Dead or Alive
Authors Note: beta'd by Miharu. Thank you!
CHAPTER TWO: Spring of the Dead
Rain was sleeping soundly until the loud beeping of her alarm clock woke her, causing her to yelp. She sat up quickly, wincing from the pain in her side and in her foot. She rubbed her eyes, yawning as the events that happened the previous night broke through the fog of her sleep addled brain, forcing her to remember. Her eyes landed on her foot, the bandage dark in one spot. She would have to change it before she went to school.
"Shit!" She swore, seeing the time. If she didn't get ready soon, she would be late for school. Grabbing her glasses, Rain put them on as she threw her legs over the side of her bed and slowly put weight on her foot, wincing from the throbbing sensation. She would have to change her uniform as well, tugging on the wrinkled skirt and top. She half limped to her closet to get a fresh uniform and quickly changed. She could only guess at how Takashi would react when he saw her limping, that is, if he noticed at all. Stupid Takashi.
She yanked open her closet door and grabbed out a clean uniform, tossing it to the bed. Turning, Rain made her way to her dresser to get her undergarments. She did her bra gingerly, as her side still smarted and gave her foot the same treatment. Once dressed, she headed out the door and tiptoed passed the living room, glancing at the unconscious form of her mother. Seeing her chance, Rain grabbed her shoes and slid them on as she headed out the door.
Rain limped all the way to school, her foot throbbing with each step. The bell rung in the distance, signaling the start of another boring day at school, not even the beautiful weather could lift her spirits. Something feels off, Rain thought, but wasn't sure what. She could faintly make out the outline of the hall monitor at the front gate, waving in the last of the stragglers.
"Don't shut the gate!" The hall monitor looked up to see a limping Rain and checked his watch. "Hurry up Kennedy! Your pushing it!" Rain gritted her teeth, urging her sore foot to move faster as she barely made it passed the hall monitor as he started to pull the gates closed.
"You're lucky you made it" He scolded lightly, shaking his head. "Get to class before you're really late." He headed inside the building.
Rain gave him thumbs up, panting heavily as she swallowed down the urge to scream from the pain. "Right…" she wheezed and headed inside.
If only any of them knew what would happen later, learning would have been the last thing on everyone's minds.
Class had been in session for an hour now and Rain didn't see Takashi. She wasn't too worried about his absence but had an idea of where he could be. "Sensei Hiroki?" Rain raised her hand, waiting for the teacher to speak.
"Yes Ms. Kennedy?" Sensei Hiroki asked, looking up from the book he was reading from. The other students, including Rei and Hisashi, looked towards Rain, who ignored them.
"May I go to the bathroom?" Rain asked.
"Yes," Hiroki said and handed her the pass board as Rain reached his desk. "But no funny business, understood?"
Rain nodded, bowed her head slightly. "Yes sensei." she replied, opening the door and stepping out into the hallway, closing the door behind her. She walked down the hall, quickening her steps as she climbed the stairs. As she neared the exit, she heard a female's voice, giving someone a verbal thrashing. She stopped at the doorway and popped her head around the corner, seeing the owner of the voice and Takashi.
"Are you an idiot?" the female voice demanded. Rain frowned lightly as she heard the girl scold Takashi as if he were a child.
"Takagi?" Takashi asked the girl, sounding uninterested by what she had to say. He leaned on the railing of the fire escape, staring at the courtyard.
A soft frown formed on Rain's face, struggling to remember the name. It was going to bug her now that she couldn't place the girl.
"You always hide in this place when you're upset," the girl continued in a haughty manner. "Why are you acting like a little kid? If you're going to cut class this early in the semester…" Takagi stepped towards Takashi. "You'll have to take extra classes or repeat the whole year."
Rain could make out Takashi as he shifted, his face glancing at Takagi's big breasts and a twinge of jealousy hit her. She wasn't big in the chest like Rei and most of the girls here, making her feel insecure about her own body. She had seen some of the guys act all perverted to the girls with big chests. She had been comfortable with her chest size before moving here.
"You think you're any better?" Takashi asked as Takagi leaned forward, putting her hands on her hips. Takashi looked away from her, looking flustered and a bit lost for words. "It's still fifth period."
"I'm a genius though." Takagi said, acting as if she was better than him."Unlike you, who barely made it into this school."
