as she watched the creatures pass by her vehicle without any signs of having detected her presence.
Knowing that she only had a few minutes until the creatures finally reached the spot where the abandoned police mini-buses would block their path resulting in the creatures eventually turning around and returning back the way they came, Rina quickly checked to make sure that the coast was clear before she carefully and silently opened the door and slipped out of the vehicle without closing the door behind her.
After taking one last look in the direction of the police mini-buses, she then painfully limped her way down the row of abandoned vehicles in the opposite direction, wincing as the pain in her leg suddenly began to return with a vengeance.
Location: Downtown area of Tokonosu City
Five miles from Higashi Police Headquarters
Time: One Hour Later
Z-Day Plus Three
She was dying...
And deep down in her heart, she knew it.
But it didn't matter.
Because with the lives of several hundred frightened civilians and the life of her fellow officer depending on her, no way in hell was Officer Rina Matsushima going to give up just yet.
Even if her lifespan was now only just a matter of a few minutes.
Just barely over an hour had passed since she had managed to evade the creatures that she had encountered earlier at the first barricade, and from there, things had quickly gone from bad to worse as Rina now found herself forced to evade both the growing number of creatures she encountered almost everywhere she went as well as trying to make her way around the numerous abandoned vehicles that choked off many of the deserted city streets had forced her further and further away from her intended destination.
And as Rina had suspected earlier, that while the wound to her leg was a relatively minor one, the spread of the Contagion within her body had only gotten worse with each step she took, with the result that now with each moment that passed Rina could actually feel her strength now fading, the pain in her leg having subsided long ago with only the overwhelming dread that it was only a matter of time before her strength and her life would be snuffed out forever.
Knowing in her heart that time was running out for both her and for those poor souls trapped behind the walls of the mall including her fellow officer, Asami Naoaka, the dying policewoman relentlessly pushed on, not even bothering to evade any of the creatures that now blocked her path as she swung her baton savagely at one of them, the heavy metal melee weapon striking the creature in the jaw breaking several teeth before it stumbled and fell heavily to the ground.
Not stopping to see if the creature had been killed by the powerful blow or perhaps merely stunned, Rina summoned her last reserves of strength and pushed on for two more city blocks until she found herself standing in an open plaza in front of a huge marble water fountain erected in front of a large, glass-paneled office building.
And it was there that at last Rina's strength finally failed her as she collapsed heavily against the marble wall of the large water fountain and promptly threw up the contents of her stomach into the still bubbling pool.
For the last ten minutes of her journey she had felt absolutely rotten, and now with her strength all but gone Rina sighed heavily knowing that she could go no further.
Too exhausted to do anything more but slide off the marble wall of the fountain and sink down into a sitting position on the decorative marble tile of the plaza itself, for the first time since she had left the mall, Rina finally allowed herself to relax.
"Damn, I could really use a drink." Rina chuckled to herself before a sudden jolt of pain erupted from her leg as Rina glanced down at the wound which now looked far nastier than it had been before, the skin around the cut an ugly shade of purplish-green.
"Wow, guess I'm gonna need a tetanus shot." Rina said sarcastically under her breath with a chuckle before the reality that death had finally come for her hit her full force and she began to sob uncontrollably.
"Mama!" Rina cried out loud, her pain-filled sobs rebounding off the deserted office buildings surrounding her and echoing down the street.
"Mama...please, I don't want to die!" Rina sobbed uncontrollably not caring whatsoever whether any of the creatures roaming around the area heard her or not.
"I don't want to die!" Rina sobbed again as Rina suddenly experienced a severe coughing fit and bright red blood splashed across her uniform blouse.
Realizing that each breath she now took could very well be her last, Rina didn't even bother to wipe the blood off her face as she quickly composed herself and reached for the radio from her belt and switched it on in a last ditch effort to call for help, knowing that she her chances of getting a clear signal to anyone while surrounded by all the office buildings around her was slim at best.
"This is…uhh, shit." Rina said gasping for breath as she removed her lapel mike and almost nearly dropped it, her strength all but gone.
"Come on Rina, get your shit together, girl!" Rina shouted summoning up her last reserves of strength as she raised the lapel mike to her mouth and keyed the 'transmit' button.
