Highschool of the Dead: Fanfiction Darkpenn

Chapter 6.3: the travels and travails of alice maresato

Part 3: What You Find Again

Zombies are not the only monsters on the loose.

It was two months since Alice and Chizu had left Nagoya. They had stopped at every village and farmhouse they could find. Most were deserted but they encountered a number where small groups of people had established lives for themselves. Many did not know if there were other people still alive, and were surprised - often amazed - when the two young women appeared, Alice riding her horse and Chizu driving the little cart, ready to trade food and goods or simply willing to exchange stories and information.

They had left a farmhouse which was home to two extended families the day before. The people there had given them several pots of honey, produced on the farm, in exchange for vegetable seeds that Alice and Chizu had collected. Now, as the cart rolled along, Chizu occasionally dipped a spoon into a honey-pot and licked it off.

"Don't eat it all, we might be able to trade it for something else," said Alice, laughing.

"When I was at Mulitenko, eating fish for breakfast, lunch and dinner, I used to dream about honey," said Chizu. "Which reminds me, I have to update my journal."

"Your what?" said Alice.

Chizu pulled a little book from her pack. It was a school exercise book. She had already filled the first few pages.

"I got this when we were at Nagoya Castle," she said. "I've been making some notes on the places we've been to. And collecting the names of the people in each place. See, here are the people from Nagoya, and these are the ones I remember from Mulitenko. And here are the names of all the other people we've met so far. That way, people can look and see if they have any relatives or friends still alive."

"That's a good idea," said Alice. "It might seem like a long shot, but I suppose that Gabi Hiro found she still had a sister. And keeping a record of things makes sense, especially if people want to start trading. A lot of people would be interested in the honey farm, I think."

She brought Riku to a halt, peering into the distance along the road. She pulled the telescopic sight from her pack and put it to her eye. Something was coming towards them.

She picked up her crossbow.

"What is it?" whispered Chizu. "Trouble?"

Alice handed Chizu the sight. She looked.

"Zombies," said Chizu. She counted. Seven. "Do we run or fight?"

"For the moment, we watch," said Alice.

The zombies were shuffling slowly along the road.

"I didn't know that they just, well, walked around," said Chizu.

"I remember Takashi telling me once that he and Saeko had found a village of zombies that didn't attack them," said Alice. "He said that they seemed self-aware, but all they were able to do was walk around the village, drifting from one place to another."

"You think this might be the same sort of thing?"

"I think that they must have seen us by now, but they're not attacking. But get that shotgun of yours, Chizu, and use it at the first sign of trouble."

Armed, the two of them dismounted. The zombies were only twenty metres away now.

"That's close enough," called Alice, lifting the crossbow and aiming at the zombie in the lead.

The little group shuffled to a stop. They peered at Alice and Chizu.

"Do you understand me?" said Alice.