ShadowUzumaki55: Thank you. And Jack not so much of a secret agent. He's a sleeper agent. Don't know if that's any different. And as for Saeko hating him, you'll learn a little about it in the chapter.
Guest (Atom king): I'm happy to see that you're interested. As for agents and villains, I'm thinking of adding another OC as an agent, but I'll have to think about the villains.
ClearwingYuta: Thanks. This isn't really the first Division/HOTD story, but I'm going to make this work. As for James from the Into the Dead 2 mobile game, I haven't even played that game. I'm not a mobile game person. And I'm not using any other characters from other zombie games, it just makes it so confusing.
1jesus: Thanks.
LoamyCoffee: Thanks, and I know what you mean. Not many of them are that interesting, but there are some good ones. Very few OC ones. As for why Saeko hates Jack, I'll just let you read. I haven't heard of that story, but it sounds…I'm not really sure how to think of the title.
Dracus6: Dude, no. I stated that in the first chapter and that still stands. I'm sorry but I just like Saeko a lot more than the other girls in the story.
flo463: Don't worry, I'm not. No harem of any kind for anyone in the story. I know that the anime's bases on the manga, but all I can ask is if we're going to get a second two. As for continuing the story after the manga, it's likely not going to happen. I'm not sure, but I'll find a way to end the story if the manga will not continue.
Guest: Thank you.
Subject ZeroOne: That is true, and I'll likely add in some of the factions into the story.
SulliMike23: Thanks man, I really appreciate it. I try to update the stories as fast as I can, but I still have to balance fanfics with school and it's a messy thing to do. And its honesty frustrating that you get requests but no review, the thing writers need to continue getting better.
Also, how did you think of the story?
Act 2: Escape from the Living Dead
"This is agent Recker calling any and all Division agents. If you can hear me, please copy."
Thirty minutes after Takashi and Rei hugged each other, the former couple was sitting down and had their backs against the wall. In front of them was the corpse of what was once their friend, Hisashi, which was covered by a towel. As for Jack, there was no time to rest for him. He took off his black uniform but kept the pants on. Leaving him with his long sleeve navy blue shirt with a patch on his arm with the Division logo. He rolled up his sleeves to his elbow, revealing some of the scars he's gotten from his uncle.
For the past few minutes, Jack's been looking at his holographic map and trying to contact any other agents that may have been activated with him. But so far, no one was answering him.
At his feet was gun case, opened and with his primary weapon lying on the memory foam. That weapon was a Honey Badger PDW that was outfitted with an EOTech Model 558 holographic sight, Magpul MBUIS iron sights flipped down, Magpul RVG Foregrip, custom charging handle, and dual Magpul PMAGs magazines. It wasn't a weapon that was normally picked by Division agents, and Jack knew why. It wasn't that it wasn't a reliable gun. It was in many ways, with its integrated suppressor and its AR-15 functions. The biggest downside was the ammo and the chambering of the rifle. It was chambered in .300 blackout, which wasn't really wasn't as common in Japan. Jack had 10 magazines for the Honey Badger, and there was more ammo for him as his and even Rika's homes. So, he was going to have to make every shot count.
If one of his other friends, Kohta, was still alive, then he'd be going nuts over this thing. Jack really hope that he was still alive, but it's unlikely.
"Does any one copy," Jack asked into his earpiece in frustration. He could hear the zombie at their barricade. It was weakening, and they were going to have a real problem so. "Still no one."
Rei sighed and relaxed a little, before standing up. "Well, I guess that I should let my dad know that I'm alright if that's the case," she said, before holding out her hand to the black-haired teenager. "Let me use your phone."
Takashi stood up and reached into his pocket, before giving her the phone without protest. "I understand that he's a police officer, but we can't even connect to 1-1-0," he said as Rei dialed the phone.
"I know this secret number that he told me not to call unless it's an emergency," she told the boys before pressing call and put the phone to her ear. Setting it to speaker for all three of them to hear. After a moment of waiting for someone to pick up the other end, the sound of a person answering the phone made her gasp. "It got through! Dad?!"
"Hello? Takashi?" Rei's father came from the other end of the phone.
"Dad, listen. Daddy, we're at school and…" Rei started, but was cut off.
"Hello, Takashi? You must have gotten this number from Rei. Is Rei okay?" Jack took note of this. They could hear Rei's father, but he couldn't hear them. Static began to be made through the connection, with only bits and pieces coming through.
"Daddy! What's the matter!? Can you hear me?!"
"Connect is compromised," ISAC said in Jack's earpiece. After the past events, he had the A.I. only talk to him through the earpiece.
"Listen carefully, the entire city is…" Rei was started by the sound of gunshots. "You need to get out of there…you understand? The city is already in panic mode. You need to evacuate…"
And then the line was cut. All that was heard was the sound of the phone. Rei looked at the phone and saw that there was no service. "But I just called him! I don't understand!" She frantically pushed buttons on the phone. Trying to get it to work.
"Rei!" Takashi shouted. Jack could only stand by and watch. He wanted to help, but without any other way of getting in contact with someone on the outside, it was useless.
Rei turned to Takashi with tears pouring out of her eyes. "Takashi…my dad. He didn't know it was me at all. He didn't even know me," she sobbed. All Takashi could do was hug her again.
"Incoming transmission," ISAC said, making Jack gasp and press his fingers on his earpiece. Then the call came. "This is agent Minami, to any and all Division agents," said the all too familiar sound of Jack's friend and guardian, Rika.
"Rika? This is Jack. Can you hear me?" Takashi and Rei looked at him with wide eyes. Seeing that he was finally able to contact another agent. And it sounded like he knew that one. Rei wiped away her tears as Takashi still held her.
"Jack?" He heard her let out a sigh of relief on the other end of the channel. "It's good to hear your voice."
"Same to you. What's going on out there," asked Jack as Takashi and Rei gathered around. "The school's overrun with zombies and…."
"It's the same out here. People are eating each other and turning into these things. Have you already got your weapons and gears?"
Jack reached down and picked up his Honey Badger. "Locked and loaded," he said with a grin.
"That 'a boy, rookie," Rika said, using the nickname that she's always used for him. "Alright, look, I can't get in contact with the commander or any other agents. Meaning that they're dead or in some deep shit." She then sighed, sounding more troubled than Jack's ever sound heard from her. "I've trained for a pandemic my whole life. But this…this is worse than anything we could have imaged. We have a job to do. We're still gonna do it. It's just…" Static began to sound in his earpiece, and he could hear the sound of gunshots. "Shit!"
Jack's eyes widened as he heard her shooting. "Rika? What's going on?"
"More of those meatbags! Look, whether or not there are any agents still left out there, you'll need to get it together. Grab anyone still alive in the school and get them to safety! Good luck out there! You'll need it."
And then the transmission ended. Jack sighed and looked at his Honey Badger. He then grabbed a dual mag and loaded it into the gun. Takashi, having watched Jack with Rei, stepped towards him. "So are we getting no help," he asked.
"Doesn't look like it," he said, pressing the bolt release and chambering a round. "Every other agent is either dead, MIA, or fighting off the Dead. So, it's up to us to get out of here."
They heard the barricade and saw that it was starting to fail. When Takashi was going to throw himself into the Dead, he loosened it and it was getting easier for the zombies to break through. Rei gasped and Takashi ran over to his bat that was lying on the ground. Jack, however, ran over to the barrier and aimed the suppressed gun right at the two zombies that were able to get through.
