Chapter 4: Streets of the DEAD
Author's Note Part 1: Alright, I'm continuing to write this story! I've actually got a few others in mind to work on as well, but I haven't figured everything out for them yet, so I'm keeping my focus on this story. As a result, I'll probably try to get through the next couple of episodes before starting anything else.
Admittadely, due to this chapter being focused on the one bus scene from episode 4, and most of episode 5 being included in this as well, it's pretty much going to be entirely dialogue, with some action happening near the end. So, this chapter will mostly be used for some more character growth, world building, and relationship development.
(Important Info: It's been over a month now since the last chapter, which I used to play through the rest of Dying Light once again, along with doing a few things that I avoided the first few times. As a result, I've learned a bit more, and have gone through the previous chapters and edit them for mistakes I made in regards to the Dying Light lore. You don't have to go back to read them, but I would definitely suggest doing so, due to the number of changes I've made to Zach's comments on events, as well as a number of descriptions to situations due to the new knowledge I learned. You'll learn the biggest change/correction fairly early in this chapter if you don't want to go back and re-read the previous ones though.)
It was a few hours after the group on the bus had been separated from Takashi and Rei at the tunnel, and forced to find an alternate route to meet them at the East Police station. Unfortunately, everyone else in the city that had yet to turn seemed to have something of a similar idea to them in regards to driving to escape the hordes of undead, or traveling to a new destination, since the microbus was now stuck in traffic, the sun having set just a couple hours beforehand, with the moon starting to rise into the sky.
As the bus moves in traffic at a pace that rivaled the walking speed of turtles, everyone in the vehicle gives a slight jump at the sudden high pitched beeping that erupts from close to the front, drawing everyone's eyes to where it was coming from, and as a result seeing Zach press the buttons on the watch he'd placed onto his left wrist shortly after the earlier incident. After shutting off the alarm, he stands up and gets near the doorway to the bus, keeping an eye on his watch while he does so.
After a few seconds, most of the people lose interest, though occasionally glance back to see what he was doing as he stared out of the bus' doorway. Two minutes later, he finally speaks up, getting everyone's attention yet again. "Ms. Shizuka. I'm not getting off, but open the bus' door for a second." He says, making the blonde turn to look at him.
"What?" She asks in confusion, making him glance at her out of the corner of his eyes.
"I need to be able to hear out of the bus better. Open the door for a second. I'll explain the reason in a minute." He says, his eyes once more moving to look out the door, which Shizuka opened a second later. "Now, everyone be quiet. If you're not, we might all end up dead within the next few minutes." He says seriously, making everyone stay silent, even if a few of the teens in Shido's group aren't happy about it.
Close to three minutes pass in silence, with the only sound coming from the cars around the bus, and the cops yelling through megaphones in the street. Finally, Zach looks at his watch, seeing the time is now 9:01 and sags from his place standing in the doorway, letting out a breath of relief as he fully steps back into the aisle in the bus. "Right, Ms. Shizuka, you can close the door now." He tells her, making her do just that. "Good news people, for tonight, we're safe." He tells the people in the bus, making Shido raise an eyebrow as he turns fully to face the teen.
The man wasn't a fan of the teen, especially with what the brunet knew of what he did at the school and the possible threat he posed to his plan to have a group of blind followers. But his history in Harran was priceless until he could learn everything, and then get him kicked out to the hordes of zombies. "What do you mean by that, Carter?" He asks the teen, getting a glare thrown back at him in response, making him hold back a sneer in response, since doing so would just make the brat hold off a reply, and keep Shido from learning anything else.
"…This Virus is similar enough to the one from Harran that a number of things will likely be the same. One such thing being the fact that at night, those that are infected get a whole lot more dangerous. Back in Harran, it took close to a month before this happened. Unfortunately, this Virus seems to be much quicker acting in practically every aspect. As a result, I wasn't sure if it would kick off the first night." He says, running a hand through his hair as everyone on the bus listens.
"How dangerous are we talking here?" Saeko asks, making Zach glance at her as he responds.
"Let's see… Their senses are ramped up even more than they already are, though luckily in this case that seems to just be their hearing. They also get much quicker, the ones that shamble instead being able to walk forwards at a fast pace, with some even able to run. And those are just the common infected." He says with a sigh. "Then there are the Volatiles and Night Hunters…" He trails off, turning to glance at the multiple people in the back of the bus.
After a few seconds of silence, he turns his attention back to the purplette. "This early into the quarantine, if they notice you? You're already dead. There's no chance of survival unless you have a shotgun or something similar." He says out loud, before shaking his head. "Luckily, the lack of inhuman screaming or screeching tells me it'll probably take about a week or so before the Nocturnal Infected start to become a problem, and even longer before the Mutated Nocturnal Infected show up. So we should be fine." He says, before sitting back down in the seat beside Saeko and leaning back. After a second, he opens his mouth again, but keeps his voice low.
"…I'll explain more about them, and explain them better when we find a chance to split off from the group back there. Right now isn't the best time, but it needs to be soon. Sticking around is just asking for more trouble than the microbus is worth. For multiple reasons." He mutters quietly so that only her and the two in front of him can hear what he says, since Shido had started to talk to his group in the back after Zach had given his little lesson. He hears a hum of agreement from the purplette beside him in what he assumes is agreement.
With that, the bus returns to how it was earlier. Shido in the back preaching to his new followers, with the group Zach was a part of ignoring his words as they spent their time looking out the bus' windows, or thinking on the events they had gone through so far. This continues for some time, before Shido finally finishes whatever speech he was going on about, getting applause from his brainwashed students at the end, and then the bus becomes quieter as everyone simply spends the time thinking over their current situation, or ignoring it completely in denial, for those in the back.
As for Zach, he was spending the time thinking on the group he was a part of, and what he'd have to do in order to make sure they'd survive long enough for another vaccine to be made for this new Virus. That's as long as the Ministry doesn't take over quickly, and instead decide twice is too often for this to occur and just nuke the city to not risk this happening again… He thinks to himself with a frown, remembering how back in Harran, everyone had come within seconds of being reduced to ash if him and Crane hadn't managed to break the signal jamming and tell the outside world there were still survivors inside the walls…
Shaking his head to clear it, he takes a glance out the window again, past the purplette sitting beside him, to see the sluggishly moving cars around them, as well as the police officers attempting to direct traffic. However, he could only frown at the sight, thinking about the current situation the town was in, and how everyone was attempting to handle it. As he does so, Saeko speaks up beside him.
