Day 403, 2:00 AM
"Backdraft?"
The pro hero turns to Chargebolt, still wearing his pro-hero outfit, before he sprays at the fires in front of him. His instincts from his pro days kick in. "What are you kids doing? Get to cover!"
Heeding his words, Chargebolt took off past the firetruck and vanished in the dark before making a U-turn and heading back in the direction he came, avoiding the zombie horde by only a few inches.
On top, Stamp aims the water turret of the firetruck at the zombie horde and sprays them with pressurized water that knocks them back. He cranks up the pressure and sends the decaying limbs flying off their body parts and turning the walkers and runners into crawlers. He doesn't stop there and blasts some of them in the face with the water and manages to kill one when the zombie's skull falls apart and the brain gets obliterated by the water.
Backdraft runs into the forest while H20 climbs into the driver's seat of the firetruck and shifts gear. He drives in reverse and crushes several zombies under the wheel before driving forward to avoid getting zombies stuck on the wheels. Stamp continues to spray the zombies with water but gives up after only killing one zombie. He decides that wasting water wouldn't be a good idea at this point. He saves it for when the firetruck is in a better position to aim at the flames. If their calculations were correct, then it was going to be a long night before they put out the flames and he barely got six hours of sleep last night. He planned on sleeping in but now, this wildfire completely ruined his sleep plans.
Up ahead, Chargebolt turns around and faces Earphone Jack once they're out of the zone of zombies. "Earphone Jack, did you see that?"
"Backdraft," she nods, "he's still alive. We gotta find Deku and the others; tell them the good news."
"Hell yeah. And we got those firefighters to help us. We're going to be okay. What should we do?"
"Find the others, let them know, and then see how we can help the firefighters."
"I counted seven of them."
"Seven firefighters won't be enough to put out flames."
"But four of them ran into the forest."
"Yeah. Hopefully, their quirks are useful enough to put out the flames." She clenches her fists. "Come on, hurry, let's find the others and warn them."
When Rule drove off to get more water to fill the buckets, Phantom Thief offered to stay behind. Using Rule's quirk, he created a cage made of nails surrounding him from all sides but leaving enough space for him to use Deku's pyrokinetic ability. Zombies try to squeeze in through the nail cage but the cage holds in place even so, he still jumps at the sounds of the zombies snapping and gnashing their teeth at him through the narrow gaps.
"You can do this," he tells himself. "You can do this."
Ever since he barricaded himself in the cage, he's been shrinking the flames as fast as he could while keeping the flames away from him. His hand cramps from overuse but at least it wasn't burning and developing any more blisters. However, the more he used this quirk method, the more zombies surrounded him.
The nails would hold. They'll hold, right?
Unfortunately, the nail cage begins to bend forward and lose its position as more zombies begin to crowd around it, using their bodies to push into it like miners pushing a cart. He curls into himself and curls into a fetal position as he feels the world shrink around him with the nails scraping across the ground, making eerie grinding sounds that make the hairs on his nape stick up. If he didn't do something soon, the zombies would break down the cage and he would be at their mercy. Like how Hooper was to Jaws in the shark cage scene.
He still had Kodai and Kendo's quirk and if the worst happened, he had Manga's quirk. And as if his mind flipped on like a light switch, he remembered the walkie-talkie at his belt loop where he could contact Deku and the others. Yes, they have Tokoyami and Dark Shadow.
But... if he were to call for backup from Class 1-A, then he would be proving to everyone that Class 1-A is superior to Class 1-B. As much as he would give his left leg to prove that those 1-A sons of bitches weren't superior to 1-B, he knew that pride would be his downfall if he didn't call for help soon. Besides, if he's dead, then those stuck-up assholes will continue to believe they're superior unless he's around to remind them otherwise.
Without waiting any more time, he decides to call for backup.
HONK! HONK! HONK!
His dialogue freezes before he can say anything as headlights shine through the cracks in the case to his left. The zombies cease putting their bodies against the cage as they turn to the new object of interest. A truck plows through the zombies, ramming some of them over, before backing up and crushing several more zombies. Phantom Thief peeks through one of the cracks and catches a glimpse of a semi backing up carrying a trailer big enough to carry a small school bus inside.
The driver was wearing a smiley emoji mask and a black tracksuit of some kind. After backing up a good distance away from the horde, the zombies move around the cage to get to the truck.
