CH4 - Z-Day

[Lyon's POV]

I woke up in a cold sweat with nothing but darkness shrouding all that I could see. With my eyes being unreliable in determining what was happening or where I was, I put all my bets into trusting what my hands could feel. I move around crawling in the darkness with my hands touching nothing but a damp and cool sensation. The place I was in smelled nothing like the room I had been sleeping in for the past two months. The stench of that all too familiar rotting smell of zombies and dead bodies hit my nose like a truck on an open freeway.

A bright light coming from the middle of the room suddenly flashes on, blinding my eyes for no less than 5 seconds before my eyes could readjust to the sudden brightness of the room. What greeted me was a sight all too familiar, yet its familiarity did nothing to lessen my hitched breath and the sudden grip it had on my heart. What laid before my eyes were the bodies of Ren, Chisato and a short girl with ashen shoulder-length hair with a magenta-colored bow at the end of the braid. Two of the three I recognized but the third person's name remains a mystery to me.

All three bodies were face down on the ground with blood and various types of bullet casings scattered all around them. A sudden noise, similar to nails scratching wood or a bag being dragged on the floor came from behind me. Laying down on the ground, biting an arm off of a corpse that was too unrecognizable already was Alyssa. Her previously light complexion was dirtied with blood from who or what knows where. I stumble back before tripping on my own legs with a loud thud to the ground, earning the zombified Alyssa's attention that was previously on the arm-turned chew toy to me instead.

The usual long straight black hair she kept in neat perfection had become disheveled with splotches of blood sticking her strands of hair together. Her mouth was dripping out blood while also letting out a growl similar to that of an agitated dog's. Her zombified form rushes in my direction before tripping over the abandoned arm, showing me the entire figure of the carcass she had been devouring earlier.

Laying there on the cold floor was a body with its chest pried open, its intestines spilling out, missing an arm and half of the face was bitten off with the only characteristic that remained intact and recognizable being the unruly, long taupe brown hair and half-closed eyelids that covered lifeless emerald-green eyes... my eyes. She begins to crawl to me at a fast pace with her bloodied arms pushing my shoulders down to the floor and her hips straddling down on my own. I look at her eyes again and yet Instead of the lifeless, bloodshot and feral eyes that I had seen in zombies before, all I saw were eyes that were on the verge of crying.

Before her bloodied teeth could bite into me, I awaken from my dream to the feeling of my comfortable bed and the soothing cold winds of the air conditioner. I feel around the bed for my phone and find it right where I usually held it in place whenever I would browse through my phone before falling asleep. I swipe it open and see an image of Alyssa's comically sad attempt at smiling beside me while we were standing outside of the crepe store we tried again recently before looking at the date and time illuminated by the phone's screen.

"It's August 12, 2022, 3:58 AM. Today is Z-day huh... I expected to feel a lot more anxious than I currently am, to be honest." I say to no one in particular before deciding to get out of my bed while stretching my legs before heading to the bathroom beside my room to wash up my face in order to remove any form of sleepiness I still had so that I could start preparing my school bag for the day which is admittedly, looking a lot more like a bag you'd bring if you had an outdoors trip rather than the sort you'd bring to school.

I still chose to bring my laptop, phone and its designated chargers like usual but if someone were to look inside the other pockets of the bag, they would find a swiss army knife, food that should last for three days, nine bottles of water, mountain hiking boots, three two-way radios, the keys to my gun and ammo lockers as well as my own keys for our house here and the cabin in Aoya forest. I also brought along with me my personal bokken that Chisato had "gifted" me after I beat her on a bet that involved running around the school campus for a very, very long time. I never really brought my bokken to school in days aside from Saturday but... today's a special day, not that anyone else actually knows.

