Highschool of the Dead: Us or Them

by HoTDFan

Three brothers from a military family are transferred to Fujimi Academy one day prior to the Z-Day outbreaks. Just when their lives seem to be getting back on track the world is completely unprepared for the living nightmare that opens up a new chapter in human history. The day humans were put back on the food chain. Rated-M. It is Highschool of the Dead afterall.

3. Chapter 3: No Easy Choice

Tokonosu City

Z-Day!

"Jesus fucking Christ, that was awesome!" Marcus exclaimed enthusiastically while Mark took a puff from his cigar, grinning proudly to know that he still had the moves after all these years.

"Hell yes, it was! Do you think you can teach me how to do all that?" Noah added as he was still trembling from the rush of adrenaline after such a close call.

"Impressive. Glad to see you still breathing, old man." Frasier complimented, which was really rare considering how normally, nothing was ever enough by his standards.

"Thanks, same to you. So I take it you've all noticed that things have gone rather to shit in the past few hours? I can't honestly say I'm surprised, considering who I'm talking to, but I'm glad that you three made it out in one piece all the same." Uncle Mark retorted as he walked over to take his three nephews into a massive bear hug.

"Friends of yours, I take it?" Mark then questioned when taking a moment to realize Johann and Toshimi were also with them.

"Oh, y-yes, sir. I'm Johann Kessler, and this is my girlfriend, Toshimi Niki." Johann nervously introduced, still in shock at seeing this middle-aged man expertly take out a whole bunch of 'Them' like it was nothing.

"We happened to run into them at school, and I figured we'd help them out, seeing how it's better to fight in numbers." Marcus answered as Uncle Mark nodded to the two newcomers.

"Along with it just being the right thing to do, of course." Noah suggested as he lightly nudged Frasier's ribs, since he clearly stood by his intentions to leave them behind earlier.

"Right, well you did what you had to do. You two are more than welcome to tag along with us if you like. Its best we get moving now, though. It won't be long until more of those things start coming by after all those gunshots." Uncle Mark nodded to his nephews before offering Johann and Toshimi the chance to tag along with them.

"Thank you so much, sir. Do you think we could possibly go to my house to get my aunt and uncle on the way? It's only a few blocks away, and my Uncle also really knows how to fight." Johann replied, heavy gratitude lining his words with a slight trace of intimidation as well; knowing he couldn't just leave the fate of his only real family in these parts to chance.

"Of course, lad. Just give me a second with the boys, will you?" Uncle Mark acknowledged before he then motioned the Lawson trio to follow him upstairs; leaving Johann and Toshimi to quickly follow behind, knowing they'd have no chance if caught in the open by 'Them'. The two close lovers followed the Lawsons up into their home before promptly closing and locking the door just to be safe.

"Look, I know this is early; especially for you two...but I think your father would be just as proud and accepting of the choice I'm about to make." Mark announced once he was sure it was just him and his nephews in his room while he rustled through a lockbox. The three boys couldn't help but be curious what he was doing before he stood before them holding out a beautiful mahogany colored case.

*pop*

The case opened up to reveal three 17 cm (7") stainless steel blades. The tops were serrated to very fine points while the handles, wrapped in black leather, were approximately 11 cm (4.75") long. Along the sides of the blades, each one had 'Who Dares Wins' inscribed into them; the famous founding phrase of the British S.A.S. Regiment.

Noah and Marcus without hesitation took their respective knives and began to observe them in awe at the detail and quality of them, not even sure why Mark had these here. Frasier on the other hand was hesitant and just stared at his own, voices and images of his father telling him he was no longer worthy, drowning his mind in doubt.

"Go ahead, Frasier. Despite what HE might have to say about you receiving this great honor, I think you are more than ready to uphold the family name in the field. The telly has shown this shite is happening all over the world, so I think it's quite clear we'll be on our own for a bit." Mark said as he could've sworn he could see Frasier's lips slightly tremble as he tried his best to show no emotion towards the sheer gravity of this moment.

"It's beautiful. The design is completely flawless, and it's so lightweight. T-thank you, Uncle Mark. I'm sorry if it ever seemed like I doubted you." Frasier said softly as he then attached the sheathe to his hip before walking up and legitimately initiating a hug; causing Mark to chuckle softly before holding his eldest nephew, knowing he was still just a human deep down inside, despite the distant and cold vibes Frasier constantly gave off before.

"Don't apologize for doing nothing wrong, chap. There's no doubt in my mind that you'd be the perfect recruit for the regiment. Prove me right, Frasier." Mark then said as he patted his eldest nephew's shoulder before walking away to leave Frasier to his thoughts.

"Did you say this is happening all around the world? Did I hear that right?" Noah asked as soon as Mark stepped out of his room, already proceeding to raid his kitchen cupboards of any canned goods he could get his hands on, stuffing them all into one large backpack sitting on the counter.

"Yeah, I'm afraid so, my son. Moscow's gone dark, Rome and Paris are dealing with massive riots, Beijing has been set aflame, and even the bloody Yanks are having trouble holding their own from what they showed before the reporter was cut off. According to them, however, London apparently has their shite under control, so perhaps they've caught a break, or maybe the infection might not even have reached home yet. All I know is, given how fast this has spread, there will be no rescue anytime soon." Mark answered as he began to name off some major capitols of first world countries that had unbelievably fallen in only the last few hours.

"Then what do you suggest we do?" Marcus inquired as he attached his knife to the loop in his pants, not too keen on just sitting around, waiting for something as unreliable as the government to sort everything out.

"After we pick up Johann's aunt and uncle, we should then head north. They're saying to stay indoors, but clearly these things are all over the bloody place, and 'They' will eventually break in. There have been a few convoys of busses evacuating and picking up survivors all across town, last I checked. We find one of those convoys; we have all the more chance of surviving this mess." Uncle Mark explained before finally zipping up the backpack, now filled with tools and rations to last them all a couple of days if not weeks.

"Right, sounds like a solid plan. Let's move while there's still time." Frasier announced in agreement before they all began to walk out of the apartment and back onto the dangerous streets of what was once a metropolis, and now appeared to be a war zone.

Uncle Mark was the first to look outside and scout out the nearby proximity just outside the apartment block. When it appeared to be clear for the moment, he motioned the group to follow him around the building corner and out onto the street. They could see a few bundles of 'Them' heading towards the apartments, clearly drawn in by the gunshots from a few minutes ago.

"Frasier go with Johann and take point. Marcus, cover the rear flank with me. Noah, stick with Toshimi in the center for protection. If any of you see anything, let the rest know, but do try not to yell. We want to attract as little attention as possible." Uncle Mark commanded in a whisper as he motioned where everyone should stand before everyone slowly shifted into formation. His years of training and experience in the field clearly had not been forgotten since his retirement began. All this really was for him was just knocking the rust off.

Moving at a fast walking pace without any rest, carefully weaving around any small numbers of 'Them' along the way, it only took them roughly twenty minutes to finally reach Johann's home. It looked no better, as along the way, they found more scenes of carnage. Cars could be seen crashed against one another as the drivers either hung halfway outside the windshield or face first into the steering wheel, all completely motionless.

Once they reached the apartment block where Johann's family lived, his hands began to open and close repeatedly, as it was becoming abundantly clear to everyone else that the tension was really breaking his focus. When he could see the door to his apartment had been broken off its hinges, not even Frasier could react fast enough to hold him back. Johann nearly tripped over several corpses lined up at the door on his way in.

"Hallo?! Onkel Jörg? Tante Andrea? Ist jemand immer noch hier? Jemand bitte sagen Sie etwas!" (Hello?! Uncle Jörg? Aunt Andrea? Is anybody still here? Somebody please say something!) Johann anxiously called out in German, his heart pounding so hard against his chest, it felt like it was going to jump out and start running. His green eyes were desperately scanning all over the place to see if perhaps they had left a note or something for him to find.

"Johann, stop!" Frasier ordered in a low hiss as the both of them could hear rustling coming from upstairs. Without hesitation, Johann darted through the living room and up the stairs before Frasier could even try to convince him to slow down as the others rushed to catch up.

Rushing into his aunt and uncle's room, Johann froze dead in his tracks, standing there as if he'd been frozen in the midst of a blizzard. The sight before him made his lips tremble as he couldn't move a muscle. Both his aunt and uncle were laid out upon the bed, virtually torn apart; their blood splattered all over the room. An empty handgun loosely hung in his uncle's hand.

