"So, what are we looking for in these stores?" Kasumi crossed her arms, idly studying the imperfections in the ground as she walked.
"We're just looking through all the junk to see what's useful," Soryan answered. "Take stock, basically."
The Outcasts minus Wakaba walked along the mezzanine of Taiei Shopping Town, Soryan making a count of the number of department stores in the 'safe area'.
"Ya thinkin' of doin' a sweep a' the area, just in case?" Mitchell asked, his eyes warily darting between department stores. "'Cause I'm willin' to bet there's still some undead both upstairs an' downstairs hidden outta sight."
Chizuru rested her hands on her hips, her stride a casual saunter. "Knowing our luck? That's probably likely."
"I would expect there to be one around every corner. Just to spite us," Sango said flatly, resting one hand on the pommel of her blade.
The group stopped when Soryan stopped. He raised a finger, dotting the air as he counted the number of stores he saw.
"…Eighteen…nineteen…twenty. Damn. Ten stores on each floor, five on either side of each floor. And that's just this side of the safe area. There might be like thirty, or even forty stores in the whole safe zone," Soryan mused. He looked into the closest store on the right, noting how deep the store went. There were rows and rows of clothes, support pillars, and even doors in the back that led to even more rooms. "Each of these stores could easily support five people each. We shouldn't have a problem with the housing situation."
His eyes narrowed. "But you're right. These stores all have blind spots and an array of different rooms in each. Employee rooms, backrooms, fitting rooms. They could be hiding anywhere."
"So, we'll need to go through all of these stores first before focusing on anything else basically," Chizuru hummed. "Welp, it looks like we got our work cut out for us, don't we?"
"Damn. We really can't catch a break, huh?" Kasumi sighed, slumping over somewhat.
"Such is the price of vigilance." Sango exhaled softly.
"Hn." Chizuru agreed.
Soryan looked at each of them, deep in thought. After a moment, he turned and leaned over the balcony that overlooked the first floor. He couldn't see any zombies, but he was sure there were some around. There always were.
"…I think you guys have done enough for now," Soryan admitted. "I'll get the other survivors involved, and we can get this done quickly."
"Ya say that, Sor, but can we count on 'em knowin' what to do in a tense situation?" Mitchell drawled. He made an emphatic gesture with his hand. "They're not as…proficient as us, I don't think. We might need to help anyway, if only so we can make sure it's done right."
"Don't worry about it," Soryan assured. He pushed off of the railing, half-turning to Mitchell. His gaze swept across his gathered friends. "I need you guys on standby to make sure nothing goes wrong. I can make sure these guys do what I need them to correctly."
"Gonna go Drill Sergeant on them?" Chizuru smirked teasingly.
Soryan gave a short, derisive chuckle. "Drill Sergeant? What do I look like to you?" He shook his head. "Here's the plan—we have four teams of four, two teams to a room. One team will check the room and have one of their members stand outside to watch and make sure no zombies sneak up on them. The other team will go in immediately after the first is finished to double check. We can go one by one across both sides of the mall, then when finished, head downstairs. If anything goes wrong, you guys will be on standby, because you can kick ass."
Mitchell nodded in approval. He rested his hand on the pommel of his weapon. "Sounds like a solid plan. Simple, but effective in execution. I like it."
"Mhm, good idea, Sor." Kasumi gave him a brief thumbs-up, to which he nodded.
"We might as well have the remaining survivors help get our stuff from the bus—or whatever they brought, at least. That, or clean up the bodies if we really want to do that."
"I believe we should take care of the bodies soon," Sango said firmly. She looked over the group with a serious gaze. "They shouldn't be left to rot—especially since we'll be staying here for the foreseeable future."
"Right. I don't want to smell that shit since we'll be living here too. Which one of you is willing to supervise them? We don't need anything going wrong when we just got here," Soryan inquired.
Mitchell raised his hand. "I can head to the roof to watch the area. I saw a roof access door back there." He threw a thumb over his shoulder.
Soryan frowned. "It'd be better if you're on the ground. If anything goes wrong and you're on the roof, you won't be able to help anyone then."
Mitchell paused, blinking. "Oh. Yeah, that's true." He shrugged. "I can be down there with 'em then. I can still see if anythin's comin' since the lot's still clear."
"Cool." Soryan turned to the girls. "While he does that, I need you three to make sure nothing goes wrong with our sweepers. Just circulate wherever the teams are, alright?"
"Sure thing, boss," Chizuru teased. Kasumi snickered at that. Sango hummed in amusement.
"Well, ya heard 'im, fellow cadets. Let's get to it." Mitchell turned and walked back the way they came with renewed zeal, hand still resting on the pommel of his weapon.
Soryan merely rolled his eyes half-heartedly as the girls followed, then he followed after them. They made it back to the corner-store where Wakaba and her family had been staying.
Mitchell noticed that across from the corner store and a small bridge that connected both sides of the mezzanine was another rounded corner store—a small behind-the-counter shop that sold pretzels. It was likely empty by now—unless the original mall survivors never thought to search through it for some reason.
Mitchell took a quick look into it. There was nothing left except for empty bags. Clicking his tongue, he turned away and shook his head at Soryan, who had watched him search. Soryan hadn't expected anything, so he wasn't disappointed.
"We really need to find out how much food is available," Mitchell frowned as he rejoined the group. His finger tapped on the pommel of his blade. "I can't imagine there was much here in the first place since this ain't the food court."
Soryan hummed in acknowledgment. He took a spot atop the bridge, sidling up alongside the girls.
"So…we doing this now?" Kasumi asked, staring into one of the stores that had survivors chatting away in it.
"Yep. That is why we came here, right?" Chizuru sassed sarcastically. Kasumi gave her a dry look.
"Uh-huh," Soryan muttered. "Alright people! Get out here and gather around! We've got shit to do!"
