Highschool of the Dead: Setting of the Sun

Ch.1 Fates end begins

I do not own Highschool of the Dead nor the Walking Dead

The family of Author Daisuke Sato does,

whereas Robert Kirkman and Tony Moore owns The Walking Dead.

Positive reviews are welcome

Ch. 1 Fates end begins

Tokonosu City, Japan

Fujimi Academy

It was in the early hours, just newly turned 8am in the morning when an Acura TSX, slowly pulled up to and stopped before Fujimi Academy from across the street. The said streets were near bare with almost no vehicle in sight, which suited the driver of the Acura just fine as he placed the car in park after pulling up to the front of the school with a single lane separating the car from the still closed school gates.

Lieutenant Commander Leonard West, recently transferred American Naval Officer, having spent two executive tours in the Middle East before being reassigned vie a recommendation after the passing of his wife back in the states, leaving him the only parent capable of watching over his only son. That had been just over six months ago, and was still a painful memory for both father and son.

West was a career man, much like his own father before him had been. He had no siblings, and his remaining relatives, namely his in-laws, were rather estranged to him to say the least.

The Lieutenant Commander was by no means a big man, but had taken care over the years in watching his figure. Running everyday and at times at night, kept himself in peak condition according to Naval Regulations. But still, he was rather tall, standing at 6'1, weighing at most, 195lbs.

His hair was short, in accordance with those same Military Regulations. And his eyes were Hazel, but appeared rather worn due to time and emotional distress as the stress lines on his face could attest to. This accented his square jaw and handsome features evenly, attracting many a womans attention, no matter the nationality.

Sitting beside him on the passenger side, with a tired expression, having awakened less than an hour before, was his teenage son, Ryan West. Unlike his father and Grandfather, Ryan had no aspirations about following the 'family business', so to speak.

Instead, he had another dream, and a gift. His visual senses were acute and far sighted. When he was younger and in the Boy Scouts, he was introduced to Archery for the very first time. He learned on the first try as he held a bow in one hand with the string held in the other, pulling back, and the arrow guiding his hand, his pupils retracted, creating a sort of 'tunnel vision' he would affectionately term as his 'Eagle Eye'. Exhaling the breath he held within, he had released the arrow. With trepidation, he watched as he scored a near perfect shot on the target pad for a first try. It was then he had learned that he had found his 'gift' and calling.

Ryan had much of his fathers looks, and yet sported his mothers hair and dimples. Whereas Leonard West had straight, light brown hair, his son had much darker hair, in such a mess, it looked like he had not fixed it since his rising with the sun, a curse inherited from his mother. Another thing he shared with his mother were his eyes. Like his mothers eyes, they were blue, as blue as the majestic oceans themselves. He was of course in some ways, very much like his father, that being that he was naturally thin and wiry, with a runners build as he prided himself in keeping in shape.

Hidden beneath the school uniform he now sported, was a muscular frame for a young teen his age and height as he stood at just 5'11. The veins beneath the uniform sleeves bulged due to the fact that for many years, since discovering his talent, he had participated in at least 3 Archery Competition Tournaments that took him all over the world while also competing in minor competitions that garnered much of his time.

He had competed against some of the best that his generation had to offer, with him finally winning his first place award for the first time in the National Championship Finals after coming in several places shy of 1st place upon his second time competing, with the third time being his time. Only, he learned several months before, did he learn of his mothers illness and pushed himself harder than ever, just for her.

In his emotional state, she'd find him at times either practicing his archery skill in the back yard of their home or in his personal tool shed, taking apart and reinforcing his collapsible compound bow with better and much newer, component parts with design specs and components for a grappling drive system decorating the tables.

Leaning tiredly against the passenger side door, with the memories of the last year and a half still fresh in his mind since her passing, Ryans eyes opened as his fathers voice breaks him out of his reverie.

"We're here."

Turning his head, he notices the saliva trailing down the right side of his lower jawline. Sniffing once, he opens the glove box and retrieves a tissue. Wiping the saliva from his mouth, he turns and leans forward ahead of his father and with tired eyes, gazed at the still unopened school, the gates firmly locked.

Using the tissue to then clear his nasal passages, he disposes of the tissue, tossing it to the back, a small, white plastic can sitting in the floorboard, catching the tissue.

Squinting as he looked upon the school across the street, he sighs and pulls himself back. His head bowed, he murmurs somewhat incoherently.

"I'm sorry, what?" his fathers queries.

"Nothing." Ryan replies, his head leaning back against the passenger head rest.

"What's wrong?"

"Dad, do I really have to go here?" he moaned. "I mean,... I could learn just as much back home or...or even at the base." Ryan pleaded.

"Sorry son, but I can't do my job and watch over you at the base or at home at the same time. Who knows what kind of mischief you'd get up to."

