Chapter 48 - Chapter 46: A Tale of Turning the Tables
I left the house immediately after killing the three, but the guards who had been chasing me were nowhere to be seen. Whether they prioritized evacuating residents from other houses or decided I hadn't come here and headed elsewhere, I didn't know, but I was fortunate not to have to fight as soon as I stepped outside. If I fought any more, I might truly die next time. The only reason I've survived until now is simply because I was lucky.
"...This is District 5, the fire isn't weakening! Send more men!"
"Urgent, urgent, from Gate 3 to all personnel. A large number of infected are approaching from the south, all nearby personnel rush to Gate 3. Repeat..."
After confirming no one was around, I turned on the transceiver, and immediately voices that were neither shouts nor screams began to flow from the speaker. Apparently, the fire I caused is becoming even worse instead of subsiding, and because of that, the infected also seemed to have noticed the existence of this village.
When I look toward the north, the sky is stained orange by the flames on the ground, and small explosion sounds are heard occasionally. It's impossible not to be noticed by the infected after causing such a commotion.
Well, as for me, I don't care what happens to this village. People who lure exhausted refugees by pretending to be friendly and then use them as fodder for the infected should just die. And the people who followed them are also guilty; they are our enemies.
While shaking my head to dispel the way the old people died that came to mind again, I changed the channel of the transceiver. I hope this time, I can connect to the young man.
However, even if I set the channel to the one the young man specified, no answer comes back. Since he must have already finished setting the explosives and left the bunker, is he in a situation where he can't respond because other guards are nearby? In any case, it seemed better to give up on contacting him.
Fortunately, the destination, the village office, is not that far. I'll go to the village office as I am and wait for Naomi-san and the others there. It's frustrating that I can't contact them, but considering that the car is left at the village office, Naomi-san and the others will definitely visit the office too. No matter how you think about it, it's impossible to escape from this village on foot.
If so, the possibility of meeting up with them at the village office is high. Right now I just have to go to the village office, and if I can't meet up there, then so be it. Whether I'm lucky or unlucky, the guards seem to have their hands full intercepting the infected who sensed the village. Even if I go on a rampage enough for Naomi-san and the others to find me, it will be difficult to deal with it immediately. Usually they are terrifying and nothing but enemies of us survivors, but right now I was grateful for the existence of the infected.
When I started walking in the direction of the village office, I encountered vehicles several times on the way, and each time I hid in shadows or irrigation canals and managed to avoid trouble.
The vehicles I passed several times were all types that carry a large number of people, such as trucks and wagons, and many human figures were seen inside and in the beds. I speculated that they were probably evacuating non-combatants, as they were too many to be guards. And there was no sign of the human figures holding weapons. With fires, infected, and us—who from their perspective are heinous criminals—wandering inside the village, it's easier to protect non-combatants if they are gathered in one place.
That means, even if I hide in some house ahead, I won't have to encounter the owner like before. Although it's 'no choice,' I'm not a psychopath enough to want to kill for the sake of it.
After that, I continued walking while readying the rifle, and I had returned to the house where I had lived until just a few hours ago. There was no sign of people in the private houses standing here and there nearby, and the Japanese house I should have become accustomed to living in for a while looked like a haunted house.
And it seemed true that Naomi-san and the others had gone on a rampage against the guards, as several dark red bloodstains were formed at the entrance. Several windows near the entrance were also broken, and considering the situation, it means Naomi-san killed the guards who came to detain her, stole their weapons, and escaped outside while fighting back.
There probably wouldn't be anyone, and in fact I don't feel any human presence, but maybe Naomi-san and the others have returned. The guards also don't seem to think that the people who escaped would return to the original place, as no figures of guards were seen around the house.
I hung the rifle from my shoulder and stepped into the house with my shoes on through the door with broken glass while readying the handgun, but as expected, no one was there. There were no figures of guards waiting for me, nor figures of Naomi-san and the others anywhere.
"If so, the rest is the office..."
When I suddenly remembered and went to the living room, the package of fireworks was left on the table. The sparklers we found and said we'd do secretly tonight. I caused a flashier and dirtier firework at the gas station, though.
Just a few hours ago, I hadn't even thought it would come to this. All the infected would starve to death, the government would be rebuilt, and we'd live leisurely in this village until the situation subsided. Such a hope was nothing but a fantasy.
It's all because of that Yamato. I'll make him pay for this. Having decided so, I started walking toward the office this time.
Since going out was permitted only when going to receive food rations, the route to the office was clearly known even in the darkness. There were several private houses on the way to the office, and there should have been residents there, but now not even a sound is heard. I don't feel any human presence inside the houses either, and perhaps they evacuated in the trucks like I saw earlier.
