Inside the garage was none other than a G-Class Mercedes-Benz. Its boxy, no-nonsense style prioritized function over form.
If memory serves, the “G” in “G-Class” comes from its old name, Geländewagen, which roughly translates to “off-road vehicle.” It was originally developed as a military vehicle, but a civilian version was developed later down the line. I’ve seen the former pop up in a good number of VRFPS games.
“It’s gorgeous.”
“It can handle even the roughest road conditions,” Shino said as she walked up beside it. “And the occasional rubble.”
“Car runs into a crowd of zombies, zombies clamber onto the car, car topples over. That’s a staple,” Otoha mumbled in awe. “One we won’t get to experience for ourselves, most likely.”
The military version was bigger and had better bullet absorption, but one look at this car would tell you it was no pushover. A crowd of zombies would stand zero chance against it.
Speaking of bullet absorption...
Shino’s dad-zombie popped into my mind. It had tried shooting me with the very same Browning BAR Lightweight Stalker I held in my hands.
Had that been a gut reaction exclusive to one single zombie, or was it part of a larger pattern? If it was the latter, did that mean we might one day come across a zombie that would take up arms against us?
Is that even a zombie anymore?
I brought this up to Otoha, to which she simply replied, “Depends on the setting.” Fast zombies, loving zombies... It would’ve been better to ask what kind of zombie hadn’t been featured on the silver screen at some point in time. To Otoha, this was all perfectly within the norm.
“Where’d Uemura go?”
“Oh, she’s just making sure the mansion burns down smoothly,” Shino said matter-of-factly.
“Say WHAT?!”
I might’ve pushed her not just a little, but way over the edge.
“The memories have got to go.” She smiled fondly. “I can’t risk getting stuck in the past again.”
All of Shino’s belongings were stuffed inside the car aside from the long, black case resting at her feet, presumably a rifle case housing the Model 700.
That’s the one piece of memorabilia she’ll allow herself.
“Since when were you this cool?”
“A-Am I?” Shino asked shyly, her cheeks turning pink.
Deep down, she was your typical bright-eyed, bushy-tailed high school girl after all.
Her crass jokes were likely an act of emotional self-harm—her way of punishing herself. The Cinderella complex she had going on was probably a manifestation of her former desire to be freed from the shackles of guilt by an outside source, or her very own Prince Charming.
Then again, that might’ve been my inner armchair psychologist talking.
“Is it a turn-on for you?” Shino looked at me expectantly.
Is it too late to take all that back? I thought to myself, when suddenly, the fire alarm started blaring from above.
“What’s going on?!”
“Tetsuko must’ve started setting fire to the place,” she said calmly.
Heat traveled upward, so I figured the basement would be hit last. Still, the shrieking alarm didn’t put my mind at ease.
“Hey.” Otoha tugged on my sleeve. “Can you handle the wheel?”
“It’s an auto, so it should be easy enough.”
The VRFPS game I’d driven a military version of the G-Class in had been known for its realism, so I didn’t think it would be much different.
“If Tetsuko doesn’t make it back in time, you’ll have to take over.”
“Don’t jinx it!”
“I can drive too, you know,” Shino said with a hint of pride in her voice. “Dad taught me.”
“You didn’t have it easy, did you?”
Legally speaking, a driver’s license was only required to operate a motor vehicle on public roads, and there would be none of these in, say, a deserted wasteland. So long as they could reach the pedals, even a kid could do it without infringing on any laws. Again, speaking strictly legally here.
“Anyway, she’ll make it back one way or another. You’ll see. Nothing can keep Tetsuko down.” Shino hopped in the back seat, followed by Otoha.
I got in the front seat to make the switch faster, just in case Tetsuko went AWOL on us.
That was when she popped up out of nowhere, a shotgun slung over her shoulder and a fresh pair of shades covering her eyes. “Sorry to keep you waiting.”
What has this world come to?
“You took the time to find a pair of sunglasses, but you couldn’t be bothered to change out of your uniform?!”
“I’ll have you know that this outfit is woven with the finest aramid fiber money can buy,” she said, pushing up her sunglasses with an index finger.
Aramid fiber? Like the one used in body armor?
“I’ll get more mileage out of it than I would most clothes.”
“If you say so.”
Well, I guess it is a work uniform, so I guess it makes sense? Man, these two are a bad influence on my sanity.
