Chapter 7 - Episode 6: Elementary Schoolers are the Best
What was illuminated by the light was the figure of a single young girl sitting with her back against the wall in the shadow of a vaulting box. Her age was probably around the upper grades of elementary school. I accidentally said "little girl," but that description doesn't seem accurate. I have a habit of accidentally calling girls younger than me, especially those in their early teens, little girls. Just to be clear, I am not a lolicon. Absolutely not.
"Onii-chan...?"
I heard the girl looking up at me gasp and mutter that. Did she mistake me for someone? Even if that's the case, since there are no other survivors as far as I can see, that "Onii-chan" must have either died or turned into a Infected.
"Hey you, how long are you going to keep that dangerous blade braced?"
At the words of Yui, who stepped into the physical education storage, I finally remembered that I was still holding the machete aloft. Looking closely, the girl is frightened by my appearance. It's natural since a strange man is pointing a blade at her.
"Ah, sorry, sorry. We are humans, we're not your enemies."
"That's right. Those guys aren't here anymore, so rest assured."
When I lowered the machete and Yui knelt down and spoke at the same eye level, the girl suddenly started crying. Perhaps the sense of fear she had been suppressing until now overflowed all at once; she wailed and sobbed. The girl jumped into the chest of the crouching Yui and pressed her face against Yui's chest.
"I'll go check outside. Call me when she's calmed down."
Since she probably won't stop crying for a while, I decided to go outside. If Infected were nearby, they might be drawn by the crying, and besides, I was somewhat bad at dealing with small girls. I don't know how to deal with a crying girl; it's better to leave it to Yui, who is of the same sex.
Confirming Yui's nod, I left the physical education storage and returned to the gymnasium where the thick scent of blood drifted. As usual, corpses were scattered on the floor, and every time I walked, the puddles of blood underfoot made a splashing sound.
Many of the corpses were children. The fact that this was a junior high school is one reason for the many children. Perhaps it's because there's a residential area nearby, and the people living there evacuated here with their families.
Most of those corpses were severely damaged. Those whose neck skin was bitten off and who died of blood loss before becoming Infected were still on the better side. With arms or legs missing, or abdomens torn open and internal organs dragged out, many were in a terrible state. There was even a corpse that was eaten all around the abdomen and was almost in a state of being in two pieces.
The cause is probably because the Infected have begun to starve. Unlike the zombies appearing in movies, Infected are living humans who have become ferocious. Therefore, in order to keep living, they need to obtain nutrition through meals.
Now that many humans have turned into Infected, inevitably the humans who become prey are fewer than the total number of Infected. Furthermore, since people have started to live while hiding from Infected, compared to the time when there were many and they could do nothing but run around, the opportunities for Infected to have a meal have greatly decreased.
When Infected first started appearing in Japan, it was still rare for corpses to be eaten like this. Apparently, Infected can move with less nutrition than humans, and furthermore, perhaps because they can efficiently take in nutrition from human bodies (food), they can move around energetically just by eating a little of a human body.
For that reason, the corpses at that time were at most those where important blood vessel areas or neck organs were eaten and they died instantly—so to speak, clean corpses for the most part. It was also because they would eventually turn into Infected if they didn't die instantly from being bitten, so not many corpses remained.
Now, the Infected have come to devour the prey they killed to every corner. It's because they can't find humans to be prey and are forced to diet, and are severely starving. However, even now, three months after the first occurrence of Infected, there is no sign of the Infected starving to death.
I wonder if it's because children's bodies are soft; many of the children's corpses were eaten here and there. Not only soft arms and legs, but there are even corpses where even the facial meat was eaten and the white skull is peeking through. Even for me, who has spent a survival life for these three months and thought I was used to corpses, it was a sight that made me feel sick.
I wonder how many people were living in this evacuation center. From the number of corpses, it must have exceeded 100 at least, but the number of Infected who killed them all must exceed that. In a narrow evacuation center, there is no place to run, so the infection spreads in an instant.
The children who were here probably also were eaten to death one after another without being able to even escape properly. I shudder when I imagine their end. Being eaten alive must be accompanied by unimaginable pain.
