Volume 1 - Chapter 7

Drive Into Kanonji

Ryotaro and I woke up to the sound of Aiko's gentle knock on the door.

The night had been peaceful, and nothing bad happened while we slept.

I was grateful for the uninterrupted sleep, and I stretched my limbs. I could feel leftover tension in my body slowly dissipate.

The sun was rising, and its light shined brightly into the cozy home.

Aiko's voice carried through the door, "breakfast is ready, guys."

Ryotaro and I exchanged a glance before climbing out of our bunks. We followed the enticing aroma of freshly brewed tea to the living room, where some of the group was already gathered around the low table.

Mio greeted us with a warm smile, "good morning, sleepyheads!"

Chiemi nodded in our direction, while Yuki offered a small wave.

I noticed Aiko was not wearing the same tight clothes as yesterday. She had on some loose grey clothing, but she was still just as beautiful.

Mio was busy pouring tea for us. I shifted my focus to the petite woman. She was pretty, with small features stereotypical of shy Japanese women in modern media.

I couldn't help but admire Mio's graceful movements. She loved making and giving others different types of tea, and she was very kind with her words.

Aiko asked, "are you going to eat?"

I turned back to the angel who saved me yesterday. She looked radiant in the morning light, her hair cascading down around her face in soft waves. Aiko's face was a beacon of hope for me in this dark new world.

It took every bit of strength imaginable to keep my eyes from drifting down. I knew I was a horny young man, but I kept focused on her face like a good boy.

"Definitely," I managed to say. "Looks delicious."

Breakfast was a single manju bread from a big box of them that Aiko found somewhere the day before.

The bread was super soft, and as I took a bite, the sweet red bean paste inside melted in my mouth. It was absolutely delicious, and I found myself craving a second one.

I knew we needed to ration the food in case we didn't easily find more. I forced myself to savor each bite, making it last as long as possible.

Ryotaro, on the other hand, didn't practice any self-control. He ate his entire manju bun in two bites, and I couldn't help but chuckle at his enthusiasm.

It helped take my mind off the beautiful woman sitting across from me.

She probably thought I was weird and awkward, but I was acting strange because she was like a goddess. How was I supposed to behave?

“Delicious!” Ryotaro exclaimed.

All the women smiled at the old man’s enthusiasm.

I remembered what he said last night and looked over at Chiemi. Her response was just like the other women so I didn't know how she felt about Ryotaro.

After eating, Aiko said, “well, should we get ready for the day? There’s lots to get done.”

We all agreed. The longer we waited, the less we would get done, and the more zombies might arrive before we got any defenses built up.

As we finished our breakfast and prepared to leave, I remembered I didn't know how many vehicles we would need. The first barricade of cars around the property would need to have a big circumference, otherwise we would simply box ourselves into a tiny space.

Considering the size of each vehicle, I decided it might be a better idea to wait until we had some of them before I started estimating.

An exact number of cars didn't matter right away. I was certain we would need a bunch, and the bigger the better. We needed vans and trucks. Those vehicles would also hold more supplies.

We gathered ourselves for the trip and Aiko lead the way out of the house.

Outside, the sun was shining brightly and the air was crisp and cool. It was a beautiful morning with perfect weather.

I climbed into the car with the others, feeling a sense of relief as I settled into the back seat. Mio and Yuki were staying behind, and four of us were going to get supplies.

Aiko took control, her hands steady and confident on the steering wheel. Ryotaro and I exchanged a quick glance before he leaned back, his eyes closing as if preparing for a nap.

“We just woke up,” I joked with him.

“And I’m still ugly,” he laughed, “maybe fifteen more minutes of sleep will cure me.”

I shook my head at his humor.

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Chiemi sat up front, her hands folded neatly in her lap.

Aiko backed us out of the long driveway, and I winced as we ran over both of the zombies we killed the night before.

Their bodies crunched beneath the tires, and I was grateful I couldn't see the details through the windows.

The roads were eerily quiet. We saw no creatures or people for a long while down the mountain road. Then the only sounds were the hum of the engine and the occasional moan of a nearby zombie.

We zipped by them. They turned and started following us towards the city. I laughed, thinking they would have a long walk.

I found myself scanning the road ahead, searching for any signs of danger. Even though Aiko was driving and Chiemi could see more from the front seat, I wanted to be on the lookout.

The winding road down the mountains went directly by some farmhouses, businesses, and bodies of water I hadn't seen in the dark of night.

In the sky above us, giant numbers were still visible. It had changed to 363. I saw Aiko and Chiemi studying the strange overhead display before looking myself.

"What do you think it is?" Aiko asked.

Chiemi shrugged. "No idea."

"I thought it was one of those big spotlights last night," I said, "but that doesn't make sense now during the day."

Aiko nodded. "Well it's one less than yesterday, so if it's 362 tomorrow, maybe it's some kind of countdown?"

"Maybe," the older woman answered.

I didn't like the sound of that, and even if it was a countdown for a full calendar year, how was it being displayed in the sky?

"I don't know," Aiko finished, "just thinking out loud."

"Hmmm…" Chiemi nodded.

Conversation fizzled out for a while. We were headed to the Kanonji area, which I was very familiar with. I assumed all of us were since we'd been in the middle of our lives when the meteorites struck.

