An agent in the apocalypse [Project Zomboid] [Waifu Catalog]

[kira-sakuya]

Starting World: Project Zomboid
Starting budget 140

Intensity [1]
So Far Away 0
Dropped-In -0 [140]

Bindings
Company Stamp free [140]
Empty Hand --20 [160]

Lures
Sticky Fingers -5 [155]
Faerie Feast -10 [145]
Alluring Whisper -20 [125]

Home Perks
Pocket Space -5 [120]

Talents
Body Tune-Up -5 [115]
Wild -5 [110]
Everlasting -10 [100]
Athletic -5 [95]
Martial -10 [85]
Communication -10 [75]
Educationalᵈˡᶜ -5 [70]
Soul -10 [60]

Defenses
Body x2 -10 [50]
Stress x2 -10 [40]
Wild -5 [35]
Defenses discounted for retinue members +2 [37]

Misc Perks
Sexual Calibration -2 [35]
Fertility Calibration I -2 [33]
Appearance Changeᵈˡᶜ -1 [32]
Time-Saversᵈˡᶜ -2 [30]
Exit Stage Left -5 [25]

Generic Waifu Perks
Paper Trail [You, Izumi Curtis, Chao Lingshen] -3 [22]
Grail Knowledgeᵈˡᶜ [You, Izumi Curtis, Chao Lingshen] -3 [19]

Companions bought -15 [4]
Izumi Curtis(T4)[used] from Fullmetal Alchemist
Chao Lingshen(T5)[used] from Negima!

Specific credit modifiers -4 [0]:
Gain combat training [-2]
Gain survival training [-1]
Gain leadership training [-1]

 

[kira-sakuya]

As I opened my eyes, I paled. I was standing in the middle of a street, surrounded by around fifteen "people."

Spotting my companions nearby, I shouted, "Be ready for combat! Everything around us is hostile!"

"Chao, disable anything approaching us."

Chao's spear immediately came into play. Not knowing what these people were yet, she reversed her grip, using the shaft and butt of the weapon to knock them away rather than stab them.

"Izumi, find us shelter." Izumi had already punched a zomboid by the time my words came, she cringed at the blood and bone fragment on her hand, before looking around.

While I was giving orders, a zomboid near me lunged at me.

The pale and bloody face, a mouth wide open in a snarl appeared in front of me, making me fall.

Before I could be bitten a spear knock it away. I quickly got up and rushed behind Izumi.

Damn there was so many of them, in the game we appeared in a house not outside.

As I was thinking another zomboid launched itself at me from the side.

Falling from the shock placed me outside of the zomboid range.

A thump from Chao's spear impacting the side of the zomboid's head made it fall on me. In fear I pushed it aside, got up and rushed away.

'Oh my god the smell.'

Preventing myself from vomiting I forced myself to turn my sight to Izumi's back and concentrate on it so as to not be distracted once again.

After what felt like half an hour—but couldn't have been more than a few minutes—Izumi suddenly turned into a narrow alley.

"Up!"

A metal fire-escape ladder hung several metres above us. Izumi jumped, caught the bottom rung and pulled herself up with ridiculous ease.

A moment later, she leaned down and extended a hand.

I grabbed it.

She practically hauled me off my feet.

Once I regained my breath I turned to see the situation.

I found that we had left the Zomboids far behind. Sighing in relief I entered the windows Izumi had just opened, Chao who had already joined us following me closely.

The room seemingly safe I turned toward my two companions. It was strange to see Izumi Curtis so young, in her story she was considered between thirty and forty, and there she stood at twenty five, watching me with a wary look in her eye. Chao who was looking around us curiously until now also turned toward me.

Feeling slightly awkward, I cleared my throat. "We don't have time to do introduction right now, we still are in danger."

At my word Izumi who had been observing me turn back to the room her hand on her knife. When did she find it ?

"Here's what you need to know. Those things outside are zombies. They're hostile, they seem to rely mostly on sight and hearing, and destroying the brain stops them. There aren't many unaffected people left in the area. Everything else can wait until we're somewhere safe."

"Zombies ?" Asked Izumi, the only one who didn't know the popular style of game.

It wasn't me who answered her this time. "Walking corpse, feral, no intelligence left, only a desir to eat, usually human. Tireless."

"So they're already dead ?" Asked Izumi

At our nod Izumi murmured. "Then I can kill them."

"Do you know how it spreads?"

"Yes. For now, just don't get bitten."

Her eyes narrowed slightly.

"That's not an answer."

"It's the answer we have time for."

After a moment, she nodded.

Thump

A soft sound as if something fell against the door stopped our conversation.

Izumi approached the door with her knife in hand, Chao staying by the windows to cover our back.

I lowered my voice. "For the time being we can't do much for the survivor, but we will come back to it later."

"Before we move, we need to know what each of us can do. I'm Kira."

The name still felt strange.

It wasn't the one I'd been born with. Becoming a Contractor had taken that from me, leaving only the pseudonym I'd used before.

"Izumi, you're our best fighter and you have real wilderness survival experience. Chao, you're also a skilled fighter, and you're our strongest option for magic and anything technological."

I hesitated.

"I'm the weak link."

"I know computers and software. I bought a few advantages from the Catalog, but they're mostly long-term. As for fighting and survival... I had one day of training in each."

