The bus full of survivors passed through a nearby store, the sole employee just doing his cashier duties as if nothing was wrong. A zombie that was approaching the store had gotten run over by the bus as well, but nobody cared about that.
Shizuka kept her eyes focused on the road as Matthew and Kyoko sat beside her in the seat behind the driver's seat. Eddy and Ed were sitting on the opposite side of the two teachers. Saya and Kohta were sitting behind Eddy and Ed. Toshimi and Misuzu sat on Saya's opposite side. Double-D and Yuuki were sitting behind Toshimi while Takashi and Rei were behind Saya. Saeko and Ben sat behind Double-D. Everybody else from both their group and Shido's group was sitting in the back.
"The city!"
Everyone heard Miura cry out and looked out the windows, gasping at what they saw. Columns of smoke rose from the city like it had been carpet-bombed. Down what few streets they could see, shapes of people could be seen running around in a panic. Emergency vehicles were flying down whatever streets weren't blocked with traffic and a few were tipped over, having run into something, and the crew were attacked by the walking dead, drawn by the crash and sirens.
The few areas that weren't covered in the dead were clogged with the living, running for what shelter they could find or looting whatever they could grab. At one corner gas station, a police officer could be seen arresting a looter with cartons of cigarettes lying at his feet, only to have a small horde of zombies converge and devour them both.
"Panic, chaos, and then complete anarchy. The steps of the collapse of civilization in the face of disaster." Saya muttered.
"But can't the police restore order?" Naomi asked.
Matthew shook his head. "They'll certainly try but I wouldn't hold my breath. This is a pandemic, probably worse than the Spanish Flu."
"Really? I thought it was more like the Black Plague." Kyoko added.
"Oh yes, truly a dreadful time..." Double-D sighed, shaking his head sadly.
"So how did we beat those diseases?" Morita asked.
"Well, in some cases the disease had killed so many people that it couldn't spread anymore. But in this case…" Shizuka supplied.
"The dead rise to continue the spread of the disease." Kohta finished.
"So, what? This disease is just going to keep spreading?" Yuuki asked.
"Looks like it. Unless the dead are stopped or decompose. Double-D, how long does it take for a body to rot away to bone?" Takashi asked.
The sockheaded boy rubbed his chin. "Well, let's see… in Summer it can take as little as a few weeks for the flesh to decompose to the skeleton in certain limbs so… two to four months tops is my estimate."
"We just have to live that long, which doesn't seem all that promising," Kyoko added dejectedly.
"I for one declare that we need a leader to guide this wonderful group to salvation," Shido said in that slithery silky tone of his, a smirk addressing his lips.
Saeko glared. "We don't need a leader to survive. As long we work together, there won't be any problems."
Shido frowned for a second before changing it to a smirk as he turned to Saeko. It was only noticed by Double-D as he continued to study his former teacher.
"Well, now Busujima-san, why don't you be the leader of your group," Shido said while grabbing and lifting Saeko's chin to his level.
"If I were you I better leave her alone or you might meet someone's fist."
Ben had grabbed Shido roughly by the shoulder and made him turn to face him. The teacher could see Ben's heated glare behind the red visor of his Nanosuit. Despite feeling intimidated, the sleazebag did a good job of hiding his fear.
"Ah, Mr. Torekuroshi, that's an impressive suit you're wearing. Another gift from your militant father, I presume?"
"I don't know what this damn suit is but so far, it's helped me save lives. And that's more than I can say for you, snake."
Before more could be said, one of the students from Shido's group stood up. His hair was black with blonde dyed at the top and his overall appearance screamed 'Jerk Jock'. This was none other than Tsunoda, a boy who had given The Eds and Ben trouble more than a few times but had always been put in his place.
"Dammit! Why the fuck did we leave the damn school?! We didn't agree to this crap!"
"I don't wanna argue but Tsunoda does have a bit of a point..." A weasley-looking boy with black hair named Kurokami spoke up. "Maybe we could have found a place to barricade ourselves..."
"It wouldn't matter if we hid ourselves from them. They would have still found us either way." Takuzo pointed out with a glare.
