Volume 1 - Chapter 6

Love Puppy

Still discussing the plans to defend our new home in the woods, Aiko asked, “who can drive?”

Everyone except Yuki raised their hands.

Five out of six? I considered that a good percentage.

“Okay,” Aiko said, “that means we can get up to three new vehicles with each trip if Yuki and one other person stays here each time we go out.”

I nodded, understanding that with four people, one would have to drive the first car back, assuming we could find three good vans or trucks with each trip.

I said, “In the morning I can walk around the property and do the math on how many vehicles we might need for the barricade.”

“Sounds good,” the old man said.

Aiko shook her head. “If the noise from my sports car is what attracted these two, then driving more vehicles here will just make more of them show up.”

It put a damper on our faces. She was right.

Ryotaro smiled. “Maybe we can setup a decoy vehicle some distance away from here to lure the zombies in that direction?”

I thought about it but I wasn't immediately sure what he meant.

I asked him, "why would the zombies get lured by some random vehicles we leave behind?"

Aiko got it before I did. “The noise from those car radios and engines might be louder than the noise of our vehicles.”

“Precisely,” the old man said.

“Wait,” I answered, “so we take a vehicle to someplace away from here and leave the engine and radio playing loudly?”

“Yes,” Ryotaro nodded. “Then most of the zombies will go that way instead of following us back here.”

I thought it was a brilliant idea. “How did you think of that?”

He laughed. “Zombie books and movies. Making noise somewhere else always works in all those stories whenever the characters are dealing with stupid ones like these.”

Aiko and I both nodded. It made more sense than it should have, but it didn't seem like a long term solution. The fuel and batteries in those cars wouldn't last forever.

“Ryotaro,” she asked, “do you know where any of the hardware stores are that Yuki mentioned?”

“Yes, I think there's even one near a supermarket.”

“And do you know what kind of wood you will need to build a spiked barrier fence thing?”

“Yes,” he said, “but the problem I see now, like the moat, is I don't know how to cut enough wood without making noise. Doing it by hand with axes and saws will be difficult and take a long time.”

I nodded. Chiemi was more than right with her statement before. Since we didn't have power at the house, everything would need to be done by hand.

Digging a moat and sawing lumber sounded awful.

“What about generators?” I asked.

Aiko nodded, thinking the same thing.

“They are very loud,” Ryotaro said.

“Oh,” I said, instantly deflated. “How loud?”

“Louder than most cars, for sure.” The old man answered. “And a digging machine is loud also. I have not used one in a very long time. I don’t know if I still can.”

Having no idea how to operate an excavator or any other big machine, I didn't offer to try. I didn't even know if we could find one to bring back.

Chiemi and Mio returned to us after talking to Yuki for a while.

Aiko sighed, looking around the room at the small group. "Our situation is dire, but we have a general plan. Mio and Yuki will stay behind at the house tomorrow during our first trip."

It made sense to me. Yuki couldn't drive and Mio didn’t seem to be the best under pressure.

The trauma Yuki had experienced with the loss of her children was weighing heavy on her, so there was no reason for her to go into a dangerous city.

Aiko had a general plan that sounded good so far, thanks to Ryotaro. We needed to collect some vehicles and more supplies. We needed to setup decoy vehicles to help draw zombies away from our location.

Everyone nodded in agreement, and I could see the relief on Mio's face. Yuki, however, remained expressionless.

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"We'll make three trips in a row," Aiko continued. "If time allows. On the first trip, we'll look for guns and ammunition, and pick out some big vehicles. One of those needs to have a radio and plenty of fuel. We'll use that one to stage the first distraction point on our way back to the house."

I glanced at Ryotaro, who nodded approvingly. Chiemi looked thoughtful, her eyes scanning the room as if mentally cataloging our resources.

"We'll need to be careful of course," Aiko warned. "The noise from the vehicles will attract more zombies, and there are millions of them out there. That’s also why weapons are the first supply run. Food isn’t important if we can’t even survive the first few days.”

I swallowed hard, heart racing at the thought of facing more of those creatures. But I knew we had no choice.

Even a professional athlete couldn't kill more than a handful of zombies with a baseball bat if they swarmed us.

Aiko explained the second trip. "If the first trip goes well, our second outing will be to look for food and medicine and comfort items." She paused, looking around the room. "We will bring back more vehicles on that trip also."

I nodded, taking in the information. It was a lot to process, but I understood the importance of each step.

"Does anyone have any dietary needs?" Aiko asked, scanning the group.

Thankfully, no one said they needed any specific types of special food. I let out a sigh of relief.

It would have made things more complicated if we had to accommodate unique diets.

"Good," Aiko said, "that makes things easier. We'll focus on non-perishable food items and any medications that we might need."

"You should also look for comfort and hygiene items if time or ease allows," Mio suggested, "blankets, pillows, deodorant, toothbrushes, and things like that."

Aiko nodded in agreement. "Yes, good point. We will need to make this place as comfortable as possible."