Izumi slowly turned her head toward me.

"One day."

"One day."

Her expression became the exact look I remembered Edward receiving whenever he'd done something particularly stupid.

"Izumi, you are in charge until we are safe, we will follow your command."

"You're suppose to be our contractor."

"And you've survived alone in the wilderness. I've spend most of my life at home or around civilization. Until's we're somewhere safe, you're in charge."

After a few second a single "Fine" came back.

By the windows Chao who was observing me let out a soft "Interesting."

Izumi's hand went behind a furniture and brough back a broom, she tore off it's head giving me the handle. "Don't try to kill anything. Keep this between you and them. If one comes close call us we will deal with it."

"We avoid fighting unless we have to. We don't know how far we'll need to go, so don't waste energy."

Izumi then slowly opened the door, then with a quick thrust with her knife she killed the zomboid which had been standing before it. Seeing that the hallways was otherwise empty. She gestured for us to follow her.



It didn't take us long to exit the building they were in. Izumi advancing in silence, sometime opening a door just enough to look at the room before closing it once more.

Once outside she made us keep close to the wall, sometime passing beneath a window.

After a quarter of an hour they a slightly separated two story high house.

As we were kneeling behind a low wall, Izumi pointed to me.

"You stay there, keep the house behind you at all time. If any zombie managed to go past Chao you will hear it in advance. You make sure that no zombie come from where we come from. If you notice a zombie approach, you go warn Chao."

I nodded, placing myself back against the wall so as to have better view, in front of me was a long road with no way to hide, I would see any zombie coming from afar..

"Chao, you enter the house and you check every room. Once a room is checked, close the door behind you so as not to be attacked from behind."

Chao looked at the house.

"Do you want me to secure the house ?"

"Not yet, we don't have enough information."

She glanced at me as she said that.

"For the time being we just need a temporary shelter."

Still looking back, I asked.

"And you ?"

"I will go around the surrounding and kill any zombie I find."

"Chao once you have finished, you stay in the house."

She then pointed at a windows.

"Place a strip of tissue on this windows to show that everything is alright."

I turned slightly to see which windows she was speaking about.

Seeing that we understood the orders she turned.

"Let's go."

And so I was left alone with only a broom handle to defend myself. Not really a hero's beginning.

'Stop, you already knew that it would be like that.'

In fact for the moment everything was going to plan, sure I clearly wasn't prepared to face zomboid but I already knew I would have difficulty in this domain.

I grew still as I saw movement on the road far away, but after ten minutes there was no more.

Thinking about my companion it was also going as he thought.

'Izumi is clearly wary, not surprising from her past. Still she seemed ready to work with me.... for now.'

'It's harder with Chao, I can't read her. From what I know she is usually joyful, but it was also to manipulate Negima.'

Hearing movement to the left I turned broom handle raised only to see Izumi come out.

"Anything ?" She has briskly

I pointed where I saw movement earlier.

"I saw some movement at the road twenty minutes ago, but nothing since. It may have been a zomboid passing by or an animal, I couldn't see."

Frowning while looking afar, she then looked at the house.

"Stay there."

She then left me once more.

As she went to check what I saw I looked behind me, there was a piece of tissue at the window.

'Everything seem good there.'

It took ten minutes for Izumi to come back.

"Two zombies, they shouldn't have been a danger but better be careful."

She stared at me.

"At least you were smart enough not to go check.

"You did ordered me to stay there unless danger."

"And you actually listened."

I frowned.

"You're the one I put in charge."

Izumi scoffed. "A contractor which listen to his waifu. A miracle."

The word waifu came out like an insult.

She motioned for me to follow.

Chao was waiting for us at the door having observed our conversation with interest.

Izumi raised an eyebrow in question.

"Two zombie, one in the kitchen another in the bedroom..."

At this time her word stayed caught in her throat.

"The one in the bedroom was only four years old."

I paled at those words, in the game the dev didn't code any child but obviously in a real world they would have been more susceptible to the illness.

Then something came back to my mind and I turned toward Izumi.

Izumi face had gone completely blank.

Then I remembered.

'Her child.'

I tried to distract them.

"What must we do now ? I suppose that we should place defense even if the house is only temporary ?"

Chao seeing the reaction of Izumi and understanding what I was trying to do, helped me.

"If the zombie use sigh and hearing we should close every curtain. Close the doors to give us more time to run away. Unplug any device which could do loud sound. If we want to stay long term I could create some defense, not much unless I have the material but it would be better than nothing."

Our conversation bringing back Izumi to the present, she nodded.

"We won't stay long term, only a day or two. We should however close the curtain, but not upstairs."

She lead us upstairs, while staying away from the bedroom to showed us, she then shut off the lights.

"From there we can see rather far away, we must always have someone keeping watch from there. The light must always stay off here."

"So while someone keep guard here the two other stay on the first floor." I noted while opening one of the curtain which was closed.

"No ceiling lights," Chao suggested. "Close the curtains and use a small lamp away from the windows. Less chance of anyone outside seeing it."

Izumi gave a small smile to this.

"Good idea."

"What about the door ?" Chao asked.

"It would slow any zombie, but it would lock us inside."

Izumi gave a firm nod.

