Scott sighed. The puzzle pieces were missing. He needed information, and there was only one way to get it. He returned to the moment of his last quick save and made a new one.
He did not run at a flat-out sprint. Instead, he looked around while he jogged forward. The soldiers on the helicopter immediately shouted for him to pick up the pace, but Scott ignored them. Something caught his attention out of the corner of his eye, and he rushed toward it.
“Hey, you! Put down the crack pipe!” snarled Scott nonsensically.
The giant zombie roared “Protein, bro!” It snatched up a car that was nearby, the same compact car from before, and threw it toward Scott.
He threw himself to the side and rolled across the asphalt. Multiple lacerations appeared on his arms and legs as he slid to the side.
“Scott!” cried Saiko. She had just started to turn back to check on him due to the shouting of the soldiers when she saw the car go flying by overhead.
“I’m fine!” he cried. He thrust his beefy arm toward her and pointed. “Get to the choppa!”
Gunfire ripped through the air as the giant zombie was pelted with dozens of rounds of ammunition. Unfortunately, it did not seem to care too much about the damage that it received. It trotted toward Scott in a single-minded fashion.
Fire axe in hand, Scott growled loudly then struck a pose. “Come on, you overgrown frat bro!”
“Protein!” snarled the beast, its tongue lolling out of its mouth.
The gate behind him suddenly broke open and dozens of zombies began to pour into the parking lot. Saiko started back for him but he shouted, “No! Get out of here!”
She was torn for a moment, but when the soldier shouted for her to get on or be left behind, she realized what Scott was trying to do. Once again, he was staying behind so that everyone could escape.
Realizing what he needed her to do, she reluctantly rushed to the helicopter and was helped on board. She explained the situation quickly to the others, but the pilot was already taking off even before that explanation came. If that horde got hold of the helicopter, they would all die.
Summer rushed the door and shouted, “Crescent Turtle Island!”
Just then, a wall of the school building exploded outward showering the area with dust and debris, while preventing her next words from being heard. “Protein!” cried the new arrival, a second giant zombie.
“Oh, fuck me,” muttered Scott as he took off toward the far side of the parking lot.
Fighting one of those things was difficult at best. Two of them would be a nightmare.
Scott did his best to contend with the original threat and the new arrival. However, a sudden flash of light and thunderous explosive roar drew his eyes away from his target and over to the burning wreckage of the helicopter.
His eyes wide, he stared in abject shock for a moment. “Why?”
There was no sign of movement inside that wreckage and the zombies had already begun to swarm around it. He made no attempt to defend himself when a giant zombie snatched him up by the head and squeezed with enough force to crush his skull like an egg.
Scott rubbed his eyes as he awoke in the loading area. Had he missed something? How did the helicopter go down?
He took a breath and allowed the room to continue to calm his nerves for a moment. Running off half-cocked would help no one. This was a puzzle to be solved. He had all the time in the world to solve it.
Chapter Fourteen
The sound of soft, steady, breathing echoed gently in the loading area as Scott did his best to counter his instincts. The room helped to calm his nerves, but his mind raced down multiple tracks, each one trying to lead him to a conclusion.
Once he felt ready to continue, Scott returned to the apocalypse and set out at a trot. The scenario played out just like before, including his insistence that Saiko ‘get to da choppa!’
Unlike before, he was not taken by surprise when the second giant zombie appeared. Instead, he avoided the oncoming horde and raced after the helicopter to see what happened to it. His eyes widened comically when a utility pole skewered it mid-flight. It crashed to the ground and exploded in a brilliant fireball!
“Three?” he asked dumbfounded. Just how many of those damned giant zombies were in the area?
After his next ignoble death, he returned to the apocalypse and shouted out a warning to Saiko. The helicopter needed to go a different direction and up to maximum altitude right from the start. Unfortunately, he did not have enough time to explain and a flying car smashed into the helicopter while he tried to get her to understand his rapid-fire explanation.
“Fuck…” muttered Scott as he stared at the save points available to him. There was no way that he could use his quick save to make the scenario work. There was just not enough time.
“I wanted to avoid this, but I’ll have to start the day over,” he said quietly.
He was loathed to do it. The time jump was several hours, but it was still workable. If they started early, and ran most of the way, they could easily shave several minutes off their travel time. The police station route was known to him already, and the school was only a few kilometers up the road from there.
Scott returned to the past then immediately reached over and shook Saiko until she awoke. She sat up and rubbed her eyes while asking him what was wrong.
He filled her in on everything that had happened and explained what needed to happen next for everyone to get out alive. Her exhaustion disappeared completely as she listened to his story.
“So, we run there and convince them that the helicopter needs to take off in a certain way,” said Saiko. “Alright.”
They quickly got dressed then headed out the door at a steady trot. Scott knew the route already, so they made excellent time. There was less of a need to be concerned about the zombies as they moved too slowly to keep up, and there was no chance to be cornered in an alley given his prior knowledge. However, there were enough of them along the way that the duo was forced to stop and sneak around on occasion to avoid being surrounded. These stops were frequent, far more so than Scott would have liked. Even so, they made steady progress.
