Highschool of the Dead: Fanfiction Darkpenn

Chapter 14: war

War

Some old friends of Alice have become pawns in a larger game.

"So how are you enjoying your learning year, Sachiko?" said Alice Maresato.

"Well, I wasn't expecting a trip to take supplies to a town of zombies to be part of it," said Sachiko Hirano.

Huyu Tzasi laughed. "Nevertheless, the idea of kids living for a year in another settlement after they finish their formal schooling is a good one," he said. "Nozomi and Rise and some of the others spent some time in Nagoya and Mulitenko, and some of our young people are at Tomo or Kaga. Broadens the mind, gives you new skills, that sort of thing. Pre-Outbreak, there were places called universities for that. But when I went, I spent most of my time learning how to drink beer, as I recall."

Sachiko and Alice both laughed.

The three of them were riding to the village of Rest, where there was a group of non-belligerent zombies living. Since first making contact with them, Alice had visited Rest a number of times.

"I'm not sure that coloured balls and marbles count as supplies," said Alice. "But they seem to like them. Several years ago, when Chizu and I first gave them some balls, they just held them, or passed them around. Last time, six months ago, they had devised a game involving hitting a ball into a box with a piece of wood."

"Huh," said Sachiko. "Zombie hockey."

"Something like that," said Alice. "But let me remind you that most of what we know about zombies - which I admit is still not a great deal - comes from this group."

"In any case," said Huyu, "they are still zombies. So don't turn your back on them, and keep a gun very handy."

"With the safety off," said Alice.

They crested a hill and saw Rest before them.

Alice reined her horse to a stop. Huyu and Sachiko followed suit.

"Something's wrong," she said.

"How do you know?" said Sachiko.

"Take it as given," said Huyu.

The three of them drew their guns. They rode forward - slowly.

It was only a few minutes before they came across the first decapitated body. The second one was a couple of meters away. The rest were scattered around the village, some in the dilapidated buildings.

Alice approached one of the bodies, lying on its chest. Carefully, she turned it over. It was Shiro. In his hand, he was clutching a red rubber ball. It was something that Alice had given him.

"Goddamn," she said softly.

"Who did this?" said Sachiko. "Survivors, people who didn't know that these ones weren't dangerous?"

"No," said Huyu, who was studying the ground. "These tracks weren't made by people. And look at the wounds on their bodies. Humans would have cut the heads off. But these were, well, it looks more as if they were ... torn ... off. Not just killing them. More like ... making a statement."

"Zombies," said Sachiko. "Aggressive ones. Maybe they didn't like the idea of some of their kind going off to live separately, learning to live with humans."

"I owe them a decent end," said Alice. "They helped me once when I needed it. They deserve better than to be left to the flies."

They carried the bodies into one of the buildings, and laid them out with as much dignity as possible. Then they stacked branches and wood around the building. Finally, they set it alight, and it became a funeral pyre for Shiro and the others.

"What does this mean?" said Sachiko, as they watched the fire.

"It means," said Alice, "that the zombies have discovered how to make war on their own."