High School of the Dead Feet

Shuffling down the stairs with Shizuka lending you her shoulder, you headed towards the parking lot where the school bus laid in wait. Your steps were erratic, as the effects from your wound still plagued your movements. It was this inconsistency that slowed your progress. However, you were no burden to Shizuka, but a precious life that needed rescue. This knowledge was reassuring, as you finished traversing the stairwell and steered towards the main entrance to the building. You were nearly there.

But as fate had been so kind to send you a savior before, it was not going to do so again. As you rounded the corner of your preferred exit, you found an undead student shambling towards you. There was no way to evade this one. In a split-second decision, you broke off from Shizuka and tackled this threat. You crashed to the floor with your target, alongside Shizuka who collapsed from the sudden shift in balance. You redirected your opponent’s gaping maw by gripping its neck, preventing the creature from its chilling method of slaughter. Though unaware at first, Shizuka realized the existence of your battle upon hearing your aggressive groans. She was terrified, left frozen in fear from the sudden encounter.

Enduring this struggle wasn’t difficult, but the noises from this battle were attracting every undead in the corridor to your location. With this decision, you were no longer a burden to Shizuka, and she could escape the swarm with her life. Time was of the essence, and if it was wasted here, it would mean both your deaths. “Miss Shizuka, go on without me!”

Once again, instead of accepting your wishes, she scrambled over to the medical box she dropped and frantically started digging around for something. “What are you doing?!” You objected, trying not to lose focus on the undead within your grasp. From the corner of your eye, you saw Shizuka extract a syringe with an exceptionally long needle. She crawled over to you, slipping the plastic cover of the needle and taking into both of her hands. “I’m helping you, of course!” Shizuka slammed the syringe through your opponent’s eye, driving the needle deep into its brain cavity. It stopped moving shortly after this attack.

It was finally over… until it resumed its struggle, flailing more violently than before. “Oh, fuck! Why is it still moving?!” As you posed this question, the struggle with your opponent resumed. Shizuka fretted, searching through her medical box for another alternative. “I don’t know!”

The moans from additional hostiles became apparent from behind you. There wasn’t any time for another plan, so you bunched up your fist and slammed it down on top of the syringe. Its pre-filled contents forcibly ejected inside of your opponent’s brain. The result was a soft, unsettling pop that emanated from deep within its cranium. This time, it stopped moving for good.

“Come on!” Shizuka reached for your hand, ignoring her medical box as the rest of the undead started to swarm your location. As you grabbed her hand, you used her shoulder as support once again and hobbled away from the undead that threatened your lives.

You fled to the parking lot, receiving nothing but looks of disdain from the survivors who spent their precious time waiting for your arrival. Among this group were the same students who left you back in the corridor, so their feelings mattered very little to you. “Sorry, everyone! We’ll be going now!” Shizuka apologized to the other students, leaning you against the side of the bus as she went to unlock the door.

As the survivors boarded one after another, you closed your eyes in exhaustion. Trying to refresh your mind from this tragedy was difficult. Behind your eyes, it was the sight of those creatures that haunted your thoughts. Suddenly a shadow enveloped your face, and all you imagined was another one of them lunging towards you. Opening your eyes to defend yourself, you were met with a surprising sight. Shizuka leaned towards you, pressing her lips against yours in an arousing, but gentle kiss. This was a fleeting sensation, as she broke the kiss and smiled at you. “Thanks for protecting me.”

You were in disbelief, replying with the truest thought you held. “T-…Thanks for saving me.”

Before you could collect your thoughts, Shizuka snatched your hand and led you onto the bus. While at this point you were capable of this yourself, there was little reason to object to a little extra compassion from the school nurse. Shizuka helped you towards the front-most row on the bus, where you thankfully reclined into the springy material of the closest seat.

You let out a deep breath.

The exhaustion of the day was finally catching up to you. Accepting this moment of respite, you closed your eyes once again. Instead of the abominations that plagued your thoughts before, you now found a mental image of your blonde savior. While she was a selfless, but also careless individual, you saw a future in this new world for her. As your gratefulness to her could never be measured in words, you wouldn’t be so disloyal as to forget her actions. Upon this, you vowed that today would be only the first of many days you would risk yourself to ensure her protection. It was these comforting thoughts that accompanied your swift departure into unconsciousness.