Hinata's POV
Sakura and Ino's eyes widen. They looked over everyone else's IDs for their ranks. Shikamaru's a captain, Hinata's a 1st lieutenant, Sasuke's a 2nd lieutenant, Naruto's a sergeant, Sai and Gaara are corporals.
"Gaara, I'm not going to repeat myself. Let me go," Hinata stated with anger still laced in her voice.
"Hina..." Gaara said softly.
"I'm fine now, okay? Especially since we're being called in to active duty," Hinata stated calmly. Gaara let me go and I walked towards Shikamaru. I glanced at Sakura, and she was still at the other end of the room sulking. Probably from how Sasuke treated her, but I wasn't sure. I saw Ino walking towards Sakura with a concerned look. 'Ugh, Sakura really knows how to get under my skin, but why did I lose control like that?' I thought. I was completely disappointed with myself.
"Wait! Wait! I still don't understand how the 6 of you are part of that Konaha special task force thing," Kiba uttered in complete shock.
"Heh, why are you jealous?" Naruto snickered.
"What'd you say idiot?" Kiba asked while rolling up his jacket sleeves.
"C'mon guys. We shouldn't be fighting just like what Shikamaru said," Choji said while going in between the two hotheads.
Choji Akimichi is Shikamaru's long time best friend. He's always been so kind and caring. He's not afraid to lend a helping hand to someone who needs it. He's helped me out so many times by making me feel included in the group. Choji has short chocolate brown hair and he's a bit on the heavier side. He was in the football team with Kiba in high school.
"Tch, you're not even worth anyway Naruto," Kiba said while walking away from Naruto.
Shikamaru sighs and says "Alright, are we finally ready to tackle this like adults or what? We've wasted so much time due to these unnecessary arguments. With our situation at this moment, we don't have the time to get into the what, when and how we got into the task force. Hinata, what's your suggestion?"
"I know each classroom is equipped with basic supplies in case of an emergency. So, we need to find it and start rationing it. I also suggest we go through the classroom for anything that can be used as a weapon and other supplies like duct tape, rope, batteries, flashlights, and anything else that could be useful. I also agree with Naruto's suggestion in figuring out an escape route because it doesn't seem like anyone is going to be coming for us. I also agree that Kiba is right and that we shouldn't try to go outside blindly. With that being said I tried calling 911, but it just goes straight to a busy tone. I'm guessing the lines are being overloaded with calls or the call centers have been overrun with those creatures," I stated calmly.
"I agree with your suggestion Hinata. Commander Uchiha sent me a map of the university and marked a potential storage room filled with more emergency supplies. Once we can get more information on the condition of our campus, we can start formulating a route to the storage room, possibly securing a vehicle then figuring out where we should head to once we're outside. Before we can do all of that, we need to be on the same page so we can work together. Without teamwork, any of our plans will fail," Shikamaru explained. He turned to Sakura and Ino. "Am i making myself clear or are we going to have a problem?"
"Fuck you Shikamaru. I don't care if you're a captain in your dumb pretend task squad shit. I am not taking orders from you," Sakura yelled at the top of lungs as she walked towards Shikamaru with Ino right behind her.
Suddenly, Sai pinned her down on the floor and shoved something that looked like a handkerchief in her mouth. Sakura tried fighting back, but Sai's grip was too strong for her to break free. She eventually started sobbing from how Sai handled her. This enraged Ino.
Sai Uchiha has always been a straight up savage. Naruto introduced us to Sai back in high school as Sasuke's distant cousin. He has the signature raven black Uchiha hair with piercing black eyes. His complexion was paler in comparison to Sasuke. He wasn't as popular as Sasuke, but a lot of girls flocked around him. I wasn't too close to Sai, but all I knew was he became the captain of the mixed martial arts team, and his paintings/drawings were quite phenomenal.
"Get the fuck off of her Sai!" Ino shrieked while wildly punching Sai.
Choji grabbed Ino and slapped her across her face. "Ino, you need to chill out. Didn't Shikamaru just say that we need to be quiet to ensure we don't attract any unwanted attention?" Choji lectured. Ino slumped to the floor and started sobbing quietly.
"Sai try letting her go, but if she keeps up her act restrain her," Shikamaru instructed.
Sai nodded and got off Sakura. Ino crawled over to Sakura sobbing. "Saku are you alright?" Ino asked in between sniffles.
Sakura removed the gag and was about to start screaming until she saw Sasuke's menacing glare.
"Sakura, I'm not going to warn you again," Sasuke stated firmly.
