Day 4
Isamu blinked awake, his vision greeted by the stark white ceiling tiles of the classroom that had become their refuge. The air was cool, tinged with the faint metallic scent of spilled blood from their previous skirmishes. He inhaled deeply, stretching his arms above his head before swinging his legs over the side of the makeshift bed.
By the door, Haruka stood motionless, staring out into the dimly lit hallway. The early morning light filtered through the cracked windows, casting fractured beams onto the dusty floor.
"Weirdo's already up doing her weirdo activities," Isamu muttered to himself, smirking as he watched her. 'Maybe she actually thought I'd shoot her yesterday.'
He stood and stretched, his joints stiff from the cold. "What are you looking at, Haruka?" he asked, his voice cutting through the stillness.
Haruka kept her gaze fixed on the hallway, her eyes darting left and right. "The hallways are empty," she said finally, her voice a whisper. "They're all on another floor."
Isamu rubbed his neck, glancing over her shoulder. "Pretty sure that was the idea when we broke the flasks yesterday," he replied, smirking.
Haruka didn't respond, instead smiling faintly as she spotted Riku through the glass of the opposite classroom door. He waved to her enthusiastically, his face a rare moment of relief.
"Let's meet with Hiroto and Riku," she said, sliding open the door with a practiced quietness and moving toward the other room.
Isamu's expression hardened as his eyes shifted toward the far side of the room, where the slumbering bulk of Hiroto lay. 'F**king fatso with an infection,' he thought coldly. 'Still another problem. Or maybe he's immune—could be a cure in his blood. But that doesn't make him any less fat or hazardous for quick travel.'
With a scowl, he nudged Takumi awake. "Hey, let's go to the roof."
Takumi stirred, rubbing his eyes as he sat up, his hair sticking up in tufts. "Now?" he asked groggily. "What about those guys having their reunion over there?"
"We're just going to leave without saying anything," Isamu replied curtly. "I don't trust them to stay quiet, especially the big one. Agreed?"
Takumi sighed, running a hand through his hair. "Okay, but… maybe we should tell them? I'm pretty sure they don't want to risk staying either way."
Isamu scratched the back of his head, conflicted. "You could be right. But they've got nothing left here now. If I were them, I'd wanna go."
"We can't just leave them here to die."
Isamu clenched his jaw. 'We can. You just won't let your conscience deal with the guilt. Damn him.' Finally, he relented with a nod. "Okay, let's tell them and go."
They walked over to the next classroom, where Hiroto and Riku sat, discussing something in hushed voices.
Riku's face lit up as Isamu explained their plan. "Hell yeah! That's an amazing plan! Let's go."
Isamu raised an eyebrow. "You did catch the part where I said you could get eaten by those things, right?"
Hiroto chuckled softly, though his voice was weak. "It's not like we have much choice. We haven't eaten in two days. We're starving."
'Surprise, surprise. Try not to eat us with your partially infected fat ass,' Isamu thought darkly.
Haruka crossed her arms. "He's right. We have to leave, all of us."
'F**king great. One step closer to them figuring out about the cafeteria.'
"Fine," Isamu said aloud. "Let's go."
The group grabbed their bags and quietly made their way to the classroom with the fire escape. Isamu and Takumi led the way, every footstep calculated. The faint sounds of low growls drifted from the floors below, sending chills up their spines.
As they reached the fifth floor, they noticed a makeshift barricade outside the janitor's room. Isamu froze, his eyes narrowing at the crude construction. 'When the f**k did that happen? Is there someone else here? Another mouth to feed?'
They pressed on, slipping through the barricaded area. The stairwell to the roof was silent except for the occasional whistle of wind through shattered windows. At last, they emerged onto the rooftop.
"Mr. Kazuki?" Isamu called, his voice uncertain.
A man in a tattered suit turned to face them, a bloodied zombie slung over his shoulder. "Isamu, Takumi… and new people," Kazuki grunted before tossing the body over the edge of the roof. It landed with a sickening thud below.
The group stared at the blood-slicked rooftop, the aftermath of a violent struggle etched into the cement.
"Uh… what happened here?" Isamu asked.
Kazuki heaved another body over the edge. "A few zombies made it up here last night. Someone made a noise on the floor below. They came running when they heard me making an SOS with the pipes. Had to kill them all. Got lucky—they were slow."
Takumi lowered his head. "That noise was us… We were trying to lure them away."
Kazuki shrugged, tossing the last corpse. "Well, it worked out, so no harm done."
The wind tugged at Haruka's hair as she asked, "You barricaded it downstairs?"
"Yeah," Kazuki replied. "Safer that way. You three are second-years, right?"
They nodded, but Hiroto began to cough violently, his body trembling as he sat on a cold metal pipe. "It's freezing up here. Let's go back down."
Isamu clenched his fists. 'Maybe it's best I tell them the truth now before it comes back to bite us.'
He stepped forward, his voice steady. "Hey guys… we haven't been entirely honest. We were at the cafeteria with Mr. Kazuki and three others. There's food and water down there—enough for maybe a week or two."
Haruka scoffed. "I knew it. You looked too healthy or whatever the f**k."
Isamu unzipped his bag and handed a water bottle to Hiroto. "I'm sorry, but I had to think of everyone. Three more people would've drained the supplies faster."
Hiroto took a sip but spat it out, his face pale. "It tastes weird. Something's wrong." He stood abruptly. "I'm going downstairs."
The group watched him go, tension heavy in the air. A low growl suddenly echoed from the stairwell.
Hiroto burst back onto the roof, his eyes gray and lifeless, his movements unnervingly fast. He lunged toward Isamu.
'F**king fatso runs that fast? Is this it? No—screw him.'
Without hesitation, Isamu drew the gun from his bag and fired. The shot echoed across the rooftop as Hiroto crumpled to the ground, lifeless.