I agreed, locking them has it's advantage, but I don't like not having an exit strategy."

"I have an idea for this." I said.

Leading us to one of the room upstairs then at it's floor to ceiling windows.

"If we put a mattress below this window, we'd have an emergency exit. A jump from the second floor might still hurt, but it's better than being trapped."

Izumi opened the windows, observe, then jumped out. She then checked out the hight and the garden it lead too.

She then came back inside the house giving me a nod.

"We will do that."

Seeing nobody propose anything further I lead them to other task.

"It's nearly noon, Izumi if you could prepare something to eat, Chao and me will clean the house. Then I will explain what I know while we eat."

Izumi which had started toward the kitchen at my first words, paused slightly at my last words.

"Place them behind the garage." She said softly.

I leaned toward Chao as I watch Izumi leave and whispered

"I leave the one in the kitchen to you."

I then went toward the bedroom, hearing a soft "Thank you" from behind me.

Using the side door so as not to go near Izumi with my burden, I went behind the garage.

Three other bodies were already lying behind the garage—apparently the zombies Izumi had cleared from around the property.

I placed the child slowly by the woman, there was a good chance it was her mother, he saw photo of the two together in the house.

I stayed there for a while, staring at the two bodies.

In Project Zomboid, I'd killed thousands of zombies. They were sprites and models. Numbers on a kill counter. Houses were containers filled with loot, and corpses were obstacles you stepped over.

There had never been children.

I looked down at the tiny body I'd just carried outside.

'Fuck.'

Until now, some part of me had still been treating this like the game.

It wasn't.

These houses belonged to people. Those things wandering the streets had been people.

And somewhere across Kentucky, millions of families were going through the same thing.

I swallowed and forced myself back toward the house.



They were now upstairs, the food on their plate nearly gone.

I then started with the story of the game, although much was still unknown even more than ten years since it came out.

"It started a few weeks ago. At first it was only bad smell which persisted."

At Chao interest, I stopped her. "I don't know how long exactly, but we should be able to find out from newspapers."

"Eight days ago, the phoneline were cut for repair, then six day ago a military truck carrying an unknown substance crashed. It was quickly secured by the military."

"Do you know where exactly." Asked Choa with map in hand

'She must have found this in the house.'

"I know it's somewhere near March Ridge, but nothing clearer."

"Since then the government and the army tell to all that there is no danger and that everything is under control."

"Three days ago the newspaper talked about an Illness Outbreak in Muldraugh."

"North of March Ridge." Choa noted. "What were the symptom ?".

"Some talked about 'flu-like' illness, other talked about a rabies outbreak, from the sign of bite wounds. The US military opened their medical facilities in March Ridge and Fort Knox, they may have more information."

"By this time the military had created an exclusion zone around the area."

"Two days ago, the President return early from the G7 summit, but the White House declare it has nothing with what happen around there. And the exclusion zone was increased to the whole region."

"Another event to note is that this evening there was a bright meteor shower over Kentucky. No idea if it had any consequence on the following event, but I know that you will want to know the most you can."

Chao frown.

"A meteor shower ? After the start of the epidemy ? Low chance that it did anything, but I will note it in case it's useful."

"Yesterday, more military personnel arrived from Fort Cambell, and a No-fly zone was established over the whole region."

"In three days the European Community will advises it's member state to close their borders and a quarantine camp within the Exclusion Zone will be abandoned."

At my words Chao stopped taking note.

"And the reason you know what will happen is ?"

I looked at her while wondering what she was talking about, then I remembered what happened with her last contractor.

"That is what happened in the original story, and our action wouldn't have impacted it."

That seemed to calm her slightly.

"Chao, let's me be clear, I will not use this part of your technology.".

She looked at me in doubt.

"Even if thing don't go as you wish ?"

I nodded seriously.

"As far as I'm concerned this technology is sealed, and you are not to recreate it."

While doubt still seem to cloud around Chao she seemed to accept my words, for now.

Izumi however had a frown on her face

"What are you talking about ? What technology ?"

Chao not wanting to talk about the technology which gave her pain and the loss of a friend looked away.

"The original Chao Lingshen developed a technology which allow her to travel in time to save her world." I explained

"And you don't want to use it ? You may be able to prevent this disaster."

"No !" Cried Chao.

I almost reached toward her, then stopped myself.

"Time travel is extremely dangerous, even without seeking of time paradox. No two world river of time is the same, some have correcting force bringing back the narrative to it's original state, other erase completely the time traveler."

Izumi meanwhile was watching Chao with wide eyes learning that this girl could travel through time.

"Anyway, back to the storyline."

"In four day a photograph of a zombie will end in a newspaper bringing panic to the whole world."

"How ?" Izumi asked.

"Pardon ?" Stopped in my speech I looked at her befubled.

Snorting she continued.

"You said that the region would be closed so how did this photograph went out."

"It is possible to exit the region by passing through the blockage of the military, at least if you weren't infected."

"Then why don't we take a car and leave the region ?"

At Izumi words, Chao looked intently at me.

"How does the pathogens spread ?"

I nodded at her with a wry smile.

"There two known way of propagation. Airborn and from infected bodily fluids entering the bloodstream. So a bite or unprotected sex."

