A.N.: Hello, and welcome back to the next chapter of BotD. Apologies for the slight delay, but IRL stuff happened and it took time away from my writing. This one is a bit short, only about 2300 words, but I think I cut it at a pretty good spot. I'm currently thinking of making a pilot chapter for another story; either the fantasy-esque Revolution or something else entirely. I don't know yet, but let's see how it goes. Anyway, please let me know what you think of the chapter and leave a review, but if you don't that's also fine. I hope you enjoy.

Review Replies:

To T-Biggz: I haven't seen the new Zombieland yet, but I did get a glimpse of them in their wiki. For the most part, I'll follow the "evolution path" from Left 4 Dead because those are more familiar to me. Maybe in a couple of chapters I'll add in the other variants too.

To rbear1231: Yes, I'll add in a recap for the last chapter to save some time for the next updates as well.

To Boomer14: Thank you, I hope you enjoy the new chapter.

To DreamWeaverGod: Running might not be the best idea against running Them as They might have more stamina than average people, but that gave me an idea which I'll incorporate in the next chapter.

To Zeta Grey: Thank you

Before we begin, let's Recap:

The group had an unpleasant experience with the mall dwellers that ensured them their stay would be both short and unpleasant. During their preparation to leave, the group was asked for help by a member of the Komuro-gumi, Tamaru Hiro and his grandparents who needed help reaching a clinic for plasma transfusion. Agreeing to help, they decided to leave as soon as possible. However, it seemed some of Them had started to evolve.

Chapter 12: Feelings from the Dead

They had never smelled anything so good, so divine. In Their life, They were sure They had some pretty decent meals, but this one… this one would take the cake for the best meal in Their… actually, what should They call the time frame? They were sure that They had died, so would this be Their after-life (as opposed to "afterlife" where They were to meet Their ancestors and whatnot), undeath? Undeath. They had decided that this time frame should be called undeath.

Now… where was that smell coming from?

There! Their eyes might had gone blind, but Their nose and ears still worked. There was something being smashed that made a loud shattering sound. How convenient, the meal tells Them where they are. They ran faster than ever, jumped higher than before, all to make sure nobody else stole Their food. Ambrosia!

Xxxx

Taiei Shopping Town

They shuffled out of the bus with almost hundreds more from the surrounding area following behind Them. One of the sentries tried to slow Their movement and threw a bottle of oil to the floor on Their path. The oil puddle was difficult for humans to manage, let alone for Them and Their awkward movements. In a single second, many of Them had slipped and fell; some to Their faces, others to Their backs.

Another sentry who brought a Molotov cocktail fumbled with his grip on the glass bottle. He struggled with his lighter, striking the flint time and time again until finally a small flame sprouted from it. He lit the wick and threw the improvised weapon to the oil spill, setting the floor on ablaze. What would deter humans and animals was ignored as They continued advancing, even as their clothes and limbs were set on fire.

"Go… go back! We got more of 'em than we could deal with!"

"What about Matsuda?!"

"Nothing we could do about him. He's either zombie chow or burned. Now move it!"

Their numbers had grown from about a dozen to almost 50 now and there was no way they could take Them on. The sentries fell back to their next line of defense, hopefully their allies could help.

Xxxx

Taiei Shopping Town External Parking Lot

"Takashi-kun, are you sure this is a good idea?" Tamaru Umeko asked. Just like her husband, she was put on a wheelchair to help them move faster; while the items the "procured" from the mall were put in separate shopping carts.

"Sorry, obaa-san, we don't really have much options here." Takashi pushed Kosuke's wheelchair while Hiro was pushing hers.

"I'm sorry for imposing, Takashi-kun." Kosuke remarked.

"No problem. Are you alright?"

"This is actually kinda comfy… Now I'm reminded of our honeymoon back in the 60s. We took the train all the way from Tokyo to Osaka. Now this was back before the Shinkansen and the ride was kinda bumpy..." he commented.

"Jii-chan, you're talking too much." Umeko blushed hearing her husband's reminiscing. It happened almost 60 years ago, surely the others wouldn't be interested in his story.

"May I ask you to tell us more later?" Saeko asked.

"Oh, Saeko-chan. Please, don't… it's an old story. I don't think you'll be interested."

