(It's not like I hate animals or anything. But goddamn it Zeke is really trying to get us killed by barking right in front of the house.)

"At least the corpses are not trying to get inside. Not yet anyway." I say as I keep looking below, at the corpses outside the gates.

"I know. Still, I would rather not have a horde of corpses right in front of my front door. For peace of mind if nothing else." Kohta said with a serious expression on his face.

(Well… I don't think it would really matter whether we had this horde here or not. The road is already crawling with corpses anyway.)

A couple of seconds later, I heard footsteps behind me. Turning around, I see Takashi.

"Hope you like dogs. Our little barking friend down there got us our very own horde at the front gate."

I say as I point behind me with my thumb. Then turn around again, and look at the rest of the neighborhood.

(I don't need binoculars to see how bad things are. I mean Hell, even if I was blind, I would still hear the occasional scream between all the moaning corpses.)

I turn my sight towards the bridge. Still filled with honking cars.

(And if I do remember correctly, the corpses are going to overrun part of the evacuation bridge. Things are probably really bad over there right now. Or they will be, soon)

I turn my sight once more to the nearby streets.

(Soon, we'll also have to save Alice. The group already thinks I'm not too keen on getting new members, as I pretty much said so back in the sports store after all. I guess, it's time to contradict myself like it's going out of style.

Question is, what do I do when shit does hit the fan?

While we do have one more gun that can kill from a distance, both the M1 and the AR-10 use the same ammunition. And as Kohta will need to go full ham and use a couple of mags here, if I join the party we'll be out of ammo before we can even blink. Not that I'm stupid enough to go out there unarmed though. I'll take the shogun and a couple of extra shells with me. Hopefully, I'll not have to use it, or worse, have to reload it mid-fight.)

While I was stuck in my own head, I felt a hand shaking my shoulder. I turn around to see Takashi. Looking pissed for some reason?

"Naier, can I have that shotgun for a bit?" Takashi says as he extends his arm.

Looking around I see that Saeko was also here, staring at Takashi.

(This, is where Takashi tried to go all Rambo, right?)

"You know how to use it?" I ask calmy.

"I… I can't just stay here and do nothing Naier! I'm not asking you to go out there, just let me have the gun for a bit." Takashi responded as he slightly glared at me.

(Ughhh… I really want to tell him that we can't save everybody, but in a couple of minutes we will try to save Alice, with me going along with it. I don't want to have to contradict myself 'that' hard.)

Thankfully I didn't have to opine, as Saeko spoke up a couple of seconds later.

"Komuro, did you forget that sound attracts them?" She speaks up before turning around, exposing her backside as she walked back into the room. Causing Kohta to nosebleed and Takashi to follow behind her, after looking at me for a bit with a strange expression.

(Well, that suddenly played out exactly like in the anime, weird.)

I shook my head and glanced outside.

"It's not like I want to leave people out there to die. But we won't survive an hour if we try to help every person in need. We will either run out of resources. Or die horribly while we're trying to play heroes." I say as I keep looking at the corpses that were now feasting on somebody's remains, and hear Kohta sigh.

"I know, but still, I… it's just." He stammers.

A couple of seconds later, Takashi comes back outside, binoculars in hand. I kneel down and sit with my back against the fence. I stayed silent as Takashi started speaking with Kohta, not really paying attention to what they were saying, already knowing how this would go.

Takashi then kneeled down next to me and started looking with his binoculars. I turn myself around and follow suit, sans binoculars of course. Alice would appear soon and there were more important things I needed to wreck my brain over instead of whether I'm being humane or not.

The fact that I was about to go into hugging distance from a large horde for example.

(Chivalry and goodwill ain't gonna do shit if I'm dead. Time to start worrying about how I'll stay alive while we try to save Alice.)

It didn't take too long after that, until I saw Takashi's head freeze in place. Turning my head towards the direction he was staring at, I see two figures walking into a house's yard that still had all its lights on…

As I did not have the binoculars, I could not see the event that would unfold as clearly. But, I didn't need to, for when Alice started crying her eyes out next to her dying father, I could hear her pretty fucking well.

