00.

Last Alarm

Chapter 62

"Dawn at the Alamo"

Part Three

By firemanjim and Poynton90

"Even the best-laid plans of mice and men often go awry..."

_Robert Burns


Time: Zero Dark Thirty

Location: *MQ-4C Triton UAV Operations Control Room of U.S.S. Bonhomme Richard LHD-6 aka ("The Bonnie Dick") currently anchored near the Northeastern section of Tokonosu International Airport ("The Floating Island")

Z-Day Times Five

"How long has it been since they ducked in there?" Captain Richard "Duck" Banduck asked aloud referring to the unknown gunman and two teenagers that he and his flight crew of the U.S. Navy Triton-Class UAV had been closely monitoring for the past several minutes now as the high tech aircraft continued to circle 10,000 feet above the grounds of Takagi Manor which now far more resembled a blood-drenched battlefield than the well-manicured lawn of a luxury mansion.

"More than seven minutes now, Skipper." Ensign Michael "Mini-Me" Consentino replied as every member of the crew sat riveted to their chairs and continued to stare at their viewscreens at the enormous herd of Infected that continued to descend on the burning tent city.

"Any of you see any signs of movement anywhere around that tent they took cover in?" Banduch asked aloud as he continued to peer at his monitor intensely, his pulse beginning to rise as the distance between the horde and the hospital tent begin to close rapidly as a round of negative replies came from his flight crew.

"Think they might have run into trouble once they entered that tent, 'Duckie"?" His co-pilot, Lt. Deidra "Dee" O'Connor asked glancing over at Banduch as he silently shook his head in response.

"Would have seen gun flashes if they had "Dee', even through that heavy canvas." Banduch replied as his co-pilot frowned upon seeing Banduch's knee begin to bounce slightly up and down, something she knew he only did when he was getting nervous about something.

"What the hell are they waiting for...?!" CPO Theodore "Ted" Kaiser nearly shouted in frustration in the small confines of the Triton UAV'S control room. "...don't they realize the world of shit that's about to come crashing down on them?!"

"Thirty seconds more and it won't matter, bud." Banduch replied as the horde closed in on the hospital tent, the distance now only a matter of a few feet before the horde would begin to surround the hospital tent and overwhelm anyone still unlucky enough to still be hidden within.

"If that guy really was some ex-Spec Ops guy..."O'Connor asked out loud as she continued to scan her monitor intently. "...don't you think he would have known better than to stay in that tent for so long?"

"I dunno, it doesn't make sense..." Banduch replied shaking his head. "...maybe he or one of the kids was hurt or something."

"Well, that would explain...WHOA!" O'Connor exclaimed as a bright flash of light suddenly erupted from the rear of the tent and one of the Infected lurching nearby was suddenly knocked away from the tent and fell backwards to the ground.

"Looks like...HELL,YEAH!...They're finally making their move!" Kaiser said in a voice that was almost a whoop as the Triton's flight crew saw another bright flash as another of the Infected was suddenly sent spinning to the ground as the shadowy figure of the gunman stepped into view and began to lay down a steady stream of gunfire at the horde.

"Confirmed...looks like "John Wick" finally decided to get his ass in gear." Banduch growled gruffly in reply, as he then breathed a sigh of relief that the unidentified gunman had finally decided to make his escape although his timing most definitely sucked.

"Yup, and_...yeah, there's 'Ninjette' and 'Schoolboy', right behind him." O'Connor replied also breathing a sigh of relief as the shadowy figures of the teenage girl still brandishing her sword and the teenage boy dressed in the traditional Japanese school uniform burst out of the tent as well as the armed gunman continued to fire away at the Infected in an obvious attempt to aid the teen's escape.

"Damn, sure took them guy's long enough to_ ... OH SHIT!" "Kaiser said as everyone immediately gasped in surprise as a sudden flurry of movement occurred at the rear of the tent and a large number of shadowy figures suddenly came bursting out into the open.

"What the_?!" Banduch said his jaw dropping open as even more shadowy figures began pouring out of the tent behind the others and then to everyone's horror, began to collide with the others already outside as some of the lucky ones began to run after the two teens while others scattered in all directions, obviously panic-striken.

"Who the hell are all these people?!" O'Connor said as she and the rest of the UAV flight crew then swore under their breaths as the horde suddenly surged forward despite 'John Wick's' desperate attempts to keep the Infected at bay and then completely swarmed over the unfortunate survivors.


Time: Zero Dark Thirty

Location: Front Driveway Terrace of Takagi Manor

Z-Day Times Five

Moments earlier

"Do you see any signs of them anywhere at all, Soichiro-san?" Yuriko Takagi asked out loud, the tone of her voice growing increasingly anxious with each passing moment as her eyes continued to scan frantically in all directions of the now furiously burning tent city searching for any signs of the two teens and the American Security Contractor that had disappeared from view for several anxious minutes now.

"Not since they came under fire..." Her husband Soichiro Takagi replied in a voice that Yuriko noticed was also unmistakably tense as she glanced over at her husband still crouched next to the portly teen Kohta Hirano, as he continued to anxiously scan every inch of the burning camp through a pair of high-powered binoculars. "...and I've still been unable to locate any sign of their presence, or even the presence of their assailants anywhere."

"Hirano-san...how about you?" Yuriko asked sounding more and more like that of a worried mother concerned for her offspring, much to her husband's growing concern.

"Thank the heavens Saya isn't down there amongst all that." Soichiro mumbled to himself under his breath as a wave of relief immediately coursed through him at the knowledge that his own daughter was now safe within the confines of the mansion.

"There'd be no way my men or I could restrain Yuriko from going down there if that were the case." Soichiro sighed as he swept the lenses of his binoculars back and forth along the entire length of the burning tent city in search of the trio and trying desperately at the same time to not be sickened at the sight of the carnage going on below as the 'runners" continued their attack on the helpless civilians.

"No sign whatsoever, Takagi-sama..." The chubby teen replied from where he stood next to Yuriko's husband, not taking his eye off the eyepiece of the high-powered rifle scope mounted on his sniper rifle as he also searched frantically for the missing trio amidst the chaos going on within the burning tent city.

"Do you think they may have been_?" Yuriko asked aloud letting the last part of her question hang, the despair in her voice unmistakable as Soichiro frowned as he grudgingly admitted to himself that he too feared for the lives of the trio, whom from all appearances, seemed to have fallen victim to either the bullets of the still unknown gunmen in the camp or even worse, the jaws of the Infected whom he could see were still darting within the confines of the burning tent city, the screams of their unlucky victims still splitting the night air.

"I wouldn't assume the worst yet, they may have just taken shelter in one of the tents, Takagi-sama." Kohta offered, not really believing his own words but still trying to help alleviate at least some of Yuriko's anxiety as well as his own feelings of helplessness as he continued to slowly swing the muzzle of his rifle back and forth as he carefully scanned every inch of the burning tent city, searching for even the tiniest sign that the American and the two teens were still alive in that hellish inferno.

"You think that perhaps that may be why all the shooting stopped, Soichiro-san...?" Yuriko asked, as she glanced down at her husband who was still scanning the tent city intently through his binoculars. "...perhaps they might actually be hiding in the tents and keeping silent so as not to attract attention?"

"Perhaps..." Her husband replied, the tone in his voice implying unmistakably that despite his words, he in no way believed whatsoever that the American contractor and the two teens were somehow still alive as he then glanced over at the enormous herd of Infected that had already made their way into the center of the burning tent city, many of them milling about completely engulfed in flame.

"If Cxxxxxxx-san did manage to put down whomever it was that was shooting at them, then under the circumstances he may very well have opted to seek temporary shelter in one of those tents in order to regroup." Soichiro added as he glanced away from the grotesque sight of the human torches milling about amongst the ruins of the tent city and glanced over at an enormous herd of Infected who were now already beginning to close in on the hospital tent.

"But if he doesn't begin moving again, he and the children will soon be trap_." Soichiro said just as a loud "BOOM!" erupted from somewhere within the center of the burning tent city followed by another loud "BOOM!" as all heads turned in the direction of the burning tents just as a flurry of bright flashes erupted from the side of the hospital tent as the night air was suddenly split by the sudden roar of rapid gunfire.

"GOT 'EM!...TWELVE O'CLOCK!...HOSPITAL TENT!...THEY'RE ON THE MOVE!" Kohta shouted as Yuriko's eyes widened as the unmistakable sound of the American shouting in English reached their ears, his body illuminated by the flash coming from the muzzle of his rifle as Yuriko gasped as she watched the man desperately blasting away at the large herd of Infected who were now only a few meters away from where he stood.

And it was then that Yuriko noticed to her horror that the rest of the herd that were still milling about in the camp suddenly stopped moving in response to the loud reports of the gun fire and then began to also make their way towards the sound of all the shooting with more than a few of them suddenly breaking into a sprint as Yuriko heard her husband suddenly swear a blue streak.

"DAMN!...They waited too long to make their escape!...The Infected are almost upon them!" Soichiro swore aloud as Yuriko and her husband both flinched as the chubby teen suddenly opened fire with his rifle as Yuriko glanced then back in the direction of the hospital tent and immediately caught sight of two shadowy figures emerging from the tent with a pair of red glowing chemlights hanging from their necks.

"IT'S THE CHILDREN!" Yuriko shouted trying to be heard over the loud crack of Kohta's sniper rifle as Yuriko's eyes widened and her jaw dropped open in shock as she saw one of the teens suddenly trip over a still form lying on the ground and fall to their knees.

Her motherly instincts immediately slamming into overdrive upon seeing that, Yuriko was on the verge of running down the driveway all on her own to make what most certainly have been a suicidal attempt to come to the teen's aid when she suddenly felt her husband's hand grasp her by the arm.

"YURIKO...!" Her husband shouted angrily as he held her arm fast in an iron grip. "...DON'T BE A FOOL, IT WOULD BE SUICIDE TO EVEN ATTEMPT TO GO DOWN THERE!"

"BUT SOICHIRO, THE CHILDREN NEED OUR HELP!" Yuriko shouted as she struggled to free her arm as her husband grabbed both of her arms and then shook her once before pointing in the direction of the hospital tent.

"Those 'children' as you prefer to call them are not quite as helpless as you think, my dear." Her husband replied as Yuriko turned her head and noticed the other teen suddenly reach down and yank the other to their feet as both teens then began to sprint towards the mansion again.

"Oh thank goodness..." Yuriko said breathing a sigh of relief, her heart still racing as she then noticed a sudden flurry of movement came from the open hole in the side of the hospital tent and then dozens of shadows screaming in fear suddenly erupted from the hastily cut opening en masse.

"What on earth?!" Yuriko said, her jaw dropping as she watched in shock as some of the people who came running out of the hospital tent attempted to sprint after the two teens, while others ran in all different directions just as the horde Infected suddenly surged forward, attracted by the loud screams of the panicked civilians as the American's gunfire immediately intensified as he tried desperately to keep the enormous herd at bay.

"YOSHIOKA-SAN...!" Soichiro roared at his Security Chief who had just come running up with two of his men all of them armed with rifles. "...YOU AND YOUR MEN HELP HIRANO-SAN COVER CxxxxxxS-SAN AND THE CHILDREN'S RETREAT!"

"YOKAI!" The Security Chief responded as he and his men quickly ran forward and set up positions behind the terrace wall near the chubby teen and also began firing their weapons at the horde.

"NO!" Soishiro suddenly heard his wife shout in stunned disbelief as he immediately spun around and was stunned to see that many of the people that had come flooding out of the tent had immediately begun to panic upon seeing the Infected so close by and had begun to collide with one another in the resulting confusion and panic while others were being brutally shoved to the ground by some of the other panicked survivors behind them.

"CHIKUSHOOOOOOO!" Soichiro shouted bitterly in frustration and rage as he watched helplessly as the survivors on the ground suddenly began screaming even more intensely in a mixture of fear and pain as they were horribly trampled by the other survivors still on their feet who were desperately attempting to escape the clutches of the Infected as the horde responded immediately to the sounds of the screams and suddenly surged forward and enveloped the unlucky survivors in a huge wave of tangled, screaming bodies.


Time: Zero Dark Thirty

Location: Rear of the Hospital Tent

Time: Z-Day Times Five – A few moments earlier

"RUN, DAMMIT, RUUUUNNNNNNN!" The American's voice roared in Takashi's ears almost as loudly as the blasts of his assault rifle as Takashi suddenly tripped over the still twitching body of the Infected man that the American had blown almost in half earlier, and fell heavily to his knees.

"KUMORO-KUN...HAYAKU!"Saeko shouted as she the expertly swung her katana upwards and Takashi saw two neatly severed arms go flying through the air from one of the Infected that had suddenly come lurching towards them out of the darkness as Takashi felt his stomach suddenly heave at the gruesome sight as Saeko reached down and yanked him to his feet violently by the hand as he tried desperately to regain his footing, his arm feeling like it had almost been torn from it's socket.

"I'M TRYING, DAMMIT!...QUIT YANKING ON MY ARM SO HARD,WILL YOU SEMPAI?!" Takashi shouted half-angry, half-scared out of his mind as his foot slipped on something wet and squishy and a wave of nausea immediately coursed through him as his right shoe began to make a squishing sound with each step he took.

When they had first heard the American loudly begin shouting for everyone to run Takashi had quickly surmised that something was very wrong as he now tried desperately to keep pace with Saeko who was pulling on his arm with such force that he was almost afraid that she'd accidentally dislocated it.

Whether it had been the way the American had been firing his weapon so rapidly or perhaps it was the way his voice sounded almost like something on the verge of panic Takashi couldn't tell, but his suspicions that something was indeed wrong were confirmed the moment the two teens had burst through the tent opening that Saeko had made with her katana and had immediately ran smack dab into a nightmare not even Dante himself could have envisioned.

And then like an idiot, he had accidentally tripped over the body of the Infected that Cxxxxxxs-san had shot earlier who's still twitching body was lying almost directly in front of the opening in the tent that Saeko had made with her katana.

The resulting blunder on his part of not watching where he was going would have nearly gotten both he and Saeko killed had it not been for the American blasting away at the Infected and Saeko quickly yanking him back to his feet as they both then quickly began running towards the mansion again for all they were worth.

Their desperate run earlier through the burning camp had been hellish enough as far as Takashi had been concerned, the images of torn bodies and body parts, large pools of blood, and worst of all, the blood-curdling screams of the unlucky civilians being torn apart all around him was still very much fresh on his mind.

That time however, they had been lucky, that is if any sane person could possibly call the hell they had just been through earlier lucky, but truth be told they actually had been very fortunate that the majority of the Infected within the camp had been attracted mostly to the screams of the unlucky victims remaining within the interior of the refugee camp and for the most part had largely ignored the trio, a fact Takashi hadn't really come to appreciate until now.

At this particular moment however, unlike before where the trio had only been attacked by a relatively small number of the Infected as they ran through the burning camp, this time it seemed to Takashi that he and Saeko had run head on into the entire Infected populace of Tokonosu City and all of them reaching out to the two teens with open arms.

Only these arms were definitely not outstretched towards them as an expression of friendship.

"KOMURO-KUN, LOOK OUT!" Saeko shouted at Takashi as one of the Infected out of a large group they were running past suddenly reached out towards him with both arms outstretched when Takashi heard a loud *snap!* and the right side of the thing's head suddenly exploded and Takashi felt something wet and sticky slap against the left side of his cheek causing Takashi's abdominal muscles to heave reflexively in response as his stomach suddenly tried to make a break for it.

"SHIT!" Takashi swore as he attempted to wipe whatever gore had splashed on his cheek with the back of his hand when he suddenly felt Saeko once again yank forcefully on his arm and nearly caused him to stumble again as Takashi opened his mouth to protest but then noticed a sudden movement to his left and saw another pair of hands reaching for him as he immediately raised his left hand and aimed his HKP7 pistol at the torso of the Infected man that was reaching for him and squeezed the trigger.