"Really dad, mischief? Me?" Ryan turns his head towards his father with a skeptical expression that then turned into a pleading one. Such an expression would not change the mind of the Lieutenant Commander of the US Navy as his eyes narrowed.

With a raised brow, the elder West said, "You knew this was coming since I was given this new charge."

"And hence, why you've had me taking a crash course on the Japanese language, honorifics, and culture in such a short time." Ryan said dryly.

"Tell me you didn't enjoy it at least, let alone coming here and seeing the sights."

"I..I mean, yeah sure. But..."

"But you miss the traveling?!"

Ryan had to grudgingly admit, that his father knew him to a point as he had spent as much time as possible with him since his mother passed. But even he could never know him as well as she had.

Reaching back and grabbing a leather handle, the Naval Lieutenant pulled his arm back, a worn, brown leather satchel that he had passed to his son some time ago as his father did for him, he now held out to his son. Ryan currently uses it as an ordinary backpack, despite the long strap it has for slipping on the opposite shoulder. The satchel had been in the family going on 4 generations.

"Thanks." Ryan drawled as he took the satchel and opened the door.

"Ryan, wait." his father called out as he too exited his side.

"Wwwwhhhaaattt!" Ryan moaned into the air, agitation in his tone.

With a deadpanned look, his father didn't even have to say it, the expression spoke volumes as Leonard stopped before the side of the vehicles trunk.

Ryan stopped and glared at the elder West.

Rolling his eyes, Leonard stepped before the back of the car and lifted the trunk lid. Inside was something that made Ryan look twice in alarm.

"Wha-...What is this?"

A tired sigh came from the elder West himself before he answered, "I made sure to have some friends upgrade your bows tensile strength for durability and faster release and even added a scope for further sight than is normal for your special sight. An added benefit is a laser sighting for long distance targeting. And since the school includes an Archery class, or as they call it, 'Kyudo', I thought it could help further enhance your marksmanship. As you can see from the Quiver, it has a compartment for your collapsible bow and the tools to aid in keeping it maintained plus a few accessories. In a lower pocket beneath the quiver, is a case containing over several different set of arrowheads, from the standard, to hollow points, to Grim Reaper Hybrids, to the G5 Montec 3 Bladed tips."

"Uh, I don't know dad. Isn't having most of these a bit...I don't know...excessive?"

"Son," Leonard replies, placing a hand on his sons right shoulder, "there's an old saying. I want you to remember. It's better to have and not need, than to need and not have."

"Who said that?"

"Franz Kafka."

"Who the heck is Franz Kafka?" Ryan queried with a raised brow.

"He was a German Novelist and writer who lived during the late 19th century and early 20th. He was also a short story writer and speaker. He had a way with words."

"So, you're saying it's better to be safe than sorry. Gotcha. In that case, what about my experimental grappling arrows with the titanium tips? You know, the one based off of the Green Arrow comics grappling arrows." Ryan asked as he raised and turned his head to look at his father, secretly pocketing the scope. What he didn't say was that the arrow shafts were made of a sturdy, near indestructible, yet bendable material in order to allow for durability and unwavering accuracy.

"Those too." Leonard replied. "The Arrows are all inside of kits of their own beneath the quiver in a three inch tall cylinder. The mechanical aspects are as you left them with your hand drawn specs."

"Shi-," he stopped himself before finishing the word, "Uh, I mean, wow. Thanks Pop. Just how many arrow shafts did you put in here?" he asked as the quiver was filled to the max as his eyes and fingers could attest.

"More than enough with more back home should you need more shafts and arrow heads." Closing the trunk as his son turned to the still unopened school, he then said, "I've also added an extra set of items in the left side of the quiver."

Raising a brow, Ryan turned the quiver over and noticed that there was indeed an extra side pocket zipped up from the top of the quiver, to the bottom, the zipper itself hidden by a flap that was attached to the quiver, while the flap in of itself was tightened down by three flaps, hefting the quiver onto an unused shoulder while grasping the handle of the warn satchel.

Undoing the zipper and opening the flap, Ryans eyes widened as he took in the sight of what was secured within the quiver. A single left hand brushed upon carved odd character symbols he barely recognized, "Chinese?!" he asked, looking up into his fathers eyes, the Navel Officer nodding with a soft impressed smile. For years, these weapons of war he longed to have for as long as he knew of them.

The two Butterfly swords, made from Damascus Steel. He took in the delicate designs of the steel itself, the waves of the lines from the many hours of workmanship put into the creation of the blades. The feel of the black crossguards or Quillon made of smooth brass.

"The wood is made from African Black Wood, its hard, dense properties make it a fitting touch to the weapon."

Ryans eyes returned to the Characters or Hanzi carved upon the flat side of the blade with hot pink inlay with a white flourish beneath the characters.

"What does it say?" the young West asked.

"Helen West-Grimes." his father answered as both weapons also bore her favorite flower, that of a Tiger Lily, near the edge of the blades, bathed in dark pink with a white flourish beneath the characters. "This way, she'll always be with you and be able to watch over and protect you."