Takashi sighed and said, "Takagi… why do you always…"
"Because I hate stupid people." Takagi cut him off as if it was obvious, folding her arms and giving him a look. "Especially when they don't know how stupid they are. You're aware that you are stupid though."
Rain's frown grew more as the logic didn't make any sense and to top it off, she was beginning to get pissed. What the hell is her problem? Did they have history or something? And what gave her the right to say those things to him? She wasn't sure if she was just being over protective of him or not but she didn't care. Rain stepped out onto the stairs, startling the pair.
"What are you doing here Kennedy?" Takagi demanded, pissed that Rain had interrupted her little lecture.
Rain gave a humorless smirk, standing next to Takashi. "I thought I'd check up on my friend, Takashi" she said casually. "It took me a while to put a name to the face but you're the smartest girl in our school. Saya Takagi, right? You may be smart but you are lacking in manners, sadly."
Takagi glared at her, huffing. "You're both so stupid." she muttered as she stomped back up the stairs.
Rain snorted and turned to see Takashi looking at her with a weird look. "What?" she asked, her head tilted.
"You're not in class," Takashi said at last. "You're going to get into trouble with Sensei."
Rain raised a brow and gave a slow nod. "Only if I get caught but, I have this." she said, showing him the bathroom pass. "Plus, I wanted to check on you. You weren't in class."
He shrugged and looked out the courtyard. "Why? I'm fine, Rain. Go back to class." Takashi leaned on the railing, a hand under his chin.
Her temper flared at the sight but she held back as she spoke, "You're really bad at lying, Takashi. That look on your face says otherwise. You're not okay. You're still thinking of her." Her tone bitter and left no room for argument as Rain folded her arms across her chest. Her emotions were slowly getting the best of her as the hurt was starting to build up.
Takashi turned to look at her, frowning heavily. "Your starting to sound like Takagi." he said, his tone angry and hurt.
"What? That's low. Have you seen the look on your face? You're so hung up on Rei and your broken promise to each other that you're ignoring the idea that someone else that might love you!" Rain snapped, her tone rising in volume. "It's pathetic, Takashi, why can't you just let her go?!"
Takashi growled as her words didn't register in his mind and raised his hand to slap Rain, not realizing his action. Rain glared at him, trying to hide her fear. Not once since they had become friends has Takashi ever thought of hitting her, not after the abuse that Rain's mom dealt out.
"Go right ahead, Takashi" Rain threatened. "Hit me and I'll walk away right now. You can kiss our friendship goodbye."
Takashi stared at his hand and turned his gaze to the girl in front of him, guilt and disbelief on his face. "Rain… I…" he started. He could see the fear in her glazed eyes, knowing she was going through a memory. He had overstepped, or close to it. The threat that Rain had made impacted him more than he thought it would. He wrapped his arms around her, hugging her tightly.
Rain felt his arms wrapped around her, breaking her out of her funk. "Takashi…?"
"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, Rain." he murmured. "I…"
A loud clanking sound interrupted whatever Takashi was about to say. Keeping an arm around Rain's waist, he led her to the edge of the fire escape, looking towards the gates. "Who's that?" Takashi asked, looking somewhat surprised. "He looks suspicious."
"He does." Rain agreed and spotted four teachers heading towards the gate to see what was going on. They could barely make out the words the teachers were saying to the grey skinned man but the two teens could tell he wasn't responding. He kept hitting the gate. Is he sick? Rain wondered, confusion filling her. "I wonder what Sensei Tejima is going to do."
Tejima walked up to the gates and grabbed the man by his shirt, pulling him up tight against the bars. Hayashi pleaded with him to not doing thing stupid, none of them expecting to see what happened net. The man at the gate grabbed Tejima by the arm and tore into it, blood spraying from the wound immediately. Tejima yelled in pain, falling to the ground and thrashing around.
Takashi and Rain stared at the scene, horrified by what they had seen. "Wha-?" She asked. "Are you seeing this?"
"Yeah…" Takashi said, giving her hand a squeeze. holding her hand. He wasn't sure who was scared more, Rain or him as their hands quivered.
