Restarting with the DEAD Chapter 17
L.T: Sorry! I hate real life! It always gets in my way when I want to write… anyway, I'm here now!
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I kicked the gates open, the little girl, Arisu, in my arms, pulling myself onto the bike and around, the engine growling as I headed down the street. I heard Saeko shut the gates as I drove, the sound soft, but audible.
I hoped she'd be okay…
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TAKASHI'S P.O.V
"Hold on tight, little one!" I cradled her to my chest as I steered around Them as they tried to block us off, the bike straining as its fuel tank emptied. I managed to get us back to Marikawa-sensei's friend's apartment, and Rei and Takagi locked the gates behind us. Sensei was fidgeting with the wheel of a large green Humvee. I dumped Arisu in Rei's arms. "Rei, hold her while I go back!" Arisu struggled. "Good luck, big brother Takashi!"
I smiled at her, grabbing the controls of the dying bike. "Hmmmm…. Takagi, go and get me any kind of vegetable or sunflower oil, and some kerosene if you can find any!" Takagi's eyes lit up. "Of course, biodiesel! That's a great idea! Well, for you anyway." She dashed off. About five minutes later, she returned with some olive oil, and a small bottle of lighter fluid.
"This is mainly kerosene, will that work?" I began mixing a little lighter fluid into the oil, and then poured my mixture into the fuel tank, kick-starting the engine. Dirty smoke vomited from the exhaust, but it ran as well as before. Wheeling the bike over to the gates, I throttled out and back to the house I'd left my girlfriend and Arisu's father, kicking a couple of Them into walls as I passed.
Up on the balcony, Hirano started popping heads with his new toy. I leapt of the bike as Maresato-san opened the gate, and turned it round, waiting for him to get on. When he did, I took off, still fast, but slower due to his heavier body mass; Saeko shut and barred the gate behind us. Maresato-san smashed his wrench into one of them as it lunged, almost catching us.
I dropped him off as my classmates opened the gates again, and he darted inside. "Thank you. I won't forget what you've done for us!" I waved and headed back towards Saeko, but not before pocketing the bottle of oil and lighter fluid, the mixture sloshing around softly as I biked to a halt outside the house where my girl was waiting. Just as I revved through the gates, one of Them jumped at me, knocking my bike into the wall and busting the front wheel. Saeko clobbered it with her bokken, and we barred the gate again.
"Damn… that was close…" I picked myself up and brushed myself off. When I patted myself down, the bottle of flammable liquid fell out of my pocket, the glass thudding against the turf. Picking it up, I looked at the mob of dead-heads clattering against the gates. I knelt at the side of one of Them who'd been re-killed inside the barrier, rummaging through their pockets. Three were not what I wanted, but the fourth had an open pack of cigarettes in his jacket pocket. Sure enough, the other pocket held a lighter.
Tearing off a strip of cloth, I opened the bottle, jamming the end of the makeshift fuse into the neck. Lighting the rag, I blew softly until I felt sure it wouldn't go out. "I've always wanted to try this!" I grinned, and then threw it over the fence. A second later, I heard the crash of breaking glass, and the heat of flames scorched the air, setting the undead horde alight, the dancing shadows flailing wildly, as if voicing the agony of these soulless monsters as They thrashed and burned.
As They groaned and snarled, I did one last look around, and grinned. "c'mere…" I picked it up, wrapping it in my jacket, and then started climbing up onto the wall running around the garden. Looking down, all I saw was fire and dead faces, leering up at me as Saeko-chan joined me, her balance impeccable as we stepped along the narrow wall, the horde slowly filtering after us, the flames dying slowly, but still burning hot and red. I held my love's hand, looked her in the eyes, and tensed to jump. As we bent our legs, a loud "HOOOOONNKKKKK!" rang out, and the sound of bodies being battered aside filled the street.
The large olive Humvee pulled up right beneath us. Takagi stuck her head out of the turret and smirked. "Last bus across the river! All aboard who's getting aboard!" I bowed slightly. "After you, milady!"
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SAEKO'S P.O.V
"It's fine, we're alright!" I repeated, as I tried to fight off the attentions of Marikawa-sensei. Maresato-san just looked at her. "Is she always like this?" Takashi shrugged. "Sensei-'s not exactly your average Japanese, sir." Arisu sat on her father's lap, kicking her legs and humming. Our group consisted of Hirano, Takagi, Miyamoto, Marikawa-sensei, the Maresato family, Takashi, and me. Yuuki Miku and Yamada had decided to stay at Sensei's friend's apartment. We'd miss them, but Miku had been receiving basic first-aid training from sensei, and was pretty good at it. Yamada reasoned that we could always come back for them once we'd found a safe place, and our leader reluctantly agreed. "We'll see you soon, guys," he'd said, patting Miku on the back and high-fiving Yamada.
Takashi grinned as he leaned towards Arisu. "Hey, little one, do you like…. Dogs?" as he asked the question, a small, black-and-white puppy stuck its head out of his jacket and barked. I blinked in confusion, and Arisu squealed, "Puppy , puppy!" the small dog licked her hand as she petted it, and then scrabbled out of Takashi's coat and curled up on the little girl's lap as she giggled. "Can we keep it, daddy?" he smiled and nodded, then looked at Takashi. 'Thank you!' he mouthed.
Takashi smiled and nodded, then turned to Kohta. "Good shooting, man. I can see what you mean about being trained. You ever think of joining the SAT when…. When they still operated as normal?" Kohta shrugged. "Not really, but I guess that would've been a good choice…" I yawned, and leaned back in my seat on the floor, between Takashi's legs, and closed my eyes. I was tired, warm, and in a safe place with friends… I could rest, for a while…..
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