"SHIIIIIT!" Takashi swore loudly as he squeezed the trigger of his pistol with no effect from the compact pistol in his hand whatsoever as he suddenly felt Saeko yank on his arm with such force that he was actually airborne for a second as he saw a flash of silver glint off the blade of Saeko's katana and Takashi saw the Infected's head suddenly go spinning through the air.

''COME ON KOMURO-KUN!...DON'T STOP!...DON'T STO_!" Saeko shouted as she attempted to once again pull Takashi behind her just as Takashi suddenly felt something slam into him from behind sending him flying through the air before crashing heavily into Saeko, sending both teens sprawling to the ground.

"UGHNNN!" Saeko grunted painfully as Takashi landed heavily on top of her, his body weight knocking the wind out of her as Takashi immediately attempted to scramble off of her body when a massive, crushing weight suddenly enveloped both teens and the sounds of pain-filled screams suddenly exploded in Takashi's ears.


Time: Zero Dark Thirty

Location: Front Driveway Terrace of Takagi Manor

Z-Day Times Five

Moments earlier

"OVER HERE!" Yuriko began shouting at the top of her voice despite the fact that there was no way the teens or any of the other panicked civilians could possibly hear her over the loud gunfire coming from Yoshioka and his men or from Kohta Hirano's rifle as the portly teen continued to fire away at the Infected, desperately attempting to aid Takashi and Saeko's escape while her husband was busy calling out targets for the teenage marksman to take out.

Her motherly instinct still on overdrive, Yuriko had nearly had a heart attack when she had seen Takashi trip over the still body of the Infected that the American had shot and fall to the ground as the massive horde of Infected descended upon the unlucky survivors that had begun to burst out of the hospital tent.

And like any mother would have, her first instinct had been to run towards the two teens in what would have been a useless and suicidal attempt at a rescue when fortunately, her husband noticed her intentions and quickly grabbed her by the arm and stopped her.

Protesting at first, Yuriko had then managed to calm down somewhat upon noticing that the two teens had somehow miraculously managed to avoid the clutches of the Infected and were now running as fast as their two legs could carry them towards the mansion, and to safety.

Up until Saya's mother got her hands on them, that is...and then no force on earth would be able to save them from her wrath and the well-deserved punishment that she was going to inflict upon them.

"TAKASHI-CHAN!...SAEKO-CHAN!...OVER HERE!...OVER HERE!...RUNNNN!" Yuriko continued to shout, grateful for now that the teens seemed to be almost home free when her loud shouts suddenly turned into a scream as she caught sight of a large shadowy figure of a man whom had been running along with the rest of the panicked civilians suddenly rushed ahead of everyone and then deliberately threw both of his hands forward and roughly shoved Takashi forward causing the teenage boy to stumble and crash heavily against Saeko.

"NOOOO!" Yuriko screamed in stunned disbelief as she watched in shock as the two teenagers suddenly pitched forward and then fell heavily to the ground on top of one another as Yuriko heard her husband utter an angry oath as the man that had pushed the two teens quickly vaulted over their prone bodies and continued running towards the rear of the mansion.

"COWARDLY BASTARD!" Soichiro swore as Yuriko then heard her husband suddenly gasp in shock as several of the fleeing shadows that had been running directly behind the fleeing man suddenly began to trip and fall over the prone bodies of the two teens as a disastrous chain reaction began to occur as more than a dozen other fleeing refugees also began to stumble over one another in their haste to get away and fell on top of each other.

And then Yuriko screamed as a large number of Infected suddenly surged forward and descended upon the pile of screaming writhing bodies with arms outstretched as the screams of fear that echoed in Yuriko's ears quickly turned into screams of pain as the Infected suddenly surged forward and enveloped the unlucky survivors and the two teenagers in a huge wave of tangled, screaming bodies.


Time: Zero Dark Thirty

Location: Rear of the Hospital Tent

Time: Z-Day Times Five – A few moments earlier

On the first day of the Outbreak, thousands died.

On the second day, hundreds of thousands died.

On the third day...millions.

For those in power scrambling desperately to regain control of a situation that many had never thought even remotely fathomable, the alarming daily number of ever growing casualties was for the most part a number on their computer screen, blackboard, or sheet of paper.

And while the ever constantly changing number was indeed a great concern to each of the world's leaders and their subordinates, for the most part, that's all it was...a number.

But for the millions of victims whose very lives were being claimed by the Outbreak, each one of those numbers was someone's father, someone's mother, someone's aunt, uncle, cousin, husband or wife...and of course, someone's child.

And unlike the constantly growing number so callously displayed on a sheet of paper or computer screen that did nothing to represent the very life that had been so cruelly taken, each of those numbers had once been a living person, each of those numbers had a face and each one also had a name.

His name, was Shogo...just Shogo.

Well, actually no, like most people in the world Shogo did have a first name, but the sad truth about our friend Shogo was that no one really cared who he was before the Outbreak began and now a whole lot less gave a shit about him or his name now that the whole world had gone to shit.

His age, you ask?

Maybe twenty-three, not that it really mattered to anyone anymore either.

Not really...

Before the Outbreak, Shogo had actually been a fairly handsome young man whose popularity with the girls had finally been on the increase at the university he attended, something that meant just about everything to a youth his age.

In truth, there really was a lot more to Shogo's life story as can be said of every man, woman, and child all over the world from generation after generation.

But presently, to the many other frightened survivors huddled in the confines of the military hospital tent on the front lawn of Takagi Mansion, the young skinny college kid was nothing more than just another frightened face among the many others of their number, and with the exception of some of the hospital staff, no one knew his name, nor did they even care.

All that mattered to anyone at the present time among the first group of people that had burst out of the tent after the heavily armed American had shouted for them to run was survival, and luckily for Shogo, he was one of the few that had somehow miraculously managed to get ahead of all the other panic-stricken survivors behind him that were now savagely fighting amongst each other as they all tried to scramble out of the hospital tent enmasse.

Almost immediately upon emerging out into the night air behind the two armed teens in front of him wearing red glow stick necklaces of all things, one quick glance at his surroundings made Shogo think that perhaps he might actually have been much safer back inside the tent as he gazed in horrified shock upon the horrifying scene of complete and utter chaos that was going on all around him.

No, actually, it was far worse situation than complete chaos...in Shogo's panic-stricken mind, things were seriously f_cked up.

To his frightened young mind Shogo could think of no other words to describe the hellish vision of all those…things, scrambling and clawing over each other as as he watched them pounce upon some of the unlucky souls of his group that hadn't been fast enough to avoid the clutches of the Infected and had swiftly tackled to the ground and torn apart before his very eyes.

The horrible, piercing, pain-filled screams that now drowned his ears was more than enough to motivate Shogo to conclude that by no means was he going to join their fate as he quickly bolted away from there as fast as his legs could carry him, the adrenaline surging through his system quickly slamming into overdrive.

The large mansion that belonged to the hated Takagi family wasn't that great distance away from where he currently was, but under the present circumstances meters might as well have been miles as he and some of the other survivors around him suddenly came under attack by a group of four of the Infected seeking out fresh kills to devour.

And like the others in his group, Shogo was completely unarmed and helpless, and a quick glance around him showed there was nothing even remotely useful that he could use to defend himself with as the four creatures lurched towards him.

Muttering under his breath, Shogo cursed the fact that the Takagi family's retainers and house staff had been the only ones he had seen armed with guns, knives and other weapons while all "outsiders" like himself, didn't even have so much as a club to defend themselves with.

And as far as Shogo could tell, not a single one of those assholes of the Takagi clan appeared to be using their weapons to fight off any of the Infected that were attacking them as Shogo cursed loudly as one of the things came directly for him with arms outstretched and jaws open wide.

Unable to outrun his attacker, Shogo quickly jumped to one side and accidentally landed in the middle of a huge flower bed filled with beautiful and exotic flowers that were mercilessly mashed to pulp under his feet as he heard a loud thud behind him followed quickly by a loud shriek of terror and then a pain-filled scream as Shogo realized through some crazy act of fate that the Infected had evidently pounced on some other unlucky person behind him instead of himself.

Spurred on by the ear-shattering scream of the unlucky victim behind him that had inadvertently saved his life, Shogo tore through the flower bed at full speed followed by a couple of other survivors, all of them taking advantage of the victim's fate to get away from their pursuers as the victim's screams were suddenly were cut off as the flash and roar of gunfire followed by a loud 'KA-BOOM!' that was followed by even more scattered gunfire that suddenly erupted from the front terrace of the mansion.

Encouraged by the thought that those prick bodyguards at the mansion had now seemed to have finally taken interest in the plight of the survivors from the hospital tent and were now attempting to aid the survivors escape, Shogo felt a new surge of energy course through him as he pumped his arms and legs even faster and tried desperately to avoid colliding with a small group of men that suddenly ran past him from both sides as a horrifying thought suddenly ran through the boy's mind that that could only mean that even more of those things were now hot on his tail.

And sure enough, as he quickly glanced back over his shoulder, in the span of a split-second his worst fears had been confirmed that there were indeed dozens of the Infected running directly behind him, their blood-covered faces and wide open jaws dripping blood and gore causing the youth to scream in terror as he spurred himself to run even faster as he tried to shake off the things that were steadily gaining on him.

Unfortunately for Shogo, his glancing back over his shoulder had ultimately become his undoing as he accidentally slammed into another survivor, the impact knocking both men off balance as they both then tumbled to the ground in a pile of arms and legs.

Frantically trying to get back on his feet Shogo attempted to grab hold of the person he had fallen into and regain his footing but was suddenly met by the heel of a boot to his face as he let out a yelp as the boot smashed into his nose, breaking the cartilage underneath as a large gout of blood immediately poured from his injured nose as he then watched the lousy bastard that had intentionally kicked him in the face quickly scurry to his feet and run away.

"YOU F_CKING ASSHOLE!" Shogo shouted in absolute rage as he spat blood onto the grass, his eyes seeing double.

"I'M GONNA F_CKING KILL YOU, YOU PRICK!" The angry youth shouted, momentarily forgetting the danger he was in as a sudden overwhelming feeling of dread came over him as his angry shout was answered by another.

But unfortunately for the injured youth, not by anything human.

Unfortunately for Shogo, his angry shouting had not gone unnoticed by the Infected, nor had the smell of his blood wafting tantalizing into their decaying nostrils gone unnoticed either as Shogo's eyes went wide as a group of three Infected suddenly broke off from the others that had been chasing after the other survivors and immediately rushed towards him.

So eager were the Infected to pounce upon their newfound prey however, that one of their number actually misjudged its jump and actually sailed directly over the young man's head and tumbled head over heels across the well-manicured lawn, shrieking with anger at having missed its target.

Sadly, that is where Shogo's luck ended as the second and third Infected successfully tackled the kid to the ground as Shogo fought desperately for his life, as he swung his right arm and punched one of the Infected in the jaw, a blow that had once knocked another boy that had been bullying him unconscious back in high school.

What Shogo didn't know however was that the Infected were no longer capable of feeling pain anymore and all he had managed to accomplish with his savage punch was delay the inevitable by a mere few seconds as the thing that had once been a boy his own age opened its jaw and sank its teeth deep into the tender flesh of his shoulder.

Not realizing that he was as good as dead already, Shogo screamed bloody murder as he balled his fist up and slammed it into the thing that was biting him and managed to knock it away, but not before the creature took a large mouthful of torn flesh and muscle with it.

"AAAAAAHHHHHHH!" Shogo screamed hysterically, the pain he was feeling unlike anything that he had felt before as the young man hoped that the pain to follow would end quickly, a part of him knowing however, that somehow, that would just not be the case.

"SOMEBODY F_CKING HELP ME!" The former college student screamed as his cry for help was abruptly cut off when a decaying hand wrapped itself around his face and slammed his head down into the ground causing him to lose focus as the creature that had flown over top of him earlier reached down and bit down into his neck, it's teeth sinking deep into the flesh and piercing his carotid artery.

As blood suddenly began to gush from the ugly wound the third remaining creature also fell upon poor Shogo and began clawing away at his abdomen, ripping away his shirt before burying it's face into his abdomen, tearing out huge chunks of flesh with each bite.

"HELP ME! SOMEBODY PLEASE,HEEEEEEELP!" Shogo screamed as loud as he could, tears falling from his eyes as his pain-filled shrieks echoed out into the darkness as the young man became yet another number on someone's computer screen, his life having no more meaning than a scratch of ink on a piece of paper, his relatively short existence lost among the millions of others all around the world that would perish during the first few beginning days of the Outbreak.


Time: Zero Dark Thirty

Location: The Hospital Tent

Z-Day Times Five

There were other survivors that managed to successfully make their escape out of the hospital tent, and like the others, each one of them came from all walks of life and each one had their own story to tell, just like any other.

However, unlike poor Shogo the next person to successfully make his escape out of the tent wasn't some poor, innocent kid who truly wasn't deserving of the horrible death that ultimately befell him.

No, this guy was an absolute dick.

His name, was Ryou Hanada.

Age?... twenty-nine years old, and if you asked anybody who knew him, they'd tell you he was an absolute asshole since the day he was born.

Unlike poor Shogo though, Ryou couldn't believe his luck.

When he had first fallen to the ground just outside of the tent because some dim-witted ass hat had accidentally slammed into him in his blind panic to escape the clutches of the Infected, Ryou had been certain he was about to meet his untimely demise as he fell face-first into the already blood-drenched ground.

Miraculously however, somehow he had managed to scramble out from underneath the idiot that had fallen on top of him and scurry away while the dumbass that had fallen on top of him had immediately been pounced upon by the Infected and was now screaming in anguish as the Infected tore him to pieces.

Sure, Ryou had been forced to kick the dumb pissant in the face when the panicked fool had tried to climb over him in order to get away, but hey, 'survival of the fittest', right?

At least that's what was going through Ryou Hanada's mind as he heard the man screams just before they were drowned out by the loud screams of several other survivors who had apparently not been as lucky as he had been to escape the clutches of the Infected.

"Serves all of you right." Hanada thought to himself as he viciously slammed his shoulder into another one of the survivors that had gotten too close for comfort, and knocked the young nurse into the path of one of the creatures who immediately tackled the hapless victim onto the ground followed by a group of Infected who quickly descended upon the helpless nurse and started tearing her apart as her shrill screams rent the air.

"Stupid bitch." Ryou spat in contempt as he ran on feeling no remorse whatsoever for the unlucky woman he had knocked down, her pain-filled screams only serving to irritate him further as he ran, grateful when at last when her shrill screams were suddenly silenced as the Infected feasted upon her remains.

A cold and emotionless man, Ryou Hanada was grateful that a life in the Yakuza had toughened him up after his piss-poor performance at high school had made him impossible to afford the lifestyle he desired after graduation when busting his balls only earned him a few thousand yen a week at one of the local noodle joints near his old high school.

His job certainly hadn't been glamorous, in fact, it had been downright humiliating working at a place where all his former teachers and alumni often frequented, but in the end it had given him some money to put food on the table and help with the bills after his dad had left home and he'd been forced to care for his aging mother.

But then when his mother had gotten sick and he could no longer afford to keep serving up enough bowls of ramen to pay for her medicines and other medical treatment, Ryou had no other choice then but to reach out to an old 'friend' he knew from school who happily gave him a job working as a 'courier' for the local yakuza, delivering so-called 'packages' to some very seedy-looking clients.

Desperate and not wishing to lose his job or suddenly and mysteriously 'disappear' one day at the hand of his yakuza bosses, Ryou didn't question what exactly it was that he was delivering so long as he got paid and was able to look after his mother, which was all he really cared about at the time.

