Chapter 25: The Long Way Around
The engine continued rumbling beneath us, and somehow, impossibly, the Humvee kept moving.
Water pressed high against the doors.
From where I sat, the river looked less like something we were crossing and more like something patiently waiting for the vehicle to make a mistake.
Shizuka-sensei remained cheerful.
That was not reassuring.
"Rika said it could handle this."
"Did she demonstrate?"
"Not exactly."
Wonderful.
Alice still held my sleeve, although her grip loosened once she realized we were not immediately sinking.
Kohta leaned closer to the window.
"This model can use a deep-water fording kit. As long as the air intake remains above the surface and all the seals were properly maintained—"
Saya looked at him.
"Do you know whether they were properly maintained?"
Kohta slowly turned toward Shizuka-sensei.
She smiled.
Nobody asked again.
Zeke stood with his front paws against the window, tail moving as though this were some kind of sightseeing trip.
Alice watched him, then looked outside.
"We're like a boat."
"No," Saya said immediately. "We are not."
Kohta began humming quietly.
Alice joined him several seconds later.
"Row, row, row your boat…"
Saya closed her eyes.
I remained silent.
Mostly because she was close enough to hit me.
The front of the Humvee eventually tilted upward.
Mud dragged against the tires. The engine strained, and then the vehicle climbed onto the opposite bank.
Several people released their breath at once.
Shizuka-sensei looked pleased with herself.
"See?"
"I never doubted you."
Saya glanced at my hand.
"You were holding that handle like your life depended on it."
"The vehicle needed emotional support."
Obviously.
—
Our crossing point had taken us farther north than the route I vaguely remembered from the anime.
That was probably a good thing.
Beyond a few faces, several deaths, and one famously irresponsible interaction between breasts and a rifle bullet, most of the later events had blurred together years ago.
The road ahead was unfamiliar.
Quieter residential streets replaced the wider routes. Houses stood close together, interrupted by narrow alleys, small shops, and partially finished buildings.
For nearly half an hour, our plan worked.
We encountered several scattered corpses, but never enough to block the Humvee.
Saya kept the map unfolded across her knees.
"We should reach the estate from the eastern side."
"How far?" Komuro asked.
"Less than three kilometers if this road stays clear."
Nobody said anything.
Apparently, everyone had learned not to challenge fate aloud.
The first signs of trouble appeared several streets later.
Cars had been pushed against intersections.
Alleys were blocked with metal fencing and furniture.
White cloth had been tied around several poles at regular intervals.
None of it looked accidental.
Saya leaned forward.
"My father's people may have done this."
"You recognize it?" Rei asked.
"No."
Her fingers tightened around the map.
"But we're close."
A delivery truck blocked half the next intersection, forcing Shizuka-sensei onto a narrower side road.
A concrete wall concealed the turn ahead.
Saeko shifted near the open rear section.
"I don't like this."
Neither did I.
I moved closer to the opening and looked behind us.
The road remained mostly clear.
Several corpses wandered in the distance.
Nothing urgent.
The Humvee entered the blind turn.
Saeko's head snapped forward.
"Stop!"
A thick steel cable stretched across the road, tied between two reinforced poles at windshield height.
Shizuka-sensei reacted immediately.
The wheel turned hard.
The Humvee swerved.
Everything inside shifted sideways.
Because I had been leaning near the open rear section, I lost my grip first.
The edge of the vehicle disappeared beneath me.
For one second, there was nothing under my feet.
Then the road and sky spun together.
I struck the pavement several meters away from the Humvee.
My shoulder hit first.
My side followed.
I rolled twice before stopping near the opposite curb.
Behind me, the cable scraped across the upper frame with a metallic scream.
Then the Humvee slammed into the delivery truck.
The sound of crushing metal swallowed everything.
For several seconds, I heard nothing except ringing.
I lay on my back, staring at the sky.
Still blue.
That seemed inappropriate.
Movement returned in pieces.
A figure landed closer to the wreck.
Saeko.
She had jumped clear before the main impact.
The moment she found me across the road, she ran in my direction.
I pushed one hand against the pavement.
My ribs objected.
When I attempted to stand, my right ankle folded beneath me.
Saeko caught my arm before I hit the ground again.
"Hiro."
"I'm fine."
