...1 Hour Ago...
Shizuka Hiratsuka sat behind the wheel of her sleek Aston Martin, a vehicle that represented not just luxury but the culmination of years of hard work and careful saving.
However, her pride and joy felt more like a prison cell at that moment. She had been stuck in a seemingly endless traffic jam for the past half hour, and the seconds crawled by without a hint of relief. The frustration bubbled within her as she absently tapped her fingers against the polished surface of the steering wheel, her bright eyes scanning the line of cars stretching endlessly ahead.
To combat her growing impatience, she turned up the volume of her car's speakers, letting the familiar melodies of her favorite anime openings fill the vehicle. Each song transported her to nostalgic memories, providing a brief escape from the stifling reality of gridlock. She sang along softly, her voice melding with the vibrant tunes as she tried to drown out the cacophony of honking horns and disgruntled shouts from fellow commuters.
As the minutes ticked away and her thoughts turned practical, she muttered under her breath, "I'm going to be late." A hint of worry crept into her voice as she reflected on her dead-eyed favorite student, who she hoped was navigating the Valentine's event smoothly. "I hope everything is going well for them," she thought, a small tension easing in her shoulder as she considered the importance of the occasion.
Outside, the scene was a chaotic display of human impatience. Police officers, clad in bright blue uniforms with yellow vests, were attempting to direct traffic. Still, their efforts seemed futile amid irate drivers tapping their horns and leaning out of their windows to express their frustration.
With a resigned sigh, Shizuka glanced at the clock on her dashboard, feeling the weight of urgency settle upon her once more.
After what felt like an eternity, traffic finally started moving, and Shizuka let out a breath as she lightly pressed on the gas. But her relief was short-lived; a sudden halt from the vehicle in front of her yanked her back into frustration. Glancing around, she realized she was precariously situated in the middle of an intersection.
Shizuka strained to see what was causing the commotion when, out of nowhere, a frantic man barreled down the road, weaving between cars in a panic-fueled rush. He was followed by another man, then a woman, all with terror etched across their faces.
"What the hell?" Shizuka murmured, rolling down her window, heart pounding. The cacophony of screams echoed in the air, a wave of pure panic rising around her. Her stomach dropped as she caught sight of a red and black blur before it collided violently with one of the officers directing traffic.
Her breath caught in her throat as she saw the man straddling the officer's stomach, a sinister glint in his almost glowing red eyes that sent a surge of primal fear through her veins.
While watching an officer of the law being assaulted would have already made a shocking sight, things only grew worse as Shizuka saw that the man above the officer was missing skin on half of his lower face.
With a growl, the mangled man lunged down and bit down into the screaming officer's neck. Sending blood splattering to the ground.
Shizuka stared in shock, her mind momentarily blank as she processed the horrific scene in front of her.
The blaring horns and the screech of rubber on asphalt faded into the background as she remained frozen on the sight of a deranged man eating the officer's face off, completely oblivious to the large, barreling truck that thundered down the middle lane to her left. Its massive size seemed almost menacing as it plowed through the vehicles in its path, sending smaller cars skidding helplessly to the side while the driver inside the truck clutched at his bleeding neck, his expression a mix of panic and pain.
The sickening sound of metal crunching against metal finally jolted Shizuka out of her stupor. Turning her head sharply, she caught a glimpse of the truck crashing into the side of her car, the force of the impact slamming her back into her seat as if a battering ram had hit her.
A sharp gasp escaped her lips as she felt the violent jolt propel her even further into the plush leather of her seat. In an instant, her once sleek Aston Martin slid backward, colliding forcefully with the side of a nearby bookstore. Glass shattered like crystalline rain around her, and shelves in the store filled with colorful books toppled over, spilling their contents across the ground.
Dazed and disoriented, Shizuka blinked slowly, trying to clear the stars clouding her vision. A high-pitched ringing echoed in her ears, drowning out the commotion around her. As she pushed herself up, a sharp pain radiated from her head, and she felt something warm and wet trickling down the side of her face. Her fingers, trembling slightly, brushed against her scalp, and she grimaced as they came away stained crimson.
Once the haze around her vision began to dissipate, she attempted to open her door, only to discover that it was stuck fast, jammed against the wreckage. Frustration bubbled within her as she groaned and turned her gaze left. The sight of the truck pressed against her once pristine car greeted her. She was trapped inside.
"Bastard," Shizuka muttered through gritted teeth. "You… better have good insurance."
With a sad sigh, she undid her seat belt. Shizuka moved into position and reared back her right foot. With a swift kick, she kicked out her car's windshield, glass splintering outward. Cautiously, she crawled out onto her car's hood, each movement sending spikes of pain through her throbbing head.
Once Shizuka was on solid ground, she turned to watch the truck's door slowly open. She glared at the cabin, preparing to deliver the tongue-lashing of a lifetime to the person who had hit her Aston Martin. Suddenly, a body fell out of the truck in a heap. She paused as the driver crashed to the ground, a low, raspy groan escaping his lips.
