Dead and the Road Home

There are new dangers to be overcome, acts of courage from an unlikely source, and also remarkable news for the group.

[Author Note: This story follows the story Interlude – The Happy Few, which follows Dead and the Better Zombie. It takes place after the group has left the city.]

By: Darkpenn

Z+23

After driving for several days, they stopped at an empty barn. There was a stream nearby where they could wash and replenish their supply of water, and the barn was large enough to hide the bus. There were piles of hay where they could lay out their sleeping bags, and the barn doors were sturdy enough to keep roaming zombies out. Nevertheless, they set a guard of rolling watches, as they usually did.

Takashi had finished his watch, handing over to Hirano, and settled into his bag to sleep.

He was awoken when he was kicked viciously in the stomach. He cried out in surprise and pain … and then found himself looking down the barrel of a rifle.

"Don't move," said the man with the gun.

He looked around. There were three men in the barn: the one standing over Takashi, one holding a machine gun, and – this was the worst – one holding Alice in front of him, with a knife at her throat.

Rei, Saya and Saeko were on their knees with their hands behind their heads. Hirano, unconscious, was lying in front of them, blood oozing from a gash on his forehead. Rei had a massive bruise on one side of her face.

"Get out of the bag and on your knees," said the man with the machine gun, who seemed to be in charge.

"What's it going to be, don't move or get out of the bag?" said Takashi.

The man with the rifle hit him across the face with the butt of the weapon. The impact rolled him out of the bag.

"On your knees," said the man with the machine gun. "Or … " he gestured towards the man holding Alice.

Not much choice. He did it, and put his hands behind his head. He glanced at Hirano.

"Don't blame him too much," said the sergeant. "He was on the lookout for zombies, not us, and he put up a helluva fight for a little guy."

Takashi caught Saeko's eye. She glanced to the corner, where her sword rested against a haybale. It was a long way away. He tried to answer silently: no. Not yet.

He saw that the men were wearing uniforms, and the one with the machine gun had three stripes on his arm. The uniforms were bloody, filthy, and torn. "You military?" said Takashi.

"Were," said the sergeant. "When there was still a military, before everything went to shit. We were in First Platoon, Third Division, the once-proud Japanese Defence Force. That was – fuck, was it only four weeks ago? Now all we've got is these guns. So we'll be taking your vehicle, your supplies, your weapons – "

"And your women," said the man with the rifle. "Maybe not her," he said, pointing to Saeko. "She looks like trouble. So it will be a bullet in the neck for her, and for you, and for the little guy. So you don't try and follow us."

"And we'll take this one too, just for fun," said the man holding Alice.

"What's going on?" said a sleepy voice. It was Miss Marikawa. She crawled out of her sleeping bag and into the circle of light cast by the lanterns. She looked around.

"Ah, another one," said the sergeant. "And a pretty one, by the look of things."

Miss Marikawa stood up. "Whoa," she said. "Some real men. I was just having a really sexy dream about … well, real men. Haven't even seen any for … ages and ages and ages, it feels like."

She walked up to the man with the rifle. She let out a long sigh.

Slowly, she undid the top button of her shirt. Then the next one. Then she breathed a deep breath, and the next button popped open by itself, revealing her double-E bra and voluptuous curves. The man with the rifle stared.

"Want a closer look?" said Miss Marikawa.

"Hey!" said the man holding Alice. "Why him?"

"Don't worry, I've got enough for all of you, with plenty left for a second round," said Miss Marikawa huskily. "Whatever … you … want."

The man with the rifle leaned forward to get a better view.

She heaved another sigh, making her breasts rise.

The man leaned forward again.

And then Miss Marikawa put her arms around his head and pulled him into her cleavage. He gave a muffled shout of surprise and dropped the rifle.

"Now!" shouted Takashi.

Alice sank her teeth into the arm of the man holding her. He yelped in pain and released his grip on her.

Rei was off her knees and moving. She snatched Alice out of the man's grasp and rolled away as Saya lunged for Hirano. She reached for the pocket where he kept his last-resort pistol.

