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.

7. Chapter 7: Crossroads

Moscow, Russian Federation

Z-Day+3

[God of War 3 OST - Labor of Destruction]

Light snow floated down onto the hectic streets of the Russian capitol. The air itself was thick with a suffocating blanket of smoke from the numerous raging fires. The entire city was filled with a deafening cacophony of automatic gunfire, the incessant wailing of emergency sirens, the whistling and subsequent explosions of artillery fire, the shrieks of jet engines, the puttering of helicopters flying by, and the sound of voices amplified by megaphones, drowned out by the screams of civilians caught in the chaotic maelstrom. Only a few battalions of OMON officers were able to hold back the smaller hordes of 'Them', while the larger ones swept through anything in the way like a tidal wave. Many officers tried to command whoever was left while also directing any civilians out in the open to get behind their lines or get into the nearest building, reinforce the entrances and exits and stay there.

A squadron of jets suddenly zoomed over the scene, leaving their mark in the sky with thin white lines; cutting through the thick black smoke before vanishing into the distance as quickly as they'd appeared; most likely ordered on a danger-close strike needed elsewhere in the city. All the nearby buildings and landmarks were in complete ruin as the fighting had raged on for four days straight with no sign of stopping anytime soon. With every one of 'Them' that would manage to get put down, over a dozen more would take its place.

Saint Basil's Cathedral was now reduced to having entire chunks of its walls and legendary flame-styled roof blown out from what could only have been misdirected artillery strikes amid all the confusion and pandemonium. The smoke of the fires within the beautiful monument now helped fill the dreary grey skies as only the most desperate were trying to use it as shelter now.

The Moskva River was now filled with the bodies and corpses of those who had fallen; living and undead alike. Entire piles would flow through the now red water; clumping together only to be then set aflame in an oil fire running across the width of the river to prevent the spread of the infection. The wretched and putrid smell of burnt flesh filled the air as the soldiers along the banks who had set the fires could only weep and grimace at what they'd had to do to the bodies of their own countrymen. No amount of training could've prepared any of them to be able to burn the very people they had grown up with and sworn to protect.

The Kremlin was heavily locked down with handfuls of soldiers and civilian conscripts alike fighting tooth and nail to hold the line against the thousands upon thousands of their undead former comrades. While the soldiers still managed to nail their respective targets in the head amid all the shouting and deafening gunfire, the conscripts could barely hold a rifle, let alone know to hit the head of their target; although every few in a dozen somehow managed to hit their targets so as to help slow down even a small bit of the horde. Sandbags were lined up at every key choke point as machine gun emplacements covered them with several respective units to accompany and defend their flanks. Barbed wire had been laid out all across the line to help slow the advance; but it was soon trampled over by the ongoing masses.

The snarls and growls that howled with the wind were met with an even more intense volley of gunfire. Burning hot chunks of red lead flew through the air and penetrated the flesh of the undead. The ash-covered ground was soon blanketed in spent shell casings as every man lucky enough to have a gun refused to let up on their barrage. Freshly spilt necrotic blood and severed limbs left rained down across the ground as the undead were continuously cut down into ribbons.

No matter how many of 'Them' the survivors seemed to be able to mow down, more would continuously show up to take 'Their' place. Whenever one of the survivors would be overwhelmed and devoured screaming by the undead; the rest would only harness that rage to fight harder, showing no mercy to the decaying hordes that limped and like an infinite ocean toward them. No matter what, the brave survivors knew that there was no retreat and no surrender when an enemy penetrated Moscow. It was the Russian way. It was in their blood to fight to the last man for their motherland. History had proven so time and time again. The Napoleon Empire could not hold Moscow; the Third Reich's immense war machine could not break Moscow, and these men now would be damned if they allowed the undead to take their home now.

A massive carrier plane suddenly soared over the Red Square, dropping in heavy tanks via parachute with airborne infantry to support them and alert them of anything they might not be able to spot. The cables and harnesses quickly came off with a loud *snap* before the metal goliaths' engines roared and their rotatable turrets began to turn to face the bulk of the hordes.

"Загрузка противопехотных раунд!" (Loading Anti-Personnel round!) A loader announced as he made sure to use the best anti-infantry round they had available first.

"Цель и расстояние подтверждена. Готовые на заказ, сэр."(Target and distance confirmed. Ready on your order, sir.) A spotter called out as the gunners worked to keep the sights honed in on the center of their target for maximum damage.

"Огонь!" (Fire!) The tank commander shouted into the radio; his voice quickly replaced by the sound of numerous tanks firing in all different directions. The entire square was now filled with the sound of the shells being hammered out, only for the actual explosions to erupt with apocalyptic fury all around. Most of the walking corpses that weren't automatically burned to unrecognizable cinders or blown to thousands of gruesome chunks were sent in several directions at once. Limbs spun in the air and rained down as other corpses were now reduced to crawling on the ground if 'They' were lucky enough to still have an arm to crawl with.

The tank crews and airborne infantry ignored the ringing in their ears as they waited for the smoke to clear up first before firing another barrage. However, to their dismay, the large clumps of undead that were killed had only been replaced within seconds. 'Their' full attention was now focused on the tanks as 'They' slowly began to advance like a decaying river.

[]

Within the halls of the Kremlin, gunshots echoed all throughout as military and security officers alike tried to hold off the slowly growing numbers of 'Them' that were somehow managing to make 'Their' way inside. Inside a heavily fortified conference chamber, men in business suits sat around a large table while a tall man at the end slowly pulled off his long winter coat and set it behind him on the neck of his seat; taking numerous deep breaths to help calm his nerves while dabbing at the beads of cold sweat forming on his troubled brow.

His long fingers slowly extended against the table's smooth surface as he sat back down and postured himself upright as if remembering that now more than ever, he needed to look strong before his political advisers in this time of extreme crisis. He knew his words commanded high respect from the people of the Russian Federation, and his actions spoke even louder when an order was mandated.

"Президент Бодуров, наша ситуация только ухудшается с каждым часом. Несмотря все наши усилия, мертвые просто продолжают поступать и расширение их число с каждым жертвы они принимают. ФСБ даже сообщил, что несколько военных объектов уже потемнели и молчал в течение четырех дней, теперь." (President Bodurov, our situation is only growing worse with every passing hour. In spite our best efforts, the dead just keep coming and expanding their numbers with every victim they take. The FSB has even reported that several military installations have gone dark and have been silent for four days now.) A cabinet member announced in a soft yet clearly weary voice as he slid over several documents and casualty reports.

"Сэр, как министр обороны, я настоятельно рекомендуем, что мы покинуть Москву сейчас, пока еще есть шанс. Мы должны перегруппироваться и создан штаб в другом месте. Я ненавижу это говорить, но, похоже, Москва потеряла, и мы будем, а если вы не сделать что-то в ближайшее время."(Sir, as minister of defense, I highly advise that we leave Moscow now while there's still a chance. We must regroup and set up headquarters elsewhere. I hate to say it, but it sounds like Moscow is lost, and we will be as well if you donot do something soon.) A man in a heavily decorated military uniform spoke in a gravelly voice as he clearly was doing everything in his power to maintain his composure; his hands clenching to the point his knuckles were white as a sheet. It went against every fiber in his being to say such words, but he knew the survival of this country's leaders was absolutely vital if they were to ever have any hope of reclaiming what had already been lost.

"Мы должны сосредоточиться на спасении как многие из гражданских лиц, как мы можем. Чем меньше людей эти вещи могут заразить, тем лучше борьба завтра будет для нас. После того, как все крупные города эвакуированы, мы можем перегруппироваться и очистить их как одно целое."(We must focus on rescuing as many of the civilians as we can. The less people those things can infect, the better the fight tomorrow shall be for us. Once all major cities are evacuated, we can regroup and purge them as one.)Another man in a blue suit spoke up in protest; his face showing many clear signs of exhaustion after having to sit in this room, arguing and racking his brain for solutions for the last four days.

"Забудьте гражданских лиц! Пусть постоять за себя сейчас так мы можем сосредоточиться на правильном контратаку. Чем дольше мы ждем, чтобы отодвинуть, тем труднее будет остановить это безумие распространение. Люди будут умирать, независимо, поэтому мы должны атаковать как можно скорее. Может быть, даже бутылку с зажигательной смесью, чтобы предотвратить их его полностью." (Forget the civilians! Let them fend for themselves for now so we can focus on a proper counterattack. The longer we wait to push back, the harder it will be to stop this madness from spreading. People will die regardless, so we need to attack as soon as possible. Maybe even firebomb them to prevent it entirely.) A third man in a black suit suddenly burst out, catching everyone's attention as he slammed his palms down onto the table. A horrid chill filled the room as they listened to the sheer cruelty of what he was suggesting they do to their own people.

"Такие иронические слова, идущие от министра государства. Для думаю, что вы были размещены здесь для вашего любви народа!" (Such ironic words coming from the minister of state. To think you were placed here for your love of the people!) The second man suddenly spat back angrily; his face turning red as he couldn't stomach the thought that this man of all people could be so heartless.

"Следите за языком, вы свиньи! Я смотрю на картину здесь, и я даю президенту реальные предложения, которые обеспечат нашу победу против этой чумы!" (Watch your tongue, you pig! I'm looking at the big picture here, and I'm giving the president real suggestions that WILL secure our victory against this plague!) The third man spat back with pure venom; his eyes bloodshot and half-crazed, as if the paranoia and fear of the dead breaking into this room had finally snapped his sense of rationality and morality.

Before anyone else could verbally joust with insults or throw more depressing statistics on how bad the situation had become for them, a messenger suddenly rushed in. The two guards at the door were quick to grab him to ensure he wasn't bitten. He appeared to be clean, but they decided to hold him back to ensure the safety of the president and his board. Sweat ran down his face as all eyes now focused on him as he struggled to catch his breath.

"В чем смысл этого перерыва? Вы лучше иметь хорошее объяснение, или я бросал свою задницу, чтобы бороться с теми монстрами голыми руками!" (What is the meaning of this interruption? You better have a good explanation, or I'm throwing your ass out to fight those monsters barehanded!) One of the president's advisors growled in a low bark as if speaking for the entire cabinet while not wanting anything to potentially break their focus on coming up with a real solution.

"Мне жаль, господа, но мы выбрали этот шифровку всего несколько мгновений назад у одного из наших длинных позвонил спутниковых баз. Американцы запустили несколько ядерных боеголовок в том, что мы считаем упреждающий удар против нас. Почему, я не знаю, но мы должны сделать что-то, пока еще есть время!" (I'm sorry, sirs, but we picked up this coded message just moments ago from one of our long rang satellite bases. The Americans have launched several nuclear warheads in what we believe to be a preemptive strike against us. Why, I do not know,but we must do something while there's still time!) The messenger announced; causing the entire room to go silent despite the raging battle outside. The blood in their veins went ice cold as they could only imagine where this information would take them next. Deep down, they all knew the Americans couldn't have done this out of some kind of hostile desire to invade them. The real possibilities were numerous. It could've been an immensely desperate attempt to try and steer the fight in the favor of the living by wiping out immense numbers of the dead all at once. It could've been in the hopes of hitting somewhere else, but the previous programming of aiming for Russia could've still been hard-coded in and overrode whatever real destination those warheads were meant for. But no matter what the truth was, it didn't change the fact that if they didn't act now, they would all die here. They all slowly shifted their gaze to the president who had his forehead resting in the palm of his right hand.

"Я знал, что в один прекрасный день мне придется столкнуться с большой проблемой в соответствии президентства для моего народа. Я просто хочу, это не должны включать в себя использование ядерного оружия. Увы, независимо от намерений, с которыми они делали это, я не могу позволить этот акт агрессии по отношению к России-матушке остались без ответа." (I knew that one day I'd have to face a great challenge in the line of presidency for my people. I just wish it didn't have to involve the use of nuclear arms. Alas, regardless of the intentions with which they have done this, I cannot allow this act of aggression towards Mother Russia to go unanswered.) President Bodurov reluctantly said with the heaviest sigh a man like him could give. He knew what he was about to do was something he would never be able to forgive himself for; not as the leader of a nation, but as a human being. Seconds later, he was dialing a number into a nearby red phone sitting at his side. He paced back and forth as his words were hushed into whispers into the receiver. The others all bowed their heads and remained silent out of respect before he hung up and turned back to them; wiping away traces of tears in his eyes from what he had just done.

"Вы правильно сделали, сэр. Даже в наших слабых моментов, мы должны появиться сильны в лице всех форм агрессии." (You did the right thing, sir. Even in our weakest moments, we must appear strong in the face of all forms of aggression.) The man in the military uniform commented solemnly; knowing full well what monumental weight such actions like this had.

Before the president could even consider a response, the sound of heavy footsteps could be heard coming from down the hall; growing louder with every second. It sounded like nearly fifty men heading right for the door. Several of the men around the table couldn't help but instinctively recoil as far away from the door as possible in fear. However, as the doors were suddenly flung open, only a dozen powerful looking men entered the room.

Each one was equipped with compact body armor covering their shins, forearms and chests. Thick ballistic helmets covered their heads for protection as their faces were wrapped in black balaclavas that only showed their eyes and a portion of their lips. However, even with what little of their faces could be seen, what was undeniable was the fierce, almost terrifying fire that burned in each of their eyes as they scanned every inch of the room. Entire racks of spare ammunition were tightly strapped to their sides, as if they were expecting to fight an entire army on their own. They each carried their own heavy duty-looking weapons from standard assault rifles to shotguns and full blown machine guns; each showing distinct signs of firsthand combat these men were, it was far too clear they were a real force to be reckoned with.

"Спецназ ГРУ отчетности в. Готов извлечь вас, президент Бодуров, сэр." (Spetsnaz GRU reporting in. Ready to extract you, President Bodurov, sir.) The man in the lead announced in a gruff voice, as if trying to make the entire room aware of their frightening presence. Each man stood like a marble statue, completely unshaken by the chaos raging outside with each passing second.

"Хорошо, вовремя как всегда. Я понимаю, что вы понимаете, насколько серьезна ситуация тогда?" (Good, on time as always. I take it you understand how severe the situation is then?) Bodurov responded with a heavy sigh of relief as he stood up from his seat only to approach the elite soldiers without any hesitation.

"Конечно, но это не меняет для нас. Наша миссия до сих пор стоит, независимо от того, кто враг. Советую не выйдем, прежде чем добыча уже не вариант." (Of course, but this does not change a thing to us. Our mission still stands,regardless of who the enemy is. I advise we leave before extraction is no longer an option.) The man serving as the leader of the GRU soldiers then suggested as everyone else in the room couldn't help but mutter to each other in agreement that Moscow would fall in a matter of time, and that the best they could do now was regroup and come back when they could coordinate a proper counter attack.

Meanwhile, thousands of miles away to the east in an underground military facility, the alarms began to go off;causing the entire base to jump into action. Red lights flashed as entire groups of technicians and operators sat at computer terminals, coordinating a response to the nuclear launch headed for their country.

"Все, американцы выпустили четыре ядерные боеголовки против нас в разгар этого беспрецедентного кризиса мы все лицо. Было ли это как отчаянная попытка тонких чисел противника или нет; Тем не менее, мы должны нанести ответный удар по Западу с равным демонстрации силы. Помолимся мы можем тонкие номера себя в процессе противника. Цель основания американцев в Японии, Корее, на Гавайях, и Вашингтон, округ Колумбия." (Everyone, the Americans have fired four nuclear warheads against us in the midst of this unprecedented crisis we all face. Whether it was as a desperate attempt to thin the enemy's numbers or not; we must nevertheless strike back at the West with an equal show of force. Let us pray we may thin the enemy's numbers ourselves in the process. Target the Americans bases in Japan, Korea, Hawaii, and Washington D.C.) the general announced as he stood at the very back of the rows to watch over everything happening at once. The monitors showed several areas their nukes would be affecting and the estimated effectiveness of every payload.

"Но, сэр ... то есть не достаточно, чтобы парализовать американцев. Они также имеют основания на Западе. Что делать, если их союзники решили вмешаться, а? Мы должны нанести удар сразу везде, чтобы они не могут жизнь пальцем в отместку." (But, sir...that isn't nearly enough to cripple the Americans. They also have bases in the West. What if their allies decide to intervene as well? We must strike everywhere at once to ensure they cannot life a finger in retaliation.) one of the technicians commented as he was certain this would be the first of many strikes if one side was not completely put down and taken out of the fight right away.

"Ты дурак! Речь идет не о ведении войны с Западом. Это о прекращении непрерывного распространения этой чумы с помощью любых средств необходимо. И для этого ... жертвы должны быть сделаны в процессе. Мы делаем, как у команд президента. Он, в частности хотел, чтобы Запад останется нетронутым. Почему, я не знаю, но Bodorov никогда не подводила нас раньше. Конечно, у него есть свои причины. Пусть Бог Всемогущий, прости нас." (You fool! This is not about waging war with the West. This is about stopping the continuous spread of this plague by any means necessary. And for that…sacrifices have to be made in the process. We do as the president commands. He specifically wanted the West to be left untouched. Why, I do not know, but Bodorovhas never failed us before. Surely he has his reasons. May God Almighty forgive us.) the general spat before looking up at the multitude of screens; feeling his heart catch in his throat as he knew the time had come for them to do the one thing they'd always hoped never to do.

[Dead Space OST – Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star]

Several silo doors slowly opened up; the steel almost squealing against the grind, followed by the emergence of four massive cones protruding from the ground until the bodies of the missiles were now in plain sight. A warning on the surface's intercom broadcast advised all ground personnel evacuate the area before launch.

"Пять. Четыре. Три. Два. Один. Стрельба!" (Five. Four. Three. Two. One. Firing!) the broadcast system announced as the entire ground trembled at the explosive force used just to propel the colossal weapons of mass destruction into the sky. The rockets pushed higher and higher with every passing second before eventually penetrating into the very depths of space; zooming around the globe and over the Pacific Ocean as the several missiles began to split off to their designated targets.

The first three suddenly burst in mid-flight from a foreign collision; most likely intercepted just in time by the United States Naval forces with an air-to-air missile. The one heading directly for Japan, however, did not stop. It just continued unopposed before violently erupting in space. Bright rays expanded and glowed with the intensity of a miniature sun for all to witness before any unprotected sources of power and electronic devices for hundreds of kilometers around simultaneously went offline. Not a single sound could be heard;making it all the more horrifying for those that did see the unknown glow that appeared to be consuming all the light that it touched. The catastrophic explosion twinkled in the sky before slowly going out like a candle being blown out by a merciless gust of wind.

Those stationed in the base just watched in awe as the entire room had fallen deathly silent. Had it been during the Cold War era just a few decades ago, they would all have been cheering and celebrating how they'd finally shown the West their true might. But now, it was just an act of desperation and fear, just trying to fight for their very own survival, as well as the survival of the struggling remnants of mankind. And on top of that, none of the missiles had managed to make their targets. But perhaps the respective EMP's would somehow help slow the spread of the infection in whatever lands they had detonated over. That was the best any of these men could hope for now. There was no humanly way possible that celebration could've been on their minds after what they'd just done. Now all they could do was wait for the West to respond, and see what they were to do next; all the while praying they would never have to launch one of their nuclear warheads again.

[]

A helicopter hovering over the Kremlin slowly took off just as the undead hordes broke through the majority of the defenders lines; consuming the broken ranks of men left behind to fend for themselves while the president and his escorts could only now watch in disgust and grimace at the thoughts that raced through their minds now.

"Что же прикажете делать после того как мы приземлиться в Волгограде, сэр?" (What shall you have us do after we land in Volgograd, sir?) the Spetsnaz operator in charge of Bodorov's extraction team asked grimly as the others were breathing heavily from their narrow escape.

"У меня есть очень сложная задача, я могу только доверять вам, старый друг. Вы должны быть отправиться в западном побережье Соединенных Штатов, чтобы извлечь VIP Вы будете опрошены дальше на миссии, когда мы приземлимся." (I have a very delicate task I can only trust you with, old friend. You shall be heading to the western coast of the United States to extract a V.I.P. You'll be debriefed further on the mission when we land.) Bodorov expressed in exhaustion as he began to pull off the top to his long black suit and loosen the black tie around his neck; gasping as though he were struggling to breathe after all the emotional stress of what he'd just allowed to happen.

"Вы можете рассчитывать на меня, Bodorov. Я еще не в состоянии вам во всех моих лет службы, и у меня нет намерения начать уже сейчас." (You can count on me, Bodorov. I've yet to fail you in all my years of service, and I have no intentions of starting now.) the Spetsnaz commando said proudly before pulling off his helmet and balaclava to reveal a mature and aged face of a man that had clearly been to hell and back in his years of service. His thick fingers slowly brushed through his short black hair that had small patches of grey coming through it. Wrinkles formed along his brow as a long scar ran down along his lower left cheek. His rough features were all topped off by two golden eyes that could practically show all the years of pain and conflict this man had endured.

