"Maki-Chan. Maki-Chan, wake up."
Maki let out a groggy grunt, her eyelids feeling like lead as Chika gently shook her awake. "What the hell is your problem? Buzz off," she mumbled, attempting to push Chika's persistent hand away, yearning for just a few more moments of slumber.
Outside, the inky darkness of night enveloped Japan like a heavy shroud, swallowing the once-bustling streets of Sakura City, which now lay ruined and bloody. After a long and grueling day spent avoiding and fighting through the city infested with the undead, the group had finally found a semblance of sanctuary in a small, dilapidated commercial building. The structure provided shelter from the undead lurking outside its walls and offered a view of the Sakae-bashi Bridge, their next goal, in the distance.
With a low groan, Maki pushed herself upright, wincing as the throb in her swollen ankle sent sharp pulses through her leg. She surveyed the dimly lit room, where only faint traces of moonlight filtered through the cracks in the window blinds. Her gaze fell upon her sleeping companions, all the girls in the group, while the boys slept in the room next door. Their exhausted forms were nestled close together as they slept on the cushions from any of the couches in the building, the outlines of their bodies barely discernible in the darkness.
"What's your problem? It's still dark, get some sleep-"
"Everyone in Kaihin is leaving," Chika said, silencing Maki. "Maki-Chan, these people are going to get us killed. Tamanawa-kun is going to lead us to the JSDF. They'll get us out of here, and we'll be safe."
"W-what are you talking about?"
"There's no time," Chika whispered. "We have to go. Mamoru-kun and Yasuhiro-kun are almost done gathering the food. We have to go."
"Huh? You're taking the supplies? All of it?" Maki asked, dumbfounded, turning to the sleeping forms of Yukino and Yui. "What-what about them?"
"They'll be fine. They'll find more food. We're smaller, so we need it more," Chika said, blind to how cruel she sounded, as she helped a dazed Maki to her feet. She led them out of the room silently.
After being led downstairs, Maki saw everyone from Kaihin gathered together, their expressions tight. The barrier that had been built to keep out the infected had been removed. Seeing her classmates in their gear, with the group's food supplies in hand, finally pulled Maki out of her confused state. What she was seeing wasn't a dream. It was real.
"You're... serious. You're actually taking off with all the food and leaving everyone else to fend for themselves?" Maki sneered, her voice dripping with disbelief.
"Yes. These people don't have our best interests at heart. But don't worry, I'll lead us all to safety," Tamanawa replied, trying to sound calm.
"I knew it… You're all nothing but cowardly scum," Maki spat back, ripping herself free from Chika's grip. Ignoring the sharp pain radiating from her ankle, she shot daggers with her eyes at the group. When she landed on Kaori, she noticed the usually bubbly girl was staring at the ground, shame and regret etched across her face. But there was also something more. Something Maki couldn't place. "Lead us to safety? Don't even think about messing with me, you spineless coward. You haven't had a single redeeming idea since this all began! Not once have you tried to fight the infected! None of you have! And now, you want to drag us all out there?"
"Maki, just lower your voice-" Kazuma tried to interject, his anxiety palpable.
"And now you're stealing the supplies we worked our asses off to gather!" Maki's voice rose, fury coursing through her veins. On the second floor, a figure shifted. "You're taking the very supplies you didn't lift a finger to collect, all while abandoning the people who've actually kept us safe! It's sickening!"
"Tamanawa, we have to leave! She's making too much noise," Keiichi urged, his tone urgent. "Let's go without her. It's clear she doesn't give a damn about the rest of us."
"Yes, you're right," Tamanawa muttered, disappointment flickering across his face. "Let's go."
In an instant, Shin lunged forward, swinging his pipe hard into Maki's stomach. The sickening thud echoed in the tense silence, knocking the wind from her as she crumpled to the ground, gasping for air. Shock rippled through the group, an electric jolt of disbelief.
"Shin! What the hell?!" Kaori shouted, eyes wide with horror, as Maki writhed in pain, choking on her breath.
"She would have alerted everyone. I had to silence her," Shin sneered, his weapon raised menacingly. His eyes were mad. "If she's not with us, she's against us."
"Wait, stop it!" Kaori cried, desperation lacing her voice.
