High School of the Dead + One

「Twelve Dead」

A white-haired girl opened the door slowly, trying exceptionally hard not to let the old wooden junk screech, but it didn't help—if anything, it made it worse.

"Where the hell have you been?" a demanding voice echoed around the house so loudly, Yuki was surprised the neighbors didn't wake up.

"I-I was at a-a f-f-f-friend's house," she mumbled, avoiding his eyes.

Slap.

The palm of his hand connected with her cheek with so much force, her head snapped to the right and her eyes watered without her permission.

"The hell you were! Since when do you have friends?" he barked, towering over her by at least two feet.

Yuki's hand automatically touched her stinging cheek. "I... met them... at the park."

Dang. Her voice broke.

Crack.

Her back hit the door hard, the back of her head smashing into the wooden paneling.

"Are you crying?" he demanded in disgust.

"No," she answered, thankful when her voice didn't give away the wetness building in her eyes.

His big hands grabbed her shoulders roughly, ramming her against the door again because he could. "Whose house were you at?"

"The Takagi's Estate," she lied quickly, keeping herself from whimpering.

His grip loosened almost immediately, just like she knew it would, and his grey eyes pierced her. "So you befriended Saya Takagi like I said?"

She nodded meekly, eyes shut in anticipation.

"Good," he barked, the look in his eyes making her shiver. "Don't fuck this up for me, understand?"

With one last shove, she heard his massive footsteps walk away, leaving her to slink to the floor, head resting on the door as soft sobs escaped uncontrollably.

–xxx–

Rika Minami's Apartment, Fujimi, Japan

Z-Day+2 1:07am

–xxx–

Saeko is standing next to me, binoculars in hand. I watch as Takashi's grip on the gun tightens, eyes hardening at the destruction in front of us. The cries and screams of innocent people are deafening, and I cover my ears in a desperate attempt to block them out.

"Dammit," Takashi growls. "This is just too cruel."

"Takashi." Kohta looks back at him.

"What?" he snaps.

"Do you think we should shoot them?" Kohta asks.

"That should be obvious," Takashi yells, "Shoot—"

"Have you forgotten they react to sounds, Komuro?" Saeko wonders, lowering the binoculars and heading into the room. She flips a switch and darkness surrounds us. "And the survivors will swarm here like bugs looking for light. Even if we use everything we have, we're not capable of saving everyone out there. They have to survive on their own, like we're doing." The look she sends our way makes me shiver at the familiarity. "I'll understand if you disagree, Komuro. Miyamoto told me that, in spite of everything, your first response was to get as many survivors out of school as possible, like a good man, but there's nothing we can do here."