The group had already settled themselves into the Faculty room for a couple of minutes now. They had barricaded the doors and window panels that connected outside to the hallways.
They were all suffering from some kind of strain, whether it be mental or physical.
"We can take the minibus used for school trips to get out instead since Marikawa-sensei's car is too small," Saeko remarked.
Kout,a who was by the window, had identified that while one of the minibuses was missing, there was still another left.
"A bus is fine and all, but where to?" Shizuka asked, seated beside Saeko.
"We'll make sure our families are safe," Komuro who sat on the floor with his back to the wall below the window, drinking a bottle of water said, "We'll stop at everyone's house, starting with the closest, and if necessary, help them out. Then we'll look for somewhere safe."
"We're sure to find a spot," Saya continued, wearing a pair of glasses now as she had just removed her contact lenses - she had regained her composure. "The police and special forces should be on call. There's gotta be shelters, like when earthquakes hit."
While they were discussing this, Saeko had her gaze briefly lingering over Dion's figure, seated a little distance from everyone else who was in mid discussion.
He looked weighed over by an uncomfortable exhaustion. Faintly visible licks of sweat ran down his forehead while his breathing looked somewhat uneven. His brow,s as well, were faintly wrinkled.
With everything going on, almost no one noticed besides her. Or perhaps, looking tired and sick was the expected outcome of all that was going down, so they all dismissed it. Only she recognised that it was odd for him to be so fatigued already.
"Are you okay?" A curious concern came from Saeko, who had come to sit across from him.
He gave a small smile and nod.
"Just stressed out," He confessed, a half-truth, "I'm worried about my family,"
She stared at him silently for a long moment. Perhaps he was just tired. So, she nodded and glanced at the others. Then she stood, making a short trip to the refrigerator under his curious watch, opening it to remove two chilled water bottles amongst other beverages.
"Here," She offered him one as she came to sit by his side.
"Thank you," He gave a faint smile.
Then, in a slight crack of the lid opening, he downed half the bottle in a single go.
A refreshed sigh ans the light thud of it back down to the table came before he glanced back to her. She hadn't touced her bottle yet.
"How are you holding up, Saeko-san?" Dion asked, leaning over the table with his arms.
"All things considered?," She muttered, leaning back into her seat and crossing her arms under her bosom, "I'm managing."
She then paused, however, and her gaze veered away while her smile fell as she continued to explain:
"My Father is all the family I have left, he has been off continent for a martial arts exchange, leaving me with little urgency and more helplessness with my worries,"
Her brows quivered into a faint crease as her visage fell into a slightly pained obscurity. She winced.
"Excuse me..." She murmured as she briefly rubbed her head.
Her sudden, strangely physically pained expression caught his faintly worried attention, yet he did not say anything.
She continued regardless:
"Father...he would not wish for me to worry for him. Emphasising on the needlessness of it, however..." She went on as she once again met Dion's gaze.
Their silent look lingered for a moment before she found herself with the faintest of blushes.
The sudden headache wasn't pleasant at all. Yet she noticed that despite being apart for a year, the respect and confidence he looked at her with were still present.
"I know how you feel," He said.
Gradually, she smiled a little again.
"..."
"What the hell is going on..?!"
Rei's hushed shout raised everyone's attention to the high-hanging TV she was looking at with apparent nervousness.
Kazu took the remote, increasing the volume.
"...In response to the riots raging all over the country, the government has enacted emergency counter-measures." In the reporter's background, there were rolling tables of body bags, and she continued:
"However, the Special Defence Forces public security operation is paying no heed to the current opposition party, and there is a strong argument for more cautious action..."
"Riots?! What do they mean, riots?!" Takashi's disbelief rattled through his voice.
"...Already, casualties are estimated in excess of two thousand," The TV announcer continued, "Prefectural governors are declaring a state of emergency and requesting disaster relief..."
BLAM!
"There are gunshots! Police have already started firing!! I don't know the situation, but...Eeekk!!"
She hollered and dropped her mic, and the body bags lifted off their beds.
"No-What?! It can't be! H-help!! Uwaaargh!"
Fzzt!
Just as the announcer screamed bloody murder, the channel cut, sending their viewership into the studio where two male announcers sat with a map of Japan in their background.
Highlighted over this map were carpets of red areas across the continent.
"We are having technical difficulties, we...we will continue our coverage from the studio."
"..."
"The streets are a very dangerous place right now, so please refrain from leaving your home, if possible. Also, please barricade windows and doors and reinforce glass windows where you can. If, for whatever reason, you are unable to be in your home, please head for the nearest shelter in your area..."