"You don't know that, dammit! We could have-!"
Shizuka suddenly slammed her foot on the brake, making the bus come to a screeching stop before turning around in her seat.
"That's enough! It's hard enough to concentrate on driving without all this yelling."
"Yeah, whatever..." Tsunoda growled.
"So why don't you tell us what you want to do, Tsunoda-Kun," Saeko said calmly,
The punk was backed against the wall, the stress of the situation overwhelming him as he angrily pointed at Takashi.
"I just...I can't fucking stand this guy!"
Takashi glared as he stood up. "Why? What the hell did I ever do to you?! I don't even know you!"
"You know!" Tsunoda snapped as he moved to punch Takashi only for Rei to slam the blunt end of her broken mop handle into his stomach, making him cough up saliva as he fell to his knees.
"Asshole."
Tsunoda growled and began to stand back up to attack again, only to be grabbed by the neck by none other than Ben and shoved back into his seat.
"Sit the FUCK down, Tsunoda. If you want to keep on living, I suggest you stick in line and not cause a scene!"
Tsunoda was cowed by the authoritative voice Ben used, adding to the menacing appearance of his Nanosuit. The punk finally relented and sat back in his seat, taking deep breaths to calm himself.
Suddenly, clapping was heard as everyone turned to see Shido, clapping his hands with that snake-like grin on his face.
"Bravo! Truly exemplary! But this just proves my point; we need a leader more than anything." The teacher said. "One who puts others ahead of himself. One who could lead us to safety in this troubled time."
"And let me guess, that someone should be you?" Saya asked sarcastically.
"Well, I am a teacher after all. And all of you are students. My charges." Shido said as if it was the most simple thing.
"Really? Then what the hell are me and Matt-Kun?" Kyoko asked with a glare.
"Yeah, I'm with the Boss Lady." Eddy sneered. "Besides, there are plenty of others qualified to be leaders."
"Now Eddy-Kun you should respect your elders, but you do make a decent point. Unfortunately, like I said, you along with your friends are just children."
"So what if we are nothing but kids? Any one of us could be a better leader than your damn snake-like ass!"
"Just like I said before you are all just kids with knowledge of the outside world. Leave the hardships to someone who has more experience with it."
Shido suddenly felt a tap on his shoulder and turned around, only to be met with a metallic fist to his face, breaking his nose and splattering blood all over his face as his glasses nearly cracked. The snake fell to the floor, clutching his bleeding nose before the sound of a gun clicking echoed through the bus, and looked up to see Ben aiming his MP5 directly at his face.
"N-Now, now, Torekuroshi-Kun! N-No need for that!" The slimeball stuttered, now truly terrified for his life.
"Then don't spit any more of your disgusting bile in my presence ever again. We don't need a leader like you, one who abandons those he deems 'weak' and 'unfit to survive'!"
"It's survival of the fittest!" Shido snapped, clutching his broken nose as he got up, despite the barrel of the gun still in his face. "The weak have no place in this new world order!"
"Cut the bullcrap, Shido. Almost everyone knows how much of a sleazy miserable lying snake you are." Matthew sneered. "So sit down, shut up, and stick with the dumbasses who you've poisoned enough to stroke your tiny ass dick for you."
"Way to tell him, Matt-Kun," Kyoko smirked. She, like many of the other teachers at Fujimi, never really liked Shido, but their hands were tied due to his connections.
Ben pulled the MP5 away from Shido and turned to Rei, giving an apologetic look behind his mask as she huffed but nodded in understanding as she sat down, Takashi putting a comforting hand on her shoulder.
"Marikawa-Sensei, look out!" Imamura suddenly called out.
Everyone else looked to see a bus hauling ass down the street about 100 meters from them. Ben used Vision Mode to see that zombies were in with them and they were all dead.
"FUCKING DRIVE!" Matthew screamed as he pushed Shizuka out of the driver's seat as gently as he could and hit the gas.
"PUNCH IT!" Saeko added.
Tires squealed as the group's bus got out of the way of the charging juggernaut. The stray bus then crashed, a massive fireball engulfing it as everyone cried out in terror, some clutching their heads and others holding on to each other for support.