But then one day his mother had suddenly taken a turn for the worse, her condition becoming serious enough to no longer allow herself to be treated from home as she was quickly whisked away to a nearby hospital for treatment by some stuck-up bitch working with the Department of Adult Protective Services, as days then turned into weeks and weeks turned into months as her condition worsened and her hospital bills grew.

At the time, Ryou couldn't have cared less how much it had cost to look after his mother, but as months went by and her condition continued to worsen and her hospital expenses grew, reality finally set in and Ryou began to realize that he was in dire need of a large influx of cash and quickly.

And it was then that Ryou requested and was ultimately granted a major job for the clan.

In this case, the job in reference had been an armed robbery, but not something as simple as a petty theft job at some convenience store or even a daring heist at one of the many large commercial city banks like he had seen in his favorite American movie "HEAT".

Rather, the heist he had been ordered to implement involved lifting a large stash of cash and goods that belonged to another yakuza clan from one of the other families in Tokonosu, which admittedly, was indeed a huge step up the ladder from his former job as a 'courier" for his clan, and if the heist was successful, would propel him up the ranks faster than any of the other members of his clan had before him.

And to his own surprise, Ryou and his 'crew' had actually managed to pull the job off without much trouble at all from the goons of the other clan, and once the final tally had been taken and once they had all safely arrived back at their hideout, Ryou Hanada and his men were surprised to find that they had made off with over five billion yen in cash, including a large stash of drugs and a trunk load of guns that Ryou now wished that he had kept at least one of them for himself.

But weapons of any kind were only allowed by certain members of the clan, and despite the huge haul that Ryou and his men had scored, he still hadn't earned the right to keep any of the weapons, including the one he had used for the heist.

At the time however, the last thing on Ryou's mind had been guns, and so after taking his cut of the final payment including some of the cash that he and his crew had stolen, he had immediately gone back to the hospital to try to secure his mother's stay.

But on that very same day... everything changed.

And on the moment he arrived at the hospital, to Ryou Hanada's surprise there were people running in all directions everywhere, with doctors and nurses running around in panic as if some big disaster were happening.

And as Ryou yelled at a nurse as to what all the panicked activity going on around him was about, the frightened nurse then pointed at one of the TV screens mounted on the walls nearby that was showing images of 'riots' in the city and newscasters shouting into the cameras at how the 'riots' appeared to be getting worse as the nurse then explained that all hospital staff were busy getting their teams ready for a possible large influx of casualties.

The ward Ryou's mother occupied was a small one and was out of the way of the much larger medical wards used for emergencies, so Ryou felt sure as he sat next his mother's bedside that they wouldn't be affected by all the activity about to burst through the hospital door any time now.

But as the first day finally came to an end, Ryou found himself along with a handful of doctors, nurses, patients, and their family's sealed off from everybody, and every...thing, that stood outside the doors of their hospital ward.

All total, They had stayed locked away in the ward for nearly three days, listening to the moans and wails of the Infected outside the doors, dozens if not hundreds of them all wandering aimlessly along the halls and corridors of the large hospital with one of them occasionally stumbling against the doors leading into their ward and scaring everyone absolutely shitless before the creature would right itself and eventually move on.

But eventually, it all fell to shit, just as everything else eventually had in Ryou Hanada's life.

On the third day, the Infected had somehow detected their presence behind the doors sealing their ward off from the rest of the hospital and had gathered enmasse, hundreds of them using their combined weight to breach the thick metal doors of their ward.

And Ryou swore to this day that the whole reason that the Infected had been made aware of their presence had been because that same f_cking Infected bastard that had tumbled into their door a dozen times over had finally heard something at last and his subsequent loud moaning and banging his hands against the steel doors had ultimately doomed them all.

This time however, one of those other damned things hadn't just pressed it's bodyweight against the doors like the others and instead, must have taken a running start and slammed its entire body against the door, slamming into it with such ferocity that the door and the barricade were pushed inwards and the creature's head had actually gotten itself wedged between the gap in the doors it had made.

Whether it was the smell of their unwashed bodies after three days or maybe the Infected could actually see them Ryou wasn't sure, but right then the creature to let out a howl so inhuman that Ryou took the scalpel he'd found and plunged it deep into the f_ckers face, hoping to silence it quickly lest the other Infected be aware of their presence.

But Ryou's effort to avoid disaster was ultimately in vain however, because in an instant dozens of the Infected began to rush against the metal doors, their combined weight forcing the doors open even wider despite the heavy pile of furniture that was hastily placed against the doors.

They had all tried their best to hold the horde back after that, but despite their best efforts more and more of the Infected kept making their way towards their ward and slammed their bodies up against the others already jammed up against the doors until eventually several arms managed to snake their way through the gap between the doors just enough to keep them from closing as Ryou and a couple of others desperately slashed, stabbed, and hacked away at their limbs with whatever makeshift weapons they had on hand.

While the smell coming from the horde was absolutely repulsive and even threatened to overwhelm their ability to breathe, Ryou and the other men that were brave to fight alongside him kept up their desperate battle against the Infected until eventually they were all forced to retreat as the doors finally caved in and the Infected began to flood into the hallway as Ryou Hanada immediately dashed down the hallway leading back towards his mother's room.

Breathing heavily, Ryou prepared to make his last stand having long since expected this eventual outcome as he stood his ground near the door leading into his mother's room and prepared himself to kill as many of the Infected as he could before the end finally came.

"C'mon you f_ckers!" Ryou muttered angrily under his breath as he mentally prepared to make the ultimate sacrifice to protect his mother just as he felt a gentle tug on his sleeve and looked down and was surprised to see his mother sitting next to him in her wheelchair, with a smile on her face.

"Ryou, I want you to go, son..." His mother had said gazing up at him with that same soft look in her eyes as Ryou Hanada reflected that that moment was one of the few times in his life that he had actually started crying as his mother urged him to do the unthinkable. "...I want you to get as far away from here as you can...and live."

They were the last words he would ever hear her say.

They weren't "I love you", as most people would doubtlessly have said under similar circumstances, but to Ryou Hanada they meant just as much and even more as he without any hesitation whatsoever placed the scalpel he was holding into his mother's hand, and then quickly glanced over towards the Infected quickly advancing up the hallway.

"I LOVE YOU, OKASAN!" Ryou Hanada had shouted as he viciously kicked one of the other men that had helped him fight the Infected earlier back into the horde and then made his move as the shocked man began screaming in pain as the Infected pounced upon him.

In Ryou's twisted mind, leaving his mother's fate in the hand of the Infected had not been abandonment, after all, he had been prepared to sacrifice his own life to keep his mother alive, even if it were only a few moments more before the Infected killed them both.

No, leaving his mother all alone in her hospital room had not been an act of pure cowardice at all, it was just his way of honoring his mother's final wish as any good son would want to do.

And since his mother was dying anyway, it only made sense that he make his escape since she was going to die either way anyhow, so why not honor her wishes?

Hell, it was really his duty as her son to carry out her final wish Ryou thought to himself as his mind returned to the present and he brushed past another survivor and roughly shoved the older man to the ground as he continued his desperate race towards the mansion having no feelings of remorse whatsoever just like the man he had kicked towards the horde back at the hospital.

"Asshole...!" Hanada spat in disgust at the memory of the man he had kicked into the clutches of the Infected while he made his getaway down the hospital corridor still furious at the fact that the man had sought shelter in his mother's room like a sniveling coward while his mother so bravely was willing to sacrifice her own life to save her beloved son.

"Screw that cowardly piece of shit!" Ryo thought to himself as he remembered how he had miraculously managed to escape from the third floor of the hospital by shimmying down a large drainage pipe that ran down the full height of the building near a nearby window as he clasped the pipe in both hands and managed to shimmy his way down as he avoided looking inside the windows at the ungodly sights occurring on the other side.

After his successful escape from the hospital, Ryou had then been forced to be on the run, doing everything he could to stay alive while avoiding the clutches of the Infected at the same time until he had unfortunately got into an argument with a glass pane window he had smashed in a small office building that he was trying to take shelter in for the night, and ended up cutting a large gash in his left arm.

He'd managed to clean and dress the wound from a first aid kit he found inside the building he'd broken into and upon making a quick inspection of the structure had found a dead security guard lying in one of the hallways who had taken the easy way out with an old Nambu .38 revolver that Ryou was only too happy to appropriate.

His joy was short-lived however as he inspected the revolver and found to his dismay that the weapon only held four shots left that he could still use in the cylinder and despite thoroughly searching the dead guard's body, he could find no spare ammo whatsoever for the revolver at all.

"Better than nothing, I guess." Ryou had thought sourly to himself, the next couple of days afterwards a blur to him as he eventually found himself walking through the neighborhood where the Takagi's guards had been patrolling and they accidentally ran across each other.

The gun had been quickly found by the guards and confiscated, but it hadn't mattered anyway Ryou had surmised, after all, he was alive, safe, and well fed thanks to the generosity of that asshole Soichiro Takagi who acted as if he owned the whole f_cking world and who's sexy-as-hell wife Ryou had frequently fantasized about grabbing her when no one was looking and dragging her off into the woods near the back of the mansion and raping her over and over again.

But then, once again things had gone to absolute shit as Ryou cursed his luck as he found himself completely surrounded by the Infected with no weapon whatsoever to defend himself with and forced to fight his way through a bunch of bumbling assholes blocking his way as he once again fled for his life past a crazy gun-toting American, a sword-wielding high school chick dressed in her underwear for some reason and dozens of bullets whizzing over his head as Ryou wondered just how it was that he wasn't dead already just as he accidentally slammed into someone...hard, knocking both of them off-balance.

And then to his horror, the subsequent impact immediately resulted in Ryou suddenly losing his balance, as he then fell heavily onto the blood-soaked ground and onto his bandaged arm as he unintentionally let out a pain-filled howl and then quickly shut his mouth, lest he give himself away.

Gritting his teeth against the pain and knowing his yell had more than likely had already attracted the attention of the Infected, Ryou immediately struggled to get to his feet when he caught a glimpse of the person he had collided against…and froze.

Ryou Hanada had never been a man of faith, had never, ever believed in miracles, wishes, luck, or even fate.

But right now, as he knelt on the ground completely ignoring the craziness of the world around him, time seemed to slow and all other distractions went unnoticed as the person he had crashed into slowly got to their feet and then steadily began to limp towards him.

"O…Okasan?" Hanada said recognizing the frail figure limping towards him, a crazy sense of joy beginning to overwhelm him as the small figure of his mother continued to steadily approach him as tears suddenly began to run down his face.

"It's really you, isn't it, Okasan?" Ryou said with a mixture of disbelief and absolute joy and completely overlooking the fact that his mother was looking a lot worse for wear with half of her face and right arm missing and her skin completely grey in color.

But despite that, there was just enough left of her features for Ryou to know that the grisly thing standing before was indeed his mother, and to Ryou, that was all that mattered.

"You actually found me after all this time, Okasan?" Hanada said feeling light-headed with joy and then suddenly, overwhelming grief as the figure that was once his mother continued to shuffle slowly towards him, dragging her right leg steadily behind her.

"Okasan!" Ryou said as the thing that had once been his beloved mother suddenly moved like a bolt of lightning had struck her as she flung herself towards him with arms outstretched and drooling mouth open wide.

Armed with another scalpel that he'd taken from a tray of medical instruments he had found back at the hospital tent, Ryou instinctively shoved the razor-sharp blade of the scalpel into the side of his mother's head, the stainless steel blade easily penetrating the temple of her skull.

But while his blade had met its mark, it didn't do anything to stop her forward momentum as her small body smashed into his, knocking him down to the ground as some of the other Infected nearby suddenly became attracted to the commotion they had made and began to shuffle towards him as Ryou then stopped trying to free himself from underneath his mother's corpse.

None of it mattered now, Ryou Hanada thought to himself as he finally resigned himself to his fate beside his mother as he should have done back in the hospital when he had abandoned her purely out of fear for his own life as he gently stroked his bloody fingers through her matted hair and glanced at the gruesome bite mark on his wrist that his mother had given him at the same moment he had plunged the blade of the scalpel in to the side of her head.

"F_ck it." Ryou thought to himself a dry laugh escaping from his lips.

"It doesn't matter anymore…none of it did." Ryou thought to himself as he wrapped his arms around his mother's body and held her close and then closed his eyes as he felt the presence of the Infected around him as the darkness descended upon them both, his last thoughts in the moments leading up to his end the same as they were when he cowardly abandoned his mother back at the hospital.

"I LOVE YOU, OKASANNNNNNNNN!" Ryou Hanada screamed as the Infected fell upon him and the body of his mother, his pain-filled screams unheard amongst the roar of gunfire and the pain-filled screams of the other unlucky victims from the hospital tent who were also dying all around him.


Time: Zero Dark Thirty

Location: Front lawn of Takagi Manor

Z-Day Times Five

Screams.

Screams of pain, screams of fear, screams of all kinds, all of them threatening to rupture Takashi's ears if the combined weight of over a dozen bodies lying directly on top of him didn't crush them to death first, that is.

But at this very moment it was mostly the screaming that bothered Takashi the most as he struggled desperately to free himself from the tangle of human bodies on top of him as he then tried to roll out from underneath a very fat woman who was screaming almost directly into his ear.

"LADY, WILL YOU PLEASE STOP F_CKING SCREAMING IN MY EAR?!" Takashi swore as he placed his hand on the woman's chest and tried to push her away as the woman, panic-stricken, continued to scream hysterically into his ear while also flailing away at his face at the same time with both of her hands.

"DAMMIT, KNOCK IT OFF ALREADY WILL YOU?!...OWWWW!" Takashi shouted as the hysterical woman accidentally slapped Takashi hard across the face causing his nose to start bleeding.

"OW!...SHIT!...WATCH IT YOU IDIOT!" Takashi swore as he lifted both arms up to ward off the woman's blows when suddenly Takashi heard a loud "CRUNCH!" and the woman suddenly stopped hitting him as she then emitted a loud, ear-piercing shriek that was far louder than her previous screaming had been before.

"What the_?" Takashi began completely confused by the woman's sudden odd behavior as the woman's scream rose to an unbelievably high pitch that didn't even sound like something a human being would even be capable of emitting when to Takashi's shock, the woman's body was suddenly lifted off of him and then immediately disappeared into the darkness.

"What the_...WAAAAAAAAAAH!" Takashi screamed as he suddenly felt a hand grasp his right arm in an iron grip and violently yank him free from the remaining pile of bodies whom Takashi could now plainly see where being attacked by the Infected.

"KOMURO-KUN, ARE YOU ALL RIGHT?!...ARE YOU BITTEN?!" Takashi heard someone yelling into his ear as Takashi watched in a daze, completely transfixed at the sight of the helpless civilians being torn apart right in front of him mere feet away from where he was.

"TAKASHI!...SNAP OUT OF IT!" The voice screamed into his ear, the voice sounding almost as if it were coming from a long distance away as the shock of what Takashi was seeing actually slowed the firing sequence between the synapses in Takashi's brain resulting in the illusion that time itself seem to be coming to a crawl.

"TAKASHIIIIIII...!" Saeko screamed helplessly as she turned and quickly swung her katana at one of the attacking Infected and lopped off both of its outstretched hands as she then reached down and yanked Takashi hard by the arm trying furiously to keep both of them out of the clutches of the rest of the Infected who were now quickly close to cutting off their only remaining path towards the mansion.

"TAKASHIIII...!" Saeko screamed as she glanced back at Takashi and saw his eyes staring blankly at her as she then did the only thing she thought of that could snap the teenage boy out of his stupor.

"TAKASHIIII...WAKE UP!" Saeko screamed as she let go of Takashi's arm and angrily slapped him as hard as she could across the face.

"AAAAAAAAAGGGGGHHHHH!" Takashi screamed at the sudden burning pain to his right cheek, the force of Saeko's blow nearly knocking him backwards onto his ass as Takashi immediately snapped out of his shock as he then began to rub his sore jaw and then glared at Saeko with angry eyes.