"So us and everybody leaving in this region ?" She asked.

"We are protected, from either way by a defense I bought from the Catalog. We don't even create anticorp against it. Everybody else thought are contamined."

"So they will all transform into zombies ?" Asked Izumi

I shook my head.

"While there is two way of propagation, the airborn can be survived by a really small part of human, it may not even be ten percent. However even if one of those ten percent is bitten he will transform."

"But the military won't let's the bitten go out of the exclusion zone will they ?" Asked Izumi.

Chao answered with a sad look on her face.

"Of course not, but it's not like those who survived the airborn weren't contamined. They just survived it. However the people around them will breath the same air as the contamined, an air which has been contamined by them."

I raised my hands in defeat.

"Exactly, and so the virus has already left the exclusion zone, it just didn't have enough time to incubate inside the outsider. Which is why there is no sign of zombie outside."

I let a few second past before continuing.

"And that is beside the danger which is approaching them."

Izumi frowned before understanding.

"The noise."

"Indeed, so much people in one place create a lot of noise which will attract the zomboid. And what will happen when the military see the zomboid."

"They will shoot them, which will attract even more zombie, zomboid ?" She asked with a puzzled look on her face, before continuing.

"In the end the the zomboid will breach the border fence at multiple place leading to it's total collapse in five day."

I shrugged at the question.

"It was the name which were given to them in the original story."

"Anyway, I know what I believe is the most secure place to be right known, but what about you Izumi you are our expert in survival ?"

She looked at me with suspicions.

"What if I tell you that leaving the region is the safest thing to do ?"

"Then we will leave it. I already told you Izumi, when it concern survival I will follow your order."

Ignoring my answer she felled in silence then asked a few questions.

"If we leave now, how long will it take to be let through the military's blockage ? How long will they take to reach to closest large city ? Would we be able to secure a defendable place ?"

"I don't believe that we would be able to go through the military blockage in under five days, if we are optimist, maybe three days."

"The Knox illness, which is it's name, will be confirmed in different big city, all over the world, in eight days."

"All over the world in eight days." Izumi ask in shock, while I took Graal knowledge for my two companion, they hadn't really incorporated the knowledge yet.

"They ease of travel in this age make any disease easy to spread, unfortunately."

"As for a defendable base, we would be able to find some but acquiring it would take way longer than a month, moreover most gun shop will have been emptied by this time and we wouldn't be able to arm ourself."

"How long is the incubation period ?" Chao asked writing in her notebook once more.

"Around two and three days, quicker if you are bitten multiple time."

Nodding gravely Chao said.

"Ten to thirteen days."

Izumi tensed.

"Until what ?"

"The Knox Infection is spreading uncontrollably across the planet." I answer for Chao.

"In fact it was in eleven day in the original story. In eighteen days, every government will have fallen and billions will be dead, only smalls groups of immune survivors will remain."

"Faced with this much zomboid, it is only time before humanity fall." I tell them gravely.

Nobody spoke for several seconds.

Outside a car alarm could be heard far away.

The food on my plate had long since gone cold.

"And there is nothing we can do against this ?" Izumi asked.

She look at me.

"You have this much information, if you warn people, surely it can be prevented."

Chao still in though answer distractly.

"Not with a government who refuse to acknowledge the problem, we would be disappeared so as not to 'spread panic'."

She then raised her head toward me.

"That's why you brough us here didn't you ? Not to save the billions but to preserve humanity."

Izumi's face showed the shock she felt.

"How ? We are only three person."

"it's not the number it's who we are."

Chao pointed toward me.

"Someone who knows what's coming, and therefore knows what we have to prepare for."

She pointed toward Izumi.

"Someone who can allow us and other survivor to live through this apocalypse, in the less dangerous place."

She then pointed toward herself.

"A technical genius, able to give humanity it's control of the technology it lost, and maybe find a vaccine one day."

Izumi jumped at those words.

"You can create a vaccine ?"

Choa winced.

"Maybe, but I would have to be able to study it. I would need sample, I would need a specialized facility. It would take years of study, maybe decade."

Izumi slumped at that.

"That's why I say we weren't her to save the billions."

"But we can't let's them die." She pleaded.

I looked at the despair on their face.

"You missed a few point Chao."

"Izumi isn't only a survival specialist and a great combatant, she is also a great teacher, which mean that she would be able to train any survivor we rescue. Increasing their survival capacity. Moreover she is an alchemist, with it she can fortify a base, create defensive measure, but also create item you need that would need factory to craft."

He looked at Izumi.

"Am I wrong ?"

She looked at me still in despair.

"I would need to know what I had to created by yes it's possible."

The light came back to Chao's eyes.

"It would let's us gain a lot of time, we could have a city of survivor in years instead of decade."

I nodded with a small smile.

"While it's not much, I do have an idea for the surrounding region, outside the exclusion zone."

I sliver of hope appeared on Izumi's face.

I looked at Chao.

"If we use the emergency broadcast system, what would we be able to send ?"

Chao frowned.

"From here, nothing much, we would need access to a radio tower, and even then with the governement blocking communication...."

"We could send short broadcast, or some short message."

"Would it be able to send fax ? And what would be the range." I insisted.

"Maybe, it would have to be a short one, a page maybe two. As for it's range we should be able to reach the neerest town outside the exclusion zone." She said hesitantly.