At Soryan's call, the chatting in each of the nearby stores quieted, then a light commotion of grumbles and whispers replaced it. People began rising, slowly emerging from different rooms, curious and expectant. But among them were some faces Soryan didn't recognize, and they wore looks of confusion, contempt, and they had a generally disgruntled aura about them.
"Sor? What's going on?" Wakaba emerged from the corner-store with her parents. They had been in the midst of a conversation.
"Sorry, but we need to get to work soon," he apologized sincerely.
When the majority of the survivors gathered, Soryan made a quick headcount of the total population. He counted forty-three. That was…a lot. Lot's of manpower, but at the same time, a lot of mouths to feed, and a lot of people that probably didn't want to work—some of whom might outright refuse to.
Soryan cleared his throat. "I'm sure you are all aware of our situation, but just in case you aren't, let me be clear right now: we are stuck here."
He paused for a moment to gauge the reactions of the crowd. There was little surprise. "…I won't sugarcoat it—we're gonna be stuck here for the foreseeable future, and I don't think any outside help will be coming soon. That being the case, we are going to have to figure out a way to survive here. I'm not much of a public speaker, so I won't give you some crap about brother and sisterhood or anything like that. All I'm here to say is that the coming days will be difficult, and we need to work as a collective if we want to effectively survive. We're going to have to make this place home."
His gaze swept over the survivors, unwavering. Strange—he was never really one for public speaking, but he didn't feel any discomfort here. He waited to see if anyone had any reservations, but nobody spoke up.
"Right, obviously, in the long run, we'll need a steady supply of food and water. But for now, we need to get the essentials out of the way—our safety. Be warned, there may or may not be several zombies—they are zombies—still hidden in these stores. I need the help of sixteen volunteers to clear out these stores and make note of anything useful. In addition, I need some volunteers that aren't afraid to get their hands dirty to help remove the bodies from this mall. Since we'll be living here, I imagine you don't want to wake up to the smell of rotting flesh every day. We'll all gather up here after that and discuss what to do next."
A few people in the crowd grimaced or frowned in disgust. A few looked satisfied that they had something to do. Others were miffed or displeased—the unfamiliar ones, Soryan noted.
"I know what you're thinking, but this is the apocalypse, not a vacation. Expect things to be a little rougher from now on."
Mitchell placed his hands on his hips. He kept a serious expression as he scrutinized the survivors. "Right now, we're as safe as it can get for us. Calm moments like this probably aren't gonna come often, so it's best that we make the most a' this situation while we can."
"Okay, but who the hell put you in charge?"
Mitchell and Soryan paused, their gazes snapping to the speaker. It was one of the mall survivors, a man with a black toque and a fierce expression.
"Oh my God, this cliché shit?" Mitchell muttered in exasperated frustration. He gave the man a flat look. "It's been five days since this all started. What've y'all done to better your situation? How much food do y'all have left? How long will your water supply last? Do ya have any medicine or antibiotics? What steps have ya taken to make sure you're not overrun by the dead?"
He shook his head, eyes narrowing ever so slightly. "It's not about bein' a leader or whatever. This is about survival. We're just thinkin' logically here."
The man was unphased. If anything, he only seemed angrier. "And you think you know better? You're just a bunch of kids!"
"So what? I've done more in the last two hours than you have in five days if this is what you have to show for it. A 'safe zone' that isn't even actually safe, no food, no water, no amenities. There are like forty department stores around here all filled to the brim with useful items any smart person would give their right foot to get, and you haven't done shit to put them to use, or even look at them. You've squandered every last second you've had to do anything useful in the past five days by doing jack shit. So yes! Yes, I do think I know better!" Soryan articulated exasperatedly.
He smacked the side of his head. "Hell, if you think about it, why do I, a highschool student who hasn't even finished calculus yet, have to step up and lead a group of more than thirty adults? Wanna know why? Because you haven't done anything!"
Mitchell glanced at Soryan before returning his gaze to the others. "He's got a point. Who leads who—that doesn't matter. What matters is that we ensure everyone's continued survival, an' for that we need to cooperate with each other. But if y'all wanna keep sittin' on your ass, that's fine—however, I intend on bein' productive."
He jerked a thumb at himself to emphasize. "I have people to look after. I'll do this myself if I have to. We're just askin' nicely."
There were mutters of approval among the bus survivors, but hesitance among the mall survivors. Speaking of the mall survivors, there were only twelve of them. Including Wakaba's parents, there was Asami, the man in the toque, a man with glasses and a camouflaged jacket, an elderly couple, a shifty looking male student, a woman, a man in business casual attire, a long-haired guy with a thuggish expression, and a man who wore an unreadable expression. None of them seemed to trust one another. Great.
As if to punctuate that fact, the man in the toque grit his teeth, looked back and forth at the gathered survivors, then settled his gaze on Soryan and Mitchell again.
He clicked his tongue. "You're going to get everyone killed. I don't think I have to do shit for you."
"You don't think at all!" Soryan threw his hands up.
"You took the words right out of my mouth, Soryan. I really don't think you all understand how insanely lucky you've been." Soryan was surprised to see Yoshie emerge from the crowd. "These guys have saved our lives time and time again with skills I've never seen before. If there's anybody here I'm trusting with my life, it's them." She turned and gave a thumbs-up to the Outcasts. "I'm with you guys."
"So am I," Chisato appeared next to Yoshie, dragging a grumbling Masao along with her. "I intend on sticking with people who seem to have a functioning brain."
She was followed immediately by the skittish Bunko, who raised a hand. "I'll help too. They've done a lot for us, so I trust them."
One by one, the bus survivors began to add their voices, speaking up for the Outcasts. It was a small spectacle to behold, one that surprised them. Soryan smiled slightly.
The toque-wearing man opened and closed his mouth, baffled by the sudden show of support for the Outcasts. "You've gotta be kidding me."
"No. They make an excellent point." Sojiro stepped forward, drawing everyone's attention. "We've idled here for days waiting for help to come, and every attempt to help our situation has been met with resistance from you."
