Chapter 44 - Exodus

Rei felt like this was his end.

Without his body moving, he was surrounded by zombies.

Was there any more critical situation than this?

It was just like a Bad End.

If it was an anime, the hero would at this time come to help, but there was no hero like that.

The zombies caught his head.

Rei slowly closed his eyes…

“Don’t touch Rei!!!”

A loud voice suddenly reverberated, and the zombies simultaneously looked upward at the bus.

The silhouette lit up from the light behind on the bus could be described with one word “Big”.

“Hah!!”

At the same time, something was being scattered.

Then, a few seconds after, an explosion erupted.

The zombies were blown away sideways in front of Rei, and only the tip of an elbow was now holding Rei’s head.

Rei had seen that hand somewhere, and when he looked up, the hand was reaching out for him.

It was Ryou.

“I won’t let you die.”

“...Thanks.”

Rei squeezed the hand tightly and returned back on top of the bus.

“But, the zombies didn’t decrease at all.”

Rather, it looked like they had multiples instead.

“Well, because of the flashy explosion, they probably come from downtown. To begin with, it’s dangerous here. Let’s go inside.”

“Yeah.”

Rei safely returned to the bus alive.

Rei had been saved.

Still, the situation hadn’t turned for the better, and they hadn’t found a way to survive either.

The echo of the zombies hitting the body of the bus continued on forever, and there wasn’t a single person looking happy.

The gloomy atmosphere inside the bus wasn’t a living person.

“In this case… In this case, even if they use their voices, the zombies aren’t humane, huh.”

Ryou couldn’t help but mutter.

“...That’s right, the manhole!”

Rei suddenly raised his voice.

“See, the escape route through the manhole! Let’s use that! It’s too early to give up!”

“...How far away is the manhole from here? Aren’t there more than 200 meters? How will we move there? And even if we were able to reach it, we don’t have the time to remove the lid.”

Takumi listed his reasoning, and Rei held his tongue.

However, Rei didn’t give up.

Rather, by not abandoning hope, he wanted to become a little stronger.

“But, isn’t it no good to give up here… Isn’t it human to make an effort to live? Everyone right now is a zombie. Zombies who have given up on life…”

No one said anything back.

As expected, it was already hopeless huh.

No, that’s wrong.

Because there was no one standing up at this time.

“Isn’t that right, Tooru!”

“...Yeah!”

Tooru stood up.

“Everyone, please listen to me. We might be able to be saved.”

Everyone raised their faces at those words.

Life returned to their faces.

“This is a bet as hopeless as it’s all or nothing. Or rather, everything depends on luck.”

“...Hurry and explain it please.”

Shinji urged him.

“Yes. The key to breaking through is this!”

Tooru pointed in a direction.

Everyone followed where his finger pointed and saw the noticeable wooden planks on the floor of the aisle.

“...Wooden planks?”

“This is a cover-up from a damage that happened for some reason when Ryou was remodeling the bus.”

“And what about it?”

“It’s a simple matter. A manhole might be below. If the manhole is connected to the sewage manhole, we might be saved. …The percentage is near zero. Still, if there is a manhole to escape to somewhere far, it might not be strange to be in the vicinity.”

“This is merely wishful thinking!”

“Even then, it doesn’t matter. Rather than be done in by the zombies, without trying something, I want it to be after a struggle.”

And then, Tooru touched the wooden planks with his hands.

The plank didn’t move much.

“...Oh.”

Tooru, Ryou, and Rei peeked into the gap, and in the their vision, there was certainly a manhole.

“It’s there!”

“Shimoicho sewage system” was written around a circle on it.

It was something supporting their existence.

The three of them stretched out their hands and moved the lid.

“Everyone, bingo!”

Everyone’s face returned to that of humans’.

“Let’s return, to our home!”

He heard a banging sound.

“Hmm? What sound is that?”

Finding the drowsiness too much, Daiki moved in the direction of the sound while yawning.

Bang bang, bang bang…

“Is it this area? Or is it here?”

Bang bang, bang bang…

“Below…?”

Daiki looked down at the ground.

When he did that, he saw that the manhole was close.

“From the inside here…”

Daiki’s drowsiness disappeared, and he opened the lid of the manhole.

When he did that, a person’s head rushed out of it.

“W-woah! …Huh, Tooru!?”

Tooru’s hair was flattened by the water and his clothes were dirty.

“We’re back, Daiki.”

“...Yeah. Come up.”

Tooru grabbed his hand reaching out to him.