I nodded.

"Last question, would it damage the communication system ?"

Her answer this time was clear.

"No, I may need to rig something, but once done it would be plug and play on the radio tower."

A slight smile was now on my face.

"In that case, if we have Izumi write survival instruction, a few important detail on the infection, like the fact that those who survive the airborn strain, can still be transformed with bite, we may be able to save a few more person."

Chao nodded while in though.

"The range is limited, but if we add at the end of the message a request to send it further we could reach further. It won't be much but even if a few more survive it would be a win."

I turned toward Izumi in warning.

"It may not be much, but it would still help the occasional person."

Izumi blinked at me in a daze.

I turned back to Chao.

"If you need me to help you with the software, tell me."

"How long would it take you to rig it ?" I ask Chao

Taking a few note on her notebook she frowned before nodding.

"It depend too much on the radio tower, I would need to inspect it to say for sure."

I nodded in thought.

"There is a big chance that the police station will crawl with zomboid, to much for only you to go, I would only be a burden but I don't like the idea of only one person to go anyway."

A few seconds passed, Chao taking some more note.

"Izumi, if you used alchemy to create a secure basement do you believe I would be safe to stay inside for a whole day."

Izumi nodded slowly.

"The ... zomboid... aren't stronger than a human ?"

I shook my head.

"Most aren't much stronger than me, the problem come when they form a horde, the simple press of human body is rather powerful".

Izumi then nodded more firmly.

"In that case then yes I can create a basement secure enough for you to survive a horde."

"It won't be fully secure, and I would be wary to have somebody stay in it for more than a week, and only if the weather stay the same. Be against zombies it should suffice. I would suggest stocking it with enough supply for a week, just in case a horde really come just on top of you and we take time to get rid of it."

"Good, do you have any objection with the plan this plan ?" I ask the two women.

Choa still her head in her notebook gave me a distracted "no".

Izumi however had a caveat.

"Not as such, however, that will need to wait at least a day. I would prefer for us to secure a bit more this base, find some food and I also want to check the land around here. Moreover you didn't tell us where this communication tower is."

'Oups, forgot about that'.

I took the map from Chao and spread it over the short table.

"We are at Riverside, where exactly I don't know."

I then slided my finger until it reached the river then along side it until I reached the police station.

"And the police station is there."

Izumi now greatly interested looked intently at the map.

"Tomorrow I will find where we are then we will plan how to reach it."

She continued to study the map, while Chao was still in her calculation.

I looked at the company phone, we had spend the whole afternoon talking.

"Now that they are decided, you get command back."

I tell Izumi with a smirk.

"Outside those objectives you tell us what to do."

Izumi shrugged, giving a few order to Chao then telling me to stay upstairs to keep watch to the surrounding.

As she was leaving, she seemed to thing about something, then told me to do like her.

She then proceed to do some awkward movement.

Left foot forward.

Step back.

Forward.

Sideways.

Never cross the feet.

Keep the knees slightly bent.

Keep my weight underneath me.

"Do those movement ten time, then rest for two minutes then do it again. Anytime you have time, do them, they will help you improve your footwork and prevent you from falling again.

She smirked at me then left, bellow Chao laugh could be heard, she clearly heard Izumi's order.

 

[kira-sakuya]

I had been watching the darkness for two and a half hours when the sun began to rise.

As dawn improved my visibility, I focused on a small group of trees roughly three hundred metres away. When I'd taken over the watch from Izumi, she'd mentioned seeing movement there and told me to pay particular attention to it.

I stifled a yawn. Keeping watch was way harder than in the movies.

I raised the binoculars Izumi had found somewhere.

'There behind the left tree a leg is sticking out.'

Seeing no movement, I quickly checked the other directions before returning my attention to the window.

A few minutes later, I sensed someone beside me. I turned my head and nearly had a heart attack when I found Izumi standing so close.

"Damnit, you want to kill me or something." I asked in a low voice.

"Your situational awareness sucks." She told me harshly.

I didn't take it to heart, I knew that she was harsh in her training.

"What did you see?"

I gave her the binoculars. And pointed at the tree.

"Where you saw movement this night, by the left tree, I saw a leg stick out."

She looked through the binoculars then asked.

"How long has it been?"

"At least ten minutes, unfortunately before that I couldnt see much."

She nodded then checked the other windows. Either because she didn't trust me, or because it was ingrane in her to always check twice... Or both.

When she came back she gave the binoculars back.

"Keep an eye out, if it move come find me. If nothing change it will wait until after breakfast."

Ten minutes later a sleepy Chao came by and continued downstairs.

I chuckled, somebody isn't a morning person.

A few minutes went past before the two women came back upstairs, this time with food.

"Anything new?" asked Izumi.

I shook my head while taking the bowl.

"It didn't move."

Chao who was now more awake was clearly curious.

"Izumi saw movement toward those tree during her shilft, I checked when the sun rose."

"There is at least one zomboid, but it doesn't seem to move."

Now very interested she launched a few question.

"No movement? Since when?"

"Maybe for the last three hours. I can only confirm the last half hour."

"So they aren't always moving."

"Did it stop because of the night?"

"If so, what caused it to stop?"

