Chapter 16: The outside world
“Aya-chan?”
First off, I tried to call out to her. However, Aya-chan doesn’t notice me – she is too concentrated on getting a whiff of the lewd smell.
Or more precisely, sniffing the smell is better, but at least I think I wouldn’t do this with such a fascinated expression. …And because she is a junior high student, it is unpredictable.
“Heeey.”
When she looked up, her drooped side hair hangs on her ear. Aya-chan noticed that I finally got up and our eyes met. The heart marks disappeared, and she had a serious face. I’m slightly afraid.
However, Aya opened the door without saying anything and went outside. It feels like she somewhat wants to be alone. I didn’t stop her.
By the way, the place which I’m inside at the moment is in a tent. I was in the outdoor section because you don’t need to fold anything. There were various convenience goods, but mobility is emphasized, and only the necessary minimum is brought here. This tent is light and doesn’t take up much space, it will be useful.
“Uh… my waist aches.”
The moment I raised my upper body and stretched out my back, my 30-year old body screamed from the pain.
The former bed cloth was a luxury feather futon, and the mattress was also new; therefore it was quite soft. However, the tent is directly on the ground. For the menace of zombies, I have to be careful about my physical condition.
Opening the entrance of the tent which is closed with a zipper, I go outside.
The season is going to approach spring, but it is still slightly cold. The zombies which became filthy are wandering slowly under my eyes, Among them, there is a zombie who was a considerably beautiful woman during her lifetime… that can’t be held. Water is saved in the shopping mall, so it was possible to clean itself, but now that is impossible.
The decomposition advances as time passed, so even if the dirt is removed it will be useless. Well, I’m okay, because I have Aya-chan.
“Uh-oh.”
While the zombies noticed that I was looking at them, they approached. Of course, my position is one that zombies cannot climb without effort either, that’s why I don’t mind, but I would be in trouble if I go down to the mass of zombies.
By the way, when I say where I am――――I’m on the canopy. Saying it clearly, I’m on the ceiling of the gas station.
The view seen from there… isn’t like the everyday scenery. At the end of the road was a car accident and one vehicle dropped off. However, there is also a lot of blood in various places, which is visible from the black and red stains.
However, when I say whether it is non-daily life imagined in a pandemic, that’s also different. Even weed isn’t outstanding, from seeing the terrible scene of the car accident. This is extraordinary perfectly for zombies… and if it is seen, it isn’t an exciting view which you can be accustomed to.
The other thing I need to say is that there are a lot more survivors than I thought. If I look up at the apartments from the canopy, clothes are drying on a veranda. There is probably no one in the lower floors, but in the upper floors, there seem to be several households with survivors. It may be few when I think about the movie denominator, but I have the feeling there are more survivors than in the movie.
Well, it’s several months since the first infection that still occurs.
“UOoooo!”
When I looked around leisurely, I heard a courageous shout from somewhere. Somebody of the apartment group would go down for food supply. They can manage it as long they aren’t surrounded by the slow-witted zombies, and there are a lot of humans who come for food supplement at daytime.
“Gyaaaaaaaa!”
However, when you’re too confident, then you will be a part of the zombie clan in no time. The place where they get their food will be the small store and even if the pass by zombies, they will be circled on the way back by a swarm of zombies who were lured there… that is really possible.
Not only mobility is important but stealth too. I learned it for one week when I went to the shopping mall while being close to death. By the way, I was helped by Aya-chan who is a cheat because she isn’t aimed at by the zombies every time.
“Aya-chan, now it is okay, shall we go, too?”
I called out to Aya-chan who swings her feet while sitting down in a corner.
The zombie reacts to a sound. About tens of meters of this is being captured visually just in case, The most of the cause to be found in the zombie are sounds. Therefore I stock some firecrackers, Because a number is limited, I do not want to use it very much. Thanks to someone’s who became a victim of a zombie crying now, A zombie disappears from the neighborhood.
It’s pitiable, but with Sai at the head, we come down from the canopy. I do not use some special tool, From a canopy the ceiling of the staff room,
from there, via the car wash and then through the fire prevention fence we reach the ground.
“Okay, it looks like there are no zombies.”
Now let’s go to my high school! I feel as though I want to cry. I’m at the margin of death, so I advance first quietly. Because I’m the only one who knows the place of my high school, I lead the way.
I left the rucksack on the canopy to be lighter, and I only carry some firecrackers and mobile food in the pouch attached to my waist. I also filled water in a drink case which can be refilled several times. I pay attention to keeping as little air from the drink case as possible so the zombies cannot hear me drink.
I have a hammer in one hand for use as a weapon which I can handle, while Aya-chan has a sharp knife.
The reason I decided to aim for my high school is that a weapon is there. The location of the gun shop here in Tokyo is probably in Shinjuku… but the best weapon for me is a bow.
Even if I know the location of the gun shop, it is unlikely they have a bow, and probably everything was taken by other survivors. Unlike the gun which I don’t know how to handle well, I’m a professional with the bow. …But that’s a story from 15 years ago.
I still think that I’d be able to support Aya-chan with that hammer, though my high school tie was annoying… I decided to set foot in my old school.
“……Nー、shall we walk the sidewalk for the time being?”
We will arrive the high school if we go ahead through the main street basically. The main street is easy to catch zombies because the view is wide and it is also easy to run away. When we are on the side street and the back alley, we would be in a pinch if we are surrounded, even if the number of zombies is small. As a result of avoiding trouble then, I decided to go ahead through the main street.
Because Aya-chan is here, advancing through the back alley would be better for stealth attacks. However, I don’t want to put such a burden on her.
Furthermore, even if I suggest that we advance on the main street, it’s split up into the driveway and sidewalk. As for the road, we would pass by on a car. Thereby, the possibility to be caught by zombies lowers at least a little… however, I stop it this time because noise will definitely be made. When we are found by zombies and can’t escape, we should evacuate in a car.
By the way, crossing a car is considerably safe, but when a car is knocked over by a large crowd of zombies when they get in the swing, we die. A foot is caught by the zombie who is rarely on the inside of a car and dies.
…How should I say, in this world, one dies really quickly. Scary.
(…Aya-chan)
Because there was a zombie in front of us, I called Aya-chan with a low voice. Aya-chan doesn’t have to hide particularly; however, she will be in a bad mood if I leave her behind. Though there are only us two and no one else, she seems not to like it if I don’t do the same.
(Take your face out a little if there is a zombie elsewhere?）
When we hide behind a car, and I give instructions, Aya-chan quietly watched the area. This girl seems to enjoy the present world which is like a game somehow – every move of hers was somewhat beautiful.