He switched the safety off and fired the gun. Double taping one in the head before killing the other with just a single headshot. He then ran over to the barrier and stood up on it. He saw more and took aim at the nearest one. He fired two .300 Blackout rounds, with one hitting the Walker in the eye and then the other in its forehead. Jack then turned towards the next and fired. Then the next and then the next. Within a few seconds, he's killed every one of the zombies.
When the Dead on the stairs were killed, Jack switched the safety on. Luckily, there were still rounds left in the magazine. He grinned. "Didn't like much of you deadbeats anyways," he said. Pun intended.
Once the remaining zombies on the roof were all killed, and Takashi and Rei picked up their weapons, the trio got over the barrier and started making their way down the stairs. Walking around the dead zombies. "Not bad, Jack," Takashi said with an impressed look and a small smile.
"It's nothing," Jack said modestly. "We could have also used the water hose. Would have saved a lot of rounds."
"That's right," said Rei, carrying her spear. "The water pressure would have been strong enough. Don't you remember during the fire drills and we were in junior high, you, Takashi, and Hisashi got…"
Jack stopped and flinched. Rei saw this and stopped. There was a silence for a moment. "Yep. Those were the good days," Jack said, trying to keep an optimistic tone. He then turned his head towards her and Takashi and smiled. "You two lovebirds stay close." That comment surprised the former couple and they blushed brightly. They looked and each other before averting their gaze. Jack smirked and continued onwards.
"So…where do we go," Rei asked Jack after getting over her embarrassment Takashi also looked at him for directions. As if Jack was their unnamed leader. It wasn't far from the truth. Jack was a Division agent with more training in combat and was better prepared for the apocalypse than any of them. It was his responsibility to keep them and anyone they meet safe. If anyone could lead them, it was him.
As the other teenagers followed behind, Jack stopped and turned to them. "I'm going to get you guys to safety. Along with everyone that we're able to save," he said to them, knowing that they were going to be following him. "As for where we go, that's really up for debate. But my best bet is to get you back to your families."
Rei's eyes widened slightly. "Oh yeah, I bet you guys are really worried about your families too," she said, sounding ashamed of herself for only thinking of her own family.
"My parents are both dead," Jack said to her with a sad smile, surprising her and Takashi. "They were firefighters and they perished doing their duty. Rika's a friend of mine, but if I know her, she's more than capable of taking care of herself."
He hasn't told them anything about his uncle's abuse and he didn't plan to really talk about it. He's already got scars that would remind him of how bad it was, and he would rather not think about it.
Jack turned to Takashi and said, "We should call your house and make sure everyone's okay."
"Waste of time. Nobody's home," Takashi said with the bat on his shoulder. "My dad won't be back in town till next week, and my mom's a school teacher so she won't be home until after 5:00. Besides, they get on my nerves." Jack and Takashi started making their way towards the roof's exit. As for Rei, she giggled a little.
"Well, they are parents. That's kind of comes with the job," she said as she followed after the boys.
Jack was in silence. He knew that the guy didn't really mean that. If he had to guess, he was trying to act strong to hide the fact that he was scared. Seeing the things that've happened at this place, and the fact that Takashi's mother was a teacher, Jack could only image what's going on in his friend's head.
The three students went back into the school through the roof and were now walking down the hallway. Takashi and Rei were behind Jack, who had his Honey Badge ready to fire. They moved down the bloodied and death smelling corridors with cautions.
Suddenly there was a loud banging sound that made them stop. Jack looked around in confusion, trying to find where the noise was coming from. Then there were these strange sounds that sounded like gunshots. "Were those gunshots," Takashi asked.
"Not loud enough," Jack said with a shake of his head. "Though they could be using a silencer while shooting a bigger round, but it doesn't sound right."
"It's coming from the faculty room," said Rei. The three of them took off towards the direction of the gunshots. Suddenly they heard a girl screaming bloody loudly in terror. Jack knew who that was from and ran faster. But in his head, he was dreading who it was.
But nonetheless, he still had a job to do.
The group turned the corner near the faculty office and Jack aimed his Honey Badger, as another small group of two women came. He then saw that the screamer was none other than Saya. His eyes widened and lowered the gun when he saw her drilling a zombie in the head with a power drill. Brain bits and blood splatter everywhere as the tool ripped into the dead adult's head.
"I CAN'T TAKE IT ANYMORE!" She screamed in pure shock, terror, and anguish. "SOMEONE, PLEASE!"
Two shots from the Honey Badger were fired, hitting the zombie in the head and completely killing it. Jack heard a gasp from one of the women and looked towards them. One was Saeko Busujima and the other, the one that gasped, was the ditzy school nurse, Shizuka Marikawa. She was a very tall buxom woman, with ridiculous curves. That wasn't an exaggeration, her physique was most pronounced by her humongous breasts. She had long blonde hair that extended down, pass her waist, and hazel eyes. Several bangs of her hair came down into her face, with two bangs coming down at the sides running all the way down while also framing her face. Shizuka was dressed in a white dress shirt with a brown skirt which was later ripped on the sides.
Jack knew her personally as she was actually Rika's roommate. As the nurse, she knew about the abuse inflicted on him by his uncle. And speaking of knowing a person, Saeko saw him and at first, she was shocked that he was holding an actual gun. But then they made eye contact and she glared at him.
However, she and then others saw that there were more zombies still coming at them.
Jack quickly holster the Honey Badger by attaching it onto the right side of his backpack. He then pulled out his tomahawk and FNP. "Takashi, Rei, get the ones on the left. We'll take the ones one right. Break!" He exclaimed and the four students rushed the Walkers.
Running towards one of the zombies, Jack planted the head of the axe in its head and shot a couple bottles into the head on another one coming at him. As Rei was able to spear a zombie in the head, Saeko looked at her with an impressed expression. However, there was a zombie coming at her.
Even though Jack could see that she was aware of it, he pointed his pistol and shot it in the head. This startled her a little and she looked at him with slightly wide eyes.
Moaning sounds came from the hallway and Jack saw more were coming at them. He holstered the FNP, attached the tomahawk to his belt, and grabbed the Honey Badger. Switching the safety off, he aimed and fired into the heads of the Dead. Killing each of them with a well-placed two round burst. As Saeko, Takashi, and Rei finished off their zombie targets, so did the agent.
The last zombie was shot and fell on its back. Jack panted a little before looking at the others and saw that they all had some blood on them, with Saya being the one with the most blood on her. She was sitting on the floor sobbing, trying to calm herself as she stared at the zombie she'd just killed. He looked at Saeko and when she saw him looking at her, she glared at him and turned away. Not wanting to even look at him. Jack sighed and then saw someone with Saya.
That person was the gun-otaku and Jack's other friend, Kohta Hirano. He was short and overweight young man, which presumably hinders his endurance. He had shoulder-length hairstyle that had bangs reaching down from the side of his temples stretching outwards and obscuring the sides of his face. But while he was lacking in the body strength department, he more than made up for in with his skills as a marksman in shooting. It didn't matter what kind of gun you gave him; he'll talk all about it and shoot it like he had a built-in targeting system.
Right now, he was looking at Saya with worry. "Takagi—" Kohta started, before Rei ran past him, and then Shizuka followed her. Resulting in Kohta getting his face smacked by the nurse's monstrous boobs and knocking him down.
"Takagi, are you okay," asked Rei as she kneeled down next to her.
