Dead and the Last Show
Takashi and his friends thought that they had left trouble behind. But trouble comes looking for them.
[Author's note: This story mainly takes place sixteen months after the story Kaga Base – 'Holding On', which should be read as a prelude to this story; and about two years after the Outbreak. It concludes the Chronicles of Takashi Komuro story cycle.]
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Saya walked up the hill to Saeko. She was standing like a statue, her hand on her sword, looking north. Looking towards the city that lay over the horizon. The sun was close to setting.
"The kids are being fed by their dads," said Saya, as she came up next to her friend. "And Grandmother, of course."
"That's good," said Saeko softly, without moving.
She drew her blade from its scabbard a little. Then she let it slide back.
"What is it?" said Saya. Instinctively, her hand went to her Luger.
"Something," Saeko murmured. "Something."
"The last time you said that, it meant trouble," said Saya.
Saeko was silent. Then she turned and started to walk back to the farmhouse, leaving Saya staring at the horizon.
Saeko stopped and said over her shoulder: "A storm is coming." Then she walked away.
"Well," said Saya to herself, "that can't be good."
Takashi readily admitted that he did not understand Saeko. At times, such as when she was playing with their son Rise – now nearly eight months old – she seemed very much like any other woman, if an extremely beautiful one. At other times – when she was deep in a kendo routine or bent over a page of calligraphy, for example – she seemed to exist in another world, an untouchable universe of the sword and the soul.
He sometimes wondered if she was happy here, growing vegetables and chasing chickens. She was, after all, a warrior, a perfect machine for doing what she did when she had a blade in her hand. Would she, he wondered, be happier if they were driving from one end of the country to the other, killing zombies as they went and not giving a thought to next season's crop? Did the cottage taking shape a hundred metres from the farmhouse, the house that would be a home for their family, really matter to her? Did he, Takashi? Did Rise? Or did her heart really belong only to bushido?
He looked around at the Maresato farm compound. Saya's windmill swished away, charging batteries for the farms and houses nearby. There were three similar windmills at Kaga Base: he smiled when he remembered that the people there referred to them as 'saya-mills'.
The garden around the Maresato farm – expanded from one to three fields – was filled with vegetables. Hirano's first crop of rice would be ready soon. The number of goats and chickens had become so large that they had begun to send animals to Kaga Base with boxes of vegetables and eggs.
And then there was Saya's schoolhouse – not much more than a large prefabricated shed, but she was immensely pleased with it and with her eleven students, including Alice. The building was a few hundred metres from the farmhouse, a distance that had worried Takashi at first. But Saya always had her Luger, and had installed a warning bell. Alice – now nearly ten years old but, like the rest of his friends, much older – was extremely capable, and was always armed.
He was proud of it all, and of his role in it. There was no other word. And he loved Saeko. So what did it matter if she did not love him in the same way he loved her? It was enough.
He heard the buzz of Tatagi's plane, which had Rei on board. It was coming in to land. He signalled Saeko, who was working at the other end of the garden. The two of them started towards the dirt road that doubled as a landing strip.
The plane bounced to a halt and Rei jumped out, Tatagi close behind. Rei was wearing an expression that Takashi had not seen for several years.
"How many?" said Saeko.
"All of them," said Rei.
Rei opened the laptop computer and connected the digital camera to it. "We took these photos a few hours ago," she said as the images came up on the screen. She unfolded a map across the table. "Here, and here, north of Sheroda and coming south."
"It … can't be," said Hirano. "There can't be that many."
The formation was huge, so large it hardly fitted into the aerial photographs.
This wasn't a band of wandering zombies. This was an advancing army. They were, by and large, following the road, in a long column. They were moving slowly but with a sense of purpose and cohesion.
"That's why we haven't seen any for so long," said Saya, who had come up from the schoolhouse. "They were massing. They must have come from all over the country."
"But how can they be so organised?" said Tatagi. "I thought they were mainly just instinctive. Smarter than they were at the start, yeah, but not capable of this sort of thing."
"I have sometimes thought," said Saya, "that the virus, if that's what it is, creates some sort of collective consciousness. A hive mind, like bees or ants, something like that. We really don't know much about them, and no-one has ever been able to get close enough to find out. No-one who's come back, anyway. It would explain how they seem to be able to communicate even though they don't seem able to talk in any meaningful way."
"And there is this," said Rei. "We took these shots behind the formation. This is the area they had passed through."
