We planned on getting inside the shelter. The netizen said that it was the only place filled with military trucks and police.
Touma and I hurried to reach the department store. It was also the path where the parent and the little boy had taken, planning to go inside the temporary shelter.
But as we approached our destination, a pile of bodies with uniforms welcomed our eyes. Some of them even turned into the living-dead, as they desperately reached their hands towards us.
Much to my surprise, these zombie police officers gripped their handguns in their hands and rained bullets in our direction. Fortunately, because these undead had quivering hands, which made them miss those dozen shells fired against us.
"What?! Why can they use those guns even though they got infected?" I asked, but no one gave me an answer.
I could only guess that these zombies retained their knowledge as their previous life even if they turned. Some firefighters threw their ropes and ladders at the department store's windows, trying to break them. And since they knew how to climb using their ladders and cords, those firefighters effortlessly made their way upwards.
Fortunately, the police officers and military personnel inside had yet to turn into one of them. They kept the zombies at bay and fired their guns at those zombies. Some of them even tried shooting the four of us running towards the department store, thinking that we were one of those zombies.
As luck would have it, a police officer shouted a ceasefire in our direction. She yelled that we should hurry to the department store and welcome us inside.
Some soldiers opened the gates and covered our rears. Every move they did had crisp order as they tried to clear the road for us to travel.
However, when the parent and her child finally arrived inside, she yelled at the soldiers to close the door.
"GET BACK! LET'S JUST CLOSE THE DOOR! WE'RE ALREADY INSIDE!" the mother shouted, as she tried to push the button.
"Wait for us! We haven't made it yet!" I screamed, while Touma and I ran across the road.
Behind our tails was an army of zombies chasing after us. Some of them limped, while others ran as if they were participating in a running marathon. I could even sense that these undead creatures sprinted faster than our legs. It would only take them a few moments before reaching our ground.
Thanks to those gunshots firing from the department store, those feral zombies never caught up with us. However, Touma and I would perish outside if that mother successfully convinced the soldiers to lock us out from the shelter.
"I'm sorry, ma'am, but we need to save them! They're not infected by the virus!" the police officer retorted, as he tried to convince the mother.
But the stubborn woman pushed another police officer at the side, which eventually slammed against the red button. As soon as his body crashed against the switch, the doors slowly closed before us.
"Touma, roll!"
"Roll?"
"Just do it!"
Luckily, we tumbled towards the inside before these sturdy translucent doors could block us out. They did not make this gate with glass but other materials that could let us see through outside. The zombie came afterwards, but they could not enter inside the department store, even if they tried.
As soon as we landed inside the store, the military aimed their guns at us. But the police officer and a high-ranking official ordered them to hold fire.
"Go check these four people for injuries from the zombies. If they have wounds, we need to separate them towards the other room." Those were the orders that the high position soldier shouted to his enlisted people.
The official continued, as he looked in our direction, "I am afraid that my squad would touch your privacy. But we need to do this for the sake of other people as well. Those bastards out there do not choose their victims. And as soon as we have one of those, every one of us would die because of it. You're with me, so you have to follow my rules."
Every one of us understood the weight of our situation. However, there were still some people nervously backing off from the crowd of soldiers as if hiding something from us. It did not matter for me, since I had my own agenda to work with.
But before the soldiers could even inspect us, I turned my attention towards the mother and glared at her. "You…. You want us to die out there to save yourself! I saved you from that zombie, but your ungrateful ass wanted to let us die."
The mother averted her gaze and exalted herself. She crossed her shoulders, not wanting to answer my question or return my gaze. That girl had a pale face, as if she had a fever of some sort of sick patient. However, I did not care about that. I couldn't care less about her conditions, considering what this wretch did to me earlier.
I took that silence from her as the mother's reply and nodded to myself. "You're a selfish person. I hope one day you will know what you're doing."
The mother's child hid behind her thighs, afraid of what I had said. If it were not for that kid, I would have not saved this selfish bitch's ass. However, I did what kind of people would and saved them without thinking much of it.
If there was someone that needed my help, I would help them to the best of my abilities. Every human deserves that chance….. I just hope that my kindness will repay me soon.
The police officers and soldiers immediately aligned with other people and us near the gates. They each inspected our bodies for any injuries and whatnot. As the official told, these soldiers viewed every nook and cranny of my body, looking for wounds that the zombie had infected.
Thankfully, the police officer told us she had seen no cut that could indicate a zombie infection.
"Are you alright, the two of you?" she asked, while wiping off the sweat dripping on my face.
"We're fine... thank you. If you hadn't interfered, we wouldn't be able to reach this place…. because of that woman," I answered.
"No. It's okay. It's my job to protect people like you. I've lost someone when I entered this place…. I lost my brother. And I don't want someone else to lose theirs."
After our exchange, Touma and I hugged each other, celebrating that we did not get ourselves infected. And if we did, I did not know what to do and expect, since everything felt new to me.
However, as we turned around, the woman from before growled an inhuman voice. The soldiers surrounding her aimed their guns in her direction. Those police officers tried to get the boy off from his mother's side. However, that kid never unlatched himself from the woman. They were just waiting for their leader to give his command.
"What's the status of this woman?" the high-ranking official asked, while observing the lady.
"Sir, she's infected, sir," the soldier answered.
"How about the kid?"
"Him too…"
"Then kill them both."
As soon as he let those words out, gunfire rained against the lady before they could even turn. I hated that woman since she saved herself, even though we helped her out. But to think that woman and her child shared the same fate. They died after taking a bullet inside their heads because they got bitten by a zombie.
"Take them to the other room... with the rest of them."
"Sir, yes, sir!"
When the soldiers answered their officer's instructions, three service people went towards the corpses and carried them somewhere.
All the people watching the occurrence gasped as soon as the mother and her child fell on the floor. Most of them turned a blind eye, while others shrieked in fright. For a minute, they chaotically screamed at each other, saying that the world had turned into chaos. But thanks to the soldier's instructions, they calmed down after a few minutes.
But I hadn't, especially when Touma also witnessed that event. The two of us did not have the chance to blink and watched the entire scene unfold before us. We were just two kids unprepared for this world.
"What…. Why?" I asked the police officer, who had helped us enter this place. "Why would they do that? Can't we just trap them inside a room?"
The police officer shook her head and answered, "Just watch until you find out where they take those infected people."
Just as the girl had mentioned, I kept my mouth shut and followed the soldiers where they would bring the dead bodies. And when we reached the room that the police officer mentioned, countless dead bodies addressed my eyes. Some of them were even fresh, since they drenched their clothes with a pool of blood that had not dried.
The soldiers tossed the bodies inside with the rest of them. With a thunderous thud, the corpses landed on top of those dead bodies. It got mixed with the rest of them.
"Are those….?" Touma asked.
I couldn't tell a lie to my brother, since that was what we talked about before. It was also the saying that my parents told us before they left us in this world. And since he was mature enough for his age, I told him the truth about his question.
"Yes. Those are dead bodies infected by the virus... zombies."
However, before the soldiers left the room, a corpse jolted behind the officer, biting his leg. Those corpses inside turned back to life and haunted the living….