And then, out of nowhere...

"Rock and roll!" A single shot was fired from Kohta's rifle. He then starts rambling under his breath with a grin, before firing a second shot.

And then another and another.

He kept on shooting for a few seconds, before Takashi spoke up.

"Hirano, what happened to not firing and abandoning people to save ourselves?" Finishing his sentence he turns his sight to me with a smug expression on his face.

(Yeah, yeah, rub it in won't ya. Be the hero in shining armor, I'll be the dark knight, I prefer black anyway)

"Dude! It's a little girl!" Kohta shouts as he turns his head at the two of us. His gun still pointing towards the illuminated house

"We are going to save her, right?" Finishing his sentence he also turns to me.

Now both of them were looking at me...

(Really now? Well whatever, it's not like I was aiming to disagree. It would not change anything either way)

"How many magazines do you have?" I ask as I turn to Kohta.

"Four, all ready to go." He says with a grin before turning his head back towards the house, taking a position to fire once more.

"Takashi, are we going to use the bike to get there?" I ask, turning my head to Takashi this time.

Takashi smiles and nods eagerly, before turning around, walking back into the house.

Before going through the window door, I turned to Kohta one last time..

"I would normally tell you to not get too trigger happy… But ughh, fuck it. Go nuts. I don't wanna end up dead because I told you to go easy on the bullets."

I see Kohta making a thumbs up, his face still glued to the scope.

I then turn around again and run into the house, to get prepared as quickly as possible. Inside, I grab a couple of shells and quickly load the shotgun to its maximum capacity.

(Five shells in the magazine, six with one in the chamber.)

I get up and grab another handful of shells and shove them in the side pocket of my pants. And then, I start running towards the lower floor, checking the shotgun's sling as I wear it. Getting to the stairs, I see Takashi on the lower floor, getting a handgun from Rei.

I stopped running and walked down the stairs as fast as I could. Dying by falling down the stairs is only funny in comedies after all.

"Do not rely on the gun. The sound will make them flock to you." I hear Saeko say to Takashi as I pass her by.

"If you think that little water gun Takashi has is loud, wait till you hear this thing firing." I say as I walk past her, lifting my shotgun with one hand, and stopping next to Takashi before turning around.

Saeko turns her head to me, but before she or I can say anything, Takashi speaks up again.

"Naier and I are going to rescue someone. And we're going to use the bike to do it, we'll be making a lot of noise anyway. Using the guns won't make much of a difference."

(I just hope with me on the bike he'll be able to drive as well as he did in the anime. In any case, time to be a hero, or die in the process.)

While I was deep in thought, I noticed that the rest of the group sans Kohta, was staring at me again.

(Wait, did they ask me something? Crap… I need to pay more attention.)

"You have the shotgun so I'll drive." Takashi says as he then turns around and walks to the door, opening it before walking to the bike. I nod before following behind him.

"So, I'm riding shotgun with a shotgun." I say with a deadpan face, not that they could see my face, mask and all.

Takashi turns to look at me without stopping. I just shrugged.

Apparently, while I was thinking, the rest of the group have decided on the plan of action. The plan being using a concrete slab with a wooden plank for a ramp in order to go over the wall of corpses that have gathered outside.

(I just hope the 'ramp' won't give way under our feet, or well, wheels...Ughh no, no thinking like that now. The whole thing will be hard enough as it is, I don't need to make it harder for myself by overthinking about what can go wrong.)

With that cheery thought in mind, I walk next to the bike and climb on the back, gripping Takashi by the shoulder.

"I hope your driving skills are as good as your enthusiasm, or we will be needing some saving as well." I chuckle lightly as I speak to Takashi.

"Don't worry Naier. I got this." Takashi answers confidently as he turns the bike on.