"So, Carter. How does this compare to what you've been through before?" She asks him, making him turn slightly in order to look at her, noticing she was already facing him. Thinking on it for a second, while also slightly noticing just how close they actually were, he ponders how to answer her question, doing his best to ignore the slight blush in his cheeks when he notices just how beautiful the purplette next to him actually is when he's less than a meter away from her. Shaking these thoughts out of his head, he does his best to answer her question.
"Well… For one, the Infected are definitely easier to deal with. At least when compared to the Infected from Harran. Those things could smell you, hear you, feel you, and none of us were entirely sure about the common infected, but we were pretty sure they could at least partially see you. These things, on the other hand…" He trails off, glancing beside her to look out the window for a second. "They only work off sound. And while that's better than having three other senses working as well, it seems like they've gained a trade-off." He mutters with a frown, turning to look at the back of the seat in front of him.
"What do you mean?" Saeko asks him, making him sigh as he leans forwards slightly, his hands clasped in front of him and his chin leaning on them.
"These Biters… They only work off sounds instead of having four senses working… But they're stronger than the Infected from Harran, and it seems like the only way to take them out is by destroying their brain, or it's connection to the rest of the body." He begins. "It's unfortunate, but all of the Infected in Harran were technically people that were still "alive", but their bodies were mutated so much, and their minds so far gone, that they may as well have been dead. As a result, if you did enough damage to the body in general, the body would "die"." He tells her.
Lifting a hand, he waves slightly towards the window. "Of course, there was the easier way of simply breaking the brain's connection to the body like you have to do with these ones, but back in Harran, it wasn't required to take out the infected. But anyways, that's just a description of the Biters, not the problem with them." He says with a sigh, leaning back in the chair and running a hand through his hair. "The thing is, these Biters are a lot stronger than the Common infected back in Harran. Those ones could sometimes break down a wooden door that was already starting to rot or break. But these ones? Get a small group of them, and they can break down a metal door connected to a cement wall. Even with a large group of Infected back in Harran, this couldn't happen." He explains.
"Sure, sometimes they could force a locked door open, but they didn't break the door. At most, the lock itself might've been broken, but the door itself was undamaged. And even then, that was usually only caused by the Virals, not the Biters." He says with a sigh, before noticing Saeko's slightly confused look. "Right, only explained it to Takashi and Rei…" He mutters, before giving a condensed explanation to the purplette about Virals, getting a nod from her after he finished. "So yeah, I'd almost say it's an even tradeoff for what these infected have lost and gained when compared to the ones from Harran, but not entirely." He tells her with a sigh.
Saeko thinks about Zach's explanations, nodding. "So, these Infected are less perceptive, but much more dangerous if they do manage to find you and get close?" She asks for clarification, getting a nod from Zach in response.
"Yeah… Honestly, as long as you did it right, you could break a Biter's hold on you fairly easily and shove it back. These ones… Once they get a hold on you, from what Takagi said, it's much harder to get free. And that's not even including the difference in the actual infection rate." He says with a grimace. "The Harran Virus took hours before the first symptoms even started to appear, which were seizures. After that, it took another few hours before you started to go Viral and became one of the Infected, unless you got Antizen, which delayed the infection rate by a day or so… This one… The Virus outright kills the person within a half hour at most, the time depending on the severity of the wound that turns them, and then reanimates them in seconds." He says, his mind going back to the gym teacher, as well as Hisashi and his failure to save him, before he shakes the thought out of his head.
"So in other words, for the most part, this Virus is more dangerous than the one from Harran?" The purplette asks him, making Zach think about it for a few seconds, before sighing as he gives her a shrug.
"In all honesty, at the moment, no. But that's just because when compared to the Harran Virus close to when the vaccine was released, there were a lot more types of Infected to deal with. If I'm being completely honest with you…" He trails off, looking at her out of the corner of his eyes as his mouth changes to a frown. "I have an idea on what's actually going on. And if I'm right… Then our best bet is to hope we make it to the East Police Station by tomorrow night. Because otherwise, we are at a much higher risk of dying before the next few days past." He tells her, getting a look of surprise from Saeko, before her mouth changes to a frown, but he waves her off.
"For now, we don't have to worry about it. I'll explain more to the group when we get the chance… Hopefully by tomorrow night. For now, our best bet is to get what rest we can. We might be driving through traffic, but with how events are unfolding, it's unlikely we'll actually be able to relax anytime soon after tonight." He says, making Saeko pause, before ultimately giving him a nod.
"That does seem like a good idea. In that case, goodnight, Carter." She says, making Zach give her a small smile as he leans back in his seat.
"Hey, with everything that's going on and what we've already been through, I feel like it's fine if you and the others call me Zach. I'm from America originally anyways, so being called by my last name has always felt a bit weird here." He says with a chuckle. In response, Saeko gives him a small, closed eyed smile.
"I see. In that case, please, call me Saeko." She tells him, making him nod in response.
"Sure thing. Goodnight Saeko." He tells her as he settles into his chair the best he can to try and get some rest.
"Goodnight Zach." She replies, doing the same.
The following afternoon, it was more of the same for the group. Slowly driving the microbus through the crowded roads of Tokonosu City in an attempt to find a way to the East Police Station to meet up with Takashi and Rei. Although for Zach and Saeko, the day had started out a bit… Awkwardly, for them.
During the night and their time sleeping through the morning, the mixture of the bus moving, and their bodies subconsciously shifting to get more comfortable, had caused them to move so that they were leaning on each other in a slightly… Provocative position. Waking up to Zach's head resting on Saeko's breasts, their hands between each other's thighs, and their clothes messed up due to their shifting to reveal more skin than normal, had brought a healthy blush to both their cheeks, and caused them to quickly separate and straighten themselves out.
