The rumble of the van's tires on the cracked asphalt was the only steady sound in the chaos. Outside the broken windows, the town looked like hell on Earth, burning cars, shambling corpses, and smoke coiling into the night sky.
Kenji kept one hand on the wheel and the other gripping the baseball bat across his lap. His knuckles were white. Rei sat in the passenger seat, glancing between the road ahead and the map in her hands. Behind them, Tetsuo kept his shotgun ready, Akane's arms crossed tight as she scanned the rearview for any threats. The four girls huddled together on the back bench, their faces pale, still in shock from the escape from the school.
Sayaka's absence still hung over the group like a storm cloud.
"Next right," Rei said softly, voice tight. "If the bridge is still up, we can—"
"IF it's still up?" Akane snapped.
"Everything's falling apart out there. We should've stayed in the school."
"She's right," Nao whispered from the back
. "What if—"
Kenji slammed the brake as something lurched out from between two wrecked trucks. A zombie—no, two—staggered into the road, eyes burning with hunger. Kenji didn't hesitate. The van's bumper smashed into them with a sickening crunch, flinging them into the ditch.
No one spoke for a few seconds.
Then Rei said quietly, "Staying in the school would've gotten us all killed."
They drove in tense silence until they reached the bridge. The sight made Kenji's stomach twist—it was still standing, but one lane had collapsed into the river below. A jackknifed truck blocked half the way.
"Damn it," Tetsuo muttered. "We'll have to clear it or turn back."
Turning back wasn't an option.
Kenji parked, gripping his bat as he got out. The smell of rotting flesh hit him instantly. He motioned for Rei and Tetsuo to follow while Akane stayed in the van with the others.
As they approached the truck, a low growl came from beneath it. Then another. And another.
Three zombies crawled out from under the chassis, their movements jerky and inhuman.
Kenji didn't think—he swung. The bat connected with a wet crack, sending the first zombie sprawling. Rei's survival knife flashed in the dim light, burying itself in another's temple. Tetsuo's shotgun roared, the blast echoing across the bridge.
They cleared the bodies fast, shoving them over the railing into the rushing water.
When Kenji got back into the driver's seat, his shirt was splattered with blood. He didn't care. They crossed the bridge in grim silence.
That night, they camped in an abandoned roadside diner. They barricaded the doors and pushed tables against the windows.
It was quiet—too quiet.
Kenji lay awake, staring at the cracked ceiling, Sayaka's last terrified scream echoing in his head. He didn't even notice Rei sitting down beside him until her hand rested gently on his.
"You did what you had to do," she said softly, her voice almost breaking.
He looked at her and saw the faint tremble in her lips, the exhaustion in her eyes. The walls around her were crumbling, and for the first time since this nightmare began, she let herself lean against him.
And Kenji, for once, didn't try to be strong. He let himself lean back.
Outside, the dead wandered through the streets, searching.
Tomorrow, they would keep moving.
But tonight… they simply survived.