Run

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After my rapid flurry of questions, I calmed her down by telling her my name and she told me hers. She seemed to lower her guard somewhat after this.

Her name is Yui Tachibana and she was a third year middle school student before all of this. She escaped from a large horde of infected with her parents two months ago and until a few days ago, she lived with them in a shelter dozens of kilometres away from here. There were many hunters with guns at this shelter and it was as safe a place as you can find in this world.

However, this shelter was overrun by a sizeable horde only a few days ago. The survivors there had grown used to the relative safety they lived in and let their guard down, allowing the infected to attack them unawares. Most of the survivors were killed or infected while the rest fled in any direction they could.

Yui lost her parents in all of the confusion and was at a loss as to what she should do. Returning to the shelter was out of the question now that it was overrun with infected, but there was no other way of finding her parents. With no idea what to do next, she just ran east. She ran and ran with no plan of what to do until she arrived at this town this morning.

Because of the suddenness of the attack, Yui was unable to bring much of anything with her when she fled. She decided to enter this store only out of desperation for food and water.

“You’re really by yourself?”

“How many times do I have to tell you?”

Yui suddenly responded with an attitude unfitting of someone younger than me. If I continue this one-sided questioning, she’s going to grow suspicious of me.

“I’ve been living alone here for a few weeks now….”

Yui looked surprised to hear this, but I was more surprised to hear that she ran all the way here without getting caught.

“Well, I’ve stayed indoors most of the time, so I’m not exactly sure if I’d call that living.”

“So you must live near here?”

For a moment, I was at a loss as to how to answer. If I tell her yes, she’ll ask for my protection. While I consider the apartment building I live in safe, the risk of living there grows as more people are brought in. There’s also the obvious increase of supplies that comes with living with a second person. I can’t afford that increase right now.

Just as I was about to give her my answer, I heard a noise coming from the entrance. I instinctively got down in a crouch and whispered to Yui to do the same. She crouched down and moved behind the counter as well, but I was unsure if she heard the noise or not.

I carefully took out a telescopic pointer from my bag with a mirror attached to the end. I stuck it out from around the counter and angled it toward the entrance. It may be something I made with my limited skills but it’s proved to be incredibly useful so far.

If we make any sound right now or try to move, the infected will hear us for sure. That is an outcome I want to avoid at all costs.

The unsettling guttural sounds emitted by the infected filled the supermarket. As long as they have no prey (humans) in sight, they’re relatively docile, but as soon as it spots a living human, it will chase down its prey like a lion chasing down a gazelle. This is how the hundreds of millions of people that tried to outrun them ended up dead or as a part of the ever growing infected horde.

Just hurry up and leave. There’s nothing here that interests you. I could probably handle it on its own but it would come with considerable risk.

The groans of the infected passed through a few aisles for a few minutes before it began to lose interest and headed back to the entrance. I was relieved at the thought that we were safe for the time being, when I could hear the strange sound of metal scraping against the ground. The sound came from the direction of Yui.

I was so focused on the infected that I forgot about Yui entirely. There were countless coins strewn across the floor near the register, but that’s not the issue. The problem is the sound.

Yui and I held our breath as I returned my vision to the mirror.

The silent prayer I said in my mind fell on deaf ears as the infected turned toward the direction of the sound. It looked around for a few moments before taking a step closer to us.

The face of the infected grew larger in my mirror as it slowly made its way toward us. It was a high school boy still dressed in his school uniform. Because the athletic ability of the infected is based on state their body was in when they became infected, a high school student is potentially one of the worst ones to run into. They hold a near unlimited potential and when the infected turn, this potential unlocks. This is just plain bad luck.

Please stop! Don’t come over here, just stop! But the infected ignored my desperate pleas and continued his slow march toward us.

And –

“Nooooooo~!”

Yui finally gave into her fear and fled towards the back of the supermarket. The infected immediately gave chase and it was clear that hiding no longer made any sense.

“Run, just run!”

I stood up and screamed while clutching my crowbar in both hands. The infected quickly changed his target from Yui to me and began a dead sprint straight at me. The distance between us shrank in an instant and as the infected grew closer, I could see a mixture of blood and saliva dripping from its mouth.

I suppressed the overwhelming desire within me to run and held my ground while measuring out the distance between us. It took less than a second for the infected to get within one metre of me.

As soon as it reached this distance, I swung down hard with the crowbar aiming for its left temple. There was a sickening crunch as I felt the infected’s skull give way beneath the metal of my weapon. The momentum of the infected sent its lifeless body hurtling onto the nearby counter where it collided with one of the registers. Its body collapsed off the counter and finally came to a rest on the floor of the supermarket. 

