The zombies in the hallway had heard Miko's scream and were heading towards the music room.
"Shit," Riku hissed under his breath as the groans grew louder.
Without hesitation, he rushed forward and grabbed Miko from behind, wrapping one arm around her waist and the other over her mouth to muffle any more noise. She stiffened in shock, her body trembling against his as she struggled to process what was happening.
"Sshh… quiet," he whispered sharply into her ear, pulling her back against his chest. "You screamed too loud. They heard us."
Miko's wide, teary eyes darted to the cracked glass, where the silhouette of the zombie's face was still pressed grotesquely against the pane. The scratching had grown more frantic—other shadows were now beginning to crowd behind the first.
"Listen," Riku said. "It's not safe here anymore. You need to go back to the pantry with Hoshino and Suzune."
Miko whimpered softly against his palm, still visibly shaken. But she gave a small nod.
"Ichika," Riku called out in a firm but quiet voice.
Ichika turned her head quickly, her eyes locking on his as she rose from beside Suzune.
"Take Miko," he said, guiding the girl toward her. "Get back inside the pantry room. Lock the door and stay quiet."
"What about you?" Ichika asked, catching Miko's hand and steadying her.
"I'll buy time and deal with whatever gets through," Riku said, stepping toward the sliding door and securing the strap on his MP5. "Just… don't make a sound."
Suzune tried to shift up, her face grim. "If they break in—"
"They won't get the chance," Riku cut in. "Go. Now."
The girls hesitated for only a second before Ichika nodded and led Miko back toward the hidden pantry entrance. Suzune gave Riku one last glance and dragged herself after them, her injured foot barely touching the ground.
As the music room grew still again, only Riku remained in the open.
He turned toward the sliding door and raised his weapon.
The hallway was full of movement now.
Scraping.
Snarling.
And then—
BANG.
The glass shattered, killing the first zombie.
Its head had taken the full force of the impact, shards slicing through its eye socket and lodging deep into the brain. It collapsed forward, twitching once before going still.
Riku didn't flinch.
He stepped forward, grabbing the handle of the sliding door and pulling it open.
Then he stepped out.
Boots hitting the floor.
MP5 raised.
The hallway stretched before him. Dozens of zombies were heading towards him.
Riku raised the MP5 and squeezed the trigger.
Tat-tat-tat-tat!
The first zombie's head snapped back, and it dropped like a sack of bricks.
He moved sideways, using the narrow hallway to his advantage, controlling the funnel. The gun roared again.
Tat-tat-tat!
Another two went down, brain matter painting the walls.
"Come on," he muttered through gritted teeth, keeping his breathing steady. "Come get me…"
They surged forward now, faster, maybe sensing prey.
Tat-tat-tat—click.
Empty.
Riku didn't waste a second.
He slung the MP5 to his side and immediately pulled the Benelli M3 Super 90 from his back. With one flick, he switched the mode from pump to semi-automatic. The shotgun clicked into place.
He braced his stance.
BOOM!
The sound was deafening, a thunderclap in the tight space. The slug caught a charging zombie square in the chest, blowing a crater through its torso. The body flew backward, slamming into two others and knocking them over like bowling pins.
BOOM!
Another slug tore through a neck, severing head from shoulders in a spray of gore.
The Benelli kept roaring.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Each shot kicked into his shoulder like a mule, but he stood his ground. He didn't have time to think—only shoot. Only survive.
Blood splattered the ceiling. Brains dripped from lockers. The hallway became a kill zone.
The monsters didn't stop coming.
But neither did he.
Boom. Eject. Fire. Boom. Eject. Fire.
Click.
The last slug was spent.
Riku gritted his teeth and slung the Benelli across his back in one swift motion. No time to reload here—not in the middle of a hallway crawling with death. He had to move.
Fast.
He reached into one of the pockets of the vest and reloaded a fresh mag into the MP5 as he ran, the spent one clattering to the floor behind him. A horde of zombies were still stumbling after him, groaning, snarling, driven by the scent of human blood and the echo of gunfire.
"Come on, you bastards," he muttered under his breath, turning a sharp corner at the junction of the hallway. The groans followed. So did the shuffling of feet and the scrape of nails against walls.
He could hear them behind him—close. Too close.
