Chapter 97 - Chapter 0: The Story Before the Story Begins, Part 6
The junior high school was now at the height of confusion. The rioters—it would be more correct to call them infected now—who were increasing in number one after another were attacking people all over the schoolyard. Screams and shrieks shook the air, and fresh blood stained the gravel of the ground bright red. The tents that had been set up in the schoolyard were knocked down by people running away, and the groans of those trapped under the fallen poles soon turned into screams.
Some tried to escape outside from the main gate, which remained open. However, the next moment, a wagon car running at high speed erased their figures. The wagon car that ran over the people who jumped out onto the road made a sharp curve and crashed into the houses lined up in front of the school.
"Run!"
The evacuees who should have escaped outside from the school gate returned with desperate expressions. Immediately, the reason was understood. From the window of the staff room, many silhouettes running toward the school could be seen. And those didn't look like normal humans at all.
Infection is starting to spread in this vicinity too. Several evacuees who acted quickly tried to close the main gate, but by the time the heavy gate was completely closed, several infected who had come from outside entered the ground from a slight gap. Closing the gate was able to prevent further intrusion of infected, but it also meant taking away the escape route for the people being attacked in the schoolyard.
They can't escape outside, and the schoolyard is full of infected. With no place to escape, people were caught by infected one after another and attacked. Some were bitten and turned into infected themselves and attacked other people, while others didn't move at all and were having their bodies devoured. Probably, if they didn't receive a fatal wound when the virus entered the body, they would become infected. Conversely, those who were dead or one step away from it would die as they were without becoming infected.
The infected seemed to not feel pain much, or rather, not at all. Whether the meat of their face was bitten off, the infected are attacking people energetically as if they didn't notice such a thing at all. If they were feeling pain, they would be suffering from intense pain by now and wouldn't be able to move at all, or they would have died of shock.
The people who couldn't escape outside from the main gate started running in various directions. Toward the gymnasium or the classroom building where we are. And following them, infected also started to spread throughout the school. The sight of a person who tried to climb the fence of the schoolyard to escape outside being grabbed by the leg, dragged down to the ground, and disappearing into the crowd of infected was seen.
"I have to escape..."
But where? The schoolyard is in this state, and there are infected at the back gate too. There is a service gate on the west side too, but several people and infected were heading there just now. There is no place to escape.
Screams, roars, and the sound of something being knocked down were heard from downstairs. Just as Nakatani-sensei was about to leave the staff room saying "I'll go see the situation, don't move from here," along with a roar, the sliding door fell into the staff room. Beyond the entrance where the door was blown off, someone was being pushed down to the floor.
"Help me..."
It was one of the teachers who had jumped out to the ground earlier. On her, whose face was stained bright red with blood instead of makeup, a boy about an elementary school student was straddling. However, his state is clearly not normal. Staring with bloodshot eyes and dripping drool mixed with blood from the corner of his mouth, he vigorously bites into the neck of the teacher he's straddling. A shriek echoed on the walls of the corridor, and the elementary school student infected vigorously bit off the meat of the teacher's neck.
Was the squelching sound the sound of muscle being torn off? The infected chews a piece of meat with a thick blood vessel like a rubber hose hanging from the end. Seeing the fresh blood spurting from the teacher's neck like a fountain in a park, I instinctively laughed.
I had no choice but to laugh. All the events unfolding in front of me seemed like a joke. Humans lose their reason and are killing the same humans. And that I am the one who created one of the causes for such a hellish scene to unfold in this school is a joke more laughable than any comedy movie I've seen until now. I'm watching a masterpiece comedy movie titled "Idiot" at home leisurely while eating popcorn. I felt that way. Everything had no sense of reality. Strength left my body, and I instinctively leaned my back against the wall by the window and sat down on the spot.
Probably the carotid artery was bitten off; the teacher didn't move again. Straddling on that corpse, my eyes met with the boy whose mouth was stained bright red. While letting out a shrill roar, throwing away the slight piece of meat in his hand, the boy rushed toward me. I can only watch that situation. My body doesn't move.
"Watch out!"