Saya didn't look at her, but whimpered, "Miyamoto…"
Jack reloaded his Honey Badger as Takashi closed the doors to the outside. The Division agent then noticed Saeko walk by him without even looking at him and said to Takashi, "You already know the school doctor Marikawa, right? And I'm Saeko Busujima, from Class 3-A."
"I'm Takashi Komuro from Class 2-B," said Takashi.
"Ms. Busujima, I remember you won the national championship last year," Rei said with a delightful expression, as she stood up. "I'm Rei Miyamoto. I'm in the Spear Martial Arts club."
Kohta got up and rubbed the back of his head. "Oh, and I'm-I'm Kohta Hirano from Class B…." He started but then stopped when his gaze shifted to Jack and he saw the FN FNP in his holster. But what made him gasp in pure joy and delight with stars in his eyes was when he saw the Honey Badger in his hands. "Jack! Is that really an Q Honey Badger PDW!? That things a silent .300 Blackout killing machine! That's easily a military grade weapon!"
"That's right, Kohta," Jack said with a wide smile, with a fist on his hip and his Honey Badger pointed up. He really liked Kohta, as they had to put up with a lot of shit from other people in the school. "It's good to see you safe. Is that a nail gun?" He pointed to a nail gun that was modified into a short rifle.
Kohta smiled back at him said, "Thanks. But ah…"
"What's up?"
"Can I hold it?"
"No."
"Ahh…What about your pistol?" He gasped again. "Is that an FN FNP-45 Tactical!" Jack sighed and pulled out the pistol. He handed it to Kohta, and the gun otaku practically dropped the nail gun just so he could grab the FNP. Grinning evilly, he held it in his hands like it was second nature.
Saeko smiled and said, "Nice to meet you." It snapped Kohta out of it and he gasped with a little blush. When Jack looked at her, it would seem like she was smiling at the both of them. But it wasn't aimed at him. He highly doubted that she'd ever smile willingly at him. For whatever reason. But that didn't stop the butterflies in his stomach.
Jack then noticed that they were all staring at him. He didn't know why. Takashi and Rei knew who he was, and so did Saeko, Shizuka, Kohta, and Saya. For the last four, they were looking at him because of the weapons and gear he was carrying around. They should at least know. "I'm Jack Recker, Class 3-A. I'm an agent of the Division and I'm the one that's going to get you all out of here," he said to them.
However, when Saya came back to reality, she stood up. "Why are you guys being all warm and fuzzy," she asked while gritting her clenched teeth. This made the other look at her in confusion.
"Huh?"
"Why are you being so polite, Miyamoto? You flunked last year, you're the same age, she's not your elder!"
Rei gasped. "What are you talking about, Takagi," Takashi asked her.
The pink-haired girl turned around and glared at the others in anger. "DON'T TALK TO ME LIKE I'M STUPID! I'M SMARTER THAN ALL OF YOU COMBINED!" She screamed at the others and turned around to face them before placing a hand on her chest. "You should be lucky I'm even in the same school as you! I'm a…I'm a…" Saya trailed off as it became too difficult for her to continue.
When a hand was placed on her shoulder, Saya looked up and saw it was Saeko. "It's okay. That's enough," the purple-haired girl said in a gentle and slow voice.
This made Saya look to her left and she saw her reflection in the glass trophy case near her. Her body tensed up and her expression turned to disheartenment. "Look at me…All these bloodstains…Now mom will have to take it to the cleaners," she said, before breaking down and sobbing loudly, holding onto Saeko for support. The rest of them stood around in silence, watching her release long-time built-up emotions and finally coming to terms that the dead were rising.
A few minutes after Saya managed to calm down, the group of survivors made their way into the faculty room. After Jack made sure it was clear, the boys worked together to barricade the door. Pushing one of the heavy desks up against it. When it was done, they panted a little. "What do you think," Kohta asked. He was back to having his nail gun, after Jack managed to get his FNP back from him.
"That's good. For now, let's rest," Jack told them, before walking over to one of the chairs and sitting down in it. He slipped off his backpacked and rubbed his shoulders. He then heard the sink in the bathroom running and looked towards it. Saya had walked into it and was no washing her face by the way she was bending over skin and the sound of splashing water.
Kohta walked over to the bathroom and stopped at the doorway. Looking in with a worried expression. "Hey, just wondering are you okay," he asked.
After drying her face with a towel, she put on a pair of glasses. Saya straightened up and looked at Kohta.
This surprised Kohta and he said with a stutter, "You-You wear glasses." That got him a towel to the face. Jack looked back at them and saw her with the glasses on. He had to admit, she looked rather cute with them on, but there was no way in hell he was going to ever say it out loud.
"Shut up! My contact lenses keep on moving around," she exclaimed defensively at him and walked past him. As Jack was at another sink, filling his camelback pouch that was in his backpack, Saya walked over to him. Staring at him with a stern and demanding expression. "Alright, Recker. You care to explain?"
Jack looked at her in confusion. "Huh?"
"What is all this? There's no way you could have just found those weapons on the school campus," she clarified. The conversation got everyone's attention and they all looked towards him. Even Saeko, who would not even bother with him and would still glare at him, held back her irritation of Jack and listened with a serious expression. "You said that you're a 'Division agent.' What is that?"
Jack looked around the room and saw all eyes were on him. From Saya's scowl to Kohta's genuine curiosity. Even Shizuka, even though having known him, didn't know about the Division and looked confused in her ditzy way. He even saw Saeko looking at him. When they made eye contact, she looked a little irritated, but that look faded quickly back to a serious face. Jack sighed, knowing that if he was going to protect them that he'll have to tell them about the Division.
The blonde nodded and stood up. "Have any of you heard of Operation Dark Winter," he asked, getting puzzled looks from his peers.
"Oh! I know!" Kohta exclaimed with a hand raised up. When he lowered it, his faced turned to deadly serious and all were looking at him now. "In 2001, an operation known as 'Dark Winter' was launched. It was a real-world exercise that tested the emergency response to a bioterror attack on the United States. The simulation spiraled out of control within a few days, and predicted that a 'breakdown in essential institutions,' civil disorder, and massive civilian casualties."
While Jack was impressed that he knew about Dark Winter, he continued from where he left off. "That mock exercise revealed how vulnerable we've become. Our lifestyle, our security, our safety depends on a delicate and unstable economy. And so, the President of the United States signed Directive 51 to create the Strategic Homeland Division. It was meant to be a preparation should a Dark Winter become reality. When the other countries like Japan heard of the Operation and the creation of the Division, they all came together to create their Division units. Kept in secret as it recruited and trained many men and women from the population to become elite, highly-skilled sleeper agents," he told the group with crossed arms and as serious scowl. "I'm part of the Division."
All of the students looked at him with wide eyes. Surprised, shocked, and even astonished.
"I understand that you still have a lot of questions, but they'll have to wait." Jack turned around, picked up his Honey Badger and turned back to face them. "We still have to find a way out of the school."
Takashi nodded and turned to the nurse. "Dr. Marikawa, where are your car keys," he asked.
Shizuka started rummaging through her handbag, which was filled with medical supplies. "They're in my bag."
"Are you sure we'll be able to fit in your car," asked Saeko.
Shizuka froze and looked a little embarrassed. "Oops, I don't think of that…" she said, with an image of her small car popping into her head.
"What about the microbus we use for the clubs' away games and events?" Kohta said, now standing near the window and staring out it. Jack walked over to him and looked down at the bus in question.
"Alright, we'll take that," he said with a grin.
