Escape plan

Meanwhile, at the Kendo practice hall, several bodies of students in Koryo High School uniforms were seen lying lifeless on the floor. A pool of dark red blood had formed, soaking the entrance.

Mina Kobayashi and Matsumoto Daiki had managed to reach this place safely. The two of them entered the practice hall cautiously, stepping carefully. Numerous bloodstains were on the wooden floor.

"A-are they not going to wake up?" asked Daiki, looking at each of the blood-soaked bodies of the students lying on the floor.

"How should I know!" Mina whispered sharply, adjusting her glasses. She feared the students might wake up if they made too much noise.

Just as they entered the practice hall, Mina suddenly noticed movement out of the corner of her eye. Someone was approaching from the side, about to swing a wooden stick at them.

"Kyaa—"

Mina screamed, trying to shield her head. Her eyes were tightly shut in fear. Daiki did the same, ducking and covering his head.

A few seconds passed. Feeling nothing had happened to them, Mina opened her eyes. She carefully turned to look at the person who had tried to attack them.

"Mina? Daiki?"

The figure spoke. The stick that was about to be swung was now slowly lowered. Mina stared at the silhouette.

"Aya-sensei?" Mina guessed.

The woman immediately hugged Mina's small frame. "Thank goodness. I didn't expect the two of you to be safe."

'But we almost died by your hands—' Mina grumbled inwardly.

It turned out the woman was none other than one of their teachers. Her name was Watanabe Aya. A young teacher with dark purple hair tied back in a ponytail. She was around 34 years old. People around often speculated that she was still single. No one knew for sure.

Aya released her hug from Mina and quickly closed the sliding door that had been left open. She sighed in relief, knowing that still students had survived. Since earlier that afternoon, all she had encountered were students who had turned into man-eaters.

"Are you two the only ones who made it here?" Aya asked Daiki

"Just the two of us, Sensei," Daiki replied, munching on a bag of potato chips in his hand.

"Hey— where did you get that?" Mina asked in surprise, seeing the chubby boy beside her suddenly holding a snack.

"Do you want some?" Daiki offered Mina the potato chips. The girl sighed and rolled her eyes.

"By the way, what's going on here?" Mina turned to the teacher in front of her.

Aya shook her head slowly. "I've been wondering the same thing. I still haven't found any definite answers."

Mina let out another long sigh. The horrifying tragedy that had occurred at the school was still a mystery. "So, are there any other students here besides us?"

"No," Aya answered, glancing at the bodies scattered on the floor.

Mina glanced at the blood-soaked students lying on the floor. She bit her nails as her eyes scanned each body, hoping she didn't recognize any of them.

'Thank goodness, he's not among them...' the girl thought.

Daiki noticed Mina's anxious behavior. "Are you worried about Ryuji?" he asked innocently.

"W-what are you talking about?" Mina was startled by Daiki's question. "Are you trying to pick a fight with me?" she added.

Daiki then offered the bag of potato chips to Mina, who was visibly flustered. "Want some snacks?"

Mina just let out a soft snort, annoyed at the chubby boy beside her.

"This afternoon was chaos. Many students were running around. I brought a few students here to take refuge. I treated their wounds. But slowly, they also changed and attacked each other," Aya continued her story.

"So... Sensei, you killed all of them using that?" Mina glanced at the blood-stained bamboo sword in Aya's hand.

"...Yes. I took this and started killing those who tried to attack," Aya answered, closing her eyes. There was a tone of regret in every word she spoke.

Mina couldn't blame her teacher. The situation was indeed chaotic. They had to assess the situation and decide on their actions quickly. The school had suddenly turned into a jungle. There were only two choices: kill or be killed.

"Can Sensei contact the authorities? We need to ask for help from outside," Mina said.

"Unfortunately, I can't reach anyone. I've been trying all this time with no results. All emergency lines are busy, and none of my calls went through," Aya replied.

"That's impossible..." Mina muttered in disbelief. She leaned against the room's sliding door and then sat down, curling up as she lamented their fate.

"So, what do we do next?" asked Daiki, who was busy munching on the potato chips in his hand.

"For now, we stay here until the situation is safe," Aya answered.

"Here? With these corpses?" Mina retorted, questioning the idea. Waiting for help that might never come while surrounded by lifeless bodies didn't seem like a good idea. Just looking at them made her nauseous.

Aya held her chin, thinking the same thing. Resting in this place would surely make them uncomfortable. So, what should they do? Aya pondered for a moment, hoping an idea would come to her.

"If no help is coming, shouldn't we be the ones to go out and seek help?" Daiki broke the silence.

"You mean, leave the school? How?" asked the bespectacled girl, who was curled up in front of the door.

Daiki stuck his hand into the potato chip bag, rummaging through every corner of the packaging, but he found no chips left. He flipped the bag over, and only crumbs fell to the floor. "I don't know."

"Good grief..." Mina held her aching head and could only sigh.

