CH26 - An inner debate

[Lyon's POV]

"How is she?" I asked without looking back, hearing the sound of footsteps coming from the direction of the gate which was behind me. I was sitting down on the ground, looking at the symbol spray painted onto the body of what was once Chisato's father.

It was no longer making any form of noise, not that it could even do it anymore considering how the blade of my machete was embedded deep on top of its head which was barely recognizable to the face we had seen before. I wasn't the one to do it even, Chisato herself snagged my machete away from me and kept hacking at the tied zombie's head before she broke down on the ground, crying her heart out.

"Ren is staying in the car with her, she fell asleep while clutching onto the two sheaths she dug out from the wreckage." The voice from behind answers me quietly, each word seemingly rising in volume as the person got closer and closer to where I sat. Chisato spent 10 minutes just breaking down before shambling to her home in awkward steps, kneeling on the ground as she dug through dust and ash before pulling out two dirtied sheaths that still had the blades inside them.

"It was probably a wakizashi and a katana, one of the sheaths was shorter than the other so they weren't the same thing. I guess she at least managed to salvage something from her burnt home." I tell Alyssa before turning my gaze behind me, seeing her standing to my left as I gazed at the remains of Chisato's home.

"The symbol spray painted on his chest, doesn't it seem familiar to you Lyon?" Alyssa asks me while pointing at the white Venn diagram-like symbol. I turn my gaze back to the body she was referring to before standing up, dusting both the front and back of my pants for any dust, ash, or dirt that may have stuck to them during the time that I was sitting.

"You're right, they aren't exactly the same but that's probably because it wasn't originally stitched onto the jacket's fabric. They probably carry around spray paint cans with them, it seems like they brand both their clothing and their victims with this specific symbol." I answered back to Alyssa's question while moving closer to the corpse

I stopped after the distance between us was but a few meters, pulling out the machete before using it to cut the ropes that kept the dead body standing, causing it to fall to the ground with a thud as the impact blew away dust. I go to the base of the tree and climbed up, cutting off the ropes that kept the bodies of Chisato's mother and little brother hanging on the branches.

"Why are they doing this... there's more than enough loot in the other obviously abandoned houses, so why bother going through all the trouble of breaking down a gate and killing the family?" Alyssa asks, I knew she was already aware of why but I guess voicing out questions while already knowing the outrageous answers for them helps give the person a clear mind.

"I overheard the two people that entered my house this morning talk about how some gang helped them escape from a prison bus or something. I guess this specific group of criminals doesn't need a logical reason for doing it, maybe they found pleasure in the act of killing." I voiced out my thoughts, not every criminal has such a mindset though, after all, petty thieves like pick pocketers exist too.

"How many of them do you think they are? This probably didn't happen recently since we couldn't see any smoke coming from this direction." Alyssa asks and concludes, her sharp eye managing to help add in a few tidbits of information to our situation. As for her question, well, even I wouldn't be able to claim to know, I could give an estimation at best but that'd be about it.

"I don't know, all I managed to hear is that they managed to escape from a prison bus, one of those buses can fit 30 criminals at the least and we also have to add the gang that helped them escape in the first place. They seem to be slightly organized too so there should at least be 30 of them, the chances of there being more are very high though." I tell Alyssa what I managed to deduce from the limited information I managed to conclude from the conversation that the two criminals had.

'There's a chance that it wasn't a single bus too but I'd rather not turn an already grim situation worse.' I think to myself before dragging each member of the family together. I made sure that their bodies were laid down on the ground in a somewhat organized manner.

Was there any point in doing this? No, not really but the thought of doing it just for the sake of showing a modicum of respect seemed slightly reasonable enough. It had only been 2 hours past 12 after all so we had quite a bit of time before the afternoon turned to night.

"What do we do now?" Alyssa asks as she moved closer to me, stopping only when she stood right beside me as we both looked down at the pale bodies of Chisato's deceased family.