The side door of the trailer opens and two men leap out carrying assault rifles. Both men wear balaclavas and carry AK-47s. They aim and spray the zombies with bullets, hitting them square in the brains with semi-automatic fire rather than automatic fire.
The two gunmen shine the flashlights on their guns' barrels before looking around. One of the gunmen slaps the trailer three times.
A woman wearing a pig's mask steps out of the trailer and gazes upon the wildfire. She cocks her head before spotting the nail cage.
"Piton, Ice Pick, who's that in the cage?" she asks.
Piton shrugs. "Don't know; looks like a survivor, Miss Piggy."
Miss Piggy shakes her head. "Get him out of the cage and clear the zombies; he could be useful."
Piton and Ice Pick fire at the zombies still surrounding Phantom Thief's cage before he uses Kendo's quirk to knock the cage off of him and make a run for it. He shrinks his fists before waving to them.
"Alive! I'm alive."
The semi-driver peeks out of the window. "Get in the back, kid!"
Phantom Thief jumps in the trailer as Miss Piggy closes it behind him. Miss Piggy leads Piton and Ice Pick into the forest. The two gunmen continue to fire at the zombies before vanishing into the forest after Miss Piggy.
Phantom Thief catches his breath in the back of the trailer before looking up, and spotting several other survivors in the truck. One of them wears a simple facemask and glares at Phantom Thief, trying to see who is behind his phantom opera mask.
"Who are you?" the survivor demands.
Phantom Thief wipes his costume. "The name's Phantom Thief. And you are?"
"Mayday." She removes a walkie-talkie from her pocket. "Smiley, the survivor is in the truck with us." She turns to Phantom Thief. "Care to explain the situation."
Phantom Thief counts six more survivors in the trailer, each one with their face covered with a mask of some kind but they all share the same glare as they gaze at him with suspicion and caution.
"In case you hadn't noticed, there's a wildfire. I was doing my best to put it out when you showed up."
Mayday chuckles. "I see. What is your quirk?"
"My quirk is useful enough to put out flames."
"That would explain your burning and sizzling palms." She turns on a lantern, illuminating his palms. "Yep. So useful to the point you burn yourself. If you want to help, tell us what your quirk is then we'll figure out where to put you on the battlefield."
"Battlefield? What are you guys, soldiers?"
"No, not soldiers. But we've played enough Call of Duty to understand the terminology. Now, tell me of your quirk."
Phantom Thief hesitates. "I can manipulate and shrink flames."
"Useful." She crosses her fingers. "Miss Piggy, Piton, and Ice Pick can take care of themselves. Now, let's hope you're still of use." She uses her walkie-talkie again. "Smley, we're good to head to the hot zone."
Smiley barely manages to turn the semi around and drive off in the direction they came from.
Phantom Thief looks around before choosing his moment. "So you're here to put out the flames? And pray tell, why?"
"Because this forest is our home, that's why." Mayday rolls her eyes. "Dumbass motherfucker."
"Then you don't mind if I make a call, right?"
"By all means." She glances at one of the survivors in the back who may have a dangerous quirk ready to be used.
Phantom Thief uses his walkie-talkie. "Deku, this is Phantom Thief. You there?"
Deku's voice comes through. "I'm here, Phantom Thief. Listen, we're getting out of here; the fires are too strong to be contained. I don't want to say it but retreat is our only option."
"Deku-"
"Wait, there was a firetruck. That's what I wanted to say; there's a firetruck. Any chance you know anything about that?"
A firetruck? Is that firetruck with these guys? Phantom Thief glances at Mayday, whose brows carry a confused gesture. Huh, looks like these guys are just as surprised about the firetruck as I am, which means there's another group of survivors here. That means... there's at least a total of three groups here.
"Deku, I'd be a little more optimistic if I were you because you because retreat doesn't seem like the only option anymore."
Putting the binoculars down, a survivor using a large pair of night vision goggles that obstructed half his face as a mask grins as he turns to his group. "Gentlemen and lady, looks like we finally got something good going for us."
A survivor wearing a mask made of ice narrows his eyes. "Low Light, is it wise to waste our resources in putting out those flames?"
Low Light laughs. "Ahh, Thin Ice, so pessimistic and selfish. Think about this, if we help put out these flames, imagine what that will get us. Think of it like this... if we save someone's food source, they'll be indebted to us. They'll give us food, supplies, medicine, hell, maybe even a car. We can barter for more after that."
