They left Kohta in the backseat of the car. Takashi stuck a rag down the car's fuel filler pipe, letting it stick out so as to act as a fuse. He took out a cigarette lighter from his pocket and began lighting up the rag. It quickly caught on fire and he sprinted away back to where the group was waiting for him. From a safe distance, Takashi made it just in time to watch with the rest of the team as the car exploded. Flames engulfed it until only a charred metal skeleton remained, with black smoke rising to the sky and the smell of burnt rubber, gasoline, and plastic filling the air. While behind them, the warehouse fire showed no signs of abating. The group stood there, in shock, looking at the pyre. The whole thing seemed so surreal. Once the realization hit them that their friend was gone, they began to cry. Rei was the first one to start, with Saya following, trying to fight back tears, but failing. Next, came Kyoko and Shizuka-sensei who wailed uncontrollably. As the only adults present, it was surprising to see them unable to control their emotions, since they had been pillars of support for their students during this entire ordeal. Even Saeko, who was the stoic one of the bunch, managed to show some emotions for once. Soon, everybody was crying. After a few minutes of mourning, and with a tear rolling down his cheek, Takashi saluted Kohta, with the rest of the group following his lead. And with that, the funeral service came to a conclusion and the team somberly marched out of the parking lot and headed to another city. It was now half past two o' clock in the afternoon.

After a long walk, they made it to the outskirts of Shinkawa where Takashi conducted a supply check. The group immediately emptied their bags for inspection, placing everything into one neat pile. Takashi squatted to take a closer look at what the team had collected from their warehouse raid. In front of him, laid an array of items in various shapes and sizes, their colorful packaging reminding him of a more peaceful and prosperous time were the only thing he had to worry about was school, girls, and what video game to purchase for the month. But for now, these items would help determine the team's survival.

"So," he said, standing up after finishing checking the supplies, "we have some canned soup that should last us a week, maybe a week and a half, if we're lucky. Some tampons, protein bars, moisturizing cream, and toilet paper."

"For ammunitions, we have 65 rounds of 9mm, which Rei, Saya, and me have to share, and 30 rounds of .38's for Shizuka-sensei. Add a pack of AA batteries and water bottles to our stash, and this is what we have so far," said Takashi. "Not what I was hoping for," he said, stepping back and looking down at the pile, with his arms across his chest.

"I wish we had our old guns," lamented Rei.

"Is not like we had a choice, remember? It could have been a lot worse, and you know it," Takashi said, looking at her seriously.

"Still, they were better than what we have right now."

"How serious is the situation?" asked Kyoko-sensei.

"How about we look for a safe place to sleep before nighttime arrives," Saya interrupted, tilting her head towards a long shadow cast by a tree on the sidewalk. "It won't be long before this place is pitch dark and they come out to play," she said, sending shivers to the rest of the female team members.

"But we're so far away now," remarked Shizuka-sensei, looking back to a chain of black smoke trailing in the distance. "Don't tell me they're already here?"

"They're everywhere, sensei," answered Saeko. "We won't be safe until every one of them is killed."

"Ok, let's find a place to spend the night first. Then we'll discuss our situation," said Takashi. "Let's move out." With that, the team resumed their walk across the new city.

After walking for a few blocks, the group settled on a three-story building. With Takashi at the front, his Taurus TH9 fully-drawn and ready for action, while Saya was standing behind him with her MAC-10, the team proceeded to enter the building. Slowly, Takashi opened the door and they made their way into the lobby. Looking at the directory hanging on the wall, they could see the building hosted a variety of businesses from a staffing agency to freelance landscaping.

Rei gasped, "That's a lot of rooms!"

"Sssshhh!"

"Sorry."

"Let's start on the first floor. We'll go to each office and work our way upstairs," whispered Takashi.

"Right," the team answered.

Takashi signaled them to follow him, and they ran to the office door of a public accountant. Once they reached it, they pressed together into a single line against the wall, their pulses racing in apprehension to what lay on the other side.