Johann fell to his hands and knees; his head throbbing and his stomach twisting as he beheld the worst sight he could've possibly hoped to find here. With his head hanging low, he couldn't help but break out into devastated sobs, trying to resist the urge to scream in sheer agony. This was the only family he had out here, the only family he'd ever had for the longest time in his life; now leaving only one person whom he could truly trust and confide in with the utmost confidence.

"Johann..." Toshimi softly spoke as she knelt down and gently wrapped her arms around him, as if trying to ease his suffering with her presence and unspoken support. In all the years they'd known each other, Johann's aunt and uncle had come to be like family to Toshimi as well, so she could understand even a little of the pain Johann must've been going through right now, but nevertheless, all she could think to do was be here for the one person she'd come to love the most, instead of simply falling into despair with him.

"Toshimi...it's all my fault. I should've been here to protect them. If I had gotten here sooner, they'd still be alive. I could've done something!" Johann muttered as his body trembled all over while his voice was filled to the brim with guilt, trying to stifle his hysterical sobs between his words.

"You did all that you could, Johann. We were stuck in school, and we barely got out ourselves. There isn't much I can say to make this any easier, but what I can't say in words, I can with actions. I'm here for you and I'll always be at your side, just as I've always been, and just as you've always been for me. I promise." Toshimi said with heartfelt emotion in her voice, causing Johann to close his eyes only to turn his body over to hold her close in return. Both of them remained in a warm embracing hug as the Lawson family slowly secured the area, checking room by room, just in case whatever killed Johann's aunt and uncle was still lurking in the shadows.

"Check those corners." Uncle Mark reminded them as they would enter each new room; knowing that if one of those things was still here, they'd need to be able to react in time if it jumped out at them.

"Right, keep the formation loose." Frasier responded as each Lawson sibling had their own personal knife in hand, ready and poised for the potential danger they might come across. Mark meanwhile had the safety off to his Glock and kept it on standby in case his nephews couldn't handle themselves.

"Clear." all three brothers announced as they simultaneously checked the first floor only to come up with nothing aside from a few knocked over pieces of furniture. It was clear there was a scuffle here, but who or what was responsible remained unknown. Without any traces of 'Them', it was rather unnerving, given how badly the sight of Johann's aunt and uncle was from what little they had managed to see.

"Nothing. No hostiles or anything else. Go grab Johann and Toshimi and let's keep going. There's nothing worth staying here for." Frasier instructed to Marcus and Noah, whom both nodded in response before heading up the stairs to check on their emotionally shattered associate. Suddenly a scuffle could be heard, causing Frasier and Mark to immediately bolt upstairs to reinforce the younger of the Lawson family.

Just as they were about to enter the room, a man was suddenly launched out of it and bashed against the wall with a low *thud* echoing through the house as he let out a painful grunt. Without hesitation, Frasier wrapped his forearm hard against the neck of the man and kept the knife close to his temple, poised to add another kill to his record.

"Wait! I'm alive! I'm alive!" the man suddenly said in a raspy voice as he gasped for air. Frasier however kept his hold at the same pressure, regardless.

"Who the hell are you, and what are you doing here?" Frasier interrogated roughly the moment he realized that this man wasn't infected as far as he could tell. Yet he still spoke as if it made no difference.

"I'm the Kessler's neighbor! I rushed over when I heard a struggle, but everything fell apart from there!" the man explained as his face began to turn red, his scrawny hands trying to force off the thick forearm squeezing into his throat.

"Frasier, let him go. I know him, he's telling the truth. I need to hear this." Johann suddenly announced in an emotionless yet firm voice, enough to catch Frasier's ear. Frasier knew that despite being much stronger than Johann, his current state of loss and anger was something Frasier should not be eager to test anytime soon. The rest of the group could now be seen assembling behind the eldest and most aggressive Lawson.

With a hesitant sigh, Frasier pulled back his arm, which spurred the man to cough heavily as precious oxygen could fill his lungs again; his neck now showing a large red choke mark along it.

He was a rather thin spindly man with short blonde hair who stood no taller than 5'8". His two blue beady eyes glared up at Frasier, only to be met with an equally untrusting glare from the young Brit, whom showed absolutely zero remorse for choking him at knife point. The rather weak looking man wore what looked like casual wear that was just barely professional enough to be used for the workplace.

"I'm Joe. Joe Berlemann, if that shit matters to you. I live next door with my two girls, Katherine and Bonnie. As I said, when I heard a break in, I rushed over with my buck knife and found they'd managed to fight off several of those…things. But more quickly showed up and forced us up here, and…I-I just panicked…I was so scared; I hid in the closet while those things just…just ATE them and left. Not too long after the matter, you all suddenly showed up, but I couldn't be sure if you were looters or more of those monsters." the neighbor answered with an undeniable American accent as he rubbed his neck gently in an attempt to soothe it while walking over to pick up a large blood coated buck knife that had been knocked from his hands in the brief scuffle.

"I'm sorry about my friends here, Mr. Berlemann. We were expecting to be met with the bastards that did this to my family. Where are Katherine and Bonnie?" Johann said in apology to Joe, even though Frasier didn't seem to show any, given his distrusting facial expression.

"It's fine. They're still secure in my apartment next door, most likely still hiding under their beds like I told them to before I came here. So, now that we've cleared all that up, what's the plan with you folks? Any good idea as to where you're going?" Joe said before getting straight down to business with no intention of dwelling on Johann's tragic loss.

"North, with the hopes that we can catch one of the busses heading towards any evacuation center the Tokonosu Police Force is trying to setup. What about you?" Mark answered, also clearly eager to get the group moving again.

"That won't do you much good, friend. I've got a much better plan to survive, if you're interested in hearing it." Joe said, already unimpressed with their plan to survive this nightmare.

"You see the best thing to do in a crisis such as the one we're in is to isolate yourselves and get as far away from everyone else as possible. The less people there are, the longer you can live without concern over yourselves and your supplies. This buddy of mine; one of those survivalist types who goes around saying the apocalypse is upon us, which it very well may actually be, happens to have a perfect bug out shelter just outside the northern edge of town, equipped with everything we can possibly need. Trust me, I've seen the place myself more than once. There are plenty of guns, food and water there. The guy's even gone as far as to include a solar panel setup for personal electricity separate from the grid. Frankly, you'd be nuts not to come along." Joe explained as if he knew everything to do in scenarios such as this one; his rather confident tone resonating from person to person during his little speech to convince them to join.

"He does make some good points. I say we go for it. Once we find my family along the way of course. They're just on the other side of the river." Toshimi agreed with a bit of naivety evident in her tone, showing no hesitation to the idea.

"The government would be able to control a small scale group, though. Set up a perimeter and hold the line, surely." Frasier suggested as he tried to show an alternative scenario they could possibly follow.

"Frasier, how well do you think the government can possibly handle anything after today? At the rate things have changed, I'm willing to bet they couldn't get their heads out of a plastic bag, let alone keep us all truly safe." Marcus suggested as he was certain Joe's plan was the best option for the long term.

"So it's settled then. We head north on one of the evacuation busses and get off when we near the outskirts of town. Solid idea, don't you think chaps?" Uncle Mark said as if the group had already made the unanimous decision as they all nodded in silence.

"Good choice. Let me scrounge up my daughters and we can head out when you folks are ready to go." Joe said before taking off to do as he said he would.

"I'm sorry, Johann. I truly am. I know this can't possibly mean much from an old stranger such as me, but I promise you that I'll do everything in my power to keep you and your lady friend here safe. You have the official Lawson word and protection. Isn't that right, chaps?" Mark suddenly announced when placing his hand gently on Johann's shoulder, only for the three brothers to answer "too right" in perfect agreement.

"Thank you. All of you. I honestly didn't expect such kindness from anyone else, truth be told. I'm glad I was wrong." Johann said in gratitude as they all smiled in response, Frasier excluded despite giving a nod to acknowledge that Johann could now be considered a family friend to himself and the others.

(Two minutes later)

It wasn't long before the group, now accompanied by Joe and his two little girls were back on the road. While the two acted extremely shy towards the group at first, there wasn't much doubt that they felt safer now being a part of a larger group. They followed right behind Joe as he and Mark now covered the front flank.

"Hey Marcus, do me a favor and keep an eye on that Joe character." Frasier suggested to Marcus in a low whisper as he narrowed his eyes while looking at their new American compatriot. Something about him just did not sit well with Frasier's instincts, which to him was enough to warrant his feelings of distrust towards the man.