This set of photographs showed ruined and smashed buildings, dead animals, everything destroyed. It was as if the army of zombies was intent on wiping out every trace of human presence.
"This isn't just war," said Takashi. "This is genocide."
"Let me see the pictures of the main body again," said Saya. "Can you enlarge it, this area here? More? Good. Now look at this." She pointed.
Many of the zombies carried weapons: metal bars and clubs, mainly. But a few had guns.
"That is very bad," said Hirano.
"Er, maybe they don't know how to use them," said Tatagi. "Maybe they think they're just sticks or something."
"Dangerous assumption," said Saya. "Rei, are the time codes on all these photos right?" Rei nodded. Saya began to take measurements and scribble calculations.
"Are they heading to Kaga Base?" said Tatagi.
"Sort of," said Hirano, looking at the map. "If they planned to go there directly, they would probably have gone along this road here, see. But they didn't. They'll get there eventually on the road they're on but they must have something else on their hive-y mind."
"They're coming for us," said Saeko.
Everyone looked at her. She shrugged.
"Well, I guess we have killed an awful lot of them," said Hirano. "And now they want payback."
"What will happen when they get to Kaga Base?" said Tatagi. "It's got defences."
"They'll roll right over the top of it," said Takashi.
"But … we have a fence! And a ditch!"
"Yeah, that will work," said Takashi.
"Uh, have you ever actually fought zombies?" said Hirano.
"Well, I've dropped bombs on them from a jet fighter."
"Nothing … closer?"
"Er, no."
"Then trust us on this, honey," said Rei.
"I have some numbers," announced Saya. "Based on what we can see about their rate of movement, they will reach Sheroda village in about twenty hours. Maresato farm, five hours after that. Kaga Base, a week from now, maybe a bit longer."
"So there is time to evacuate Kaga Base," said Takashi. "To where, I don't know. I think this army will just keep going to the sea, destroying everything in their path."
"And we have enough time to get everyone from the Maresato area out as well," said Tatagi.
"Hmm," said Saya.
"Uh, what does 'hmm' mean?" said Tatagi.
There was the sound of a dog barking from the porch. Zeke.
The five of them were up and running in a moment, Tatagi trailing. At the door, Hirano stopped at the gun rack. "Tatagi, what have you got?" he said.
"Er, nothing on me at the moment," said Tatagi.
"Take this," said Hirano, handing him a shotgun. "And this." A Glock pistol. "And this." A machete. Then he was gone, a big gun in his hands.
Tatagi stumbled through the door onto the porch … and then stopped in amazement.
There was a battle going on in the front yard. Twenty zombies, at least, and more were running up from the road. Somehow, they had got over the wire.
Alice was not the oldest student in the class but she knew the others looked to her in times of crisis, especially when Saya was not there. So when she heard Zeke barking, she was the first to the window, and the first to see three zombies running towards the school. She couldn't see what was going on at the farmhouse but she could hear the sounds of battle.
"Everybody out," she said, taking her little Remington out of her pocket. "This way. Stay quiet."
She lifted the escape hatch built into the floor and directed the other children through. Then she went down, closing the hatch behind her.
Above, in the classroom, she could hear zombies moving around. And then, as the children huddled together in the crawlspace, one zombie walked right past. Then he turned and walked back. Looking for them. They could only see his feet but he looked like a big one.
The little ones are breathing too loud, Alice thought. They're going to find us.
The tower with the warning bell was not far away. She turned to the oldest student, Maki.
"I'm going for the bell," she whispered. "They'll follow me. You take the others to the Kiramo farm over the hill. Run all the way and don't look back." She hesitated. Then she handed Maki the pistol. She flipped the safety off. "Take this," she said. "Just in case. If it comes to it, aim for the head. Double tap to be sure."
She watched the zombie's feet until he was as far away as possible. Then she wriggled out of the crawlspace and made a break for the bell. "Hey!" she shouted to the zombie. "Over here!"
The zombie started after her, and the other two came bursting out of the schoolhouse.
She made it to the belltower. She grasped the rope and pulled it, once, twice. The bell clanged. Then she started running, down the hill, away from the farmhouse.
She glanced back. The three zombies were coming after her. They were fast. And big. And gaining.
What's that sound? she thought. Like thunder.
Saeko was in the middle, taking out one after the other. Rei and Takashi were standing back to back, firing and firing and covering each other when one of them stopped to reload. Saya was standing on the steps, taking careful aim at the zombies as they ran up the hill, with Hirano next to her, shooting at any zombie that he could hit.