"Three, two, one," Takashi counted down with his raised hand, as he kicked the door open, and the team stormed the room. Saya and he covered the main room, while Saeko and Rei moved to the file cabinet room; Shizuka and Kyoko-sensei were in charge of the supply closet.

"Clear!" shouted Saya.

"Clear!" yelled Saeko, from the other room.

"All clear!" answered Shizuka-sensei from her position.

And so they went from office to office, clearing them and hoping they wouldn't find any unexpected guests. Each time more nerve-racking than the last. By the time they had finished, half an hour had passed.

Taking refuge on the third floor inside the offices of a freelance engineering company and a logistic solutions business, the team settled into their new home. Takashi called in a group meeting. Sitting down on the floor, they listened to his status report. "Our situation is this: we're running out of ammunition and we don't have enough food to keep on traveling across the country," he said, standing in front of them.

"So, what else is new?" asked Rei sarcastically. "Isn't that a problem we have every week?"

"It's been a month now, are we even close to reaching that safe zone you talked about last time?" inquired Kyoko-sensei. "Where are we anyways?"

"Here," said Saya, taking out her map and pointing to a small dot on it, "Watsuwa. And we need to reach Hanagatsu," she said, tracing a long line with her index finger from their current location to their final destination, "Which is here. That's our safe zone. At least, we hope it still is."

"How far away are we from it?" Saeko asked.

"By foot, we're looking at a couple of weeks―assuming we're well-fed and have plenty of supplies, and don't encounter any more detours," answered Saya. "Otherwise, it could take us longer. And again, we have to assume this place is still safe and hasn't been taken over by them."

Shizuka-sensei sighed, "It would be nice to finally find a car."

"Yeah, but we keep on finding pieces of junk instead," chuckled Rei.

"What do you propose, Komuro-kun?" inquired Kyoko-sensei. "We can't obviously stay here and we can't keep on running away from them forever, so what then?"

"We'll search for supplies tomorrow morning and use them to go as far as they take us," responded Takashi.

"And when we run out of them, then what? We starve to death? Let those monsters eat us, huh?" Rei glared at him.

"We find food and we keep on moving until we reach the safe zone. That's the plan. Obviously, it's easier said than done, but we can't stay in one place for too long. We always have to be on the move," declared Takashi.

"What about Okinawa like what that police officer said?" Rei asked excitedly, "We can―"

"Okinawa is closed to people from the mainland. We can't get there even if we wanted, unless you want to get shot by US soldiers."

"What if the safe zone is no longer safe, do you have an alternative place?" questioned Kyoko-sensei.

"We'll find another place. There's must be a city or town that hasn't fallen to them. Maybe we might even find other survivors."

The rest of the group looked at one another, their mood suddenly changed. The thought of finding other people filled them with hope.

Shizuka-sensei turned to Saya, "Is this even possible?"

"I don't know, sensei. There are too many variables to calculate to arrive at a survival rate," she said, pushing back her glasses. "Whatever the case may be, Takashi is right: if we stay here and run out of food, we're not going to survive."

The team sat there is silence, thinking about what Saya had just said. They had faced plenty of difficult situations before, some even more dire than their current predicament, and yet they always managed to come out victorious. But after today's events, they had to face the fact―their luck had run out. For now, Saya, Rei, Saeko, and Takashi, would have to resigned themselves to the cruel reality that it may take some time―probably a year or more―before they would finally be reunited with their respective families. Assuming they were still alive, that is.

"We're moving out tomorrow, right after we go searching for supplies. We're not staying here and becoming live bait for these suckers," Takashi said determinedly.

The team nodded in agreement. Somehow, they felt reinvigorated. Whatever the threat, they weren't going to go down without a fight.

"Let's open those soup cans. I'm starving already!" Rei complained, as she stood up.

"So am I!" giggled Shizuka-sensei.

"I'll go check the office's breakroom. Maybe they have running water and a working microwave," Kyoko-sensei added, making her way to the other room.

