The barricade groaned.
Kanata Yukimura threw his shoulder against the heavy desk one more time, and the makeshift blockade finally gave way with a loud scrape. Dust floated in the narrow stairwell, the stench of old blood and rot leaking into their lungs. Kanata coughed, waving a hand in front of his face, and glanced behind him.
Mayumi Serizawa stood silent, her face stiff with a mixture of tension and grief. Her shirt was torn at the sleeve, a streak of dried blood painted across her cheek. But her eyes were sharp. Determined. Takeshi Kamuro's memory weighed heavy on both of them.
"We find them," Kanata said.
Serizawa nodded. "Kanami. Takiya-senpai. And Godou-sensei."
Together, they stepped down into the half-lit corridor, the fluorescent bulbs above them flickering like dying fireflies. The second floor was eerily quiet. Rows of classroom doors lined the hallway, a few of them splintered or wide open, blood trails painting the tiled floors. The silence wasn't comforting. It was terrifying.
Kanata gripped his bat tighter.
They moved quickly, avoiding broken glass and bodies slumped against lockers. Occasionally, they heard the distant groan of the undead. But what chilled Kanata more was the absence of screams.
"Class 2-B," Serizawa whispered, pointing. "Wasn't that where Takiya-senpai was headed?"
Kanata nodded. They rushed to the door, easing it open.
Inside, Takiya Shino stood like a war goddess.
Her tall figure was covered in blood and sweat, long black hair pulled back into a messy ponytail. She held her signature bokken — a wooden sword she refused to replace with anything lethal. Around her, two unconscious zombies lay twitching on the floor, their skulls dented but not shattered.
"Kanata," she said, her voice cold and controlled.
"Takiya-senpai," Kanata breathed out in relief. "Where are the others?"
Takiya pointed to the far corner of the room. Godou-sensei, the voluptuous literature teacher, lay cradled by a figure wrapped in a blue hoodie and smeared with oil and blood.
Kanami Tsukino.
She looked up with wide eyes, cheeks flushed, hair matted to her forehead.
"Kanata... Serizawa! You're alive!" she cried.
Serizawa rushed forward and hugged her tight.
Godou-sensei stirred and groaned. "I'm... I'm okay. She saved me. Kanami did."
Kanami sat up straight, her face pale but determined.
"They were everywhere. I locked the door, and we made it through the window into the carpentry club. I... I found stuff there. Tools, pipes, springs. I-I panicked, but I just kept thinking—'guns make sense'—and I made this."
She held up a handmade nail shooter, rigged from a pressure-loaded caulking gun and reinforced PVC.
Kanata's eyes widened.
"You made that... in half an hour?"
Kanami nodded nervously. "I was in robotics club before transferring..."
Takiya stood beside her, nodding with approval. "The girl's a genius. Doesn't look like it, but when she's panicked? She builds stuff that can kill."
Kanami blushed. "It doesn't kill! Just incapacitate! I haven't tested it on a real... uhh... never mind."
Kanata stepped toward the door and peered down the hallway.
"We need to move. Fast. The third floor's overrun, and the rooftop's not safe anymore. Serizawa and I barely got out. We need to find a safer route."
Takiya narrowed her eyes. "Stairwell to the east wing is blocked. Janitor's closet might have a maintenance tunnel."
Kanami stood and readied her shooter. "Then let's go."
Kanata nodded. They slipped back into the hallway, five of them moving in a cautious unit. Godou-sensei was supported between Serizawa and Takiya. Kanami stayed behind Kanata, nail shooter raised, finger trembling over the trigger.
As they turned the corner...
GRAAAUUUGHH!!
Two zombies staggered out of a classroom. One had its intestines trailing like ropes. The other was missing an eye and had something—someone's hand—stuck in its gullet.
Takiya moved first. Her bokken snapped out in a sharp arc.
CRACK!
One zombie collapsed. The second lunged toward Godou-sensei.
Kanami screamed—then pulled the trigger.
THWACK!
A nail embedded itself into the zombie's eye socket. The creature reeled back, screeching, before collapsing in a twitching heap.
Kanami gasped, trembling. "I-I hit it... I really hit it..."
Kanata glanced back. "Nice shot. Stay focused."
They moved past the bodies and finally reached the janitor's room. Kanata used the ring of keys he'd taken earlier.
Click.
Inside, the room smelled of bleach and old socks. Tools hung on the walls, and a metal hatch on the floor marked the old maintenance access.
Kanata threw it open.
A ladder descended into darkness.
"This goes under the school?" Serizawa asked.
"Old tunnel for wiring and plumbing," Takiya said. "Might lead us to the gym, or maybe even the rear exit."
Kanata went first. "One at a time. Stay close. If anything moves down there, I want to know."
The tunnel was damp and narrow, lit only by the occasional flickering emergency light. As they descended, the sounds of the apocalypse faded—replaced by dripping water, creaking pipes, and the distant hum of something unknown.
Kanata led them down the tight corridor, every step deliberate. Behind him, Kanami whispered nervously.
"Hey... Kanata?"
"Yeah?"
"You think we'll survive?"
He paused.
Then answered:
"If we don't, then Takeshi died for nothing."
Kanami didn't reply.
But she kept walking.
---
To be coninued