The reason I want a gun is not just to protect myself. It was so that in an emergency, I could commit suicide with one shot. Cutting the neck or wrist with a blade would be incredibly painful, and I don't want to jump from a high place either. In that respect, with a gun, if I pull the trigger toward my own head, I should be dead before I feel pain. Thinking like that, a gun is a very attractive tool for suicide.
However, it doesn't seem like a gun will fall into my hands. Since empty shell casings were falling in the schoolyard, there must have been people with guns in this evacuation center, but even after searching for a while after leaving the gymnasium, I still couldn't find a gun. Unlike novels or games, there's no way a gun would be found so conveniently and easily.
While I was wandering around the gymnasium looking for anything that might be useful, I called to mind the weapons and supplies I currently have. The weapons are one machete, one crowbar, and a Maglite that also serves as a baton. Considering that Yui and I are acting together, the water and food remaining is at most for one day. It's necessary to obtain supplies at this evacuation center. Since they were supporting more than 100 people for three months, there must have been a considerable amount of supplies stockpiled at this evacuation center; I can only pray that some supplies still remain.
Suddenly, at the same time as the air vibrated and a warm wind blew, an explosion sound echoed in the schoolyard. When I raised my face, the school building was burning even more violently. Was the explosion sound just now from when combustibles left in the school building caught fire? I thought it was fine earlier, but depending on the wind direction and the intensity of the fire, it might spread to the other school building which is safe. Before that happens, I have to find and collect supplies and get the hell out of here quickly.
After that, I loitered outside for about 10 minutes and returned to the gymnasium. The youzy... girl who was hiding in the physical education storage seemed to have settled down after crying for a while. Her eyes were red and swollen, but she wasn't crying.
"Well then, can you tell me your name?"
When Yui asked that, the girl answered, "I'm Mana..." By the way, is it my imagination that she's been peeking at me for a while? Well, since we met in a state where I was brandishing a machete toward her, it's no wonder Mana-chan is afraid of me.
That aside, for someone who was living an evacuation life, she has quite a healthy body. The thighs peeking from the hem of her short pants are wonderful for an elementary schooler. Well, I'm not a pervert, so I won't say I want to rub her thighs or anything.
"Mana-chan, since when have you been here?"
"I don't know clearly, but it's since the night before last..."
There is one small window in the physical education storage. Seeing the sunlight streaming in from there, Mana-chan seems to have confirmed that two days had passed. The window was so small that it seemed tough for even Mana-chan, who said she was a 5th grader, to pass through, and furthermore, perhaps to prevent the glass from breaking when children played with balls, iron bars were provided outside. Since they are firmly fixed to the wall with bolts, a girl's strength probably wouldn't be able to destroy the iron bars.
"The outside suddenly became noisy the night before last, and I heard the voices of the teachers who went to see it, and then the electricity suddenly wouldn't turn on, and then in the gymnasium..."
Mana-chan began to tell the reason why she was trapped in the physical education storage, while sometimes choking on her words.
The time when children from nearby elementary schools, including Mana-chan, evacuated to this junior high school was in the early stages when the virus epidemic began in Japan. At that time, the number of Infected in this district was still small, and Mana-chan safely reunited with her parents at this junior high school which was designated as an evacuation center, and had been living an evacuation life here since then. Although the number of students is small now due to the influence of the declining birthrate, this junior high school, which seems to have been a considerable mammoth school in the past, is quite large, and it is said that many supplies were stockpiled in preparation for disasters and such using that space.
Those supplies were in an amount sufficient to let the people who evacuated live for three months, and in fact, Mana-chan and the others seem to have been living an evacuation life without any inconvenience. Furthermore, because there were hunters with guns and the number of Infected around here was small, they were able to easily repel Infected even if they occasionally attacked.
That, the night before last, just as it suddenly became noisy outside, it seems Infected flooded into the gymnasium. Mana-chan, who was in the gymnasium, doesn't know the cause, but it didn't seem like the Infected invaded from the outside. Because the adults in this evacuation center were watching the outside in rotation, if there were Infected loitering nearby, they would have been discovered immediately. Despite that, the fact that Infected suddenly appeared inside the evacuation center means, as I expected, someone entered the evacuation center while being bitten but not yet developed, and turned into a Infected inside and went on a rampage, increasing comrades and attacking other survivors—something like that.
