"Please! Don't leave us!"
"Quick!" Takashi shouted.
The surviving group of students quickly reached the bus.
Dragging each other up the steps one by one.
The last one aboard was the teacher.
"Thank you," he said, voice smooth, composed. "You've saved us."
The doors to the bus quickly slammed shut.
Outside, the dead finally smashed into the side of the bus, almost tipping it over in one swoop.
Saeko wasted no time as she shouted out to Shizuka.
"Teacher Shizuka, drive!"
Shizuka's foot stepped on the gas pedal.
The enormous vehicle running anything over that was in their way.
They eventually reached and crashed through the school's front gate.
Finally escaping.
The ride was silent.
No one had spoken since they left the school.
They had all taken this chance to fully process what had happened.
Then, with a smirk on his face.
The teacher from the group of survivors stood up, breaking the silence.
"As the only teacher present," Koichi Shido began, his voice cutting cleanly through the tension, "I will take responsibility for everyone here."
Ren didn't even look up.
A few of the rescued students turned toward Shido immediately, clinging to his words like a lifeline. He stepped into the aisle, posture straight, expression calm, controlled.
"We must remain orderly," Shido continued. "Fear will only get us killed. From now on, I ask that you listen carefully and follow my instructions."
Ren leaned back in his seat, eyes half-lidded.
"…That didn't take long," he muttered.
He didn't know if anyone else had witnessed it...but he did.
During the chaos, he noticed this teacher push a helpless student directly into the cold and dead arms of a zombie.
He pushed his own students towards death so he could live.
As soon as he witnessed it, he decided.
This guy isn't someone he wants around.
A few rows ahead, Saya scoffed under her breath while Kota fidgeted nervously beside her.
Saeko sat quietly, watching everything with sharp, unreadable eyes.
"No!" Rei quickly stood as she shouted.
Her hands were shaking, but her voice wasn't.
"You don't get to decide anything," she said, staring straight at Shido. "Not after what you just did out there."
Ren's eyebrows raised in surprise at her words.
She had also seen what he did.
"My dear," he said gently, "in times like these, difficult decisions must be-"
"You pushed him," Rei snapped. "You pushed that student toward them!"
The bus fell silent again.
The bus came to a stop as Ren looked out his window.
Traffic...a lot of traffic.
Looked like everyone else had the same idea of going back into the city.
Takashi stood next to Rei, trying to calm her down.
"Rei, just calm down."
"No," she said again, sharper this time. "I'm not staying here with him."
Without waiting for a response, she turned and moved toward the door.
"Rei!" Takashi rushed after her.
They all watched as the doors opened and Rei jumped out of the bus with Takashi following right behind her.
"Rei, stop!" Takashi called, grabbing her arm as they ran a few steps away from the vehicle.
Ren looked out the window, something catching his eye.
"A bus?"
Another bus carrying a large number of people was heading towards them at high speed.
It crashed between them and the two outside.
Flames erupted from the bus as flaming silhouettes lit up the dark world around them.
Flames roared even bigger, blocking the path between the bus and the two figures now stranded on the other side.
"Takashi!" Saya shouted, rushing to the window.
Rei and Takashi staggered back from the explosion, coughing, forced further away as burning wreckage collapsed between them and the bus.
Ren sat still in his seat as Saeko, Kouta, and Saya departed the bus.
They eventually returned, telling the rest of the group the plan.
"The shopping district a few blocks from here," Saeko said. "They'll wait there for us."
"...The shopping district?" Ren muttered to himself.
The sun had already set, and with the clear blue sky gone, it would be difficult to travel on foot.
Also, the shopping district?
Wouldn't that place be overrun?
I swear, this guy Takashi must be an idiot.
The bus began to move.
The fire and the figures beyond it disappeared from view.
Inside, the atmosphere shifted.
Shido placed a gentle hand on Shizuka's shoulder as she sat near the front, clearly shaken.
"You've done well," he told her softly. "We need someone like you to stay calm for the others."
A few rows behind, Saya turned to Saeko, her voice low.
"We can't stay on this bus," she said. "Not with him."
Saeko nodded once. "I agree."
Kota swallowed. "T-Then we should-"
"Get off," Saya finished.
Ren sat there...silent.
Contemplating his options, on one hand, he could leave with his group and make their way out in the middle of the night towards the shopping district.
Or the obvious better choice...stay in the bus.
They all glanced toward Ren.
He hadn't moved or said anything since they separated from Rei and Takashi.
"Ren," Saya said, a bit sharper this time. "We're leaving."
"…Ren?" Kota tried.
He gave no answer.
The bus slowed slightly as it turned onto another street.
Saeko stood.
"…We are going," she said quietly.
Saya hesitated for only a second longer before turning away.
"Fine. Stay here if you want."
One by one, they moved toward the door.
Saeko was the first one off, and Saya and Kouta quickly followed behind her.
Leaving him behind.
Shido looked at them as they left.
They left without even saying anything.
Shido licked his lips with a grin as he looked at the sexy school nurse whom they also left with him.
Shido's voice continued, calm, controlled, pulling the remaining students further under his influence with each word.
As Shido sat down next to Shizuka in the driver's seat.
Shido ordered her to move the bus forward.
It hadn't even been two minutes before Ren got irritated at Shido's dumbass speeches.
He slowly exhaled from his mouth.
"…Yeah," he murmured under his breath. "Not happening."
"Stop."
The single word cut through the bus.
Every head turned...Ren stood in the aisle.
At some point, no one had noticed him move.
Shido blinked once, his pleasant expression faltering for the briefest moment before recovering.
"…I beg your pardon?" he asked smoothly.
Ren tilted his head slightly.
"I said stop," he repeated. "You're talking too much."
A ripple of unease spread through the students.
Shido adjusted his glasses, his smile tightening just a fraction. "I am merely trying to provide structure in a time of-"
"No," Ren cut in, taking a slow step forward into the aisle.
A few of the students shifted uncomfortably.
Shido's smile returned, but it no longer reached his eyes.
"You seem to misunderstand," he said gently. "Without guidance, they will panic. Without leadership, they will die. I am simply ensuring-"
"Yeah," Ren interrupted, taking another step forward. "I don't care."
Shizuka's hands tightened on the wheel. "…R-Ren…?"
Shido let out a soft breath, his composure returning as he stepped slightly forward, placing himself between Ren and the rest of the group.
"This vehicle is our best chance of survival, and I cannot allow reckless decisions to endanger the group."
Ren stopped in front of him.
Their eyes met.
For the first time, Shido's calm wavered.
"You're not in charge," Ren said.
The bus fell silent.
Everyone's attention was on the two who stood in the middle of the aisle.
Ren clenched his fist as his gaze turned cold.
"…You can walk off the bus," he said calmly. "…Or I can throw you off it."
.....
End of Chapter 7