Okay, this started out being a normal sized chapter but grew into a double sized. Please enjoy and please leave a review so I know how I'm doing.
I do not own Highschool of the DEAD or its characters.
Updated: 10/18/13
Rei sat up and stretched as daylight crept in through the skylights. Looking around, she saw Saya had cuddled up close to Kohta in the night as had Saeko to Takashi. There were a few others moving, but most were still in their beds.
Looking at the foot of her bedroll, she saw Paddy was gone from his. As it got lighter, she noticed him sitting on the hood of one of the trucks. He had a camp light and was writing something in a notebook.
She could smell coffee, so she got up and went over to where Toda was prepping breakfast. Pouring two cups she took them over to where Paddy was.
"Patrick?" she asked as he looked down at her. "Would you like some coffee?"
Smiling, he thanked her and asked if she would like to come up and sit with him.
She smiled and nodded as he got down on the bumper and helped her climb to the hood next to him. Settling back in to sip the hot brew, he picked his notebook up and made a few more quick notes before closing it.
"I'm not bothering you am I?" she asked.
"Oh no, no!" he replied. "I was just writing down my maintenance logs so I know when I have to service each truck. They have to be watched over closely because we don't have easy access to maintenance shops or tow vehicles if something were to happen. If we had a breakdown, I would be on the side of the road trying to fix it while everyone else holds Them off. It would hurt to lose a truck once we got all this stuff loaded on it."
Looking up at the rows of shelves she asked, "How much are we going to be able to take with us?"
Thinking for a minute he frowned, "Not near enough in my opinion. If we get five percent I'll be surprised."
"What will happen to the rest of it?"
Shrugging his shoulders he sighed, "Well I'm sure we will lock it all down when we are done. Depending on where we go to ground, we might be able to come back and load several more times." He paused for a minute to cover a blush, "Ah, by the way, I'm sorry I fell asleep while talking to you last night."
She smiled, "It's alright. I could tell how tired you were and it was a really stressful day yesterday."
He smirked, "Yeah and I hate getting shot at by people for no good reason."
Rei smiled as she climbed down, "I'm going to go help Toda-san with breakfast. The faster we get done the faster we can get out of here."
"I'll go with you. I could use another cup."
000
Takashi had been sitting up for a few minutes when Saeko stretched and sat up beside him. She smiled and said, "Ohayou."
He leaned over and gave her a quick kiss before turning back to what he had been watching. Following his gaze, Saeko saw Rei sitting on the hood of one of the trucks with Paddy. Raising one eyebrow she looked at Takashi. "How do you feel about that?"
Thinking for a minute he shrugged his shoulders, "He seems like a nice guy, and I don't think Rika and Tomasa would have asked him to work with them if they didn't trust him. It would be nice if Rei could find someone for herself, but I'm still going to worry about her."
Saeko nodded, "Well don't worry too much. I'll talk to her and find out what she is thinking. In the mean time I need the bathroom and then I'll help with food."
She kissed him on the cheek as she got up and started across the floor, sword in hand.
000
Kohta stretched a little and rolled onto his right side. Smelling apples, he opened his eyes to find Saya snuggled close to him. He leaned forward and smelled her hair again before looking around the warehouse. Seeing no one watching, he softly pulled his blanket over their heads with a smirk on his face. Leaning over he softly planted small kisses on her forehead, eyelids and nose.
"Mmmmmm…too high, you're missing your target…" Saya mumbled.
"No I'm not. I'm firing ranging shots," he whispered.
Saya giggled, "Then get on target!" she ordered as he finally reached her lips.
"Oh Saya-san!" a singsong voice suddenly said.
Red-faced at being caught, they slowly pulled the blanket down and peeked over the edge, finding Shion beaming down at them. "First watch starts in fifteen minutes so you better get ready."
Nodding, they both sat up as Shion bounced away dragging Giba with her, who had been trying to hide his chuckle behind a cup of coffee.
Looking at each other and sighing, they gathered their gear as the generator started and the power came back on.
000
They had been settled on watch for about forty five minutes when Rika came out with Rei in tow. Going to Stryker 2, they climbed in and she and Rei climbed on top with the other two women.
