Chapter 70: Bus Depot

James, Saya, Rei, Jasmine, Saeko all approach the bus depot with caution. They scan the building. James did think he had no weapon however, he looked down to the Ultimatrix and smiled. He also looked to see his girls all scanning the area. He thought zombies are not the biggest threat to him, the boss zombies could be a bit tricky. 

Rei looked across the area near the bus, her eyes narrowing as she spotted a zombie shambling towards them. It had blue eyes. His face was decaying. The zombie wore a tattered white straitjacket. Rei raised her M4W. She lined up the shot and squeezed the trigger. The rifle bucked against her shoulder. The bullet struck the zombie squarely in the forehead, its head snapping back with a sickening crack as it collapsed to the ground in a lifeless heap.

"Good shot," James said. Rei nodded. 

James looked at the bus depot, his eyes caught the gaping hole in the wall with small flickers of fire licking around its edges. He looked closely, and amidst the debris and smoke, he spotted a small, obsidian-like rock, pulsing faintly. "The meteorite," he murmured.

"Meteorite?" Saya echoed, stepping closer.

James nodded, glancing at her. "Yes, we need this to get out of here." He saw a discarded cloth on the ground and, using it as a makeshift glove, picked up the rock. "Ouch, it's warm," he muttered, quickly wrapping it more securely in the cloth. He held the cloth like a bag. 

"Are you okay, James?" Jasmine asked. 

"I'm fine," he reassured her. 

Saeko's attention snapped to movement nearby. A female zombie, its eyes blue, was walking towards them. It wore a torn red t-shirt and faded blue jeans. Without a moment's hesitation, Saeko darted forward, she held Slasher in her hands. With a swift motion, she decapitated the zombie, its head separating cleanly from its body and tumbling to the ground. A satisfied grin spread across her face as she wiped the blade clean.

"What will the meteorite do?" Saya asked.

James turned to her.. "We need to place it on a special table that we have to build under a large tower. Then, we'll need a special electric zombie to power it up and use the turbines to get out," he explained.

Rei, Jasmine, and Saeko exchanged puzzled glances. They looked a bit lost, but they nodded in silent agreement, trusting his leadership. Saya, after a moment of contemplation, raised an eyebrow. "Seems a bit complicated and not exactly logical, but I trust you," she said.

James gave her a grateful smile. "Thank you, Saya.

"Speaking of the special table," James said as he walked around the building. Jasmine and Saya followed. There were two zombies lurking around in front of them. They both were male zombies whose faces were falling off. They could see rotten flesh on their hands and body. Jasmine aimed her Red Hawk and fired the pistol twice. Two bullets left the chamber and hit the zombies. One of the zombies got hit in the head while the other got hit in the neck. They both went down. 

James approached the dumpster and saw a black card on the floor. "The Navcard," he remarked. 

"Navcard?" Jasmine asked. 

"It's a chip that we can insert into the Navcard reader on that special table once built," James replied.

"Do we need it to escape?" Saya asked.

"We might, it's better to keep it with us," James replied. Saya and Jasmine nodded. 

They walked out from the alleyway and saw Rei and Saeko covering their exit. 

"I think we have what we need from the outside," James said. He added, "Let's go inside the depot." 

"Yes Danna-sama," Sakeo replied. They approached the bus depot. The double glass door was closed. They could see derby and rubbish everywhere. James peered inside and saw four zombies standing. 

"Four zombies," James reported. They all nodded. James carefully eased the door open, the old hinges creaking. Saeko slipped inside first. She moved like a shadow, her steps barely audible as she crept towards the first zombie. The zombie creature stood with its back to her.

Saeko's grip tightened on her blade, Slasher, as she approached. In one swift motion, she swung the blade, decapitating the zombie cleanly. The severed head hit the floor with a heavy thud, echoing through the room.

The sound stirred the remaining zombies. They turned, their vacant blue eyes locked onto Saeko. She didn't hesitate. With a wide grin, she darted forward, her blade flashing through the dim light. Her strike was swift and deadly, slicing through the second zombie's neck before it could react. The body crumpled to the ground, lifeless.

Rei, standing just behind Saeko, quickly raised her M4W. She aimed at the third zombie. The rifle cracked as she pulled the trigger, the bullet piercing the zombie's skull and dropping it instantly.

Jasmine followed suit. She drew her Red Hawk pistol. The final zombie stumbled towards them, its decayed fingers reaching out. Jasmine took aim and pressed the trigger. The shot rang out, and the zombie's head jerked back as the bullet found its mark, sending it sprawling to the floor in a lifeless heap.

"They're all down," James stated. 

Saeko turned to face them, her grin still in place, a glint of satisfaction in her eyes. "That was almost too easy," she remarked, flicking the blood from her blade.

Rei lowered her rifle, her breath coming in steadying gasps. "Good teamwork," she said, nodding at Jasmine.

"We make a good team," Jasmine replied. James thought they all seemed to be getting along. 

He walked in and saw the dim-lit inside of the bus depot. There was garbage everywhere. The benches were covered in dirt and other fluids. The timetable on the wall could barely be seen. He looked in the corner and saw the Quick Revive perk machine was missing. He thought that was strange. 

"Is something wrong?" Rei asked. 

"There should have been a machine here which gives drinks like the one you drank. I was hoping to give it to Yuriko," James said. 

"That would have been useful for my mum," Saya remarked. 

"Never mind, we will give it to her once we are back," James replied. 

He looked in front and saw a mannequin in front of him. It was a life-sized, human-shaped body of a female`s torso and no head, arms or legs. It was held on a long stand. 

"Saya, could you hold that?" James asked.

Saya looked at the mannequin. "Okay but what for?" Saya asked. She thought it did not look remarkable from the other rubbish in this place. 

"You will see, we need two parts," James replied.

James walked to the back of the depot near a bookcase. The bookcase was practically falling apart and all the books were either damaged or covered in mold. He looked down and found the tail. He smiled and picked it up. "Perfect," he remarked.

Rei came over and looked at the piece. "It looks like a tail fin," Rei commented.

"We would need this," James said. 

"I wonder what he needs all this for?" Jasmine asked.

"Danna-sama will know," Saeko replied. 

He also thought the M14 was not here either. He walked to the left side of the bus depot. He saw a few benches covered in a pile of dust. James also saw the fan. It had three blades covered in a fan cage. 

He picked up the fan and walked it to the bench in front of him. There was a blueprint of the Turbine. "So we are building this?" Saya asked.

"Yes, we are," James replied.

"Do you know how to?" Rei asked. 

"Well, we just put the pieces down here," James said as he put the fin and fan down. He took the mannequin of Saya and placed it down on the bench. All of a sudden there was a bright light. The girls looked away. There was the sound of crafting, sawing and then it all stopped. The light went away.

They all looked to see the Turbine. The mannequin whose head was missing now had the fan as its replacement. The fin was attached behind it. "This place also has magic," Jasmine commented.

Saya, Rei and Saeko looked shocked. "We are going to need a few of these," James said as he took the Turbine down.

"We need to find more of these pieces then," Rei said. All of a sudden there was another bright light, the sounds of crafting back and another Turbine was there.

"That answers it," Saya said in disbelief. 

"We probably need around 4 turbines however, let's take an extra one in case," James said. He knew they could break and it would be a pain to come back again. They all nodded.