Having finished his conversation with the raiding teams over the communicator, Alex signaled with his hand, giving the go-ahead to search for supplies. The vehicles dispersed in different directions, while he remained in place, staring intently at the empty street ahead.
He didn't like this feeling. The whole world was overrun by a zombie apocalypse, yet here—silence. Too empty, too... unnatural. Looking closer, it beca clear that no one in this city had even tried to flee when the catastrophe began. It was as if everyone had vanished in an instant.
Alex rolled down the window, lit a cigarette, and took a deep drag, contemplating the situation. The girls in the car watched him closely, waiting for his reaction. They, too, sensed sothing was off—the city didn't just look empty; it felt... wrong. An old legend about a settlent where people had disappeared without a trace in a single night involuntarily surfaced in Alex's mind.
"What's bothering you?" Saeko asked softly, placing a hand on his shoulder.
"This city…" Alex scanned the silent buildings. "It feels like the people vanished before all this horror even began. Just like the story of Roanoke."
"What's Roanoke?" Shizuka asked, tilting her head curiously.
"It's an old mystery," Saya interjected, taking the opportunity to explain. "Back in the early days of Arican colonization, there was a settlent—Roanoke. It suffered constant attacks, but one day, when enemies returned, the place was completely deserted. No bodies, no signs of struggle—only a single word carved into a tree: 'Croatoan.' No one ever figured out what happened to the settlers."
"That sounds creepy…" Shizuka murmured, shivering slightly.
"Maybe this city is cursed?" Rebecca suggested with a smirk.
"Ghosts only exist in fairy tales," Saya scoffed.
"Well, well," Rebecca patted her shotgun. "If we et any, we'll see how my babies handle them."
Alex chuckled. He had a few theories. The most obvious—sowhere beneath the city, an evil corporation was hiding a lab. The alternative—residents had been evacuated in advance, but… if that were the case, there should have been signs of a hasty retreat, which he hadn't seen.
"Saya, launch the drone. Keep it above us and expand our field of view."
"Got it."
Saya pulled a drone from her backpack, sent it soaring into the air, and activated her tablet. The girls imdiately gathered around the screen, watching the aerial footage.
"All clear," Saya confird with a thumbs-up.
Alex nodded, started the engine, and entered the nearest supply location into the GPS. Their target was a supermarket—a place guaranteed to have essential goods.
As they drove, Rebecca tried to snatch the tablet from Saya, who wasn't about to give up control so easily. A brief struggle turned into a full-blown argunt. Alex sighed, glancing out the window in hopes of avoiding the noise, but salvation ca in the form of Valt. Without a word, she grabbed both of them by the scruff of their necks and pulled them apart.
"Savior," Alex gave her a thumbs-up.
"Rika, get on the Humvee's roof and keep a lookout," he ordered, shifting focus.
"No problem, handso, but… when are you finally making my own rifle? I'm tired of borrowing Rebecca's!"
"You could've ntioned that yesterday when Saya and I were working on gadgets."
"You're my man; you should take the first step!" Rika declared theatrically, throwing up her hands. "Sothing like: 'Oh, my dearest Rika, would you like to make you a rifle? Let's get married, have kids, a dog, and live by the sea!'"
"Get in line, Minami," Koko smirked, giving Rika a light shove out the window.
Rika laughed, nimbly climbing onto the Humvee's roof while the vehicle was still moving. Alex only smiled, making a ntal note to craft her a custom sniper rifle. The fact that Rebecca had allowed soone to borrow her weapon even once was already a miracle. Alex knew his little gremlin well—Rebecca didn't trust just anyone with her guns. If she had let Rika use one, it ant they had truly beco friends.
Climbing onto the roof, Rika secured her position, knocking on the tal to signal that she was ready. Alex slightly reduced speed to ensure she wouldn't accidentally fall. She carefully scanned the building windows and alleyways, searching for anything suspicious or any sign of human presence in this eerily silent city. However, even after several minutes of observation, there was no indication that anyone had recently left this place.
After reporting her findings, Rika received approving nods from Alex and the girls. He reminded her to stay alert and not miss any details. Upon reaching their first destination, Alex parked near a small store. While Saya surveyed the area with the drone and Rika scoped out the building through her sniper rifle, the others waited patiently. A minute later, Saya patted Alex on the shoulder, signaling that the area was clear.
Nodding, Alex was the first to step out of the Humvee, keeping his pistol at the ready. The girls followed after him.
