Chapter 2: Of Sights and Sound

"Kazuko!" Vivian screamed out his name as he was sent sprawling to the floor. The tables and chairs around saved him from the falling door. With no time to get up and move, he crawled on his back and pulled the trigger on his pistol. It was harder to do than he thought. It looked cool in movies and games but it was ridiculous and tiresome to do. The muscles in his legs burned with agony from his comical attempt at a retreat. After not doing so well, he rolled to his stomach, pushed himself off the floor and distanced himself from the advancing corpses.

Vivian swung her machete in tight arcs, cautious of their grip if they were to reach out. She had seen a man, twice their size, fall pathetically and eaten alive. The blade was sharp but still unable to cut through bone cleanly. Vivian had a hard time pulling it out from their skulls or shoulders blades. It was dangerous to continue her attack on those spots as precious seconds were wasted in trying to retrieve the jammed weapon.

More zombies were pooling in from the back entrance but none were trying to get in from the front door. Vivian shoved and kicked the sliced corpses away to reach there, hoping it was a way out. She turned the knob and tackled the door, only to find that it couldn't be open any further than a few centimetres. After wiping the blade clean she used it as a mirror to look at the problem. Distorted images of what seemed to be tables; chairs and class furniture were piled like a wall, separating the cadavers from the back door to the front. She pulled her machete back in and tried to force the door open, but it wouldn't budge. She needed help. She needed Kazuko.

"Kazuko!" She managed to call out to him as he was reloading. The brief silence left their ears ringing. Kazuko glanced at her and noticed that she was having trouble with the door. Unsure of what the problem was, he manoeuvred past the tables to reach her. Both of them kicked aside the tables and chairs to block the zombies' path. It wasn't enough but it would have to do.

"What's wrong?" He asked as he tried to push the door open. It didn't budge. "Damn." He exhaled, vexed.

"It's blocked and I can't get it open!" She pounded the door with a balled fist. "Tables, chairs and… whatever are on the other side!"

"Then we'll force it open! We'll tackle it." Kazuko ordered.

"Are you sure?" She asked, uncertain of the plan. Looking to the side, where the back door was, the zombies were staggering and walking with uncoordinated legs into the class, quickly filling up the back room. "Whatever, let's go!" She dismissed her earlier question and positioned herself by the door. Kazuko followed suit and counted down.

"One, two…" He looked to the side and noticed that their blockade was being breached. It was a pathetic attempt at a blockade and it didn't hold them off at all. "Hell! Three!" Both tackled the door in sync and managed to widen the gap. Vivian was able to slip through but unfortunately for Kazuko, the door needed to be a few more inches wide.

"Hold on! I'll get you out!" Vivian exclaimed, kicking the piles of tables, lockers and desks away. Kazuko kept pushing away at the door, watching the gap widen slowly but surely. Within seconds, the gap was huge enough for him to pass. Without a moment to waste, he squeezed through the crack and managed to get through after losing a button on his school uniform. Vivian shut the door and blocked it, hoping it would halt the cadavers advance. They banged and pounded on the door, trying to break it open. Vivian knew they had to get away.

"Are you… all right mate?" She asked, panting hard. After all of the chaos, Kazuko realized that she had an Australian accent. "We have to keep going." She added after she had caught her breath.

"Yeah, you're right." Kazuko affirmed her suggestion. Staying here would lead to another chaos and that was one of the things Vivian and Kazuko would like to avoid. Even though he was exhausted, Kazuko needed to find a safe place to rest. He needed sleep and he needed it badly.

XxX

Alice held onto her tonfas tightly as she followed Tristan. She kept on wondering about the trust she's giving him. Was it safe to say that he is a good person just because he had saved her? Could he be planning something? An ulterior motive? Just thinking about it made her shiver. She raised her tonfas close to her chest, in case he turns around and attacks her. She's unsure of the chances but it was ridiculous to say he's 100 per cent trust able.

"Um-" She tried to initiate a conversation, but stopped herself as she didn't know his name. He walked on, oblivious to her stammer. She looked down and wondered if she should introduce herself. Was it too late? It would be awkward to do so now.

"By the way," Tristan spoke out, catching her attention. "I didn't catch your name." He looked away, embarrassed. What a coincidence. "Tristan Royce Glenn. Tristan." He let out a hand.

"A-Alice," She shook it shyly. "Alice White."

Both pulled their hand back and stood in silence. The only sound they heard was the breeze of the cold night air. He chuckled as he rubbed his tired eyes amused about something.

"W-What's so funny?" She questioned, curious.

"You need to relax," He advised. "Or you'll end up freezing in crucial times."

"I'm relaxed! What makes you think I'm not?" She protested.

"There." He pointed to her tonfas. She had gripped it to the point that her fingers had turned white. She had noticed it as well and calmed herself. Blood rushed back to her fingers. Alice could see it. Tristan too. Alice was embarrassed and looked away. Tristan knows that Alice didn't trust him. He knows it all too well and in times like this, trust was fragile. He can't use words to make her trust him. He has to show it, prove his trust. He just have to wait for the right moment to do so.

