They had been traveling on the tank for days and they soon realized that the tank was finally running out of fuel and their food supply was beginning to run low as well. They were only able to move the tank five more miles, before it came to a complete stop. Ivan pumped the handles before giving out a frustrating groan and poking his head from the hatch.
“This tank isn’t going anywhere,” stated Ivan. David sighed and looked at the others saying, “We’re going to walk until we find shelter.” They all nodded and began to climb off the tank one by one.
David was the first to get down, but soon noticed that Eve and Chronos were hesitating from on top of the tank.
“Just come down slowly and you’ll be fine,” instructed David, but Eve glanced at Chronos with concern in her eyes.
“I think it will be dangerous for Chronos to climb down himself,” stated Eve and then glanced at David and asked, “Can you catch him?” David was silent as he stared at Eve. He wouldn’t mind catching Eve if she were to jump down, but Chronos was another story. Compared to Eve, Chronos would be heavier and even though David is strong, he didn’t really have confidence in catching Chronos. David was ready to refuse, but as he stared at Eve’s concerned eyes, he gave out a sigh and stated, “I’ll catch him so please hurry up.” Eve nodded with a smile that made David’s cheeks redden as a result.
Eve looked at Chronos and stated, “David promised to catch you, so please jump down.” Chronos gulped pressing his hands against the tank refusing to open his eyes.
“Jumping from a tank is really too scary for me Eve.”
“But…”
Before Eve could say another word, Chronos was suddenly kicked off the tank by Kohaku, who was still on the tank as well. Chronos gave out a scream as he rushed toward the sandy ground, but David caught him and sighed.
Both David and Eve looked at Kohaku with judgmental eyes as Chronos whimpered. Kohaku adjusted his hat with a scoff.
“He was being a baby.”
“That was still no reason to kick him off,” scolded Eve. Kohaku scoffed again and lifted his foot saying, “I can kick you down too if you don’t hurry.” Eve frowned finding Kohaku’s attitude quite annoying. Eve stood up immediately and reached toward Kohaku’s hat saying, “I can take away your hat if you don’t stop being a jerk.”
Before Eve could even touch the hat, Kohaku grabbed her extended wrist and held tightly making Eve slightly cringe. Kohaku leaned toward her ear and whispered, “You’re a good girl Eve, but if you touch my hat, I will hurt you.” Eve felt a chill run down her spine. At that moment, Kohaku seemed like a demon.
“KOHAKU!”
Kohaku released Eve’s wrist with a scoff at the commanding voice of David, and then began to climb down the tank. Eve held her reddened wrist with a frown.
He really is being a jerk today.
Eve sighed and then slid down the tank until her feet touched the sandy ground landing directly next to Kale, who smiled at her and even offered a box of juice. Eve thanked Kale, but instead of drinking, she placed it in her bag and stated, “I’ll drink it later. We have to save what little food we have until we reach a town.”
Kale nodded and then patted her head making Eve giggle.
They all adjusted their bags on their backs and began to walk through the desert leaving the tank far behind them.
As they walked, Adler was reading through a magazine filled with inappropriate pictures and chuckling. Eve glanced at Adler and asked, “What’s so funny, Adler?” Adler immediately shut the magazine stating, “I was just laughing out of happiness of seeing dear Moe-Chan.”
“Moe-Chan?”
“She’s a model…most likely a zombie now, but she is pretty hot in this magazine.”
“Can I see?”
Adler shook his head and hid the magazine behind his back.
“DEFINITELY NOT! This magazine is not meant to be seen by such innocent eyes such as yours.”
“OK,” muttered Eve with disappointment in her eyes making Adler feel guilty for his actions. The magazine was suddenly ripped from his hands and glared at the thief: Ivan.
“Give that back!” demanded Adler. Ivan chuckled flipping through the pages.
“What’s so great about this magazine? The girls aren’t that attractive…even with little clothing on.”