(Sure you do, you even wheelie over a corpse and land on your ass…)

Rei and Saeko were at the gate, next to the 'ramp' and the corpses that were banging up against said gate

"I'm all set here, no more time-wasting Takashi. If we are going to save that little girl, we do it now." I tap Takashi's shoulder before cracking my neck bones.

Takashi nods as he wears a pair of fingerless gloves he picked up from god knows where before he starts revving the bike.

And then after a few revs, we blasted forward.

The bike speeds through the narrow driveway before going on the makeshift ramp and into the air. I turn my head to the left and look up at the second floor of the house.

"Kohta! Lock and load!" I shout as the bike flies over the two girls and the gate.

The bike then goes over the corpses, and lands on the asphalt a few meters away.

My grip on both the shotgun and Takashi tightens as he makes a sharp turn to the right before speeding down the corpse infested road. Takashi drove the bike between the corpses, making a beeline for the house where Alice was located.

All the while, corpses were dropping left and right from Kohta's handiwork. One shot, one kill...

(God damn. That guy can shoot.)

Getting near our destination, we see another wall of corpses ahead of us. Luckily, said wall was not blocking the door to the yard that Alice was in.

Nonetheless, Takashi pulls on the brakes hard, causing the bike to drift sideways before violently accelerating forward, towards the gate of the house. The sudden speed increase caused the bike's front wheel to lift.

I did want to warn Takashi that he would fall on his ass, but well, it was already too late. The bike was already on a wheelie, as it went over a corpse that was laying on the floor.

Not sparing any time, I let go of Takashi and jumped off the bike before I would end up falling along with him. A couple of big steps later as I bled the momentum, I came to a full stop, while Takashi went flying. He then fell on his ass as the bike flew into the wall of the house.

I ran to Takashi, grabbed his arm and helped him up.

"Still in one piece?" I ask.

He nods before turning to look behind me. I turned around to where he was looking. There was a single corpse, heading towards Alice, Zeke in front of her still barking.

(Seriously that dog is just drawing fucking attention now, more importantly though.)

"Takashi, get that corpse near the Lil' one, I'll get the ones near the gate." I say as I start moving. I lift the shotgun and look down the sights before walking towards the open gate. The corpses outside slowly shuffled towards the yard.

Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site.

I point the shotgun in the general direction of the first three corpses that had just passed said gate, and pull the trigger…

All three corpses blasted back, accompanied by a deafening sound. Creating an opening for me to go near the gate and close it.

(The hell!? Is a twelve-gauge supposed to do THAT much damage? I expected it to knock down or kill one corpse. But It literally just sent everything in front of it flying!)

I thought as I ran to the gate and swung it shut.

(Well, I'm not complaining, I'm the one with the broken gun here. Also, five.)

I pump a new round into the shotgun and turn around. Takashi was going all out on the corpses to the left of the yard, keeping them away from Alice while Zeke kept barking.

On the right side of the yard, three corpses remained.

I raised my shotgun, crouched slightly then began to slowly walk towards the nearest corpse. Before I could even do anything to it though, it got blown back, blood splattering from the back of its head.

(Headshot. Nice job Kohta.)

And like that the other two corpses also drop motionless in a matter of seconds from Kohta's well-placed shots. I turn around towards our house and look in the direction that Kohta should be at and give a thumbs-up.

(Alright yard's clear. Now we need to leave, probably the same way Takashi left the house in the anime. As the shotgun alone should have gathered every single corpse near us to the gate.)

"Good job."

I turn to the voice to see Takashi looking at me. I nod and glance at Alice as Takashi walks up to me, the little girl walking behind him. I was thinking about what to do, when Alice started talking.

"My...dad." Alice breaks the silence as she looks at the dead body of her father near to the front door of the house. I turn around and look at the dead body then turn to Takashi and whisper at him.

"I suck at comforting people, I'll leave this up to you." I whisper to Takashi before walking away.

(Actually, the thing is… I don't think I'm 'bad' at comforting people per se. It's just that, well, when people I don't want to gut alive start crying right in front of me. It kinda makes me tear up as well. And so, knowing that Alice will start crying soon, yeah, I'd rather not join the waterworks.)