"That's fine, but where are we going," Shizuka asked.
"I'm not sure, but the plan is to make sure that your families are okay," the agent told them. "We'll start with the families that live the closet from here and bring them to a safe house or area."
"What will we do after that," Takashi asked.
"After that, we'll do whatever it takes to save what remains." He was interrupted by Rei gasping. Jack and everyone turned towards her and saw her looking up at the tv, which she'd turned on to watch the news.
"What is this?" she whispered. Saeko stood up and walked over to the remote and turned up the volume.
"What is it, Rei," asked Takashi. He stood up and walked over to stand next to her. Saeko saw that she was standing next to Jack, but turned back to the TV as the newscaster started talking.
"…in response to the riots raging all over the country, the government has started taking emergency measures to counteract the outbreaks that've been occurring around the city. They've even activated sleeper agents of something called the Division…"
"Outbreaks!?" Takashi exclaimed in confusion and anger. "What do they mean 'outbreaks'?" Saeko changed the channel to a different newscast. This one showed a newswoman in a street with police and even two Division agents in the background. Standing around filled body bags that were being removed from an ambulance.
"It's been feared that more than ten thousand have been victimized in the area so far. It's also to know that a secret agency called 'The Division' was activated to—" There were several loud gunshots and they were coming from the agents behind her. She recoiled and the camera was turned to show the agents and police surrounding the dead bodies. "Regain control of the situation in this state of emergency. Emergency Disaster Relief has been—" When more gunshots were heard, she turned around and showed that some of the body bags were sitting up. The people inside them rising from the dead. The Division agents and officers gunning down the zombies. "It's gunshots. The Division and police are finally using firearms! From what I can see—"
The signal was cut off when the camera fell, the reporter screamed in terror, and the gunshots got closer. With the signal cut, the TV turned to static that echoed inside the room. Everyone stared in shock at what just happened.
Then there was a screen that said; "Please Stand By," before it cut to a woman in a TV studio with a paper that was just handed to her. "Uh…there appears to be a problem with our remote. From now on, we'll bring you the story from inside the studio. The condition outside seems extremely chaotic, so stay home unless it's absolutely necessary to go outside. We'll bring you more stories as soon as it's safe to cover the current situation from the site."
BANG!
The people in the office were startled when Takashi hit his fist on one of the desks. "Is that all?!" He yelled in anger. "Why didn't they tell us anything else?!"
"They're trying not to cause a panic," Jack told him.
"Wow, you're actually right," Takagi said half-heartedly.
"Fuck off, Saya," Jack said, leaning against a desk and crossed his arms.
"A panic," asked Rei.
"Yeah, you idiot!" Saya said harshly, before pushing up her glasses. "This really is a Dark Winter scenario. First panic, then chaos. Chaos causes a disruption of order. And then, when order is disrupted…well you should just hand it all over to the walking corpses." Jack grabbed the remote where Saeko left it and started flipping channels.
"At 2:45, Eastern time, a biological pandemic as swept across North America," said a reporter from CNN as Jack stopped on that channel. "Government authorities have evacuated the White House and will be relocated to a command center aboard the aircraft carrier George Washington. The President has activated the Division, sleeper agents, to regain control of the situation. However, there are also reports that the transfer of power is in preparation for the use of tactical warheads to combat the infection, should the Division fail. All contact with Moscow has been lost. Beijing has been set ablaze. London's Division unit has been able to regain order, while in Paris and Rome, there are reports of looting and violence. The government officials have declared a state of martial law—"
The TV started to lose its signal and was cut to static. Jack sighed and turned off the television. Leaning on the desk with his fists, he looked down with a troubled expression. It was clear that the Division's been activated all over the world, in the countries that had a unit. Each one with different results.
"So, they're everywhere," said Takashi.
"That's crazy," Kohta said. "Everything was normal when I checked the internet this morning." This brought another troubling thought to Jack. If this all happened before the call to the other agents, what's to say that they weren't attacked and killed before the attack on the school? And that meant that if what Rika said about the situation when he talked to her was true, then the remaining Division were struggling to fight back against the Dead. For all he knew, him and Rika were the only ones left.
"I can't believe this…" Rei stared at the turned off TV in a state of horror. One similar to when she saw Hisashi turning into one of the living dead. "…This happened all over the world in the matter of a few hours…" she moved close to Takashi and held his arm. "But they'll stop it, right? The military, the Division…they have to stop it…from spreading, I mean… Everything is going back to normal soon."
"It's…not likely," Jack said with a head shake.
"Did anyone ask for your input," Saeko asked him with a hostile voice and a glare.
Jack looked at her with his own glare and turned his body to face Saeko complete. "What the hell is your problem!?" He yelled in anger, catching her off guard. "Huh? Why do you act like this around me? Because I have no clue. What the hell did I ever do to you?!" She looked surprised at him, and even Jack was a little surprised. He didn't want his response to her hatred to be like this. By putting her in the spotlight. It actually hurt him inside.
"Stop it! Both of you!" Saya demanded, getting between them and pushed the two of them away. "Jack's right. This is a pandemic, there's nothing we can do!"
"A pandemic…" Shizuka muttered.
Jack turned away from Saeko to answer her. "It's the outbreak of an infectious disease. An epidemic. Think of it as like the Spanish Flu in 1918," he said.
"More than 600 million people got infected and over 50 million died from it. You remember how much of a panic Swine Flu caused? Well square that," Saya explained.
Shizuka then said, "Not to be disagreeable, but I think this is more like the Black Death from the 14 Century."
"1/3 of the European population died," Saya said in agreement. "You're smarter than you look."
"So how did the outbreak end," Takashi asked.
"Well, there are many theories," said Shizuka. "It's usually stopped when too many humans die. There wouldn't be enough people to spread the disease."
"But now all the dead still move and start attack you," Kohta said, looking out the window at the Dead below them.
"Are you saying there's no reason for this outbreak to stop," Saeko asked with her arms crossed. That hung around in the air for a moment, before Shizuka perk up.
"The weather's going to be hot," she said smiling. "They might not be able to move if their flesh decomposes."
"How long does it take for that to happen?"
Shizuka looked down at her fingers and started to count. "In summer, some parts of the body can become skeletal in about twenty days. But it takes considerably longer during winter…" She then smiled as she came to her conclusion. "Couple of mouths. That's not too terribly long."
"You're kidding," Saeko said. "She's not smarter than she looks."
"Even if that was the case, we don't even know if that'll apply to zombies," Jack said with his arms crossed. He shook his head and grabbed his Honey Badger. Getting everyone's attention. "We'll figure this out later. But from this point on, we'll need to team up, and gather more people. We've got a better chance of survival if we work together. Do you understand? If we stay together, we survive."
All were at an agreement and got ready to escape the school and run to the bus. Rei grabbed her makeshift spear. Kohta readied his nailgun and Saya grabbed her bag while fixing her glasses. Shizuka grabbed her media bag and hugged it to her body. Saeko picked up her boken. Takashi grabbed his bat. Jack stood ready with his Honey Badger.
"The front is our only bet to making it to the buses," Jack told the group, before walking over to the door. He reached for the door handle, but stopped when he heard the sound of moaning. It was the Dead. Likely heard their commotion.
He turned his head to the others. They got the message and got ready to run.
Jack nodded and grasped the handle and switched the safety off. He breathed in and opened the door. There were only three zombies. He quickly shot them down. The group then started running, fight through the hallways of the school.