"Okay, we're here. Let's look around and see if we can find anything useful. And for god's sake, don't wander off alone. That goes for you two—Koko and Shizuka," Alex said, giving them a stern look.
"What does that have to do with ?!" Koko protested, pointing a finger at him. "Do you think I'm that irresponsible?"
"I'll go with you," Shizuka suddenly announced, clinging to Alex's arm. "This place is creepy… And it feels safer with you."
Alex smirked and allowed her to stay close. Koko, however, fud when she saw him completely ignore her complaint. Without hesitation, she grabbed Alex by the shoulders and began shaking him, demanding an answer, but he skillfully acted as if he didn't notice.
Splitting into groups, they headed inside. Alex and Shizuka entered through the main entrance, followed by Valt and Koko. Rebecca, Saeko, and Rei chose to enter through the storage area. Outside, Rika and Saya remained on watch, ready to alert the others if zombies or anything suspicious appeared.
Reaching the door, Alex pulled out his pistol and, keeping one hand free, opened it. Shizuka clung to the edge of his clothes, visibly nervous. Alex knocked twice on the tal detector fra to check if it would attract any undead attention. Satisfied that it remained silent, he motioned for the girls to follow him.
"Shizuka, if you keep pulling on my clothes like that, I might actually run away," he joked, but she only clung to him tighter.
Scanning the area, Alex quickly noticed that soone had already been there. Food had been taken, and items appeared to have been gathered in a hurry.
"Soone was here, and not too long ago," Valt noted, crouching down to examine the tracks on the floor.
"So the city isn't empty," Koko frowned, eyeing the shelves. "But where are the zombies? Or even signs of a struggle? On the way here, we didn't see any burned-out cars or blood. Nothing."
"Maybe this city is haunted…" Shizuka whispered anxiously, glancing around.
"That's just what we need!" Koko rolled her eyes. "First zombies, now ghosts. What's next? Demons? Angels? The ultimate battle of good and evil in the grand finale?"
Alex suppressed a smirk. After everything he had already seen in this world, he had no need for additional horrors. If he ever wanted to see demons and angels, he knew which universes to visit.
Koko's words only frightened Shizuka more, and she squeezed Alex's hand as if her life depended on it. He gently patted her hand, trying to reassure her.
"There are no ghosts in this world," he said with confidence.
Alex's words seed to calm Shizuka a little, but she clearly wasn't letting go of him.
Surveying the half-empty store shelves, Alex, as usual, grabbed a garbage bag and began sweeping in everything necessary. First and foremost, they needed essential supplies—those ran out the fastest with so many people on the ferry. Koko and Valt joined in, gathering anything useful. Fortunately, the store had plenty of household goods, and whoever had been there before them seed to have taken only food and personal belongings.
After so ti, Rebecca, Saeko, and Rei erged from the storage area carrying several boxes of household items. They decided not to overload themselves, taking only the essentials.
Alex checked in with Rika and Saya to get a status update on the outside, but as before, the streets remained empty. With confirmation that everything was clear, they loaded the supplies into the Humvee, got inside, and moved on.
This ti, Alex decided to stop by an electronics store to gather parts for future gadgets. The girls supported his idea. However, as they passed by a small family restaurant, Rika knocked on the roof, signaling him to stop.
"Rika, did you see sothing?" Alex asked, pulling over to the curb.
"I think I saw movent in a window on the second floor. Should we check it out?" she replied, peering into the cabin.
Alex looked at the others, waiting for their input. No one objected—if Rika had seen sothing, it was worth verifying. However, he didn't want to bring too many people inside, so he went in only with Saeko.
Before entering, Alex cautiously peeked through the window to assess the situation inside. Then he glanced at Rika, signaling her to cover them if necessary. The girl gave a thumbs-up, confirming she had them covered.
Nodding, Alex and Saeko cautiously stepped into the restaurant. Inside, silence reigned, with only dim light filtering through the dirty windows. Alex drew his pistol, gestured for Saeko to follow, and headed straight for the kitchen to determine if soone was living there.
As soon as they stepped inside, there was no doubt—soone had been here. Alex walked over to the stove and touched a frying pan—it was still warm.
"Looks like Rika was right," Saeko noted, eyeing the recently used kitchen utensils.
"Seems that way. Now we just need to find out who's here and if they're a threat," Alex said, withdrawing his hand from the pan.
Saeko nodded, gripping the handle of her katana more tightly. Alex noticed that she had already adapted to the weights on her wrists—despite all this ti, she had never shown any signs of discomfort.