“You must be blind,” muttered Adler trying to retrieve the magazine, but Ivan avoided his hand and then held the magazine toward David.
“You agree with me right, David?”
David took one glance at the magazine with a slight blush and stated, “They’re not my type.” Ivan stuck his tongue at Adler. Adler groaned and tried to retrieve the magazine, but Ivan tossed the magazine and Kohaku snatched it from the air and opened it from the middle of the magazine.
“Having a mole on your butt is not attractive,” muttered Kohaku with a scoff and tossed the magazine before Adler could snatch it away. Kale caught it next, but instead of opening it, he immediately tossed it like it was a dirty rag.
“This doesn’t need to be close to Eve.”
“STOP TOSSING IT AROUND!”
The airborne magazine suddenly landed in Chronos’s hand. Chronos opened his eyes slightly with confusion in his face and then opened the book only to blush and yell out, “This woman had multiple affairs!”
Adler immediately snatched the magazine away from Chronos and then punched the top of his head making Chronos mutter, “ow” repeatedly.
“Seriously, don’t yell out such horrible things when you see the past.”
Chronos nodded closing his eyes again.
Adler stuffed the magazine in his bag and then glared at his so-called friends. They all chuckled and continued their walk.
Eve giggled, but she was wondering what that magazine was really about. She remembered Adler mentioning back in the first town that the magazine was telling you how to be a woman, but now she doubted that was the case.
Eve was so lost in thought that she didn’t even notice that the others had stopped. She finally took notice, when Kale placed a hand on her shoulder making her stop in her tracks and look up.
Coming their way was a school bus. At first they all thought it was an illusion, but as it got closer, it seemed real.
The bus slid to a stop in front of them and then the bus door opened revealing a small girl no older than ten. The girl had curly blonde hair and wore brown pants and a white shirt. Her eyes were a light brown and her skin only had a few scratches most likely from working.
The girl smiled at them and then peeked into the bus saying, “These people are alive.”
The girl stepped out of the bus followed by a man with short brown hair wearing brown pants and white shirt; and wore a hunter’s knife on his belt. The man’s eyes were the same shade of color as the girl’s.
The man looked at the group and smiled asking, “Do you guys need a lift?”
David went into the defensive saying, “Tell us who you two are first.”
“Of course, my name is Keiji,” stated the man and then patted the girl’s head, “And her name is Tanpopo.” The girl nodded with a giggle.
“Can I have your names now?” asked the man, known as Keiji.
David nodded and they began to introduce themselves. When it came to Eve, she was silent and then muttered her name in a nervous tone, but her eyes were on Tanpopo. The others noticed Eve’s odd behavior, but decided not to mention it, especially in front of these strangers.
Keiji looked at all of them and then asked, “So do you guys need a lift?”
“Are you going to take us to a town?”
Keiji nodded and stated, “This town is safe, so please come.” David still had caution in his eyes, but nodded, especially since they didn’t know when they would be attacked by zombies. They were led onto the bus, but held their weapons close to them.
As Eve climbed the bus, she glanced at Tanpopo, who giggled and asked, “Are you OK?” Eve nodded and then sat down next to David. As the bus began to roll, David glanced at Eve and whispered, “So what’s bothering you and don’t deny it. All of us noticed your behavior.” Eve clenched her fists glancing at Tanpopo, who sat next to Keiji, who was driving the bus.
“That girl Tanpopo…I think she’s a User.”
“What?”
“I think she’s User number 14…the power to manipulate the earth.”
Area 40 Facility
Staff: 90 (Dead) 0 (Alive)
Users: 4 (Alive) 7 (Dead) 34 (Unknown)
Genome Detention Center
Staff: 90 (Dead?) 0 (Alive)
Prisoners: 5 (Alive) 50 (Dead?)
School
Staff: 50 (Dead) 0 (Alive)
Students: 2 (Alive) 140 (Dead)
World
About 50,000,000,000 (dead) others (Unknown)
Manga Hunter 