"Why? He seems fine to me. A bit twitchy perhaps, but after what occurred today, I can't exactly hold it against him." Marcus responded as he couldn't see what had caused his brother's minor paranoia towards Johann's neighbor.

"It's not that...never mind. Just keep your guard up and your knife close. We can't afford to let our guard down from here on out." Frasier sighed as he realized perhaps he was being a bit too judgmental towards Joe, given the current situation. However, that did not prevent him from keeping his senses on alert in case he was right.

"Whatever you say, you nutter." Marcus said dismissively as he wasn't sure why Frasier would bring up something so random and then drop it just as quickly.

It became increasingly harder to survey their surroundings as only the street lights and various lights left on by the nearby shops could illuminate the street they walked on. The occasional car could be seen zooming by every now and then. Luckily the worst in this area had already occurred, so no further car accidents were to be witnessed. Most of 'Them' were most likely also heading north towards larger populations to prey on. The numerous noises being made off in the far distance would surely attract more and more of 'Them'.

"It didn't occur to me until just now, but do you think they have that offshore airport locked down? That's got to be the most secure place around here by default, don't you think?" Marcus asked Noah in an attempt to break the awkward silence while trying not to give away their position to any of 'Them' that might be nearby.

"Oh, without a doubt. I spotted a couple Self Defense Force helicopters flying by on our way home. They seemed to be heading in that direction. I can't imagine they'd want anyone else leaving or entering the area now, though. It should be that way all over the world now." Noah replied as it was rather clear to him how drastically things had changed; fully certain that instead of saving everyone they could, the government would try to instead treat this like a raging oil fire by cutting its path of destruction off, and letting it burn itself out in due time.

"Especially home. They've got an advantage, being an island separated from the European mainland. I can't imagine they'd be too welcoming of refugees at this point." Frasier then added as he was certain that the most secure countries and regions across the globe would do everything in their power to keep such a hellish outbreak contained and away from their people.

"Too right." Noah and Marcus both responded softly before things became silent yet again. Johann, for obvious reasons, was at a loss for words, still trying to keep himself together, given how he had already lost his only family here. Toshimi however was loyally at his side, holding onto his arm for comfort, knowing she wanted to be here for him just as he was there for her after what had become of Misuzu.

"Look up ahead. We've got something." Joe suddenly called out, causing everyone behind him to peer over to see a large fire truck crashed into the side of a bus.

The lights still flashing and revolving around in circles without any sound coming from it was a bit haunting. One fireman could be seen laid out in the street, as though he were flung when the two large vehicles crashed. A large blood stain trailed from where his body landed. It was quite clear he was killed on impact. The driver on the other hand was sitting face first against the wheel as the front half of the vehicle was smashed into the side of the bus.

"What a bloody mess." Uncle Mark commented as Frasier climbed onto the side of the fire engine, only to pry something out of an equipment compartment, presenting a 36" long fire axe in hand.

"Here, take this, Johann. It's better that you have some means of defense." Frasier announced as he hopped off the crashed fire engine, handing the long axe to Johann for his own protection.

"Thanks. Makes it much easier compared to just using my hands." Johann thanked as he took a few practice swings after stepping away from the others, while Frasier silently nodded in acknowledgement before they group continued their long journey north.

[Piotr Musial - No Good Choice]

Just when it seemed like they were heading in the wrong direction due to a lack of any living or undead, they could hear small yet very hard to miss gunshots ringing out only just a few hundred yards away. The group spared no time to move up a curved highway exit, only to see a battle between what looked like a small squadron of the Tokonosu Police Force and several packs of 'Them'. Upon closer inspection, their stances seemed tight and rigid as they fired round after round; most of their bullets either missing or striking the torso of the approaching creatures.

It was somewhat astonishing to see 'Their' bodies take such punishment yet shrug it off like it was nothing. 'Their' open wounds leaked out blood with each new hole put into 'Their' bodies. 'Their' jaws hung widen open as 'Their' hands would slowly reach out and extend the closer 'They' got.

"Dammit! These things aren't going down! What the hell do we do?" a terrified young male officer announced as it was clearly a futile effort, seeing how their shots didn't seem to be affecting 'Them' in the slightest.

"Stop aiming for 'Their' center of mass. Go for 'Their' heads. That's the only thing I've seen that actually works!" another officer, this one being female and far more confident, announced as she fired two more rounds, causing one of 'Them' to topple over.

"Just keep moving, everyone. This lot is done for, and those shots will surely bring more to their location." Frasier commented as he already began to head down an alternate route, knowing this was a losing fight they should avoid.

"Wait, we can't leave! Those officers are protecting people in those busses over there." Noah announced in a concerned hush as he motioned his elder sibling to stay.

The group slowly turned their gaze to see two busses parked on the side of the road, most likely broken down, given the fact they could see a light amount of smoke coming from one of the vents on the front of the first bus. The other one appeared to lopsided, so it was most likely a flat tire that had caused them to halt for repairs.

"Noah, we can't save every bloke we come across. Let the police handle it." Frasier insisted as he began to tug on his younger sibling's arm, knowing this was far too risky for their group to get involved with. Nevertheless, it felt like Noah dug his feet into the ground so Frasier couldn't pull him away.

Frasier grumbled as he tried to keep control of the situation, only for him and Noah to look up when they could see the people on the busses panicking as one of 'Them' that had managed to break through the police's defensive lines unnoticed, was now trying to pry open the doors. The youngest Lawson however seemed to already have made up his mind on the matter the moment he could hear the cries of an infant between the loud volleys of gunshots.

"We can't hold them back for much longer!" the first officer announced as he slid open the chamber to his pistol in an attempt to reload his weapon while the other two officers began to continue selecting and taking down their acquired targets; completely unaware that one of 'Them' had gotten past their defensive formation. The heat of battle clouded their senses as the revolvers they fired began to create a ringing noise in their ears.

"Shit! Does anyone have a few spare rounds? That was my last one." another male officer shouted in an near panic while desperately patting himself down to locate more ammunition to keep up the fight.

"Reinforcements will arrive! I'm sure of it!" the female officer announced as she attempted to make every last shot in her revolver take at least one of 'Them' down. Her finger pulled the trigger several more times before that dreaded clicking sound indicated she was out too. As one of 'Them' drew near, she flinched out of reaction and fell backwards in an attempt to pull away.

An undead officer towered over her, a dark crusty coating of blood from his torn open wound along his shoulder staining his otherwise clean uniform. His jaw however was covered in a fresh bloody red stain, indicating he had already taken another person's life since he'd turned. Bits of flesh could be seen wedged in his rotten, decaying teeth as he began to move in for yet another kill.

Just before the female officer or any of her fellow officers could react, a much larger figure leapt right over her and plunged a sharp knife right into the underside of the undead officer's jawline. A low groan escaped its lips before falling over flat onto its back, staying down for good now. The female officers' eyes looked up to see two crystal blue eyes glaring at the undead pack approaching him now, as his short blonde hair began to flow with the soft breeze that passed by.

Suddenly, three more young men caught her attention as they rushed in from behind before they dragged the undead woman away from the bus doors, only for one to hold a fire axe over his head moments before swinging straight down between the eyes. They then rushed over to stand at the side of the first bus, ready to aid the overwhelmed officers.

"Alright, chaps, we know what we need to do here! Noah, keep this on you just in case you need to change position. I want to know where you are always!" Uncle Mark announced as he produced a small walkie-talkie from his hip, handing it to Noah, who could only nod in understanding as he clipped it to his own side, hoping he wouldn't need to use it anytime soon.

"Stand your ground and give them everything you've got! Nobody is dying on our watch!" Uncle Mark announced in a powerful voice for all to hear as he took position beside the four teenage boys at his sides; his pistol firing off several rounds and managing to pick the first of 'Them' off without a hitch.

Frasier and Noah covered the right flank that would lead to the busses directly while Johann and Marcus handled the left flank to support the other two male officers that were completely defenseless now that they had no ammunition to defend neither the downed convoy nor themselves from the relentless undead wave.

Frasier quickly sheathed his knife before ducking down to avoid two long arms reaching for his shoulders. Knowing Noah was ready to back him up, he grasped the undead mans' legs, only to wrap his arms around them and lift the undead fiend up off its feet.

