The weapon’s true form was like a cocoon spun in layers of rotten, foul flesh.
Like maggots on a corpse, the nanomachines fed on flesh, decomposing and rebuilding it. At least, that was what the AI pretending to be Keith had led us to believe.
Cocoons can’t move, though. Undergoing metamorphosis completely changes the form of an insect, rendering it immobile in the process.
Zombies break this rule. Not only do they move, but they attack uninfected humans as well. This means that the weapon is active even as it undergoes metamorphosis through feasting on a zombie’s flesh.
In that sense, it’s more like molting. The weapon’s final form should, by all means, be structurally similar to that of a human. In that case, I think I know what to do.
“Back up, everyone!” I barked, taking a few steps back, eyes locked on the door.
“What’s the plan?” Shino asked as she retreated.
“This supposed weapon of mass destruction can’t seem to break through walls, nor can it squeeze itself through the gap in the door.”
“And?”
“That means it’ll have to bust through that door just like any ol’ human.”
“Ohhh.” Shino caught on quick.
“What do you mean?” Otoha asked, still in the dark.
“The moment it steps inside, we mow it down. It won’t matter how fast that thing moves if it’s only got a single entrance point.”
Plus, its movements’ll be heavily restricted by the racks on either side. We’ll be able to spray to our hearts’ content, good aim or not.
“Shiiko, you look for an exit. If you find one, make sure to leave it open. Uemura and Shino, you help me gun it down.” I then turned to Otoha. “If that doesn’t work...”
“I’ll do the honors.” Otoha nodded, brandishing her shovel. “You can count on it.”
“That’s not what I meant!”
“What did you mean, then?”
“I meant you and Shiiko should get the hell outta here! If you don’t find an exit, sneak around it while we’ve got that thing’s attention and escape through the entrance.”
The creature’s very existence—scratch that, the zombie outbreak itself—had proven that the time machine was very much real. This meant that even if we failed miserably and got ourselves killed, so long as Shiiko, the expert, and Otoha, the muscle, made it out alive, we’d still have a shot at saving humanity. Those two had to be protected at all costs.
“It’s coming,” Tetsuko said, bringing up her Mossberg.
I equipped the UMP in one hand and the MP9 in the other as Shino readied her M700.
“Get going!” I ordered, tossing Otoha a walkie-talkie. “Aim for the upper body, especially the head. There’s a good chance we’ll hit its central nervous system or sensory organs, given that it’s humanoid.”
“As you wish.”
“Copy that.”
Immediately after Tetsuko and Shino spoke up, the door was wrenched away. The creature headed straight for us, the red glow of its eyes muddied by its rotting flesh.
“When all’s said and done, that thing’s just another zombie, final form or not,” I said, pressing the UMP and the MP9 against one another.
Relatively speaking, humans are way weaker than most animals, yet we came to dominate the planet thanks to the most potent weapon of all: our intellectual capacity. Zombies can’t possibly win against humans since that’s the one thing they lack.
“Fire!”
We pumped the zombie full of three different kinds of bullets as it recklessly ran closer and closer. SMG bullets, shotgun buckshot, and high-velocity rifle bullets merged into one bangin’, beautiful whole.
This torrent of fire and lead was human ingenuity at its finest.
Ricocheting bullets shattered vial after vial on the shelves. A foul odor filled the room as shards of broken glass and plastic rained down on the ground. Our hail of bullets, which would’ve been overkill for a human, penetrated its blackened body.
Final form or not, that should turn it into mincemeat.
But then, its massive frame leapt into the air. “Huh? No way...” I muttered, completely dumbfounded.
The zombie swatted away some of the bullets and then it sprang off the ground, off the walls, off the racks, and even off the ceiling, deftly weaving around every shot.
My idea that it had to move like a human had turned out to be completely wrong. That thing was closer to a monkey or a cat with the way it used vertical leaps to its advantage.
“Get outta here! Run!” I shouted to Shino and Tetsuko as I walked backward.
“What about you?!”
“I’ll get its attention! Now run!” I yelled, firing both SMGs.
“But—”
“Run, Lady Shino!” Tetsuko said, switching to the UMP.
The long and heavy bolt-action M700 wasn’t in any way suited for shooting down targets with such unpredictable movements. There was also the fact that tracking the damned thing would be downright impossible without the barrel getting stuck against a shelf. SMGs, on the other hand, were perfect for keeping it at bay.
“Did you kill it?!” came Shiiko’s voice through the walkie-talkie. They must’ve found an exit, seeing as they weren’t here anymore.
“I wish!”
“I’m out,” Tetsuko said, tossing aside her UMP. I then realized both my SMGs had gone silent as well.
“Where is it?!” I asked, unholstering the SAKURA.
“I lost it!” Tetsuko yelled back, pulling out her Makarov.
In the instant we’d shifted our focus, the zombie had seemingly vanished into thin air, despite its gargantuan body.
It must be hiding behind one of these racks.
“Dammit, how do we deal with this thing?!”
“Hiroaki, quick, over here!”
“Shino, take Tetsuko with you, meet up with Shiiko, and secure an escape route!”
“But—”
“Take this too, just in case.” I pushed the SAKURA into her hands.
“But it’s yours!”
“Don’t worry, I’ve got this baby by my side!” I brandished her dad’s rifle—the Lightweight Stalker—slung over my back. Out of my entire arsenal, it had the greatest stopping power bar none, even if it might not be enough to take the thing down. “Go, I’ll handle this!”
I’ve always wanted to say that! Then again, maybe I shouldn’t put up my own death flags so easily.
Oddly enough, I wasn’t scared at all, but that might’ve just been a side effect of scraping by in this zombie-infested world where the line between life and death was as blurry as could be.
Who cares if I’m missing a few screws or I’m broken beyond repair, so long as I can fight for what truly matters most—my friends. God, I’m so awesome.
“But—”
“Let’s go, Lady Shino.”
You’re a true lifesaver, Tetsuko. I’ve gotta focus on buying time for you all to escape, not quibbling over nothing.
“Gotcha!” I fired the Lightweight Stalker at a shadow zipping past one of the racks. A vial was blown to pieces, but the zombie appeared to have avoided the blast.
“Come out and fight me like a man, coward!” I bellowed as Shino and Tetsuko drew farther and farther away. Of course, I didn’t expect a zombie or a weapon or whatever the hell it was to be affected by taunts, but the noise could catch it by surprise.