"Holy shit!" Kohta exclaimed.
"We should leave here now. Who knows what this is going to attract." Double-D said out loud.
"Sorry honey, mind if I drive?" Matthew said as he looked apologetically at Shizuka, who nodded with her usual happy smile as she sat with Kyoko.
"Dammit! I can't stand it!" Tsunoda shouted in frustration. "We're screwed!"
"If you keep yelling and bitching, we will be!" Eddy snapped.
"Children! Children!" Saya snapped, getting both boys to stop. "This isn't getting us anywhere! We just need to keep moving!"
"The best thing we can do is find my parents," Ben said. "They know about my suit and why it came out now of all times. Until then, we work together to survive."
"Ben-Kun does have a point." Shizuka chimed in. "His father is head of the Okinawa military base and his mother is one of the top scientists in her field. They'll have plenty of resources to help us if we can reach them."
"We should also find the rest of our families and see if they're okay!" Yamada, a member of Shido's group, pointed out.
"Exactly. Making sure our loved ones are alive and safe is our top priority." Double-D said. "On top of surviving and working together to do so."
With everything settled, the survivors continued towards the largest bridge closest to the police station that was their current destination, figuring that even if the bridges were packed it would still be the fastest route. They might have been right except the police had blockaded the bridge and were slowing traffic even further.
As everyone waited, Yuuki took the time to rest her head on Double-D's shoulder, making him blush nervously as he struggled not to move and disturb her. Toshimi and Misuzu were sleeping together and Ben was making sure Shido didn't try anything.
As midnight approached, Eddy looked out the window and saw some police officers shoot some zombies along the evacuation route. When they noticed the bus they came over and began speaking to Matthew.
"If you're planning on crossing the bridge, it'll take a while. We're doing medical scans for every person crossing to make sure they aren't infected and at the rate we're going, you probably won't make it until tomorrow afternoon."
"Thanks for the information, officer." Matthew sighed as he began moving the bus elsewhere.
Ben concentrated and his HUD picked up his dad's signal, allowing him to alert him to where the group currently was. In any other circumstance, kids would wish to be out of their parent's watchful eyes but in this case, Ben was glad his old man was watching over him and the rest.
The night passed with most of the students getting fitful bouts of sleep, interrupted from time to time by nearby gunshots. Kyoko, Shizuka, Matthew, and Ben got the least sleep of any present. Kyoko went from student to student making sure they were as comfortable as they could be. Matthew drove through the night catching catnaps when the traffic wasn't moving, which was most of the time, to be honest. And Ben kept his position at the door to provide security for the bus.
Around 3:30 AM, a situation arose with some desperate idiot.
"All the guys out of the bus!" The guy said, waving a Kimber Micro 9 around. "I'm getting the hell out of here and taking your bitches with-!"
The creep couldn't finish as Saeko swung her bokken so fast he didn't have time to register he'd been struck before she knocked the gun from his hand and cracked him in the Adam's apple. Ben then walked over to him, grabbed him by the head, and slammed his face into his knee, shattering his nose and leaving him reeling.
"Sorry, asswipe. But you picked the wrong bus to hijack."
Ben then picked up the man's pistol and walked back onto the bus as he writhed in agony on the ground. He then placed the gun into Takuzo's hands.
"I'm trusting you with that one. Don't worry, if you have any questions, ask Kohta."
By sun-up, the group had moved a total of 150 yards. Matthew groaned as he banged his head against the steering wheel, clearly about to lose his mind if he continued to stay on the bus any longer. And the worst part for him was that his phone was lower than 10%.
"Hey, I think I see a side street!" Morita called out.
Although the cops there weren't too keen on letting the group go, they couldn't exactly keep them there either, particularly after they saw the hardware Ben, Matthew, and Kohta were packing.
"Worst case scenario, we draw some of the dead away from the rest of these people and we'll take some out along the way," Matthew explained.
"Alright, just be careful..." One of the police officers sighed as he and his mates let the bus move on.
The group soon found a footbridge that they could squeeze the bus onto. Unfortunately, there were some old barricades placed so a few of the survivors headed out to remove them when a horde found us.