Nakatani-sensei, who cut in from the side, grabbed the boy's torso as if scooping him up from below. Using the momentum of the boy who came running, Sensei threw that body out from the open window. For Sensei, who used to do judo, lifting a child alone would be a trivial thing. The small boy's body disappeared outside the window, followed by a thud like the sound of a piece of meat being slammed onto a cutting board from outside.
There, I finally remembered that I was almost killed. I looked up to say thanks, but Sensei was muttering "I killed him..." with a pale face.
"What have I done..."
I didn't know what kind of voice to call out to Sensei, who was groaning that way. I'm grateful that Sensei saved me, and harming the opponent in an attempt to save another who is being attacked is also recognized as a right called emergency evacuation. But no matter how much I state words of gratitude, it won't reach Sensei's heart.
Standing up and leaning out from the balcony, I fearfully peeked below. A child was vigorously thrown out from the second floor; even if he's not dead, he'll be seriously injured.
As expected, on the concrete ground in front of the entrance, the child who killed the teacher earlier and attacked me was lying face down, with both legs twisted in a strange direction and bleeding from the head. If he was slammed onto the concrete ground without being able to take any breakfall, he might be dead.
However, that child was still alive. He raised his upper body and tried to stand up, but collapsed again because of the broken leg. He seemed to not feel pain at all. As if doing a low crawl, the child who attacked us crawled on the ground with both hands and headed toward an evacuee nearby.
"Is he a monster..."
He doesn't feel pain, and he runs around and attacks humans even if he's seriously injured. I realized that the infected are no longer human. That is already a monster in the shape of a human.
"I have to escape..."
It's impossible to stand up against that. For an amateur to stand up against an infected with bare hands is like becoming bait themselves. Even if they were doing martial arts, it's a suicidal act to fight the crowd of infected now running around the schoolyard as they please.
What I can do is only escape. But where should I escape? The schoolyard is in this state, and there are infected at the back gate too. There is a service gate on the west side too, but several people and infected were heading there just now. There is no place to escape.
If I wait for the rescue of the police and JSDF, I'll die before that. There is no JSDF garrison or base in this city. And if a similar situation is occurring all over Japan, they won't be able to carry out rescue activities at all because they're busy with those responses.
Anyway, first I must wait out those infected. When I thought that far, I remembered the existence of my parents.
The two said they were in the gymnasium. Hurrying out to the balcony, I saw a group of infected repeating body slams against the door of the gymnasium. It seems several people closed the door of the gymnasium and barricaded themselves inside. However, it seemed the infected noticed that.
If Dad and Mom were inside the gymnasium. Thinking that, I felt a feeling like my chest was being tightened. I wanted to go save them right now, but I can't do anything alone. I'll either be eaten, or I'll join the group trying to break down the door of the gymnasium. There is nothing I can do alone.
Now, hide somewhere and wait for the number of infected to decrease, and then join my parents and escape from here. As far as I can think of, that was the best way. For now, hide in a place where infected can't find me and wait for an opportunity. The place where there are many places to hide would be the administration building located next to the classroom building.
"Sensei, let's leave here. Soon they'll come rushing in; before that, we must hide somewhere."
However, Nakatani-sensei remained sitting on the floor and didn't move a step. As if he were in a daze, his mouth remained open, and his eyes were directed at the void. Did he get hit by a sense of guilt thinking he killed the child who became infected, or did his thinking break down due to the succession of unrealistic events? Either way, it seemed a dangerous act to continue staying here.
When I grabbed his shoulder to make Sensei stand up, several infected jumped into the staff room from the entrance where the door was blown off. The eyes of the infected caught me and Nakatani-sensei, who remained sitting on the floor, and I instinctively let go of Sensei's hand and stepped back.
The infected all at once jumped on Sensei, who was sitting and not moving. By the time Sensei came to his senses, it was already too late; the infected were biting into his body.
"U-Uwaaaaah! Stop, stop it!"
Sensei's scream was immediately drowned out by the infected's rough breathing and chewing sounds. The infected bit into Sensei's belly and tore off the meat. Sensei's body, which crouched down while letting out a particularly large shriek, became invisible with the infected clinging to it.
"Help, help me...!"
My mentor is about to be eaten in front of me. I thought I must save him. But my body didn't listen.
