CH13 - Left behind

[Lyon's POV]

"Everyone ready?" I asked my companions as I stand in front of the door, the handle gripped tightly as my left hand finished securing my backpack's strap. The others nod to my question, having already finished securing everything we've managed to loot from this building.

I fish out the phone with what seems to be a faulty battery from my pockets and swipe the screen, prompting it to open and show me what time it was and how much battery I had remaining. I considered it faulty since it seemed like the battery was already quickly running out from just a few hours of acting as a flashlight.

Big white numbers in the middle of the screen and small black digits on the top right informed me that the time was 1:30 PM and that I only had 27% of battery remaining before this turned into a useless brick of plastic and metal. It isn't like I'm going to need this phone/flashlight anymore since we're about to head outside anyway.

With their nods of assurance, I slowly turned the door's handle, and the hallway leading to the southern exit of the building presented itself directly in front of us. I point my flashlight to my right and front, revealing to me empty hallways that stretched openly. I step outside and start walking in front of me, the others following in suit as we left the door to the nurse's office open.

'The hallways are a lot more empty than I thought they would've been.' I think to myself as we continued on our path forward. The sight of blood-stained hallways has already lost its scary touch. There were splotches of blood, but their former owners were nowhere to be seen, and questions and thoughts of where they were served merely as distractions from this otherwise boring walk in the hallway.

None of the helicopters that were flying around the city flew past us which meant there were no sudden stimulants for the zombies in the campus center to suddenly just flood from one direction to another. This lack of sudden stimulation for the zombies won't last though as in a few hours, the bridges that were located north and south of the city will be destroyed, effectively cutting off the normal means of reaching the outskirts of the city.

'I'm pretty sure the military destroyed both bridges at the same time but it doesn't matter since by the time that it does happen, we would probably already be in the southern maintenance shed, if not at least outside of the eastern building itself.' The group hiding in the western building is probably fucked though since the zombies will flood the two side buildings.

It took a few minutes but we were now standing right in front of the southern exit, its door was abnormally clean of any sign of blood or destruction. I tucked away my phone and took out the kitchen knife, there were ample amounts of light coming from the sun so the phone/flashlight had already lost its purpose, for now at least.

There were quite a lot of zombies outside, wandering without purpose other than maybe the basic instinct of just moving. It isn't like they were blocking the path forward anyway so just walking past and avoiding going too close to them should be easy enough. I push the door open as a breeze of fresh air greets us, carrying with it the rustic smell of blood.

'At least the smell of rot isn't there yet.' I sigh inwardly as my grip on the bokken and knife hardens. I step forward and walk down the stairs, the sound of shoes stepping on stair tiles being too quiet to garner the zombie's attention. The path towards the southern building was ironically paved with pristine bricks while the building that it led to looked more like one you'd see in a war setting.

The pavement was flanked by bushes and lawn lamps that stood in alternate directions which separated the path we were going to take from the open areas. We continued on our path, along the way we passed by a zombie who somehow managed to get half its body outside the bush while the upper half was at the inner side of the pavement.

It isn't like it was preventing us from moving forward but the memory of it just laying there, unable to stand nor move yet able to blindly glance at both sides of the pavement was enough to make me laugh quietly. A few minutes into our journey and we finally reached the intersection of the pavement.

To our right was another bricked path that led to the campus square, to our left was a path that led to an opening to reach the public basketball and volleyball courts while the path in front of us led to the southern building. It wasn't abandoned per se, but the reconstruction of the building was still quite early into its operations which meant it was probably devoid of anything noteworthy. There was scaffolding put into place already though, but that didn't matter, not to me at least.

I headed towards the left pathway instead of the one in front of us which may have surprised some of them since they probably didn't see any reason why I didn't choose the pathway in front of us. The southern building had its entire perimeter, excluding the pathways that led to each exit, surrounded by slightly tall bushes which meant we would've needed to go past the western exit of the perimeter which would've been just a waste of time.

Their questions and surprise will remain unanswered though since we were still outside which meant verbal communication is basically suicide. We reached the unbricked but grassless pathway, the basketball and volleyball courts were just to the northwest of our current position while the maintenance shed was a bit further to our left.

I turn left and continue walking silently, going around the zombies who were just shambling around without purpose. We could kill them, but there was no point in doing it anyway. Most of them were just employees of the school with only a few being students, most of them are probably at the campus square or the exit close to the northern building since our classes for the day were already finished.

It took us a few minutes of walking forward and going around the occasional zombie before we finally managed to reach the maintenance shed. We called it a shed but it was more like the size of a living room with the two sides extending, meaning it had more than enough to store both whatever equipment was inside, as well as ourselves for the night.

