The teacher's lounge was Matthew's favorite place to hang since it allowed him to escape Kyoko's lectures and right now, it was the best place for our group of survivors to relax after the harrowing experience they had.
The room had a small couch in the middle of the room. There was a small TV in the corner of the room. File cabinets were alongside the walls. There was also a small kitchen in another part of the room.
"We can catch our breath here for a bit," Takashi said while drinking some water before handing it off to Kohta, who then gave it to Eddy after he was done with it.
Ben, who had uncloaked from his newfound 'Stealth Mode', was looking over his SCAR and MP5 with meticulous care. He didn't notice Double-D standing over him until he cleared his throat.
"What's up, Double-D?"
"I was wondering...can you take that suit off?"
That was a good question. Ben stood up and holstered his guns before concentrating, trying to find a way to get the suit off. As if he had flicked a switch in his brain, the Nanosuit suddenly flickered and receded into itself, disappearing into Ben's spinal column, which glowed a bright light blue as if to signify it was storing what composed the suit.
"It's like the Venom Symbiote from Spider-Man!" Ed noted.
"Great, so Ben is some kind of Super Soldier," Saya said sarcastically, lazily twirling a finger in the air. "Go, team. Now what?"
"We need a better idea about what's going on," Takashi said and went to turn on the TV in the corner.
Saya, Rei, and Saeko went into the washroom to clean up, Takashi keeping his eyes on Rei for what felt like the longest time before he noticed Hisashi looking at him.
"What is it?"
"Takashi, you and Rei are my best friends. The two of you made such a wonderful couple and then Rei just broke things off and stuck with me. I know damn well that our relationship while we were dating didn't have the same fire as she did with you."
"And what are you trying to tell me?"
"Talk with her, dammit. I don't have all the facts myself but you're the one she cares about more. It'll do you both some good."
Hisashi then grabbed Takashi's arm and dragged him to the washroom where the girls were beginning to come out. He grabbed Rei before she could get too far and threw both of them back into the washroom. Rei looked like she wanted to protest but Hisashi gave them a serious look.
"Talk."
As Hisashi left, Eddy noticed something about Saya.
"What are you staring at?"
Eddy smirked. "When did you wear glasses?"
"My contacts dried up and they're aggravating to put on!"
"Oh, never mind then."
"Why, do you like me wearing glasses?" Saya said while hopefully trying to make Eddy look like a fool.
"Nope."
Saya's face went flat. "What?"
"It just gives me another reason to tease you."
"Why you…!"
"Ha! The great Saya Takagi can't stand a-AHHHHH!"
Saya had tackled Eddy down onto the ground. However, this gave Eddy a sneak peek at Saya's boobs when she was falling with him. To make the situation worse, Eddy's hands were wrapped around her waist while Saya's hands were squeezing his chest.
"Now what do you have to say about me, idiot."
"That you are such a…!"
The two stopped when they realized that everybody else was looking at them with knowing looks on their faces. The two then fully processed the position they were in and quickly got up, their faces bright red as they did their best to avoid eye contact with each other.
Ed was surprisingly deep in thought, which didn't go unnoticed by Double-D, Toshimi, and Misuzu.
"Ed?" When he got no response, Double-D shook his shoulder. "Ed, snap out of it!"
"Hello, Double-D!" Ed said, quickly turning his head to his brainy friend.
"Are you alright? You seemed to be in deep thought. It was honestly quite surprising."
Ed hummed. "I was just wondering about Sarah that's all."
"Your little sister? You've told us about her before." Toshimi said.
"Yeah, if even half the stories are true, she can take care of herself." Misuzu giggled.
"Everyone, you may want to see this," Saeko said as everybody's attention turned to the television. Rei and Takashi had also just come out of the washroom, Rei had tear marks in her eyes while Takashi had a protective look on his face, as if Rei had told him something horrible had happened to her that pissed him off to no end.
"The government is doing its best to handle the situation." The newswoman said on the TV.
Matthew only scoffed as he knew what the media was trying to do. Ben was having some similar thoughts of his own.
"The death number of the Saitama prefecture has already reached 10,000."
