"Run?"
"With that many zombies crowding the way, how are we supposed to run anywhere? Sosuke, look!"
Kasasaka Shiko pointed fearfully toward the lobby's main exit.
Just as the four students charged forward swinging their makeshift weapons, several zombies suddenly lunged from the sides. One of them tackled the frontmost boy to the ground, and his shrill, panicked screams erupted as he flailed beneath them like a madman.
But those seemingly feeble zombies were deceptively strong. The boy couldn't resist at all.
Crunch!
One zombie chomped down on his jaw and tore it clean off like biting into tofu. The boy convulsed a few times before falling still, his screams cut short.
The remaining three students didn't fare much better. When they reached the doors, they found them blocked. Turning back, they realized their path was also sealed off by the undead.
At that point, unless they wanted to die, there was no breaking through without someone paying the price.
Idiots.
Sosuke smashed in a zombie's head with a swing of his bat, then yanked the trembling Shiko forward.
"No time to explain. Come with me!"
He dashed ahead, skidding into the lobby's corner. His bat roared through the air with such force it howled. Three zombies trying to close in had their skulls burst open one after another. Black blood splattered across the floor like spilled oil.
Too many of them were crowding the front entrance. More were being drawn in by the sound, pouring in like a tide. Even Sosuke, as strong as he was, didn't think he could charge through the front door.
But now that they were on the ground floor, they didn't need to. The school had another option.
After all, classrooms in Toyosaki Academy didn't usually have anti-theft bars even on the first floor. All they had to do was find an unlocked classroom and jump out the window.
"Drop dead!"
He crushed another zombie's head. Brain matter sprayed the wall behind it in long, dark streaks.
Sosuke's breathing was growing ragged. His stamina was quickly draining. But the more he fought, the more alive he felt. His survival instinct flared like wildfire. That bat in his hand he wielded it like a whirlwind of death.
Two more zombies lunged. He kicked one aside and slammed his bat into the other's skull. The creature dropped with a grotesque grimace still frozen on its face.
Suddenly, a wave of zombies surged from the corridor to the left, drawn by the noise. Their lifeless eyes gleamed with hunger, and saliva mixed with blood dripped from their jaws as they howled and stampeded toward him.
"Sosuke, the left side! Look out, there's a lot!"
Shiko cried out in panic.
At a glance, there were over ten.
But Sosuke didn't panic he grinned.
Because right across from him, he spotted the door to the P.E. equipment storage room. It was wide open.
And it was close.
"That classroom! Go!"
"Right!"
He kicked away another zombie and shielded Shiko as they sprinted toward the room. Once inside, he spun around and slammed the door shut. The whole sequence was smooth and instinctual. He'd seen enough poor fools in his last life die because they forgot to lock the door behind them.
He wasn't about to make the same mistake.
Right as the lock clicked into place, the zombies outside slammed against the door with a heavy thud.
But before they could breathe easy, Shiko suddenly screamed.
"Look out! There's a zombie inside!"
ROAR!
Before her warning had even finished, a man in a gym tracksuit stumbled toward them. But Sosuke was already ready. He spun and smashed the bat into the zombie's skull.
A dull crack.
The bat caved in the creature's forehead, black blood spurting from the wound. Its body crumpled instantly.
GRAAH!
No time to rest. Another zombie lunged from the side its face half-eaten, jaws open and snapping toward his shoulder.
Sosuke raised his bat to counter he wanted to send it flying.
But his arm faltered.
His muscles were screaming. He felt the fatigue in his limbs. He was half a beat too slow.
And in life-or-death combat, half a beat could mean everything.
"Damn it!"
Was this the end? After all his preparations, would he die before the real fight even began?
If he got bitten, not even Amaterasu could save him.
"AAAHHH!"
In that crucial instant, Shiko drove her umbrella straight into the zombie's mouth. The creature let out a muffled howl, its rotting teeth gnashing against the metal rod with a sickening clang.
She wasn't strong enough to pierce its skull, but she didn't need to.
She bought Sosuke enough time.
He raised his bat and brought it crashing down. The zombie, still chewing on the umbrella, collapsed in a heap.
"Stop screaming. It's dead."
Sosuke chuckled softly, reaching out to shake Shiko, who had her eyes squeezed shut, still shrieking. She opened them slowly, saw the limp corpse, then dropped the umbrella with a disgusted cry and collapsed to the floor, trembling.
She gasped for air like she'd just run a marathon.
"Thanks, Shiko. If you hadn't acted, I might've been screwed."
He paused, then smiled.
"You're braver than I thought."
Shiko shook her head, swallowing hard as she looked at the corpse.
"I should be thanking you. If it weren't for you… I wouldn't have made it."
That scene just now had scared her to the core. When the zombie lunged, she'd reacted without thinking. If Sosuke had really been bitten, she wouldn't have had the courage to go on.
But there was no time to rest.
Sosuke handed her a backup bat.
"We're not done yet. Catch your breath and let's move."
Shiko took it and nodded. Honestly, her stamina wasn't too drained. She wasn't even that physically tired it was the fear that was exhausting her.
She took a few deep breaths.
"Sosuke, don't you need to rest? The zombies won't break in right away," she said, glancing uncertainly at the door that was still rattling under the zombies' weight. "I think… we've got a little time."
"I'm fine. This isn't the place to rest. The longer we stay, the more dangerous it gets."
Sosuke rolled his sore shoulder, took a deep breath, and walked over to the fallen gym teacher's body. He checked the whistle still around the corpse's neck. There was no blood on it. He wiped it with his sleeve and slung it around his own neck.
Then he moved to the window.
Outside, he could see the narrow path was stained with blood, but there weren't any zombies in sight. They'd probably been drawn away by some other noise.
The window was a little over a meter high.
Sosuke climbed out first, then helped Shiko down behind him.
He stayed low, scanning the area.
In the distance, two figures were sprinting desperately.
He squinted.
They were two of the students who'd tried to flee the lobby earlier.
They were drenched in blood, and a horde of zombies chased them from behind.
Sosuke didn't spare them a second glance. If they'd made it through the lobby alive, they were probably half-dead already.
"Stay low," he whispered, motioning for Shiko to follow him through the grass.
Too many zombies were loitering near the school gate. Forcing their way through would be a bloodbath, and he didn't have the stamina left to fight them all.
The school's perimeter wall was just ahead about 2.5 meters tall. Perfect for escaping.
They crept toward it, heart pounding with every step.
Luckily, no zombies noticed.
Sosuke knelt beside the wall, cupping his hands.
"Come on. I'll boost you up."
"W-Wait…" Shiko hesitated, blushing slightly. "It's kind of… high."
Sosuke was about to encourage her again when suddenly, a loud voice rang out from behind them from the school building.
"Senpai!! Shiko-senpai!! Help! I'm up here! Third floor!!"
"…The hell?"
At the window on the third floor, Aki Tomoya was waving both hands wildly, his face beaming with excitement.