The ringing of bells and the sound of clamoring reverberated through the small shelter. A warning of the sudden invasion was issued, and the atmosphere of the warm shelter changed immediately. At first, there were just calm and rushed movements throughout the shelter, and then it started resembling a battlefield.
Even with the incredible defense around the shelter, they still needed to take care of the horde since the stoppage would only stop the horde from advancing, not get rid of them altogether. In other words, the people are still necessary to kill the infected and transfer them to a burying site a couple of hundred meters from the shelter.
"Are we going to fight?" Tris whispered in question, pursing her lips as she worriedly clutched the hem of Kazuichi's shirt. She wanted to unwind and keep her mind off of the infected. Once they entered the shelter, she thought she could finally get some rest and recuperate. Her ankle was still not in the best of shape, after all.
Somehow, the invasion made Tris feel helpless, and she subconsciously opted to rely on Kazuichi. When Kazuichi bolted upright to assist the uninfected, she felt like he would leave her behind, causing her to react before she thought about it.
"No, you stay here," Kazuichi advised, clasping her hand in reassurance before he gestured for her to let go. Tris wanted to help, but more than anything, she wanted to stay with Kazuichi since that would guarantee her safety. Due to their trip from the next city to here, she had become dependent on him without realizing it.
Tris didn't want to keep Kazuichi to herself. The people of the shelter required every pair of hands to help in the subjugation. "Are you sure they won't find out? That you are a—"
Shaking his head, Kazuichi patted Tris on the head before responding. "They won't. I won't let that happen." After saying those words, though, Kazuichi felt like he had just triggered a flag, and he would reveal to everyone that he was a Hybrid.
"I'll be back." He continued.
The entire shelter was in absolute chaos as the Hybrid started pushing forward. From the outposts, men equipped with bows and arrows fired off at the ever-advancing horde. Their aim was top-notch, and Kazuichi could tell that this wasn't their first time shooting at a mobile target. Most of their arrows, aimed at the head of the infected, would land squarely on their forehead, whittling away at the horde before they could reach the wired fences.
But what the horde had at its advantage was time. Now that the night was slowly settling in, it wouldn't be long before the shelter was robbed of their eyesight. By then, it would be far easier for some infected to sneak inside the shelter and wreak havoc.
With all the entrances closed, it was safe to assume that the infected wouldn't get in, but one might be surprised by how resilient an infected could be. There was even one incident wherein a flying plane full of uninfected suddenly found an infected in their midst.
For starters, Kazuichi helped carry arrows for the archers at the top of the outposts. The guards manning the entrance still didn't get any action just yet. This was a good thing, though, so they weren't complaining.
Then again, it's only a matter of time before the infected break through their line of defense, forcing them to use spears to stab the infected through the wired fence.
There was one unspoken rule in the shelter, and for the past few days, the group had been abiding by it— to not engage the infected in a hand-to-hand fight. The reason for that was— it increases the likelihood of getting bitten, and this was pretty risky considering that the shelter was small and they lived close to each other. If someone was bitten and happened to get past the guards by the entrance, then the shelter was done for.
"I need more arrows here!"
"They've breached the first line of defense! Prepare to engage!"
"Spears at the ready! Stay alert, don't let them pull you!"
Orders and warnings filled the air as Kazuichi continuously replenished the arrows that the archers needed. At the entrance, he could see a couple of people lined up, wielding spears while pointing them through the wire fence's gaps. If one of the infected happened to stagger towards the wired fence, they'd aim for its head and stab it.
They have to be careful, though. Sometimes, the infected would grab the spear and pull it, causing the person wielding it to shoot forward. And once that happened, the other infected would simply grab the person through the gaps and sink their teeth into him. Once that happens, the formation will break, and there's a good chance the shelter will get taken over.
Unbeknownst to Kazuichi and Tris, this had happened before and almost killed the entire shelter. Fortunately, the 'death squad' of the Scarlet Blood Stronghold came to their aid on time, and they managed to save the shelter. It was a close call, but fortunately, they prevented the disaster.
While Kazuichi was running through the stairs, he noticed a young boy running towards the 'spearmen' stationed by the shelter's line of defense. Since he only saw the young man from the corner of his eyes, he didn't overthink it.
"Don't slow down on us now," He heard one of the archers call out to another man who was also bringing in more arrows.
As he handed the archer his arrows, he looked back to observe the young boy more. From what he could remember, the boy was running weirdly, which bothered him a little.
Before the young boy reached the line, it jumped and latched itself to one of the men. Initially, Kazuichi assumed that the young boy hugged his dad, but a moment later, he realized that such wasn't the case.
The man, jumped by the little boy, started screaming as the boy bit a huge chunk of his shoulder flesh. After doing so, it aimed at the next man, biting him as well.