The brunet had quickly apologized to the purplette, who had disregarded his apologies, saying they were unneeded, since the situation hadn't been his fault, due to it happening while they were asleep. Although, it still took the two of them close to half an hour before they were able to meet each other's gaze without a blush creeping into their cheeks in remembrance. However, when they were able to look at each other normally again, they were quick to pass the time with conversation. As a result, the two learned more about one another, and what they'd gone through before the current events.
Although it was mostly Saeko sharing, with Zach making some comments, since Zach made a comment on planning to share what he'd done in Harran with the rest of the group, and didn't necessarily want to share the same events twice, which Saeko understood. Unfortunately, their time swapping stories and information about one another was brought to a stop when they heard Shido speaking to his followers in the back, bringing their attention to the former teacher with scowls on their faces. Not long after, Zach's attention was brought to a familiar sound, causing him to turn out the window.
As a result, Saeko followed his gaze, and saw a plane flying up into the sky, and away from the city. An eyebrow rose in confusion at the sight, and she turned back to face Zach when she heard him let out a huff. The sight that greeted her was the brunet giving a slight scowl at the plane. When Zach sees her raised eyebrow, he gives a sigh, and leans back in his chair. "That's probably some of the higher political figures flying away from this shit. Evacuate the people who are "important" to the government, and don't bother worrying about the little people. Similar shit happened in Harran to those with connections, so I'm not surprised… Just a bit upset the same shit's happening here." He mutters the last part, getting a nod of understanding from the purplette in response to his words.
It made sense, after all. Normal citizens were being looked over, and walled in due to the fact that no one was entirely sure how this new Virus worked exactly. Meanwhile, the people higher up in the social ladder, and with connections and money, were able to pay, bribe or blackmail their way out of the soon-to-be hellhole, ensuring that they'd get to a safe place while leaving those less fortunate to fend for themselves in the coming storm. In the silence, the two were able to hear Takagi and Kohta talking behind them, with the genius telling the raven haired teen to leave Shido and his followers alone at the moment. Zach raises an eyebrow, getting a shrug from Saeko in response, before the two of them stand in order to step out into the aisle and step back to be beside the two conversing, going completely unnoticed.
They see Shizuka walking towards them as well, since the line of vehicles in front of them hadn't actually been moving for at least the past five minutes. Their attention is brought back to the two teens still sitting as Kohta comments on Takagi liking Komuro, getting a flustered denial from the pinkette, only for her to stiffen and suddenly whip around to face the three in the aisle when she realizes they were standing there for the past minute. In response to her previous denial and flushed face, Shizuka gives a light smile, Saeko has an unimpressed look on her face, and Zach simply raises an eyebrow.
"What?" Takagi asks them, trying desperately to get rid of the red in her cheeks, while Zach glances out the window at the people walking along the sidewalk beside the row of vehicles.
"Nothing… Just a bit worried about Takashi and Rei… Kinda wished I'd taken a bit more time to enhance their weapons in better ways. I'm still not entirely sure how the rest of the city is doing, so I can only hope that what I gave them is good enough for anything they might've had to deal with…" He admits with a slight frown, turning to Saeko when the purplette places a hand on his shoulder.
"I'm sure what you did for them has already come in handy. So don't worry about it too much." She tells him with a light smile, getting on in return as he nods to her in thanks. A few minutes later, the small group is at the very front of the bus, since the vehicle line had started to inch forwards, and Shizuka had returned to the driver's seat, the four teens following her to stay close to continue talking, and stay further away from Shido and his followers. And with good timing too, since the former teacher had started up another speech in the rear of the microbus, complete with overdramatic flairs of his arms.
"I know we're no longer in school, but I hope that you will all continue to live with the pride your school has instilled in each and every one of you!" He exclaims to the teens before him, their gazes fixated on him, and causing him to give a cruel, satisfied smile at the sight. He knew that even if they saw it on his face, they were ignoring it. He saved them. He got them out of the school. He was their new leader! Any negative action of his would be brushed off and ignored, because he was keeping them safe from the horrors outside the bus, and ensuring they didn't even need to think about them.
Returning his facial features to their normal stoic look, he continued to his new, blind followers. "Pride of unity. It is that pride that will keep us together! Not fake, glorious pride in ourselves, but pride as a group, a family." He says, before leaning forwards with a cruel grin in place. "And realize this, my dear friends. Komuro and Miyamoto? Were unfit to be in our family." He tells them, his words leaving his mouth, and sinking their way into the teens brains, causing them to believe every word he was saying.
While the former students at the back of the bus hung off every word the former teacher said, the smaller group at the front of the bus simply watched on with disdain, with Shizuka watching the events play out with a hint of worry on her face, not entirely sure what was happening, but not liking the feeling of the air that circulated inside the bus…
"This guy's a God damned maniac…" Takagi comments, getting a nod from Zach in agreement while Shido continues to preach to the teens in the back.
"You got that right, it sounds like he's some kind of recruiter for a cult, religious group…" Saeko agrees with the pinkette in front of her. At her comment, Takagi and Zach narrow their eyes at the adult standing near the back of the bus.
"…It doesn't just sound like it… It, it is." Takagi says in realization… And look at the slobbering idiots hinging on his every word… Like a bunch of Scientologists… Or rather, Shidotologists…" Takagi says as she watches the former students in the back stare at Shido with faces filled with awe. At this realization, Zach stands up straighter.
"We need to get out of here… This is a lot worse than Rais' group was…" He says, getting the attention of the others in the group, who look at him in slight confusion at the name. "…Right, not everything about the pandemic was released. Still having trouble remembering not everyone knows what I talk about." He mumbles while running a hand through his hair. "Alright then, summarization. GRE operative gone rouge, and not in the good way, who became basically a warlord in the Harran Quarantine. He led his own fairly large group through about 75% of the Quarantine, before being killed. During the time he led his group, he led it through power, fear, and any other way that you'd think a warlord or dictator would run their people. As a result, not everyone was on board, even if they were a part of his group. Fortunately, the former teacher over there isn't half as dangerous as Rais was." He tells them, before turning his head to nod towards Shido and his group.