"Wakanae, I want you to get ready to move to the fueling area in the rear of the building. I want to get the Strykers fueled and serviced before we do anything else. I need Takagi to go with me to help with the loading process. I brought Rei to help you watch, and ride with you when you make your move. After servicing, we will put Stryker 2 back on the line and service Stryker 1. It will be about ten minutes before Paddy is ready for you."
Acknowledging her orders, Shion told Rei what to do while Saya and Rika started back to the building. As they came out of the back of the Stryker, the big door started rolling up with a loud rattling and clanking noise, causing all the undead along the fence to moan and push on the chain link.
Rika stood and watched for a moment before going inside to see Tomasa. "There are about fifty on the fence already and they're pushing hard against it," she said.
He frowned, "I didn't want to waste the ammo if we didn't have to but go ahead and take them out."
Nodding Rika called over several others and gave them their orders. Climbing back on top of Stryker 2 she told them to open fire. Five minutes later it was over and everyone started back to what they had been doing.
Shion started up and rolled her APC around the side of the building, while Rei sat on top watching, to make sure they did not get hung on anything. Reaching the back side of the building, Paddy directed her next to a fueling station and started servicing.
Shizuka was checking Tomasa's shoulder when Rika and Saya sat down next to him. The nurse had him down two pain pills before moving on to the solider with the leg wound.
Smiling Tomasa looked at the pair, "Okay, what are your ideas, Sarge?"
"First of all, I want to give Takagi a logistics problem and see how she works it out." She looked at Saya and handed her a list. "You have four trucks, three Humvees, and three cargo trailers that can be pulled by either. You also have two, 1500 liter, water tankers that will need to be pulled by truck because of the weight when full. We have a list of inventory listed most important to least. How would you load everything, keeping in mind you would need access to certain items like ammo, medical and food before anything else. Take a few minutes and think on it."
Saya read over the list as the other two watched. Excusing herself she got up and went over to the glassed-in office and dug around on the desks. Coming back with a pad of paper, pencils and ruler she sat down and started making notes.
Looking up from her pad she asked, "Question; if we were to get attacked again, what would they try to take out first? The Strykers? If so what would be the next targets? Humvees?"
Rika and Tomasa blinked at her for a moment before Tomasa replied, "Yes, that would be correct. But once you take out the Strykers, you might not need to kill the Humvees, because the road would be blocked, and you would want what is in them intact. Any other vehicles you kill would keep you from being able to move the supplies to your base of operations. Once you stop the heavy weapons, it would only be a matter of time before the rest of the defenders die or surrender."
Saya nodded in understanding, "So the 'safest' vehicles would be the cargo trailers? Would there be a reason to destroy them except to wipe out the whole convoy?"
Tomasa nodded his head, "Correct again, there would be no reason to fire on the trailers unless you were just out to destroy, not capture."
Smiling, Saya nodded and went back to her writing pad. Several minutes later, she looked up and said, "I would divide up the ammunition between the three cargo trailers. I think this would be the safest plan since logically we don't think anyone would shoot at them. Then going most to least important, divide everything equally between the trucks, filling the Humvees last, that way we can get to everything we need. Also if we were to lose a truck or Humvee, we would not lose all of any one thing that was loaded on it. Umm, if I can ask, where are we going, and how long is it going to take us to get there? I know by looking at the maps we are going somewhere south, but I didn't pry any further into them."
Tomasa laughed, "Very good, Takagi-san! You thought that out well, and developed a solid plan quickly. You did it the way we would have, though I don't think I would have thought about the trailers hauling the ammo myself. Thinking about it now it makes perfect sense. We are going down to the Izu Peninsula and will end up in the Shimoda region. The government is setting up fortified camps as outposts. Each will have a small unit of police or military and will protect a village area where civilians can live and work without too much worry of the undead threat. This is also why it is being done out in the country, much easier to deal with than the cities which are overrun. It should take us anywhere from three days to a week to get there depending on road conditions."
Saya thought for a second before looking Tomasa in the eyes, "What about us? How do a bunch of high school kids fit into this picture?"
Tomasa looked sheepishly at Rika, "I think we've been caught, Sarge."
Rika dug in her pocket and pulled out one of her cigars, "Think of this as you're entrance exams Takagi. In a way, we have been testing all of you to see how you handle working with the group and deal with a military lifestyle. So far everything has worked out and we would like all of you to join us. You all offer something that will work to the greater good of the force."