"I agree with the boys as well." Maaya joined her husband, her voice soft but firm. "Everything they've said is true. We've been very lucky nothing has happened since we've held up here—especially with all of the…dead roaming so close."
Her expression was tired but also resolute. "We need to stop fighting and work together. I, for one, am done doing nothing."
"As am I." Sojiro nodded. He looked at the man in the toque. "I have seen what these people can do. If you don't trust in their ability, then observe it first hand, and you will see."
He regarded Soryan with a respectful nod. "Soryan, whatever it is you need, we will follow your plan."
"Yes, whatever it is Mr. Soryan has in mind, I'm sure it will be a sound plan. He has made the exact points I've been trying to get across to all of you."
The words were like sharp needles, the voice smooth like butter, but steely and cold—undeniably charismatic, yet distant and authoritative. Kasumi froze up, her pupils constricting in fear. Soryan noticed immediately, but his focus was on the owner of the voice. Alarm bells rang in his head as an instinctive unease welled up within him.
"In a situation like this, teamwork is paramount for our strength and survival. Wouldn't you agree, Mr. Soryan? Sojiro-san?"
"Uh…" Soryan trailed off.
The man who spoke was devilishly handsome, but his hawk-like dark brown eyes seemed to contain the winds of a glacier. He was tall, just about Mitchell's height, and he donned an officer's uniform that he filled out quite nicely—he was definitely above average in terms of constitution, it was easy to see some muscle beneath his uniform. The uniform was similar to officer Asami's.
What was most striking though, was his beautifully well-kept dark blue hair.
"Ah! Satoshi-san?" Asami seemed relieved when she saw the blue-haired man. "When did you get back?"
"Just a moment ago, Nakaoka-san." The man kept a plastic smile on his face. "Our guests seem to have cleared the area for now. Thank you for that. Now we can focus on making things better for us."
Sojiro regarded the man with a small frown. "Mizuhara-san..."
Chizuru gasped quietly as Sango perked up in surprise. Mizuhara—Kasumi's family name. If that wasn't enough to tell the relation between them, then their striking blue hair did.
Mitchell's eyes narrowed, eyeing the man warily as he laid a hand on the hilt of his weapon. He always felt uneasy around this man—the guy always seemed like he was two steps ahead of everyone. It really didn't help to hear the horror stories Kasumi had shared about him in the past.
Maaya's lips thinned at the sight of the man, and she pulled Wakaba close. Wakaba leaned into her mother's side, her worried gaze flitting between the two Mizuharas.
Satoshi turned his steely eyes to his daughter. "Ah, I see you're alive and well, Kasumi." He nodded noncommittally. "You've grown so strong, my daughter, and I fully believe you will continue to do so. You make our family very proud."
Kasumi said nothing. She couldn't even move. Her eyes, however, narrowed, the constriction shifting from fear to anger. Her teeth grit behind closed lips, her fists balling.
"Now then, time is of the essence, and Mr. Soryan, I believe you have the qualities inherent to be an effective leader. I trust your judgement, and so do your comrades. What is your plan?"
"Uh…I need about twenty-five people to meet up where the security gates are. It doesn't matter who, just anyone willing to help."
"And he has spoken. You heard the man. Come along now, people, we have a busy day ahead of us." Satoshi waved people along as he started walking down the mezzanine, and slowly, bus survivors trickled to follow him.
Once they were far enough away, Soryan sighed. "You okay?" He looked at Kasumi, the slightest crease in his brow indicative of worry.
Kasumi relaxed slightly at her father's departure, the tension in her body visibly releasing. She nodded, giving Soryan a tiny smile. He could tell by the stress on her lips and cheeks that it was just a bit forced. "Yeah. I am now that he's gone."
Chizuru looked at Kasumi with eyes filled with confusion. "Uh...something I should know about your dad? You don't seem too happy to see him. He seems nice."
Kasumi took a deep breath. "I…don't want to talk about it."
She made a face that described exactly how she felt about the situation. Sango wordlessly placed a hand on her shoulder.
Mitchell looked after the departing man with a narrowed gaze. He sighed, growling quietly. "Another silver-tongued snake. First Shido, now him. Goddamn our luck."
With that, he strode away with an irritated air. Wakaba's eyes followed him worriedly, then she broke away from her parents to follow after him. They didn't stop her—in fact, after a moment, they followed.
"Come on then," Soryan looked at the rest of his friends, then nodded towards the American. "Let's get this over with."
The parking lot was eerily quiet as Mitchell kept a sharp lookout, the only noise coming from the busy bus survivors as they retrieved their belongings from the bus, and a few other survivors who entered and exited the mall, piling up the bodies of the dead in an isolated area of the parking lot, Chizuru and Sango watching over them. The quietness offered no comfort to Mitchell however, as he diligently scanned the distant streets for any unwelcome visitors with the keen eyes of a seasoned hunter.
Wakaba walked quietly at his side, her eyes like a hawk's. Her parents had elected to help the others unpack, leaving the two alone. Together they patrolled some distance away from the bus, marching back and forth as the other survivors worked. Things had gone smoothly so far, but Mitchell knew that was subject to change at any given moment. The memory of Takagi Estate was still fresh in his mind, after all, and now they had to deal with the snake in the grass that was Kasumi's dad.
Shaking his head, Mitchell addressed Wakaba, keeping his eyes wary. "I'm glad your parents are alright, Waka. Seriously."
Wakaba exhaled. "You can say that again. I don't think I've ever been more relieved in my life."
Mitchell gave her a gentle nudge. "Sorry things keep interruptin' y'all, by the way. I know you're due some time for yourselves. God knows y'all deserve it."
"It's okay. I'm just happy we're all together now," Wakaba assured. She gave him a knowing squint. "Don't sell yourself short though, mister. I've seen how hard you've been working. And you've helped me…a lot. If anyone deserves a rest, it's you." She smiled as she looked up at him with the most genuine eyes.