They bypassed the police station and did so easily well over an hour earlier than before. The streets were choked with the dead, but not nearly as many as the first time Scott ventured through the area.
Gunshots rang out steadily as the survivors at the school kept the dead at bay. It was not long before Scott and Saiko reached them.
Their arrival caused a major stir at the school. Several police officers called out to them to be certain that they were alive. Scott and Saiko called back to them.
“We can’t open the gate!” cried a police officer. “There’s too many of them out there to risk it!”
“Don’t shoot us and we’ll come over the side on our own!” called back Scott as another round of gunfire rang out. Several zombies fell to the ground, deader than usual.
“If you can manage it! Do it!” called out the officer. “We’re only shooting to draw in survivors, anyway!”
Scott led Saiko around to the side of the school. They killed a few zombies along the way and then used climbed the fence to make it over.
“We made it!” exclaimed Saiko.
“Yeah we did!” Scott reached over and pulled her into a tight embrace with one arm. “Let’s go find everyone!”
He made a quick save and they trotted over to the police. They were informed that they had to go to the quarantine tent for an examination before they could be allowed into the school. However, before that could happen, they were pulled over to the side and forced to disarm.
One of the officers shook his head as he got a glimpse of Scott’s barbarian ass. “I can’t believe I’ve reached a point in my life where a guy shows up dressed like that and I don’t even care.”
“I know,” said his brother in arms. “At this point, it’s not the strangest thing we’ve seen by a long shot.”
Neither of the new arrivals was thrille
d by the idea of having to give up their weapons, and they were even less thrilled to have to strip down for a medical inspection. Thankfully, neither of them was injured.
They were given a modicum of privacy to strip down, as they needed a doctor to come inspect them. By the time the doctor came, Scott had already stripped all his gear off.
After a thorough inspection that even included a gloved hand to his testicles and command to cough, he was given a clean bill of health. The doctor told him that he could get dressed, and thankfully left right after he said as much.
“Thank goodness for busy doctors…” said Scott with a grunt. The doctor had never seen him before, so he had no idea that his temporary patient tended to change height and weight when he took his clothes off. He re-equipped his costume then strolled out of the little tent that had been erected beside the school entrance.
Saiko had been checked before him and was already waiting for him outside the tent. “Looks like you’re clean,” she said teasingly.
“Lucky for you,” he replied with an overly smug smile.
She rolled her eyes then jabbed him in the arm with her elbow. “Let’s go.”
They were finally allowed into the school and were immediately set upon by a small horde of people. Most of them were immediately disappointed. The new arrivals were not their missing family members.
“You made it!” called out a familiar voice from far in the back of the crowd.
“Otakun!” called out Scott.
Saiko and Scott pushed through the rapidly dispersing crowd and moved to meet him. Otakun could not stop grinning the entire time.
“I knew it! I knew you’d make it in time,” said Otakun. “There’s a rescue operation on the way!”
“Yeah there is!” exclaimed Scott. He rushed to Otakun’s side and patted him on the shoulder. It was good to see him. The team fatty was a constant bro, even if he did have that moment of weakness back at the apartment.
Scott swiftly leaned in and whispered, “We need to gather everyone. Shit’s about to go down.”
Otakun drew back and searched his eyes. “How many times?”
“Three or four. I forget… Had to go all the way back to morning just to make this meet-up happen,” said Scott.
Otakun sighed then nodded to him. “Alright. I’ll take you to the others. Except for Ms. Oppai, they’re all in one of the classrooms on the far side of the building.”
“Is Summer helping the wounded?” asked Scott hopefully.
“Yeah. We can probably grab her on the way,” said Otakun.
Saiko did not say much, but she followed them readily enough. Several of the people in the area were giving her odd looks, almost like they were hungry.
They wandered the halls of the elementary school for a moment and found Summer standing in a room surveying sick patients. She was writing something down on a clipboard when Otakun walked in on her.
“Oh, hi Otakun…” said Summer. “Are they…”
Scott poked his head into the room and Summer nearly smacked herself in the face with her clipboard. She rushed forward and gave him a warm hug, while tears welled up in her eyes.
“Scott!” she cried out happily, only to blink as she realized that he was not alone. “Saiko too!”
The purple haired girl was taken aback slightly when Summer lunged toward her and embraced her as well. “You’re both alright!”
Scott hugged her back tightly and drew Saiko into that hug as well. No sense in leaving anyone out!
He quickly filled her in on the fact that he needed to speak with everyone, and she joined him immediately. An old man saw that she was leaving and called out, “Nurse! What about my sponge bath?”
“Sorry! I’ll get the other nurse to help you out,” she called over to him.
“The other nurse is sixty, and a man!” wailed the thirsty old fart.
After they left the room, Summer thanked them both for coming when they did. She had not looked forward to giving that handsy old lech a bath. He had only survived for as long as he had because he lived in the neighborhood. He’d been at the school since the start of it all!