"Я знал, что могу рассчитывать на вас, Василий." (I knew I could count on you, Vasiliy.) Bodorov said in relief before falling silent as he could only watch as the beautiful city of Moscow slowly burned in the distance; praying and knowing that one day they'd return to liberate it. But for now, those left behind could only fight for themselves against humanities greatest foe.

Z-Day+6

Tokonosu City, Japan

Gold and orange hues of light slowly spread across the sky as the sun broke over the horizon of the sea. The air once thick with the smoke of fire had finally cleared. The once constant barrage of gunshots, screams, sirens and car horns had long since gone silent as the grave. Now all that could ever be heard was the soft howling of the wind, the rustling of garbage fluttering all about, and the occasional sound of one of 'Them' dragging their feet across the ground; letting out an empty death rattle of a groan as 'They' blindly went about 'Their' way. If one were to look at the city of Tokonosu from the outside this morning, they would never have assumed something so wrong was going on within it. In its own twisted way, the city had once again become peaceful.

The survivors held up in the downtown hotel were greatly taken aback when the EMP had left them in total darkness three days ago. All their appliances and electronic devices had been rendered completely useless. However, this did not break their spirit. Rather, it only made their resolve to survive that much stronger. Over the following days, they would spend their afternoons making sure not to scavenge very far from the hotel and always be sure to make it back before sundown. With food and water not proving to be an issue, they instead focused on reinforcing the entrance barricade with whatever plywood and scrap they could gather until they'd finally managed to erect a much more effective barricade with metal beams to help support it against any forces that would try to push it down. Over time,they also learned the layout of the local blocks surrounding their hotel; making local trips quick and usually finished within an hour if the undead weren't around to stir up trouble.

The following morning after the EMP, the next team to go scavenging for tools and supplies discovered a nearby abandoned construction sight. This had proven to be an absolute godsend, as they brought in an abundant supply of materials for improving the barricade; as well as some nifty melee weapons in the form of pickaxes and sledgehammers. While Hitomi, Marcus, and Noah lacked the physical strength to use them for prolonged periods of time, Frasier and Johann (through sheer determination if nothing else) had almost no trouble at all wielding the heavier melee weapons. Their ammunition count was still very high, but when the Lawson's had nearly drowned in the river, they'd ended up losing two shotguns and one carbine, which now only left them with one shotgun, two carbines, Mark's .45 and Hitomi's police issue revolver. All things considered, they knew they were still much better equipped than most survivors in these parts would be, but it still didn't make the loss of any of their weapons any less painful.

Always being sure to rise up early, this morning found Frasier and Johann working just outside the barricade; systematically finishing off a few crippled remnants of a pack of 'Them' that had shown up in the middle of the night that they'd managed to kill. By this point, most had already been beaten to death, but just to be safe, they were routinely going by each one and slamming a pickax into 'Their' heads to ensure none would get back up or try to grab their ankles.

Even though Johann had been out here with Frasier for the last couple hours; helping to fight off the nearly 20 undead that had gathered at their doorstep, he couldn't help but cringe at that sickening crunching noise every time he or Frasier drove a pickax through the downed creatures' skulls. He could practically feel the bones shattering as the trembling of each impact went up his arms. And he would keep getting goosebumps whenever he could feel the pickax was stuck and end up coming out of the obliterated skulls with a disgusting squelching noise.

The worst part, aside from the putrid smell, was whenever rotting bits of what used to be a brain were caked onto the point. Johann tried to suppress the urge to gag as he pressed the tool against the ground before slowly scrapping his shoe down the side to try and clean off his pickaxe. Sweat slowly ran down his neck and face as the morning went on. Fortunately, from the looks of the clouds in the sky, the weather would be able to cooldown later on.

"How are you feeling?" Frasier suddenly asked as Johann looked around, as if naturally expecting him to be talking to either Marcus or Noah as they'd step out from the entrance.

"You're asking me?" Johann asked as he looked over his shoulder only to see neither of the other two Lawson's standing behind him.

"No, I'm asking the wanker whose skull you just caved in sideways all the way into next week." Frasier said in a firm tone as usual, yet with a small hint of sarcasm hanging between his words while he leaned on his bloody pickaxe.

Johann however just responded with a blank gaze as he was completely clueless as to why Frasier would suddenly NOW start to care for his well being, given how he never seemed to initiate any form of concern to anyone who wasn't his brothers.

"That was supposed to be a joke..." Frasier then said softly as he rubbed the back of his head; realizing he made this situation very awkward. Johann, just then realizing the rather weak attempt at humor, let out an awkward chuckle.

"Oh...well, last night was a bit hectic, and my hand is still keeping me up sometimes. I feel bad for using up so much medicine…but worst of all, no matter what I do, I can't stop thinking about Toshimi. The longer we wait, the harder it is for me to stay here while knowing that she's still somewhere out there." Johann began to confess as if reading off a list before having to stop so he could catch his breath.

"I see." Frasier muttered bluntly as he then wiped his brow and looked around to make sure no more of 'Them' were approaching their perimeter.

"Frasier, please, I know making this place safer is a big deal to you, but every day we spend not looking for her is another day she could be getting closer to being killed by those things!"Johann pleaded as he couldn't take the fact that Frasier wasn't sticking to his word and looking for her like he said he knew Frasier was smart enough to know her chances wereonly growing worse by the hour, and the fact he wasn't taking finding her seriously at all couldn't help but make him lose his composure even for just a moment.

"Listen, Johann. It's been extremely hard to get by without any vehicles and no proper map of the area. If we find one of those two things, I'll see what I can do. Until then, we can only keep doing what we've been doing for the past few days." Frasier said, speaking almost as if he were merely pacifying an uncooperative child. It couldn't make Johann help but wonder if Frasier was aware of the way he sounded when talking to people. Then he realized chances were Frasier knew exactly what he was saying, and how he was saying it. It could only add to the grim realization in Johann's gut that Frasier, in the end, didn't give two shits about finding Toshimi, but was merely saying he was to calm him down. As much as it infuriated him, Johann knew he was too exhausted to drive this point any further.

With a single nod, Johann began to work even harder, as if trying to make the day go by even quicker, as if driving himself with the foolish hope that Frasier would actually keep his word. Frasier meanwhile just watched for a minute, observing the tension in Johann's movements before turning back to now drag the corpses to a large pile they intended to burn, or at the very least relocate.

Meanwhile, Hitomi was watching the two young men with her slender arms folded over one another up on the second floor balcony; both her eyes glaring at Frasier with deep conflict behind them. Despite the fact she hated how he treated her like a subordinate and essentially showed zero empathy towards other survivors' well being, a part of her couldn't deny that she did feel safe the more she'd see him do what he was trained to do. Just last night, while she and the others had barely rubbed the sleep from their eyes, he was already out there fighting like some kind of one man army regardless of how insane and stupid it was to be fighting the undead at night alone. After the night of the EMP blast, they barely even acknowledged the others' presence most of the time; let alone have a proper conversation to try and have any kind of better understanding of each other.

Suddenly, before she knew it, a pair of warm hands suddenly grasped her shoulders firmly. Before she could react to it by flinging her elbow back, the fingers began to lightly press in while moving back and forth; causing her to relax significantly; her tense muscles slowly spreading out as she almost began to slump in her posture.

"You really should ask before doing this, Marcus-kun. I'm not a big fan of surprises." Hitomi moaned through her teeth before smirking softly; now tilting her head back to see him smiling right back at her.

"I had to repay you for that towel a few days back, though. Besides, you looked really tense...I could stop if you like." Marcus chuckled softly into her ear as he felt his entire body burning up on the inside due to the fact that she not only allowed him to continue, but appeared to be enjoying it immensely as well.

"The thought of you continuing IS tempting…VERY tempting. But as much as I hate to say it, we have more important things to do today." Hitomi said before pulling away from his grip with a heavy sigh.

As Marcus began to look away in disappointment, her small hand suddenly grasped the collar of his sage green shirt; pulling him back closer. Their eyes locked for a split moment, as if the rest of the world had drifted away; leaving only the two of them. Her whole body suddenly pressed up against his just moments before her lips were mere inches away from his ear.

"But...at least I now know who to come to should I ever be needing any help to relieve some stress…verbally or otherwise." Hitomi suddenly whispered in a soft and undeniably seductive tone. Within the next second, her warm pink lips lightly pressed against Marcus' red cheek; causing the young lad to practically melt right there on the spot.

Marcus began to mumble in an incomprehensible garble of words mushed together, as if Hitomi's sudden act of deep affection had caused a part of his brain to shut off for a second. However, the young officer simply giggled before walking away; taking a brief moment to glance back at him before leaving the room entirely.

Just moments after she left, Noah suddenly entered the room wearing a light outfit; considering how warm it had been the past two days. He had light tan cargo shorts cut off just below his knees and a tightly fit white t-shirt that rather complimented his thin build. He let out a low yawn before Marcus snapped back into reality.

"Finally awake, are you? It's about time you finished your snoozing." Marcus commented as he lightly tussled Noah's messy hair; getting his bangs into his eyes before he tried to style it aside again.

"You know how much I hate being woken up in the middle of the night, and especially when it involves fighting those things in the dark." Noah responded as he lightly swatted Marcus' hand away in annoyance; both of them then proceeding to walk down the hallway and into the room the group had designated as the official armory.

Both H&K MP5SFK carbines and the single Beneli M4 Semi-Auto shotgun were carefully set on top of a desk. Entire magazines were preloaded and set near the sub-machine guns for easy access while the rest of the munitions were resting in the surplus crates tucked neatly under the desk. Luckily they still had enough ammo to last for quite some time, despite having already been forced several times to open fire on large gatherings of 'Them'.

Next to that was a line of coat racks that carried various makeshift melee weapons by their hilts: a baseball bat with nails protruding from it, three heavy sledgehammers, two sharpened fire axes, the pair of bolt cutters, and several machetes to top it all off.

Even a few bulletproof vests were left resting in the corner of the room. They had managed to scavenge from a small police cruiser the other night that happened to be carrying a few spares in the trunk. Unfortunately, they clearly weren't enough to protect the driver from the head on collision it had made with a delivery truck it had nearly blown in half.

"So, you have any idea where Frasier intends to take us today?" Noah asked when they both pulled the lightweight vests over their shirts.

"Hmm, damned if I know...I'd want to guess he's looking to find more dry food. There's only so much time left before the ice keeping the food cold will melt. But thankfully the stuff has lasted as long as it has already. That was good thinking when you suggested we move the food down to the basement freezer." Marcus answered; giving Noah a congratulatory pat on the back before they both grabbed a machete and slipped their respective sheathes into their pants loops; leaving the blades hanging at their hips.

"Thanks. At least water isn't ever going to be a real issue for us now that we have those filters and a direct water source nearby. Like you said, finding more preservative and non-cold-dependent food is our main concern right now. Everything after is pretty much a luxury; considering how well stocked we are everywhere else." Noah said with a slight blush before pointing out how surprisingly well off they were doing. Not wanting to waste any more time, Marcus quickly grabbed Frasier's backpack from the table.

A minute later, they both stepped out the entrance; now heading for Frasier, who was still in the middle of helping Johann cleanup the remnants of last night's attack. The sound of their footsteps caused the eldest Lawson to shift his gaze over to them, only to form a slight smile of approval to see they were already all ready to go.

"You two ready to move out?" Frasier asked as he wanted to make sure they didn't forget anything vital. There were far too many ways even a simple supply run could go wrong if they weren't fully prepared, and Frasier would be damned if any of them were going to potentially die just because they didn't think to pack up everything they needed.

"No, we just decided to come out with all this gear so we could take a piss." Marcus sarcastically taunted before offering Frasier his preferred equipment: a single H&K MP5SFK carbine, his backpack filled to the zipper with survival gear, and several spare magazines just in case they would either have no choice but to fire on 'Them', or potentially run into another group of hostile survivors.

"So where are you three off to today? Those clouds look pretty intense. You guys definitely don't want to get caught in the rain just because you decided to sniff around a little more, right?" Johann asked as he watched Frasier holstering his gear.

"We're good on weapons, tools and water for now. However, the food we can hardly keep frozen needs to be replaced. Hopefully a nearby grocery store has something with a long shelf life that doesn't need to be refrigerated. If not, then the nearby sporting goods would be the next best place to scavenge." Frasier answered as he then began to check over his carbine to make sure there was nothing left unchecked about it.

"Well, best of luck out there. Usually grocery stores are the first to be looted when everything goes downhill like this, so hopefully you guys find something." Johann responded as Frasier simply nodded in response just moments before all three Lawson brothers quickly set out down the road.

Despite the considerable amount of dark clouds hanging above, the morning had been rather pleasant with calm weather and what they had hoped to be a semi- sunny day. The wind occasionally gave them a cool, pleasant breeze that helped them endure the all-too noticeable summer heat. The tranquil afternoon silence was only broken whenever a sound in the distance echoed out, or whenever Marcus tried to stir up a conversation with his brothers. Although nobody outside the family ever knew, he couldn't stand dead silence. It had a tendency to make him more than a little uneasy, hence why he was always so eager to talk at every given opportunity.

After thirty minutes of uninterrupted walking under the hot sun, the brothers stood just a street over from what looked to be a large shopping center. Even from their distance, the three of them couldn't help but feel astonished by the sheer size of it. There was no earthly way the whole place could've been completely cleaned out by looters already. Or at the very least, the three brothers desperately hoped so.

"Hold." Frasier suddenly announced under his breath as he raised a clenched fist as a signal to his brothers; both of them letting out a sigh of relief in the back of their minds before stopping in their tracks. However, the reason as to why he did it did manage to keep them on edge. The possibilities were all too numerous to imagine.

"Any reason we're stopping?" Marcus asked in a hushed whisper as he watched Frasier sit down against a nearby delivery truck. He then began to crawl under it as if using it for cover.

"I just want to scout the area first; see what might be lurking inside." Frasier explained softly a moment later from under the truck as he then held up a pair of binoculars to his eyes. He then cupped his fingers over the edges; making sure to keep the sunlight off the lenses just in case any survivors were nearby to see the glare it could've potentially given off.

His view slowly panned up to all the possible vantage points to see no movement, much less any actual signs of any human activity. A soft sigh of relief escaped his lips; knowing that nobody was on the flat rooftops nearby to ambush them.

Frasier's blue eyes then shifted downwards to observe the ground level. Several disabled vehicles were left all across the massive parking lot. A small sign at the nearby entrance and on the side of the building itself read 'Taiei Shopping Town'.

Right off the bat, he could see several human figures walking with awkward shuffles and making very erratic motions. After a quick review, he managed to count over twenty of 'Them', but he was expecting more to be hidden out of his lines of sight and all across the inside of the shopping center.

"What's the situation?" Noah whispered as he was suddenly right next to Frasier with a curious look in his eyes. The eldest Lawson now felt very tempted to reprimand him for not staying in position, but in the end, he just handed Noah the binoculars to see for his own eyes.

"Yikes. You really think this place is worth it? It looks completely overrun to me." Noah suddenly announced as he handed the binoculars back to his eldest brother. Both of them then proceeded to crawl back out to Marcus, who was sitting against a tire of the delivery truck while waiting for them to give him an update.

"Not quite. Our food situation isn't completely dire at the moment, so I say we wait for another time. I highly doubt any survivors will try to loot this place now, given the sheer amount of 'Them' surrounding it. Marcus, think you can mark this on the map?" Frasier answered in response to Noah before shifting his gaze to the middle Lawson.

"Right-o." Marcus mumbled calmly as he pulled out a collapsible travel map he'd discovered in one of the cars back at the hotel parking lot. As he stretched the map open, it had several red ink marks that circled previous locations of interest they had encountered or looted over the last few days.

Determining that the sporting goods store around the block had hardly been touched from last time, the trio proceeded without question to scavenge whatever food might've been left over. The weather drastically began to change as the once calm winds quickly shifted into sharp howls that wailed like banshees. Soothing warm sunlight began to fade in favor of murky grey clouds. Knowing there wasn't much time until rain would be upon them, the brothers began to jog at an even pace; their equipment bouncing and bobbing as they moved.

Just as the first droplets of rain began to fall, the brothers had just barely entered the front doors of the sporting goods store. Naturally they would've scoured the area for any danger, but the rain was liable to cause some considerable damage or at the very least degrade parts of their firearms. It was somewhat dark in the store, no thanks in part to the EMP. Luckily, the undead that had been hidden from plain sight were already given up by the sound of 'Their' feasting; 'Their' teeth ripping and tearing away at flesh,which created a wet, mushy sound that filled the air. Frasier began to go in first, but Noah and Marcus motioned to him that they could handle this as well.

A disgusting feeling rose in the pit of Marcus and Noah's stomachs at the thoughts and limitless possibilities of whatever poor bastards were being eaten right now. As they walked closer and closer to put down the undead abominations, they froze in place when what looked like several smaller figures could be seen instead of one that was normal sized.

The flash from a thunder strike revealed a horrifying sight for just a split second, but that was all the time needed to burn what the two younger Lawson's saw deep into their minds. Surrounding a freshly disemboweled corpse of undoubtedly another scavenger, were what looked to be several small children, each one wearing an elementary school outfit drenched in crusted blood as their chins were splattered with fresh, crimson colored liquid from 'Their' current victim.

Both brothers began to slowly back away out of fear as they felt their hearts sinking deep into an unthinkable abyss. They both knew it was naive to think that no kids were going to be infected by the outbreak at this point, but to actually be witnessing what were once innocent beings incapable of such horrors was simply too much from them to handle.

Noah's back slowly brushed against a display rack he hadn't noticed; causing it to crash to the floor. Marcus nearly jumped as the little silhouettes began to slowly rise up from the floor. Small footsteps echoed in the store, 'Their' shoes squealed every now and then against the smooth tile floor. A low series of groans and gasps escaped through the former schoolchildren's lips. The closer the pint-sized fiends came, the more vicious and aggressively 'They' would move, almost as if anticipating how the Lawson's would taste.

Another flash went off before more thunder rumbled in the far distance. 'Their' faces were all fixed with vacant expressions, light grey eyes now hollow; staring off blindly into all random directions. 'Their' jaws hung wide open to reveal shreds of flesh and muscle were wedged between the slowly decaying tiny teeth.

Unable to standby any longer, Frasier suddenly stepped forward to defend his traumatized brothers. Both younger Lawson's just watched as the nearest undead child was suddenly punted up off its feet and sent flying back into a glass counter. Two more came at him now with both arms extended out, 'Their' fingers ready to clutch onto his legs with no intent of letting go.

However, Frasier just grasped the hair of one, only to slam the undead child into the other. As 'They' stumbled to the floor, he brought the machete in his hand straight down; kneeling down to ensure the blade went all the way in. The blade made a gut-wrenching noise as both undead kids were impaled together now. The next of the undead school children was now right in his face with teeth bared like a lion, just moments from sinking its teeth into its prey. The attack was cut short though as Frasier's hand quickly grasped tightly around its throat.

Vicious snarls of rage and hunger erupted from its gaping maw,only to be quickly silenced when Mark's pistol was wedged into the mouth; instantly replacing the repulsive gurgling sounds that followed with a loud bang. A massive chunk of flesh and skull was blown out the back of the head as Frasier let go to watch the body collapse to the floor like a stiff board. He then stepped back only to fire a rapid series of well-placed shots; causing the remaining undead in front of him to snap 'Their' heads back.

When the last of the gunshots finished echoing through the room and everyone's ears finally stopped ringing, all that could be heard now was the heavy breathing from Frasier and the incessant downpour of the rain outside. Pure adrenaline was pumping through his veins, only to slowly dissipate and allow him to regain his composure. His hands quickly reloaded the handgun in a series of swift movements before holstering it at his hip.

"You...you killed those little kids like it was...like it was nothing!" Noah suddenly muttered as he felt his entire body trembling, his eyes wide as he looked up at his brothers with shock completely taking over.

"Those weren't kids, Noah…not anymore." Marcus sighed softly as he wiped away a small set of tears threatening to form in the corners of his green eyes; looking on to see Frasier execute the one he had launched into the glass counter just moments ago.

"They were-" *SLAP* Noah began to explain only for Frasier to step forward and suddenly and viciously slap him hard across his face; an enraged look burning in his eyes as he stared down at Noah as Marcus stood to the side between them with his jaw hanging wide open. Of all the things he never expected to see, Frasier mercilessly slapping his youngest brother had to be number one.

