“Are you sure we’re going the right way?”
“I’ve been down here countless times. I know what I’m doing.”
“You make it sound like you’ve been roaming the sewers since long before the apocalypse.”
I doubt that. For one, it’s probably illegal, and two, you’d have to be an actual nutjob to even consider it.
“As an added precaution, yes.”
“Are you serious?”
Isn’t it kinda hypocritical of me to call her out on “weird” behavior when one of my own flimsy justifications for indulging in FPS games is that it basically doubles as army experience? Then again, my weird thing has at least a little basis in reality; hers is pretty damn out there.
Maybe I’m just biased; I’m pretty sure a number of Americans would see things in a different light. I hear there’s a niche market over there that sells firearms based on their zombie-fighting properties.
“Up,” she urged, climbing up a rusty ladder nearby.
“I can’t wait to get some fresh air,” I said as I followed suit.
As safe as the tunnels were, my nostrils had had just about enough. I would’ve gladly run the risk of bumping into another zombie if that meant breathable air.
“Wait...”
Here I was fully expecting to emerge in the middle of a sidewalk, but instead I found myself in a lifeless room lined with rows upon rows of stacked boxes.
“What is this place?”
“You’ll see.” She closed up the manhole we’d come out of, went over to the door, and swung it wide open.
I was greeted by an empty parking lot. All those neatly painted lines, perfectly measured down to the millimeter for maximum space efficiency, and yet not a single parked vehicle in sight.
“Really hits home.”
“Over here.” Otoha was already walking over to a nearby two-story building.
It looked oddly familiar. That was when I happened to catch the words “Mister Watson” and “hardware store” on the side of the building.
“You’ve got to be kidding me,” I said as I turned around to make sure this wasn’t just a bad trip.
Heaps of boxes were stacked together by the entrance, brandishing labels such as “DOG FOOD,” “TOILET PAPER,” “BOOKCASE PARTS,” “STORAGE BOXES,” and the like.
We’re at the local hardware store. I remember coming here back in my middle school days... So that’s why it looked familiar.
“Why the hardware store of all places?!” I was under the impression that we’d been heading for a military base of some kind, but apparently not.
“It’s what the trope calls for.”
“Now’s not the time to be bringing up tropes! You’re going to get us kill—”
“Pipe down.” She held down the back of my head with one hand and pushed the other firmly against my mouth.
Her soft, dainty hand came in contact with my lips, and I could feel something snap inside my brain. I hadn’t felt a girl’s touch in... well, too many years. She was far from a girly girl, yet my heart wouldn’t stop racing.
“Hold your breath,” she hissed, forcefully pushing me against a nearby wall. She then pressed her body against mine, leaving zero breathing space between us.
Is this one of those fabled “girl-slams-you-against-the-wall” moments?! I never thought I’d live to see the day. I think I might just pass out on the spot. It feels like my heart is gonna burst out of my chest at any moment. She might be weird, and lacking in the expressiveness department, but that means nothing in the face of her extraordinary cuteness.
“The coast is clear.” At last, she released me from bittersweet captivity. “Keep your voice down and follow my lead.” With that, she tiptoed away.
Oh, so that’s what all that was about.
Her forcibly shutting my yap was to avoid detection, which meant that this place wasn’t as zombie-free as I had initially thought.
I’ll trust you for now.
I cautiously scanned the area before tagging along behind her.
We circled to the side of the building, at which point she started making her way up the fire escape.
“Isn’t there an easier way in?”
“I’ve barred off all entry points besides the one on the roof. Oh, and watch your step.”
That was when I noticed that two steps were missing right in the middle. If somebody were to go up the fire escape without paying attention, they’d surely plummet to their doom.
“This is genius.”
Zombies didn’t possess the mental faculties to consider their steps, let alone overcome a broken staircase. It was foolproof.
I handed the backpack to Otoha and carefully straddled the booby trap. She handed it right back to me, and we continued on our way.
Moments later, the rooftop was in sight.
“Crazy how abrupt the transition is from down there to up here.”
Aside from a shack tucked away in one of the corners, the rooftop was pretty much just neatly spaced rows of solar panels stretching on and on. The entire area was fenced off, as you might expect.
I walked over to the fence. The complete absence of large buildings around the area made for a spectacular view. At least, it would’ve been, if not for large patches of dark smoke here and there. I half-expected fire truck sirens to be blaring all over the place, but instead there was just silence. Disturbing and uneasy silence. No signs of human life anywhere.
Zombies, on the other hand, were all over the place, making their presence known. Dozens—no, hundreds of them were creeping around the hardware store’s outer fence. The awkward attempts at walking and the nearly translucent, pale skin stuck out like a sore thumb, even at a distance. They were spilling out across the roads, and even the nearby park was swarming with them.
Zombies as far as the eye could see. One had a large metal pipe going through its stomach, one had a knife sticking out of its neck, and the list just went on and on. They’d all suffered horrific injuries, yet they wouldn’t stop moving.
There was not a single living person among them.
The entire town had been overtaken.
“She wasn’t joking around...” I muttered.
Back when we’d first met, Otoha told me, in no uncertain terms, that Japan was in shambles. Despite that, I’d wanted to see it for myself. I’d figured that maybe she was just blowing things out of proportion; maybe the zombie outbreak was just a localized phenomenon which only affected this tiny area. I’d desperately wanted to believe that.
My hope was shattered right then and there.
I couldn’t yet tell if the entire country had been swept away, but it became clear that at least this town had been overrun and that the government wasn’t taking any measures to sort things out.
“You coming or what?” she called out, glancing at me over her shoulder.
“Be right there.”
I gave myself a moment to really take in the view before turning away and running off without ever looking back.