1000 Suns
The good, the bad, and the DEAD
When I was a little kid, I always loved long car rides. They were peaceful, if a bit cramped, and the gentle rumbling of the car would rock me to sleep. Now, riding in our "car" is the only time left when I can safely fall relax. Inside a military grade humvee, with bullet proof glass, inches of armor plating, and enough guns to take over a city, is the only safe haven left in the whole. wide. world.
Funny, how things change.
The humvee's engine was the only sound in the city. He sat next to Saya on the roof of the vehicle, shotgun propped against his shoulder as his eyes scanned for potential threats. The group moved slowly through the street, with Rika shadowing them on her motorcycle, and they used the humvee's massive bumper to shunt cars blocking their path out of the way. As the group drew closer to the city limits, the number of abandoned cars had increased dramatically, evidence of people trying to flee. What's more, the group was forced take stay off the main roads. The highway was practically impassible, filled with empty cars and them. Hirano had been confident that they could make it through with enough effort, they had the firepower and a tank of a car, but even he admitted it would be slow going. Takashi wanted out of the city as fast as possible. By tonight he wanted to make it to the less densely populated suburbs. But almost all of Japan was covered with buildings of some sort. It would be days before they would be beyond the reaches of 'civilization'.
He'd though about crossing the ruins of Takagi manner, as they had been purged from that area as surely as the living had been, but doing so would cause many more problems than it would solve.
"It would be best," Saya said from where she sat next to him. "To head for the mountains or the sea. Most of the coast is pretty densely populated, but if we could get off Hokkaido1 and to one of the smaller islands we might have a chance. Otherwise our best bet is probably the mountains towards the center of the island, less buildings, less people."
Takashi nodded. "Right now let's focus on getting farther away from the city center. We'll head south for the time being. But sooner or later we'll have to make that choice."
"Rika mentioned the island airport," Saya continued. "From how she makes it out, it seems like the safest place left in Japan." She snorted, "Unless there's some fortress holdout on one of the smaller islands."
"Why wouldn't there be any safe zones on Honshu or one of the southern islands?" Hirano asked, poking his head of through the hole in the roof.
"Their population density is too high." Saya sighed. "Just look at what happened here," She gestured around them, "Can you imagine how devastating this outbreak must have been in Tokyo or Kyoto? How many of Them there would be even after the first day?"
"And slowly those lucky enough to survive would be picked off by the horde," Komuro finished gruffly "I get it. Hundreds of thousands of dead. We're little better off here, at least Honshu would have had a higher concentration of the S.D.F."
"Yatta," Saya deadpanned, "They still have no chance. The whole U.S. Marine core would run out of bullets before they stopped coming."
Silence descended upon the group. "So..." Hirano spoke, "About that air port?"
Saya coughed once, taking control of her emotions again, "It's the safest bet. Isolated, with its own generator in all likelihood. The only problem is procuring food and water. But, with enough effort and if the generators could be repaired, the airport could be made self-sufficient."
Komuro scratched the back of his neck, "According to Rika, nobody from the mainland has made contact with the airport in days. Whatever group of people that was controlling sea travel has probably ceased to exist by now. Unless we can sail a ship, there's no good way to get to the island."
"Rika came here on a motor boat."
Takashi just laughed wryly. "You can see Hokkaido from the airport. But Rika said she couldn't see the airport once she made it to the shore. In all likelihood we'd miss it by a mile, and that's assuming we could find a ship big enough to carry us all that still works. I know you're smart Saya, but do you know how to repair an engine?" He just shook his head at the idea.
Saya looked away, wishing now that she'd spent even a bit more time with Mad, the family engineer, learning how vehicles worked. Because Takashi was right, she had no idea, and if she didn't know how to fix a boat, then the others probably didn't know either. The whole idea was just another dead end.
She only wondered how often god would close keep closing the door on them, and how long he would keep opening up windows.
Saya ran a hand through her hair. "The mountains aren't a much better solution though." She admitted with a sigh. "We'd still have to go into the city to get supplies and there would always be a chance that some of them would stumble across us."