"We go on with the original plan, we go to the academy, find my parents and bring them with us as we cross the river. We should find a place to stay for the night though since I doubt we'd reach the academy by today." I tell her before turning my back away from the corpses, heading straight to the car with Alyssa following close behind me.

The car was still parked exactly where we had left it, the silhouettes of both Ren and Chisato's shadowy figure appearing visible to us from the car's windshield. I and Alyssa head to the opposite sides of the car, opening the doors on both sides before we simultaneously sat on the back row of chairs in silence.

"Let's go, we should at least be able to travel halfway back to my house before the sun sets. We should actually be capable of reaching 3/4 of the way considering the fact that we don't need to go through any more pit stops like earlier." I tell Ren who starts up the car. We began driving back in the direction of my house, spending the next three and a half hours going past and around the few obstacles that blocked the road.

~3 hours and 30 minutes later~

"We'll rest in that house for the night, stop the car." I told Ren while pointing at the building to the right in front of us. The house we were going to stay the night in was two stories tall and had a 5-meter-high perimeter wall. Separating the lot from the streets itself were two black gates, one that was meant for a person to go through and one meant for a car.

The roof had two pipes running down both of its sides meant to guide the rainwater in the gutter onto the yard. The first floor had three thin, horizontal, and rectangular windows on the left side of the door while the right side was non-existent since what lay there was the space meant for a car. There was no car to be found though and the larger gate was left open which meant that the family who lived here probably escaped from the house using the car.

The second floor, in turn, had two windows on the front side of the house while also having a terrace right above the empty driveway. The house was right beside a narrow road that we had taken to get here which meant we'd already seen how big it was. It was quite small compared to the other house we stayed in the other day but it didn't have a backyard so that meant fewer entry points to worry about.

"Get the car inside, I'll close the gate." I tell no one in particular before opening the door beside me and stepping out, breathing in the fresh air before closing the door behind me. We were technically still a few meters away from the open gate so I took the opportunity to stretch out my legs while watching the car drive into the lot.

The gate was the kind that separated in the middle with each half being capable of bending in half once more. Their gate had a sliding lock meant to connect the two halves of the gate while each quarter portion of the gate had rod-like mechanisms meant to be brought down once they were above the small holes that were drilled onto the driveway. This acted as a second locking mechanism though I didn't really see the point considering how I can probably scale the perimeter wall if I wanted to.

With my task of closing the gate behind us finished, I began moving closer to the driver's side of the car, tapping on its windows three times before Ren finally made the window slide down. I peer inside and find everyone except Chisato looking at me, waiting for whatever decision I made.

"I and Alyssa will handle clearing out the lot, you stay behind with Chisato and watch over the car, and Chisato herself." I told Ren, the last portion of my statement coming out as a whisper so that Chisato, who was still unresponsive, wouldn't hear me.

"I understand, I'll turn off the engine so we don't waste the gas." Ren tells me before turning his attention back to the car, turning off its engine as he pulled out the key and pocketed it. Alyssa, who heard what I said to Ren, had already left the car and walked toward the front gate to make sure that it was locked as well before moving closer to me.

I turned my gaze back to the house, taking note of another door that wasn't visible to us from the angle we were in earlier. The door was left open with not a single dried blood mark on its surface which only further solidified my theory that the family that lived here managed to get out of the house without any struggle.

The lack of any form of leftover markings didn't mean there wasn't any chance that a random scavenger or zombie managed to get inside the house via the open gate and door which meant we couldn't drop our guard just yet. There was also still light coming from the inside of the house so I didn't need to take out my phone as a flashlight just yet.

I unsheathed Gray and held it with my right hand while ultimately deciding to keep my revolver holstered. I was more comfortable using my rifle in wider open spaces and not inside of a house so I opted to just sling it over my right shoulder with the muzzle of the gun facing upward. That, and the fact remains, using a gun in situations like these were stupid since we are planning on using this house for the night.

Alyssa, in turn, was still using the shotgun I had given her after she reassured me about how she'd only use it if I were to be in trouble. With our loadout ready we went inside the house using the driveway door that was left open, being presented with a dining table in front of us, a small living room deeper into the house right beside the closed main door, and a kitchen to our left which also had another closed door.