"This is Officer Rina Matsushima of the Higashi Police Department calling any and all officers in the immediate area, is there anybody out there?" Rina gasped into her lapel mike with silence being the only reply to her desperate pleas.
"This is Officer Matsushima of the Higashi Police Department calling, please respond!" Rina croaked as her hand dropped to the ground and her breathing suddenly became more ragged and her vision began to dim as Rina angrily squeezed the lapel mike in her hand and with a herculean effort, raised it to her mouth once more.
"WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU GUYS?!" Rina screamed into her lapel mike in a mixture of absolute anguish and frustration, splashing the lapel mike and her hand with blood and spittle before what little strength Rina had left finally failed her and her hand dropped heavily to the ground, the lapel mike bouncing off the tile floor and then skittering across the marble tile before coming to a stop at the end of its cord.
And as Rina's head collapsed against the marble wall of the fountain, her breathing, which had already become labored, began to become more painful with each gasp of air, the muscles in her body feeling as if they were on fire as the Contagion that had taken so many millions of lives all around the world, finally began to consume her completely.
But in the last few moments of her life just as Rina's body was shutting down completely, by a cruel twist of Fate, somewhere deep inside the recesses of her mind, Rina heard a faint voice calling her name.
"This is Inspector Tadashi Miyamoto of the Higashi Police Department hailing Officer Rina Matsushima, are you there Rina-san?!" The urgent voice of the help that Rina had struggled so hard to find sounded in her ears as Rina stared vacantly at the lapel mike lying on the marble tile just a mere few inches away from her hand.
"Officer Matsushima, are you there?!" The voice on the radio repeated urgently as Rina continued to stare vacantly at the lapel mike lying nearby, her life fading fast. "...please respond!"
"Officer Matsushima, if you can hear me, be advised..." The voice on the radio added. "...Higashi Precinct Headquarters has been abandoned!...Repeat...Higashi Precinct Headquarters has been abandoned!"
"All available emergency units have consolidated at Shintoko Third Elementary School..." The voice on the radio continued as Rina felt her body growing heavy. "...Repeat...All available Police units have consolidated at Shintoko Third Elementary School!"
"Do you read me, Officer Matsushima...?" The voice of Inspector Miyamoto said over the radio, a sense of alarmed concern unmistakable in his tone. "...Please respond!"
"Officer Matsushima...if you can't respond verbally..." Inspector Miyamoto continued as Rina's vision began to dim. "...please squelch twice to let us know if you're still there!"
"Officer Matsushima!" The voice repeated practically shouting her name after a moment had passed as Rina suddenly gasped and drew in a large gulp of air, her eyes widening as a her body was suddenly racked all over with a sudden spasm of pain. "...Officer Matsushima, please respond!"
"Officer Matsushima!" The speaker on the radio shouted desperately, as tears began to fall from Rina's eyes as a final agonizing wave of pain coursed through her body as the Contagion infecting her made one last push to kill what little life remained within her.
Frightened, alone, and dying, Officer Rina Matsushima never heard the anxious voice on the radio calling her name, nor would she ever know that her last attempt to make contact with her colleagues had finally been answered.
But mercifully, almost as if Fate itself had extended a small act of kindness towards the brave young woman, neither would she ever know that her entire journey had been for naught, or that the help she had so eagerly sought, was nowhere near the destination she had hoped it would be.
No, Rina Matsushima knew none of these things, and in her final moments as she lay against the cold, hard marble wall surrounding the water fountain with her life quickly slipping away, all Rina knew was that it was this moment that she was most truly afraid.
And like so many who have ever experienced that one overwhelming moment of fear that they are truly incapable of facing alone, only one thought at that particular moment was on Rina Matsushima's mind.
And as she lay dying alone with her back against a water fountain amongst the shadows of the now silent skyscrapers standing like silent sentry's guarding over her in the middle of a dead city, Rina's last thought was of the one person who had ever brought her comfort in her life when she was most afraid.
"Mama?" Rina uttered with tears in her eyes as her world suddenly went black as the courageous young woman who had struggled so valiantly to save the lives of several hundred complete strangers drew her last breath before her body then went limp as twenty-four year old, Officer Rina Matsushima...died.
