Reina's scream died in her throat as the infected lunged, its ragged claws tearing at the branch, the wood snapped with a crack sending her plummeting. The ground rushed up to meet her, the wind whistling in her ears. Below, the infected's grotesque maw widened, revealing its rows of jagged teeth.
Yuki's breath hitched in her throat. Time seemed to slow. She had clearly witnessed Reina tumble to the floor, her scream morphing into a choked gasp. Panic twisted at Reina's gut as the infected's milky eyes bore on her sprawled form, a horrifying glee contorting its face.
"No!" She shrieked, her voice ragged. Pain lanced through her ankle as she hit the ground, but the primal fear of imminent death eclipsed it. Scattered on the grassy floor, Reina spotted her bokken lying just out of reach. The infected shuffled closer, she could almost smell its fetid breath washing over her. Desperation clawed at her throat.
"Get away!" She screamed, kicking out with all her might. Her foot connected with a sickening thud against the infected's jaw, momentarily buying her a few precious moments. With a surge of adrenaline, Reina lunged for her bokken, her fingers brushing against the smooth wood.
The bokken felt like a lifeline as Reina snatched it, scrambling back just as the infected lunged.
Above, Yuki had finally broken free from her momentary paralysis. With a hushed yell, she launched herself off of the branch, her spear aimed with deadly accuracy. The wooden tip speared the second infected hovering below her. It went through the shoulder with a sickening slick, earning a growl from the walking corpse. The creature roared and thrashed, but Yuki held firm, her grip on the spear unwavering.
Finally she pulled out, backhanding the creature with the pommel of her spear, sending it crashing into the tree trunk, and with one final and powerful thrust, aimed it at the back of its skull.
Yuki winced at the noise it made, yet it filled her with glee when the spear pushed itself deeper into the skull, pooling with blood and grey matter. The infected twitched and collapsed to the ground when she pulled the spear back out to quickly aid Reina.
Reina scrambled to her feet, barely dodging the claws, her wooden sword met the infected mangled fingers in a sickening scrape, splinters flying as the blow sent a jolt up Reina's arm. The infected snarled, its milky eyes burning with a feral hunger.
Her fight continued, the infected she faced was relentless, its claws tearing at her bokken, leaving deep gouges at the wood at the expense of its nails. The momentary lapse of concentration sent her crashing to the floor again. Reina tried to balance herself, yet her ankle gave on her with an excruciating pain that sent her weak on her knees, ultimately bringing her down again.
This time, she had no time when the infected lunged at her weakened state, Reina closed her eyes, her bokken held over her face. She would die today.
Yet the pain never came. Hesitantly opening her eyes again, Reina saw the vacant eyes of the infected staring into her eyes, the stench of death almost made her gag, she noticed the infected had latched onto her bokken with its mouth. Its jaws held firmly against the wood, and behind her, Yuki, her senpai looked unamused.
"You almost died." She spoke bluntly. Reina felt shame wash over her, she felt her heart drum against her chest. But before she could respond, Yuki had turned and walked towards the school gate. The spear laid stuck to the head of the infected.
Noticing the weight on her chest, Reina stumbled away from the infected corpse, kicking it away with her good leg as it collapsed to the ground unmoving.
Then she whimpered, a quiet sob which baptised her soul. Yuki looked away silently, before turning back to her.
"Make no mistake," she uttered, amethyst orbs met ocean blue, "You just got lucky. Had I not been here, you would have been dead."
Saying so, she finally reached the gate. In a quick motion, Yuki tugged at the handle on the gates, the thick handle spun against the frame, grating at the friction before being secured at the protrusion which held the metal handle in place.
She secured the gate, her gaze lingering on the clearing where the fight had taken place. Then, with a deep sigh, she turned and walked towards the school building. The air hung heavy with the aftermath, and an unsettling silence followed in her wake.
The school was finally secure and premises now safe from any danger. She made a note to go back and quickly report back to Ren, before hopefully collapsing on a bed of sorts, a soft mattress would do wonders for her exhausted body.
Reina followed Yuki back to the building, her gaze shifting between Yuki's back and then at her own feet. Self-loathing and guilt tugged at her heart.
Reina watched Yuki disappear into the school, guilt gnawing at her heart. She hobbled after her senior, her gaze downcast."There's no point thinking about it now," Yuki's voice echoed in her head. But Reina couldn't help but wonder.
What it did it mean? Would she have to continue fighting like this forever? Would she have to constantly be defended again?
Reina couldn't help but imagine how Ren would react, it would be terrible for her already fragile self. She was a member of the proud Kendo club, but today she performed so terribly.
"I…" Reina looked away, her hands tightly clutched onto her skirt, "I won't let anyone down!" She swore, nothing more was said.
Meanwhile, Ren resting inside the school heard soft taps echoing from the outside of the classroom. Perhaps they were done, he mused, narrowing his eyes.
But just to be sure, he stood against the door, bokken held firmly and ready to strike at a moment's notice.
"Ren, it's done," he sighed deeply before sliding open the door, a smile tugging at his lips. Despite her tired eyes, Yuki seemed sharper than ever before.
"Good job." He spoke softly, taking in the moment of quiet comfort of knowing their school was finally safe. Then he looked behind her, Reina seemed gloomy.
"Reina," Ren called to her, then turned to Yuki questioningly, seeing her shrug in response made him groan in exasperation.
"She almost died." Yuki stated, not sugarcoating anything. Ren widened his eyes before a wave of guilt washed over him. Walking up to the girl, he held her softly, offering her comfort in his warmth.
"Senpai…" She muttered in his arms, he couldn't feel his shirt becoming moist, and only hugged her tighter, her quivering form left him thinking about their new world.
Unadulterated rage rolled off of him in waves. The hardships he'd encountered, the terrible loss of life, and the fear of losing his only loved ones to this virulent plague gnawed deeper into his heart.
"You are safe," Ren whispered into her ears, "that's all that matters." Reina looked up tearily, seeing his gentle smile, and felt whatever thoughts in her head go empty.
She clung to him as if he was her lifeline, then she declared, "I promise I will never be a burden to you."
"You never was one," He smiled cheekily before letting her go. Turning to Yuki he hoped to discuss their future plans.
"Now that we are all here, I think its time to actually talk about the future." He stated, letting the notion simmer before opening his mouth to speak again.
"Guys, gather around," He commanded, Yuki nearly shivered at the voice, her eyes staring into him with conflicting feelings.
"We need to discuss what our next steps are going to be." Yuki nodded at that, it would be about time to start thinking about their future in this hellish world.
Reina, with a renewed sense of vigor and determination sat first on one of the chairs she'd picked up nearby…