While Takashi was comforting Alice, I moved to the locked wooden door that led into the house.

(It would not be too hard to bust the door open. All it would take is one well-placed shot...)

I raise my shotgun and point it at the door. Through the corner of my eye, I could see shadows through the window, I could feel them staring at me.

(But, who says I wouldn't have done the same thing if somebody tried to force their way into my house. While nobody from the team knows, in the anime the father did shout that he will break down the door if they don't let him in. And he was not bluffing, he was about to do exactly that right before he got stabbed.)

I stay like that for a couple of seconds, before giving off a huge sigh. As I lower my shotgun and begin to turn around, I hear Alice start to cry.

(...fucking timing...)

I turn towards the window.

"You'd better find a better way to protect your god damn family! Lest someone retaliates from your fucking actions one day!"

I shout towards the window, and then turn around. I walked towards Takashi, who was kneeling down, hugging Alice as she wept.

"For a minute, I really thought you would shoot down the door." Takashi says as he looks up towards me.

"And so did I, but, I need the ammo." I say as I look at the metal fence door. Hands sticking out of it as it kept rattling.

"So, how do we leave? The front gate is an obvious no go." Takashi asks as he turns his head to the gate, or more likely, the corpses behind it.

"Can't we escape through somewhere other than the street?" Alice asks, causing me to turn my head to her.

While she still had tears in her eyes, she had stopped crying and was looking at Takashi.

"How about by flying through the sky?" Takashi says sarcastically as he sighs, looking towards the fence wall.

"Oh…!" And his eyes go wide a couple of seconds later. He then turns to me.

"Is your balance good?" He asks.

"Good enough." I replied as I let go of the shotgun, leaving it to hang on my sides.

"What's the plan?" I ask, for propriety's sake.

"We can walk on the fence wall to get over to the next house's yard." He says as he points to the medium-height concrete wall that separated us from sure death.

"Alright, I don't see any other option anyway." I said as I nodded to him.

"So… uhh, who carries the little girl?" I hear Takashi ask as he gets up.

And his question was quickly answered, as right after that, Alice got up and grabbed him by his sleeve, hiding behind his legs.

"Uhh… I think that would be you. I don't think she likes me." I say as I point my finger to Alice, causing Takashi to look behind him.

"Your mask… is scary." Alice says as she stares at me, still hiding behind Takashi.

I sigh and shake my head.

(At least she didn't call me a God frigging penguin...)

"You go in the front, and I'll watch your back. Do be careful, you have more than one life on your back right now." I say as I move to climb the wall that leads to the next house yard.

(This wall has fewer corpses on the other side. No reason to try and climb the wall that has a sea of death on the opposite side.)

I grab the top of the wall and lift myself up, then check the other yard.

(Well, while there are fewer corpses here, there are still too many for the three of us to sneak through. Walking on the narrow wall it is then)

I turn around to see Takashi carrying Alice piggyback style. He gets close to the wall and grabs it.

"Need help?" I kneel down and offer my hand. Takashi nods and grabs my arm.

"Thanks, man." He says as he climbs up and starts walking in front of me.

And like that, we begin walking down a narrow line.

(Fall to the left and it's game over.)

I stared at the seas of corpses left of me as they moaned and grind against the wall. And while said wall was too tall for them to climb, it was not high enough to stop the corpses from reaching for our legs.

(All they have to do is reach out. At least the wall on the next yard is a little bit higher. Still not enough to keep us safe from random hand grabs though.)

I grab my shotgun and aim it low to the left as I keep walking, keeping my eyes on the corpses down on the street.

(I just hope that if I use it here, I won't also blast my own leg off. This thing's blast range is not normal. Not for 'my' world's standards at least. And I never did manage to shoot with a shotgun at the gun range to check how destructive they were. Yet with so much power, shouldn't the recoil be as strong? Because it sure as hell didn't feel like it. I would probably have dislocated my shoulder otherwise.)

