Kai and the others rushed to the back of the store, their feet thumping against the concrete floor. As the yomigaeri surged into the building, the sound of glass shattering pierced the air behind them, echoing throughout the aisles.
"We need to find a way out!" Mai exclaimed her voice scarcely audible above the screams of the beasts. "There must be a back entrance!"
Kai's eyes rapidly scanned the scene, looking for an exit. Then he saw it. A door labelled "Staff Only," half buried in the shadows of a fallen aisle.
Without hesitation, Kai pointed to the door. "Through there!" he cried, his hand reaching out to grasp Ren's arm. "Shiro, help me get him there!"
While Kanoe relied on Kaori for support.
They hauled Ren into the aisle together, with the others following closely behind. The yomigaeri, noticing their victim fleeing, increased their efforts, the awful sound of their claws scraping across the floor becoming louder with each passing second.
As Kai reached the door, he left Ren in Shiro's care and rushed towards the door shoving against it with all his might, the rusted hinges protesting with a groan.
With a deafening creak, the door swung open, the musty smell of disuse washing over the group.
With the undead horde approaching up from behind, Kai's rushed back to help Ren. But just as they were about to slip through the door, a deafening crash echoed through the darkness.
The back door flew open, releasing a horde of yomigaeri that flooded the passage like a terrifying wave of death.
Trapped between two raging tides of undead, the group's collective panic exploded in a whirlwind of terror.
Shiro's hands trembled as she tried to keep Ren's injured body upright. Her eyes darted frantically from the approaching monsters in front to the ones closing in behind, her face etched with desperation.
Kanoe's hands instinctively reached for her bleeding side, her breath coming in sharp, terrified gasps. Her eyes were wide with horror, her voice stuck in her throat, unable to scream.
Kaori pressed herself against the wall, her muscles tensing with fear.
*Back at the hideout *
As the hours passed without hearing from Kai and the others, an unsettling atmosphere developed on the hideout.
The gathering gathered around the common table, their concerned gaze fixed on the ticking clock. With each passing minute, the air appeared to thicken as the silence grew louder.
Arumi's hands were twisted in her hair, and her voice was tinted with panic. "They've never been gone this long," she said, looking to the others for reassurance.
Sawako leaned forward, her voice stern yet reassuring.
I know we're all nervous, but we must remain calm," Sawako murmured, her voice measured despite all the chaos in her mind. "It's possible they got held up, or that they're taking extra precautions to avoid being spotted."
Atsuko, his eyes clouded with worry, jumped up from his seat and paced about the room. "Or, they might have run into trouble," he added, his voice tense. "We need to be prepared for the worst."
The words hung in the air like guillotine blades, their combined fear palpable in the room.
Back at the supermarket, time seemed to crawl like a wounded animal. The group huddled together, their backs against each other, as the yomigaeri approached from both sides.
As the yomigaeri approached, Mai felt a spark of hope kindle in her mind. "Wait!" she screamed, her voice rising with intensity. "There is a storage room! I hid there when I initially came. We can shut ourselves in."
The others exchanged desperate and doubtful looks. The terror in their eyes was evident, but with no other option, Kai nodded, his expression firm. "It's our best chance," he declared, his gaze fixed on the incoming horde.
The group proceeded quickly, their shoes ringing on the concrete floor as they followed Mai. The sound of glass shattering and the ferocious growls of the yomigaeri got louder, causing them to move faster.
As the party limped into the storage room, the sight before them was a horrific monument to the devastation that had occurred within. The bodies of humans and yomigaeri alike were strewn over the floor, the hideous remains displaying the horrible marks of a brutal struggle.
Kai's stomach knotted as he studied the scene, his gaze drawn to the eviscerated form of a yomigaeri amid the carnage. His thoughts raced, grappling with the consequences of this finding. Could one of their own kind be so brutal? The notion sent shivers through his body.
"Over here!" Mai pointed at a door that was partially concealed by fallen shelves. Kai and Shiro assisted Ren, while Kanoe
With a final burst of effort, they reached the storage room. Kai shoved the door open, and the group hurried inside, breathing heavily.
Kai quickly scanned the small space. "Help me move these boxes,"
Kai found himself retracing their journey through the store in his mind. The missing pieces to the puzzle were there, but try as he might, he couldn't piece them together. The threat of the yomigaeri was terrifying enough, but the idea that something else could be responsible for the devastation, something even more deadly, gnawed at him like a rabid beast. His mind spun with fear and frustration, but he knew that time was not on their side.
As Kai's mind raced to put the pieces together, Mai's voice broke through his thoughts, her tone urgent.
"Kai, we need to move. Now." Her eyes flicked to the back door, where the groans of the yomigaeri were growing louder.
Kai nodded, his jaw clenched. There would be time to figure out what happened later. Right now, they needed to survive.
With a deep breath, he shoved open the door to the storage room, ushering the others inside as quickly as he could.
Inside the storage room, the group huddled together, their backs against the heavy shelves that lined the walls. The heavy breathing of the yomigaeri could be heard outside, their clawed hands scraping against the door.