"Unfortunately, Shido's "teachings" are different. All those teens are hanging off his words like he's quoting his own version of the bible or something. As a result, their being indoctrinated. They believe everything he's saying. Which means they'll all follow him willingly when he tells them to do something… That's bad. Because given enough time, they'll throw their lives away in order to make sure he lives to "spread the word" of his teachings. We might have enough brains to realize what he's spouting is wrong… But the Quarantine does things to people… Give it a couple months, or maybe even a few weeks… And some of us might start coming around to his line of thinking." He says darkly, getting wary looks from the others around him.
After a few seconds, Saeko nods at his words, and looks over her shoulder to look out the window of the microbus, watching as people walk past on the sidewalk. They were much faster than the vehicles at this rate, but also much less protected. So it was an even tradeoff. Shaking this thought out of her mind, she starts speaking to the rest of the group on her thoughts after Zach's explanation. "Given the condition of the road… Looks like we're going to have to give up our ride. We still have to meet up with Komuro and Miyamoto after all." She tells them, getting nods in response from the others, before Zach seems to think of something.
"Ah, I don't mean to be rude Saeko, but… You seem to only be worrying about our group… Do you… Not have family to worry about?" He asks her, making the purplette turn to him in slight surprise, before giving a light smile.
"My father is my only family at the moment, and he's at the dojo overseas, so he's not in any danger. Although, I suppose he may worry about me slightly. But to be honest, since he's safe, the only people I have to worry about are myself, and I suppose you." She tells him, making Zach's cheeks gain a slight dusting. "Don't really care about anyone else." She says with a slight glance at Takagi, who's glaring at the purplette with a twitching eyebrow. "And just look at us. If anyone's going to get through this, it's going to be us, right?" She asks with a close eyed smile.
In response to Saeko's words, Takagi gives a fake laugh from her place standing behind Shizuka, since even though the purplette was talking to Zach, it was clear her words were meant for the others. Shizuka, completely oblivious to the slight tension caused by Saeko's comments, completely dissipates said tension by accident by changing the focus of the conversation elsewhere. "So, where is everyone's house?" She asks, looking over her shoulder at the group, since the traffic had once again slowed down considerably.
In response, Takagi leans back against the side of the chair just behind where Shizuka was sitting. "The other side of the bridge, the same area with Komuro's." The pinkette tells them. After doing so, Kohta speaks up from his place sitting just behind the seat Takagi was leaning on.
"Ah, my parent's aren't actually in the neighborhood, so I don't have to worry about them getting caught up in this… But, I'd go anywhere as long as I'm with Takagi." He admits with a blush. Unfortunately, the pinkette doesn't share his feelings, and inches away from him with a twitch in her face. However, Saeko simply gives a smile at the raven haired teen.
"So tell me Hirano, where's your family? Are they close to the Quarantine?" She asks, making Kohta give a small smile at the question as he answers it.
"My father is a jewelry merchant, so he's gone to Amsterdam to buy stones. My mother is a fashion designer, so she's been staying in Paris to-" Unfortunately, before he can explain further, Takagi interrupts him.
"Christ, do you expect us to believe all that crap?!" She exclaims, a blush on her cheeks despite herself since it was actually possible, due to the fact that people didn't actually pay much attention to the slightly obese teen due to his personality, and the fact that most of the students in the school bullied him instead of tried to get to know him. After Takagi's question, Shizuka starts laughing.
"And if it were a manga, daddy would be the captain of a cruise ship. A giant luxury liner." She comments with a smile, making Kohta raise a hand to the back of his head as he gives a slight laugh of his own.
"My grandpa actually was. And my grandma was a concert violinist." He tells them, before giving a small laugh after telling them such, not used to actually saying this much about his family, and completely ignorant of the pinkette having a crisis a meter away.
"Ugh, why couldn't he be better looking…?" She mutters quietly, unaware of Zach standing beside her, and hearing her question. Raising an eyebrow, he glances at Kohta, thinking about what the pinkette just said, as well as the plans he'd already thought of in regards to the group he was a part of… However, his thoughts are cut off when Shizuka puts on the E-brake for the microbus, and stands up from the driver's seat.
"So, what are we gonna do? I want to come along with all of you." She tells them with a smile, getting the group's attention.
"Are you sure?" Takagi asks, standing back up and leaning against the chair once again. In response, Shizuka nods, before explaining.
"Both of my parents passed away years ago, and my relatives live far away… And I've actually gotten quite close to Carter at school." She explains, making the others turn to look at him in confusion, making him raise an eyebrow.
"What? I've explained what I went through. Did you really think that I wouldn't have someone at the school that I'd go to for therapy?" He asks, making the others understand what he was talking about, before Shizuka continued her explanation.
"Also, I know I shouldn't be saying this but I…" She trails off a bit, glancing to the side. "I think Mr. Shido is kind of a douchebag." She comments, getting stifled chuckles and giggles from the others, while Zach gives a scoffing laugh of agreement. After getting their amusement out vocally, they calm down, and Saeko turns to face the group.
"So what do we do? I'm not really familiar with the area." She asks them, making Takagi speak up, since she was the one who'd lived in the city her entire life.
"We really need to check on Onbetsu Bridge first." She tells them. Unfortunately, the smaller groups muttering between themselves had attracted the attention of the other former teacher in the bus, and Shido turned to face them.
"Umm… What's the mutter everyone?" He asks them, unsure how he feels about the group near the front. Zach was one that he wanted nothing to do with, but his knowledge was practically a goldmine in this situation if he could get him as a follower, or at least learn everything he could before getting rid of him. And the rest were valuable pawns in their own right. "We need to work together, otherwise none of us are ever going to-" However, before he can try harder to get them into his group, Takagi speaks up and cuts him off as she turns to face him.
"Thanks for the offer, but I'm gonna pass Mr. Shido. We've got our own plans, and FYI, this is no field trip. I have no obligation to be with you. I never had any classes with you anyway." She tells him as a couple of the students behind the former teacher hold in their hatred at what she's saying to their savior.
"…I see…" Shido says. While conflicted, looking at the teens in front of him, he decides to simply pass them off. It was a bit upsetting, but he could always gain more followers, and taking the time to try and pull these ones over to his side would just take too much effort. So, he'd let them go, and just show them the folly of their decision at a later date. That being said… "If that's what you've decided, go right ahead, I won't stop you Takagi." He tells them, putting the fingers of his hands together in front of him as he speaks. "How could I? This is a free country, not some sort of iron fisted dictatorship.. However." He says, chuckling before running his tongue over his lips.