Takashi threw himself at the sergeant as Saeko went for her sword. The sergeant was much larger than Takashi and managed to push him aside, but it had given Saeko the seconds she needed. She reached the sword and unsheathed it as the sergeant fired a burst at her.

A bullet hit her as she threw the sword. It shot across the space between them like a flash of lightning and hit the sergeant in the chest. The machine gun fell from his hand.

Saya could see the soldier fumbling with his own gun. She found the pistol. There was no time to take it out of Hirano's pocket; she fired directly through the fabric, twice, three times. The man went down.

Miss Marikawa let the man she was holding go. He staggered backwards, gasping for air. Takashi scrambled to pick up the machine gun, but then realised there was no need.

There was a scalpel sticking out of the man's neck. Something important must have been cut: blood was gushing. He tried to pull it away but it broke in his hand.

"You can die now, fucker," said Miss Marikawa.

The man sank to his knees. Miss Marikawa punched him across the face. He collapsed.

The sergeant was still alive, lying in a spreading pool of blood. Saya walked over to him. She was holding Hirano's pistol.

He looked up at her. "Don't," he gasped. "We're all human, aren't we?"

"You beat up my boyfriend," she said. "So screw you."

Then she shot him in the head.

Miss Marikawa was tearing Saeko's clothes away so she could see the wound. It was in her abdomen. "God," she said. "It's really bad." She felt Saeko's back, looking for an exit wound. There wasn't one.

"Fuck, that hurts," groaned Saeko.

Takashi brought her sword and put it into her hand.

"Did we get all of them?" she said.

"Three down," said Takashi.

"Is Alice alright? Hirano?"

Takashi nodded.

Rei appeared with Miss Marikawa's medical kit. Miss Marikawa took out an emergency pressure-patch and put it over the wound, trying desperately to stop the bleeding.

"That was quite an act, Miss Marikawa," Saeko rasped.

"Honey," said Miss Marikawa, "I learned a long time ago that if your tits are good enough, you don't really need anything else."

Saeko coughed, which made her convulse in pain.

"I've been ready to die for my whole life," she said, "but now I don't want to go. Don't want to leave all of you. Not now."

"You're not going to die," said Miss Marikawa. "Not if I can help it."

But Saeko had passed out.

Hirano regained consciousness a few minutes later, and they explained the situation to him. He was groggy but otherwise okay, aside from a massive headache and a multitude of bruises. Miss Marikawa gave him some painkillers from her kit but her mind was clearly on Saeko.

"The problem," she said to the others, "is that the bullet is still in her, and I think she's bleeding internally, probably from a severed artery. She'll die in a matter of hours."

"Which means," said Saya, "that you have to cut her open, take the bullet out, and stop the bleeding."

"I … I can't do that," said Miss Marikawa. "I don't know how. She needs a hospital and a real doctor."

"Neither of which are even remotely possible," said Rei.

"But I'm just a school nurse!" said Miss Marikawa. "And just a temporary one! Mostly, all I do is hand out headache tablets and contraceptives!"

"You're all we have – all Saeko has," said Saya.

"But even if I knew what to do, I don't have the right equipment," said Miss Marikawa. "I don't even have a scalpel. I only had one, and I just used it to … er, kill that guy. Now it's broken. There isn't anything else sharp enough."

"There's Saeko's sword," said Alice. "That's really sharp."

"I'm betting the longer we debate about it, the worse it is for Saeko," said Takashi.

"We all think you can do it," said Alice.

Miss Marikawa drew a deep breath. "Okay, I'll try," she said. "Takashi, you and Rei put together some bales to make a table. Saya, clean the sword as well as you can, and put the blade into boiling water. Hirano, maybe you should take those bodies outside, they're really dirty and that can't be good for her. I'll need someone to help me – you, Saya. Alice, get the other lanterns, I'll need plenty of light."