Mitchell rubbed his neck, embarrassed. "Well, we've all been workin' hard. It doesn't help that there's still so much to get done before we can relax, y'know?"
He looked over at her, giving her a good-natured smile. "And thanks, Waka. I'm willin' to help anytime, so don't be afraid to ask for it, aight?"
"You got it!" Wakaba beamed. She hip bumped him. "The same can be said about you too, Mitch. I'll gladly help if you need it."
"Sure thang," Mitchell replied, grinning. "This is a team effort, after all."
Wakaba giggled at his diction. She was about to reply when she heard a phone vibrate. She looked around until she saw Mitchell reach into his back pocket.
The American retrieved his Iridium phone. He gave Wakaba a serious look before hitting the 'accept' key.
"Dad?"
The distinctive Southern drawl of his father's voice was relieving in ways Mitchell couldn't describe. "Ah, good to hear from ya, son. I managed to finally get a bit a' time to myself, so I was callin' to check up on ya. How've things been on your end?"
Mitchell hummed, nodding his head from side to side. "Things have been…eventful for us. We managed to rescue a bunch a' survivors the other day. We've held up in Taiei Shopping Town, by the way. Do ya remember where that is?"
The man's voice sounded thoughtful. "I think so—that's the mall in Tokonosu, right? I only remember goin' there once with ya."
"Yeah, that's the place. We just got here this mornin', so we're still makin' sure the place is safe," Mitchell answered, idly peering across the parking lot before his eyes landed on Wakaba again. The girl was listening to the conversation with a curious expression.
"Well, it's good to hear you're usin' your head." The man paused. "You said ya managed to save some folks, yeah? How many are there with you?"
"Forty at least. I didn't really count 'em all." Mitchell hummed. "Why do ya ask? Are ya gonna tell your superiors about us?"
"Yeah, I certainly plan to." The man grunted in frustration. "But with how hectic it's been lately, I'm not sure they'll be onboard about a rescue. They're busy plannin' somethin' with the JMSDF. I even heard they're in talks with the Russians about somethin', so I know is it's somethin' big."
Mitchell frowned. "I see. That's about what I figured. You're still gonna push for it, right?"
"Oh I will, make no mistake about that, son." The man's words left no room for doubt. "We're headin' back home the moment we can. From what I've heard, things aren't goin' well back home."
Mitchell stopped, his lips thinning with worry. "Give it to me straight, Dad. How bad is it over there?"
The man sighed. "We've got news that the Army an' National Guard have been pullin' back to the West Coast. Apparently, Europe has it even worse, and we haven't heard a peep from China since all this started."
Mitchell ran a hand over his head, sighing. "Well shit. Is that all you've heard?"
"We've heard that Australia's been hangin' in there, but other than that, that's all we managed to gather. Oh yeah, an' stay away from open bodies a' water. We've gotten reports of zombies walking right outta lakes an' rivers on multiple occasions. There's some that have been reported to be able to see, and a few worrying accounts from the ground pounders about zombies that haul ass after ya."
Mitchell's blood chilled. "Oh fuck. Please tell me these are isolated incidents…?"
"Son, I really wish it was, trust me, but the looks in their eyes told me they weren't lying. Watch your ass out there."
There was a pause, with barely intelligible words being spoken in the background. "Looks like it's time for me to go. I'll be headin' out on another flight soon, so I need to get ready. I'll let the higher ups know about y'all's situation though, don't worry."
"Aight, I'll let ya get back to it then. Love ya, Dad."
"You too, son. Stay safe an' keep that phone on ya. Bye."
At that, the man hung up. Mitchell placed the phone back in his pocket, shaking his head. Things were even worse than he imagined.
"Is everything alright?" Wakaba asked, a concerned sheen in her eyes. "That sounded serious."
Mitchell nodded. "Yeah, just got some news from my dad. Needless to say, thing's aren't lookin' good back home. I told him where we are though, so hopefully they'll send him to come get us soon." He started walking again, with Wakaba quickly stepping forward to match his pace.
"And I heard somethin' pretty worrying. Dad told me there's been reports of zombies bein' able to see and even fucking run," he continued grimly.
"What?" Wakaba squeaked. She looked very worried now. "Running zombies? That's…"
"Bad, I know," Mitchell agreed quietly. He sighed, looking around with renewed paranoia. "The others ain't gonna like hearin' this."
It was another fifteen minutes before the last survivor grabbed the last piece of luggage. When the bus was finally cleared, Sojiro and Maaya approached Mitchell and Wakaba as the others filed into the mall one-by-one, brushing past the busier body-movers.
"Looks like we're done here, Mitch," Sojiro waved. "Let's get back inside."
Mitchell nodded. "Aight then." He suddenly pat Wakaba on the side playfully. "C'mon, Sniper Supreme. Let's go."
Wakaba smiled happily at the pet name. She almost reflexively reached out to hold his hand as they walked back into the mall.
After a moment of walking, Mitchell looked over at the two adults inquiringly. "Y'all mentioned that food's runnin' low, right? How low exactly?"
Sojiro sighed, running a hand over his head. "There's not much left. If I had to give an estimate, I'd say less than a meal left—especially with all of these new people. We need to do something about it, and fast."
Wakaba looked at her parents questioningly. "Um, mom, dad? Can't either of you do anything about it? You both work here, after all."
"We've tried, dear. But without any support from the others, we couldn't get anywhere," Maaya answered somberly. She looked thoughtful a moment later. "There are the employee-only rooms, though. Perhaps we can use those to avoid the dead. I know the layout of most of this building."
Sojiro nodded along with his wife's assessment. "As do I. I'm hoping we can make use of the food court in the western wing. But it's full of those…zombies."
Mitchell hummed, his expression deep in thought. "Hmm. The stuff there could sustain us for a good while if it hasn't been tainted by anythin'." He looked over at the Otonashis with a serious gaze. "We should probably run this by the others an' see what they think. I think we can do somethin' with this."
