Chapter 9 - The Dead Go Free
All-out war in Andeddo Prison!
Thunderous storm clouds brew in the night sky; any moment now, it's gonna pour.
The dead stagger through the breached fence, courtesy of Jin, by the hundreds, and flood the prison interior. Inmates and passersby, everyone who has been poisoned by Shido's words, collapse like dominos. The cell blocks fill with screams, gunshots, splashes of blood and churning of organs. The revolting stench of death fills the claustrophobic hallways of concrete and darkness.
All the while, the only sound drowning out the carnage just happens to be music blasting over the speakers, still playing from when Shido turned it on back in the arena. But the audio system's malfunctioned amidst the chaos, and one song continues to play on loop. And of all the songs playing, it's "You Spin Me Round" by the appropriately named Dead or Alive.
In one of the corridors, a prisoner slips on the blood-soaked floor. Within seconds, he's set upon a horde of undead, and devoured to pieces. One of the zombies senses a presence, turns around, and gets its head blasted off by a shotgun.
As the catchy song hits its chorus, a hardened, half-naked group of survivors emerges from the shadows, and fights their way down the corridor. Takashi blasts away with his shotgun, Jin with his machine gun, Rika with her dual Beretta pistols, and Kohta with his AK-47. Saeko and Rei take down the stragglers with their sword and bayonet rifle, respectively. Saya and Shizuka do their best to keep up with the group, panting and exhausted. But then, Shizuka perks up when she finally takes a moment to hear the music.
"Oh, I love this song," she gushes whilst swinging her hips.
Saya grips her ear, and yanks her along. "Great, we can dance to it later. Move your ass."
"Ow, Saya, that hurts," whines Shizuka.
While Takashi and Kohta are both wearing their shirts again, the girls are all still wearing only their underwear. Naturally, Saya's still upset as they advance down the corridor.
"In here," says Jin, gesturing to an upcoming door.
He opens it, and everyone filters in, finding themselves in the armory. With the riot still going on, it's been picked clean of almost all weapons.
"Well, that's disappointing," moans Kohta.
"Jin, shuttle keys?" asks Takashi.
Jin points to a lockbox on the corner of a back table cluttered with blueprints of the prison. "In there," he says while opening a locker filled with confiscated women's clothes. Among the pile just happens to be all the clothes belonging to Saeko and the others. "In the meantime, I suggest you ladies adjust yourselves."
"No way," beams Rei, fishing out her clothes and putting them on.
"How the hell did these get here?" asks Saeko, getting herself dressed.
"Let's just be grateful they did," notes Rika, getting dressed.
"And that they don't smell," hisses Saya, adjusting herself.
"Wait, why would they…oh, ew! Saya," says Shizuka, putting her clothes on.
"Guys, let's stay focused," orders Takashi. He smashes the lockbox open with the hilt of his shotgun, then pries open the box; it's empty. He slams his fist on the table. "Shit! The keys are gone!"
"Dammit," says Jin. "Shido must've moved them."
"How many keys were there?" asks Rika.
"About a dozen," replies Jin.
"Which means they're in the hands of a dozen of Shido's brainwashed cultists currently fleeing for the garage," says Saya.
"Then we have to get to the garage first," says Kohta.
"And snag one of the shuttles before there are none left," says Saeko.
Gunshots and screams in the outer halls interrupt the conversation.
"We're gonna need more firepower to get through that," says Rei.
Kohta searches the room for what little weapons remain. He bends down under another table, and his face fills with elation. He reaches into the back, pulls something out, and presents it to Takashi.
"Hey, Takashi," he says, holding the roll of grenades that Takashi snatched from Rika's van. "Remember these?" he jokes, tossing Takashi the roll.
"Oh, hell, yeah," replies Takashi, fastening the roll diagonally across his body.
Kohta clocks Jin's RPG. "Hey, Jin, that bad boy got a double?"
"Sadly, no," responds Jin. "Plus, it's only got one round left."
"Then let's make it count," says Rika.
Suddenly, she aims her pistol at Jin, only to shove him aside. She fires, killing the zombie that was right behind Jin, ready to kill him. The undead fiend hits the floor like a sack of flour, stimulating everyone back into action. Jin nods at Rika with gratitude.
"We need to move," says Saeko.
"Right," says Takashi. "Okay, Jin. Lead the way to the garage."
"So you'll take me?" asks Jin.
"Yes, shit, okay, we have a deal," says Takashi. "We'll get you to Hawaii, back to your son."
Jin takes in everyone's faces around the room; it's clear they're willing to trust him, and welcoming him to tag along. "Follow me," he says.
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Jin leads the group down another corridor. Every time a zombie lumbers into view or a prisoner advances on the group, they get put down.
Takashi glances at the others.
I hope they're okay, he thinks. We're not just fighting and killing the dead this time, but the living too. Maybe they haven't had time to think about it. Maybe I shouldn't be wasting time worrying about it myself. Right now, it's kill or be killed. Us or them. And I choose us.
The group keeps running as they talk.
"Hey, uh, guys," says Kohta.
"What?" asks Saya.
"What about Shido? Don't we still need him?" asks Kohta.
Rei's eyes become hollow, and she bites her lip; the very thought of finding Shido and bringing him along on a bus, again, boils her blood.
"Dammit, we do," says Saeko.
"We're not splitting up," orders Takashi. "We secure a shuttle so we can get out of here, then we'll worry about Shido."
"Rika?" asks Shizuka.
Everyone stops and looks back at Rika, who stands before a pair of swinging doors caked in blood. The sign above the door reads: MEDICAL WARD.
"Miss Rika," starts Takashi.
"No," says Rika. "We can't leave without the cure."
"What're you talking about?" asks Takashi.
"You said it yourself, Takashi," replies Rika. "We don't need Shido to reproduce the cure; we just need his blood."