I turned my head to see Takashi stopping, we had reached the end of this yard's wall. Just as Takashi was about to walk over, the dog decided to do its part, and started licking Takashi, only for Alice to stop it seconds later.

"Thanks...Are you scared?" Takashi asks as he walks over to the next wall fence.

(Again, things are going exactly like in the anime...)

I turn my head and look at the cat that was sleeping next to us, not a care in the world.

(Cats gonna be cats I guess, no fucks given...)

I then turned my head and saw that Takashi was walking away. I proceed to also walk up to the next wall fence, catching up to Takashi. Who suddenly came to an abrupt stop. As I got near, I heard Takashi say something with disbelief in his voice.

"So, uh, how about you say that again..." He asks.

"I need to pee..." Alice replies with a meek voice.

(Oh… this thing. You know, now that I think about it. I 'could' have asked if anybody needed to 'use' the bathroom in a half joking manner before getting up the wall. Ughh… why didn't I think of this earlier.)

Takashi then starts grumbling, talking nonstop in a silent voice. Until Alice whines that she can't hold it anymore, with a rather loud voice mind you.

I look behind me and take a big step back. And like that, a couple of seconds later, I see Takashi's jacket becoming wet.

(Right… even if he won't fall, no reason for me to just sit and watch.)

I let go of the shotgun, letting it hang on the sling and wait for Alice to 'finish'.

And then, like clockwork, a female corpse's hand reaches for Takashi's foot, almost grabbing it by the laces, causing Takashi to lose his balance. I quickly took a big step forward and leaned my body forward. Taking the step with my right leg, my left leg staying in place for balance. And grab both of Takashi's shoulders.

"Whoa!." Takashi takes a deep breath as he holds Alice's legs in a death grip.

He turns his head back and looks at me.

"Thanks." I nod in return, and let go of his shoulders.

He then turns to the left, to the sea of corpses, then forward...to the end of the fence.

"Damn it, the fence ends soon… Where can we go now?" He asks rhetorically as he keeps staring at the corpses and the dead end.

(Ohhh, wait. I could use the flashbang.)

I think as I reach for my belt, only to grab air.

(That I left in my bag… that I left on the roof… Shit! Uhh, no matter, the group should come to the rescue any second now. They're supposed to appear right after Takashi starts staring at the horde.)

Yet, nothing happened...

Seconds pass...and the seconds then turn to minutes.

(For the love of. Out of all the things that could go differently, this had to be one of them?)

I grumble under my breath and look at Takashi. I was about to speak, when I heard an engine roar that was getting louder by the second. Followed by a pair of lights that kept coming closer to us.

I sigh in relief.

(Had to make me freak out first huh?)

I heard Takashi laugh as the Humvee closed in. Now that they are nearer, I could see Saeko standing upright on the humvee, Kohta under her.

(I'm actually surprised Kohta is so focused even with Saeko standing over him like that. Actually… What gun is he using? I got the shotgun right now soo...)

My question got answered when the Humvee started running over the corpses, stopping with a drift some feet away from the far end of the fence wall we were standing on right now.

(That's the M1 right?)

Takashi was saying something, but I was too busy watching the whole scene unfold to hear what he said. The moment the Humvee stopped, Saeko jumped off and proceeded to wreck whatever sorry corpse was near the Humvee in the secluded part of the street.

"Hurry up Takashi!" I hear Rei shout causing both of us to snap out of our reverie.

"It's not that simple!" Takashi shouts back as he starts walking along the fence to the Humvee.

(Ohh, don't mind me. I will… just exist here. Bleh.)

I whine in my head as I follow behind Takashi. I also see Saya saying something as she pops out of the car, causing Kohta to grin and start shooting.

(Right no shotgun overkill. Oh. Wait!)

"Kohta, my bag, flashbang!" I shout causing Kohta to turn to me, nod and disappear into the humvee, only to reappear seconds later with a flashbang in his hand.

"Flashbang!" I hear Kohta shout as he pulls the pin with needlessly dramatic flare before throwing it.