Without a moment's hesitation, Yoshiteru burst out of the stairwell, launching himself at Shin, tackling him with all his might. "Everyone! Wake up! We need help!" he yelled, grappling with Shin in a frantic struggle.
"Crap! We have to go!" Mamoru cursed, his eyes darting around to gauge their surroundings. In a ruthless motion, he delivered a brutal kick across Yoshiteru's face, sending him sprawling backward, shock etched across his features. "Move it!" Mamoru barked, yanking Shin to his feet, urgency coursing through him.
Shin's glare burned into Yoshiteru as he stood defiantly over Maki. "I won't forget this," he hissed, rage simmering just beneath the surface, before turning on his heel and bolting away.
As the crowd in Kaihin poured through the exit doors, Hayato and Yamato surged downstairs. After taking a moment to take in the situation, they saw the open door of the building entrance.
"What's going on?!" Yamato asked.
"The Kaihin group… they stole all the food and planned to leave the group," Maki said through clenched teeth as Yoshiteru tried to help her up. "Stop them."
"What?" Hayato muttered in disbelief.
Yamato hissed and ran outside, quickly followed by Hayato. Their eyes scanned the street until they spotted everyone in Kaihin frantically fleeing down the road, clutching bags and boxes filled with supplies. Yamato felt a surge of anger, ready to call out for them to stop, when suddenly a loud crack split the air like thunder, freezing everyone in place.
The night sky erupted in a chaos of blinding light as a series of violent explosions tore through the air. The connecting bridges around the city and beyond were obliterated in a rain of fire and debris. Above, the roaring engines of fighter jets pierced the atmosphere as they unleashed their payload, missiles streaking down with deadly precision toward the bridges where the JSDF couldn't plant their explosives.
On the streets below, Kaihin's group stood frozen, paralyzed by the cacophony of destruction. The shockwaves from the blasts reverberated in their chests, leaving them gasping in disbelief. Hayato and Yamato gaped at the distant yellow-orange flashes, their minds racing with confusion and dread. Hearing the chaos, the students of Sobu surged into the streets, their faces pale with terror as they witnessed the catastrophic disintegration of the Sakae-bashi bridge before their eyes. Then, as suddenly as it had begun, the symphony of explosions fell silent, plunging the world into a haunting stillness.
"What… was that?" Iroha asked, her brow knitted in confusion. "What just happened?"
"Jets? The military?" Haruno replied, still processing the situation.
"Wait, never mind that!" Yoshiteru stepped forward and pointed accusingly at the stunned Kaihin students. "They're taking our supplies and running away!"
Everyone turned to look at the group from Kaihin, and they saw that, indeed, the students were carrying away all their food supplies. Despite himself, anger surged within Hayato as he moved forward, flanked by Yamato and Oka. "How could you—"
It was then that they heard it.
Like a fevered nightmare, the roars and growls of the undead erupted into the night, echoing like a chorus of tormented souls. The ground beneath them quaked with fear, vibrations rippling through the air as the cacophony grew to a deafening crescendo. Shizuka's heart raced, her breath catching in her throat as she slowly turned to look over to her right to face the other end of the long road.
Emerging from the darkness like a grotesque tide, throngs of the undead surged forward—an endless wave of decaying flesh and malevolent hunger. They stumbled and crashed, a mindless legion driven by instinct alone, their ragged forms illuminated by the flickering streetlights like living shadows.
The air thickened with the stench of rotten meat and death. Some of the infected, in their reckless frenzy, collided with rusty vehicles and jagged debris, shrieks of frustration mingling with their feral growls as they were trampled underfoot by the relentless surge behind them. Shizuka could see their milky, unseeing eyes, devoid of humanity, gleaming with a predatory frenzy as they stormed forward, drawn by the loud explosions. But at the same time, she noticed several glowing red eyes within their numbers.
"R-run!" Tamanawa yelled, jolting everyone from their petrified states. The Kaihin group, already equipped with their supplies, immediately began running in the opposite direction.
"O-our stuff! We have to—" Just as Yumiko started to dart back inside, Yukino yanked her back, fear flashing in her eyes.
"There's no time!" Yukino's voice trembled, her gaze fixed on the approaching horde. "Everyone, run!"
"Quickly, follow me! We need to get to higher ground!" Shizuka shouted, urgency propelling her forward as she took the lead.
