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As soon as they'd all piled in, Shishido locked the clubroom door behind them and promptly scurried to the corner of the locker banks with the rest of his team.
"Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit," was Gakuto's mantra. "I can't believe this is happening. Is this happening? Yuushi! Is this happening?!"
Yuushi carefully pried his partner's hands from his blazer. "I'm fairly certain it is," he answered, unduly calm.
Just a few feet away, Atobe was pacing. "All right," he declared, interrupting Choutarou's tense murmuring (Gakuto was convinced he was saying his 'Hail Mary's, but Shishido figured he was probably cursing in despair). "I have a plan."
The rest of them turned toward him, hopeful and worried. Atobe planted his fist in his palm, looking grim. "... We send Mukahi and Oshitari out to distract them, and the rest of us run out the back door."
"Hey!" Gakuto barked. "That's bullshit, Atobe! Why not send Hiyoshi out?!"
Hiyoshi made a low hissing sound. "Because he likes me, Mukahi-sempai."
"We don't have to sacrifice anyone," Choutarou cut in firmly. "They can't climb, right? If we can get up onto the roof, we'll be safe."
"And I can call a chopper," Atobe interjected, looking pleased.
"We won't all fit in one helicopter." Yuushi was frowning. "I suppose they'll pick you up first?"
"Of course... not." Atobe sighed. "I'll stay behind until the last of you is safe. It's a captain's duty, after all."
Jirou turned glowing eyes on Atobe from the couch he was huddled on. "That's so brave of you, Atobe!"
Atobe flicked his bangs from his eyes and only smirked.
"Now," Taki began slowly, as if speaking to a group of small children. "How do we get onto the roof?"
The room fell silent. Finally, Shishido said, "We can get onto the clubhouse roof through the window, right? Out the window and up onto the roof?"
"Yes, but the chopper can't pick us up here," Atobe pointed out, terse. "There are too many trees."
"Well, if we make it onto the clubhouse roof, we can find some way to get to the fire escape," Shishido persisted. "From there, we can get to the roof."
"Inside the building?!" Gakuto fairly shrieked. "When we got out, they were already up to the second floor!"
"Oh... right." Shishido looked defeated. They lapsed into silence again. Outside, the sounds were getting louder — dragging, stomping, shuffling sounds; a low chorus of deadpan voices, cracking and hoarse.
Something hit the window. Gakuto screamed, Atobe yelled, Jirou yelped and Shishido hid behind Choutarou. They all stared at the window, where a grotesque, ashen face was pressed, sliding slowly down the glass.
"Oh, Jesus," Choutarou whispered. Shishido felt him shiver.
All at once, Hiyoshi stalked to the window and yanked the curtains down.
"Can they break the window?" Jirou asked in a tiny voice.
"Probably," Taki answered noncommittally. He sounded distracted.
Gakuto cursed, releasing Yuushi's sleeve. "Fuck, no, they can't, Jirou," he said, glaring forcefully at Taki. Taki didn't seem to notice. "They can't get in here." Gakuto went over to the couch, sitting down beside his friend and wrapping an arm around him. Jirou leaned on him, eyes downcast.
"We have to get onto the roof of the clubhouse, at least," murmured Atobe. "We're not safe on ground-level."
"Out the window?" Yuushi looked skeptical. "We'll be beating them off with sticks."
"Rackets, maybe," rebutted Taki, and he picked one up. "We only have to hold them off until everyone gets up there, right? We have two people stand guard, and Kabaji can help everyone get onto the roof."
"That... means Kabaji will be left... alone," Jirou whispered. The silence was deafening.
"Kabaji?" Atobe asked, voice soft. Kabaji met his eyes, then nodded, once, decisively.
Taki was the first to break the hush after that. He spun his racket in his hand and asked, "So who's going to hold them off in the meantime?"
Hiyoshi stepped forward, holding his own racket. "I'll go," he said. "I have a better chance at holding them off than most of you." For once, it didn't sound like he was bragging.
"I'll go, too," Choutarou said suddenly, moving away from Shishido. Shishido lurched after him, grabbing onto his jacket.