Time: Zero Dark Thirty
Location: Takagi Manor – One Thousand Meters beyond the Gates of Takagi Manor
Z-Day Times Five
At one time, Officer Rina Matsushima was alive...
But now tragically, she is not...
That poor, courageous young woman who tried so valiantly to save the lives of several hundred terrified survivors of the Outbreak, died two days ago.
And when she died...she died alone, and very much afraid.
Because Rina Matsushima was still human...
But now, she is most certainly...not.
The abomination that you now see which is savagely tearing and clawing away at all of her Infected brethren pressing in all around her amongst the thousands of other Infected gathered in front of the gates of Takagi Manor, is all that remains...
When that tragic moment occurred just two days ago when that poor, courageous young policewoman ceased to exist and the monster that she now became sprang to life, what was once Rina Matsushima had become a being like so many others had been transformed by the Contagion that had spread all around the world...a being that was both blind and slow, with no other purpose in life other than to shuffle about aimlessly and attack anything it perceived as prey.
But that was yesterday...
Because earlier today, Rina Matsushima had become something else...
And worse...
She hadn't been the only one.
Among the over one hundred thousand Infected that now congested the dead streets surrounding the hill at Takagi Manor, a relatively small number standing there amongst them all were nothing at all like the blind, slow-moving, endlessly moaning creatures that had haunted mankind all over the world when the Outbreak had first began.
Because now with the once abundant supply of prey now dwindling to almost nothing in the past thirty-six hours, the need to satisfy the unceasing hunger gnawing at their bellies had caused a startling metamorphosis to occur in a relative few of the almost one million Infected now roaming the deserted streets of the dead city of Tokonosu.
A metamorphosis so rapid and so profound and unlike anything found in nature or in man's recorded history, which would continue to astonish and confound medical science long after the events known around the world as The Outbreak had become no more than a distant memory.
But for those hiding behind the relatively thin brick walls surrounding Takagi Manor however, the metamorphosis that was currently occurring amongst the Infected was very quickly about to be a nightmare far worse than the horror that had arisen on the first day of the Outbreak.
Their insatiable hunger already bringing them to a point of aggressiveness far beyond anything previously seen before by those still lucky enough to be living, the hunger that had gnawed at the bellies of the new nightmare had become unbearable after enduring miles of walking over the deserted roads of the city.
And with the fierce sounds of battle raged on just ahead of them, the realization that the prey they had sought for hours was now within easy reach, the growing rage the new apex predators felt at being trapped by their slower-moving brethren pressing in all around them and inhibiting their movements only served to antagonize them further, resulting in an even more frightening metamorphosis in this new breed of predator.
The beginning signs of intelligence.
However, as alarming as the thought of the Infected possessing any type of intelligence might be, the level of intelligence these particular "apex predators" now possessed measured nowhere near the same level of intelligence that the creatures had once possessed before becoming infected.
In all truth from a scientific standpoint, since these "alpha predators" no sense of self-awareness or ability to reason like the human beings they once were, a far better description of their level of intelligence would be that what they actually possessed was merely just "a higher sense of instinct" barely equal to that of a common garden-variety ant.
But for all those hiding behind the walls of Takagi Manor, it was more than enough to doom them all.
Unable to move forward, sideways, or even backwards because of the crushing weight of their slower brethren pressing in all around them, and with the maddening noise of their prey driving them into a frenzy beyond description, somewhere in the very deepest center of the remains of their almost lifeless brains a few remaining synapses fired along the last few remaining brain cells still left alive to give the "alphas" the ability to each determine for themselves the means to reach their prey.
And even a trapped ant knows, that if moving forward or backward did not free itself nor did moving left or right serve as a viable option then either, then the only possible solutions left were either to dig...
Or to climb...
And like an image of horror that not even Dante himself could not have envisioned in his worst of nightmares, almost as one each of the "alphas" suddenly began to bite, kick, and claw mercilessly at their fellow Infected around them, ripping large chunks of flesh from their fellows as they began to climb up and over the bodies of their more primitive-minded brethren.
