Chapter 17: A Gun
"Looks like you kids beat us to it."
...
Ah.
There it was.
Now everything made sense.
Five men emerged from between a pair of abandoned vehicles.
Not zombies.
People.
Honestly?
At this point, I wasn't entirely sure which one I preferred.
The man leading them looked to be in his thirties.
The others weren't much younger.
Tired faces.
Dirty clothes.
Weapons.
A pipe.
A crowbar.
A knife.
One of them even carried a police riot shield.
The usual apocalypse starter pack.
They stopped a short distance away.
Close enough to talk.
Far enough not to immediately start a fight.
The leader looked toward the bus.
Then the supplies.
Then back at us.
A bitter smile appeared on his face.
"You know, those were supposed to be ours."
Takashi frowned.
"What?"
The man gestured toward the surrounding streets.
"We spent almost an hour clearing this area."
"Luring those things away."
"Making sure it was safe enough to loot."
He pointed toward the supplies piled beside the bus.
"Then we come back and find a bunch of kids loading everything into a bus."
The man let out a dry laugh.
"Can't exactly blame us for being annoyed."
For a moment, nobody spoke.
Because honestly?
He wasn't entirely wrong.
If what he said was true, they had probably done most of the work.
The problem was—
We weren't exactly putting everything back.
"We didn't know that," Takashi said.
"Yeah."
The leader nodded.
"I figured."
For a second, it genuinely looked like things might calm down.
Then he pointed toward the stacked supplies.
"Tell you what."
"Leave half."
"We'll call it even."
I immediately looked at Takashi.
Takashi looked at the supplies.
Then at the men.
Then back at the supplies.
Honestly?
I already knew what he was going to say.
"If it's just half..."
He scratched the back of his head.
"Maybe that's fair."
The leader smiled.
"There we go."
For a brief moment, it almost sounded reasonable.
Almost.
Then his eyes drifted toward the girls.
Rei.
Takagi.
Saeko.
And finally—
Shizuka-sensei.
The smile on his face slowly changed.
Not bigger.
Different.
The kind of smile that immediately made me dislike someone.
"Though..."
His gaze traveled up and down.
"Why don't you introduce us to your friends too?"
Nobody replied.
The man chuckled.
"Especially the blonde one."
His eyes remained fixed on Shizuka-sensei.
"Kinda wanna get to know her better."
A pause.
Then he licked his lips.
The men behind him exchanged looks before laughing.
Like they'd heard this routine before.
And just like that—
The atmosphere changed.
Not gradually.
Not subtly.
Immediately.
Because now everybody understood exactly what they meant.
At the same time, the men started spreading out.
Slowly.
Casually.
Like they weren't doing anything at all.
But they were.
Closing the distance.
Taking angles.
Positioning themselves.
One of them spun the knife in his hand.
Another shifted his grip around the crowbar.
The man carrying the riot shield moved slightly to the side, cutting off the easiest path back toward the store.
Takashi stepped forward.
Instinctively placing himself between them and us.
But even he hesitated.
Because unlike us—
They had actual weapons.
Not sharpened sticks.
Not makeshift spears.
Actual weapons.
And they knew it.
The leader took another step.
"Come on."
"We're all trying to survive here."
Nobody answered.
The smile on his face widened.
Then one of the men suddenly moved.
Fast.
Not toward Takashi.
Around him.
Trying to slip through the side.
Trying to close the distance.
Trying to reach the girls.
For a split second, everyone froze.
Including Rei.
The guy probably thought nobody would react fast enough.
He probably thought wrong.
Because before he could take another step—
I moved.
One moment, I was standing beside the supplies.
The next, I was directly in his path.
Planting myself between him and Rei.
The man stopped.
Not because of me.
Because of what was in my hand.
A pistol.
Silence.
Immediate silence.
His eyes dropped to the weapon.
Then widened.
Behind me, I heard someone inhale sharply.
Actually.
Several people.
Fair.
If I were them, I'd probably have questions too.
Unfortunately, this wasn't question time.
I pointed the pistol directly at him.
"Back."
The confidence on his face wavered.
Only slightly.
Then returned.
The idiot.
"You serious?"
"Very."
For several seconds, neither of us moved.
The entire parking lot seemed to freeze.
The thug.
The leader.
Takashi.
The girls.
Even Kohta.
Nobody said a word.