"No! You two go up to the roof; Taki and I can hold them off."
"Hey, don't volunteer me," Taki snapped. It was the reflexive snarl of a frightened animal.
"I'm going," Hiyoshi insisted.
Shishido looked pained. "You can't!"
"It's okay, Shishido-san." Choutarou summoned up a smile for the older boy, one hand held out in front of Shishido's chest to stop him from going forward. "We'll go," he reaffirmed, looking to Atobe.
Atobe nodded. "Good. Ootori and Hiyoshi out first, then, and Kabaji next."
They opened a window at the back of the clubhouse, where the crowds hadn't thickened yet. Hiyoshi and Choutarou began swinging their rackets as soon as they were out the window, driving back the few who were present.
Getting Kabaji out the window was something of a task.
As quickly as they could, the remaining members inside assembled to help hold Kabaji up while he stuck his feet through the window. He managed to slither out, his wide shoulders only barely squeezing past the frame, and immediately turned to help the next person out.
"Go, Jirou," Gakuto said, and shoved him forward before any of the other terrified boys could get there first. Jirou scrambled out the window and was handed up. He wiped his eyes and turned to help Taki up next.
Taki began pacing the roof as Jirou pulled up Gakuto, and Gakuto and Jirou pulled up Yuushi in turn. "How can we get to the fire escape from here?" he asked, eyeing the gap between the roof's edge and the low cement wall on the second floor.
"I can," answered Gakuto grimly, coming to join Taki in pacing as Yuushi and Jirou pulled Shishido onto the roof.
Atobe slipped quietly out the window, himself, with only Kabaji's hand to steady him, and outside, he stopped to squeeze Kabaji's shoulder.
"Thank you," he said, barely audible over the zombies' sounds and the shouts of the other second-years. "And I'm sorry."
He was glad Kabaji gave him a leg-up then, without speaking, because if he'd stayed much longer, he might have cried. Shishido and Yuushi helped haul him onto the roof, and he blinked hard as he turned back to look down.
Kabaji waited just a moment, then grabbed Choutarou back from the edge of the fray. Quick as anything, he hoisted him up for Shishido and Atobe to grab. They helped pull him up. Atobe turned away, walking after Yuushi and Jirou to join the others. He couldn't watch the last of it.
With just Hiyoshi to hold them back, the zombies were crowding closer now. Kabaji stepped right up to them, spread his arms and simply pushed them back, like a bulldozer or a snowplow. Hiyoshi took his cue, backing up and dashing on shaky legs, using Kabaji's broad back as a springboard. He grabbed onto the edge of the roof and scrambled with hands and feet, Shishido and Choutarou taking him by the arms to bring him to safety.
"The rest of us can't make that jump, Mukahi," Taki snapped. "It doesn't matter if you can, because that still leaves the rest of us stranded here."
"Calm down, Taki," Atobe said, but his voice was trembling.
Yuushi spoke his thoughts more calmly than he could have, one hand on Atobe's shoulder squeezing firmly. "If even one of us can get across, it will make things easier - with people on both sides, we may be able to build a bridge of some sort."
"Can zombies jump?" Jirou wanted to know now. He was hanging gingerly onto Gakuto's jacket, looking uneasy. "Because if we build a bridge or something, what if they jump and grab it? They could tear it down, or -"
"If they can jump, we're fucked anyway," answered Taki. "They'll grab onto the edge of the roof, and -"
Gakuto lashed out in Taki's direction with his racket. "Shut the fuck up! Seriously, why do you have to be a bitch now? We're all about to die, Taki!"
"What, you don't think I know that?!" Taki started toward Gakuto, but was stopped by Shishido, standing in his path.
"Take it easy, Haginosuke. It's okay. Let it go."
Jirou kept pulling at Gakuto's jacket until the younger boy turned around to hug him, when Jirou wrapped him up tightly. "It's okay," he was saying, in the same soothing tone Shishido used. "It's okay."
"I don't wanna go over there alone," Gakuto said into Jirou's shoulder. His voice was muffled and only Jirou heard it. "I don't wanna go alone, Jirou."