Mitchell crossed his arms, his expression softening as a small, reassuring smirk developed on his lips. "Y'all said you're havin' trouble with the others, right? Well, ya have my support at least. I've got your back."
Mitchell's words were expected, but still, the sincerity he articulated them with was striking. Wakaba smiled warmly as her father nodded at him. "Thank you, Mitch. It means a lot. Now, let's get going."
"Yessir."
Sojiro and Maaya glanced at one another as Mitchell and Wakaba began walking back. The two parents had a conversation without words as they kept up with them. They noticed when Wakaba playfully tapped Mitchell's thigh with the edge of her bow.
He jumped midstep and made a low, surprised yelp. He flushed in embarrassment when he heard Wakaba giggle.
"Hush, you."
"...You know, Mitch…" Sojiro paused as Mitchell, then Wakaba turned back. "We heard about what happened at Takagi Estate."
It was subtle, but Mitchell's expression shifted as fresh memories returned. His voice was dry. "Oh yeah. That."
"Hey. What you did over there, I…there's no way we could thank you enough..."
Mitchell shrugged with a smile. "It's no problem." He raised a hand to playfully point down at the archer next to him. "But seriously though, she destroyed that bastard. God, I wish I could've helped her do it."
Wakaba smiled softly at the praise despite her disgust at the mere mention of the viper.
"As do I," Sojiro breathed. His eyes closed and his fists slowly clenched.
"Be that as it may," Maaya interjected softly. She looked at Mitchell with eyes filled with warmth and gratitude. "Thank you for being there for her, sweetheart. We owe you a debt we cannot repay."
"Hey now, none a' that debt stuff. Y'all don't owe me a thang." Mitchell waved his hands placatingly, embarrassed. "Besides, y'all are like…" he trailed off as he glanced at Wakaba. "Well, just know I'd do it again. Many times."
"I know you would," Sojiro muttered quietly.
As they returned to the corner-store, Maaya glanced over at Wakaba, a knowing twinkle in her eye.
Wakaba's face blazed.
It didn't take long for the luggage team to get back to Soryan's room-clearers. When they did, they returned to find organized chaos.
"We're done here. Moving to the next room."
"Alright. We'll double check here."
About twenty people were rapidly moving from room to room in pairs back and forth across the mezzanine. On a bridge close to the stairs that crossed one side of the mezzanine to the other, Soryan stood directing people back and forth, and Kasumi stood nearby, spear out but with a semi-bored look on her face.
On the ground in front of Soryan was a large blue tarp with two screwdrivers, a hammer, a mallet, several rolls of duct tape, bottled adhesives, two pliers, two wrenches, a crowbar, and a bunch of pens, pencils, clipboards and scrap paper laid out neatly on top of it. Soryan rested his chin atop his hand, his brows creased in deep thought.
"Everything is unloaded, Sor," Maaya said when she approached. She scrutinized Soryan's proceedings with subtle approval. "Has everything gone well while we've been gone?"
"Oh hey," Soryan jumped slightly. "Oh, yeah. Everything's good. We had one zombie fall out of a dressing room, but that's it so far."
"Just one? I was kinda expectin' more somehow," Mitchell said. He evaluated the gathered items analytically.
"Yeah," Soryan replied. "We're almost done with this section, then we're gonna head downstairs." He nodded deeper into the mall. "I decided to go with five teams instead of four to speed things up a bit, and every other available person is moving furniture around, and gathering and organizing materials based on their use."
He gestured to the tarp in front of him. "This here is just what the room-clearing teams have found. We've got a bunch of other materials over there." Everyone looked when he pointed towards a couple of department stores from which ten people were removing furniture whilst laying useful items like glue and tape on top of large blankets or tarps. There were already several rows of chairs, desks, stands, and tables just sitting around in the mezzanine. "I think I'll have all of you guys who just got back doing that too in a minute."
"That's a good call," Sojiro nodded. His eyes scanned over the groups. "Do we have a place for everyone to stay? I believe we should figure that out before nightfall."
"The department stores or the mezzanine should work fine for everybody. One of the stores on the other side of the safezone is one of those huge in-built complexes, like a Sears, if you know what I'm talking about. It's all camping gear, so there's probably a ton of tents we can use," Soryan offered.
"I see," Sojiro replied.
"Well, that's good," Wakaba said softly in relief. She turned to Mitchell questioningly. "Do you want to stay with us, Mitch? I don't mind."
"Huh?" Mitchell blinked. "Uh, well, I don't mind if y'all don't." He looked at Sojiro and Maaya with the slightest concern. "I'm not gonna intrude, am I?"
"They're not gonna mind, big guy," Kasumi interjected, popping into the conversation with a smirk. "But just so you know, Soryan and I call dibs on the biggest tent!"
"We do?" Soryan looked at the girl. His eyes lit up at some realization. "Oh, uh, yeah! We do."
Mitchell rubbed his neck. "Well, I guess that's settled then?" He still looked at Sojiro and Maaya for their input.
"You heard Kasumi, Mitch," Maaya smiled amusedly. "Don't be shy, you're practically family."
Mitchell hummed, his face red in embarrassment. He looked around the area to fight off the warm feeling in his face. "We should see where Chizuru and Sango are stayin' too."
"There are plenty of rooms, Mitch. Don't worry your pretty little head over anything," Kasumi teased.
Mitchell grunted. "Well, I was just lookin' out for our group."
Seeing Mitchell's embarrassment, Wakaba couldn't help herself. She smiled knowingly with thinly veiled amusement. "Are you okay, Mitch? You look a little red."
Mitchell raised his hands in mock surrender. "Aight, aight, that's good. Please stop bullyin' me."
"Never," Wakaba giggled.
Mitchell sighed, accepting his defeat with a good-natured smile. He was about to reply before remembering the call from his dad. His smile dampened before turning to Soryan. "Oh yeah, I got a call from my dad earlier. What he shared was pretty important."