"Cover your ears and close your eyes!" I shout as I cover my ears, only to see Takashi turning to me, his eyes filled with worry. He was holding Alice, who was using her palms to cover her eyes and her thumbs to shut her ears. If he let go of Alice to cover him self, Alice would fall… but if he didn't cover his ears, he would end up falling himself.

(Shit...SHIT, bad call. BAD CALL.)

"CLOSE YOUR FUCKING EYES AND LOOK AWAY FROM THE FUCKING GRENADE!" I scream as I closer and cover his ears and eyes with my hands as Takashi turns his head to look towards the right.

The last thing I saw, was Kohta looking at me, his eyes going wide before he also looked away and covered his ears.

(Ehh, at least the rest seem to know what to do...)

That was the last thing that went through my mind before I closed my eyes and turned my head to my right, trying to cover my left ear with my shoulder.

And then, a deafeningly loud explosion. My mind went blank for a second as both my ears started ringing. If my senses were bad with just my eyes closed, then now I felt like a fish falling through the sky.

Actually, scratch that. I 'was' falling.

(Not...good!)

The moment I hit the ground I open my eyes. A very blurry image of the night sky appeared along with a black blocky blotch on the lower part of my vision. Probably the wall...

My ears were still ringing like crazy, I could not hear a damn thing, and my eyes could only see blurs. Well, at least they are clear enough to see a couple of shadows standing over me, slowly becoming bigger and bigger...

Without much time to think, and with all of my senses being a jumbled mess, all I could do was act on instinct. My knees were bent, meaning I was 'stepping' on the wall.

I quickly put strength to my legs and end up doing a backward roll, until I ended crouched on my feet. I then used the stock of the shotgun as I turned around, taking a swing and hitting nothing but air.

I took a few awkward big steps towards what appeared to be a house, until I reached the its wall, opposite of the fence. With a wall on my back, the corpses shouldn't be able to ambush me, even with my messed up senses.

(Come on god damn it! Clear up already!)

I slap my mask in frustration before looking back ahead of me.

All I could see is still a blurry hell. But, I could make out some shadows walking towards me. I turn to the fence wall to see a blurry blob on top of it.

(Takashi, he's still on the wall, good. Gotta tell him to move)

I shouted at Takashi to move, hoping that he could hear me as I could not even hear myself scream right now. And well, if the corpses weren't coming towards me then, they sure are now.

The shadowy blob on the wall then starts to move towards the right. I nod and turn my head to the shadowy figures that were approaching me. then checked my right side before walking to the right, circling around the shadows as I went wall to wall.

(Can't have Takashi behind these idiots, I might hit him with a stray pellet.)

After the wall that Takashi was on went out of my vision by strafing to the right, I lifted my shotgun.

(Even if deaf and blind, I'm still going to KICK- YOUR- ASSES.)

I pull the trigger and one of the shadows flies back meshing into the shadowy mess that I assume is the ground.

(Four...)

I pump a new bullet and turn the muzzle of the gun towards the next nearest shadow. I pull the trigger again and the shadow disappears just like the one before it.

(Three… I can't even hear the damn shotgun right now.)

I aimed towards the last shadow as my vision was slowly getting less and less blurry.

And pull the trigger.

(Two)

I counted the rounds as I pumped in a new bullet. I then lift my mask and massage my eyes with my hands

(I know this won't help but, ughh come on, I need to be able to see. Even if it's night, the street is pretty well lit, and the area is quite open with no real bright colors to reflect the light from the flashbang. Plus, with all the corpses that were around the flashbang when it went off, they should have blocked some if not most of the light, add that the mask's visor has a slightly dark shade...come on damn it)

As I keep blinking, my sight slowly returns to acceptable levels. Still blurry, but I could now see the corpses crawling on the grassy ground.

(Ohh, why hello there dipshits.)

I lift the gun and point it towards the nearest one.

And with a pull of the trigger, the impact jerks the corpse's upper torso back before hitting the ground as it stops moving for good.

