If you've got any criticisms, suggestions or have spotted a mistake or anything, feel free to drop a review or a PM to me. I'm more than willing to listen and get more ideas to keep this fic going, be that in the form of new characters, scenes and whatnot or edits to existing ones that'll help flesh out the story and make it all the more enjoyable to read. I can't guarantee any form of an update schedule, but I'll try my best to push out chapters when I can!
If there's any edits, they'll be mentioned here. Please, enjoy!
DISCLAIMER: I do not own H.O.T.D nor any of it's characters, nor do I own any other franchise that may be mentioned.
The others are moving the barricade out of the way, and I don't help- simply because I don't think I could with how many people are already doing such. I'd just get in the way. What am I doing instead then? Wondering if I should try to convince them to come up with a better plan of action that isn't charge through.
They never specifically said that's what they were going to do, but with the numbers we've now got and all our weapons? I think they're going to take the risk and go for it until they come across a large enough group to make them reconsider. Hell, I don't think they've even thought about a formation of some kind.
Great, we're charging into our deaths. Well, at least that'd give me the opportunity to flip off whoever send me here to this shit-hole. I see Takagi approaching me from the corner of my eye.
The barricade is taking a decent amount of time to move. While they certainly didn't worry too much about the noise initially, going out I think they're trying to keep it down until they're really on the move. Fair enough.
"Smith. I've been observing 'them' since this all started, and I'd like for you to- confirm some things for me, if that's alright." Huh. She looks embarrassed. Not gonna bring up the lack of 'san'.
"I'm all-ears, Takagi-san. Happy to help." I'm not even lying. Spreading information is a way of helping I'm always happy to commit to. My misinformation campaigns were always delegated specifically to annoying people with mundane things over the internet, after all.
Takagi pushes up her glasses with a finger, crossing her arms. "Everything you said over the intercom earlier we've confirmed for the most part, although I don't get why you said 'don't get grabbed'. Unless you think everyone still alive is as much of an idiot as you?"
"I may be an idiot, but I'm honest about it. I'll answer your question with one of my own. Have you noticed how it doesn't take too much force to hurt them?" I cross my arms, mimicking her stance.
She nods once begrudgingly "Yes, but it's likely just a by-product of the body being dead."
"Nope. I said don't get grabbed as while they can be pretty fragile, they're also strong. Unusually so. You know how the body sets limits so we don't shred ourselves to bits? Those are gone. Therein, pain is also gone for them." I grimace, shaking my head.
Saya copies my grimace. "If I didn't say anything and someone got grabbed by one of them who was strong before being bit? They were as good as dead even if they didn't get turned into a snack. Good luck fixing broken bones or internal bleeding with all of this going on." I motion to the window, shaking my head.
A slow nod of acceptance is my response "Hmh. Do you know how good their other senses are? They're likely blind, but we haven't had any time to test with how we've been rushing over here. It's hard to learn more when a certain fatso-" She looks pointedly at Nailgun Guy "-keeps shooting them before I can learn anything."
Guess he must be a good shot with it. Good for him. "Hey, I wouldn't complain about having someone defend you from range." Any further comments on that are cut off by a nasty glare coupled with a lip movement that looks very much so like a pout. "As for your question though..."
Taking a look around, it seems the barricade is almost fully moved. Seems we'll be moving soon- oh, the fatso in question is listening in. He's failing miserably at being stealthy. "I know for a fact they're blind."
An eyebrow is raised questioningly, and I huff. "When I was trying to get into this building in the first place, there was one of them with their throat torn out slowly approaching me. I didn't make much noise, and there was still a lot of activity in the school itself, so I took some steps to the left and it didn't turn to follow me. Threw a crowbar behind her, she turned to that and walked over it."
I'm not mentioning the part immediately after where I almost dropped my crowbar and fucked myself over. Or the time where I actually did just that on accident. "As for the other senses... can't check their sense of smell very easily, not without someone being wounded or unless someone has something that might work to lure them in. Same for their taste." Another nod.
"Touch on the other hand... well. They know when they've grabbed someone, otherwise they wouldn't know where to move their head to bite, so I'm assuming they can feel heat to a degree, although I've got no way to test this right now. If we had something like a high-power laser pointer or a good flashlight, we could see if one reacts to the light during the night?" I offer.
No clue where we would find either of those without hitting up a store, and I don't think there's going to be any of those without a solid chunk of them inside for quite some time.
Takagi seems satisfied with my answers, losing her usual scowl for but a moment "A decent plan. Maybe your not as much of an idiot as I initially thought." Not even good? You wound me.