"Lower visibility? Lack of sunlight?"

"The sun has risen, and it still didn't move."

By now she took the binocular from me and was observing the zomboid.

Meanwhile Izumi and I kept eating.

We had eaten half our breakfast when she gave them back to me.

"Keep watch over it, take note of when it move once more. We need to know if there is a time they are less active."

As she started eating she gave me orders after orders.

Izumi quickly put a stop to that however.

"We can't let it stay so close. It's a threat."

Sighing in defeat she nodded.

"I guess we will have other occasion to find out about it."

It didn't last long however and she went back at giving me other instructions.

"Still keep watch, if we can know at what distance Izumi can go to it before it notice her it would be a valuable knowledge."

I looked at Izumi before agreeing.

She thought about it before nodding.

"Good idea."

Izumi then asked Chao.

"Do you need anything to check the communication tower?

Chao nodded, taking out her notebook.

"I will need some tools yes. Some I will have to construct this time is pretty archaic after all."

Izumi having clearly guess something would happen gave a few order.

"Good, then for this morning, you will catalog everything we have in this house."

"And garage" Chao added.

Izumi nodded.

"And garage, then at noon we will see what we need to go fetch."

"Kira, continue to keep watch, you can help Chao to catalog what there is upstair, but your principal job is to keep watch."

"What about you?" Asked Chao

"I will get patrol the ground, kill any zomboid having come near, then I will see what the surrounding are like."

Izumi and Chao then got up, Chao taking with her the dish.

As she left she then turned to me with a smile.

"Oh and Kira? Don't forget your exercises."

Izumi muttered as she left.

"That was implied."



The morning passed quickly at first. Watching Izumi approach the zomboid we'd spotted earlier was impressive; she reached it before it even noticed her.

Once that excitement was over, however, keeping watch was hardly what I'd call riveting.

Keeping up with my exercises while doing it added some challenge.

Of course there was only so long you could do the same thing before it became dull, luckily I had a whole floor to catalog.

I started with the study. It contained a computer, a lot of papers, a hidden bottle of alcohol, and not much else. There were a few books on law and a heavy chair. The chair could probably be used for a barricade.

After checking once more through the windows that nothing had changed, I went to the bathroom.

There I found the mother lode: a fully stocked first-aid kit and, in the same cabinet, a large collection of medicine.

'Chao will have to check those before we can use them.'

Beside that a few hygiene products which could be useful so as to prevent sickness.

Once I checked the the bathroom I went to the bedroom.

Clothes, clothes, some jewelry, more clothes.

Closing the dresser, I checked the nightstand.

Oh my. Somebody had a lot of fun in this bed.

I quickly closed it again, giving the dead a little privacy.

At the other nighstand I found a 9mm and box of ammo.

'Dangerous, dangerous.'

I placed it back where it was. One day of training wasn't enough for me to handle a gun safely

'I will have to warn Izumi about that.'

Checking behind the door I found something which could be must more useful.

A metalic baseball bat, I directly took it and placed it near the stair so it's easy to grab in case of emergency.

In another room I found a few tools, three needles and a spool of thread.

By the time I finished it was mid-morning, I warned Chao that I finished then gave her the list. I then took a book named "How to maintain your tools, for dummies" installed myself before the main windows and began to read.

'In the game it's important to gain the most skill possible. If Izumi was there I could ask her what to do but she isn't, that way I don't lose time for nothing.'

Before coming to this world, I had a tendency to lose myself completely in a book and stop noticing what was happening around me. Here, with my current responsibility, I had to force myself to regularly check the windows and keep up with my exercises.

It took me longer to finish my book but my job was more important.

During the morning Chao came upstairs.

Watching me read she ask.

"What are you reading ?"

I showed her the name of the book causing her to snort.

I then explained to her.

"The original story belong to a video game, one of the thing you had to do to survive was gain some knowledge in many skill, mechanic, woodcrafting, maintenance, etc.."

"This is not a game though."

I agreed.

"No it isn't, but the goal of the game was survive, a few of its idea are good to keep."

A few second passed as I look from windows to windows to see if anything had changed.

When I came back to her, I did my exercise once more making her laugh.

"Besides, I'm from thirty years in the future. Some of the things I'm used to have changed. It's a good idea for me to get familiar with what exists today instead of relying on what I know from my time."

Chao, clearly not having though about that nodded.

"True, I knew it would be the case for me, but it's also the case for you."

"Yes, also we are really lucky that the apocalypse happen this year and not during my time."

"Why ?"

Came a voice from the bottom of the stairs, Izumi was clearly back.

Waiting for her to reach us I explained.

"In thirty years, the internet will be everywhere. Almost all of humanity's knowledge will be accessible with a few clicks... and a lot of it could be lost if the internet went down."

Chao gasped in comprehension and finished.

"But today, most of that knowledge can still be found in the libraries of major cities."

"Exactly" I said. "And this knowledge is necessary if we want to build the civilization back."

Izumi nodded in undestanding before frowning.

"Did you finish your cataloging".

I nodded.

"And to not lose any time I try to raise my knowledge."

I gave her the book, she checked it with an aknowledging look on her face.

I explained.

"This book is one of a large serie, it allow even the most novice to be able to use and understand what it's subject is."