Hirano chuckled darkly. "This whole situation is completely FUBAR." When the other two looked at him oddly he added, "Ano... It's an American term I picked up while I picked up in the states. It means "fucked up beyond all relief" Kinda like this whole mess right?"
Takashi only sighed even as Saya berated Hirano for his coarse language. It didn't matter if there were no good options, he still had to make a choice.
It was then that the humvee drew to a sudden stop. In front of them was a large pile up of cars, so deep that it would hours to force their way through it, if clearing the wreckage was possible at all. Takashi blinked once in annoyance.
He thumped the roof twice and leaned into the vehicle. "Best just go back the way we came and find another way around." he told Shizuka. The blonde nodded, spinning the car in a smooth one eighty, but she stopped suddenly before hitting the gas again.
"Ummm... We might have a problem..."
The engines, like Takashi had noted many times, really are the loudest noises in the city.
Stumbling towards the humvee was a horde of them, drawn by the noise of running engines like moths to a flame, or rather, like vultures to corpse. With each passing second more of them stumbled onto the street, adding the already present mob. By now the count was easily past three dozen, growing every second. Of to the side Takashi heard Rika curse as she yanked out her colt. Hirano scrambled onto the roof of the car, readying his rifle as well as the tide of them grew closer. "What's the game plan leader?" He asked quietly, calm before the sea of undead faces.
There was a path down the center of the street, just wide enough for the humvee, that they'd cleared on the way out. Taking the gap between the wrecked cars was a risky bet, but if the group had to leave the humvee to dodge them, Isou's camping supplies would be lost as well, not to mention a large portion of their food and ammo. "Stay close behind us Minami-san!" He called. "We're going straight down the middle!" He brought his Ithaca to bear just as the first few of them reached the humvee and unloaded a facefull of buckshot into the crowd.
Guns roared like thunder the hummer ripped down the street once more, leaving only death and destruction in its wake.
It took minutes for the vehicles to break free of the hoard, and Shizuka pulled a sharp right onto the open road in an attempt to put them a distance behind. The rest of the group reloaded their weapons, readjusted their clothes, and settled in for the ride.
"We're getting awfully good at that, aren't we?" Rei noted, glancing over her shoulder. "All the killing."
"Not like we have much of a choice, do we?" Saya snapped as she slid back into the vehicle.
"I know that," Rei frowned, "But where does it all stop? All of the killing and destruction and death? Where do we start being people again?" Her voice was quite, controlled, but vehement all the same. "If we let ourselves forget what it means to be human is there isn't any point in surviving this mess at all."
"We've spent so much time moving on, moving on from tragedies and failures. But when will we decide to stop moving on, and start moving forward." She glared at the rest of the group defiantly.
"We'll stop, when we know we're finally safe." Takashi said, through the whole in the roof.
"When we're finally safe," Rei parroted. "We all trust you to keep us alive Takashi, but safe? Even before they appeared, hundreds of people still died every day. There's no such thing as safe anymore, even if it did exist once." She let out a sigh, "One day, we'll have to stop running. One day, we'll have to start looking to the future, instead of just living in the present."
It was Yukiko, hugging her little brother close, who spoke next. "I always wanted to raise a family." She admitted quietly. "And as crazy as it sounds, that dream hasn't changed. I want to be able to call myself a mother. But all the same, we have to be realistic, don't we?" She let out a small sigh. "After all, one day can be a long ways off."
"An awfully long way off isn't it." Rei continued, "I'm not saying we should set up shop in the nearest convenience store, or start planting crops in the next open field we come across. But we can't always be focused on now."
"Sometimes, we must think about tomorrow as well." Saeko finished. The rest of the group nodded mutely, Rei's words striking a chord with them all.
Takashi, though he listened carefully, remained on top of the car. Rei was right, of course. Eventually they would need a place to call home, or at least a place they could return to if they ran into trouble. But all the same, children? Yukiko hadn't brought up that absurd wish when they first met. Raising children in this hell...
Yet if they were to survive, such a thing was necessary, as fundamentally important as a sustainable food source. Funny how it'd slipped his mind all this time.