I opened the door and was greeted with a room filled with random tools meant for maintaining the previously pristine appearance of our campus and fixing whatever was broken. I take out my phone and flash it around the room, the door was clean of any blood prints but I made sure to check if there were any inside just for the sake of it.

I walk inside with the others following after me, to the side of the room were dusty mats we can use as a substitute for bedding while two windows were placed directly opposite the door, there were also a few wall shelves that held rather useless things except for the one thing I was looking for. I hear the door quietly close behind me before the quiet sound of its locking mechanism is used.

There were a lot of tools and equipment inside but there was only one thing I had in mind, the Nata machete. I go toward one of the shelves close to the window and find my trusty close-quarters weapon still inside its black nylon sheath. I slowly and quietly drop my bokken to the floor before taking the machete out of its sheath.

I grip the wooden handle and examine it alongside the stainless steel blade. Its wooden handle was long enough for two hands to be utilized for holding onto it, allowing its users to create big slashes for cutting wood, in this case, slashing zombies or human heads off. I then examine the blade, it was made of stainless steel, and while I may be clueless in regards to how to sharpen or polish it, there was one thing anyone with eyes cannot disregard, its sharpness.

'Ah, I'm in love again' I think to myself, looking at it one last time before depositing the blade back into the sheath. I strap the sheath to my belt before picking up the bokken I had abandoned to the floor. I turn around and see the other three whispering to themselves while looking at me.

"Hey Alyssa, I think your boyfriend is cheating on you with a knife" Chisato whispers to Alyssa without breaking eye contact with me while Ren stands behind them just listening in on their conversation.

"Damn, I didn't know he had a knife fetish, at least we know what to get him for his birthday then." Ren jokes alongside Chisato, the two of them waiting for Alyssa's reply to their prodding while I just stare at the two who were joking at my expense.

"Do you think I have a chance competing with that blade?" Alyssa jokingly inquires in a less serious tone than usual, earning silent chuckles and grins from the other two while I mentally promise to mess with Chisato and Ren next time.

"Ok, ok, that's enough. Look around the room for anything you guys think we might need, there are a few mats huddled in that corner of the room so it should be enough to at least save us from having to rest on the cold and uncomfortable floor." I tell them, prompting them to stop whispering amongst themselves as they begin looking around the room.

I take the mat and subconsciously move towards the windows before unrolling them as I shake it in an attempt to remove the dust it had gathered from remaining unused in that one corner of the room for who knows how long. My mind wanders randomly into mundane thoughts before ultimately settling into imagining how my parents were doing.

I had occasionally been checking my phone for any messages from my parents but there were none to be found. I haven't had a chance to do so for today, but I also tried using my radio to contact them only to hear no response from the other side which greatly worried me. I had no time to worry for them while we were outside but now that we were inside of this shed, the thoughts and worry I carried came toward me like a truck trying to find a weirdo to send to a different world.

I only managed to find three mats which were perfectly fine since one of us needed to stay awake for guard duty anyway. I place the three into a square formation to the side of the room, avoiding both the window and the door. We will need to talk about the night shift schedule later once we've settled in for the night.

I sit down on one of the mats in a seiza position with my backpack placed right in front of me while the bokken was placed beside me. I take out my phone and look through my messages, opening the chat group for me and my parents. I glare at my phone over the fact that it was unable to soothe any of my worries to the point that I didn't even notice Alyssa who was now standing to my right.

She sits behind me with her front facing the wall behind me as she leans into my back. It was probably just my imagination but this simple gesture of hers and the warmth emanating from her back was more than enough to wordlessly comfort me. I breathe in and close my eyes while letting the tranquil silence accompanied by the quiet shifting of shoes on the floor soothe my ears.

This goes on for an unknown amount of time, only for the sound of two distant explosions and the feeling of a slight shaking of the ground beneath this shed's foundation to bring me out of my stupor. I open my eyes and see Chisato and Ren who carried nervous expressions on their faces while looking around while I feel Alyssa behind me slightly shifting.

'So they finally did it huh, I wonder what that hellish sight looks like right now.' I think to myself while noticing how Chisato, Ren, and maybe even Alyssa stare at me with curious gazes. I close my eyes and ignore them, allowing my mind to return to its relaxed state as I wallow in the serene silence of the room, except this time, the screeches of the agitated zombies outside accompany it.

-----

[??? POV]

(10 minutes ago)

I stare at the wall mirror in front of me, checking for any dirt on my face or blood from the previous missions me and my squad had been given a few hours ago. Meeting with officers above me was always something I hated since it usually meant trouble or more orders to fulfill.

