Chapter 175 - A Story of a Great Escape
After escorting Aki back to the convenience store where her comrades were, the boy headed for The Brotherhood's base in the small car that had been in the convenience store's parking lot. Likely Sato had prepared it in advance for escape, and the car was well-maintained and moved without issue. Since a four-seater couldn't carry all of Aki's group, it was decided that the boy would use it.
The arm where the Leader had stabbed him with a flat-head screwdriver still emitted a dull pain, but the bleeding had subsided. After finding an automatic rifle and a handgun from an overturned Brotherhood vehicle and arming himself with the bare minimum, the boy left Aki and the others at the convenience store and departed for The Brotherhood's base alone.
He had told Aki and the others to remain at the convenience store for a while longer. It was arranged that if the boy and the other didn't return after a certain amount of time had passed, they would leave the two behind and move to another location.
Perhaps thanks to the thunderstorm from earlier, the fire at The Brotherhood's base was also considerably weakening. Even so, flames were still rising from various places.
What was clearly different from before was that the gunshots he could hear had decreased. Occasionally, the heavy machine gun fire that echoed in the gut mixed with the thunder that had begun to grow distant, but other than that, he could only hear sporadic gunshots.
It didn't seem like The Brotherhood was suppressing the situation. There was still no one at the North Gate, which the boy had passed through earlier while engaging in a car chase with the Leader, and the boy leisurely succeeded in infiltrating the base while in the car. Infected corpses rolled on the ground, and empty shell casings that glinted in the lightning were scattered everywhere. If The Brotherhood had repelled the infected, they should have closed the gate to prevent re-entry. The fact that they hadn't meant they hadn't been able to get around to it, or the workers for closing the gate themselves had disappeared.
The boy decided to head for the West Gate, where he had separated from Sato. The heavy machine gun fire was also coming from exactly around there. There was no guarantee that Sato still remained there, but he might be able to tell where he had gone.
The boy got out of the car and proceeded while leveling his rifle. The left arm that had been penetrated by the screwdriver until just a moment ago pained him with just a slight movement, but considering the possibility of encountering infected or members, it was dangerous to proceed with only an underpowered handgun in one hand. Perhaps because muscle damage was kept to a minimum, the left arm was able to perform actions like grabbing or swinging something without issue, except for the fact that an intense pain shot through it with just a slight movement.
The corpses rolling on the ground had increased since the time he was running around the base chasing the Leader. Many could be judged as infected from the fact that they wore tattered clothes, but there were also some that seemed to be the corpses of Brotherhood members clad in combat gear. Those corpses had been devoured all over their bodies and were in a miserable state. Surely the infected were also quite hungry.
The rain was gradually stopping. While letting rainwater drip from the muzzle of the rifle he leveled, the boy returned to the West Gate where he had separated from Sato earlier. When he poked his face out from the shadow of a building, the gunshots he could hear suddenly grew louder.
The armored vehicle was still parked in front of the West Gate, and someone was continuing to fire the heavy machine gun on the roof. However, the figures of the members who should have been deployed around the destroyed gate were nowhere to be seen. The armored vehicle was alone, holding back the infected trying to swarm in from the West Gate. The Brotherhood gunner who was originally riding it should have been defeated, so had someone else climbed in instead?
However, when the boy squinted, the face that emerged in the muzzle flashes was a familiar one.
"Sato-san!"
Leaning out from the roof of the armored vehicle and leveling the machine gun was Sato. Apparently, he had also survived safely, and not only that, he had quite handily taken the armored vehicle. Sato, noticing the boy, beckoned the boy with one hand while firing the machine gun.
"You seem to be injured; are you okay?"
"I can manage as long as it's just moving it. I killed the Leader."
"...I see, then there's no reason to remain here anymore."
According to him, Sato had remained here after seizing the armored vehicle, thinking the boy would return here. He said it was to prevent them from missing each other, but looking at the number of infected invading, it seemed he had really held out until the very limit.
The members who had been deployed around the gate had either been eaten by the infected, died from Sato's gunfire, or had abandoned their posts and fled. Though Sato said their battle line had collapsed before he even targeted the members, so it seemed the members would have fled sooner or later anyway.
"What about Sato-san's comrades?"
"They want to secure means of transportation and weapons and ammunition before escaping here. They should be back soon, but..."
Sato said while swapping the machine gun's belt link. Because an infected that had invaded from the gate approached the armored vehicle the moment the firing stopped, the boy leveled his rifle and fired. An intense pain shot through his left arm every time he fired, but he had to endure it for now.
While they were doing that, two SUVs approached. The boy was about to level his rifle, but Sato stopped him. They were Sato's comrades—or rather, the Brotherhood rebels who were fighting together on the theory that the enemy of my enemy is my friend.
"It's no use, the area around the Armory is full of infected!"