Saeko was knocked down by one of the zombies wielding an iron pole. Hirano ran to her, blasting his way. He helped her up – and then she whirled into the next group of zombies.
Tatagi saw one running towards him. He hefted the shotgun and fired, hitting the zombie in the chest. The zombie was knocked back by the blast – but in a moment continued his charge. Then its skull suddenly exploded. Rei.
"You need to shoot them in the head, sweetheart," she called. Then she turned back to her own fight. Grandfather Maresato and Grandmother Maresato appeared beside him. They each had shotguns, and they began shooting. "Some fun, eh?" said the old man. "But don't miss, son."
Saya saw one zombie run past them and towards the back of the farmhouse. Nozomi, she thought. My child.
She ran back through the house. Nozomi was standing in the kitchen, a little shaky on her toddler legs. Saya reached her just as the zombie burst through the back door. She pushed Nozomi behind her. She lifted the Luger and pulled the trigger. It was empty. And she had already used her back-up clips.
The zombie paused. It looked first at her, and then at Nozomi, and then at Saya again. It snarled, bearing its rotten teeth.
Saya picked up a frypan, the only thing in reach. It was not much of a weapon, she knew. She stared at the zombie. "You will not have her," she said. "You … will … not."
"Hey, asshole," said a voice from behind the zombie. It turned – and then an axe smashed into its temple. It sagged to the floor.
"Hi," said Miss Marikawa. Alice, standing next to her, simply smiled. "So once again I've rescued you from certain death in the final moment, Saya," said Miss Marikawa.
"No, actually I think this is the first time," said Saya.
"I can't remember any others," added Alice. The three of them looked at each other. Then they laughed.
"Oh, there's still a fight going on," said Saya. She scooped up Nozomi and they ran into the back yard.
"I'm going to help the others," Miss Marikawa said. In a second she was up on her horse and riding towards the battle, pulling a rifle from a saddle holster.
When the horse charged into their midst, Miss Marikawa alternating between shooting her rifle and using it as a club, the zombie attack broke. The last one went down to Saeko's sword. It was over.
"An advance scouting party?" said Rei. "Seemed a bit big for that."
"More likely a sudden attack group," said Takashi. "Or maybe they just wanted it more than the others. Miss Marikawa, thanks for the last-minute swoop."
"And she picked me up like a sack of potatoes when there were three of them after me," said Alice. "One moment I'm running along, minding my own business, and next I'm on the back of a horse. All the other kids got away, Saya, they're at the Kiramo farm."
"Er, does this sort of thing happen often?" said Tatagi.
"Often enough," said Saeko.
"Got a bit worried when you went down for a second there," said Takashi to her.
"On my own, it is only possible to defeat nine at any given time," she said.
"How do you know that?" said Tatagi.
The others looked at him. Hirano gave a little laugh.
"And what happens if you face ten?" said Tatagi.
"Then I lose," said Saeko. "If I am fighting alone."
"Where is Rise?" said Takashi.
"Having his afternoon nap," said Saeko.
"No he isn't," said Grandmother Maresato. She came out of the house, carrying the baby boy, who appeared to have just woken. "He slept through the whole thing. And I think he wants a feed now."
Saeko handed her sword to Takashi and took Rise. She sat down on one of the chairs on the porch, opened her shirt, and began to feed her son.
"By the way," said Saya to Tatagi, " 'hmm' means that we are going to stand and fight. No matter what."
"But there are thousands of them," he said. "Tens of thousands. More."
"No matter what," said Saya.
"You know, the way that they're coming along this road to Sheroda might work for us," said Takashi, looking at the map. "Here, the town has a natural choke point, a cliff on one side and the river on other. And the town itself will make it hard for them. They'll have to bunch up and slow down. Their numbers won't count for as much. We've seen them retreat before. If we can take out a lot of them, make it too expensive for them, maybe that will be enough."
"I can't believe you're talking about fighting them," said Tatagi. "There are too many."
"If we run," said Saeko, "they will follow us. Wherever we go."
"And they'll tear down everything that we've built, brick by brick," said Hirano. "You saw the photos of what they left behind. Not much."
"And I also saw the photos of the size of the army. You should be starting to evacuate people, not drawing up a plan for a suicide stand."