The University of Yoime did not have a strict dress code so it allowed us to just wear whatever we went to class with as long as it was something proper. This fact allowed me to wear the bulletproof vest that I bought under one of my hoodies so that my weird clothing choice wouldn't be easily noticeable. Japanese gun law required its citizens to keep the gun itself and the ammo it uses in two different safes or lockers at as much distance as possible which meant I had to bring two separate keys for the lockers. It also required me to be the only person who explicitly knew where it was so that the location of the guns and their ammo would remain a mystery unless someone was intentionally searching for them.

I silently open the door to my parent's room to look into their still sleeping figures before soundlessly walking towards the table beside their bed. I had written them a note telling them not to leave the house and to just be absent from their jobs for the day before pinning it down using one of the two-way radios I had bought before. This was the first time I had ever requested something that was slightly absurd to them in such a way so that should at least make them think twice about leaving... right?

It was already 6:50 AM by the time I managed to reach the college campus' entrance. It would've taken me far shorter to get here but I had decided to take my sweet time walking as this would probably be the last time I could walk around the street without having to check every corner and worry about every little sound I hear or make. As I was about to enter the school though, I hear a shout and loud footsteps coming from behind me. I put up my guard and harden my grip on my bokken as I glance behind me, only to then see Chisato Okuma, the head of the school's kendo club and someone I had grown close with after getting her to accept my request of being trained by her on close-quarters combat every now and then.

"Hey Lyon, how was your weekend? also why exactly did you bring your bokken with you today? We don't have a club meeting today nor did we schedule any one-on-one training for as well." Chisato asks me in between pants while holding her chest out of fatigue. In her eyes, I did not indeed have any actual reason to bring my bokken with me today since club day was usually done on Saturdays.

"Hm, I wonder why as well" I snickered back while looking at her pouting face which oddly looked like a squirrel whose cheeks are full. The two of us surprisingly clicked well together after she found out about my interest and wish to improve my skills in combat. We did not often intentionally meet with each other aside for purposes other than anything related to the club but we certainly talked with each other often on our phones or whenever we would pass by each other while walking down the hallway or while heading to school, after all, both our houses were in the same general direction from the school so it was not too uncommon for us to bump into each other while heading there.

"We should start heading to our classrooms since classes are about to start already, bye Lyon" She tells me as she starts running towards the school building's entrance itself while waving without even looking back at me. I would probably be rushing to my classroom as well by now had I not known that this would be the last day anyways.

I head to my classroom as well and see Alyssa and Ren sitting in their usual positions already with the chair in the middle of the two remaining empty since that was where I usually sat. I walk towards them and greet the two of them with a good morning before placing my bag beside one of the chair's legs. We talk with each other about mundane topics like whether or not we understood Mr. Yasuda's lecture about bioethics yesterday or the stupid myths about a ghost roaming the hallways of the abandoned dorm near the southern corner of the school.

The two months of acting like a college student paid off well as it allowed me to map out an exit strategy for us to take. One of these strategies actually utilized the abandoned dorm as barely anyone went past the area which meant a certain degree of secrecy and remoteness. There was also a small rusty gate locked with chains and a padlock that is located somewhat far away but choosing that option as an escape route would definitely be better than the other alternatives as they directly led to the shopping districts, which meant a higher population of people that have most likely already become walking corpses.

My mind went into a dazed state while imagining the various scenarios that could play out, my lack of focus and replies to our conversation did not go unnoticed to Ren and Alyssa who looked at each other's eyes, clueless as to what could possibly be the reason I was in such a state. I do not know what gave me away but Alyssa began poking my arm, successfully breaking me out of the confines of my wandering mind and bringing my attention back to the present.

"Are you okay Lyon? You... seem a bit out of it today, it is like there is something weighing heavily on your mind." Alyssa asks with a concerned tone while Ren just nods affirmatively. Surprisingly, Alyssa was actually quite good at reading a person even though she didn't have much prior experience with growing as close to other people as she is able to do so now with me. 'Where she learn to be able to do this is still a mystery to me but her concerned expression is quite cute though.' I think to myself before subconsciously patting her on the head, happy with how concerned she is about my wellbeing.

