Highschool of the Dead: Fanfiction Darkpenn

Chapitre 23: all good things- part 1

Tsuyama

Z + 22 years

Rei, Saya, Alice and Shizuka were riding together, returning to Maresato after the funeral. Rei had asked that they take a roundabout route, and the others had agreed.

"So who's going to make pots, now?" said Alice. "I know that Kemi tries, but I don't really think she has the knack."

"For the past couple of years, Reika has been giving lessons to anyone who wanted them," said Saya. "She wasn't able to travel, this past six months, but Naoki and Kemi went to Nagoya, Sakai, and Niigata to set up kilns, using her plans. They're going pretty well, apparently."

Shizuka sighed. "We're going to miss her," she said. "I did what I could, but in the end it was just, well, her time. Before the Outbreak, there might have been the technology and drugs to give her a few more years, but not now."

"She understood all that," said Rei. "And so did Naoki and Kemi. They appreciate everything you did for her."

They rode on for a while. Eventually, Alice said: "Rei, just where are we going?"

They crested a hill. "We're there," said Rei.

It was a town, deserted but still in fair condition. Pre-Outbreak, it was probably home to about ten, perhaps twelve, thousand people.

"I know this place," said Alice. "It's called Tsuyama. No zombies, no dogs." She sighed. "Okay, Rei, out with it," she said.

Rei gave a little laugh. "Well, alright," she said, as they entered the town. "For a while, I've been looking for a place that can take us to the next level. There's about 25,000 people in Japan now, scattered around in various settlements from Sakhalin to Hiroshima. We're producing a surplus of food, and enough has been stored to see us through a bad year, even two years in a row. All the settlements have got some sort of energy source, and there's a good trade network. The overall level of health is pretty good, with clinics in most of the settlements."

"And a lot of that is due to you three," said Alice.

"Don't forget your own role, Alice," said Shizuka. "You must have racked up more miles on the road than anyone."

"My point," said Rei, "is that we can now start thinking about the future. We're obliged to, in my view. Tsuyama can be a part of that. For a start, there's that building there. It used to be a college, a boarding-school one. It can be again. It's in fair condition, mainly just overgrown. Can be cleared up and repaired. There's even a library. This place can educate the next generation of people, beyond the basic level."

She paused.

"Why do I feel that the shoe is about to drop?" said Saya.

"Well, you, Saya, are the obvious person to be the principal," said Rei.

"Clunk," said Shizuka.

Saya stared at Rei. Eventually, she said: "Is there any way I can refuse this?"

"No, not really," said Rei.

Saya considered. After a while, she said: "Two conditions. First, I think I can handle the academic side, but someone else will be needed for the management side. Maybe Naoki Tioba, he's good at organisation and would probably like to take on a big project."

"Fair enough," said Rei. "Second condition?"

"That it be named after Reika Arimake."

"Wouldn't have it any other way."

"Well, now you're in for it, Saya," said Shizuka.

Rei turned to Shizuka. "I'm not finished yet," she said. "Shizuka, in the next block there's a building that used to be a hospital. It's yours. Whether you like it or not. So recruit whatever people you need to get it set up and operating. The idea is that it can handle things that the local clinics can't, and undertake medicine manufacture as well."

"Do you have any idea how much work that would be?" said Shizuka.

"I do," said Rei.

Their ride had brought them to the front of a big building. Rei dismounted, as did the others. She looked at Alice.

"Uh-oh," said Alice.

"Alice, this building used to a series of small factories. As far as I can tell, they used to make metal things, wooden things, stuff like that. There's even one that recycled stuff into, well, other stuff."

"So I suppose you want me to get them operating again?" said Alice.

"We already have a parts problem with a lot of things, from motorbikes to windmills," said Rei. "So, yes. But there is another project that you would also be perfect for." She hauled at the big sliding door of the building. It opened and they went in.

"Fuck," said Saya.

It was a train - or, rather, the locomotive engine of a train. An old-fashioned steam-powered engine. There was a dusty sign on it, saying that it had once been a project of an organisation called the Steam Engine Preservation and Restoration Society of Japan.

"Tsuyama used to be a big crossing point of rail lines," said Rei. "You see that there's a line running right through this building, and this engine is on it. It connects to the grid, about a kilometre away."

Alice stared at Rei.

"So you want me to - ?"

"Yep."

"Despite the fact that - ?"

"Yep."

"Even though - ?"

"Yep."

Alice went up to the engine. She ran her hand over it. After a long while, she said to it: "Hullo. I'm Alice."

"Rei," said Saya. "I have to admire your ambition, but do you know how much work all this is going to be? Just clearing the vegetation is going to take months, probably longer. Then there's getting power organised, putting in supplies of food and water, all the logistical stuff. How is it all going to be done?"

Rei smiled. "For six months, I've been talking with people at various settlements," she said. "As I said, we're producing more than enough food. There are a lot of people who want to do something other than farming, and have expressed an interest in this idea. Of course, it would mean paying them. So we'll have to become more systematic about the currency. There'll have to be more Hiranotes. Instead of making them by hand, we'll have to start printing them. Benaro and I have done some tests with woodblock prints, and it works pretty well.

"In fact, doing all that stuff - working out how much currency is needed, keeping track of who is producing what, making sure enough is put aside for bad years - is becoming a full-time job. I thought I would set up an office here in Tsuyama, so Ben and I could focus on it, as well as solving disputes and things like that. And every now and then, the representatives of the communities could meet here and discuss things.

"So, are you in?"

"Well, uh, hmm ... well, okay," said Saya. "I'll give it a try."

"I guess we have to look to the future," said Shizuka. "So, yes, I'm in."

Alice was in the cabin of the engine, examining levers and instruments. She poked her head out. "Er, what were you saying?" she said.

"She's in," said Saya.

END