The Ka-50 hovered steady, the rotors thundering overhead like the heartbeat of war itself. Through the HUD, the infrared silhouettes of Hana, Suzune, Ichika, and Miko glowed faintly inside the van. His jaw unclenched, but only slightly—because safety in this world was measured in moments, not absolutes.
He pressed the comm switch. "They're in the van. Now step away from it. All of you. No tricks."
The scarred man's voice crackled back, laced with reluctant submission. "Fine. They're yours. But once they leave, you leave us. You hear me?"
"Not yet," Riku snapped. "Hand one of them a walkie-talkie. I want direct communication. That's the only way this works."
There was a pause, followed by muffled arguing on the other end. Finally, the boss barked an order, and seconds later Riku saw one of the guards shove a handheld radio into the van.
"Condition met," the boss muttered.
Riku's eyes stayed locked on the infrared outlines inside. He waited until the men stepped back, their nervous forms retreating like shadows into the courtyard. Only then did he switch frequencies.
Static filled his ear, then a voice.
"Riku?!" Suzune's tone cracked, halfway between relief and disbelief.
He closed his eyes for a second, letting the sound ground him. "It's me. I've got you now. Are you hurt?"
"Not badly," Suzune said, her breath shaky. "Just shaken. Miko… she's—"
"I-I'm here," Miko cut in, her voice trembling but alive. "We're all here. Hana's with us. Ichika too."
Riku let out the breath he hadn't realized he was holding. "Good. Listen to me. You're not out of this yet. We have to move fast."
Suzune's reply came quick, tinged with worry. "Where do we go?"
Riku scanned the cityscape below. Streets clogged with abandoned cars, pockets of movement—zombies stirred by the roar of his rotors—already beginning to converge on the resort. He had minutes at most before the place was overrun.
"You'll drive the van," he said.
There was stunned silence on the other end. "Me?" Suzune's voice squeaked.
"Yes. Do you know how?"
"A little. My uncle let me drive once in a parking lot. Automatic transmission. Brake, gas, shift to D. That's all I know."
"That's enough," Riku said firmly. "Keep it simple. You don't need to go fast—just steady. I'll be watching over you from above."
Ichika's sharp tone cut in next. "And what if the van breaks down, huh? It looks like it's barely holding together."
Riku didn't flinch. "Then you abandon it. Hide. But first, we get you clear."
Miko's voice trembled through the speaker. "Riku, I'm scared… what if they come after us?"
"They won't come after you, they are afraid of me. But what will come to you when we are moving are the zombies."
Inside the van, Suzune's grip tightened on the steering wheel, her knuckles pale. Miko whimpered in the back, Ichika muttered a curse under her breath, and Hana pressed her small hands over her ears, trying to block out the ever-present thrum of rotors above.
Riku continued, his voice firm, deliberate. "You'll see them on the streets—shamblers, sprinters, all of them drawn to the sound of engines and rotors. Don't panic. Keep your foot steady. If one jumps in front of the van, hit it. Do not stop. Do not swerve hard unless I tell you."
"Hit it?" Suzune repeated, her voice trembling.
"Yes. The van's reinforced enough to take it. You stop, you die. Understood?"
Suzune swallowed, forcing the word out. "Understood."
Riku scanned his HUD again, seeing the horde already shifting direction, stumbling toward the noise of the Ka-50. His window of control was thin.
"Alright," he ordered. "Move now."
The van's engine groaned as Suzune shifted into drive. With a hesitant push on the gas, the vehicle lurched forward out of the courtyard. Dust kicked up under the wheels, mixing with the debris still falling from the resort's shattered walls.
Riku shadowed them, the Black Shark drifting forward in a slow, menacing hover. His eyes swept the thermal overlays. Ahead, heat signatures glowed in patches—the first of the undead pouring from alleys and side streets.
"Two blocks ahead," he instructed. "Intersection. I'll clear it."
His thumb flicked the fire control. The Shipunov cannon roared, a short burst tearing into the asphalt ahead of the van. Three zombies disintegrated under the storm of tungsten rounds, their torsos ripped apart, limbs scattering. The others scattered clumsily, their groans drowned out by the thunder of rotors.
Suzune flinched at the cannon fire but held the wheel straight. The van barreled through the smoke, crushing the last twitching body under its tires.
"Good," Riku said. "Just like that. Keep your eyes forward."
Ichika hissed from the back. "You're going to make her crash with that damn noise!"
"Quiet," Riku snapped. "She's doing fine. Don't distract her."
Suzune didn't argue—her breaths came quick, ragged, but her hands held steady. She guided the van through the wreckage of abandoned cars, weaving where she could, bumping over cracked pavement where she couldn't.
Then the radio crackled again—Miko's voice, thin and panicked. "There's more! Ahead!"
Riku's HUD zoomed, tagging the cluster. At least twenty, maybe more, blocking the next street. Some stumbled aimlessly, others already breaking into a sprint at the sight of headlights.
"I see them," Riku said coldly. "Stay on course."
He banked the Ka-50 to the left, lining up the cannon. "Firing."
The night erupted in muzzle flashes. The 30mm shells chewed the street into a bloody crater, bodies bursting apart in sprays of gore and concrete. Limbs flew across the asphalt like broken puppets. The horde collapsed in seconds, the street opening wide for the van.
"Drive through," Riku ordered.
Suzune's voice cracked. "That—that was—"
"Don't think about it!" he cut her off. "You want to survive, you move forward."
She gritted her teeth and pressed the gas harder. The van jolted as its tires rolled over the mangled remains, but it surged forward, carrying them another block closer to safety.
"Three blocks to go," Riku muttered. "Almost there."
But then, his HUD flashed a warning. Rear thermal contacts—large cluster moving fast. He toggled the camera. From the south, dozens more zombies surged into the street, their movements too coordinated, too relentless. Sprinters.
Riku's jaw clenched. "Suzune, listen carefully. You'll turn left at the next corner. Don't hesitate. If you miss it, they'll catch you."
"Left. Got it," she said, her voice trembling but focused.
The van screeched around the corner, tires squealing, nearly tipping onto two wheels. Hana screamed, clutching Suzune's arm, but the vehicle leveled out, fishtailing back into the lane.
Riku's eyes stayed locked on the thermal cluster behind them. They were still coming, fast, bounding over wrecks and abandoned cars like rabid animals.
He pressed the comm again. "Keep going. I'll deal with them."
Switching weapons, he armed the S-8 rockets. Four triggers depressed in sequence, and four streaks of fire lanced into the night. The rockets slammed into the pursuing horde, the explosions carving fireballs across the street. A shockwave rolled upward, rattling the Ka-50 and shaking broken windows in nearby towers. When the smoke cleared, only burning bodies remained.
The radio crackled—Ichika this time. "Holy shit…"
"Eyes forward!" Riku barked.
The van jolted again, bouncing over the cracked entry ramp of the Marunouchi garage. The headlights cut into the yawning dark tunnel. Concrete swallowed them as the vehicle dipped underground.
"Down the ramp," Riku ordered. "Basement level. Kill the engine."
Suzune obeyed, her hands trembling as she guided the van into the dim concrete lot. The vehicle rolled to a stop near a cluster of abandoned sedans, its lights flicking off. Silence pressed in, broken only by the pounding of hearts inside.
"We're inside," Suzune whispered, clutching the walkie.
Riku circled once overhead, his HUD painting the garage entrance. Dozens of heat signatures still roamed the streets above, groaning and clawing at the echoes of noise. They hadn't spotted the girls slipping underground. Not yet.
"Good work," he said, his voice softer now. "Stay put. Stay quiet. I'll draw them away."