Everyone set about their tasks. Miss Marikawa studied the contents of her medical kit, which she had supplemented with other supplies collected during their stay in the city.

"Fuck me sideways," she said to herself. "Killing a person is much easier than saving one."

Miss Marikawa had given Saeko sedation from the kit but now, poised to begin, she hesitated.

"What's the problem?" said Saya, who was standing next to her, holding Saeko's carefully-cleaned sword.

"I need something for sterilisation," she said. "Water won't do. I don't have anything in the kit."

"Try some of this," said Hirano. "One of the soldiers had it." He handed her a bottle half-full of brandy.

"Just what I need," said Miss Marikawa. She took a large swig.

"Uh, I mean for sterilisation," said Hirano.

"What? Oh yeah, it will work for that too," said Miss Marikawa. She poured some over the area. "Saya, cut here, where the entry hole is, make it about four inches long and half an inch deep."

Carefully, Saya did so. There was a sudden gush of blood, but after it was wiped away the flow became only a trickle. "What's next?" Saya said.

"Next," said Miss Marikawa, "I put my hand in and grab the bullet. Except I don't think I can. I think I'll puke if I do."

"Miss Marikawa," said Alice. "Please try."

Miss Marikawa sighed. She pulled a surgical glove from the kit on, and then put her hand into the wound, slowly working her way forward. After long seconds, she said: "I think … yes, that's it, I think. Now if I can just get my fingers … there." Slowly, she pulled her hand back. With an odd-sounding pop!, it came out. She opened her bloody hand … and there was the bullet. "Somebody take this, and take this glove off me and put another on, Saya, thanks. Now I have to stitch up the artery. I could feel where it was. There didn't seem to be anything else ruptured or broken."

Carefully, she teased the damaged artery out of the wound. Half-severed, it was gushing blood, but she stopped that with a little clamp from her kit. Then she sewed the break together. When she removed the clip there was no leakage of blood. She gently guided the artery back to its place. Finally, she closed the wound.

"That's it, I think," she said. "Now I have to – " she ran outside, and the others heard her vomiting.

They looked at each other. "Maybe courage is facing down a horde of zombies," said Takashi, "and maybe it's facing something you don't think you can do and doing it anyway."

Saeko opened her eyes. It was the next day.

She tried to move but a spasm of pain shot through her. She groaned. She heard Rei shout: "Miss Marikawa, she's awake!"

In a moment Miss Marikawa was leaning over her. She put two fingers on Saeko's neck.

"How's her pulse?" said Rei, appearing at her side with Alice and Hirano.

"I have no idea," said Miss Marikawa. "It's just something that I saw people do on television. But I'm guessing that the fact she's alive means that, well, she's alive. Saeko, how do you feel?"

"Like I've been shot."

"Well, yes, you would, wouldn't you? Can you move?"

"No."

"Good, don't try. I suppose that's right."

"Saeko, you should have seen her," said Alice. "She pulled the bullet out and sewed you up and everything. Then she was sick."

"So now I have two scars," said Saeko weakly. "Thank you, Shizuka. How long have I been out?"

"About ten hours," said Hirano.

"So we've been here nearly a full day," said Saeko. "We should move soon."

Takashi walked up. "No, we shouldn't," he said. "You've got an artery freshly sewn up inside, you know. We'll stay here at least another couple of days and then we'll think about leaving. No rush."

"But – "

"I once said that I would be responsible for you," said Takashi. "And I meant it."

"But – "

"You stay right where you are," said Miss Marikawa. "Doctor's orders."

Saeko looked up at her. "Are you a doctor?" she said.

"Guess so," said Miss Marikawa. "And doctor says that you should get some more rest."

"Alright," said Saeko. She closed her eyes and slept.

Takashi, Rei, Hirano, Saya, Alice and Miss Marikawa were sharing a meal.

"It might be a bit dangerous to not be on the move," he said, "but – "

"But nothing," said Saya. "We'll stay right here until she's strong enough to travel."

"Long as it takes," said Hirano.