"They were undead, Noah! These things will come in all shapes and sizes wherever we go. The dead don't care who 'They' take, nor how many! If it's dead and moving, we kill it. No exceptions for the undead, or the soon to be, soldier!" Frasier suddenly erupted furiously as he towered over Noah, only to kneel down to his level. Noah's blue eyes were unable to look away or blink as he just nodded, mainly out of fear that he'd be struck again if he dared disagree with him again.

As much as it pained Marcus to watch Noah getting yelled at in such a terrifying fashion, deep down he knew that Frasier was only doing this to root out any hesitation about killing 'Them'. He didn't even want to know why he couldn't do anything himself. Luckily when Frasier turned to him, he just nodded and received no lecture in return.

"I'm sorry, Noah. I truly, truly am. But there's nothing more we can do for 'Them' but put 'Them' out of 'Their' misery and make sure that no one else will ever have to suffer such a fate. I know it hurts, but it's just the way it is now." Marcus spoke sympathetically as he placed a supportive hand on Noah's shoulder; the youngest Lawson suddenly holding onto him and burying his face into his shoulder as he began to sniffle a little bit.

"Both of you take a moment. I'm going to make sure we're really alone here." Frasier said after he pried the machete out of the last corpse's skull, only to then sheathe it to his hip just moments before pulling out the carbine on his back. He proceeded to patrol the store while Noah and Marcus stayed behind.

As Frasier walked over to a nearby display rack lined with a handful of mannequins in athletic apparel, he suddenly heard a low growl come from very close by, followed by the sound suddenly being cut off rather abruptly. Not wanting to take any chances, Frasier pushed the mannequins over, only to hear something rustling beneath a row of low-hanging coats just at his feet. He slowly stepped back and knelt down to see a small obscured figure hiding behind the coats, curled up into a ball.

"You're not dead…are you?" Frasier softly spoke with eyebrow raised when he noticed that instead of being met with growls or a low groan, he was instead met with the sound of gentle sobs. His brothers soon came walking over to make sure everything was alright.

"What are you doing, Frasier?" Noah asked confusedly when he spotted Frasier down on one knee; motioning to look past the rack without making any eye contact with them.

"Please…please g-go away." a soft, innocent voice quietly begged. It no doubt belonged to a little girl.

"Wait...an actual survivor? Is she hurt?" Marcus suddenly asked in astonishment as he knelt down to see the small figure concealed by the shadows.

"Not that I can tell. She's very reclusive and clearly afraid of us, though. We should go." Frasier responded as he just glared at the balled up figure before slowly rising up to continue his search for food without a second thought.

"Wait, what? 'Go'? What do you mean?" Noah suddenly asked as he looked up at Frasier confusedly; not moving from his spot should the girl have chosen to speak up.

"I mean as in we continue the mission at hand. Leave the kid alone. For all we know, she's bitten just like the rest were." Frasier explained as there was no hint of concern or care for the little girl's fate.

"I'm not bitten." the young girl suddenly mumbled, clearly scared out of her wits. The low growl suddenly started up again;causing Noah and Marcus to look back at the concealed little girl confusedly.

"Frasier, she'll die on her own! Don't you care at all about that?!"Noah asked in disbelief as he stood up and began to walk towards Frasier, almost as if he needed to look into those cold, heartless, light blue eyes to confirm this was truly him.

"Not really. We have no idea who she is. Why should we care about the life of one kid and not the other billions of strangers on this planet? What makes her so important?" Frasier asked harshly; sounding as if he was beginning to lecture Noah to be more cynical and devoid of human sympathy; slowly walking up to him with an annoyed glare as if planning on making him submit through intimidation.

"PRECISELY BECAUSE SHE'S A LITTLE GIRL, YOU FUCKING TWAT! She isn't one of those monsters, but she bloody well WILL be if we don't help her!" Noah suddenly exclaimed in an enraged tone as he refused to back down this time. Both his fists clenched as he glared right back with a stern fire burning deep within his own eyes, a voice so clear and stern that it had visibly caused Frasier to mentally take a step back.

"You think helping others is the right thing to do, Noah. I've known that for a damn long time. But ask yourself if this is the SMART thing to be doing? Think of the long term consequences here! What if she already is part of another group? How well do you think they'll react to us if we're caught with her?" Frasier said much more calmly as he tried to now use reason instead of simply shouting and intimidating Noah into listening to him.

"I admit it could complicate things for us...but the difference between me and you is that I'm not afraid to take risks when needed. You keep trying to play it safe and act like we can do this on our own! But we CAN'T do this all on our own, Frasier! Don't you realize by now that without trusting and letting other people like Hitomi in, we never would've made it?" Noah asked incredulously. All other times before, he'd managed to swallow his emotions towards Frasier's cold attitude towards others, but now that a child's life was in the balance, it was like a long dormant fire inside Noah had finally been ignited.

"Noah...I'm sorry, but I must do what I was taught to keep us alive. Survival is only for the fittest, and something tells me she will be of no value to us. She'll just be another drain on our already limited resources, as well as another liability for us to watch out for. We're not responsible for every survivor we find, kid or no kid." Frasier scowled as he was done having to argue with his own brother over something he felt was so meaningless. Noah meanwhile was scowling and hyperventilating with barely containable anger and disbelief as he couldn't believe this madness.

"To think…you wanted to call yourself a soldier! Soldiers are meant to protect people! Or did father NEVER bother to teach you that?! So is that it, Frasier?! Is killing people ALL you're good for?!" Noah finally exploded with the last weeks' worth of restrained emotion finally coming out all at once; tears of anger and despair flowing down his face, like Frasier had failed his very last chance of showing any of his humanity was still intact.

"No..." Frasier answered as he narrowed his eyes while his fingers slowly reeled in to form a clenched fist. Shaking his head as it looked like something in the back of his mind was deeply bothering him. But most of all he couldn't stand the idea of being talked down to by his own brother, the one meant to be following HIS orders, HIS lead.

"Imagine if Saeko was here to see you now! You can't honestly expect me to believe that she'd approve of you being this way!" Noah then brought up in a low, bitter tone as he knew he had to use his ace in the hole if Frasier was ever going to see reason; the two brothers now staring daggers at each other. Marcus kept his distance as he could tell a maelstrom was forming between his brothers.

"Don't you DARE bring her into this! You think I enjoy making the tough calls?! You little pantywaists BOTH judge me and act like I make the decisions I make and do the things I do without a second thought! You think you know so much better than me, Noah?! You want to see what it's like?! Fucking FINE, then! Go right ahead! Do it! Bring that sniveling little kid along, and THEN see what happens!" Frasier suddenly erupted in an incredible fury as he couldn't help but feel enraged and betrayed that Noah would go as far as bringing Saeko into this.

Instead of recoiling in fear though, Noah simply stood his ground. He knew that he'd managed to hit Frasier where it hurt the most, and even managed to get what he wanted thankfully without needing to exchange physical blows. Part of him couldn't help but feel pity to see just how emotionally vulnerable and unstable Frasier now appeared to be. However, he also knew that this little girl was his top priority now. He slowly walked back to see that she was slowly crawling out from her cover to now reveal herself to them.

At her side stood a small dog with soft, white and black fur and a red collar with a tiny white bone dangling from it. Both dark brown eyes glared up at Marcus and Noah with great curiosity. His aggressive stance, most likely feeling protective of the child, now changed into a more relaxed one that resulted in him sniffing their hands; eagerly accepting a rub behind the ears and wagging his little tail in response.

Before the three Lawson brothers stood a young girl who looked to be no more than seven years old. She wore a blue plaid flannel jacket, a navy blue dress shirt, gray jeans, red sneakers, and finger less gloves to top it off. What really caught them off guard though was a very familiar reddish-pink hair that was kept at shoulder-length with bangs that reached down from the side of her temples, stretching outwards. A little mole under her left eye could be seen while a white headband covered the top of her forehead.

"Hey, I remember you. You were on one of the busses we saved in that convoy." Marcus announced as he then looked over to Frasier who simply stared at Alice for a brief moment, almost as if studying her just before he took off to go check out the rest of the store. The little girl then looked down nervously, clearly still very scared of these three strangers.

"Hello there, you don't need to be scared of us. I promise you, we're friendly. My name is Noah Lawson. These two are my brothers, Marcus and Frasier. What's your name?" Noah greeted her in the calmest and most polite tone he'd ever spoken in around his brothers. A warm, friendly smile was all he was expressing, which thankfully did seem to visibly calm the poor girl even a little bit.

"It's...it's Alice. A-Alice Maresato…a-and this is Zeke. He found me, and he's been with us ever since." the young girl replied as she hugged the tiny puppy close and then looked outside to see it was no longer pouring rain. Gunshots in the distance could be heard faintly echoing to where it quickly caught everyone's attention. The sound of Frasier's footsteps then could be heard stomping closer and closer just moments before he came around the corner and looked down upon them all with a serious glare in his eyes.

"We should leave now while there's still time. I've found some food that should last us a couple of weeks with proper rationing. Take these with you." Frasier explained as he then handed both Marcus and Noah a book bag loaded with air-sealed camping meals.

"Just stay close to us and we'll lead the way, Alice-chan. I promise you things will get better from here on out." Marcus advised as he slung on a dark blue book bag while Noah put on a light grey one of his own.

Alice however remained frozen in place, as if she were glued to the spot. Both her knees trembled slightly as her undeniably adorable face showed serious signs of hesitation on her part, as though she were silently trying to decide whether or not to actually go with these people. The Lawson's turned to see her frozen in place; Frasier shaking his head before proceeding onward with the intent of leaving her behind while Noah and Marcus went back to see what could've possibly been wrong with her.

"I'm supposed to hide and not go anywhere with anyone I don't know." Alice explained as she sat down with her knees to her chest. The poor child was trembling all over with fear as she clearly didn't want to be left all alone again either.

"I understand it's hard to go against the most basic of safety rules when dealing with strangers, but it's very dangerous for anyone to be alone right now, Alice-chan. Lucky for you though, we happen to be excellent fighters and we'll gladly bring you along with us until we find your family." Noah explained calmly to Alice as she remained frozen and buried her head between her knees before shuddering at the difficulty of deciding what to do.

"Here. If this will get you moving then take it." Frasier suddenly announced as he had unexpectedly come back just to place Mark's pistol down at Alice's feet. The young girl just stared at it, completely bewildered at the handgun as Noah and Marcus had looks of bewilderment from Frasier's sudden show of what they could only assume was support.

However, when looking back at the gun, they noticed the magazine had been removed; leaving the device entirely harmless. The young girl cautiously wrapped her tiny fingers around the grip and got up, grunting from how unexpectedly heavy it was in her hands. With no time to lose, the three Lawson's proceeded for the exit, with Alice finally beginning to follow their lead with Zeke loyally at her side with his short tail wagging. The four of them grabbed transparent plastic ponchos to help cover themselves up for when the rain would inevitably start falling again.

Another series of gunshots suddenly echoed out again from the distance. They sounded like they were being exchanged between what sounded like several shooters when the group stepped back outside to hear it better. To Alice, they all sounded the same, as they would to anyone with an untrained ear, but to the Lawson's, it was quite clear to them what was to be expected in terms of the firearms in use. Thunder then boomed in the far distance as they realized the rain would start falling again any minute now.

A sharp, cool breeze swept by; carrying various bits of paper and leaves that littered the ground. The sky was a gloomy grey, which Marcus personally couldn't help but feel was strangely appropriate for whatever they were about to get themselves some reason he couldn't shake the feeling in his gut that their taking Alice with them was going to bring some unavoidable, major changes.

As they continued on their way, out of sheer impulse, Alice would occasionally jump into the bigger puddles scattered all over the roads, which couldn't help but earn a minor chuckle out of both Noah and Marcus, while Frasier simply chose to ignore the child even existed and keep his focus on getting home safely.

"So tell me more about this group of yours, Alice-chan. If you don't mind, that is. I mean, why is it you were all alone when we found you?" Noah suddenly asked as he looked down to see the young girl pondering his question; her mind trying to look for the right way to answer or the right place to begin.

"Well..." Alice began to slowly explain after carefully considering every detail she could recall about her group the last time she'd seen them.

(One hour ago)

A young man in his late teens slowly crept up a seemingly abandoned street. The wind howled as rain was constantly being blown into his face. He let out a low groan as he tried to wipe the water from his dark brown eyes. His wide-brimmed hat and light poncho thankfully helped protect his clothes from soaking through. The eerie howling of the wind as it blew through the various corners, nooks and crannies of the streets couldn't help but give him a bad feeling deep inside, almost as if it were an omen trying to warn him of something.

Looking up to the nearby houses, he couldn't see any movement or signs of life anywhere, just as it had been for the last few blocks. He knelt down and raised an open hand; motioning towards himself before crouching behind a nearby car for cover. Several more figures suddenly began to carefully rush over to his position.

"How does it look, Komuro-san?" Another young, although rather round, boy asked between panting breaths; sounding like he was out of breath just from the short distance he sprinted; his eyes darting around the area behind a thick pair of black-framed glasses.

He wore the standard male uniform of Fujimi Academy with a tactical vest tightly wrapped over it, practically hugging his wide gut. An ammo belt ran along his side with plenty of spare rounds ready for use. In his hands was an AR-10(T) rifle that he kept pointed downwards to avoid the rain from getting inside the barrel. He held the weapon close as if it were his own child;showing a clear fondness of the rifle.

"Obviously it's good or else he wouldn't have motioned us over here, Hirano." a young woman wearing forest green shorts with suspenders wrapped along her narrow shoulders and a tan t-shirt commented in a sharp tone of voice before having to adjust her own glasses over her razor sharp orange eyes. Her hair was a bright pink, tied into two long pigtails; and one could see a single tiny fanged tooth poking out of her tightly closed mouth; somehow managing to compliment the constantly annoyed expression stuck on her face.

She clutched an MP5SFK carbine very tightly in her hands, to the point the others had to constantly make sure she didn't accidentally point it at anyone by mistake. Of course, she was also naturally high strung, so the possibility of her impulsively aiming a gun at someone out of anger wasn't entirely out of the equation either. Takashi Komuro quickly placed his hand over her mouth to keep her from making any more noise than she already had. A furious glare could be seen burning in her eyes from behind her glasses.

"Keep it down, Takagi-san. We don't have much ammo left so we should seriously avoid getting into anymore big fights with the 'Them' unless it's absolutely necessary." Takashi whispered as he watched Saya Takagi squirm in resistance, almost as if trying to bite his hand in response while her muffled voice already tried to yell at him. She however eventually ran out of steam and realized he was right, letting out a reluctant sigh before he removed his hand.

"We should probably wait out this storm inside one of these houses. It was a mistake coming out here like. This rain doesn't exactly make it easy to spot any threats from a distance." another young woman suggested as stepped up to the others silently. She wore a long dark grey overcoat. Her hand rested on the handle of a well refined steel katana holstered at her side. Her long dark violet hair blew in the wind as the pointed fringe in the middle of her forehead dripped little droplets of water onto her nose; causing it to twitch every now and then.

"Busujima-san is right. Aside from that, our guns will be near useless if the rain damages them. Let's clear out that house and rest for a while. We've been moving all day as it is." Khota Hirano added before he turned to look at the others to make sure they all shared the same sentiment. A clap of thunder crackled overhead; causing them to then look around as if expecting any number of 'Them' nearby to become riled up by the loud boom.

"Takagi-san, let's go check it out with Saeko while Hirano-san falls back to the others. His rifle's better suited for long range,and he never seemed to be a fan of close engagements anyhow, so I'd feel better if he's keeping them covered for us." Takashi instructed, watching Khota bolt back down the street as fast as his frame would allow and disappear behind a wall to meet with the rest of their group.

The three teenage survivors carefully approached a two story house that was closest to the car. The low slanted roof was pouring rain water through a busted drain; causing it to pour heavily in several spots. Skid marks could be seen in the driveway, indicating the owner had left in a panic, but not enough to neglect shutting the iron gate over the driveway.

Being the tallest of the three, Saeko jumped up and grabbed the edge of the somewhat tall surrounding stone wall; peeking over the top to see the front yard and the entrance looked clear for the time being. Her arm slowly reached over the black iron gate and pushed down the lever to unlock it with a noticeable *click*soon following. Takashi shot her a warm smile before proceeding to carefully pull the gate wide open without it making a loud screech.

Saya and Saeko stepped through as he kept it held open for them. Saeko then grabbed a nearby stone from along the edge of the driveway that looked large enough to wedge under the gate so it wouldn't close behind them. Fitting it against the open gate door, Saeko shot a slight smirk up towards Takashi at her quick thinking; knowing it was best for them to have an exit strategy just in case they needed to double back to the others at the last minute. A metal wind chime slowly dangled by the entrance; ringing somewhat loudly for anyone nearby to hear whenever a strong enough gust of wind came through. Saeko carefully pulled it off its hinge only to then gently set it aside, somewhat surprised that the otherwise innocent device had not attracted any of 'Them' yet; considering how sharp 'Their' hearing had really proven to be.

"So far it looks like we're in the clear. Think this place will have a few towels to dry off with?" Takashi calmly said as he looked over to the two women standing before him, who both seemed more anxious to get inside rather than ponder on what might be inside for them to take.

"W-Who cares? Just shut up and open the door." Saya mumbled as her teeth began to chatter; a clear sign that her choice of outfit had now come back to bite her in the rear as her legs and arms began to shiver all over.

Rolling his eyes, Takashi then grasped the handle to the door and gave it a light tug. To their dismay though, the door refused to even budge. He instinctively frowned, somewhat disappointed in himself for actually expecting it to be left unlocked. He then took his shotgun and began to carefully position the butt to smash a window.

"Wait! What are you doing? Just look around and see if there's a spare key, you idiot." Saya suddenly hissed as she grabbed his arm to keep him from doing something as desperate as bustingopen a window for anything around to hear, in spite of how loud the rainstorm was. Takashi slowly lowered his weapon; knowing that despite her attitude and fiery temper, she had made a really good point before all they three began to turn over the welcome mat and every suspicious looking stone nearby.

"Aha! See? Told you!" Saya gloated with an overly proud grin on her face as she held up a small rock that was carved out from underneath with a key latched inside of it. However, her victory didn't last long as a small centipede crawled out from under it and began to crawl along her hand.

Her eyes began to twitch as her entire body felt frozen cold when she realized a bug was crawling along her hand. Without warning, she suddenly flung the rock aside and was about to let out a high pitched scream, only for Saeko to instinctively cover her mouth with a surprisingly strong, firm grip. Panicked yet muffled cries of terror were all that could be heard from behind her hand. Saya's arm waved around hysterically; making it monumentally harder for Takashi to grab hold of it and eventually pry the otherwise harmless insect off of his timid companion. The centipede loosely dangled and wriggled in his gentle grip before he lightly tossed it back into the grass.

"You really need to stop doing that." Saeko sighed under her breath before letting go, which was immediately followed bySaya hyperventilating and struggling to mentally recover from her little panic attack.

"S-Shut up! Not all of us are born warriors or whatever the hell you consider yourself to be!" Saya stammered before eventually regaining her otherwise broken composure; shaking her hands out as Saeko couldn't help but grin at the fact she managed to get under the pink-haired genius' skin with so much ease.

Takashi meanwhile just let out a sigh of relief when he managed to find the rock halfway across the front yard and took out the still secured key. He carefully set it inside the lock and lightly twisted it around until he could gently push the door open with Saeko at his back. The hair on the back of his neck began to slowly stand up as her warm breath could be felt against it; indicating to him just how close she was standing behind him. He couldn't help but feel uncertain now whether his heart was racing because of her or the anticipation of one of 'Them'potentially being in the house and just waiting to tear his flesh clean from the bone.

"Don't worry, Komuro-kun. I'm right behind you." Saeko gently whispered in a rather soothing tone as she ran her hand along his shoulder before placing it at the edge of her handle, like a spider ready to pounce on its prey at any given moment.

Takashi tried to remain focused despite how red in the face her words had made him. Meanwhile, Saya was just rolling her eyes at their little interaction as she entered the house last to see the living room was vacant and completely free of any of 'Them'. While it was nowhere near as nice as her own home, it was still very pleasant to have a roof over their heads at last, especially since the rain hadn't been letting up since yesterday.

After taking their time, the three carefully swept through the kitchen and hallway to see it was completely devoid of life. Saeko began to wander up the stairs to secure the upper floor,only for Takashi to suddenly tug on her sleeve to grab her attention.

"I'm going to bring the others inside. I can't imagine many of 'Them' would be up there to begin with either, but regardless, just be careful, Saeko. Run back outside if you end up biting off more than you can chew." Takashi explained to the young swordswoman before letting go to see she was listening to every word he said as if taking it to heart; just then realizing his horrible choice of words near the end.

