Chapter 5 - Episode 4: The Story of Running Away
After that, perhaps because her caution was also relaxed by me giving my name, she began to answer various questions.
Her name is Tachibana Yui, a third-year junior high student. Since the mass occurrence of Infected two months ago, she had been living with her parents in an evacuation center dozens of kilometers away from here. It seems there were many hunters who possessed guns in the evacuation center and it was safe, and supplies were also abundant.
However, a few days ago, that evacuation center was attacked by Infected. It seems the cause was the carelessness of a survivor, but such a thing doesn't matter. Many of the evacuees were killed, and those who survived also fled in all directions.
Yui also got separated from her parents in that confusion, but there was nothing she could do. She can't return to the evacuation center which has become a den of Infected, and she has no clues to search for her parents. Anyway, she just ran east to get away from the Infected, and reached this town this morning.
Due to the suddenness, she couldn't bring out any luggage, and when she entered this supermarket to satisfy her hunger and thirst for the time being, she encountered me. This is the reason why she is here.
"Are you perhaps alone?"
"That's right."
While being a bit irritated by Yui, who started to take an attitude that doesn't seem like it's toward an older person all of a sudden, I also answer the question. If only I keep asking, I'll buy her suspicion.
"How were you able to live alone for weeks..."
Yui said as if surprised, but from my point of view, she, who had been running all the way until she reached this town, is more surprising.
"Well, I was hiding so as not to be found by those guys, I was almost like a shut-in."
"Do you live near here?"
For a moment, I hesitated whether to answer. If I answer yes, there is a high possibility that she, who has no place to go, will seek protection. But even though the apartment where I'm hiding is safe, the probability of being discovered also becomes higher as the number increases. Moreover, if two people live together, the amount of supplies consumed naturally becomes double. I don't have that much leeway right now.
But just as I was about to open my mouth, I heard some sound near the entrance. I reflexively crouched on the spot and said "Hide" to Yui in a small voice. Perhaps she also heard the sound just now; she moved to the next register while keeping her posture low.
I took out an item from my pocket, which was a telescopic conductor's baton used in presentations with a small mirror attached to the tip, and poked it out just a little from the shadow of the register toward the entrance. It's something I made myself so I can see the situation ahead even at corners, but it's quite handy and I'm valuing it.
From the entrance reflected in the mirror, a single Infected was entering the supermarket. I suppressed the urge to click my tongue and continued to observe as is. I don't know if it followed after seeing Yui enter the supermarket, but we haven't been discovered yet.
However, if we make noise or move here, we'll definitely be found by that Infected. I want to avoid that by all means.
The Infected wanders around the supermarket while emitting a low groan. Usually, they are slowpokes like that, but the moment they find prey (a human), they start running with all their might like a lion that found bait. With that foot speed, I wonder how many hundreds of millions of people were caught and eaten to death even if they ran, and joined their ranks.
Go away quickly, there's nothing here. I wait for the Infected to go away, praying like that. If it's only one, it's not that I can't defeat it, but it's necessary to be prepared to take a considerable risk.
The Infected loitered near the entrance, and after a few minutes, it started to head toward the entrance by turning back. Just as I was about to heave a sigh of relief thinking I had escaped, a clink... the sound of metal rubbing reached my ears. Moreover, that sound came from the next register where Yui was hiding.
Absorbed in the movement of the Infected, I had completely forgotten Yui's existence. She must have accidentally sat on the coins scattered on the floor when she changed her body's posture, but the cause doesn't matter. The problem was that she made a noise.
I knew Yui gasped from the next register. I also held my breath and poked the baton out just a little to see the situation at the entrance.
Contrary to my wish, as expected, the Infected seemed to have heard the sound just now. It stopped its feet and looked around, and then turned its face here. And to make matters worse, it started to proceed toward here.
The face of the Infected approaching step by step is well reflected in the mirror. It's a male high school student in a school uniform. Since the athletic ability of the Infected is influenced to some extent by the state when they were human, a male high school student is in the prime of growth and has high athletic ability. If that becomes a Infected, it will come to exert monster-like athletic ability and power. It was a troublesome guy to have as an enemy.
Don't come, don't come, don't come...! I can only pray like that. But the Infected ignores my wish and approaches closer and closer.
And,
"Noooooooo!"
Finally unable to bear the tension, Yui, who seemed to have fallen into a panic, stood up with a scream and started to run toward another entrance. Naturally, there was no way the Infected would miss that, and the Infected, who roared loudly, started to chase Yui.
In this situation, hiding is meaningless. I also stood up and shouted.
"Run, run!!"
While shouting that, I braced the crowbar I had been gripping until now. The Infected who was about to chase Yui seemed to have changed its target to me, and it's sprinting toward here with all its might. In the blink of an eye, the distance is shortened, and the figure of the Infected running while dripping saliva mixed with blood from the corner of its mouth becomes larger.
I suppress the urge to turn my back and run right now, and calmly measure the distance. There aren't even two seconds left until the Infected approaches a distance of one meter from me.
