Chapter 3: Desolation.
(Play The Darkness OST - Grinder's Lane Stealth Mix)
Takashi and Rei were seen riding their newly acquired motorcycle through town. The isolation from their group was weighing heavily in their minds as they made their way across town. It was a heavy feeling as the once lively town now felt quiet.
'It's hard to believe the end of the world came so suddenly… It's terrifying to think that a day has passed since they came…' Takashi thought, looking at the wandering zombies.
Rei could sense the tension from Takashi. She knew the events since the previous hours were replaying in his mind as he remained silent.
'I really can't blame him for becoming so silent like this… The whole thing happened so suddenly and we're not ready to handle such awful times.' She thought somberly.
The pair stopped to see a large crowd of zombies walking through the street. They watched with disdain, noticing how quick they occupied the road.
"Is it possible for anyone to help us?" Rei asked.
"No. I doubt they would…" Takashi responded.
"What makes you think to say that?" Rei questioned.
"You recall the Special Defense Forces helicopters that flew past us when we were at the school? It's the same thing here." Takashi reasoned.
"Even so…" Rei continued, trying to find a plausible explanation.
"No one would bother to try and help us… I doubt we can simply find help through this whole thing." Takashi reasoned.
"Then how are we going to get through this ordeal?" Rei asked.
"We have to do with what we can. This is the current situation we're dealing with, Rei. I don't want to sound pessimistic, but times are pretty grim." Takashi spoke.
Rei frowned in response, but she knew he was right. Swallowing a bitter pill in metaphorical sense, she accepted the answer.
"You're always like this, Takashi… Even though you're right, you tend to say the wrong things at the wrong time." Rei complained.
"Sorry if my words aren't as reassuring… This is the truth of the situation." Takashi nitpicked.
"So? You could have just stated it in a different manner…" Rei said.
Soon, the pair heard more zombies coming. They were walking on the road behind them. This caused Takashi to get the bike to drive away from the walking dead.
(Grinder's Lane Stealth Mix OST ends here)
At the driveway, the school bus was slowly moving across due to the police trying to establish order in the chaos. This was evident among Takashi's group, noticing how slow they were moving.
"We have been going at least one kilometer an hour at this rate." Saeko observed.
"I have my doubts if we can get across the bridge before morning at this rate…" Saya followed.
"I agree. At this rate, we'll probably be hold up here on the bridge before we could cross it." Kohta spoke.
"Being observant, are we?" Saya complimented.
"It's a matter of fact… I have reason to believe the police or the Self Defense Forces are trying to establish order without causing a panic. Though I doubt it'll do anything against a protest." Yami spoke.
"Yami-sensei's right… The widespread panic and the zombie threat… It's only a delay to the real problem at hand…" Saya continued.
"The real problem?" Kyoko asked.
"Yeah… The fall of modern civilization…" Yami spoke.
Soon, everyone heard gunshots. They all looked to see a squad of soldiers firing at a zombie. However, their shots were mostly aimed at the body, only stopping the advancing zombie. One of the soldiers got lucky and shot it in the head, killing it. More were soon scuffling their way to the soldiers. The noise of the gunfire scared some of the surviving students in the bus. Shido moved in to placate the students.
"Calm down. We're all safe in here." Shido spoke, holding two female students whom were panicking.
"Shido-sensei…" Female student #1 said.
"There's nothing to be afraid about." Shido spoke, hiding his dark expression.
Takashi's group heard the tone and noticed Shido's actions. They were clearly displeased with the teacher's actions. Kyoko found it disgusting, knowing how he was. Yami looked livid, wanting to kill Shido. A creeping Demon Head was seen snaking in the left sleeve of his jacket, snarling quietly.
'Don't worry. We'll deal with him…' Yami spoke to the Darkness.
"I await my time, Yami." The Darkness spoke in agreement.
(Play The Darkness OST - Exploration)
At the other side of the city, Takashi and Rei continued their journey. The whole city remained silent in the night. Various areas, including the broadways of the streets were deserted. Some parts were stained with blood from the fights against the zombies. It was a haunting sight for the two teens.
'The whole world is like this… All desolate and no survivors… Everything has gone to Hell…' Takashi thought.
The two teens soon drove to the suburbs. They saw several houses with bloodstains inside, shown by the windows.
"There's…no one here…" Rei noted.
"Either they left the place or…" Takashi paused.
Rei knew what he was going to say. She could see he felt disdainful of the situation.
"If they did die, they would have been wandering around with the zombies…" Rei realized.
"No doubt to wander around and find more survivors to feed on…" Takashi noted.
