Isamu continued to walk, the weight of Sato's absence pressing heavily on him. The campus felt eerily quiet, the faint groans of the undead carried by the wind through shattered windows. His mind churned, replaying the question that gnawed at his sanity. 'Who keeps opening windows to get someone killed?' The thought clung to him like a shadow, dark and unrelenting.
'Astrid, Denji, and Yuto. One of them is trying to kill us. Why? That's what I don't understand. Sure, fewer people might ease the food shortage now, but when the food runs out, and we leave this hellhole, we'll need numbers. Searching for food will only get harder, and more people means covering more ground. We'd still have to share, but that's better than starving to death.'
The distant groan of the dead snapped him from his thoughts. Isamu's gaze sharpened, landing on Takumi not far from the gymnasium, hobbling slightly. His battered sneakers scraped against the cracked pavement.
"Takumi!" Isamu called, quickening his pace to close the gap. "How's that leg doing?" Without waiting for a reply, he ducked under Takumi's arm, taking on part of his weight.
Takumi managed a dry chuckle despite the grim circumstances. "Isamu? You made it, huh? There were a lot of them after you. How'd you shake them off?"
"I trapped them in the garden," Isamu replied with a small, triumphant smirk. "It was close, but I managed to lure a lot of them in there. Should make moving around easier next time."
"Next time, huh?" Takumi's laugh was hollow, tinged with weariness. "Can't wait."
They shared a humorless chuckle, the sound swallowed by the surrounding desolation as they approached the gymnasium doors.
Isamu cracked the door open slightly, his breath catching as he scanned the interior. The gymnasium was dimly lit, streaks of golden sunlight piercing through barred-up windows and illuminating smears of blood on the hardwood floor. His stomach tightened at the sight of lifeless bodies near the far exit, their forms unnaturally twisted.
"Looks clear, but the door on the other side is open. I see a few dead over there. I'll close it. You sit and rest."
Takumi nodded, and they slipped inside, the door shutting softly behind them. The air was thick with the coppery stench of blood, mingling with the faint scent of sweat and varnish from the old gym.
Isamu moved cautiously, each step echoing faintly against the vast, empty space. His eyes lingered on the blood trails. 'Yuji's blood, probably. He got bit first.' He forced himself to keep moving, pushing past the weight of loss pressing against his chest.
'So, just like that, everyone in our team is dead... How did everything fall apart so quickly? It was one week ago today,,, Hundreds dead in a matter of hours... people screaming until sunset. Life can change with the snap of a finger. From worrying about exams and college to trying not to get your face chewed off.'
Reaching the open door, he carefully grasped it, shutting it inch by inch to avoid alerting the undead outside. The faint scrape of the latch locking into place brought a wave of relief, and his shoulders sagged slightly.
Returning to Takumi, Isamu slumped beside him, their backs resting against the cool gym wall. For a moment, silence hung between them, broken only by their labored breaths.
"After practice vibes, huh?" Takumi said with a weak laugh.
Isamu chuckled softly. "Yeah. Even the twisted ankle fits. That's happened before, hasn't it?"
"Last year," Takumi murmured, his gaze distant. "Good times… We were in the clubroom—me, you, Denji. Just drinking sodas and joking around. Simple times."
"Aye, aye, I thought I was the depressing one." Isamu nudged him lightly. "Don't worry. Once this passes, we'll grab some sodas and joke around again."
Takumi tilted his head slightly. "When it passes, huh? You really think that'll happen? That we'll just put all this behind us like it never happened?"
Isamu's nod was faint but firm. "We have to believe it. Otherwise, we won't survive." He hesitated before adding, "Hey, we need to talk about what happened. That window being open—it nearly got you killed."
Takumi scoffed. "Tell me about it. I'm lucky it was just my ankle. Unlucky that the window was open in the first place."
"It wasn't luck, Takumi. It was deliberate. Just like the cafeteria storage room. I didn't open that door, neither did you or Mr. Kazuki. Yuna and Haruka don't even go to the cafeteria."
Takumi frowned, his brow furrowing. "You're saying it's one of them? Denji is your best friend, and Astrid is your girlfriend… you think Yuto did it?"
Isamu exhaled sharply. "I don't know, Takumi. Right now, the only ones I trust are you, Yuna, and Haruka. I hate to think it's Denji or Astrid, or even Yuto, but it's more likely than these opening on their own."
His thoughts churned. 'Yuto is Takumi's cousin, so he's biased. I'll have to figure out if it's him without pressing too hard. He's too nice—uncomfortably nice. Like me when I'm faking it.'
On the fourth floor, the atmosphere was tense. The fading sunlight cast long shadows across the science lab.
"Why the f**k are they still not back?" Astrid snapped, pacing back and forth. Her boots echoed sharply against the tiled floor, matching the erratic rhythm of her thoughts.
Haruka sat in a swivel chair, lazily spinning like her usual self. "Something went wrong, obviously. We heard a yelp and saw some of the horde veer off."
Yuto reclined comfortably, his legs stretched out across the desk. "Maybe they went back to the cafeteria. Probably figured the food would last longer without five extra mouths to feed. Who knows? Maybe this whole helicopter on the roof thing was just bait to get us all and get rid of us all."
The room froze. Haruka stopped spinning. Astrid turned, narrowing her eyes at Yuto.
"What?" Yuto shrugged, smirking. "I'm just sharing my thoughts, like you guys."
Astrid scoffed. "Isamu would never do that."
"Right," Yuto said, his voice smooth and unsettling. "But he'd open that window?"
Astrid blinked. "Huhhh?"
"I heard your little conversation the other day," Yuto said, his tone casual but laced with accusation. "You think he opened the window in the storage room that almost got us killed, but you don't think he'd hoard the food for himself? Bit contradictory, don't you think?"
Haruka frowned, sitting upright. "Wait, what? You were almost killed?"