"Your concern for me isn't necessary, Komuro-kun. It should be focused on that loudmouth Takagi-san. I do appreciate the thought nonetheless though. Thank you." Saeko said in an almost distant tone, as if it were an insult to her pride that Takashi wasn't confident that she could take on whatever small amount of 'Them' could potentially be lurking upstairs. However, her tone soon softened as she shot him a pleasant smile after realizing he only said it out of concern for her safety.

He gave her a warm smile of his own before moving out to bring the others inside. Saeko's piercing blue eyes watched his every move before snapping back into reality. She then proceeded to head upstairs; certain Saya could handle herself downstairs with no immediate threats hanging around.

Moments later, Saeko came back down the stairs; having found nothing lingering up on the second floor while Takashi had brought the rest of their group to join up with them; each one trying to shake off the rain and ignore the unforgiving cold temperature. A collective of calming sighs came from everyone as they could finally take a moment to sit down and collect their thoughts.

Alice and Zeke were the first to come in, immediately followed by a rather tall woman with long, straight blonde hair tied into a ponytail that reached to her waistline. She quickly pulled off her plaid colored rain poncho to reveal her black tank top covered by a navy blue sweater (with the sleeves rolled up) and a white skirt just above her knees. She then began to stretch her arms out as if waking up from a very long nap; her massive chest sticking out as she leaned backwards only to quickly spring forward into the tidy living room towards Saya and Saeko.

"Are you two alright?" she asked in a sweet, bubbly tone as her sharp, golden eyes were already scanning both girls up and down to make sure they weren't injured during their momentary separation. It was as if her experience as their former school nurse had been constantly driving her to check everyone who was separated from the whole group even for a minute.

"We're fine, Marikawa-sensei. Well...unless you include nearly screaming like a little girl over a bug." Saeko responded calmly before hinting at Saya's mini panic attack just a few minutes ago.

"Oh shut up! It was a centipede! In case you don't know, those things are poisonous!" Saya growled; despising the fact that Saeko was practically insulting her despite completely telling the truth.

"Was it a House Centipede or a Giant Centipede?" Shizuka Marikawa asked as both girls tried to recall any outstanding features on the insect the young pink haired genius had encountered and nearly given herself a heart attack over.

"What's the difference?" Saya asked impatiently. As far as she was concerned, all bugs were the same: disgusting and creepy.

"Well, one is long and narrow with big pincers on the head. The other has many more, longer legs in comparison and is somewhat thicker in the torso." Shizuka answered as she helped try to distinguish the two.

"I want to say the second one. Ugh, all those damn legs..." Saya reluctantly answered as she couldn't help but think about and cringe at the thought of the filthy creature crawling on her bare skin, like something straight out of a horror film.

"Aww, that's a House Centipede, Takagi-san! They're completely harmless. In fact, they actually make good pets to keep other insects and pests out of the house." Shizuka giggled amusedly before Saeko couldn't help but start softly giggling herself at how embarrassed Saya now looked. It seemed like she was going to explode in anger initially, but she thankfully realized there was no use in it and instead just accepted her loss; slowly walking away to see what everyone else was up to now as she desperately hoped they would never learn of this embarrassing moment.

Khota stepped in only to immediately set his weapon down on a nearby table and proceed to inspect it thoroughly for any potential damage. He also began to count how many spare rounds of ammunition he had left on him just to be certain he wouldn't run out if caught in another fight with 'Them'.

Next to enter was a young woman Takashi's age; wearing a camouflage-colored rain poncho that reached down to her knees. Removing the hood from over her head, her hair was a long, straight golden brown with a small portion tied into a single ponytail, and it was all topped off with two antenna-like strands sticking from the top. Her eyes were a vibrant reddish-brown color that glistened with a sense of sisterly concern when she looked over at Alice, who seemed to be entirely out of breath after all the moving they'd had to do today. She set her M1A1 rifle, with a very sharp bayonet attached to the muzzle, up against the wall and proceeded to approach the young girl with a loving smile. The young child smiled invitingly in return when she looked up at her.

"How do you feel, Alice-chan?" she softly asked as she proceeded to look Alice over and see if there were any cuts or bruises from earlier that day when she fell over. Luckily there was only a small scuff mark that could be seen along her knees with bits of dirt hanging off of her grey jeans.

"I'm okay, Rei-neesan. I just wish my bike didn't have to break..." Alice said gratefully before confessing that she missed the bike they had picked up so she could keep up with them and entertain herself at the same time; her soft voice gently trailing off at the end.

"Don't worry; I'm sure we can find you a new one eventually. We just need to focus on getting to the elementary school first. Afterwards, I promise I'll talk to Takashi or Saya about it." Rei Miyamoto vowed as she suddenly held up her hand with all fingers tucked in except for her pinky. Alice smiled brightly in response; her purple eyes practically sparkling with hope before she wrapped her own pinky around Rei's.

The two then began to laugh as Zeke suddenly jumped up and tried to nip at their connected pinky fingers. Rei playfully rubbed the back of his ear, which caused one of his back legs to start thumping against the floor rapidly. Alice let out a soft burst of laughter that caused the others to look over and smile at the heartwarming sight.

Finally, Takashi re-entered the house accompanied by a mature looking woman with facial features very similar to Rei. Her dark brown hair stopped just a bit below her shoulders with one single antenna-like strand sticking from the top, and her eyes were a darker shade of red. She was wearing what looked like a traffic officer uniform, along with a navy blue backpack filled with supplies. In her hands was a sharpened spear that looked to be used for traditional martial arts, her tight grip on it soon loosening up as she stepped inside; immediately setting it beside Rei's rifle.

"Not bad, Takashi-chan. This should make a decent place to hole up in until the rain finally stops." the middle-aged woman complimented; causing Takashi to scratch the back of his head and look away, embarrassed that she was still referring to him the way she did back when he was in kindergarten. She didn't notice though as she was then approached by Rei once Takashi left.

"Hey, Mom? Do you have a minute?" Rei asked quietly as she made sure nobody else was listening in on them.

"Of course I do, Rei. What's wrong?" Kiriko Miyamoto asked sweetly as she instinctively placed a comforting hand on her beloved daughter's shoulder, instantly able to tell something serious was on her mind.

"Well, I haven't been able to stop thinking about this for the last few days. In spite of all the leads we've found on the way here, it's still been so long since I last heard from him. That was all the way back when this all started, and it's been eating away at me since then. Mom…with everything that's happened since then…do you REALLY think dad is still alive?" Rei finally asked; an unmistakable sound of sadness and doubt hanging off every word. She wanted to believe with all her heart that her father was still alive and well, but after so much death, so much loss, it was near impossible to not think of the possibility that he didn't make it. Kiriko however just bowed her head and held Rei close in a warm embrace.

"Yes. Yes I do. I know it's hard not to think about, Rei; but I want you to listen and remember: when things are at their darkest, hope is all you'll have left, and that's something that you should never ever let go of. We'll find him, Rei. I promise you we will." Kiriko answered in a soft, loving, reassuring whisper as she practically cradled Rei in her arms. Rei had to try her best to not start crying in front of the others, despite how hard it was to keep it in.

"Hey, I'm sorry to interrupt, but if you don't mind, I'd like to check all of your guns as well." Hirano suddenly interrupted as everyone slowly handed him their side-arms, setting them on the table for him to manually check them over for both damage and a munitions count.

"Well? Find anything yet?" Saya suddenly asked in a rather impatient tone as she suddenly sat in the chair across from Khota's; crossing her arms as she watched him dismantle the weapons only to quickly put them back together just as fast. He was almost machine-like in his speed and efficiency and articulation in doing so.

"Well, fortunately the guns didn't suffer any noticeable damage so far, so that's good. Our ammunition count though is...well,let's just say it's a good thing we only shoot when Komuro-san says we shoot." Khota answered regretfully, as it was now abundantly clear to everyone that they would need to somehow find more bullets soon if they wished to continue using the firearms that had saved them numerous times. 'They' always had a way of showing up at the most inopportune times as well, so the idea of running into a large gathering without enough ammo certainly didn't make this realization any less discouraging.

"Frankly, I'm quite impressed you've all managed to conserve as much as you have up to now. Bullets tend to go by very quickly if you just shoot at everything you see." Kiriko admitted in a rather surprised tone as she then walked over to help Khota inspect anything he could've possibly missed.

'Swords one, guns zero.' Saeko thought to herself as she knew that eventually they'd have to rely on melee weapons once the bullets were all gone; taking solace in knowing that the group would always need her when it came to fighting 'Them'.

"So...once the rain settles down, we just keep moving on to the elementary school?" Saya suddenly asked Takashi as she had her arms crossed while looking out a window to observe faint movement across the street. Most likely a pack of 'Them' trying to chase down the claps of thunder that occasionally rumbled.

"Well, it's the best we can do for now. Why? Don't like that idea all of a sudden?" Takashi asked curiously; hoping that she didn't decide to start insulting his intelligence or bring up some kind of bad news he really didn't want to hear now that their situation was finally starting to calm down.

"It's the most sensible plan we have right now, but what do you intend to do if something goes wrong? For example, what if one of us was to get separated from the others?" Saya suddenly began to explain in further detail as Takashi was completely silent in response, his face frozen in contemplation, which had already confirmed Saya's doubts.

"Komuro, you need to start taking everything that can go wrong into account from now on. I mean...what would you do if someone was hurt? Or say one of us got lost and was just as defenseless as Alice?" Saya then lectured in a much more firm tone as she witnessed a firm look develop in Takashi's eyes, as if those words really resonated with him.

Instead of responding to her though, he simply turned away to approach Alice. He knelt down beside her as he remembered to soften his expression for her. She simply smiled at his approach and formed a very curious look in her eyes when she realized he clearly had something very important to tell her.

"Hey, Alice-chan, I have to ask you something. Have you ever been lost before?" Takashi asked as she just sat in front of her with his legs crossed while Alice continued to look up at him with Zeke nestled in her lap.

"No. My parents always kept a close eye on me." Alice answered honestly and bluntly as she continued to play with Zeke's floppy ears.

"Well that's good…kind of...so, I take it you don't know what to do if you were to get separated from us then?" Takashi asked hesitantly, uncertain as to how he could approach such a serious subject with Alice.

The young child actually paused for a moment to think up a response, but soon shook her head. She stopped playing with the dog and was now looking straight into Takashi's brown eyes. With no humor being expressed, it was crystal clear to her now that this was something he wanted her to be prepared for, just in case.

"No. What should I do if I get lost, Takashi-niichan?" Alice asked curiously, her bright eyes now looking up at him for guidance but still feeling confident that Takashi would have an answer as always.

"Well...if we ever get into a fight that isn't going our way, then I want you to find somewhere to hide. Look for a place where it would be hard for someone to see or even reach into. You'll need to wait there until we come to find you. Understand so far?" Takashi explained as he wanted to cover all of his bases just to ensure Alice wouldn't be confused or uncertain what to do when a time like that were to come.

"So kind of like hide-and-seek then?" Alice asked as she almost considered the survival method to be like the game she used to play all the time.

"Exactly! But listen, you especially don't come out for any reason unless it's one of us. You can't trust anyone you don't know, alright? Whatever you do, you have to stay put until we find you." Takashi said with a nod before trying to remain dead serious so she wouldn't treat this like a game but rather a serious survival method to help her in the future.

"I understand. Thank you, Takashi-niichan!" Alice acknowledged with a soft smile before lightly wrapping her little arms around his neck while the rest of the group couldn't help but smile at her infectious enthusiasm.

"Don't worry about it. We've made it this far, so I don't intend to let anything happen to you or anyone else here." Takashi said in response as he was now somewhat blushing at the affection Alice was displaying.

It wasn't long until the rain had finally begun to calm down long enough for the group of survivors to venture out again into the seemingly empty neighborhood. The winds were far calmer this time around as the air was heavily with moisture. A strange smell filled the air that was most likely smoke, but it was near impossible for any fires to be burning after such heavy rainfall. The group stayed alert as ever as they were all kept their eyes peeled for anything remotely unusual or out of place. At one point they could see what looked like a large hotel standing out above some office buildings in the far distance. They all silently acknowledged to each other that if somehow things were go wrong on the way to or at the elementary school, it would be a good place to hole up in.

Takashi stayed in front to lead the others every step of the way. Every step was with confidence as he knew they had a decent amount of time before the rain would pick up again. However, Zeke suddenly began to growl with his white fur standing straight up, baring his sharp little teeth when they were passing down one street; causing everyone to freeze in place and instantly be on the lookout for any of 'Them'. He was always the first to know of any immediate danger, and he'd yet to fail them so far.

"See anything on your side, Hirano?" Takashi whispered as he cautiously kept looking back and forth, nervous as all hell as to what it was Zeke could've been so hyped up about. There were no obvious signs of 'Them', yet Zeke refused to budge an inch.

"No, I don't see anything...I don't even hear anything." Khota answered nervously as sweat began to bead across his forehead now. He kept his grip loose on his weapon to prevent any misfire despite how fast his heart was racing this very moment.

Just as it seemed like the coast was clear, Khota noticed a faint glowing red dot in a window on the distant house across from them. The grey skies made it hard to see long distance, but he quickly looked through his scope for confirmation only to feel his jaw drop. For he had just realized that a few centimeters below that red glow was the unmistakable barrel of a gun pointing in their direction, carefully hidden by two window curtains.

*KA-POW*

A deafening cracking sound echoed just a split second after Khota had just barely managed to pull Takashi down onto the wet asphalt; both letting out a painful grunt as they landed quite hard. When the powerful rifle round barely missed them (and luckily the others), a small clump of the street chipped away from the impact. The entire group was instantly on full alert the second they realized they were up against more armed survivors.

"Everyone get to cover right now!" Takashi snapped as he motioned them all get behind a car or a building, just as the doors to the neighboring houses suddenly flew wide open to reveal several men running out; each one armed with a makeshift weapon or a heavy-duty gun.

Without hesitation, the rest of the group scrambled for cover and ducked down as several more shots were taken at Takashi and Khota. Luckily they both stayed low and were able to just barely make it behind a moderately high wall. Bullets bounced and ricocheted off of the concrete wall as they couldn't hope to peek up without potentially getting hit. Shizuka and Saeko were both crouching behind a car wrapped around a telephone pole. Rei, Kiriko, Alice, and Saya meanwhile were standing around the corner of the entryway leading into the small house behind them.

"Alice! You know what to do?" Takashi suddenly called out as he could see her staring right at him from across the street.

The young girl quickly nodded and immediately sprinted back to find a good place to hide; knowing she had to find somewhere to hide and fast, given how intense the fighting clearly was even to her. Saya instantly noticed this and began to run after Alice only to be roughly pulled back by Kiriko. The young genius just stared at the former officer desperately as she hated the fact Alice was now completely out of her sight.

"Let her go. I know this is tough for you. It's tough for all of us,but we can't risk Alice-chan getting caught in the crossfire. Don't worry though, we'll find her after we take these bastards out." Kiriko said calmly in an attempt to help Saya focus more on the matter at hand. Knowing full well that the little girl was far safer in a hiding spot than in the middle of what felt like a war zone, Saya quickly wiped the tears brimming in her eyes and clutched her rifle tight, ready to help end this quickly.

"Move in! These weaklings can't fight back!" an aggressive male voice called out as several of the men taking cover behind various cars and walls began to move in on the group; taking several more shots at Takashi and Khota's position as they tried to return fire.

However, just as the strangers were moving in for the kill,Kiriko fired the automatic pistol she was carrying in short, controlled, bursts while Saya quickly followed her lead by desperately firing several suppressing shots at their attackers. While her accuracy would make most laugh, the numerous bullets whizzing by did cause the men to stop dead in their tracks the instant the returning gunshots started.

"Oh, fuck! Fall back!" one of the men announced out of shockas their hasty rush quickly turned into a desperate break for cover when one of the seven men was struck in the chest by Kiriko; knocking him flat on his back in the middle of the road. He was now left by himself in the middle of the fray as he continued to bleed out in the middle of the street. His painful gasps for air were masked by the sound of numerous thundering gunshots between the two groups; the blood from the entry mark slowly oozing out his torso and flowing down the street.

Saeko bit her lip as she gripped the handle to her katana ever so tightly. She desperately wanted to be of use and slay these bastards that dared try to harm her close companions, but she knew it would be suicide to rush out into the open when they were all using guns. It was then that she realized she still had that pistol Khota had given her back at the police station they had visited two days ago. Strapped and holstered tightly to her right leg, she carefully pulled it out and glared at it.

Despite having absolutely zero experience with such a thing before now, she could only now observe the various bits and ends of the foreign tool. She then glanced over to see Kiriko pulling on that small lever where her index finger could slip through. Saeko now took a deep breath before grasping the handle tight in her hand; somewhat regretting that she didn't have Khota teach her sooner.

Shizuka meanwhile watched as the young swordswoman peeked around their cover and tried to point it at the nearest target she could distinguish in the chaos. One man could be seen hiding behind a tree, completely unaware of his side being exposed to her. She raised the handgun up until the sights were in place. After a soft squeeze of the trigger, she watched as unexpectedly nothing happened.

"Hey! Watch your ass!" one of the men announced when he spotted what Saeko was up to. The immediate blast of a shotgun caused her to jump back out of reaction, just a fraction of a second before a flurry of buckshot tore into the corner of the ambulance she was just standing next to. Saeko cursed to herself and holstered the pistol in frustration as she knew it was pointless for her to try using it.

The same man with the shotgun continued to walk closer with his weapon raised in Saeko and Shizuka's direction, only for another round to suddenly strike him in the side. He dropped his weapon and landed flat on his ass, but managed to scramble back behind cover immediately afterward. Saeko turned her head in surprise to see that Rei had managed to hit him just in time. She shot her brown-haired compatriot a thumbs up out of thanks before the attacker up in the house began to take pot shots at all of them in the hopes that none would try to fire back.

Just when it seemed like Takashi's group had a chance of pushing these people back; a chilling and all-too familiar sound could suddenly be heard by both groups. Just when it seemed like things were bad enough, they had only become that much worse when the first of many of 'Them' had suddenly arrived from the east. 'They' poured into the neighborhood like an unstoppable swarm, ready to consume everything in 'Their' path. While most of the men tried to flee, some attempted to stand their ground. Those that remained had managed to take a few down with their firearms, but as Takashi's group retreated to the west, the gunshots soon became faint until nothing but silence remained.

As Takashi's group had fled the scene, Alice was currently hiding beneath a car not too far from the fighting. She silently watched in horror as several feet dragged and limped past her; her heart racing with fear with the knowledge that a single sound could draw all of 'Them' to her. All the little girl could do now was pray that 'They' would shuffle on without noticing her and that her group would find her again like Takashi promised they would.

What must've been minutes had eventually gone by without any sound or sign that 'They' were still nearby. Alice carefully stuck her head out to make sure the coast was clear. She could see the vast horde in pursuit of the other survivors were just now a ways down the street. The young girl carefully pulled herself out from the car with Zeke in her arms, trying her best to keep him from barking or growling.

*Thunk*

Alice nearly jumped out of her skin when she looked over to see a bloody handprint smacking against the inside of the car window. She let out a terrified yelp out of sheer reaction, only for the undead passenger to suddenly become riled by the sound of her voice. A low but familiar groan could be heard from inside the car, only for the window to suddenly shatter. Luckily, Alice managed to step back away so that the undead creature's clawing hands couldn't hope to reach her; its arms slowly being gouged by the shards of broken glass lining the window frame as it continued clawing at the air for the little girl.

Just as Alice thought she was safe, she looked back down the road, and her heart slowly sank deep down as a fair number of 'Them' from the back of the lumbering stampede slowly twisted 'Their' necks and heads in an almost unanimous fashion before slowly making the long trip back to Alice's position, drawn by the sound of the shattering glass. Without thinking, the little girl panicked and started running further up the block, certain that hiding outdoors was way too dangerous for her to be all alone. Deciding that a nearby house or store would be a much safer place to hide, Alice quickly left the area and never looked back once.

A further ways away, the rest of the group was still running for their lives through the winding streets of the neighborhood as it seemed the horde of 'Them' hot on their heels was only growing in number as more and more were drawn out of the houses and joined into the undead mass.

"Takashi, where are we even going?" Rei suddenly called out to him as they quickly ran into what looked like an abandoned construction site, complete with the skeletal remains of unfinished houses and foundations scattered all around.

"Anywhere but here, that's for certain!" Takashi yelled back in response before they all suddenly stumbled down a virtually hidden concrete slope; everyone just barely keeping their balance after skidding down the wet, sloped surface.

Once they'd come to a stop, they looked around to see they had to be ten feet inside a submerged drainage tunnel; judging by the large metal grate that had broken their descent. The whole structure had the same descending slope going all around, giving the drainage tunnel an unmistakable funnel shape. The sudden sound of approaching running footsteps drove them all to look back up to the ridge of the tunnel, watching as what had to be the men they were just fighting with had suddenly fallen down the slope after following them down to seek refuge from the undead horde.

