After exterminating all the non-living beings from the maisonette with extreme prejudice, the group then began the task of removing the bodies. Due to the proximity of the river, they started dragging the corpses to the river bank and tossing them onto the lawn next to the fence.

"Man, I think it's taking longer to remove the bodies than it took us to knock them down in the first place," Shura said as she stretched her arms after tossing a body onto the sidewalk.

"I definitely don't want to sleep in a place knowing there's a bunch of corpses next door," said Miku, also dragging a body. "And Kazuki-senpai is even scouring the place to confirm if it's really safe."

"If you have time to talk, you should carry more bodies. There are still about 15 left," Kasumi said, carrying another one.

"Hey Miwa, where are Komuro and Takuzo? Shouldn't they be helping to dispose of the bodies?" Shura asked.

"Kazuki-senpai asked them, along with Miyamoto and Hirano, to take a walk around the neighborhood and make sure there's no group that will bother us during the night and look for the convenience store that Marikawa-sensei mentioned," Kasumi replied, emphasizing the word "group" to make it clear that they were talking about any kind, dead or... alive.

As the three talked, Taniuchi and Momo arrived, carrying a body together since they couldn't drag it. Their faces were pale, and it was clear they were holding back from vomiting.

Kazuki made sure that everyone, except Shizuka and Kyoko who were tidying up the houses, who did nothing during the convenience store event, helped transport the bodies. It was necessary for them to have the same reality check that he and the others who fought had to maintain cohesion within the group.

Regarding the invasion of the condominium, everyone fought in some way; there is no one in the group who has not killed at least one zombie. The experience greatly reduced the strangeness among the people in the group who had never interacted before.

...

The sun had set about two hours ago. It was around 8:30 PM, Takashi, Rei, Takuzo, and Kohta were walking slowly, observing the surrounding houses and the presence of people. Some houses had wide-open doors, others showed clear signs of being broken into. Only one or two houses had their curtains closed, and the few that had some kind of gate were locked, and although the movement of people could be noticed, silence prevailed.

Their patrol was silent with the occasional noise of Kohta's nail gun neutralizing some nearby zombies.

Whispering so as not to be heard, Takashi said, "It seems like a lot of people have already figured out that they are attracted by sounds."

"Only the smart ones, the people who are making all that commotion on the bridge are still completely deluded that this will pass in a few days. Or that the government can do something," Kohta replied.

"If it weren't for Kazuki-senpai, I think we would be in the same delusion as them..." Rei said.

"Naomi and I would probably be dead if you hadn't arrived at that time. So I'm very grateful to you for helping us... And even with the world ending, Kazuki-san is not letting fear take over," Takuzo reflected.

"Really, if it were me... honestly, I can't imagine what I would have decided at that moment when those people surrounded the bus... But Kazuki, although it was clear that he was tormented inside, was willing to run over all those people to keep us safe," Takashi spoke, trying to put himself in the same situation and imagining how bad things could have gotten.

"What's the plan now?" Rei asked.

"As far as I remember, Kazuki said that after we find a place to stay for a few days, we would go to each other's houses to try to find our relatives. Apparently, Takagi's house is the closest, and they are setting up some kind of refugee camp there, so we'll go there first," Kohta recited what he could remember from the conversation during the day.

"I think he wants to go there first to give us the option of leaving this group, doesn't he?" Rei inquired.

"..." No one answered her.

...

After a few minutes of walking and noticing that the frequency of sightings was increasing, they started walking along the walls of the houses to not provoke them. Kazuki had emphasized focusing on observation and if there were few of them, they could take them down.

Upon arriving at an empty spot, Takashi commented.

"Their numbers are increasing... And they're heading in the same direction..."

"They're starting to form a real horde. And their objective seems to be the bridges..." Kohta commented. "You can still hear, albeit faintly, the sound of megaphones from here. It's only a matter of time until a tragedy happens there."

As they talked, they heard what sounded like an argument, but since the voices were muffled, they couldn't understand. Looking at each other, they went to the source of the sound.

...

"Please, let us in! I can't run away and leave my daughter and wife behind. They're everywhere!" A man in suspenders and dressed like a salaryman banged on a door holding a pipe wrench. Beside him, a small child no more than seven years old was in the arms of a brown-haired woman who looked visibly disturbed and glanced around constantly.

"Go away! Find another place to stay!" a voice from inside the house said.

"Darling, let's go somewhere else. They're starting to approach the area," his wife tried to dissuade him, but the man knew that the chances of finding another place they could stay in such a short time would be minimal, fearing for his family's life, he made a decision.

