Null Life: Last Day

Chapter 12

Whether it was day or night was still difficult to determine with all of the redness being exceedingly prominent. Only letting drowsiness overtake the senses became the means of getting into any sleep. They knew they had been awake for more than a few days, but the more the plan was delayed, the more hassle it would be to find their bomb targets when returning to the city. With a potential group of SDF chasing them down for this agregious heist, it complicated things. The undead, in a display of intelligence as a orderly moving horde, were at an all time high in hostility toward the two. Hori wished desperately that they remained as they were before, docile and allies. Something or someone had altered their actions, and even though the question was brought up it was obvious who, so this only made things even more difficult and dangerous with their sheer numbers.

Leaving behind trails of ageless looking corpses that would just reanimate in a timely manner were struggled through, to their surprise. Taking in more memories was out of the question for their focus. They eventually reached the conflict ridden docks where the second obstacle made itself apparent. It wasn't about being flown to the carrier. It was the extreme amount of SDF stationed even here of all places. Constant sieging was for some reason not what they anticipated. Only rifle fire filled the air, directed at the still standing undead like a firing squad. An anxiety inducing scene, worry was immense for the force still managing to hold their position down. Silence displayed their knowledge of what to do in this situation, regardless, it was clear now that this was just a waste of good ammunition, and that physically getting all of the zombies out of the area was the only way to rid of them. They were going to come face to face with a grisly fate if they didn't clear out. Hori then called out to them, acting like an enduring survivor next to Hitano's own feigning of exhaustion, having her arm over Hori's shoulder. The soldiers immediately noticed the zombies sprinting for the two, and took them out just as quickly.
"Seriously? Ugh, fine." Hori whispered discreetly.

"I thought too highly of myself when residing in the blackened plane. You weren't able to simply proceed, for that, I am guilty for." Hiroa said in her psyche.
"Don't worry, we're fine here now." Hori spoke deceptively to Hitano and Hiroa infront of the soldiers - she internally accepted the apology to help Hiroa confirm it was her being talked to. A soldier rushed over to them, leading them to a Helicopter without question, one that was hidden behind stacked shipping containers, this time armed with high caliber weaponry and rockets. "What would you even attack with that?" Hori said, bewildered by the deadly looking means of annihilation. She had never seen things like this in person. She finally noticed the flag of America on it, helping her understand the sheer ludicrousness. "I guess... it's still not that ludicrous for our situation." The soldier dismissed the curiosity and helped them aboard before signaling the pilot away.

Getting this deep into the supposed plan put absolute pressure on them. Dragging the bomb to topside was obviously out of the question, but she recalled elevating platforms that had other Helicopters stationed on them. All that was being hoped for now was the convenience of an attaching hook to hoist the bomb out. But one more potential means of fulfilling the plan came to Hori's composure, uninvited in the worst way possible.
"Want to succeed? You two must steal the detonator and any back ups they possess, otherwise you will have to kill everyone swiftly to avoid another fallout." Hiroa spoke in her psyche once again in a crucial moment. Hori moved over to Hitano's side, pulling her into an embrace, an awkward one at that. Hitano ended up obliging in a sisterly way.
"After thinking about it... Hitano Imada does sound perfect after all..." Hitano smiled softly.
Compassionately embracing each other, all other thoughts faded away for many moments, they took it all in for the sake of something to be happy about in this crisis, until the Pilot landed. A soldier rushed to greet them.

"Ah, we're glad you're safe! Hangars' over this way!"

The following moments were immediately daunting, and were in steps to help retain focus and composure. At the very least, there was no one on deck that held a detonator. Descending into the bright white hangar, the crushing sight of countless survivors amongst busy soldiers and medical staff were all around, yet there was something completely covered in green tarp in a far corner. The shape of it made it easy enough to know it was the bomb.
"Why would they have it here, unbeknownst to these people? That's just insane..." Hori whispered.
"We need to do something. How are we going to drag that thing out of here?" Hitano replied.
A dark sense would take over Hori's headache creating thoughts for all the innocent people below, as a result, she looked grimly at Hitano right into her eyes, hoping to convey her solution, but they would still first try to find a detonator or two, just incase.
"Oh no... that's... Hori, I am with you. We're still saving Japan and the rest of the world, right?" Hitano nodded to assure her. She then followed Hori, who was already going down the metallic stairs. For the first time in what felt like forever, murder was on her mind. The last time she had felt such darkness was by the terrible doing of Kuragari, which turned out to be her own doing in the end. The people here didn't deserve it, but Hisako's grim desire was steadily forcing her hand, one that she would now lay out after keeping it technically for so long...