Rika leaned forward and squeezed Saya's hand, "Talk to the others. Think about it and when we get to the camp you can make your decisions then. Plus you have other options. You could go back to your parents."
Saya shook her head, "No, those days are over. We went home once and found out we no longer fit into the old ideas of 'they're just teenagers'. I would like to see my parents again, but I have already resigned myself to the fact of I might not."
Rika nodded and got up, "Well, for now let's get these trucks serviced so we can start your loading plan."
000
The rest of the morning went quickly. Trucks were moved, serviced, and put back in line, ready to receive their loads. Cargo was stacked next to them for inventory in anticipation of quickly loading in the afternoon.
Paddy was trying to be everywhere at once. Fuel racks, water tanks, and a dozen other chores that needed to be done, that it seemed only he could do. He was so busy that when break was called for lunch he never stopped until Rei insisted he sit down to eat.
Wolfing down his meal, Paddy got up to head back to work when Rei reached out and took ahold of his tunic sleeve, "Patrick? Is there anything I can do to help you? I'm not doing much at the moment."
Looking at her and thinking for a minute he nodded, "Yes, in fact there is! Come with me."
She followed him over to a big cabinet mounted to the wall next to the glassed in office. Opening the doors he showed her a series of charging stations for rechargeable batteries.
"What you need to do is make sure everything in here is charged," he explained. "Then let everyone know they can come get a replacement. Most of these tac-com radios will last a good twenty-four hours with heavy use, but it is always good policy to replace while you have the chance. Get yourself a notepad and pen from the office, write down who gets fresh batteries so we can keep up. We have chargers in the Strykers, but since we don't know if we will ever come back here, I want to take all these with us when we go. This should not take too long to do but it's something that you can handle for me so I can get other stuff done. Now, you want to tell them over the radio to check their batteries and to see you for fresh ones. "
Nodding she reached up to touch her throat mic, "Ah…everyone…this is Miyamoto, please check your radio batteries. If you need some, see me beside the office."
Paddy smiled, touched her lightly on the shoulder and nodded as he headed back outside. Rei stepped to the office and picked up pad and pencil as three solders started her way.
Heading back out the door he gathered Takashi and Kohta to go with him. After a small amount of prep, he started them filling the 1500 liter water tanks with a fire hose. Right before they turned the water on Takashi stopped and held up his hand.
Listening for a moment he turned to the mechanic, "Paddy? Do you hear something like moaning?"
Standing quietly for a minute Paddy nodded, "Sounds like it's coming from the other side of the wall."
The rear of the warehouse was surrounded by a three-meter tall, concrete block wall with razor wire on top of it. On the other side were parking lots and other warehouses.
Paddy climbed the back of the fuel truck and got on top. He stood for a minute before reaching for his throat mic, "Flanery to Sergeant, I need you out back."
Rika looked puzzled as she came through the back door. Walking over the fuel truck she looked up and asked, "What is it, Paddy?"
Waving to her he said, "You need to come up and see this."
Muttering about how she was busy, and had a thousand things to do, she climbed the ladder and turned to look in the direction he was looking in.
"Oh crap…" she said as she took in several hundred undead crowded against the outside of the back wall. "Where the hell did They all come from?" As she watched more shambled from between the buildings and walked into the back of the shifting horde.
"Workers from other warehouses and factories I guess," sighed Paddy. "The wall looks okay for now, but what happens when there're a thousand of them?"
Rika shook her head, "I don't really know; can they build up enough force to push the wall over? This is concrete block reinforced with rebar, but I've seen walls like it come down before."
Paddy leaned over to look closer, "I'm not sure either. They're contained on both sides by the other buildings and this is three meters high. They are only pushing on the lowest one-third of it so far. I'm more worried about the front ones falling down and the rear starting to climb over them."
Rika squinted at him with one eye while frowning, "You're just a bundle of fun, you know that! I didn't even think about that happening, now I'm not going to be able to sleep tonight!"
Looking around, she watched Takashi and Kohta finish topping off one water tank and starting on the other, "Those two being much help to you?"
Smiling Paddy nodded, "Once I explain what I want, I can leave it to them. They both ask good questions and listen when I answer. They're good guys and I like them. Will they be staying with us when we go to ground?"