Tomorrow was always an eternity away, despite what the girls said. And it was his job to plan for it. Takashi's hand tightened into a fist.
Slowly he let his tawny eyes drift shut- *CRASH*
Takeshi jerked wildly, latching onto the roof as the humvee screeched to a stop, eyes widening at the sight of the overturned bus that had been tipped into the road before them.
*CRASH* Behind them, a makeshift barricade struck the ground as well, cutting off the road completely. Rika's motorcycle fishtailed as she tried to bring it to a stop before it collided with the bus. The S.A.T was forced to leap from the bike to save herself, landing heavily on the hard pavement and rolling until she smacked against another abandoned car with a loud 'Crack!'. Then, silence.
After a moment's pause, Takashi leapt from the humvee and dashed to Rika's side, only to freeze when the pavement in front of him exploded at the sound of a gunshot.
"That's far enough, wise guy!" A voice shouted, the speaker safely out of sight. "Right now, I'm calling the shots! You don't get to help your lady friend unless you do exactly as I say!" Takashi's eyes flicked left and right, searching for the sniper. Then his eyes widened as more than a dozen people, armed with everything from guns to battered two by fours, appeared from houses all around the street. "You put that shotgun down NOW! Or else my boys'll light up your whole convoy and beat your ass into the ground!" A single man walked towards Takashi and placed a revolver up against Rika's head and pulled back the hammer.
Wordlessly, Takashi let his Ithaca fall to the ground.
"Now everybody out of the jeep with your hands in the air! No funny business, unless you want two less mouths to feed!"
Nobody moved.
Slowly, Takashi turned around to face the rest of his family. He could see most of them through the windshield, fear apparent on their faces. Slowly Takashi shrugged his shoulders, his eyes glancing past the humvee to the ramshackle wooden barricade behind it. They could shatter it. With the humvee's monster of an engine the poorly constructed wood didn't stand a chance, and the rest of the group would get away safely.
It would only cost them two lives.
"Oi! I said get out of the car NOW! Don't play deaf or this asshole is gonna get it!"
Takashi jerked his chin towards the barricade, go! Chances were that they'd be killed either way. The only hope was the rest of his family to escape, to run and live another day. The end of the world was no place for heroics.
In the humvee, he saw Saya gulp, Rei's eyes widen, Hirano's gaze narrow. Shizuka shook her head slowly, unwilling to sacrifice their fearless leader. But before he could gesture again one of the survivors behind Takashi swept him off his feet with a baseball bat.
Takashi gasped as he hit the pavement. He struggled as another man grabbed him in a choke hold and pressed switchblade against his throat, hauling him into a sitting position for his family to see. The voice shouted again "You have FIVE SECONDS to get the FUCK out of that car! LAST CHANCE MOTHER FUCKERS!"
The blade pricked Takashi's skin, a thin trail of blood began to flow.
"FIVE! FOUR!"
He glared at Shizuka, as if to say get out of here now!, but the nurse seemed frozen in place.
"THREE!"
Rei made a grab for the door, only to be stopped by Hirano as he met Takashi's gaze with resolve.
"TWO!"
Rei was screaming now. Thrashing violently, but Saya and Khota wrestled her to the floor.
"ONE!"
"Enough!" The humvee's door slammed open and Takashi's eyes widened in surprise as Saeko stepped out onto the cracked pavement. She strode confidently towards Takashi, her katana slipping from its sheath with a sinister hiss. "Unhand him," She told the man restraining her love, "or you will die." The aura surrounding her was violent and strong, as if she stood in the center of a hurricane. Her bearing, her resolve, made the rest of the world stand still as the unfortunate survivor stared into Saeko's cold amethyst eyes and saw his doom reflected back at him.
The man couldn't let Komuro go fast enough.
"Takashi!" Rei jumped from the humvee and rushed to his side, pulling him to his feet and holding him close as she glared at the ring of survivor around them. Saeko stood at her side, impassive, but with the fury of kami lurking just beneath the surface. Even the voice was silent beneath her gaze.
