Police Car

"Remember to take him with you. Don't let him die."

Kurumi turned and headed for the school bus. Just as Blondie and the others breathed a sigh of relief, she paused again.

"And don't let him appear in front of me. Otherwise, I can't guarantee I won't do something excessive. Take care of yourselves."

"Tap, tap, tap—" The sound of her round-toed boots striking the ground gradually faded. Everyone looked at Blondie, waiting for him to decide what to do.

"Vroom~" The school bus engine started, its tires gripping the pavement as it pulled away. Under the increasingly dark sky, Blondie and the others could see only its faintly red taillights disappearing into the distance.

"Tch! Let's go. At least find a house with fewer monsters and rest for the night before deciding anything!" Blondie gritted his teeth, hoisted the unconscious Koichi Shidou onto his back, then had two boys carry the severed limbs as they headed toward a place with fewer roars from the dead.

They had not gone more than a few hundred meters when they saw a bus charging wildly toward them! The broad road gave them enough room to dodge. Even after throwing themselves to the ground and leaving several scratches on their clothes, no one cared.

After muttering a few quiet complaints, they looked at the bus still barreling ahead and vaguely saw the hellish scene inside... Japan had always had too many people and too little land, especially at this time of day, during the evening rush hour. Forget the subway—buses alone could be packed beyond capacity!

That was why bus gropers had never been in short supply. Yet in this age of catastrophe, such conditions had also created an irreparable tragedy... As long as even one person in the bus turned into a dead body...

The chain reaction that followed made Blondie shudder just thinking about it. The density of people inside that bus was geometrically greater than at the school. If the driver had been disturbed... this was probably the result.

It was a new-model bus. Though it did not use hybrid power, when it really got going, it was far more vicious than the old clunker from the school. Unfortunately, the driver inside had already turned into a dead body. He probably had not even had time to stop the bus and flee before getting bitten.

"Bang!—Screech—Bang!"

The series of sounds made Blondie and the others quake. At breakneck speed, the bus slammed into a sedan stopped in the middle of the road. Its immense momentum sent the rear of the car flying up, flipping it sideways across the ground and throwing sparks as it scraped along, gradually slowing...

It did not stop until it hit the area before the tunnel, lying crosswise across the intersection and blocking it completely. The engine finally gave out under such violent strain and caught fire, which spread to the fuel tank... Flames erupted one after another, and even the shrieks of the Dead Bodies inside grew much weaker.

Dead Bodies engulfed in flames kept crawling out through the windows. Blondie and the others turned and ran. They were covered in fire, burned to that extent, and still alive—it practically shattered their worldview... Though it had already shattered once that afternoon, they absolutely did not want to go through it again!

They thought their ability to withstand pressure had improved quite a bit, but seeing that scene... anyone who did not run was an idiot!

Panting heavily, Blondie carried the unconscious Koichi Shidou for several hundred meters. Only when he could no longer hear the monsters roaring did he slow down and look back... The monsters wrapped in flames had somehow already collapsed to the ground.

Everyone relaxed. After getting their bearings, they headed toward the hospital... But for now, it would be better to find somewhere nearby that they could stay. If a monster suddenly appeared in the middle of the night and bit them... who could they argue with? Their companions would probably turn their weapons on them then!

Inside the school bus, ever since Kurumi returned, everyone looked at her differently... Naturally, Shizuka Marikawa, being the airhead she was, was excluded.

Komuro Takashi, Hirono Toda, and Takagi Saya clearly did not dare meet her eyes, while Busujima Saeko and Miyamoto Rei had a trace of excitement in theirs.

The school bus continued forward when Shizuka Marikawa in the driver's seat said with some distress, "We're out of gas! Are we still driving into the city?"

"Hm? Can it hold out a little longer?" Miyamoto Rei, seated near the front, asked Shizuka Marikawa.

"Probably..." The airhead was not certain... Looking at the red line on the fuel gauge, she truly did not know how much longer this old clunker could last... It was not even as easy to drive as her little Beetle.

"I remember there's a gas station up ahead. If we can make it there safely, there shouldn't be a problem."

"Teacher Marikawa, listen to Miyamoto. At a time like this, abandoning our transportation would obviously be inappropriate." Kurumi looked toward the increasingly deep night sky as she spoke.

"Okay!"

The roar of the school bus engine was especially conspicuous beneath the quiet night sky. Under the dim light, they could clearly see everything happening along the streets...

Glass had been smashed, stores had been thoroughly looted, and bloodstains appeared from time to time on curtains and across the messy ground. Yet... there was not a single person in sight. Even the Dead Bodies had vanished. The silence was somewhat terrifying.

"Either they died, or they ran away." Komuro Takashi's low voice echoed through the bus.

"Wouldn't the dead turn into Dead Bodies?" Miyamoto Rei asked.

"Heehee, of course. Dead people who turn into Dead Bodies chase living people, so the living people ran away, because they eat people." Miyamoto Rei fell silent after hearing Kurumi's explanation.

Koichi Shidou's fate had indeed been satisfying, but figuring out how to survive this catastrophe was what mattered most. She did not want to become a people-eating monster like Hisashi. Just thinking about it sent a chill up from the depths of her heart... She still had to find her father and mother...

"Hm? Wait! Look at the intersection on the other side." Miyamoto Rei, who had been staring outside from the window, had spotted a police car—a completely intact police car!

Its front half was sticking out, and the police lights on top were still flashing. Everyone in the bus felt delighted. Encountering the police at a time like this could not have been better. At least they could be safe, right?

The school bus stopped, and Komuro Takashi joked from the side, "No license, driving against traffic—we're probably getting hauled into the station."

"We've fought so many Dead Bodies already. Are we still afraid of a patrol car?"

"Of course not. Come on, let's get down and take a look!" The excitement in his voice made Kurumi too embarrassed to remind him...

Kurumi and Busujima Saeko remained seated in the bus and did not get out at all.

"You're not going to take a look?" Busujima Saeko asked curiously.

"Do you think there'll be any living people?" Kurumi countered.

They exchanged a glance, both seeing the amusement in the other's eyes. Even amid this catastrophe, having someone who understood you was not easy.

In her seventeen years of life, Busujima Saeko had finally met the person she had hoped to meet. Though Kurumi was a girl, Saeko would cherish her all the more.

Meanwhile, Komuro Takashi and the others, who had gotten off the bus, eagerly went over to the side road where the police car was. But what greeted their eyes was...

A police car whose rear half had been completely destroyed, with a large truck embedded in it. The disproportionate mass had crushed and warped it beyond recognition. The door on the driver's side hung open alone, but the patrol officer who had long since died would never emerge again...

"Seriously?" Komuro Takashi could hardly believe it. The people behind him all fell silent, their initial excitement completely wiped away by the sight.

Seeing Miyamoto Rei walk toward the wrecked police car, Komuro Takashi warned her worriedly, "Rei! The police car is still leaking fuel. It's dangerous to go over there now!"

Miyamoto Rei frowned and looked at him without the slightest mercy. "Takashi, you're coming too! See if there's anything useful."

Komuro Takashi was somewhat helpless and could only follow Miyamoto Rei over. By the damaged car door, they crouched down and kept searching for things, while Takagi Saya, who had done some research on Dead Bodies, examined the two patrol officers who had long since died at the front of the car.

Their pupils were contracted and their faces grayish-white, clear signs that they had been on the verge of turning into Dead Bodies. But judging from the blood around their heads... the impact had probably shattered their skulls, causing them to die completely.

She observed them carefully while nodding to herself and muttering under her breath, making even her admirer Hirono Toda's scalp tingle.