Stock up

(It's not that I'm complaining…)

I was sitting on one of the comfortable cinema seats in the room that I and Saeko took a break in before, staring towards the blackness ahead of me. While Saeko, was with her head on my leg, having turned the next couple of seats next to me into a makeshift bed after lifting their armguards…

(But why is this room so damn dark? Here I am, with Saeko sleeping on my leg, yet I can't friggin see…)

I brought my hand to Saeko's head, and lightly ruffled her hair. To which she responded by giving out a soft moan while tightened her arms around my leg.

(Still, I didn't expect her to be this tired. I mean sure, she was running around like a hyperactive squirrel. And swinging that sword around like a helicopter blade…)

I lower my sight towards Saeko's head, the non-existent lighting making it pretty much impossible to actually see her.

(At least she ain't drooling on me, yet. I'm also, rather surprised that Saya actually stayed quiet after she went ballistic. Though something tells me that I'm going to spend some time running from a certain pink tornado after I return to the airport…)

With a slight sigh I lift my head, and with my free hand, open the flashlight on my helmet.

(Before all that though, we need to wait for the team that will take over. Apparently, we're waiting for a truckload of people and equipment. Something about setting up power transmission cables over the busted ones on their way here? Which I guess would explain why they're taking so long.)

I close my eyes and look towards the ceiling.

(But, if they're setting up infrastructure for electricity, does that mean that the team sent to the hydro-dam was successful? So does that also mean that we can now charge the laptop?...)

Finishing that though, I let out a chuckle.

(Here I am, Saeko sleeping on me, Saya pouting at me every time I'm paying more attention to our purple-haired Samurai instead of her. And still, I'm actually getting giddy from the fact that I might be able to play video games again. Some things just never change, do they?)

"This is team Gamma. We will be arriving at the cinema at five. Cinema team, you copy? Over." And the earbud in my ear goes alive.

"Yea, note up that the front is probably overrun though. Over." I replied.

"Roger, We've been informed of that earlier. Is the back entrance viable for a truck-sized vehicle? Over." The radio responds.

"I don't think so. From the little that I saw of the back alley, the best that could fit is a small-sized car. Over" I answer.

"Understood, then we'll go on with the initial plan. Over" The radio responds once again.

"Which is?" I ask back.

"Excessive firepower. Over" The radio answers flatly.

"Uhh, just try not to blow up the cinema as well…" I answer as I fold my arms.

"No need to worry, we brought barricades. Over" The radio responds just as flatly.

(Really now?)

And, after a few minutes of silence…

(Welp, guess It's time to wake the warrior princess.)

With that thought, I bring my hand to where Saeko's shoulder should be, and lightly shake her. Saeko responds by letting out a soft groan.

"Oi, time to get moving." I whisper as I keep shaking her. Saeko groans once more and tries to hide her face…

"...Fine. Have it your way then." I sigh as I fix my posture, lean over her, and pass one arm under her legs, then pass my other arm under her shoulder. And get up while carrying a still sleeping Saeko.

(Hmm, she's lighter than Saya. Weird, considering Saya is shorter. Then again, Saya has larger, uhh, assets. Plus Saeko has an overall thinner figure because of her training…)

And so, with a sleeping Saeko in my arms, I moved towards the exit. Thankfully, the door was a push-type, so I exited the room without much of a fuss. And then, I moved towards the front of the cinema…

After reaching the front of the building, I headed to the foodstuff counter and sat on it. Then put Saeko down again. Who, after some shuffling and essentially pushing her face up against my sides to hide from the invading light, kept on sleeping.

(Well, this 'seat' is much less comfortable, but at least I can see now. Without needing the flashlight.)

After stroking Saeko's hair for a few seconds, I turned my sight towards the front entrance, to the now 'calm' corpses. Who decided that they wanted to 'rest' with their arms still sticking out from the top of the door…

(Do corpses get sore?)

I let out a small chuckle, before taking a deep breath.

(Hmm, I wonder how the rest of the team is doing. While Rei can go suck it, I mean, she essentially wanted me to go jump off a cliff, literally. Kohta, Shizuka, and Alice never did anything to me. Takashi, is a mixed bag I guess…)

I lower my sight towards the sleeping girl as I keep stroking her hair..

