Highschool of the Dead: Fanfiction Darkpenn

Chapter 15: Tech

Tech

If you have to go to a gunfight, go loaded.

"What do you think they're doing in there?" said Saya.

"I'm sure it's not what you think," said Hirano. "If it was, they wouldn't have any machinery. Just a sleeping bag."

"Humph," said Saya.

They were standing in the kitchen of Maresato farm, looking out the window at the barn. Sachiko, recently returned from a stay in Nagoya and elsewhere, and Mukato, who was from Nagoya but was currently doing part of his 'away' year in Tomo, had curtained off a section of the barn, and had put up a sign saying 'NO ENTRY'. The two of them, who were both about seventeen, had been seen carrying pieces of salvaged machinery and various bags in, and spent a lot of their time there after they had finished their chores. They had rigged up a power line from the farmhouse to the barn, and occasionally there were peculiar sounds.

Saya was, in fact, more curious than concerned. But mainly she simply did not like the idea of something happening without her knowing exactly what. When she had asked them about the mysterious goings-on, they had replied along the lines of 'you'll find out' or 'we'll tell you when we're finished'.

As they watched, Sachiko and Mukato came out of the barn and walked up to the farmhouse. They came into the kitchen.

"Momma, Dad, we've got something to show you," said Sachiko. She opened her hand to reveal what she was holding.

It was a shotgun cartridge.

"Uh, well, that's ... well, it's a cartridge," said Saya.

Hirano took it from Sachiko and examined it. "Outstanding," he said. "Absolutely outstanding."

"Uh, just what is outstanding about it?" said Saya.

"We made it," said Mukato.

"Six gauge, right?" said Hirano. "You've tested it?"

Mukato nodded.

"Hold on," said Saya. "What do you mean: 'you made it'?"

"We made it," repeated Mukato. "From scratch."

"Well, not exactly from scratch," said Sachiko. "The casing is salvage but we made the black powder and the shot, which is mainly metal fragments. So far, we've made twenty of them. Took us a while to get the powder mix right, but we have a formula now. It's just saltpeter, charcoal and sulphur, which are all easily available. There were some useful books in the Nagoya library that gave us a start."

"Really?" said Saya. "That's ... quite something." She took it from Hirano and looked closely at it.

"Come and see our workshop," said Mukato.

The four of them went to the barn, and Sachiko and Mukato explained the pressing machine and other equipment. They also showed them an array of molds.

"These are for bullet heads," said Sachiko. "But we haven't worked out a way to melt metal into a liquid that can be poured yet."

"Reika Arimake might be able to help you with that," said Hirano. "She has a kiln for her pots. She can probably help you build something that will give you enough heat."

Mukato explained the testing procedures they had devised. The early tests had been done by tying a shotgun to a post and pulling the trigger with a long cord - just in case the whole gun exploded.

"Auntie Alice once said that no-one was making any more bullets," said Sachiko. "And that was going to be a real problem if the zombies in Tokyo decide to move on us. So we thought we would take this on as a project."

"Very good work, and good initiative," said Hirano.

"But you could have told us," said Saya. "I could have helped you."

"Uh, Momma, you tend to take things over, and we wanted to do this ourselves," said Sachiko.

Saya opened her mouth to reply but before she could speak Hirano said: "We are very proud of you, both of you. Aren't we, Saya?"

"Mmm, yes, very proud," mumbled Saya.

"Of course, you realise that now you have shown some technical skills you'll have to keep going," said Hirano to Sachiko and Mukato. "Say, we're going to the factory in a few days, maybe you'd like to join us and see if there's anything there that sparks some ideas."

"Humph," said Saya. She turned and walked back to the farmhouse.

"What, is she pissed at us?" said Mukato to Hirano.

"Not at all," said Hirano. "She's just being Saya. Wait a second."

In a few moments, Saya returned, carrying something. It was one of her two laptop computers. She handed it to the two young people.

Knowing its value, they simply stared at it. When they took it from her, they held it as if it was made of the finest crystal.

"If you're going into the tech business, you're going to need this," she said. "It's yours, although it's got my windmill designs and some other stuff on it. Maybe you can take a look at them and see if there's any ways to improve them. I'll expect you to come up with something by the time we get to the factory."

"Uh, alright," said Mukato.

"In the meantime," said Hirano, "twenty shells isn't going to do a whole lot of good if it comes to a fight. Aim for a hundred - that is, a hundred more - by the end of the week. Teach Isamu and Kaito to use your machine so you can work in shifts, and draw up a plan for the organised salvage of casings. Rei and Ben can help you with that. And ride over to Reika's place and get her help on designs for a furnace. Shotgun cartridges are very good but we will also need bullets. I suggest you focus on seven-mil, it's the type used most often."

"You'll need a random testing system," added Saya. "Factor that into your production schedule. And don't forget you have to work around your usual list of chores."

Sachiko and Mukato looked at each other. "Now we've done it," said Sachiko.

END