She grinned. “Let’s get a move on.”
Wait, is that—?!
“Uemura!” I yelled as I unholstered my trusty SAKURA. A zombie had somehow made it down the staircase. “Behind you!”
“I know, I know.” She calmly slipped into the driver’s seat and closed the door. The zombie came up to the car and awkwardly reached its arm out, only to grab hold of some metal.
“I opened up all the doors and windows myself, you see.”
“Why would you do that?!”
“To round up the zombies inside the house.”
Oh, I get it.
Even a G-Class Benz could only mow down so many zombies before coming to a screeching halt, and there were hundreds of them outside. By herding the zombies inside, she had made our lives that much easier.
“You could’ve gotten hurt!” I said.
She must’ve run around the house, setting it ablaze, all while acting as bait to lure in as many zombies as possible.
“Excuse me for saying so, but I don’t believe you’re one to talk.”
“You said it,” Otoha and Shino added in unison.
Yeah, well... Okay, I’ve got nothing.
“Someone had to do it, or else it would come back to haunt us later,” Tetsuko said as she fired up the engine.
The roller shutters slowly lifted, revealing a horde of zombies outside.
“Has everyone fastened their seatbelts?” Tetsuko patiently waited for all of us to nod and then put the pedal to the metal.
“Whoa!” The acceleration was so intense, I could feel it.
We punched straight through the half-open shutters—a task made trivial by the push bumper—and catapulted our way outside. We hung in the air for just a brief moment, landed with a thud, and then drifted into a group of zombies. Bodies were flying everywhere.
“Hold on tight. This might get a little bumpy.”
At that moment, a violent explosion went off right behind us.
We looked back to see the mansion enveloped in flames. The windows shattered one by one, and zombies came crawling out in droves before dropping dead, for real this time.
“Goodbye forever,” Shino mumbled, clutching the rifle case.
We made it out of the front gate, coming up on a surprising number of stragglers.
“How are we going to—”
“On it.”
“Waaagh!” We were tossed from side to side as Tetsuko weaved beautifully between the zombies with picture-perfect maneuvers. She sailed across the sidewalk. She drove in the oncoming lane. The traffic laws of yore held no sway over Tetsuko.
“This is awesome!”
In reality, we weren’t even going all that fast, but breaking every conceivable traffic law and narrowly dodging zombies at the same time was enough to get the adrenaline pumping.
I heard once that bodyguards are taught all sorts of driving skills so they can quickly and safely get their VIP out of a dangerous area. Guess there was a grain of truth to it.
“Want me to head anywhere in particular?” she asked nonchalantly. “The hardware store, perhaps?”
“That won’t be necessary. Head straight for the suburbs.” Otoha’s answer caught me by surprise.
“Are you sure? What about the supplies?”
“We’ve got everything we’ll ever need right here. Besides, the car’s jam-packed; we couldn’t fit a single thing in even if we tried.” Not everyone could give up all that hard work at the drop of a hat because it made the most sense, but Otoha had done just that without a moment of hesitation.
A lot of FPS players had trouble with on-the-fly decision-making. The top dogs were usually the ones who could see the best path forward and consistently take it regardless of the cost.
Maintaining a similar level of rationality in the real world was even more difficult, which made it all the more impressive.
Otoha, you never cease to amaze. Keep being you, partner.
“Buckle up. I’m shifting into the highest gear.”
Before long, we hit the open road leading into the suburbs.
First, we make it out of the city. Then what?
“Where are we headed?”
“Somewhere far, far away from here,” Otoha said as she stared out the window into the great beyond. “Preferably a place with no people and an easily accessible road network.”
Does a place like that even exist? I glanced at the side mirror and saw the city slowly shrinking away in the distance.
Apart from the billowing pillar of pitch-black smoke coming from the mansion, the city seemed oddly at peace, almost like its pre-apocalypse days.
There’s no going back, though. Our previous lives are no more. I shook off the hollow nostalgia creeping up on me.
“A campground might be nice,” Otoha added.
This is kind of like a camping trip, now that I think about it. The four of us heading out of the city with a car full of food and supplies... An endless camping trip in an eternally doomed world. The start of a long, long journey.
“Sounds like a blast,” I joked.
Otoha and Shino looked at each other in bewilderment and then burst into smiles.