I thought about the long hours I spent at the bank office, working into the night. I never had time for much comfort.

"We should also look for books," Ryotaro said, his eyes twinkling. "There are lots of things I don’t know how to do, like basic carpentry or electrical or gardening. We can't live on canned goods forever, and things will break."

I smiled at the old man's wisdom. He was right. Books could teach us how to do things we never had to do before.

Everything had changed in a single day. There were no more meat markets with fresh chicken or year-round berries. We couldn't just call up a repair person or a doctor when something went wrong.

Those days were behind us. We would need to be self-sufficient. I never had to worry about this type of problem before, but now we all did.

Chiemi said, "I will make a list of everything we need and then we can prioritize it.

"Good," Aiko said, "and you know what? Maybe we shouldn't plan for more than two trips tomorrow. We need so many things, but it might take all day just for this."

"Agreed," Chiemi nodded. "If tomorrow goes well, then we can plan for more outings. There are plenty of things to think about for long-term survival. Seeds for a garden, for example."

I nodded, impressed by Chiemi's foresight. I never would have thought of that. We won't be able to just buy already potted plants to transfer into the ground.

It was exhausting thinking about our new future.

Aiko yawned a big tired yawn, and then so did I. Then Ryotaro yawned. It seemed to be the universal sign that tiredness was contagious.

It had been a very long day for all of us, and the next day might just be longer. I was ready for some sleep.

“For now,” Chiemi said, “we should maybe think about setting up a watch system. I will take first shift. Two hours while everyone else gets some rest. Then someone else watches for two hours.”

Aiko nodded in agreement. "Yes, good idea. We can take turns keeping watch."

Yuki said, “I volunteer for second watch."

I turned to look at her. Everyone else looked as well, surprised that she had volunteered. Her sudden offer to participate was welcome.

Aiko and Chiemi both smiled.

"What?" Yuki said, “you are all risking your lives by going back into the city tomorrow. You need more sleep than I do.”

It was a valid point, and we all thanked her for the sentiment. I felt lucky in so many different ways. Our little group seemed to instantly click together.

Mio said, “well it’s only about six hours until daylight now, so I will take the third watch. Then the sun will be up."

Finally, Aiko ended the conversation by telling us she would go to sleep. "We should all try to get some rest. We will need our energy for tomorrow."

Ryotaro laughed. "I'm an ugly old man now, but in the morning I will just be an older man!"

I laughed at his joke. The women shook their heads but still they were all smiles.

Aiko lead me down the short hallway, Ryotaro following close behind.

I couldn't help but notice Aiko's fit body, held in by shapely black pants. I tried not to think about her like that, but I was just a horny young man and she was so beautiful.

Near the end of the hallway, there were two doors on each side. Aiko pointed towards the second to last door on the left. After opening, it was almost pitch black inside. With a little moonlight coming in through a small window, I could see the shape of a bunk bed.

"I call bottom!" Ryotaro laughed.

I smiled at his goofy joke. His funny words took my mind off Aiko for a second, and I was able to look her in the face when I sincerely thanked her for having saved me.

"I know I wouldn't be here without you," I told her. "You're my angel. You should know that."

Aiko smiled, her eyes softening. "Just doing what any respectable person would do."

She turned to leave, but not before stopping herself. Aiko looked me up and down again, a smile growing on her smooth face. She winked at me. "And anyways, you're kind of cute. Maybe we can work out an arrangement."

I watched her walk away, but all I could really think about was what she meant by this arrangement. I was confused and excited by this beautiful woman.

"Come on, love puppy," the old man said.

I listened to Ryotaro and we both got ready for bed.

Ryotaro and I settled into the bunk bed, with him taking the bottom bunk as he requested. I climbed up to the top bunk, feeling a little awkward about sharing a room with an old man I barely knew.

But Ryotaro seemed like a good guy, and I was grateful for his company.

As I lay in the dark, listening to Ryotaro get ready for bed, I couldn't help but think about the day's events. My sudden death, the zombie outbreak, the chaos in the city, and the woman who saved me.

It all seemed so surreal.

One thing was clear to me: I didn't want to mess up any chance I had with Aiko. I had never felt anything like the way I did for her. She was so confident, strong, and attractive.

I made a silent vow to myself to become stronger, both physically and mentally. She didn't want me to be a jock like the other guys she had known, but I would need some type of survival skills in order to live.

With that thought in mind, I tried to fall asleep, feeling a sense of determination and purpose that I hadn't felt in a long time.

Ryotaro whispered, "hey, love puppy?"

I whispered back, "what?"

The old man asked me a question I found to be surprising. "Do you think Chiemi likes me? I can't tell."

It was difficult not to laugh. His concern was kind of like my own concern. Just because he was an older man didn't mean he wasn't interested in companionship.

"I don't know," I answered honestly, "but I can try to find out if you want me to."

"No," he whispered quickly, "I am too shy."

I found it hard to believe. He seemed very outgoing and friendly. "It's okay. We will find out in time. Good night, Ryotaro."

"Night, love puppy."