"Teme, I'll handle this," Naruto said. He grabbed both girls and took them to the far corner of the room again. He had them sit down on the floor with their backs against the wall.
I couldn't hear what Naruto was whispering to them, but all I could see were Sakura's bright emerald green eyes glaring at me. 'I need to ignore her. We need to get things sorted out so I can find a way to get to Hanabi. Neji and Temari are quite capable so I'm sure they're fine,' I thought to myself.
"Hey guys," Shino called out. "I think I found the bag of emergency supplies." It seems like Shino was looking through the cabinets for anything that useful. He brought the bag to the table we were at and all the things he was able to find he thought we could use.
Shino Aburama is the quiet one in our group. He has a passion for Entomology, the study of the study of insects and their relationship to humans, the environment, and other organisms. Shino and Kiba have been best friends since grade school.
Shikamaru and Shino started going through the supplies. They separated the food and started portioning it out to accommodate 10 people.
I noticed Gaara was leaning against the wall and staring at his phone. I stood next to him and rested my head on his shoulder. "You okay Gaara?" I asked softly.
"I'm just thinking," he stated. "This whole situation just doesn't feel real and I'm getting worried about Kankuro and Temari. I've tried calling and sent them a couple of messages."
He smelled like coffee and sawdust. "Temari and Kankuro are super capable people. I'm sure they're doing okay!" I stated confidently.
"You're right. This isn't the time to be moping around." Gaara said. His eyes lit up and he kissed the top of head. "Hinata! I just thought of something that can help us get a better view of the other classrooms." A blush started to spread across my face, but it made me happy that he found motivation again.
Gaara went towards the center of the classroom and asked, "Does anyone have a tripod, monopod or a... selfie stick?"
"Ugh, why would you need one?" Ino asked annoyedly.
"We need to see what's happening in the building, right? Well, if someone has one, we can attach a phone to it to use to see in the classroom below and have a better look at our hallway as well. I mean if no one has one I'm pretty sure I can MacGyver one myself." Gaara explained.
Ino got up and walked to her bag. She actually pulled out a selfie stick. "It's 10 feet long and I expect it to be returned to me. Got it?" She says as she passes it to Gaara. She went back to sit next to Sakura who still looked in shock.
"Thanks, Ino!" Replied Gaara with a dazzling smile on his face.
Ino couldn't help but blush at the sight of Gaara's smile. "Yeah, yeah." she said softly and waving him off.
Gaara looked at Shikamaru for approval and Shikamaru gave him a thumbs up. Gaara got to work attaching his phone, hitting the record button and now was ready to put his idea to work. He opened the window and wind started rushing in. He closed the window back up and called out to Kiba. "Hey Kiba. Are you busy?"
"No why what's up?" Replied Kiba as he walked up to Gaara.
"The wind's pretty strong right. I was going to maneuver the monopod while I looked at my Apple Watch but just to be safe, I think this should a be a two person job. Which do you prefer? Maneuvering the monopod or being my eyes while I maneuver it?"
"I think my arms are longer than yours, so I'll take the selfie stick," Kiba replied back.
Gaara's POV
I nodded and handed him the monopod. The two of us got to work. Kiba opened the window, firmly gripped the monopod, and lowered it down. The classroom below was a bloodbath, but surprisingly empty. I instructed Kiba to move to the left so I could get a clearer view of the second-floor hallway. It was also clear. "Hey kiba. You can pull it up now." I informed him.
"Gotcha," replied Kiba and he handed me back the monopod.
We went over to the table where Shikamaru and others were. Minus Sakura and Ino because it looked like they were still going through their mental breakdown. I handed Shikamaru the phone and everyone surrounded him so they could see the video.
"From what we can tell the classrooms and the hallways beside us and the one directly below us is clear for now. I noticed the doors didn't look damaged. Gaara and Kiba continue to scout out areas you're able to reach," Shikamaru instructed.
"Do we have any duct tape? Because if we do, I'm pretty sure we can extend the range using a broom or mop handle," I stated.
"Great idea Gaara," Shikamaru said calmly. "Hinata, Sasuke, Naruto, Gaara and Sai let's have a briefing and start assigning duties."
Shikamaru's POV
I went over to our professor's desk to look for a printer. Luckily, we still have electricity, so I printed out the two maps Commander Uchiha sent via text. "We need to start discussing what needs to be done. I've printed out the maps Commander Uchiha sent," I said aloud.