"If there's trouble, we'll deal with it when it happens," said Rei.

Takashi looked at Alice and Miss Marikawa, who nodded agreement.

"Here's something," said Hirano. He pulled a ragged kitbag forward. "This is what our visitors left behind. There are some more guns but to tell the truth nothing as good as what we already have. And then there is this. It isn't very good news." He unfolded a military map. "As far as I can make out, these black marks were army positions. These red crosses show when a position was over-run by zombies, there's a date and the number of soldiers fighting. Then the army would pull back and set up new positions, but with fewer soldiers. Then those would be over-run. And so on."

"Judging from this, and from what those guys told us, it's likely that by now there are no military forces left," said Takashi. "Which means no safe place for large populations."

"My conclusion too," said Hirano.

"There might be some," said Rei. "Navy ships at sea, maybe. Bases on islands. The zombies can't swim, can they?"

"I wouldn't bet on that," said Saya. "And we don't even know how the infection starts. Maybe it's just a certain proportion of people who are affected and start turning without being bitten. We saw at the school how quickly one zombie can spread it through hundreds of people. The last news broadcasts said that the infection was all over the world. I doubt that the military in other countries would have done much better than ours."

"So maybe the only survivors are small groups who were lucky," said Rei.

"And smart," said Saya.

"And could shoot straight," said Hirano. "But if we could make it this far, there must be others who could too."

Takashi was studying the map. "It looks to me like most of the zombies are in the cities and towns," he said. "That's where the main battles have been, anyway. Maybe staying in rural areas is our best bet."

"Does that mean that we can go to Grandma's and Grandpa's farm?" said Alice.

"Yes," said Takashi. "It does."

It was four days before Saeko could walk unaided. Miss Marikawa gave her antibiotics and monitored her for signs of infection from the makeshift surgery but found nothing. There was no sign of zombies or marauding survivors in the area.

Alice remembered that her grandparents lived near a village called Sheroda. It was marked on one of their maps, and they decided to head for it.

It took them several days to reach Sheroda. They arrived in mid-morning. They stopped some distance away and observed it for an hour from the top of a hill. There was no sign of life, or of zombies. It was not the first empty village they had seen.

"It looks creepy, all quiet like that," said Alice. "There used to be people and cars and everything."

"Saya, you and Hirano take the bike and ride down the main street," said Takashi. "Stay in the centre and be prepared for a fast getaway. The noise should bring out any zombies and should also alert any survivors. If the place is really empty, try and find some petrol, we could use some more."

Saya and Hirano set off, Saya driving as usual. Takashi and the others watched from the hilltop.

Saya and Hirano rode slowly along the main road, Hirano holding his gun at the ready. At the end of the street was a petrol station that doubled as a mini-market. They stopped near it. Empty, deathly silence.

"Whatever happened here, I think we missed it," said Hirano. "Which is not necessarily a bad thing."

Saya waved to the others that it was clear. Miss Marikawa drove the bus down and they began to re-fill the tank, using the manual pump that they carried.

Rei, Saya and Saeko collected supplies from the shop attached to the petrol station. Canned and packaged food, bottled water and, Takashi saw, tampons. Well, I guess that's a necessity, he thought.

"And here is something for you two," said Saya to the two men. She handed them each a packet of razors. "Shave," she ordered. "We're going visiting, and you're letting down the team."

"Uh, okay," said Hirano.

Takashi laughed. He turned to Alice. "Alice," he said, "can you remember the way to the farm from here?"

"I think so," said Alice. "You go along this road and then at a big tree you turn onto a dirt road."

They followed Alice's directions, and a half-hour later pulled up at the gate. The farmhouse was two hundred metres away, up a little rise.

"Now we're here, how do you intend to play it?" said Rei to Takashi in a whisper. "If the people are dead or turned, we probably shouldn't let Alice see it."

Takashi nodded, thinking. "Rei, you and I will go up on foot," he said eventually. "Alice stays here until we know the situation. Hirano, you know what to do."