Rei felt nervous, knowing Takashi's words were true. Luckily, respite came to the teens when Rei spotted a police car.
"Takashi, over there." Rei pointed out.
"No license. No helmet. Stolen bike. Might as well get arrested." Takashi joked.
"That's a cruel joke. Don't tell me you're afraid of a police car after fighting so many of the zombies." Rei commented.
"Nah." Takashi denied.
The two teens drove to the police car. However, the driver and passenger of the police car were found inside the vehicle, dead. The teens were tense as they realized the car crashed, which caused the impact to kill the officers.
'It looks like they were in a panic to handle the situation… I'm surprised they didn't get bitten though.' Takashi thought.
Soon, he smelled a familiar scent and was now wary. Rei was approaching the vehicle with caution.
"Stay away from the car, Rei. Gas is leaking out." Takashi warned.
"We should find some useful items in the police car. Better to have a look quickly before it's too late." Rei reasoned.
Before Rei could get close, Takashi stood guard, covering her. He remained cautious as he kept his eyes out. Rei was scavenging for supplies and items in the police car. She managed to scavenge a Smith and Wesson M37 revolver with a nightstick and five extra bullets.
"Thanks for covering me. I managed to collect what we could use." Rei said, showing the items.
Takashi eyed at the items, having a look at the ones she found.
"Do you know how to use a gun?" Rei asked to Takashi.
"Not in actual experience. I only know how from TV shows of the police. Place your finger on the trigger when you need to shoot." Takashi answered.
He soon held the revolver on his hand, noting how heavy it felt. Despite being able to fit on the palm of his hand, he could feel how heavy a burden it is to hold the gun.
"What is it?" Rei asked.
"It feels heavier than I thought…" Takashi commented.
"No doubt. It's not a toy." Rei spoke.
Takashi began examining the gun. He soon found reload button and pressed it, causing the cylinder to slide out from the side.
"A five shot revolver?" Takashi noted.
Rei provided some bullets to him.
"You can take these, Takashi. Those bullets are from the other cop. His gun was damaged, but the bullets are in good condition." Rei said, cleaning her hands with a handkerchief.
"That's quite an accomplishment, Rei…" Takashi complimented.
"I already seen the one my father uses. After what we've been through, do you think I'm afraid of getting my hands stained with blood?" Rei asked.
Takashi snorted in response. He pocketed the revolver. He soon got the motorcycle ready. Before driving, Rei interrupted him.
"Shouldn't we discard our weapons?" She asked.
"A gun may be a useful tool, but they can be unreliable if you don't aim well. Plus, once you run out of ammo, we have no way to defend ourselves without something to bash them." Takashi reasoned.
"I see your point… Alright. We should hold on to them." Rei accepted.
(Exploration OST ends here)
Rei and Takashi kept driving through the dark city. They noticed the motorcycle's gas tank was about to be empty. They named to find a gas station in hopes to refuel it.
"I wonder if the gas stations are operational…" Rei said.
"They should have fuel for cars. A simple gas station can fuel up to 1000 cars so we should be able to get some to fuel the motorcycle." Takashi explained.
Before Takashi could grab a gas hose, he realized the station was a self-service one, much to his chagrin.
"Damn…" Takashi spoke disdainfully.
"What's wrong?" Rei asked.
"This is a self-service gas station. They only work if you insert cash or a card for them to work." Takashi answered.
"Then why can't you do it?" Rei questioned.
"My part-time job would have been paying me today if this zombie pandemic didn't happen…" Takashi said with a pout.
"You're awful." Rei commented.
"Well sorry for being awful… I'm not someone else…" Takashi retorted.
"Since when did I think of you like that?" Rei questioned.
"You just told me. I'm not anyone else you're thinking of." Takashi responded.
"Excuse me for thinking you're like Hisashi. You suck." Rei said.
That was a low blow, which got Takashi moody. He soon held his hand out.
"Don't you have any cash that I can borrow?" Takashi asked.
"My purse is in my bag at school…" Rei said.
"And who's the one saying I suck…?" Takashi retorted.
He sighed in response before looking to the gas station.
"Just wait out here. Scream if you need any help." Takashi said.
Rei nodded as she watched Takashi go inside the gas station. Unknown to the teens, someone was watching them from afar. Takashi went inside the gas station.
"Is anyone in here?" He called out.
No answers came to him. He soon got to the cash register and tried to open it by pressing the buttons. The register didn't open.
"Well, that didn't work… Might as well do it this way then." Takashi said.
He raised his bat and began bashing open the register. The noise alerted Rei from outside.
"Sounds he's having fun…" She commented offhanded.
