"Ding, Experience gained for killing lvl 1 Zombie."
"Ding, Experience gained for killing lvl 1 Zombie."
"Ding, Experience gained for killing lvl 1 Zombie."
"Ding, Experience gained for killing lvl 1 Zombie."
…
They were like killing machines as they mowed through the zombies without a care in the world. One by one, zombies fell as Guldrin beat them and pierced their heads with his knife, and Shiro launched arrow after arrow, clearing the way and making sure to gather each spent arrow.
The pair moved with an unspoken rhythm, their actions seamless. Shiro loosed another arrow, the twang of the bowstring drowned by the chaos of screams and groans. Her aim was true, piercing through the eye socket of a zombie lunging toward a group of students.
While it may seem heartless, neither did anything for the cornered students besides killing a single zombie and retrieving her arrow. It was sad, but this was the new world they have found themselves in; it is one where the strong survive, and the weak pave the way with their blood as they fall. These students had no chance.
Without missing a beat, Shiro stepped to the side, nocking another arrow as Guldrin lunged past her, knife plunging into the skull of another undead.
"Ding, Experience gained for killing lvl 1 Zombie."
The notifications popped up relentlessly in Guldrin's vision, but he ignored them, focused solely on their objective. Each kill brought a small surge of satisfaction, a grim acknowledgment that they were surviving while the world burned around them and others were being consumed by it.
Shiro gestured toward the staircase. "The roof, it's our best vantage point to see if Takashi's group is still alive. Based on the anime and manga, they should be on the roof, arguing and struggling."
Guldrin nodded, his predatory instincts sensing a swell of danger. "Move fast. We're drawing too much attention."
They sprinted, weaving through the carnage. A faculty member, now turned, stumbled into their path, mouth agape in a grotesque snarl. Guldrin didn't slow, his knife flashing upward and slicing through its jaw, severing the brain stem in one fluid motion. The zombie crumpled, lifeless.
Shiro's voice cut through the chaos. "Guldrin, on your right!"
He twisted, narrowly avoiding a fast-moving zombified student lunging at him from the side. Without hesitation, he grabbed the creature by the neck, slamming it into the wall with bone-cracking force. Before it could recover, his knife was already embedded in its temple.
"Ding, Experience gained for killing lvl 2 Zombie."
"They're leveling up, that is unexpected" Shiro muttered, eyes scanning their surroundings. "We can't waste time."
"Yeah, that thing was much tougher… This doesn't bode well for a drawn-out survival," He mutters as he sees a blood-red crystal fall from the wound in the dead zombie's head. "This…" He grabbed the crystal and followed Shiro, quickly catching up.
Reaching the stairwell, they encountered a bottleneck of students and zombies, the latter tearing into the screaming masses with savage efficiency. Blood slicked the floor, making every step treacherous.
Guldrin surveyed the area and once he got a clear view, he didn't hesitate, plunging into the chaos. His blade became a blur, slicing, stabbing, and tearing through the undead with brutal precision. Each movement was calculated, and every strike was meant to kill efficiently. A severed head bounced past them as he cleared a path for Shiro.
"Keep moving!" he barked, his voice cutting through the chaos. Once again, they left the struggling students on their own and rushed passed, all while receiving curses and appalled comments.
Shiro followed close behind, picking off zombies that tried to flank them. While she tried to collect as many spent arrows as she could, the enhanced zombies were much more durable and the arrows were breaking, so she resorted to her backup weapon to save her arrows. Reaching into her side weapon holster, she pulled out a collapsible baton that cracked against skulls with satisfying finality.
The pair reached the rooftop door, slamming it open, the makeshift barricade doing nothing to stop their advance. The relative quiet of the open sky was jarring after the cacophony below. Looking around, they spotted Takashi, Rei, and Hisashi near the railing, surrounded by an ever-growing horde. It looked like zombies had broken through the door, and in the chaos, one of the main casts hastily barricaded the door as the others tried to fend off the zombies.
"There they are," Shiro said, panting. "But they're not going to make it at this rate."
Guldrin scanned the scene, eyes narrowing. His instincts flared, focusing on Hisashi. "He's already bitten."
"What?" Shiro whipped her head to Guldrin, disbelief etched on her face.
"Look at him," Guldrin said coldly. "He's pale, sweating, and favoring his left arm. It's only a matter of time before he turns."
Shiro hesitated, torn between compassion and logic. "And Takashi?"
"He'll do what needs to be done if he doesn't want to die, that, is," Guldrin said. "This will be his wake-up call… Also, an ever-growing fracture in his relationship with Rei, a win-win."
Shiro followed without question as Guldrin rushed forward to eliminate the stragglers who were trying to flank their group. Tensing his muscles and sharpening his mind, he began running, weaving through the shadows to approach the zombies flanking Takashi's group from behind.