"Grandfather and Grandmother Maresato are already driving around to the nearby farms and houses and spreading the word," said Saya. "Telling everyone to get to Kaga Base. And then they will go themselves."
"What about those people further away?"
"That's your job," said Takashi. "You have to get back to Arimake and tell her about the situation, and then get to as many of the outlying people as you can."
"We would appreciate it," said Saya, "if you could take Nozomi and Rise with you to Kaga Base in the plane. Take them to Arimake. She will keep them as safe as possible."
"And Alice?"
"Staying," said Alice. She looked around the circle of her friends. "But I will need another gun."
"I may be able to help you with that," said Hirano.
Takashi gave a little laugh. "Okay," he said. "You know, Alice, you've been nothing but trouble ever since that first night I met you. When you peed down my back."
"Yes, nothing but trouble," said Alice.
Tatagi looked at Rei. "Rei, will you come with me?" he said.
She shook her head sadly. "Ben, you know I love you," she said. "But my place is here. To make our stand. And to give you as much time as possible for the evacuation. And to die with my friends, if it comes to that. But let's hope it doesn't come to that."
"Yes," said Saeko. "Let's hope."
Rei was fiddling with the top button of her shirt. "Saya, Saeko, how long will it take you to get Nozomi and Rise ready to go?" she said.
"Ten, fifteen minutes," said Saya.
"No," said Saeko. "Thirty minutes, at least."
"What?" said Saya. She looked at Saeko, and then at Rei. "Oh, right, yeah, thirty minutes at least. More like forty, really."
"At least," said Saeko.
Rei looked at them. She smiled. "Right," she said. She took Tatagi by the hand and led him to her room, peeling off her clothes as she went.
Takashi smiled as he watched them go. "After we have seen the children off, we should try and get some rest. But we should post a guard watch," he said.
"Rest is important," said Saeko, "but I would very much like to have sex as well. Very much."
"Me too," said Saya. "Really, really good sex."
"Great!" said Hirano to her. "Uh, you mean with me, right?"
She looked at him with a mixture of exasperation and affection.
"You are such a dork, otaku," she said.
"But that's why you love me, right?"
She considered. "Maybe," she said.
Miss Marikawa laughed. "So this is the way the world ends, not with a whimper but with a bang," she said. "Well, looks like it will be Alice and me for the first watch."
Saya rolled off the bed and began to pull her clothes back on. "I didn't much like having to send Nozomi off but she'll be safer there than here," she said.
Hirano, already dressed, nodded. He reached under the bed and slid a large crate out, and threw the lid open.
It was full of guns. A lot of guns. Big guns. And something else: bricks of something that looked like modelling clay.
"C4, America's best invention after pizza," he said.
"Where did you get all this stuff?" said Saya.
"Salvaged most of the guns. Got the C4 from the supply guy at Kaga Base. Traded him a cow and two chickens for it."
"So for months I've been sleeping with a trunkful of plastic explosive under the bed? You didn't think to mention this?"
"Don't worry, it's reasonably safe. It needs an electronic detonator, which is this thing here. It came with the package. Radio control and everything."
"Humph," said Saya.
Hirano was dragging the crate out of the caravan and towards the car.
"I don't think the Americans invented pizza!" she called after him. "And what the hell does 'reasonably safe' mean!"
The seven of them were standing at the northern end of Sheroda village. Yes, the village was a good place for defence: rolling hills that turned into a cliff on one side, a fast-flowing river on the other, and the main road narrowed as it went through the village itself.
Hirano was still taking guns out of the back of the convertible. He heaved out a particularly big gun and a massive box of bullets.
"This beauty is a chain gun," he said. "Found it on top of an abandoned tank. Heavy mother, and the main problem is that it goes through the bullets really fast, so it won't last long. But it's guaranteed to kill almost anything, even if it's already dead."
"Hey, what's this?" said Rei.
"That," said Hirano, "is a rocket-propelled grenade, known in the trade as an RPG. You just put it on your shoulder and pull that little trigger. It'll make a pretty big bang. But I only have one of them."
"I like it," said Rei.
"It's yours," said Hirano.
They continued to select weapons from Hirano's collection. Except Saeko, who had her two swords and needed nothing else.
They made their plans and their preparations, checking positions and confirming escape routes. Suddenly, there was nothing left to do but wait.
Takashi went up to Miss Marikawa. "I never thanked you for saving Saeko," he said.
"It was a pleasure," she said. "Except the puking part, of course."