"I also literally just said we're not splitting up," says Takashi.
"Without the cure, we'll never get to Hawaii!" shouts Rika, startling everyone. Then, without even looking, she points her gun at a prisoner with a crowbar creeping up on her, and shoots him in the head. She sees how frightened she made everyone, and recollects herself after a few breaths. "We just need a sample of his blood, Takashi. I'll get it, and meet you all in the garage."
Shizuka runs up to Rika, but Jin holds her back. "Rika."
"She's right," says Jin. "There's no time, we have to go."
Rika gives Shizuka a smile. "I'll be back in a few, my love. I promise." Then she runs into the medical ward.
Takashi grits his teeth, and clenches his fists. "Fuck."
Just then, a horde of zombies appears down the hall, too many to fight in such a closed space.
"Takashi," says Rei.
"Get to the garage," orders Takashi. "If we're not back in time, go without us."
Then he runs into the medical ward after Rika.
"Wait!" shouts Rei.
Saya seizes her by the arm, and pulls her along. "Come on!"
With no other choice, the others flee down the corridor.
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Zombies lumber around the ransacked medical ward.
PFFT-PFFT-PFFT-PFFT!
Several rapid gunshots later, and they all drop dead. Rika stomps into the room, holsters her pistols, and begins her search. She opens cabinets and drawers, shifts through supplies on the shelves and floor, looking and failing to find what she needs.
Unbeknownst to her, from behind, a dead body on one of the beds, draped with a white shroud, begins to sit up. The shroud falls off, revealing another reanimated zombie. Rika's on all fours on the floor, puttering about, glass crunching beneath her. The sound stirs the blind zombie into action, and it approaches her from behind. It raises its rotten hands and gnarls, ready to feast.
Takashi comes running into the room, sees the zombie, and takes aim – CLICK! – he's out of rounds. "Miss Rika!"
Just as the zombie goes for Rika's neck-
SLASH!
A fine swing from Saeko's sword decapitates the zombie just in time. As the zombie drops, Rika's on her feet, annoyed to see Takashi and Saeko having both followed her.
"Saeko?" asks Takashi, unaware she followed him.
"Thanks, but what're you two doing here?" asks Rika.
"Two makes for better odds than one, but three's even better," replies Saeko. She arcs her sword through the air, splashing blood off the blade and onto the wall. Then she gestures to something behind Takashi. "On your six."
Takashi turns to see more zombies staggering into the ward. With zero time to reload, he fights them off with his shotgun, and bashes their brains with the hilt. Saeko joins him, cutting them down while Rika resumes her search.
"Miss Rika, what're you looking for?" asks Takashi.
"I just need-yes!" cheers Rika, finding a handheld case containing four clean, plastic syringes.
As Takashi reloads his gun and Saeko deals with the rest of the zombies, another wave of undead begins sauntering into the room.
"We gotta move," says Saeko.
"But where do we start?" asks Rika.
"The warden's office," says Takashi. "There were cameras inside. We can use them to find Shido."
"Sounds like a plan," says Rika. "Let's go."
The trio hurries out the back door as the undead flood inside.
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The two-story common room where inmates would lounge about on their free time. Everything's made of stone; a testament to the prison's old age and lack of finances. Blood on the walls. Bodies on the tables and floors. A handful of zombies loiter about and feast.
The speakers continue playing music. The current song playing is, of all things, "Staying Alive" by the Bee Gees.
Jin leads the rest of the group into the room. "The garage is just up-"
BANG—BANG—BANG!
A wave of bullets pierces the floor in front of the group; everyone dives for cover under the stone tables. Jin and Shizuka huddle under one table; Rei, Saya and Kohta all huddle under their own. Jin's RPG slides away out in the open. Rei and the others take fire from above.
She glances up. "Oh, you gotta be shitting me."
On the upper catwalk, armed with pistols and machine guns, are their fellow students and Shido's five most faithful loyalists; Miku, Kurokami, Miura, Taniuchi and Kawamoto.
"You assholes killed our home!" yells Miku.
"Now we're gonna kill you!" yells Kurokami.
With humans shooting at them from above, and zombies coming at them from ground level, the survivors are trapped. Kohta and Rei exchange fire with the students up above. Most of the zombies cluster around the table where Jin and Shizuka hide; he guns them down one at a time.
"Th-thank you, Jin," says Shizuka.
"Of course-AH!" grunts Jin, clutching his chest; his shirt blossoms red.
"Oh, no! Jin!" worries Shizuka.
"Miss Shizuka, what's wrong?" calls out Rei.
"Jin's been shot!" replies Shizuka.
"Grr," seethes Saya. "I did not come all this way just to be killed by you jackasses!" She peeks out from under her table, and pops off a few rounds.
One lucky round hits Taniuchi in the face; the bullet drills the nose bridge of her glasses, sending both lens' sideways, and mushrooms out the back of her head, spraying blood all over the faces of her fellow harem girls, Miku and Kawamoto.
Shido's loyalists react with shock, not used to seeing one of their own drop dead. Miku, Kurokami and Miura retreat into the nearby cells for cover, but not Kawamoto. She stares at Taniuchi's corpse on the ground, screams her lungs out, and empties her machine gun on Saya's table.
"That was our sister, you cunt!" she yells.
A stray round nails Saya across the neck; she cries out in pain, drops to the floor, and clutches her neck, forcing the bleeding to stop. Tears of pain and fear fill her eyes as Kawamoto continues firing at her.
"Saya!" screams Rei.
On the floor, Saya tilts her head back, her vision becoming upside-down. She can make out Kohta several tables away from her. She reaches her hand out for him.
Kohta is paralyzed; the sight of Saya on the floor, bleeding, dying, blinds everything else to him. He squints his eyes, grits his teeth, and squeezes his AK so hard, he's about to crack the metal shaft. He roars like a beast, ditches his cover and runs right out in the field of fire, straight for Saya's table.