"SAEKO...WHAT THE FU_...OH SHIT!...LOOK OUT!'' Takashi shouted as he suddenly noticed a flurry of movement coming from the darkness to Saeko's right as Takashi quickly snapped up his pistol and aimed at a pair of bloody hands that were reaching for Saeko and squeezed the trigger.

"SHIT!" Takashi swore as he squeezed the trigger of the compact pistol at the torso of the Infected that was reaching for Saeko, and then to his horror, once again the weapon failed to fire.

"SHIT!...SHIT!...SHIT!...!" Takashi swore helplessly as he frantically squeezed the trigger of his pistol again and again with no effect whatsoever, not realizing in his panic that once again he had forgotten to disengage the safety feature of the Hk P7 compact pistol as Takashi then cried out in anguish fearing that Saeko was about to be torn apart right in front of him due to his failure as two very loud thunderclaps erupted n Takashi's left ear deafening him as the top of the Infected's head came apart and the thing fell heavily at Saeko's feet.

"DANG IT, BOY, HOW MANY TIMES DO I HAVE TO TELL YOU TO SQUEEZE THE GRIP SAFETY ON THAT PISTOL BEFORE YOU SQUEEZE THE TRIGGER?!" The American yelled at Takashi who was barely able to make out the big man's words as he began to rub his left ear which was ringing loudly as he then turned and noticed Jim standing right next to him, a wisp of smoke escaping from the barrel of his pistol, his empty and now useless M4 carbine slung behind his back.

"Oh yeah, I forgot." Takashi said as he absentmindedly squeezed the safety grip on the Hk P7 pistol in his hand and then accidentally discharged a round into the ground as the American and Saeko both shouted in surprise as they were pelted by clumps of dirt thrown into the air from the bullet impacting the lawn a few inches from Jim's feet.

"DANG IT BOY, GIVE ME THAT DAMN THING!" The American roared in frustration as he reached over and snatched the pistol out of Takashi's hand.

"DADGUMMIT SON, YOU'RE MORE DANGEROUS THAN THE EFFIN' INFECTED, YOU KNOW THAT?!" Jim said with visible annoyance on his face as the big man suddenly whipped up his pistol again and fired twice as Takashi turned and saw another of the Infected nearby fall to the ground.

"DOC!" Jim shouted at Dr. Yamane and several members of his staff, who by some miracle, had managed to escape the clutches of the Infected, as the American contractor once again fired off two more shots with his pistol in rapid succession at another nearby Infected before tossing the chrome-plated Hk P7 pistol at the elderly gentleman who neatly grabbed it in mid-air.

"YOU KNOW HOW TO USE THAT PISTOL?!" Jim shouted as he fired his weapon again at another of the Infected and then slammed his left foot into the chest of another of the Infected lunging at him and knocked it backwards, firing two rounds from his Sig P226 pistol into its face as it fell backwards into the rest of the Infected pressing towards them.

"Yes." Dr. Yamane said in a voice that was impossibly calm given the circumstances as the elderly man then calmly raised his weapon and expertly snapped off two shots in rapid succession as Takashi watched in amazement as two of the Infected immediately fell heavily to the ground, a jagged hole blown out of their skulls from the impact of the 9mm hollow-point rounds.

"Outf_ckingstanding." Jim muttered visibly impressed as he then quickly turned to face the approaching menace once more as he fired his pistol again and then swore as the slide of his weapon locked back on an empty chamber.

"TAKASHI!...GIVE DR. YAMANE THAT SPARE MAGAZINE FOR THE PISTOL AND YA'LL TWO GO WITH THE DOC!" Jim shouted as he swiftly released the empty magazine from his pistol and tossed it into the dump pouch hanging off his belt before slamming another full magazine into his pistol and quickly snapping off two rounds at the face of another one of the Infected.

"DOC!...TAKE THESE TWO KIDS WITH YOU AND ALL OF YOU HAUL ASS TO THE MANSION!" Jim shouted over his shoulder as he continued to rapidly fire away at the horde with his pistol as Takashi quickly reached into his pocket and handed the old surgeon the spare magazine he carried for the American's chrome-plated compact pistol.

Placing the spare pistol mag in a pocket of his lab coat, Dr, Yamane then turned and shouted something to his staff standing nearby that Takashi couldn't hear above all the gunfire as the group of people quickly nodded their heads and then without another word, ran for all they were worth towards the mansion as Dr. Yamane then reached over and grabbed Takashi by the arm and yanked him forward as Saeko quickly grabbed Takashi by the hand once more as they got ready to run towards the mansion when Saeko suddenly hesitated and then gazed back at Jim with worried eyes.

"DON'T WORRY ABOUT ME, BABY!" Jim shouted noticing the worried look on Saeko's face as he fired his pistol several more times at the horde.

"YOU AND TAKASHI JUST RUN LIKE HELL AND DON'T LOOK BACK, I'LL BE RIGHT BEHIND_!" The American contractor shouted when a sudden piercing scream nearby cut him off as they all turned their heads and saw to their horror that several of the hospital staff including Dr. Yamane's daughter and a large burly man carrying Dr. Yamane's niece were being attacked by the Infected.

"EMIKO!...KAORI-CHAN!" Dr. Yamane shouted as he raised his pistol and fired as Takashi noticed the head of a shadowy figure that had been reaching for Emiko Yamane suddenly jerked to the side and the Infected man fell to the ground in a heap.

"ATTA BOY, KOHTA!...GET SOME, BOY!...GET SOME!" The American shouted as he fired his pistol several more times at the Infected and then began to move down the hill towards the ambushed survivors.

"DOC!...YOU AND THE KIDS HURRY UP AND GET TO THE MANSION...!" Jim shouted over his shoulder as he continued firing his pistol as he moved. "...I'LL HEAD BACK AND GRAB YOUR PEOPLE AND MEET YA'LL THERE!"

"BY YOURSELF?! Saeko, Takashi, and Dr. Yamane all simultaneously shouted in disbelief as Dr. Yamane suddenly noticed movement to his right and quickly snapped off a shot at one of the Infected nearby whom had been sneaking up on them.

"YOU'RE GOING TO NEED HELP!" Dr. Yamane shouted as a piercing scream rent the air as one of the young nurses helping the male attendant carry Dr. Yamane's niece was pulled screaming into the darkness.

"DON'T F_CKING ARGUE WITH ME! The American shouted noticing the older man's sudden hesitation as Takashi noticed the slide on Jim's pistol lock back on an empty chamber as his weapon once again ran dry.

"JUST GET YOUR ASSES OUT OF HERE...NOW!"" Jim roared as he hastily reloaded his pistol and immediately fired several rounds in rapid succession at a number of the Infected that were clawing away at the remaining survivors.

"YOU CAN'T DO THIS ALONE!" Dr. Yamane shouted back, his normally calm demeanor beginning to come apart at the seams as every fiber of his being desired to go back and rescue his beloved girls.

"HOLD MY F_CKING BEER AND WATCH ME, DOC!...NOW YA"LL GET THE F_CK OUTTA HERE!" The American shouted as he blasted several more rounds at the Infected before turning and running back towards the other survivors who were now almost completely overwhelmed by the infected as Dr. Yamane suddenly felt someone grab him by the arm.

"YAMANE SENSEI, HE CAN'T DO THIS ALONE NO MATTER WHAT HE SAYS, WE HAVE TO HELP HIM!" Saeko shouted as the teenage girl tried to maneuver around the old surgeon when she suddenly felt a strong hand clamp down on her arm with an iron grip and then spin her bodily around as she came face to face with Takashi who immediately grabbed her other arm and held her fast as he then bent down until he was staring directly into her eyes.

"Saeko, enough...Jimu-san's right, we have to go or none of us are going to make it!" Takashi said his voice completely devoid of any emotion and his face now set in a hardened expression as Saeko's eyes widened in astonishment at the sudden change in Takashi's demeanor which was nothing at all like the scared, clumsy teen whom she had just yelled at earlier.

To Saeko, it was almost as if some sort of switch had been turned on within the teenage boy and something else had emerged to take his place as Saeko hesitated as she stared mesmerized into Takashi's eyes as she suddenly felt the strange sensation that her face was suddenly growing warm and her heart was suddenly beginning to race for some unknown reason.

The spell lasted only a moment however as both teens flinched suddenly at the sound of a gunshot as Dr. Yamane fired his pistol at the Infected nearby as both teens noticed that the horde was almost upon them as Saeko removed herself from Takashi's arms and poised herself in a defensive stance.

"I'm sorry, child, but as much as I hate to admit it, your friend is right..." Dr. Yamane said his face filled with anguish and his voice shaking as Saeko gazed into the eyes of the distraught man who now seemed on the verge of completely breaking down.

"Unless we leave now, none of us will survive." The old surgeon and the two teenagers heard the American contractor shouting something unintelligible at the hospital staff as he began blasting away at any of the Infected that were within arm's reach of the survivors, no longer concerning himself with taking precise headshots due to the huge numbers of Infected that were quickly surrounding them as the horde surged forward and the man was lost from view.

"It's out of our hands now." Dr. Yamane said as he hesitated a moment longer before he then turned and shoved both teens forward as all three then bolted towards the mansion as the screams of the unfortunate echoed in their ears.


Time: Zero Dark Thirty

Location: Front lawn of Takagi Manor

Z-Day Times Five

"DAISUKE-SAN!...DAISUKE-SAN!...WHERE IS MY FATHER?!" Emiko Yamane screamed in wild-eyed panic at her fiancée as she struggled desperately to assist the old woman running next to her as Emiko glanced over her shoulder at the man running behind her carrying the still form of her younger cousin Kaori, who was still unconscious from the anesthesia given her during her hastily-done operation to save her life from the bullet that had entered her throat earlier.

"We're not going to make it!" Emiko whimpered to herself as she searched frantically all around for any signs that her father was anywhere nearby.

When the American had shouted for everyone to run almost immediately after the big man had exited the hospital tent Emiko and several of the staff, including her father, had immediately hurried after the two teenagers as they all bolted through the large opening in the tent that the girl had sliced open with her katana.

And once they had emerged from the tent, almost immediately Emiko had realized that the situation was completely hopeless due to the fact that the Infected were practically within arm's reach which would have been a difficult enough task for anyone to attempt to escape the clutches of the Infected to begin with.

Unfortunately for Emiko and each member of the medical staff however, each of them had been burdened with the task of assisting the sick and wounded that were still capable of being on their feet which made a clean escape next to impossible as Emiko let out a loud wail of despair in response to the pain-filled screams of both her friends and her patients as they were all quickly overrun by the Infected and their bodies savagely torn apart.

Fortunately for Emiko and several others however, they had somehow miraculously managed to escape the clutches of the Infected, although just barely, and in the following confusion she had lost sight of her father whom she had last seen leading several of their colleagues and a handful of patients towards the mansion just a few meters away in front of them.

Burdened by the patients they were assisting however, the small group that Emiko and her fiancée had been leading had slowed down there progress considerably, giving the Infected time enough to cut off their escape as Emiko and the other's quickly found themselves being surrounded, with only a small gap remaining between freedom and certain death which was quickly closing rapidly with each passing moment.

"KEEP GOING EMIKO!...DON'T LOOK BACK!" Her fiancée, the 30 year old trauma surgeon Dr. Daisuke Serizawa shouted from somewhere behind her, as Emiko tried desperately to keep her balance as the old woman she was helping stumbled but somehow miraculously managed to stay on her feet as they both continued to hurry forward followed by the hulking form of Yuta Kusanagi who carried the sleeping body of her cousin Kaori Yamane, on his back.

No sooner had her fiancée shouted his words of warning however than disaster struck once again as a group of Infected suddenly rushed forward and slammed into the running survivors sending everyone slamming to the ground as Emiko screamed in terror as the elderly woman she had been helping was ripped from her arms as Emiko then turned away and let out a wail of grief as the sounds of tearing flesh and breaking bone filled her ears.

"EMIKO!...EMIKO!...EMIKOOOOOO!" The desperate sound of her fiancée shouting her name snapped Emiko back to reality as she whirled around to see her fiancée flailing away with both fists at the Infected like an angry brawler in the middle of a street fight as Emiko then heard a loud cry of pain next to her as she then turned her head and then screamed in despair.

"Emiko-san...please...help me." The burly medical assistant pleaded, his face a mask of agony as Emiko immediately began to whimper as she noticed three shadowy figures were lying on top of the man's legs and taking savage bites out of the exposed flesh causing the unlucky man's entire body to shudder with pain with each savage bite.

"Emiko-san...please...help me." Yuta pleaded once more, tears flowing down his face in response to the incredible pain he was experiencing as Emiko immediately burst into tears, her entire body paralyzed from fear.

"Emiko-san...please...it hurts...it hurts." Yuta said with pleading eyes, his unnaturally calm voice twisting the knife in Emiko's gut even more as the man's body continued to shudder with each savage bite.

"DAISUKE-SAN!...DAISUKE-SAN!...DAISUKE-SAN, HELP ME!" Emiko screamed hysterically for her fiancée unable to tear herself away from the horrible sight of her co-worker and friend as he was being eaten alive before her very eyes.

"Emiko-san...please...kill me." Yuta then suddenly pleaded, his words shocking Emiko back to her senses as she gazed into her friend's face that was completely twisted in agony.

"Please Emiko-san...please...kill me." Yuta said once more and then gasped as Emiko heard an awful sound of bone grating on bone.

"KILL ME!...KILL ME!...KILL ME!...KILL MEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!" Yuta suddenly screamed at the top of his voice over and over until his last words were drowned out in a high-pitched scream that seemed completely impossible for a human being to be capable of emitting as Emiko Yamane immediately began screaming in response herself, out of both fear and a desperate effort on her part to drown out the sound of her friend's agonized screams.

"DAISUKE-SAN!...DAISUKEEEEEEE!...HEEEEEELP MEEEEEEE!" Emiko screamed hysterically, her panic-stricken mind overwhelmed with the high-pitched screams of the unlucky victims being attacked all around her and the nightmarish scene of her friend being killed right in front of her when all of a sudden she noticed movement out of the corner of her eye and saw the still unconscious form of her cousin lying on the ground nearby as one of the Infected that had been feasting on Yuta suddenly lost interest in him and began to crawl towards her cousin's body.

"KAORI-CHAAAAAAN!" Emiko screamed in panic as she immediately scrambled to her feet and rushed over to her cousin's body and grabbed a limp arm in both her hands and pulled as hard as she could, yanking her cousin's body several inches across the lawn before the Infected man could pounce upon her body as Emiko once again yanked her cousin's arm again, her desperate move causing her to lose her balance as she slipped and fell heavily to the ground.

"DAISUKE!...DAISUKEEEEEEEEE!" Emiko screamed hysterically as she quickly got up to her knees and grabbed her cousin's limp arm again at the exact same time that the Infected man had also managed to grab hold of Kaori's foot as a life and death tug-of-war began between Emiko Yamane and the Infected man over the unconscious body of her young cousin.

"DAISUKE-SAN!...DAISUKE-SAN!...HELP ME!" Emiko screamed for all she was worth as the Infected man gave a mighty tug on her cousin's foot, nearly causing Emiko to lose her grip.

"SOMEBODY HELP ME!...PLEASE, ANYBODY!...HELP MEEEEEEE!" Emiko screamed desperately wondering why her fiancée hadn't yet answered her desperate cries for help and then realizing to her horror, that her fiancée must have been either killed or had even possibly abandoned her, a thought she quickly dismissed knowing her love would never do such a thing as Emiko once more screamed in terror as her cousin's arm began to slip through her fingers.