It only got worse as the teacher's started to scream when Tejima's thrashing soon stilled. Panicked cries from the others grew as they wondered what they were going to do, but the panic soon turned to hope as Hayashi started speaking quickly to the grey skinned Tejima, not realizing the danger.
Rain narrowed her eyes as she watched Tejima reach towards Hayashi and bit down into her neck, causing the woman to scream in pain as blood splattered everywhere. The surviving teachers stumbled back from the bloody scene as the screams of the dying teacher soon deceased and Hayashi reanimated, joining Tejima. The two transformed teachers attacked the others, biting whatever fleshy piece they managed to sink their teeth into.
Takashi's face lost all of his coloring as he stumbled backwards, forgetting he was still holding Rain's hand and pulled her back with him.
"T-Takashi…" Rain stuttered, covering her mouth with her hand, feeling her stomach churn heavily, threatening to toss up whatever she had from breakfast. He didn't answer as a hard expression formed on his face, still gripping her hand; he started to race down the stairs, pulling Rain with him. He kicked the door open to the building and raced in.
The pain in Rain's foot flared up as she struggled to keep up with Takashi without stumbling. She had never seen this side to Takashi before but knew from what they had seen that if it spread that quickly then the rest of the school was be in danger. The pair ran down the hallway towards their class room and Takashi slammed the door open and entered with Rain close behind.
"Komuro and Kennedy! You two decided to skip my class and disturb it?!" Sensei Hiroki yelled angrily from the front of the class room. Rain didn't glance at him as she tossed the bathroom pass onto his table as Rei and Hisashi glanced at them.
Takashi let go of her hand as he marched over to Rei's desk and grabbed her arm, forcing her to stand. "We gotta get out of here!" he yelled.
Rei stared at Takashi, glancing at Rain before turning her gaze at the teenage boy in front of her, surprised. "What are you talking about?" she asked.
Hisashi walked over to us, keeping a calm expression on his face. Takagi looked over at them, glaring. "What's wrong, Takashi?" Hisashi asked, frowning slightly. He looked over at Rain and grew worried as he noticed her posture wasn't normal as she was putting pressure on her toes. "Rain...?"
Rain shook her head. "Later."
"Someone just got killed at the front gate, this is bad." Takashi explained to Hisashi.
Hisashi looked at Takashi as if he grew a second head. "Are you serious?" he asked Takashi.
Takashi looked at Hisashi, the serious look still on his face. "Why would I lie about that?" Takashi asked. He didn't blame Hisashi for doubting him and Rain as he still didn't believe it himself really.
Rain glanced over and saw the looks on the students and their teacher's face. They all thought it was a prank or joke. But it wasn't, they had seen what had happened at the gate.
Rei on the other hand looked pissed. She ripped her arm out of Takashi's hand and glared at him. "What's the deal with you?! I don't know what you're thinking…" she said and got cut off by Takashi slapping her across the face.
Rain cringed at the cracking sound of skin hitting skin, knowing how painful it is to get hit. "Takashi," she started, placing a hand on his shoulder. Takashi sent a half glare at her but just nodded.
"Shut up and listen to me!" He growled at Rei. "It's not a prank or joke. We have to get the hell out of here."
Hisashi was slightly shocked by what Takashi had done but a look of hardness replaced his earlier expression, one that Rain had never seen before on her friend. Maybe he was starting to realize just how serious the situation was. Hisashi nodded. "Alright." he said, grabbing Rei's hand and heading out of the classroom with Takashi and Rain close behind.
"Well, what's going on?" Rei demanded once they were in the hallway and started passing classrooms, heading somewhere. "You dragged us out of class."
"Some guy was banging on the school gate." Rain explained to the couple. "Some teachers went to check it out and it turned into a mess." She had temporarily forgotten about her foot and the pain as she ran alongside of the others. She kept her pace even when the pain became overbearing didn't start to slow down a little when the pain got too much and she felt something wet in the bottom of her shoe. Her wound must have reopened.
"The teachers are outside killing each other now." Takashi said, running still. He didn't see anything outside through the windows but he couldn't get the bloody image out of his head.
"That's insane." Rei remarked.
Hisashi headed to a supply closet that was near the stair well. He took out a bat and handed it over to Takashi.
"What? Did you leave something behind?" Takashi asked as he took the bat from Hisashi.