Going full berserk, he doesn't bother shooting the zombies in his way. He holds his gun like a club, swings, and obliterates the heads of every undead fiend in his path. Kawamoto stops firing at Saya, and starts firing at him; he runs right into her line of fire.
"That's my girlfriend, you bitch!" he roars.
Just as Kawamoto has him dead-to-rights, he shoots first, spraying the rest of his clip. Up above, the bullets punch Kawamoto, shattering her.
CLICK-CLICK-CLICK!
Kohta's gun finally empties. Kawamoto's bullet-ridden corpse topples over the railing, and splats onto the floor. Two hungry zombies approach her body.
Saya, Rei, Shizuka and Jin all appear morbidly impressed, and know better than to piss off their resident gun-nut.
"Holy shit," mutters Shizuka and Jin at the same time.
The berserk mode waring off, Kohta returns to his usual self, and hurries over to Saya. He holds her in his arms, and presses a handkerchief against her bleeding neck.
"Saya," panics Kohta. "It's okay. I'm right here. See? Hold my hand."
"D…dummy," says Saya.
"Huh?" asks Kohta.
"Who said you could...c-call me your girlfriend?" teases Saya with a playful smirk.
Tears fill Kohta's eyes. He smiles, and kisses her forehead. "You're gonna be alright. We all are."
Just then, the three remaining loyalists resume firing above. What's worse, the gunfire has attracted dozens of more zombies into the common room, surrounding the survivors on all sides.
"Are we?" asks Saya.
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The door to the warden's office bursts open, alerting the two zombies feasting on a couple of corpses inside. Rika storms in, and guns down the zombies, followed by Takashi and Saeko.
The office is destroyed, just like every other room in the prison. The corpses on the floor are just more of Shido's cronies; no sign of Shido himself.
"Dammit," curses Rika.
More zombies begin filtering into the office. Saeko deals with them. "Whatever you're gonna do, do it fast," she says.
Takashi rushes over to the security monitors, all splattered with blood. He scans every screen, and points to a screen of Shido, Kai and his other two bodyguards ascending a flight of stairs. "There!"
Rika joins him by the monitors while Saeko holds off the zombies still coming in.
"He's not heading for the garage," says Rika.
"No," responds Takashi, pointing to another screen of the roof, where the helicopter rests on the landing pad. "He's heading for that."
"Shit," says Rika. "If he gets away-"
"He won't," says Takashi.
Saeko finishes off the last zombie coming in. "Then let's go get him before he does."
"Wait," says Takashi, turning to another monitor of the common room, where their friends are pinned down by gunmen and zombies.
Rika spots Shizuka with Jin underneath a table, trapped and terrified. "Oh, no." She clenches the case with the two syringes in her hands; she can either go after Shido, or go save her wife.
Takashi touches the case. "You and Saeko go help the others. I'll go after Shido."
"Fuck that shit," says Saeko.
Takashi turns to her. "Saeko-"
"I am NOT letting you out of my sight, Takashi," she says.
"Go, both of you," says Rika. "I'll get the others to the garage."
She hands the case to Takashi. He and Saeko trade nods, and then dash out of the room. Takashi opens the case, and hands one of the syringes to Saeko.
"Here, just in case," he says.
"Got it," she says, pocketing the syringe.
Takashi takes another out syringe, and puts it in his left jacket pocket. He keeps the other two in the case, and puts it in his right jacket pocket.
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Inside one of the dark and dusty air vents hanging from the ceiling, Mato, Arisu and Zero crawl their way to their friends. They pass a grate, and see the entire hallway beneath them is flooded with zombies.
"Mato, you know where we're going?" asks Arisu.
"Sorry, I don't," replies Mato. "But we're safe up here." He starts crawling over another grate. Arisu and Zero are a few feet behind him. He continues. "We'll just have to keep looking until we find our friends. And then we can-"
Suddenly, the grate underneath him gives out from his weight, and he falls through.
"Mato!" screams Arisu.
The grate lid lands atop the heads of the zombies, drawing their attention to Mato, who helplessly dangles from the vent just a few feet above them. He hangs on for dear life, panicking and kicking his legs out at the zombies who grab at him. Above in the vent, Zero barks in dismay.
"I'm slipping!" he panics, his fingers losing their grip.
Arisu hurries to him, and takes his hands. Using every ounce of strength she has in her tiny body, she helps pull Mato up as he climbs the rest of the way in. They both collapse in the vent, inhaling and exhaling. Arisu looks at his ankles; no signs of bite marks.
"Are you alright?" she asks.
Mato looks at her, and his eyes begin to well, terrified of how close he was to getting eviscerated by the monsters. Arisu embraces him, and Zero pounces into his lap.
"Thank you," he says.
Arisu kisses his cheek and smiles. "I have to protect you too, you know."
Instantly, the tears in Mato's eyes evaporate and his cheeks flush red. He smiles back at her, and touches his cheek. Both he and Arisu giggle.
Suddenly, the hallway below is filled with gunfire, startling the children and Zero. They cover their ears, and keep quiet, watching the zombies below getting mowed down by unseen assailants.
Several moments and thousands of gunshots later, two figures begin waltzing down the hallway; it's Tsunoda and Mohawk, both armed with semi-automatic rifles.
"Got separated from the rest of Shido's inner circle, and I end up stuck with you," grunts Mohawk.
"Come on, let's just try the common room," insists Tsunoda. "We're so close to Komuro."
"Forget it," says Mohawk. "I didn't sign up for this shit. You wanna kill that pretty boy so bad, you can do it yourself. I'm getting the fuck outta here."
"And what about Mr. Shido? You just gonna let him die?" demands Tsunoda.
"Shouldn't you be more worried about your slutty harem?" jokes Mohawk.