"KAORIIIIIIIIIIII!" Emiko screamed hysterically as she then immediately burst into tears as her cousin's body was suddenly yanked out of her hands as a sudden thunderclap echoed in her ears and half the Infected man's face suddenly disappeared in a spray of blood and gore.

"STAY DOWN!" A man's voice roared in English as Emiko immediately ducked as the sound of suddenly several loud gunshots being fired in rapid succession roared over her head as Emiko turned her head and saw the dark form of the American commando move quickly past her, firing his pistol as he moved.


Time: Zero Dark Thirty

Location: Front Lawn of Takagi Manor

Z-Day Times Five

"I'm going to die...I'm going to die...I'm going to DIE!" Thirty-four year old Dr. Daisuke Serizawa thought to himself as he swung away with his fists wildly at the Infected that now were mere seconds from overwhelming him as he threw a vicious kick at an Infected woman reaching for him and sent her small body flying backward as three others lurched forward to take her place.

It was as good as over Daisuke thought to himself his strength beginning to wane as he continued to swing wildly at his attackers his only desire to live long enough to somehow miraculously rescue his beloved fiancée from the clutches of the Infected.

Yet with each passing second his hopes of reaching her in time began to fade as the number of his attackers continued to grow along with the intensity of his fiancée's hysterical screams that continued to ring in his ears.

His breath now coming in ragged breaths and his wild swings becoming more uncontrolled, Dr. Daisuke Serizawa groaned within himself at the sound of his fiancée screaming his name before a series of gunshots exploded nearby followed by several more that roared seemingly right next to his ear as the faces of five of the Infected attacking him suddenly burst apart spraying blood and gore all over his already blood-stained lab coat.

Instinctively, Daisuke immediately ducked as a large shadow near him fired several more shots as Dr. Serizawa suddenly felt a strong hand grasp him by his right arm causing him to cry out in fear believing that one of the Infected had managed to grab hold of him.

"Time to go, Doc!" A voice said in English as Daisuke felt himself being roughly half pulled, half hurled in the direction of the mansion.

"EMIKO...MY FIANCEE...!" Daisuke shouted as he was quickly shoved forward by his yet unseen rescuer. "...SHE'S AROUND HERE SOMEWHERE!...I HEARD HER SCREAMING FOR HELP!"

"She's right in front of you, Doc!" The shadow said as Daisuke winced as the man fired several shots from a large pistol he carried in his hand at the Infected as Daisuke saw a few of the Infected crumple to the ground.

"EMIKO...!" Daisuke shouted his eyes frantically scanning the darkness all around for his missing fiancée. "...EMIKOOOOO!"

"Doc, shut the hell up and calm down will ya...?!" The shadow growled as he fired three more shots in rapid succession. "...I told you, she's right in front of you!"

"WHERE?!...I DON'T SEE_!" Daisuke shouted back irritably just as his foot stepped on something soft causing him to lose his balance as he pitched forward and fell flat on his face.

"Yup, right about there, Doc." The unseen rescuer said with what almost sounded like a snicker of laughter as Dr. Serizawa scrambled to his knees just as a pair of warm arms wrapped themselves around his neck, nearly scaring the life out of him.

"DAISUKE!" The familiar voice of his fiancée screamed loudly into his ear practically rupturing his eardrum as Dr. Serizawa immediately blew a sigh of relief and then wrapped his arms around Emiko's tiny frame in response.

"I thought you were dead!" Emiko shouted tears falling down her face as Daisuke hugged her tightly, her small body shaking uncontrollably.

"I thought you were dead!" Daisuke said in response as both he and his fiancée flinched as several shots erupted right next to them.

"WE'RE ALL GONNA BE DEAD UNLESS YOU TWO GET YOUR BONEY LITTLE BUTTS OFF THE GROUND AND HAUL ASS OUTTA HERE!" Their shadowy rescuer roared irritably as he quickly reloaded his pistol and fired three times at the Infected.

"ON YOUR FEET KIDDIES...LET'S GO!" The armed man shouted firing several more shots at the Infected as Daisuke and Emiko both scrambled to their feet as the sound of a loud "pop" rang in Daisuke's ear as Emiko then shouted as if in pain before falling back to the ground.

"EMIKO...!" Daisuke shouted bending down on one knee. "...ARE YOU ALL RIGHT?!...WHAT'S WRONG?!"

"My ankle...!" Emiko shouted in reply both of her hands wrapped around her left foot. "...I think I may have torn something when I was trying to move Kaori-chan away from the Infected!"

"GET A MOVE ON PEOPLE, I'M LOSING GROUND HERE!" Their armed rescuer shouted as he continued to blast away at the Infected with his pistol, the shadowy figures of the Infected closing in quickly.

"Can you walk?!" Daisuke asked as several more shots rang out behind him.

"I think so, but only if you help me!" Emiko shouted as Daisuke reached down and pulled her small body next to him as she wrapped her left arm over his neck.

"I GOT HER...!" Daisuke shouted to the armed man. "...WE'RE READY!"

"WAIT DAISUKE...KAORI-CHAN IS STILL ALIVE!...WE CAN'T LEAVE HER!" Emiko shouted as Daisuke whirled his head around and scanned the darkness until his eyes rested on the unconscious form of Dr. Yamane's niece as the couple then quickly shuffled over to where the still sedated girl lay.

"KAORI!" Daisuke shouted as loud as he could knowing that it was a wasted effort but desperate enough to try anyway.

"KAORIIIIIIIIII!" Emiko Yamane screamed hysterically into Daisuke's ear so loudly that he thought she might have burst his eardrum.

"WHAT THE HELL IS THE HOLDUP?!" Their rescuer shouted at them firing his pistol twice and then swearing a blue streak as the slide of his pistol locked back on an empty chamber.

"IT'S THE GIRL WE DID SURGERY ON EARLIER...!" Daisuke shouted struggling to keep a firm hold on his fiancée who was struggling to free herself from his grasp. "...SHE'S LYING ON THE GROUND OVER HERE!"

"SHE DOESN'T SEEM TO BE MOVING, DOC...!" The man said glancing over his shoulder as he removed the empty magazine from his pistol and then began reaching into one of the small pouches on his belt for another. "...SHE HASN'T BEEN BITTEN, HAS SHE?!"

"NO, SHE HASN'T BEEN BITTEN, SHE'S JUST SEDATED, THAT'S ALL!" Daisuke shouted as he got a firmer hold on Emiko who batting away at him with her fists trying desperately to get to get to her unconscious cousin.

The situation looked hopeless as far as Daisuke could tell, with his fiancée injured and unable to walk without assistance that only left the unknown gunman to carry the unconscious form of Kaori Yamane, which unfortunately would be next to impossible since the armed man had his hands full trying to keep the Infected at bay as it was, a fact not lost on any of them.

"DAMMIT!" The armed man swore as he shoved a full magazine into his pistol and racked the slide before firing his pistol six times in rapid succession, the gun flashes illuminating the man's face as Daisuke was finally able to make out the familiar form of the American commando that had been in the tent earlier, and the same man that he and his team had operated on days earlier.

"I don't believe it, he actually came back for us..." Daisuke muttered to himself in disbelief. "...he could have easily escaped with the others, but he actually came back for the rest of us."

"Just who the hell is that guy?" Daisuke said aloud as he flinched as the man fired two quick shots in rapid succession at the Infected as one of them then fell heavily to the ground with half of its head blown off.

"GET MOVING YOU TWO, I CAN'T HOLD THEM OFF MUCH LONGER!" The American shouted pushing Daisuke and Emiko roughly in the direction of the mansion as he fired his pistol several more times as the Infected continued to press towards them.

"NOOOOO...!" Emiko screamed hysterically her eyes open wide in panic. "...DAISUKE, WE CAN'T JUST LEAVE HER!"

"EMIKO!...THERE'S NOTHING WE CAN DO!" Daisuke shouted in frustrated response as he struggled to keep his grip on Emiko as the American suddenly fired three shots in rapid succession before reaching down and grabbing Kaori by the leg as both Daisuke and Emiko gasped in horror, believing that the American was intending on dragging the young girl's body across the lawn.

"NOOOOO!...YOU CAN'T DRAG HER ON THE GROUND LIKE THAT, YOU'LL KILL HER THAT WAY!" Emiko and Daisuke screamed as one as both of their jaws dropped open as the American suddenly dropped to the ground and seemed to roll over Kaori's unconscious body.

"WHAT ARE YOU_?!...WHOA!" Daisuke asked stunned as the American completed his roll and then suddenly stood erect with the unconscious girl lying neatly across his shoulders in a perfect fireman's carry.

It was a move so fluid and so expertly done by such a large man as heavily armed as the American was especially considering the large amount of ammunition and tactical equipment hanging off his combat vest that Daisuke and Emiko were left completely stunned for a moment at what they had just seen when a sudden loud *snap!* sounded overhead as Daisuke and Emiko instinctively ducked.

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU TWO STILL STANDING AROUND HERE FOR?!...F_CKING MOOOOOOVE!" The American shouted as he raised his pistol and fired twice, scaring the couple even more.

"I THINK SOMEBODY IS SHOOTING AT US!" Daisuke shouted as another loud *snap!* sounded overhead and he and Emiko once again ducked as one of the Infected nearby crumbled to the ground.

"Trust me Doc, if that kid was shooting at us, you wouldn't be breathing now!" The American said firing his pistol three times rapidly at the horde.

"Daisuke-san!" Emiko said tapping her fiancée on the shoulder as Dr. Serizawa turned his head and saw that Emiko was weeping.

"Emiko...what's wrong?" Daisuke asked looking into Emiko's face as his fiancée pointed to a several shadowy figures lying on the ground as the young doctor peered out into the darkness and then gasped in horror.

"Yuta-kun..." Daisuke said horrified as he gazed at his former colleague whose body was twitching involuntarily as he noticed several of the Infected lying on top of him who were taking savage bites of flesh out of the unlucky man's legs.

As horrifying as that was, it was the way that Yuta was just staring at the both of them vacantly without even screaming as the Infected slowly ate him alive that almost completely unnerved Daisuke who found himself unable to tear his eyes away from the horrible sight.

"I realize he's your friend and I know that you wish there was something you could do for him...even if it meant asking me to put a bullet in his head to end his misery..." The American said in a voice that sounded almost as calm as if the man were talking to children as Daisuke and Emiko glanced at the American and then froze upon noticing the wild look in his eyes that made Daisuke and Emiko's hair stand on end.

"And believe me, I wish I could spare a round to do exactly that." The American commando said firing twice at the horde making the couple flinch at the loud report of the handgun.

"But in case ya'll haven't noticed, he's already started to turn." The American continued as Daisuke and Emiko turned their heads and noticed that their former colleague was now making shaking uncontrollably as the Infected that had been feasting on him seemed to lose interest and began to turn away from their meal.

"On top of that the magazine I now have in my pistol is my last one...and it's only half full." The American continued scaring Daisuke and Emiko half to death with the way he was looking at them.

"And so all things considered if there's even half a chance of us surviving this mess, we're gonna need every round I've got..." The man continued his voice chilling the air around him. "...so pretty please, with f_cking sugar on top_."

"MOVE YOUR F_CKING ASSES!" The American commando shouted firing his pistol at the horde at the same time as he roughly shoved the couple forward in the direction of the mansion.

"GO! GO! GO! GO! GO! GO! GO! GO! GO! GO! GO!" The American roared firing his pistol with Emiko's unconscious cousin still slung across his shoulders as Daisuke, with Emiko again screaming hysterically in his ear again bolted forward as fast as they could, both of them far more afraid of the insane American firing his pistol at the Infected directly behind them as they ran as fast as they possibly could while still trying to support each other towards the mansion.


Time: Zero Dark Thirty

Location: Front Driveway Terrace of Takagi Manor

Z-Day Times Five

"I DON'T HAVE A SHOT!" Kohta shouted as he scanned frantically back and forth over the heads of the Infected through his high-powered scope, trying desperately to reacquire the whereabouts of the *American SEAL and his two schoolmates amongst the large horde of Infected that had suddenly surged forward and now completely blocked his view.

"TAKAGI-SAMA, DO YOU SEE THEM ANYWHERE?!" Kohta asked Soichiro Takagi who was crouched next to him and whom had been acting as his spotter for the past few minutes and calling off targets for him to shoot.

The strange partnership of the chubby teenager and the hulking adult as a sniper team had worked out remarkably well despite the odd pairing as Kohta methodically picked off each and every target pointed out to him at Soichiro's direction.

Yet despite the fact that Kohta was doing his very best to support the survivors who had burst out of the hospital tent, to his dismay the majority of them had quickly fallen prey to the Infected before they had even managed to run a few meters, despite his and the American commando's efforts to keep the Infected at bay.

"Negative, I've lost all sight of them!" Soichiro replied matter-of-factly as Kohta tried desperately to slow his breathing despite the fact that he could actually feel his heart pounding against his chest as his adrenaline raced through his body, the horrible thought that his two friends and a man he had considered both mentor and friend may very well have died horribly in front of his eyes like so many others he had seen die that very night.

But just as all seemed lost a series of flashes from gunfire coming from the *SEAL's pistol could plainly be seen flashing rapidly amongst the horde at different intervals and in different locations, proving to Kohta that at the very least, Jim was still very much alive and fighting like a madman against the untold numbers of Infected that threatened to overwhelm him as Kohta quickly shifted the crosshairs on his scope each time he saw a flash of gunfire, hoping for a clear shot in order to save his friends.

"C'mon Jimu-san...give me a shot." Kohta muttered under his breath as shot after shot erupted briefly illuminating the heads of the Infected but making it impossible to locate Jim or any of the remaining survivors with him in order for Kohta to support their egress.

"DAMMIT, C'MON!" Kohta shouted in frustration as Soichiro frowned, completely sympathetic to the teenager's frustration but worried nonetheless at the possibility of Kohta losing his cool and reacting rashly just like the other teens had at dealing with the possible loss of their American friend.

"Easy Hirano-san..." Soichiro said not taking his eyes away from the eyepieces of his high-powered binoculars as he scanned the darkness looking for the American as well. "...take a deep breath, calm yourself and stay focused...we cannot afford to make a mistake if Cxxxxxxs-san does manage to get clear of all that and we're not ready to help him."

"Roger that." Kohta replied taking a deep breath to calm himself as he continued to peer through the scope of his rifle as Soichiro than frowned as three shots blasted into the night followed by a long and very uncomfortable silence.

"What's going on, why did he stop shooting?!" Soichiro heard Kohta ask, his voice growing anxious again as Soichiro continued to peer into the darkness searching for any signs of the American contractor and the two teens with him.

"I don't know." Soichiro replied shaking his head as both men frantically scanned the darkness, the time interval since the American had last fired his weapon stretching longer and longer.

"You think he might have been able to get away?" Kohta asked swinging the muzzle of his rifle left and right rapidly as he searched all over the heads of the Infected looking for any signs of Jim or his friends as he heard Saya's father let out a heavy sigh as he then lowered his binoculars and rubbed his sore eyelids.

"Perhaps." Soichiro replied as he glanced down at the chubby teen and realized that even if the trio had somehow miraculously managed to escape the clutches of the Infected, it would be next to impossible for Kohta to locate them the way Kohta was shifting his rifle back and forth so recklessly, even if it was the middle of the day and the sun had been shining.

"Anything is possible." Soichiro said raising his binoculars back to his eyes as he scanned the darkness once more as the time frame from the moment the American security contractor had fired his last shot continued to tick off as Soichiro swept the lenses of his binoculars in the general direction of the American's last known position before he then shifted his focus towards the very edge of the horde as a series of gun flashes suddenly erupted near his field of vision.

"THERE THEY ARE!" Kohta shouted excitedly as he and Soichiro both trained their focus on a three shadowy figures more than three hundred meters away that were running towards them, the glow of two red chemlights hanging from around the necks of the two teens clearly visible in the darkness.