"Just the four of us?" Thin Ice gestures to the others. His survivor group consists of a woman with an eye patch and face mask named Webby and a young man with a balaclava with a snake painted on the front named Leaps.
Leaps chuckles. "I'm all for this plan; it could work."
Webby shrugs. "Think of all the poor deer burning alive. Those poor, stupid animals."
Thin Ice presses his lips together. "Okay then. So, we should get to work sooner rather than later, right?"
Low Light nods. "The flames do not completely outmatch us. After all, I saw several vehicles pull up earlier, which means... other survivors are joining in in putting out the flames. Let's cease this chance... for the sake of our group."
Without giving his group a chance answer, he runs down the hill. The group runs after him.
Hovering high above the air in the jeep courtesy of Dark Shadow, Deku manages to spot the other vehicles and groups of survivors showing up. Now he understood Phantom Thief's words with less confusion. Of course, other survivors were living in the forest and they came to put out the flames to save their home. They weren't alone. On any other day, Deku would've reacted to these survivors with caution and suspected them of hostility but here they were, coming to the aid of Mother Nature in putting out devastating flames, despite the overwhelming horde of zombies.
His heart warms him before he pushes the feeling away. He switches channels. "Chargebolt, Earphone Jack, come in!"
A response. "This is Earphone Jack. Deku, you're not going to believe this; Backdraft is here."
He replays her sentence. "Wait, did you say Backdraft?"
"Yeah. Backdraft, he's here and he's putting out flames."
"Holy shit. Other survivors are coming in to help put out the flames." He looks around and spots the semi. "Phantom Thief is in the semi." He looks to his left. "And I can see Rule returning with the buckets of water. Phantom Thief said eleven survivors came with the semi."
"And we counted seven firefighters."
He is about to say more when a commotion on the ground catches his attention. A stream of ice sprays from behind one of the trees and into the flames, putting them out before stopping. He catches a glimpse of the person in the trees after his eyes adjust a bit and spots three people beside him.
"I spot four more survivors. Okay, seven firefighters plus eleven semi-guys, four survivors on foot, and the nine of us... that's a total of... 31 of us. There's 31 of us putting out the flames.
Tsukuyoomi coughs. "32 if you count Dark Shadow."
"Right. And if we're lucky and our guys back home manage to clear out our gated community and return to help us, that's 39. Or 40 if we count Dark Shadow. Listen, all I can say is that... don't retreat. Retreat only if necessary but still... help the survivors if you can."
"On it." Earphone Jack's voice cracks in the walkie-talkie. "Keep a bird's eye view from up there."
"We'll do what we can." He puts his walkie-talkie down. "If we let the survivors work a bit on the flames, we have a chance to heal ourselves. Then... then we'll be in tip-top shape to put out the flames."
Ground Zero chuckles. "We should communicate with the other survivors from here. We should stay in the air instead of going back. If we're up here in the sky, we can see everything and monitor the progress. And if someone needs help with a zombie or with flames..."
Comic Man finishes his sentence with, "I can use my quirk for long-ranged attacks and saves."
Deku nods. "Okay. And I can still provide help. Watch out for beasts. And it looks like the zombies are starting to get organized so maybe there's a beast down there. Keep a sharp eye out."
With Chargebolt
Chargebolt rides off the main road and into the forest where he's not as exposed. He slows his dirtbike to maneuver around the trees while Earphone Jack uses her walkie-talkie.
"Rule, Rule, can you hear me?"
Rule's voice came back. "Yes."
"Rule, listen, when you get back, there are other groups of survivors and they're putting the flames out. Any water that you've collected from the lake, give it to the other survivors; they may have more useful quirks if they came out here."
"Phantom Thief?"
"He's with some of the survivors now, fingers crossed. Focus, okay?"
"Yes."
"Good." Earphone Jack switches channels again. "Battle Fist? Battle Fist, this is Earphone Jack, come in."
Kendo - Battle Fist - comes to life on the walkie-talkie. "Earphone Jack, what's going on? How's the wildfire coming along?"
"Looking better now that we got survivors helping us out."
"What?"
"How's it going with taking our home back?"
"Working on it right now but still taking some time. What's this about survivors?"
"There are other survivors who showed up. According to Deku, there should be 31 of us total and 39 if you showed up."