The weight of their dire situation hit everyone like a punch to the gut, and they bolted, adrenaline coursing through their veins. Hayato didn't hesitate. He turned back to grab Maki, but before he could reach out to help her, Yoshiteru was already there.
"What are you doing? I-I'm just going to slow you down!" Maki protested as Yoshiteru hefted her onto his back, panic tightening her chest. "Just go!"
"I-It's okay! Like a great man once said, I am here! So don't worry!" Yoshiteru declared, his voice cracking, and burst back into the street, where Hayato was waiting.
"Let's go!" Hayato yelled, and the two of them surged forward, their hearts racing as the inhuman growls of the infected drew nearer.
Breathless and strained, they pushed themselves to catch up with the fleeing group. Shizuka, at the front, scanned the surroundings with frantic intensity. Her eyes widened, locking onto a fast, deep red figure scaling down the side of a building ahead, a sense of dread slithering down her spine at its appearance.
The figure was that of a grotesque quadrupedal monstrosity, roughly the size of an adult human. Its skinless body revealed a network of sinewy, exposed muscles that twisted and writhed with an unsettling, almost unnatural rhythm. Long, menacing claws jutted from its fingers and toes, poised to tear through flesh with ease. The creature's jaw gaped open, revealing a cavernous maw filled with glistening, razor-sharp teeth, from which a deep, guttural growl echoed—a sound that sent shivers down the spine. But what truly set this nightmare apart was its grotesque, oversized brain, pulsing and exposed beneath a thin layer of translucent membrane. It loomed ominously atop its head, a grotesque mass that seemed to throb in time with the creature's erratic movements.
"What is that?" Shizuka whispered as she watched the Licker in horror.
Crawling from out of the roof, two more Lickers scaled down the building, following after their headhunter. With powerful muscles, the head Licker leaped into the air.
"Run! Run faster!" Kazuma yelled frantically as he pushed himself to run faster than he had ever run before. "What the hell is going on?!"
Gasping for breath, Kaori lifted her head to control her breathing. It was then that she saw it. "Kazuma! Look out above you!"
Before he could look up, Kazuma was sent to the ground as the Licker pounced on him. Kazuma cried out in pain as the skin on his face was sheared away from sliding across the asphalt. Raising its red arm, the Licker swiped its large claw across Kazuma's neck, severing his head from his neck.
At the sight of the monstrous creature, everyone in Kaihin momentarily forgot about the incoming army of the undead to stare. The Licker was something straight out of a nightmare.
Unfortunately, their momentary pause would cost them.
Two more Lickers fell from the sky, landing on their respective targets. Yasuhiro cried as the Licker knocked him onto the ground and clamped down its sharp jaws over his face. Kohaku screamed as the Licker began to rip her organs out of her stomach. Seeing such carnage, Tamanawa forced himself to run. Leaving behind his classmates.
"Tamanawa-kun, wait!" Chika yelled and ran after him, as did everyone else in their group. No one wanted to stay behind to face these creatures. Kohaku and Yasuhiro's bloodied cries for help didn't face them. They kept running.
Kaori, however, stood frozen to the spot, her mind a chaotic whirlwind, desperately trying to piece together her reality, but finding nothing to grasp. Panic clawed at her throat as her breath came out in frantic gasps as she watched her classmates being ripped apart.
With Kazuma lifeless on the ground, the Licker stirred, drawn in by the frenzied rhythm of Kaori's breathing. It lifted its grotesque head, a sinister hiss escaping its twisted maw, as its predatory gaze focused on her with a chilling intensity, and a long, slimy tongue extended out of its mouth.
"Let's go!" Grabbing Kaori's wrist, Shizuka pulled the girl along as she ran into an alleyway where everyone else in Sobu waited.
Pushing the girl forward, Shizuka aimed her pistol at the Licker. She grit her teeth, bracing herself for the monster to charge at her. But as she stood her ground, she noticed the Licker looking around in confusion before it turned its head toward the incoming horde. The overpowering roars and thundering footsteps made it nearly impossible to hear anything else.
No eyes. Does it rely solely on sound? Shizuka thought.
"Shizuka, come on!" Haruno said and pulled Shizuka along. "We have to hurry!"
Shizuka nodded and followed Haruno, careful not to lose track of the Licker until they were out of sight.