The moment the Infected approached a distance of one meter from me, I swung the crowbar down with all my might from the upper right diagonal. With a dull sound and sensation, the left side of the head of the Infected who was sprinting toward me was greatly caved in, and blood gushed out. When I avoided the body of the Infected that was plunging in as is due to inertia, the corpse of the Infected proceeded for a while and fell on the supermarket floor.
The Infected are ultimately humans who were infected with the virus and became ferocious, so just like humans, they die if the tissues and organs necessary for life support stop functioning. They are just as hard to die as a grizzly.
After defeating the Infected, I immediately shouldered my luggage and chased after Yui with all my might. When I glanced back, I saw Infected jumping into the supermarket from the entrance where the male high school student Infected entered earlier, swarming like ants.
The Infected seem to have a habit of roaring when they find prey, and other Infected also gather attracted by that. If you are found by one, there is a danger of being chased by all the Infected nearby.
The Infected chasing me are taking the time to pass through the supermarket entrance and the shop interior, so they are losing more time than if they were chasing in a straight line. Since the Infected have no intelligence, they can't make rational judgments such as going ahead or taking a shortcut to chase, and they just do nothing but chase relentlessly while leaving themselves to their appetite. It's a relief that there is no danger of Infected waiting in ambush wherever I go, but it's a habit that has no gratitude in a state where I'm being chased with all their might.
Since there are few branched roads on the main street, I just run straight and turn at the nearest corner. If it's a human being chased, they should change their course to escape from the Infected's sight for the time being.
As expected, I reunited with Yui immediately after turning the corner. But she seemed to have fallen, and blood is oozing from her knee.
"Are you okay!?"
"Ugh...!"
I tried to make Yui, who was pressing her aching kneecap, stand up, but she slumped down with a small scream. She seemed to have sprained her ankle when she fell.
"Damn it!"
I could only curse like that. If she can't run, she'll be caught up by the Infected immediately and killed.
For a moment, the thought of leaving Yui here crossed my head. In the first place, it's her responsibility that she was discovered by the Infected, and I have neither the obligation nor the duty to help her. To be blunt, I don't have the leeway to help a total stranger, and if I leave her here and while she is being attacked, I—.
That devilish thought was drowned out by Yui's voice appealing "Help me." With eyes moistened by pain and fear, she looked up while pressing her foot, and I couldn't abandon her.
I don't know why that is. Perhaps affection welled up after meeting a human for the first time in weeks, or perhaps I was originally this kind of person. Anyway, I couldn't leave Yui behind.
The screams of the Infected are heard from the direction of the main street, and moreover, they are becoming louder. In a few more seconds, they will turn the corner of the street and catch us in their sight again. I don't have the leeway to hide in a nearby private house now.
I picked up Yui in the so-called "princess carry" posture and started to run forward with all my might. With luggage on my back and a third-year junior high girl in both hands, my body became heavy at once, and naturally, my running speed also started to drop. No matter how much I kick the ground, I don't feel like I'm making progress at all; I even feel that way.
For a moment, I thought about throwing away the luggage, but there is no such time and I can't afford to lose food and water here. Since I was discovered by Infected in this vicinity, I can't return to that apartment anymore, and I can't procure supplies at the supermarket earlier either. Since I don't know when and where I can replenish supplies, I couldn't leave the luggage behind.
"They're here!"
Yui, who was being held by me, shouted while looking back, and at the same time, I felt the groans of the Infected became louder. Since I'm holding her, I don't have time to look back one by one, I have to hide somewhere quickly...!
I've been staying in this town for these past few weeks, but since I only went out a few times, I don't have a sense of the town's geography. But since I looked at the map many times and observed the town with binoculars from the rooftop, I roughly grasp the terrain.
If I recall correctly, there should have been a gas station ahead. There, I could flee without having to go over a fence or anything. I match the map in my head with the road in front of me to confirm the route, and derive the shortest distance to there.
Considering I'm carrying heavy luggage and a girl, I think I was running fast. The shouting voices of the Infected continuing to chase from behind, and the girl trembling in my hands after hearing that. Those two were desperately moving me.
Eventually, the gas station came into view. Recently, there are many gas stations with convenience stores attached, but that gas station seems to be a privately owned shop, so it probably only has a break room and waiting area for employees. But I might be able to hide.
My body was approaching its limit. My arms are heavy because I'm holding the girl, the backpack straps are digging into my shoulders, my mouth is dry, my heart and lungs are on the verge of bursting, and my body seeking rest was hot.
And I, who approached a distance of not even 50 meters from the gas station, squeezed out my last strength and plunged straight in. A passenger car had crashed into the entrance of the small building that seemed to be the employee break room, but there was a gap beside it that a person could pass through. I slid my body into the room through that broken glass door and looked for a place where I could hide.
Inside the break room, only things like a desk and chair, a sofa, and a magazine shelf were placed. But there is a locker for cleaning tools in the corner of the room. I have to endure here.