Her eyes moved over my face, shoulder, and the leg I was refusing to stand on.
"You are not."
"Mostly fine."
She did not release me.
Behind her, the others were beginning to move.
Kohta lay near the Humvee with Alice pressed tightly against his chest.
He must have wrapped himself around her before they hit the road.
Alice was crying, but she was moving.
Kohta's glasses sat crooked across his face. One side of his cheek had already begun swelling, and he struggled to push himself upright.
Alice crawled beside him and tugged weakly at his arm.
"Hirano-oniichan…"
"I'm okay," he managed.
He made no attempt to stand.
Zeke circled them, barking frantically.
Near the wreck, Komuro forced open the passenger-side door.
Saya stumbled out with blood running from a cut near her hairline.
Her knees buckled.
Komuro caught her before she fell.
"Takagi. Look at me."
"I'm awake," she muttered.
Her unfocused eyes made that debatable.
On the other side, Rei pulled Shizuka-sensei from the driver's seat.
Sensei's feet touched the road, but she placed almost none of her weight on them. Her head hung forward as Rei slipped one of her arms over her shoulders.
The Humvee was finished.
Its front had collapsed into the truck.
Steam drifted from beneath the bent hood. Fluid spread across the pavement. One front wheel rested at an angle no wheel was supposed to reach.
Then something moved between the parked cars behind Kohta.
A corpse stepped into the road.
Alice still had both hands wrapped around Kohta's arm.
Neither of them saw it.
My pistol was in my hand before I remembered drawing it.
The shot cracked through the street.
The corpse dropped behind Alice.
She flinched and turned.
So did everyone else.
Farther down the road, the dead began turning toward the sound.
Shapes emerged from alleys.
From yards.
From both ends of the street.
Slowly, the space around the wreck began to close.
Saya looked toward the ruined vehicle.
"We have to move."
"With what?" Rei asked.
She tightened her hold around Shizuka-sensei.
Kohta was still on the ground.
Alice was trying to help him.
Komuro remained beside Saya, keeping her upright.
They needed time.
Someone had to draw the dead away.
Absolutely not.
I had already rescued Alice.
I had crossed half the neighborhood.
I had done more than enough.
Komuro was still standing.
Mostly.
He could take one direction while Saeko handled the other.
I opened my mouth.
Another corpse appeared near the far side of the Humvee.
Komuro saw it and pulled Saya back while striking it away.
More followed behind it.
Too many.
Saeko looked from them to me.
"We need to pull them away."
I looked toward both ends of the road.
Two separate groups were closing in.
One distraction would not be enough.
"We split."
Saeko's grip tightened around my arm.
"No."
"They can't carry Sensei and Hirano while defending both sides."
"You can barely stand."
"I only need to keep moving."
That sounded better before I said it.
Saeko looked toward the others.
Rei was trying to guide Shizuka toward the narrow gap between two houses.
Komuro supported Saya with one arm.
Alice remained beside Kohta.
The dead kept closing in.
"I can stay with you," Saeko said.
"If we take the same side, the other group reaches them."
She said nothing.
Her expression remained controlled, but her hand never left my arm.
I pulled away carefully.
"Take the front."
"Hiro—"
"I'll circle back."
We both knew that was not a promise I could guarantee.
Saeko stared at me for one more second.
Then she struck her wooden sword against a metal shutter.
The sharp sound echoed through the street.
The dead approaching from the front turned toward her.
I fired once into the group behind us.
The others turned toward me.
Saeko moved in one direction.
I limped into the other.
—
The original plan was simple.
Lead them two streets away.
Cut through an alley.
Circle back.
The first alley narrowed between two apartment buildings.
I crossed a low gate and pulled it shut behind me.
Bodies pressed against it moments later.
It bent, but held long enough for me to reach the next yard.
My ankle hurt each time it touched the ground.
I adjusted my stride and kept moving.
A second fence blocked the path ahead.
I climbed using a drainpipe, dragged myself over, and dropped onto the other side.
Pain flashed through my ankle.
I nearly collapsed.
Behind me, the gate finally gave way.
Keep moving.
A corpse stepped from an open doorway.
I shoved it back inside and pulled the door closed.
Another appeared at the end of the yard.
I climbed onto the hood of a parked car and used it to reach the top of a wall.