"If you two are telling the truth," Hisashi said turning toward them, "we need weapons. What do you have for a weapon Rain?"
Rain debated on telling them about her blade she kept hidden before pulling out her switch blade from under her skirt. "Just a switch blade." she said calmly, seeing the other's stare at the knife in surprise. "What?"
Hisashi and Rei had the decency to avert their eyes but Takashi looked at her, the shock slowly erasing before an angry frown on his face formed. "Rain, how long has that been there?" he asked, the anger seeping into every word. His eyes narrowed, knowing Rain's situation at home for a while now but he wasn't sure if the knife is for self-defense or something he dared not want to think about.
"Can we not discuss this now?" Rain asked, looking away from him to see Hisashi tear off a pole from a broom, leaving a sharp point on the end. He handed it to Rei.
Takashi took a step towards Rain, not ready to drop the subject yet. "Do you have any practice with it?" he snapped. Rain stood her ground, not breaking from his gaze. "Ofcourse I do." she replied coolly. "I'm not dumb."
"Later, and no arguments."
She shrugged her shoulders. "Yeah, whatever you say." Rain was ready to say more and when her sneaker making a wet squelching sound and glanced down to see the blood oozing over the side.
Rei gasped at it. "Rain, you're bleeding." she said worriedly.
Takashi growled again, scooping up the protesting girl and sat her down on his lap. He took off her shoe to see the blood-soaked sock. He gingerly pulled it off, revealing the stained bandage. "Dammit Rain. Why didn't you say anything?" he cursed and turned to look at Hisashi. "Can you see if there's a first aid kit in there?"
"Sure." Hisashi said, his eyes looking at the growing puddle of blood on the floor. Rei looked at the floor, not wanting to look at the position that Takashi and Rain were in.
Takashi didn't want to unravel the bandage around her foot, wanting to wait for the kit. Rain shifted a little on his lap, not used to seeing him like this. She looked up at him and saw that Takashi was watching her with a thoughtful expression.
"W-What?"
Takashi blinked and turned his gaze away. "Nothing." he said.
Hisashi came over with the first aid kit. "Not much in there but it's enough to wrap her foot up again." he told them. Takashi took the kit wordlessly and started to unwrap the bandages around her foot, revealing the cut flesh. The wound itself was somewhat deep, explaining why it had reopened. "Hisashi, should I attempt to stitch it?"
Hisashi bent down to get a closer look at the wound and shook his head. "I wouldn't recommend it." he said. "It could become infected and if that were to happen, we would have no way to fix it. Just bandage it the best you can."
"No, wait." Rain interrupted, scooting off of his lap. "I can stitch it." She grabbed a needle and some thread as Hisashi watched in horror and fascination. Rei looked away, not wanting to see what the teen is about to do. Takashi watched, only half registering what was happening. He looked like he was in la la land.
Shaking her head and taking a deep breath, Rain threaded the needle and bit down on a piece of cardboard that came with the kit. She was shaking, tears leaking out of her eyes at the sting of the needle going through her skin. It hurt much worse than she had imagined. Rei looked like she was going to get sick, holding onto Hisashi's arm, while his face was green. Takashi winced, looking away.
Soon, the stitching was done and Rain wrapped it up. She cleaned her shoe as best as she could and slipped it on. "Now let's get out of here." She stood up slowly, wincing from the pain. Takashi nodded, standing up.
"We should call the police station; my dad is there." Rei said, holding onto her pole.
Rain looked at Hisashi, seeing he didn't have a weapon but then remembered that he's a black belt and knew he could handle himself against normal people. She hoped he could stand up to these gray skinned monsters.
"Good thing I don't follow the school's cell phone rules." Takashi said, handing Rei his cell.
Rei took the cell and dialed the number for the police station and waited. Her eyes widening in shock. "No way…" she said, still holding the phone to her ear. All she could hear was the busy signal on her end. She hung up and dialed the number again only to get the same signal. "No… no…"
"What's wrong?" Rain asked, seeing the fear grow in her eyes.
"The lines are busy…" Rei whispered her hand over her mouth. "That's impossible… dad always answers the emergency line." The group watched in growing worry as Rei stayed on the line, hearing the recorded voice again and reluctantly closed the phone with trembling hands, handing it back to Takashi.