I snort in amusement as she turns her head away from me haughtily. Probably thought I was mocking her with that. I don't understand why she keeps calling everyone dumb, but I'm not going to complain if she's going to put her smarts to use in exchange.
"Infections from what I've seen are bite-only, so whatever is causing this is saliva-based. Unless, of course, you happen to know if there's any other way for someone to be infected?" Oh boy, here we go. I'm not mentioning the blood-cola. Noope.
But she's not going to just take a no, she's going to want an explanation. Improvisation time. I motion to her uniform with a hand and speak up "We're all covered in blood right now to a degree, myself more notably so. It's pretty much inevitable some might have gotten into our mouths at this point. If it could be transmitted by blood, we'd have found out by know with how quick it moves."
Ah. That's a horrified expression if I've ever seen one. Topic change? "You probably stopped noticing it after a drink and just brushed it off with the adrenaline. Anyways, you ever heard 'Weapon of Choice'? You know, the song?"
She blinks, and just like that her focus is back. Good. I know I wouldn't want to be stuck stewing on the fact I might be infected- done enough of that already anyways. "What's a fatboy slim song got to do with anything, idiot! We're trying to..."
I cut her off "Hear me out. You see Kato over there? She hasn't killed one of them at all, because she's been avoiding them. Infected move pretty slowly and in a sort of shuffling movement, so she mimicked it and could get past without needing to be completely quiet with her foot movements, hence-"
She's the one to cut me off this time. "Walk without rhythm, and you wont attract them?"
Snapping my fingers, I nod. "Of course, you'd need to learn how much pressure to put down and the right sort of speed to avoid any turning to you on accident, but it's possible so long as there isn't a rhythm for them to pick up on while your doing so. You've seen how they don't really stick to any pattern and just follow the sounds to their next target."
"With enough time and practice, we could just walk by them then?" Imagining a group of survivors doing a little jig down a street and remaining unbothered? Kind of funny.
"Yup. Once again though, thank Kato for that discovery. Lord knows I'd never have come up with it by myself."
"Of course you wouldn't have, your an idiot." Damn, right in the feels.
"Are we all ready to go?" Takashi asks, and he receives a chorus of affirmation.
No more words are said as he opens the door and begins moving down the hallway towards the stairs, the rest of us in tow. I stick to the back, wrench at the ready as the distinctive 'pafh' of a Nailgun firing causes two bodies to fall.
Really need to learn that guys name. "Shizuka-sensei" I whisper to her
She turns with a distinct "Huaaah?". Come on, you can't have survived this long being that loud, could you?
"What's the guy with the nail gun's name? I forgot to ask." I rub the back of my head with a free hand, Pipe wrench at the ready in my other. Another body falls as our pace slows. The thud of wood meeting a skull explains why.
"Oh! Kohta Hirano. He's been helping Takagi-san with her testing!" He has, has he? Good on him.
I nod and give her a slight bow. "Thank you, Sensei. I'd ask him myself now, but he's a little busy."
She waves me off with a hand, smiling with closed eyes. You should really look where your going. "It's quite alright"
Carefully stepping over one of the corpses left by the three at the front, I almost jinx myself by avoiding tripping on an outstretched, notably dead hand.
Whew. Falling over with so many people would be bad. Don't wanna push anyone over after all. If anyone's noticed my fumbling, I haven't seen it yet, which is fine by me.
Saeko speaks up from the front of the group as we stop at the top of the stairs. One flight up, one flight down. Seems the small number of infected on this floor are dealt with. "We'll need to be quick from here to make it outside. Knock them over if you can, don't stick around to fight if you don't need to."
Takagi moves to follow up Busujima's commands, but she's interrupted. What by, you might ask? Well, a small group approaching us from the upper floor. No, not a group of infected, but actual people. They must have been on the other side of the building.
Most of them are carrying some form of improvised weapon. Bats, one of those IV stands from the nurses ward and a knife. But that's not what really catches my attention. That'd be Shidou leading it. There's about twelve in total.
Miura's there too, same for Tsunoda. No sign of Emi still, was hoping I'd find her alive but nope. You've definitely failed on that front, idiot. Aw, and Miura has my crowbar...
"Are you the leader of this little group, Busujima-san?" The smarmy git speaks, and I have the sudden urge to throw a wrench into whatever he's planning. In a literal sense.
Huh. Rei No.2 is shaking a bit, guess she's got a similar urge. That or she's terrified, I can't tell. Everyone else seems fine enough.