"Oh, fuck, these assholes had the same idea!" one of the men announced as both sides immediately had their guns pointed at each other. Each of the men was wearing a dark blue jumpsuit, unmistakably the kind a prison inmate would wear. All at once that had explained to the group why these men were so hostile, and especially how they'd managed to obtain the guns they had.

"Funny that you'd be calling us the 'assholes' here." Takashi retorted with a dead serious glare in his eyes with his shotgun aimed right at their chests; stepping forward in front of the others, as if shielding them from whatever shots might be thrown in their direction.

Before their battle with these men could continue, the undead horde could be heard approaching. The prisoners quickly spun around to see the first several corpses come crashing down the steep slope. Bits of rotting flesh and tattered clothing scraped off against the rough concrete surface on the way down, but this didn't deter 'Them' from getting back up like it was nothing.

"Okay, fair point. How about we forget that shit though and focus on these freaks. Agreed?" one of the inmates suggested as his partners began to slowly back up in a desperate attempt to put as much distance between themselves and 'Them' as possible.

"Fine. But if we survive this, you better hope we never meet again." Takashi reluctantly agreed, despite this decision going against every instinct advising him against teaming up with people who just minutes ago were trying to kill him and his friends.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever! Let's fucking do this!" the first convict with a particularly grizzled face and long black hair replied hurriedly before stepping forward and leveling his rifle to start shooting.

"Step aside. We'll try to thin 'Them' out while the rest of you try to climb back up." Khota suggested as Takashi, Saya, Kiriko, Rei and himself took position in a double lined formation. Khota, Kiriko, and Takashi were standing up while Rei and Saya crouched down in front of them. The rest of the two groups meanwhile were trying their best to get back up the high slope behind them since 'They' were clearly coming from the direction they'd just come from.

Knowing now was not the time to be holding back, they allowed 'Them' to come close, only to start picking 'Them' off one by one. Being the best shot amongst Takashi's group, Khota took the hardest shots by either striking the ones further back to lessen up the advancing undead, or nailing the ones that had a noticeable limp that made it much harder to strike the head. While most of Saya's shots would miss entire rows of 'Them',some managed to actually strike at the kneecaps; causing some to fall down and crawl at a much slower pace. When not blasting upright undead of her own, Rei would help pick off the ones crawling as her mother would take care of the ones Takashi couldn't shoot while he was reloading his shotgun.

Steam gently fumed from the firearms with every shot bounced and danced along the ground as all became silent; everyone's ears ringing, seeing how loud it was to be firing without any ear protection. The gunshots rang out for miles for undead and survivors alike to hear. The harsh winds began to pick up and howl once more, but they all could care less at this point. All that mattered was keeping 'Them' back for as long as they could.

However, the longer this fight dragged on, the more ammunition had to be used to give the others more time to make their way out. Unfortunately, the slopes were far too steep and wet for them to manage to climb up. It wasn't long until Saya and Kiriko had expended the last of their rounds, soon followed by Rei;looking at her rifle worriedly when it could no longer fire into the seemingly endless mass of 'Them'. Takashi suddenly flipped his shotgun so he was holding it upside down as if he were to use it like a club. Khota felt his blood freezing up as the last round in his last clip was now flying through several of 'Them', leaving him absolutely defenseless without any of his precious firearms to fight back with.

"You've all done your part, but this is my fight now." Saeko suddenly announced as she stepped forward with her blade fully drawn out. Despite the incredibly dire situation they were all in,she couldn't be happier to finally start fighting on her terms; almost speaking as if she was ready to die here if it meant the rest of her companions would be able to escape unharmed.

"You kids try to find a spot you can actually climb up. Just don't leave us down here if you do." the long-haired convict offered as he and his partners armed with shivs and metal pipes stood by with Saeko to start cutting and beating down the nearest of 'Them'; knowing that she couldn't possibly stand any chance doing this all on her own.

"Don't worry, they won't." Kiriko said reassuringly as she looked back at Rei; knowing they would do whatever they could to help them escape in time. Without another word, she stepped forward to join the rest of the melee defense with the martial arts spear held tight in both her hands now; taking a firm stance, ready and waiting as she prepared to skewer the first of many of 'Them'with the sharp tip.

As the next clap of thunder rumbled from the sky, Saeko suddenly dashed forward; sweeping her blade in a horizontal arc. Several of 'Their' heads slowly fell sideways off 'Their' shoulders as the bodies fell down to the ground. Saeko's wrist elegantly swung the blade sideways to remove as much blood as possible before poising herself to strike again. Her agile movements made her look like a ballerina, but her vicious attacks gave her the appearance of a ferocious predator on the hunt.

Nothing could come between her prey and the unimaginable excitement that filled up her very being whenever she was uninhibited to do what made her feel truly alive. The steel blade cut effortlessly through flesh and bone alike as the convicts made sure to keep their distance just in case she were to get too carried away.

While Saeko covered the right side, Kiriko began to help out by ramming the spear straight into several of 'Them' at once. The spearhead piercing 'Their' mushy skulls like they were month-old pumpkins. Her hands gripped the weapon tightly before she made a jerking motion to rip the spear out; obliterating the skulls.

When one of 'Them' actually managed to catch her off guard and grab the shaft of her spear, she prepared to let go of her weapon,only to be surprised when Rei suddenly stepped in with her bayonet and thrust it straight into the empty eye socket of the decaying monster trying to kill her mother. Kiriko let out a soft sigh of relief before nodding to her daughter out of gratitude and acknowledgment that she was truly grown up into a strong woman who could take care of herself. Both of them continued fighting, side by side now, as the undead horde showed no signs of stopping anytime soon.

Several of the convicts managed to beat several of 'Them' to the ground and smash 'Their' heads into red and grey, mushy paste. However, with no discipline or proper training, it wasn't long until one after another, they were overwhelmed and devoured by the next wave; leaving only the long-haired convict, Kiriko, Rei, and Saeko to keep the undead at bay.

"What's taking you guys so long?!" Rei called out anxiously as she turned back to see nobody had managed to climb out of the pit yet. She could feel her fear begin to intensify and the adrenaline course through her whole body 'They' were starting to slowly push them all back until she and the others were just a few feet away from the rest of the group as they'd been backed up against the slope.

"It's too steep and the rain has made it even harder to climb back up. We aren't going anywhere." Takashi responded in dismay as he gave up any further attempts at climbing back up the concrete slope, ready to make a last stand with everyone else as they all collectively came to the blood-chilling, heart-stopping realization that this could actually very well be the end for them.

Everything began to go quiet as Takashi just watched the fresh wave of 'Them' slowly but surely come closer with every passing second; the wall of reanimated dead flesh closing in. Blood stained teeth and torn tongues were bared; causing everyone's blood to go ice cold with sheer terror. Snarls and low groans filled the air to the point Takashi couldn't even think straight anymore.

Those dead, grey, lifeless eyes swiveled in their sockets as if to sink even more fear further into 'Their' prey. Bits of flesh dangled and hung loose from gaping bite wounds like tattered clothing pulled through a shredder. The collective smell like diving head first into a wet pile of week old garbage; the rain clearly having helped aid the rotting process in a lot of 'Them'.

[Forward Unto Dawn OST - Axios]

"I'm sorry...everyone...I fai-." Takashi began to mutter out of immense regret, just before blood suddenly splattered all over his chest. He went silent as the undead fiend that was a few seconds away from tearing his throat out suddenly collapsed. His eyes slowly followed it down to see a small black hole had pierced right through the back of its skull like a hot knife slicing through butter.

Before anyone could react, even more of 'Them' began to recoil back with small, black holes bursting between 'Their' eyes. The hail of what sounded like two fully-automatic carbines now replaced 'Their' empty groans howls as the whole group looked up to see two new figures positioned above them now at the top of the slope; their spent casings rolling down into the pit of death as they continued to fire into the undead mass simultaneously with almost surgical precision.

They were both wearing long strips of cloth wrapped loosely around their faces, save their eyes, to avoid getting spattered with any of 'Their' blood or to avoid being blinded by the heavy rainfall. One had a medium build; wearing a long sage green sweater as he began to tie the rope to one of the steel girders before tossing the loose end down to Takashi's group. The other one was much bigger in size and had a brown leather bomber jacket on. His eyes were scowling as he quickly slapped another magazine into his carbine and fired another rapid volley.

"Get out of there now! Climb!" a young male voice suddenly commanded; sounding no older than sixteen. Nobody down there was about to scoff at a last second rescue like this, and with no hesitation, they proceeded to start climbing one after the other. Shizuka and Saya were the first to come climbing up, taking the smaller stranger's extended hands as he helped them to the ledge; neither of them noticing how their rescuer's green eyes widened with shock when seeing Shizuka in particular.

They both clung tightly onto his rather strong forearms as he helped pull them back onto their feet the rest of the way. Meanwhile, his much larger partner continued to rapidly pull on the trigger to his MP5SFK sub-machine gun, mowing down wave after wave of 'Them' like it was child's play. It was quite clear that the swarm was still being drawn into the pit regardless of how many he would be able to drop, so instead he just crouched down to help pull out the next two climbing up: Rei and Kiriko. The smaller one then proceeded to pull out the long-haired convict and Takashi, followed by his partner effortlessly helping Khota squirm over the ledge.

Saeko this entire time had been holding her own against several of 'Them' at once. Her blade was now coated in the coagulated blood of the undead as several limbs and heads had been severed with each of her precise swings and slices. The look of pure thrill could be seen burning in her deep blue eyes with every one of 'Them' she managed to vanquish.

"Oi! Stop fighting and get you're bloody arse up here already!" an all-too familiar voice called out to Saeko; causing her to spin around to see where it came from; effectively breaking her concentration in the middle of the slaughter.

She quickly rushed over to the rope and began to pull herself up with her katana properly holstered at the hip. Before the young swordswoman could get out of reach from 'Their' clutches, a large hand grabbed her ankle and pulled her straight back down. Her blue eyes widened as a familiar reanimated hulking brute in a black shirt and white bandanna was amongst this horde and had managed to keep her pinned up against the wall with overwhelming force.

Desperately trying to break loose, she swiped her katana at his jawline only for his arm to inadvertently block it. The dense muscle and thick, clotted blood made it near impossible for her to pry the blade free in time. She let out a groan of desperation and actual fear as her hands desperately tried to keep his large head at bay.

"Saeko!" Takashi called out in horror at the terrifying sight as he looked down from above, ready to jump down and save her no matter what would become of him. Before he could take a single step forward, he suddenly felt himself being pushed back as another leapt into action in his place.

Seconds before the undead behemoth could sink his rotting, jagged teeth into Saeko's soft flesh to finish her off; the larger of the strangers that had rescued the rest of her group had suddenly jumped down and charged the giant head on, as if intending to fight one-on-one. The hulking mass of re-animated flesh suddenly swerved around and actually managed to backhand Saeko's rescuer like a rag doll against the hard concrete slope. He landed with a hard thud and a low groan escaped past his lips.

When the wrap of cloth concealing his face had been knocked loose, Saeko felt her jaw slowly drop in disbelief to see it was none other than Frasier Lawson himself with those unmistakably piercing blue eyes and the instantly recognizable stone cold determination that was always on his face whenever faced with a difficult challenge. She just kept looking at him as if he were just a ghost her mind had conjured up to play tricks on her in her single moment of desperation.

The overly determined Brit was almost instantly back on his feet and charging in for more, as if he were completely exhilarated from receiving such a hard blow. His foot kicked at the side of the undead giant's leg, which forced the brute to go down on one knee. Frasier quickly scaled around onto his back, only to pull back at the bandanna and underlying hair; causing the monster to growl viciously as it tried to shake Frasier off.

Saeko found she was now free from the vice-like grip, but now could only watch in awe as Frasier wrestled with the bodybuilder-sized brute. Using just one of the many grappling techniques Arthur had taught him, Frasier managed to lock the undead giant in place as he quickly reached behind his hip and soon held up the knife Mark bestowed upon him high in the air,only to repeatedly plunge it down into the creature's thick skull. The menacing beast slowly grew silent and limp as Frasier then stood up covered in its thick, brown blood.

Without further hesitation, the two quickly scaled back up the rope just in time to avoid being caught by the rest of the undead that had swarmed the bottom of the drainage structure. The moment Saeko had pulled herself up over the ledge; she immediately turned around to help Frasier back up. Her hands felt pleasantly warm to him as he slowly lumbered forward before stopping in time to see her looking right up at him with a look of what could only be relief.

"You're...alive." both survivors muttered softly at the same time between their mutual panting breaths of exhaustion as their eyes were focused solely on each other. Their chests were both heaving back and forth as their adrenaline from the fight had finally begun to wear off.

Frasier was at a complete loss for words now as he found himself once again lost in her deep blue eyes. His heart was beating at such a rhythm similar to the way a little kid would pound away at a drum. That goofy smile already started slowly forming along his lips before he found himself realizing that she was staring right back at him, almost as if expecting him to say something. Deep down in his chest, he wanted to say how happy he was to have finally found her; to express what joy and relief this had brought him. Perhaps even just blurt out those three words he'd fought so hard to never utter in her presence. However, before he could open his mouth, he noticed movement on his right that kept his words at bay.

[]

"Saeko! Do you have any idea how close that was?!" Takashi suddenly interjected as he grasped her shoulders tightly; her head bowing down in shame that he had seen her so vulnerable after seeing so many times just how much pride she put into being the best fighter in the whole group.

"My apologies, Komuro-kun...I-" Saeko began to apologize only for Takashi to lift her chin up. Before another word could escape her mouth, she suddenly felt his lips pressing against her own; her hands slowly wrapping around and clutching onto his waist. A warmth burned fiercely inside both of them as Takashi could no longer hold back the emotions and sense of attachment he'd come to develop towards Saeko over the past few days.

Frasier meanwhile felt his entire world collapse before his very eyes as he could feel the ice cold heavy weight of realization bury itself deep within his reeling heart: he was too late. His mind was now swarming with half-formed regrets, with a bottomless pit in his stomach swirling with nausea. His once powerful set of lungs now burned with such intensity it felt like all the oxygen in his body had been stolen from him. A most sickening feeling crept inside his heart as it felt as though his blood had turned into tar; making it feel like his heart was skipping several beats at a time. Worst (and probably most crushing) of all to him was the fact that Saeko never even knew how he felt and most likely would never even have such a concept cross her mind now.

"Ah...well, that was quite unexpected...uh, ahem! Frasier-kun, this is Takashi Komuro-kun. He's our leader and...Frasier-kun? Where did you go?" Saeko blurted out in a flustered tone, her face a deep red, before quickly regaining her focus to properly introduce Takashi to her longtime friend, only for both of them to look around confusedly when he was suddenly nowhere to be seen.

They both watched as Frasier towered over the other members of their group only to push on through with both fists clenched tight together; watching him slowly approach Marcus as he unwrapped his own cloth mask. While they could not see Frasier's expression, it was quite clear that something was not right when they could see a look of serious concern on Marcus' face in reaction to what he himself could see. What Marcus saw in Frasier's face was unlike anything he'd ever seen from him before: the two shimmering glints in those blue eyes that were irrefutably tears.

There was such a raw intensity to the pain Frasier was in, as if it was an open flesh wound. The visible display of emotion emanating from him, despite how hard he was trying to desperately hide it, was so bizarre to Marcus; it was like trying to witness a new color. His emerald eyes slowly watched in awe as the set of pearl shaped tears ran down Frasier's face and fell to splash against the cold asphalt only to disappear among the countless other splashes of the still pouring rain. Marcus slowly took a deep breath as he knew that as much as he wanted to just get Frasier home as soon as possible now, there was still the matter of Alice to take care of.

"So...that's it, huh? We're just going back now?" Marcus gently asked in a low voice as he couldn't help but feel absolute pity to see Frasier in such intense pain, someone he'd never expect to look so torn up over such matters as heartbreak.

"You're right, Marcus. Give them the girl so we can go home." Frasier replied in a low rasp as he could almost feel his voice crack near the end; trying his best not to show any emotion to anyone that were to look upon his now sullen face. Right now all he wanted was to go home and spend as much time as possible alone.

"Alright, big guy. I'm on it." Marcus said sympathetically; having enough respect and maturity to know Frasier was in no state to be toyed with right now.

"Noah, it's safe to come out now." Marcus then announced; causing the rest of Takashi's group to suddenly look over in their direction.

It was then another teenage boy, this one even younger and smaller than the first two, stepped out, only to look over and see the look of soul-crushing pain on Frasier's face. Noah carried a shotgun in hand but had the most innocent and pleasant smile a stranger could have. Among the rest of the group, Khota could feel a sense of weight being lifted off his shoulders upon discovering his friend was still alive and well. However, when Takashi's group noticed Alice slowly walking up behind Noah,was it was like a spark had suddenly been thrown into a powder keg. Without any warning, Saya suddenly lifted her MP5SFK at them with a furious and protective look burning in her eyes.

"Step away from the kid! I swear to God, if any of you hurt her...!" Saya practically screamed as her barrel was aimed right at Marcus' head. Frasier looked over his shoulder only to sneer in absolute disgust. The potential tears in his eyes were suddenly replaced by a terrifying rage as he instantly swerved around with his carbine pointed right back at Saya. Everyone else holding a gun (excluding Saeko) quickly held it up against the other side. Alice quickly stepped back in fear now that everyone was suddenly aiming guns at each other.

"Quite some friends you've got here, Busujima-san. First we save the little girl, then we save all of you, and now you're all turning your sights on us." Frasier said in a cold, dead serious grunt as he kept his finger on the trigger; more than ready to shed more blood if he had to in order to protect his brothers. The still smoldering anger inside him sent tremors up his arm, as if giving him an eagerness to kill some more.

"Look, just...just lower your weapons and we can talk this out,okay? You're outnumbered, and there's no need for anyone else to die today!" Takashi suddenly announced before Saeko could reply. They both watched as his words had only further pushed Frasier into a more hostile stance, as if ready to massacre them all right here on the spot.

"Such an empty threat. Please, tell me how you intend to shoot us when none of you have any bullets left?" Frasier scoffed in disregard before he formed a slight sadistic grin; knowing he had the advantage here. His feeling was only further confirmed when Takashi's group all formed looks of shock towards each other that he could see right through their bluff.

"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't just-" Frasier began to demand, only to be interrupted when Noah suddenly approached him and gently lowered his rifle to point at the ground. The two just glared at each other as if mentally debating who was in the right here. Marcus slowly lowered his carbine as he just watched from a distance, ready to leap in just in case Frasier finally lost the last restraint on his temper with Noah.

"That's enough, Frasier. Can't you see they're all just scared?" Noah said calmly as he looked up at the rather twisted and betrayed look in Frasier's eyes; that fiery glare initially making it look like he was going to blow a fuse and explode into a blood frenzy. But finally, after one deep sigh, he realized the bullets and the guilt weren't worth it. Frasier simply glared at the rest of Takashi's group as he motioned Alice to go back to them.

"Saya!" Alice squealed as she ran out to instantly get swept off her feet in the young genius' arms. Saya fell to her knees while holding Alice close; joyous tears freely running down her face as she held onto the little girl like her own baby sister.

"Alice, why were you with these people? Takashi specifically told you to wait for us!" Saya demanded; her voice trembling asthe tears continued flowing from her eyes; slightly sniffling as she awaited Alice's answer.

"I was waiting for you guys like you told me to, and then they found me. I-I did my best! I'm sorry!" Alice tearfully attempted to explain as her voice already began to crack; feeling complete and total guilt for making Saya so angry, worried and sad at the same time.

"If it makes you feel any better about her decision, it was either come with us until we found you, or stay in a store infested with 'Them'." Noah then attempted to explain as he stood before the mall, making sure that everything would be alright before he and his brothers took off.

"They even let me carry this. So I could protect myself in case they were trouble." Alice then added as she showed Saya the large handgun Frasier had given her. Looks of shock and astonishment were exchanged among everyone as they all looked up at Frasier.

"You seriously gave a little girl a handgun?!" Kiriko suddenly interjected as she was rather appalled by such lack of judgement; glaring at Frasier as Saya couldn't help but agree with the concerned mother on the matter of doing something so reckless and stupid.

"An empty handgun, specifically; completely harmless even in the hands of a child. Noah insisted we taker her with us and look for you lot, so I had to convince her to trust us somehow." Frasier responded coldly, as if he felt insulted having to justify the choice he made before Alice politely handed it back to him. They all watched as he loaded the clip back in with just a few turns of the wrist. The two groups were now completely silent after such an awkward and intense introduction to one another had finally cooled the earlier tension.