At that mont, their radio crackled to life.
"Pretty boy, what's going on in there? Did you find anyone?" Rika's voice ca through.
"Looks like it. We're in the kitchen—soone is definitely living here," Alex replied, scanning the room again.
He described their findings in detail before moving on with Saeko to search for the staircase leading to the second floor. Upon finding it, they carefully ascended. However, after climbing a few steps, Alex noticed sothing and abruptly stopped Saeko, preventing her from moving forward.
"What's wrong?" she whispered.
"Look down. You almost tripped a wire," Alex said, pointing at the taut line just above the floor.
Saeko followed his gaze and spotted the tripwire, barely visible in the dim lighting. Alex crouched to examine it closely and traced its path to see where it led. At the end of it, he discovered a trap—sothing straight out of Ho Alone, except this one was far deadlier. It wasn't ant to simply scare off or delay intruders—it was designed to kill.
Carefully stepping over the tripwire, Alex reached out his hand to Saeko, helping her do the sa. She smiled gratefully and accepted his assistance. This chanism only confird their suspicions – soone definitely lived in the building, and that soone clearly didn't want visitors.
As they ascended the stairs, Alex gestured for Saeko to remain silent. He listened intently, trying to catch any faint sounds. Monts later, his ears picked up muted whispers. From the voices, it sounded like there were children. One of them quietly urged the others to be quieter, fearing those who had just co upstairs.
Alex exchanged glances with Saeko, then moved closer to the door behind which the whispers ca from. He understood the children were frightened and knew they wouldn't just believe him without assurance.
"I know you're there. Don't be afraid, we won't harm you," Alex said in a calm voice, lightly tapping on the door to avoid scaring them further. "We're a group of survivors from Tokyo, heading to Okinawa. We stopped here to restock. You have nothing to fear—there are children in our group as well."
There was silence. Then, a faint tallic sound reached his ears—a nearby gun's safety being clicked off. Alex tensed. One of the children was ard.
To ensure everything was okay and that no one was being held against their will, he activated his ability and looked through the wall. Inside, he saw a group of frightened children huddled in the corner. By the door stood a teenager—his white hair, red eyes, and dark skin seed familiar to Alex.
"Kid, I know you have a gun," Alex continued, trying to speak as softly as possible. "But we really don't want to harm you. We have a doctor in our group if anyone needs help."
Saeko gently tapped Alex's arm, drawing his attention. Her eyes silently asked, "How did you know they had a weapon?" Alex simply nodded and pointed to his ear. Saeko understood, but remained on alert.
anwhile, Alex continued to watch the teenager closely. He was nervous, his fingers tightening around the grip of the gun, but he slowly opened the door just enough to show his face. The deep, intense gaze from his red eyes, the tense posture… this kid trusted no one.
Alex raised his hands in a non-threatening gesture, signaling he wasn't going to attack. Then, he motioned for Saeko to co closer to show that he wasn't alone. The teenager eyed both of them carefully but didn't lower his weapon.
That's when Alex realized who the boy was. White hair, red eyes, dark skin... It was Jonathan Mal, or as he was known in the ani, Jonah—the last mber of Koko's group. When Alex first t Koko, he had wondered where Jonah was. Now it was clear where he had gone.
Jonah slowly opened the door without lowering his gun. Inside, behind him, were the children, their faces frozen in fear.
"Listen, kid," Alex said softly, pointing to one of the girls. "Does soone here need dical attention? She looks sick."
Jonah glanced quickly at the girl, then looked back at Alex.
"Yes... She got sick a few days ago. I tried to find dicine, but I don't know what she needs," his voice was tense, but no longer hostile.
"Alright, here's the deal," Alex spoke calmly, trying not to provoke the teenager. "Put the gun down, and we'll just talk. I don't like being aid at. I already told you, we're not enemies. My na is Alex, and this is Saeko. We're survivors from Tokyo."
Jonah was silent for a few seconds, then slowly lowered his weapon.
"I'm Jonathan..." he introduced himself, still watching them warily. "And the girl who needs help is Malka. The others... my brothers and sisters."
Alex gave a slight smile.
"Okay, Jonathan. Let's figure out how to help Malka."
Alex nodded, understanding that Jonah had decided to trust him. But what intrigued him most was how Jonah and the children ended up in Japan, since in the original ani tiline, things had gone differently. There, Jonah single-handedly wiped out an entire military camp to avenge Malka, who had been used as cannon fodder and sent to a minefield. After that, he t Casper and struck a deal with him, directing all the money he earned to help the children he considered his family.