I don't know how it actually was. I have no way of knowing, and it's not like anything would happen if I knew. It's bad to say, but now that humanity has become almost an endangered species, I don't have the leeway to be concerned with the dead.
"And then many of those people also entered the gymnasium, and before my eyes, my friend was..."
Perhaps she remembered the sight when her friend was killed; tears float in Mana-chan's eyes again. There, Yui hugged her shoulder to calm her down.
Those people, huh. From the perspective of Yui and me, Infected are Infected, but from Mana-chan's perspective, they seem to still be within the category of people for now.
"At that time, the teacher pushed me into this physical education storage and closed the door. He told me to stay hidden inside until it settled down. But immediately after, I heard a scream, and even when I tried to open the door, it wouldn't budge."
Even while the corruption of school education is being shouted about, there was a good teacher. A corpse that looked like that wasn't in the gymnasium; did he turn into a Infected after being attacked by Infected while trying to protect Mana-chan, and join their ranks? Either way, his sacrifice was not in vain.
That teacher also must not have intended to trap Mana-chan inside. If so, was the fact that the damn heavy metal shelf was fallen in front of the door a pure accident? Either way, Mana-chan was saved because the door didn't open.
"Since then, I could hear screams from outside the door all the time. I covered my ears and closed my eyes, and when I noticed, it was morning. But when I tried to open the door, it wouldn't budge, and I finally understood that I was trapped."
If it were me, I would have gone insane. Hearing the screams of friends and family being eaten to death at close range all night long is nothing but torture.
On top of that, being trapped in a narrow storage—I'd lose my mind. I couldn't maintain my spirit for even a day. Despite that, Mana-chan stayed in this physical education storage for two days while maintaining her sanity. I'm impressed.
"Even if I called for help in a loud voice, no one answered, and I couldn't go outside from the window because of the iron bars. I was despairing that I would just starve to death... when you two came to help me."
There, Mana-chan turned this way and bowed deeply.
"Thank you very much! If you hadn't come, I..."
What a good kid, she's a really good kid.
To have a cute face and furthermore be able to say thanks properly, what a good girl she is. Now that the police and law are gone and ethics have collapsed, there are very few people like this. Everyone prioritizes themselves and loses leeway, and I've hardly seen anyone who pays respect to others.
"Hey you, you're creepy."
What do you mean creepy... I was about to talk back to Yui, but I notice that I was grinning sloppily when I touched my cheek. This won't do, it's as if I'm a pervert.
"You did your best."
Yui said that and hugged Mana-chan's shoulder. It's surely not my imagination that tears seemed to be floating in Yui's eyes too.
"I'm Tachibana Yui, nice to meet you."
"I'm—"
"Ah, that guy is just a pervert. Mana-chan, you can call him 'Hentai' too."
Aahn, how cruel. Even though I was about to introduce myself. Furthermore, calling me a pervert?
I introduce myself again. Mana-chan's eyes looking at me are not those of fear or contempt. It was a gaze where somewhere she looked happy, yet disappointed, as if such emotions were mixed.
"...Have we met somewhere?"
Since Mana-chan has been looking at my face all the time, I dared to ask that. This place is far away from my hometown, and I've never been here even once, so she shouldn't know my face.
Then Mana-chan hurriedly scanned her gaze in the air, and then looked down. And she said in a small voice.
"Um, I thought you look like my older brother..."
Listening to her, it seems Mana-chan had an older brother, and he seems to have evacuated here together. That brother has been missing since the mess the night before last. His age seems to be exactly close to mine, and because his build was also similar, she seems to have mistaken me for her brother when I entered the storage.
"Was Mana-chan's brother also such a pervert?"
"No, he was normal, though."
Wait a minute. Why is the conversation proceeding on the premise that I am a pervert?
"And, I have a request..."
I had a bad feeling.
"Um, could you search for my father and the others together?"
My bad feeling was right.