'Everything is in order, probably.' I think to myself as I check my short black hair for any dried blood as my brown eyes stare back at me from the mirror. I leave the squad's tent and start heading to the center of our camp which was stationed on the end of the bridge on the outskirts of the city. The civilian camp where refugees from inside the city were placed for quarantine was on the other side while the middle of the bridge was filled with abandoned cars.

'Ugh, why did this have to happen right before I could take a leave. I should be at home with Horie watching the next episode of some random isekai anime with the usual paragraph-like titles.' I complain inwardly before pausing my thoughts as I reach the command tent.

I go inside and see just utter chaos as people in the same green uniform I wear are shambling around, collecting reports and files or whatever. I move to stand in front of the square table where the person I answered to remain seated while adorning a thousand-mile stare. I put my two feet together and salute him, showing the respect he deserved alongside his rank.

"First Lieutenant Sakurai Shigeo, you and your squad are to join the other teams and head to the evacuation center outside of the city. You will wait for your next commands which I will bring with me after I return from Shokuga." He states without even looking at me. I wait for a few seconds, contemplating the implications of his commands.

"Sir, why are we pulling out? There are still survivors on the other side of the bridge waiting for the quarantine period to be finished so they can leave the city." I ask the man in front of me who remained seated at the table while people around him were still scrambling around.

"Orders from the higher-ups back in Shokuga, the air force, and the officers, or at least what's left of it, have deemed Yoime city to be a lost cause. They have decided that we need to cut our losses and slow down the spread of the virus in Iwate prefecture by bombing the bridges." The person in front of me explains emotionlessly as if he was reading from a script in a play.

"Sir, why Shokuga? Shouldn't we be getting our commands from Shinjuku, Tokyo sir?" I ask in confusion, the Japanese Self-Defense Force answered to the ministry of defense which was stationed there, so why would we be taking commands from someone in Shokuga City at Miyagi prefecture?

"We haven't received a single word from Tokyo other than the declaration of martial law, we also haven't received any word from the higher-ups based on Shinjuku so now we take orders from someone lower on the totem pole." He explains to me in a quiet voice, the reason remaining unknown to me, though it might be because he didn't want the people inside the same tent to hear as well.

"But sir, there are still families on the other side of the bridge, and wouldn't bombing the bridges be the equivalent of us just killi-" I try to reason to the man seating in front of me, his expression had shifted from an emotionless stare to a soul-piercing glare as more words came out of my mouth only for him to suddenly interrupt my words with his own.

"First Lieutenant Sakurai Shigeo, are you saying that you will not obey the orders given to you by your commanding officer!" The man in front of me shouts back, surprising me since this was the first time I had seen him raise his voice. I know this was unusual of him since he was a drinking friend of my late father which inevitably meant me having a few drinks with him as well.

"... No Major Mayeda Kaede, forgive me for my outburst, sir" I bow and answer back, my voice quieting down out of fear of being trialed for insubordination. I raise my head and noticed him sigh quietly, possibly in an attempt to calm down his nerves.

"Shigeo, my own daughter is still out there, I want to go out there myself and look for her but orders are orders." Major Mayeda answers back to me, his voice lessening in terms of volume as he turns his gaze back to the papers he held in his hand. He stands up and starts walking toward me, he puts a hand on my shoulders and whispers to me my orders before leaving the tent and getting in a Humvee, escorted by two armored personnel carriers.

I walk out of the tent and go to the parking space where the squad recently assigned to me was standing in formation in front of our vehicles. I think back to his words, hardening the grip on my Howa Type 20 rifle as I remember each word of his command.

'We are soldiers, we do as we are told when we are told' I think to myself in an attempt to strengthen my resolve as I think back to the refugees still stationed on the campsite on the other side of the bridge. The soldiers stationed there have most likely been informed of the higher-ups' decision and have quietly pulled out from their designated positions.

"Our squad has been ordered to leave the camp and head to the evacuation center outside of the city alongside the other teams. Future orders will be given to us when they decide that they want to, until then we are to secure and keep the public order there to acceptable levels. Let's go." My team, which consisted of 20 people, nodded to my words before splitting themselves into four since each Komatsu LAV could carry four people and one gunner.

I go to the lead LAV and sit on the front passenger seat, I close my eyes while clutching on my rank insignia. The vehicle starts moving and a few minutes later, I hear the sound of two explosions coming from the direction we had just come from. I clutch my insignia harder to the point that I might as well just pull it off and throw it away. I try to keep out the thoughts and the faces of the civilians we were supposed to protect, now stuck in the city without external aid as they are left behind.