Before he could react, Lieutenant Commander Leonard West was slammed into with a pair of arms wrapping around him. Startled at first, he regained his composure and returned the sentiment by embracing his son. "I love you son."

"I love you too dad. Thank you, for everything."

Both individuals pulled back as the first signs of life consisting of several sets of teen students could be sighted from the right side of the walkway. All wore the standard school uniforms. The boys, dark long sleeve blue dress jackets over white short sleeve uniform shirts, same color toned pants. The girls were wearing white long sleeve shirts with green collars and green highlights. The skirts were green, being near knee length with long black socks rising up from their feet to mid thigh.

Looking at the arriving students, the elder West looked at the potential leaders of the future, doctors, electricians, musicians, whatever the career that the current generation had in store for itself.

Shaking his head to clear it of thought, he rubbed his head before giving his son one last item. From his right side pocket, he passed his son a closed cell.

"What's this?"

"One last thing. I've heard some rumblings. Should anything happen..."

"Dad..."

"No, listen. Should anything happen, my number's on speed dial. It's password protected with your mothers date of birth. It's installed with the Military's latest in high-tech software."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah."

"Cool. Thanks." Tossing it up in the air and catching it, Ryan nodded as he pocketed the cell, looking to the gates of the Highschool, "I better go." he said with a tired sigh.

"Yeah." his father replied. Hefting both his backpack and his enclosed quiver, Ryan turned before the first set of cars could draw near and began crossing the street.

"Later Dad."

"Later son." Leonard called back as he watched his son enter Highschool, something he had not had the pleasure of seeing in many years. He watched as his son walked up to the now open gates and disappeared among the student body. With one last look at the school, he sighed once more knowing his son was alright and that he had done right by him. God he missed his Helen.

Turning back to the car and closing the trunk, he walked to and opened the driver side door, paused to look back to the school gated entrance, and with one last smile, got in his car. As soon as the door was closed he drove off towards the Naval Base MCAS Fucenma.

Ryan on the other hand, had a somewhat difficult time adjusting as he tried to keep up with the language barrier. His head began to hurt him when he finally got a reprieve as half the day had passed. He'd managed to grab a few snacks from a vending machine as well as a peach flavored fruit beverage. Having washed down the snacks with the final sip of the juice, he leaned over a third floor balcony railing, gazing out as far as his eyes could see, admiring the view of what bit of Japan he could see since he was not upon the highest floor of the school.

A small commotion within the schools entryway gates caught his attention as a straggler had gathered the attention of several of the schools staff. His curiosity getting the better of him, he searched his pockets as he remembered placing the bows scope within one of his pockets. Finding it, he quickly removed the protective caps on both ends. Placing the scope upon one of his eyes, his vision zoomed upon the scene of the disturbance when the stuff of nightmares and horror films became a reality, changing his life forever.

Headmasters Office

Headmaster Gouri was having a pleasant day when everything went to hell in mere hours since the school opened. His staff, those complaining about being attacked while other staff and some students ran in all directions within the halls, were profusely bleeding from various bite wounds only to begin coughing up blood and dropping to the floor with all the signs of seizures until their bodies stopped moving, only to come back to life with gray pale skin riddled with dark veins spreading over various areas of their face and arms, and blank eyes. They all then moaned and began rising back to their feet, only to reach out for the only viable source of whatever they needed, teeth noshing for, in this instance, human flesh.

Gouri, fearing for his life, barricaded himself within his office with a chair blocking the door. He backed himself upon the other side of the desk and crawled under. His mind clicked into place about his responsibility regarding the students. Desperately searching the top of his desk for the intercom with a single hand, he found what his fingers sought and quickly snatched it close to himself. Pressing the speaker button, he spoke in as calm a tone as best as he could, despite the adrenaline running through his system and sweat covering his brow, "Attention all students and staff! Attention all students and staff! A violent outbreak has taken place on school grounds! All students are instructed to follow staff to safety at once!"

All over the school, students and staff alike began to wonder if the Headmaster had been pulling their leg when the man behind the microphone continued, "I repeat, a violent outbreak has taken place on GYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"

Suddenly they knew, somehow the students all over the school knew, it was no joke when the sound of broken glass of the Headmasters door sounded, his pleading voice forced everyone into action as chaos and pandemonium ensued all throughout the school seconds after as students and staff alike began running for the exits of their class rooms.

In the meanwhile, in the Headmasters Office, the man was pleading with all the Gods and benevolent spirits he knew for a savior. The sound of moaning began to close in when his desk moved closer to the wall with him underneath still. The moans had ceased as several thumps had befallen upon his oak desk. A single pale gray hand having fallen over where he could see it, with droplets of blood swinging lifelessly from lifeless fingers before him. A set of legs, broad in strength, walked before where he cowered and proceeded to grasp the desk with two hands and pushed it back, the sound of bodies hitting the marble floor heard as the desk moved back into place. The Headmaster had to squint before he recognized the Gaijin whom was the son of an American Naval Officer whom he spoke with earlier in the day.