Most of the first floor remained clean as the couch, the tv, and the dining table were devoid of any form of the supposed filth one would expect after a zombie or a looter comes inside the house. Unfortunately, that cleanliness didn't extend to the kitchen as the fridges, cabinets, and floating shelves were all opened and emptied of anything.

I move to a better angle and look at the state of the kitchen, whoever looted this kitchen cleaned the entire place out as not even a frying pan or a kettle remained. I look at Alyssa and shrugged my head in the direction of the living room, prompting her to leave me in the kitchen alone as I turned my attention to the closed door.

Putting my hand over the door's handle before quickly pushing it open, my grip over my machete slightly weakens as I looked at the empty bathroom that had a bath on one side and a chair with two wooden bowls on the other, a showerhead kept in place above it. I checked behind the door and found nothing hiding behind it so I just left it as it was before I moved towards the living room.

Standing in the middle of it was Alyssa who had finished checking both under and behind the couch since she was now just waiting for me to finish. We then made our way to the second floor, the stair's wooden surface creaking with each step while I pointed the flashlight coming from my phone which I had just taken out of my pant pockets since the light coming from the first floor didn't reach the second.

We reached the end of the stairway, being presented with three separate doors after I pocketed my phone and flicked the light switch in front of the stairway on. I turned my gaze to Alyssa before pointing at the nearest door to us, receiving a nod before she took out her knife and separated from me as I moved closer to the second door. I push it open while bracing myself for another possible encounter but find the room devoid of both human, or zombie presence.

I observe the room in its entirety, finding the floors filled with messily scattered clothes meant for girls, a clear difference in size was obvious since some looked to have been made for a toddler while the others were meant for the younger side of somebody's teenage years. I check under the bed before making my way to the window that we had seen from outside.

Preventing me from seeing through the windows were thin violet-colored curtains that barely stopped the sun's light from piercing its fabric, I check the window's locks before turning my gaze away as I take in the less noticeable details of the room. It had pristine white tiles that still lacked the blood and dirt of the outside world, accompanying it was a two-person bed and whatever furniture that one would expect from an average bedroom.

I leave the room and close the door behind me before finding Alyssa just standing beside the room's exit. The sounds of birds chirping from outside became more audible as I looked in the direction of the door I had assigned her to earlier which was now left open. It seems to be a door that led to the terrace we had seen earlier but the fact that she came back here with nothing new meant that there wasn't anything worth taking.

"Are you ready?" I asked Alyssa who nods to me as she goes back to using her shotgun after pocketing the knife while we moved closer to the last door. The state of the house had so far just been telling us that it was abandoned but a little bit of caution helps with trying to survive for one more day a lot. I placed my hand over the door's handle and quickly pushed it open, only to then find someone barely taller than 4.5 charging at me while holding a kitchen knife with both their eyes tightly shut for some reason.

Though I was surprised at first, I managed to grab the wrist of the hand he was using to hold the knife before abruptly pulling him to the side, causing his body to crash into the door as his grip around the knife weakens just enough for it to fall to the ground. The sound of the crash rings out before turning into weak but continuous creaks as his body slowly slid down the door's surface.

The suddenness of the attack caused me to ignore his slightly childish face as I was about to slash his neck open with my machete. I was about to go through with it too but the figure of a younger child previously hidden behind the person I was about to kill was now visible to me alongside the shape of what appeared to be a gun which managed to give pause to my previous actions as I was about to desperately use the fallen body in front of me as a meat shield.

Alyssa, who was previously standing to the side of the door already had her shotgun aimed at the child though whether she would've been able to shoot was something I wasn't too keen on betting my life on. I used the same hand that I had used to pull the first assailant into the door earlier and lifted his surprisingly light body in front of me though the act of doing it seemed entirely pointless after I had glanced at the gun that the child had in his arms.