I couldn't respond to Sensei's words. What I could do was only escape from the opposite entrance while the infected were busy eating Sensei.
When I heard Sensei's scream, what was in my heart was not the word "fight," but extremely selfish things like "I want to escape" and "I don't want to die." The moment I thought I didn't want to become like that seeing Sensei being eaten in front of me, my body moved on its own.
It seems infected have also intruded considerably into the school building. Corpses were rolling here and there in the corridor, and a sea of blood was spreading. From behind, the footsteps of infected chasing me were approaching. I ran toward the administration building while tripping over corpses and slipping on the blood on the floor.
I heard the sound of a police car's siren at the main gate, followed by several gunshots. The police officers must have come by now, but it was too late. Several more gunshots echoed and then ceased. Perhaps they were hit by stray bullets; the siren sound flowed intermittently and then fell completely silent.
Ignoring the poster of "Do not run in the corridor", I aimed for an unused classroom in the administration building. When I was enrolled, that classroom was used as a storage room, but only large lockers and shelves were placed in the room. And at that time, the door of that classroom was not locked.
Running up the stairs to the third floor, that classroom was at the end of the administration building. The sliding door was not locked as expected, and I jumped into the classroom. And just as I was about to turn around quickly and close the door, I heard a voice saying, "Hey, wait! Let me in too!"
Looking out slightly into the corridor, there was a boy in a school uniform running down the corridor toward here. Apparently, he had been chasing me. I, who didn't have the leeway to look back desperately, hadn't noticed that at all.
"Come here quickly..."
Before I could say it to the end, several infected appeared behind the boy. He was also being chased. However, not by humans, but by infected.
The boy, who showed a relieved expression after finding a safe place, looked back and screamed "Uwaa." He tries to run desperately to get away from the infected, but the speed of the infected running was faster than that.
I closed the door and locked it. Through the door, I heard a voice saying "Wait, don't close it!", followed by a shriek. The boy was being caught up by the infected, and if I kept the door open to let the boy in, there was a fear that the infected would also enter the classroom.
That's why I had no choice but to close it. I abandoned him.
Without even a moment to catch my breath, the door shook with a roar. The boy's shriek saying "Stop, let go of me you bastard!" and the infected's growl were heard through the door. That boy seems to be trying to enter this classroom even by breaking down the door. He probably doesn't have it in his head at all that as a result of breaking down the door, he won't be able to prevent the intrusion of infected either. The boy is that desperate.
I knew it was useless even if I held down the door. A door that is just sitting on a rail would come off with a body slam of even an elementary school student, let alone a junior high student. The boy who fell into a panic repeated body slams against the door, and the door was already half off the rail.
I must hide somewhere. Looking around, a locker placed in the corner of the classroom caught my eye. It's something provided in every classroom, and cleaning tools are inside. If it's a single human, they could easily hide inside.
The moment I opened the door of the cleaning locker, a strong smell of mold drifted around. But I didn't care about such a thing now. Pushing aside the lined-up brooms and dustpans, I entered the locker and closed the door. Just at the height of the eyes on the door, ventilation slits were provided, and the situation in the classroom can be seen from there.
Immediately after, along with the roar of the door being broken, the boy's scream became more clearly audible. On the boy's body, which entered the classroom as if falling, several infected are swarming. Covering his face with both hands and rolling around on the floor, the boy was trying to escape from the infected. However, the physical strength of the infected seems to be considerable, and he was immediately pinned down.
"No, stop! I don't want to die, someone help meee!"
After that, wordless screams and groans continued. That also stopped after a while, and after that, only the sound of chewing meat and the infected's rough breathing were heard.
The protagonist, doing a great blunder.
Like the old lady impact in Dead Rising, if it's an orthodox zombie story, the one who first unleashes the calamity and turns a safe place into hell is a mob or a supporting character who will be killed immediately after. However, as I wrote before, this protagonist is a person in a supporting character-like position if it's an orthodox story, so he unknowingly invited an infected person into the evacuation center. He's at a level where he could sufficiently appear on "Shikujiri Sensei."
So, the prequel, which is his nightmare, will end in one or two more chapters. After that, it will return to the present again.
I'm waiting for your opinions and impressions.