Roaring wildly into the night with howls of rage as they struggled to free themselves with large gouts of blood and gore splashing everywhere in their frenzied attempts to break free, the "alphas" resembled nothing like their past human selves, and to even call their current behavior as "beast-like" would have been incorrect as well, since no animal ever recorded in nature had ever acted as they did now.
No, these were something else...
These truly were monsters.
Soaked head to foot in the revoltingly rotten blood of their unfortunate brethren, after much effort the "alphas" finally managed to claw their way free and without a moments pause began to scramble over the heads and shoulders of their brethren in a concentrated effort to get to the source of all the noise that could only be coming from the prey that they so eagerly hungered for.
Whipped into a frenzy by their hunger and the loud volume of noise in front of them many of the "alphas" were no longer content to just merely scramble over the bodies of the other Infected but soon began to lunge in huge strides forward, their movements unlike anything ever seen before in nature.
And to anyone witnessing the approach of the large group of creatures all covered in blood and gore coming at them without completely losing their minds, it could be forgiven them for describing the creatures as a "herd" being as there were so many of them moving rapidly with one single, solitary purpose in mind.
But no, these things were not a herd...
After all, they weren't similar to any other animals recorded in nature who travel in herds for safety against predators.
No, these things were predators...
And predators do not travel in a herd...
They travel in a pack...
And this pack smelled blood.
Time: Zero Dark Thirty
Location: Takagi Manor – Outside Driveway Terrace
Z-Day Times Five
When the evening sun had finally set over the now dead City of Tokonusu, for hours the entire city had been enveloped in an inky jet darkness which not even the smallest ray of moonlight had been able to penetrate due to the thick, heavy clouds that had eerily blown in from the sea and settled over city like a ghostly specter.
And for the past several hours the only visible light anywhere within the city limits had come from the dozens of lawn torches strewn all over the sprawling lawn of Takagi Manor, the soft glow emitted by the oil-burning lamps barely able to pierce the almost suffocating darkness, unlike the brilliant flashes of gunfire coming from the weapons of the men positioned near the front gate of the mansion which lit up the night sky, as Soichiro Takagi and the small group standing there with him on the front terrace watched in silent awe at the desperate battle being fought before them.
And as the battle raged on, for the last several minutes the Lord of Takagi Manor had been unable to ascertain exactly how many of the Infected were actually gathered at his doorstep, being only able to catch brief glimpses of the entire spectacle under the winking flashes of weapons fire.
But almost as if Fate itself were finally lending a helping hand to the small group of survivors hiding behind the walls of the mansion, the thick clouds that had blanketed the entire city for several hours had finally began to part as the first bright rays of the full moon finally began to pierce the darkness.
And as the deserted streets of the dead city below were immediately bathed in bright moonlight, so too was the even larger threat looming in the distance that immediately stunned everyone into silence the moment they caught sight of them.
And only then, did the small group of people standing on the front terrace of Takagi Manor truly understand what true terror was.
"Wha...wha...what are they?!" Saya said with absolute terror in her voice as she suddenly felt her mother's hand on her left arm as her mother roughly yanked her away from the terrace railing.
"EVERYONE!...GET INSIDE, ALL OF YOU!...MOVE!" Yuriko shouted at the top of her voice as she then pushed Saya roughly towards the mansion and then began to grab ahold of each of the other teens who were still staring in mute silence at the nightmarish sight approaching them and began to push each of them towards the open door of the mansion.
"RUN!...AND DON'T LOOK BACK!" Yuriko shouted as she grabbed ahold of Takashi and shoved him roughly forward as Yuriko noticed out of the corner of her eye that unlike herself, her husband had not at all reacted to the approaching horror as she had, but instead, seemed to continue to be held spellbound by the terrifying sight approaching ever closer towards their location.
"Soichiro-san?!" Yuriko asked the alarm bells in her mind ringing all at once as she grabbed ahold of her husband's arm and tried to break him from his spell.
"SOICHIRO-SAN!" Yuriko shouted, the panic rising in her voice as her husband continued to stare spellbound at the unspeakable terror swiftly approaching the gates of the mansion.
From the time he was a boy, Soichiro Takagi had always relished his grandfather's tales of his exploits as a young officer in the Imperial Army during Japan's conflict against the accursed Americans in the last remaining months of the Pacific War.