Since the infected are just hyper aggressive humans, damaging their vital organs is enough to kill them, but the same could be said for a grizzly bear and that doesn’t make them easy to kill.

After confirming the infected boy was dead, I grabbed my bag and ran in the same direction as Yui toward the rear exit. I only took a moment to look back and see a large group of infected swarming the main entrance like ants emerging from an anthill.

Infected let out a distinctive howl when they spot their prey and other infected head toward the direction of this howl. If we’re spotted by new infected, they’ll howl and an endless chain of infected will gather toward us.

The infected chasing us entered through the front door and shattered windows and ran down the aisles of the supermarket. The smart thing to do would’ve been to circle around toward the back so that Yui and I would have no chance of escaping, but the infected don’t think like this. They may resemble humans but they don’t possess the intelligence of even a young child. Their thoughts are consumed by the desire to pursue their prey and they will always choose the most straightforward way of catching their prey, even if this isn’t the fastest. Shortcuts nor encircling your prey doesn’t exist in the mind of the infected.

It’s a useful flaw to exploit when trying to run from them.

There were a few different roads that branched off from the main street so I just ran as fast as I could to the first corner in an attempt to break line of sight. As expected, I reunited with Yui as soon as I turned the corner, but she was on the ground and her knee was bleeding.

“Are you okay?”

“Aah….”

Yui was holding her injured knee as she tried to stand, but she let out a small scream before collapsing back to the ground. She must have also injured her ankle when she fell.

“Damn it!”

All I could think to do was curse. If she can’t run the infected will eventually catch us.

The idea of leaving Yui behind quickly flashed through my mind. After all, it was her fault to begin with that the infected heard us and I’m under no obligation to help her in the first place. Frankly speaking, we’re complete strangers and I’d be putting my own life at risk just to help —

“Please, help me.”

This remorseless idea that was forming in my mind was quickly swept to the side by Yui’s desperate pleas for help. There was no way I could abandon an injured girl looking up at me through tears in her eyes.

I can’t say for sure why I felt this way. Maybe it was due to Yui being the first person I’d seen in weeks and I’d immediately formed an attachment to this person. Or maybe this is just the type of person I am, no matter how much I try to suppress that fact. Whatever the reason, I couldn’t abandon her.

I could hear the howls of the infected growing closer with each passing second. I only have a few moments before they round the corner and spot us. I won’t have time to hide in a nearby house before they make it around the corner.

I’ll have to carry Yui in the so-called ‘princess carry’ while also carrying my full backpack. With a pack on my back and a third year middle schooler in my arms, my body became heavy and, naturally, my ability to run was also hampered. No matter how hard I dug my feet into the ground, I felt as if I was barely moving.

I considered dropping my bag for a moment, but I don’t have the time to set Yui down nor can I afford to lose my supplies. Now that such a large group of infected are aware there are living humans in the area, I won’t be able to return to the apartment or the supermarket. This may be the only supplies I’ll have for several days. I can’t toss it aside without knowing when or where I’ll next be able to find food or water.

“They’re coming!”

Yui was looking over my shoulder as I held her against my chest. She shouted this just as the howling of the infected rose to a crescendo. I can’t afford to look back myself, but I know we need to find somewhere to hide soon…!

I’ve been living in this town for a few weeks, but I’ve only left my apartment when necessary and took the same general route to the market every time. I’m not all that familiar with the layout of the streets, but I spent hours studying the map and looking out over the city through my binoculars. 

There should be a gas station not far from here. If we can make it there, we might stand a chance. I pictured the map in my head and matched the street names to the street signs and planned out my route.

I ran as fast as my body would allow while carrying so much extra weight. Yui’s entire body trembled in my arms as the howling of the infected grew louder. The howling and Yui’s trembling pushed me forward.

It wasn’t long before the gas station came into view. Many modern gas stations are attached to a convenience store, but this one must have been privately owned as there was only a public restroom and small break area for the employees. Still, there must be somewhere for us to hide. I have to believe that.

However, my body was reaching its limits. My arms felt heavy, the straps of my backpack were digging into my shoulders, and my mouth was dry. I was gasping for air as my lungs demanded oxygen and the sound of my pounding heart was slowly beginning to drown out the howling infected.

We were within fifty metres of the station at this point. I forced myself to continue running as I used every last bit of my strength to push me forward toward safety. There was a car that had crashed into the side of the station. It had shattered the glass on the front door and was now partially blocking off the entrance, but there was a small gap between the roof of the car and the top of the doorway. I climbed onto the roof of the car, still carrying Yui before we both slid in through the small opening.

In the break room, there was nothing but a few chairs, a sofa, and some tables, but in the corner of the room was a locker used to store cleaning tools. This was our only option.