"You're the only one who can do it." Jirou stroked Gakuto's hair, meeting Yuushi's eyes. "You know I'd go with you if I could. Yuushi'd go with you."
"I'll go with you," Hiyoshi said suddenly. His hands were occupied by Choutarou, who was tending to the scrapes on his palm from when he'd grabbed the roof. There wasn't much to be done without medical supplies, but he was trying to get the dirt and gravel out.
Shishido let go of Taki's arms to face Hiyoshi. "You can't make that jump, Wakashi."
"Maybe I can," Hiyoshi insisted. "I'm more agile than most of you."
"I bet you can't," Gakuto spat, jerking away from Jirou to swipe at his eyes. He breathed in, deep and shuddering, and scowled at Hiyoshi. "And if you can't, you'll die."
Hiyoshi reclaimed his hands from Choutarou and took his racket from beneath his arm. "I'll take that bet, sempai," he said.
"Wakashi," Shishido began, but Choutarou stopped him.
"Let him be, Shishido-san."
"He could die, Choutarou!" Shishido didn't bother trying to keep his voice down.
Neither did Choutarou. "We could all die today, Shishido-san. And nobody wants to die alone."
For a minute, nearly two, the team was quiet. The zombies scuffled and groaned, creaking like old wood on the ground below.
Atobe broke the silence. "Let's get moving, then." He was proud that his voice had steadied, and he shrugged Yuushi's hand off, coming forward to take Gakuto's racket. "Take your shot, Mukahi. We'll toss you your racket and Wakashi's, and he'll follow you over."
"With any luck," muttered Taki, returning to pacing.
Gakuto handed over his racket and shrugged off his coat. He took off his wristband and put it on Jirou; hugged him quickly without meeting his eyes. It felt like goodbye.
Backing away from the roof's edge, Gakuto bounced on his heels, taking deep breaths. His teammates retreated to both sides, not breathing, eyes wide open.
"Good luck," Yuushi whispered, hanging onto Jirou tightly. Jirou clung back, trying hard not to blink or look away. This might be the last time he saw Gakuto.
Gakuto gritted his teeth, exhaled and ran forward. His strides lengthened to the roof's edge and he leapt, shoving himself out as far from the clubhouse as possible. For a terrifying, wonderful second, he was in the air, above and away from all of the danger and horror and tragedy. Then he hit the brick wall of the fire escape balcony, and scrabbled and clawed at the smooth cement top, pushing himself up with his sneakers on the bricks.
Finally, his fingertips crept over the far edge of the wall, and he finally had some purchase to haul himself over it. He fell on the other side, heart nearly bursting from his chest. As soon as his legs would hold him, he stumbled to his feet, aiming a victory sign over the fire escape wall at his teammates.
Shishido shook Hiyoshi, squeezed his shoulders hard and clenched his jaw against tears. Choutarou was at the edge of the wall, throwing the rackets one at a time like flying discs across the gap to Gakuto. When he finished, Hiyoshi had to pry Shishido's hands from his shoulders.
Choutarou pulled Shishido back gently, gripping his shoulders in turn as Hiyoshi backed up to make the jump. On the other side, Gakuto was waiting, white-knuckled.
Hiyoshi sprinted and jumped, stretching as he pushed off from the roof. To him, flying felt like falling. It almost was.
He hit the wall with his hands, too low to get a grip over the top. Gakuto lunged over the edge to grab onto his arms.
"Let me go, Mukahi-sempai!" Hiyoshi yelled, thrashing to emphasize his point. "I'm too heavy! You'll fall!"
"Fuck you, Hiyoshi!" Gakuto answered through his teeth. "You're not leaving me over here alone, you snot-nosed brat!"
"Oh, Jesus," Shishido said, repeating it over and over against the arm he had raised to his mouth. "Oh, Jesus, oh, Jesus...."
With everyone clinging together on the opposite roof - even Atobe didn't have the heart to detach Taki's death grip on his arm - Gakuto braced himself on the wall and slowly, strugglingly, pulled Hiyoshi upward. Hiyoshi grabbed onto the far edge of the wall as soon as he could reach and helped himself over, falling into a heap along with Gakuto.