She gave me the book back then turned to Chao to ask her about the cataloging.



I looked outside for what seemed like the hundred times, then went back to my book.

'What was this chapter about already ?'

It had been an hour since noon. I didn't contributate a much during the meal, Izumi and Chao talked a lot about what was needed, mainly Chao about some electronic items or another.

Izumi like could be expected, kept bringing her back to what was needed now, not in a week.

I did remember to warn her about the firearm I found in the bedroom.

"And you didn't manipulate it ?" She had asked.

"No. I don't know enough about guns."

A brief look of approval crossed her face.

"Good."

I smiled at the look of appreciation which had passed on her face.

I chuckled a little at the qwack she made when she opened the wrong nighstand.

"Go sleep."

I jumped a little at Izumi presence near me.

"The watch..."

"Right now you're exhausted. Exhausted people make mistakes, and a bad lookout is worse than no lookout if everyone thinks he's paying attention."

She then got me on my feet then made me follow her.

We quickly reached one of the room on this floor, however it was different than when I checked it this morning.

"I strenghtened this room, no zombie will came through."

"Stay there and sleep. Chao and me need to go find some supply."

She closed the window shutter, casting the room in darkness.

"It should take us three to four hours to come back."

As she reached the door she continued.

"With the door and windows closed you should hear if a zomboid enter. If so stay in this room, we will deal with it when we come back."

"If you wake before we come back, find something useful to do. But keep following the consign I gave earlier."

By that point, her words were going in one ear and out the other. I was simply too exhausted to pay attention.

As soon as I lay down it was light out as far as I am concerned.



When I opened my eyes, it took me while to notice that something was bothering me.

It wasn't the foreign ceiling.

No traffic. No distant engine. No voices from another house.

Nothing.

Then I remembered where I was.

As I got up, I approached the door and stayed to listen.

No noise, no groan.

Beside the door was the baseball bat I found earlier, Izumi must have brought it in.

Before coming out of the room I opened the shutter.

'No zomboid in the garden'

I watch a little further, before a frown came to my face.

I took the binocular, then look through it.

'A fire, it's not in the direction of the town.'

I look toward the sky.

'The weather isn't to hot, let's hope the fire won't propagate.'

Deciding that I would keep an eye toward it, I exited the room.

I quickly looked inside the different room on the floor,

'OK, no zomboid on this floor. And no zomboid visible from the windows.'

My baseball bat still in hand I slowly came down.

Ten minutes later I took a big breath.

'OK, no zomboid, now what did Izumi said.'

'Ah yes, follow the rules and don't be stupid.'

Thinking about what to do I went upstairs once more.

Not wishing to continue reading I went to the office.

Curiosity made me boot up the computer. After unplugging the speakers, of course. I didn't want the annoying Windows startup sound echoing through the house.

Getting into it proved almost embarrassingly easy. Either the judge hadn't bothered with a password, or he'd never expected anyone else to sit at his desk.

I didn't find much, a few software clearly used for the job of the previous owner.

As I was checking the mails was when I made a great discovery.

Apparently, the previous owner had been a local judge, which explained the size of the house.

More importantly, he was friends with the police chief.

Friend who told him that following the riot, the big guns would be moved outside the police station.

And right there in this mail, he ask if they can use on of the judge property, the one near the river.

'Damn, that's some useful info, but I'm not the owner, how can I know which property did the judge possess.'

As I though that, my eyes went to the cabinet full of paper on one side of the office.

'Unless.'

It took me a quarter of an hour to find what I was searching.

A portfolio with every property of the judge.

'Only two property by the river, one is a house the other a fishing shop.'

I doubted the police would have hidden weapon in the house, however I still noted them both to give to Izumi.

It would probably not be useful right away, but maybe in the futur.

Finishing to take note, I made my rounds, still nothing.

With nothing else to do in at the time, I though back to my though about the weapons which could be usefull in the futur.

'I really should...'

Going back to the office I took one of the notebook, the previous owner seemed to keep quite the supply.

'Must be where Chao found hers.'

I then proceeded to write everything I remembered about the game.

The lore.

The important place.

In big not to go to Lousville, the place is a death trap.

The damn helicopter.

'Damn, this helicopter could be useful in the futur, we should try to save it.'

A few technique which helped in the game.

I would let Izumi judge if those will be usefull

'Speaking of Izumi shouldn't they be back by now.'

I checked my phone, they had left three and half an hour ago.

'Still half an hour.'

I continued to write on the notebook, everything I though about I wrote.

Having nothing more to write, I went back to the armchair I placed before the windows showing the most.

Taking back the book I started earlier, I checked my phone once more.

They should be back soon.

However, as time passed, my concentration began to slip.

They were already half an hour late.

Dammit. Nothing could have happened to them, right? I chose them because they're ridiculously overpowered for this world.

My eyes fell on the baseball bat, and my hand instinctively moved toward it.

No. Izumi told me to follow the rules.

As I retracted my hand I heard movement bellow.

Before I could panic, I heard Chao's voice.

Relief flooded my body and I took a few second to collect myself.

When I came down, I found the two women with two big backpack.

Chao even had two big radio in her hands.

I stood there frozen.

Izumi who had heard me come down saw what I was looking at and with a snort said.