"So what do you all intend to do now?" Noah suddenly asked as Takashi and Saya formed skeptical looks at his question; wondering why he would possibly want to know or care about their survival plan.

"Why do you ask?" Takashi questioned suspiciously as he raised an eyebrow; never taking his eyes off the trio for even a split second. While they were just in a rough standoff with each other, it was hard for him to ignore the fact that Frasier's group just rescued them and had returned Alice to them in one piece.

"Because it looks like you guys could use our help. It isn't very safe to be wandering the open streets to begin with, but without any ammo, it's nothing short of suicide." Noah answered sincerely before he did something completely unexpected and offered Takashi several 12 gauge shells for his semi-auto shotgun.

"A-Are you for real?" Takashi suddenly asked in last thing he was ever expecting from a stranger such as Noah was a handout of free ammunition. The red colored rounds were slowly rolling between his fingers now as Takashi kept switching his gaze from the rounds to the non-threatening look on Noah's face.

"I know we didn't exactly start out on the right foot here, and for that I'm sorry. But perhaps it would best for all of us that we combine forces into one big group. You know, 'strength in numbers' and all that." Noah acknowledged regretfully before finally laying his offer to Takashi on the table.

"What's in this for you, though? There's no way you'd be willing to offer something like this without expecting something in return." Takashi said skeptically as he kept his hands at his side while Noah was mentally taken aback at how distrusting Takashi seemed to be of him despite his group having just rescued him and his friends. Then again, the fact that Frasier so easily pulled a gun on them didn't exactly leave Takashi's distrust unjustified.

"Alright, I'll be frank with you here. We've taken over a sizable hotel with more than enough room for all of you, and we have enough supplies to last us over until any potential evacuations can arrive. While it's manageable at the moment, I personally think it would be nice to have more survivors join us. We've been attacked every now and then by smaller groups of 'Them', and honestly, I just really feel like we need to start looking out for each other with everything that's going on. I know that may sound like a bunch of rubbish to you, but it's the honest truth here." Noah expressed as Takashi and his group appeared astonished to be offered such a sweet deal that would easily benefit them far more than it would for Noah's group. But even beyond that, there was an unmistakable air of sincerity in what Noah expressed to them, like he truly meant every word he said about wanting to help people; and it couldn't help but give a shared feeling of warmth and trust for the youngest Lawson from Takashi and his group.

"Seriously?" Takashi finally asked as he was still amazed that this young boy would suggest such a thing with all sincerity.

"Seriously." Noah said with no sense of sarcasm in his voice; feeling certain that their groups combined would make quite the formidable force; hoping that there wouldn't be any objections from anyone.

Takashi eventually accepted the ammo from Noah and proceeded to walk back to discuss with the others following him on what they'd have to say on the idea of going with these three strangers. Were a fight to break out, it would be near impossible to stand a fighting chance; considering how fast the first two brothers had proven themselves to be very capable fighters just minutes ago.

"Personally, I feel we'd be much safer hunkering down in a hotel. It gives plenty of vantage points for keeping lookout, more than enough beds for everyone, most likely a boiler system so hot water for showers is still available, and they must have established a sturdy defense in order to keep 'Them' pushed back for this long." Kiriko explained as she laid out some immediate advantages the Lawson's personal sanctuary held in store for them.

"I don't know about this. The last two seem fine, but that muscular one...he really makes me uneasy. There's no telling what he could be capable of with that short temper of his." Rei said as she glanced over at Frasier, only to look back at the others with hesitation. Given how previous incidents and encounters with bigger survivors went bad very quickly, it seemed to make Rei very hesitant to start trusting them now.

"Don't worry, sweetheart. I promise I'll never let anyone hurt you so long as I still breathe. I'll make it very clear to them who they're dealing with if that would help." Kiriko suddenly offered as she spoke in a calm yet protective tone; wanting to ensure her daughter's safety at any cost.

"I…thanks, Mom." Rei said in a flustered tone; blushing out of embarrassment that her mom just called her "sweetheart" in front of everyone else. Nevertheless, she greatly appreciated everything her mother did for her and was still overjoyed to be reunited with her after worrying about her for several days.

"I don't like his size either, but he did just save us, so I think we should give him the benefit of the doubt. Besides, having strong allies would be really helpful. Did you not see how he handled Shimada-san back there? Besides, believe it or not, I briefly knew the youngest one before the outbreaks. Noah's very kind and really intuitive when given the right tools. I know we can trust him if nobody else. It would be insane for us not to go with them." Khota suddenly spoke up in their defense as he recollected the memory he had of him and Noah meeting that fateful day and almost instantly getting along like a house on fire; certain that despite the rise of the apocalypse, Noah would still be unaffected and as warm-spirited as ever.

"If I may, I think it would be best for us to go with them too. At the rate we're going, it seems like we'll be out of everything before we can reach the elementary school. I also happen to know what to expect from Marcus-kun, seeing how often he'd visit me in the infirmary his first month. He's really sweet, and he's a good boy at heart. I really feel we can trust him." Shizuka confessed as she then began to recall how Marcus was almost always coming into her office during his first month back at Fujimi Academy.

He'd be coming in for all kinds of reasons, whether it was a cut, a scrape, a sprain, a bruise, or even something as simple as needing headache medication. But no matter what it was, Marcus was always so nice to her, as well as quite charming, and Shizuka genuinely enjoyed spending time with him whenever he'd come in. The faint memories couldn't help but bring a warm, nostalgic smile to Shizuka's lips as she glanced over her shoulder towards him as he looked to be talking with his brothers as well.

"They might be strangers to most of you, but I've known Marcus-kun and Frasier-kun long enough to know we can trust them without a doubt. Marcus-kun can be a bit childish at times,but when needed, I've seen he can be quite determined and willing to step up. Frasier-kun on the other hand is without a doubt someone you'd want on your side...if you can convince him, that is. They're descendants of a strong and proud military family originating from the U.K., so if anyone can survive this,it would be them." Saeko vouched as the others all seemed to slowly agree that despite the risks, it would be best that they trust the Lawson brothers for now and accept the alliance between their groups.

"How do you know so much about him, Saeko?" Takashi suddenly asked with a rather suspicious look in his eyes as he then looked back to see the three brothers were having a discussion of their own; hoping to God she was right about them being trustworthy.

"Frasier-kun has been training under my guidance for a while now in the art of the sword. While his form is nowhere near as refined as my own, he is a quick learner and his raw physical strength makes him quite the adversary. Komuro-kun...I wouldn't suggest trusting them if I considered them to be even the slightest bit of a threat to this group. Trust me." Saeko answered sincerely as she voiced her concerns to him, feeling certain that going back with them to the hotel was their best option.

Takashi looked deep into her eyes; knowing that she truly was speaking from the heart. Without Saeko or her training in the art of the sword, he would've most likely perished a long time ago. Her instincts had proven to always be right thus far, and to ignore them could prove to be a fatal mistake he just couldn't risk. All he could do now was bow his head to try and think of the final call to make, contemplating the choice that would affect everyone who looked up to him as their leader.

As Takashi remained in thought, Noah suddenly came walking up to the rest of the group by himself, momentarily catching them by surprise that he'd show up by himself after talking with his brothers.

"Excuse me, I'm really sorry to interrupt, but there's been something on my mind for the last few minutes I just need to get out in the open. Ma'am, by any chance are you a police officer?" Noah nervously asked as he glanced over at Kiriko, who now turned her gaze upon the young boy.

"Formerly. What's it to you, young man? Is that a problem?" Kiriko replied with a hint of curiosity as she raised an eyebrow at his rather outspoken reaction to her outfit of all things.

"No! It's not a problem at all! I just wasn't sure if there were any police still left around the city. You see, a few days ago, Frasier and I ran into this large contingent of police officers back at the Eastern Police station. We even ended up helping them fight off this large horde of 'Them' that had crossed the Onbetsu Bridge." Noah began to explain; completely unaware of the spark of hope he'd just ignited within Kiriko and Rei's hearts.

"Are you serious?! How many were there? Who were they? I swear if you're lying...!" Rei suddenly asked in a somewhat hysterical tone while her hands grasped Noah's shoulders. A clear sense of desperation filled her words before Kiriko lightly pulled her back so Noah could breathe.

"Well, most of them were just recruits or cadets fresh out of the academy. But I remember they were all being led by this detective who somehow managed to keep the chaos at bay long enough to organize them all for that fight." Noah began to explain as both women just stared into his blue eyes; watching intently as he tried to piece together the events from memory.

"Did you happen to catch that detective's name? Please...this is really important to me." Rei finally asked in a much softer and approachable yet emotionally tired tone. There was so much emotion visible in her eyes, it couldn't help but give Noah goosebumps. Her weary body language appeared to give off signs of desperation as she looked ready to break down from the anticipation of Noah's answer.

"His…his name was Tadashi Miyamoto. And when it was all over, he told us he was setting up in some local elementary school. That's the last I saw of him." Noah gently said slowly and calmly as he watched an instantaneous spark of hope and joy immediately take over Rei as she suddenly hugged him like a child would when presented with a new teddy bear. She then quickly rushed to her mother who just stood there in completely relieved awe to hear that her husband was still alive, even if this report was just a few days old.

"Mom! Did you hear all of that?! Dad's still alive! We have togo to the elementary school as soon as possible!" Rei began to exclaim eagerly, beyond relieved for the moment yet still knowing they needed to act upon it right now. Kiriko however seemed hesitant to agree.

"Rei, this is fantastic news, but we can hardly go on much longer at this rate. We have no ammo, little food left over from what I had scavenged, and the rain is just going to make our journey even more perilous. As much as it pains me to say this,we should go with these boys until we can recuperate and collect ourselves. Please, I hope you can understand my reason for saying this." Kiriko suddenly expressed as she felt cold inside to see Rei's hopeful expression slowly turn to that of disappointment.

"I...yeah, I understand. Dad is pretty tough after all, so if anyone can hold out for a little longer, it's him. You always know what's best, Mom." Rei said reluctantly as she then turned away to await Takashi's final word. He just looked at the still hopeful look in her eyes; knowing they had to find him for Rei's sake. The young man just let out a hesitant sigh before realizing he had to make a choice now.

"My friends seem to be willing and able to follow you three for now. I don't suppose you have anything else to spare us?" Takashi finally answered as he turned to face Frasier who then approached and stood just a few centimeters over him.

"Five. There's two more back at the hotel that I'm sure will be thrilled to have more people joining us. I can spare you just a bit of ammo for now. When we return, you'll have more than you could possibly need." Frasier answered peaceably as he then handed Saya, Kiriko, and Takashi several more rounds and clips for their weapons. His eyes quickly looked at the rest of the group and immediately noticed something was out of place here.

"Wait. Is this guy with you as well?" Frasier suddenly asked when his gaze focused upon the long-haired convict standing in the back; his eyes never looking away now that he noticed what type of jumpsuit the man was wearing which; causing him to stare intensely, as if trying to telepathically proclaim his distrust for the former inmate.

"No. He most certainly isn't." Kiriko answered very firmly as the others looked over at the man who just stood there as if expecting something to happen now. Sweat was slowly pouring down his face as Frasier then smirked for a moment, accompanied by a twisted intensity in his stare.

"Good." Frasier said in a much lower mutter before, in a single swift motion, he placed Mark's handgun under the man's jawline and pulled the trigger. The man didn't make a sound as he fell over backwards; rolling freely down the slope into the drainage pit filled with 'Them'. Frasier simply stared at the ensuing feeding frenzy before he proceeded to walk away with absolutely zero remorse in his eyes.

Everyone else had flinched out of reaction, feeling an intense, cold, uneasy tremor running down their backs at what they had just witnessed; to see such a cold and brutal execution decided within just mere seconds. Regardless of whether the man had started out as their enemy or not, to see the person they were about to follow straight up murder someone without any hesitation left them all with a twisting feeling in their they could hope for now was that Frasier had a limit as to who he would suddenly attack without any warning or mercy. As they followed him out of the construction site, both groups quickly formed into two parallel lines as they began to carefully trek back to the hotel.

At the rear flank were Khota and Noah; keeping an eye out for anyone or anything potentially following them. Luckily, 'They'were nowhere to be seen, and so far it was safe to assume the convicts from earlier were nothing more than just a small detachment.

"I still can't believe you made it, Khota. If you don't mind me asking, how did you ever escape?" Noah asked Khota curiously as they looked like two war buddies reunited and swapping horror stories together.

"Well, believe it or not, I managed to attach a custom sight onto a gas powered nail gun in the woodshop classroom using some tape, a chipped eraser, and a ruler. It was a close call, but just as I put that bad boy together, I managed to kill several of 'Them' rushing Takagi-san and I. All it took was one shot and BLAM! Worked like a charm." Khota said proudly and enthusiastically before realizing he was now starting to miss that crazy contraption.

"A simple nail gun converted into a gun that fires nails. That's bloody brilliant." Noah chuckled softly as he was genuinely impressed by the quick thinking and sheer innovation on Khota's part to weaponize such a thing. If Noah were to be honest with himself, it was already giving him some ideas as to what else he and Khota could create putting their minds together.

"Well, all it took was the right motivation and nearly being eaten alive to help me focus." Khota said modestly as he quickly glanced over to Saya before looking away to make sure Noah didn't catch on or notice how his cheeks barely turned pink when looking at her.

"Those are two very good reasons indeed." Noah responded as he looked up at the nearby rows of buildings overlooking them on both their sides just to make sure nothing stuck out when the rest of the group passed them by.

"What about you, Noah? I'm dying to know what you guys had to do when it all went down." Khota asked eagerly, clearly excited that he could finally have someone to really talk to about weapons, ideas and tactics again; earning a mutual grin from the young Brit.

"We escaped by building a potato cannon, hollowing out the spuds and filling them with a combination of steel wool and some household chemicals to make our own little firebombs. The results were quite good, if not a little crispy." Noah answered proudly as Khota had the most astonished and mesmerized look in his eyes as he tried to piece that imagery together; almost wishing now that he could've been there to see it in action.

"Oh man, that's so cool, I can't even think of a word to describe it." Khota muttered in awe as he was now strongly tempted to make one if they could find the parts or the time.

Just a few steps away, Kiriko and Rei walked side by side, keeping an eye out for anything on the sidelines such as suspicious looking vantage points or alleyways. Every little movement they'd catch kept them on edge and in constant expectation for anything to pop out. Luckily, in spite of that constant feeling of worry, Noah's revelation had greatly bolstered their motivation; driving their every step like never before.

However, every few seconds, Rei couldn't help but cast a worrisome glance to Frasier's back, still greatly disturbed from what he'd done so easily. It couldn't help but keep her feeling quite wary of him, and a little wary of his brothers as well. As much as she wanted to trust Noah, she still knew that this new world was capable of changing even the best-intentioned people in horrible ways she didn't even want to think about.

"Mom, I've been thinking, and I want to know what you you think that boy Noah was really telling the truth? Do you really think he saw dad?" Rei whispered to her mother; hoping that she was just being paranoid and that the young Brit was indeed speaking the truth.

"You want the truth? Yes, Rei. I really do think so. I've interrogated enough scumbags to know when a man is lying, and I can tell you now, there wasn't one thing in that boy's tone, or his eyes or his body language that raised any of my red me, he was telling the truth. Besides...how else could he have been able to describe your father so well? It couldn't have just been a coincidence." Kiriko said reassuringly; helping to calm Rei's nerves as she let out a grateful sigh, already feeling a little lighter emotionally. Her mother then looked over her shoulder to see Noah and Khota chuckling together, causing her to smile warmly; infinitely grateful that he'd seen her Tadashi alive and well.

As she turned back to keep looking ahead, she immediately noticed Rei was glancing over to Takashi and Saeko, only to look away and bow her head slightly, a faint yet unmistakable look of sadness evident in her eyes.

"So, you and Takashi-chan are no longer...you know?" Kiriko asked curiously; pretty much putting the pieces together herself when she saw the painful expression her daughter had.

"Yeah. We actually broke up a while ago. I didn't know how to tell you or dad about it, so I just never mentioned it. Hisashi and I started dating shortly after because he seemed to actually listen to what I had to say, and he always seemed to have his priorities straightened out. The very first day this all happened; it was just the three of us trying to escape from school. The whole place had been infested almost instantly. Hisashi…Hisashi died that afternoon protecting me…a-and Takashi had to put him down once he…came back. It wasn't too long after that when we ran into the others and…well, that's how it's been up to this point, really.

"Over the last few days, Takashi's changed so much. He really stepped up to the challenge of leadership, and even when all seemed lost, he kept fighting on despite the danger he was putting himself in for us. I honestly couldn't help but feel myself falling for him all over again." Rei explained softly as she recalled all the events the two had undergone the past week; her mother remaining completely silent as she listened to every last detail.

"And that other girl has developed feelings for him too, I take it?" Kiriko guessed after recalling the obvious display of affection the two had shown minutes ago.

"Yeah...part of me despises her for it, but another part of me completely understands. In the end, I can't really blame her for feeling the way she does for him. This is a time for us to be looking out for one another, and it's not right for me to feel like Takashi belongs to me alone. Besides…it's clear now that he's already made his choice. It still hurts a part of me inside, but I have to remember that it was my call to break up with him to begin with, and I just have to learn to live with the consequences." Rei explained as she spoke in a low, clearly sad tone as she now had her eyes focused on her feet as she continued walking.

"Well, I won't lie, it kind of hurts that you didn't talk to me about your relationship more in the past, but I can still understand your hesitation. It's very natural. You've really been through a lot recently, Rei. I'm sorry we haven't been there for you as often as we should have. But no matter what happens, in spite of however you may feel in a moment, just remember to always keep your head up and remain optimistic. I know it's hard to believe these days, but I really do think things will get better in time." Kiriko said sympathetically as she gently patted Rei's shoulder in support; feeling immensely pleased to see Rei crack half of a smile; clearly taking all her words to heart before they continued to keep their respective watch in silence.

Slightly off to the sides of the center of the column was Saya and Marcus, and in between them were Shizuka and Alice. The two were constantly forced into the center for protection as Shizuka was the only one among them with the invaluable extensive medical know-how to help with all kinds of injuries, and Alice was pretty much the emotional beacon that kept everyone's spirits high with her almost constant and infectious optimism. Everyone in the group was already more than willing to risk their lives if it meant keeping her safe, but with no one was it more evident than with Saya. Even though she'd never verbally admit it; Alice was one of the most precious people in the world to her, and after the earlier events of today, she would already sooner die than ever risk losing sight of Alice again.

"Just let me have a look, Marcus-kun." Shizuka continued stubbornly requesting as she kept reaching her hands out to start feeling Marcus down for anything resembling a wound, in spite of him constantly trying to keep his distance from her, for once not in the mood for being manhandled by the voluptuous former nurse.

"Shizuka-sensei, I'm fine, honest! Although we do have an injured friend back at the hotel that could definitely use your help once we get there." Marcus explained as he continued to insist that there was nothing wrong with him; hoping that her extensive medical knowledge would allow them to finally give Johann the proper treatment he so clearly needed for the last several days. Up to this point they'd managed to keep his wound clean and constantly change the bandages, but they always knew it required some more substantial treatment they themselves weren't capable of providing. Hopefully, now that Shizuka was with them, that concern could finally be put to rest.

"Of course! I have to help out in any way I can." Shizuka replied in clear determination as she seemed quite excited to finally be of some real use to the group; having always hated that feeling of not pulling her own weight around after all everyone else had done to keep her safe from all the heavy fighting.

"I must say, it's really good to see you again, Shizuka-sensei. I hope you've been doing alright all this time. I'm so relieved you didn't end up as one of 'Them'." Marcus suddenly said in asofter, much shyer inflection as he looked down at his feet as though expecting his words to go right over her head.

"Well, it was a bit close at first, but luckily everyone has done an excellent job of keeping me protected. And how sweet of you to say that! I'm really glad you haven't turned either, Marcus-kun. It would be such a terrible loss otherwise." Shizuka replied in a joyful tone before draping her slender arms over Marcus' shoulders from behind; lightly squeezing him in her arms; her massive chest practically squishing against the back of his neckand his head; not that it was necessarily an issue for Marcus, as his heart started racing and his whole face turned a deep red as he could fully feel just how warm and soft her all-too bountiful bosom was.

Saya meanwhile was just rolling her eyes at the sight before turning Alice's head to look forward when she noticed the young girl was giggling at the two of them. She kept thinking of how relieved she felt now that Alice was back where she belonged. A strong sense of being Alice's protector had long been established ever since Takashi's group had rescued Alice; and ever since then, Saya was always looking out for her like her own personal guardian angel.

"I'm sorry I ran away, Saya." Alice suddenly apologized while trying to keep from making eye-contact with her significantly taller protector.