Rei put a pistol into her belt, at the back so it could not easily be seen. They walked to the farmhouse and stood on the porch.

"Now what?" said Rei.

Takashi knocked on the door. Rei put her hand on her gun, ready to draw.

The door opened, and they were faced by an old man. He had a double-barrelled shotgun levelled at them.

"Grandfather Maresato?" said Takashi. Suddenly, he was glad he had shaved.

The old man started. "Yes," he said. "Who are you?"

"We are friends of your grand-daughter Alice," said Rei. "We have brought her to you."

The old man started again. Slowly, he lowered the gun.

"I'm not a fool, so don't take me for one," he said. "My wife has you covered from the window."

"And don't take us for fools either," said Takashi. "One of my friends has a sniper rifle on her right now."

The old man stared at them. Then his face broke into a smile. "Son, if you've lived this long you must be doing something right!" he said. "You're a man after my own heart!"

An old woman appeared next to him, also carrying a shotgun. "Did you say you had Alice?" she said. "And is her father also with you?"

"He … didn't make it," said Takashi.

The old woman gave a little cry. After a moment, Grandfather Maresato said: "Call your friends over, son. And you can take your hand off that gun behind your back now, girl."

Takashi waved for Miss Marikawa to bring the bus up. As soon as the bus had stopped, Alice leaped out and ran to her grandparents, hugging them and crying with joy.

"Come and have some tea, all of you," said Grandmother Maresato.

Over tea they exchanged stories. Grandfather and Grandmother Maresato had not left the farm since the outbreak. They had plenty of food stockpiled and there was more in their large garden, and they had a well for water.

A week after the outbreak, the army had tried to get them to go to a 'protected military facility' but they had refused to leave their farm. After the EMP burst disabled their car they could not leave even if they had wanted to.

They had been attacked by small groups of zombies twice, near the start, but had managed to kill them all. A few days ago, two marauders had come to the door and they had met a similar fate. Grandfather Maresato and Grandmother Maresato, clearly, were not people to be under-estimated.

Alice recounted the group's adventures. Then, quite suddenly, she fell asleep on the couch.

"And now that you have brought her back to us," said Grandfather Maresato, "will you be leaving?"

The six of them looked at each other. "Grandfather, grandmother," said Saeko in a tone of formal respect, "we are ourselves seeking a place of refuge from the current troubles of the world."

"So you can stay!" cried Grandmother Maresato, clapping her hands. "That is wonderful!" She looked at Saya. "And we are especially pleased that you will stay with us, dear," she said, "given your condition."

"Uh, what condition is that?" said Hirano.

Saya looked around at them. "I am pregnant," she said.

"What!" said Rei. "H … how?"

"The usual way," said Saya.

"I thought you were taking precautions," said Miss Marikawa.

"We did, but not the first time," said Saya. "And not the second, either. And now I think of it, not the third and fourth, as well. And there were some other times when … well, you know."

Saeko laughed. Odd, thought Takashi, I've never heard her laugh before.

"Is this a matter for congratulations?" said Rei to Saya.

Saya looked at Hirano. "Is it?" she said to him.

"Yes," he said. "Very much yes."

Saya gave a sigh of relief. "To tell the truth, I didn't know how you would feel," she said. "But I am very happy about it. Very, very happy. I love you, Kohta, and I hope you love me."

"Oh yes," he said. "With all my heart."

"You picked a strange time for it," said Rei. "But it's great news, the best news possible."

"This calls for saki!" said Grandfather Maresato.

Saeko, Rei and Takashi were sitting on the farmhouse porch, enjoying the cool evening air. "Hard to imagine Saya as a mother," Takashi said. "Or Hirano as a father, for that matter. But they're off to a good start, I guess."

"A fresh start for all of us, perhaps," said Saeko. "In the midst of all this suffering and darkness, young love and new life. Maybe this is a sign that there is hope, after all."

"Maybe it is," said Takashi.

"Amen to that," said Rei.

END

NEXT STORY IN SERIES: THE PROMISE