Kasumi rolled her eyes at the deflection, but she said nothing knowing it was actually probably important.
"What'd he say?" Soryan asked curiously. Maaya and Sojiro seemed equally curious, but stayed silent. At the same time, Wakaba sobered.
Mitchell frowned a bit, resting his hands on his hips. "I told him our situation, and he said he was gonna tell his superiors, but he didn't have much confidence that they'd authorize an evac." He looked over the group with a serious gaze. "He told me the JMSDF was planning somethin' big with them, an' were even in talks with the Russians for some reason."
"Planning…something?" Kasumi asked. "That doesn't sound inconspicuous at all."
"The Russians huh? Then it must be serious," Soryan mused.
Mitchell shrugged. "He didn't know what it was, so it's probably somethin' he isn't allowed to know right now. I'm guessin' whatever this plan is is still in its early stages, so they probably don't wanna spread false rumors."
Sojiro squinted at that. "Did your father say anything else?"
Mitchell frowned fully at that. "Yeah, actually. He told me more about the global situation, an' it's worse than we thought. Back home we're on the backfoot an' losin' ground, Europe is apparently gettin' fucked, China's gone completely silent—it's not good."
"Damn, really? This might sound insensitive, but I feel like this whole zombie apocalypse is the easy mode of zombie apocalypses." Everyone looked at Soryan, appalled. "I-I mean, all of the zombies are blind and super-slow, so I thought we would have responded better to them on a global scale…"
Mitchell shook his head. "Ya probably shouldn't have said that, Sor, 'cause I'm not done. Dad told me about reports a' zombies bein' able to see an' sprint. They've been seen crossin' bodies a' water like lakes an' rivers too, so we can't even count on those bein' natural barriers for 'em. To be honest, I think we've been very lucky so far in hindsight."
"Oh shit…" Soryan breathed.
"Still think this is easy mode?" Kasumi asked grimly. Her grip on her spear tightened subconsciously.
"Well, at least we're hearing it now, rather than later." Maaya tried to stay on the positive side. "Now we'll be prepared if we ever run into any."
Mitchell nodded, gesturing at her in emphasis. "She's got the right idea. With this, our chances of survival just went up. It's now fully up to us to make the best of this info."
"All of that furniture is going to come in useful, then," Soryan noted.
"How so?" Wakaba inquired.
"For now, barricades. We can find ways to slow the fast ones down, and funnel them into tighter spaces to make easier kills. We can also obscure line of sight. Maybe we can do some things in the parking lot? I'll have to think about it… Hm?"
Everyone stopped and looked up when the lights suddenly flickered, then died…but, instead of getting darker, everything in the mall grew brighter. It took a moment for them to realize that the excess illumination was coming from the mall's skylights.
"What the hell…?"
Slowly, everyone in the mall began to take notice of the sudden change, slowing their activities to a halt and peering at the skylights. What was going on? Why did the lights go out?
Soryan turned when he heard rapid footsteps approaching, and he caught sight of Chizuru and Sango rushing up the stairs and onto the mezzanine. "Guys? What's wrong?" He asked.
"NUKE! Explosion! Big! We are screwed!" Chizuru panicked. Her shouting didn't go unnoticed by anyone in the vicinity. But instead of inducing panic, people went still and stared at the second sun in the sky in stunned silence. Only a few people began to seriously panic, stepping away from the light in awe and horror. In seconds, these people cried out as they threw themselves at whatever cover they could find.
Chizuru was shocked and terrified of her friends' lack of action, and so was Sango. "Hey! Did you hear me!? We gotta move!"
"No. It'd be a waste of our time."
Chizuru stared at Soryan with wide eyes like he'd gone insane. "What!?"
"That was a directed EMP attack. The damage is already done. That explosion won't hit us, but we're going to be in the dark from here on out. Literally," Soryan explained as he stared at the distant explosion. "To think that somebody actually pressed the big red button. Shit."
"Wait, an EMP?" Kasumi's eyes widened further than they already were. "You mean like those explosions that knock out the power?"
"Yeah. That's why the lights went out just now. They've all been fried."
"Dear God," Maaya exhaled in horror, hands clasped over her mouth. "Who would do such a thing?"
Sojiro wordlessly brought his wife into an embrace, his lips drawn in a worried line.
"China? North Korea? Hell if I know, anyone with an agenda could've done it," Soryan frowned. "Shit me, our lives just got a lot harder." He looked into each department store, which had gone dark. He bet some of the employee-only back rooms were pitch black now.
Mitchell wordlessly pulled his phone from his pocket, checking it to see if it had gone dead. Seeing it inert, he slapped it forcefully a few times before drawing a deep breath.
"Son of a bitch. Our luck is truly fucked," he growled, lamenting the situation as he tossed the dead-weight away. It clattered across the floor as he made his way to the staircase.
His bitter English caught Kasumi's attention, and she saw him go. "Where are you off to?"
That caught Wakaba's attention, and she managed to tear her gaze away from the terror in the sky to look at Mitchell. "Mitch…?"
"I gotta get my bike, y'all. It should still run even now, so I do not want it stolen," Mitchell responded firmly. As he passed by the still stricken Chizuru and Sango, he gave them each a quick reassuring pat on the arm. "Calm down. Take deep breaths—it's not the end yet. I mean, we're still alive, ain't we?"
Chizuru seemed stricken, but she appeared to take his advice. "Uh…yeah. You're right."
Sango seemed concerned for a different reason. "...There won't be any side effects from this explosion, will there?"
"I think that's all up to the Lord now," Mitchell replied flatly. He realized something. "Hey, Sango, real quick—ya think ya might be able to help calm them down? Y'know, by prayin' with 'em an' doin' your shrine maiden thing?"
Sango was mollified by the idea that she could do something meaningful to help. "I…maybe I can."
"It's up to you." With that final statement of assurance, Mitchell turned and hurried down the stairs to the parking lot.