"No. We are working together to survive, that is all." Nice. Keep it vague.
One can practically feel him preening as he straightens himself out. There's not a speck of blood on him, he must have had the students do all the work for him. "Well, that just wont do! A leader is crucial to survival, you know. It's why we've managed to stay alive without issues. With someone who manages everything."
Me and Rei aren't the only ones glaring at him now. Takashi is the one to speak up next "We'll be fine. If your looking to get out of here, the staff-room is that way and all cleared."
"Oh? I assume you've already grabbed what you need from there. Keys, perhaps..." Too much information, Takashi.
I interrupt him. "No comment. Besides, your group and our group combined would become too large a target. Too loud. Keep moving, go take a mini-bus or something."
Tsunoda takes a step forward threateningly, going to speak but being interrupted by a hand raised from Shidou. His smug smirk turns almost sinister in nature. "-Very well, Smith-san. We wouldn't want to weigh you down, after all."
Rei moves down the stairs, and the others follow while Shidou's group begins moving to the staff room. Crisis averted, I hope. No doubt he's planning something though.
Of course, I don't see Shidou grabbing my crowbar from Miura. Nor do I see him lingering by the top of the stairs as his group filters past him, sinister smirk on his lips.
You remember how loud the crowbar is? It's a giant, heavy piece of rusting metal. The perfect distraction tool and doorbuster. Yeah, he throws that down the stairs at me and walks away.
Everyone freezes at the resounding clang of it hitting the first steps. And then it does it again, then once more for good measure. It's reverb is near deafening amidst the otherwise silent halls of the faculty building. Hell, I don't even move myself, and none of my group dare to turn to see what caused it.
Takashi snaps us out of it right quick though as I gaze upon the rusty lump of metal. "Run!"
No complaints here, chief. Although I do grab the crowbar before following them out, even if it does put me at the very back of the group.
Running to catch up? Easy enough, although swinging a crowbar and pipe wrench at the same time is way harder than it looks. I find this out the hard way by almost tripping as I slam the wrench into a girls skull. At least blunt objects wont get stuck. Probably.
The doors down the hall are wide open. Whoever last went in or out must have forgotten to shut them, and we learn this the hard way through the horde slowly shuffling towards it.
Kind of regretting picking up the crowbar now, since I'm still at the back. Most of us manage to get through bar me, the gap has closed. Damn you, hunk of metal. Undead infront, smaller amounts behind- classrooms to my sides. Interior windows are broken though- got seconds at most.
"Keep going, I'll catch up!" I yell out to them, hopefully further distracting the swathes of infected as I push open a classrooms door and close it just in time for a face to smush against the glass and more trip over themselves to clamber through.
I swap the pipe-wrench to my left hand, holding both weapons within as I reach behind me for the small 6" pipe-wrench. What would I use it for in such a precarious situation? Surprise projectile window-breaker. The other two could have worked, but this one will get a bit of range.
The window shatters easily enough, the wrench clattering to the floor a ways away. The heads of the ones near the exterior windows turn to it- good. I feel something try grabbing my cargo-pants as I dive out the shattered window, and something else cutting into my cheek. Sure, those near the window are now turning to look at me again, but that brief distraction should have given me enough time to get to my feet..!
It's a close call. I stumble over myself just trying to slip by the first few and their outstretched arms, but manage it nevertheless. In the distance, I see the group has gotten to the bus and is getting in, although with a large group still following them. I think I've got the bulk on me though if the shattering of more glass from behind is any indication.
Slipping through a horde while on the run is way harder than it looks, especially when all it takes is one grab for it to be game over. The crowbar helps in this regard simply due to its weight. Low-swing it into a knee, and they fall over on themselves, usually on their back.
The wrench on the other hand, perfect for actually killing them. I'm no good with left hand swings, but raising it and slamming it down is a simple enough motion to commit to, and it earns me a very solid kill on one that gets a little too close for comfort.
I'm not close enough to the bus, and I'm getting surrounded. This is bad. Very bad.
Glancing down to the crowbar as I shove another out of the way with my shoulder, I glare at it. You've caused me so many issues-
An engine roaring to life interrupts me, and I can see the bus moving... straight towards me. The door is open though? One might fly in like that on accident- oh, wait.
I'm a fucking dumbass. They're coming to pick me up. The tires of the vehicle make a horrific wailing as the vehicle screeches to a stop just infront of me, all the sound distracting the swathes of undead for just long enough for me to hop in and the door to shut behind me.