"GOT 'EM...!" Kohta shouted excitedly as he leveled the crosshairs of his riflescope on the head of one of the Infected reach towards the trio and then exhaled as he squeezed the trigger of his rifle and grunted with satisfaction as the top of the creatures head burst like a melon and the Infected man crumpled to the ground as Kohta began switching to his next target.

But even as Kohta lined up the crosshairs of his scope for his next shot Soichiro frowned as the realization that the man firing away at the Infected was nowhere near the size and height of the American contractor, nor was the report of the gunfire coming from the pistol that the running shooter now held the same as the one that the American had been blasting away at the Infected with before, a fact that was not lost on the chubby teen either.

"That's not Jimu-san with them." Kohta said aloud as a knot formed in Soichiro's stomach at Kohta's words, knowing that the realization that the American had been killed would have a devastating effect on the teenage boy and could possibly render him completely ineffective to save any remaining survivors that might still be running for the mansion.

"What happened?!...Why did he stop shooting?!...Did he run out of ammo?!...Where did he go?!" Kohta thought to himself anxiously, his mind racing a mile a minute, his heart beating soundly against his chest so hard that even Saya's father crouched next to him could probably hear it.

"What happened?!...What happened?!...What happened?!...Please somebody tell me what the hell happened to him?!" Kohta was screaming inwardly and a mere heartbeat or two from screaming out loud for all the world to hear, his young mind on the verge of collapse as his anxiety continued to grow and his worst fears began to overwhelm him.

"He can't be dead...he can't be dead...HE CAN'T BE DEAD!" Kohta screamed mentally, sweat now pouring down his face.

"He could have drowned in the river days ago, but he didn't...!" Kohta thought to himself as something moist began forming in his eyes and making it difficult for him to see.

"They nearly clubbed him to death back at the condo, but he still survived...!" Kohta continued, the crosshairs in his scope suddenly beginning to blur out of focus.

"HE'S A F_CKING *FROGMAN, FOR CRIPES SAKE!" Kohta suddenly screamed out loud startling everyone around him as he immediately tried to keep it together as he grit his teeth in rage and his eyes finally lost all focus as burning hot tears began to fall from his eyes.

"THEY DON'T EVER QUIT!... THEY DON'T EVER STOP!...THEY JUST KEEP ON COMING AND KICKING ASS!" Kohta shouted no longer able to keep his growing rage in check at the loss of the former *SEAL as Kohta tried to shake the image of his American friend being torn to pieces and consumed by the Infected.

"HOW THE HELL CAN HE BE DEAD?!" Kohta shouted as he suddenly turned away from his scope and slammed his fist angrily onto the concrete wall of the terrace as Soichiro frowned as a rare feeling of sympathy began coursing through him in response to the teen's loss of his friend but also realizing at the same time that the urgency of the situation was far too dire for him to offer any silly, American-style notions of a so-called "pep talk" to help ease the teenager's grief.

Yet despite himself, Soichiro could not help but instinctively reach over to grasp the young man on the shoulder and try to offer some form of comfort to the young man but he then paused as he watched the teen wipe his eyes with the sleeve of his school uniform jacket and then once again shouldered his rifle.

"So he's finally accepted the truth..." Soichiro thought to himself withdrawing his hand as he turned away and then lifted his binoculars back to his eyes as the familiar figure of Hiroyuki Busujima's daughter still scantily-clad in his wife's boudoir mini-skirt came into view, her body momentarily illuminated in the flash of gunfire coming from whomever was shooting next to her.

"Shift targets...Man wearing yellow traffic vest...closing in at three o'clock position of our 'friendlies'." Soichiro said as he heard Kohta shifting the muzzle of his rifle as Soichiro immediately then breathed a sigh of relief, grateful that the young man next to him, despite all appearances, had just proven himself to not be the stereotypical NEET he had thought the portly teen to be after all.

"Range... approximately two hundred meters..." Soichiro continued, his respect for the young man's courage growing despite the fact that the kid had just suffered the loss of a friend that he had greatly admired.

"Set..." Kohta replied in a voice now completely devoid of emotion as a thin smile formed on Soichiro's face, completely impressed beyond words at Kohta's courage, the kid not reacting at all like he had expected him to by curling up in a ball and crying like a baby and thus rendering himself completely incapable of any further action.

And it was at that moment, at least from Soichiro Takagi's point of view, that the chubby teen crouched next to him was now perhaps the bravest person in all of Japan, as Soichiro actually felt something beginning to swell up in his chest that he hadn't felt for a long time, especially towards someone who was not a member of his family.

Pride.

"Fire when ready." Soichiro said as he heard the portly teen draw in a deep breath and then heard the report of the rifle as the top of the Infected man's head burst like a watermelon and crumpled to the ground in a heap.

"Hit." Soichiro said, the thin smile on his face almost becoming a grin as he shifted his binoculars over to the next target.

*Kohta is thoroughly convinced that Jim is a former SEAL Operator which is not true, but will continue to be a running gag throughout the entire story.


Time: Zero Dark Thirty

Location: Front Lawn of Takagi Manor

Z-Day Times Five

Moments earlier

From ancient times, mankind's greatest advancements have rarely ever occurred overnight, most taking years if not centuries of pain-staking hard-toiled effort to cause any significant changes in human development.

While advancements in architecture, chemistry, medicine and the like have most definitely had a significant impact on civilization as we know it and to be sure, at great cost, few things have ever advanced in design as quickly and as efficiently as weapons of war.

When ancient man first realized that there must be a better option of dispatching his enemy than his own two hands, it wasn't long before rocks gave way to clubs, and clubs gave way to arrows.

But things really didn't get interesting until some genius eventually learned to extract metal from ore, thus entering mankind into the Bronze Age.

And wouldn't you know it, it wasn't long before some prick with a grudge against his fellowman finally realized that while bronze and copper pots and pans were nice this same idiot must have thought to himself... "Hey, why not take this new shiny metal stuff and make some really cool sharp things that I can kill my neighbor with?"

And thanks to that self-same asshole who for some reason had a wild hair up his ass that day thousands of years ago in mankind's history of selfishness and stupidity, the way for the blood of millions of men, woman, and children to be spilled in a way no one at that time would ever have believed possible for generations to come, was born.

And for centuries, no instrument of war has ever made such an impact on mankind's history and paved the roads of civilization with the blood of millions than that one remarkable implement of mayhem than the sword.

True, there are many other marvels of military technology that have stood out in mankind's history and have proven themselves far more deadly than the sword with examples such as the English Longbow, the Trebuchet, the Catapult, gunpowder, guns, artillery, bombs, submarines, missiles, and the like having earned their place in the annals of military history by successfully sending their enemies straight to hell with deadly efficiency.

Yes, each one of these fearsome inventions of war have all made their mark in human history, mostly by blowing great clumps of them to smithereens.

But before man could invent a weapon that could erase his enemy off the face of the earth at the push of a button, for centuries he had to make do with what he had in hand and settle for just being able to chop his enemy into little itty-bitty pieces, and that ladies and gentlemen is where the sword really shines.

The Egyptian Khopesh, the Roman Gladius, the Scottish Claymore, the Persian Scimitar, and the English Broadsword are some examples of man's advancement in military weaponry with civilizations having been both created and destroyed at the edge of a sword.

Throughout history however, no other sword ever forged by man has ever quite stood up to the legacy of the Japanese katana.

Of course, no weapon no matter how well made even one with a legacy as significant as the Muramoto sword that nineteen-year old Saeko Busujima now held was any good without the strength, courage, and skillful prowess of the one that wielded it.

And in the hands of the daughter of Hiroyuki Busujima, the sword was quickly becoming legendary.

But not in a good way...

"YAMANE-SENSEI!...LOOK OUT!" Saeko shouted as she quickly darted forward and expertly swung the edge of her katana upwards and neatly lopped off the hands of an Infected man who had been reaching for the elderly surgeon as Saeko cursed under her breath as Takashi accidentally bumped into her again, nearly causing her follow-up downward strike to glance off the Infected's skull instead of neatly severing it's neck from its shoulders as intended.

Quickly biting her tongue lest she utter some very un-lady-like swear words, Saeko then gritted her teeth in frustration at her poorly executed sword stroke knowing that if her father had been watching he would have scolded her severely for her lack of skill no matter the fact that the fault was not hers.

Just minutes earlier Saeko had been almost euphoric as she charged into battle feeling very much that she was finally in her element as every movement she made was as smooth and graceful like a dancer, every sweep of her sword perfect, every strike deadly, every foe...vanquished.

If her father could have seen her then, he would have seen that she had been pure poetry in motion, every move she made fluid, every strike precise...a thing of beauty.

If her father could see her now however, he would probably die of embarrassment if he wasn't dead already Saeko thought to herself bitterly.

And the reason for that was because the moment Saeko had grabbed Takashi's hand things had immediately gone downhill once they started running for their lives toward the mansion because as nice a guy as Takashi Komuro was, he was one clumsy son-of-a bitch.

It really wasn't Takashi's fault really, Saeko thought to herself grudgingly, after all, Takashi was just a regular guy from school that had no clue on how to react to the violence occurring all around them and so when he had frozen up earlier, and it had been easy to forgive him for that.

But now his constantly slipping on the blood-soaked ground at increasingly frequent intervals was quickly aggravating Saeko to the point of absolute rage as Takashi's repeated clumsiness made her ability to successfully fend off the Infected next to impossible each time he would clumsily crash into her and throw her completely off balance.

It had only been a few minutes earlier when they had tried to rescue Cxxxxxxs-san that every stroke of her sword against the Infected had been brilliantly executed, every movement precise, every cut perfect, but now thanks to the annoying boat anchor she was forced to drag along, every movement she made was now uncharacteristically clumsy, her once perfect timing and precision now completely thrown off, her once perfect form now resembling the results of someone hacking away at the dense overgrowth of a jungle with a machete.

And now Saeko's blood was boiling as her sword strokes now sliced off a finger instead of a hand, a hand instead of an arm, an arm instead of a head as the Infected continued to reach towards them instead of lying lifeless on the ground as intended.

For a gifted student of kenjutsu like Saeko Busujima who had from an early age always been praised for her prowess with a sword and had even been labeled a prodigy at one time and had been praised often by several Masters of the other martial art schools all over Japan, her current failure to land even a half-way decent strike against her enemy was all just too much to bear.

Her pride as an expert swordsman from a proud, generations old samurai family had been hurt severely, and during the golden Age of the Samurai, men had died for less.

And if not for the fact that Takashi was her um,....'friend', then Saeko would have been tempted to leave his clutzy butt right then and there.

Still, enough was enough.

"KOMORU-KUN...!" Saeko snapped angrily as she violently yanked on Takashi's arm for the umpteenth time that night nearly causing him to once again nearly stumble and fall as she then made a savage swipe at the creature's head with her katana with a force that was all anger and frustration behind it and none of the usual graceful finesse that she truly possessed as an expert practitioner of iaido that she prided herself in being as the razor sharp blade sliced through the Infected man's mouth at an odd angle instead of slicing through the thing's neck, as intended.

"CHIKUSHOOOOOOO!" Saeko screamed in anger and frustration at her screw-up as she then began to curse out loud with bitter, angry swear words that made even Takashi and Dr. Yamane blush as the Infected man suddenly fell heavily to his knees as his head suddenly peeled completely backwards and hung limply by its partially severed spinal column, giving the creature the resemblance of a grotesque PEZ-dispenser.

And it was at that very moment something deep within Saeko's psyche finally snapped as years of mental and physical training, meditation, self-sacrifice, and all the pain and suffering that came with it in the perfection of her art went completely out the f_cking window as all her pent-up rage was finally unleashed upon the one person available at the moment to vent her frustration on.

"TAKASHI, YOU STUPID, CLUMSY-ASS, PEA-BRAINED, OAF!...WATCH WHAT THE HELL YOU'RE DOING,YOU BAKAAAAAAAA!" Saeko screamed angrily as Takashi shrank back defensively in response to the loud outburst as well as the wild, murderous look Saeko was now throwing at him as Dr. Yamane continued to fire his pistol nearby at the Infected, either completely oblivious to Saeko's melt down or just doing his best to not get involved lest Saeko take a swing at him with her katana.

"IT'S NOT MY FAULT...!" Takashi shouted back defensively a part of him now far more afraid of Saeko than the Infected that were still quickly closing in on the three of them. "...THERE'S BLOOD ALL OVER THE GROUND AND YOU KEEP YANKING ON MY ARM ALL THE TIME, WHAT THE HELL DO YOU EXPECT FROM ME?!"

"OH...SO NOW IT'S MY FAULT THEN?!...WELL YOU COULD START BY STOP MAKING EXCUSES FOR YOURSELF FOR BEING WEAK AND START ACTING LIKE A MAN FOR ONCE, KOMURO-KUN!" Saeko shot back as she then turned away and roaring angrily in frustration grasped her katana with both hands and made a vicious strike at an Infected woman, the blade cutting the woman diagonally from her right collarbone and passing through her spinal column, nearly severing the woman's body in two.

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT SAEKO...?!" Takashi shouted back angrily and then gulped as the woman's body came apart and fell heavily at Saeko's feet as blood and gore splashed all over his shoes.

"Uh...never mind." Takashi said feeling green as Saeko turned her head and glared furiously at him.

"YOU SEE?!...THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT!" Saeko shouted as she quickly turned around and struck down an Infected man that had been creeping up on her and nearly cut it in half with one wild swing of her sword as the body fell heavily to the ground, bloody entrails slipping grotesquely from its open abdomen.

"EVERY...!" Saeko screamed as she then made a vicious swing at another Infected close by and chopped off its right arm, her movements now noticeably becoming increasingly erratic as her frustration with Takashi and herself grew as she began wielding her sword more like a baseball bat, her usual precise, graceful movements now gone out the proverbial window.

"SINGLE...!" Saeko went on still screaming angrily as she then swung her katana to her left and practically buried the blade into an Infected woman's chest.

"TIME...!" Saeko continued as she lifted her leg and viciously kicked the woman's body off her katana.

"SOMETHING..!" Saeko screamed as she then began to swing her katana wildly at the Infected as Takashi grimaced as somebody's lower jaw suddenly went flying through the air.

"BAD...!" Saeko continued as Takashi then next saw a hand go spinning crazily in the air as well.

"HAPPENS...!" Saeko screamed as the hand was immediately followed by a bloody clump of something with a lot of hair attached to it then flew through the air and then made a loud wet "Splat!" when it finally hit the ground.

"THE FIRST THING YOU ALWAYS DO IS WIMP OUT!" Saeko shouted continuing with her angry rant as Takashi's face immediately turned an ashen grey and he nearly screamed as Saeko viciously swung her sword upwards and buried it in some Infected man's crotch, the wicked blade burying itself deep in the man's pelvis as Takashi cringed as he heard the blade grating loudly against bone.

"AND THEN YOU RUN AWAY, INSTEAD OF FACING WHATEVER IT IS HEAD ON, LIKE A MAAAAAAAAN!" Saeko shrieked as she yanked her sword out of the creature's pelvic girdle as Takashi finally did scream in response to the horrific sight as Saeko then raised her katana high in the air and brought it down squarely over the head of the Infected and lodged the blade tightly within the thing's skull.

"CHIKUSHOOOOOOOO!" Saeko shrieked her rage finally hitting critical mass as she struggled to pull her sword free from the creature's skull just as Takashi saw a pair of hands suddenly come reaching for her from out of the darkness.

"SAEKO!" Takashi shouted a warning as Dr. Yamane immediately whirled around in response to Takashi's outcry and raised his pistol just as Takashi hear a loud *snap!* and the pair of hands suddenly disappeared from view as Saeko finally managed to pull her sword free.

"WHAAAAAAAAAAAT?!" Saeko screamed brandishing her bloody sword at Takashi in a threatening manner just as two more loud *snaps* split the air and two more bodies fell to the ground near her feet as Saeko's murderous rage immediately disappeared.