Gently, Saeko motioned for the rest of their family to get out of the car. "I will not let you sacrifice yourself for me, Takashi." She whispered. The rest of the group, even Yukiko and Isou, made their way over to Takashi without comment. Saya walked right up to the fearless leader and slapped him across the face. Hard.
"Don't you dare pull a stunt like that again." She hissed before turning to glare at the survivors. "So!" She called loudly, "What happens now?"
"Now," The voice called back, "You put your weapons on the ground, and follow us." And so they did.
Their captors led them onto a small side street to put some distance between them and the humvee while the other survivors made sure to lock up the car so the rest of the supplies wouldn't be stolen. Komuro and Co. were even allowed to keep their equipment, sans weapons. Though, the 'voice' (a tall man in his early thirties) took the jeep's keys from Shizuka.
Before they set off, however, Shizuka was allowed to give Rika some basic first aid, splinting her broken arm and giving the sniper some pain killers to help Rika get back to her feet. The soldier was pretty beat up, but with an arm over Takashi's shoulder she could walk well enough. They were kept surrounded after setting off, yet their captors let them travel unmolested through the streets towards whatever goal the leader had in mind.
Any encounters with them were handled with brutal efficiency, and in less than half an hour the whole group arrived at a tall office building next to a small park. The building was separated from the rest of the block by slightly larger than normal streets, giving it a commanding view of the surroundings. This, coupled with the fact that towered over the smaller houses that surrounded it, made the complex into one of the most viable holdouts for miles.
Two more men and a woman, armed with crowbars and a fire axe respectively, greeted the larger group at the doors. The supplies everyone had managed to carry were locked into a back room while Takashi and Co. were lead up the stairs to the seventh floor before exiting the stairwell into a large room. Most of the cubicles in the area had been struck down, leaving a large open space in where nearly a dozen people rested, talking quietly, sleeping, leaning against wall and reading goddamn books. The captives froze on the spot at the sight. Even Takashi could only stare in surprise at so many living people. An actual group of survivors! And with organization rivaling Takagi-sama's operation to boot.
Then the man leading them turned to face Takashi. "I'm guessing you're the leader." He said, "Come with me. I have someone who will want to talk to you," He frowned at Takashi slightly, as if daring him to question the order.
Takashi simply glared back, "I'm not leaving the rest of my group behind. You just carjacked us, do you seriously think I'm gonna roll over and do what you tell me to?"
"You don't need to worry about them." The man replied firmly, "We won't harm them as long as you co-operate. Look around kid, we aren't a bunch of crazies here, we're a community."
Takashi was struck by the man's words. It was true after all, the dozen or so men and women in the room all looked relatively content, calm even despite the what the world had become. In the corner he could even see a mother caring for her baby next to a man Takashi could only guess was the father. It was smaller than Takagi manor yes, but not only was it just as organized, this group appeared inherently more stable than the manor refugee camp had been. Unlike the adults clinging feebly to the remnants of a dead world like those under Takagi-sama's care, these people seemed at peace with the new world. They were tired, yes, but determined to survive. And in this place they were safe from the outside world.
Takashi sighed, unable to argue with the stability around him. "Lead the way then." Turning back to his family he added, "Stay safe you guys. I'll go see what they want with us."
The man nodded with approval "This way then. My name's Takehito, by the way." Takashi nodded and followed the other many further into the room. Takehito paused and stopped another man exciting a second stairwell "Do you know where Shibata-sama is, Daisuke?" He asked.
Daisuke nodded, "Fifteenth floor last I saw. She's communicating with one of the other groups." Takehito beckoned to Takashi, and the two continued up the stairwell quickly.
At the fifteenth floor, Takehito quickly moved towards the southern wall of the building, looking, apparently for this 'Shibata-sama'. Takashi wasn't sure what to think of someone who called himself 'sama', in his mind that person would be hard pressed to live up to a title carried by Saya's father. But all the same it only took a few more minutes to locate the person. Takehito motioned for Takashi to remain outside one of the C.E.O. offices on the edge of the floor, before knocking gently on the door.