I then pump another round and lower my mask.

(One.)

I let the shotgun fall to my sides and look at the wall.

Takashi was not there.

(He probably already jumped to the humvee. God... I hope he had jumped to the humvee.)

I grumbled as I walked to the wall and climbed it.

Getting on top of the wall, I then looked towards the blob that looked most like the Humvee. I could see blurry faces looking at me. I think they're speaking?

Well, I couldn't hear jack squat.

(Let's see. Oh, there. I see Takashi, I think.)

I then turn around and look at the surrounding area...

(Man the place sure does look different now that everything is blurry...)

I then turn to the Humvee again, before looking down.

Thankfully my vision was clear enough for me now to see the thin wall without the danger of mistaking a corpse's face for a brick. I turned my attention back to the Humvee once more, I could see that the group was looking at me, mouths moving.

I take a deep breath.

(This… will probably be loud.)

And I shout that I can't hear a thing as I point to my ear with one hand.

I then start walking on the thin wall, and upon reaching the end, I see the gap between the car's hood and me.

(I need to jump. Oh boy… I don't think I ever felt so insecure about a fucking gap. C'mon, you can do it, it's just a small gap.)

I was about to jump when I saw the car slowly moving towards me. I lift my head to see Shizuka in what I suspect was a serious expression as she drove closer to the wall.

(Awww… ok, enough time-wasting.)

I take a deep breath, bend my knees. And jump.

I fly through the air before landing square in the center of the hood with what I assume was a loud bang. I lift my head as I get up and climb to the roof to see the group looking at me, their mouths moving again.

(Still can't hearrr yooouuuu.)

I say to the group that we need to get going before we get surrounded, and that I still can't hear a thing. I then walk to the hatch of the humvee and climb inside, the people on the roof following behind me.

After I take a seat, I let out a huge sigh as the car finally starts moving. Only for a pair of hands to grab my face and turn it to the left, where I found Saeko's face.

It was close enough for me to understand what her mouth was saying, even with my blurry vision.

Too close...now that I think about it.

(Are… you… alright. I think that's what she's saying?)

I nod and give her a thumbs up. She stares at me for a bit before she closes her eyes and lets go of my head. I then turn around to check the rest of the group's condition.

I don't know if it was because of the blurry faces, but they all looked kind of worried.

Even Saya, who was sitting in the front looked worried...

Saya...worried...

(Yeah, probably just my blurry vision playing tricks on me.)

And then, something else caught my attention, and it gave me an idea

(Hmm, I wonder...)

I start moving my head in a sniffing motion before stopping at Kohta and Takashi's direction.

And then...

"I MIGHT BE DEAF AND HALF BLIND, BUT MY NOSE STILL WORKS. AND YOU TWO… SMELL, LIKE, CRAP."

I say in a silent voice as I point my hand at the two of them.

(Ohhhh, I can hear myself speak again.)

Takashi and Kohta just looked at me in surprise...blinking. Alice, who was sitting next to Takashi, went wide-eyed.

(Ohh, wait… the pee incident)

"YOU TWO SMELL LIKE GUTS, BLOOD AND BAD DEODORANT. YOU HOBOS DIDN'T TAKE A BATH BACK AT THE HOUSE DID YA? "

I 'silently' ask as I lift both my hands.

The guys were starting to dart their eyes around in embarrassment. Alice, on the other hand, seemed to have relaxed a little.

And then the girls decided to do something that everybody knows is a bad idea. But then go ahead and do it anyway.

That being, checking the smell. And… they all ended up with the same reaction, hand to the nose.

I could actually see Alice giggling now.

(To think she can actually laugh when her dad just died what, an hour ago? She bounced back fast, too fast. Well whatever… mission complete.)

As the group started to relax, I closed my eyes. Shutting off the only window I had right now with the outside world that somewhat worked.

Before long I also realized something...

(I think I just cock-blocked Takashi here. I'm sitting between him and Saeko.

Also… I'm hungry. And God! My head hurts!)