"Here they come!" Matthew said as he readied his Beretta M9, Kohta nodding to Morita as they readied their G36C and nail gun respectively.
Takuzo gulped as he remembered what Kohta had told him after Ben had given him the Kimber Micro 9 and joined the others. Ed also leaped out with his bat and Eddy with his crowbar while Takashi and Rei joined as well.
Ben froze up as he heard the computerized voice of his suit speak up again, some of the others looking at him in confusion.
"System Override: Predator Vision enabled."
"What?"
"Predator Vision allows the user to see 40 meters X-Ray vision in all directions. Green represents infected. Blue are unarmed civilians. Predator Vision also shows infection level in a percentage. All infections beyond 60% are beyond treatment. Red are hostiles. Predator Vision requires suit energy."
"Duly noted..." Ben said as he readied his SCAR and joined the others who had gone out to fight the undead.
Takuzo had managed to get a headshot on one of the zombies when a long rope-like tongue wrapped around him and began dragging him into the presence of a zombie with a mutant growth on its face and a swollen mouth that also seemed to be coughing, releasing a noxious green smoke.
"Holy crap, what kind of zombie is that?!" Takashi cried.
Rei was quick to come to Takuzo's rescue, having Ed use his back to boost her into the air as she performed a flying takedown on the Tongue Zombie, a few zombies that were also close by were knocked away with a wide sweep of her mop handle.
"Ed is coming to save you!" Ed shouted as he swung his bat into the Tongue Zombie's face, causing it to let out a dying wheeze as the growths on its face burst, releasing a plume of the smoke it was coughing out as its tongue detached from its mouth, allowing Takuzo to get it off his neck.
"Sheesh! Might as well call these guys Smokers!" Eddy said, pinching his nose as he could smell the smoke from where he was.
Takashi pulled the Colt Python that Kohta had decided to give him from his jacket and downed two more before swapping for his metal bat and cracking another three. It took the fighters only a few more minutes to wipe out the rest of the swarm and they got to properly reunite with their wayward classmates.
"Takuzo, you're okay!" Naomi said in relief as she hugged her boyfriend.
As Ben was about to join everyone else, he was suddenly tackled by what looked like a skinless humanoid with an exposed brain and no eyes with a mouth full of sharp teeth and a whip-like tongue with clawed fingers and toes. The creature shrieked as it pinned him to the ground, trying to scratch him with its claws.
"Get off! Get...OFF!" Ben screamed before grabbing the creature by the mouth and with a mighty tug, ripped its jaw off, making it screech as its tongue flailed wildly around, only for Ben to grab it and wrap it around the beast's neck before kicking it off the side of the bridge, hanging it with a gruesome CRUNCH.
"Okay, guess it's not just zombies we have to worry about now..." Takashi said worriedly.
"It looked like the Lick Monster from Taste of Fear!" Ed noted, referencing one of his monster movies.
"Guess Lickers is an apt name for those creeps," Saya said. "Let's hope that was the only one..."
"Somehow I doubt it, Takagi..." Kyoko said worriedly.
Ben slowly tried to get up but for some reason, he felt really weak. His vision was glitching out as the computerized voice in his suit spoke up.
"Intergrading new T-Virus strain… stand by."
"So whatever's creating these monsters is called the T-Virus...good to know." Ben thought.
"Ben, are you alright man!?" Morita yelled.
"It seems that he has reached his limit, let us go before more of those things come for us." Shido said with his normal grin.
"No way in Hell, Shido!" Matthew snapped. "Kohta, Pipsqueak, you guys help me out!"
"You got it, Bro!"
"Right!"
It took all three of their strength but they managed to haul Ben back onto the bus and help sit him down, Saeko moving over to check up on him as well.
"That suit weighs half a frickin' ton!" Eddy gasped, wiping some sweat from his brow. "Couldn't you have deactivated it first?"
"I couldn't..." Ben admitted. "This zombie virus...my suit must have assimilated it...it's called the T-Virus."
"So at least we have a source for this undead nightmare..." Double-D noted.