*slam*

He then slammed the grey skinned man face first into the street before placing one foot on the spine to keep it in place. Both its' arms were flailing around in an attempt to grab something for leverage.

"Noah, don't hold back! These bastards are no longer human!" Frasier called out as he watched his brother unsheathe his own knife before looking down at the back of the head, knowing he should strike now while he had a chance. He couldn't help but hope that if he could convince his youngest sibling to not perceive these creatures as what were once people, then he wouldn't have any moral issue with killing 'Them' himself.

Letting out a frightened yet adrenaline-fueled battle cry, the youngest Lawson grasped the knife with both hands, only to bring it straight down. The steel blade had no issue penetrating the weak grey mush of skin and then cracking right through the skull. Both his small hands slightly trembled as he had just snuffed out another life. It may not have been human, it might have been trying to kill them, but at some point this man had a family that loved him and a dream that would now never be fulfilled. All of this coursed through Noah's mind before he suddenly snapped back into reality.

Both his dark blue eyes watched as Frasier kicked one of 'Them' aside before slashing the fingers off of another one. He seemed so confident in his movements that fear didn't even seem to register through his mind. Noah could only hope one day he could set aside his fears and be just as good, if not better, in order to survive all this.

Meanwhile, Mark continued to fire his handgun whilst Johann and Marcus would have one lure the nearest of 'Them' and then the other would stab or chop at the back of the head. Johann's axe split another undead officers' head clean in two before the sharpened blade got snagged into the bone and mangled flesh. Johann held onto the handle with all his might, only to lose balance when the body toppled over backwards.

Just as an infected mail courier towered over Johann with a very devious and fixed grin on its' face, Marcus came running over only to jump on its' back with his legs wrapped around the torso. He proceeded to repeatedly stab his knife into the back of its head before it finally collapsed, pulling Marcus down to the asphalt with it.

"Thanks. Guess I should be ready to drop this thing if it gets stuck." Johann said gratefully before prying the axe out, a trail of blood splashing against his shoes and the road as the blade came free.

"Good call. Just back off if it occurs again and I'll try to cover your arse." Marcus explained as they both prepared for the next bundle of 'Them'.

As Noah proceeded to stab another one of 'Them' Frasier had crippled for him, the eldest Lawson himself soon found himself grasping the wrists of an undead student that had managed to wander thus far out. Despite being much stronger at first glance, this one suddenly seemed to be increasingly stronger than the rest Frasier had encountered up to this point as it was able to actually push Frasier's arms back. It made no sense to him though, since he'd contended with much bigger ones without any issue at all. Something was not right here and it made Frasier immensely nervous if not legitimately frightened.

"Noah...Noah, get back! These ones are much stronger somehow." Frasier snarled as the undead student began to viciously snap its jaws at him with saliva drenching the road beneath it. A rotten tongue stuck out before Frasier pushed it back, only to punch it dead between the eyes.

The head recoiled back sharply before three more of 'Them' had managed to corner Frasier up against a safety rail that faced a sheer drop to the ocean below. Frasier quickly stabbed one through the face before the other two had managed to get ahold of him, only to effortlessly shove him back as if to soften up 'Their' prey.

"Omph!" Frasier grunted out in pain as his body was shoved back against a car right behind him; his body rolling off of the hood as his head was now spinning from the impact.

"Oi! Get away from him, you rotting bastards!" Uncle Mark suddenly called out in an attempt to delay 'Them' before he body slammed all three over the railing. The first two went over without a hitch, but the last one had grasped onto his collar at the last second. The creature went over first as Mark was then dragged over in succession.

At the last second, he grasped the ledge while struggling to kick off the undead man that had taken ahold of his leg with a vice like grip, just barely hanging on now. Uncle Mark turned his head only to start kicking down with his other foot. After several attempts and ineffective blows to the head, the infected man finally let go. Bits of Mark's pants had been torn away as he winced in pain before trying to climb back up to safety.

Frasier quickly regained his senses only to rock himself back up and dash over towards the rail to make sure Mark was okay. A large sigh of relief sounded when he could see just his Uncle was hanging on with both hands on the safety rail. Both of Frasier's hands then grasped the back of Mark's armor, ready to hoist him back up with all his strength. However, when he looked over the edge, he could see fresh blood trickling down the back of Mark's left leg. A deep scratch mark was embedded deep into his flesh, and bits of pants could be seen shredded up whilst Mark expressed pain while trying to keep himself up.

"Mark, your leg-" Frasier muttered in absolute disbelief, only for his Uncle to suddenly push him back a bit as if for his own protection. Both of them knew what this meant before Mark suddenly let out a soft chuckle as if he did not fear his fate now.

[]

[Antonín Dvořák – Requiem Aeternam]

"This is it, chap...You know what you have to do. Take care of those two for me. Tell them I'm sorry for letting this happen…and don't you dare let them become one of those bloody monsters." Uncle Mark suddenly said to Frasier, who was still visibly stunned. Mark slowly slid back as he slid his sidearm, knife, and the other walkie-talkie to him.

"Uncle Mark...I...You can't-" Frasier expressed with deep emotion over what would become of the group now as he could only shake his head in some attempt at denial of what he unfortunately knew was inevitable.

"Frasier…you've changed so much since you've arrived here. I want you to know that your brothers and I are all proud of you, no matter what your father might say. I only regret that now I will never see you three grow up. Now go...they'll need you now more than ever!" Mark began to express in absolute sincerity before he began to cough; feeling the spread of the infection already beginning to take hold over him as his muscles felt weaker by the second.

"I will not fail you." Frasier said in a far more confident voice with no fear at the end; accepting the honor and duty with pride, knowing he was the best option for his younger siblings now.

"Mark? Mark, what are you doing?!" Marcus' voice suddenly called out as the middle Lawson turned around to see his Uncle dangling from an edge while Frasier stood there completely helpless, as if frozen in place. Both he and Noah immediately rushed over to help now that the last of 'Them' had been taken care of for the time being.

"Boys...I love you all so very much. Forgive me…for everything." Uncle Mark sighed softly as a last confession before he finally let his fingers open up. His body gently slid off the edge of the safety rail as Marcus came sprinting over the moment he saw this, only to just barely miss grabbing one of his Uncle's hands.

Tears flooded from Marcus' green eyes as his Uncle Mark simply formed one last smile before giving his middle nephew a salute of respect moments before quickly vanishing under the dark blue waters. Marcus' eyes desperately began looking around, hoping to see Mark come back up for air so he could jump down and rescue him. However, deep down, he knew that was it. In the blink of an eye, the closest thing to a loving father he ever had had now been taken forever from him, never to be seen again.

"Mark…get back up here, you lazy bastard! Swim the fuck back up! Please...please, don't leave me. Come back." Marcus shouted in absolute rage and hysterical despair as his voice slowly trailed off into utter sadness, knowing he was powerless to do anything now. It felt like his entire throat had swollen up as his eyes began to sting from the tears that flowed down his cheeks. His hands slammed with such force against the safety rail it actually managed to break the skin, his own blood gently seeping from his white-knuckled hands.

"No. Oh, god, no...Mark! MARK! Why?! Why did you do it?!" Noah cried out as he fell to his knees; his hands slowly covering his face as he couldn't help but practically bawl his eyes out. His chest was heaving in and out as his body trembled all over. It now felt like an icy cold hand had reached deep into all three of their chests only to squeeze their hearts tightly.

"Marcus...his leg was scratched. There was no use in saving him. You know what would've happened." Frasier finally said in an attempt to rationalize and keep his brothers on point; not wanting his siblings to break down while they were all out and exposed in the open. Marcus then turned to him with a fire in his young eyes.

"No use? NO USE?! How dare you say that, you fucking twat! There's always a way if we try! LAWSON'S DON'T KNOW THE MEANING OF 'NO USE'!" Marcus scolded as his voice raised from a deep growl to a furious shout, his hands tightly clenched as if restraining himself from striking Frasier.

"Marcus, I didn't mean it like that!" Frasier said defensively as he realized that Marcus was clearly taking it the wrong way; trying his best to control the already emotionally delicate situation.

"Maybe if you showed more humanity every now and then, perhaps Father would've seem you more as a son than just another tool! Maybe then you'd actually give a shit about all the people we've seen die today!" Marcus said hostilely as tears continued to flow down his red face; his look of uncertainty and sadness forming into that of twisted anger he could not keep at bay in the face such a heavy loss. The middle Lawson then went one step further as to get in Frasier's face as his words were drenched and seeping with venom.