The six of us headed towards the desk. "As you may know the main building is four stories high, floors 2-4 have six classrooms each and the first floor mainly consists of the university staff rooms. The cafeteria and student lounge are in the second building connected by the skywalk. From the intel I received from the commander, the storage room with additional emergency supplies are in the second building. As I said before, Commander Uchiha gave us the order to go into active duty with full privileges. Meaning we have the authority to decide to dispose of the hostile if need be. We've been tasked to escort civilians to the shelters that have been placed throughout the city. Our first destination outside of our campus is the rooftop of Suzuran Heights Apartment complex. Commander Uchiha stated that our gear will be up there by sundown today. Unfortunately, he was not able to relay any information on the city's conditions. Has anyone heard anything about what's happening outside?"
"The news is saying that it's some kind of virus that brings the dead back to life. There are speculations if you get bitten, scratched or get exposed by an infected person's blood through open wounds or ingestion, the probability of you dying from the infection and being resurrected is close to 100%," stated Sasuke. "From the videos that have been uploaded to social media, it seems these things are slow, but strong. It's easy to maneuver yourself around them, but once you get grabbed it's hard to break free. The only way that seems to kill them is by striking them in the head like how they do it in zombie movies. I tried getting more intel, but it seems like cell and internet service is dropping."
"That's great work Sasuke. Now that we know what stops them, we need to start making weapons. From what Shino said, we have 2 brooms, two mops and six pairs of scissors. We can try breaking down chairs and a couple of tables to makeshift clubs. Hinata, you and Sasuke can work on the weapons situation," I instructed.
"Hn," Sasuke responded.
"Of course!" Hinata responded.
"Actually, I can help her out ya know," Naruto suggested.
"No, I need you to do something else for me. Stay back a bit after the meeting," I stated. "Okay priority right now is creating weapons, Gaara and Kiba will continue to scout the reachable areas for more information, Shino pretty much raided the entire classroom for supplies and is working on rations, and Sai & I will be keeping an eye out for... hm, what do you guys want to call them?"
"The creatures?" Naruto asked.
"Dobe. What else could he be referring to?" Sasuke commented.
"In TWD, they called them walkers," Hinata stated.
Sasuke raised an eyebrow at me. "TWD?" He asked.
Hinata turned away and muttered "Oh, you know. The walking dead. It was a tv series that lasted for about 10 years about a zombie apocalypse."
Sasuke scoffed and said, "You're basing our situation on a TV show?"
"Uchiha-san, we could relate it to All of us are dead. Instead of a bunch of high schoolers stuck in their school, we're a bunch of college students stuck on campus." Hinata sarcastically replied.
"Tch, whatever Hyuga," he scoffed out. "Are we done? This meeting is starting to be pointless."
"Just one last thing. Who has a car, and do you remember where you parked?" I addressed this to everyone.
Everyone except for me raised their hands and nodded that they remembered where they parked. "Hinata, you didn't drive today?" I asked.
"Neji nii-san and I share a car... I haven't been able to get a hold of him yet," Hinata said softly.
"I can take the Hyuga with me," Sasuke said nonchalantly.
Everyone looked at Sasuke with a bewildered look on their faces. I could see Ino and Sakura glaring at me.
"Thanks for the offer, Uchiha-san. I appreciate it," Hinata said. She looked pretty caught off guard by the offer.
I looked at Gaara and he had a weird look on his face? Kind of like he had something to say but chose not to say anything. 'I wonder what's that about. Hinata and Sasuke are usually partners whenever we had training sessions," I thought to myself.
"Okay, with that problem being solved. Meeting adjourned. Naruto stay back a bit," I announced. He put his arm around Naruto's shoulder and whispered, "Sakura and Ino don't look good. Sakura's been watching Hinata's every move. That's not a good sign. For Ino she looks like she is about to give up on everything. We need everyone to work together. Could you convince them to help pack up everyone's bag with the supplies that Shino collected and food he rationed out? It might give them some motivation,"
Naruto glanced at Sakura. "I don't know why Sakura hates Hina so much, but I'll try. I want all my friends alive," Naruto whispered back. I held my fist up at Naruto and he smiled. We fist bumped and went our separate ways.
Hi everyone! I'm hoping everyone is enjoying so far. Apologies in advance if this chapter is mainly dialogue. I swear it'll pick up in the next chapter or the chapter after that!
Please don't forget to leave a review! I really appreciate them!
For the guest reviewers, thank you for your kind words!
*Edit: Not sure if you guys get notified when the chapters get edited. I notice a few grammatical errors so I just decided to fix them. Apologies!
