Flasks Are My Friends

Denji and Astrid crouched beneath one of the tables in the dim cafeteria, and Yuto mirrored them from across, each of them dead silent. Their breaths held as they watched their former teacher—now a reanimated, hollow shell of the person they once knew—dragging itself across the linoleum floor, its discolored eyes vacant, skin sagging with a deathly pallor.

Yuto moved with the care of a shadow, quietly slipping off his shoes and rising slowly. As the zombie shuffled by, he tiptoed out from under the table and into the kitchen area. His hand found the cold, metal handle of a knife.

With deliberate, silent steps, he edged closer and closer to the creature, muscles tense, fingers gripping the knife firmly, poised to strike—

Slip.

The next second, Yuto's foot skidded on a piece of dead flesh sloughed off from the zombie, and he tumbled backward with a thud. The sound echoed through the cafeteria, and the zombie snapped its head around, zeroing in on him. With a guttural snarl, it lunged.

Yuto barely had time to lift his arms, pressing against its shoulders to keep those gnashing teeth away from his neck. His face twisted in terror, eyes wide, reflecting the monstrous, lifeless stare of his attacker.

The zombie's growls were a nightmarish reminder of what could happen if he faltered, if his arms weakened for even a second.

Suddenly, a fierce kick struck the zombie's side, throwing it off Yuto. He looked up, heart pounding, to see Denji extending a hand, his face grim but determined. Gratefully, Yuto took it, getting to his feet as Denji reclaimed the knife. The zombie staggered back up, clawing towards them with a ravenous snarl.

Denji stood firm, steady, raising his arm and sticking the knife to the side of its skull. Body dropping and a dark pool blood spreading around it . Astrid, who had been anxiously watching in the back, raced to the storage room and shut the window before any more could find their way through.

"F**k, that was close," Denji remarked with a soft chuckle.

Back at the science lab

Isamu's gaze remained fixed on the gun strapped to the security guard's dead body outside, his brow furrowed in thought.

'How do I get that gun? We'd have to kill it first, that's for sure—can't just ask it nicely to unbuckle its holster and hand it over. But even if we get it, firing would be loud; we'd be attracting every dead thing around here. Basically silver bullets, maybe in a good way.'

Haruka's voice cut through his focus. "It's not gonna get any closer just because you keep f**king staring at it, you know," she sighed, leaning against a desk, her tone drenched in exhaustion.

Isamu gritted his teeth, biting back a sarcastic retort. 'Wouldn't mind unloading one of those silver bullets right into her head. One bullet wasted, maybe, but we'd have some peace and quiet in exchange, with a side of less negativity.'

The sun was slipping down the horizon, the last rays spilling a murky orange into the room. Takumi clicked on a light, casting a faint glow. "So, what's the plan here, Isamu?" he whispered, making sure Haruka couldn't hear them as she continued to fidget.

Isamu scratched the back of his neck, considering. "Safe to assume Mr. Kazuki finished his part by now—we didn't hear any chaos, so he's probably fine. He might be waiting for us somewhere or already went to the roof."

Takumi nodded, his face tight with focus. "So what's our plan moving forward?"

Isamu opened up his bag, beginning to peel a banana inside it, keeping it low to avoid Haruka's quick eyes, and took a quick bite. "Our best option right now is to get into the next room. There's a fire escape that leads to the roof from there."

"Okay, but what about these guys?" Takumi gestured at the students around them, tense and anxious.

"Honestly, we're low on food; we can't stay much longer ourselves. I doubt they'll just let us leave either. We should focus on the gun for now—gunfire might be the bait we need."

Takumi glanced out into the hallway, his face tense as Isamu took another quiet bite. "And how exactly do we get to it? The dead guy's swarming with zombies out there—a f**king death parade."

Haruka's voice interrupted, her eyes gleaming with an idea. "Then let's break up the party and send them in different directions with sound or something."

Isamu exhaled sharply, managing a half-smile. 'I hate to admit it, but she's got a point. Creative—definitely the opposite of me, in a way.'

He swallowed the last of the banana, turning to her. "Good thought. I might have an idea on how to make it work."

Takumi slid the door open slightly, holding a flask, and caught Hiroto and Riku's puzzled expressions as he tossed it across the hallway. It shattered against the floor, and the dead instantly stirred, shuffling toward the noise. Takumi left the door ajar, allowing Isamu to peer out as the corpses dragged themselves away.

'Why are they moving so slow?' Isamu wondered, frustrated.

"Isamu! F**king move it!" Takumi hissed.

Shaking off his distraction, Isamu grabbed another flask, this one tied to a long rope. Leaning out of the window, he swung it down, smashing the glass of a lower floor classroom. Haruka joined him, repeating the tactic on the upper floor, directing the zombies' attention toward the stairwell.

...

Takumi reopened the door, a rope snaking out and tangling itself around the security guard's body. The rope tightened, slowly reeling it into their room as Takumi eased the door shut. Isamu moved in quickly, stabbing the guard's skull with a swift thrust of his knife. The corpse crumpled, and Isamu took the gun, shoving it into his bag.

Haruka eyed him with a smirk. "And why do you get to hold it?"

"Because I came up with the plan," Isamu replied, half-teasing as he wiped sweat from his brow. "Relax. I won't blow your head off, even if you get on my nerves. Now let's dump this thing outside, clean up, and get some sleep."

Takumi and Haruka nodded, working together to remove the body, scrub the bloodstains off the floor using the lab chemicals, and ready themselves for the night.