My injured shoulder almost failed while pulling me over.
I landed badly.
Again.
The noise behind me began fading.
At the next intersection, I threw an empty metal bin down a side road.
Several corpses followed the crash.
The rest continued after me.
Smart enough.
I crossed another yard, slipped through a narrow passage between two houses, and entered a small home through an open back door.
The living room was empty.
My breathing filled the silence.
For several seconds, nothing followed.
Maybe I had lost them.
Then something scraped in the kitchen.
A woman in a torn apron entered the doorway.
I left through the front before she reached me.
Three corpses wandered along the street outside.
Another stood beneath a bus stop.
More movement appeared behind the house.
I turned left.
Then left again.
Every route carried me farther from the others.
The city never emptied.
Whenever I lost the dead behind me, more appeared ahead.
Street.
Fence.
Yard.
Alley.
Another street.
My ankle continued swelling.
Deeper breaths hurt my ribs.
Sweat blurred my eyes.
At some point, I realized I could no longer hear Saeko.
No metal strikes.
No gunfire from the others.
Nothing.
That was good.
It meant they had escaped.
It had to mean that.
I entered a narrow service lane between several buildings.
Corpses appeared at the far end.
I stopped.
Behind me, the ones still following entered the lane.
To my left stood a wall too high to clear in my condition.
To my right, a fenced storage area was already filled with Them.
I looked behind me.
Too many.
Ahead.
More.
The side route.
Blocked.
I observed each direction once more.
There was nowhere to go.
I stood there for a moment, breathing hard, and checked again anyway.
The wall to my left was too high.
The fenced area to my right was already full of Them.
More were entering from behind, filling the narrow lane I had just crossed.
Ahead, the remaining space was disappearing beneath reaching hands and dragging feet.
That was it.
No hidden turn.
No convenient open window.
No fence I could force my body over one more time.
My ankle trembled beneath me.
The pistol felt suddenly heavy in my hand.
I looked down at it.
The thought came immediately.
I rejected it just as quickly.
"No."
My voice sounded weak in the empty space between their footsteps.
I tightened my grip and looked around again, searching for something I had missed.
Anything.
There was nothing.
The dead continued closing in.
Slowly.
They had no reason to hurry.
My breathing became uneven.
I could already imagine what would happen when they reached me. The first hands catching my clothes. Losing my balance. Falling beneath them while more bodies crowded over the first.
Teeth.
Fingers.
Being conscious for far too much of it.
My stomach turned.
I lifted the pistol slightly.
My hand started shaking before it reached my chest.
No.
I lowered it again.
I couldn't do that.
Getting shot before had been different. I had barely understood what was happening.
This time, I would have to choose it.
I would have to move my own finger.
The nearest corpse stumbled closer.
Its mouth opened as it reached toward me.
I raised the pistol again.
The barrel touched my skin.
My entire arm went rigid.
My finger rested against the trigger but refused to press.
"Come on."
The words broke as they left my mouth.
I shut my eyes, but that only made the sounds clearer.
Shoes scraping across concrete.
Fingernails dragging along the fence.
Wet breathing that did not belong to anything alive.
I opened my eyes again.
They were almost close enough.
I thought of Alice clinging to my jacket.
Kohta wrapping himself around her as they flew from the Humvee.
Rei standing beside the window.
Saeko running toward me without even looking back at the wreck.
I hoped they had enough time.
I hoped this had been worth something.
The pistol shook against me.
Then, from somewhere in my memory, Officer Sakamoto's voice returned.
Calm.
Tired.
Almost careless.
«"Don't point it at your own face."»
A laugh nearly escaped me.
It came out as something closer to a sob.
"Sorry, Sakamoto-san."
The first hand caught the edge of my sleeve.
I closed my eyes.
And pulled the trigger.
—
There was no pain.
No sound.
Only darkness.
For several seconds, I did not move.
I could not tell whether I was standing, lying down, or falling.
Then something slowly took shape ahead of me.
A corridor.
A door.
The same impossible darkness surrounding both.
My breath stopped.
The last time—
I had thought it might have been a dying hallucination.
A final mistake from a brain shutting down.
But I was here again.
The corridor was real.
And somewhere beyond it, hidden inside the darkness, something was watching me.
End of Chapter 25