The girl thought that leaving the school wasn't a bad idea. But the problem was how. How could they escape this school of death? Those terrifying creatures were everywhere, filling every corner of the classrooms and hallways, not to mention the schoolyard crowded with the living dead.

Mina wasn't sure they could get past all of them. Especially Daiki. He definitely wouldn't be able to move quickly with his chubby body. He could barely run for a short distance, and the transformed students would always chase them.

Aya, who was still deep in thought, suddenly had an idea. "If we want to leave... we can use the school minibus."

"Really?" Mina asked, seeking confirmation.

"Yes, we can use the minibus parked at the back. If I remember correctly, the keys are in the teachers' room. With the minibus, we can carry more people," her teacher replied.

"Is there anyone else besides us who survived?" Daiki asked, glancing alternately at Aya and Mina.

"I'm not sure. But I hope there are still survivors from this incident. In that way, we can leave together," Aya replied, speaking her small hope.

"Then let us go to the teachers' room and look for the keys. I believe we have no other choice," Mina rose to her feet, dusting her skirt. "There must be other survivors apart from ourselves," she stated.

It suddenly occurred to Mina. "Wait, are we going empty-handed? I mean, they're everywhere."

"That's true..." Aya murmured. They fell silent for a moment before Aya gestured to Mina and Daiki. "You two, follow me."

Mina followed behind Aya, taking small steps while avoiding the pools of blood and scattered corpses on the floor. She suddenly realized Daiki was still standing near the door.

"What are you doing there? Hurry, come here!"

Realizing he was being addressed, Daiki pointed to his nose. "Do I have to come too?"

Exasperated, Mina rolled her eyes. "Fine. Don't call me if these corpses wake up again."

Mina then walked away, following Aya as she headed toward a corner of the building. Hearing Mina's words, Daiki grew nervous. Seeing the horrifying state of his fellow students' bodies made him shudder.

Ultimately, the chubby young man quickly ran after the two women who had already moved ahead. "Wa— wait for me!"

The Kendo practice hall wasn't too large, but it wasn't small either. It could accommodate around 40 to 50 students at once. The school decorated the room in a traditional Dojo style, meaning it was specifically designed for students to practice the art of swordsmanship. The floor was covered with high-quality wooden planks, sturdy enough to withstand every movement and pressure.

The sound of a wooden sliding door echoed. Watanabe Aya entered a dark storage room. As the martial arts instructor, she knew where all the Kendo club equipment was stored. Her hand fumbled along the wall beside the door she had just opened. A second later, her fingers found the light switch for the room.

"I thought all the Kendo club equipment wasn't allowed to be removed," Mina said hesitantly. The girl seemed to have guessed that Aya would give them the club's equipment.

Aya rummaged through all the cabinets and lockers in the room. "Normally, no. But the situation is different now. If the principal imposes a penalty, I'll take full responsibility."

She grabbed two shinai, the bamboo swords typically used for Kendo practice, turned around, and handed them to Mina. "That is if the principal is still alive," she added.

Daiki suddenly approached them, panting heavily and running just a few meters. To him, it felt like running around the school field ten times. Mina took the two shinai from Aya and handed one to Daiki.

"Eh— this is for me?" the young man asked.

"Just shut up and take it," Mina replied flatly.

"You can use these, right?" Aya asked to confirm.

Daiki laughed awkwardly, scratching his cheek, while Mina shook her head slowly. "We're not part of the Kendo club."

Aya pointed to the base of the bamboo sword. "Place both hands here and grip it tightly. If someone attacks you, raise it high and swing it down as hard as you can, like you're swinging a bat," Aya explained briefly and clearly.

Mina glanced around the storage room. Club equipment was neatly arranged in the cabinets, and Kendo uniforms were stored in the lockers. Soon, her gaze stopped on a baseball bat in the corner of the room. Mina walked over to it, picked up the bat, and placed the bamboo sword in its spot.

"I think I'm more comfortable using this," Mina said, examining the bat she held. The concept was almost the same—swing it as hard as possible.

"I don't know whose it is or why it's here. Maybe one of the Kendo club members forgot it when they brought it. Whatever the case, it's fine. Just take it," Aya permitted.

The three walked toward the exit, each carrying their weapon. Aya and Daiki held Shinai while Mina had the baseball bat. Whether they could use them effectively was a problem for later; the most important thing was that they weren't leaving this place empty-handed.

"Now, our goal is the teachers' room. If we're lucky, we might meet other students who survived and managed to hold out," Aya said.

Mina stopped right in front of the door. Her hand slid the door open slightly, creating a gap. Carefully, she peeked outside, scanning the area to ensure no zombies were nearby.

"It's getting dark. We should hurry."

"Did Ryuji survive too?" Daiki threw a question directed at Mina.

"He survived," Mina said as she opened the sliding door of the Kendo practice hall after confirming the situation. However, the girl paused for a moment when she realized something.

Mina closed the sliding door again, then turned to Daiki, giving him a sharp, piercing glare. "Why do you keep bringing up Ryuji?"

"Uh... hehe."

…