"I'm afraid you two will have to resolve you're 'lover's spat' another time." Dr. Yamane said in that same eerily calm voice of his as he then fired his pistol once more at the Infected as the slide of the HkP7 then locked back on an empty chamber.

"For now, I really need both of you need to shut up and...RUUUUUUUUUUNNNNNNN!" Dr. Yamane roared roughly shoving the two teens forward as the trio then ran as fast as their legs could carry them as the air was split with the sounds of multiple loud *snaps!* and the Infected began to drop like flies all around them.


Time: Zero Dark Thirty

Location: Front lawn of Takagi Manor

Z-Day Times Five

Of the handful of people that managed to escape from the burn9ng tent city just before the Infected overwhelmed the rest, there was one last survivor of the terrible massacre that somehow managed to escape the clutches of the Infected far longer than poor Shogo, or even Ryou Hanada whom as far as most people around him were concerned lasted far longer than they would have liked.

Her story however, is completely different from the tragic examples of those two men or any of the other people who tried to escape death at the hands of the Infected that horrible night.

Her name was Manami...Yuko Manami, age thirty-two, and a few weeks ago if you had asked her how her life was going, she would have immediately told you that she felt like she was probably the luckiest woman in the world.

Today however, not so much.

"Dumb luck...dumb, rotten, 'effin luck." Yuko swore under her breath as she gazed down in disgust at the still body of the Infected that she had tussled with after it had grabbed her by the shoulder and sunk its teeth into her shoulder, the pain from the bite nothing compared to the burning sensation she was feeling in her shoulder right now that was rapidly spreading throughout the entire length of her arm and across her back.

Like most of the other survivors that had managed to make it across the last bridge leading out of the central portion of Tokonosu City, she along with over a thousand other people had desperately pushed forward through the police lines to reach safety just before a large horde of Infected suddenly showed up and started attacking everyone from behind.

At the teime, she had been running with a group of other people from the same building she lived in when they had crossed the bridge, and finally after having lost sight of the police it was then when she had seen the first of Them.

The police barricades hadn't done a damned thing to stop the Infected from killing hundreds, perhaps even thousands, of innocent people not lucky enough not to have crossed the bridge in time and those bastards in the bulldozers too right behind the police lines failed to even slow down the onslaught as Yuko reflected angrily at how she had been mere inches from being crushed to death by those idiots who had tried to block their panicked flight.

Unlike Yuko however, many had not been so lucky and those clumsy assholes had inadvertently run down several people and turned them into road kill just before the Infected swarmed over the heavy construction machines and began pulling the screaming driver's down from the large vehicles.

Before that day, Yuko had never liked seeing people being hurt in any form or fashion, but upon seeing the bulldozer operators getting torn apart by the Infected, Yuko felt a strange sense of gratification coursing through her as she witnessed the men getting their comeuppance.

Days later after the bridge incident Yuko finally found herself in the midst of hundreds of other survivors occupying the Takagi grounds and she had been in the middle of heating up some water for tea over a portable propane cooker when she'd heard the first gunshots ring out just outside her tent.

And it was in that moment that Yuko realized that the reason for the gunshots could only mean that the Infected had somehow managed to find them despite everyone's hard work and planning and all the strict noise and light discipline rules enforced to keep everyone safe had now all gone down the crapper.

In the massacre that followed shortly afterwards after the Infected had finally breached the front gate of the mansion, Yuko had been one of the few lucky ones able to run for shelter before the camp had been completely overrun by the Infected, although just barely.

Running like she had never run before, she had just made it to the rear of the medical tent before she was accidentally tackled by a very fat, Infected man wearing only the remains of an undershirt and torn underwear that were completely saturated with blood and sporting the stupidest-looking little man-bun that was currently popular amongst many Westerners that somehow miraculously hadn't come apart in all the fracas.

The fat bastard had actually been chasing after someone else but in its haste, had tripped and inadvertently tumbled into her knocking her flat to the ground and then falling heavily on top of her, it's jaws snapping mere centimeters away from her neck.

"Get off me you f_cking pig!" Yuko screamed angrily as she slammed her fist into the side of its head, somehow managing to temporarily stun it long enough for her to almost roll out from underneath it before it regained its senses and attacked her again taking a bite out of her shoulder in the ensuing struggle.

The scream she let out as its teeth bit into her flesh was excruciating, the pain coursing through her unlike anything she had ever experienced before as adrenalin pumping, she wildly swung her elbow around and struck the creature in the chest causing it to release her but not before it tore a chunk of her flesh in the process.

In a crazed state of mind from the pain, Yuko then jumped on top of the Infected man and began to repeatedly bash the thing's face to a bloody pulp, repeatedly slammed her fists down into its face, caring little that she was getting her knuckles cut up on its teeth.

When at last she was finally spent after executing her vengeance upon the creature there was very little left of its facial features that even remotely resembled anything human as she then rose to her feet and then spat bitterly into the mass of quivering flesh that had once been the thing's face.

And it was when even more chaos erupted around her as the bladed of a sword suddenly cut through the wall of the tent next to her and some foreigner carrying a strange looking rifle suddenly burst out of the tent and began firing his weapon at a large crowd of Infected that had suddenly come out of nowhere and was headed directly towards her.

Hesitating for a moment in shock as her brain tried desperately to register the fact that she now found herself facing hundreds, perhaps even thousands of Infected mere meters away from where she knelt, Yuko' shock quickly evaporated as a sudden wave of rage swept over as she ignored the panicked survivors suddenly rushing past her and their sudden high-pitched screams as both the Infected and the pitiful number of survivors around her began to clash.

The loud roar of gunfire and the nearby screams of the unlucky victims was absolutely deafening, but like all else she ignored it as she looked down at her bloody hands and the worsening ache coming from the wound on her shoulder and realized it wouldn't take long before her thoughts and her judgement would soon become non-existent.

And then as if in a dream, she gazed all around her without a hint of emotion in her as dozens of survivors tried to run away but were all quickly tackled and taken down by the sheer mass of the Infected as many more of them kept coming over as the main gate finally fell and the creatures entered the sprawling lawn of the mansion in a flood.

And then all at once Yuko's knees buckled underneath her and she collapsed to the ground, her mind now beginning to register to her that any attempts on her part to escape were now pointless.

And yet... she didn't want to die.

But there was nothing she could do...was there?

"Hey! What are you doing?!" A voice suddenly blasted into her ear above all the sounds of fear and death all around her as Yuko turned her head and glanced towards the source of the voice and saw a female survivor rushing over to her with a bloody gardening trowel in her hand.

The woman was not someone Yuko recognized, and as she gazed at the woman approaching her who was visibly worn out and covered in sweat and blood, Yuko saw that there was something else about the woman that had suddenly captured her attention.

Something...

"Something what, though?" Yuko thought to herself as the last vestiges of her humanity began to fade away.

"Something…" Yuko muttered under her breath as the woman called out to her again as she approached.

"Something..." Yuko repeated in a hollow voice as the woman screamed something unintelligible to her, the portion of Yuko's brain that controlled her ability to comprehend human speech no longer able to function as a dark shadow began to cloud over her brain.

"Ah yes, there it was..." The remaining cells of Yuko's brain still functioning registered to her at last.

"Something tasty..." Yuko said at last as she gazed up at the woman, her eyes locking onto her prey as the virus, or disease or whatever it was, and it was started to affect her senses as her sense of smell heightened along with her sense of taste as she was suddenly able to smell the woman's sweat and the fresh, untainted blood that could only come from someone who was not infected.

And Yuko wanted... no, needed a taste.

"C'mon! If we hurry, we can...YAAAAAAAH!" Her would-be savior suddenly let out a pained-filled scream as Yuko suddenly dove at her and she felt the Yuko's teeth digging into her shoulder.

Her adrenaline pumping like crazy, the woman somehow managed to shove Yuko back down to the ground and then when their eyes met, she sucked in her breath as she saw the red, bloodshot eyes that met hers and the unmistakable expression of rage in the infected woman's face.

The disease had almost completely taken over Yuko's mind as the woman that had been human just mere moments ago had now turned onto another blood-thirsty monster like the hundreds all around them as the injured woman quickly tried to turn and run away but was then suddenly tackled from behind.

Jaws drooling, Yuko had just been on the verge of taking another savage bite into her victim when she suddenly felt herself being struck from behind as something knocked her off her intended victim and then tackled her to the ground as Yuko then suddenly felt a heavy weight on her back and sharp nails tearing into her neck.

The pain that would have registered in her mind before when she was human was now no longer present but instead the sensations she felt now came across as nothing more than a sense of annoyance as she watched the woman she had tackled was now being taken down by several other Infected that now piled on top of her and tore her body apart in seconds as a rage unlike anything Yuko had ever experienced before suddenly pulsed through her.

Yet the rage Yuko felt now wasn't some last vestiges of humanity still remaining deep within her that was reacting to the horrible savagery that Yuko had just witnessed.

No, the rage that was growing within her was due to the fact that they had taken away her meal

And the thing had once been Yuko Manami released an angry growl from her lips, something guttural, something animal-like, something far more different than any of the sounds that had ever come from any of the Infected before her as the growing rage of her being denied her meal finally overwhelmed her and something terrible was unleashed.

Rising quickly on her feet, the wound on her neck already beginning to annoy her as she walked to where the fallen trowel lay, still caked in blood and dirt, and scooped it up as she then took hold of one of the Infected feasting on her kill and savagely stabbed the Infected in its neck with the trowel in her hand.

On the seventh strike the bloody trowel finally broke through the things spinal cord as the severed head was removed from its body as angry growls and annoyed hisses suddenly erupted from the other Infected still tearing away at the woman's bloody corpse.

Ignoring the angry growls of the other Infected, the creature that had once been Yuko Manami casually tossed the severed head away as it fell to the ground with a wet splash before it rolled over and over across the well-manicured lawn before finally settling down amongst a bunch of downtrodden flowers as she then leaped upon the group of Infected, and began hacking away at them with the trowel as they were greedily tearing into the bloody corpse of the unlucky refugee.

It wasn't until she managed to kill the last of them that she then thrust a hand into the lower abdomen of the corpse that the Infected had been feeding on as she rummaged around for a moment before yanking out one of the corpse's kidneys as she gazed at the bloody trophy in her hand for a moment before taking a huge bite out of it.

She only had a moment to taste the soft delicate meat in her mouth however before she was again ambushed by one of the Infected who attacked her from her right flank tackling her to the ground as the creature that was once Yuko Manami rolled away and then came to a crouch and hissed a warning at her attacker who happened to be one of the altered infected, an Alpha.

Unfazed by the presence of the Alpha and her only thoughts being that her kill was in danger of being taken away from her, Yuko angrily swiped her hand at its face which did nothing more than serve to piss the Alpha off even more as it lashed out with a bludgeoning fist that connected hard on her face, breaking her nose before the second punch broke her front teeth as a third blow busted the bone surrounding her right eye socket with such force that her eye was knocked completely out of place.

The being once known as Yuko Manami shrieked with a mixture of rage and pain, her left eye dangling grotesquely from its socket as she lunged forward and tried to stab at the Alpha with the trowel that was still in her hand.

But her attacker, the Alpha, must have sensed what was about to happen and swung savagely at her and knocked her to the ground as Yuko rolled over the ground over and over on the ground all the while being trampled by the other Infected who were running in all directions after their prey.

After several more rolls on the ground and an accidental kick to the face or two by her Infected brethren, Manami finally came to a stop and immediately leapt to her feet swing her arms wildly and making contact with no one as she then let out a loud scream of absolute rage at her unseen attackers and more importantly, the loss of her meal.

A moment later however, the thing that had once been Yuko Manami suddenly homed in on another source of sound that her barely functioning brain immediately registered as a new source of prey and Yuko was once again sprinting past all the other slow moving Infected, any remnants of humanity completely lost as she bolted towards the mansion, her intended prey standing on the elegant stone terrace of the luxury mansion completely unaware of what was coming for them.


Time: Zero Dark Thirty

Location: Front Driveway Terrace of Takagi Manor

Z-Day Times Five

"YAMANE-SENSEI, THIS WAY!" Yuriko shouted as she then breathed a silent sigh of relief at the sight of Dr. Yamane with the two teens in tow as the trio approached the edge of the driveway leading to the front of the mansion.

"Are you two all right, you're not hurt are you?!" Yuriko asked the teens her voice filled with worry as she immediately began to cluck over the two teens like a mother hen as Dr. Yamane stepped away from them and then leaned against the terrace wall and tried to catch his breath.

"We're fine, Takagi-san..." Takashi replied between tired gasps as he and Saeko both tried to catch their breath from their harrowing ordeal. "...we're not hurt or anything like that."

"Are you sure?" Yuriko asked dubiously as she continued to fuss over the two teens, reminding Takashi very much of the way his own mother used to fuss over him whenever he got hurt as a child.

"Hai, we're fine Takagi-sama..." Saeko replied gasping for breath and growing slightly embarrassed at the way Yuriko was fussing over her and Takashi liked a worried mother hen. "...just out of breath."

"Well I don't see any injuries on either of you..." Yuriko said out loud as she finally finished her thorough inspection of the two teens. "...and by some miracle, neither one of you were bitten, thank the heavens."

"Oh boy, here it comes."Soichiro mumbled under his breath as Kohta glanced up at Saya's father, a puzzled expression on his face as he then suddenly flinched as two loud painful shouts erupted nearby as he whirled around to see who was screaming as his eyes then widened at the sight of Takashi and Saeko with their heads down low and writhing in pain as Saya's mother viciously twisted the earlobes of the two teens mercilessly.

"NOW JUST WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU TWO CHILDREN THINKING BY RUNNING OFF OUT THERE LIKE A COUPLE OF IDIOTS!" Yuriko screamed in anger as the two teens continued to howl in anguish. "...ARE YOU TWO THAT STUPID OR WERE YOU BOTH INTENTIONALLY TRYING TO GET YOURSELVES KILLED?!"

"GOMEN NASAAAAAIIIIII!" Both teens replied as best they could considering that one of the earlobes of each teens felt like it was nearly being peeled off by Saya's angry mother as Kouta felt the color beginning to drain from his face at the sight of the horrible punishment being administered to his friends.

"Bet you're glad you didn't run off with your friends now, aren't you Hirano-san?" Soichiro mumbled under his breath so as not to attract his wife's attention as Kohta merely nodded his head in shocked silence.

"Yeah, she's uh,...pretty intense, isn't she?" Kohta finally managed to say beginning to feel a little sick to his stomach as he continued to watch in shock as the Matriarch of Takagi Manor continued to administer her savage punishment on his two friends.

"Kid, you have no idea." Soichiro said beginning to wonder if he should step in and prevent his wife from inflicting any further injury to the two teenagers but then thought better of it and then turned away as he then placed his focus on Dr. Yamane who was still gasping for breath nearby surrounded by the Security Chief and his two men.


Time: Zero Dark Thirty

Location: Front Lawn - Approximately One Hundred Meters from the Front Driveway Terrace of Takagi Manor

Z-Day Times Five

Prey.

Her prey, and hers alone.

Prey that was now so very close that the thing that had once been Yuko Manami could hear it even above the roar of the thousands of other sounds that echoed in the background as she began to sprint even faster across the well-manicured lawn, steadily homing in on her newfound prey, her jaws salivating in expectation of the meal to come.

And unlike before, nothing...absolutely nothing would take her meal away from her, this time.


Time: Zero Dark Thirty

Location: Front Driveway Terrace of Takagi Manor

Z-Day Times Five

"Yoshioka-san, a moment please?" Soichiro said motioning to the Security Chief to approach him as Yoshioka ordered his two men to watch over Dr. Yamane who was leaning against the terrace wall, still breathing heavily after his frightening ordeal.