"They're replaceable. Mr. Shido isn't," responds Tsunoda. "If it wasn't for him, you'd still be wasting away in solitary. You owe him, asshole."
Mohawk stops, grabs Tsunoda by the collar and slams him against the wall. All of Tsunoda's bravado vanishes; he really is just all talk. Arisu, Mato and Zero watch them from above, hidden in the vent, remaining quiet.
"I tolerate you, Tsunoda," says Mohawk. "Which is the only reason I'm not ripping off that shiny new arm of yours, and shoving it up your ass. I've spent half my life in this shithole; I'll be damned if I die in it."
A zombie lingers up to them; Mohawk pays it no mind while Tsunoda starts to freak out. But he tries to match Mohawk's calm demeanor.
"H-how are you even gonna escape?" challenges Tsunoda.
Mohawk aims his gun; Tsunoda cowers, thinking he's about to get shot – BANG!
The lingering zombie drops dead, gunned down by Mohawk. He tosses the empty machine gun, releases Tsunoda, and gestures to the dead zombie. "The same way these fuckers got in," he replies. "My guess is everyone else is rushing for the shuttles in the garage. I'd also guess that's where your pretty boy and his band of misfits are going."
Up in the vent, Arisu and Mato trade looks, now aware of where they need to go.
"Later, kid," says Mohawk, waltzing off down the corridor.
For a second, Tsunoda is tempted to raise his rifle and shoot Mohawk in the back. Just then, another wave of zombies starts coming at him from the adjacent corridor. He grits his teeth, and lowers the gun, not wanting to waste the bullets. Then he runs off back the way he came.
Up in the vent, Arisu, Mato and Zero climb over the open grate, and continue crawling down the vent, heading for the garage.
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Back in the common room, the chaos intensifies.
Everyone is still trapped under their tables; gunfire rains down from Shido's loyalists, and the undead swarm on ground level.
Under one table, Jin picks off the zombies coming at them while Shizuka tends to his wound using her hands and a torn piece from her skirt. Under another table, Kohta fires at the three remaining loyalists, still hunkered in their cells; next to Kohta, Saya nurses her neck wound. Under the last table, Rei runs out of ammo. Refusing to be useless and let her friends die, she abandons her cover, and goes after the dozen remaining zombies on her own.
She whacks, stabs and smashes the heads of all the zombies that come her way. A far cry from the timid woman she was when the apocalypse began, and spurred by her vengeance against Shido, Rei heroically stands her ground. Miura takes aims at her.
"Rei!" screams Saya.
Rei kicks a zombie in the face, spinning him around. Then she grabs him from behind, and uses him like a shield just as Miura pulls his trigger. Bullets drill into the zombie, shredding his bones and muscle tissue apart; Rei remains unharmed as she kneels down behind her undead shield.
Kohta grabs a spare magazine from his back pocket. "Rei, catch!" he shouts, tossing her the mag. "Last one!"
Miura keeps shooting at the zombie. Rei quickly rolls away as her shield collapses into pieces. Still rolling on the floor whist evading gunfire, she unloads her empty mag, slams in the fresh one, and fires one perfectly-aligned shot.
The bullet shatters through the scope of Miura's glass rifle, and pierces him through the eye. His body slumps on the wall, bleeding as he drops to the floor. It's just Miku and Kurokami now.
Miku reloads and resumes firing, hellbent on killing them. Kurokami looks from the bodies of Miura to Taniuchi to Kawamoto; his friends, all slaughtered. Rage fills his body, and he roars like a primal animal, scaring everyone, including Miku.
"You motherfuckers!" he roars.
He drops his gun, runs straight for the railing, and actually jumps down from the catwalk. He lands and rolls on the concrete floor. Before anyone can take a shot at him, he draws a buck knife from behind his waist, goes for Shizuka, and drags her out from under her table.
"No, no!" she screams, locking arms with Jin.
He pulls her back, but his wound reduces his strength. Kurokami slashes at Jin's wrist, forcing him to release Shizuka. Then he holds the blade to her throat.
"Drop your guns!" he yells.
Rei, Saya, Kohta and Jin have their guns trained on him; not one of them can get a shot without hitting Shizuka.
"I'll bleed her out all over this pavement, I swear to fuck, I will!" bellows Kurokami, deranged and seeing red. "I'll do it! Believe me, I-"
BANG!
Kurokami's head reels back; the knife falls from his hand, and he hits the floor with a loud thud. Shizuka stands shell-shocked and confused. Then she turns and sees someone on the other side of the room, lowering her smoking pistol.
"I will never let anyone touch you again, my love," says Rika.
Everyone turns and smiles at Rika, happy to see her back. But their delight doesn't come close to that of Shizuka's, who's eyes well with tears of joy.
Up above, Miku takes cover back in the open cell; outnumbered and outgunned, she dares not make a move.
Down below, Rika picks up Jin's RPG, and takes in the state of the group. Jin and Saya are both shot, Kohta and Rei are exhausted, and Shizuka's practically traumatized. And adding insult to injury, another wave of zombies begins swarming into the common room.
"Can you run?" asks Kohta, helping Saya up.
"I'm gonna have to," she replies. "And so is he." She and Shizuka together help Jin on his feet.
"Miss Rika, where are Takashi and Saeko?" asks Rei.
"Shido's going for the chopper on the roof," replies Rika. "They're gonna beat him to it, and rendezvous with us in the garage."
More zombies filter in; too many to face all at once.
"Then let's not keep them waiting," says Saya.
"Jin," speaks Shizuka.
"The garage is just through that door and down the hall," grunts Jin, coughing blood.
Up above, Miku hyperventilates as she hears them discussing their plan. All of them are out in the open like sitting ducks; she could easily gun them all down.
"Alright, then let's move," says Kohta.