Unlike most of his grandfather's friends who most often refused to discuss their wartime experiences with their own children or grandchildren, the elder Takagi seemed unabashed at regaling his young grandson with his many tales of courage and heroism in the face of Japan's once, most hated enemy.
One story in particular that had always held the young Takagi heir spellbound had been the time that his grandfather had told him of a particular battle where, during a time when things seemed almost hopeless and victory for the Americans seemed almost insured, that the Imperial Command had implemented one of the army's boldest and most effective tactics in its arsenal...the infamous banzai charge.
And young Soichiro Takagi remembered how as a youth how captivated he had been at his grandfather's every word as the elder Takagi described in vivid detail how he and his fellow countrymen would charge full speed with bayonets and swords glittering in the sun, shouting and screaming all the while as they plowed into the American lines in waves of hundreds and even thousands.
And even though hundreds of his fellow soldiers fell under the murderous fire of the enemy, the elderly Takagi's eyes seemed to burn with fire as he described how wave after wave of his fellow countrymen came crashing down upon the American positions with relentless fury until the enemy lines were eventually overwhelmed and dashed to pieces against the human tidal wave crashing down against them.
And long after his grandfather had passed away, young Soichiro Takagi never forgot his grandfather's wartime tales of bravery and heroism against a much larger and better equipped adversary, and it was these tales that had filled the young Takagi heir's mind full of daydreams and fantasies of himself leading his own wave of death against a bitter and hated enemy.
But never at any time in all the daydreams that he had ever had in his life had the Lord of Takagi Manor ever imagined of such a terrifying wave of destruction ever descending upon him.
And as he and everyone standing around him watched in stunned silence as what seemed like hundreds of Infected were scrambling rapidly over the bodies of their brethren towards the front gate, for once in his life, Soichiro Takagi was truly afraid.
"Heaven help us..." Soichiro muttered under his breath as Yuriko's eyes widened at the look of absolute terror in her husband's eyes.
"Th-There's no way we can possibly defend ourselves against that!" Soichiro said his face paling as Yuriko gasped in shock as she felt her husband's arm suddenly relax as his grip on his sword weakened and his katana began to slip out of his hand.
Author's Notes:
First, a hearty congratulations to my great friend and co-author Poynton90, who's sister on Thursday night at 2:41 am England time, delivered a healthy bouncing baby boy, thus making my friend Andy a new uncle for the second time. CONGRATS BUDDY!
Now I realize that this chapter has been a long time in coming, and for those who have been waiting so patiently for an update, I sincerely apologize for the extremely long delay.
That being said, I realize all of you were probably expecting all the shooting and mayhem to begin in this chapter and truth be told, that would have been the case had it not been for the fact that as I was writing the upcoming finale, I realized that I had forgotten to include the section of the story describing who "IT" actually was as well as their back story which was something I had meant to do a long time ago but had accidentally slipped my mind.
Now at this point now that the finale has finally come, there are those who may be thinking "Pfffft!...Who cares?...Get to the good stuff already!"
Well, believe me, after five years of waiting for the finale of Last Alarm-Book One to finally come at last, I completely understand, and while all of you realize by now that I love to show the highly emotional side of my characters in Last Alarm, my reasons for focusing on the story behind the actual fate of Officer Rina Matsushima was necessary in my honest opinion.
For starters, I really hated the fact that the original manga and the anime showed pretty much nothing about what happened at the mall before Takashi and the gang arrived, and that it was only later in the manga that any of us learned that Officer Rina Matsushima had even attempted to find help but had been bitten and was now infected, and not much else.
And, being that this entire story focuses a lot of First Responders and the Military, I felt that as a fireman who has worked side-by-side with Law Enforcement people for many years that a chapter dedicated to my rival "family" in honor of their courage and compassion which I have personally seen over the years as well, was most definitely due.
And since I also wanted to give all of you a taste of what's to come in the Mall Arc in Last Alarm-Book Two, I just couldn't allow myself to leave the glimpse of the Mall Arc out of Book One, and so I asked my good friend Poynton90 to help me out by writing most of this chapter out, and I am extremely grateful to him for all his hard work.