I thought that request would definitely be made, but when told to my face, it was quite tough. Mana-chan's beautiful eyes stare straight into mine, and I unintentionally avert my face because I can't bear it.
The possibility that Mana-chan's brother and parents are surviving "as humans" would be quite low. If they remained in this evacuation center, they should have been searching for Mana-chan long ago. They should have noticed us who entered boldly from the front gate and taken some kind of action. Despite that, the fact that they are not in this place means they either became corpses or turned into Infected and followed the survivors; the possibility of either is high.
There is also a slight possibility that they succeeded in escaping somehow and are surviving. But in that case, it's nearly impossible for us to find them. We don't know where they headed. And now that the evacuation center has been destroyed by Infected, no human would dare to return.
Even if we searched the whole school, that would be close to meaningless, or rather, there is a risk of bringing a result that hurts Mana-chan's heart. Even if Mana-chan's family were there, they would have turned into gruesome corpses. Do you think an elementary school girl can accept such a reality?
Therefore, what Mana-chan should do now is to collect necessary supplies and get the hell out of this evacuation center quickly. Maybe the fire in the school building will spread, and there's a possibility that Infected will return. Before that happens, she should flee from this evacuation center where blood-scented corpses are rolling. Of course, in that case, whether they are alive or not, it will result in abandoning her family.
Yui also seemed to have sensed that; she had pained eyes. She seems to be lost in her heart whether she should tell Mana-chan the truth. I don't know if Mana-chan is predicting what happened to her family, but to push my thought would be equivalent to telling her to give up on her family.
I can't say such a thing to a girl who is still an elementary schooler. Yui's eyes were telling that. Certainly, if I push reality here, Mana-chan might lose the will to live all at once. There's no one who would do such a thing to an elementary schooler. That would be too cruel.
Well, I'll do it because I think it's necessary, though.
"I'll say it clearly, but I think it's useless to search, you know?"
"Hey you...!"
Yui said as if to reproach, but I restrained her with my hand and continued.
"If Mana-chan's family is alive, they shouldn't be here. Since many corpses were hanging on the fence around the schoolyard, there must have been many people who tried to escape. If they were alive, I think they've already escaped here and are in some distant place. If they had escaped, I don't think they'd return here. Returning to a place that was once attacked is an action equivalent to suicide. So Mana-chan should also leave here quickly, we don't know when Infected will return."
I didn't say they are probably dead. I'm not a person without that much consideration either.
"I know. But, whether they are alive or dead, I want to search at least this school. If I don't, I'm sure I'll regret it..."
As expected, Mana-chan also doesn't think her family is luckily surviving. If you see this tragic state, any hope will be crushed into pieces immediately.
Seeing Mana-chan bowing her head, I clicked my tongue inwardly. I'm not irritated by Mana-chan trying to take an action she knows is useless; I was once again disgusted by the cruelty of this world where an elementary schooler has to assume her parents are dead. Originally, a girl of Mana-chan's age should have been playing around freely now, but the virus and Infected destroyed the peaceful world.
"...But still..."
"Please! I'll do anything I can!"
"Hmm?"
You just said you'd do anything, right? You said you'd do anything, right?
"Eh... then first, take off your clo—"
Seeing Yui brandish the crowbar, I shut my mouth. Mana-chan's gaze moistened and pleading, and Yui's gaze mixed with contempt and reproach pierced me, and the air became awkward all at once.
It's easy to refuse Mana-chan's request here, get what's necessary, and leave this place quickly. But can I do such a pathetic thing? I don't want to be branded as such a pathetic man who can't even fulfill a single wish of an elementary school girl.
I knew it was inefficient. I also know that what Mana-chan is about to do will only increase the scars on her heart. However—.
"...Alright."
At that moment, Mana-chan's eyes shone. Seeing Mana-chan showing a full smile, I remember myself who was about to refuse even her single wish just a few seconds ago, and I come to dislike such a self.
...Well, I have to obtain necessary things at this evacuation center too.
It's not that I'm a tsundere or soft on women or anything. It's definitely not.
I look forward to your opinions and impressions.
...Consuming one episode by going back and forth between the inside and outside of the gymnasium, I wonder how the pace is.