In spite of claims to the contrary, I did not fall into Busujima and knock her over. Lies and slander.
"Step on it!" I yell, panting for breath. That was uncomfortably close. There's a new hole in my cargo pants, and something warm trickling down my neck. Think it's going to stain my headset at this rate... eh, nothing I can't clean. I feel the bus start moving, backwards at first then forwards once more. There's loud thuds as we go, likely some unfortunate sap getting run over by the wheels.
"That bastard screwed us over!" Someone yells. Might be Rei, but I don't look nor focus.
"It might have been a mistake-" A protest to the contrary. Kato? No, Kohta.
"He dropped his wrench and look what happened. We almost died, and we save him anyways?!" Wait, what?
Standing up, I hold out the crowbar in full view of the bus, barely standing. My head is swimming right now, and the urge to faint? Very high.
"I didn't drop shit. Someone threw my old crowbar down the stairs. Probably Miura or Shidou, I know the former had it." I spit, throwing the hunk of rusted metal onto the floor of the bus.
"And you still picked it up?!" Rei demands. Oh, so it was her who was trying to leave me behind.
"You know how useful a crowbar is? Very. Besides, we needed more weapons anyways." I shake my head in disappointment as Takashi puts a hand on Rei's shoulder, gripping the seat tightly with his other.
"Hang on!" Shizuka orders, and I do so without complaint, crouching on the floor and clinging to one of the handlebars near the front.
Right. We're not out the front gate yet. Probably shouldn't have thrown the crowbar on the floor then-
We get a bit of airtime as we presumably bust through the gates, and naturally, this results in the crowbar flying upwards and towards me.
Is this the thanks I get for rescuing you from the floor, Crowbar-san?
CLANG.
As it turns out, being hit in the head with a heavy crowbar isn't very good for you. I know this, since a certain nurse was chiding me as she drove, explaining how careless I was and how a concussion right about now could prove fatal.
Truth be told? I wasn't listening. Is that rude? Absolutely. However, I'm a bit more focused on rooting through her medical bag and applying a bandage to my cheek. Turns out I cut it quite deep when I hopped out that window.
To make matters worse, I can't even listen to music with this headache, and Takagi of all people won't let me sleep it off! It's night time by now and I can't even rest, even though I'm practically dead on my feet...
Hence me digging through the medical bag. There's got to be at least some painkillers or something, right? No. There's alcohol wipes, all sorts of prescription stuff, but something as simple as a painkiller that isn't a vial of Morphine that looks like it'll kill me? Absolutely not.
"...really need to take better care of yourself in future! I don't want to see you become one of them, you hear?!" The busty blonde demands, and I nod. I didn't hear ninety percent of what she said, but I'm not gonna say that. Not at all.
"I understand. Sorry, Shizuka-sensei." She doesn't respond, merely raising her head slightly with a 'hmph'. I say slightly, because we're still driving along the road leading into the city. No looking away from the road while driving! That's something even Ditzy here can stick to.
Pushing myself to my feet, I look around the bus. We've got seats to spare, and most people are at the front. Saeko is on the seat directly behind Shizuka, eyeing me carefully in a manner that is absolutely not making me nervous, nope.
Behind her? Kato and Takagi, with the former taking the window seat- although both are looking out it. The rows behind them are empty, same for the back.
On the other side of the bus, Rei and Takashi. They seem to be whispering about something, although I get a nasty glare from Rei when I look towards them. At least I'm not being accused of anything just yet. And in the seat just behind them, is Kohta. All on his own.
Welp, seems I know where I'm sitting. I flop down into the seat next to him, tugging my bag off and placing it infront of me alongside my two hunks of metal.
Nothing is said between us for a moment, before I speak up and shatter the silence "-Hirano-san, right? Good shooting back there."
"Thanks. You, er... never mind." Thanks for the vote of confidence, really appealing to my headache here.
"Right." I retort, crossing my arms and pulling out my phone from my backpack. I'd have gone to the back of the bus if my head didn't feel ready to explode.
Wait, shit. Don't want to waste battery. A quick glance at the time before turning it off shows it to be 7:23.
"..you had your phone on you?" A voice speaks up. It's Hirano.
"Yeah. Why, didn't you? It's not like they're very hard to hide..." Seriously, just shove it in your bag or your pocket and your as good as gold.
"But it's against the schools rules."
I snap my fingers "Only if they catch you."
Pretty sure Takagi was listening, as a glance to the right shows her glaring in my vague direction. Right, honour student and all that.