Those three zombies were the only ones that they've encountered. They continued down the hall with caution before stopping at a stairwell. They all looked down at the zombies that were roaming around in the courtyard. "Let me make something clear, there's no need to engage in a fight unless it's necessary," Saeko said to the group. Jack glanced at her and knew she was right. He put away the Honey Badger and pulled out his tomahawk. "Do whatever you can to avoid a fight, you got it?"
"Remember, they're sensitive to sound, so keep it quiet," Saya told them. And they're strong enough to break through regular walls and doors. And when they've got a hold on you, they're gonna tear you to shreds, so be careful."
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!" There was a terrible scream from a female student. And it was near. The group took off in the direction it came from, hoping to get there before anything could happen and stop them from getting killed. It wasn't long before they got to the location, and Jack saw it was coming down another stairwell. He ran towards it and looked down the stairwell to see a group of five students being surrounded by a crowd of the Dead. Three boys, and two girls. The boys were trying to hold off the zombies were bats and poles, trying to protect the girl.
One of them was about to get attacked, only for Kohta to shoot it in the head.
The others leapt into action. Well, Saeko was the one that leapt. She jumped off the railing and landed onto the landing and brought her boken down onto the head of a zombie. Jack and Takashi ran down and stairs. Two zombies turned towards them. Jack jumped down the steps and planted his tomahawk down into the head of the dead student. Blood and brain matter splattered out of it, before the agent kicked the zombie away. As Takashi and Rei fought their own dead opponents, Jack turned towards the two zombies that were going after the students. He changed and killed one, before Saeko killed the other.
Jack sighed and turned towards the students. The survivors looked at him with wide eyes, seeing him with his military equipment and weapons. "Has any one of you been bitten," he asked.
"What?" asked one of the girls asked. "No! No one."
Jack held up an index finger to his lips. "They react to sounds," he said, before whipping off the blood and brains off his tomahawk. Just so he didn't seem threatening to them, he put it away. "I'm a Division agent, and we're getting out of here. If you want, I suggest that you come with us."
"O-Okay," said the other girl.
With the group now bigger than before, the students and nurse quickly made their way down the stairs and reached the front doors. But when Jack went to turn around the corner leading to the area with the shoe-lockers he back up immediately. There were a ton of Dead roaming and stumbling aimlessly around. More than what the group was going to be able to handle if they were going to get by quietly.
"Man, there's a bunch of them," muttered Takashi. Trying to not alert the Walkers.
"From what I can tell, the only thing they react to are sounds," Saya said. "They can't see us, so it's pointless to hide from them."
"Why don't you go down there and prove that theory," Takashi suggested, which got her to shut her mouth. Jack may have disliked the girl's personality, but he would never question her smarts and had confidence in her theory.
"But even if we keep going through inside the school, once we get attacked, we're going to be stuck," Saeko said with her arms crossed.
"We have to go through the gate, we don't have any choice," Rei said.
"Someone needs to go and confirm Takagi's theory. Don't suppose you want to volunteer." Saeko looked at the pink-haired girl out of the corner of her eye. Everyone remained silent for a moment.
Jack looked at the horde and sighed. Setting his Honey Badger down, he grabbed the strap of his backpack and took it off. Bringing everyone's attention to him as he held the backpack to Takashi, who looked at him in confusion. "It's only going to make more noise if I have with me," he said, prompting Takashi to take the backpack. Jack grabbed his weapon and stood up. "I'll go."
Takashi said, "No, I'll do it."
"I think I should go ahead first," Saeko said, oddly enough.
"The longer we spend arguing, the more time we waste," Jack said. "You all stay back just in case."
"But why, Jack," Takashi asked abruptly, making Jack stop when he started to walk. "You've done so much already."
"…I don't know. Maybe it's because I'm the most expendable person here," he said with a smile at his friend. Jack turned back and started making his way down to the lockers. Leaving behind a surprised Takashi.
Saeko even looked shocked at the Division agent.
Jack descended down the stairs and reached the ground level. Despite how scared he was, he kept his breath steady as he walked into the horde with his AR ready for any attack, while his heart was pounding in his chest like a jackhammer. He then stopped in the middle of the area, and Jack remained still. Watching some of the Dead roam around him. Everyone else watched from the stairs, nervous for him.
Sweet rolled down his cheek, as a zombie approached Jack. As it opened its mouth to moan, the agent's nostrils were hit with the bad smell of its breath before he soundlessly sidestepped. Jack watched as it kept going. Even when its foot touched his toes, it didn't notice him. 'So, the bitch was right. They really can't see me.' Jack released a small sigh of relief and smiled a little.
He then looked down and saw a bloodstained shoe near his feet. Jack picked it up and threw it down the corridor. Making a loud bang that as it hit the wall. All the Dead turned towards the sound, and started walking towards it. Within a second, Jack was no longer surrounded by zombies and he walked over to the entrance doors of the school.
He pushed them both open and held them, before Saeko came and help. She held open one while he held the other. Takashi, who was wearing Jack's backpack, and the other moved quickly but quietly out of the school. Jack watched them, before glancing at Saeko. She was looking at him, but when she saw him look at her, she averted her gaze away. It confused Jack because it wasn't a glare she was giving him. It was almost like she was afraid to make eye contact with him.
Clang!
That was the sound of a metal pole being carried by the last student hitting against the banister of the staircase. It startled and frightened the group of survivors because the sound echoed all throughout the hallways and was even heard outside.
Everything froze, before the moaning of the Dead was heard throughout the air.
"RUN!" Takashi yelled, and the students and nurse did just that.
"Why did you have to go and shot?!" Saya yelled at Takashi as she stood by the doors. "We could've made it by just taking care of the ones that were close by if you hadn't said anything!"
A zombie was about to attack her, before Saeko knocked it in the head.
"The sound echoed anyway, so it wouldn't have done any good!" Rei said.
"Get to the bus! GO! GO! GO!" Jack yelled, before running and shooting zombies. All of them followed him and charged. The agent, Takashi, Rei, and Saeko were at the front, bashing or shooting zombies in the head if they got in the way. Kohta was more behind with the Shizuka and Saya, shooting zombies with his nailgun. Everyone else followed close behind on the path being made by the fighters.
As they turned around the corner of a fence and saw the bus in the parking with a lot of zombies. Jack shot some more zombies, before his PDW ran out of bullets. He switched it out for his tomahawk as Takashi bashed away a zombie. Saeko leaped up with her boken raised up, before bringing it down on another zombie's head. Rei used her broom-spear to knock the Dead out of her way. Kohta still had ammo in his nailgun and shot more zombies.
Jack stopped when he heard one of the students scream in pain and turn towards him. He saw one of the boys getting eaten as a what he could only guess is his girlfriend was being held back by Saya.
"Just forget him!" Saya yelled at her, as Jack reloaded his gun with a new dual mag and started shooting any Walkers that got close to the students that were lagging behind. "One you get bitten, it's pointless!"
Jack shot two more zombies before noticing the girlfriend break off from the group. "Wait!" He yelled as she ran towards the undead and threw herself onto the boyfriend and gave up on life. "Goddammit! Come on!" the Division agent turned and ran on with the others towards the bus.
"Ms. Shizuka, the key!" Takashi yelled as they got close to the bus.