(Makes me wonder how canon would have played out by now, had I not interfered. Saeko would probably be leaning towards Takashi, and Saya would lean towards Kohta, since our dear cop girl would have had a bullet between her eyes by now. Which would leave Rei to deal with an opponent she would probably have some 'trouble' dealing with, had Takashi been forced to pick. Which is funny, considering how she's been acting like a total bitch towards me, yet, I'm the reason she can have Takashi for herself. Not that I feel sorry for her, it's Takashi I should honestly feel sorry for, since he's stuck with a girl that picked him just because he 'was the next best choice'. If Hihashi was still alive? Takashi would have been in for a very bad time, especially if they stayed in as a group.

Other than that, the whole group would have also made it to the extraction point at the elementary school, where they would have had to deal with Shido once again, something that they definitely didn't have to do this time around...)

"This is gamma. We can see the cinema. Get ready in there." And the radio speaks up again.

(Ready for what?...)

And just as I finish that thought. A loud gunshot, followed by another, then another. And the moment the first gunshot echoed, Saeko quickly darted her head up, turning to stare towards the entrance.

And after a few seconds…

"Uhh, where…." She mumbled as she started looking around…

"You didn't want to wake up soo…" I then speak up, causing Saeko to turn and face me.

"Oh…" Was all she mumbled as she kept staring at me.

The short silence that ensued getting interrupted by another set of gunshots, these sounding even closer than before.

"Well, guess our part here is done." I spoke up again as I put my hand on Saeko's shoulder, who was still leaning on my leg with her hand.

"Now I feel like I wasted all my time…" Saeko mumbles right after as turns to look towards the door.

"I din't mind, you did look quite cute after all." I add as I lightly stroke her shoulder.

Saeko turns to stare at me for a few seconds, before she starts smiling.

"Are you, sweet-talking me Naier?…" She asks as she slowly brings her face closer to mine, using her free hand to slowly lift my mask.

"Alright break's over! Stop goofing off and get moving!" And, before I could respond, a loud female voice shouts through my earbud. Loud enough that even Saeko apparently heard it, as she started giggling before pulling herself back.

"Will people believe me if I said that I went deaf from a screaming girl instead of actual gunshots?" I 'ask' as I get off the counter while lowering my half lifted mask.

"S,shut up stupid! Now get moving! The new team must be right outside your door." Saya grumbles back.

(Extra grumpy…)

"Uhh, not exactly, they are still trying to cut in line." I add as I look towards the door, gunshots still echoing outside.

"Well be ready…" Saya replies, this time with a much calmer tone.

"Yes, of course." I retort as I walked up to the door. The corpses that had been crowding over it now nowhere to be seen.

"Won't all this gunfire attract way more of these things here?…" I ask as I lean towards the broken glass on the front door to look outside.

"They don't seem to mind." Saeko adds as she sits on the couch we used to make the makeshift barricade.

It took another couple of minutes until I actually saw the first signs of life, other than that constant gunfire that is.

Two small military jeeps, a big fire truck, and a military truck.

"Huh? There's a line extending from the firetruck, towards…" I speak up as I keep looking outside.

"A nearby electrical pylon? So that's how they're doing it..." I add as I tilt my head.

"Alright, let's get rid of everything in front of the door." I continue as I back off, Saeko nodding and getting off the couch.

And a few minutes later, the front door was now clear, and wide open.

"Ok, now what?" I ask as I finally walk out of the cinema with Saeko, the corpses that used to occupy the other side now littering the road to my right .

And, as if to answer my question, the two jeeps zoomed past me, only to stop a little further down, followed then by the fire truck, letting the military truck stop right in front of the cinema.

"Alright people! Move move! I want this place locked down tighter than a politician's purse!" A standing man decked out in full military combat gear shouts as the tailgate of the truck drops down.

A couple of soldiers then quickly jumped down and turned to look towards the truck as another couple of soldiers tossed a set of orange, fillable barricades at them. And as the first set of soldiers quickly moved away with the barricades, a next set of soldiers then followed after the first two, carrying bags full of sand on their shoulders.