This action of mine earned a rare blush from Alyssa and an amused expression from Ren. "It's fine, there's nothing to worry about" I answered back before removing my hand from her head as I hear the door close after our teacher goes into class. I assure them one final time that I am fine before I turn all of our attention to the teacher's lecture. Much of the day passed by a blur with only the notable exception being Chisato joining us at our table to eat during lunchtime since she usually ate with her other friends. Me, Alyssa and Ren usually went outside of the campus to eat but I managed to convince them that we should order and eat our lunch here in the canteen, at least just for today.

We went back to class and everything proceeded as it usually did on Fridays like this and right on schedule, Mr. Yasuda calls to both me and Alyssa to stay behind for a reason he, just like in the original timeline, chose to keep to himself before leaving the class to head to wherever he plans to. Not that it really mattered but who wouldn't want an answer to a question you've had for more than two years now. I call out to Ren who had begun to head towards the door so he can finally go back to his apartment which was by now, most likely already filled up with zombies scouring around for their next meals consisting of human flavored sponge cakes.

"Fine, I'll stay behind with you guys. Don't tell me it's because your too shy to be around Alyssa all alone anymore" Ren tells me before grinning at the both of us. I, however, had my attention focused on the hiking boots I had just whipped out of the front section of my bag while putting my bokken on the teachers' table. I kneel down and start untying the shoelaces to my sneakers and replace them with the boots I had.

The two of them look at me with curiosity as to why I had hiking boots with me, let alone the reason I would even bring them to school. I bought the boots for 8,310 yen yesterday using the 9,700 yen leftover portion of my initial budget. "So uh... is the reason you told me to stay behind related to those hiking boots of yours?" Ren asks me with curiosity laced in his tone while Alyssa just looks at me, waiting for an answer to the same questions Ren had just asked me. Before I could answer. their attention is taken by a scream they hear from the window located at the side of the stage.

The two of them walk towards the window to ascertain the reason why they heard a scream only to then hold up their palms in shock so as to cover their mouths which turned to a grimace at the sight presented to them. I follow in pursuit to look at the windows as well with the boots on my feet, bokken on hand and my backpack secured in place. What greeted me was the same sight I and the Alyssa of my original timeline saw which marked the beginning of the end. Laying there on the ground was a guard whose name I never really asked, being eaten by a little boy that looked no older than 10 years old as well as a woman whose arms were pale and full of scratches with a chunk of her shoulder missing.

The two zombies continue enjoying their feast before the woman suddenly lets out a shrill scream, breaking Ren and Alyssa's daze. I put my hand on their shoulders and tighten my grip, the two look back at me with disbelief written all over their eyes over what they had just seen. "Let's go, the guard you saw earlier was positioned at the entrance of the campus so trying to escape through there will most likely just result in failure" I tell them as I push Ren towards the door while holding Alyssa's hand which was shaking from fear.

The dojo for the kendo club itself was outside of this building but there is an averagely sized room meant for meetings hosted by the kendo club inside this building. We leave the room with Ren closely following behind me with Alyssa whose hand I still held. 'The zombies shouldn't have entered the building itself just yet as those things are most likely still chasing down our classmates and the other students who left the campus already' I think to myself while making sure that Ren is still following close behind me. We make our way to the stairwell as the club room was on the third floor. We managed to pass through the second floor safely and reach the third floor and head left down the hallway before the sound of a glass door shattering to pieces, a cacophony of footsteps and pained screams could be heard coming from the first floor.

This only urged me to move faster before stopping at the door of the kendo club meeting room and pushing it open. I urge Ren and Alyssa to go inside ahead of me while I watch the hallway we had just come from with the sound of hurried footsteps coming from its general direction. I enter inside and turn the light switch beside the door on only to see Alyssa and Ren standing close to the door with Chisato in front of us, wearing gear meant for kendo duels except for the helmet and holding her own bokken which was pointed to our heads.