Shizuka made it over to the bus and pulled out the keys to the bus. She opened the door, before she and the students started to get on. The nurse then went over to the driver's seat, as Takashi and Saeko stepped on-board. The nurse started it as Jack backed up to the bus and fired two shots into a zombie. Killing it before turning to get on. However, when he stepped in, he heard people calling from behind. Jack turned around and saw a rather large group of students, and a teacher running towards the bus.
"We've got more coming!" He yelled. However, when he saw who the teacher was, Jack couldn't believe it and glared. The man had a very thin frame and looked like a fragile man with black eyes and black hair what was almost shoulder length. He was wearing a black pinstripe suit with a white dress shirt inside it, along with a yellow tie. He also wears black-framed glasses. "You've got to be kidding me," Jack said.
"Who's that," asked Takashi.
"That's Mr. Shido of Class 3-A," Saeko told him.
Rei looked shocked to see him too. But she looked at him with a hate-filled glare. One that surpassed any glare that Saeko gave Jack. "…Shido." Rei whispered with venom.
"We can go now!" Shizuka said to the Division agent.
"Wait for the others to get on!" Jack said, getting a look from Rei.
"They're in front of us. Any more and we won't be able to drive through here."
"Run 'em down," Takashi said in a stern tone.
Saya, who was sitting with Kohta, sighed and said, "If Dr. Boobs tries to drive over that many, we'll flip the bus."
Jack knew this and was about to run out of the bus to help the remaining students and teacher get onto the bus. However, Rei grabbed him by his arm and stopped Jack. "We don't have to save him!" She shouted hotly.
Takashi, who was standing behind her, looked at his ex-girlfriend incredulous. "What do you mean we don't have to save him?"
Rei snapped around to glare at him. "We don't have to help him! We should just leave him here to die!" She shouted into his face.
Jack wanted to agree, as he hated Shido with a passion, but that didn't mean that he was going to leave the other students to die with him. He didn't like it, but if having Shido live meant that they lived, then so be it. After all, the man was decent enough to lead a group of survivors to safety, even stopping to direct the students to the bus.
But ever little positive thought about the man was tarnished by what Jack saw next.
One of the students that were with Shido fell over and landed at the teacher's feet. Jack watched at Shido stood there while the student grabbed his leg. Begging him for help. The agent honestly though that he'd help him.
Not to Jack's shock the man raised his foot up and brought it down on the boy's face. Making blood come out of his mouth and nose, as his glasses broke.
"What the fuck, you snake!?" Jack shouted and jumped off the bus. As the others yelled at him to come back, Jack ran as fast as he could to the now sobbing boy, as he was going surrounded by zombies. He pointed his Honey Badger at them and started shooting. Running past Shido as the man took off his tie with a snake like smirk.
Shooting three zombies on the left and then two on the right, Jack slung his PDW on his back and drew his pistol. He then grabbed his fellow student by his right armpit and hoisted him up. "On your feet, let's go!" Jack said and began pulling him towards the bus.
Takashi and Saeko had stepped off the bus and were now holding off any zombie that would come close to the vehicle. The male student Jack was trying to save tried to use his right foot but fell. Luckily Jack caught him and held him up. He then saw some Dead were coming at them from his left. He turned himself and the boy slightly to the left so he could get a few shots into some of him.
"It's my leg…it's sprained," the student said while crying. Jack nodded and kept dragging him to the bus. Shooting any zombie that came too close.
"Don't stop! Keep going!" Jack said to encourage him. But even he was starting to get tired. Their breaths were shortening and he could feel the guy was slowing down.
Saeko knocked another zombie away before looking at Jack and the boy he was saving. She gasped and yelled, "Look out!" Jack turned his head to the left…
Only to see a zombie had grabbed the student and bite into his neck. His eyes widening and his mouth open as he screamed silently.
Jack's looked at him in shock, before letting him go. The student was already dead before he could need hit the ground. "Fuck!" the Division agent yelled and turned to run for the bus. Takashi and Saeko stepped on-board, before Jack managed to reach it and shut the door behind him. "Get us out of here!" Jack yelled at Shizuka, his voiced filled with anger.
"Hang on!" Shizuka floored the gas pedal and the bus started moving. Driving the bus towards the front gate of the school. Swerving the bus side to side as to not hit any group of the Dead. Hesitant to even hit any of the former students.
"To the gate!" Saya yelled.
"I know!" Shizuka replied back as she continued to drive the bus from hitting any of the zombies. But then she saw that they were coming up on a large group the Dead were standing in front of the gate. If they were going to make it out of the school, then they had to get through the Walkers. Shizuka looked down. "They're not human's anymore," she said, trying to steel herself. Shizuka took an oath as a doctor to never kill another person, but… "They're not people anyone…They're not alive anymore!"
The busty doctor slammed on the accelerator. The bus was speeded up quickly, and plowed right into the horde of the living dead. Jack quickly grabbed onto a pole and braced himself for impact.
The bus of survivors smashed through the gates of Fujimi Academy and Jack was nearly sent flying off his feet. They then landed in a pile of Cherry Blossoms that sent up a wave of the pedals, before the nurse turned the bus and drove the bus away from the school. Their time there was over, but it wasn't over yet.
Jack sighed as all was silent on the bus. He then pulled out the dual mag he had in the Honey Badger and saw he still had bullets in one of them. Kohta was sitting with Saya, adding more tape to his nail gun to keep it together. "I can't believe we did it," Takashi said quietly.
"Yeah," said Kohta an equally quiet voice.
"Thank God we did," said Shido as he walked up to where the first group. He then looked at Jack and Saeko. As the purple-haired girl was cleaning the blood and brains off her weapon, Shido placed a hand on her chair and smiled. "I take it either you or Mr. Recker has been appointed—" He stopped when a suppressed FNP-45 tactical was pressed to his forehead.
"You…are going to shut the fuck up, you bastard," Jack hissed hatefully at the teacher, as grabbed Shido by his shirt he pushed him away from Saeko. Just enough that he didn't have his filthy hand on her chair. Saeko noticed this and looked up at Jack with her eyes a little widened. "You left a student to die. Kick him in the face and ran off! An innocent kid, who'll never get to see his family again, is dead, because of you!" He pulled Shido closers and held the pistol under the teacher's chin. "I suggest that you go back and sit your ass down." That last part he said in a strained, and deadly serious tone.
Jack let go of the man and pushed him away. Shido nearly stumbled and stood there for a few seconds, with the agent aiming the gun at his face. Shido turned around and walked back to his seat. This made Jack sigh, before holstering the pistol and walking over to one of the seats in the front.
He pasted Rei, who whispered, "Thank you."
Jack stopped and nodded to her, before continuing to a seat. He placed the Honey Badger in his lap as he slumped down in an empty chair. Sighing as he finally felt some weight that was taken off his shoulder. "The city!" one of the students in the back of the bus shouted. Jack and everyone looked out the window on the left-hand side.
Just like he saw on the roof, it in chaos. As they drove on the road over the city, all on-board could see smoke rising from the buildings. With fire lighting the town. The bus drove down blood-splattered streets and saw some buildings that were outside of the city were in ruin or abandoned. It was honesty surprising to Jack that everything could get this bad in just half a day. It really did look like it as gone through a war.
"What did you mean?" Jack was brought out his thoughts when Takashi sat down next to him. Taking Jack's backpack off and setting it on the floor. Jack looked at him with a raised eyebrow, not sure what he was asking. "You said that you were expendable, he said. "What did you mean by that?"
"What you think it means," Jack asked with a yawn. He was trying to stay awake just in case they run into trouble.
