Chapter 15: Smooth
In canon, the escape from the school was supposed to be one of the most intense parts of the entire story.
From the moment the group left the faculty office to the moment they finally reached the bus, it was pure chaos.
Zombies everywhere.
Students screaming.
People getting separated.
People dying.
Just thinking about it made my ass clench.
And right now?
I was living through it.
The nurse's office.
The faculty room.
The fights.
Compared to what came next, those were the easy parts.
Because eventually, we'd have to cross the parking lot.
And the parking lot was a nightmare.
At least, it was supposed to be.
One mistake.
One loud idiot.
That was all it would take for everything to spiral out of control.
Which was why I'd been nervous this entire time.
Very nervous.
Extremely nervous.
Uncomfortably nervous.
The kind of nervous where your brain kept imagining every possible worst-case scenario.
Then...
None of them happened.
"..."
I stared at the parking lot.
Then at the bus.
Then back at the parking lot.
The bus was right there.
The zombies weren't.
Well, they were.
Just not near us.
Most of them were currently gathered around the far side of the lot.
Exactly where we'd been throwing bottles, cans, and whatever other random junk we could find.
The distraction had worked.
Actually worked.
Which felt wrong.
Suspiciously wrong.
Because things weren't supposed to be this easy.
The group of students Takashi had supposedly saved in canon never appeared.
The idiots who were supposed to attract half the parking lot.
The people who eventually got themselves killed.
None of them showed up.
Probably because my presence had changed the timing of everything.
Maybe canon had progressed too quickly.
Maybe we'd arrived too late.
Either way, they were nowhere to be seen.
Not that I cared.
If anything, fewer variables meant fewer opportunities for disaster.
Still.
The whole thing felt strangely smooth.
We left the faculty office.
Created noise.
Waited.
Moved.
Repeated.
And somehow, against all odds, we reached the bus without anyone getting bitten.
No screaming.
No running.
No desperate last stand.
Just careful movement.
Honestly?
I was starting to get worried.
Life had already taught me something very important.
Whenever things started going too well, something incredibly stupid was usually waiting around the corner.
Thankfully, for once, life decided to wait until we were already inside the bus.
VROOOOM—
The engine roared to life.
The doors closed.
Everyone finally relaxed.
Just a little.
Not much.
But enough.
Enough for them to breathe.
To finally believe we'd actually made it.
Then Shizuka-sensei spoke.
"Eh?"
She looked around the driver's seat.
"This is different from my car~"
...
A familiar scene.
For a brief moment, everyone looked worried.
Meanwhile, I was busy resisting the urge to tell them to calm down.
Because if memory served me right, this was exactly how it went in the anime.
A few seconds of confusion.
A little bit of panic.
Then somehow, against all logic, Shizuka-sensei would figure it out and start driving like she'd been doing it for years.
Anime logic.
A terrifying force of nature.
Sure enough, Shizuka-sensei started pressing buttons and looking around curiously.
Completely unconcerned by the fact that our survival currently depended on her.
Honestly, I was more worried about her deciding to drift the thing later than I was about her learning how to drive it.
Then—
"HELP US!"
A shout echoed across the parking lot.
Everyone turned.
And immediately, my mood worsened.
A group of students was running toward us.
At the center of them was a familiar teacher.
A very familiar teacher.
...
Ah.
There he was.
The reason life had been so nice to me earlier.
Because apparently, all the bullshit had been saved for now.
Shidou.
Of course it was Shidou.
Who else could it possibly be?
The man was practically a walking disaster.
The kind of person who could turn a functioning group into a civil war if given enough time.
And judging by the expression on Rei's face, she recognized him too.
"Wait!"
"Please!"
"Open the door!"
The group continued running.
More zombies followed behind them.
Not many.
Yet.
But enough.
Takashi immediately stood.
"We have to help them."
Of course he did.
The boy was physically incapable of ignoring someone in trouble.
Unfortunately—
"No."
Rei stepped into his path.
Takashi froze.
"Rei?"
"No."
Her voice came out hurried.
Almost desperate.
"I said no."
For a moment, nobody spoke.
Even the people shouting outside seemed distant compared to the tension inside the bus.
Takashi looked confused.
Then frustrated.
"People are going to die."
"I know!"
Rei snapped back immediately.
For the first time since I'd met her, she actually sounded panicked.
"I know they are!"
"Then why are you stopping me?!"
"Because that's Shidou!"
Takashi froze.
Rei took another step forward.
"Do you even know what kind of person he is?!"
"Rei—"
"No!"
Her voice cracked.
"Don't you dare go out there!"
Outside, the shouting grew louder.
The group was getting closer.
The zombies too.
Every second we sat there arguing was another second wasted.
Honestly?
My patience was starting to run out.
What part of zombie apocalypse was so difficult to understand?
I let out a long sigh.
Then stood.
Immediately drawing everyone's attention.
"Takashi."
He looked at me.
Still frustrated.
Still determined.
Still trying to be a hero.
Wonderful.
I pointed outside.
"Look."
The students were getting closer.
The zombies too.
Not many yet.
But enough.
And every second we spent arguing gave them time to bring more friends.
"If we open that door now, they don't come in alone."
Takashi frowned.
"What are you saying?"
"I'm saying those things behind them aren't going to politely wait their turn."
I pointed toward the growing crowd.
"We finally have a way out."
"We finally have transportation."
"And you want to risk all of that for a teacher Rei clearly doesn't want anywhere near this bus."
That made him pause.
Only for a second.
But it was something.
"And that's not even the part bothering me the most."
His eyes followed my finger.
"That man right there?"
"He's trouble."
"How do you know that?!"
"Because Rei looks like she's about to throw herself out the window just to keep him off this bus!"
That came out louder and more frustrated than I'd intended.
I sighed heavily and pointed directly at Rei.
"Look at her, man."
For the first time since this started, he actually did.
Really looked.
At her expression.
At the panic in her eyes.
At the way she stood between him and the door.
Ready to physically stop him if she had to.
"She's practically begging you not to do this."
I let out a breath.
"Weren't you two childhood friends?"
"How are you only noticing this now?"
Rei looked away.
Which honestly answered the question better than any explanation ever could.
I took another look outside.
The distance was closing fast.
Too fast.
Then I looked back at Takashi.
"Listen."
My voice softened slightly.
Because despite everything, I understood where he was coming from.
I really did.
If our positions were reversed, maybe I'd be tempted too.
...
Okay.
Probably not.
But the point still stood.
"This isn't the time."
"We finally made it here."
"We have transportation."
"We have a way out."
I pointed outside.
"And I'm not risking all of that for him."
Silence.
A long one.
Then I looked toward the driver's seat.
"Sensei."
"Hm?"
"Can you drive?"
Shizuka blinked.
Then smiled.
"I think so~"
Good enough.
I immediately pointed toward the road ahead.
"Then please drive."
Shizuka-sensei nodded happily.
As for me?
I sat back down before our resident hero found another crisis to adopt.
End of Chapter 15
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