The same Gaijin whom if he remembered correctly as Ryan West, stood before him with an outstretched hand. Shakily, Gouri took the outstretched appendage and struggled to stand. The look of absolute fear on his face and body clearly evident to the American transfer student.

In barely coherent Japanese, the American asked, "Are you alright, Sensei?" aiding the Headmaster in standing until he could stand on his own two feet.

The Headmaster had spent some time learning English for several years until he was fluent in it, "I speak English."

"Oh, good." Ryan breathed out. "Are you alright?"

The Headmaster saw Ryan was wearing an Archers gear and wielding a mechanical compound bow in his right hand. He turned and almost back pedaled if Ryan hadn't caught him seeing as the two staff and one student now lying lifeless upon his desk, had arrows sticking out of the back of their skulls.

"You killed them?!" Somewhat forgetting the question presented to him.

"They were already dead." Ryan replied as he raised the head of one of the deceased, "See the skin pigmentation, the eyes, and the protruding dark viens?"

The Headmaster, wearing glasses for as long as he remembered, nervously stepped forward and saw that the skin was now a pale gray and that the eyes were like glass marbles, darker set of gray iris's, pupils, retinas, with the cornea's looking as if they were petrified.

"What the...? What is this? What happened to them?" he asked looking back at the teen.

Looking at Ryan who shrugged, "For all we know, it could be viral, airborne, whatever." Turning around, Ryan looked around until his eyes spotted a cricket bat and smiled. It was in a glass case that was attached to a wall on the far left side of the Main Office. Putting down his bow, he clasped his hands together and used his left elbow to smash the glass cases protection. Having turned away when he did so, he turned back and snatched the bat by the leather bound handle and ripped it out the rest of the way, glass chunks landing all over the floor, the pieces that fell on him, he merely shook off. Looking at it, he spun it in his hands before looking back to the Headmaster. Tossing it to the man who barely caught it, he then said, "The Head. Aim for the Head."

"But they're..."

"Not anymore, They're dead. They died the moment the change happened. Save those who haven't been bitten. Those who have, are already dead. You know this. If you've ever watched a George Romero zombie classic or any films having to deal in Zombie Horror, then you know that the only way to survive is by destroying the brain of the infected and or turned." Placing a hand on the right shoulder of the much older man, he then said, "I know it will be hard, but you have to make a choice Sensei. Save who you can. Those you can't, will understand in the long run when they find themselves on the other side."

"How can you be so sure? How could you be so hard inside to want to kill?"

"It's not because I choose to be. It's because I have to be. We're in the middle of a crisis. People are dying and we're loosing valuable time standing around and talking. Just do what you can. And remember to save who you can. We'll meet up in the middle, hopefully." By this time, he had ripped out the arrows from his intended targets and wiped the brain and bone matter as well as the blood off on one of the dark shirts of the now deceased undead, and returned them to the quiver on his back.

"What about you?"

"What do you think I'm going to do? I'm going to save the fucking day. Hahaha! Sorry." he answered and with that, Ryan entered the hallway with his bow notched. Looking both ways within the hallway, he turned left and proceeded to unleash his arsenal of arrows upon the walking corpses ahead of him. To the Headmaster of the school, the sound of more moans could be heard going silent as well as the sound of bodies thumping as they hit the paved halls.

Shakily and cautiously, Gouri slowly walked to the entrance of his office and then the entrance of the entire faculty and staffs main office entrance. Bodies of the deceased lay everywhere. Most with holes in their heads as they lay strewn about. Others whom bore massive indentations in their heads where it seemed someone had stomped on them until they ceased moving.

Carefully, Gouri would wield the cricket bat close to his chest and as silently as he could, moved about the halls when he failed to notice an open doorway on his right. Not fast enough to react on time, Headmaster Gouri barely let out a surprised "yelp" when a pair of sickly gray hands grasped his dress shirt and pulled him in. The sound of tearing flesh cut off any further sound as the last thoughts he had were, 'Why?'

Top Floor

Roof Top Observatory

Three students found themselves entrenched upon the Top Observatory Floor of the school. Two tables were taped to the metal railings courtesy of Hisashi Igou. His fellow classmates Rei Miyamoto and Takashi Komuro were with him, with only a pointed mop stick and a metal baseball bat as their only defense with a few bottles of water to keep them hydrated, even if they believed it could sustain them as long as they thought.

It was here that our Archer found them as he tested his grappling arrows for the very first time.

"There's no way the Police will answer a call." a suddenly shivering Hisashi Igou stated as he held the arm in which he had been bitten. He knew what was speeding through his blood. He'd seen enough Zombie films, both Japanese and American to know that once bitten, that there would be no coming back. Of course, he didn't think that such a thing would be turning into a reality, or that he himself would be turning into the very thing that nightmares were made of.

