Restarting with the DEAD chapter 18

I was tired, warm, and in a safe place with friends… I could rest, for a while…..

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO

TAKASHI'S P.O.V

"Zzzzzzzzzzz….. Uzzzzzzzzzzzzz…." I snored, tired from all the fighting and running I'd done. It felt like only minutes after I closed my eyes, but a bump and splash woke me. Sensei had driven the Humvee into the Onbetsu River, so she could rest while the current carried us. Rei woke me by pulling my cheek as the sun rose, and I rubbed my eyes while frowning at her. She raised an eyebrow. "Comfortable there?" I followed her gaze, then gulped. My girlfriend was sleeping with her head on my lap, and she was drooling. My brain almost exploded at how heart-burstingly adorable she looked with her thumb less than an inch from her pouting mouth.

"Uuuuuhhh… this is… uh…" I stammered. Saeko stirred, and Rei snapped, "Good morning. You're drooling." as she hugged my arm. Saeko's face turned pale and she started wiping at her lips. The Humvee ground against the shore of the Onbetsu, and crawled out of the water, dripping as the water slid off it. Up on the roof of the truck, Kohta and Arisu were singing, "row, row, row your boat, gently down the stream, merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily, life is but a dream!"

Kohta chuckled, "alright, now the filth version!" "Okay!" Arisu chirped. I stifled my laughter as Kohta started singing, "Shoot, shoot, shoot your gun, kill Them all right now! Bang, bang, bang, bang, life is but a scream!"

Takagi slammed up through the hatch. "Hey, you fat otaku! Don't go teaching a little kid a filth song like that! Got it?! Don't bastardise Mother Goose!" Rei and Shizuka-sensei giggled, while Maresato Yuuji-san rolled his eyes. "Heh, I'm okay with it. Kohta-kun dotes on my little girl, and she adores her 'oniichan'. If she enjoys singing a funny song he made up, good for her!" Shizuka-sensei smiled at him. "Aaaaw, it's so sweet of you to stay, Kohta would really miss his new friend! So would all of us!" Yuuji-san chuckled and rubbed his head. "Well, I guess we're sticking with you guys! We're much safer with your group. And I get to see my daughter live another day as normally as possible…" he bowed. "You have my deepest thanks!"

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO

SAEKO'S P.O.V

"Come on, sensei, let us change, I feel rather… under-dressed in this…" I smiled softly, as Marikawa-sensei pulled wads of clothing from a suitcase she'd packed yesterday. Takagi, Rei, Arisu and the teacher began squabbling over some of the garments. I merely snagged a short leather skirt and high boots. Pulling the boots on, I dressed in my school top again, the skirt split up one thigh to expose my leg. I admired myself in the river, and then slipped my hands into a pair of biker's gloves, adding elbow and kneepads, before slipping my bokken into a loop on my skirt.

Slowly, I smiled at my reflection, before joining the others, as Hirano and Takashi stared in obvious shock and a little arousal. Hirano and Takashi were discussing a shotgun, I think, though I was not proficient with firearms. Hirano looked upset. I figured Takashi had said he'd use it as a melee weapon if he couldn't fire it. Rei cheered Hirano up by asking him to teach her to fire her gun. I smiled. We were all getting closer as a group, and that made me happy.

I watched as Hirano and Takashi headed up the bank, to scout for 'Them'. When they waved down at us, we knew the area was clear, and Marikawa-sensei revved the car, driving straight up the bank, followed by us. Once up on the road, I giggled as I overheard Hirano. He was crouched down on the tarmac, head in his hands, panting, "All these zombies and I'm gonna get killed by an Asian woman driver!" Patting him on the shoulder, I whispered, " You should be careful what you say… Takagi might hear you." He winced at the idea of the hot-tempered pinkette hearing him, and stood up.

Slowly, Takashi realised, "hey… there's no sign of Them…" everyone else looked around, and Miyamoto added, "Yeah, you're right! Maybe the police have kept this side clear!" Takagi snapped, "And maybe garbage collection is still running!"

Takashi and Miyamoto climbed onto the roof of the hummer as everyone else bundled back in. I ended up with Arisu on my lap, and she told me that she was seven, and that she liked Zero, the small puppy she played with all the time. I smiled and patted her head, giggling as Zero licked my nose after climbing up my chest. Arisu stared out of the window as we drove, cooing over everything new. Suddenly, as Marikawa-sensei rounded a corner, we saw many of Them. She went left, then right. More and more of Them. I spotted a glint of light on something. "Wire! Someone's set up wires!" sensei turned the car side-on, squishing some of Them between our transport and the wires. "Oh no, I can't steer!" "sensei, release the brake, and press on the gas a little!" Hirano shouted. She did, but pressed down too hard, skidding on blood and fat, managing to stop us before we hit a wall, but Rei was launched off, landing on her back, unable to stand. Takashi leapt off the roof, landing in front of her and aiming his shotgun at the enemy. "Hirano! How does this work?!" he shouted as he fired, missing one of Them. "I aimed at the head!"

"Aim lower! Chest height, it kicks upward!" Hirano shouted, popping out of the hatch and firing his rifle, making every hit a kill. I smacked three in the heads with my bokken, laying them out permanently. No matter how many we massacred, they kept coming… the end was near, and ammunition was running out, as well as morale… we were so screwed…