The rest of the group nodded and smiled, as they took out the cans of soup from their backpacks. After finishing their meal, they unfurled their sleeping bags on the carpet floor and got ready to go to sleep. The thought of their fallen friend weighted heavily on their minds. Despite this, they knew they had to give it their all tomorrow and not let Kohta's death be in vain. With this in mind, they went to sleep.

The following morning after breakfast, the group went outside and walked through the city, looking for supplies. They spotted a small 7-Eleven store and went in. Once inside, they could see the place had been ransacked, with shattered glass everywhere, items scattered throughout the floor, and overturned shelves. The group searched through the mess, hoping to find food or anything useful for them to take on their trip. Alcohol and cigarettes were the first items the team noticed were missing, much to the adults' disappointment.

Shizuka walked through one of the aisles, humming to herself as she grabbed a box of condoms from one of the shelves, the last one that was left and one of the few items that remained from the looting.

"Sensei, you're not really thinking of getting that, are you?"

She turned around to see Saya standing with clenched fists on her hips and a look of disapproval on her face.

"You just have to be ready for anything. You never know when you might need one," she answered, giggling as she put the box inside her bag.

"I-I…" Saya stuttered, too embarrassed to say anything else. She never expected for Sensei to be this shameless, but then again, they were living through a pandemic and this event had changed people dramatically. And not always for the better.

"Find anything?" called out Takashi, from the next aisle.

"Nothing. Just spoiled food," answered Saeko, from behind the food counter at the front.

"Well this was a waste of time," scoffed Rei, kicking a bottle of diarrhea medication into the glass door of a refrigerator, smashing it upon impact.

"Oops,"

Turning to Takashi, her arms across her breasts, Kyoko-sensei sighed, "What do we do know, Komuro-kun?"

"We continue searching. There must be a place that has some supplies left. Let's go, everybody."

The group filed out of the store and proceeded to walk down the street until they made a left turn at an intersection. After a couple of blocks, they started to notice their surroundings had changed into a residential area.

They walked through the narrow streets of the neighborhood, the power lines crisscrossing above them, like a spider's web, as they noticed the small shops along the way. Unlike Shinkawa, which had large warehouses and factories of major companies, this part of the city was primarily composed of small family businesses. It was not uncommon to see a two-story house with a tool and die shop on the first floor, and the living quarters on the second. These shops dealt either in traditional crafts, such as lacquering and blacksmithing, or in manufacturing components for cars and satellites. While most of the buildings were made from wood, others were built from concrete and steel. There was a crop of them that was built in the modern style: box-shaped, ugly, and depressive to look at. In other words, a representation of the current trend that plagued modern architecture. Rather than making something that would inspire and last for generations, construction companies built abominations that would become annoying eyesores for the people living in the neighborhood. In the distance, birds could be heard singing, bringing some semblance of normalcy to calm the team's nerves.

"Well, everything seems fine, so far," Saya observed.

"Don't let your guard down," Takashi answered, his eyes scanning the buildings for any sudden movements coming from the windows.

Rei ran up to the front to join them, much to Saya's disapproval.

"You're supposed to be guarding the rear," she said, glaring at her.

"I'm bored. I wanna be with you guys."

"More like you want to be with Takashi," Saya fired back, looking at her suspiciously.

"Hmph!" Rei flipped her hair and ignored her, as she continued walking alongside Takashi.

They continued to walk through the streets, vigilant to any danger. It was already past noon with the sun shining brightly and a cool, gentle breeze sweeping in.

"This is sooo boring," Rei complained, rolling her eyes.

"Then go cover the rear like you're supposed to," snapped Saya, giving her a dirty look.

Rei quickly gasped and turned pale. The group stopped walking and froze, their hearts pounding wildly, adrenaline rushing through their bodies, as they looked out into the distance. Twenty feet from where they stood, a zombie appeared from an alleyway corner. It stood there for a few seconds, its head moving abnormally as it tried to figure out where the voices were coming. Rei started trembling, pressing the Uzi close to her hip, as the zombie made an erratic move and headed towards them. She panicked and opened fire, missing it completely and hitting a pair of liquid propane gas tanks that were sitting outside a business. A huge fireball erupted, throwing back the group a few feet.

