HOTD: A New Dawn

The zombies bumping into the barricade were being mildly successful in slowly but steadily opening it bit by bit. Despite having two heavy-hitters such as Saeko and Tysone, handling so many of them at once could still result in casualties amongst the girls.

After all, a bite is all it took. A scratch, and they'd be just as doomed as Hisashi.

"They're about to break through." Miku said, stepping back.

Mai tightened her grip on her lacrosse stick. After going through so much shit and seeing so much blood, she was finally beginning to overcome her disgust.

"It won't do." Tysone didn't want to fight. They'd just tire themselves pointlessly. It didn't matter if they won when someone would just get bitten eventually, so there was a limit to fighting, and for how long they'd do it.

"There's a hose here, do you think it could work?" Rei called out to Tysone.

Tysone nodded; he did vaguely remember that that was exactly what Rei and Takashi did in the original.

Takashi moved to help her unfurl the tube. It was a high-pressure hose, which meant the burst of water would be quite intense. The barricade began to give in, the undead's arms sticking through it like tentacles.

Mai, Saya and Miku backed further away as a precautionary measure. Saeko slid forward, brandishing her bokken and serving as the first line of defense.

"Stand back." Rei shouted as Tysone and Takashi readied the nozzle.

"Three, two, one..."

Rei turned the tap all the way.

There was a loud bang and then the hiss of the water escaping the nozzle. The effect was instantaneous. Tysone and Takashi, despite having a tight grip on it, were still caught off guard by the jet of water.

The hose nearly escaped their grasp.

"Damn it." Takashi gritted his teeth.

Tysone's hands bulged with veins. The combined effort immediately had the nozzle aimed straight at the barricade, where the zombies were exposed to the full blast. 

The hose bucked in their hands like a crazed, rabid animal.

The high-pressure jet of water struck the horde like a battering ram, blasting them backward with enough force to send some tumbling over each other. 

A sickening crunch echoed as a few collided with the walls, their bodies breaking in grotesque angles. The spray was relentless, knocking the undead back and clearing the immediate danger—but it wouldn't last forever.

"Keep it steady!" Tysone shouted over the roar of the water. His muscles tensed as he fought to control the writhing hose. 

"I'm trying!" Takashi gritted his teeth, struggling to keep his footing as the pressure fought against him.

Mai, seeing their difficulty, threw herself into the effort, wrapping her arms around the hose to help stabilize it. Even with her added weight, it still jerked violently.

"Just a little longer!" Saya called out, eyes darting between the barricade and the dwindling number of undead.

Saeko stepped forward, bokken at the ready, waiting for any stragglers that managed to resist the force of the water. 

One particularly stubborn zombie, a former gym teacher with a grotesquely twisted ankle, clawed forward against the blast, dragging itself along the slick tiles with inhuman determination.

Saeko moved swiftly. With a precise step and a powerful downward swing, the wooden sword cracked against the infected's skull. A dull thud rang out as the creature collapsed in a heap, twitching before finally going still.

"That's our cue!" Tysone barked. "They're disoriented—let's move!"

Rei promptly shut off the hose, the powerful stream dwindling to a weak dribble. 

Without hesitation, the group sprinted past the drenched corpses, slipping slightly on the wet floor but managing to keep their footing.

"We need a destination!" Saya hissed.

"The faculty parking lot." Tysone replied. "If we can find a working vehicle, we can get the hell out of here."

No one argued. It was as good a plan as any.

…

The curtain was ripped apart as the looming shadow behind it revealed itself as an infected student. 

Shizuka stumbled back in surprise. "Oh my… what was his name again?"

"..."

Kohta would've sweatdropped if the situation didn't require intense focus. His hands were trembling, but as the only male present, he couldn't hide behind the nurse either. Hell, if he had to die then he wanted it to be glorious and valiant.

Kohta clenched his shaking fist and steadied his resolve. His eyes glinted as he looked around the room.

He wasn't sure if he had it in him, but if he didn't try, he might end up having his throat ripped out, literally.

His eyes fell on a fire extinguisher hung up near the door. That's it!

Shizuka tripped on a cord, falling back as the zombie lunged for her, giving Kohta his chance.