Takashi laughed. "Something I've always wondered about," he said. "Are … they … you know, real?"
"Every bouncy ounce is pure woman," she said.
"Yeah, that's what I thought," he said.
He turned to Hirano, who was holding his chain gun at the ready. He had two other weapons slung across his shoulders, and his pockets bulged with ammunition and other equipment. "Hey, save some of them for the rest of us," he said.
"No promises," said Hirano. They knocked knuckles.
Rei was next. "You have always been the wisest of us," he said. "You have been our rock."
Rei grasped him by the shirtfront, pulled him to her, and kissed him. It was a long, hard, passionate kiss.
"Whoa," muttered Saya to Saeko, next to her.
"I'm cool with it," said Saeko.
Rei finally released Takashi and stepped back. Takashi turned to Saya.
"If you think I'm going to do that, forget it," said Saya.
Takashi smiled. "I would hardly expect it," he said. "Saya, we couldn't have got this far without you. You really are a genius."
"I know," she said.
Alice came up to him. "Voting for you as leader was the best thing I ever did," she said.
He ruffled her hair. "And I never forgave you for it," he said. "Take care of yourself, sweetheart."
Saeko. She and Takashi looked at each other for a long time. They were silent. There was nothing more they could say. Not now. Not here.
Takashi walked away from them, down the road a little way.
"Well, all that was odd," said Miss Marikawa.
"Haven't you ever heard a man say goodbye before?" said Rei.
"Oh," said Miss Marikawa.
"Saya," said Hirano, "if we live through this, do you know what we should do? Get married."
"Hmm," said Saya. "Maybe. I'll think about it. You probably shouldn't hold your breath, though. I'm really just in it for the sex."
Then the ground under their feet began to tremble.
The column came into sight.
"My god," said Saya. "My fucking fucking god."
"All of them," said Rei. "Every goddamn zombie in Japan."
"Then the upside," said Hirano, "is that if we kill them all, we get our country back."
Saeko adjusted the swords at her belt.
The lead pack of zombies broke into a run. They began to snarl, and growl, and roar.
Hirano hefted his big gun. "Let's rock!" he shouted. The gun began to spout flame. Smoking cartridges spiralled through the air. The others chimed in.
The first line of zombies went down, chewed to pieces. So did the second. But the zombies kept coming, howling for blood now.
The chain gun clicked on empty.
"Second stage!" shouted Takashi.
Rei and Saya went to the right flank near the cliff, Takashi to the left near the river. Alice, sniper rifle in hand and carrying a satchel of grenades, went for the highest roof in the village. Miss Marikawa mounted her horse and wheeled it into a narrow lane behind the first row of shops.
Saeko simply vanished.
Hirano dropped the chain gun and pulled up his next weapon. He backed up, firing as he went. The zombies split into groups.
Takashi ran into a garage at the end of an alley. His convertible was there. "Dammit, I really liked this car," he muttered to himself.
A crowd of zombies came racing down the alley.
The car already had the accelerator braced with a bar and the steering wheel tied into position. Takashi turned it on and released the brake. The car roared away from him and down the alley. It ploughed into the zombies, smashing then down. Then it crashed into the next group, and then the next. And then the grenades and the cans of petrol went up.
Saya ran down a side-street, Luger drawn, a hundred-strong troop of zombies in pursuit. She stopped and turned. She lifted the gun, aimed carefully, and took out the first rank. Then she ran again, leading the zombies up the street and towards the edge of the village.
She turned into a little open area. Rei was there, kneeling with the RPG on her shoulder. Saya ran past her.
The zombies came around the corner. Rei aimed. The lead zombie, a big one, gave a hideous howl.
Then Rei jerked the RPG upwards and fired. The rocket streaked over the heads of the zombies.
The big zombie looked at her. Its decayed lips curled into an evil smile, as if it was saying: you missed.
"I didn't miss," said Rei.
The rocket smashed into the face of the cliff and exploded. With a rumble, rocks began to fall. Then the whole cliff-face began to come down, burying the zombies under tons of rock.
Rei threw the RPG frame aside. She and Saya ran, hoping to stay ahead of the rolling boulders.
Alice was shooting and throwing grenades as fast as she could, trying to hold back the tide. She saw a group of zombies running up the lane which led to a ladder to the roof. It was too far for grenades – but then she saw Miss Marikawa riding along the lane directly for them, shooting with one hand and swinging a club with the other.