The whole thing replaying a couple of times as soldiers quickly encircled the cinema's front road with barricades.

The man in combat gear then turns to us.

"You two! Go to the second jeep! It'll be returning to the airport in five!" He continues as he points towards the two jeeps to our left..

I nod, and turn to look at Saeko, who was holding the 'ripped' part of her shirt with her free hand.

(...Uhh, should I feel so proud of myself right now? Because she was casually flashing her chest at me when we were alone, while now she's putting actual effort to cover it?

My Lizard brain tells me yes. My Intellectual brain just groans. My Gamer brain tells me that fighting kulve Taroth could be considered sexual harassment...)

As we closed in towards the second jeep, it's driver popped his head out of the window to look at us.

"Well shiet, and here I thought they were pulling my leg, it really is just two people. Get in!" He motions with his head before pulling himself back inside the car.

With that, both me and Saeko enter the back seats of the jeep.

"Alright, we're set." I speak up as I remove the shield and place it over a couple of bags that were laid on the trunk.

"Good, let's bail, I'm starting to see a lot of them dead freaks on the road ahead of us." The driver responds.

"This is jeep Betta, I'm moving out. Keep an eye on the road that Jeep Alpha is parked on, I'm seeing a lot of movement down the road. Over." He adds as he presses the speak button on the radio in his chest pocket.

"This is jeep Alpha, requesting to move the vehicle inside of the barricade. Over." The radio answers.

"Roger that Alpha, we'll move the barricades for Betta to pass though, enter along and park inside. You there! Open the barricade, then take a team of five and prepare to set up a firing range!" The radio responds again.

"And put a second damn row once the jeeps are in! I want this place to be unbreachable once we're done!" The radio continues.

"...He sure shouts a lot…" I whisper as we pass through the barricade.

"Wait till you see him drunk." The driver chuckles as he drives through the other side of the barricade….

"By the uhh way. Is your friend alright? She keeps clutching her chest." He continues as he glances at the rearview mirror.

"My shirt got ripped." Saeko answers right after.

"Oh. Ohhhh." He exclaims as he then glances at me.

"You just couldn't hold yourself huh?" He chuckles.

I just sigh and shake my head as he finishes speaking.

And like that, the jeep drove down the road, with the occasional bump from the unmoving corpses that littered the road.

"You guys really cleaned house on your way here huh. Not a single moving corpse." I muttered as I kept looking out of the window.

"Of course, had we not done that we'd have freaks coming from both directions. We'd have popped faster than an ugly forehead pimple." The driver cackles.

"...Nice, equivalent. And now I need to get the damn image out of my head." I respond with a groan.

"Fine, we'd have gotten ripped apart faster than you ripped your girl's undies in that cinema." The driver snickers back…

"Now just…" Right as I was about to answer back, Saeko scooted over next to me and leaned her head on my shoulder, hugging my left arm in the process...

(And you ain't really helping like this…)

"Hoo-hoo now, don't go getting nasty in ma car people. Unless I can join the fun, otherwise it's not allowed." The driver chirps as he turns to look at us with a grin.

"Eye's on the road bub. You might hit a squirrel." I respond as I lean my back on the back seat.

(Does this count as flexing?)

The driver just cackled again as he turned to face the road…

With that, we went on in relative silence...

Or, we would have. As...

"Dum, tap ta tststs. Pap pap pat, Piuoououou!" The driver was shaking his upper body as he kept 'signing'...

(...What, did I do to deserve this…)

"Pit,pit,pit. PowwauuaUOOOAAA SHIT!" And the moment he took a right on the intersection, his singing got cut short as he stomped the breaks. The reason? A giant horde, heading straight our way.

"Oh fucking shit!" The driver exclaims as he switches to reverse, while tapping on his radio.

"This is betta! We have a giant ass horde marching down here! About, uhhh, one and a half klick away from the cinema!" He shouts.

"Keep them out of our way Beta! We have our hands full here! You there! Bring me a count on our munitions! And you! Bolster the left corner! And where the fuck is the engineer I called for?!" The radio 'responds'. A constant sound of gunfire echoing through the radio...