With Kaori in tow, the group tore down the narrow alleyway, Hayato leading the charge. Just as he reached the mouth of the alley, a horde of infected surged past him, their glowing eyes cutting through the darkness like fire. A pulse of dread gripped him, and he skidded to a halt, arms outstretched.
"Stop!" he hissed, the panic in his voice echoing against the brick walls. They huddled together, breaths hitching in their throats, hearts pounding in sync with the chaotic rush of the infected as they thundered by, a tide of death barely inches away.
The moment felt suspended in time, the air thick with tension until, finally, the last of the monsters disappeared into the shadows. "Now!" Hayato growled, adrenaline surging as he motioned for the others to follow. The ground trembled violently beneath them, a bone-chilling reminder of the danger coming their way. Fear clawed at him—how many were out there? Hundreds? Thousands?
"Over there!" Yukino's voice cut Hayato out of his thoughts, her finger darting toward a looming four-story office building at the end of the street.
"Move, move, move!" Hayato shouted, panic lending a desperate edge to his command. The earth shook again, more violently this time, sending a surge of terror coursing through him.
Without thinking, Yamato charged the glass door of the building, a primal instinct driving him forward. He shattered it with a forceful swing of his fist, shards exploding around him as he reached in, cutting his arm in the process. Ignoring the stinging pain, he pushed the door wide open. "Come on! Hurry!"
As they rushed inside, an icy grip of terror clutched at their chests, a relentless reminder that danger lurked just beyond the fragile barrier of the door.
Panic surged through the group like a tidal wave. Hayato, Oka, Saika, and the others, fueled by desperation, grabbed at anything that could be used as a barricade.
As the last piece of furniture, a small couch, was pushed into place, a paralyzing silence enveloped them. Time seemed to stretch as they froze, hearts pounding, ears straining against the thick tension. Suddenly, the chilling chorus of infected slammed through the streets, a nightmarish symphony that sent shivers down their spines.
No one dared to breathe or make a sound. The ground trembled as hundreds, no, thousands, of the wretched creatures surged past, their guttural roars and anguished moans twisted into a cacophony that pierced the air like a blade. Each crash of their bodies against the pavement felt like a death knell, the dusk light flickering ominously as the building shuddered under the weight of the throng.
Dust rained down from the ceiling, and the flickering lights overhead swayed with frantic urgency, casting eerie shadows that danced across the walls. As they stood packed together, hearts racing, their minds screamed for them to run, but there was nowhere to go. Nowhere was safe.
After two grueling minutes of relentless terror, the earth began to settle, and the monstrous roars of the undead finally faded into an eerie silence. With the immediate danger now past, Yumiko, Hina, Kaori, Shiro, and Eiji collapsed to their hands and knees, overwhelmed by waves of sobs. Those still standing felt the weight of despair pressing down on their chests, each breath heavy with the knowledge of how narrowly they had escaped death's grasp.
Yui clung tightly to Yukino, her body wracked with sobs as tears streamed down her cheeks, each drop a testament to their shared horror. Yukino trembled in her friend's embrace as she wept as well.
Hayato gasped for air, while Yamato stood frozen next to him, his hands shaking uncontrollably. The pain in his bleeding arm was forgotten as he stared blankly at the ground. Maki held onto Yoshiteru with a desperation that spoke of fear too profound for words. Her body shook as if it might shatter under the pressure of her emotions, and Yoshiteru leaned into her, his wide eyes reflecting the sheer terror that still gripped his heart.
Saika, his eyes glistening with fear, nestled against Meguri, who wrapped her arms around her junior as if to shield him from the horrors surrounding them. Meguri whispered reassurances, hoping to forget her own anguish for a moment. In stark contrast, Iroha had backed herself into a corner, her arms wrapped tightly around her body as she sought some semblance of comfort. Slowly, she slid down the wall, her breath shaky and uneven.
Haruno, who had tried to maintain a calm demeanor throughout it all, felt the cracks in her composure deepen until she broke. Her hands trembled as she brought them to her chest, embracing herself, as if that might keep the fear at bay.
Shizuka desperately fought to break through her own terror. She had to be strong for the group, but any encouragement or words of support refused to leave her lips. She stood still, trembling as her body felt cold, as the echoes of the undead's cries could be faintly heard.