Scott took in the sight of her for a moment. She was safe, a minor miracle given the trouble that they must have faced trying to get to the police station. He could not help but notice that she was a little pale and seemed tired. Whatever she had gone through, it made sense that she was exhausted. Unlike everyone else, she helped out with the surprisingly high number of sick people. One would think that many people with an illness wouldn’t have made it to the evacuation area given how hard it was for perfectly healthy people to survive.
The quarter chatted amicably while they moved through the halls. Summer admitted that there were a few dozen people who had come down with flu-like symptoms but at least none of them were in danger of turning into the undead. None of them were bitten or even heavily scratched. People with those sorts of injuries were kept behind the school in a small collection of tents as a quarantine measure.
They met Momoko as she exited the girl’s bathroom. Her ponytails nearly stood on end when she saw them coming. “Y-you made it!”
She started to run toward them, her eyes wide and practically sparkling. Then she remembered that she was a snarky bitch and stopped dead in her tracks. She turned away from them and raised her nose up. “I see… Good. We got tired of waiting.”
“We almost left you here, you know.” Arms crossed; she briskly strode forward in the direction of their communal classroom.
“Aw. It’s good to see you, too,” said Scott.
Momoko snorted, but there was a certain pep in her step that had not been there before. No matter what she said, it was obvious that she was glad to see them.
The quartet reached the room, a large classroom with the chairs all stacked against the wall. Everyone was busy stuffing things into bags and jabbering to each other. A few other people were added into the mix as well. Two women. Though, there was no sign of Salami.
“S-Scott?” asked Jade her eyes wide.
She looked to the purple haired girl, “Saiko?”
It was like she had seen a ghost, two of them in fact. Though, admittedly she did expect that he was alive somewhere. She was simply surprised to see that he and Saiko had actually made it before the evacuation!
Tosh and the ladies looked over as soon as she spoke. Surprisingly, even he seemed relieved to see them.
Most eyes slowly drifted away from Scott, however, and centered on Saiko. The group, mothers not included, had seen Scott in his barbarian outfit often enough. Saiko in a leather bodysuit was far more interesting.
“Where in the world did you get that?” asked Jade.
“You like it?” asked Saiko. She canted her hips to the side then lightly brushed her hand up the side of her face. “My husband bought it for me.”
“H-husband!” exclaimed Summer. She moved between them and pushed them lightly away from each other. “I’m the wife. You’re the mistress.”
The mothers in the group stared slack jawed at Summer’s antics. What was even going on anymore?
“See! I have the ring.” Summer held up her hand and flashed her ring at everyone.
Saiko grinned at her then placed her hand to her abdomen… “I might have something else…”
Scott’s eyes widened ridiculously. “Please tell me it was a safe day…”
Saiko through her head back and laughed beautifully. “There was nothing safe about it!”
Scott slapped both hands to the sides of his face and stared outward like his mind hand broken. “I wonder how many points I’d get…”
“You aren’t itemizing our child!” decreed Saiko.
Otakun looked back and forth between them, his face a conflicting mass of emotions that ranged from hero worship to distress. Was it really a good idea to bring a baby into this world, given how things were?
Summer stomped her foot at Scott. “Now we need to have two!”
“Could we all just have none?�
�� asked Scott nervously. A bead of sweat appeared on his forehead and slid slowly down his face.
Momoko rolled her eyes and muttered something about perverted idiots. She refused to look at either of them, though her face was quite red.
Jade acquired a foxlike expression. “So… last night. You two?”
“Well, yes…” said Saiko, her face reddening slightly.
“A lot,” said Scott, causing Summer to gasp gently then cling to his arm. She didn’t say anything, but she did playfully stick her tongue out at Saiko. The other girl chuckled at her antics then smiled softly.
Scott noted that Jade was about to get deeper into their business, and wanting to break free of the current discussion, so he changed the subject. Scott rounded on Otakun. “Hey. Where’s Salami…?”
Otakun was shocked out of his relatively good mood for a moment then sighed. He closed his eyes tight then said, “That… It’s…”
“No…” said Scott. “No way…”
Momoko rolled her eyes then waspishly said, “Good god, |Tubby. Stop acting like she’s dead.”
Otakun sighed languidly and refused to look up. “She’s not, but I might as well be.”
“I’m obviously missing something, here,” said Scott. “Should I even ask?”
Otakun refused to speak, so Momoko spoke on his behalf. “Tons of fun here, has been moping around since we got here because Salami’s old boyfriend is here too.”
“Yeah. He’s really good looking, too,” said Jade.
Tosh frowned at her then snorted. She acted like she didn’t notice while he was looking but smiled when he turned away.
“So good looking…” muttered Otakun. “He can even use guns!”
Otakun sighed again, “Since she’s a police officer they put her to work and partnered them together to protect the armory.”
“I… See.” Scott sighed.
Relationship drama was the last thing they needed at the moment, so he decided to nip it in the bud. “Look. I get you’re upset, but she didn’t seem to be stupid. A bit of a flake maybe, but not stupid.”
Power Fantasy Page 36