Our conversation returns to an awkward silence as we pass by a Sevenson gas station, the bus jolting a bit in the process. Probably another one of them on the road. The city of Tokonosu does however become more visible as we round the corner, and it's in one hell of a state.
In spite of the encroaching darkness, many windows are still lacking lights and fires blaze across buildings. There's no flashing lights of police vehicles, nor is there any aircraft observing the carnage. Nothing but an eerie silence marred by the sight of shuffling bodies all over the place- on the streets and on roofs, all heading in the vague direction of the river.
Guess the other side of the river must be in a worse state. Hopefully the Takagi estate will be fine when we get th- "What exactly happened earlier? At the stairs?"
Blinking, I turn to face him. It takes an embarrassing amount of time to process his question. "-sorry, got a bit lost in thought there. Well, as much as I want to say Shidou peered over the stairs and said-" I clear my throat, imitating a certain count "'You have interfered with our affairs for the last time', he didn't. He just threw my old crowbar down the stairs and walked off."
"Star Wars? I prefer Star Trek." What?
"Sorry, our friendship is over. Just as it began, too..." I shake my head in mock dismay as he smiles "-kidding, I like both."
"What's your favourite film of the eight so far? The ninth isn't- aw, man... the ninth isn't going to come out..." he pouts.
Damn, sucks to be him. He won't ever get to finish watching Disney's weird final trilogy. Very much so more a fan of the original two, not any of the first-order stuff. Atleast he's not missing out on much. "With the quality of the other two of the Disney trilogy, I can't imagine it'd be very good." He looks a little scandalized at my words.
"Anyways, I'm something of an 'Attack of the clones' fan myself."
It's casual conversations like these that help take my mind off the fact we'll be driving through the aforementioned hellscape shortly.
Most people would be trying to get some rest right now. It's gone midnight after all, and we're stuck in traffic. Most are, aside from myself, Hirano and Shizuka. The latter since she's the designated driver, myself due to my head injury, and Hirano...
"-Do you think whatever this is can mutate like Left for Dead?!" He's busy running himself ragged trying to draw parallels between what we're dealing with and other depictions of similar infections.
"Doubt it, but we'd only know a couple of days in. That's when the Green Flu started mutating, right?" He nods in affirmation "Besides, worrying about the possibility of Hunters is bad, it'll just distract us at the moment. Let alone a Spitter..."
"Spitter?" Oh, whoops. Don't think there was a 2nd Left for Dead game here. Sucks for them, that one was great fun to play.
No Half-Life 3 either. "Don't worry about it. Do you think they remember anything from their past lives?"
He shakes his head "I doubt it. They would have tried opening doors otherwise."
That's a fair point. A good thing too, door opening zombies would be horrible to deal with. Plus if they remember that much, it'd open the door to the possibility of them remembering way more, and that's a thought I'm not too comfortable with after having bashed some skulls in with a wrench.
"As bad as it is to say? That's a relief." I shake my head, and judging by his horrified look he just had the same thoughts as me. "You think they can drown or be killed by fire?"
He shakes his head "They don't seem to breathe outside of mindless groans, and they don't need their organs from what we've seen" A shudder jolts through him "So probably not unless either managed to damage the brain."
I sigh. There goes a dumb plan I had. "So we can't just make noise on the coast and have them all die by walking into the ocean. That sucks."
"Could we do that with a fire though?" Hirano suggests. That's actually viable... wait- no it's not.
Shaking my head (and immediately regretting doing so as my head aches anew) I speak up. "If they can feel heat like we think they can, then they just wont go near it. They've got some very limited instincts, not no instincts, otherwise we'd have seen some attacking each other."
A car horn honks next to us, and it jolts Hirano awake once more. Me? It just makes me clutch my head. The urge to locate and bash Shidou with a metal object increases.
As if that wasn't bad enough, there's a flurry of gunshots as three men in police gear open fire on an infected. With all of this sound, we'll be swarmed if this queue doesn't speed up. They've probably blockaded the bridge. Hell, we can't even turn off anymore as the police watching the road have blocked off the exits.
Not like we can ditch the bus in the middle and walk either, that'd just block off other people trying to escape.
"I hate this..." I hear him mumble. I agree, buddy. I agree.
4th Chapter! I found it kind of weird Shidou's group in canon just so happens to run up last second to get on the bus, and that Takuzo's group is found and saved just beforehand, so I changed things up a bit. Hope you enjoyed it! Next up; getting off the road.