"Alright, let's go down. Our doctor will take a look at your friend," Alex said, walking towards Malka to help her.
But as soon as he reached out, Jonah instantly raised his gun, pointing it at Alex. Alex simply raised his hands in a conciliatory gesture, signaling that he ant no harm. However, Jonah still didn't fully trust him.
Sighing, Alex gently scooped up Malka in his arms and turned to the other children.
"Pack your things. It's better for you to co with us than stay here."
The children exchanged hesitant glances, then all eyes turned to Jonah. He was their older brother, the one who made the decisions. Jonah nodded, and the children imdiately began gathering their belongings, packing them into bags. Saeko helped them, speeding up the process. In their group, besides Jonah, there were three boys and three girls. Once everyone was ready, Alex nodded and gestured for them to follow him.
Jonah moved ahead to disarm the traps set up for unwanted visitors. Alex followed, carrying Malka, but the question kept nagging at him: what the hell was going on in this town? Why was it so empty? But first, he had to get the children out and give Shizuka a chance to check on the sick girl.
Outside, the other girls were already waiting for them. They had been keeping an eye on the restaurant after Alex ntioned that there were people inside. The lack of communication was unsettling—Rebecca had already been about to enter but stopped when she saw Alex and Jonah coming out. Alex was carrying Malka, and behind them followed the frightened children.
The girls imdiately realized that the children had been hiding in the restaurant, and like Alex, they were curious about what was happening in the town.
"Questions later. Shizuka, can you check her? She looks like she's sick," Alex said, walking up to the girls.
"Hold on, let grab the first aid kit," Shizuka replied, opening the "Humvee" door and pulling out the dical kit.
Alex carefully sat Malka down, giving Shizuka space to examine her. While she was tending to the girl, the other children nervously looked around, clearly afraid of what might appear on the street.
"Alright, while Shizuka checks her out, tell , what the hell is going on in this city? Where is everyone? There aren't even any zombies!" Alex asked, lighting a cigarette.
The girls turned to Jonah as well, waiting for his response.
He hesitated for a mont before speaking:
"I don't know how to explain it. When it all started, when the dead began to rise, the news said one thing, but in this city, everything went differently."
"What do you an?" asked Saya, launching a drone.
"So people started acting... strange. Like soone was controlling them. At first, there weren't many, but soon they started attacking the soldiers who were trying to evacuate the people. The soldiers shot at them, but these people didn't care. Those who could escape, did. The others... they were grabbed and taken away."
"Where? And what did they do with them?" Koko frowned.
"I tracked them when I was looking for supplies," Jonah replied. "They were taken to a farm near the city. It looks like a cult or sothing..."
Alex nodded, thinking over Jonah's words. The only explanation that ca to his mind was that the Los Illuminados cult was operating in this city. The re thought of it gave him a headache. He rubbed the bridge of his nose, trying to gather his thoughts, but suddenly felt soone tugging at the hem of his clothing. Looking down, he saw a little girl from Jonah's group. She was looking at him with tearful eyes.
"Big brother, can you save the older sister of the samurai?" the girl asked with a trembling voice, not letting go of his clothes. "She helped us and saved us when those people chased us."
Alex crouched down to be at eye level with the child and smiled gently:
"Of course, little one. But who is this older sister of the samurai?"
"She wears samurai armor and is very kind," the girl replied, looking him in the eyes.
Alex turned his gaze to Jonah, and noticing his silent question, Jonah spoke:
"Her na is Beatrix. She often ca to this family restaurant, run by an elderly couple who adopted us."
The na sounded familiar, but only images from Harry Potter books ca to mind. Of course, that Beatrix couldn't possibly be here, let alone taking care of children. But the samurai armor... that was more interesting.
"What happened to her?" Alex asked.
Jonah clenched his fists and, lowering his gaze, continued:
"When it all started, she imdiately ran to the restaurant to check if we were okay. Since then, we've survived together. But yesterday, when we went out for food, we were spotted. She decided to distract them and gave the chance to escape..."
"I got you, kid. If she's still alive, we'll find her," Alex said confidently.
Jonah nodded, but his eyes showed that he wasn't holding out much hope.
anwhile, Shizuka finished examining Malka.
"Nothing serious," she said, packing up the dical kit. "Just a cold and a lot of stress."