Everybody stared in shock as they wondered how many died in a short amount of hours. Double-D was trying to process everything in his mind, desperate to make sense of this madness. Eddy could only look at the television with no remarks and Ed couldn't help but think about The Walking Dead regarding the situation.
"The government declares a state of emergency. There are…" The newswoman was interrupted by gunshots. "Wait those are gunshots, police are now opening fire. What are they shooting at?"
The scene reveals the bodies in the body bags are now standing up and walking. Police were now firing their weapons at them.
"Wait, no, STAY AWAY!" The newswoman screamed as the camera crew was surrounded.
Everyone could only watch in silence as the last bit of footage before the studio cut the feed was the cameraman getting his guts eaten out by several undead assailants while the newswoman was pinned to the ground, her breasts being ripped off before a zombie tore its way into her face, silencing her screeches.
"Great, it's a goddamn zombie apocalypse!" Ben cursed. "I can just feel video game nerds the world over screaming in vindication."
Yuuki and Double-D squeezed each other's hands for comfort, Toshimi and Misuzu hugged each other fearfully, Morita looked like he was trying desperately to wake up from this nightmare, Imamura had a thousand-yard stare, Miura was looking to the side, a worried look on his face as he was thinking about something else regarding this apocalypse.
"How did something like this even happen so fast?" Hisashi asked.
"What kind of virus is this?" Kyoko pondered before turning to Matthew. "You saw what happened to Teshima, correct?"
"Yeah, he was screaming his head off even though it was a small bite. Then the convulsions and then boom, he was dead."
"Then whatever this virus or plague or disease is, it attacks the nervous system." Saya hypothesized before turning to Shizuka. "Marikawa-Sensei, can you die from overloading the nervous system?"
"Well, I didn't study much about virology or neuroscience, but it sounds right. Especially if you overload the neurons in the brain."
"I know how we can combat the zombies!" Ed chimed in. "The virus has destroyed most of their senses except their hearing!"
"So, as long as we stay quiet, we should be okay," Toshimi said.
"That's gonna be hard, some of us have guns." Matthew pointed out, gesturing to his Beretta M9.
"Oh, speaking of which, I forgot I had one more gun in here!" Ben said as he moved to his gun pouch and took out some parts, which he quickly assembled into a G36C complete with a red dot sight. "Who wants this baby?"
"I DO, SIR!" Kohta cried eagerly with his hand raised, Ben chuckling as he handed his friend the weapon.
"Okay, so we know how to keep safe now how do we get out of here?" Imamura wondered.
"Ooh!" Shizuka piped up. "I have a car...But I don't think it will fit everyone."
"My car won't be big enough either." Kyoko sighed, shaking her head.
"My car is pretty big, but it won't fit everybody." Matthew hummed.
"What about the buses?" Rei asked. "You know, the ones the coaches use when we have a competition in another school. They keep the keys here, right?"
"Miyamoto, you're brilliant," Kyoko smiled proudly, making Rei blush. "I'll go get them."
"Okay, we've covered transport. What next?" Morita asked.
"Has anyone been able to call the police?" Shizuka asked. "Nobody answered when I tried to call from the infirmary, and I forgot Rika's number."
"You don't have a cell?" Saya asked.
"Not with me. I usually keep it in my car during school hours."
Saya rolled her eyes. "Of course, you do."
"Does anyone else have a way to contact the outside world?" Miura asked.
"I used Takashi's phone to call my dad, but he couldn't hear me. The line cut out after a few seconds." Rei answered with a tear in her eye, Takashi and Hisashi nodding to confirm her words. "I don't think cell phones are going to work. Anyone else?"
Suddenly, Ben felt a strange ping in his head, and then hexagonal data lines formed over his face before his eyes glowed brightly. In his point of view, a HUD appeared, with none other than his father, Gerald Torekuroshi, appeared on it.
"Alcatraz, this is Nomad, report. Over."
Ben immediately knew what he needed to say. "Guardian activated at 1330 hours. Over."
"Activation confirmed. One-three-three-zero hours. Sitrep. Over."
"Pack size, niner. Enemy, unknown. Numbers, unknown. Gear acquired. Requesting evac… Break." Ben paused. "Enemy resembles undead. Over."
"We know, we've been dealing with them. Forces are thin. Evac unavailable. Use own means to E&E. Over."