Riku scanned his surroundings in the blur of movement. Rows of classrooms to his right. Emergency lockers. Fire extinguishers. No exits.
He needed to lead them somewhere—anywhere but back toward the music room.
"Storage building…" he whispered to himself, lungs burning. "East wing. It's got metal doors. I can trap them inside."
He took the next turn, past the science lab, heart hammering in his chest. The hallway seemed longer now, darker too. The overhead lights flickered, buzzing weakly like dying flies. Blood stained the floor in streaks where other students had tried—and failed—to escape.
Riku didn't let himself look at the bodies.
Not now.
He sprinted past the nurse's office and toward the double doors of the east wing, his boots pounding hard against the linoleum.
Then—he heard it.
A door creaked.
Not behind him.
Ahead.
He skidded to a stop, breath hitching.
From around the next corner, he spotted movement. Not slow. Not dragging.
Fast.
Clean uniform.
A girl?
No—two of them.
One of the remaining students.
"Hey!" Riku shouted, raising his hand.
The girl screamed.
"No, wait—!" he started.
Too late.
From behind her, a blur of black and flesh lunged forward—grabbing her shoulder and sinking teeth into her neck.
She shrieked. Blood sprayed across the wall.
The second girl tried to run, but another zombie emerged from an open classroom and tackled her to the floor.
Riku's face twisted with fury. He raised his MP5 and fired.
Tat-tat-tat-tat!
Three bursts. The first zombie's head exploded. The second was hit square in the back, slumping over its prey. The screaming stopped—choked into silence.
He didn't check the bodies. He couldn't.
He had to keep moving.
"Don't think," he muttered, his voice cracking. "Just move."
He turned the corner into the east wing corridor, finding the metal supply room at the end of the hallway. It had a sliding steel door, thick enough to block sound and strong enough to hold back a crowd.
Perfect.
He kicked it open and stepped inside.
The space was dark, filled with stacked chairs, old desks, and broken sports equipment. He moved fast, clearing a path.
Then he turned back and saw them.
The zombies.
They were closing in—maybe fifteen or more.
"Let's finish this."
He braced.
Tat-tat-tat!
Two dropped.
Tat-tat!
Another one collapsed.
Then he sprinted to the side, grabbing a mop handle and jamming it into the release mechanism of the sliding door. The zombies surged into the room—right where he wanted them.
He leapt out through the gap and yanked the door shut.
CLANG.
Locked.
Riku fell back against the opposite wall, breathing hard, drenched in sweat and blood.
The metal door rattled violently as fists and bodies slammed against it from the other side. But it held.
He had led them away.
The music room was safe.
He closed his eyes for a moment, chest rising and falling.
"…Still alive," he muttered. "Barely."
But there was no time to rest.
He stood, slung his Benelli off his back, and began reloading shell by shell in the corridor silence.
He still had to get back to the girls.
***
Two and a half hour later, in the music room. The night had already blanketed the earth but the school's lights turned on automatically. The three girls huddled inside the pantry room, scared.
"Hayashi-san…" Miko muttered with tearful eyes. She knew it was her fault that the zombies had found them, and Riku saved them. She couldn't accept it in her conscience if he were to die doing that.
"Please return to us safely," Miko prayed as if praying for his loved one to come back.
"Hayashi…" Suzune too is concerned and worried about Riku.
"He'll be fine," Ichika said, not wanting them to feel the helplessness of their situation.
And then there was a knock, causing the three to jolt in attention.
"It's me guys, it's fine now."
"Wah…" they intoned together. Miko was the one who opened the door and when the door opened, she saw Riku, blood all over him, smiling and panting.
"Don't worry guys, I'm not bitten. I'm just exhaust—"
Riku suddenly collapsed and his face landed on Miko's bosom.
"H-Hayashi-san…!" Miko gasped, her cheeks flaring red. She instinctively tried to steady him.
Behind her, Ichika immediately rushed over and helped hold him up. "He passed out from exhaustion."
Riku's breath was hot and shallow against Miko's chest, his face relaxed for the first time since everything had begun. She could feel the rise and fall of his body, the way he leaned completely on her—as if all the weight he had been carrying, all the fear, all the responsibility, had finally caught up to him.
She placed right hand around his head.. She leaned forward and softly spoke.
"I'll take care of you."