He sprinted forwards, grabbed the red cylinder with both hands and raised it above his head, roaring a guttural battle cry as he slammed it against the back of the zombies head.

There was a distinct sound as something crunched and the infected went limp. Kohta panted in shock as he dropped the canister, the creature falling in front of him, spitting out a stream of blood.

After a brief pause, he shot a smile.

"I-I think I got 'im!" He turned to Shizuka, holding his fist up and pumping his arm victoriously. "Banzai~!"

Shizuka merely sighed. "This is just like in the movies that weirdos like."

"Hehe..."

Kohta scratched the back of his head.

A menacing smile came over his face. He had to admit, though—being a badass felt pretty damn cool.

The clawing and scratching on the door grew louder and louder.

Kohta's moment of triumph was short-lived as the door shuddered violently. 

The infected outside were relentless, their guttural snarls echoing through the thin walls of the nurse's office.

Shizuka winced at the sound of splintering wood. "Uhhh… I think we need to go now."

Kohta wiped his sweaty palms on his pants and nodded frantically. "Right! We gotta get out before we're boxed in."

He darted to the window and shoved it open. The drop was steep, but a narrow ledge ran along the side of the building toward a lower rooftop. Not ideal, but better than being torn apart.

Before he could say another word, a loud crack split the air—the door snapped. The supply rack toppled forward, and the door burst open. 

A wave of decayed bodies spilled in, moaning hungrily.

"Shit! Move!" Kohta shouted. His fingers wrapped around the cold metal of the fire extinguisher. He lifted it, turned, and aimed.

With a sharp pull of the pin, he squeezed the lever and unleashed a blinding torrent of white fog. The dense, freezing cloud engulfed the nearest undead, their bodies instantly coated in ice crystals. Their sluggish movements grew even slower as their limbs stiffened, some freezing mid-step.

"It's working!" He yelled, smiling widely and blasting another group.

But there were too many.

The ones in the back surged forward, crushing their frozen brethren underfoot. 

More poured in through the broken door, bleeding eyes locked on them. The fire extinguisher sputtered—the pressure was running low. 

"Damn it! We're getting swarmed!" Kohta took a step back, grabbing Shizuka's wrist to pull her toward the window. 

But the infected were closing in fast.

Then a whacking sound reverberated, followed by the familiar crunch of a skull being split open.

A bokken swept cleanly behind the horde, instantly claiming new victims.

What the...?

Before Kohta could fully comprehend what had happened, a group of students crashed into the office from a nearby stairwell. Purple hair fluttered, a wooden sword arcing, cracking the zombies heads open one after the other like cans of beer.

Behind her, a black young man, definitely not a student, sprinted forward and impaled another infected through the head, briefly lifting the body off the ground.

If the combination of those two powerhouses wasn't enough. Another student blasted heads open with a metal bat, splattering blood all over the wall in his wake.

Kohta gritted his teeth, his glasses' gleam obscuring his eyes.

Then he moved, screaming, and using the fire extinguisher as a blunt weapon. The backswing hit the first attacker in the head. A fresh coat of blood painted his Fujimi High uniform with a fine splatter as the body flopped limply on the floor.

Shizuka stayed behind, blinking in sleepy amazement as the horde of zombies was ruthlessly wiped out. Though, it wasn't exactly the best moment to sit back and watch. As such, she moved towards the racks that weren't toppled, grabbed a bag, and began stocking on medical supplies. 

Mai's face scrunched up in a menacing frown as she slapped the side of a zombie's head with her stick and began to beat the shit out of it. Tysone muttered a low 'wow' at the scene. Who'd have thought she'd be a complete psycho once unleashed.

Within a minute, the last remaining zombie was brutally killed by Saeko, whose kill count probably exceeded all of them combined.

'That's the power of swordsmanship.' Tysone sighed internally. 'I'll have to ask her to teach me once all is said and done.'

Author's Note:

If you're enjoying the story and want to read ahead or support my work, you can check out my P@treon at [email protected]/LordCampione. But don't worry—all chapters will eventually be public. Just being here and reading means the world to me. Thank you for your time and support