"Attention all students!" came the voice of the principle. The teens looked up towards the intercom, fear tightening in their stomachs. "Violence has broken out on campus! Students should evacuate with their teacher's instructions. I repeat. Violence has broken out on campus!"
"They finally noticed." Takashi said, gripping the bat in his hand.
"It spread faster than we thought." Rain said.
"Students should evacuate campus—" The sound of the microphone hitting the floor was heard. The four shared a look of shock. "No way…" Takashi said his golden-brown eyes slightly widening. There was silence, as they waited for something to happen.
"Help! Save me!" Screams were heard over the speaker. "No! Help!" One final scream was heard and silence followed. Rain and the others held their breath without realizing it as it grew deathly silent. The silence was broken by the screams of the students in their rooms, the sounds bouncing off the walls. Doors slammed open as students poured out, pushing and shoving each other.
"This way!" Hisashi said as he started to run down a hall.
"We aren't running outside?" Takashi asked.
Hisashi stopped and turned to look at them. "Everyone is running out of the classrooms. We'll escape through the admin office!" Hisashi took off running again.
Rei stepped past Takashi and Rain, glaring at him. "Hisashi is always right." she said. "Just do what he says." She ran off after him.
Takashi stared after her. "I know!" He said as he ran after them. Rain frowned lightly as she ran after them; hating Rei's attitude towards Takashi, but now wasn't time to start running her mouth. They made it outside and stopped, seeing a teacher stumbling through.
"Isn't that our Modern Japanese teacher, Wakisaka-sensei?" Rei asked, holding her pole.
Rain took a step forward until she was standing next to Rei, her eyes narrowing as she took in his grayish appearance. Her eyes trailed down his leg and swallowed, seeing the bite mark. "Careful! He's—" she started but was cut off when Wakisaka-sensei opened his mouth and growled hungrily, stepping towards them and raising his hands towards Rei.
Rei pushed him back with her pole, gasping in shock. "No! Go away!" she pleaded, stepping back.
"Rei!" Rain yelled. "Stab him!"
"Don't hold back! Do it!" Hisashi agreed
Rei froze as she gripped the pole, staring at her old teacher, stumbling back. She glanced at Rain and Hisashi before nodding. She ducked under the teachers reach and slammed her pole against Wakisaka-sensei, trying to put as much distance between them as she could. "No!" Rei summoned her strength and pushed him back. "I'll show you… the power of the lancing team!" Rei ran after him, hitting him again and again with her pole. She lunged forward and slammed the sharp end of her pole into his chest.
"We did it!" Takashi said happily, pumping his fist into the air.
Rei's eyes snapped wide as the zombie moaned and shifted on the pole, until his feet touched the ground and it went after Rei, using the pole to slam her into the wall, causing her to scream out in pain.
"Rei!" Rain called out, seeing her slowly get her bearings and grabbing the pole again, trying to push the thing away from her.
"What…?" Rei asked fearfully, holding the pole still in her hands, keeping the zombie out of reach. "I pierced it through his heart, how is he still moving?!" Hisashi ran up behind the teacher and threw is arms around his neck, pulling him away from Rei.
"Rei, pull it out, now!" Rain told her, seeing Hisashi hold the thing. Rei nodded and pulled it out, backing up a bit.
"Hisashi, get away!" Takashi yelled, stepping closer as if sensing danger.
"Don't worry! I can handle this…" Hisashi started but was cut off when the thing started to twist its head around slowly. Hisashi gripped its head, trying to slow it. " What the fuck!?" It turned its head around all the way and bit down on Hisashi's arm.
"You bastard!" Takashi yelled, raising his bat as he ran towards them. "Get away from him!" He brought the bat down, trying to dislodge the thing. "Hisashi!" Rei and Rain screamed, rushing forward to help. Rei slammed her pole into its back, a bloodstain growing on the vest. "Why? Why isn't it letting go?!"
"I figured it out…" Takashi said, backing up, eyes wide. "He's dead… but he can still move!" The thing tightened its grip on Hisashi's arm, breaking through skin and muscle. Hisashi screamed in pain, blood flying up into the air.
"Hisashi!" Rei screamed again, dropping her pole and rushing towards her boyfriend, trying her best to pull the monster off.
