CH8 - Our first casualty

[Lyon's POV]

Ren, Chisato and Alyssa stood in front of the doors that led to the campus square, western hallway and eastern hallway, respectively. All three of the doors were sealed using tables and chairs as barricades with the doors that led to both the campus square and the hallway we just came from being substantially more fortified than the doors that led to the hallway to our right. The three stood guard on the three entry points while I stood on the side of the cashier that faced the dining room. I tap the surface of the table where the register was placed on which was made with aluminum, creating just enough noise for whatever else on the opposite side of the cashier to hear.

The tapping noise is heard by my three other companions who remained standing on their assigned exits while glancing in my direction, a few seconds pass and nothing is heard from the opposite side. This revelation prompts me to open the horizontal door-like barrier the employee had stumbled over earlier. I put my guard up and strengthen my right hand's grip over my bokken while I use the other to point my flashlight around the kitchen area. My flashlight revealed kitchen utensils like spatulas, sponges, a container that housed the usual kitchen utensils as well as a wooden knife storage box that still had all but one knife missing, the butcher's knife.

I circle back around the kitchen one more time before directly going to the door which separated the kitchen from the storage room. I open the door silently and flash my phone around the room, only to then see Mr. Yasuda shuddering in one of the corners while hugging his ankles with his face pressed down on his thighs, the missing butcher's knife on the floor in front of him. "Mr. Yasuda?" I call out to him, he raises his head and looks at me, snot dripping down his nose with what seemed to have been dried tears that came from his puffy eyes.

He takes the butcher's knife in front of him and then points it at me, still shaking uncontrollably. "Sta-stay back, don't come close to me you monsters" he tells me, his tone being comically close to what you'd hear from a little girl's mouth after seeing her first jump scare in a horror movie. I stare back at him before sighing to myself, "I don't think zombies are able to talk nor are they able to use flashlights sir, now put down the knife and use your goddamn eyes." I tell him. My words cause him to squint his eyes over the flashlight pointed at him before pointing the knife down as he fakes a cough to himself.

"I'm sorry you had to see that, greetings Lyon, are you ok?" Mr. Yasuda asks me, trying to dismiss his previously pathetic attempt at "scaring" zombies away. "A few others are outside, go sit down on one of the tables while I check around the room, also, can you hand me the butcher's knife for now? Don't worry the dining room is cleared of zombies" I reassure him as he hands me the butcher's knife before he goes back in the direction I came from. I look around the room and confirm my previous suspicions, much of the food inside probably wouldn't last long without proper refrigeration. I find a plastic bag container near the door and take five plastic bags before stuffing the rest inside my bag.

I fill two of the plastic bags I had taken earlier with 20 water bottles each, I used one of the leftover bags to store 6 loaves of bread while the other one had 30 protein bars, 6 easy to prepare ramen cups, 20 packets of 3 in 1 coffee, 10 chocolate bars and strawberry jam. The last one was filled with a mix of 10 water bottles and a few more random pastries other than loaves of bread.

'Hm, we should take this chance to at least eat a light midnight snack before we head to the eastern building.' I think to myself as I begin circling around the shelves, picking up various ingredients like eggs, unsliced ham, cooking oil and stale but edible croissants. As I was about to leave the room though, I quickly notice a bunch of random ingredients crammed into one corner of the shelf right beside the door.

I grow suspicious and head to the shelf to move the random ingredients that seemed to be hiding something. What I found was the equivalent of liquid gold in the apocalypse, vodka. A year into the apocalypse, much of the stronger alcohol found in the city by scavengers like me was drained dry, forcing drunkards or people who ran away from the grim reality into drinking just heavily watered down beer. Alcohol like vodka and whiskey became the equivalent of a handgun and enough bullets for at least a few reloads, exchange varied depending on what gun you were aiming to trade it for. I tuck it away inside one of my backpack's pockets before heading out to the kitchen.

I carry out the five bags that contained supplies first, placing them down beside the table my three companions were sitting at alongside Mr. Yasuda. Before they could say anything else though, I turn my back to them and head back inside the storage room, this time, carrying out the ingredients I had picked out earlier. as well as 7 bottles of water and place them on the left counter beside the stove.

I find a pan and a plate in one of the cabinets and pick out a random knife from the knife holder and clean it using two bottles of water and a bit of dish soap. 'The virus in an infected person's blood becomes unconcentrated enough with enough water for it to be safe to drink or clean with but I'd rather not take the risk.' I think to myself as I shake the water off and place the plate on the right counter while I place the pan on the stove.