As the rest of the former students behind him stare at the separate group, Shido speaks to two of the members of the smaller group. "I'm afraid you two will have to remain… Ms. Marikawa, and Mr. Carter." He says with a smirk, getting a gasp from the nurse, and narrowed eyes from the teen in question. Not noticing Zach's reaction, Shido continues. "Losing the doctor is a major blow to our current situation. And The knowledge Mr. Carter holds of the current events are invaluable to a group's survival." He says, adjusting his glasses as he speaks. "Would the two of you please stay? What do you say?" He asks them, starting to walk forwards towards the group as he talks. "There are students who are relying on the two of you to survive…" He continues.
However, before he can get too close to the group, his cheek is marked by a projectile that speeds past it, before sticking itself into one of the chairs in front of a teen in the back, making him jump slightly at the sight of the nail puncturing a good few inches into the leather. All the teens in the back of the microbus stare in shock at the sight of Kohta standing in front of the smaller group, his nail gun held in front of him and aimed at them, while Shido holds a hand to his marked cheek, a look of shock and fear on his face.
"You… You shot at me…" Shido says, shock, and a bit of confusion and fear in his voice.
"…I missed you on purpose. You douchebag." Kohta explains, though one could hear the slight disappointment in his tone as he said it. Shido, still in slight shock at what just occurred, tries to placate Kohta.
"But you… you're not a violent student like that." He tries to say, only for Kohta to quickly respond.
"How many of my fellow "students" do you think I killed in school yesterday?" He asks as he brings the nail gun up a bit higher to properly look through the makeshift sights. "And I can kill you too. For all the ways you always made fun of me!" He shouts in anger and hatred, before his voice lowers. "I was holding back… I was holding back for a long time! I was holding it back because I just wanted to have a normal life! But there's no need to do that anymore!" He shouts, a grin making it's way onto his face as he continues to aim his nail gun at the former teacher. "Nothing we know is normal anymore… That's why I'm able to kill now." He says, making Zach eye him with a hint of caution now.
So far, most of the members of their little group had lost it in ways that usually included breaking down and crying, sobbing, yelling, the works. Unfortunately, back in Harran, he'd also seen people lose it in the way that Kohta was right now… And he was hoping he wouldn't have to attack one of the people he considered a new friend shortly after meeting him to keep him from becoming a murderer or psychopath this early on, when he could very well be prosecuted and sent to jail for life if the Quarantine was lifted… But for now, he'd listen, and watch, and only step in if it looked like Kohta was actually going to follow through.
"I can even kill living people now… Maybe start with the ones who made fun of me." Kohta says, not helping with Zach's wariness as Shido starts to stumble backwards, fear more prevalent now as he realizes this is actually happening.
"I made fun? You misunderstood. I always held you in such high esteem." Shido says, now fearing for his life, since he realizes that Kohta is starting to understand something he already learned yesterday. This city was losing it's stability, and the ones to survive would be the ones who quickly adapted to the new rules. He's surprised, however, when Zach Carter is the one to step forwards and place a hand on Kohta's shoulder, stopping him from doing anything and making the raven haired teen turn to face the brunet. Meeting his eyes, Zach nods, before turning slightly to glance back at the others in the group.
"You guys go on ahead, I'm gonna have a talk with Mr. Shido here… Kohta, you go ahead with them, I can make sure he won't follow you guys." He says with a confident smirk. It takes a second, but Kohta nods and moves over with the rest of the group. As he does so, Saeko gives a smirk of her own to Zach as she opens the microbus' door.
"You're such a man. I'm impressed." She tells him, before jumping out of the microbus, followed shortly by the others in the group, leaving only Zach standing near the door facing Shido, his crowbar in hand as he looks over the former teacher and all the teens sitting behind him with a frown on his face, before shaking his head.
"I pity you… I really do." He says, before focusing his gaze on the adult in front of him, who now has a handkerchief pressed to the mark caused by the nail. "You're a dangerous man Shido… And if I'm honest, you're as dangerous as Rais was, just in a different way. If this was Harran later in the quarantine… You'd probably be someone that a lot of people would want to kill." He tells the man, before shaking his head as he starts towards the door. "I won't kill you… But then again, in the coming nights, I won't really have to. It's likely that most of the people in this city will be part of the hordes within the coming week… And I'm only sorry I've lost my chance to be able to stop your new followers from joining them." He says, before placing a hand on the bus' door after stepping onto the sidewalk.
"Goodbye Shido. With the hell that's coming… I get the feeling the only chance I'll see you again, is if I see your rotting corpse shambling through the street… And I'm okay with that." He tells the man, before closing the door, and following the others from his group up onto an overpass so that they could find another route to the bridge in order to meet up with the two members that had split off from them the night before.
Half an hour later, Zach was beating in the head of a zombie, sending the body crumpling to the ground as him and the other two members of their group with weapons held off a small group of the undead attempting to devour them. Things had been going great for the small group after leaving the microbus and the "Shidotologists" behind. They'd made their way along the different roads heading in the direction of the bridge leading to the East Police Station, only coming across a few Biters along the way.
While this happened, Zach had been taking in the surroundings, now much more focused on the fact that he'd have to follow one of Harran's main rules in this new environment, and teach it to the others in his group that would be facing the hordes in the coming months. Shizuka and Takagi would probably remain in safe areas due to their advantages being more mental than physical, and Kohta was up in the air due to his current physique although that could be worked on. But Saeko, Rei and Takashi were three that he would be quick to teach when he got a chance.
Zach had been thinking about this fact while they made their way to Onbetsu Bridge, and it had looked clear enough that it seemed like they would be able to cross without much of a problem. Unfortunately, after making it a little over a quarter of the way across, they ran into a problem. This bridge had traffic backed up along most of it, with the cause being the fairly large barricade set up about halfway across. Unfortunately, things just got worse from there.
