Shino leaned forward and rested the stock against the windowsill.
Resting the barrel itself was a major no-no. It could cause drift and mess up the harmonics, throwing off the trajectory by a significant margin over time, or so her dad had told her.
“Hiroaki, please...” Shino peeked down the scope, struggling to keep her breathing in check.
I was inching closer and closer to the zombie with every passing second, crowbar in one hand, gun in the other. She probably knew I wouldn’t let her off easy; I intended to make sure she dealt the killing blow, even if it meant putting myself in harm’s way.
Shino had a choice: she could either take the shot, or she could force me to fend for myself.
“Dad...”
She recalled with perfect clarity the moment he had shoved the zombies out of the doorway with his bare hands, even as they swarmed him and chewed away at his flesh. Frozen with fear, she had been unable to do anything but stand there and watch.
Only the sweet release of death could wash away this guilt-ridden memory, a constant reminder of her crippling cowardice.
But was Shino willing to repeat that same exact mistake just to put her mind at ease?
Shino readjusted her grip, her hands drenched in sweat.
The trigger had to be squeezed lightly, progressively; if she pulled on it too hard, the aim would be all over the place. She had the trigger pull set to light, yet it felt heavier than ever before.
“I’m sorry.” The words spilled from her lips like tears, and then...
✦ ✦ ✦
I took a deep breath and looked up toward Shino’s room.
“You better pull through for me, Zino. Or else.”
Or else Otoha’ll point at me and laugh.
“Uh-oh.” I gulped.
Getting a little weak in the knees, are we? Turn back now and you’ll be a laughingstock for years and years to come. That’s right, suck it up and keep your head in the game.
I circled around the zombie, getting closer and closer with each rotation. The zombie in question wouldn’t so much as look in my general direction... or maybe it simply couldn’t?
Every zombie we had encountered thus far had appeared to rely on a combination of sound and smell. It was possible that they could, in fact, see things to some extent. Probably nowhere near well enough to make out humans one hundred percent of the time, though. Still, that would explain why they didn’t go after fledglings, which could sometimes be indistinguishable from your average living human at a glance.
But how are they able to walk?
This question had been on my mind for as long as I could remember.
Once, I had been playing one of my VRFPS games and minding my own business, when suddenly, the visuals cut out and all I could see was a pitch-black void. If it hadn’t been for the protective rail, my face would’ve become intimately acquainted with the floor.
In other words, humans relied heavily on their eyes to maintain a sense of balance.
To illustrate my point further, try doing a one-legged squat. Not that hard, you say? Now try doing it with your eyes closed. Suddenly, it gets much harder.
Then how is it that zombies are able to go up and down stairs with little to no effort? Why haven’t I seen a single zombie trip over one of the many environmental hazards littered around the streets?
They could be using echolocation, like bats and dolphins do.
Several animal species had the ability to determine where an object was in space by sending out sound waves, which reflected off objects and went back into their ears. Obviously, humans weren’t capable of such a feat, but these reanimated human corpses were somehow different. It could only mean one thing...
“That’s not good.”
I noticed a few zombies trickling in through the front gate. I had to move quickly; time was of the essence.
“Shinooo,” the gun-toting zombie groaned.
Well, I’ll be damned. First time I’ve seen a zombie capable of something resembling coherent human speech.
All the other zombies we’d come across had uttered nothing but unintelligible growls. This one, on the other hand, remembered its daughter’s name.
Could this zombie be one of a kind?
“Hello, Kosahana,” I said, addressing it by name.
As much as I would’ve simply loved to get physical with the zombie, keeping it in place with words alone was ideal.
I was a little worried that any attempt to return my courtesy would indicate that it was capable of conscious thought, but I didn’t have time to think about that.
“Can you hear me?”
“Shinooo.”
“I’m Shino’s friend.”
“Shinooo.”
That went about as well as I expected.
I crept closer. “I’ll be taking that now. No hard feelings.”
Any sort of movement, even the zombie variety, would’ve made Shino’s job much more difficult. Normally, Shino could hit a fast-moving target from up to one hundred meters away, but she wasn’t exactly in the best state of mind. That was where I came in. A few good swings to the kneecaps and it may as well be reduced to a stationary object.
I took my chance and charged toward it.
“Shi...no.”
“Huh?”
Next thing I knew, I was staring down the barrel of a .308 caliber rifle.
I instinctively leapt out of the way, and the bullet lightly grazed my cheek.
Did that thing just shoot me?!
Unable to regain balance after my overly ambitious dodge, I fell to the ground.
“Grargh!” It threw itself on top of me, its teeth chattering with anticipation. The thing was fully intent on devouring me, just like any other zombie.
But it’s not supposed to be just any other zombie! Okay, maybe it only shot at me because it was playing out a memory I just so happened to trigger. Yeah, that adds up nicely. Now, let’s pay attention to the fact that I’M LITERALLY IN A LIFE-OR-DEATH SITUATION RIGHT NOW!
“Not so fast!” I tried pushing it back with the crowbar, but it chomped down on the metal like it was nothing.
“Dammit!”
Little by little, the zombie closed the gap between us using only its raw, upper-body strength.
It’s no use.
If I tried reaching for the SAKURA, it would come down on me in an instant. On the other hand, if I didn’t act fast, the other zombies would get to me first.
“Zi—Shino!” I cried out her name at the top of my lungs.
It’s now or never!
“Do it!”