residents of the dead

sweet child

"Hey, guys …" Takashi said as he came out to join. He seemed panicked, probably having heard the dog's barking.

"This is bad," said Kouta grimly.

The boys watched the chaos that was reigning down below. It wasn't just zombies down there; it was people, too. There were so many people running, fleeing for their lives. And all Takashi, Kouta and Jin could do was watch as their desperate struggle for survival was ended by the teeth of the ravenous zombie horde.

Takashi turned around and made to leave the balcony. He was preparing his shotgun. There was a certain amount of rage on his face after watching the scene below. "Damn it," he said in a growl. "It's too cruel …"

"Komuro," said Kouta.

"What?" Takashi asked aggressively, turning around to face.

"Do you really think going down there alone – with nothing but a shotgun, mind you – is gonna make any difference to those people?" Jin asked him, gesturing his arms at the scene in the streets. the moans and groans of the zombies clear as day, and just barely hear the screams and whimpers of their victims.

"Did you forget 'they' react to sound, Komuro-kun?" asked Saeko-san, who had joined them on the balcony without any one noticing. "But the living will see the light. And when that happens, they'll come to us." She turned the lights inside the bedroom off. "We need to stay in the dark."

"We can't save everyone, Takashi," Jin said as tenderly. 

"They have to survive on their own," said Saeko. She sent Jin an approving nod and a slight smile. "Just like us. I know what you wanna say. I heard it from Miyamoto. Compared to just yesterday, you've grown severe and have also stepped up to your role as a man. But take a good look." She took the binoculars from the edge of the balcony and gave them to Takashi. "Get used to it! This world's changed into a place where you can't survive on chivalry alone." She began to walk away.

"Busujima-senpai," said Takashi. Saeko stopped. "I could've sworn you felt differently than that." He turned to Jin. "And you, A few days ago, you'd have jumped at a chance to save a life. When did that change?"

"When the world turned back to shit, after I helped saved it" Jin said. He frowned. "But don't get me wrong, just because I see and accept the truth doesn't mean I like it."

Saeko took a little glance at the boxer, then looked at Takashi. "It's not like I enjoy it," she said, then went back downstairs.

Takashi brought the binoculars up to his eyes and looked down into the street. He grimaced. "… It's hell out there," he said gravely.

Jin couldn't see as well as the other two, but he could see enough. He could see enough to know that there was no hope or happiness to be found down there. People were running, screaming, and dying all over the place. Moments that he tried to push down resurfaced again as he thought back to his old unit in the BSAA.

"wait … IS THAT A LITTLE GIRL!?" Kouta asked. Both Jin and takashi turn into the direction of where the sniper was pointing

It was. There was a small girl – six or seven years old, judging from the size of her – being pulled by the hand by a man that could only assume was her father. Jin couldn't make out the details because he didn't have  anything  good to look through like Takashi and Kouta did, but by had a vague understanding of what was happening as he watched the scene unfold.

They ran through a metal gate and into the garden of someone's house, a house that had the lights on.

Saeko-san was right, takashi mused to himself. Survivors flock toward the light like moths to the flame.

They saw the father start to bang on the doors of the house. He was yelling, too, but they didn't hear him at first. Then the frequency of his bangs on the door increased, as did the volume of his shouts. "OPEN UP!" I could hear him yell. "IF YOU DON'T OPEN THESE DOORS, I'LL BREAK 'EM DOWN!"

"Oh he done fucked up" Jin said as he loaded an arrow into the crossbow taking aim. "Damn not going to reach from here with this"  Takashi turn to Jin with a questionable look as kouta quickly took off the safety off the sniper.

The father was getting desperate, it could easily be seen. Though it looked almost like it was working out for him, as the door started to open … and even from this distance, they saw as someone inside the house drove a long, sharp pole into the chest of the man who was only trying to find a safe place for him and his daughter. As the man fell to the floor, his daughter kneeling by his bleeding body, the people in the house simply closed the door. They'd learned their lesson, too – they turned off their lights when the door closed.

"Son of a bitch," all three muttered.

The small girl began to cry into her dead father's chest. It was a heartbreaking sight to witness. And to think the final straw for Jin, as for all of them, was when the little girl's yells reached up on the balcony.

"I'M STAYING WITH YOU, DADDY! I'M STAYING WITH YOU FOREVER!"

A loving father, Jin thought, smiling a little to himself despite the negative emotions running through him after watching the scene. She was lucky to have one. But to lose him must be … horrible. Jin suddenly had the great urge to hug her, comfort her, tell her everything was going to be all right …