Zach remembered the Infamy Bridge back in Harran, and he was kicking himself for forgetting one key fact that was important for survivors who braved the bridge to scavenge the deserted cars there. Not all the people who got infected and died there were out in the open. Some had tried to be smart, and hide away from the Infected. Unfortunately, it didn't always work. Especially with this one, where a single bite meant you were already dead, even if you did hide from the Biters.
As a result, when the group turned to head back the way they came and search for an alternate route, it was to the sight of a number of Infected crawling out from under the cars they had passed, and pushing themselves to their feet with groans of hunger. The group's ignorance of them had them speaking to one another while they'd crossed, and drawn the undead out towards them. As a result, just like the day before, they were once again forced to defend themselves against a wave of zombies heading for them.
Zach had been quick to assess the situation the group found themselves in, and directed the others accordingly. Kohta was sticking close to Takagi and Shizuka, handling ranged support with his nail gun and protecting the two without weapons at the same time, while Saeko and him took the Biters on head to head, attempting to narrow down the number of zombies enough that they could make their way past the few that would remain. While doing this, Shizuka speaks up from her place besides Takagi and Kohta.
"Hey… Maybe we were better off staying on the bus with Mr. Shido… Just, throwing that out there." The blonde says, looking around at the numerous Biters surrounding the group that were shambling towards them. Unfortunately, some more of the undead were coming from the cars in front of the barricade, essentially boxing the group in. Zach grimaces at the current situation, even as he swings his crowbar into the side of another Biter's head, the flame at the end setting a part of the head on fire. The flame quickly spreads to the rest of the body, likely caused by the body wearing deodorant or cologne of some sort, and seconds later, the corpse collapses onto the ground.
While Takagi and Shizuka attempt to relax their nervousness at the situation by talking to each other about Shido a bit more, Zach takes the time to glance around the bridge they're on, and can only frown. If the others had gone through Harran, we'd have an easier time here. Get away from the Biters, out of their reach, and wait for them to grow "bored"… He thinks as he steps forwards, and turns his crowbar in his hands so that the next zombie he swings at is hit with the curved part, the sharper ends digging into the zombies head and killing it a bit quicker as they dig into it's brain. Unfortunately, only two of us would be able to right now. And since both of us are the ones with melee weapons, we can't just leave the other three to get swarmed. He thinks with a grimace, even as he continues to take out zombies with Saeko and Kohta. Speaking of the raven haired teen…
"Just to let you know, I'm running out of nails!" He exclaims, making Zach grimace once again, even as Saeko quickly takes out two more Biters in quick succession. Luckily, Zach cleared out the Biters in a few meter radius around him, allowing him to glance over to Kohta and the two he was protecting.
"Takagi! If there's any other nails in that bag, give them to Kohta! If not, you three need to back up closer to the railing. Worse comes to worse, jump into the water! You'll have a more likely chance of surviving the river's current than the Biters!" He yells, before turning back around and taking out another zombie in front of him. Unfortunately, Kohta runs out of nails at that moment, and there aren't any others in Takagi's bag. Kohta drops the nail gun, since without nails it was pretty much just dead weight to keep holding it, and the three back up until the railing is practically at their backs, the Biters closing in on them, due to the final shot Kohta let off drawing the attention of most of them.
"Shit! You three! Get ready to jump! Me and Saeko will follow afterwards! Just do your best to try and-" However, before Zach can continue, the attention of everything on the bridge, human and zombie alike, is drawn to a sound that was steadily getting louder. One that the members of the group vaguely remembered, but couldn't quite place it. But it became quite clear when a motorcycle suddenly shot up from the side of the bridge into their view, drawing everyone's attention, and causing Zach and Saeko's eyes to widen at the sight, especially at the two familiar faces riding said motorcycle.
"Holy shit." They mutter at the same time, just before the vehicle is pulled down by gravity once more, and falls onto the bridge, Takashi using the breaks on the bike to skid to the side, knocking multiple Biters to the ground as he does so, and also allowing Rei to leap off the bike and land in such a way that she spears another zombie to break her landing, electrocuting it at the same time, before she quickly continues forwards, and spins in place to knock back more of the Biters with the shaft of her spear.
While Rei continues to take out more zombies, Takashi drives closer to the group, noticing Zach and Saeko taking out Biters with their weapons, but Kohta is left weaponless as a few infected head towards him and the two weaponless girls. Seeing this, Takashi calls out to his fellow raven haired teen, and tosses a handgun at the teen. At the sight of the gun sailing towards him, Kohta is quick to grab it out of the air, and gain a gleam in his eyes at the weight in his hands, before quickly taking aim with a manic grin on his face, and letting off two shots in quick succession, nailing a zombie between the eyes with both bullets. "Double tap, baby." He says, a grin similar to the one he gave Shido earlier on his face once again, before he quickly takes aim again, and shoots another zombie.
Seeing most of the other Biters on the bridge are taken care of, Takashi drives towards the last few that are near Kohta and the girls, and presses on the bike's break, allowing him to skid in a half circle, and knock numerous zombies over the railing, and into the river below. While doing so, Saeko takes out another Biter with her bokken, while Zach takes out the final one with a heavy blow from above, his crowbar digging into the top of the zombie's head, while simultaneously setting it's hair on fire. Wrenching his weapon out of the corpse's head, he turns with Saeko to face the new arrivals, a grin on his face.
"Amazing…" Shizuka comments from her place near Kohta, Zach gaining a small smile at the praise as he places his crowbar on his shoulder, while Saeko looks around the area.
"Looks like it's all cleared for now." She says, even as she continues to look around the bridge, just to be sure. Zach agrees with her, his eyes also glancing around, even as he starts walking towards the rest of the group with the purplette following him.
"They sure were tough to beat." Shizuka says with a slight smile of relief, making Takagi look at her with a blank expression.
"Tough for everyone but you maybe." She comments, before Rei rushes towards the two of them.
"Ms. Shizuka!" She exclaims as she leaps towards the blonde, hugging her in relief at their reunion, while Shizuka gives a light exclamation of surprise and joy.
"Oh! Miyamoto! What a coincident!" She exclaims, making Rei give a deadpan look even as her face falls into the blonde's breasts due to their height difference.
"That's, what a coincidence." She corrects the nurse, who practically ignores her words, even if she doesn't mean to, while running a hand over the brunette's hair.