"What is this? What on Earth is happening!?" The girl, desperate for answers, with strawberry blond hair that fell close to her waist side, Rei Miyamoto cried out to the only one she felt truly understood her and cared for her. With pleading eyes upon the one she felt the fondness for, Hisashi Igou, and then quickly turning those same pleading eyes upon the other fellow, a person she currently loathed, but knew more than she did. "Come on Hisashi, Takashi! Tell me! Just this morning...No, not even! Minutes ago, everything was normal...-"

Suddenly, the wind began to pick up when the sound of several Military Helicopters flew overhead, "...A Copter?" she queried to no one in particular. The wind that carried after nearly knocked Rei off of her feet when the silver dyed hair, yet wounded form of her dear friend Hisashi caught her and held her until the wind passed. She shrieked as she cowered beneath his taller form until the high pressure sensation of the wind died down.

A moment later, she began to rise and with a blush, pulled away. "They're Personnel Carriers. Japans National Transport for VIP's, Government Dignitaries and Officials, Rich Folk, and the like." the voice of Ryan cut in as he stood over the marble white dome of the Observatory.

All three students took a moment to look around until a throat cleared itself, forcing them to look up and see the now jacket-less form of the the new, yet mysterious American student with his arms bound in several layers of cloth. His hands, covered in archer gloves reminiscent to what modern Archers in the current era wore. In his left hand was a finger tab for protecting his Archers fingers from the bowstring. On his back was a giant quiver filled to the brim with what appeared to be many arrows, too many to count. His right hand held a metal compound bow with a metal Grey tone at his side with a single arrow notched and currently held between his two fingers. His shirt was slightly open at the top with the shirt being untucked.

"Who the hell are you?" called out Takashi, the bat wielding, dark haired student demanded warily as even he could see how dangerous the new guy was, with how easy he held the weapon in his hand.

Jumping down from the dome and looking out at the choppers that were flying off into the distance, more than likely to gather top Government Officials and VIP's from their known locations and take them somewhere safe.

His breathing heavy due to how difficult using a single grappling arrow was as it apparently needed some fine tuning before it could function better, but other than that, it worked as was designed. He had to skip and hop upward several floors and managed to pull himself up, only to land in a crouch at the last jump as he practically flew at the last pull of the grappling arrows powerful pull when it pulled him up. With a press of a button on the side of the bow, the arrows grappling hook released the marble stone structure that was the side of the Observatory, returning to its natural double hooked form. Standing up, he finally got a good look at the chaos that was now Japan. Fires were burning out of control, people were being attacked, those turning were attacking others, with the cycle repeating itself.

'My God. All of those people.' he thought to himself. 'Just what in the hell is going on?' He pulled the cell given to him by his father earlier, 'Come on Dad, why haven't you called?' Placing it back into his pants, He'd heard the tell tell signs of approaching helicopters. Turning around, he wasn't disappointed to see at least 5 approaching personnel carriers. What he was surprised to see was that none of them slowed as they drew closer. Instead, they just flew overhead without a care to those clearly alive upon the school roof and Observatory.

Soldiers could be seen through open doors, looks of disgrace and shame as they looked upon the surviving students upon the roof and grounds of the school, only to be forced to keep moving along.

His attention was then diverted to the three surviving teens upon the roof beside him. He took in the sight of their various states of dress and physical demeanor. One of the students appeared to be have suffered an attack as he held a bleeding arm, his hair a shining silver color. 'I mean, who the hell has silver hair when it comes to the Japanese community?' It just wasn't natural. The female with the blond hair was something he could accept as it seemed to suit her. Shaking his head from his thoughts, he shouted out just loud enough where he was able to draw their attention to him.

Now that he had all three of their attention after explaining the choppers reason for not stopping to collect them, he continued. "They got no time for us. Only those who have power and money. We're just cannon fodder to them. Those soldiers are just doing their jobs despite the fact that we're alive. Wish as they all might, they can't stop for us. They won't."

"Y-You're that new guy, from America. You're Ryan. Ryan West." Hisashi said with grit teeth. His face was suddenly looking clammy with droplets of sweat. He was grasping his left shoulder. Ryan didn't miss the attempt at a field dressing on the other guys arm as blood steadily flowed out of the wound and down his arm, tears of blood seeping from between the clasped fingers.

"I am. Listen, I won't sugar coat what we're facing. George Romero's greatest horror piece has just become a reality. Call them what you will. Zombies, walking dead, undead, them, it, whatever! The thing is, they're no longer alive and they're no longer the people you knew or went to school with. You want to survive, it's simple, damage the brain by either bashing, stabbing, or even plain old kicking and stomping on their heads. As it is the only way to destroy them and set them free. Granting them peace."

