Only one radio station was still working. According to the broadcast, the mysterious zombie pandemic had started rapidly spreading in the early morning hours. By noon, Japanese cities had stopped functioning. It was unknown where the pandemic originated, but overseas countries seemed to have been thrown into chaos before Japan, so it didn’t seem likely anyone overseas would be coming to Japan’s rescue. Japan’s Self-Defense Forces and police had quickly mobilized at the start of the pandemic, but whether any of them still survived was another unknown…
And just like in clichéd zombie movies, the zombies attacked humans to devour their flesh, and anyone bitten turned into another zombie.
The news station was barricaded and powered by a private generator. At times, the presenter could be heard weeping.
Takina noted everything down and then read her notes. The information was very strange. How could the pandemic spread so fast at such a scale? Supposing the zombie virus also sped up decay, it seemed unrealistic that the zombies would have gained so much ground in a single day. If all this had been going on since early morning, how had Takina and Chisato spent half of the day peacefully napping at the café counter?
It didn’t make sense. The more Takina thought about it, the more she leaned toward one conclusion—a word Chisato had mentioned earlier.
“It’s…a dream.”
Everything that was happening pointed to that. This couldn’t be reality. But there was one problem still. Why would Takina be having a dream like that? It was more the sort of thing that—
Ding-a-ling!
“I’m baaack!”
It was Chisato, carrying on her shoulders two Boston bags with the price tags still attached.
“Don’t forget to lock the door, Chisato.”
“Huh? Are you not happy to see that I’m back alive? I thought you’d run to me crying, saying things like ‘I missed you!’ or ‘Where have you been, you idiot, you could’ve gotten killed!’”
“You took your satchel, so I knew you had your gun and could look after yourself. But I’d like you to refrain from rashly going off on your own again.”
“Yes, ma’am!”
“What did you bring in those bags?”
“Food that keeps a long time, the canned stuff, and vitamins, aaand…this!”
Chisato took out a wooden baseball bat and, to Takina’s confusion, a DIY tool set.
“What’s the classic weapon to use against zombies? A spiked bat! But they don’t sell those, so I’ll have to make my own.”
“Suit yourself… And what’s the situation like outside?”
“Everyone’s a zombie! It’s too unreal to be scary. They kinda stink, but they’re so slow when they try to attack, I didn’t even need to use my gun in the end.”
Takina fell silent, thinking for a moment. She decided to share her hypothesis with Chisato.
“Chisato, I believe this is a dream.”
The sun had set, and it had gotten dark inside the café. Chisato went to press the light switch.
“That’s what I think too. So, let’s enjoy it, Takina! Let’s not let this cool dream go to waste… Huh? There’s no electricity?”
Takina looked at the TV, which had earlier shown colored bars. It was off. The electricity must have been cut off at some point.
“We have a light,” she said, getting out an LED lantern from the emergency bag.
She switched it on, and Chisato immediately applied herself to drilling holes in the bat with an electric drill. She couldn’t simply hammer nails in, or the hardwood bat would crack, as she explained.
Takina wouldn’t have thought of that. If this was a dream…it wasn’t hers. But then, what was she? Was the person dreaming all this also dreaming of her? Did that include what she was thinking that very moment? That would mean…