"Hai, Takagi-sama?" Yoshioka replied after walking over to where Soichiro stood waiting for him.

"How is he?" Soichiro asked as he nodded his head in the direction of Dr. Yamane who was gazing back at the burning tent city.

"Physically exhausted and completely out of breath, but otherwise Yamane-sensei seems fine." Yoshioka replied also gazing over his shoulder at the elderly surgeon.

"Did you happen to get a finally count of how many survivors made it?" Soichiro asked as Yoshioka let out a heavy sigh and then nodded his head gravely before he gave his answer as Soichiro sighed heavily as well upon hearing Yoshioka's answer.

"That number also includes that bastard that knocked down the children, Takagi-sama." Yoshioka said the anger unmistable in his voice.

"Did you happen to see his face so that we can identify him later?" Soichiro replied his own anger brewing as Yoshioka shook his head in response as he then heard the wooden scabbard of Soichiro's katana creak as his grip tightened over it in anger.

"No sir, I saw that good-for-nothing scum run towards the back of the mansion and disappear from view..." Yoshioka replied just as angry and frustrated as his boss. "...right now he's probably concealed himself amongst the rest of the other survivors inside and I doubt we'll be able to pick him out from all the others."

"As much as I hate to say it, but you're probably right." Soichiro agreed nodding his head as he glanced over at Kohta who was still searching for any signs of the American contractor as Soichiro then sighed heavily and then turned his attention back to his Security Chief.

"Unfortunately, we have far more urgent matters to attend to at hand..." Soichiro said relaxing his grip on his sword as he gazed over at the enormous sea of Infected spread out all over his lawn.

"I estimate we have perhaps five minutes or even less before the Infected arrive on our very doorstep..." Soichiro said as Yoshioka turned and stared at the horde as well. "...and when that happens we need to be ready for a prolonged battle with our unwelcome guests."

"Order your men inside and have them and the rest of the staff secure the mansion as best you can..." Soichiro replied gesturing towards the open door leading into the mansion.

"I need you to escort Yuriko and the children to the safe room in my study." Soichiro added glancing over at his wife who was still giving the teens a severe tongue-lashing as she continued to twist their ears painfully as Soichiro suddenly heard a sound almost like a strangling noise coming from his Security Chief.

"Uh...do you mean right now, Takagi-sama?!" Yoshioka replied with a cough, the blood draining from his face as Yuriko's angry voice continued to echo into the night.

"Heavens no, man...are you mad?!" Soichiro replied glancing nervously over his shoulder at his angry wife who was still completely focused on her angry tirade with the teens.

"Wait until she stops yelling at the children and then escort her and the children inside." Soichiro replied as Yoshioka silently nodded his head in response and then let out a sigh of relief as he then walked over to where his two men were still standing next to Dr. Yamane.

After briefly relaying Soichiro's orders to his men, the two guards then nodded their heads in acknowledgement and then slung their rifles behind their shoulders before heading towards the open front door of the mansion as Soichiro glanced over at the burning tent city once more before joining Dr. Yamane and his security Chief at the terrace wall.

"Yamane-sensei, are you all right...have you been injured?" Soichiro asked the elderly surgeon as he studied the man up and down, closely examining him in the glowing light of the fires coming from the burning tent city, one hand resting cautiously on the grip of his sword.

"Do you mean, 'have I been bitten'? ...The answer is 'no', Takagi-sama." Yamane replied between gasps, a knowing smile forming on his lips.

"So there will be no need on your part to unsheathe your sword, my young friend." Dr. Yamane added with a chuckle as Soichiro stiffened for a moment and then relaxed his grip on his sword as an embarrassed expression began to form on his face.

"Sorry." Soichiro replied feeling sheepish as Dr. Yamane quickly waved a hand of dismissal.

"No apologies necessary, Takagi-sama." Dr. Yamane replied as he gazed anxiously in the direction of the burning tent city for several moments without speaking.

"How many?" The elderly surgeon said at last between tired gasps, his eyes carefully scanning the hellish scene before him as he searched frantically for any signs of his niece and daughter along with any other surviving members of his staff and then let out a long sigh of resignation upon seeing no signs whatsoever of them.

"I'm afraid we've counted only nine survivors so far, Yamane-sensei..." Soichiro replied, his voice somber in regards to the tragic end that had befallen to so many of the survivors whom had tried to escape from the hospital tent. "...the three of you make twelve, total."

"Twelve." Dr. Yamane replied dejectedly, as he then let out a long tired sigh.

"Twelve survivors...twelve...out of more than sixty." Dr. Yamane said still gazing anxiously in the direction of the burning tent city as he then lowered his head as Soichiro felt a lump beginning to form in his throat as the old man suddenly lowered his head and began to weep.

"I-I'm sorry my old friend, I_" Soichiro began trying to comfort his grieving friend when he caught a sudden flurry of movement out of the corner of his eye as he whipped around and immediately froze.

Born with a warrior's instincts that had aided him both in combat as an officer in the JSDF and as a political appointee in the Diet, the Lord of Takagi Manor was no armchair warrior full of proud boasts of unseen battles and unseen valor.

No, Soichiro was, and always would be a warrior, a trait that made him a force to be reckoned with against any adversary he faced and so it was no act of cowardly panic on his part at the sight of a woman bathed head to toe in blood suddenly appearing before him from out of the darkness that paralyzed him, even if only for a split second.

No, it was the sudden realization that even with his incredible iaido skills there was no way that he could draw his sword fast enough to stop the nightmarish creature that was now reaching towards his wife with arms outstretched and jaws drooling.

"YURIKOOOOOOO!" Soichiro shouted in the voice of a man in absolute terror as time suddenly seemed to slow to a crawl as he watched in absolute horror as bright red blood, bits of bone and grey matter suddenly splashed across his wife's back as the love of his life was being horribly torn apart right before his very eyes as a rage unlike any other he had ever experienced washed over him.

And the Lord of Takagi Manor let out an almost animal-like howl of rage and unfathomable grief as he drew his sword out of its sheath in a flash and rushed towards the creature, his eye filled with murderous rage as the creature suddenly fell heavily to the ground in a heap mere inches behind his wife's feet.

"What?!" Soichiro shouted in absolute confusion at the sight of the almost headless Infected woman lying on the ground behind his wife as Yuriko suddenly whirled around and glared furiously in his direction.

"SOICHIRO-SAN!" His wife shouted furiously, her eyes ablaze with anger as Soichiro stared back at his wife, his face a mask of confusion as Yuriko released the cheeks of the two tortured teens and then attempted to wipe off the splash of blood on her left shoulder.

"YOU DID THAT ON PURPOSE, DIDN'T YOU?!" Yuriko shrieked, her face a mask of absolute rage.

"I-I...I DID NO SUCH THING!" Soichiro replied staring both at his enraged wife and at the corpse at her feet. "...WHY, I DIDN'T EVEN HAVE TIME TO DRAW MY SWORD!"

"OH, AND I SUPPOSE YOU MEAN TO TELL ME THAT THE REASON THIS CORPSE DOESN'T HAVE A HEAD IS BECAUSE IT SUDDENLY FELL OFF AS IT RAN PAST YOU?!" Yuriko shouted angrily as he once again found himself unable to say anything in response to his wife's fury.

"Wow...you guys really have been married awhile haven't you?" A very familiar voice with a very familiar accent said with very familiar sarcasm as everyone whirled around to see the American contractor with a small woman's body draped over his shoulders in a fireman's carry standing in the middle of the driveway with his pistol aimed in Yuriko's direction, a thin wisp of smoke drifting upwards from the barrel.

"What?!" Soichiro repeated completely dumbstruck by all that had just happened as a sudden shout erupted in his right ear as Dr. Yamane suddenly leapt to his feet and then rushed forward towards the two shadowy figures stumbling out of the darkness behind the American commando.

"EMIKO!" Dr. Yamane shouted in a mixture of both relief mixed with absolute joy at the sight of his daughter as she limped forward assisted by her fiancée, Dr. Serizawa.

"OTOSAN!" Emiko shouted her eyes filled with tears as her father embraced her and both of them burst into tears.

"How did all of you survive that nightmare?!" Soichiro said in stunned amazement as Yoshioka ordered the two other guards with him to remove the young woman's sleeping form from off the American's shoulders. "...we thought all of you had been killed!"

"We almost were..." Jim replied stretching his back to work the kinks out of his muscles as the two guards quickly whisked the unconscious young woman away into the mansion. "...but I managed to blast a hole big enough for us to squeeze our asses out of there, barely."

"Took almost every round I had though..." Jim said as he then removed the empty magazine out of his pistol and then placed it in the dump bag attached to his utility belt.

"And that round that I just used on that Infected chick lying there, was my very last." The American said pulling back on the slide of his pistol and releasing it forward.

"I-I never even heard the gunshot." Soichiro said, his head still reeling from what had just happened.

"Yeah, well I don't mean to sound rude, but your wife was yelling awfully loud..." Jim said with a chuckle. "...matter of fact, we could hear her all the way down the hill."

"And I'm guessing that's probably why that Infected woman just blew past us like we weren't even there..." Jim added glancing over at Dr. Yamane and his daughter who were still holding each other tightly in each other's arms.

"I'm guessing the way your wife was yelling at the kids, that was all she heard and that's why she completely ignored us." Jim said as Yuriko turned beet red from embarrassment at the American contractor's words, and grateful that no one could see her blushing in the darkness.

"Absolutely scared the shit out of us when she came out of the darkness like that and ran past us." Jim continued as he then glanced over at Yuriko who was discreetly trying to make herself invisible by moving further into the shadows.

"Really sorry about the mess, Mrs. Takagi." Jim said nodding his head at Yuriko who blushed even more now that all eyes had turned towards her as Jim thumbed the decocking lever of his Sig P226 and lowered the hammer down on his pistol before shoving it into his thigh holster.

"But I really had no choi_...DUDE!" Jim shouted in surprise as the point of a katana suddenly appeared mere centimeters from his nose.

"SOICHIRO-SAN...?!" Yuriko shouted in alarm mixed with disbelief at seeing her husband holding his sword in such a threatening manner to the man whom had just saved her life. "...WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?!"

"Forgive me, my love..." Soichiro said his eyes and his voice cold as he continued to keep the point of his katana directly in front of the surprised American's face. "...but as grateful as I am for Cxxxxxxs-san saving your life, I'm afraid I cannot allow him to approach any further."

"SOICHIRO...HAVE YOU LOST YOUR MIND?" Yuriko said in stunned disbelief at her husband's seemingly insane actions. "...WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS?!"

"Uh, hey seriously Mr. Takagi...I am really sorry about what happened to your wife..." Jim said apologetically as he continued to stare warily at the razor-sharp point of the sword mere inches from his nose as he then raised both hands in the air as a show of non-aggression. "...but I really had no choice but to take the shot."

"So how's about you point that thing somewhere else and let's discuss this whole matter inside before our 'friends' start heading this way and_OOOOOH SHIT!" Jim exclaimed as the Lord of Takagi Manor suddenly moved the point of his katana even closer to the American's face.

"I really am truly sorry, Jim..." Soichiro replied his voice unwavering as was his grip on his sword as he stared at the American with eyes as cold and deadly as a cobra.

"But as grateful as I am for all that you have done for my family, including saving the life of my wife right now..." Soichiro continued his voice deepening as he spoke.

"Regretfully, your presence here is now a threat to everyone here, including my family." Soichiro said as he then shifted his weight and raised his sword high in the air.

"And as much as it pains me to do this after all you've done for everyone and especially after all the pains you've suffered as a result of it, as well."..." Soichiro said as his grip tightened on the grip of his sword. "... I'm afraid I really do have no choice, but to remove you as a threat to my family and I."

"SOICHIRO-SAN...!" Yuriko screamed as she watched in horror as her husband prepared to strike the American down. "...WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?!...PLEASE, STOP THIS!"

"Do you have any last words, Cxxxxxxs-san?" Soichiro asked ignoring his wife's desperate plea's as the muscles of his body tensed as he prepared to strike as Jim merely stared back at him in disbelief for a long moment before a sudden calm suddenly seem to come over the American as he then lowered his gaze and then shook his head.

"Um, you know...actually I do, now that you mention it..." Jim said with noticeable sarcasm in his voice as he suddenly spat on the ground in disgust.

"First, I want to make it abundantly clear to every one of you standing here that I honestly do not have a racist bone in my body..." Jim said raising his head as he then met Soichiro's gaze.

"But this has been one bitch of a week..." Jim continued as he straightened himself and then glared furiously at Soichiro Takagi. "...and I've been treated like shit by you and almost every one of your fellow countrymen on this frickin' island...alive and dead."

"And I never thought I'd actually ever say this, being an otaku myself and all... But, you know what?" Jim said as he then raised both hands in the air with the middle finger of each hand raised as Soichiro suddenly stiffened at the American's final show of defiance.

"I'm really beginning to f_cking hate Japan." The American said with a grin as Soichiro hesitated a moment and then chuckled despite himself at the American's last attempt at humor in the face of death as Soichiro then took a deep breath and then released it as he swung the blade of his katana downwards in a graceful and extremely powerful arc at the American's head.


Author's Notes:

Okay first off...No I don't actually hate Japan and like most otaku, I don't know what my life would have been like without anime, manga, J-pop, and Kikuko Inoue...so no, I love Japan.

On another note...

YES!, contrary to popular belief, Last Alarm is still very much alive despite the extremely long absence of any new chapters posted over the past several months.

I guess I don't have to tell you how the stresses of the past year have made life hard for everybody, and in my case, those very same stressors have contributed to the worst writer's block I've ever experienced. However, it seems that my writer's block is finally beginning to fade finally and so I was finally able to post this chapter after long last.

And so my sincerest thanks to all of you who have patiently waited all this time and fear not, the few remaining chapters of Last Alarm-Book One are almost completely done thanks to my friend and co-author Poynton90 who so generously offered up his time and energy to write up the upcoming scenes which took a huge load off my hands concerning the upcoming fight at the mansion.

Not only that, but my buddy also took it upon himself to get started on Book Two, which the first two chapters will be released very shortly after the last chapter of Last Alarm-Book One is finally posted.

I hope you will enjoy both his efforts and my own once they're posted in the near future.

As far as this chapter goes one of the reasons it took so long was because I really wanted the fight on the lawns of Takagi Manor to be really epic. But as big a fan as I am of action movies including the John Wick series, I really wanted it to be realistic which would have made a prolonged gun fight, hand-to-hand combat, and a sword fight extremely hard to write down given the fact that Jim is supposed to be low on ammo, Saeko is pulling Takashi along as they're running, Dr. Serizawa only has an 8-shot pistol and the Takagi's only have a couple of hunting rifles, a handful of guards protecting the entire mansion, and Kohta.

So that being the case, I did the best with what I had and I hope that all of you enjoyed reading this chapter and maybe in the future, I can add a little more action to it.

By the way, the maneuver 'Jim' used to throw Kaori over his shoulders is an actual technique that we trained on a couple years back for picking up a downed victim in a very dangerous environment.

The technique is called "The Ranger Roll" and is actually used by U.S. Army Rangers and other Spec Ops guys to lift up a wounded comrade and carry them to safety. There's videos on YouTube if you wish to see how it's done.

There is still a lot of action coming up where a prolonged gunfight for Jim and his group and Andrew and his group is actually going to be the focus of the last few chapters of Last Alarm-Book One, and the reason for that is because while the battle at Takagi Mansion was not a bad one at all in the anime and in the manga, I feel it deserves a little more...zing.

I think you'll enjoy what Poynton90 and I have come up with when the time comes.

And being that my buddy Poynton90 has already written out most of those remaining chapters, I promise it won't be very long before we finally reach the conclusion of Book One.

As always, ya'll take care and thanks for your support all these years.