"Rally point?"
"Okinawa base if you can. Otherwise, use best judgment and keep me posted. I can spare a Pigeon. ETA five mikes to your school. Over."
"Alcatraz copies. Will report bivouac locations when I can and will keep GPS ping at three-zero mikes. Over."
"Rodger… and son...the suit...your mother and I will explain everything when you reach us."
"Okay, thanks...and stay safe, both of you."
"You too, son."
The HUD then turned off as Ben shook his head before closing his eyes, the Nanosuit forming once more over his body as he clenched his fist tightly.
"Oh great, now the suit also gives Ben some kind of techno-psychic hotline to his folks!" Eddy said. "Stop showing the actual main characters up, jackass!"
"Hey, the author wanted to include more than just Ed Edd n' Eddy in this fic!" Ben argued.
"WOULD YOU STOP WITH THE FOURTH WALL BREAKING?!" Saya snapped, making both boys shut up.
"Did your dad say anything?" Yuuki asked hopefully.
"I relayed our situation and Dad will be sending an ultralight solar-powered drone to keep an eye on us. He's fully aware of the situation as well, luckily, we played plenty of zombie games together, so he's well-informed on how to handle them. Also, he and Mom know about this suit and will explain why I have it when we meet them."
"Is there anything else your parents can do?" Rei asked.
"My mom is a scientist, she might have some intel on this virus, especially since she's quite knowledgeable in virology. As for Dad, I might be able to call in support elements. This suit has some kind of HUD that allows me to access a special satellite signal directed to the Okinawa base."
"I think things are quieting down outside." Kyoko offered, coming in with the keys.
"Then let's move. If we can make it to the busses, then we can just go to our homes and reunite with our parents that way." Double-D said.
Kohta handed his custom-made nail gun to Morita and gave him a crash course in how to aim and shoot. Everyone soon got into formation, any weapons they could scrounge, they held tightly like a lifeline.
"I've got my medical bag so unless you've been bitten, I'll do what I can," Shizuka said.
"You ready, folks? There's no turning back when we step out that door." Matthew warned.
"Wait, I have a question!" Toshimi chimed in, having found a field hockey stick. "What if we found any other survivors?"
"Yeah, we can't just leave them!" Misuzu said.
"We save who we can, but we might not be able to save everyone. If they're bit, leave them. If they're surrounded, don't be a hero. You can't help anyone if you're dead." Ben said.
Faces all around were grim at that but everyone nodded.
Takashi grabbed his bat and opened the door. "Let's move."
The trip to the buses ended up being a running melee with Takashi, Saeko, Ed, and Eddy clearing the way silently with blows to heads and necks while Kohta helped Morita aim down the nail gun and shoot down any zombies nearby.
The group was making good progress until we passed a stairwell and heard a scream, a small group of students had gotten trapped moving between floors by corpses. Miura's eyes widened in horror when he recognized one of them as Kawamoto, his girlfriend.
"Kawamoto!"
"Miura!" The girl cried when she recognized her boyfriend.
The group jumped into action, Ed and Takashi using their bats to dispatch the walkers between their group and the other while Ben backhanded a stray so hard, that its head flew off and splattered into mush on the wall. Kohta, Morita, and Matthew used their guns to take out any zombies approaching from below.
"Miura!" Kawamoto cried as she ran and hugged him, to which he returned the embrace.
"Are any of you hurt or bitten?" Takashi asked.
"No." One of the guys said.
Leading the group of five was Takuzo along with his girlfriend Naomi. Ben stared at all of them when his HUD scanned them, revealing none of them were infected as he turned to the others.
"They're telling the truth. They all aren't bit."
"Alright look, we are going for the buses to get out of here. You guys in?" Takashi asked the new members of the group.
"Yeah, we're with you." Takuzo said, nodding his head.
As the growing group made their way downstairs, they were stopped by an obstacle; dozens of zombies clogging the aisles between the shoe lockers. No way anybody could slip by them without attracting at least a few and after those, the rest would be on them.
"Alright, they get attracted by sound, right? Let's test that theory." Ben said as he activated his suit's Stealth Mode and ghost-stepped through the horde.