"You're not going anywhere!" shrieks Miku, emerging from her cell like a madwoman. She lifts her gun before the others can react and-
A zombie comes at her from the side, and sinks its teeth into her arm. She screams in pain, and whirls around; the zombies have made their way up to the catwalk, trapping her on both sides.
Miku yanks her arm free, and retreats back into the cell with her gun. Now she's really trapped. She yells and shoots wildly at the zombie's heads, but they overrun her. Then she sticks the barrel of her gun into her mouth, pulls the trigger and-
CLICK! Empty.
"No, no!" she screams.
The zombies dig their rotten hands into her belly, and the cell fills with sickening, churning sounds of her insides being devoured.
Down below, the survivors watch and listen in grim horror until Miku's wails finally end.
"Let's go," orders Rika.
"Wait," says Shizuka. "Where's Rei?"
Everyone glances around; sure enough, Rei is gone.
"Oh, that idiot," hisses Saya.
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Night has fallen. And so too has the rain.
Dark thunderous clouds brew above the prison. Lightning flashes and streaks across the sky. Heavy raindrops drench the undead land.
Up on the roof, Shido is escorted by Kai and his other two bodyguards up the stairs and across the catwalk; they're heading for the chopper on the helipad.
"Mr. Shido," starts one of the bodyguards. "What about the others?"
"I am the priority, you little shit!" responds Shido. "The holy grail is coursing through my veins. If you want a drop of it, you'll get me outta here. Fuck the others."
"Y-yes, sir," says the same bodyguard.
The two bodyguards take point, Shido follows and Kai picks up the rear. The mute swordsman keeps his eyes peeled amidst the storm and darkness. He looks up ahead where the helicopter idles. He looks left and right; rain splatters atop the metal HVAC units on the rooftops. He looks back; no one's following them across the catwalk.
Another boom of thunder, followed by a thud; a thrown grenade lops on the helipad, and rolls under the chopper. Only Kai noticed the sound, and he quickly holds Shido back.
"Kai, what're you-"
BOOM!
The helicopter erupts into a ball of fire. The shockwave blasts Kai and Shido back on the ground. One bodyguard is engulfed by the flames from the explosion. The chopper's propeller blades are sent flying, and bisecting the other bodyguard. Both bodyguards' guns skitter away, and go over the edge of the roof.
Kai gets up, on alert, and helps Shido to his feet. Shido stares at the burning wreckage of what was his only chance of escape. His face contorts with loss and rage. He bellows a roar, only to be drowned out by the thunder overhead.
"Shido!" screams a voice.
Kai gets in front of Shido, ready to draw his sword, his only weapon. They both watch as Takashi and Saeko emerge from the darkness; he aims his gun at them, and still has the roll of grenades wrapped around him; she's ready to draw her blade.
"You should've taken my deal to come with us," declares Takashi. "Instead, we'll be taking your blood."
Saeko addresses Kai. "Whatever this man's done for you, I promise it's not worth dying for. You can still walk away."
Kai looks to his fellow bodyguards; one burnt to a smoldering crisp, and the other laying in two pieces with his insides gushing out. He turns back to Saeko, remains in front of Shido, and draws his blade.
Saeko sighs. "So be it."
Suddenly, gunshots erupt all around them, forcing Takashi and Saeko to cover behind separate HVAC units. Kai and Shido take cover as well, but not before a stray round ricochets into Shido's shin.
"Ahh!" he screams.
Kai quickly gets Shido and himself behind their own HVAC; their only way off the roof is back the way they came, but they'll have to get pass Takashi and Saeko to do so. Not to mention, avoid the lunatic shooting wildly at everything in sight.
"Komuro!" roars Tsunoda, emerging from the shadows.
"Oh, great," grunts Takashi, peeking from behind his HVAC. Then he spots Kai and Shido behind their HVAC on the other end of the roof. He looks to Saeko. "Saeko, go! I'll handle him."
"Right," says Saeko.
They both move at once. Takashi runs one way across the roof, using the other HVACs for cover as Tsunoda blasts at him. Saeko runs the other way, vaulting over one HVAC after another, heading for Shido.
Tsunoda lifts his bladed gauntlet into the air. "I'm gonna carve my name into your chest!" Then he resumes firing.
Takashi fires back, forcing Tsunoda to hide behind the HVACs. The two young men exchange gunfire across the roof.
Saeko closes in on Shido. As she does, Jin casually walks out onto the helipad. Saeko slows down, and faces him.
…
Their blades drawn, the two warriors take their stances, and prepare for their duel. Fires from the destroyed helicopter burn in the background. Rainwater soaks their bodies and swords.
…
A bolt of lightning flashes, followed by another boom of thunder.
And just like that, Saeko and Kai charge each other. Sparks fly off their blades as they clash. Masters of the sword, both warriors appear evenly matched.
Back on the shootout. Takashi reloads more shells into his shotgun; he's become far more experienced, and efficiently loads the shells without dropping any.
"Komuro!" roars Tsunoda, firing his gun.
"Just shut the fuck up!" yells Takashi, firing back. Then he grabs one of his grenades off his roll, pulls the pin, and hurls it across the roof.
The grenade rolls right at Tsunoda's feet, but without hesitation or fear, he just casually kicks it back across the roof like it were a soccer ball.
"Oh, shit!" yells Takashi, rolling away just in time as the grenade explodes, claiming the HVAC unit he was hiding behind.
The case containing the two plastic syringes falls from his pocket, and goes sliding over the edge before he can catch it; now, they only have two syringe lefts; one on him, and the other on Saeko.
Back on the duel. Saeko is briefly distracted by the explosion, worried for Takashi.
Kai seizes the chance to strike. She parries too late, and his blade slices across her leg. She yelps, but instantly buries the pain, replacing it with rage so as to better her fighting prowess.
Then she jumps back, putting some space between her and Kai. He doesn't advance, confused albeit intrigued about what she plans to do.