I heard that infection spread inside the village before, but this time infected are attacking from the outside. The attack on the village will continue until the nearby infected are annihilated, and it's unknown how long that will last. Maybe the wave of attacking infected will never stop. In the previous outbreak, they wiped out the infected that occurred inside the village and solved the situation by locking them in the bunker. But this time, they can't use such a method.
If so, those trucks and wagons might be not only to protect the residents from us but also to evacuate the residents themselves out of this village. If the ammunition runs out, the guards won't be able to protect the village gates, and the infected will come pouring in. If that happens, what's waiting afterward is a literal bloodbath. Every single resident of the village will be killed by the infected.
It might be better if everything just became clear like that, but I'm not a person with such a cruel way of thinking. If they escape, I won't have to fight extra battles. And if they abandon their family members who turned into infected and leave this village, they will eventually regain normal thinking.
"Well, it seems like escaping is going to be a huge pain in the ass, though..."
In the unlikely event that the gate, which is the village entrance, is breached, the more the escape is delayed, the more infected we'll have to deal with. I want to avoid a situation where I meet up with Naomi-san and the others but we're surrounded by infected.
Under the moonlight, the village office building, which was a lavish 3-story building, was peeking out to the west. The village office must be equipped with a private power generation device, as light was overflowing from the office windows seen over the roofs of the private houses. If the office functions are still alive, would Naomi-san and the others head toward the office where people seem to gather?
"Did I mess up...?"
Even so, I have to check if Naomi-san and the others are there. I went to the trouble of escaping from pursuers, and now I have to wander around the village aimlessly looking for Naomi-san and the others. I keenly feel how convenient a tool the mobile phone was. If a mobile phone could be used, I could have contacted them in one shot and arranged to meet somewhere.
While readying the rifle, I moved from shadow to shadow while being wary of the enemy, gradually closing the distance to the office. I thought guards might be gathered at the office because lights were lit, but no matter how close I get, I don't hear human voices or even car engine sounds. It was so quiet around that I thought everyone had run away.
Even so, I couldn't afford to neglect my vigilance. I've already had painful experiences many times because of that; I never want to be in danger of my life by being careless again. Therefore, I pointed my gun in that direction if even a little something moved, and I was wary of my surroundings without fail even when moving.
And finally, I reached the village office. The parking lot spreading in front of the office had cars parked here and there, unlike the first day I came. However, all of them had their engines turned off, and almost no smell of exhaust gas was drifting. At least, no car has come to the office in the last few minutes.
As far as I can tell from the outside, there's no sign of people inside the office either. The village office is where I talked with Yamato, and at that time there were many people in the office. Even though there's a private power generation device in the office, where did they go? Is Yamato still staying here? Or—.
"—!"
When I leaned out to survey the situation more, I saw something through the gaps in the abandoned vehicles. Four objects rolling on the ground. For a moment I thought trash bags with contents were thrown away, but the golden hair shining in the moonlight showed that those objects were humans. And as far as I know, there's only one person with blond hair among the people in this village now—.
"Naomi-san!"
If so, the ones lying on both sides of her must be Yui and Mana-chan. When I recognized that, I had instinctively sprinted out. The three people I had been looking for so much were lying in front of my eyes. My calm thinking had been blown away by that sight. Even though I just swore not to be careless, I overturned it in an instant.
The three people lying on the asphalt, which was peeling off here and there, seemed to be moving slightly. They were prone, with both arms tied behind their backs.
...With both arms tied...?
It's a trap. By the time I had that intuition, it was already too late. Just as I thought something came out from the shadow of a vehicle abandoned near the three, a flash burst from its hand. Before I could point my gun toward that human figure, a sharp pain ran through my left arm. My upper arm was as hot as if a red-hot poker had been pressed against it, and I knew a lukewarm liquid was running down my arm.
"Guaaaaaah!"
I also got injured when I thrust my arm through the window glass just before meeting Naomi-san, but the pain was on a different level compared to that time. There's a difference between just cutting with glass and being shot with a gun that can easily kill a person.
While I was thrashing around clutching my arm, in the vision where the asphalt ground had become vertical, I saw feet wrapped in a suit approaching here. When I turned my vision upward as it was, the face of Yamato, the very person who tried to kill us, was looking down at me.
"Don't screw with me...!"
Ignoring the burning pain in my left arm, I pulled the handgun tucked in my belt with my right hand and pointed it at Yamato. But, a roundhouse kick released an instant faster than that struck the back of my right hand. The heel of the boot dug in, and a sharp pain ran through as if the bone had broken. Strength instinctively left my hand, and the revolver that slipped out of my hand slid over the asphalt with a dry sound.
"We meet again."
Along with a chillingly cold voice, the metal sound of cocking the hammer of a handgun echoed.
"It seems you've gone on a rampage as much as you liked... but I'll have you pay this debt. You shouldn't underestimate adults too much."
Checkmate? Those words were swirling inside my brain.