Rain grabbed the back of the monster's head, yanking it back. It released Hisashi and tried to sink its teeth into Rain's arm."Takashi, help us!" she called out as she struggled against it.
Rei glared at him as she struggled. "You're a man, right? Do something!" Takashi looked lost as he stared at the four of them. "Do something, damn it!"
Takashi broke out of his stupor, rushing towards them as he slammed his bat into the things head, cracking it open, blood splattering onto the floor, the thing slumping to the ground, finally dead. Takashi held his bat, breathing heavily as he kept staring at the body in disbelief.
"Hisashi, are you okay?" Rain asked, seeing the blood run down his arm, soaking into his jacket sleeve. Rei was at his side, scared and worried, sounding like a little girl. Rain couldn't blame her as she ripped her shirt sleeve and wrapped it around the bite wound, her stomach churning. Something didn't feel right.
"It's just a bite." Hisashi replied, his voice strained. "Don't worry." He nodded at Rain when she finished bandaging his arm. The cloth scrap was already becoming stained by the blood. Soon, there was a scream of terror in the distance.
Rain looked up and spotted a classmate, struggling with one of the zombies. "Don't bite me!" the girl screamed as she tried to keep its jaws away, but she wasn't strong enough. The thing overpowered her as it bit into her neck, ripping away the skin causing blood to gush out. and blood gushed out.
"There's too many of them for us to handle" She stated, eyes narrowing as the crimson liquid stained the concrete. Rei had her hand over her mouth as she too watched along with the boys.
"Let's go to the roof now." Hisashi suggested, turning away from the scene.
"The roof?" Rei asked, her voice cracking a bit.
Hisashi nodded. "We can hide until help comes," he said, "there's an observatory up there."
"Then let's go." Rain agreed, seeing the others nod.
They raced down the walkway, reaching the gate and opening it, passing through the entrance only come to a stop next to the fencing ling the edge of the roof. In the distance, a horrific sight greeted them; cars stuck in traffic jams a crossed the city, fires erupting in buildings as smoke billowed out and rose into the air with golden embers mixed in. The town is in chaos as a car horn blared, sirens of fire trucks screeching loudly and screams… the blood curdling screams that rose and fell and rose again.
"What is this?" Hisashi asked, gazing into the town.
"What the hell is going on?!" Takashi demanded eyes wide as he toon in the turmoil.
"Everything was fine a little while ago!" Rei said, her voice rising into a shrill. Rain winced and rubbed her ear as she was standing next to the panicking redhead. A gust of wind came from behind, almost knocking them over. Rei lost her footing, dropping her pole as she lurched forward. Hisashi grabbed her just in time, keeping her close. Takashi grabbed Rain around the waist so she wouldn't fall over the side and looked up, seeing military helicopters flying by.
"Blackhawks?" Hisashi asked in surprise. "Americans… Oh, they're our self-defense forces. Where did they come from? There's no base around here."
Rain nodded in agreement, remembering her studies with her uncle when he was alive. He had been a General in the military. He wanted to make sure she could navigate if she ever got lost.
Rei pulled away from Hisashi and started waving her arms in the air. "Save us!" She shouted.
"It's pointless," Rain told them, "why would they fly here without a base nearby? I think they're on a special mission. They don't have time to save us." She pointed to the streets, the jam-packed streets and the burning buildings. "They're not going to do anything about this. It's just as bad down there, where there's even more room to run." Screams came, calls for help. "They're all over campus."
Rei looked at Rain as if she had sprouted three heads, not wanting to believe it. Takashi and Hisashi looked at Rain seriously, taking in what she had to say.
Rain continued, "It seems like they all have an illness, because of them…"
"Them?" Hisashi interrupted, his skin slowly growing a little pale. From the bite, maybe? Rain wondered.
"The things that are after us are undead monsters; this isn't a game or anything. Because they eat people" she said.
Hisashi caught on to what Rain was saying. "As soon as their victims die, they turn into these zombie-like creatures," he said. "I don't know why but the only way to beat them is to crush their heads."
Rei turned to look at them. "So, what should we do now?" she asked, gripping her pole tightly.
Takashi looked at the stairs that led to the observatory. "Let's hide in the observatory and block the stairs." he suggested, gripping his bat. "Let's go!"
