The shopping mall trip turned out to be a bust. There was nothing of value left.
Food? Well, let’s just say that even the vending machines had been stripped clean. The chocolate had nice packaging and all, but the mere possibility of it crawling with germs was enough to kill our appetites, so we left it all behind.
Our spoils consisted of a few articles of clothing—mostly underwear—some shoes we came upon in the backyard, and an assortment of cheap variety-store goodies.
We put them in the car and went back on the road, heading for the suburbs. The city was far too dangerous, in more ways than one.
“There we... go.”
I was disassembling one of the guns from the container we’d pulled up yesterday. Revolvers were famous for pretty much never jamming, so I didn’t even bother to check those, but pistols were a whole other story.
I laid the Makarov’s parts out on a plastic tray I’d gotten from the variety store earlier.
“Looks okay to me, though I’ll have to give it a test run later. Just in case.”
“Good idea,” said Tetsuko, currently manning the wheel.
“Then again, it’s the Makarov, so you should be fine.”
“Amen.”
Incidentally, Otoha and Shino were in the back seat.
Otoha just sat there, expressionless as ever. Shino, on the other hand, was nestled up against Otoha’s shoulder, dozing off.
You’d think she’d be a little more cautious around Otoha after what happened, but after we gave her Otoha’s side of the story, Shino let her off the hook right away. She’s a good kid through and through.
Otoha was quite a softy herself. Whenever Shino’s head was about to slip off, she’d carefully nudge it back, as she was doing right now.
“What?” Otoha blurted, noticing my eyes on her in the rearview mirror.
“Oh, nothing.”
“Uh-huh.”
“It’s early, but Kosahana’s asleep, so what say we find a nice place and take a little breather?”
Tetsuko nodded in agreement. “I think that’s an excellent idea.”
“Uemura needs rest, too; she’s been at the wheel since the morning hours. Where to, Otoha?”
“Sec.” Otoha rummaged through the backpack she had placed over her knees before pulling out a road map. “Found it. A little to the west and—oh, there it is.”
At that moment, a decently large river came into view.
That’s what she was looking for...?
“What are gonna do with a river?”
“Not there, there.” Otoha pointed at a small landmass in the middle of the river.
“You mean the sandbank?”
“Yup. The view’s great, plus the current and the sediment would make crossing the river immensely difficult for zombies. And they’d be easy to spot.”
“Makes sense.”
I’d imagine the river sounds and the freshwater smell would have the added benefit of masking our presence.
“Think we can get there, Uemura?”
“Easily,” Tetsuko said, heading down the riverbank.
The car rocked from side to side as it made its way over the riverbank’s diverse array of rocks, tearing Shino from her restful slumber.
“Apologies, Lady Shino.”
“I was out, wasn’t I?” Shino said, a hint of embarrassment in her voice.
“The wheels might get stuck in the mud, so I’ll be shifting into high gear. Hold on tight.” The G-Wagen crashed into the river, its bulky tires spraying water everywhere.
We reached the sandbank in seconds, then Tetsuko killed the engine.
“The soreness will never not be unpleasant.” I got out of the car, followed by Tetsuko, Otoha, and last but not least, Shino.
The sandbank was much larger than it had initially seemed, about a hundred meters wide in all directions. Tufts of grass dappling the surface swayed gently in the wind.
You could fit a modest house here.
I circled the perimeter just in case there were any zombies hiding in the water, but thankfully, I came up dry. The likelihood of a zombie successfully crossing the river was rather slim, just like Otoha had said, but one could’ve still feasibly washed ashore. Still, it turned out to be a needless worry.
The sandbank is zombie-free.
I breathed a sigh of relief and prepared to sit down.
“Hiroaki,” Otoha called out to me, “Uemura said she’d teach us martial arts.”
“What?”
A little abrupt, no? Also, did Tetsuko actually volunteer to do this?
“I asked her nicely,” Otoha added, as if she’d read my thoughts.
“Care to join us?” Tetsuko asked, popping out from behind her.
“You should really get some rest, Uemura.” Seriously, she’d done all of the driving thus far. “And you, Otoha, be a little more understanding, puh-lease.”
“I appreciate the concern, but I’m more than happy to oblige. We need to think long term, after all.” Tetsuko didn’t look the least bit bothered. In fact, she even kept up a cordial smile.
How is she not feeling even a little bit tired? She looks like your average young woman, yet she’s got more stamina than the only guy in the group.
“Quote. ‘Without the gun, I’m easy pickings.’ End quote,” Otoha said as she drew closer.
“Well, yes, but—”
“It’s a valuable opportunity.”
“Not sure if a single session’ll do much, but you know what? Fine. I’ll give it a shot.”
Otoha was right. This was a valuable opportunity.
Needless to say, VRFPS games had done little to improve my martial arts prowess. I had good reflexes and a decent build, but that alone could only take me so far.
“Again, sorry for disrupting you, Uemura.”
“Please, it’s fine,” she said amicably. “We’ll focus on self-defense techniques, no fitness training. Hiroaki, would you be so kind as to walk over to me?”
At her request, I casually walked toward Tetsuko. “Sure, then wha—”
The moment I got within arm’s reach of her, she snatched me by my collar and threw me to the ground. Thankfully, the soft grass cushioned my fall. She had also pulled back at the very last second.
“Thoughts?”
“Never knew I could fly.”
“Judo and aikido are all about redirecting the opponent’s momentum. There’s more to it than sheer strength. Also, striking arts like karate and boxing aren’t very effective against walkers, so we can cross those off the list.” Her explanation was as eloquent as ever.
Strikes and blows wouldn’t do much good against an adversary that could shrug off broken bones and torn limbs like it was nothing.
Throwing techniques by themselves would have a hard time incapacitating a zombie, but they could set you up for a number of effective responses—stomping its face in, destroying its spinal cord, or even giving yourself enough time to escape.
“Your thoughts, Otoha?” Tetsuko asked, turning to face her.
“I like your movements,” said definite martial arts expert, Otoha Judou. “But we’ll need something more against zombies.”
“Such as...?”
“Allow me to demonstrate.” Otoha turned and started coming right at me.
“I’ve got a bad feeling about this...”
“A zombie’s deadliest weapon is its teeth.” Without warning, Otoha shoved her fist into my mouth. “Or rather, its jaw. Scratches are deadly in their own right, but nothing a thick set of clothes can’t handle. The jaw, not so much, so we put it out of commission.”
“Hrmngh! Mmfff!”
Tetsuko watched attentively, then replied, “That sounds like an excellent idea, but what about the risk factor associated with sticking your hand inside a zombie’s mouth?”
“Ideally, you’d want to use an object—preferably a rolled-up magazine, but anything’ll do—while wearing appropriately thick gloves to mitigate the risk. If executed correctly, the zombie’s teeth go bye-bye.”
“Mrngh... Nmff!”
“A rolled-up magazine, that’s genius! Easy to find and easy to dispose of.”
“Disposing of the tool lessens the risk of infection, too.”
I finally reached up and pulled her hand out of my mouth. “When will you learn that your actions have consequences?!”