Finding a stray shoe, Ben picked it up and then threw it with all his might across the hallway, hitting a nearby locker which attracted the horde to it.
"Sweet, home stretch!" Eddy cheered silently as he and Takashi made their way down next and helped Ben open the door to the outside.
Everyone made their way downstairs, Matthew making sure a member of Takuzo's Group didn't accidentally bang his weapon on the railing. As everyone made it outside, Ben stayed behind, also stopping Double-D.
"What are you doing?" Double-D asked.
"Double-D, you're a good speaker, I need you for something.
Yuuki and Double-D shared a worried look as Ben took the former to the main office. Double-D nearly vomited when he saw the eviscerated remains of the principal before being handed the blood-stained microphone.
"You know what to do."
Double-D realized what Ben was getting at and took a deep breath as he spoke into the mic.
"ATTENTION STUDENTS AND STAFF. ATTENTION STUDENTS AND STAFF. WE ARE LEAVING THE SCHOOL. ANY SURVIVORS THAT WISH TO JOIN US, MAKE YOUR WAY TO THE BUSES IN FRONT OF THE SCHOOL. IF YOU DON'T WISH TO GO WITH US THEN WE WILL MAKE AS MUCH NOISE AS POSSIBLE TO DRAW THEM AWAY FROM THE SCHOOL. THEY ARE BLIND BUT NOT DEAF SO BE SILENT AND BE SAFE."
With all that they could do done, the two boys went to rejoin the rest of the group. Matthew, Kohta, and Morita were killing many zombies at a distance. But Kohta made it to the bus first so he was covering the group from there.
A zombie managed to grab Takuzo by the towel he was wearing around his neck and was about to drag him into its hungry jaws before Ben crushed its skull with a clap of his hands over it, reducing it to bloody mulch as Takuzo fell on his ass before being helped up.
"T-Thanks..."
"Takuzo!" Naomi cried happily, relieved that her boyfriend wasn't going to die today.
Ben began opening fire with his MP5 to cover everyone as they made it to the bus, noticing a few students from the windows, having barricaded themselves in the classrooms. He silently offered for them to come but they shook their heads, feeling like they'd be safer inside for the time being.
"Understandable. Besides, any more survivors and we'd need another bus."
"WAIT, DON'T LEAVE!"
Everybody heard the voice as they looked in that direction. Once they saw who it was, Rei, Saeko, and Matthew scowled when they saw a group of survivors approaching, but it wasn't them they were angry at seeing.
Leading the group was a man in a black pinstripe suit with slicked black hair and glasses but the most catching thing about him was his snake-like eyes. This was Koichi Shido, the Track Team coach and arguably the biggest sleazy asshole anybody had the misfortune of meeting.
"Shido..." Saeko scowled lowly.
"We need to let them on!" Takashi said urgently.
"Takashi, are you serious?!" Rei asked incredulously. "You know what I told you! We aren't letting HIM on board!"
"Rei, I know!" Takashi said. "But that doesn't mean we should leave everyone else to die!"
One of the students in Shido's group, who was carrying some books, suddenly fell over and collapsed, which Shido noticed.
"Sensei! I-I twisted my ankle! Help!"
"I see...then it's the end of the line for you," Shido said coldly as he raised his foot. "In this new world order, the weak and foolish die, simple as that."
With a single stomp, Shido broke the boy's neck before seeing the zombies approach and quickly retreated, allowing the undead to feast on the corpse. He then made it last onto the bus that the main group was taking, it was quite packed, but they all managed.
"Ah, McGee-Kun, how kind of you to save us," Shido said with a cool smirk, which Matthew didn't buy for a second.
"Save it, Shido. I don't have time for your bullshit, just sit down and shut up."
"Alright, the bus is full! LET'S MOVE IT!" Eddy called out.
"FLOOR IT!" Takashi said to Shizuka, who repeated "They're not alive anymore" like a mantra as she blew through the undead.
A skid worthy of a professional drift race later and the group had blasted the vehicle gate open and were rolling down the road away from the school...and into the unknown new nightmare the world had become.
Everyone has escaped! But it seems Shido has snuck on board! What will our heroes do to handle him and his silver tongue? Find out in the next chapter and stay tuned, people!