"THEN WHAT SHOULD I HAVE DONE, MARCUS? WOULD YOU RATHER HAVE JUST LET HIM SUFFER UNTIL HE TURNED INTO ONE OF THOSE THINGS? IS THAT WHAT YOU SUGGEST I SHOULD'VE DONE INSTEAD?!" Frasier suddenly roared out of rage and anger at such a personal and rather harsh accusation of his personal character, mixed up with his own personal feelings upon Mark's death occurring right before his eyes. His chest was puffing in and out as he towered over his younger sibling who had stepped far over the personal boundaries with him. Never had Marcus heard him emanate such raw, uncontrolled anger before, causing him to back down now that he could see Frasier was hurt by all this as well. Just in a way not so open for all to see.

"I...no! Of course not! Just...I just..." Marcus responded in total shock as he was both visibly and mentally taken aback, knowing he couldn't hope to respond to that kind of question. He gradually recoiled back before turning away to start mourning their loss once again. However, he was caught off guard when Noah suddenly turned him around and held him tightly, as if to say he understood Marcus' inner pain and loss better than Frasier could ever hope to.

Both of them were soon sobbing in deep sorrow as Frasier just looked at them. He felt the pain swelling inside himself, but for different reasons most likely. He had failed to protect a Lawson, despite his Uncle Mark being more than capable of protecting himself from danger. Perhaps this was guilt he felt, knowing that if he had not underestimated 'Them' so quickly, that Mark might still be around. His eyes began to water at first, but he just shook his head and simply kept a close eye on his siblings as they were able to express their loss more openly than he could've ever hoped to.

Suddenly, Frasier took a step forward to say something, only to hear a metallic jingling sound under his shoe. He slowly knelt down and picked up whatever it was that he had stepped on.

"Marcus, please take this." Frasier said softly as he held up a round, disk shaped metallic tag that had Mark's name engraved on it. The dog tags swayed back and forth on a thin chain as Marcus stared at them intensely, only to slowly grasp them and hold them tight. He then looked up at Frasier, only to be surprised even further when his older brother slowly pulled both him and Noah into him. While only for a brief moment, it was more than long enough for the younger siblings to see that their eldest brother did indeed feel their pain; unable to completely mask the humanity he'd been conditioned to ignore for more practical reasoning and cold, hard, logic.

Minutes passed by as eventually, the younger two of the three Lawson's had run out of tears to shed; slowly cleaning their faces off they before they placed Mark's knife through a wooden post connecting the safety railing together. The blade proudly stood firm in place as Marcus was given the honor of securely planting it in while Frasier took the handgun and second walkie-talkie, keeping them close on hand; knowing that more would eventually come and that should he be forced to take drastic action, he could still communicate with Noah.

[]

It had felt like hours to the remaining three Lawson's, but to the others who could only awkwardly look away and remain silent until they eventually could approach the grieving trio, it had only been a few minutes. Johann and Toshimi eventually reunited with them and could only offer their deepest condolences given how all five of their group had now lost someone dear to them within the same day.

The young female officer from earlier suddenly approached and stood before what remained of the group (excluding Joe and his daughters, who were currently standing by one of the buses as they chose to stand back during the fight). The female officer stood roughly at 5'8"; she wore the standard female police cadet uniform of the Tokonosu Eastern Police, which consisted of a white shirt, a black tie, a blue jacket with a green band wrapped around the left sleeve adorned with two white stripes, and a blue skirt.

"This officer would like to thank you brave young boys for your assistance. Most people would've just kept running. There's just enough room left if your friends and you would like to come with us. We just need to finish making a few repairs to the buses, and then we'll be heading north out of the city to the nearest rescue station." she said with the most sincere gratitude before proceeding to offer them the best aid she could think of at the moment.

"Don't mention it. No, really, don't mention it. The sooner we leave the better. I don't want to think of this bloody place any more than I have to." Marcus said in response as he brushed past her and stepped onto the bus only to be met by a sea of eyes from every seat.

Just when he thought he could rest for the first time that day, he was greeted with applause from the refugees trying to escape this part of town. Normally he would've been basking in the glory, enjoying the fame he'd just earned. But after what happened to his Uncle, how could he? No. All he wanted now was silence, and to get as far away from this place as possible now. He slowly and awkwardly walked down the aisles only to find an empty spot by a window in the back, slowly sitting down before trying to contain himself from having another emotional outburst.

"So the plan is to still go across the Tokonosu Bridge, right?" Johann then asked as he and Frasier were keeping an eye out for any of 'Them', both fully certain more would arrive after all the gunshots that had sounded.

"Right; we keep moving north with the convoy, then we break off when Joe gives the word." Frasier responded as he checked the Glock 17 to see just how many shots he had left in it. While there were only twelve out of seventeen cartridges left in the clip, it was better than having none at all.

"Sounds as solid as any plan, I guess. I just hope we don't lose anyone else. Too many people have died today already." Johann agreed before expressing his sorrow over all the death they'd been forced to witness today alone. If this whole mess wasn't going to be fixed anytime soon, who knew just how much more suffering they'd all have to go through?

"Mhm. Go check on the progress of the repairs. The sooner we leave the better." Frasier responded in a rather dismissive tone, not wanting to dwell on the subject. His eyes kept a look out for even the slightest movement in the distance; occasionally checking back to make sure they weren't being flanked at the rear.

Noah meanwhile was at the side of a mechanic; both switching off to observe and tweak whatever it was that caused the engine to the first bus to stop working. Luckily, through their combined effort the first bus suddenly started back up and appeared to be in working condition again.

"I can fix the next one on my own. You can go rest on the next bus, kid. Thanks again!" the mechanic said in a gracious tone before motioning Noah to take off.

As Noah climbed onto the bus, he couldn't help but notice a man roughly in his mid-thirties wearing suspenders over a white shirt. His eyes were a dark black shade while his short hair appeared to be a dark blonde coloring. A thick wrench rested on the side of the seat next to him while a young girl, no older than seven, was holding onto him for comfort.

The little girl's reddish-pink hair was at shoulder-length with bangs that reached down from the side of her temples, stretching outwards. Upon further inspection, a tiny mole under her left eye could be seen while a white headband covered the top of her forehead. She was wearing a white jacket, a pink dress top and a light blue skirt, black socks and shoes.

"Is that one of them? One of the people who saved us?" the young girl asked as if intimidated by Noah, which was rather funny for anyone who actually knew the most innocent of Lawson's when it came to his friendly nature.

"Yes, and don't stare, honey." the man responded while trying to avoid eye contact; knowing that the last thing he'd want is to show disrespect towards one of the survivors that just saved the convoy and all its inhabitants.

"Don't worry. I'm one of the good guys." Noah said as if he was trying to reassure the little girl, who in return gave him a faint smile before closing her eyes. Clearly she had a long day, and it was growing closer to being midnight now. She must've been dead tired.

Noah himself slumped in his seat beside Marcus. Both could feel that the muscles in their legs were now heavy and sore from the non-stop moving this day. Not once did they even take a moment to sit down, seeing how all the adrenaline and shock had kept them up in case they were ambushed or caught off guard by 'Them'. For the first time that day, they could finally relax and close their eyes.

Unfortunately, this momentary peace was cut rather short when Frasier suddenly burst into the bus, causing everyone to look up, all growing deeply concerned with the look on his face.

"Everyone stay quiet, and don't move! We've got company!" Frasier whispered just loud enough for all to hear before motioning them to keep the volume at absolute zero.

"What's going on?" Marcus asked as he and Noah walked over to see just what had their otherwise fearless sibling been so spooked by.

Just over the distance, they saw not ten, not twenty, not even fifty, but literally hundreds of 'Them' slowly yet surely shambling and limping towards the two buses. It was like watching a tidal wave of death and decay coming to collect the living; each one looking like something out of a living nightmare, especially when clumped so close together.

There was absolutely no way they could hope to handle this many on their own. Not without some serious firepower to help even the odds. Luckily, the undead proved to be just as blind as ever when they just shambled and brushed around the buses and nearby cars. Their bodies occasionally bumped up against the bus, causing it to lightly tremble whenever a few of 'Them' did it at once. The sounds of teeth chomping together, accompanied by deathly groans and sighs could be heard outside; causing everyone's hearts to sink, knowing that even the slightest sound made by any of the other survivors would result in a brutal death.