"That was it...?" Takashi stepped forward with his mouth hanging open and continued, "That's all they're going to say?!"
"They don't want to incite panic," Saya came over, arms crossed under her bosom as she spoke.
"Isn't it a little late?" Rei asked almost rhetorically.
"This is the perfect time for it," Saya continued, half turning to her, "Fear gives rise to chaos. Chaos gives rise to the collapse of social order, and when social order collapses... How do you propose we retaliate against zombies?"
Kazu changed the channel to the World News with trembling hands, thinking about how Dion was right. He thought to his family, praying and hoping they had managed to survive or at least like him, had someone save them.
"Authorities can't find a solution to the abnormal situation that has spread across Europe," The world news announcer said as scenes of groups of zombies cycled through.
She continued, "Ехесutives of the federal government have abandoned the White House and have announced that they are moving the Cabinet to the Dome Shelters. They advise all able citizens to make their way to join them once the commotion dies down."
The scene shifted to military personnel currently in firing combat against other groups of zombies, and she continued, "This just in. We have lost contact with Moscow."
"Rome is in flames."
"London is keeping relative order, but looters are running rampant in Paris and Russia."
The TV cycled through scenes of aircraft bombings, military gun fights and trodding zombies as they spoke. And at the mention of Rome, Saeko was the only one to notice how Dion clicked his tongue, glaring and immediately ignoring the TV.
It was an insignificant detail, however, as far as she knew about him, he wasn't one to easily lose composure. Then again, she also knew him as someone who did not cuss as much as he did now.
"When I surfed the net this morning, everything was fine..." Kohta mumbled.
"I'm right, aren't I? There's got to be somewhere safe, right? Like, actual Shelters?" Rei came, clutching to the hem of Takashi's shirt as her voice quivered.
"..." Takashi simply gritted his teeth, not answering.
"Fat chance," Saya declared to Rei.
"You don't have to say it like that!" Takashi shouts back at her.
"This is a worldwide pandemic, got it? There is nothing we can do!" Saya rebuked, "What do you think a measly Shelter will do to help?! An enclosed shelter would be more like a deathtrap waiting to swallow us all whole!"
"This is worse than the black death from the 14th century when a third of Europe died," Shizuka continued as she hugged herself, "Maybe...maybe when enough people die, it will just peter out."
"But...the ones who die just get up and attack others," Kouta said
"Meaning there's no reason why it should stop," Saeko said.
Shizuka came to a realisation then, "With the heat we're having, the flesh will rot off them, leaving only bones soon enough! They should stop moving within the next 20 days!"
"We shouldn't count on them rotting," Dion said and thereon, they turned attention to his unamused countenance.
He continued:
"Those zombies are unnaturally strong, and clearly they aren't getting tired. I'm not willing to bet those are the only capacities that they've had increased. Their physicality isn't anything like what they were when they were alive or what they should be as undead. Assuming that they'll decompose like we 'know' should happen will only doom us,"
"Exactly. They defy modern science.," Saya said, "Not to mention the weather being so inconsistent the past few days works against us."
Taking her water bottle and cracking it open, Saeko spoke, "Once we ascertain our family's well-being, the big question is where we go after that. If we panic and run around, we're bound to die. We'll never survive."
She took a sip, then continued, "A team. We form a team, gather other survivors and we create a safe place for ourselves."
"Saeko is right,"
"..."
Dion stood quite resolutely, as if he had made a decision that firmed his will and eyed everyone, then continued:
"The world as you know it has ended. We can't count on others to help us. We've got to pave our way to survival. That's why I want you guys to understand something,"
He gave them all short looks again and continued:
"Nothing is true, everything is permitted,"
He paused briefly before going on with a particular sharpness to his tone:
"To say that nothing is true is to accept that the foundations of society are fragile and that we must be the shepherds of our civilisation."
"To say that everything is permitted is to understand that we are the architects of our actions and that we must live with their consequences, whether glorious or tragic."
"If we are going to fight back... To survive and keep living without losing ourselves, we've got to change accordingly, got it?"
A myriad of expressions weighed and played over the cohort in the Faculty room. From seriousness, distant pondering, faint smiles and eerie silence to awe.
A moment later, most of them gave deep, grim nods.
"I think the school has calmed down a fair bit," Kazu mentioned.
They had been waiting all this time to let the chaos die down in school. As grim as it was, it was for their preservation.
"The front entrance is the closest to the parking lot. It's the quickest way to leave," Shizuka said as she stood as well, moving to pick up the backpack and box of medical supplies.