Apparently, they hadn't been able to secure weapons and ammunition as they'd hoped, and they seemed to have returned after only procuring cars.
"It can't be helped. Even with just the amount we have now, it's enough to escape from here. It's time; we're leaving this place."
"Wait, where do you intend to go after escaping here?"
"To the tower mansion on the reclaimed land I took you to before."
He must mean the reclaimed land where he had witnessed The Brotherhood's extortion with Sato before. Sato's former comrades still remained there, and they had been driven into a corner by The Brotherhood's orders to hand over supplies. If one were to trace it back, it was also their own fault for pushing all the dangerous work onto the young men, who then got fed up and joined The Brotherhood.
The bridge that was originally on the reclaimed land had already been blown up by Sato's hand, and instead, a drawbridge was hung between it and the opposite shore. The drawbridge, made with a crane truck's winch and construction materials, was for preventing the invasion of infected into the reclaimed land.
If they lifted the bridge span after crossing the bridge, the infected wouldn't be able to follow the boy and the others. It could be said to be a much better choice than continuing to flee from the infected forever.
"Are those girls you let escape earlier still at the convenience store?"
"Yes. There were too many of them to fit in the car, and it seems they were waiting for us."
"In that case, we have no choice but to take them in those cars."
Sato pointed behind him. The Brotherhood vehicles Sato's comrades had picked up were all ordinary passenger cars, but it was possible to take all of Aki's group who had escaped earlier as long as they didn't exceed the capacity.
"Alright, move out. You use the machine gun. You know how to fire it, right?"
Sato said so and tried to move from the machine gun mount to the driver's seat of the armored vehicle.
"Wait, wouldn't it be better if I drove?"
"This thing is harder to drive than moving an ordinary car, and above all, do you accurately grasp the route from here to the destination?"
It was as Sato said. The boy was unlicensed and although he had experience driving passenger cars, he had never driven a full-fledged military vehicle. Moreover, he didn't completely grasp the route from here to the destination either. There would be places blocked by rubble or accident vehicles along the way, and in such cases, there would be situations where he would be required to make instantaneous decisions on where to detour. To head for the destination without delay, it was best for Sato, who knew the way, to serve as the driver.
The boy opened the heavy door of the armored vehicle and leaned out from the roof hatch. Because the gunfire had stopped, infected were immediately approaching the armored vehicle. He had been taught how to use it once, and thanks to Sato firing it generously, he mostly understood the operation method. When he gripped the handles of the heavy machine gun before him with both hands, the boy fired toward the swarm of infected.
The infected who were hit by the heavy machine gun bullets, which easily pulverized even concrete walls, were literally blown apart. It was fixed to the machine gun mount or the vehicle, but even so, a powerful recoil hit the boy every time he fired. The recoil was transmitted from the hand gripping the handle to his left arm, and the wound where the Leader had stabbed him pained him.
"I'll lead, follow me."
Sato told the following comrades over the radio and started the armored vehicle. The armored vehicle, which shot down infected standing in its way with the machine gun and sent those it missed flying with its sturdy body while advancing, was followed by the two SUVs.
"What happened to The Brotherhood members?"
The boy shouted while firing the machine gun.
"They all went somewhere. I don't know if they intend to regroup somewhere, or if they're just fleeing in disarray after losing control. Though, with the Leader and almost all the executives dead now, there probably isn't anyone who can properly take command."
The boy had killed the Leader with his own hands, and the executives had also all died after their cars overturned at the end of the car chase. There might be some among the executives who survived, but The Brotherhood was something that had been established because of the Leader's charisma. Now that the Leader was gone, even if someone else tried to rebuild The Brotherhood, it surely wouldn't go as it did before.
Surely every last one of them would try to stand at the top, and at the end of an ugly struggle they would kill each other, or like the man who was guarding the boy while he was captured, they would get fed up with continuing to take someone's life and flee. Though, that's if they can get out of here alive.
"How do we get out of here?"
"We'll go out from the North Gate. We also need to pick up your friends."
The West Gate had already become an entrance and exit for the infected, so it wasn't suitable for escaping. Sato's thought was that it would be best to use the North Gate, which the boy had returned through. Infected were also invading from the North Gate, but even so, it was only at the level of a few individuals. It would be far easier to break through.
Moreover, unlike the armored vehicle the boy and the other were riding, what Sato's comrades were riding were only passenger cars. They didn't have the power or durability to run while hitting multiple infected, and if the tires slipped on blood and fat, they would become immobilized. The armored vehicle was loaded with a powerful diesel engine to move its heavy, giant body, and its loud vibration sound would make it easier for infected to notice them, but in a situation where they had already been found by infected, it wasn't much of a disadvantage. Rather, the sturdy body that even repelled bullets, the off-road capability that considered use on a battlefield, and the mounted machine gun were actually convenient in this state of being surrounded by infected.