I set Yui down on the sofa before tossing my bag to the floor and emptying the locker of everything inside. Even with everything being removed, there was barely enough room for two people to hide. With no other place to hide, we weren’t left with much choice. If we don’t hide, we’ll just be accepting death.

“Get in.”

I grabbed Yui by the arm and dragged her into the locker with me. I could hear her say something but couldn’t quite make it out and ignored her as I closed the door.

The locker was even smaller than I originally thought. Yui and I were so close that are faces nearly touched. I had one hand stuck between the door of the locker and Yui’s body while the other was covering her mouth. It might look like we’re embracing, but my hand was only on her body due to the cramped space we were in while I was purposefully covering her mouth with my other hand. We’ll be killed for sure if she panics and screams this time.

I could clearly feel a soft sensation brushing my left hand but let’s not worry about that right now. I can probably guess what this sensation is but this is an emergency so it can’t be helped. Still, I thought they’d be bigger.

Yui tried to say something, but I just said, “Shh!” and pressed harder over her mouth. Obviously, I avoided covering her nose so she’d still be able to breathe.

I listened for the sound of any infected that followed us. There was a tiny slit at the top of the locker’s door that allowed me to see a small glimpse of the break room. 

It was only a few seconds after we entered the locker that the first infected came in through the space above the crashed car. One after another, they made their way into the room and began searching for us. I could feel Yui gasp beneath my hand as her body started to tremble. I unconsciously pressed my body against hers in the hopes of calming her down.

The infected continued pouring into the room and howling as they searched for us. Even if my bag and the cleaning supplies are all thrown on the floor in front of the locker, this won’t mean anything to the infected. As long as we didn’t make any noise, this locker was of no interest to them.

They passed in front of the locker several times, each time they did, Yui would tremble as if a jolt of electricity ran through her body. She seemed to be engulfed by her fear as she believed we had no chance to escape. If I didn’t feel the need to protect Yui, I may have fallen into despair just like her.

Several minutes passed before the infected finally gave up their search. With no sign of us in the break room, one-by-one they slowly climbed out over the car in search of their next meal.

As a precaution, we still waited for nearly ten minutes after the last infected left before finally exiting the locker. Due to us being in such close contact with each other in that cramped space, we were both drenched in sweat and it was quite the relief to finally get out.

I made sure to carefully check outside before finally giving myself a moment to relax. There were no infected in sight outside. After running for so long carrying an awkward load and then hiding in a hot box for over ten minutes, my mouth was completely dry. I took a bottle of water out from my bag as soon as I confirmed we were safe.

“Do you want some?”

I held out the bottle to Yui who quickly snatched it up and began greedily drinking. She finished the bottle off before wiping her mouth and saying,

“You touched my chest…!”

She noticed.

“That was just due to the circumstances. It was cramped in there so I didn’t have much choice.”

“So there was nowhere else you could have put your hand!?”

“Well, it’s small so at first I didn’t even notice I was touching it….”

An empty bottle suddenly hit my head. It hurt, but I was so relieved to have survived that I couldn’t help but laugh. Yui was, at first, angry about my comment about her small chest, but my laughter proved infectious as she slowly joined in.

It was only a little while ago that I would’ve called this girl a nuisance, but now I feel a closeness to her that I haven’t felt for anyone in a long time.

This was also the first time in a while that I thought it was nice being alive.

“…so, what are we going to do now?”

Yui timidly asked this as she watched me gather my bag and get to my feet. I took out some rubbing alcohol and cleaned the wound on her knee and wrapped her ankle in a wet towel to reduce the swelling. It will be hard for her to walk, let alone run, for at least a day.

“I can’t go back to my shelter now and I can’t afford to stay here for long. My best bet is to go to a new town and find somewhere safe to stay.”

“W-Wow, you’ve already got a plan for yourself.”

Yui glanced up at me through upturned eyes. I could tell what she was hinting at, but it was embarrassing to ask it outright or maybe my pride just wouldn’t allow me to.

…I guess it’s too late now.

“I-It might be nice to have a friend to travel with and I’m worried about your foot too.”

The friends thing may not be entirely true, but I am worried about her injury. I’d be sentencing her to death if I just left her here.

I smiled before continuing,

“Do you want to come with me?”

Yui’s face lit up and her eyes started shining.

“Of course!”

….more importantly,

“Can you stop calling me ‘you?’ I already told you my name.”

“Oh, right, I think you said your name was Hentai?”

“I don’t remember ever saying that was my name.”

“But only a pure hentai would take advantage of a situation like that to grope my chest.”

“Like I said, it was so small I didn’t even notic– oi, oi, why are you reaching for the crowbar!?”

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