"Right." Rain replied, feeling the knife in its holster against her thigh. They raced towards the stairs with Takashi slamming his bat into a couple of the undead that had gotten too close to them.
Rei used her pole stab at another, hitting it in the shoulder. It slammed her into the wall near the stairs, the pole still in its shoulder as it went to bite her.
"Rei!" Hisashi went forward but Rain was already coming to Rei's aid, kicking the thing in the head, watching it fall down the stairs. Rei looked at her in surprise and nodded her head before she went to help Hisashi up the stairs, wrapping his arm around her shoulders. It didn't take long for them to barricade the stairs, not knowing if it would hold them back.
"Why… why is this happening?" Rei asked, helping Hisashi to a sitting position on the ground.
"There must be a reason for this. If we figure it out…We should be able to stop this." Hisashi said, before murmuring his thanks.
Rain moved to the railing, watching 'Them' wandering around aimlessly, searching for their next meal. It was obvious they were dead but what made them reanimate? What had caused it? She pushed her glasses up her nose, surprised she hadn't lost them in the fight and running.
"Search around here for a lighter or a match." Takashi said. "We'll need light before it gets too dark." Thumps could be heard from the barricaded staircase.
"At night we won't be able to see…" Hisashi broke off as he started to cough, covering his mouth as something dark seeped through his fingers.
"Hisashi, what's wrong? Takashi! Hisashi is…!" Rei cried in alarm as she went to Hisashi's side, tears rapidly leaking from her eyes.
Takashi stood in the back, having that same lost look on his face as he spaced out, seeing and yet not seeing at the same time. Hisashi stopped coughing, raising his head up, small blood trails at the sides of his mouth, his pupils dilated as his breathing came out raspy and harsh.
"Why…? Why…? He was only bitten once…" Rei whimpered. "How did he end up like this?"
"It's just like in the movies." Rain murmured, her chest tightening as she watched Hisashi struggle to breath while he coughed up blood. "You're screwed right when they first bite you."
"No way!" Rei snapped at her, refusing to look at the girl. "Movies aren't even real…"
"It looks like a movie all around us." Takashi agreed, his tone soft, barely audible.
Hisashi spoke, "Takashi, can you help me?"
"What do you need?" Takashi asked his friend.
Hisashi raised a finger, pointing to the rail. "If I fall over there, I'll probably break my head open…" he rasped.
Takashi, Rei and Rain looked at him, horrified by what he was proposing.
"What?!" Rei asked eyes wide.
"I don't want to turn into one of them!" Hisashi yelled, spitting up blood. He took a breath and puked up blood.
"Hisashi!" Rei cried, placing her hands onto his shoulders. "Hisashi!" She kept crying out his name, like a chant.
"Hisashi…" Rain felt her stomach churn and twist, pissed that her suspicions had proven correct. She didn't want to voice them, hoping that she was wrong. She prayed that Hisashi wouldn't change into one of "Them". But seeing the pale skin, the dilated eyes of her friend as the change started before their eyes, her prayers weren't answered. She felt sick and helpless, unable to help her friend as the virus raged through him.
"No… No!" Rei screamed as Hisashi convulsed, blood flying from his mouth, splattering against the ground.
"Takashi, I beg of you…" Hisashi rasped, his voice losing strength. He looked at Takashi, his eyes sinking into his skull, looking sickly. "If I am going to die… I want to be myself." He begged before he puked up even more blood. Takashi kept staring as reality slowly sunk into his brain; his friend was dying. Hisashi fell forward, gripping his chest where his heart was as he convulsed on the ground, screaming in pain.
"Hisashi!" Rei said, bending forward to help.
Rain looked at Takashi, seeing his eyes widen even more than she thought was possible.
"Wait!" Rei pleaded, her cries falling on death's ears. "No… no! You can't die!" She was crying now, her tears running down her cheeks.
Takashi glared down at the ground, eyes narrowed. He gripped his bat tightly as a look of determination flashed through his eyes.
Hisashi stopped moving, not even breathing now as Rain felt the sun's rays on her back as it slowly made its way over the roof, highlighting the dark blood and Hisashi's pale face. Rei was hunched over his body, crying into his stomach.
"Rei, get away." Takashi said as he started to walk over.
