Chapter 39 – The Pulse in the Sky
The late afternoon sun slanted across the Takagi estate, casting long shadows over the training yard and the high stone walls. The smell of gunpowder hung in the air, sharp and metallic. Men and older students lined the firing lanes that had been set up near the outer wall. Rifles cracked in steady bursts, the sound echoing across the grounds like distant thunder.
Gaius stood behind them, his blue armor gleaming in the fading light. He watched each shooter with the stillness of a statue. When someone jerked the trigger too hard, he will correct them, his deep voice calm and exact.
"Slow your breathing. Squeeze, don't pull."
The shooter nodded quickly and corrected his stance.
Souichiro and Yuriko watched from a raised patio. They spoke quietly, but their pride showed in their faces. The estate's people, students, guards, ordinary survivors, were learning to fight.
Saya stood a short distance away, arms folded, eyes sharp as she counted each burst of fire and mentally measured the ammunition they were using. Her expression said what she didn't voice: We'll need to watch our stock if this keeps up.Saya knew the ammunition and guns came from Gaius, but she also understood the supplies were limited. The thought that they might run out before even starting the citywide rescue made her uneasy.
She didn't know the supplies came from Tony Stark, a former arms dealer with access to Military Supplies. With Tony able to provide or purchase weapons anytime, Gaius had no reason to worry about running out.
When the last magazine emptied, Gaius called a halt. The men cleared their weapons and formed up quickly, their movements already more disciplined than the morning. He nodded once, the small gesture carrying approval.
By evening, the main hall of the mansion had become a planning room. A wide table was covered with city maps and sheets of notes. Lanterns gave a soft, steady light, enough for everyone to see.
Gaius stood at the head of the table. Saeko rested one hand on the map's edge, while Souichiro and Yuriko sat opposite him. Saya leaned forward, a pencil in hand, ready to mark routes.
"We'll need to move into the city," Souichiro said, voice low but firm. "There are survivors out there. We can't leave them."
Saeko nodded. "Small scouting teams first. Quiet and fast."
"A larger group will cover more ground," Souichiro countered, if he was still the head, he wouldn't a allow anyone going against his order, but Gaius is now the One who controls the Estate.
Gaius listened without interrupting, his eyes moving across the map. Finally, he tapped a finger against a main road.
"Both ideas have merit. We'll secure vehicles first and set fallback points along these streets. Scouting teams will move ahead, but we'll have support ready if they meet heavy numbers."
The others exchanged looks, then nodded. It was a plan that fit the man, precise and measured.
A faint hum cut through the room. The television in the corner, left on for background news, buzzed once and went black.
Lanterns stayed lit, but the small radio on a side table clicked and died. The soft background noise of the estate, distant music, a generator's thrum, stopped all at once.
Saya straightened sharply. "That's not a simple outage, a EMP?"
She pulled her phone from her pocket and pressed the power button. Nothing. No light, no sound. Her brow furrowed.
Saeko's eyes narrowed. "EMP?"
Saya looked up, her voice steady and certain. "A Emp is when A nuclear warhead detonated high in the atmosphere. It created an electromagnetic pulse. That surge fries circuits and kills anything electronic, phones, radios, even cars with modern chips. That's why every electronic just went dead."
The room went quiet. Yuriko's face turn serious, and Souichiro's hands tightened into fists on the table.
Gaius remained as he was, his expression unreadable but his gaze sharper.
He rose to his full height. "It seems I have to speed things up and change the plan."
He turned to Souichiro. "Calm the survivors. Make sure no one panics. Double the watch on the walls."
Souichiro nodded once and left at a brisk pace.
A soft knock broke the silence. One of the house maids stepped in, bowing quickly before moving aside. Behind her stood two familiar figures: Rei Miyamoto and Takashi Komuro, the students Gaius had pulled from the school days before.
They bowed deeply.
Rei spoke first, her voice respectful but heavy with worry. "Sir, we want to leave the estate to look for our parents. We can't contact them anymore. Thank you for saving us."
Takashi added, "We need to at least try."
Gaius studied them for a long moment. He saw the resolve in their eyes, the kind born from love and fear mixed together. He also knew the truth: their chances of survival alone in the corpse-filled city were thin.
Finally, he said, "Don't leave. We have a plan to rescue survivors in the city and to clear the dead. If you want to find your parents, it's better to join the militia inside the estate."
The two exchanged a surprised glance. Takashi's jaw tightened, then he nodded. Rei followed with a small but firm nod of her own.
Souichiro, returning at that moment, heard the last words. Gaius turned to him. "Have them join the militia and join the training immediately."
"Yes," Souichiro replied. He faced the students. "Come with me."
Rei and Takashi bowed again, their earlier tension replaced with a spark of purpose, and followed him out.
Gaius stepped outside into the evening air. The sky was a deep orange near the horizon, fading to dark blue above. From the outer walls came the sharp, rolling sound of rifle fire.
He walked toward the gate. The closer he came, the stronger the smell of burnt powder and decay. Piles of dead stretched along the outer road, bodies stacked where they had fallen to the day's target practice.
The militia kept firing at any zombie that staggered too near, their movements confident after hours of training.
"Cease fire," Gaius called, his deep voice carrying easily.
The guns went silent. The men turned and quickly formed a line, boots clicking together.
"Sir!" they said as one, raising their hands in a sharp salute.
Gaius stepped forward, his eyes moving over the field of corpses. "Search the nearby houses for vehicles that still work. We need them to move these bodies and burn them far from the estate. Do not burn near the walls, the smoke will choke our people."
"Yes, sir!"
The men split into small teams at once, rifles ready as they moved toward the darkened neighborhood beyond the gates. The sound of their boots faded into the distance.
From his place at the gate, Gaius looked out at the quiet, empty streets. He knew that the long hours of gunfire would inevitably draw attention, and not only from the dead who roamed the city. The constant echo of shots could easily reach the ears of desperate survivors, and many might wander closer to this area under the belief that a military base or a secure shelter was nearby. Because of this, Gaius would not be surprised if any of the men he had ordered to search for vehicles also ended up encountering survivors along the way. It was something he had already considered, something he had expected.
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