"Uhh, Roger that. Over..." The driver answers with a rather disheartened voice.

"And how the hell am I supposed to 'keep them out of our way'..." He adds as he tries to mimic the high-ranking officer's voice.

"The road opposite of the horde, the one behind us. Can you use that road to reach the airport?" I ask as I glance behind me.

"Probably. It has not been scouted yet." The driver answers.

"So, just jam the horn and drive on that road, it should make the horde go straight towards us." I responded.

"As I said, that road has not been scouted yet, I can't risk driving down on it with a horde in toe, what if it's blocked later down?" The driver turns to look at me as he shakes his head.

"Hmm, I don't see any high buildings around here for us to scout from either…" I sigh.

"Did you bring any explosives with you?' Saeko asks right after.

"Nope…" I respond flatly.

"Uhh…" I then turn to look behind me again, then to my left, at the road that was 'ahead' of the cinema…

"Ok, I got an idea. Drive to the left and wait." I speak up as I turn to exit the car.

"O,k?" The driver answers as he frowns slightly.

Just as I turn to close the door, I find Saeko was already exiting the car as well.

"...I should not even bother to ask you to wait, should I?..." I 'ask' as she completely exits the jeep.

"Glad to see that we understand each other." She answers with a small smile.

"Alright, drive up the road and wait, we'll be back shortly. Oh and shut the engine off." I lean into the car as I speak, before leaning back out and closing the door, not really waiting for an answer.

The driver moves his mouth as if to say something, and then moves to turn the car towards the road that was now ahead of me.

"So, what is the plan Naier?" Saeko asks as she places her hand on her blade's hilt.

"Easy really, we go to the road to our left, I open fire, and then we run back to the jeep. And honk the horn a couple of times as we move away." I respond as I turn to run towards the road to our left. Saeko nods, and starts running after me…

After running a few meters in, I turn around to face the horde. While Saeko drew her blade and dashed towards the nearest corpse, which was honestly still several meters away from us, but, I guess she just couldn't bypass the chance to teach it how to use division on itself…

"Alright…" I let out a short breath, lift my rifle, aim, and pull the trigger a couple of times.

(Ok, that shout be enough.)

"Saeko! Come on!" I shouted as I started to run towards the center of the intersection again...

(Ok, to the car now.)

Without stopping, I turn to my left. Saeko following in toe right next to me. And, the moment I reached the jeep. I opened the door and took a step back, then pointed inside as I looked towards Saeko. Who nodded and entered the jeep.

(And now, we wai….huh?...)

And right before entering the jeep myself, I looked through the window on the other side of the car…

"Uhh, wait here a jiff." I added as I closed the door with me still outside, Saeko turning to look at me with a confused expression.

The reason?...

(I know this is completely stupid. But, I'm not letting this chance pass.)

I glance around me before running straight towards a nearby game store…

It's glass front completely shattered, several corpses standing still in the relatively dark insides…

(If we're getting electricity. That laptop will need some 'software upgrades')

And the moment I stepped into the store, I drew my blade…

The layout was pretty simple really, a giant square room, with three rows of two-sided shelves, which created a total of five corridors. And on the far side I could see the cashier's counter.

Now the corridors themselves were littered with DVDs and DVD cases, some open, some closed, some ripped in half. And of course, 'customers'...

(Ok, the second corridor has only two of them, I take them down, fill my bag with whatever's worth it, and bail.)

And right as I take a step forward.

"The left one is mine." A female voice whispers to my left. Glancing towards it, I find Saeko standing right next to me, blade drawn.

"What? No snarky remark that I'm a nerd?" I chuckle as I dash forward. All Saeko did, was giggle.

The moment I reached the corpse to the right, which was leaning against the shelf with its hand. I bring down my blade in a vertical slash, severing the thing's arm from the elbow.

The corpse, now one arm short, begins to turn to face me. Only to end up with a blade jammed in its forehead. And as its legs buckle, I knock it back with a quick stomp to the chest.

I then throw a quick glance to my left, to find Saeko sheathing her blade. The second corpse unmoving on the floor in front of her.