"Don't worry; once we get our home back and get the survivors we left at Mister Donuts home, we'll be back; count on it. We'll see you soon. Listen, be careful."
"Not the first time I've been burned, Battle Fist."
"No, the survivors, be careful of them."
"We will." She puts the walkie-talkie back in her pocket before turning to Chargebolt. "Come on, let's get to the trailer and reunite with Phantom Thief."
Chargebolt nods. "Whatever you say."
The side door on the right side of the trail opens and Phantom Thief leans out, clutching a handle, and holds his hand out. He uses Deku's quirk to call the flames to him and shrinks them in size before extinguishing them completely. He checks his watch. Only five minutes and fifteen seconds remaining of Deku's quirk.
Mayday leans out of the trailer and blinks. "Huh, wildfire appears to be spreading at twelve kilometers per hour." She blinks again. "Percentage of putting out flames within one hour..." She blinks thrice. "37.8%. Chances of putting out blazes within two hours: 44.5%. Chances of putting out blazes within three to six hours: 79.1%. But... if I narrow it down, then that means... the chances of putting the blazes out in six hours are... 79.9%." She closes her eyes and concentrates. "Hour to successfully put out 100% of flames?" She opens her eyes. "Twelve hours. Twelve hours to achieve a 100% extinguish rate. Chances of increasing likelihood: 14.2%" She steps back. "Hey, Phanom Thief, I don't think whatever quirk you have is going to be useful."
"My quirk is plenty useful, Mayday. It sounds like you have some kind of analysis quirk."
"I do. I can sense natural disasters and make sophisticated calculations based on various factors."
"Never limit yourself to what you see in front of you; that's how losers lose."
Mayday takes out her walkie-talkie. "Miss Piggy, Piton, Ice Pick, get ready for a long night with little chance of finishing ahead of schedule."
Low Light and his group head into the ablaze forest with Low Light staying behind his team while Thin Ice makes work on the flames with his quirk. Thin Ice could shoot projected ice from his palms like Ice Man from the X-Men comics. Low Light keeps an eye out for the zombies around him. He takes out a makeshift nail gun and aims it. He fires at the zombies, literally nailing them in the head, and finishes an entire clip without missing. After reloading, he tosses a spare nail gun and ammo to his teammate Webby.
Webby shoots a web to a branch above her and pulls herself up. Once she gets settled, she takes aim and fires at the zombies.
Leaps leaps to the branch beside her and aims, copying her technique.
Low Light stands directly behind Thin Ice as he focuses on the flames. "Man, I gotta say, this is actually kinda fun." He aims for the runners and drops them first, focusing only on the walkers when necessary. "Too bad we didn't bring any marshmallows."
"You're telling me."
Thin Ice jogs deeper into the forest after clearing out thirty meters of a fire with Low Light catching up after him. Leaps and Webby use their quirks to get from one branch to another on the next tree, following close behind them.
"Hey!" Chargebolt pulls the brakes hard on his dirtbike as he makes it to the semi that is going at the pace of a snail on the road. He bangs on the side and just a few feet ahead, Phantom Thief peers through the open door. "Hey, Phantom Thief, is that you?"
Phantom Thief smiles. "The one and only."
"You need help?"
Phantom Thief looks at the flames. "Yeah. We need someone to head into the forest to clear out the flames. So far, we've only been clearing out the flames closest to the road so we'll need someone to go into the forest and use their quirks to put it out."
"We've tried that before!"
"There's another group up ahead and Deku says they got an ice quirk of some kind. Get him to ride passenger."
Chargebolt looks at the punk rock girl.
She nods. "Listen to him." She carefully uses the electric boy's shoulders to steady herself as she lifts herself to a crouching position on the bike. "Get me in the truck."
Chargebolt speeds up only when they reach the door. Earphone Jack climbs in and leaps to her feet. She leans out. "Get on; we trust you, Chargebolt!"
He salutes her. "Good luck, Earphone Jack!"
"You too, dumbass."
Chargebolt revs the throttle and takes off. Earphone Jack watches the dirtbike vanish between the trees before getting lost in the dark.
Phantom Thief grabs Earphone Jack's shoulder. "Don't worry; he's fast on that bike so he should be fine."