They continued to walk down the dark road, with only street lights to guide their way. Cars were starting to appear more frequently as they reached a nearby bridge. Cars of different models were parked in different ways. Others crashed into the back or front bumper of another. The bridge had been lifted and there was no way to cross it. A truck filled with gasoline had blocked the bridge's control room making it impossible to enter.

"That truck was probably delivering gas to the other end." Alice muttered to herself as she walked closer to it. The smell of diesel was overpowering, making her eyes water. Tristan seized her arm and pulled her back abruptly.

"It's not safe," He said as he stared at the overturned truck. "It could blow any minute." Alice pulled her arm from his grip and adjusted her bangs. "That truck must have come from somewhere, so a gas station should be nearby. Let's look for it." He suggested and turned on his heels. Alice followed him but her gaze never left the truck for a few seconds. A word in blue, with a white outline, could partially be read. 'CastCo'

XxX

The bright, blue CastCo sign began to flicker, trying to stay alive throughout the night. Malory tried her best to find the switch for it but never did manage to find it. She took another can of soda and returned to her place - behind the boarded window with her sniper rifle. She pulled the ring and took a sip, wetting her lips as she watched through the gaps of the wooden boards. A few more walking corpses had wandered the lot but since none of them were close to the first pump, she let them be.

In the distance, the sound of footsteps caught her attention. They were no ordinary footsteps. They sounded alive and healthy, unlike the zombies, dragged and lifeless. She pulled her hair behind her ear, revealing a black pearl ear stud, and listened intently to the sound. They were getting closer.

She picked her rifle and put the barrel through the gap before eyeing the scope and scanning the streets. She spotted two survivors, a male and a female. Both of them were jogging toward the petrol station she was in. Their footsteps caught the corpses attention. The girl with tonfas in her hand was skilled it with it. Her movements were controlled and precise. The other had a sniper slung around his shoulders. Malory kept her eye on him as he could be a dangerous individual.

"Look at them prancing around." She muttered as she watched from her spot. The more they fought, the more corpses they attracted and soon, they'll have no where else to go but in the gas station. Malory didn't want that. She couldn't let them compromise her shelter. "Sorry to have to do this." She sighed inwardly and brought the cross hair to the guy's head.

A loud roar of an engine catches everybody's attention. Even the dead. An armoured bank truck sped through the dead and mowed down the corpses like nobody's business. The driver turned the wheel and drifted it to a stop near the pumps.

XxX

Alice and Tristan had seized the opportunity to hide behind the building, peeking the corners to see who it was that had arrived.

A man popped up to the top of the truck and surveyed the lot. He spat, disgusted with the mess. Bodies were littered, others were piled near the first pump. He noticed that it was unnatural. Like a mark made by human. He turned to look at the station. Alice and Tristan pulled their head back, managing to keep out of sight. The man stared at the boarded windows wondering if someone was inside.

"Oi! Kouto! Gas it will ya?!" The driver screamed over the sound of the corpses pounding the van.

"You're crazy! Besides, there's someone in the station!" He stated and pointed directly at the windows. Though he couldn't see Malory, he knows there's someone inside. He pounded the roof of the van twice with his fingerless gloved hand and retrieved an air horn. He chuckled as he tapped it.

A loud, deafening blast could be heard as he tightened the button with tape. When he's done, he ripped the end with his teeth and tossed the air horn to the door of the station. The corpses began to move toward it, its interest piqued. The van roared and drove off to find another gas station. Several other corpses followed it but soon turned back to the sound of the horn.

Malory, who's panicked, stood up and packed her rifle cartridges. She remembered seeing a back exit and quickly headed toward it. She pushed the handle down but the door was chained on the other end. She couldn't open it!

"Damn it!" She screamed as she tackled the door futilely. She should have checked it when she had first arrived and now she's going to pay for her carelessness. The sound of the wooden boards breaking was enough to tell her that she was running out of time. Their moans reached her, making her sweat bullets. The rifle was out of the chain's range, making it useless.

"Hey are you okay?!" Alice shouted over the sound of the blasting air horn

"The chains! Break the chains!" She ordered. Alice took a step back and swung her tonfa at the rusting chain. It took her three tries to finally break it. Malory pushed the bar and stumbled outside, her rifle bullets scattering out from her pockets as she hit the floor.

"We have to get out of here!" Tristan screamed as he pulled her up to her feet. There was no time to pick her scattered bullets. Her feet simply kicked them away as they escaped.

The night is going to get longer...

High School of the Dead. Surviving Z Day 3.

Hope you enjoyed that! I know I have been inactive for who knows how long... I apologize. More OC's will be introduced in the future chapters, so you'll just have to be patient. How do you like Alice, Malory, Tristan, Vivian and Kazuko? Post them in the reviews below and as always, thanks for reading, see ya!