Smirking as she turned toward him she said, "Aren't you asking if Rei will be staying around, Paddy?'
Blushing he looked back at her, "Is it that obvious?"
Rika snorted, "I'm not saying anything; she's a good looking girl. All I'm going to say is take your time and don't rush things. I don't know how much experience with women you have, but as a big-sister figure, I want you to understand in Japan things can go rather slow." Rika paused as she stepped closer, "Look, all I'm saying is don't rush. Also, sooner or later if the two of you start to get serious, you're going to have to talk to Takashi."
Paddy frowned, "Takashi? I understand he's kind of the leader of the group, but why?"
Rika thought about how to say it without giving anything away. "They have been together and lived through enough hell that they are more of a family then anything. On top of that Takashi is her protector and childhood friend. They have been together most of their lives and he knows her better than anyone. Think of him as the head of the household. You will need to talk to Takashi somewhere along the line."
Paddy shrugged, "Understood."
Rika smiled, "Good! If you need any advice come to me. Now, how much more do you have to do out here before we can abandon the rear of the building and barricade the driveway?"
"As soon as the water tanks are full that's it. I've loaded up everything I can pillage so unless we need to refill one of the vehicles for some reason, I'm done."
"Okay, as soon as two trucks are loaded, I want them hooked to the water tanks and parked out front. The fuel tanker as well. Then I want the driveway blocked between the fence and the building. When we're done out here, we are locking and barricading the rear doors, I don't want anything that may get over that wall to do an end run on us around the building.
"That will not be a problem," Paddy said. "Those metal racks over there roll and we can just turn them over to block the drive. Then we'll take the wooden pallets that are stacked along the side of the building and fill the racks in. It won't hold forever, but it would be long enough for us to get the hell out of Dodge."
Just then Takashi turned off the fire hose, "Paddy we're done!"
Waving Paddy called out, "Just hold up there. I'm going to move this fuel truck around front and bring one of the cargo trucks to hook to that."
Nodding, Takashi and Kohta turned off the hydrant and moved the hose out of the way as Rika and Paddy climbed down.
000
By mid-afternoon, everything was done. The big trucks were parked outside pointed towards the gate, and the Humvees and trailers were inside getting every nook and cranny stuffed full. Saya had resorted to breaking open cases of MRE's and sticking the packets in any holes she could she find. She was standing looking at two meal packs wondering if she could cram them in the Strykers when Tomasa walked up. "That's enough, Takagi-san. I don't think I've ever seen so much stuff crammed into Humvee's like you have."
She sighed, "I just feel like we are leaving so much we could use."
"I know," he replied. "But we have to stop somewhere. I wish we had enough trucks and drivers to take the whole warehouse with us. By the way, how many of you can drive?"
Saya shook her head, "Marikawa-sensei did all our driving. I think most of us could get by after watching her, but…well Takashi can ride a motorcycle okay so he might take to it easily."
"So Marikawa-san did well driving you around?" he asked.
Saya blushed and leaned closer, "Don't tell anyone I told you this, but she broke Rika's Humvee."
Tomasa's jaw dropped, "How did she break a Humvee? Rika's was even one of the heavy models!"
"She ran over so many of Them the front end finally fell out from under it." She snickered, "You should have seen Rika's face when she told her about it!"
Tomasa laughed, "Oh I bet! She loved that truck! Well let's wrap up and get ready to eat and bed down. I want to get started at dawn tomorrow and move as far as we can."
Saya thought for a minute as they walked toward the cooking area, "Tomasa-sama? How do you tell its dawn? I mean I know you can look it up, and it's laid out in almanacs, but what if you don't have access to them?"
"More good questions, Takagi-san. Best trick is to have a black string and a white string. Hold them in the palm of your hand and when you can tell which is which, that's dawn. Before dawn they will just look gray and you should not be able to tell them apart."
She shook her head, "That's so simple! I wonder what else we have forgotten that would be of use in this world."
"Well," he sighed. "One thing for sure is we are going to have some long days, and very cold dark nights the relearn them."
000
Supper was served and everybody got settled. The watch schedule got changed some because Rika wanted a couple of people out back, making sure the horde did not bring down the wall in the night, but none of the teens got tagged for that duty.