Saeko takes a deep breath and closes her eyes. Takashi's words reverberate through her mind.
We all have a dark side, Saeko. Yours is what saved me back when we were trapped at the shrine. I trust you'll use it to save us again when the time comes.
Kai ceases his waiting, and lunges for her, blade-first.
Saeko opens her eyes, ducks a millisecond before his blade pierces her chest, and slashes diagonally upwards, straight across his chest.
…
Kai stands still for a moment. And then a second later, blood sprays out of his chest. He drops to his knees, and faceplants the ground. His blood pools onto the concrete, mixing with the rainwater.
Another boom of thunder fills the sky.
Saeko takes another breath, and clutches her leg. Gunshots from behind catch her attention. Between the darkness and the downpour, she can't see Takashi or Tsunoda; only their guns flashing across the roof.
"I'm coming," she says. Then she quickly dashes over to Shido.
She finds him cowering in the fetal position behind a HVAC, holding his wounded leg, whining over the pain. Saeko keeps her sword on him, and digs into her pocket for the syringe. As she gets within reach, Shido spins around with a stun gun, and zaps her exposed ankle; with her body soaked to the bone from the rain, the shock is twice as lethal. Saeko howls in pain, drops her sword and syringe, and falls back onto the ground, unable to move.
Across the way, Takashi can make out Saeko hitting the ground, and Shido slowly crawling atop her.
"SAEKO!" he screams.
The second he runs her way, more bullets courtesy of Tsunoda stop him and force him back.
Saeko remains paralyzed and furious; all she can do is watch as the slimy Shido appears over her with a twisted expression filling his face.
"Ms. Busujima," he snarls. "I must say, up close like this, you are a pure beauty." He disgustingly brushes strands of her hair off her cheek.
"Get away, you sonofabitch," she hisses.
He grins at her with sinister delight, and at that moment, staring into his cold eyes, it comes back to her. That night, when she was almost assaulted on her way home from school. Only back then, she was able to defend herself. But now, she's helpless. Fear cracks the defiant look in her eyes.
On the other side of the roof, Takashi stares at the grisly sight. Unable to take anymore, he runs right out into Tsunoda's range. Tsunoda laughs and fires at Takashi's head. The bullet barely misses Takashi's forehead. Takashi fires back; a wild shot that hits the HVAC unit nearest Tsunoda, bounces off the metal, and chips Tsunoda right in his left eye.
"AAAAAHHHHH!" wails Tsunoda. He falls back, bleeding from his eye, but still alive. He loses consciousness from the force of the gunshot.
Just as Shido lowers his hands towards Saeko's breasts, he looks to Takashi rushing over. Thinking fast, he grabs the limp Saeko by her hair with one hand, and holds her sword to her throat with the other.
"Stop right there, Mr. Komuro!" yells Shido.
Takashi does as he's told, but keeps his gun aimed on Shido.
No, not again, he thinks; this is just like when the thug held Rei hostage back at the gas station. Only then, Takashi got lucky and managed to save her. This time, he can't do the same for Saeko.
"You're gonna throw down your weapon, and walk away," threatens Shido. "Or I'll make a fucking Pez dispenser out of sweet Ms. Busujima."
"Let her go," begs Takashi. "Please."
Saeko weakly opens her eyes, and sees the man she loves sink into desperation. "Takashi…"
"Saeko, don't worry," says Takashi.
"I'm gonna count to three," warns Shido.
"Wait," pleads Takashi, lowering his gun, but not dropping it.
"Takashi," mutters Saeko. "I…lo-"
SHLINK!
…
Takashi's eyes widen in disbelief. Shido's widen in shock. He drops both Saeko and her sword, and glances down at his chest, where a bayonet blade protrudes; someone impaled him from behind. And that someone is…
"I finally killed you," utters Rei.
Shido turns around, and sees Rei staring daggers at him with her hollow eyes. Holding the syringe, she jams it into Shido's neck; the same spot where he injected himself with the cure. She extracts a sample of his blood, filling the syringe until it's full. Then she yanks her bayonet out of his back. He cries out in pain, and hits the ground.
"Rei," says Saeko, relieved and grateful.
Takashi quickly rushes over, helps Saeko stand, and addresses his former lover. "Rei, I…"
She smiles at him, already knowing what he wants to say. Then she pockets the syringe. "Okay, we've got the cure. Now let's get back to the others."
"It hurts," whines Shido. Everyone turns to see him futilely and pathetically crawling off to nowhere. "It hurts," he repeats. "I've never…felt pain…like this before."
Takashi, Saeko and Rei look down upon him without the slightest hint of pity.
"Takashi, I'm okay now," says Saeko, regaining her strength and picking up her sword.
"I'll kill you," babbles Shido. "All of you. I'll kill you, rape your flesh, and feed whatever's left of you to the dead!"
Takashi looks to Rei. "It's your call."
She almost killed him back at Takagi Manor, but stopped herself from doing so, believing he wasn't worth killing. Things are different now. Everyone ounce of her being, every line of her face, is screaming how much she wants to kill the man who ruined her life.
But then, the cacophony of a hundred zombies fills her ears. She looks down at the prison yard, and sees the undead army storming the prison. Then she turns back to Takashi.
"Company is coming," she says.
The same words Takashi spoke to her at the gas station, when they left the thug to the zombies. And now, Shido will share the same gruesome fate. Whatever Rei could do to him, the dead will do far worse.
"You sure?" asks Saeko.
"It's closure enough for me," replies Rei.
"Alright," says Takashi. "Let's go."
The girls don't need to be told twice. The trio flee off the helipad, and back across the catwalk.
"You…you can't," whines Shido. "You can't just leave me here. Komuro! Busujima! Miyamoto! You…you animals!"
Another bolt of lightning flashes, and another boom of thunder fills the sky.