"Hey, are you okay? Let me help you!" Shizuka said, about to move forward. Suddenly, the man bent at an unnatural angle, his back arching as he turned to stare at her with his red, bleeding eyes. There was a large and bleeding wound on his neck that exposed flesh that seemed to have been made by a bite. He roared with rage and flipped to the ground in a heap of limbs, quickly rising to his feet.
Stepping back in shock, Shizuka watched as the man dashed toward her. Acting on instinct, she slid into her fighting stance and landed a spinning back kick that connected to the man's head, sending him crashing into the fallen and destroyed bookshelves.
"What's gotten into you!?" Shizuka yelled. But to her shock, the man began to stand to his feet, as if her kick had only tickled. This baffled her due to the fact that her powerful kicks could easily break wooden boards. "No way… that should have knocked you out."
The infected truck driver hissed and leaped at Shizuka, but she quickly sidestepped, causing the truck driver to crash headfirst into a bookshelf, which collapsed on him.
Not willing to stay in the ruined bookstore any longer, Shizuka stepped outside and leaned against the back of the large truck. As she did, she gasped at the sight of dozens more people with red, glowing eyes—like the truck driver—growling and chasing people down the street, which had developed into chaos and anarchy. Shizuka shook her head and turned to see a pair of out-of-control people ripping the organs out of a high school student.
"W-what… what is this?" Shizuka said, but jumped as a roar echoed behind her. She spun around to see the truck driver charging at her again. "Stay away!"
Weaving under a wild swipe from the infected, Shizuka stared at the truck driver as he tripped on a stack of debris from the collapsed wall. He rolled out into the street, his face scraping along the rough asphalt. Just as the man was about to stand, a speeding car drove by and rammed into the truck driver.
Shizuka watched as the truck driver flipped in the air and landed violently in a heap of broken limbs. It was clear to see that his spine was broken, yet he continued to move.
"How are you still moving?" Shizuka asked as the truck driver was seemingly ignoring his injuries as he tried to crawl to her, his red eyes staring at her with rage and hunger. But due to his ruined limbs, all the man managed to do was squirm on the floor. "What's going on?"
Shizuka crouched low, heart pounding as two sleek fighter jets screamed overhead, their powerful engines roaring like angry beasts. The sharp wind whipped through her hair as she instinctively cupped her hands over her ears, attempting to block out the deafening cacophony. The ground trembled beneath her from the turbulence, and she held her breath, her stomach knotting with anxiety.
Off to the lady of the street, a speeding car barreled down the street like a missile, its tires shrieking against the pavement. With a sickening thud, it crashed into a nearby building, triggering a colossal explosion that lit up the evening sky with a blinding flash. A small shockwave rippled through the air, cascading toward her and sending debris flying in every direction.
Shizuka stumbled back against the robust frame of an abandoned truck, its metallic surface cold against her skin. The brutal eruption unleashed a fiery ball that engulfed everything in its vicinity, sending flames licking hungrily at the asphalt and scattering a group of infected nearby, their guttural growls merging into the chaos.
Calm down! Don't panic! she chanted in her mind, fighting against the rising tide of panic.
The screams of the wounded filled her ears like a haunting melody, each cry piercing her resolve. The monstrous roars of the infected echoed through the chaos. In the distance, the sounds of honking horns and the shrill screech of metal-on-metal filled the air, punctuated by the sickening crunch of another car crashing.
It was absolute pandemonium.
Her survival instincts surged to the forefront of her mind. I need to get off the streets. It's not safe here. Shizuka took a deep breath, forcing herself to focus. She peeked cautiously around the corner of the truck, scanning the war-torn street before her.
In that moment of desperate clarity, she spotted a potential escape route—a narrow alleyway to her right, its entrance partially obscured by fallen debris. But she couldn't dart out into the open with nothing but her bare hands. The thought sent adrenaline coursing through her veins as she searched the ground, desperate for anything that might serve as a weapon.
Her eyes fell on the remnants of a collapsed wall—stone and steel scattered across the ground. With a steely resolve, she crouched down and reached for a jagged steel pipe that had broken free from the wall's structural support. It was heavy, and the cold metal felt solid in her grip as she tightened her fingers around it.
Now or never, Shizuka thought, steeling her resolve as she prepared to navigate the perilous streets filled with infected, her senses heightened and every instinct screaming for survival.
"Normally, I'd use my martial arts to take down any pushy asshole," Shizuka said, turning to the squirming infected truck driver. Despite his inability to move, he was slowly making his way toward her by wiggling on the ground like a worm. "But if everyone else is like you, then I don't think my kicks or punches will be able to stop any of you."
After drawing a few calming breaths, Shizuka took a moment to survey her surroundings once more. Adrenaline coursed through her veins as she waited for the opportune second, then, with a burst of decisiveness, she dashed out from her concealed position and sprinted across the street. Instantly, several infected figures caught sight of her movement, their guttural growls and feral roars spurring her to push herself into a faster, more desperate pace as the infected gave chase.
As she darted into the narrow alleyway, Shizuka deftly weaved and vaulted over debris and obstacles littering her path. The crashing sounds of limbs and bodies colliding echoed behind her, a stark display that her pursuers lacked her agility. But they made up for that with sheer relentlessness.