Soryan looked around as he heard people muttering and whispering to each other, worry brewing throughout the survivors. The panickers that had run and hid began to emerge when they realized they were okay, but the fear and anxiety written on their faces had yet to be erased. Shit, he couldn't even say they were wrong to worry. This was a terrible situation to be in. But still, it wasn't the end of the world.
"So, what happens now?" Kasumi asked, frowning. "How much does this affect us?"
"We can still work with this," Soryan grumbled. "For lighting…batteries. EMPs don't affect them, and there are certain flashlights that won't be affected either. The same can be said for electronic lamps as long as they have no battery installed. We should search that camping gear store for anything we can use for illumination, at least in the short run. We'll have to keep power usage to a minimum and do as much shit as possible during the day, then hide during the night."
He shook his head. "For now, don't let that big ball of fire stop you. If it could hurt us, the thermal pulse would have already killed us all, and the shockwave doesn't travel as far as the thermal pulse, so we should be fine. Finish what you started, I'll have my teams improvise, and I'll send some people to search the camping store. I'm pretty sure Mitch is the expert in the department, so I'll ask him to get on it asap."
He rubbed his mouth worriedly for a second before eyeing the stagnant survivors. "Alright everyone, listen up!" He waited for people to turn and look at him. "Priorities: I need you all to stop worrying about that big ball of fire in the sky—what's important is that we just got hit by an EMP and have lost all electricity for at least a good bit of time, which means no lights, no air conditioning, no power. That ain't stopping us. A plan to respond to the EMP is in the process of being developed, but for now, I need you to finish what we started. Just be more careful and watch each other's backs. I'm sending a team to one of the department stores to see if we can get some lamps or flashlights, but until then, just carry on."
At that, the survivors calmed down a bit, but they still seemed unsure. After a second, when nobody moved, Sango let out a small sigh and stepped forward. "If it would help anyone here, I would like to hold a short prayer, if that's okay."
Her eyes swept over the survivors with a calm gleam and a reassuring look, then she bowed her head and put her hands together as she closed her eyes. People seemed to immediately understand her warm intentions, bowing their heads to pray. Even those who weren't particularly religious at least kept quiet and still, waiting for the moment to finish. When Sango eventually did, she looked Soryan up and down.
"Alright. I'm trusting you, Soryan," Sango said after a moment. She half-turned away. "Come on, Chizuru. Let's get our jobs done."
"Huh? O-Oh yeah, right."
The two departed, disappearing down the stairs. Soryan sighed almost melancholically, both stressed about the turn of events, but relieved when the survivors started moving again, talking amongst themselves to reassure one another as they worked.
"You handled that pretty well, Sor," Kasumi said.
Wakaba nodded in agreement. "Yeah…" She still looked a bit worried. Maaya hugged her comfortingly from behind.
"Thanks…" Soryan nodded.
Sojiro sighed deeply, pinching the bridge of his nose. He was getting too old for all this stress. "Alright, Sor. Where do you need us to start?"
Soryan looked at them. "We should really start thinking about our food situation. But let's get set up here first. We've still got at least six hours until sunset."
Mitchell ran a hand over his head, his mood dampened. Not only had they lost all power for the foreseeable future, but he had also lost his only means of contacting his dad. Now he could only pray that they sent someone to rescue them.
But even that was highly unlikely now. Even though aircraft carriers and military vessels were EMP-protected, Mitchell was undeniably certain that it caused problems that would only delay any potential rescue further.
He shook his head. There was no point in worrying about it. All they had to do now was improvise, adapt, and overcome this new development. Aside from the few questionable people here and there, this was a good group that had their head on straight, so he had faith they'd find a way to pull through this.
Mitchell finished setting up the tent he'd acquired, putting his thoughts aside for the moment. He stepped back to observe his work. Due to the hard flooring, he had to set up a few clothing racks to pitch his new abode and keep it from collapsing. He'd elected to grab himself a small, yet practical tent considering he only needed one for himself.
The tent that the Otonashi family were going to use sat nearby—bigger and much more luxurious. Mitchell had already helped them set theirs up, now said family was placing chairs around in a makeshift seating area—he'd already helped Sojiro move a large, comfortable couch inside. He chose not to share a tent with them though—he felt he'd be intruding if he did, and he definitely didn't want to deal with that level of awkwardness.
All along the mezzanine, survivors were also setting up their own tents and small encampments, either inside emptied out department stores if they wanted privacy, or on the mezzanine itself if they didn't care, or wanted to socialize more, or if they just wanted to wake up to the view of the first floor. Curiously, only a few people decided to camp out on the first floor after that part of the safe-area was cleared out and cleaned, and the rest of that area had tables, chairs, and comfortable furniture dotting the area.
"You done, Mitch?" Mitchell felt Wakaba grasping his shoulders from behind.
Mitchell nodded. "Yep, I'm all done over here. Is that everythin', or are we missing anythin'?"
"No, we're done." He could feel Wakaba smiling softly. He also felt her squeeze his shoulders with a light push, forcing him to waddle a couple of feet.
Mitchell chuckled before smirking. So that's how she wants to play? Well, two can play at that game. He reached his hands up to hers, gripping them before gently yet firmly pulling her hands down his sides and to his stomach. Then he pulled her towards him and spun around just in time to catch her in a surprise embrace, spinning her around playfully. The girl let out a squeak and her eyes went wide as her cheeks turned pink.
"Clever girl. But do ya think you're the only one with tricks?" He drawled with a grin.
"O-Oh! Well, someone loves holding me like this," she teased, desperately fighting how flustered she felt. "And I've only begun to use my bag of tricks, mister."
Mitchell let out a short laugh before releasing her. "Hey, don't threaten me with a good time. I'll weather your attempts any day. I won't letcha win easy, Dead-Eye."
Wakaba giggled, her face aflame. "I won't disappoint."
"You two are just too cute together, you know that?" The two jumped in surprise and turned in flabbergasted unison to find Kasumi smiling like a tiger at them, hands on her hips and leaning forward maybe a bit too much in Wakaba's opinion—gravity was desperately trying to pull her breasts down.