"AAAAHHH! AAAHH! AAAHHHH! Takashi, I'm hurt!" screamed Rei, her face covered with blood.

"Shut up!" said Saya, splashing her with a bottle of water, washing away the blood off her face.

"Saya, what the hell did you do?! She's injured!" yelled Takashi.

"No, she's not! Is just the blood from the zombie, not hers. Seriously, you're so easily fooled," Saya said, shaking her head at him.

"Anyone hurt?" Takashi asked, looking around.

"No, I'm fine," Kyoko-sensei answered, getting up and dusting herself off.

"I'm fine, Komuro-kun," added Shizuka-sensei.

"So am I," responded Saeko, rubbing her head and opening her mouth repeatedly to pop her ears, "But we better leave this area. If we found one―" she stopped and immediately assumed a fighting stance. The rest of the group turned around and raised their weapons. Strange noises could be heard coming from the houses and businesses; they formed a circle and stood there, petrified. Kyoko-sensei trembled, gripping her barbed-wire covered bat, while Takashi looked around, hoping to catch a glimpse of the threat and take immediate action before it was too late. It was at that moment, they saw them coming out.

From the buildings, stepped out hundreds of zombies. Young and old, men and women, screeching incessantly and shuffling towards them.

"Run!" shouted Takashi, immediately shooting a couple of them that were coming near them. The group charged across the street, while more of the walking corpses were following closely behind.

RATAAA RATTTAA RATTRAA RATAAA

Rei went with her Uzi, as she shot a dozen of them, clearing the way for the group to continue their escape and leaving a trail of splattered bodies on the pavement. Even with this show of force, it did not deter the zombies from continuing their attack.

"This way!" yelled Takashi, leading them into a shop specializing in electronic parts for automobiles. He kicked the main door open, and they rushed inside, running across the room until they reached the entrance of the emergency exit stairway. They yanked the door open and ran all the way to the rooftop.

Once they reached the top, they slammed the door shut. The terrifying screeching could still be heard all the way up, sending shivers to the group.

"More of them are heading this way! We have to get out here," said Saeko, looking down at the commotion on the street below.

"What do we do now?!" panicked Rei.

"Over there! See? We jump to the house next door and continue running across the rooftops until we find an empty street that doesn't have them. It's our only chance to survive," Takashi answered.

"Are you nuts?! We can't jump all the way there! It's too far way."

"Yes, we can!" he ran to the end of the rooftop and looked down to find an alleyway below, prompting him to calculate the gap between the two buildings. Both were the same height, so that wouldn't be a problem, and the distance between them was manageable. It was only a matter of courage that was need to accomplish this feat. Takashi only hoped his friends had plenty of it ― they were going to need it.

"We can do it! All we have to do is jump!"

CLANK CLANK CLANK

The door burst opened and dozens of zombies came pouring in; Saya and Rei immediately opened fire on them, the corpses falling backwards like dominoes until they piled up at the bottom of the stairway. Kyoko-sensei slammed the door shut, while the rest of the group tried to catch their breaths, stunned at such a close call.

"JUST DO IT!" shouted Takashi to the team, "We don't have time!"

Hearing this, Saeko walked to the opposite end of the building and sprinted towards Takashi. When she reached the end, she jumped, flying across the gap with the grace of an Olympic hurdler and landing on the tile roof of a three-story family home.

"Are you ok?" Takashi called out to her.

"Yes!" she said, standing up and flashing a thumbs up.

Takashi smiled and let out a sigh of relief. He then turned to the rest of the group, "You can do it! Let's go!"

Rei nodded and followed Saeko's lead. She tightly pulled her gun sling before she prepared for her run. Once she was ready, she bolted across the rooftop and jumped, landing safely on the other side where Saeko was waiting to help her up.