"Bullshit. That's what it means to me," Takashi said with a firm stare. "Why would you think that your life is worth any less that any of us?"
The two of them stared at each other for a moment, before Jack sighed. "…You all have a family to find," he said somberly. He didn't want to say it, as it was a painful thing to say out loud. "My parents died long ago, and the only family I have left are out of reach…they aren't even worth giving a shit about. You have a family that's waiting for you and maybe looking for you…I don't really have anyone. I'm just the guy trying to protect everyone and will do anything to do it." As Jack finished, he was staring up at the ceiling. He held in his tears, just like he's learned to do for years.
There was an uncomfortable silence that was felt in the air. "You're wrong," said Takashi, making Jack look at him with surprise. "Jack, you're my best friend. When I was going through so much shit, you were there. You were there for me, even when I didn't ask you to be. Even if you were keeping your sleeper agent identity a secret, there's no one I'd rather have with me in this fucked up situation."
"…Takashi…" Jack looked at him with a genuine look of astonishment. When it's just the two of them, they never had long conversations and were rather quiet when socializing. But when with each other, they could understand each other without saying much. He did it because he was trained as an agent to not get too close to anyone. So, to see Takashi seek highly of him was something Jack was not prepared to hear.
"You were the only one that stood up for me." Jack turned and looked at Kohta when he spoke. Saya, was trying her best to look like she was asleep and not listening. "I just took it whenever people made fun of me, and just laugh it off. But then you came along and when you saw those guys beating me up, you sent them all to the nurses office…." He smiled at Jack. "…no one ever did that for me. I'm with Komuro. I want you to stay around with us, Jack. So, don't die."
When he was training to be an agent, Jack was told to never get too close to anyone. So, it won't mess you up when you're finally activated. That's what he's trying to do for the four years he's been going to Fujimi Academy. He's tried to not get attached, and it didn't fucking work. Not when Rika's done so much for him and has just been like an aunt to him. Not when he made friends like Takashi and Kohta, who wanted him to live. That's why Hisashi's death still weighed on him. He was his friend. No matter what you did, you'll always be attached to something or someone. And that's why he let out a little laugh and a tear leaked out of his eye. Jack quickly wiped it away before they could notice and said, "Alright, you win, assholes. But I can't promise I wouldn't do something stupid."
The three friends shared a laugh, while unbeknownst to them was that someone else was listening to their conversation. Saeko didn't mean to, it's just that the bus was silent and once she heard them, she couldn't turn away.
That's when the feelings of shame and guilt bubbled up inside her and weigh in on her heart. She didn't know if that was it, or that Jack had finally spoken back and demanded to know why she hated him, or the stress of the situation. Wherever it was, Saeko was finally starting to feel things she knew she should have been feeling a long time ago.
Saeko knew her treatment of Jack Recker was unwarranted. That Jack's done nothing to deserve her harshness. But she can't help what she felt. She just couldn't. Whenever she saw him, memories of that night popped into the head. Making it hard for her not to feel a spike of hatred. Jack never argued against her before, so she never really felt any guilt, but secretly, she knew she should have.
When listening, she couldn't help but feel like she had a role in making Jack feel that he was expendable. Her treatment of him could have those kinds of effects on a person in more ways than one. And she's seen the way he looks at her. It all started when they first met. She bumped into him and he was sweet enough to offer her a hand. But when she heard his last name, that's when her negative emotions against him exploded, and Saeko punched him in the face threatened him to never touch her again with a heated glare.
The look of raw hurt and pain he had on his face that day, it was the same look every time she treated him like scum. She's never noticed it before until now.
Now…Saeko felt awful. She felt like the lowest life form in existence. Every word she could think of that could describe how bad she felt, she felt it.
Saeko wasn't stupid. She knew about his crush on her. It was on in the looks he's given her when she wasn't being hostile to him. Even after how she tormented him, his feeling for her endeared.
Her thoughts were interrupted by a sudden thud at the front of the bus as they passed a gas station. Saeko looked back at where Jack was and saw that Takashi was sitting back at where he once was, leaving Jack alone.
"Shiiiiit," said a blonde student in the back of the bus, bringing her and everyone's attention to him. Jack looked at him and remember that he was one of the assholes that picked on Kohta in school. "Like I said, it's only dangerous if we keep going! First of all, why do we have to go with Recker and the others? You guys are the only ones who decided to go back to the city! Maybe we should've just looked for a safe place in the school. If you ask me, we were better off where we were!"
"We're going back into the city back to find their families," Jack fired back, not understanding how stupid this guy was. "As a Division agent, my duty is to make sure that I get any survivors I can find to a safe area. The school's a death trap!"
"I don't ever know what a 'Division' even is!" the teenager exclaimed.
"He's right," said another student. "I kind of agree with Tsunoda. How do we even know if we can trust you? We should barricade ourselves—"
The bus suddenly came to a halt. The tires screeched against the road as Jack was almost about to hit the back of the chair in front of him, but he was able to bring his foot up and stop himself. Shizuka unbuckled herself, making her boobs jiggle, and leaned over to look at everyone. But this just left her large breasts hanging for everyone to see, and some gawked at. "Okay, you all, that's enough!" she exclaimed. "I can't focus on the driving with all this yelling!"
"Yeah, whatever," Tsunoda said.
"How about you tell me what you wanna do," Saeko said.
Tsunoda turned to glare at her, which pissed Jack off a little. Tsunoda then pointed at finger at Takashi. "I just can't stand this guy!" He yelled. "I hate him!" Kohta got ready to use his nailgun on the guy, but Saya held him back. Jack grabbed his PDW.
"Why?" Takashi stood up to confront him. "What the hell did I ever do to you? I don't even know."
"You know—!" The teenager rushed forward with his fist ready to punch him. Jack stood up and aimed at Tsunoda, only for Rei to beat him to the beat. Stepping forward and swinging the side of her staff hard into Tsunoda's stomach. Knocking the wind out of him and making some saliva fly out of his mouth. He fell to the floor in a fetal position, clutching his stomach and coughing up.
"Asshole," said Rei, talking down to him.
Jack smirked and lowered the Honey Badger. But then the moment was ruined by the clear sound of someone clapping. "Bravo," said Shido, stepping forward towards the front group. "Simply outstanding teamwork." He stopped clapping, as Jack walked over to stand behind Rei and Takashi. "I'm impressed. I commend both of you. At any rate, a conflict like that merely proves my point; we need a leader. We do."
"I wouldn't call myself one, but I'm in charge of making sure that everyone gets to safety," Jack said, bringing Shido's attention to him. "And I would appreciate it if you stop this little power game."
Shido bent over to get to Jack's height. Narrowing his eyes to leer at him like the snake that Jack's always known him to be. "Be that as it may, surely you or any one of you wouldn't want such of a difficult responsibility on your shoulders."
Saya adjusted her glasses has she scoffed. "So, you're going to run for the position, then?"
Shido looked to her and leaned down more, making her look away in discomfort. "I'm a teacher, Ms. Takagi," he said. Talking down to her like she was a child. "And, while mature, the rest of you are barely in your teens."
Now it was Jack's turn to scoff. "Please, all of us are at least 17, dick head," he said, getting everyone to look at him. "Me and Ms. Busujima are actually 18, so we're legally adults. And just because you're a teacher doesn't mean you have right to be a leader. In this fallen society, that position means nothing, Shido."