"He's right. There's no other poetic way of saying it. It's now a matter of survival. You guys...g-gotta...cough-cough...move on wit-without me." Hisashi said as blood began to flow from his lips. "Even outside, where you can run away is a bloodbath..."

"Shit, it's broken." Takashi mumbled as he tried opening the door. "They'll get in like this! Hisashi, West, what do we do?"

"We get to the top of the Observatory and block the staircase." Was the silver haired students answer.

"Won't last long. They're stronger in numbers, even with the enhanced undead strength. They respond to sound. That includes heavy breathing. You'd need complete control over your breathing in order to make an attempt to bypass them. But with so many at the moment, that would be suicide." Came Ryans response. "That barricade, crude as it may be, will hold for only so long. We need to go, and we need to go now.

"He's right. Go, before it's too late." Hisashi said. "See if there are any lighters or matches..."

"Won't be necessary." came the Americans answer as he pulled what looked like a small black rod from a plastic clip on his belt. Flipping it upright, he pressed a button on the other side and a blazing white light shined about as he pointed it at all three students. "As for the fire, unless it's controlled, you'll only make matters worse as they may also be drawn to heat. That is something none of us want at the moment."

"BLEUGH"

All three looked upon the source of the choking sound as Hisashi began coughing up massive amounts of blood in his right hand. Sliding down against the railing until he lost the strength to stand, Hisashi was quickly seen to by the blond female wielding the metal mop handle.

Kneeling by his side, she cried out to her friend, "Hisashi! What is it!?"

His coughing worsened as the blood continued to poor from his mouth, causing him to spit what he could out in order to both breathe and talk, what little he could. She looked at both still standing teens not sick, for help. Her eyes desperate for an answer on what to do, "Takashi, West-son, it's Hisashi!"

Seeing the state his friend was in and not understanding how the infection could set in so fast, Takashi hollered out, "Why!? You just got a little bite! Why are you falling apart...?"

The sound of zipper speedily opening caused the young Rei to glance at and eyes widen as West held in his right hand in a reverse grip, a single butterfly sword with intricate Chinese characters.

"West-son, whe-where'd you get that from?" she stuttered.

"It was a gift from my father. Now, back away."

"No, I won't let you hurt him." she said as she placed herself between Hisashi and the American transfer. The end of a metal bat was then thrust against his chest.

"He's turning, you know this. If you've ever seen a Zombie film, you know once the process starts, there's no coming back." Ryan said as he looked from the bat to the face and eyes of Takashi Komuro.

"Takashi," a weak voice spoke up in barely a whisper, "he's right. It's just like in the movies. One little bite and you're done for." Hisashi then looked at the blood that had flowed from his lips and into his open palm.

"That's a lie!" Rei screamed as she nuzzled her face into Hisashi's dress coat, "This can't be like in the movies."

The pounding of hands and undead bodies hitting the tables barricading the undead from the currently four living students on the roof. Ryan barely looked to the makeshift barricade before turning back to the current situation.

"But it is,...I'm sorry, I didn't catch your name."

"Her name is Rei. Rei Miyamoto." The bat wielder said as he lowered the bat, but kept it a ready stance.

"No, I refuse to believe that. Takashi, what can I do. Give me a hand,...please!?" she cried out as she searched his face and saw that it was too late, that he had made his decision.

Looking to the sword and bow wielder, Hisashi spoke out, "I want you to do it. While I'm still human."

"It will be quick and painless!" Ryan stated flatly.

"What are you saying...?" Rei shouted.

"Rei-kun, I have no wish to become one of them. Please, I'm begging you, let West-son end me while there's still time." he then became wide-eyed as he suddenly lurched forward, grasping the cement flooring with one hand while holding his stomach.

Holding onto her friend, Rei cried out yet again, "Hisashi! Hisashi! Nnnooooooo! YOU CAN'T DIE!"

Ryan looked to Takashi and nudged his head towards the erratic young girl. With a nod, he used one arm to pull her away. She began kicking and screaming, desperately trying to get back to her dying friend, but the bat wielder held firm as he watched.

Ryan on the other hand, rested his bow against the railing and aided the dying teen until he was once more sitting against the railing, the sword in one hand, Ryan leaned forward, placing the sharpened tip against the back of the young mans skull. Having studied anatomy and having learned much from his father, remembering the location of the frontal lobes weak spot, he readied himself. "Pr-Protect t-them."

"I will." Ryan swore.

"Thank you."

Ryan nodded in respect.

"Do it."

Leaning his head against the sword wielders, Hisashi Igou felt the blade enter quickly, and knew no more as blackness overcame him.

"A man with honor." Ryan stated as he twisted the blade slightly just to make sure before removing the blade with a jerking motion, he then lowered the deceased teen fully upon the ground and closed his eyes. He then spoke a prayer in what little Latin he knew and made a sign of the Cross over Hisashi's now lifeless face.