"Don't start apologizing for something you didn't do wrong. The more I go over what happened in my head, the more I realize it was for the better that you were away from the fighting. It was stupid of me to even think for a second that you should've stuck with us through that whole mess, Alice. This was even closer than when we crashed against that barricade a few days ago." Saya admitted in a soft sigh; somewhat biting her tongue to admit she overreacted earlier, even though she still personally felt justified feeling the way she did earlier when having absolutely no clue as to where Alice could've gone.

"If it makes you feel better, I really missed you, Saya." Alice said sweetly as she looked up with an adorable smile that practically forced Saya to smile in response at such innocence and affection; a single tear threatening to start welling in one of her eyes.

"Don't try to butter me up. It won't work, you little munchkin." Saya grumbled playfully as she looked away to hide her smile and rustled Alice's hair; causing her to giggle and try to push Saya's hand away, all the while Zeke was slowly wagging his tail happily, as if he could just somehow sense their positive mood.

Taking position further up front but still behind Frasier were Takashi and Saeko. Their hands were tightly held close together, fingers interlaced and all, as they would occasionally catch the other looking at them. Luckily, the two were still as alert and active as ever and were more than ready to fight again were the need to arise.

"I can't believe today still isn't over." Takashi grumbled under his breath as Saeko's eyes soon shifted upon him to respond, although it was clear he'd mainly been talking to himself.

"It has been an exhausting day, but if this hotel they've claimed is as good as they say it is, we might actually be able to get some decent rest tonight." Saeko optimistically sighed as she felt a sore sensation tingling in the back of her legs, her upper shoulders, and the bottoms of her feet.

"Yeah, hopefully. So, Saeko...you and that guy, Frasier-san…you and him were just friends, right?" Takashi replied as he could only imagine how comfortable the pillows would feel against the back of his head. He then looked over at Frasier at the very front; walking completely alone and remaining absolutely dead silent.

"That's right. He was always very clear on where we stood back then. So yes, we were only close friends..." Saeko responded as she recalled several occasions in their past before her voice started to trail off. Takashi then looked away, almost as if he seemed suspicious of something else now.

"Don't worry, Komuro-kun. You have nothing to worry about with him. I will always be here to keep you safe. It's an honor to be with you." Saeko then expressed to reassure his doubts before lightly squeezing his hand; feeling a pleasantly warm sensation inside of her stomach when he shot her a grateful, contented smile; both knowing that their bond could only grow stronger from this day on.

Meanwhile, Frasier continued his lonesome walk; keeping a moderate distance from the others as he desperately tried to ignore any emotion that was trying to surface within. His eyes continuously scanned the entire area in front of him as he continued acting as the group's scout which was no doubt best considering his dormant anger left him in no mood for idle chit-chat.

His entire body felt weary as his could just tell his spirit was entirely broken. Mentally he was churning up a storm; trying to forget that he ever had close personal feelings in regard to Saeko. It did still bring some joy to his heart that she had survived this entire time to some extent, no matter how indescribably terrible it felt that he could no longer be able to confess his deepest affection and admiration for her. Several tears began to form again, that horrid stinging sensation that stung his eyes and would blur his vision before he wiped it all aside; knowing that he couldn't even let his own heartbreak get in the way of their progress.

(One long hour later)

As the two groups of survivors traversed the eerily abandoned streets of northern Tokonosu, the rainstorm had somehow managed to intensify even more than it already had. Heavy rain would pour down on them relentlessly; the winds' constant howling would mask other potential sounds from the undead and would sometimes deceive the group at times when passing through any empty buildings with open doors or windows. The only solace that could be had from the otherwise abysmal weather conditions was that the few remaining fires from car wrecks and damage caused by other panicking survivors had been officially snuffed out at long last.

The group could now finally see the hotel up ahead, and it was just as promising as they'd all been hoping it would be, almost like a shining beacon of refuge after seven long days of constant struggle. Their hearts raced as they all began to break out into a fast-paced jog. At the roof was Hitomi with the binoculars, who immediately began to bolt downstairs the moment she realized that she could see over eleven lively figures heading right for them, three of them being the Lawson brothers. She had been worried sick about them after their run shouldn't have lasted more than an hour, and to see them all alive and well again bolstered her descent with boundless relief.

"Johann, look alive! We've got company!" Hitomi shouted to the young German happily as she passed him by in the lobby. He had a stack of playing cards set out on a table in the form of a house, although it of course came crashing down the instant Hitomi dashed through with him now hot on her tail.

They both quickly rushed to clear the removable portion of the barricade and hold the doors open just moments before everyone practically poured into the hotel lobby; each one breathing heavily as they all looked as if they had finally found paradise after a lifetime in a wasteland. Johann quickly locked the doors and slid the barricade back over it as Hitomi rushed over to figure out from the Lawson's who they'd just brought in.

"I take it you found more than just food out there." Hitomi said with a bright smile and a rather strong sense of joy to see they were not the last survivors in the entire city.

"Oh no, they're part of tonight's dinner." Marcus chuckled lightly as Takashi's group collectively turned their heads toward him with clearly unamused looks, given how thin the trust between the two groups already was. Marcus awkwardly felt his laughter die down before rubbing the back of his head awkwardly.

"Heh, just kidding." Marcus nervously announced before both his brothers lightly punched him in the arms from both sides.

Takashi and the others couldn't help but look in amazement around the lobby of their new found sanctuary. It almost felt like stepping into a whole other world after having to scour around the city for days. No words could express how safe and calming it felt for them to be inside an actual secure shelter again. While the lobby was only partially illuminated by candlelight and the few rays of daylight that shone through slots in the barricade, it still gave off a very welcoming atmosphere that seemed to sap away all feelings of apprehension and tension they had all felt on the way here.

"I'd like to welcome you all to our humble home. My name is Officer Hitomi Mori. I'm sorry; I would've made something for you all to eat had I known my friends would be bringing you all back with them." Hitomi announced politely as she introduced herself to Takashi's group before she turned to the Lawson's, her eyes dead centered on Marcus in particular. Despite the embarrassment of being unprepared to feed them on arrival, she was still greatly pleased nonetheless that these people had all survived.

"Well, it shouldn't take long to cook what we've brought back. Get me a few pots and some warm water, and we'll be able to eat within the hour." Marcus said confidently as he took the portion of camping meals out from his backpack. Takashi and his group couldn't but all glance at each other in mutual agreement of how hungry they were once the subject of food was brought up, which of course brought smiles to all their faces once Marcus offered to cook for them.

Marcus and Hitomi walked off together to the kitchen while everyone else almost simultaneously collapsed into the large cushy chairs and couches; letting out heavy groans of relaxation and relief, some nearly on the verge of falling asleep almost instantly while still waiting for orders from their respective leaders.

"You've all been through a lot today, so you can take a moment to rest. Your leader and I need to discuss a few things." Frasier suddenly announced as he then motioned Takashi to follow him into the stairwell. Now, the lobby was completely silent as everyone else was at a momentary loss of what to say to their new respective companions.

"Excuse me, Miss Shizuka-sensei? Do you think perhaps you could help our friend, Johann? I'm certain he'd like a proper look at his injuries." Noah suddenly asked in order to break the silence; instantly catching both Johann and Shizuka's attention. Once Johann noticed the large medical bag Shizuka was carrying, he immediately understood what was about to happen, and while still nervous, he couldn't help but feel relieved that he was finally going to be treated by a real professional.

"Miyamoto-san, would you care to assist me? I might need an extra pair of hands." Shizuka suddenly brought up as she motioned for Rei to come join her. The young woman was immediately on her feet and at Shizuka's side, already eager to do whatever she could to help her new companions.

The three sat down at one of the tables with Johann's arm laid out along the cool, wooden surface with his sleeve slightly rolled up. Shizuka carefully began to unwrap the old bandages around his hand, only to barely restrain a shocked gasp to see just how extensive the damage really was. The two fleshy stubs would occasionally twitch in reaction to the air as the tiny bits of yellowish-red bone could be seen protruding out from where his two missing fingers should've been connected. Luckily she was prepared to some degree and began to immediately inspect and ensure that there were no signs of infection.

"Oh my God...what happened to you?! Was this because of 'Them'?" Rei suddenly asked; horrified when she noticed just how severe the wound was, somewhat hesitant to approach if he was potentially infected.

"No…I wouldn't be here if one of 'Them' did this. These…these were thanks to some bastard punks who jumped me and thought they could do whatever they wanted." Johann answered with a pained groan as he could begin to feel the painkillers from earlier that day starting to wear off.

"I'm so sorry. I can only imagine how hard it must have been trying to cope with this. I hope they got what they deserved." Rei expressed sadly as she tried her best not to stare at the open holes around the exposed bone stems.

Johann didn't answer her, though she could tell from the silent intensity deep in his green eyes that that was exactly what happened to the people responsible for this. Rei couldn't help but feel a stronger feeling of sympathy towards this young man as he seemed to be greatly troubled by a good many things she was sure she couldn't begin to guess.

"I'm sorry, I haven't even introduced myself. I'm Rei Miyamoto. What's your name?" Rei suddenly asked in slight embarrassment as Johann turned to look at those beautiful reddish-brown eyes of hers. To him, she somehow seemed to just exude a calming, kindhearted aura that somehow managed to make him forget the pain of his hand.

"I'm Johann...Kessler. Forgive me, I'd say it's a pleasure to meet you, but I'm kind of in a lot of pain right now. I am really glad to have more survivors staying with us though, if that counts for anything." Johann said apologetically before stopping himself when he glanced at the sharp needle Shizuka now had in hand; running a small thread through the eye of the sharp prick. His heart started to beat faster, his eyes widened ever so slightly and his teeth now visibly clenched down together out of nervous anticipation.

He was then suddenly forcing himself to try and ignore the painfully sharp pricks from the needle being sewn into his flesh to help seal off the exposed gaps. Rei quickly reached out to hold his arm in place to help Shizuka steady her needlework. Johann's face could only express horrible pain from his tender wound being continuously tampered with. At first he let out groans of pain with every move, but he quickly fell silent when Rei began to gently rub one of her hands along his arm and make a soft, gentle hushing noise; like a mother calming a crying child.

"Alright, that's one down. I'll give you a moment to recover while I change my thread. Just hang in there and it'll be over before you know it." Shizuka announced after a brief sigh of relief; indicating that the first of the two stubs was sewn up just tight enough to help the flesh heal over itself over time.

"How bad does it look?" Johann suddenly asked as Rei was somewhat hesitant to tell him how what was once his ring finger was a bloody stub now barely stitched up with thread and with thin lines of blood flowing down the side.

"It's pretty rough to be honest, but Shizuka-sensei is a professional, so luckily it will heal nicely over time." Rei admitted as she looked up at Shizuka as if to confirm the overall good news, to which the nurse thankfully nodded, bringing the young woman to smile in silent gratitude.

"So, Johann-san…do you mind if I ask you about yourself? I figure seeing how we're going to be living together, its best we can better understand and learn to trust each other. I-I'm sorry, is that weird of me to be asking? I realize this isn't exactly the best time to start bringing that up." Rei asked curiously before realizing how inappropriate it was for her to start asking questions about the young man at a time like this; looking away in embarrassment.

Fortunately, Johann found her friendliness and sense of curiosity to be very refreshing after several days of agonizing pain and constant worry. But as he began to think of anything to answer her with, he began to bow his head down with a worried expression forming across his face, deep in thought now as he couldn't help but start thinking of Toshimi. Johann quickly snapped back to reality when he glanced up to see Rei's look of genuine confusion as to why he looked so down all of a sudden.

"No, it's not a problem at all, Miyamoto-san. I understand where you're coming from, and honestly, I agree. Our groups should get to know each other. I'm sure with time your friends could really get along with our group…or at least what's left of it." Johann replied with a warm feeling in his gut when he saw Rei begin to smile warmly at his kind words.

"'Left of it'? You mean there were more of you?" Rei asked concernedly, disappointed in herself for not even considering the inevitable fact that they must have lost someone since this all started. When she saw the reflective look in Johann's eyes, she instinctively knew what he was about to say was not going to be pleasant.

"Yeah, we had to watch a close friend of mine turn into one of those things firsthand back at the school. When we got out, we headed into the city to get my aunt and uncle…but when we got there…I-I found them in their room…c-completely torn apart by those things. Not long after that, Frasier, Marcus and Noah'suncle sacrificed himself to save Frasier from getting bitten. Then to top it all off, my girlfriend got separated from us when another horde attacked the convoy we were going to escape obviously made it out, but I've been worried sick about her ever since. We've been having to hole up here and make certain it's safe, and all the while I can't stop thinking about wherever she might be and if she's alright." Johann reluctantly confessed with tears beginning to well up in his eyes as Rei kindly just sat there and listened to every word with a look of pure sympathy glistening in her reddish-brown eyes.

"I'm so sorry to hear all of that. Hopefully you guys can find her. Perhaps my group and I can help you search for her." Rei politely expressed as she spoke with absolute sympathy in her voice. Such heartfelt kindness caused Johann to immediately smile at her offer. Somehow, he could just feel inside that she was being serious in her offer to help him.

"That's very kind of you to offer. We could certainly cover more ground that way. Thank you, Miyamoto-san. I hope you don't mind me saying so, but I'm really glad we have someone with a caring soul like you with us now." Johann said gratefully before noticing Rei's cheeks turn slightly red as Shizuka couldn't help but smile at the touching moment.

"I'm glad to see you two are getting along just fine, but I have to interject now and seal up the second one. Are you ready?" Shizuka commented as she then held up her needle; trying to give Johann a heads up before making sure he was ready to continue. He gave her a reluctant nod and clenched the table in anticipation for round two as Rei once again held onto his arm gently.

Meanwhile, Frasier was walking down the third floor hallway; showing Takashi the personal living quarters that his group would be able to use for their time here. From the start it was clear to him that there was more than enough space, to the point everyone could have their own room if they so desired. But regardless, it was quickly decided and agreed upon that everyone would have at least one roommate just in case something happened such as a break in.

"Well, with this all covered, all that's left to really show you is the armory at the end of the hall and the roof where we keep at least one person on watch for any signs of trouble at all times."Frasier explained casually as if he were legitimately giving a simple tour to any random group of tourists, all while Takashi couldn't help but take everything in with a sense of amazement.

"Damn, you guys really are military. This setup is so well thought out, I can't possibly think of a guy desperate enough to try and break into this place." Takashi admitted almost breathlessly. Honestly, after the Takagi estate, he wasn't sure if he'd ever find himself situated in a place anywhere as welcoming as this hotel.

"Hopefully that day should never come, but if it does we'll beready. Tell me, Komuro-san...just how many have you killed?" Frasier said confidently before suddenly stopping in his tracks and asking in a much lower tone, a question that caused Takashi to freeze and mentally double back to make sure he'd heard Frasier's question right.

"Umm...wow, I never really kept count, but I'd say somewhere around thirty of 'Them'? Maybe more?" Takashi responded as he shrugged his shoulders, confused as to why such a question would matter to him.

"I wasn't talking about 'Them' though." Frasier replied as he was still very curious to hear what the actual answer would be. He slowly looked back to Takashi over his shoulder, his eyes almost locked on him as they finally continued to walk.

"Oh...that…t-that's quite different. Just one, so far. It was entirely out of self-defense if that makes it any better." Takashi answered very hesitantly, feeling a chill go up his spine as he was suddenly overwhelmed with the dreadful memories of that terrible night at the gas station.

"Interesting. And just how did that make you feel?" Frasier asked as they both found themselves walking back down the stairwell to the lower flowers; their voices almost echoing off the walls if one were to listen for it.

"You have to understand, it was all in the heat of the moment. This bastard had grabbed Rei, and I tried to talk him out of it. No matter what I said though, he just kept waving this switchblade around. Once I spotted an opening, I dashed forward and pulled the trigger. It was like I was being fueled entirely by adrenaline and...something else." Takashi answered with slight hesitation at the end as he tried to fully recall all the emotions that had been raging inside him when it all happened. Frasier's curiosity only intensified now as he motioned for Takashi to continue.

"I felt like I was just watching myself from the sidelines; like this burning pit of anger and fear deep down inside had taken over my body. It was so strong; it made me feel like I didn't even care about dying so long as I took him with me." Takashi continued as his words became heavier and he was soon trembling with dread at the thought of ever having to go through that feeling again.

"Hmm, and here I thought you were just another spineless weakling who was playing 'hero'. I'll admit, I'm actually quite impressed with that, and especially by how you've managed to keep your group together all this time. They seem to actually respect and listen to you." Frasier retorted in a genuinely impressed tone before going on to praise the fact that this young stranger had already begun to exceed his expectations.

"Thanks...I think. Wait, doesn't your group listen to and respect you?" Takashi said confusedly. Obviously Frasier wouldn't have brought up something as specific as respect for no reason, and now Takashi felt a little more than curious to find out why.

"Listen? Yes. Respect? Not unless you replace respect with fear. They just don't understand why I must be so hard and constantly on their backs. All it takes is one mistake to get us all killed out here. I refuse to let them drop their guard, even if it means I must hold it up for them." Frasier answered as Takashi soon found himself nodding; finally understanding why he was so hesitant to bring them along.

"I can see why, given how bad things have gotten. It's only been a whole week, and the world is pretty much run by 'Them' now. I just have to hope we can be evacuated soon." Takashi said in an understanding tone as he could only hope that the evacuation notice they'd found at the police station two days ago was still happening, instead of being just another failed attempt by the government to save the few survivors left.

"And what if there ends up being no evacuation? What if theSDF can't protect you? What if you have to keep relying on yourself and the others to survive? What will you do then?" Frasier questioned as Takashi had to pause for a moment to realize he was relying entirely on this evacuation to work out without a hitch. To know he had no kind of backup plan left an overwhelming feeling of worry in his gut.

"I…I-I really don't know. Unless you don't want us around for whatever reason, perhaps our groups could stay merged just a little longer then. You know, to watch each other's backs." Takashi suggested as he could only hope that Frasier would be open to even entertain such a thought.

"Depends how the next day or so goes by. Komuro-san, I hope you realize that if the army isn't able to fix this mess and it's allowed to just keep developing as it has been, things are only going to get a hell of a lot worse before they get any better. Times will come where you'll have to make some terrible choices you would otherwise hope never to make. And when that time comes, you need to be able to look yourself in the mirror and ask yourself: just how far are you ready to go in order to protect your group? Will you really do anything for them, or are you only in this to use them to keep you alive?" Frasier slowly asked; his eyes piercing straight through Takashi as he proceeded to lay all the metaphorical cards on the table for him. Takashi could feel his mouth go completely dry as he realized the horrible truth behind Frasier's words. Frasier had clearly already come to terms with what he was saying, and now it was HIS turn. If he was going to have any hope of keeping his friends alive, he was going to have to be ready to cross some serious lines to do it.

The more Takashi thought back to every challenge they'd faced up to this point, the more he realized he couldn't deny that Saeko, Rei, and Khota's specialties were what really have been keeping the group alive and well compared to his own personal abilities; realizing again that he truly needed them even more than he'd initially thought. A low sigh of uncertainty and yet also of heavy realization and acceptance escaped his lungs before he looked up to Frasier.

"I might not be as good at fighting as Saeko, Rei, and Khota-san, and I might not be as smart as Takagi-san and Marikawa-sensei. What I do have, however, is an undying loyalty and drive to not only lead them through all of this, but also to die for them if I must." Takashi finally admitted; the strength and confidence in his straight posture clearly showing he'd accepted the full weight of his role as their leader and what it would require of him from now on.

"Good. I can understand now why they follow you…why she sees you like that." Frasier responded calmly and even somewhat proudly as he showed something of a smile, if such a thing were possible.

"You mean Saeko…don't you?" Takashi asked hesitantly as he now began to feel somewhat tense, uncertain what he could've meant by all this now that she was being mentioned out of the blue.

"I do. She was a very close friend to me before all of this. In fact, she was perhaps one of my only friends ever. So honestly, for her to be following you for your aptitude was questionable at first, but now it's as clear to me as a full moon." Frasier reluctantly admitted as he couldn't help but confess his reason to ask about Takashi's leadership so inquisitively.

"That's all though, right? Just friends?" Takashi asked as he wanted to be certain that Saeko didn't potentially embellish the truth about Frasier from their discussion earlier.

"That's right. Nothing more, nothing less. Why do you ask?" Frasier answered in a rather low grunt at first before pondering as to why Takashi would need information like that at all. It had already taken everything in him to finally bury the pain he'd felt at this point, so he was silently hoping Takashi would just drop the subject so they wouldn't have to talk about it and potentially bring those horrible emotions back.

"Just curious is all. So tell me, since you asked first...just how many have you killed if I may ask?" Takashi dismissively answered before quickly changing the subject as he couldn't help but want to compare their stats, almost as if measuring up to him.