Raising his pipe wrench ready to knock on the door and force them to open it or else attract the attention of all the zombies in the vicinity.

"Wait!" A voice from outside startled him suddenly, and looking, he saw a group of four students, one of whom apparently had a gun. Due to the things he had already seen during the day, the man did not let his guard down and remained vigilant as he waited for the high school student to continue speaking.

...

A few minutes earlier, Takashi, Rei, Takuzo, and Kohta upon arriving at the scene noticed the situation. Takashi promptly tried to help but had his arm grabbed by Rei.

"What do you think you're doing, Takashi?!"

"What do you mean 'what?' let's help them." He replied as if it were obvious.

"Making a decision without thinking again?! Didn't you almost let Shido onto the bus because of that?" She retorted.

Takashi fell silent, and after a few seconds, he took a deep breath. "Thank you. I'm calmer now, but I still think we should help them. It's a father trying to protect his wife and daughter! I refuse to believe that this world has consumed so much of our humanity that we can't even think about helping them."

The other three remained silent until Kohta noticed the man's action and spoke. "Guys, he's going to do something stupid, it's now or never." He didn't need a response; Takashi and Rei ran to the scene and exclaimed, taking care that only the family could hear.

"Wait!"

...

"You don't need to do this; you can come with us. We have space where we are, and you can stay together," Takashi said with a smile.

"Look, Daddy! They said we can go with them, and that big sister looks so cool!" The child, completely oblivious to the tension of the situation, suddenly exclaimed, completely breaking the mood.

"Let's go quickly, or the horde will arrive!" Kohta, who was keeping an eye on the streets, said.

With no time to overthink and seeing what seemed to be a light at the end of the tunnel, the man, looking at his wife and seeing her nod, turned to Takashi and Rei and said.

"Thank you, we'll go with you. By the way, my name is Kenji Maresato, this is my wife Maria Maresato, and my daughter Alice."

"I'm Takashi, and this is Rei; the other two are Kohta and Takuzo. Please come with us and remain completely silent." Takashi then took the lead of the group, following Kohta's instructions on where there were less zombies.

Along the way, they encountered a group with four zombies. The Maresato couple froze for a moment, but Rei quickly advanced towards them and with a precise blow pierced the brain through the back of the head of one of them and kicked another one to push it away. As she returned, Takashi crushed the skull of the one Rei had kicked, and Kohta dispatched two more with his practically supernatural aim.

Alice's eyes were shining watching their actions. The Maresato couple, on the other hand, looked worried, thinking about what these kids had to go through to treat these walking dead as just a common sight and attack them so decisively and fearlessly.

The way back was challenging, as it was more difficult to make adults walk over the walls with the risk of falling onto the accumulated groups of them. They had to change the path several times, avoiding crowds, cleaning up small concentrations of 3 or 4. At times, they heard various screams of pain and despair from the people being attacked in the area, and with renewed focus, they continued their return. As they approached the condominium block, they saw a group of more than 30 of them wandering the streets.

"Now we're screwed," Takashi murmured. "We can't pass through here... and now?"

"I've already called for backup." Kohta said seriously, showing Kazuki's cell phone in his hand. "He has two phones. One iOS and one Android."

They then hid on the porch of a house that had a low wall but with an unlocked gate. After making sure there was no one there, they waited for the signal.

Soon, a strong beam of light from a flashlight illuminated the street and the group of zombies.

Kazuki, Shura, Kasumi, and Saeko were in the middle of the street behind a set of obstacles. Several tables and sofas were placed at intervals to ensure they served as stumbling blocks for the zombies. On the side walls, Miku and Momo were with the crossbow and the bow respectively, and Taniuchi was in charge of replenishing their ammunition. Kyoko and Shizuka remained in the house.

Thanks to an extremely powerful flashlight that Kazuki bought, there were no blind spots on a small street like this. And the best part is that all this was more than a block away from Rika's house.

"When did they prepare all this?" Takuzo asked, surprised.

The Maresato family were incredulous at what they were seeing; that group of fewer than 10 people were really preparing to face 30 of them.

"Since we decided to help the Maresatos," Kohta replied, making sure to include everyone in the decision to help the Maresatos so that Takashi wouldn't feel guilty. "I sent a message to Kazuki asking for help with extraction. You guys are exhausted after fighting so much on the way here, so rest first, and then come help." He concluded before climbing onto the wall and walking until he reached a good point to shoot.

Realizing that everything was ready, Kazuki then grabbed a pot and threw it against the obstacles.

TLAM TLAM~

Several completely whitened eyes turned towards the group and began to walk.

"Here we go~"

To be continued...

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