It had been a long day and the guards out front had killed over three hundred of Them during daylight hours. They no longer let them get near the fence if they could help it, but cut them down as far away as they could.
Takashi had even tried his hand and was surprised that, with minor instruction from Toda, was able to hit three out of five targets.
Kohta, of course, hit everything he shot at. Toda got to the point he was making him use different stances, sitting, kneeling, prone and even one handed and left handed. Finally he gave up, sitting down on top of the Stryker with Rika chewing on a piece of jerky. "He's just a natural. I'm sure he needs practice on long shots, but I don't see any problem with his technique."
Rika looked over to where Kohta was sitting on the driver's hatch, "Kohta? How are you with a pistol?"
Kohta shook his head, "Nowhere near as good as with a rifle. I have to be within two or three meters to be sure I'm going to hit anything. Further than that and its fifty, fifty."
Toda nodded, "I bet it's your glasses. You're farsighted and I also bet you're having a sight-picture problem with the front sight. We'll work on that when we get the time."
Looking the other way Rika asked, "Takashi? Have you used a pistol any?"
He nodded, "Used the S&W several times on Them and once on a guy that was holding Rei hostage, but I would not say I'm any good with it."
All the officers stopped and looked toward him as he said this. "I don't think I've heard this story. Want to tell me about it?" Rika said.
He shrugged his shoulders, "First night we were on the run Rei and I got separated from the rest. We found a motorcycle dropped by someone who had turned and were just staying on the move to be safe. We stopped for gas, but neither of us had any money to get the pumps working, so I went in the store and broke open the cash register. When I came back out this thug had a knife to Rei's throat and wanted the bike and her. I filled up the bike and kept trying to talk him out of it, but he wouldn't listen. Told me to drop my bat so I did, loudly, then I walked over to him and pulled out the pistol Rei found on some dead police officers and stuck it to his shoulder where I could not miss. I shot him and grabbed Rei as he fell; he was rolling around on the ground screaming and crying. Rei whacked him a couple of times with the broomstick she was using for a weapon, and we got on the bike and left him for Them."
He turned and looked Rika in the eyes, "Am I going to get in trouble for that?"
She and the others laughed. "No," she replied. "I would have to say its clear-cut self-defense and a very smart move on your part."
She dug some jerky out of Toda's bag, "Anyway I want to give both of you a pistol later. If you can only use it at close range its fine because…"
"If you let an enemy get within arm's reach the gunfight is over!" the others quoted out loud before she could.
They were all laughing over it as Saya walked up to the side of the APC, "Kohta? Could we talk for a bit?"
Kohta nodded and handed the rifle off to Rika who leaned over the side of the Stryker, "Saya if it's private use the generator room in the basement."
She nodded and took Kohta by the hand. Crossing the building and going down the stairs they found themselves in a mid-sized room with storage racks and several chairs and cabinets. The room itself was rather quiet because the generator itself was locked away in another area that had sound proofing.
Stopping in front of the chairs, Saya turned and pulled Kohta into a kiss that lasted several minutes.
"Mmmmm…I like this 'talk' idea of yours," he said as they broke for air.
She smiled, "I really did bring you down here to talk about something. That was just the fringe benefit."
Sitting down, she sighed, "Kohta, have you thought on what we will do once we get to the camp?"
He leaned back and put his hands behind his head. Thinking a minute he said, "Okay, first of all, you know whatever you want to do or wherever you go I will be beside you, right?"
She slapped him on the knee, "Baka! Of course I do! If you didn't you wouldn't live to tell it!"
Kohta smiled, "The way I see it, we have a couple of choices. We could go back to your parents, which I'll tell you now I'm not in favor of. We could strike out on our own and try to make our lives scrounging off the dead world, or, we can join the unit on a permanent basis, which is the best for us I think. What do you feel about that and do you have more options?"
She shook her head. "I really didn't think about striking out on our own, and to be honest I would rather go back to my parents before that. I feel the same way you do, I think joining this group is the best bet we have of having any kind of normal life."
He nodded, "I know Rika has been testing you and grooming you for logistics. Several people have already told me how smooth everything went today and credit it to you. The LT has already approached me about joining."
Leaning forward he took her hands in his. "You know that if we join, that's means I will be a shooter. That will take a lot of training time and sometimes I will be gone from your side for long periods of time when we go out on missions. Logistics does not normally move with the troops when they have a permanent base of operations."