"You too Komuro." She says to the raven haired teen who's walking the bike over to the group, and giving a slightly awkward smile towards the woman, before his attention is drawn to the sound of Zach speaking behind him.
"Takashi! Good to see you man." He says, getting a smile from the teen in response, before Zach's smile turns into a slight frown. "Though, the fact that you're here means that Tokonosu Bridge is also blocked, doesn't it?" He asks, getting a nod from his friend in response, and making him sigh. "Well, I'm not too surprised unfortunately… It's similar to Harran, though I was hoping maybe we'd gotten a quicker start than what happened then… Guess not." He sighs, before glancing over at Kohta, and gaining a perplexed look on his face. "Uh, Kohta… What the hell are you doing?" He asks, making everyone turn to the raven haired teen in question, who chose that moment to raise the handgun above his head and start fanboying over it.
"Komuro! What is this?! How did you get it?! Where are the extra bullets?! This is a Smith & Wesson M37 Air Weight that the police use, right?! Oh man, the feel, the weight! How good it feels!" He yells, and continues to go on about the gun in his hands, even as Takashi sweatdrops with a confused and slightly nervous smile on his face.
"I'll… Tell you about it later, alright?" He asks, despite the fact that the apparent gun-geek can't hear him at the moment. At the sight, Zach simply sighs, a small smile on his face at the group's antics now that they were safe once again.
"Well, the danger's passed… Alright guys, let's get back to shore, since this route's blocked off for now. We can rinse ourselves off , and come up with another plan. C'mon." He says, turning to head back to where the group originally came from, the others quick to follow him. Although, Kohta had to be dragged along by a disgruntled Takagi since he was still geeking out over the gun in his hands…
Close to five minutes later, the group was standing near the shore of the river, most of them having washed the blood off their clothes best they could, while Takagi was currently finishing up at the bottom of a set of stairs that led down directly to the river. As she started to dry off with a small hand towel they had with them, Saeko begins to explain the situation to Takashi and Rei. "We got off the bus because the road was blocked. But, we haven't been able to cross the river." She tells them, as the pinkette walks up the stairs towards the group.
"The water has risen, so going farther up stream won't help I guess." She comments with a slight frown as she finishes drying off her hands.
"Then, what should we do?" Rei asks from her place further up a second set of steps. At her question, Zach looks out at the city they'd come from, a few ideas going through his mind at the moment, even as Shizuka speaks up.
"I have a thought. It's been such a stressful day, why don't we just call it quits for now?" She asks the group, making Zach turn to her along with the others, even as the brunet keeps the city in his peripheral vision, not wanting any Biters to make their way over to the group silently and get one of them. It happened a few times back in Harran, after all…
"Call it a day?" Kohta asks in confusion, getting a smile from the blonde in response.
"Why yes. My friend's flat is nearby. It's just a short walk from here." She explains, making Zach nod in response to the idea, remembering her mentioning this to him before, but also wondering just how good of a place it would be for the current situation the city was facing. Meanwhile, Takagi places a hand on her hip as she looks at the nurse.
"Your boyfriend's place?" She asks, getting a light blush from Shizuka as she starts waving her hands in denial.
"Oh, no-no-no-no, it's nothing like that! It's just my girl friend's apartment!" She exclaims, Kohta and Takagi staring at the woman with skepticism clear on their faces. "She's always busy working and traveling with her job. She gave me a key so I can go there and look after the place when she's away." She tells the group, making Zach nod at her explanation, even as the others think over what she said. He knew a bit about this with their times talking during his therapy sessions when they'd gotten to know each other a bit, so he wasn't as surprised as the others were at the moment.
Meanwhile, Kohta places a hand to his chin in thought. "Is it a high-rise? Does it have a good view of the surroundings?" He asks Shizuka, getting a raised eyebrow from Zach at his questions as the raven haired teen gains a bit more respect from the Harran Veteran for asking the important questions in this situation.
"Oh, yeah! It's a duplex standing along the river. There's a convenience store nearby too. Oh! And a car! You know the one that looks like a tank? That drinks gas?" She asks them, before spreading her arms out to the side, the sudden motion causing her breasts to bounce as a result. "Biiiig! The really big one!" She exclaims with a large smile. Meanwhile, Takagi simply sighs as she runs a hand through one of her pigtails.
"I don't care about a car as much as a shower. I don't think I've ever felt dirtier in my life." She says, ignorant of Kohta's attention being brought to her at her actions, and gaining a grin on his face while hearts appear in his eyes.
"I couldn't agree with you more." He says, making the pinkette gain a tick mark at his comment while Zach flinches as Takagi promptly kicks the raven haired teen while yelling at him in response to his comment, and sending him to the ground with a pained grunt, the brunet \ shaking his head at the sight, since Kohta kinda deserved that. His attention is brought to Takashi when the teen starts up the bike again, and speaks up to the rest of the group.
"I'll go check it out with her then." He tells them, before turning to the nurse. "C'mon." He says, making her look at him in slight surprise for a moment.
"Oh, okay!" She says, hurrying over to him and the bike. As they get ready to leave, Zach speaks up.
"Hey, Takashi!" He exclaims, getting the teen's attention. "Just recon it for now. As long as it doesn't look like anything was done with it, come back and tell us, and we'll all head over. If it looks like it was overrun or something… Well, we can figure it out as a group." He says, getting a nod from the raven haired teen in response, before he drives off with the blonde woman, leaving the rest of the group on the shore. "Well… Guess we wait here for now then. He says, moving and sitting on the top of the stairs, looking out over the river, even as he occasionally turns his head to keep an eye out behind him.
As he does so, the rest of the group do their own things, and luckily it's only a few minutes before Takashi returns with Shizuka, telling the group that the apartment looks safe enough, and they all head off to their new destination.
Fifteen minutes later, the group was stood in front of the duplex Shizuka described, the sun having mostly set by now. As a result, the blonde turned on the lights in the driveway, illuminating the vehicle that was parked there.
"Humvee!" Kohta exclaims in excitement, stars in his eyes at the sight in front of him. "And it's the military model too!" He continues, his jaw dropping as he sucks in a large breath of air due to shock and awe. At his exclamation, Shizuka nods with a grin.