Thanks for all your hard work buddy!
As you can see, in Poynton90's version of this story the way Rina was infected was due to an unforeseeable accident, and not a bite like in the manga, which to be honest, I felt was a little lame since I believe a real cop would be more vigilant about trying to avoid being bitten and it seemed unfair to have Rina Matsushima written off so easily.
And while admittedly, a scratch from a piece of bone seems far-fetched, stranger things have actually happened to us in the field on the scene of an auto wreck, and so having Rina become infected from something as insignificant as a scratch seemed a good way to show just how cruel and unfair things have become and no matter how heroic a person or their intentions may be, this story, like life itself, can be unforgiving.
And so as I was going through what my friend Poynton90 wrote, I decided to add to it by writing more from Rina's POV, especially as she was dying, because while Rina did die heroically, I wanted to portray her death as a real person would under the same circumstances, with terror and heartbreak and not anything like the almost unrealistic and exaggerated stoicism that Hollywood usually portrays its heroic figures as.
True, all of us in Emergency Services and in the Military hope that when the time comes that we do meet our demise in the line of duty that our death will have served some purpose and that we will meet that end head on and with dignity.
But truth is folks, we have seen the ugliness of death more times than you can imagine, and even though we know we may walk out the door of our home and never come back, like all people living on this earth, none of us wants to die...ever.
And so I tried to portray the same feelings of fear, anger, and utter hopelessness that any human being in a similar situation would have reacted with Rina Matsushima's story, because like Rina, none of us are superheroes, and none of us know exactly for sure how we will act when death finally comes for us.
But because Rina's death was so tragic in this story, I have to admit, writing her death scene became rather difficult at times since I too have lost a friend in Law Enforcement and more than once I had to stop writing for a bit and walk away before I could continue.
But in the end, this is a work of fiction, and I hope that as all of you read this chapter that the part concerning Rina's death conveys to you readers exactly what I wanted it to about Officer Rina Matsushima that I felt was severely lacking in the original manga.
And that is that Rina was indeed a brave young woman, that she did indeed care deeply for others despite the negativity she faced in her career, and that in the end, as frightened as she was she still did her best for the sake of others even at the cost of her own life as I know many of those in blue willingly do so every day, at the risk of their own lives.
And to anyone in Law Enforcement reading this, I truly hope that my friend Poynton90 and this old hose-jockey did right by you in writing this chapter.
Anyway...
Another change all you may have noticed is the fact that there are now hundreds of people at the mall instead of the handful mentioned in the manga.
Poynton90 and I discussed this from the start and my reasons for having so many people being trapped at the mall is that from my experience, I have come to see that in a disaster most people are less inclined to run very long distances to get to safety, and will more often seek shelter that is very close at hand instead.
That being the case, I really doubt that if indeed a real Outbreak were ever to break out in a densely populated area, that in the ensuing panic that is sure to erupt that most people would just run over each other down congested city streets like you see in every Godzilla or other kaiju movie, but more than likely I suspect most people would immediately duck and hide in the nearest building they could find just like all those townspeople did in the movie, The Mist.
Not only do I believe that having lots of people suddenly stranded inside the mall would be more realistic, but I also thought that having that many scared, pissed off people would also add to the element of danger that Jim and his group will endure as they once again have to face hundreds of panicked survivors and other seedy characters.
But unlike what happened at Takagi Manor, this time there are no strong authority figures like the Takagi's or their security staff "to keep the wolves at bay" from Jim and his group.
And of course, I'm sure that any die-hard fans of "Shingeki no Kyojin" will have recognized the names of the "Belgian exchange students" mentioned in this chapter and are no doubt wondering what exactly Eren, Mikasa, Sasha and Armin's role is going to end up being in this story.
All I can say is...you'll just have to wait for Last Alarm-Book Two to find out.
Oh, and by the way, before anyone starts PMing me to debate with me that... "yes, animals travel in herds and predators travel in packs, but large numbers of predators grouped together is still considered a herd"... please don't waste your time because I honestly don't care about correct word usage in this case.
My calling the "alphas" a "pack" just sounded more cool to me than calling them a "herd", that's all...lol.
Until next time... Jim