"Intergradations' complete. System restart." The suit's voice spoke up as Ben felt his strength return, light blue lines flowing along his suit as he clenched his fist.
"Ben has gotten an upgrade!" Ed chimed in excitedly.
"Alcatraz, this is Shawshank what the hell just happened!?" Mr. Torekuroshi suddenly shouted through the HUD. "Your systems went nuts, I've been trying to get a hold of you for the last few minutes. What did you do?!"
"I don't believe it." Ben heard the other voice in his head, it was his mother. "Gerald, did you see that? Did you see that!?"
"What the hell am I looking for!?"
"Ben absorbed some of the T-Virus. The suit can absorb it and make him stronger!"
"Kimiko, isn't that bad? What if he gets infected?!"
"He won't. The suit makes him immune to the T-Virus negative effects. He absorbs and adapts it to become stronger. With this, we can make a cure for the T-Virus faster!"
"Mom!" Ben called out. "Are you okay?"
"Yes, sweetie, I'm fine," Kimiko said with a warm smile. "Don't worry, I was with your father when this outbreak started. We're both okay."
"This suit...it just showed up out of nowhere and covered me when the zombies first attacked the school. Just what the hell is it?!"
"Son, I promise, we'll explain everything," Gerald said. "But for right now, that suit was made by your mother and a close friend of hers. To be perfectly frank...you've had it your whole life, you just didn't need it until now."
"You mean I've had this suit hiding in my spine this whole time?! Why?!"
"Sweetie, calm down." Kimiko cooed gently. "Everything will be explained to you and your friends but just know this; we love you no matter what and to be honest, even we didn't know it could do that with the T-Virus. Just be careful, okay?"
"I will, Mom...I-I love you too..."
Ben then hung up as he released the tension in his shoulders, Ed and Kohta patting their friend on the back as his helmet unfolded, revealing his normal face as he rubbed his scalp.
"Well, that was a fucking bombshell..."
"Hold up, are you saying that suit has been hiding in you even before all this happened?" Miura asked. "That's crazy, man!"
"Let's not get ahead of ourselves, Miura-Kun," Kawamoto said to her boyfriend. "Even Ben doesn't know the full story about that suit."
Shizuka sighed as she stretched as much as she could in her seat.
"I don't know about you all, but I would kill for a hot shower and a soft bed." This was met with vocal agreement by every girl present and most of the boys.
"Yeah, we all would but nobody here lives on this side of the river and all the bridges are blocked." Saya sighed.
"Well, we could always try going to my friend's house that's near here."
"Oh really?" Saya leaned in teasingly, "A boyfriend perhaps?"
Shizuka waved her arms frantically in denial. "Oh, no. nothing like that. It's just a house my girlfriend has, and I have the keys because I look after it sometimes when she's away for work."
An image came, unbidden, to all the males present of blonde, buxom Shizuka Marikawa in a maid's outfit wishing a house owner a good day.
"I'm sure she wouldn't mind if we stopped by and freshened up."
"Is it a high rise?" Kohta asked excitedly.
"Does it have good all-around vision?" Toshimi added.
"Is it privately gated?" A girl from Shido's group named Taniuchi finished.
"Oh, yes. It's a duplex standing along the river. There's a convenience store nearby too." Shizuka then perked up. "Ahh, and a car! You know, the one that looks like a tank? The one that drinks gas? BIG! The really big one."
"I know what you're talking about," Ben said. "Rika Minami's house. My family's house is right next door to it. In fact, it's even connected to it."
"Sweet! That means room for everybody!" Eddy cheered.
"Luckily, I'm sure Dad and Mom stashed a few weapons there as well. You never know when an emergency comes up." Ben added.
"Alright!" Kohta grinned wildly. "Let's hit the road!"
Shido glared from his seat at the main group of survivors. He'd bide his time for right now, but when the time came, he'd strike and take the leadership role that was 'rightfully' his...
The survivors are heading for some rest and relaxation and Ben learns a new secret about his strange suit.
Also, it seems that we have Smokers and Lickers showing up now! How will our heroes manage against them and will any other monsters from Left 4 Dead and Resident Evil show up? The answer is...most definitely.