Saya nodded, "I thought about this, but husbands and wives have to go through that normally when one or the other of them have a job that requires them to be out of town."
Kohta sat there blinking at her almost in shock. She looked at him puzzled and asked, "What?"
With a sheepish grin on his face he said, "Saya, you said 'husbands and wives'."
Her hand shot to her mouth, "Oh Kohta! I didn't mean anything by that! It was just an expression!"
He pulled her closer to him, "Shuush, Angel, I understand. But I want you to understand something also. I know we have only been together a short time, but if it was you I would not mind at all. I want you to think on that and remember it down the road once we get settled." She look at him with a stunned smiled on her face.
"Takagi Saya, I love you with all my heart and soul, and would be honored for you to be my wife someday."
She climbed into his lap and kissed him with tears in her eyes…as Paddy came banging down the stairs.
Finally noticing the scene he stumbled on the last step and almost fell, "AH! Sorry guys! I didn't know anyone was down here!"
Kohta smiled at him, "It's alright, Paddy; we were really just talking about the future."
"Well talk away, but ya gonna do it in the dark! I'm killing the power so maybe some of our friends will go away and leave us alone! Y'all got a flashlight?"
Saya waved hers as he reached for the two big power switches. Pulling down on them they heard the generator engine fall silent as the light faded away to blackness.
Clicking his light on, Paddy headed back towards the stairs but stopped suddenly, leaned over and whispered into Kohta's ear, "There are blankets in the cabinets behind you."
"Take your time talking! I'll put the chain up to kinda block the stairs!" he said as he ran back up.
As they heard the chain click in place Saya said, "Get the blankets, now!"
000
As Paddy started towards the sleeping area he saw Shion and Giba wandering towards him.
As he passed he whispered, "Sorry guys, someone beat you to it, room's occupied for a while."
"Damnit!" Shion exclaimed.
000
Rika walked up to Tomasa who had Zeke on his lap, legs in the air, scratching the dog's belly. "Woof! Woof! Woof! That's my other dog imitation," he said as Rika laughed.
"Okay 'Odd Ball'! I wanted to tell you I'm going to give pistols to Takashi, Kohta and Rei. I'll let Toda and Kohta handle teaching them what they will need to know, Kohta was already teaching Saeko anyway."
Tomasa nodded, "I'm really looking forward to moving out of here tomorrow."
"Yeah me too," Rika replied. "How's the shoulder?"
"Okay, little stiff, but I'll just have to work that out as we go. Shizuka is a good doctor even if she breaks things, like Humvees."
Rika laughed, "Oh you heard about that did you? We better watch out, put her behind the wheel and she'll end up with the biggest kill count in the unit!"
They laughed again as the blond in question flounced up and asked, "What are you two talking about?"
000
About thirty minutes later, Kohta and Saya showed up with smirks on their faces. Takashi looked at them suspiciously. As Saya prepared their bedding for the night, Kohta sat down beside Takashi.
Narrowing his eyes and leaning over Takashi asked, "And just where have you two been?"
Leaning over Kohta whispered, "There are blankets in the cabinet in the basement generator room. Shion and Giba are down there now, but when they show back up, you and Saeko could take a walk for some private time if you want."
Takashi cocked an eyebrow and just looked at him, "How do you find out about this stuff?"
"What stuff, Takashi?' Saeko asked him from the other side.
He turned around and whispered in her ear what he had been told. She leaned around him and got a good look at Saya who was humming happily while tending the bedding.
Giggling behind her hand, she looked at Takashi and nodded.
000
A little later, Giba and a happy looking Shion showed back up at their bedrolls. Giba looked over at Takashi and gave him a nod and wink.
As Takashi nodded back, Saeko looked over at him, "Ah Takashi? I need the bathroom, would you go with me?"
They walked across the warehouse and went in the bathrooms, but when they came out they took a right turn down into the basement. After finding the blankets they sat down and held each other and kissed for a while.
Saeko kept giggling till Takashi finally asked her what was wrong.
Laughing through her hand she said, "I feel like we're doing something so naughty and it feels so good! It's like we are in the storeroom at school or the sports equipment room like you see in a manga, with all the excitement of maybe getting caught!"