The rest of the team breathed their sighs of relief, Shishido sitting down quite suddenly in place. Atobe took a deep breath and ran his hands through his hair, then walked to the edge of the roof.
"Be careful going in! We don't know how many there are in the buildings!"
"Tell them to text us every five minutes," Yuushi supplied as he pried Jirou loose. "If they miss two texts in a row...." He didn't finish, because saying 'we'll have to assume the worst' would only send Jirou into hysterics, and possibly Shishido, too.
Atobe held up his cell phone for the other two to see. "Text us every five minutes!" he called. "If you miss two texts, we'll start working on a Plan B!"
"We should have grabbed supplies," Choutarou was saying as Atobe returned to the group. "We had bottled water, towels, medical supplies... but we can't get back into the clubhouse."
"If we can get into the school, we won't need supplies," said Atobe confidently. "As soon as we're all in the main classroom building, we can make our way to the roof."
"But if we don't make it that far," Taki pointed out, "we'll wish we had supplies. Especially if one of us gets hurt."
Yuushi held up a hand to silence Atobe's next argument. "Once we're all over there, we can get supplies from the infirmary and the gymnasium."
Across the gap, Gakuto picked up his tennis racket again, and he and Hiyoshi ventured up the stairs to the second floor. The halls were empty, eerie, but there were no zombies.
"We might be able to find what we need in the gym," Hiyoshi suggested as they jogged through the corridors. "Ropes and things, in the equipment lockup."
"We're in the arts building," replied Gakuto. "So, what, we go out a window and cross the breezeways 'til we get to the gym?"
"Better than hunting through the music room for things to build a bridge with," said Hiyoshi, only half-disguising a sneer.
Gakuto shot him a look. "Just keep an eye on the time, Hiyoshi."
"Yes, sempai."
They made their way across the building in silence, finally stopping as they came to a large window at the end of a hall. Gakuto peered out of it.
"Here's the breezeway to the library. We can get to the gym from there."
Hiyoshi started back down the hall. "We can't go out that window, though. It definitely won't break."
"Will we be able to make it along the wall to the breezeway if we leave through a classroom window?" Gakuto followed him to the door of a classroom, which Hiyoshi was trying to open with little success.
"I hope so." Hiyoshi stepped back. "The door's locked."
"Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit," was Gakuto's mantra. "I can't believe this is happening. Is this happening? Yuushi! Is this happening?!"
Yuushi carefully pried his partner's hands from his blazer. "I'm fairly certain it is," he answered, unduly calm.
Just a few feet away, Atobe was pacing. "All right," he declared, interrupting Choutarou's tense murmuring (Gakuto was convinced he was saying his 'Hail Mary's, but Shishido figured he was probably cursing in despair). "I have a plan."
The rest of them turned toward him, hopeful and worried. Atobe planted his fist in his palm, looking grim. "... We send Mukahi and Oshitari out to distract them, and the rest of us run out the back door."
"Hey!" Gakuto barked. "That's bullshit, Atobe! Why not send Hiyoshi out?!"
Hiyoshi made a low hissing sound. "Because he likes me, Mukahi-sempai."
"We don't have to sacrifice anyone," Choutarou cut in firmly. "They can't climb, right? If we can get up onto the roof, we'll be safe."
"And I can call a chopper," Atobe interjected, looking pleased.
"We won't all fit in one helicopter." Yuushi was frowning. "I suppose they'll pick you up first?"
"Of course... not." Atobe sighed. "I'll stay behind until the last of you is safe. It's a captain's duty, after all."
Jirou turned glowing eyes on Atobe from the couch he was huddled on. "That's so brave of you, Atobe!"
Atobe flicked his bangs from his eyes and only smirked.
"Now," Taki began slowly, as if speaking to a group of small children. "How do we get onto the roof?"
The room fell silent. Finally, Shishido said, "We can get onto the clubhouse roof through the window, right? Out the window and up onto the roof?"
"Yes, but the chopper can't pick us up here," Atobe pointed out, terse. "There are too many trees."
"Well, if we make it onto the clubhouse roof, we can find some way to get to the fire escape," Shishido persisted. "From there, we can get to the roof."