Breath coming in labored gasps, Shizuka turned sharply at a corner, and her eyes landed on a fire escape, its ladder dangling invitingly. With remarkable agility, she launched herself against the wall, catching hold of the last rung on the hanging ladder. Pulling her weight upward, she climbed swiftly, her muscles burning, until she finally reached the top of the fire escape. As she caught her breath, she looked down to see the small group of infected run past her.
Moving to the rooftop, Shizuka leaned over the edge, taking deep breaths as beads of sweat trickled down her face and neck. Pain throbbed in her temples, but she pushed it aside, the urgency of survival overshadowing any discomfort. Peering over the edge, her heart sank as she gazed out at the sprawling city of Chiba.
What lay before her was a chaotic nightmare. Dark pillars of smoke billowed up into the murky sky, their tendrils curling ominously as flickering flames danced across various buildings, casting an eerie glow over the destruction. Stretching as far as her eyes could see, hordes of infected roamed the streets, a gruesome scene of devastation unfolding. Most were savagely feasting on the remains of their victims, while others relentlessly pursued those who still had hope of escape.
Shizuka's heart clenched as her gaze fell upon a small child, unnaturally hunched over a woman's lifeless body, gnawing at her face with a sinister fervor. The child's eyes glowed an unsettling shade of red, void of humanity, filled only with a primal fury that sent chills down Shizuka's spine.
Leaning on the edge, Shizuka despaired.
"How? How did things end up this way?" Shizuka muttered to herself, just as a loud gunshot caught her attention. She crouched low, staying out of sight, and peered down the road, where she saw two ten-man troops of the Japan Self-Defense Forces walking up the road. They were armored, wearing gas masks and holding assault rifles.
"The JSDF?" Shizuka exclaimed, a growing smile spreading across her face. Relief washed over her as she watched the troops easily dispatch an incoming group of infected, taking them down with well-aimed shots to the head. She waited, expecting to see the dead rise, but they didn't move. "So, the only way to stop them is by damaging the head?"
Feeling reassured that the JSDF would soon gain control of the situation, Shizuka smiled as a relieved man and woman—apparently a couple—ran toward the soldiers.
"Help! Help us!" The man yelled.
"Those things are killing everyone!" The woman yelled, tears in her eyes.
Two of the soldiers shifted their attention toward what Shizuka could only assume was their troop leader, a figure standing slightly apart from the others. He had an authoritative presence, commanding attention with a sharp uniform and a steely gaze.
The group seemed engaged in a hushed conversation, their body language animated with a mix of urgency and tension. Although Shizuka strained to catch snippets of their dialogue, the distance rendered their words inaudible, and all she could discern were the occasional gestures and expressions that hinted at the seriousness of the situation.
The exchange was brief, though—after a moment, two of the soldiers stepped forward, their movements synchronized as they raised their weapons. The metallic glint of their firearms caught the faint light, and Shizuka felt her heart race as she realized the gravity of their intentions.
Once the man and woman were close enough, the two soldiers fired at the couple.
Shizuka fell to her knees in horror as the couple fell to the ground, dead.
"Remember our orders. Everyone who isn't one of us is presumed to be infected. Eliminate them all, no exceptions," the troop leader commanded, and the group continued. "Now let's keep moving. We need to make the extraction before they set off the bombs."
Shizuka pressed her back against the cold, unforgiving brick wall of the rooftop, her heart racing as more gunshots echoed through the air like thunderclaps. She could do nothing as bodies—some twisted and grotesque, others still alive and innocent—collapsed down below her.
Rubbing her throbbing temples, she curled her knees tightly to her chest, trying to ground herself amidst the chaos. Just as the weight of despair threatened to envelop her, a spark ignited in her mind.
"The community center!" she gasped, the realization crashing over her like a wave. Images of her beloved students—Hachiman, Yukino, Yui, Hayato, Saika, and the rest—flooded her thoughts. A surge of resolution pulsed through her veins. Grunting with effort, she pushed herself upright, her resolve crystallizing in her chest. "Hang on just a little longer, everyone. Sensei is coming."
With a firm grip, she swept her hair back into a tight ponytail, her movements steadying her racing heart. Shizuka strode toward the fire escape. Fear still loomed within her, but the fierce protectiveness swelling within her now tempered it.
The world around her was a chaotic blur of violence, a nightmare turned reality, yet one truth remained clear: her students were in peril, and she wouldn't let anything stop her from reaching them.
Once back on ground level, Shizuka reemerged on the now quiet streets. The JSDF soldiers were still in sight but had moved further down the road. After taking a calming breath, Shizuka moved quickly but silently through the abandoned cars. She paused as she found the corpse of the officer who was once directing traffic. The officer's head was missing as his torso was ripped open, exposing organs and viscera.
Shizuka almost threw up then and there, but composed herself.
Deciding to keep moving, Shizuka stepped forward but paused when a glint caught her eye. Looking down, she noticed the officer's firearm lying on the ground. It was a small caliber, S&W M360J "Sakura."
Carefully picking it up, Shizuka examined the weapon. After a moment of hesitation, she tucked the firearm into her waistband.