"I wanna hear it." Alice said. She walked a mountain bike she took from the mall. They had all agreed that she could keep it as long as she only used it when needed.

"You know… now that we have this many people I gotta ask…." Shizuka said. "How are we all going to fit in the car?"

That… was actually a pretty good question. Even in their previous group of 7 people plus 1 dog, the Humvee was a tight squeeze. Now that they had 7 more people, it was impossible to fit them all.

"Don't worry about it." Takashi and Hiro said at the same time.

"No… as in we literally cannot physically fit in the Hummer." Shizuka clarified.

In response, Takashi just pointed to a bag Misuzu was holding. On it was written "Security" and inside it, a big bundle of keys.

"You guys took that?" Matsushima Ayaka was in disbelief. They had basically admitted to committing a crime in front of two police officers.

"We… did. I mean we didn't take all the car keys in Security. Just around half of it." Shit… they had not travelled with real police officers before. The closest one they had was Rei who was the daughter of 2 police officers.

"It's an emergency so there's not much we can do. Just… just leave the keys you don't use or need behind."

"Yea. That's the idea."

They had parked their Humvee some distance away from the building to make sure nobody would see what they came in with. It seemed like a good idea at the time, but now they slightly regretted it as they had to walk all the way to the vehicle while avoiding Them.

Saeko was having fun. She looked at the horde of Them coming in from all over the place, just waiting to be slaughtered. She had had to curb her bloodlust for so long that it was just bursting out now. Any single one of Them that came too close or came within her killzone was beheaded instantly. She had counted her kills here and so far, she had 14. Quite a fitting number.

However, she was not as happy as she thought she would be. Takashi, that lovable bastard had made her promise not to go wild and rampage or even take three steps away from the group. This was unfair. The target was right there, waiting to be set free from the mortal coil… but she could hold it in. She could and she would. If They could not satisfy her, then she would just need to take it out on Takashi.

She unconsciously licked her lips and grinned. Come to momma, she'd take all the pain away.

Xxxx

Rei felt cold sweat bead on her forehead. She had felt nervous before, but this was at a level way beyond a simple "nervous". Ever since she walked out of the mall, she felt like some otherworldly creature was stalking her, prowling somewhere far enough that she couldn't see it. She tightened her grip on her rifle to make sure that she didn't let it slip and fall. She hoped she could rely on her friends, but there was a doubt inside her. What if they were the biggest dangers to her?

No. That was impossible. They had saved each other's lives so many times now. Surely that meant something to them. She looked around the parking lot and kept up the pace with everyone, never shooting unless absolutely necessary and stabbing with her bayonet more. Bringing the two senior citizens along meant that their fighting force was reduced, but that meant she also had to pick up the slack. The feeling was gone now, but that didn't mean she was out of danger yet.

She was about to stab into one of Them before Saeko lunged in front of her and stabbed Them under their chin, all the way to the skull. She stopped in the middle of her step and felt her heart hammer into her chest. That was uncomfortably close. She looked at the purple haired girl in anger. It was not about "kill stealing" as some people would say, it was the recklessness. If she wasn't careful enough, she might had stabbed Saeko.

"What the hell?!" Rei yelled.

"Eh?" Saeko glared at her like she was an insect. There it was. That was the feeling again. Was it Saeko all this time?

"You… you just… jumped in front of me! What the hell?! I could've stabbed you by accident earlier!"

"No. No, you couldn't."

Without even looking away, Saeko threw a kitchen knife she had taken to one of Them. It was a perfect hit and the blade sunk almost all the way to the handle on Their forehead.

"Ladies, not now. Fight later, escape now." Saya tried to be peacemaker in this situation though she wasn't sure how much it would help.

"This isn't over." Rei hissed.

"Far from it." Saeko replied.

Both of them turned on their heels and moved back to their positions. They would finish this part of their journey and go back to having some… words.

Saya could already feel a headache coming in. By the looks of it, Rei hadn't recovered completely since she… well, executed Shido. On the other hand, Saeko had shown a… competitive streak? She seemed to be a bit too eager in killing Them, sometimes even going slightly out of her way just to kill one of Them.