000000
The current song blasting throughout the prison is a Japanese cover of Michael Jackson's "Thriller."
With Jin's RPG slung over her back, Rika and the others finally make it to the garage. But they come to a halt when they're greeted to a frightening scene.
"No," says Rika.
The zombie horde has made their way into the garage, swarming the buses, and blocking them from escaping. All of Shido's retreating followers are either caught up in the swarm, or have made to the buses, only to be devoured by the dead forcing their way in.
Rika, Kohta and Saya take aim at the zombies, ready to fight; Jin leans against Shizuka's shoulder for support. There's no way they're getting out of here.
"Go back," orders Rika.
But the second they turn around-
"Guys!" yells Takashi. He, Rei and Saeko come running into the garage, with more lumbering zombies chasing after them.
"Takashi," says Saya.
While Rika and the others are relieved to see their friends, said relief vanishes to see their only way out gone. Takashi, Rei and Saeko also see their predicament with the buses. Trapped on both sides and unable to reach any of the shuttles, the group stands back-to-back in a circle, watching the surrounding zombies encroach upon them. Takashi and Saeko trade glances, ready for the worst.
HONK-HONK!
All heads spin to see one of the shuttles appear from outside the garage, barreling over the zombies to clear a path. It circles around the group, and completely flattens the nearest zombies before coming to a stop. Takashi and the others stare at the bus in bewilderment.
"What the fuck?" asks Kohta.
The doors open, and out jumps Arisu. "Thank goodness, you're all safe," she cheers, leaping into Takashi and Rei's arms.
"Arisu!" beams Rei, hugging her back.
"You're safe too," sighs Takashi in relief.
Zero barks at them on the steps, overjoyed to see them as well.
"Is that a child driving the bus?" asks Jin.
Sure enough, the one behind the wheel is Mato. "Hey, guys," he says. "Need a lift?"
"MATO?" reacts everyone.
"What?" he asks. "My dad was a bus driver, after all."
"Everyone, get in," orders Rika.
Within seconds, the group piles into the bus. Mato gets out of the drivers' seat, and Rika takes the wheel. Saeko and Arisu ease the wounded Jin into a seat. Shizuka tends to both Jin and Saya. Takashi, Kohta and Rei shoot out the windows, killing the zombies starting to claw at the bus.
"Punch it!" yells Takashi.
Rika puts the pedal to the metal. The wheels screech on the pavement, leaving a trail of skid marks and blood as the shuttle rams its way through the zombie horde.
"Everybody, hang on!" yells Rika. She spins the wheel, and the shuttle makes its way towards the exit.
BANG-BANG!
Bullets punch onto the bulletproof windshield. Rika stares up ahead, and sees Mohawk; he's shooting at the shuttle in a futile attempt to hijack it. Not only that, but he's clutching his neck, which bleeds profusely; he's been bitten. Now he's just acting like a rabid dog.
"I'm getting outta here, bitch!" he bellows.
Rika's eyes narrow on Mohawk, remembering how he tried to assault Shizuka. She cranks the level, and accelerates the shuttle to its maximum speed. Mohawk remains still, shooting and roaring as the shuttle closes in-
SPLAT!
He explodes into a bloody mess all over the windshield. Rika nonchalantly turns on the wipers, and his remains are cleaned off; the rainwater helps wash them away.
"That's for my wife, bitch," she whispers.
The shuttle speeds out of the garage, onto the prison field, and out into the storm. The wheels slide across the wet grass, and the shuttle nearly tips over. Everyone on board holds on, and fights to keep their balance.
While Jin is in Shizuka and Arisu's care, he weakly raises his finger, and points to the breach in the fence. "Over there."
Rika cranks the wheel, and the shuttle heads for the breach, as well as the wall of undead blocking it. Kohta spots a single human out in the storm, pushing his way through the zombies to get out through the breach.
"Wait, is that…?" he asks.
"The so-called esteemed doctor douchebag," replies Saya.
Indeed, it is Doc, the last member of Shido's inner circle, cowardly weaving and shoving his way through the zombies. He feels the shuttle's high beams on him, and turns around.
"There's too many," says Rika. "We'll crash if I drive through."
Someone picks up Jin's RPG, and opens the door. Everyone, especially Rika, is surprised to see Shizuka leaning out of the door, aiming the RPG. She doesn't look like the timid ditz she always is; instead, there's a fire in her eyes the likes of which none of the others have ever seen before.
"Uh, babe?" asks Rika.
Shizuka launches the RPG. The rocket zooms across the field, and impales the screaming Doc in the gut; he goes flying back into the zombie cluster.
BOOM!
Doc and all of the zombies blocking the breach are blasted away into smithereens, clearing the path for the survivors.
"Treat that, you esteemed asshole," quips Shizuka. She tosses the RPG, gets back on the shuttle and closes the door. Then she exhales, and returns to her usual ditzy self. "Oh, my, that was so nerve-wracking. Hmm?" She takes in the astonished faces of her friends. "Um, what's wrong?"
"Miss Shizuka," replies Takashi, grinning. "I am so in love with you right now."
"Badass!" cheers Kohta.
"Who knew you had it in you?" notes Saya.
Everyone laughs and cheers Shizuka on for her deed. Even Rika gives her the thumbs-up. Shizuka blushes, smiles and rubs the back on her head.
With that, the shuttle makes it out through the breach and out into freedom. Rei and Saeko head to the back door, and watch the fallen prison get further away. They trade glances, and embrace each other.
Soon enough, everyone on the shuttle is hugging. They're too exhausted to celebrate, but they've enough strength in them to share in their relief. They made it out together; they may not be out of the woods yet, but for now, the nightmare is over.
Mato and Arisu come running into Rei and Saeko's arms.
"You saved our lives," says Rei, tears of joy in her eyes.
"Thank you," says Saeko.