Alex nodded. It was clear now that taking the children with them on the upcoming operation was too risky. He contacted the other raid teams, relaying information about the situation in the city.
So of the groups had already encountered a new type of infected — strange dogs whose heads split apart, transforming into enormous, tooth-filled mouths. Hearing this, Alex was convinced — the parasite Las Plagas was spreading here.
"So, Alex," Rika said, sitting on the roof of the Humvee, "What's the plan? Do we go save the samurai girl, or do we wait for reinforcents?"
Alex exhaled a puff of smoke, thoughtfully gazing into the distance.
"First, we need to send the children to the ferry. Taking them with us is too dangerous. Plus, we still don't know exactly what's going on at that farm or why they're capturing people. We have little information, so it's better to be cautious."
"I can take the kids back while you handle the farm," Shizuka volunteered.
Alex looked at Jonah.
"Are you coming with us, or staying with your family?"
Jonah firmly looked him in the eye.
"I'm coming with you. She saved , now it's my turn."
Alex nodded. He didn't want to leave the children at the Humvee — the armored jeep could still co in handy. He walked over to the nearest car, broke the window with his elbow, and climbed inside to start the engine. Afterward, he helped seat the children and asked Shizuka to send a ssage to Brunhilde to keep a close watch on the port.
"Aye, captain!" Shizuka cheerfully saluted, laughing.
Alex smirked and, before she could turn away, grabbed her by the nose.
"Go on now, you cute potato."
Shizuka laughed and waved as she drove off with the group of children. Alex watched her until the car disappeared around the corner. It was ti to deal with the farm.
"So, what's our plan? Do we go in quietly, or cause a fireworks display at the cultist farm?" Rebecca asked with a wide grin.
"You just want to blow sothing up," Alex replied, grabbing her by the cheek. "First, we need to find out what this farm is and how many people are there."
" Jonah, you'll be leading the way. You know this place better than we do," he added, sitting in the Humvee.
The boy nodded and took the front seat next to Alex. anwhile, Rebecca climbed into the back, pulling out an assault rifle and ammunition, then handed the weapon to Jonah.
The girls exchanged looks, clearly wondering why she handed the teenager an assault rifle. However, Alex was the only one who knew that Jonah had been a soldier, capable of holding his own. Their doubts disappeared as soon as the boy deftly loaded the weapon, proving that he knew how to handle it.
Alex nodded approvingly and started the engine. Jonah began pointing out the way, while Alex contacted the other raid groups, informing them of their destination. So offered help, but he declined — it was better for them to focus on gathering supplies.
A few minutes later, they turned onto a dirt road, following Jonah's directions.
"Behind this hill is the farm where they were taking people," the boy said, pointing ahead.
Alex stopped the car in front of the hill, turned off the engine, and got out.
"Saya, launch the drone, we need to scout the area," he asked.
As they climbed the hill, an ominous sight greeted them — a classic horror-movie nightmare. The bodies of people were impaled on stakes or gutted and nailed to the walls of the fence.
"Did we really just change genres for this trip? First zombies, now cultists?" Rey muttered, watching the farm.
The girls nodded in agreent, watching the drone's feed on Saya's tablet. Unlike them, Alex kept his eyes fixed on the farm, trying to make out any distinctive signs of the Los Illuminados cult.
And he found them.
On the roof of an old building, which seed to serve as an impromptu church, the emblem of the cursed cult was clearly visible.
"Oh, not this..." Alex groaned, closing his eyes.
"What are you groaning about?" Koko asked, tugging at his sleeve.
"See for yourself," he replied, pointing at the sinister symbol.
The girls peered closer and imdiately recalled Alex recently telling them about the cult. He had ntioned that Los Illuminados had found a strange parasite capable of turning people into monsters. But how had they ended up in Japan?
The answer was obvious. Most likely, the cult was a part of an evil corporation.
"Rika, Rebecca, climb the trees and take a look around," Alex ordered.
"Then give a boost, handso. I'm not a monkey to be climbing trees," Rebecca said with a lazy grin.
Alex simply smirked, walked up to a tree, and cupped his hands to help her jump onto a branch.
Rika hesitated. She looked at Rebecca, who easily climbed up, and wondered if she could do the sa. After adjusting her sniper rifle on her back, the girl decided to try — she ran, and with Alex's help, jumped onto the branch.
Alex stepped aside, watching the girls assess the situation from above. Now, it was just a matter of waiting until they spotted sothing important...
To be continued...
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