Ryotaro's voice broke the silence. I thought he was asleep and he startled me.

"You know, I used to love driving. It was a way to escape, to see the world. But now... now it just feels different and way too uncanny. I keep shaking off the feeling like everything we're doing and seeing is some type of replication."

I nodded in agreement, my thoughts mirroring his own. “I have the same feeling. It's all real, but also not real."

Aiko and Chiemi agreed but didn't say much for a minute.

"I feel like my car is holding up too well, if I'm being honest." Aiko said, "it's really fast but can only take so much damage right?”

Her voice was calm and steady as she responded, "it will be okay, I guess. I’m not ready to give up on it yet, and it's crazy how many zombies I've run over already.”

I nodded, understanding. I didn't want to tell her there were probably a thousand other sports cars just like it in the city. This one obviously had a sentimental value for her.

Instead, I suggested something else. “Okay, so the types of vehicles we are looking for. I’m thinking vans and trucks because they will hold the most supplies and also they're blocky enough to make the best barricade, right?”

Ryotaro said, “yes! I always saw delivery vans near the Onohara schools where I was teaching until I retired.”

Aiko nodded. “I know that area well.”

“Good,” Chiemi asked, “what about the weapons you mentioned? Are there any gun stores in Kagawa?”

I shook my head, not knowing.

Aiko shrugged and said, “I have no idea.”

I asked, “does anyone’s smartphone still work?”

I didn’t see anyone at the house using a phone and no one had mentioned it yet.

Chiemi exhaled loudly. “No! Mine quit working almost immediately after the emergency notifications yesterday.”

Aiko had a similar story. “Mine stopped also. It has like 20% on the battery but it's basically useless. I already tried so many times.”

“I think there might be a gun place in Marugame or Sakaide,” Ryotaro said, “but I don't know the address and I am also not 100% sure.”

We all felt deflated. We could no longer just search a map for places. If we didn't already know where something was, then we would have to find it ourselves.

Marugame was not far away but we knew there were lots of businesses in that part of the city. Even though I worked in an office building there I wasn't familiar with any shops that sold guns.

There were not very many places in Japan to get guns because we had very strict laws about them.

Chiemi asked, “what about a military base?”

Aiko and I shook our heads at the same time. I didn't say anything and she answered. “The closest one is across the bridge in Kurashiki, right?”

“Yes,” Ryotaro and I said at the same time.

There was a moment of awkward silence as Aiko kept driving and we didn't know what to say.

I understood the main objective for this first mission was to find guns and ammunition. That was going to be the only way we could protect ourselves against the zombies.

Fighting them back with baseball bats and swords and other stupid weapons didn't sound like fun. There were too many.

We drove by some more zombies who were stumbling along the side of the road. They turned to look as we drove by. Brainless, they started walking towards us like we were easy meals even as we cruised away.

Then Chiemi had a great idea we should have already thought of but didn’t.

“What about the Onohara Police Station?” she asked.

Ryotaro laughed, “YES! They have guns. I know where that is.”

Aiko nodded. “So do I. That’s a good idea!”

I smiled at the new plan. We had optimism in a new goal after putting all our heads together.

We passed Gogo Dam on the right and continued down the mountain. Before I knew it we were nearing the city.

I could see smoke rising in the distance. My heart raced as I realized just how bad things had gotten.

It made sense. There were definitely other survivors like us but maybe they were trying to make a new life in the city instead of out on the mountain away from chaos.

Without firefighters there were going to be blazes that burned for days and took out entire neighborhoods.

I wondered if the zombies were smart enough to move themselves away from fire or if they let themselves get roasted. It was a weird thought, but I laughed about them being burned to a crispy shell while standing around brainless.

“We will be in the city in a minute,” Aiko said. “We should have a solid game plan with a clear goal.”

“Agreed,” Chiemi responded.

I didn't suggest anything since Aiko had taken the leadership role. That was fine by me, and I was ready to do anything she needed.

Aiko asked, “do we want to go straight to the police station?”

“I say yes,” Ryotaro exclaimed.

Chiemi nodded. “Agreed. That’s the most important goal of this trip, right? We need weapons.”

“Yes,” I said.

We all agreed to the first step of the plan.

If the police station was locked, we would break in. If it had already been looted, we would double check to be sure, and then we would leave. We would try to be as quiet as possible.

If there were no weapons to take then we would go to another police station and try again until we got lucky. We would do that a few times if necessary, and then we would look for vehicles to take.

We each knew how to get back to the house in the mountains just in case we were separated.

And lastly, we were not specifically looking for food, medicine, and comfort items on this trip, but if we saw something easy and abundant, we would take it.

The plan might change under different circumstances.

Talking through the scenarios with them was encouraging, and I had confidence in the people with me.

We would find the supplies we needed, and we would make it back to the house in the woods.

Aiko slowed the car as we approached a group of abandoned vehicles at an intersection, their doors hanging open as if their occupants had fled in a hurry.

Our eyes scanned the area, searching for any signs of danger. I only saw a few zombies wandering around aimlessly.

We passed by a pond on the right I knew to be Iseki Pond, and entered Kanonji, where the road was narrow. Homes and businesses were packed in tightly on both sides.

It didn't look anything like I remembered it. Everything felt abandoned and dead except for the former humans.