A group of zombies smashed their way into a large, empty building, looking for a way through. There was a woman standing before them.
Saeko took a quick count. Nine.
She smiled.
Hirano emptied the weapon; the zombies were almost on him. He turned and ran, pulling out the detonator. There was a series of buttons. He pushed the first one, and the buildings on either side of the street went up. The wave of zombies went up with them.
The shockwave of the blast knocked him down but he was up again in a moment. He reloaded, and prepared for the next assault.
The zombies were flooding into the village now. The group of humans fell back and met at the little park in the middle of the town, as they had planned. Miss Marikawa ran up. "They knocked me off Buttercup," she said. "I got them all but I couldn't get back to her."
"You went to war on a horse called Buttercup?" said Saya.
"What's wrong with Buttercup?" said Miss Marikawa.
"Er, nothing, nothing," said Takashi. "Hirano, where are the next set of charges?"
"In those buildings, just at the entry to the park. It would be good if we can get them to bunch up, so we can take out as many as we can."
"Do they have to come this way?" said Takashi. "Is the right flank covered?"
"They'll be able to get through eventually but they're certainly slowed down there," said Rei.
"Then concentrate your fire on that street," Takashi directed.
They fired. And fired. And fired.
The zombies were climbing over bodies. Wave after wave went down.
"Hirano, now!" said Takashi.
Second button.
The blasts took out hundreds of them. The wave behind began to hesitate and fall back.
It was a small victory but it had come at a tactical cost. A group of zombies had got behind them, and were blocking their retreat. They had clubs and bars.
Saeko drew her already-bloody swords. She counted.
Damn, she thought. Ten.
But she charged into them, slashing left and right. One down, two, three. "Go past!" she shouted to her friends.
Four, five. In her mind's eye, she could see how the next four would fall. But the ninth would leave her out of position, unable to strike at the tenth.
She saw Takashi and the others get to the relative safety of the street on the either side of the park.
The temple sword sliced into the neck of the eighth and the Hokusawa blade impaled the head of the ninth. But now her back was to the last one. From the corner of her eye, she saw him raise a massive iron bar.
Then someone leaped onto his back. Rei. The zombie howled, trying to fling her off. But then she had her pistol at his temple. She fired as he swung her into a tree.
Saeko helped her up. Rei's shoulder looked broken.
"Thank you," said Saeko.
"Couldn't let you do all the hand-to-hand heroics, could I?" said Rei, grimacing in pain.
Their last redoubt was the southern end of the town, where a brace of abandoned cars offered some cover. The seven of them made for it, firing as they went.
A trio of zombies broke from the pack and made for Saya, trailing behind the others as she reloaded. She turned and fired her Luger. One down. Then the second. The third, carrying a club, took a bullet in the neck but knocked her to the ground. It raised the club.
Hirano came running forward. His gun was out of bullets and there was no time to unsling the second. He threw the empty gun aside and drew his machete. He swung, but the zombie dodged and struck out with the club, catching Hirano on the hip. He staggered back, dropping the machete. He fell.
Saya rolled, snatched up the machete, and stabbed the zombie in the foot. It howled. She struggled to her knees and thrust upwards. The blade sliced into the zombie's neck. It fell back, dead, the machete still in its throat.
She ran to Hirano. "What would you do without me?" he said to her, with a groan.
"Technically, I think I saved you," she said. "But I suppose we can call it even." She tried to drag him to the others but she was not strong enough to move him. "Takashi!" she shouted. "Help!"
Takashi ran to them, shooting to keep the zombies back. He reached them and hoisted Hirano up. Hirano cried out in pain. Takashi handed his shotgun to Saya, and she fired while they scrambled to the cars.
They made it but the group was in bad shape. Rei with a broken shoulder, Hirano hardly able to move his legs, all of them near exhaustion and running low on ammunition. And the zombies were readying another attack.
"The last set of charges is on the petrol station," said Hirano. "That should give them a very nasty surprise. Here, Saya, you take the detonator … oh no – "
"Oh no what?" said Saya.
"It must have come out of my pocket when that one hit me," he said. He managed to raise himself into a sitting position and looked back. "There it is, over there!"
A wave of zombies was coming forward, roaring, past the petrol station.
Alice ran forward towards the detonator. But two zombies were coming that way as well. As she neared the detonator, one made a grab for her. She dived, sliding through his legs. The other raised a club to hit her – and then fell back with a bullet from Miss Marikawa's rifle in his head.