She recalled the events back in the school. It made her realize she was being too she harsh with him.
"Maybe I should mellow down a bit… I've been giving him a hard time to cope with the situation…" Rei reasoned to herself.
An unknown observer soon noticed Rei and lunged at her, causing her to scream loud. This alerted Takashi, whom ran outside with money in hand.
"Rei?" Takashi spoke out, looking for her.
He soon saw Rei, captured by a male thug, whom had light skin. He had braces on his teeth and was armed with a knife. The thug laughed as he noticed Takashi.
"Yo bro! Your girl is quite cute!" The thug said.
"Let her go, asshole!" Takashi spoke.
"Are you a dumbass? Like hell I will. If I'm going to survive in this fucked up world, I need a woman to be with." The thug responded.
Takashi realized the man was mentally unstable. He knew the thug couldn't be reasoned with.
"You're fucking insane, aren't you?" Takashi asked.
"Insane? Damn fucking right I am! All of my family turned into those freaks right in front of me! I had to bash their fucking heads! All of them! My mother, father, grandmother, even my little brother and sister! How do you think I can stay sane!?" The thug answered.
Rei managed to knock his grip loose and tried to run back to Takashi, only for the thug to catch up and forcefully hold her from her chest. The grip caused Rei's strength to falter, due to how harsh it felt.
"Rei!" Takashi spoke.
"She has quite the body, bro. Have you guys fucked yet? Unless, you two didn't?" The thug asked.
'Not of your business, you psycho…' Takashi thought.
"You! Toss me the bat! If you don't, I'll kill her. I'll also be taking the bike." The thug demanded.
"The bike's out of fuel…" Takashi said.
"You just got a load of cash in you from the register! Load up the gas!" The thug said.
Takashi knew it was a tense moment. He soon tossed the bat away, causing it to land hard on the pavement. The sound of the bat's noise alerted the zombies nearby due to the echo. Takashi proceeded to use the station and began refueling the motorcycle.
"Now… Can let you us go? We have our own agenda." Takashi asked.
"Did you fucking hear me!? If they're all over the town, your family would have been like them as well!" The thug answered.
"It's done." Takashi said, closing the gas tank of the motorcycle.
"Now leave!" The thug demanded.
A few seconds passed till Takashi tried to reason with him one last time.
"Can you just-?" Takashi said.
"Shut the fuck up! You want to die too, asshole!?" The thug interrupted.
"Hey…" Takashi said, slowly getting close to the thug.
"You want to fucking die!?" The thug asked, swinging his knife.
Takashi soon got his revolver out and raced to the thug. He moved fast enough to close the distance and had the revolver touching the thug's right shoulder. The touch of the gun's barrel caused the thug to freeze in fear.
"I may not know how to use a gun, but I won't miss when I'm up close like this." Takashi said, cocking the hammer.
"W-what if the gas ignites?" The thug asked m, sweating profusely.
"Better than you trying to take my girl…" Takashi answered coldly.
Rei smiled in response to Takashi's answer. He fired the revolver, piercing the thug's right shoulder. The thug screamed in pain as he felt his wound.
"Fucking asshole! You shot me!" The thug screamed.
Rei was angered and held her spear ready to finish the thug.
"You asshole…!" Rei said.
"That's enough, Rei." Takashi said, stopping her.
"But…" Rei reasoned.
"We don't have the time to deal with him. Besides, we got company." Takashi said, looking out the station.
Rei noticed the large crowd of zombies coming to the gas station. She realized what was about to happen and relented.
"Wait! Don't fucking leave me here!" The thug begged.
Takashi and Rei didn't bother looking back as they drove off, leaving the thug to the zombies. The injured man watched in panic as they crept closer to him before they began eating him alive.
Sunrise came for the teens. They managed to find an empty house to sleep for the night. They were now seen driving through the streets as dawn came. However, the events of the thug were still fresh in their minds.
'I ended up killing a human for the first time. I did not realize how deep the situation had gotten worse, but I knew it was a start to the Hell we now have to endure.' Takashi narrated in his head.
His silence was noticed by Rei. She felt worried about him.
"You're really quiet, Takashi. Is everything okay?" She asked.
"I'm thinking that we would end up finding the same situation back in the gas station… That same man whom we left there…" Takashi spoke reluctantly.
"You're right…" Rei agreed with reluctance.
"Never mind it though. We need to hurry." Takashi said.
The two teens were seen driving across a bridge. A nearby jet plane was seen moving near them. Rei waved at the plane as the motorcycle drove through the bridge. The scene shifts to the thug, now a zombie and roaming around the gas station.