"Shibata-sama," He called as he entered the room, "I have located a-" At that point the thick door thudded to a close, blocking out the rest of the conversation. Takashi stood awkwardly outside the door, blinking at how the man had suddenly left him there. For a moment he was sorely tempted to walk away, but then Takehito opened the door again "Shibata-sama will see you now."
"Ah," Takashi nodded and entered the room even as Takehito exited and left Takashi alone with in the room with a young woman, in her late twenties at the oldest. She regarded Takashi calmly as he stepped into the room from where she sat behind a large mahogany desk.
Takashi blinked, "You're 'Shibata-sama'?!" The woman chuckled lightly at his outburst, but did not reply, instead choosing to continue studying the young man before her.
Shibata, if this woman really was 'Shibata', had silky ebon hair braided neatly down her back that enhanced the vibrant blue of her eyes. She was statuesque, from what Takashi could see, and wore the midnight blue kimono wrapped around her shoulders like she'd been born in it. Even though she was sitting, Takashi noticed her poise and unconscious grace and wondered briefly if she had been a dancer, for she was thin, yet her limbs appeared strong. With a start, he realized that this woman reminded him of Saeko.
"What is your name?" The woman asked suddenly. Her voice betrayed nothing, neither anger nor happiness, pleasure nor distaste.
Takashi drew himself back together, letting the confidence of a the natural born leader he was slide over him. "I am Komuro Takashi, Hagimemashite. May I enquire your name?"
"Shibata Kameko. Though most do call me 'Shibata-sama' as you said." Takashi had to stop himself from blushing at the verbal jab. "So Komuro-san," The woman continued. "Takehito-kun has told me a bit about you and your friends. From what I've heard, I am rather impressed with your achievements. Though I do wonder how you have managed to find so many powerful firearms, considering that many of them were illegal before the beginning of this outbreak."
"Luck of the draw, Shibata-san" He refused to address her as 'sama', his respect will have to be earned. "One of our friends was part of the S.D.F. and we were able to pick up their equipment before everything was shot to hell."
Shibata nodded, "You've also managed to stockpile a large amount of supplies and.. camping gear?"
"We were planning on leaving the city behind. Maybe seeking refuge in the mountains or on the island airport off the coast." Takashi didn't see much of a point in being opaque with this woman. She held all the cards in this circumstance. "It seemed like the best option at the time."
"Yes, I can see why you would want to escape from the city." Shibata rose from her chair. She was tall and well endowed, just as Takashi had guessed, but he didn't really care about such observations at this point. He was far more interesting in what this woman had to say. "But perhaps, I could prevail upon you and yours to remain here with my own family."
"The world as we knew it has ceased to exist, Komuro-san. I am trying to pick up the pieces, so that something other than these walking monstrosities may live to inherit this land. I wish to ensure the survival of humanity, or, at least, as much of it as I can reach and it is my most fervent desire to see a new, brighter, world reborn in the ashes of the old." She eyed him seriously, "I can see how accomplished you are, Komuro, from what you have achieved on your own. So I ask you to consider what you could do with the resources around you, what you could do with my aid."
Takashi was silent for a moment, swept up by Shibata's speech, brief though it was. Hearing her speak of the rebirth of the world, Takashi could almost believe that such a thing was not only possible, but within reach if he joined his abilities with hers. But he had more pressing concerns than the world. "And what about my friends, what do you intend to do with me and mine, Shibata-san?"
Shibata smiled, "I intend to offer you a place to stay, somewhere you can return and know that safety will be waiting for you. A place you can call your own. But that is not all I can give you Komuro. In this new and darker world, I need people around me who can capably lead, who can keep their heads in a crisis and, when presented with difficult options, can make the best choice. Should you prove to be one of these people, then I will off you more than just a home, I will offer you a legacy, a place at my side as I begin to rebuild and move onward into a new age. I can see the fire of determination in your eyes. And if you stand with me, I will not have to offer anything to your family, for you will be able to provide for them by your own power."