While Frasier had rushed onto the second bus and Johann had gotten onto the first one to be with Toshimi and Joe, the mechanic Noah was helping out earlier was caught off guard and ended up hiding under the safety of a nearby car. His eyes timidly watched every pair of feet shuffle past him as if waiting for an opening to get out from cover and into the second bus. Just when it seemed like his chance had finally come around, his phone suddenly went off.

All the undead at once had heard the loud ringing sound, which caused all of 'Them' to slowly cock 'Their' heads towards the source of the sound. The people on the bus watched helplessly as the car the mechanic was hiding under was suddenly flipped over. He just lay there, shaking all over and in tears, completely frozen in shock before the undead spared no time pouncing upon the defenseless prey. Despite how vicious 'They' normally were it seemed these ones were even worse as 'They' literally tore the man's own limbs off to the point every scrap of flesh was mercilessly consumed before he could even attempt to scream.

"What do we do?" Marcus asked as his eyes could only focus upon the gory massacre taking place before him.

"Stay here. I have one last trick up my sleeve." Frasier expressed before he walked to the front of the bus only to wave over to Johann.

Inside the first bus, Johann continued to try and respond to Frasier's silent hand gestures the best he could. Once he saw Frasier motioning for them both to move up to the emergency exits on the roof, Johann could feel his blood go cold. There was no way he was being serious, right? There just couldn't be a way he was that insane.

However, when Johann looked upon all the people on the bus, he couldn't help but feel a sense of resignation churning inside his chest. If he didn't do something to lure away the dead, these people would ALL die…including Toshimi.

With a heavy sigh, Johann slowly approached his girlfriend as she looked up at him with frightened yet curious and somewhat hopeful eyes.

"What's going on, Johann? What are we going to do?" Toshimi asked in a frightened whisper as Johann knelt before her and placed reassuring hands on her shoulders, looking down at the floor as though steeling himself for something.

"Toshimi…me and Johann are going to try and lure those monsters away so you all can get out of the city safely." Johann finally explained, and just as he'd feared, Toshimi's instant reaction was to tightly wrap her arms over his shoulders, holding him close as though it were an attempt to keep him from leaving.

"No, Johann! No, you can't go! Please don't leave me here! It's not safe out there! Please, just stay here with me! I don't want to lose you too." Toshimi pleaded, once again burying her face into the crook of his neck as her words quickly turned into sobs as Johann could only bring himself to embrace her in return.

"Toshimi, if we don't do something, those things might end up coming in here, and then we'll all be killed. This is the only way I can keep you safe. If there was any other way we could do this, I would. I don't want to leave you alone, you know that. But this is my only option right now." Johann explained to her, trying to be as reassuring as possible as she didn't let up on her tight hold on him.

"Johann…please don't do this. I'm begging you. I don't know what I would do if I lost you, too." Toshimi whimpered through her tears as Johann gently lifted her chin up so they could look into each other's eyes.

"I swear to you, Toshimi, I'm not going to let anything happen to me. I promised you I would keep you safe, and I'm still standing by that promise, now and forever. I swear I will return to you. Do you understand?" Johann explained, trying to both encourage her and himself that he could make this insane plan work.

For a few moments, Toshimi remained completely silent; her tears continuing to roll down her cheeks, before she suddenly took Johann's head into her small, delicate hands and leaned in without any hesitation; putting all her swelling emotions into the loving kiss she planted on his lips, remaining in that position for several seconds that to both of them felt like endless minutes.

Once their lips finally parted, Toshimi wiped the tears from her shimmering eyes as she managed only the faintest of smiles.

"I understand, Johann. It's a promise. I'll wait for you as long as it takes. I love you." Toshimi finally said, earning one more loving embrace from the young man she loved with all her heart before he finally stood back up and headed back to the front of the bus, wholly rejuvenated as he continued to make hand signals to Frasier.

"I love you, too, Toshimi." Johann finally replied as he gave one more gaze to her as he continued to mentally psyche himself up for what he and Frasier were about to do.

After a series of further hand gestures, the two young men slowly headed for the emergency at the roof of each bus.

"What the hell do you think you're doing, you nutter? Have you gone completely mental?" Marcus hissed in a low yet deeply concerned voice when he saw Frasier literally about to leave him behind.

"Shh. Take this and stick to the plan, Marcus. I'll be back. I promise." Frasier whispered only to slowly hand Marcus the Glock 17, knowing that Marcus might need it more than he would.

"You better come back, you daffy bastard." Marcus muttered before watching his brother and Johann slowly scale the top of the busses, only to be standing before the vast horde that now refused to move onward, almost as if 'They' sensed more food nearby but just couldn't find it yet.

"Are you sure you really want to do this? I only needed you to tell the other driver my plan." Frasier questioned as he and Johann stood side by side now on the top rear of the second bus.

"Yeah, I'm sure. Nobody should have to do this alone. Besides, if it will keep Toshimi safe, I can't exactly say no. You might be tough, but I don't know if you can do this alone. Failure isn't an option now." Johann explained as he was determined to help as much as he could.

'Noble words. Let's see just how long that lasts.' Frasier thought to himself before they both hopped off the bus's roof, only to start sprinting as fast as they could possibly move once they made contact with the ground.

They began scaling the back of a few cars to avoid charging right through the more heavily concentrated clusters of 'Them'. People in both busses watched in awe as they managed to actually break free through the barricade of the dead. The sea of undead corpses began to growl and snarl whenever the two would run by. Both Johann and Frasier had to carefully avoid tripping or having their feet pulled out from under them whenever one of 'Them' would try to reach out in advance.

"These things seem to be a lot more reactive than earlier. What do you think has 'Them' so amped up?" Johann announced as they stopped, only to suddenly leap onto a large news van and quickly roll off the sides. Now out of the massive horde, they began to head towards a car that appeared to be locked and fully functional.

"You're asking the wrong guy here, Johann; although 'They' did seem much stronger than before, despite looking no different." Frasier responded before he took the fire axe Johann handed, only for the eldest Lawson to swing the powerful tool overhead and into the car's windshield.

*crash*

The moment the sharp axe penetrated and completely shattered a majority of the glass windshield, an alarm immediately began to pierce the air. The undead horde unanimously let out a series of grunts and groans before every last one of 'Them' began to head towards the car. Just as the path was clear, the two busses took off without hesitation, to the dismay of Frasier and Johann, especially when they could see Marcus, Noah and Toshimi respectively crying out to them from inside the busses as they drove off.

"That wasn't part of the plan...was it?" Johann questioned nervously as the undead now drew nearer by the second.

"No. Bloody cowards couldn't even wait for a single minute. No matter though, just move while we still have a chance!" Frasier announced as they both began to flee for the highway exit they entered through earlier, only to be cut off. The dead were now slowly cornering them in, only to just narrowly miss when the two vaulted over the railing's edge.

Both landed on the roof of a car below, only to set its alarm off as well. Their bodies slowly recoiled from the drop as they rolled off the roof and began to stumble before finally taking off, with the horde just a few yards behind in a slow pursuit. Luckily they were able to get away completely after five minutes of nonstop running.

When they stopped, Johann began to breathe heavily as he grasped his kneecaps, his chest heaving up and down as Frasier patiently waited for him to recover some of his stamina. Johann then stood up with his hands over his head to help open up his airways.

"We should go. Something tells me these creatures don't tire out like we do." Frasier suggested when he could see a few had begun to appear in the distance. Whether or not these ones were from a few minutes ago, it was hard to tell. In the dark, and at such a distance, the best the young Brit could see was dark silhouettes slowly swaying back and forth as they slowly drew near.

Johann hesitantly nodded before they began to head west; knowing that if they wanted any hopes of reaching Tokonosu Bridge in time, they had to keep moving on foot. The only thing to lead them now was the various street lights and the burning determination to reunite with their loved ones. Armed only with a fire axe and a knife; the two young men ventured into the darkness together as if they were now official comrades.

[Fourteen hours later]

Z-Day+1

The sun now hung high in the middle of the sky as the afternoon had finally come around. Johann and Frasier slowly passed through another abandoned neighborhood. On nearly all the buildings and walls were posters reminding people to avoid the infected at all costs as well as to stay indoors if possible. Others claimed that the north was a safer bet to go with and people should travel with only the bare essentials. Both young men's eyes were constantly checking out the environment, just in case another horde would be just around the corner. Luckily they were able to avoid getting into any further confrontations, which helped reserve some of their energy despite the fact they had been walking the entire night with minimal stops.