The child aiming the "gun" at me had his legs shaking in fear as he could barely keep the barrel trained on me. The fact that he was a mere child meant that I could see the top of his gun due to our height difference, my eyes quickly took note of the words "Toy Buddies" on the space in between the gun's front and rear sights. I then dropped the assailant I was lifting earlier on his back before I pushed his face to the floor with my free hand.

"Alyssa, watch over this guy, I'll handle the child." I tell Alyssa before sighing to myself as she points the gun away from the child and aims it at the pinned assailant instead. The person in question puts his gaze at the doorway after hearing my words, his face turning a shade paler after spotting the gun aimed at him. I started to calmly move closer to the child who now had his index finger on the gun's trigger, pulling it only for the gun's built-in speaker to start making fake and unrealistic shooting noises in reply to his actions.

I forcefully pulled the gun out of the child's hand before throwing it to the side, a light thud accompanying the toy gun's fall as the child drops to the ground before dragging his ass away until his back was cornered into the wall. The assailant, who was previously staring at the gun aimed at him, finally turned his eyes back in the direction of the child.

"Stop! Don't hurt my little brother, just kill me and leave him alone! Please!" The assailant who had just revealed himself to be the child's brother screamed at me. He tries to stand up but Alyssa's foot and the black and cold metal of the shotgun's barrel now sticking in the middle of his back kept him from trying to fully stand up from his current position.

I looked around the room and stopped my gaze at the navy blue-colored pillow covers on the slightly messy bed as an idea found its way to me. I pick the child up using the fabric around the collar of his shirt and brought him closer to the bed, taking the pillow out of its covers and using the now emptied fabric to tie it around his hands in a knot. Satisfied with my handiwork, I made him kneel on the ground directly below the window before leaving him after I whispered a threat to not move.

I turned away from his cowering figure and moved closer to Alyssa who still had both her foot and the barrel end of her shotgun on the assailant's back. I put my own foot on him before telling Alyssa to go call my companions, she hesitates at first but complies with my request while glaring at the nameless assailant.

"What is your name child?" I asked the assailant before unholstering my gun, bringing down the revolver's hammer which creates an audible click that was more than enough to get the teenager under me to shake in fear. Had this person been alone or looked older then I would've killed him right then and there but this "assailant" barely looks older than 15 and he's taking care of a kid who probably hasn't even gone past 10 yet.

"It-It's Onishi Masaru! Please, sir, kill me if you want but leave my little brother alone! I'm begging you!" He shouts out before he began sobbing as streaks of snot began oozing out of his nose, his own cries being accompanied by his little brother's wailing.

'God, this is gonna be a fucking mess.' I think to myself while inwardly sighing as I looked at the two sobbing siblings. It was while I was waiting for my companions to go up as well that my own thoughts began fighting with one another. 'Am I really going to be able to live with myself if I were to consciously kill two children with my own hands?'

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AN: First off, the attempt at killing the assailant after he slammed him into the door was a stimuli-caused action which meant it was done without any other thought than self preservation. What he's debating over is whether or not he'd be able to "consciously" kill them. He had already noticed how young the assailant was and he isn't in danger anymore which means killing them now would be something he'd be doing even after he's learned of how they were basically children.

Look, anything related to hurting children is mostly associated by authors with the villains of their stories. It'd have been somewhat fine if my mc was someone younger or the same age as the child in question but he isn't, he is a 20-year-old college student. Now I could probably have just avoided writing this kind of scene if I wanted to but I don't want to write a book that plays it safe, I want to write one that pushes the bounds of everybody's moral compass to their limit.

I've already made a decision on what kind of action he makes in the next chapter and I might be shooting myself in the foot because of it but oh well. Oh, on less related news, I've begun writing another "original" story though it'll be posted in the novel category instead and I'll only begin uploading it once I've stocked up chapters, this book will still be my main priority while I'll be treating that project as an anti-burnout tool. I don't want to bother everyone with the details but if you're curious then feel free to ask about it, all I can give you will be the basic premise and characters.