Perhaps the members who were luckily surviving were desperately resisting the infected, as gunshots were still occasionally echoing. Mixed with that, what could be heard faintly were the screams and shrieks of the victims being eaten alive.
The convoy with the armored vehicle at the head advanced while hitting and shooting infected. Along the way, there was a time when the passage was blocked by a truck whose driver's seat was crushed after crashing into a wall, perhaps after failing an attempt to escape. Sato received instructions for another route from the following comrades and calmly turned the steering wheel.
"Whoa!"
Suddenly, an SUV jumped out in front of the armored vehicle, and Sato hurriedly stepped on the brakes. The boy, who took a direct hit from the heavy machine gun handle to his solar plexus due to the sudden braking, almost lost consciousness for a moment but somehow maintained it. An infected was riding on the hood of the SUV that had jumped out, reaching its hand toward the driver's seat where the windshield was broken. Several people were riding in the SUV, but they were likely Brotherhood members.
The SUV passed in front of the convoy and crashed into a reinforced concrete warehouse just like that. A loud destruction sound shook the air, and the front part of the SUV was crushed into a mess. Perhaps the electrical wiring went haywire, as all the car's lights turned on, and the surroundings became bright.
"Help me!"
The door of the intact rear seat opened, and one member, dragging his leg, approached the convoy. But in the next moment, a black shadow hit the member with force, and the member's shriek echoed.
The one who delivered the tackle to the member was an infected that seemed to have come running while chasing the SUV. The infected straddled the member and tried to bite into his neck. The boy reflexively pointed the machine gun at the infected, but he couldn't shoot. With a machine gun for spraying bullets, there was a risk of involving the member even if he aimed and fired.
Instead, he pulled a handgun from his holster, but by then it was already too late. The infected bit into the member's neck, and a scream rose. When the infected bit off the flesh of the member's neck, bright red blood sprayed from the wound like a fountain.
"Open up!"
In the passenger seat of the SUV that had crashed into the wall, a member was desperately trying to ward off with his hands an infected that was trying to invade the car from the hood. Looking closely, both of the infected's legs were twisted in a strange direction. Likely it was fine that he hit the infected on his path, but the infected had ended up riding on the hood, and while he was falling into a panic, he had made a mistake in steering and crashed into the wall. He was desperately trying to open the passenger door, but perhaps because the body had become distorted from the impact of the crash, the door would only open slightly.
The boy thought of helping them. But before that, the infected who had come running while chasing the SUV the members were riding swarmed toward the convoy. To the boy, who was pointing the machine gun muzzle at the infected, Sato said.
"We're going; those guys are already done for."
The smell of gasoline was wafting around. It seemed to be leaking from the fuel tank of the SUV that had crashed into the wall, but the members trapped in the car didn't seem to have noticed that.
Immediately after, perhaps part of the electrical wiring sparked, as the SUV's body was enveloped in flames in an instant. The members in the driver's and passenger's seats were looking toward the boy and calling for help, shouting. They were trying to crawl out from the door window where the glass was broken, but they couldn't get out, perhaps because some part of their bodies was caught.
"Dammit."
Since a swarm of infected was gathering, they couldn't stay here forever. Moreover, the members' bodies were already on fire, and even if he risked danger to approach the burning car, he wouldn't be able to help them.
"Aaaaaaaaargh!"
The driver's door opened, and from there a mass of flames in human form tumbled out. He was flailing both hands and rolling on the ground trying to somehow put out the fire, but unluckily, the place where he rolled was where the gasoline leaked from the car was flowing. The member, enveloped in even more intense flames, shrieked and stopped moving.
The member who had been in the passenger seat had somehow managed to crawl out from the door window. But there, a burning infected pounced on him from above. The infected, which had no sense of pain and felt neither pain nor heat, was trying to devour the humans before its eyes no matter how much it was burning. The infected's flames also spread to the member, and along with a piteous shriek, the member's figure became invisible behind the swarming infected. The flames also spread to the bodies of the gathered infected, making them look like walking torches.
The boy fired the machine gun toward the swarm of infected gathered around the burning SUV. But what he aimed for was not the infected, but the members who were being burned in flames and slowly dying in agony. If he couldn't help them, it would be better to at least end that agony in an instant. The members, along with the surrounding infected, were showered with bullets, and their lives were ended in an instant.
"...Don't waste bullets."
Sato said in a tone that could be taken as either affirmation or reproach. He didn't think at all that they could go around helping every last one of the living members who were enemies in this situation, but even so, if they were asking for help, he wanted to help them as much as possible. Contrary to the boy's thoughts, the voices of Sato's comrades flowed from the radio: "Well done! Those guys are people who deserve to die," "You should have let them die slowly."
Is that really okay? the boy thought. Is it correct to give maximum agony and let them die miserably because they are enemies?
I look forward to your opinions and impressions.