Rei looked up, a small spot of blood on her cheek, her eyes landing on the bat and covered Hisashi's body. "No!" she yelled. "You can't do that to him! Hisashi won't turn into one of them!"
Rain felt bad for her but she couldn't be that delusional, could she? She had seen what happened on the grounds, it was hard to swallow, but the facts were there.
Rei's voice broke my concentration. "Hisashi is special!"
"Let him do it, Rei." Rain said. "It doesn't matter if he is or not. This sickness isn't prejudice. It doesn't care who it infects!"
"Move away." Takashi ordered, part of his bangs covering his left eye, hiding it from view.
Hisashi started to twitch and move, letting out a groan.
Rei looked at him and then back at Takashi, a look of hope in her eyes. "Look Takashi, Rain! There's no way Hisashi would…" She stopped as Hisashi sat up slowly, his head down. "Hisashi?" He got to his feet, bangs covering his face, his breathing raspy. "What's wrong?" Rei asked, worried. "Hisashi!" She took a step forward but was forced to stop when Rain wrapped her arm around her waist, pulling her back. She looked at the girl. Rain looked at the girl, shaking her head sadly.
"I can't believe this…" she began. "This has to be a dream."
Takashi gave her a sad look and turned to look at Rain, giving her the same look.
"It's unbelievable…" Rain's voice cracked and wavered with emotion.
"It's ridiculous." Takashi agreed.
Rei turned cling to Rain, looking at Takashi's back. "Takashi…" Rei murmured her eyes still filled with tears.
"But…" Takashi said gripping his bat as his eyes narrowed angrily as he rushed forward.
"Stop…" Rei begged.
Hisashi lumbered forward, moaning. "It's really happening!" Takashi jumped into the air, bringing down his bat onto Hisashi's head, cracking it open. Hisashi's body crumbled, falling to its side.
"No!" Rei screamed, looking away. "Why? Why?!"
"If I didn't do it, he would have eaten you." Takashi murmured.
"He's right, Rei," Rain said. "that wasn't Hisashi, not anymore."
Rei slammed her hands into Rain's chest, pushing her away with a glare. "No one asked you!" she yelled and spun on her foot, glaring at Takashi next. "I didn't want you to save me! I didn't want to see Hisashi like this! I'd rather have him bite me than live like this…"
"Hisashi wouldn't have wanted that." Takashi said, trying to calm her.
Rei cried "What would you know Takashi?" Takashi looked at her from over his shoulder, his eyes pained. "I see… I see." Rei said, a crazed look in her eye. "You hated Hisashi because we were going out!" Takashi looked away, heading towards the barricade.
Rain frowned, sending a glare at Rei. "Selfish bitch." she muttered under her breath and followed Takashi.
"Wait. Where are you two going?!" Rei asked hysterically.
Takashi stopped and looked at her. "You don't even want me here." he stated calmly. "I'll go down and beat all of them."
"What are you talking about?!" Rei gasped and jumped to her feet, running over. "You can't do that all by yourself!"
"He's not alone you ass." Rain bit out as she helped Takashi with the barricade.
Rei ignored her, go figure. Takashi didn't answer.
Rei's features went soft. "Hey Takashi…" she said but screamed when she saw him climbing over the chairs and desks and ran forward. "No! Don't go!" She grabbed his arm, stopping him. Takashi looked down.
Rain looked away, not wanting to see this, to be reminded of how close they once were. "I'm sorry! I didn't mean it! I didn't mean anything I said!" she cried and whimpered, not letting go of his arm. "I beg you… please stay with me! Stay with me!" She looked up at him, tears spilling over her cheeks. Takashi stepped down, standing in front of Rei and held her close.
Rain swallowed as her heart clenched as she glanced over to watch Rei hug him back and looked away again, staring out into the distance. She thought about the events that happened, wondering if she should go down there and start bashing heads in.
Takashi looked up, seeing Rain stare at the blockade. "Rain." he said, offering his hand to her.
Rain looked towards him and his outstretched hand. She took it and felt Takashi pull her into the hug as he held them both.
The day that everything came to an end, Rain watched her friend die and saw the boy that she loves hold the girl that he loves… even though he was holding her it gave her a little comfort, washing away the horrors. It made her wonder how long it would last until it all came crashing down again.
To Be Continued…