"Inside the building?!" Gakuto fairly shrieked. "When we got out, they were already up to the second floor!"
"Oh... right." Shishido looked defeated. They lapsed into silence again. Outside, the sounds were getting louder — dragging, stomping, shuffling sounds; a low chorus of deadpan voices, cracking and hoarse.
Something hit the window. Gakuto screamed, Atobe yelled, Jirou yelped and Shishido hid behind Choutarou. They all stared at the window, where a grotesque, ashen face was pressed, sliding slowly down the glass.
"Oh, Jesus," Choutarou whispered. Shishido felt him shiver.
All at once, Hiyoshi stalked to the window and yanked the curtains down.
"Can they break the window?" Jirou asked in a tiny voice.
"Probably," Taki answered noncommittally. He sounded distracted.
Gakuto cursed, releasing Yuushi's sleeve. "Fuck, no, they can't, Jirou," he said, glaring forcefully at Taki. Taki didn't seem to notice. "They can't get in here." Gakuto went over to the couch, sitting down beside his friend and wrapping an arm around him. Jirou leaned on him, eyes downcast.
"We have to get onto the roof of the clubhouse, at least," murmured Atobe. "We're not safe on ground-level."
"Out the window?" Yuushi looked skeptical. "We'll be beating them off with sticks."
"Rackets, maybe," rebutted Taki, and he picked one up. "We only have to hold them off until everyone gets up there, right? We have two people stand guard, and Kabaji can help everyone get onto the roof."
"That... means Kabaji will be left... alone," Jirou whispered. The silence was deafening.
"Kabaji?" Atobe asked, voice soft. Kabaji met his eyes, then nodded, once, decisively.
Taki was the first to break the hush after that. He spun his racket in his hand and asked, "So who's going to hold them off in the meantime?"
Hiyoshi stepped forward, holding his own racket. "I'll go," he said. "I have a better chance at holding them off than most of you." For once, it didn't sound like he was bragging.
"I'll go, too," Choutarou said suddenly, moving away from Shishido. Shishido lurched after him, grabbing onto his jacket.
"No! You two go up to the roof; Taki and I can hold them off."
"Hey, don't volunteer me," Taki snapped. It was the reflexive snarl of a frightened animal.
"I'm going," Hiyoshi insisted.
Shishido looked pained. "You can't!"
"It's okay, Shishido-san." Choutarou summoned up a smile for the older boy, one hand held out in front of Shishido's chest to stop him from going forward. "We'll go," he reaffirmed, looking to Atobe.
Atobe nodded. "Good. Ootori and Hiyoshi out first, then, and Kabaji next."
They opened a window at the back of the clubhouse, where the crowds hadn't thickened yet. Hiyoshi and Choutarou began swinging their rackets as soon as they were out the window, driving back the few who were present.
Getting Kabaji out the window was something of a task.
As quickly as they could, the remaining members inside assembled to help hold Kabaji up while he stuck his feet through the window. He managed to slither out, his wide shoulders only barely squeezing past the frame, and immediately turned to help the next person out.
"Go, Jirou," Gakuto said, and shoved him forward before any of the other terrified boys could get there first. Jirou scrambled out the window and was handed up. He wiped his eyes and turned to help Taki up next.
Taki began pacing the roof as Jirou pulled up Gakuto, and Gakuto and Jirou pulled up Yuushi in turn. "How can we get to the fire escape from here?" he asked, eyeing the gap between the roof's edge and the low cement wall on the second floor.
"I can," answered Gakuto grimly, coming to join Taki in pacing as Yuushi and Jirou pulled Shishido onto the roof.
Atobe slipped quietly out the window, himself, with only Kabaji's hand to steady him, and outside, he stopped to squeeze Kabaji's shoulder.
"Thank you," he said, barely audible over the zombies' sounds and the shouts of the other second-years. "And I'm sorry."
He was glad Kabaji gave him a leg-up then, without speaking, because if he'd stayed much longer, he might have cried. Shishido and Yuushi helped haul him onto the roof, and he blinked hard as he turned back to look down.