She nods reluctantly. "Why don't we pick up speed on this truck?" She looks out the truck and once her eyes adjust to the dark once again, she sees the silhouette of zombies showing up on the road. The runners were taking off in the forest, no doubt attracted to the survivors using their quirks in the forest, leaving the walkers on the road, and stumbling towards the semi-truck.
"Don't worry," Mayday speaks up, "those stumbles won't be catching up to us anytime soon."
Earphone Jack eyes the older woman with a mixture of curiosity and confusion.
"The name's Mayday. Earphone Jack, right?"
"Right."
Mayday blinks. "Chances of extinguishing flames ahead of schedule: increase to 14.8%" She smiles. "I'll take whatever I can get." She turns to one of the survivors in the back. "Hey, BtB, how's it going?"
A survivor wearing a construction outfit and a simple face mask looks ahead, holding several tools in his hand and what looks like a workbench in front of him. "Don't worry, Mayday, my invention shall be done soon. We shall use our sweat and tears to extinguish the flames within a one-hundred-meter radius."
Earphone Jack looks at Mayday. "What's his quirk?"
"BtB has a quirk that allows him to grant extraordinary abilities and applications to everyday objects. In this case... he's going to make a bomb. And it's going to be... a splash."
The four-man band of survivors turn and aim at the survivor who shows up on a dirtbike and he brakes suddenly, holding his hands up. "Wait, I come in peace!" He pants l living like a runner out of breath. Even though they cleared out all the zombies around them, they still kept an eye out. As an extra precaution, Webby uses her quirk to web-yank Low Light and Thin Ice onto a thick branch beside her and away from Chargebolt.
Chargebolt sweats. "Wait, I said I come in peace! One of you has an ice quirk, right?! We have a guy in the air that's got a bird's eye view. He told me that one of you has an ice quirk. If you come with me, ride shotgun on my dirtbike, it'll be quicker to use your ice quirk. Please!"
Thin Ice looks at Low Light. "What do you think? Should I put him on ice?"
"I don't know, I don't trust this guy."
"But he is here to put out the flames. If we get on his good side, that could get us some brownie points."
Low Light Chuckles. "Nice. Just what I was thinking. Perfect." He turns to Chargebolt. "You good with that bike of yours?"
"Y-yeah," Chargebolt stutters. "Best of the best."
Low Light makes a hand gesture and Webby uses her webs to lower Thin Ice. "Take care of our friend, okay?"
The others get down with Low Light deciding to climb down instead of having Webby use up her webs just to get him down.
Thin Ice stands before Chargebolt, sizing up the electric boy, before stepping forward.
Chargebolt pants. "Come on, hop on. Come on, we can speed this whole process up. We-" He cuts himself off when he spots something in the distance. At first, he couldn't see and had to adjust his eyes but once they adjusted, he could make out a silhouette in the distance but his confusion quickly morphs into horror.
The silhouette grows in size, first starting off looking like six feet tall in the distance but as the figure marches forward, Chargebolt realizes that it is not six feet tall, no, it is much bigger.
Even before the creature stepped into the moonlight, Chargebolt already knew what this creature was, even before he saw the dead flabby skin dangling from its body, muscles protruding from its arms, and monstrous chest like a bodybuilder.
It was a beast...
... and it was stomping towards them.
Character Cards
Okane "Smiley" Ōno
Quirk: To Be Revealed
Occupation: Comedian (Formerly); leader of First Gen
Age: 19
Birthday: November 27th
Height: 179 cm.
Blood: O
Likes: Cherries Jubilee.
Dislikes: Frowny faces.
Other Facts: Nudist.
Zombie Kills: 44
Human Kills: 2.
Kyoko "Mayday" Uehashi
Quirk: Cracking Numbers (By making observations and taking variables into account, she can calculate the percentage of predicted outcomes).
Occupation: Community college student (Formerly); chief analyst for First Gen.
Age: 20
Birthday: February 20th
Height: 155 cm.
Blood: B
Likes: Flannels
Dislikes: Hot tubs.
Other Facts: Antitheist
Zombie Kills: 39
Human Kills: 1
Ino "Miss Piggy" Isobe
Quirk: Irrelevant
Occupation: Ranch hand (Formerly); specialist for First Gen
Age: 21
Birthday: January 30th
Height: 150 cm.
Blood: B
Likes: Pigs
Dislikes: America
Other Facts: Karaoke singer.
Zombie Kills: 50
Human Kills: 1