Next came Kyoko-sensei, and then followed by Shizuoka-sensei. Both of the teachers screamed as they made their jumps, reminding the girls of the times when they took their respective parents on roller coaster rides and how terrified they became on the way down.

"Saya, is your turn!" shouted Saeko from across the other side.

"Ok, I'm going," she said, pushing her glasses back and taking deep breaths as she walked backwards to get into a sprinting position.

The door was thrown wide open again, as zombies lunged at Saya, causing her to scream helplessly, but not before being met by a hail of bullets piercing their skulls. Takashi rushed over to help her, pointing his gun―smoke coming out from it― at the metal door.

"Saya! Are you all right?" he asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine."

Takashi went inside the doorway to investigate and heard the zombies still making their way up the stairway. He slammed the door shut and dragged the corpses that were outside, mounting them on top of each other next to the entrance to form a barricade.

"You better go, Saya. I don't know how long this will hold," said Takashi over his shoulder while still aiming at the door.

Saya nodded and stepped back a few feet to get a good distance for her takeoff. She took a deep breath, tightly adjusted her gun sling, and ran. Taking long strides, she quickly reached the end of the building, but just as she was about to jump across the alleyway, she slipped off the edge, causing her to crash into an electrical transformer that was next to the house.

"AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!" she screamed, as the group watched in horror as she was electrocuted beyond recognition. Gun fire erupted, bullets whizzing past her friends, as they laid flat on the roof, after Saya's MAC-10 and her ammunition caught on fire.

"NOOOOOO!" Takashi screamed in agony, watching her body be consumed by the blaze, the smell of burnt flesh filling the air. The rest of the group hysterically cried out, unable to rescue their friend.

The transformer overloaded, causing it to explode and come crashing down, pulling alongside it Saya's charred body to the street below. The power lines were snapped and downed, with some of them landing on a few houses that immediately caught on fire.

"Takashi! Watch out!" yelled Saeko, signaling him to look behind.

Takashi turned around to see his barricade about to be breached, "Everybody, run! I'll be right behind you! GO!" he commanded.

The team stood up and made a run for it, just as the fire started to reach their house. Across the street, two houses were already fully ablaze, the flames already approaching another building and ready to devour it.

"TAKASHI!" cried out Rei, looking back while the rest of the group pulled her in, as they made their escape across the rooftop, jumping from one building to the next.

Takashi put his gun into his pocket and sprinted across the rooftop, jumping across the alleyway, and landing onto the house next door. While behind him, the zombies managed to break through the door and barrier, but not before the fire spread to the building, effectively trapping them. The only thing they could do was shriek while they waited for their final demise via fire.

The flames quickly engulfed the entire neighborhood, faster than a cigarette spark on dead brush during summertime, consuming everything in its path and becoming its own threat to the group. The team rushed across the rooftops, with Takashi not far behind, until they reached the end of the block. Carefully, they climbed down into one of the house's balcony where they broke inside through a bedroom window and made their way downstairs and into the street. Feeling the heat from the fire, even when it was a block away, they continued to run. A mile later, the group reached the main road where they collapsed onto the pavement, breaking down in tears.

Takashi was on his knees, crying. He desperately shouted Saya's name, but to no avail. That's when the realization she was dead hit him and tore him apart. The rest of the group were inconsolable as well. Rei and Kyoko-sensei hugged each other, an endless stream of tears flowing down their eyes, while Saeko rocked herself back and forth, unable to process what had happened, until she let out a guttural scream and broke down in tears.

Meanwhile, Shizuka-sensei sat by herself, crying uncontrollably, when she glanced out into the distance. Suddenly, her eyes grew wide in shock and she ran up the street. She embraced a strange figure that was standing at the next block and it tried to console her. The group looked on, wondering who this person was. When Shizuka had started calming down, they began walking back to where Takashi and his friends stood.

"Rika Minami, Tokonosu Police: Special Assault Team," she said with a bow. "Nice to finally meet all of you."