Once I put Yui down, I threw the luggage I was carrying onto the floor, opened the locker, and took out all the brooms and mops inside. Even so, the space inside the locker is only enough for two people to somehow hide, but I can't help it at this point. If I don't hide, I'll just die.
"Get in."
I grabbed her hand and pulled Yui into the locker. She seemed to be about to say something, but I ignored her and closed the locker door.
Certainly, the inside of the locker was narrow. Rather than being close, it's a state where Yui and I are in close contact with our whole bodies.
I was holding Yui's body with my left hand and pressing her mouth with my right hand. It's a posture like hugging her from behind. The reason I'm pressing her mouth is because I can't stand it if she panics and screams again.
By the way, I feel a sensation of something soft hitting my left hand, but let's not worry about it. From my posture, I can roughly imagine what my hand is hitting, but it's an emergency and it can't be helped, right? Besides, it's not very large.
Yui groaned something, but I said "Shh" and pressed her mouth further. Since it would be a problem if she suffocated to death, naturally I don't press her nose.
I watch the situation outside through the long, narrow slit in the upper part of the locker door. Because I'm in the narrow locker, I can hardly hear sounds, but I can see the outside situation.
Immediately, the Infected who chased us entered the room one after another from the break room entrance where the car crashed and was wrecked. I knew Yui gasped, and her body started to tremble with fear. I was holding her tightly unconsciously to calm her down.
The Infected wander around the room while dripping saliva and groaning "ah-uu." Even if my luggage and brooms are scattered in front of the locker, they can't understand what that means. Therefore, the Infected were unresponsive even to the locker where a human would first suspect someone is hiding.
However, if we make a noise now, the Infected will definitely notice us. But if we don't move at all and don't make a noise, this locker is recognized as just one of the objects for the Infected.
Several of them passed in front of the locker, and each time, Yui's body trembled greatly as if an electric current had flowed. I also almost swallowed by the fear of having no escape, but I somehow maintained my spirit with a sense of duty that I must protect Yui now.
The Infected, who have no intelligence, could not infer why my luggage and the brooms that should originally be inside were scattered in front of the locker. The Infected who lost sight of us went out of the break room one after another like the tide receding, seeking the next prey.
Just in case, I waited for a while even after the figure of the last Infected disappeared, and 10 minutes later, we finally came out of the locker. Because two people were in close contact in the narrow space, it was sweltering inside, and I felt as if I had finally been released from hell.
After confirming the safety of the room quickly without letting my guard down, and confirming that there were no Infected around the gas station either, I was finally able to take a breath. Since I had been running all the way and was in a damn hot place, my mouth was parched, and I took out a bottle of mineral water from my backpack and quenched my thirst at once.
"Do you want to drink?"
When I offered the bottle with half the contents remaining to Yui, she snatched it and drank it all. And she wiped her mouth, and the first thing she said was,
"You, you touched my chest...!"
And glared at me with all her might.
"No, that was an act of God, or rather, it was narrow so it couldn't be helped, right?"
"But there must have been other places to put your hands, right!?"
"Or rather, with that smallness, I didn't feel like I touched..."
The next moment, the empty bottle thrown by Yui hit my head directly. It was painful, but I unintentionally laugh at the fact that both of us survived and are having such a stupid exchange. Yui, who was angry at being indirectly told she was flat-chested, also giggled, perhaps my laughter was infectious.
Even though I thought she was a nuisance until a moment ago, now that we've overcome the difficulty like this, she seemed like a precious existence.
Ah, living is wonderful. I thought so again.
"...So, what are you going to do from now on?"
Yui speaks to me in a hesitant way as I stood up after packing my luggage. I've disinfected the place where she scraped her knee earlier and am cooling her ankle by wrapping a wet towel around it, but it seemed impossible for her to walk around alone for a while. Running would be even more difficult.
"I can't return to the hideout anymore, and staying here for long is also dangerous. I'll move to another town quickly and look for a safe place."
"H-Heh, is that so."
When I say that, Yui looked up at me with eyes that seemed to appeal for something. But perhaps it's embarrassing or her pride doesn't allow her to say it, she immediately drops her gaze to the floor.
...I guess it can't be helped.
"Well, I was thinking I wanted a companion. And I'm also worried about your foot."
The companion part is a lie, but it's true that I'm worried about her foot. And somehow, I feel it's quite a waste to part here.
I grinned and continued.
"Do you want to come together?"
With those words, Yui raised her face. It seemed her eyes were shining, perhaps it's my imagination.
"Of course!"
...That aside.
"That being said, can you stop calling me 'you'? I told you my name properly."
"Then I'll call you 'Hentai' (T/N: pervert)."
"'Hentai' is too much, isn't it?"
"Because you, you felt up my chest!"
"That's why I'm saying that was too small to count as touching... Wait a minute, why are you reaching for the crowbar?"
I look forward to your opinions and impressions.