"Told you. Looks like a tank, huh?" She asks, getting a chuckle from Zach in response to her words.
A Humvee… Now that is going to be valuable… Especially if we can alter the outside of it a bit to work better against the Biters… Maybe alter some of the other parts of it too… He thinks to himself, his eyes glancing at the additional lights on the Humvee, as well as the edges of it. As he does so, Takagi questions what kind of friend Shizuka has, while Rei looks at the stairs and railing leading up from the driveway towards the building.
"I bet they can't jump over the fence, so we should be able to have a good night's sleep." She comments, getting a nod from Zach as he walks over to stand beside her.
"No doubt. Lucky nobody turned Viral, otherwise we'd more than likely be screwed since those Infected could climb. At least this way we'll be more safe when-" However, he cuts himself off, and narrows his eyes, before grunting in annoyance at the sight above him. His sudden silence caught everyone's attention, and they follow his gaze towards what caused it, making their eyes widen in shock at the sight.
A group of zombies were already inside the fenced off portion, meaning someone inside had likely been infected, and after they'd died, they'd turned the rest. Zach narrows his eyes at the sight, before grabbing onto the crowbar on his belt and turning on the flame. "Saeko, Takashi, Rei, on me." He says as he makes his way towards the gate. "Kohta, stay with Takagi and Ms. Shizuka for now. As helpful as the gun would be, the sound it makes would just draw other Biters to this block, and I'd rather avoid that for now. Close the gates behind you while me and the others clear out the building." He tells them, the first three he named joining him as he walks through the gate, and starts up the stairs.
For the three teens beside him, it was a drastic change in their actions. Up until now, they'd been attacking the infected only in order to defend themselves whenever they got caught in a situation where they couldn't avoid it. Now, however, they were going on the attack in order to gain a safe haven. Taking out the zombies by choice before they had a chance to target the survivors. However, for Zach, he was returning to his mindset that he'd had during the Harran Quarantine. Take out what Infected you can, as long as their aren't too many. It lowers the number that can hinder you at a later time, while also making the overall area safer.
It didn't take too long before all the zombies were disposed of, and Zach was quick to have the other three help him move the bodies outside near the Humvee, before stacking them into a corner of the driveway. The rest had been confused, and a good bit disgusted by the actions of moving the dead bodies, before he used a gas can near the back wall to douse the bodies, and then use the flame on his crowbar to ignite them. After doing so, he turned back to the group.
"It might stink of burning flesh for a bit out here, but as long as we keep the doors and windows closed inside, we'll be good. And better to have this for a couple hours outside, rather than have the smell of rotting and decaying flesh permeate the air constantly." He says with a grimace. The rest of the group gives their own looks of disgust, but can't argue his explanation. And with that, Zach led the others up the stairs, before letting Shizuka open the door to her friend's flat, and then closing the door behind them after making sure everyone got inside.
Now, let's see about making this into a Safe Zone…
Author's Note Part 2: ALRIGHT! Another chapter finally done for this! As you can tell from the first author's note, I've been on a bit of a break for the past month for a number of reasons. Luckily, I haven't dropped off the site again, and I haven't lost my drive either! This chapter honestly took a bit more time than I was expecting as well, since while I'm not exactly the best at writing action scenes, they're a bit easier for me than writing scenes focused on dialogue.
As for changes in this chapter, it's actually the first where actual changes weren't really made, except for input that Zach gave in conversations… Although, I suppose that's mostly because there wasn't really much of anything for him to change, apart from directing the group on the bridge, and keeping Kohta from using the gun to clear out the duplex at the end… Then again, with the next couple chapters, and the numerous changes that I already have planned, this one lacking changes is the tradeoff I suppose…
Anyways, since there's not really anything to touch on for changes, I'll just get straight to the reviews for the previous chapter!
Calderoneric758: In regards to actual characters showing up, at the moment, that's kind of up in the air. I have until the end of the current anime of HOTD planned out, and no plans for DL characters to meet up with the group at the moment, though I'll admit that I'm not entirely sure when it comes to events afterwards.
As for the Angel Sword upgrade… I'll admit that I'm actually slowly going through the "Blueprints / Enhancements" in the game, to see which ones are "believable". Haven't gotten around to that one yet, so at the moment, I couldn't actually tell you. I will say, with it being my favorite upgrade, if I can find a way to make it believable, it will definitely be used.
Ah yes, the pairings. I try to make it fairly obvious, but I suppose that I'm still not the best at that unless I outright say it. The pairings for this story will be: Zach x Saeko / Kohta x Takagi / Takashi x Rei.
Perseus12: Yeah, I get the feeling that was what a lot of people wanted to do… XD I've been succeeding in staying healthy at this time, and I hope you and all my others readers are as well!
Pyrojack25: Something like that. I'll admit his time in Harran was the least I had planned out when it came to this story, but going to watch the games was basically his reason for being in Harran before things went south. His time in Harran will actually be built upon in this story, during an arc I have planned. I'm not sure how everyone will react to it, but it's gonna be a fairly long one, so some people might be turned off this story for a little while…
I'll admit that I have some plans for Shido and his followers… But I'm not gonna say more than that, because it will involve some heavy spoilers for multiple points… XD
A fair assessment. I will say that you're on something of the right track, but not entirely. You'll learn more in the chapters to come for this story, but the differences between the DL Virus and the Virus in this HOTD FF is something I've actually thought a good bit about, and am having fun slowly building up in the story over time.
BrotherCaptainSheperd: Normally, I'd say that you are 100% correct and go back to fix it. However, and some people may not be a fan of this, I'm actually using the English Dub for this story. As a result, the exclamations and references they make are more "American" than "Japanese". Hence the OMG and JHC instead of "Oh Kami!". Hope this explained it well enough for you.
Anyways, that's about it for this chapter! I actually finished this Author's Note after going through the chapter for the second time to check for errors and such, and as a result, I'm actually able to post it right now! Which I'm very glad about, since it's about to be 2:30 in the morning, and I would very much like to finally head off to bed… Hope you all enjoyed the chapter, and I'm hoping you'll continue to enjoy the story!