Alice reached the detonator, still sliding on the gravel. She scooped it up, and pushed the button.
The petrol station went up in a massive gout of flame, incinerating a hundred zombies in a second. And another hundred a few moments later.
The zombie near Alice went down, courtesy of Miss Marikawa, and Alice ran back to the others.
"Outstanding," said Saeko to her as she threw herself down next to them.
"That will hold them, but not for long," said Takashi. He took a clip out of his pocket and rammed it into his gun. It was his last one.
"Well, I'm not going anywhere," said Saya.
"Not me," said Miss Marikawa, digging tablets out of her pocket and giving them to Rei and Hirano.
Saeko was carefully wiping blood from her swords.
"I can shoot with my left hand," said Rei. "I think."
"Prop me up and tie a gun to my arm," said Hirano. "A big one would be nice."
Alice checked her sniper rifle. "Fuck 'em all," she said.
"Well, you're all going to have your chance," said Takashi.
Then a shadow passed over them, and a burst of machine-gun fire from above.
It was Tatagi's plane. He was firing out the window, and then he threw a string of grenades. The plane flew the length of the town, and then turned and came back, swooping low.
From within the throng of zombies there was a volley of gunshots. The little plane seemed to stagger for a moment in mid-air, and then smoke started to come from the engine. It stuttered, stopped and then started again. It flew off in the direction of the Maresato farm, wobbling through the air.
"Hope he makes it down safely," said Saya.
"He's a good pilot," said Rei.
"And a brave man," said Hirano.
"He just couldn't take out enough of them," said Takashi. "Get ready. This will be it, I think."
Then the ground began to shake again. But this was not the sound of thousands of zombie feet. This was the drumming of heavy engines.
An Armoured Personnel Carrier came careening around the corner behind them. Major Arimake was in the turret, behind a heavy machine gun. She saluted them as she roared past. Behind her was another APC, and then another, and then another, and they were all packed with soldiers from Kaga Base.
At the same time, over the hill on the other side of the village came a line of trucks and cars. From the vehicles spilled a wave of people, mainly civilians. Most of them had guns but some had only axes and clubs. They ran down the slope and smashed into the flank of the zombie army.
The APCs ploughed into the front of the mass, firing as they went. Zombies fell in waves. But there were many, many more.
Takashi, Saeko, Saya, Alice and Miss Marikawa came out from behind the cars. It's everyone, thought Takashi. But is it enough? Will it be enough?
From the zombie formation, a shot rang out.
Takashi staggered backwards. He fell, blood spreading over his chest.
Immediately, Miss Marikawa was by his side, trying to put pressure on the wound to stop the bleeding. Saeko knelt down. She looked at Miss Marikawa.
Miss Marikawa shook her head.
He reached out for Saeko's hand. She took it. He looked up at her and did his best to smile. "Always, my love," he said. Then his eyes closed.
Takashi Komuro was dead.
Saeko stood up. She turned towards the battle, a hundred metres away. The war was balanced on the scales. She drew her swords.
Over her shoulder, she said to Rei: "Look after Rise."
"I will," said Rei.
She stared up at the sky for a long moment. Then she gave a cry of primal savagery and charged into the fray.
Miss Marikawa looked at Saya and Alice. "Well," she said, "what are we waiting for!"
They drew their guns and ran after Saeko.
Z+1277
In the soft light of early dusk, Hirano and Saya walked slowly up the hill. Hirano still limped, and used a cane for assistance. They reached the two grave markers at the top.
"You know," said Saya, "this is where she first told me that a storm was coming. I remember that I had my old Luger. It's because of the two of them, I think, that I don't have to carry it now."
Hirano nodded. "It's nice up here," he said. "A nice view for them."
They looked back towards the farmhouse. In the front yard, Nozomi and Rise were laughing and running around as toddlers do, Alice and Zeke chasing them. Rei and Tatagi were trying to keep some sort of order in the game, but obviously they knew it was just part of the fun. As Saya and Hirano watched, Miss Marikawa and her partner came out of the house, carrying plates of food for the picnic meal. Grandfather and Grandmother Maresato sat in porch chairs, pleased to see the people that they loved enjoying themselves.
Hirano took his wife's hand. "Some things are worth fighting for," he said. "Some things are worth dying for."
"Yes," said Saya. "Some things are."
END AND AMEN