New Dawn Chapter: 064

It was getting dark, and they couldn't afford to travel during the night. If the firing range was properly secured, they could spend the night there. It'd be even better if there were enough guns to supply everyone in the group.

Tysone glanced at Shido. He was quiet. Good. No more drama for today, hopefully. As much as it pleased him to put the slimy professor in his place, these conflicts could get exhausting really quick, especially since Shido had all the trappings of a persistent sociopath.

He wasn't scared of a direct confrontation, but he needed the right excuse to get rid of him. A permanent solution. A villain like Shido was the type to harbor a grudge if left alive.

"Umh, Tysone-san?" Shizuka's uneasy voice pierced through his thoughts, shaking him to full attention.

"What is it?" He walked up towards the nurse.

She pointed a shaking finger towards the windshield. Tysone followed it. In fact, he wasn't the only one.

A growing rumble filled the air, vibrating through the steel frame of the bus. It wasn't the distant groan of the undead, nor the steady hum of the engine.

Tysone's eyes narrowed.

Motorcycles.

They appeared like phantoms in the dimming light—one, two, then half a dozen or more. Black silhouettes against the setting sun, headlights flickering in and out of view. Some came from ahead, others flanked them on both sides, and when he turned to glance out the rear window, more were approaching from behind.

The bus was surrounded.

"Shit." Tysone muttered under his breath.

Takashi's jaw tensed. Rei's grip on the seat in front of her tightened. Kohta adjusted his glasses, sweat beading at his temple. The others were noticing, too, hushed whispers breaking out among the group.

"Are they… friendly?" Shizuka asked, voice uneasy.

Tysone's gaze locked onto the nearest rider, barely ten feet away. The man's helmet was scratched and dented, his jacket smeared with something dark. He lifted a crowbar, tapping it twice against the side of his bike. A signal.

The others responded. Chains rattled. Blades gleamed. Someone laughed.

Not friendly.

"Brace yourselves." Tysone said, his voice cold. "They're testing us."

Then, without warning, the first biker swerved closer and swung.

The crowbar slammed against the side of the bus with a loud clang, jarring everyone inside. Shizuka let out a yelp, gripping the wheel tighter. More bikers followed suit, ramming and striking the vehicle, their weapons scraping against the metal like nails on a chalkboard.

"They're trying to force us to stop." Takashi gritted out, gripping a seat for balance.

"Not happening." Tysone's eyes flicked to Shizuka. "Keep steady. Don't slow down."

"But—!"

"No buts." He cut her off. "If we stop, we're dead."

Shizuka pursed her lips and kept on the accelerator, but a nasty scrape against the side windows made her squeal and nearly swerve sideways.

Tysone was beside her in an instant, a hand on the wheel. "Don't let fear overwhelm you. Calm down." Shizuka's hands were trembling. She couldn't drive safely in this situation. However, the moment he snapped his gaze back ahead, he realized that his words did absolutely jack.

Half a kilometer ahead, a group of riders were laying down tire spikers on the road. Shizuka-sensei wasn't even paying attention.

'What to do?'

There wasn't much of a choice at this point. If they continued forth, the wheels on the bus would end up shredded, and their escape routes would be compromised.

However, if they stopped and tried talking... he didn't even have to mull over that for a second, because he already had his answer. There was no way a confrontation with a group this large wouldn't result in violence. He couldn't endanger everyone.

Shido walked up to him. "I don't believe driving through that barrier is an option, Tysone-san." His smirk, of course, was infuriatingly wide. "Now, what are you going to do, leader?"

Tysone's bad mood plummeted even further at Shido's words. He knew that the apocalypse had already reduced them to less than human levels and common decency was but a memory, yet witnessing Shido's immediate attempts to undermine him so blatantly filled Tysone's heart with such hate that he had trouble concentrating. As for those bikers? Weren't their actions alone telling enough that their group wasn't composed of humanitarians, either?

Shizuka barely had time to stumble aside before Tysone slid into the driver's seat and yanked the wheel hard to the right. The massive bus lurched violently, tires screeching against the pavement as it swerved.

The bikers riding too close on the sides didn't stand a chance.

