Thomas Mullaney
Health: 68
Stamina: 65
Mental Health: 75
Someone is watching over you, because the keys are still in the ignition. The truck, a small Asian model, only has room for two in the cab, but there's plenty of room in the bed out back. With a surprising display of agility, Kouta vaults the back (well, flops over the side is more accurate) in one fluid, fat-jiggling motion and lays down some fire with his rifle, the heavy rounds taking down two or three charging undead at once. The air is full of their racket, the sound of a hundred mouths screaming foul gibberish.
Saeko, carrying Alice and Zeke, practically tosses them into the cab. Zeke scuttles into the space behind the seats, and Alice settles down on Saeko's lap, who climbs into the passenger's seat and removes a snub-nosed .38 revolver from the waistband of her skirt, aiming it out the window.
"Aaauuu~aaauuuuaaaaaaaaaaaauu! I can't get innnnnn!"
Of course, it's Asami. She's frantically trying to figure out how to get in without the zombies pulling her off. "There's no time, just get in!" yells Kouta and Saeko almost simultaneously. Seeing an opportunity, you throw the truck into reverse and back over a gym coach zombie as well as a ferocious-looking old lady. Over your shoulder, you see the fender slam into numerous undead. Kouta augments this by swinging his rifle like a club, shoving them away so Asami can get in. You slam the truck into drive and smash through the front gate, sending hollow, decorative black iron flying in every direction.
The road outside is utterly deserted except for a few cars that have slid down the side of the embankment and are resting upside-down or right-side up on the riverbank, a stark contrast to the sheer mayhem and chaos taking place within the campus. You immediately turn left, pedal to the metal, and reach a fork in the road. To the left is the desolate and dark countryside, while the right will take you across a 50m bridge to the other side of the river.
There is a rapping on the back window of the cab. Alice reaches over and slides it open, revealing Kouta's panicked face.
"RIGHT! GO RIGHT!"
Kouta gives you directions, which you follow to the letter, weaving through the deserted town to a small, middle class suburb. The houses are small, old, and close together, tending towards a modular style popular a few decades ago. Kouta turns you down a few side streets, then you pull in front of a slightly shabby looking house. The street lights are on-and-off, so there isn't much light, especially once you turn off the truck's headlights.
You manage to open the door, shut it, lock it, and take a step down the short walkway when you crumple to the ground, vision blurring.
******
You wake up from a particularly horrid dream about what
really happened during the first time you blacked out, when you landed on Kouta -- complete with slight BL elements, to find yourself in a darkened room. The shades are drawn over the windows and the walls are painted a neutral off-white color. There are a few shelving units on the walls, but nothing interesting is really there. Your bed is a creaky old twin with plain white sheets. The room is furnished with nothing but a chair, a dresser, and... a sleeping Saeko in a sitting position against the side of the bed, hand resting on the hilt of the sword laying next to her.
You can hear voices from the next room.
Darsh Bainwol
Health: 100
Stamina: 100
Mental Health: 100
Melanson laughs and tosses you the JSDF helmet he's been sitting on. The helmet is intact, albeit with some of the paint scratched off by what looks like claws, and the standard olive drab color.
"All I got, man. I ain't giving you mine, and this knife's a present from my dead dad."
He and Diggles resume their oddly humorous watch, punctuated by a dirty joke here and there.
Over at the JSDF's end of the barricade, things aren't running so smoothly. Nakao turns, listens to your request, then motions to a private who scoots inside the apartment complex, returning a few minutes later with a piece of paper and the kind of cheap pen you find in hotel rooms.
He asks again for your address, along with a few other locations, then draws you a crude but legible map without any kanji. Then he points to the north.
"Excuse me, you must go thatta way." He says in English, pointing at the apartment complex.
Nathan White
Health: 98
Stamina: 50
Mental Health: 85
The others shrug and continue into the woods. It's dark out and it's hard to see, but luckily some of the others brought flashlights. Eventually, everyone slows to a stop alongside the road, next to a copse of trees. The older woman slumps over thankfully against a tree and shuts her eyes, and everyone else eases up, kneeling or sitting in the cool grass.
Except for Takashi, who approaches you with his shotgun.
"So, what brings you to this particular part of Hell?"
Suzaku Kensei
Health: 100
Stamina: 100
Mental Health: 100
When the red clears from your eyes and the woman stops moving, you're just left with the thought that you murdered someone, alone in a movie theatre. Her lifeless body doesn't answer any of your questions, not that you expected it to, anyway. As for exits, you have a choice of two. You can continue out into the lobby, or take the emergency exit off to the side...
You can hear a faint scrabbling noise in the distance. The soundproofed walls muffle most of the noise, however, so you can't tell which direction it's coming from.
You also think you can detect the sound of running water from one of the restrooms...