"And she wanted to come back with four."

Chao smiled sheepishly.

"They could've been useful."

"Not useful enough to justify the risk," Izumi cut in.

Chao nodded in acknowledgment.

"Did something happen while we were aways ?"

Asked Izumi.

I took one of the bag and proceeded to take out what they brought back while I answered.

"Nothing near the house. I saw smoke from a fire in that direction a couple of hours ago. It wasn't toward Riverside, and it didn't look like it was spreading this way."

As I was finishing I continued.

"I found something interesting, I will show it to you during dinner."

Nodding, she went back to her task.

"And did you do your exercise ?" Asked Chao with an impish smile.

Clearly this would be a recuring gag with her.

I sighed in desespoir, playing to her gag.

"Yes Chao I did my exercise."



Chao having some tinkering to do she went upstair and took watch.

"Bring your staff and come out."

Izumi told me.

A few minutes later we were standing face to face.

"Wouldn't the baseball bat be better ?" I ask her.

"In pinch maybe."

"Right now you have the strength. You don't know how to use it."

She tapped the broom handle.

"This gives you reach. Right now, reach is more useful."

I looked down at my arms. She wasn't wrong about the strength. They certainly weren't the arms I'd had yesterday.

Knowing what to do with them was another matter entirely.

"At this time, you shouldn't fight zomboid, you should keep your distance if we are around, and run away if we are not."

Then without any warning she rushed at me.

Before I could react she had managed to grab me.

"Dead."

She had disarmed me quickly and had placed her head near my neck to simulate a lethal bite.

Still, this time I didn't fall on my ass.

We quickly took our position back.

"It is important that you are always ready for an attack. The zomboid won't wait for."

Before she finished talking she rushed me once more.

This time I managed to bring the broom handle to block her left hand.

Unfortunately her right hand rip it from my hand and grab me once again.

"Dead."

Separing once again I asked.

"Shouldn't I learn some stance first ?"

At least that's what my book knowledge told me.

"If I were teaching you how to fight, maybe. But your first objective isn't to fight. It's to be ready to defend yourself at all times."

She slowly move around me.

"You could learn how to fight and become good at it, but if a zomboid comes at you from a side alley without you noticing, you'll be dead before you can react."

I had stood ready to react to any attack while she talked.

However it was when I though about her words she attacked.

This time, I was ready and managed to keep her away for two whole seconds.

Which meant that, two seconds later, I was staring at the sky with no idea how the hell I'd ended up on the ground.

"Better."

Came from Izumi.

"Now get up."

Growning, I got up while mumbling.

"This will suck."

Izumi a sadistic smile on her face answer me.

"Not for me it won't.



By the time we stopped, I hurt everywhere.f

For upstair I could hear Chao muttering.

Something about a piece of ancien history.

Crack

"At last."

Then a few click.

the occasional click;

Izumi looked upstairs.

"Don't break the house."

A dismissive acknowledgment

Izumi didn't let's be get a break instead of letting me recover.

"Your turn to cook."

I usually didn't mind, cooking. Living alone I was used to, but I usually didn't hurt that much.

As I start to prepare the meal, I was interupted.

"You're making too much food. We should eat lightly in the evening. We don't need as many calories as we do during the day."

Apparently the lessons hadn't ended.

"What about if we need to flee, wouldn't we need the energy ?"

Came from upward, clearly Chao was listening.

"A light meal won't stop you from running if you suddenly need to. It's prolonged exertion we'd have to worry about, and that's why you keep snacks in your bug-out bag. Right now we can't be sure we will have food in a week, we must ration what we can."

I nodded and followed her guidance.

Once the meal was quietly cooking, I brought up what I found earlier in the day.

"Chao ? You may wish to listen."

Then I explained the judge/police chief friendship, the weapons cache and the two place it could be.

"I'm not saying that we need them right now, or even in the near future. But it may be prudent to check the fishing shop to be sure they are well hidden."

"The house," Izumi corrected.

"Really? I noted it just in case, but I was sure they'd be in the fishing shop."

"Which is exactly why they probably aren't."

Chao's voice came from upstairs.

Izumi nodded in agreement.

"Uh !"

I didn't think about that.

"Did you find anything else on the computer"

Asked Chao.

"Not really, it was mainly about his job".

"Yeah, his job." Acknowledge Chao

"A judge would deal with a lot of cases, this could be a mine of knowledge, we would need to search it carefully but we may learn much about the area."

"Would it take long to find out ?"

Stopped her Izumi.

After a few second of silence came Chao's answer.

"Yeah, it could take a while, and there is no assurance that we will find something."

Nodding as she had guessed as much Izumi stopped the topic.

"Then it's not worth it."

"Even if don't check it right now, we could take out the hard drive and secure it somewhere it doesn't risk being damaged."

I proposed.

"How long ?"

"To take it out ? Five minutes, most of which will be to go collect the tools.".

"As for stocking it somewhere safe. We just need a box which can't take water, and place it somewhere safe."

Izumi nodded.

"Good, you can do that when you are free."

By now we had brought the food upstair.

Chao stood at the table, electronics all around her.

She quickly cleaned the table free.

The dinner passed quickly with only light conversation.

Knowing that I would have to get up early to keep watch, I quickly went to sleep afterward.