Alyssa was the only person who came to join me in the kitchen while the other two started a conversation I couldn't hear all the way from here with Mr. Yasuda. I turn on the heat and pour enough oil on the pan once It's been heated to a certain degree before pointing a finger at the croissants and opening up my palm. Alyssa, who was standing beside me, glanced at where I was pointing, she then hands me the croissants one at a time as I slice each one in half and toast them before setting them aside on the big plate.

Alyssa then hands me two eggs which I crack on the pan before reaching out to another two she was holding onto. I season and scramble all 10 and portion them accordingly on top of the five sliced croissants. I slice a total of 5 portions from the ham before cooking them together, a minute or two later, I begin placing them on the croissants as Alyssa turns off the stove for me.

I carry out the big plate with our meals on top of it and head to our group's table with Alyssa following close beside me while carrying the 5 bottles of water I didn't use for cleaning earlier. The three who remained sitting at the table just looked at the two of us as if we were a married couple bringing out ham sandwiches to their kids. I grin at their expressions and glance at Alyssa who remained clueless about how the three looked at us. I place the plate at the center of the table and sit down on a chair while reaching out for one of the croissants. Alyssa sits beside me and reaches out for one of the croissants as well while the other three began to take their own croissants too.

We ate in silence, not caring about the zombies who were still bumping their heads or arms on the door we came from. I was the first to finish my meal, forcing me to just watch the other four enjoy theirs, all in all, it took only 5 minutes before they finishes theirs as well. I swipe my fingers across the screen, notifying me that the time was already 2:03 AM and that I only had 74% left on my battery. Since we were finished with our meal, I looked at Mr. Yasuda and asked him a question that's been bugging me the entire time.

"Mr. Yasuda, how exactly did you end up hiding inside the storeroom where I found you?" I ask him, he looks at me for a few seconds without talking, recalling all of the events that led up to how he ended in there. "After I told you to stay behind in the class, I went to the canteen intending to go through it to get to the teacher's room faster where I kept a quiz bee invitation meant for both you and Alyssa but before I could even get out of the canteen, around 10 of those weird things you called zombies burst through the room following a bunch of bleeding students. Me and the canteen's employees tried to help but they got bit and started attacking the others around them just after a short while. I ran to the kitchen and took the butcher's knife you saw earlier and just hid there the entire time until you found me" He recounts to us as he grips the now empty water bottle harder.

"I see, well we are heading to the eastern building, you are welcome to come along if you wish" I offer to him while handing back the butcher's knife that I had taken from him earlier, he nods to my offer as he reaches out and takes the knife from me. I tell Chisato to brief Mr. Yasuda about the hand signals and positions we used before I started assigning which of us carries the bags of newly acquired species.

One of the bags of water was stored inside Chisato's bag alongside the bag which had 6 loaves of bread. The other bag of water was placed inside Alyssa's bag, the bag which contained a mix of both water and pastries was assigned to Mr. Yasuda who found and emptied a bag left abandoned on one of the chairs while the one which contained everything else was stored in mine. I go back inside the kitchen and find a sharp Dover knife and give it to Alyssa while I hid another generic knife in my back pocket.

We remove the barricades we had placed earlier to cover the hallway to our right and point my phone/flashlight through its glass door, illuminating an otherwise empty but bloodied hallway. I go beside Mr. Yasuda who was tightening the laces of his shoes and whisper a few words of "encouragement" for him, after all, I have decided that he will be the one watching our flanks alongside Chisato, he nods back to my words with a steeled but nervous expression before we join the rest of the group.

"The exit we have to use to reach the eastern building was the one we went past earlier which means that we are going to have to circle back there using this hallway, we use the same position as earlier except this time, Chisato will have a companion with her watching our backs, Mr. Yasuda" I tell them while looking directly at our advisor, receiving a nod again from our teacher. With that confirmation, I slowly open the doors in front of us and start quietly walking through the dark hallways of our school. I made sure to close each open door we went past through, thinking of it as just a bit of insurance in case a zombie was hibernating inside one of those dark places.

We reach the end of the hallway before turning to my right, we managed to go past the western exit without encountering any more zombies, the doors were broken down into shards as well with the corner glass remaining almost spotless if you ignore the bloodied handprints on it. 'It should be happening anytime soon now, the flood of footsteps that went past the kendo club room earlier was probably the other group that tried to escape through the northern exit. I don't know when it exactly happens bu-' I think to myself, only to have my thoughts interrupted by loud screams coming from our right... the same direction where the northern exit was.

I glance back at my four companions who all stared back at me, wondering what we were supposed to do next. I had no thoughts of rescuing them, I wasn't stupid enough to save people who were most likely already turning by the time we managed to reach them. I raised a closed fist and start running in the direction where the scream came from, the stairway we descended from earlier comes into view with the zombies that were previously banging their heads on the canteen doors and the one we went past through earlier by the stairs, now rushing through the broken-down exit. Fewer screams coming from the exit could be heard now but that just meant we had a big problem now.