Takashi was already swinging his bat wildly, keeping the zombies at bay, as Rei screamed Hisashi's name. Hisashi leaned heavily against a railing, his breaths labored and uneven.
Guldrin, after having taken out a zombie and kicking the other off the room, stepped into the fray without hesitation. "Takashi, pull back!" His voice was sharp, cutting through the boy's panic. While Guldrin may not like Takashi and has no interest in letting him come with them, Rei was another matter, and allowing Takashi to die before she turned against him would only cause her to disdain Guldrin and Shiro for their inaction.
Takashi looked up, stunned. "Who- what-?"
"Just do it!" Guldrin snarled, shoving him aside as he plunged his knife into a zombie's head. "Rei, keep your eyes on him." He shoved Hisashi toward Rei, if he was going to die, at least let Rei be with him when it happened. "Hisashi's not going to make it."
Rei's face twisted in horror. "What are you talking about? He's… he's fine!"
"No, he's not," Shiro said, her tone clinical as she cracked another zombie's skull with her baton. "Look at him, Rei. He's already bitten."
Hisashi staggered and leaned in Rei, his eyes glassy. "I… I can still fight," he slurred, but his legs buckled beneath him.
Rei had tears flowing down her eyes, held him close, and prayed to anyone who would listen to save Hisashi. Though, her words fell on deaf ears, as this world had already been abandoned by all. No Gods remained to help, nor were they interested in hearing her prayer; this world was done for, a lost cause.
"Rei… I… Love… You…" He slumped into her as she screamed and shouted her love for him as well.
Takashi froze, the weight of realization crashing over him. "No… Hisashi…"
"You don't have time to mourn," Guldrin snapped. "When he turns, he'll kill all of you. Make a choice, you or him." Guldrin egged Takashi on, and thankfully Rei was too heartbroken to hear his words, but Takashi heard them loud and clear.
The moment stretched unbearably long. Hisashi's body convulsed, his breathing stopped, and then-
"GRAGHHH!"
Hisashi's eyes snapped open, now clouded and feral. Guldrin pulled him from Rei's embrace and sent him careening across the ground. Stabilizing himself, he planted his foot and lunged, but Takashi reacted on instinct. The bat swung, connecting with Hisashi's head in a sickening crunch. Blood sprayed, and Hisashi's body collapsed to the ground.
Rei screamed, collapsing beside the body as she sobbed uncontrollably. Takashi stood frozen, the bat trembling in his grip, his breath coming in ragged gasps.
Takashi's bat slipped from his fingers, clattering against the blood-streaked roof. His chest heaved as the reality of what he'd just done sank in. Hisashi's lifeless body lay at his feet, a twisted reminder of the cruel world they were now trapped in. His hands trembled, coated in blood and sweat, as his wide, horrified eyes turned to Rei.
Rei, still on her knees, sobbed over Hisashi's body, her tears mixing with the blood pooling beneath him. Her voice, raw and broken, lashed out at Takashi. "You… you killed him! You monster!"
Takashi flinched like she'd struck him. "Rei… I had to. He- he was gone! He turned!"
"You didn't even try!" Rei's voice cracked, the agony in her words palpable. "He needed you, and you killed him! Get away from me! I don't ever want to see you again! You did this because he was my boyfriend and YOU weren't! You hated him and murdered him!"
Takashi stumbled back, his face contorted in pain. "I… I didn't… I didn't have a choice."
Rei ignored him, clutching Hisashi's body as though she could bring him back by sheer will. Her sobs echoed across the rooftop, cutting through the eerie silence that had fallen after the skirmish.
Guldrin crossed his arms, observing the scene with cold detachment. "She's grieving, but that'll work to our advantage. The more she blames him, the easier it'll be to separate her from him."
Shiro gave him a sidelong glance, wiping the blood from her baton. "Still, that was brutal, even by your standards." Emily didn't seem to care and was watching the scene with a nonplussed gaze, licking her paw that was covered in blood, trying to clean herself. 'Zombie blood, ewww.' She complained but kept licking her paw, the virus not affecting her in the slightest.
"Survival is brutal," Guldrin replied, his voice low. "If they can't adapt, they'll die. And I won't risk our necks for sentiment. This served two purposes," He lowered his voice so as to not be overheard by the other two, "One, Rei will learn the harsh reality of the current world, and two, a chasm will form between Rei and Takashi, leading her to be more willing to choose us over him. Though," He paused and looked at the door being beaten, "We need to move like… Now."
The pair exchanged a silent understanding before Guldrin stepped forward, his voice slicing through the tension. "Rei, we need to move. Staying here is suicide."
Rei whipped her head around, her tear-streaked face a mask of fury. "Shut up! Just shut up! Leave us alone!"
