Chapter 13: Moving Forward
For the first time since this whole nightmare started, nobody spoke.
The nurse's office had gone quiet.
Well.
As quiet as a room filled with corpses could be.
I leaned against a wall and wiped the blood from my screwdriver using a spare cloth.
The blood wasn't mine.
Mostly.
That counted as a victory in my book.
Across the room, Marikawa-sensei was stuffing medical supplies into a bag with surprising efficiency.
Apparently, even the apocalypse couldn't stop nurses from hoarding medical equipment.
Honestly, I respected the dedication.
Near the shattered window, Saeko stood watch over the school grounds outside.
The silence stretched.
Then stretched some more.
Eventually, I gave up waiting for someone else to break it.
"Well."
Both women looked toward me.
I pointed at myself.
"Hiro Takahashi. Second year."
"Hmm. Saeko Busujima. Third year."
Naturally.
As if I didn't already know that.
"And captain of the Kendo Club."
Damn.
What a flex.
Respect, though.
Then Marikawa-sensei perked up.
"And I'm Shizuka Marikawa!"
"..."
"..."
For some reason, nobody responded.
Mostly because she was the school nurse.
Pretty sure everyone in this school already knew who she was.
The silence lasted just long enough to become awkward.
Then Marikawa-sensei smiled anyway.
A truly terrifying level of confidence.
I decided to move on.
"Okay for real this time. I think we've gathered enough. We should probably leave now."
Nobody disagreed.
Good.
At least we were all operating under the assumption that staying inside a zombie-infested school more than we already did was a bad idea.
A promising start.
Saeko crossed her arms.
"Do you have somewhere in mind?"
The question sounded casual.
Maybe a little too casual.
Still, the answer was simple.
"If we're leaving the school, we'll probably need a vehicle."
"That makes sense."
Marikawa-sensei nodded.
"Walking sounds dangerous."
That might've been the understatement of the century.
"Then we need keys."
I looked toward the nurse.
"Any idea where those would be?"
"Hmm..."
She tapped her chin thoughtfully.
A motion that caused certain... assets... to bounce slightly.
I immediately looked away before I started looking even harder.
I'm a bit of a gentleman.
A gentleman who happened to possess functioning eyes.
Entirely different things.
"The faculty office should have them."
Bingo.
"Well, that sounds like a good place to start."
Apparently, my answer came out a little too quickly.
When I glanced sideways, I noticed Saeko looking at me.
"...What?"
"Nothing."
She smiled.
I immediately trusted that smile about as much as I trusted gas station sushi.
A few minutes later, we left the nurse's office.
The hallway beyond looked significantly worse than before.
Blood stained the floors.
Broken glass crunched beneath our feet.
Abandoned bags lay scattered everywhere.
The school had officially become a disaster zone.
A zombie stumbled out of a nearby classroom.
Saeko moved first.
CRACK!
The wooden sword struck the side of its head.
The corpse immediately collapsed.
I stared.
"..."
"..."
"...You know, that's surprisingly reassuring."
"Is that a compliment?"
"Absolutely."
"Then thank you."
We continued forward.
Most of the zombies we encountered were alone.
A few wandered aimlessly through the corridors.
Others stood motionless until somebody got too close.
None of them lasted very long.
Saeko dealt with most of them.
I handled the occasional stray.
Marikawa-sensei followed behind us while carrying enough medical supplies to open a small clinic.
Honestly.
Priorities.
As we moved through the building, I mentally reviewed our situation.
Marikawa-sensei?
Secured.
Medical supplies?
Acquired.
Backpack?
Still with me.
Pistol?
Still loaded.
Problems?
Far too many.
Most importantly—
Getting out of the school.
Because surviving inside the building was only the beginning.
The real nightmare waited outside.
The streets.
The panic.
The hordes.
The collapse of everything.
"Hiro."
I blinked.
Saeko was looking at me.
"You're spacing out."
"...Oh, am I? Sorry. I was thinking too hard."
"That's bad for your health."
Okay?
Fair, I guess.
Before either of us could continue, a loud crash echoed somewhere ahead.
Then another.
Then shouting.
We all froze.
The noise wasn't far.
A girl's voice.
Panicked.
Angry.
Followed by something that sounded suspiciously like furniture being thrown across a room.
Marikawa-sensei jumped.
"Was that the faculty office?"
"Sounds like it."
Another crash followed.
Then a scream.
We immediately broke into a run.
The closer we got, the louder the noise became.
"DON'T COME ANY CLOSER!"
A girl's voice.
Followed by the distinct whine of a power drill.
The moment we reached the doorway, the scene came into view.
And it was a mess.
Papers covered the floor.
Blood stained the walls.
Near the back of the room stood a pink-haired girl with a power drill clutched tightly in both hands.
She looked terrified.
Absolutely terrified.
In front of her, a zombie staggered forward.
The drill whined loudly.
"I SAID STAY BACK!"
Then she shoved it forward.
The spinning bit tore into the zombie's face.
The corpse jerked violently.
The girl nearly dropped the drill from the recoil.
"..."
I blinked.
That was simultaneously the dumbest and bravest thing I'd seen all day.
Nearby, a fat student sat on the floor.
A modified nail gun rested in his hands.
His face was pale.
His breathing ragged.
Judging by the way he kept pulling the trigger and getting nothing, he'd already run out of ammunition.
Well.
That explained the drill.
Then, amidst all this, movement appeared from the opposite hallway.
A boy carrying a baseball bat.
And a girl wielding a makeshift spear.
Both were covered in blood.
Both were breathing heavily.
Takashi Komuro.
Rei Miyamoto.
The protagonists had arrived.
Almost at the same time we had.
Nobody said a word.
Everyone seemed to understand what needed to be done after one look at the mess in front of us.
Rei and Takashi immediately moved forward and engaged the zombies.
Seconds later, Saeko stepped in.
CRACK!
The wooden sword struck with enough force to fold a zombie onto the floor.
Honestly.
Watching her fight was becoming increasingly concerning.
The remaining zombies didn't last long.
Not with Takashi, Rei, and Saeko attacking at once.
I didn't bother joining them.
There wasn't much point.
Three competent fighters were already handling the situation.
So instead, I shifted slightly closer to Marikawa-sensei and kept an eye on the room.
Just in case something slipped through.
But aside from a concerning number of panty shots, I saw nothing else.
A few moments later, silence returned.
Again.
Heavy breathing filled the office.
The pink-haired girl slowly lowered the drill.
The fat student looked seconds away from kissing the floor out of gratitude.
Meanwhile, Takashi and Rei seemed busy making sure nobody had been bitten.
Good.
One less thing to worry about.
For now.
I glanced around the room.
The pink-haired gremlin.
The gun nerd.
The protagonist.
The childhood friend.
The kendo monster.
The nurse.
And me.
Huh.
The gang was finally coming together.
Somehow, that realization made me feel less relieved than it probably should have.
Because if canon was proceeding normally...
Then the truly dangerous part was about to begin.
Escaping the school.
And judging by the growing noise outside the building—
We were already running out of time.
End of Chapter 13
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Author's Note:
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