For now, she could justify it as her being a bit too cautious and making sure that the group's path is not hindered. At the same time though, she couldn't shake this weird feeling that that might not be the reason.

Xxxx

The bag of keys was a mixed blessing for the group. Out of the hundreds of cars in the parking lot, only a few fit their needs and the key might not be in their bag of keys. They found a couple of mall security minivans and SUTs that could be modified later on if they decided to keep it. So far, they had gone almost through all of their keys and still could not get one that fit either of them. Shit… could they have left the 2 keys they needed back in the bin? Goddamn Murphy's Law.

"How many of Them do you think are around us?" Takashi suddenly asked.

"In this area? I think somewhere around one to two hundred." Saya replied.

"Do any of you have a complaint with driving a car with busted windows?"

"Not… really… " Some concern was growing in the group. These questions seem to lead into uncomfortable territory.

"Matsushima-san, you can drive right?"

"Yes..."

"Alright, then Tamaru-san, you're taking the next car." He pointed at the taller man who nodded without any doubt.

"Good. Things will get loud in less than a minute. Can I ask you to help keep us safe?"

Yup. Now they were sure what he was going to do. Both police officers looked at each other because they just joined this group not even two hours ago and they were breaking so many laws already. Gun and knife act violated, larceny, grand theft, robbery, murder if They count as humans, assault and battery, and now they're going to commit grand theft auto too?

"It's either this or death." Rei said. She could guess how they were thinking and it was better if she addressed their concerns before they voiced them.

"I understand, but… it's really going against all our training..." Asami said.

"I know, but I'm sure even my father would do the same. You might know him, detective Miyamoto Tadashi."

As Ayaka and Asami nodded, they heard a window breaking. The shattering glass broke the monotony of Their moaning and groaning, but with it came an even worse sound: the car alarm. The steady beeps that came every 5 seconds acted as a transmitter for Them, promising food and "friend". From now, it was a race against time between Takashi's hot-wiring skills and Their movements.

In less than a minute, they could see a swarm of Them zeroing in on the group.

Xxxx

Despite the car alarm taking most of Their attention away, the inside of the mall did not fare too well. While the mall dwellers had the numbers, they lacked equipment and experience. Certainly many of them had been in fights, but never to the death. Doubt, hesitation, guilt; all of them stayed their hands and they couldn't go for the kill.

The fire from their makeshift petrol bombs now ran rampant and burned more than just one small section of the mall. The conflagration finally triggered the fire alarm and sprinkler system in it, dousing the fire with enough water to stop its spread. However, the loud ringing brought more of Them inside, all of Them moving towards the noise sources.

"Get away from the speakers!" One of the mall dwellers yelled.

"Stop yelling too!" Another hissed.

They finally realized that They are attracted to sound, but the information might not be useful if they were overrun. The original plan was to bunker up in one of the shops, all hands on deck. Then one of the mall dwellers spotted a potential exit route, clear of Them and leading straight outside. He had to look out for himself, there was no reason to stay and fight with the others here.

He was a track star back in his days and he had been keeping fit all these years. There was no way he would mess up such a clear cut route. The distance was far less than what he had to do even five years ago and in his mind, that was a ten second sprint right there. So with a halfhearted apology, he dropped to a kneeling sprint start and dashed out.

It was the clearest ten seconds he had experienced. The other mall dwellers' yells, Their moaning, the car alarms, or even the fire alarms were tuned out. All he focused on was his breathing and his pace. His heart thundered like never before, adrenaline coursing in his system, yet his breath was calm and steady. The light at the end of the road was getting nearer. It's the finish line, just three more steps. Two… One… It's the finish line!

… and the end of the line for him.

He hadn't even set his foot down outside when he was tackled down, but none of Them had been able to do anything beyond walking slowly. It was the Runners and They had come for the promised feast.

Post chapter AN: the next chapter is probably where I'll start the largest divergence from canon. There hadn't been mentions of Rika anywhere yet, and I do apologize for it, but it's a bit hard for me to insert the sections. Hopefully in the next few chapters.

Hope you enjoy the update and please leave a review on what you want me to improve on, whether you think the current monthly updates work, or if you want me to focus on one story and finish it before going to TakaTora Monogatari as it seems TTM isn't too well received.

Thank you