"Not only for their needs, Komuro-san, but for their wants as well. Join with me and I can give you a place for the child in your care to grow up without fear, without danger.But if you join with me then you can give that child a home worth living in, filled with love and warmth. Join with me and you can provide for those in your care like a man should. You will no longer be confined to only keeping them safe; stand by my side and you can make them happy. In a world like this, is happiness small a reward in exchange for your loyalty?"
"You offer all of these things, Shibata-san," Komuro shot back. He was impressed by her speech, on the verge of throwing his lot with her if only because she offered him something a million times better than the horrors of the world outside, but he had one last question to ask all the same. Komuro had grown wiser in his time as a survivor. His loyalty, as Shibata had put it, could not be bought with pretty words. "How can I be sure you'll actually do what you're saying?"
"Ask." Was his answer. "I have made the same promises to all those within my care. Do they seem dissatisfied with what I have provided? Disenfranchised by the sanctity of my oaths? Ask those that I lead, Komuro, and then you may determine for yourself if my offer is worth the price I ask you to pay."
"My loyalty."
Shibata nodded. "In a would such as this, loyalty is indeed a steep price pay. But I do not ask you to make this sacrifice for nothing, nor do I ask for your aid lightly."
"We live in dangerous times Komuro-san. I know that I'm asking you to take a gamble on my behalf. Yet if you but give me chance, I will make good on everything I have offered you. I will restore this world from its dying embers, but I would do so with your help, rather than without it."
Komuro glanced down at the floor. He felt numb, almost, humbled by her words. All this time he'd been completely focused on simply surviving. Yet this woman strived for so much more "I will need time to consider your offer, Shibata-san." Was all he could say.
She was impossible charismatic, powerful like the light of the sun after emerging from darkness. By the conviction of her voice, by the strength of her words, I was tempted to join her group then and there. She wasn't offering my empty promises, I could tell that by the fire in her eyes. She wasn't offering simply a home either, not just a place for us to live safely, for Alice to grow up in.
She was offering me a second chance. A chance at salvation and redemption and a million other things besides. Though at times I feel like a fool for being taking in so easily by her words, if anyone else had been standing in my place, Shibata would have convinced them too. I don't doubt that for a second. It was just how she was. You couldn't stand against her point of view: regardless of what she wanted, regardless of how you felt it beforehand. Because when Shibata spoke...
You could only let yourself be carried along for the ride.
High School of the Dead
The good, the bad, and the DEAD
1) Hokkaido- the northernmost of Japan's four home islands. If you would believe it, I googled 'Onbetsu' (the only name the screen writers give us) and found out it was a rather large town on Hokkaido. Not sure if that's where H.O.T.D. actually takes place, but meh.
Some notes on Shibata Kameko. She is an OC of my own creation. But don't worry she's probably the only important OC that will be popping up for this arc, and for the rest of the story in all likelihood. Though I do seem to be introducing a lot of new characters lately (Shrugs his shoulders). But even though Shibata is my own creation, she is based rather loosely off a character from "Forward unto Dawn" By bleedndreamz. He didn't use the character much in his story, but the idea of this charismatic female leader at the head of a large group of survivors still fascinated me enough to adapt it into my own story. If you've read Forward unto Dawn, then you probably know who I'm talking about, but rest assured I don't plan to bastardize bleedn's unused plans for the character, I've got my own set of machinations when it comes to Shibata.
Though right now she's just a convenient way to keep Takashi and the gang inside the city longer...
Thoughts, Questions, Concerns? Send me a review or a PM. I know I don't really respond to most reviews (sorry about that, I'm a bit lazy in case you haven't already guessed) but I always make a point to answer direct questions and critiques of my writing style, both of which are important to me if I want to improve how I write.
Other than that I just apologize for the length of time I was inactive, I just wanted to take a break from writing and recover some. Now that I'm back into it everything just seems to flow easier. If, only I could manage to figure out the next chapter of Cold Summer, Christ that story is a pain to pull together :/
But enough ranting. Thanks to all of my reader that stuck with this story despite everything, please drop a review if you want me to clarify anything. And I would really appreciate any sort of analysis of my work, those are always my favorite reviews to read.
Though in my case, beggars can't be choosers. :)