He laughed and hugged her closer. She purred in his arms as they lay down and forgot about everything for a while.
000
Rika shook her head as the pair turned and went down the basement stairs.
Tomasa, grinning and watching her said, "What's wrong with you, Sarge?"
"It seems that our younger members have learned the ways of the camp quickly. I'm betting it's due to a certain red-headed Irish boy too," she grumbled.
Tomasa laughed, "Come on, Rika, you know that somebody always sets up a 'boom boom' room in every mixed camp. It's nothing new and will go on as long as men are men, and women are women. Anyway, what are you griping about? It's not like you haven't used one before. Ow!" he exclaimed as she punched him in the right shoulder.
They were still laughing when Takashi and Saeko came up the stairs and headed back to their beds a short time later, arm-in-arm.
000
Rika had not been kidding Paddy about not sleeping. She was up and down all night checking guards, doors and troopers.
Then it happened. Somewhere between 0200 and 0300 the rear yard guards called her to come out. What she found was a horde that stretched as far as she could see between the buildings, and the wall was bowing in.
"That's it! We're done here! Get inside and get everyone awake and ready to roll out!"
The two troopers raced inside calling on the radio as Rika took one last look. As she headed for the door she heard the first crack of concrete.
She slammed the door behind her, locked it and dragged a desk in front of it as the lights came up and the scramble started.
They had saved space in the last truck for all the bedding and camp gear so it was easily stowed. Personal packs and weapons were tossed in whatever vehicle you were riding in, and people fired them up and got them in line to leave.
Paddy ran over and asked, "Do you want me to kill the generator or leave it?"
"Kill it," Rika replied. "If we ever come back it will be harder to deal with if it runs out of fuel."
Once all the vehicles were out, they rolled down the big door for the last time and went out the personal door.
Stryker 1 rolled to a stop far enough back from the gate for it to be opened, but there were already a couple of dozen undead waiting there. Paddy and Takashi opened the top rear hatches and climbed out onto the APC. Paddy leaned over and waved the command Humvee up close till it almost touched the APC.
They then jumped to the hood of the Humvee and to the ground. "Here's what we're going to do," Paddy told Takashi. "Kohta and the LT are going to shoot as many as they can near the gate and give us a chance to open it. You pull the right side and I'll get the left. Do it quick but for god's sake don't trip. Once it's open, run like hell back here, jump on the hood of the Humvee and then to the Stryker. This way we don't have to open the ramp. Plus we can stay on top to repel boarders if need be. I've never seen it yet that you didn't have at least one of these dead fuckers grab ahold and try to climb up. Now, let's get this done!"
As they walked around the front of the Stryker, they could see Kohta and the LT were already hard at work with rifles, dropping zeds. After about three minutes, Tomasa called "GO!" and they raced to the gate. Grabbing the latches and nodding to each other they pulled it out of the way and raced to the rear as the undead stumbled into the compound.
Takashi hit the hood of the Humvee and rolled, stopping only long enough to wink at Rika, with a grin, through the windshield. He then leaped to the Stryker where Paddy already waited with a helping hand.
Kneeling down on top, he racked home a shell in his shotgun. Looking left, he saw Paddy releasing the slide of his pistol.
Toda was already picking up speed when the first undead reached up and grabbed ahold of the Stryker. Takashi dropped the muzzle of the gun and blew the creature off into the darkness. Glancing toward Paddy, he watched him blast another one of Them as it tried to climb up, even the Irish boy could not miss at this range. Takashi noticed a gray hand coming over the side behind his friend and he leaned over to blow its head off before it could get any further.
Kohta looked back at the pair and gave them a thumb up as the dozer blade on the front went to work slamming bodies out of their way.
Turning to look behind them, Paddy found Rei standing in the rear hatch, Springfield in hand and ginger hair flowing out behind her in the wind.
He leaned over and called out to her, "Do you know how beautiful you are?"
Rei blushed and covered her mouth with her hand before smiling back at him, glancing at Takashi and dropping back down into the Stryker. Looking over at Takashi himself, Paddy found the Japanese boy laughing and smiling, as the glow of the sunrise started in the east as they raced south.
A/N: Chapter 14 is in progress. Please Review and/or Favorite. Good or bad I love the feedback!