One was clipped by the front corner of the bus, his bike veering out of control before slamming into another rider. The two tangled together in a mess of metal and flesh before skidding across the road. Sparks flew as their bikes tumbled, their bodies crashing onto a street lamp.

Another rider, trying to keep pace, panicked at the sudden maneuver. He wobbled, trying to correct his balance, but the bus's side mirror caught him in the head with a sickening crack! His helmeted skull snapped back violently before he lost control, his bike toppling over, sending him rolling across the asphalt, right in the way of another bike.

A surge of vindictive glee surged in Tysone as he watched the deadly crash happen. They deserved it, didn't they? 

Behind him, he heard someone gasp and whimper. Blood coated the road with each bike that went down. 

The remaining bikers yelled in rage, but Tysone wasn't done.

He stomped on the brake.

The sudden stop threw everyone forward inside the bus. Shouts of alarm filled the space as passengers struggled to hold on. 

Outside, the effect was even deadlier.

Two riders, caught off guard by the abrupt deceleration, had no time to react.

Their momentum carried them forward—straight into the rear of the bus. The first hit the back doors headfirst, his helmeted skull shattering the glass before his limp body tumbled under the tires. The second slammed into the bumper with bone-crushing force, his bike flipping over him as he was flung off.

Tysone barely gave himself a second to breathe.

Before the remaining bikers could recover, he slammed the accelerator, slamming straight into another biker.

His head collided with the front end in a spray of gore, leaving a massive, blood-smeared dent in his wake. 

Tysone, in his hyper-focused state, had yet to digest the reality of the gruesome hit, but when he glanced at the road again, he saw a mass of shredded flesh and a shattered helmet rolling across the pavement.

No bike.

And no biker.

He was definitely dead. Most of them were, at least. Tysone exhaled, shelving off the thought. It wasn't the time. 

Besides, those bastards messed with him, now their only reason of existence would become nothing more but roadkill.

The bus roared forward, straight for the blockade before Tysone once again slammed hard on the brakes, barely managing to keep the vehicle from jackknifing right in front of the tire spikers. 

It wasn't like he could drive over the spikes.

A chorus of screams went off behind him.

Once the bus settled, everyone recovered their bearings and tried to grasp the current situation.

Saya was first, clutching at her chest, staring at Tysone in horror. Then, Miku and Mai. Rei stared at Tysone as well, her mouth open in shock. Then came Saeko and Shizuka. Saya was in her initial state, eyes wide and petrified as she looked at the people they've ran over with a mix of emotions, while the nurse teacher looked dizzy, as if trying to grasp the gravity of the situation. Kohta was shell-shocked, not to mention Shido's own group of students.

He couldn't tell if the expression on their faces was disbelief or outrage.

At this point, it didn't matter, Tysone turned to the others, his expression cold and steely as if he didn't just cause the deaths of eight individuals.

Saeko though, to Tysone's surprise, wasn't looking at him with horror.

Her gaze was unreadable at first, her violet eyes fixed on the carnage outside. The road was littered with twisted bodies and mangled bikes.

Then, slowly, her lips parted.

"…You didn't hesitate." She murmured, almost to herself.

Shido adjusted his glasses, a slow smirk spreading across his lips as he surveyed the aftermath.

"My, my… I must say, Tysone-san, that was quite the spectacle." His voice was almost cheerful, laced with a sick sort of admiration.

Tysone barely spared him a glance, his pulse still pounding in his ears. "Not the time, Shido." He didn't bother to add -sensei. The bastard didn't deserve the honorific. "Everyone! Prepare yourself, this isn't over yet!"

Saeko pulled out her wooden sword and stood up.

The bikers who had placed the tire spikers on the road, after a moment of surprise, quickly recovered their bearings and swarmed their group, three riders charging forth at the bus.

Two split off to circle around, coming at the bus from the sides. Tysone slid his helmet on, pushed Shido out of the way and made his way towards the doors.

Author's Note:

If you're enjoying the story and want to read ahead or support my work, you can check out my P@treon at P@treon.com/LordCampione. But don't worry—all chapters will eventually be public. Just being here and reading means the world to me. Thank you for your time and support.