"Alright, so tell me this, Frasier. Besides Noah and Marcus, is there anyone else you're on the lookout for?" Johann suddenly asked in order to break the unbearably long silence, seeing how Frasier clearly wasn't going to start up any conversation.

"What? Why are you asking me this now? Does it really matter?" Frasier asked, startled by Johann suddenly speaking up after the last several hours of silence.

"I'm just curious. You might be content with awkward silence, but most people aren't. Besides, I'm really curious now, given how defensive you suddenly sound." Johann answered as he formed a smirk, feeling that Frasier was definitely hiding something now.

"I'm not being defensive! I just don't see the point in focusing on something as irrelevant as talking about Sae...just be quiet and keep moving." Frasier said dismissively just as he caught himself nearly slipping up and practically blurting out Saeko's name.

"Oh, so you are thinking of someone! I knew it! Almost sounded like a girl's name, too. You know you can be honest with me. I promise not to tell your brothers so you can remain all tough and broody to them." Johann playfully mocked whilst enjoying this moment of weakness he didn't expect Frasier to be showing.

'Suddenly the living dead don't sound so bad.' Frasier groaned in the back of his mind as if he would seriously prefer fighting for his life against reanimated corpses over having to talk about the warm feelings he could just barely bury in the recesses of his heart and mind. His cold, heartless logic and ruthless outer shell could only deflect so much before giving in to those fuzzy feelings Saeko could make him feel whenever they so much as made eye contact. His heart began throbbing faster just thinking about her now, before it skipped a beat when he could've sworn he noticed some quick movement up ahead. They looked to be a small bunch of shadows rushing into a nearby store.

"Heads up, Johann. Contact ahead." Frasier suddenly whispered in a dead serious tone before motioning Johann to look straight ahead into a nearby outlet store with its storefront window smashed in.

"I don't see anyone or anything, but perhaps we could find something more useful inside perhaps?" Johann suggested as Frasier simply nodded in response. Clearly something was brewing up inside his mind, but Johann just couldn't put his finger on it just yet.

He was the first to enter the store, looking all across the trashed interior. Clearly the place had already been heavily looted since yesterday. The lights were all out, making it hard to see anything beyond several feet in front of him. His eyes carefully looked around to make sure none of 'Them' were hiding in the shadows while his ears could definitely pick up something other than his own breathing, almost like very light footsteps from within the shadows.

"Frasier, I don't see anyone, but I'm pretty sure we aren't alone. What do you think? Frasier...?" Johann began to explain to his new comrade, only to be met with an eerie silence. He turned his head back, only to be shocked to see Frasier had completely vanished from his sight without a single trace.

*clonk*

Without any time to react, Johann was immediately struck in the back of the head by a fire extinguisher. His body collapsed to the floor as his eyes could only see several figures now towering over him as his head rung mercilessly. His eyes slowly closed as everything went fuzzy moments after the lights suddenly came on. He could soon feel his body slowly being dragged away from the door and further into the depths of the store.

Several moments later, he managed to regain consciousness, immediately attempting to move, only to find he was set upright in a chair with his hands securely tied behind him and to the back of the chair. Quick to recall what happened to him, he looked around only to see four people standing before him, each one his age, if not possibly younger. Each one wore a soaking wet student outfit belonging to another school. Two were male while the other two were female.

The first boy to approach him had grayish black hair in a pompadour with freckles under his brown eyes. A necklace hung around his neck and a set of piercings could be seen in his ears. His face showed nothing but intense annoyance for Johann suddenly entering this store completely unannounced, almost as if he'd been personally disrespected in his own domain.

"What should we do with him now that he's awake, Hide?" the other male student asked as if this Hide was the leader of these overly aggressive misfits. This one had shoulder-length brown hair and simple brown eyes, with a rather sadistic looking grin on his face while softly swaying a 2x4 in his hands.

"I don't know, Tate. Perhaps learn what the fuck he's doing here, first of all? I feel that's a good ice breaker, don't you?" Hide asked rhetorically before holding up a baseball bat and carefully lifting Johann's chin so they both made eye contact now.

"I'd start talking if I were you. You don't want to mess with us." one of the female students brought up. Her skin was much tanner compared to the rest, and she had long blonde hair that completely clashed with her skin tone. Along with the other girl, they both wore a navy blue uniform with a red tie and white undershirt beneath it, along with a grey skirt with black stripes to finish the contrast between these students and the ones that once attended Fujimi Academy.

"You get one chance, asshole! I'm not messing around here, seeing how we just got blasted off the fucking Onbetsu Bridge by the damn police an hour ago! We barely got to the shore to begin with, let alone kept from getting grabbed by any of those rotting fuckheads in the river. So yeah, I'm kinda in a bad mood if you haven't noticed." Hide then brought up as if to reassure Johann just how much trouble he'd be in if he didn't choose to answer wisely.

"Why the hell are you people doing this? I'm alive! I'm not one of 'Them'! What the hell is wrong with you-" Johann questioned out of sheer bewilderment, only to suddenly be punched across the face. A red mark formed across the side of his face as blood began to gently trickle along the side of his soon to be swollen cheek.

"I warned you, dipshit! Tate, hand me those bolt cutters!" Hide instructed as the other boy did exactly as he was told, just moments before he and the tan girl held one of Johann's arms in place to keep him from potentially struggling.

*shikk*

Johann's eyes shot wide open as he felt the sharp beak of the bolt cutters suddenly connect, snipping right through two of his fingers without any resistance. He let out a horrified cry of ungodly pain before having his mouth gagged to avoid making too much noise. The two stubs where his fingers used to be twitched a little as he could feel blood gushing heavily from his mutilation. The pain was so immense, his vision instantly went blurry before his head slumped down, slipping back into unconsciousness.

"Oh, what, he's out already? What a fucking pussy. Somebody grab a towel so he doesn't bleed all over the place." Hide suddenly ordered with absolutely zero remorse for the atrocity they'd just committed.

Just as he said that, the lights above suddenly shut off without warning. All four of the students began to look around, feeling the hairs on the backs of their necks standing up as the power couldn't have possibly gone out everywhere, given how the other buildings nearby seemed to still have power.

"What the fuck? Who turned off the damn lights?" Tate said aloud as the two girls with them began to freak out that they could no longer see.

"Go check the switches in the back. If that's not it, go look at the circuit breaker." Hide instructed as if showing a hint of competence for once in his life.

"Circuit what? What would I even begin to do with that?" Tate questioned while just standing around with his hands in his pockets, almost as if expecting someone to go with him to check it out.

"Hell if I know! Just start hitting shit and see if that gets it working if all else fails." Hide responded in an impatient tone before trying to motion his friend to just do whatever he could; his voice starting to show aggravation with what now felt like stalling.

Without any further reason to be standing around in the dark, Tate did as he was told and entered a storage room in the far back of the store. After several moments of awkward navigation and cursing under his breath every time he stubbed his foot on something he couldn't see, the young teen eventually found the light switches.

*flick* *flick* *flick*

After several attempts, the lights still remained off. Just then, he could just barely see a large grey box hanging alongside the wall. Without hesitation, he headed towards it only to see it had already been opened. Upon closer inspection, he noticed what looked like five wires which had fallen out of their sockets. Expecting this to work, he simply lined them up to their respective holes and stepped back when the lights instantly flashed on again.

He formed a rather proud smile, despite only really having to play connect-the-dots with some obviously pulled plugs. Just as he was finished feeling proud of himself, he suddenly noticed his shadow looked far too big to be his own. Before he could instinctively turn his head around to see who it was, a hand firmly grasped the back of his head, the immensely strong fingers wrapping around his hair with a vice like grip.

"Hide, hel-!" Tate began to shout in terror before his face was suddenly slammed with extreme force into the fuse box.

*smash* *crash* *zzzzz*

After two more savage slams into the fuse box, the third one caused Tate's entire body to tremble as the voltage coursed through him before his body collapsed back with his bloodied, singed face looking straight up at the ceiling with his lifeless eyes. His blood stained the fuse box as bits of metal had embedded into his face. Aside from the occasional twitch, his body remained completely still now.

"Tate? What the fuck is—HOLY SHIT!" Hide began to question before he and the two girls entered the storage room and instantly found his motionless corpse, looking like somebody had viciously smashed his face in. The two girls let out a shriek of terror before fleeing back into the store. Whatever had killed their friend was most likely still dwelling within the store and ready to claim another victim.

