New Dawn Chapter: 070

Despite being so gravely injured, Tysone's friend managed a sardonic chuckle. "I tried saving some stuff, but that didn't... didn't work out too well. They chased me until here... so I hid behind the rack and... ah... they ended up shooting at each other, hahah..." He closed his eyes for a moment. "I got unlucky... ended up... shot."

"Fucking hell."

"Bleeding too much... it's over for me, kid." Hiro's eyes began to glaze, however not before mustering one last bit of strength. Trembling, he grabbed a fallen gun by his side, pushing it weakly in his direction. "Take this, kid... you'll need it... there... should be… more ammunition... they didn't... take eve… ry... thing..."

And then Hiro's eyes became sightless.

"Damn it..." Tysone wouldn't go as far as to say he'd grieve over his death, but Hiro taught him a lot, and could have been a valuable team member. 

Saeko walked up beside Tysone and put a hand on his shoulder, squeezing lightly. "Let us check the rest of the building and salvage whatever we can. In times like these, we cannot afford to grieve." She turned, eyes burning with a certain ferocity. "We mustn't stop moving, and push on."

"I know..." He said, grabbing the gun. He checked the chamber. It still had a couple of bullets left. "Stay on guard. A shootout happened here, but the only casualty seems to be Hiro. Either the rest survived long enough to be devoured by the zombies, or..."

"They're still around here." Saeko finished his sentence. "Wounded, perhaps, but definitely here. We should take precaution."

With a slow, careful gait, Tysone paced towards a staircase, looking around the corners with precision. His companions followed suit, and together they inched slowly down, the stairs creaking beneath them.

...

Meanwhile, across town at Shinju High School, the situation was the same—if not worse—as Fujimi Academy.

It had started like any ordinary day; classes had proceeded without a hitch, everyone behaving nicely. Then the alarm blared through the hallways, sending every student scrambling around the classrooms like headless chickens.

And then it spread through the entire school.

Marin Kitagawa found herself clutching the strap of her bag, knuckles white. Her heart thudded so hard against her ribs that she swore the creatures could hear it. The once-bustling classroom was now a war zone—desks overturned, blood pooling in the crevices of the tiled floor.

It had happened so fast.

One moment, she was laughing at a meme on her phone, and the next, she was watching their math teacher sink his teeth into a student's neck. The scream that followed would forever echo in her mind.

One thing was clear: she had to get out of the classroom. Now.

She'd rather die outside than cower here waiting for the dead to walk in.

Thud, thud, thud...

She stood, holding her breath.

There was a long, dreadful moment of silence. She couldn't be heard. Surely, the walking corpses wouldn't pay attention if she kept absolutely silent. They were too busy tearing chunks of flesh and crunching on bones... the way a human would on a snack.

Her stomach lurched at the nauseating display. She'd have thrown up if the adrenaline hadn't kicked in and made the concept of vomiting foreign to her.

One step, another.

One foot outside the classroom.

And then, she spotted the horde that was already out in the hall. There were more zombies inside the hallways. However, they were shambling in the opposite direction. The constant screaming echoing around attracted them like moths to a flame.

Tears flowed down Marin's face. She walked with haste towards the first year classroom, where her friend Gojo was.

"Please be okay... please be okay..." She whispered under her breath.

The hallway felt like a slaughterhouse. Bodies, both dead and undead, littered the floor. Blood was splattered all over the floor and walls, as if someone had thrown paint over everything. Even her shoes left bloody imprints on the floor tiles.

A girl she recognized from the photography club was slumped against a locker, blood dripping from a vicious bite mark on her shoulder—eyes glassy, breath shallow. Marin had to bite back a sob as she sidestepped her.

Finally, she reached the first-year corridor.

Gojo's classroom door was slightly ajar.

Her pulse pounded louder than the distant screams. Marin gently pushed the door open with trembling fingers, revealing a scene of overturned desks and splatters of blood streaking the whiteboard.

"Gojo?" She croaked, barely above a whisper.

Then, she saw him.

Wakana Gojo stood at the back of the classroom, his hands shaking as he clutched a pair of fabric scissors, the only weapon he could find. His face was pale, but his eyes locked onto hers the moment she spoke his name.

"Marin...!" His voice cracked, a mix of fear and relief.

Before either could move, a low, guttural snarl echoed, making them freeze. Gojo's class bore the same damage as hers, with the same amount of casualties. Everything considered, it was mighty lucky that both of them were still alive. Though, for how long, it was uncertain.

The creatures were eating the corpses of the dead students, but one of them took notice of the very much still alive Gojo and Marin. It moved towards Gojo, who was closest.

"Look out...!" Marin tried, but the thing reached the terrified boy in a mere heartbeat.

The undead lunged towards Gojo, whose height proved to be an advantage, but his determination to kill it was non-existent. So, his reaction was pathetic to say the least. But thankfully he ducked right in time to avoid a hit, tripping and falling on his ass.

It gave Marin enough time to rush through the horde, grab the thickest and heaviest book in reach and slam it against the back of the creature's head.

It was just enough to send it careening forward towards the wall, not without splattering a light drizzle of infected blood over Marin. But the situation was too serious for her to care. 

"We have to get out of here!" Marin urged, helping a stunned Gojo get back on his feet and dragging him out by the wrist.

"R-Right...!"

Without further delay, they rushed out. Marin noticed anxiously how the screaming had toned down considerably, as if whatever those damn things were, were literally picking off the school by classroom, with each room yielding more silence.

Gojo's hands were still trembling, his grip on the scissors weak. He spoke, hesitatingly. "Where... where do we go?" He stammered, eyes darting from Marin to the hallway, where more shuffling figures loomed.

Marin swallowed hard, trying to push down the panic rising in her throat. "Anywhere but here." She whispered. "We need to find somewhere to hide. Somewhere safe."

They moved cautiously to the door, Marin leading with a makeshift weapon, a broken chair leg she'd grabbed on the way. Gojo clutched the scissors close to his chest, though she didn't really expect him to use them to defend himself.

As they stepped into the blood-soaked hallway, the scent of copper and decay was suffocating.

Marin's heart raced, but she forced herself to focus. "Stay close to me, Gojo." She murmured.

He nodded again, too scared to speak.

The two of them crept down the corridor. The creatures further down hadn't noticed them yet, but it was only a matter of time.

Marin's eyes widened. "The art room!" She whispered suddenly. "It has locks on the doors and supplies, maybe we can barricade ourselves there."

Gojo's eyes lit up. "O-okay... let's go."

The horde that had been distracted moments ago was now shifting, slowly turning their rotting heads toward the sound of the pair's hurried footsteps.

"They're following us…" Gojo muttered, panic creeping into his voice.

"Run!" Marin yelled, her heart pounding.

They picked up their pace, the creatures' groans getting louder and angrier the faster they ran.

The art room was only a few feet away, and the door was already propped open. Marin pushed the door the rest of the way open, slamming it shut after the both of them had entered the classroom.

No one was there, thankfully. 

Gojo wasted no time barricading the door by pushing a supply shelf in front of it, just as a couple of rotting arms burst through the windows, swiping uselessly in the air.

"Are they going to keep banging like that?" Gojo asked, his voice quavering.

Marin shook her head. "No. If they can't get in, they'll just keep walking until they find something else to distract them."

"That's... that's good." Gojo slumped back against the wall, his knees giving out.

She sighed softly, sitting down next to him. Her tears might have dried, but the blood on her uniform was still fresh.

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.