"Ya already done pitchin' that massive circus tent ya got?" Mitchell asked dryly. "Or did ya just leave Sor all to himself?"
"You really didn't just leave him, did you Kas?" Wakaba joined in, quick to pick up where Mitchell left off. She sighed. "Poor Sor…"
"Huh? Uh, well…" Kasumi sheepishly turned her head away. "I didn't really know how to help, but he said he had it, so I decided to come over here and bother you two!" She smiled like it was a perfectly logical thought process.
Mitchell and Wakaba looked at each other in amusement before turning back to Kasumi. Then, Wakaba smirked. "Oh, we're just messing with you, Kas. I'm sure Sor is more than happy at the moment."
"Mhm," Mitchell concurred with his own smirk.
"Huh? Oh, yeah. Of course he is! Why wouldn't he be? He gets to room with this bombshell." Kasumi gestured to herself.
"Wow. Ego much?" Mitchell retorted, raising a brow. Wakaba simply rolled her eyes. Of course their undertones would fly right over her head.
"Oh please, this ego is well-deserved. Do you know how many squats and whatnot I had to do to get this body?" Kasumi defended. "Besides, don't act like you don't appreciate all of this." She gestured to herself. "Moreso Wakaba—but that's besides the point."
"Hey!" Wakaba flushed. Despite this, inwardly, she felt pride at the idea.
"That's true at least. The Wakaba part, I mean. I know better than to feed that Godzilla-sized ego a' yours—well deserved or not."
Wakaba looked even more flustered at that while Kasumi only looked playfully indignant. "Oh shush! It's called self-confidence."
"Just make sure to temper it with a bit of humility, dear, otherwise you'll appear conceited," Maaya interjected suddenly. "Arrogance and self-confidence are easily mixed."
Kasumi's jaw dropped, and she turned, horrified that the closest person she had to a mom was siding with the 'enemy'. "H-Hey! You know I'm only teasing them, right? Right?"
Maaya nodded, looking rather amused at the proceedings. "Of course. I'm only teasing you—just make sure you keep what I said in mind though, okay?"
"O-Okay," Kasumi folded almost instantly.
"Hey, what's going on here?" Everyone turned when Chizuru appeared from a doorway, Sango just behind her.
Mitchell shrugged. "Eh, we just finished up a moment ago. We're waitin' on Sor to get here now."
"Ah, gotcha," Chizuru nodded.
Sango looked at Maaya. "I don't want to sound rude, but have you plotted a route to the food court yet?"
"I believe we've put together a working plan," Sojiro grunted as he appeared from between the tents. "Once we have enough able people ready to proceed, we can get moving."
Chizuru hummed, tilting her head to the side slightly. "Alright, cool. I'll admit, I'm kinda restless after everything that's happened today."
"It's not even too far into the day yet, honestly," Kasumi added. "But we've gotta do this today, or we'll run out of food before the end of the day. We have way too many mouths to feed, and this supply run won't last us a few more days."
"This is only a stop-gap measure anyway. Somethin' to buy us time in order to make a better plan," Mitchell stated, placing his hands in his pockets. He looked around the group. "We'll need to go through this slow an' thorough since now we gotta deal with the dark. No crazy stunts—we need to do this tactically."
His gaze landed on the elder Otonashis. "By the way, whadda we have to work with in terms of illumination? Any lamps or flashlights? We'll need the heavy-duty kind for this."
"We have more than enough flashlights and should have no problem with using them. The problem might end up being shadows cast by obstacles and the blindspots those create." Sojiro grunted as he sat down on one of the couches and rested the side of his head on a hand.
"What kinda obstacles are we talkin'?" Mitchell asked, now in full tactical mode.
"Obstacles? Maybe boxes. Equipment. Vehicles, even—like forklifts."
"Oh, there's loading bays too, I forgot. We really need to find out if there's any glaring openin's to the outside for 'em to get in." Mitchell's lips twisted thoughtfully.
"Maybe all of the extra furniture can be used like Sor said?" Wakaba offered, gesturing towards the outside of the store.
Kasumi nodded in agreement. "Yeah, I doubt that every one of those big garage doors is gonna be open."
Mitchell hummed, looking at Sojiro questioningly. "Do ya know if the garage doors are electrical, or are they closed manually by chain?"
"Both," Sojiro replied. "So we should be able to close the garage doors if we need to. Maybe we should send a team to deal with it while we're gone."
"What are you eggies working on?" Everyone turned when Soryan appeared from the mezzanine.
"Ah, welcome back, Sor," Maaya greeted. "We're planning out our soon-to-be search."
"Gotcha. We got a route?"
Chizuru shifted her weight to one leg, arms crossed. "Yep. Sounds like it."
Soryan clapped his hands together. "Right then. Let's get this bread. I'll get a few other people to work with us. You lot head on to the route entrance. Where is it by the way?"
"It's down at the end of the hall on the first floor," Maaya answered. She looked around at the ready group. "We'll go on ahead. Don't take too long, okay?"
"Got it. I'll see you there."
With that affirmation, the group headed out into the dark unknown.
A/N:
SYD: Can you guess why we've been gone for a while?
RPG: You get three guesses, and none of them count.
SYD: No, it's not because of illness. Nor because we're particularly stuck.
RPG: It's because we have lives. We're working on like, what, three to four projects each?
SYD: Yep. College is literally a couple of days away and I've been spending my time getting stacked so I don't go into debt.
RPG: So, if y'all are wondering why this story's chapters take a while to come out every time, here's why. Anyway, that's all we wanted to say.
SYD: Next chapter comes the meat of the Mall Arc.
RPG: Yessir. Y'all can expect some action, some downtime—a little bit of everything in this arc. We're getting into new territory now, and I personally can't fucking wait to get into it.
SYD: I've got nothing else to say.
RPG: Then let's bounce. Later on y'all.