"You want to stay here and die?" Guldrin's tone was sharp, devoid of empathy. "He's gone. More will come. LOOK! "He pointed at the door, she followed his gaze and paled, "You need to decide if you want to join him or fight to live."
Shiro touched his arm lightly. "Maybe ease up a bit. She's not ready to hear that."
Guldrin shrugged while lighting his metal cigar filled with herbs designed to heighten focus and reaction time. While he wanted to bring Rei to his side, he wasn't going to baby her; if he did that, it would never end, and she would never be self-sufficient.
Taking a long drag and puffing out smoke, Guldrin felt the world slow, and his mind sharpened. He could feel the slight shifts in the air, the vibrations of the roof, and the roars of the zombies. "Any time now." He muttered as he readied his knife.
Rei glared at Guldrin, hatred burning in her eyes, who for? Even she wasn't sure, but her grip on Hisashi's body slackened. Takashi, still rooted in place, looked like a man barely holding on.
Before either Takashi or Rei could respond, the barricaded door to the stairwell burst open, a flood of zombies spilling onto the roof. Their guttural groans filled the air as they stumbled toward the group, attracted by the noise.
"Move!" Guldrin barked, already stepping forward to meet the charge. His knife flashed as he plunged it into the skull of the nearest zombie, yanking it free with a sickening squelch. "Shiro, cover the back!"
Shiro nodded, falling into position as her baton cracked against a zombie's temple. "Takashi, Rei, get your asses up! Unless you want to join Hisashi, start moving!" Shiro wasn't like Guldrin, she didn't have a hatred for Takashi, it was more disappointment, so she tried to rally his spirits so he didn't die on the first day.
Takashi seemed to snap out of his stupor, grabbing Rei by the arm and pulling her to her feet. She resisted at first, but the sight of the advancing horde spurred her into motion. She grabbed her makeshift spear and followed after casting one last gaze at her poor departed boyfriend. All while fuming at Takashi and his brutal execution of Hisashi.
The group retreated toward the stairwell, Guldrin and Shiro carving a path through the undead with brutal efficiency. Every swing of Guldrin's knife was precise, every strike calculated to conserve energy and maximize damage. Shiro's baton shattered skulls with practiced ease, her movements fluid and controlled. Behind them, Takashi and Rei were barely able to keep pace, their weapons feeling like they were 3 or 4 times heavier than they actually were.
Descending the blood-slicked stairs, they encountered another wave of zombies. The narrow space worked against them, forcing Guldrin to take point while Shiro defended the rear.
"This isn't sustainable," Shiro muttered between strikes. "We're burning too much energy."
"Noted," Guldrin grunted, driving his knife into a zombie's temple before kicking its collapsing body into the others, creating a temporary bottleneck. "We need to speed up, locate everyone and escape. Though we may be stronger than most, we still need to rest and recover. Our weapons, on the other hand, are holding up really well. We need to get more arrows for you on the way, the archery club should have quite a few."
He continued to chat as if talking about the weather, all while killing zombie after zombie, Shiro right behind him. Rei and Takashi were wondering just who these two were, they had seen them in class, but they were both loners, stuck to themselves, and never interacted with anyone beyond the occasional hi, and good morning.
As they reached the next landing, the sound of wood slicing through the air and the cracking of bones echoed from below. A hauntingly familiar laugh followed, low and tinged with exhilaration.
"That's Saeko," Shiro said, recognizing the voice. "Sounds like she's having… fun."
Pushing forward, they reached the next set of stairs and found Saeko Busujima in the middle of a gruesome ballet. Her bokken blurred as it cut through zombies with almost poetic precision. Blood sprayed in arcs around her, splattering her uniform, but the manic grin on her face showed she didn't mind in the slightest. If anything, she was reveling in it.
"Busujima!" Guldrin called, stepping into her line of sight.
Saeko turned, her violet eyes gleaming with unrestrained bloodlust. "Toretto-kun." Her voice was calm, but there was an edge to it, a hunger that hadn't been there before. "I see you're both quite capable; to survive in this chaos you have to be." With her wiping her blood-stained face, the scene was rather shocking and impactful for Rei and Takashi, but Shiro and Guldrin just nodded.
"We're heading out. Join us or don't, but we're not stopping, we need to get the key for a bus." Guldrin said, already moving past her to clear the next wave of zombies. Saeko tilted her head, her grin widening, and she followed with a silent acknowledgment.
Further down, they ran into Saya Takagi and Kohta Hirano. Saya clutched a makeshift weapon, her face pale but determined. Kohta, in contrast, was armed with a nail gun, his hands surprisingly steady as he fired at approaching zombies.
(Give me your POWER, Please, and Thank You! Leave reviews and comments, they motivate me to continue.)