"Y-You bastard. You killed him. You killed him." Rei cried. She broke free from the other teens arms and made to thrust the pointed end of the mop handle at him. He sidestepped inward from the thrust, smacking the stick from her hands. He then grabbed her by the lapel of her uniform and made her kneel and look down at the now dead teen.

"Look at him." he growled out. "Really, look at him. Better he die a man, than a monster. It was his choice. His right to die his way. He made a choice to not become one of them! I was the one he chose as the instrument of choice in which to set him free."

The shaking her body made showed that though she didn't want to believe it, she had no other reason not to. He needed to show her more, he then hoisted her to her feet as he made her look down upon the school grounds and the world around her, "Look out there, do you see that? Hear those screams. The fires and smoke in the distance. That is reality setting in. The world is now a sugar coated topping and we're the treats. It's kill or be killed, only it's the dead doing the most killing and spreading the disease that is causing its victims to rise and continue the cycle."

As much as she didn't want to believe it, her eyes and ears could not deceive her. People were dying and returning to life, only to spread the same sickness to others. There were fires as far as the eyes could see and sounds of gun fire far in the distance. No longer able to go against what she knew to be true, she pushed herself away from the westerner and turned, throwing herself into the only other familiar pair of arms she knew, "Takashi, what do we do."

"For the first time in my life, I don't know what to do." he said as his hair hid the top layer of his face. "I just want to go down there and bash some skulls in."

"That's a bad idea." Ryan said as he finished wiping the blood and brain matter from his sword upon the cloth covering his arms before returning the said sword to the sheathe within the quiver before replacing it on his back and grasping his bow from where he sat it. "You go down there swinging, odds are, you'll tire yourself out before they get you. And they will."

"Alright then, since you seem to have all of the answers, what should we do?"

Before Ryan could answer, the makeshift barricade was groaning, the tables cracking, Ryan responded, "Give me a moment." He walked up to and in a moment, stood before the tables as they began to shift. An opening appeared with an arm outstretched followed by a head of another blond female, only undead. He notched an arrow and slowly lined up a shot. Pulling back on the bows string, he looked the dead-ite right in their soulless eyes and with a bated breath, released the arrow. It flew straight and true as the deceased girls head snapped back, the body falling back from the power of the arrows kinetic force. Barely a second passed as another deceased student took her place, only it was male.

Ryan took the high-ground as he looked up and slipping the bow onto his back, he jumped up to and grasped the roof. Pulling himself up, he walked toward the stairway in which the dead were advancing upon and began unleashing more arrows until not a corpse remained standing upon the stairs and or anywhere near the roofs entrance. Thankfully, not many arrows were used that he couldn't retrieve or resupply as he knew where to find more.

Jumping down before the stumped duo who watched him from behind the opening within the damaged barricade, he removed another arrow and walked over to the taped tables, cutting the tape with the bladed arrowhead. Once cut, he replaced the arrow within the quiver and pushed the tables down. The two fellow survivors came behind him and had to admit, he was an impressive shot as each deceased had a single arrow planted at the top of its skull, rendering them completely dead.

They watched as he walked down the walkway steps and grasped an arrow from the skull of one of the deceased and pulled. The body barely lurched upward when he jerked the arrow from its head. As before, he laid the body down and closed its eyes after cleaning the arrowhead upon the deceased's uniform and replacing it within his quiver. And like before, he performed the symbol of last rites over their heads while speaking in a language they could not understand, but guessed was Latin due to the American films they had seen in which similar acts were used when an important character had died.

They could not see the tears falling down his cheeks as he performed his acts over the deceased, but Takashi could see the toll killing his fellow students as his body shook. A few seconds later, Ryan quickly ran to a side banister and emptied his stomach of its contents.

"Ta...Takashi?" Rei queried worriedly. The dark haired teen came to and stood by Ryans side. Gazing down, he saw that some of the contents that Ryan had hurled was bits of food and colored stomach acid.

"It's ok." he answered. "He just lost a bit of his lunch and breakfast. This whole day has taken its toll on him just as much as it has on all of us." Placing a hand on Ryans left shoulder, he saw the clamminess and red puffy eyes such an act could do to someone when they empty their bowels when the American teen turned to him and barely looked him in the eyes. Ryan nodded his appreciation as he turned back and spat a bit of fluid from his mouth before he rose and forced himself to take a few deep breaths.

"Sorry, di...didn't realize how much killing them would affect me. What I wouldn't give for a bottle of water." the teen archer said. His prayer was answered as Takashi held one out to him, the bottle unopened. Unscrewing the top, he chugged two mouthfuls of the precious liquid, allowing him to wash his mouth out after the second chug, spitting out the residual aftertaste and whatever else remained from his stomach of the stomach juices contents. Nodding his head in thanks, he capped the bottle and made to hand it back, but the dark haired youth refused with an open palm, getting another appreciative nod from the westerner as he held onto it.