Suddenly, the metal security fence went down along the door and windows, effectively trapping the three survivors inside with no hope of escaping. It was all too clear to the three of them now that if they wanted out, they'd have to fight their way out. Hide clenched the baseball bat in his hands as he looked around nervously with both girls cowering behind him, each one feeling their hearts ravaging against their chests as the sound of heavy footsteps could be heard getting closer and closer, despite the fact they couldn't see anything.

"W-what's the matter? You scared? Not so tough now that you're caught in the open, huh?!" Hide began to call out in fear as he desperately tried to play it off as another of his loudmouthed boasts.

However, he was only met with a rather twisted chuckle that began to echo across the entire store. His body trembled all over until out the corner of his eye, another aluminum bat was thrown at him like a spear, landing square center into his stomach. The impact sent him falling to his knees as he felt their air knocked out of his lungs. All he could do was cough and gag as the other two girls panicked only to run for the back door. Hide slowly stood up only for the girls' screams to suddenly go silent.

As he cautiously stumbled through the store, he could see one of their feet sticking out from around a corner, slowly being dragged away only to be followed by the sound of bone being snapped.

"Oh, fuck this! I'm outta here!" Hide cried out as he sprinted for the rear exit, leaving his other two friends at the mercy of their attacker, whether they were still alive or dead. His heart raced while sweat poured down his face. He ditched his weapon as his hands began to desperately pull at the door handle. A brief amount of sunlight pierced through the door frame as he opened it, only to suddenly feel a sharp prick in his back, directly into his spine.

Before he could even reach back, the door was thrown wide open as the mysterious attacker was without a doubt behind him. The knife wedged in Hide's spine was slowly yanked out before he was shoved out the door and into an alley that connected the neighboring stores together. His body tumbled, crashing into the asphalt. Hide could feel his blood go cold once his mind registered that he could no longer feel his legs. If that prick in his back was what he thought it was, then he could feel the urge to vomit once he realized he'd just had his spine severed. Before he could even try to cry for help, he suddenly felt someone slowly drag him by the neck a few feet out into the open street until he could hear something else. To his horror, an infected woman could be seen just less than a foot away, consuming a severed leg she had most likely pulled off some unlucky victim.

"What are you doing? No! No, wait-" Hide started to plead as he began to desperately struggle and attempt to break free. However, it was a fruitless effort that was quickly cut short when the infected woman suddenly lunged and took a large bite out of his neck; pulling a large strip of meaty flesh from his neck as his blood spewed out everywhere. A slight tremble and gasp for air escaped his lips as he was visibly stunned by all of this before his mind went black.

The rear exit to the store slowly closed behind the relentless killer, who completely shut out Hide's cries of pain and suffering from behind as he then looked at both his hands. A slight tremor of power and enthrallment consumed him in the moment, right before interrupted by the walkie-talkie on his hip going off.

"Hey, Frasier? Please tell me you can hear me now..." Marcus' voice announced from the other side as his voice was that of desperation and concern for Frasier's well being.

"I'm here, Marcus. I'm fine. Sorry if you tried to reach me earlier this morning. I had to keep the noise to a minimum to avoid detection from those monsters. How are things on your end? Over." Frasier then responded as he just stared at Tate's motionless corpse slowly bleeding all over the floor; a grin of satisfaction forming along his lips.

"It could be worse. The buses were caught up in a traffic jam near the Tokonosu Bridge. After a few hours of waiting in line, those things showed up and started dragging people out of their cars. It was a bloody massacre and the police couldn't do a fucking thing to stop it.

"That Joe guy managed to get Toshimi and his girls out in time. I saw them leave via an abandoned white van with a blue star on it, but that's all I saw before we were all forced to split up. That police girl, Hitomi I think her name is, managed to take charge and got Noah, myself, and a few others out. The others ended up splitting off from us along the way, but we're holding up for now in a nearby hotel on the other side of the river. You can't miss it; it's one of the taller buildings on this side of the city. I think if we set up a blockade and keep someone on watch, we'll be able to hold out for a while. What do you think? Over." Marcus explained for several minutes while Frasier remained silent, shuffling through the store to find anything of use. He found a large black laptop bag that seemed like it could be useful; slinging it along his shoulders should he be able to scavenge up any decent items.

"It sounds like a good plan to me. I'm on my way now. Just stay quiet and don't let anybody else in the hotel in the meantime. You are ordered to shoot to kill. Understand? Over." Frasier replied as he already began to formulate plans for the local hotel as their new established shelter.

"Well, I can't exactly sharp shoot with just me and Hitomi's pistols, but I understand. I don't like it...but after seeing how some survivors were treating each other...beating and openly fighting one another to get away from the dead, I don't think I have any other choice. You can count on me. Over and out." Marcus responded with conflict in his voice only to conclude that his elder brother was ultimately right to give such an order. The radio went quiet again as Frasier then looked over to Johann.

He just knelt down and observed his unconscious compatriot. Both his crystal blue eyes narrowed at the sight of Johann's two severed fingers and their respective stumps, as well as the all-too undeniable possibility that he wouldn't be nearly as useful in combat with only eight fingers now. They had no medical supplies, and his first-aid skillset was very basic, seeing how he was expected to never be hurt to the point a medic would be required.

Frasier began to leave after placing the bolt cutters in his bag, knowing Johann was more of a burden than he was worth. Just as he was inches from exiting the store, he stopped walking and let out a heavy sigh, knowing that despite the logic that bringing someone this badly injured was a liability, part of him felt Johann could still be of some use. Taking a gamble for once, he turned back around and proceeded to untie Johann from the chair with his blood stained knife slicing right through the ropes with little resistance.

*rip*

Grasping the sleeve of a nearby baseball t-shirt hanging on a rack besides him, Frasier tore it clean off before proceeding to tie it around Johann's two stubs in attempt to prevent further blood loss; knowing that if he took Johann, he couldn't be bleeding all over him.

'I don't know if you're really worth it, Johann. But I guess I'll find out when you wake up.' Frasier thought to himself before fireman carrying Johann out of the building and out onto the streets again. Roughly an hour went by after they managed to cross one of the much smaller bridges across the river before Frasier could see the large hotel sign in the distance hanging just a bit over a few other buildings.

Papers would occasionally breeze by while the sound of car horns and the sound of people screaming could be heard echoing from the distance. They must have been coming from where the Tokonosu Bridge was located. Gunshots could be heard echoing out every now and then as a few sirens blared from the scene. It was becoming more apparent with each passing hour that nobody could hope to stop the utter chaos now.

"Hey, Frasier, I can see you two from up here with these binoculars we found on the way here. Wait…what happened to Johann? Is he hurt? Hurry up and get inside. Just head north-east and you'll be here in no time." Noah's voice suddenly announced on the walkie-talkie before cutting out when he realized Frasier had his hands full with carrying an unconscious Johann along his shoulders.

Minutes later, Frasier carried Johann up a grassy hill and across a street before finding himself being motioned into a moderately-sized parking lot that led to the hotel his group was currently residing in. Marcus and Noah were the first to rush over across the lot to greet him.

"Oh, thank God you're alive! I can only imagine the shit you two have had to go through." Marcus said as he smiled seeing his brother was still alright. His smile then turned to shock when he noticed Johann's bloody rag wrapped around his left hand.

"Was he bitten?! What the hell happened to him?!" Noah asked in momentary panic as Frasier gently set Johann's body on the ground before beginning to stretch out his now sore back. Both younger boys looked over just to be sure. They physically recoiled when seeing the two blood-covered fleshy stubs of what used to be his right ring and pinky finger.

"He wasn't bitten. We were ambushed by some other teenagers. Johann was captured and they must've cut his fingers off for some reason. Don't worry though. I took care of them." Frasier explained as he then just smiled at the end, which warranted some suspicion from his brothers as they hefted Johann's body onto their shoulders.

"What do you mean by that? Frasier? What do you mean you 'took care of them'?" Noah asked in a rather concerned voice as he and Marcus had no idea how to interpret that.

"I mean I did exactly what I was trained to do. Terminate all hostiles by any means necessary. The results were...very satisfying" Frasier said with a rather proud, if not twisted grin as the two younger Lawson's looked up at him to see in his icy blue eyes that there was no regret. There was no remorse. And there was certainly no mercy to be found in the eerily low voice of his. This was his calling, and it was now clear that those four were just the beginning.