Recently turned zombies could still use their eyes to hunt which meant we had to rush past the door, hoping that the newly turned ones don't see us. I raise my entire hand into a fist, signaling them to follow me and run as fast as they could. We continue running in the direction where the zombies from the canteen just came from earlier but I glance behind me and see Chisato, ever the kind senpai I know, standing in front of the exit, contemplating whether or not there was still anyone we could help. That quick moment of pause was enough to alert four of the newly turned zombies who snarled like rabid dogs as they loudly ran in our direction, alerting the rest of the pack they had just joined.

I go back and grab her arms before pulling her forward in front of me as we both ran forward. "Head to the eastern exit, most of the zombies should be behind us already." I tell them in a voice audible enough for both the zombies behind us and my group to hear. At this moment, our group formation was already broken with Alyssa and Ren taking point, Mr. Yasuda being right in the middle of the group, Chisato was in front of me while I was the one behind all of us. Zombies were in general, faster than humans, which was why by the time we reached the corner of the hallway, one of the newly turned ones was already right behind me with another one close behind it.

I turn back and slam my bokken to the side of its head, strong enough for it to crash to the pointy side of the corner wall unmoving, the one behind it though managed to get a jump on me, forcing me down the floor as I use my bokken to hold back the mouth trying to bite my neck off. Chisato and Mr. Yasuda, who were still close by, noticed me struggling with the zombie on top of me, she uses the edge of her bokken and slams it at the side of the zombie's head causing it to stumble away, effectively freeing me from its clutches, she doesn't finish there though as she uses a kitchen knife she probably took earlier without me noticing and slam it through the zombies head.

Mr. Yasuda, in turn, stood in front of us trying to hold back the zombies from getting close to us while I and Chisato were busy with the zombie on top of me. He quickly gets overpowered though as he manages to kill one of the newly turned zombies only to then be pushed to the wall and have his left shoulder bit by another. He screams in pain, gaining the attention of Ren and Alyssa who were already near the eastern exit, he pushes back the zombie that just bit him, forcing it down on the ground and straddling it as he brings down the butcher's knife on its head.

Chisato reaches out to me, helping me stand upright as I glance at Mr. Yasuda's own struggle. I grip Chisato's shoulder and push her towards the direction of the eastern exit, prompting her to start following after Ren and Alyssa. I run alongside her but see Mr. Yasuda from the corner of my eyes trying to dislodge the butcher's knife from the zombie's head, only to then be interrupted as another zombie slams him to the floor, this time biting onto his neck, I look back and was surprised to find him staring back directly at my eyes while sporting what could've possibly been a proud or satisfied smile.

'12 to 20 seconds, the zombie's attention should be on Mr. Yasuda long enough to get out of sight. I continue running towards Alyssa and Ren who were already right beside the door with me and Chisato close by already. I hear a screech coming from behind me as those things enjoyed their newly found meal. Me and Chisato managed to reach the exit door as all four of us leave the northern building and feel the cold winds of the outside world.

Much of the noise should have remained unnoticed to whatever was outside here which meant we should be slightly safer already. We resumed our previously assigned positions and managed to reach the northern exit of the eastern building without any unforeseen problems, I lock the doors behind us and lead the rest of the group down the left hallway before turning right since that was where the stairway was located, we needed to go through there first since the room our club used was on the second floor. We only encountered a few hibernating stragglers who I dispatched using a heavy blow to the head with my bokken. 'Much of the zombie population inside the building should be near the exits that led to the campus square.' I mulled over as we reach the door to our club dojo.

I open the door slowly and quietly and point my phone's flashlight in all directions and fortunately find it devoid of both living and undead beings. The rest of the group start securing the room as well while me and Ren barricade the door we came through using the benches found at the side of the room. The room also had 5 windows that overlooked where the volleyball court and basketball court were. With the room secured, Chisato drops her bag quietly on the ground before sitting down on one of the benches, hugging her knees. Ren follows in pursuit as well, sitting down on the bench beside her, trying to console Chisato since it seemed like she was blaming herself for Mr. Yasuda's death.

I, in turn, chose to just sit down on the floor, phone in hand as it notified me that I only had 66% left and that it was 2:34 AM already. The light of my screen illuminates the indifferent expression that I sported after all of the events that had just transpired. I hear footsteps coming from behind me and feel Alyssa's arms snake around my neck as she slightly pushes her head down on my right shoulder. I hold onto her hand and caress it slightly, hoping that my touch was enough to console her over our first casualty.

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P.S: Read the author's note, it tackles the problem about the formatting of the story and it will need your opinion as a reader since you guys will be the ones reading my story.