"So, West-son. What do we do?" Takashi asked in a demanding tone.

"Well first, we find a ride out of here. If I'm not mistaken, I could have sworn I saw a vehicle on school grounds earlier. A-A bus I think. Any lives we run into uninfected, we bring with us."

"Where would we go?" Rei asked curiously.

"My place. It's not far from here. Maybe a ten minute ride. We hold up there. My old man believed in being prepared for the inevitable, and so made sure to stock up on food and supplies. I also have a few more quivers with various arrow heads. There is also weapons caches of Automatic and semi-automatic firearms hidden within the walls of our garage. We also have a Hummer and a bike. A Kawasaki Ninja to be exact."

"Damn, your old man don't pull no punches, does he?" Takashi replied in shock.

"Well, a favorite phrase amongst my mothers people was that 'Chance favors the prepared'. Guess my father took it to heart. If only we weren't in such a fucked up situation as we are now, such information would be unnecessary."

"Snort!" Takashi gave a much needed reprieve from the events as Ryan turned to him.

"What?"

"Nothing. Just, I was just thinking along the same lines."

"Do you have to be so blunt?" the blond female of the small group of three asked.

"Seriously? Just what good would lying do?" Ryan shot back.

That set off a chain of laughter that for a moment, just a moment, all three needed in order to calm their minds, despite the fact that the school was still full of the dead and the dying. There was no telling who would survive. And who would die this day.

Once all three managed to gather themselves, Rei made to stand, hand held out to Takashi, "I'm going to try and call my Dad. Give me your phone."

"You're pushy, you know that?" Ryan flatly stated.

"What makes you say that?"

"You just don't go around making demands of people, regardless of the situation. You say, 'May I use your phone, Takashi?' Not, 'Give me your phone.'"

With a weary sigh, she said, "You're right. Takashi, may I use your phone?"

"See, that's better." Ryan said as Takashi almost bellowed in laughter at the rebuking of his fellow schoolmate when she then gave him an irritated glare, causing him to silently chuckle at how adorable it made her seem. As he pulled out his phone and passed it to her, Ryan decided he waited enough himself for his father to call and pulled out his own phone.

Walking a few feet away, he flipped it open and hit the speed dial and extension number his father gave him. What he got in return caused his stomach to drop, "Son, if you're getting this, then I am gone. This will be the last time you will ever hear my voice. The events you may be experiencing is real. You must live. Get out of Japan. It is no longer safe. By now, a Viral Agent, not of this world, has penetrated Earths atmosphere. I repeat, a Viral Agent, not of our world has caused an epidemic. It is Alien in origin. I learned of this only months ago and paid it no heed at the time as it was then deemed 'Classified'. Aaaahhhh shit. That bastard had a strong bite." A sudden hiss caused the message to pause for a second before the elder West continued. "Listen son, I love you. If you can, I have a Seaplane waiting at Peer 14, all fueled and ready to go, you'll know it when you see it. Get to it. There is extra fuel tanks within as well as well as supplies. If y-you can, find your Uncle Carl in Georgia."

By now, Ryan lips were trembling as he listened to the recording left to him by his father, his focus blocking out the horrid cries of the blond girl nearby. Suddenly, he heard gunshots over the phone, causing him to shake as he counted each shot, recognizing the sound of the gun as a 9 Millimeter Beretta and knowing there was only one bullet left. The sounds of moaning was getting nearer on the other end as Leonard West spoke his final words to his son, "Goodbye son. I'll tell your mother you love her."

'No, no, no Dad. Don't do this to me.' Ryan mentally cried as one final shot was heard over the other end of the line followed by the sound of a body falling and the sound of plastic hitting a paved flooring. Tears flowed from Ryans eyes as he held a hand over his mouth, his knees giving way as he dropped his own phone. Squeezing his eyes shut with the tears hitting the pavement beneath him, his hands curled as they rested upon the said pavement.

Takashi Komuro could only guess at what West had just learned. That one of his own had died, in the most likely case, his father. He was torn as he watched both his long time female friend and the American both had lost someone near and dear.

With a 'sigh', he helped Rei and Ryan up and back on their feet, one after another after letting them have a moment to grieve, "Come on," he said softly, "we have to keep moving."

Ryan on the other hand, as he made to rise, grabbed and gripped his bow tightly, his knuckles whitening as his grip was enhanced by his emotional state, and with a look of fierce determination, said in return, "Yeah, we do." with a sniff, he notched an arrow, and began leading the other two back into the school.

Guess who's back. After much time spent away do to zero internet until now, I have returned. I have had some of my work reviewed by some relatives who helped me figure that I should re-work on some of my past work in order to make them better, in which I will. It will take time, but I am sure I can get back on track. So, let me know what you think of this. I am going through this with the aid of a hard-backed copy of Volume 1 of Highschool of the Dead. Until Next Time.