"Seventy two of 'Them' and five, possibly six survivors. But who's keeping score at this point?" Frasier answered before speaking rhetorically at the end. Takashi looked somewhat surprised he could answer so calmly and with no hint of regret to be found in either his tone or his face. Yet despite that,something about him gave Takashi a sense of relief knowing that he understood what had to be done in order to survive. Even if it meant taking a darker path to protect those he loved.

(Roughly thirty minutes later)

With Johann properly patched up with a new set of bandages wrapped around his hand and dinner finally prepared, both groups sat at the makeshift dining table, consisting of several of the normal tables propped up against one another. Takashi and Frasier both returned to join the others; intending to explain the rules and show them where everything else was beyond the lobby and give them a better feel for their new home. Each survivor grabbed chairs of various shapes and sizes from around the lobby, most notably Marcus' choice to bring an entire armchair to the table which he proclaimed as his personal throne; scratching his initials into one of the arms just so there were no misunderstanding later on.

Several plates were set out in front of everyone as it turned out the bag Marcus and Hitomi had chosen contained numerous servings of chicken and rice. Hitomi had helped give the chicken some extra flavor by adding some left over butter and pinches of a handful of herbs. The room carried the strong heavenly scent, being nearly overwhelming to Takashi's desperately hungry group. Zeke immediately started wagging his tail; trying to beg for scraps as bits of drool spilled from his little snout; Alice occasionally giving him a small sliver of chicken when nobody was looking in her direction.

"I just wanted to say: thank you two for all of this. It feels so good to be able to eat a warm meal after so much fighting and running all this time." Kiriko said in immense gratitude as she smiled at both Hitomi and Marcus; the rest of Takashi's group nodding in response.

"Don't mention it. You know as well as I do that it's my job to help those in need." Hitomi responded humbly as she noticed the older style of police uniform being worn by the mature woman who was probably no older than thirty-nine.

"Well, either way, I'm infinitely grateful for you to allow us, complete strangers, into your home. It really means a lot to know not everyone out there is out to get you and take everything you have." Kiriko continued to express as she couldn't help but display her gratitude to the fullest.

"Don't mention it! Heck, we can't honestly deny how great it is to have new people to talk to; to know we aren't all that's left in the city." Noah replied as he was not really as shy to speak up as one would expect, given how friendly everyone had proven to be in the short time since they'd arrived.

"So, Marcus, since we've got so many new people staying with us, you got any more jokes to tell?" Johann suddenly asked eagerly as he was hoping to have a good laugh to get his mind off the soreness of his hand and the painful surgery. Unfortunately for him, there weren't too many painkillers left, but as far as he was concerned, this would make for a good alternative.

"Oh, why not?" Marcus said excitedly as he took a moment to think of one that would be a little more appropriate around Alice; knowing that he'd practically lose his head if he said any obscenities around her overbearing caretaker, Saya, who was already shooting him a sharp glare of warning.

"Okay, I got one. 'So a British General had sent some of his men off to fight for their country during the Falkland Island Crisis. Upon returning to England from the South American island, three soldiers that had distinguished themselves in battle were summoned to the General's office.'

''Since we weren't actually at war,' the General began, 'I can't give out any medals. We did, however, want to let each of you know your efforts are vastly appreciated. So what we've decided to do is to let each of you choose two points on your body. You will be given two pounds sterling for each inch of distance between those parts. We'll start on the left, boys, so what'll it be?''

''The tip of my head to my toes, sir!' the first soldier announces as he motions up and down.'

''Very good, son. That's 70 inches, which comes to 140 pounds' the General comments as he finishes measuring the soldier.'

''The tip of the finger on one outstretched hand to the tip of the other, sir!' the second soldier requests as he holds his arms and hands outstretched horizontally.'

''Even better, son. That's 72 inches, which comes to 144 pounds' the General announces as he nods in approval at the clever choice.'

''The palm of my right hand to the tip of my left pinky, sir!' the last soldier requests, which instantly earns some raised eyebrows from the others.'

''That's a strange but fair request, son!' the General responds as he knows it isn't the most conventional of choices, but certainly an honorable one nonetheless.'

''Wait! Son, where is your left pinky?' the General suddenly questions, astonished to see it was completely missing from the soldier's left hand.'

''The Falklands, sir!' the third soldier replies.'"

Marcus then sat back; resting the back of his head in his hands as it took just a second later for the entire group, even Frasier this time around, to burst into laughter. A proud smile of satisfaction spread across his lips when he could see that his brothers especially found that humorous; a feat on Frasier's part he never imagined he'd ever accomplish. He then looked over to see Hitomi was red in the cheeks from so much laughter, which especially bolstered his confidence as he felt warm inside for making her so happy. Eventually everyone calmed down and were able to start eating again without the risk of choking in the process. Nevertheless, it was clear they were all immensely grateful for the laugh.

"So Frasier-san, tell me, what you think of this whole situation?Do you really think we stand a chance as a species against 'Them'?" Rei suddenly asked as Frasier was initially taken off guard as to why he had to answer such a question before realizing his military background probably prompted such curiosity. He just leaned back and took a moment to process his answer in a way that she'd be able to understand.

"The militaries of the world, especially those of the U.K. and the United States, should be able to handle this better than most, but even the mightiest of armies have their flaws and weaknesses, especially against an enemy like 'Them'. From the start, we're taught to aim for the center mass, the torso area in which most of our vital organs are kept, so that our target is the easiest to hit and will go down relatively fast.

"'They' however do not require such parts, rendering our most basic shooting teachings entirely useless. Head shots are the only known way to put 'Them' down, and they are considerably harder to hit on a wobbly target. However, we still have the advantage of the air and sea. I can only hope they can organize a proper countermeasure before even those aren't going to be enough. The more people are turned, the harder this struggle will become." Frasier answered honestly as he could only imagine what his countrymen were doing to keep 'Them' from entering their home. He then looked up to see his words had only caused the others to realize just why the military and police were unable to hold 'Them' back. Their expressions were clearly mixed as they could all only silently hope the military could adapt to this enemy soon.

"Any other questions?" Frasier then brought up as if he were at a Q somewhat enjoying that he finally had something to talk about that didn't involve his background nor personal feelings on more sensitive matters.

"Why did you shoot that man earlier? He wasn't one of the monsters, was he?" Alice suddenly asked nervously; causing the entire room to become deathly silent at the fact she not only witnessed the execution, but had also pretty much seen Frasier murder a man she had seen as no kind of threat. Saya especially felt an instant cold sensation at the thought of how much such a horrible sight could affect the poor girl.

"No. At least, not the kind of monster you'd know of." Frasier answered as he slowly shook his head; being dead honest with Alice as she slowly gulped out of nervousness just by looking at his sharp gaze. Even the way he spoke made her feel incredibly uncomfortable, let alone put everyone else on edge when they remembered that look of zero remorse in Frasier's expression after he blasted that man point-blank.

"Whoa, whoa, wait a minute! Frasier, you killed another survivor? Who was he?" Hitomi suddenly questioned intensely as she glared angrily at Frasier; her hands clenching into fists as she was eager to hear what Frasier had to say for himself. Everything else he'd done up till now had put her in a good enough position to distrust him as it was, but this for her was the final straw.

"He was wearing a prisoner jumpsuit. Need I say more?" Frasier said dismissively as Hitomi only seemed to be infuriated by this latest demonstration of his blatant disregard for human life.

"Oh, so that's it, then? The man wears a certain outfit, so you just murder him in cold blood? Goddammit, you aren't the law here, Frasier!" Hitomi began to shout furiously; having finally had enough of Frasier acting like he was the judge, jury and executioner, completely above any consequence for his actions.

"You weren't even there to grasp the context 'officer'. You weren't there when my little brothers were getting shot at by what were without a doubt convicts, and you especially weren't there when Johann was maimed by those teenagers! I was though, and I did what had to be done to protect every last one of them! You're not a judge, you're an officer. Remember that and know your place." Frasier began to growl as he stood up from his seat, watching Hitomi's expression of livid disgust in him slowly turn to a look that clearly expressed her regret for not being there to protect the younger of the two Lawson brothers, nor Johann when he needed her most.

"Frasier, you need to calm down. She didn't know..." Noah began to plead as he reached out to gently pull down on Frasier's forearms, only for him to violently pull his arms away; refusing to listen to reason or be talked down by his youngest brother twice in one day.

"No! My mission is only to protect you and Marcus! If I kill, I do it solely for that and that alone! Nothing will stop me otherwise! Failure is not an option for me!" Frasier shouted as if he was saying this for the hundredth time now; not knowing what was so hard to understand about that.

"Is that what this has all been about: your self-given task of redemption to impress a father who doesn't even care about you anymore? He cast you and me aside because we failed to live up to his perfect little dream! It's been three years, Frasier! Get over it!" Marcus suddenly called out as the room was dead silent after that. Frasier was now practically heaving with held back anger as his chest puffed up and down; his open palms now trembling in clenched fists, as though he were a single muscle spasm away from beating the first person he saw to a bloody pulp.

However, his hands suddenly loosened up as he stood up from his chair and simply walked away to the stairwell. His heavy footsteps could be heard stomping up the stairs so he could be secluded from the other survivors. An awkward silence filled the room for a few moments as nobody made any eye contact or dared say a word; all of them astonished to see just how fast this conversation went downhill.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make him mad." Alice suddenly apologized; quickly catching the attention of the others as they all looked to see a look of serious regret on her face, as if she felt personally responsible for his outburst just like when he became so angry back at the sporting goods store.

"Don't be sorry, kid. Frasier has always had a very short temper rivaled only by his overzealous desire to impress our father. The only problem is he's yet to realize there's no pot of gold at the end of that bloody rainbow." Marcus attempted to explain before taking another bite of chicken; hoping that Alice would understand that she had done nothing wrong in the slightest by asking him why he killed that man so callously and without a direct reason.

"You still think he's doing this for you two? He's dangerous and only becoming more unstable by the day. How long do you think it'll be until the rest of us are suddenly considered a threat his 'mission'?" Hitomi brought up as she was clearly unable to trust Frasier in the slightest anymore. Her natural police instincts and training were now kicking into full gear to warn her and the others of the impending trouble they now had on their hands were they to choose to stay with such an unstable person.

"You talk about him like he's some kind of wild animal! Frasier might be a hard-headed prick at times, but if he were truly so bad, would he not have simply left Johann behind at that store after he lost his fingers?" Noah protested in Frasier's defense; certain there had to be some redeeming quality behind all of his rage and anti-social behavior.

"Don't forget that he tried to do just that back at the school when we first met Johann and Toshimi. Remember how he also didn't want to get involved with helping out that convoy? Hitomi and Alice-chan wouldn't even be here if we did what he said. Noah, he may be blood, but you can NOT let that blind you to his actions and ulterior motives. In the end, it's always been about himself and impressing father. Nothing more. Nothing less." Marcus explained as Noah couldn't help but bow his head. There was no arguing against those two solid pieces of evidence, no matter how much to the contrary it felt to him.

"I'll be honest and say that I have no problem with you four. But every time I look at him, he has this unsettling look in his eyes. Even his tone is very off-putting. I have a daughter to look out for, and we simply cannot stay under the same roof as him if he's going to prove a threat." Kiriko admitted, not dancing around the issue as she kept a wary eye on the stairwell, almost as if expecting the man himself to come back any second.

"People like that never change. He's just a murderer using the excuse of being military-raised to justify his psychotic behavior. He's really no better than the people he's killed already." Saya commented as the others around could only listen and watch as the overall trust for the eldest Lawson was slowly dissolving.

"Be grateful that he's willing to do the dirty work around here. It's not so easy to make a choice like that if you've ever had to." Takashi suddenly said dead seriously; causing the others to look at him in surprise at his stance on the matter.

"Takashi, what are you talking about? How could you possibly know what it's like to kill?" Rei questioned as she was rather surprised, if not angry, at his lack of empathy.

"You of all people should know, Rei. Remember that thug at the gas station? If I didn't shoot him, who knows what he would've done to you?" Takashi explained as the others were astonished at the revelation of their trustworthy leader, especially Kiriko who now had an expression of nothing less than sheer horror at the thought of her daughter being threatened by anyone.

"You only shot him in the shoulder! It didn't actually kill him! That's different..." Rei protested as she tried to justify Takashi's own actions despite how hard it was for her to fully accept.

"Yeah, and 'They' were right behind us. You don't need to deny it, Rei. I essentially killed him, and I'd do it again if I had to. For any of you." Takashi announced as he clenched his fists, making it quite clear that killing another survivor did make a heavy impact on his conscious despite how he knew he did the right thing in the end. He then shifted his eyes over when he felt Saeko gently holding his hand as if understanding entirely what he was getting at.

"Look, we should all probably get some rest. It's been a very long day." Khota suggested before things could escalate any further. Not one survivor could possibly disagree at the idea of some much needed rest after what they had all gone through today alone. Marcus and Hitomi gathered the plates to wash up while Noah motioned the rest of the group to follow him up the stairs.

"Stupid! I'm so fucking stupid! Now he's going to be all pissed off and start barking down even more orders..." Marcus grumbled under his breath as he frantically began to scrub down the dishes.

Hitomi just looked at him with a concerned look in her beautiful eyes. Everything in Marcus' body language made him appear tense and concerned that he'd truly made a mistake by calling out Frasier, almost like he'd betrayed him when he needed his support the most back there.

Before he could continue his rambling any further, he suddenly felt Hitomi's small hand gently holding his shoulder. Marcus tried to look away, as if embarrassed that she was seeing him in a moment of weakness, only for her other hand to gently brush against his cheek and slowly turn his head back to look directly at her. He let out a low sigh as she rested her head against his chest, listening to that rapid heartbeat of his as her arms gently began to wrap around his waist.

"It's okay, Marcus-kun. After these dishes are done, I say we take one of those sake bottles back to my room. Sound good to you?" Hitomi whispered softly in that soothing tone that always managed to melt Marcus' heart as she pressed her body even closer to his own.

"Sounds like as good a time as ever. I'm looking forward to it." Marcus responded as he then looked deep into Hitomi's glistening eyes only for his gaze to slowly trail down to her soft pink lips.

Without thinking, he slowly leaned in, feeling her lips instantly pressing back against his eagerly. Their cheeks both turned warm and red while their bodies adjusted for the height difference with Marcus gently picking Hitomi up by her hips and pressing her up against the countertop; feeling both her slender legs wrapping around his waist only to pull his hips against hers. Their warm breath filled the air around them as they were caught up in a constant cycle of kissing, moaning and sighing in incredible pleasure. Hitomi lightly bit down on his lower lip; giving it a slight tug before pulling back with a rather satisfied grin on her adorable yet beautiful face.

"You know what? Fuck the dishes." Marcus finally said with a mischievous grin as he looked at them only to look back at her giving him an excited smirk that made it quite clear that the feeling was very mutual.

Up on the third floor, the others were setting aside their personal belongings and equipment while slowly settling into their respective rooms as planned by Takashi and Frasier.

Saeko had of course bunked with Takashi, Rei went with Kiriko, Shizuka and Saya both shared a room with Alice resting between them protectively, Khota and Noah stayed together to most likely stay up all night to brainstorm new contraptions they could make, Johann had a room all to himself, and Marcus and Hitomi soon would claim her room along with a bottle of sake; leaving Frasier to also bunk alone whenever he wasn't on watch duty. It was undoubtedly for the best too, considering his outburst earlier.

He just sat up on the roof with a detached scope in hand; using it like a substitute for a telescope as he kept one of the MP5SFK carbines loaded and propped up against the ledge next to him. So many emotions and thoughts were being kept at bay now. Between his personal feelings for Saeko and having to trust all these unknown faces, he felt like his entire base of operations had been compromised. It greatly disturbed him to feel such thoughts he was told to deny, to allow civilians inside of what he considered his own personal military base. It might as well have been one given the sandbags, barbed wire, and armory.

"Frasier-kun, do you have a minute?" Saeko's voice suddenly asked from behind as Frasier slowly leaned back from the scope to see that she had managed to sneak up on him without him noticing; a scary thought knowing that she could so easily catch him with his guard down.

"Sorry, Saeko-san, but I'm rather busy at the moment watching out for nothing." Frasier sarcastically replied before Saeko managed to form something of a smile; still having a serious look in her eyes though.

"Well, I wanted to ask if you could perhaps show me how to use this sometime." Saeko then requested as she proceeded to unholster the M92 Vertec handgun that was still tightly strapped to her right leg. At first, Frasier glanced at it before he then dismissively waved her off.

"This isn't really your style, Saeko-san. Besides, shouldn't your gun otaku be able to show you how it's done?" Frasier answered as he then noticed a rather inquisitive expression taking over Saeko's face; like she was suddenly suspicious of him now for some reason. She then bowed her head and looked away as if embarrassed by something.

"Hirano-kun has a very respectable aptitude, if not a rather strange obsession, for these devices, but you're military. I'm certain you could easily run circles around him with your personal background. When fighting against those armed convicts today, I tried to use it, but the stupid thing didn't work at all. You know me well enough to understand that I HATE the feeling of being useless in battle, to be on the sidelines feeling helpless. So I figured you could take a look at it first to make sure no parts are missing. If it can be used, I want you to teach me how to shoot, Frasier-kun." Saeko calmly explained as she paced back and forth now. Frasier knew that whenever she started to pace around an area, it clearly meant she was becoming irritated; a mood he somewhat dreaded should he ever have been responsible for it.

"I'm not that great of a teacher, Saeko-san. Just ask Marcus. The more I try to help him, the more he just pushes me away with sarcasm and further resentment of me." Frasier sighed in doubt of himself as he just shook his head; almost speaking like he knew that training under him most likely wouldn't go nearly as smoothly as Saeko might've initially thought it would be.

"Prove it then. Besides, I'm much tougher than him so don't feel the need to hold back." Saeko said in a more firm and challenging tone; causing Frasier to pause for a moment. He then narrowed his eyes, knowing she wasn't going to drop the subject now.

After gently handing the pistol to him, she watched in amusement as he seamlessly slid the clip out from the vertical grip and retracted the slide; causing a single bullet to pop out before he snatched it in midair. His fingers then looked down the sights to see all was where it should have been, only to then form a rather amused grin.

"Do you know that all guns have these helpful little switches called the 'safety'?" Frasier suddenly asked as he looked back at Saeko to see her pondering on the use of one.

"No. What does it do?" Saeko answered without a single clue as to what he was going on about; slowly piecing together the purpose of such a feature and only then realizing the only reason the weapon didn't fire back then was because the safety was left on. Her cheeks instantly turned red with embarrassment as she looked down in complete silence.

"If you like, we can test it out tomorrow depending on what the others are planning. You know...if they can trust me long enough to cooperate." Frasier then said in a rather low tone as Saeko now looked up surprised; previously unsure if he had listened in on their entire discussion about him being unstable and hard to rely on.

"I'm sorry you had to hear all of that, Frasier-kun. It's not easy to trust another survivor, especially one much taller and stronger such as yourself. Our experiences up to this point have given many of them some good reasons to be afraid of what we may come across out there. But fear makes them blind to who you really are. They don't know you like I do." Saeko said as if apologizing on behalf for the others; feeling somewhat guilty that her group had insulted him after he'd bothered rescuing them and allowing them into his sanctum.

"No. They're right to fear me for many reasons, Saeko-san. I'm not some petty murderer though, if that's what you all think. Our group, my little brothers, were attacked by what I can without a doubt say were more of those filthy convicts. I don't take chances when it comes to letting my enemy go, undead or otherwise." Frasier began to explain with a more serious demeanor; making it very clear that he wouldn't allow anything to happen to Noah or Marcus. She then realized that his body appeared to tense up as he went along, as if such words had irritated and wounded his pride.

"I entirely agree with you, and I especially don't consider you to be a lowly killer. You did what any good brother would've done,and that's protecting your own family. I respect that a lot, Frasier-san. I really hope you understand that I'm on your side here. And it's a very huge personal relief to know that you're still alive and unchanged..." Saeko expressed calmly as her hand was now resting on his shoulder while she stood over him with her usually piercing gaze now showing one of absolute concern and compassion.

It was then silent between them after her words finished trailing off. Frasier bowed his head before turning his back on her. Saeko then decided to let him go; knowing it would take some serious time for the others to adjust to his rather distant, crass, callous attitude. She slowly walked back to the stairwell only to glance back at him one last time from the doorway. He remained vigilant and watched the night through the sights of the scope; causing her to form a confident smile; knowing she had someone like him to watch over them as they could all sleep soundly for the first time in what felt like months now. As the door closed shut, Frasier let out a remorseful sigh; knowing that bringing them here was the right thing to do. No matter how much his instincts tried to tell him otherwise.