Shizuka hugs Zero as the pup licks her face.
Takashi touches Saya's wounded neck, his face filled with worry and remorse for what happened to her. She smiles and shakes her head, assuring him she's okay. The two childhood friends embrace. Kohta comically hugs them both together. They chuckle and hug him back.
Rika looks up in the rearview mirror, and locks eyes with Jin, slouched in his seat. She smiles at him, and nods her head. He returns the gesture.
Rei walks up to Takashi. The two just smile and stare at each other for a moment before wrapping their arms around one another. At the front of the shuttle, Saeko watches them. The joy in her face slowly recedes into dismay and jealousy. Then she hands the syringe filled with cure to Rika in the driver seat.
"Miss Rika," she says.
Rika happily accepts the syringe. "We're back in business."
"Funagawa Port, here we come," says Saeko.
As Takashi and Rei separate from their hug, he feels around inside his jacket.
"Takashi?" asks Rei.
"Oh, it's nothing," he replies. "Just I lost the other syringe. But we got what we needed, so it's all good."
000000
Back on the helipad, Shido is still alive, and still crawling into nowhere, leaving a trail of blood in his wake. The sound of footsteps grabs his attention.
"H-help," he says. "Please, won't you help me?"
He forces himself to roll over, groaning in pain as he does, and finds Tsunoda towering over him. Also still alive, but with blood oozing from his left eye; he glares down at Shido with his one good eye.
"Oh, thank goodness," says Shido. "Tsunoda, help me."
A bolt of lightning strikes behind Tsunoda, illuminating the terrifying expression on his face. Shido's elation washes away with the rain, and he raises his hand in defense.
"Now, now, wait a minute," he pleads. "Remember all I've done for ya? You're my ace, remember?"
Tsunoda silently crouches down over Shido, and jams something into his neck; it's the other syringe Takashi dropped during their fight. Shido cringes in pain, and Tsunoda extracts a sample of the cure. Once the syringe is full, Tsunoda removes it from Shido's neck, and pockets it.
"Tsunoda," hisses Shido, becoming impatient and aggravated. "You ungrateful, little prick! If it wasn't for me, you'd be meat for the dead."
Suddenly, with his one good arm, Tsunoda seizes Shido by the collar and drags him towards the edge of the helipad.
"Wait, what're you doing?" asks Shido.
Tsunoda brings Shido straight to the ledge. About a hundred-foot drop down into the prison yard below, and the dozens of zombies meandering about in it.
"Wait, wait," panics Shido. "Tsunoda-"
Tsunoda heartlessly hurls his former teacher and leader over the ledge.
"No, NOOOO!" screams Shido.
He plummets from the helipad, and slams onto the wet grass, turning his body into a broken rag doll. But shockingly, he's still gasping for air. All he can do is watch as the zombies limp towards him.
"AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!"
Up above, Tsunoda watches the zombies separate Shido's arms and legs from his torso; open up his belly and feast on his organs; tear off his head and devour it, starting with the cheeks.
…
Tsunoda looks up, and stares out at the shuttle; a mere speck on the black horizon. His body shakes and his face contorts with vengeful rage. He releases a primal roar, drowned out by a final boom of thunder.
Author's Note: Hello, everyone!
Ask and you shall receive. I had hoped this fanfic would get its own TV Tropes page, and Viola! It got its own TV Tropes page! Wooh!
As always, thanks again for your patience and support. I know I said 30 days to finish a new chapter. But life has a funny way of interrupting your plans, so I'll be extending the deadline to 60 days for the time being.
I have to admit, when I included "Down with the Sickness" in the previous chapter, I intended it to be just a playful easter egg referencing the "Dawn of the Dead" remake. But readers seemed to enjoy it so much, I couldn't help myself from including a song in this chapter. I mean, the band is called Dead or Alive, and the lyrics include verses like "loving arms"; this being a fanfic about zombies and love, I figured the song would fit. Plus, it's a total headbanger, haha. Then one song became two, and two became three. Long story short, I think I'll start including more musical cues from now on. Because why not?
I did get a little carried away with the death scenes involving the cultists. I just figured they'd be more memorable that way. And wooh! How 'bout Arisu and Mato with the bus rescue? I did my best to give every major character their own badass moment to shine (i.e. Saeko vs. Kai, Shizuka with the RPG). Heavier on the action this time around, which made it a challenge to write. Next two chapters are gonna be something different, with more focus on the romance between Takashi and the girls.
Thanks again, and I'll be back soon as I can.
P.S.
Random question:
I wanna start a Goddess Café Terrace fanfic, but there's no sub-category for it yet. What do I do?
P.S. 2
THE FOLLOWING WILL BE DELETED SHORTLY
Okay. Some of you have been asking me about this, so it's time I address the elephant in the room.
Yes, some time ago, I did publish an erotic albeit comedic one-shot about Rei and Saeko making love on the beach during the OVA, just for fun.
And while I received [and appreciated] some friendly reviews from my usual readers, I also received some rather offensive ones that bordered on cyberbullying. The worst of which came from a reader who flagged down my story, because it "violated the Rating-MA guidelines." I worried my story being flagged would somehow lead to my account (and the rest of my stories) being deleted, so I simply deleted the one-shot to avoid that worse case scenario, and put an end to the harassment.
Now, my supportive readers have encouraged me not to give in to cyberbullying, and republish the one-shot on this site. And I've decided to do so, but I won't publish it as a one-shot again, less the history of harassment repeat itself. I may publish it as a non-canon bonus chapter at the end of this fanfic, or as part of a brand new fanfic altogether. Either way, my goal is to finish this fanfic here first before doing so. I think this story's got three to five more chapters to go.
If I have anything else to say on the matter, it's this; you do NOT have to read what I write. You have that choice. All I humbly ask is that if you do, please be mindful and respectful in the reviews. Thank you.