Then I shifted the pistol slightly and aimed toward a nearby abandoned car.
BANG!
The gunshot exploded across the parking lot.
A hole punched through the car window, and glass burst inward.
Birds scattered from nearby rooftops.
The sound echoed between buildings.
For a moment, nobody moved.
Nobody spoke.
Nobody breathed.
...
Okay.
That was admittedly cooler than I expected.
I hated that.
The thug visibly flinched.
The leader's smile disappeared.
Hell, one of them nearly dropped his crowbar.
Good.
I lowered the pistol back toward the man in front of me.
"That was the warning shot."
The humor disappeared from my voice.
"The next one won't be."
Silence followed.
A long one.
For a second, I thought they finally understood.
Then the thug scoffed.
"Bullshit."
Nobody moved.
The man looked around at his friends.
Probably noticing that all of them suddenly looked a lot less confident.
So he doubled down.
"Come on."
He pointed at me.
"Look at him."
"He's a kid."
The thug laughed.
A forced laugh.
The kind people made when they were trying very hard not to look scared.
"You really think he's gonna shoot somebody?"
None of his friends answered.
That should've been a clue.
Unfortunately, he seemed determined to ignore it.
The leader looked less convinced.
The others too.
But it only took one idiot.
And apparently, he'd volunteered.
Before anybody could react, he suddenly burst forward.
Fast.
Explosive.
Trying to catch me hesitating.
Trying to take advantage of the split second where most people froze.
Probably thinking I'd panic.
Probably thinking I'd lower the gun.
Probably thinking I'd never fired at a person before.
Oh.
How wrong he was.
BANG!
The second gunshot echoed across the parking lot.
The scream came immediately afterward.
"AAAAAAAGH!"
The man crashed onto the pavement, clutching his shoulder.
Blood immediately began soaking through his sleeve.
For a moment, nobody moved.
Nobody spoke.
Nobody breathed.
The thug stared at the wound.
Then at me.
Like he genuinely couldn't understand what had just happened.
Honestly?
The rest of his friends seemed just as confused.
The leader looked at the wounded man.
Then at me.
Then at the pistol.
Calculating.
Thinking.
Trying to decide whether convenience store supplies were worth dying over.
Apparently not.
Smartest thing he'd done all day.
"Grab him!"
The others rushed forward.
The moment they got hold of their injured friend, they immediately began retreating.
No threats.
No final words.
No promises of revenge.
Just pure survival instinct.
Good.
The moment they disappeared from sight, silence returned.
Then everybody slowly turned toward me.
Takashi.
Rei.
Takagi.
Saeko.
Shizuka-sensei.
All staring.
Even Kohta.
Actually—
Especially Kohta.
The guy looked like he'd just witnessed the second coming of Christ.
"..."
"..."
"..."
"What?"
Nobody answered.
"Hiro..."
Kohta finally spoke.
His voice sounded strangled.
"Why do you have a gun?"
Good question.
A very reasonable question.
One that I had absolutely no intention of answering right now.
"Guys."
Nobody answered.
"I know this is dramatic and all."
"..."
"But that was a gunshot."
"..."
"Which means every dead thing within a few blocks probably heard it."
I pointed toward the street.
"So unless we're planning to loot this store again after we become zombies, we should probably get moving."
Finally, that managed to break the spell.
Almost as if on cue, distant groans echoed from somewhere nearby.
One zombie appeared at the end of the road.
Then another.
Then three more.
Then a whole lot more.
Immediately, everyone started moving.
Fast.
Supplies were thrown into the bus.
Doors opened.
Doors closed.
The distant groans became louder.
Closer.
Much closer.
I climbed aboard last.
The moment my feet touched the floor—
The doors slammed shut.
"Sensei!"
"Hai~!"
Shizuka-sensei stomped on the accelerator.
The bus lurched forward.
Just as the first zombies entered the parking lot.
A few slammed into the side.
Too late.
Way too late.
The bus accelerated.
Leaving the store behind.
Leaving the zombies behind.
Leaving the entire mess behind.
For several seconds, nobody spoke.
The only sound was the engine.
And the road beneath us.
Then—
"Hiro."
I looked up.
Saeko was staring at me.
"So."
A pause.
"Since when did you have a gun?"
...
Ah.
I had a feeling this conversation was coming.
End of Chapter 17
Author's Note:
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