Shido was a little surprised, but recomposed himself, but Jack could see the distain Shido had for him in his eyes. "Yes, but I'm still the oldest one here. That alone makes it very clear who should assume such a role! I have experience!" Shido then turned towards the students in the back, his former class, and held out one arm at his side and the other one to his chest. "Why, just moments ago I saved all of these brave students! What do you save, guys?"
That alone made Jack which his safety off. He may have saved the last students on the bus, but what he did to the other one was still fresh in his head. Tsunoda looked at Shido with admiration, and then to Jack's and everyone in the front's shock, the rest of the students in the back started standing and clapping. This couldn't be real. Shido? The snake in the glass? Why would they really vote for him? Jack may not have seen himself as a leader, but he was their best hope of surviving. They couldn't be that stupid.
Then to add to his anger, Shido took a bow for the students clapping for him. And it wasn't a simple one. It was like this mock bow or like he was a stage performer after a play. Shido then turned back around to face the front. But he was mostly looking at Jack with his arms out and a cocky wide grin on his face. "There, it's been decided," said Shido. "The majority seems to have made the choice quite clever, yes?"
Jack was about to retort when the Rei ran past him, up to the front of the bus, kicked open the door on the passenger's side and jumped off. Leaping into the empty streets.
Takashi quickly ran to the front of the bus and called out to her. "Rei!"
Rei turned around to face him with a looked at him with an expression overtaken by fury. Which also made her boobs bounce for some reason. "No way! I won't do it! I'm not saying here with him!"
"Get back in the bus," he said quietly, almost begging her.
"Well, there's nothing I can do if you want to act in accordance with all of us," Shido said overdramatically.
Jack snapped his head back to him and with one hand, pointed the lightweight Honey Badger at the teacher's legs. "Keep talking and you'll be losing your kneecaps!" He angrily responded. Afraid of him being serious, Shido got smart and shut up faster than the agent though was possible. He glared at Jack intensely and growled, before coughing in an attempt to hide it.
"Komuro!" yelled Saya. Jack turned around to see that Takashi had jumped off the bus. He ran towards the front of the bus and leant out the open door.
"Get your asses back inside!" Jack yelled at them. But they didn't listen.
"Wait!" Takashi stopped Rei by grabbing her arm. "Get back on the bus. When we get to the city, we'll get off. I don't want you to leave."
"That's why I told you that you should have left him to die! Now you're regretting that!" Rei snapped.
"No! We're both regretting this!"
There was a sudden sound of a large vehicle. Jack turned his head and walked over to a window on the right side of the bus. There was another bus coming their way. It was out of control, everyone was likely getting attacked on it by zombies, and it was coming at the group.
Saeko was also looking at it and as Jack ran over to the open door, she turned to Shizuka and yelled, "Okay, you need to punch it!"
"Guys! Get out of there, NOW!" Jack shout out the door of the bus. The runaway bus crashed into one of the abandoned cars on the side of the road. Causing it to flip on its side, but was still heading towards Takashi and Rei. Skidding across the road on its side. Takashi quickly tackled Rei into an underpass that they were in front of it, just before the bus collide into the support structures on either side, and then bursting into flame.
Jack ran out of the bus and ran over to where there was a crack between the underpass and the crashed vehicle.
"Takashi! Rei! You guys okay?" He called out to them, before seeing zombies that were on fire crawl out of the bus. Even breaking through the front window. Jack backed up and shot a zombie in the head two times. He then shot another one with a single headshot.
"At the police station!" Takashi yelled from the other side. Jack looked in the direction his voice was coming from, and saw Takashi standing near the crack on the other side. "Meet up at the East Police station!"
"What time?"
"Seven o'clock! If not today, then tomorrow at the same time!"
The bus started to fall apart and its blocked Jack's view of his friend. The agent growled at how useless he felt. His friends were separated from the others and there was nothing that could be done. The fires were growing too fast and too strong. And now he had to deal with fire zombies.
However, the zombies weren't fire-resistant and fell over.
Jack rushed back and climbed back on the school bus. He closed the sliding door behind him and looked at Shizuka. "He said to meet up at the East Police station," he said. "But it looks like we're not taking this way."
"Okay, but we're running out of fuel," Shizuka said, pointing to the fuel gauge. "We wouldn't have enough to get there."
"There's a gas station up this road," Jack said when he walked up to the front of the vehicle. He pointed down the road. "Just head down this road to it. Besides, we'll need to make a stop at my apartment." Shizuka nodded and switched the gears on the bus.
"Why do we need to go to your apartment," Saya asked.
Jack chuckled a little, a gave her a little smile. "Trust me, we'll need what's there." As the bus started moving, Jack walked back to where Takashi had sat down. Wanting to make sure that Shido didn't try anything while everyone was asleep. When his bottom hit the seat, he sighed in exhaustion.
There was no time for him to sleep. He was going to stay awake, and Saeko could see that. She was a little surprised just how much of his health he had been willing to sacrifice just for them. It was honestly admirable.
At that moment, Saeko decided that she was going to at least try and change her attitude towards Jack for the better. It was hard to know if she'll ever really get past her negative feelings whenever she sees him, but she was going to strive for it. She didn't want to continue treating him like how she used to. For all he's doing, and for the bravery he's shown to have, he deserves better.
However, it was just so hard for her.
Jack looked so much like him.
She shook her head a little and closed her eyes. Leaning her head back to get comfortable.
It was going to be a long night.
The Living Dead Will Continue…
Narrator: "On the next episode of Cowboy Alchemist's The Living Dead…"
Jack: "I've got Division tech at my apartment."
?{some thug}?: "I'll kill you motherfucker!"
Saeko: "I-I wanted to talk to you, Recker."
Narrator: "The Living Dead. Updates coming soon."
Jack: "Thank you…Saeko."
Narrator: "Only on Fanfiction."
And that was the second Act of "The Living Dead" and we're on the road with the survivors.
Jack takes the mantel as the leader of the group, which shouldn't really be a surprise. He's the one that's going to lead them to safety. And we also get some perspective from Saeko. We see what she's feeling with Jack and we get all little foreshadowing as to why she hates him.
I was honesty surprised by the gun that you all picked. In case you didn't read the AN in the last chapter, I put up a for what gun Jack should use in the story. I couldn't tell if it was going to be the Honey Badger, the Vector, or the Galil. At first, I was sure it was going to be the Vector and I was already starting to write the chapter with the Vector. But then the Honey Badger got the lead, and I went back to put it as the primary weapon.
I'm not complaining, though. I love the Honey Badger. However, as mentioned in the story, it fires a specific caliber that's not even used in Japan in real life. However, being a fanfic, Jack will just find more ammo in unlikely places.
Besides…Honey Badger don't care.
Now, as for the enemy factions from The Division, it's something I'm working on. The only factions that I think would work for the story are the Rioters/Hyenas, which are like these people that are taking advantage of the apocalypse. And the other faction that would work in the story is the Last Man Battalion/the Black Tusk, which were both these advance private military contractors. The one faction that I would really like to have in the story is the Cleaners. And who wouldn't? They're the most iconic enemies in the game.
The next chapter will be its own original chapter, with Jack and Saeko getting close as they fight human enemies, and Jack gets some Skill abilities. Nothing like superpowers, but some of the gadgets that are seen and used in the games.
Thank you very much for reading. "The Living Dead" will return. Please be sure to Favorite and Follow if you like the story, and also Review it. If you any questions or discussions you'd have for me, then please in a Review or a PM me.
Thank you for reading, may God bless you, and have a wonderful day.