I take off my bag, open it, and quickly start tossing any game that caught my eye into it.

(Thank god for retail releases...)

After a couple of seconds of looting, I closed my bag and turned to look at Saeko, who was looking at the back cover of a DVD case.

"Let's go, before the driver decides to bail on us." I whisper as I tap Saeko's shoulder, she responds by glancing at me and nodding.

And with that over, I began to run back out. Only to stop right by the exit, my eyes locking with a set of pc controllers.

(...Oh, gimi two of those. Because driving games with a keyboard are a big friggin no-no)

With that thought, I shoved two controllers in the bag and ran towards the jeep for real this time. Which was thankfully still there. And, there was also another thing…

The road to my right, the one we used to come here, now had the horde passing through…

(...Oh damn, that's a lot of corpses…)

Without speaking I open the jeep's door and motion Saeko to enter. And after she got in, I leaned in the jeep myself.

"Don't turn on the engine yet." I whisper as I enter it completely, then silently close the door.

"Oh sure, let's just stay here while a damn parade of dead freaks is marching down a couple of meters away from us." The driver groans.

"And what will happen if you turn on the engine right now? You'll split the horde in two, which will make it harder to track. And, are we not relatively close to the airport?" I ask. The driver just groaned again as he shook his head.

"And what did you even need from that shop?" The driver asks right after.

"Just some things to pass the time." I respond flatly. The driver turning to look at me with an arched eyebrow.

"Naier, If you do not mind me asking such a silly question…" Saeko adds right after. And upon turning to look at her, I find her looking at the cover of the case she was holding.

"The whole cover on this. Why is it just a dismembered hand floating in space?" She asks as she shows me the case. On it, a single, armored dismembered hand, drifting in space…

(Out of all the stuff you could pick, it had to be Isaac Clarke and his adventures in nopeland?…)

"Uhh, yea, and it honestly captures the essence of what you'll find inside pretty well. For the first game at least." I respond as I take the case, then put it inside my bag.

"Interesting…" Was all Saeko responded with...

"Wait, wait wait wait. You went in there to grab video games?" The driver asks with a slight frown.

"Yes." I respond flatly.

"Uhhh. Are you trying to break up with your girl?" He 'asks' as he glances at Saeko.

"Excuse, me?" Saeko asks back as she tilts her head.

"We all know that gamers can't have sexy girlfriends." The driver answers with a slight chuckle.

"But hey, be my guest, I won't say no to more free hot chicks in my area." He adds right after. I just, shake my head again.

(I'm really, not in the mood to humor him…)

"Naier…" Saeko then leans towards me, placing her hand on my hip as she closes her face towards mine.

"You, are not going to start ignoring me now? Are you?..." She 'asks' with a rather, tempting voice.

"Whoooo-daaaaam~" The driver chimes, his face pretty much looking like the one from true detective smoking meme, except he had no cigarette...

"Depends, how often you'll want to break every single bone of my favorite characters?" I respond as I stare back at her.

"Hmm, and what makes you think I would want to do that?" She retorts with a slight giggle as she leans back to a normal posture.

(You know that I know that you very well know 'what' makes me think that.)

"...Oh, by the way, the horde's gone." The driver then adds as he points behind us with his finger.

"Let's get out of here then." I continue as I glance behind me.

And with that, the driver turns on the jeep once again and starts driving.

"Hmmm, do you see any address signs around here?" The driver asks as he starts to slow down at the next intersection.

"Five- twenty six, Yamashitacho, Date-shi, Tokonosu" Saeko responds as she keeps looking through the window next to her.

"Thanks. This is Beta, we have a large-sized horde by, Five- twenty six, Yamashitacho, Date-shi, Tokonosu. Heading..." The driver stops talking on his radio and glances around, narrowing his eyes slightly.

"Ughhh, the airport is, this way. So…" He whispers as he points his finger ahead and to his right.

"Heading Northwest. Over." He continues.

"Copy that Beta. Over." The radio responds.

"Now, let's get back to the damn airport yea?" The driver groans as he turns right at the intersection we had stopped on...