Chapter 9
With the undead's scratching and snarling reaching a fever pitch outside the storage room, Kai and the others worked quickly, piling the crates and boxes in front of the entrance to form a makeshift barrier.
"It won't hold them for long," Kai said, his voice a strained whisper as he approached the shelves. "We need to get these moved, too."
Mai and Shiro ran to assist, their muscles straining as they pushed the heavy furniture towards the barrier.
As the improvised barrier creaked under the strain, the yomigaeri's attacks became more violent, with their bodies flinging themselves at the barricade and their decaying limbs splintering the wood.
Shiro screamed, her face bleached with horror, as a skeletal hand reached through the widening breaches in the barricade and grabbed her face.
In a sudden burst of adrenaline, Kai swung around, unsheathing a machete he had found laying around and slashing cleanly through the bony limb, separating it from the rest of the yomigaeri's body.
With the yomigaeri's severed limb crawling on the floor, Kai's gaze shifted to the window at the far end of the storage room.
"We have to jump," he continued, his tone serious. "It's our only chance."
The others stared at him, awed and perplexed. But as the barricade gave way and the yomigaeri's hungry cries grew closer, they realised the gravity of his words.
Mai walked forward, her expression grim and determined.
With the yomigaeri howling behind them, Mai dashed to the window. The glass shattered in an explosion of fragments, sending the body tumbling into the wide air.
Kai lost no time in shouting out to the others. "Go, go!" he exclaimed, his gaze fixated on Ren, who was being carried to the window by Shiro and Kaori.
Kanoe followed, her leap bringing her through the broken glass and crashing to the ground in a tumble of limbs.
In the final seconds before the barrier collapsed completely, Kai grabbed Ren and dragged him to the window. As the undead claws seized his legs, Kai jumped, his body arcing into the air with Ren following.
In a blur of speed, Kai guided Ren to safety, twisting his own body to protect their injured comrade from falling. The impact jolted him as his body smacked into the hard earth, the anguish fading in his consciousness as he scrambled to his feet.
Pain throbbed through Kai's body as he forced himself up from the ground, the effect of their narrow escape still clear in his thoughts.
Kaori and Shiro were up already supporting Ren who was groaning but conscious.
Kanoe was dusting shards of glass from her clothing with one hand still on the injured by her side.
Mai sat on the asphalt, her expression reflecting her nervousness, her eyes wide with fright.
As the sounds of the yomigaeri's growls and moans echoed in the air, Kanoe's urgent voice rang out, slicing through Kai's thoughts like a sharp blade.
"We have to move!" she said, her eyes wide with fear as she glanced back towards the storefront. "They'll be through that window any moment." Kanoe's urgent voice rang out, slicing through Kai's thoughts like a sharp blade.
"The alleyway!" he barked, his voice urgent as he pointed towards the shadowy passage. "We need to disappear from sight. Now!"
"Lets move, quickly! " Kaori urged, her tone mirroring the desperate urgency in Kai's voice.
In a desperate attempt to survive, the group ran towards the alley, their footsteps hammering on the concrete. The yomigaeri's bloodcurdling cries pursued them relentlessly, leaving little room for indecision.
Kai took the lead, scanning the path ahead for any sign of danger.
Mai stumbled, her legs collapsing under the weight of her terror, but Kai's fierce glance—a harsh reminder of their situation—stabilized her. "This isn't a movie!" he barked, his voice bearing the entire weight of their situation.
"Get up and keep moving! " he commanded, as he moved forward. She nodded, swallowing her fear, and pushed herself back up.
As the group went down into the alleyway's darkness, their gaze was drawn to an abandoned truck, its keys glinting in the ignition like a ray of light in the dark.
For a brief time, a glimmer of hope danced in their eyes, until the harsh reality hit them like a tonne of bricks: Kazuo, the only person who could drive among them was long dead.
The group got into a heated argument, with their voices rising in an eruption of fear and desperation.
"One of us needs to drive," Kai remarked, his voice loosening as she turned to Shiro. "You've had a few driving lessons, right?"
Shiro's face was devoid of colour, her face devoid of color . "Me? Drive? In this zombie apocalypse?! Are you joking? I barely know how to parallel park, let alone evade a swarm of flesh-eating zombies!"
"And who else is going to do it?" Kai snapped back, his voice rising in alarm. " we all witnessed Ren's attempt at parallel parking last week. And even if he was good, he is in no position to do anything at the moment."
Mai's eyes darting around the group. "I can barely ride a bicycle without falling over.
"Is that supposed to be a surprise?" Kai asked.
"Kaori's more likely to drive us into the nearest tree. Plus, the last time Kanoe was behind the wheel of a car, she thought the brake pedal was the gas pedal and crashed into her neighbor's mailbox!" Kai added.
The group fell silent, the last comment reminding them of that ill-fated driving lesson with Kanoe that almost had them all killed.
Shiro let out a loud sigh as the rest of the gang exchanged disappointed looks. "Okay, alright. I will try. But don't come crying to me if I accidentally murder us all. At least it will be quick."
Kanoe gave Shiro a witty smirk, her voice full of sarcasm. "Well, if you're trying to kill us, you're doing a pretty bad job so far. The yomigaeri are closing in quickly. I hope you can drive as well as you can speak intelligently."
With Shiro reluctantly assuming the driver's seat and the others getting in, the truck's engine roared to life, drowning out the growls of the chasing yomigaeri.
As the truck jolted forward, Kai leaned out the window, his gaze fixed on the swarm, which chased the truck with an almost insane determination.