Kabaji waited just a moment, then grabbed Choutarou back from the edge of the fray. Quick as anything, he hoisted him up for Shishido and Atobe to grab. They helped pull him up. Atobe turned away, walking after Yuushi and Jirou to join the others. He couldn't watch the last of it.
With just Hiyoshi to hold them back, the zombies were crowding closer now. Kabaji stepped right up to them, spread his arms and simply pushed them back, like a bulldozer or a snowplow. Hiyoshi took his cue, backing up and dashing on shaky legs, using Kabaji's broad back as a springboard. He grabbed onto the edge of the roof and scrambled with hands and feet, Shishido and Choutarou taking him by the arms to bring him to safety.
"The rest of us can't make that jump, Mukahi," Taki snapped. "It doesn't matter if you can, because that still leaves the rest of us stranded here."
"Calm down, Taki," Atobe said, but his voice was trembling.
Yuushi spoke his thoughts more calmly than he could have, one hand on Atobe's shoulder squeezing firmly. "If even one of us can get across, it will make things easier - with people on both sides, we may be able to build a bridge of some sort."
"Can zombies jump?" Jirou wanted to know now. He was hanging gingerly onto Gakuto's jacket, looking uneasy. "Because if we build a bridge or something, what if they jump and grab it? They could tear it down, or -"
"If they can jump, we're fucked anyway," answered Taki. "They'll grab onto the edge of the roof, and -"
Gakuto lashed out in Taki's direction with his racket. "Shut the fuck up! Seriously, why do you have to be a bitch now? We're all about to die, Taki!"
"What, you don't think I know that?!" Taki started toward Gakuto, but was stopped by Shishido, standing in his path.
"Take it easy, Haginosuke. It's okay. Let it go."
Jirou kept pulling at Gakuto's jacket until the younger boy turned around to hug him, when Jirou wrapped him up tightly. "It's okay," he was saying, in the same soothing tone Shishido used. "It's okay."
"I don't wanna go over there alone," Gakuto said into Jirou's shoulder. His voice was muffled and only Jirou heard it. "I don't wanna go alone, Jirou."
"You're the only one who can do it." Jirou stroked Gakuto's hair, meeting Yuushi's eyes. "You know I'd go with you if I could. Yuushi'd go with you."
"I'll go with you," Hiyoshi said suddenly. His hands were occupied by Choutarou, who was tending to the scrapes on his palm from when he'd grabbed the roof. There wasn't much to be done without medical supplies, but he was trying to get the dirt and gravel out.
Shishido let go of Taki's arms to face Hiyoshi. "You can't make that jump, Wakashi."
"Maybe I can," Hiyoshi insisted. "I'm more agile than most of you."
"I bet you can't," Gakuto spat, jerking away from Jirou to swipe at his eyes. He breathed in, deep and shuddering, and scowled at Hiyoshi. "And if you can't, you'll die."
Hiyoshi reclaimed his hands from Choutarou and took his racket from beneath his arm. "I'll take that bet, sempai," he said.
"Wakashi," Shishido began, but Choutarou stopped him.
"Let him be, Shishido-san."
"He could die, Choutarou!" Shishido didn't bother trying to keep his voice down.
Neither did Choutarou. "We could all die today, Shishido-san. And nobody wants to die alone."
For a minute, nearly two, the team was quiet. The zombies scuffled and groaned, creaking like old wood on the ground below.
Atobe broke the silence. "Let's get moving, then." He was proud that his voice had steadied, and he shrugged Yuushi's hand off, coming forward to take Gakuto's racket. "Take your shot, Mukahi. We'll toss you your racket and Wakashi's, and he'll follow you over."
"With any luck," muttered Taki, returning to pacing.
Gakuto handed over his racket and shrugged off his coat. He took off his wristband and put it on Jirou; hugged him quickly without meeting his eyes. It felt like goodbye.
Backing away from the roof's edge, Gakuto bounced on his heels, taking deep breaths. His teammates retreated to both sides, not breathing, eyes wide open.
"Good luck," Yuushi whispered, hanging onto Jirou tightly. Jirou clung back, trying hard not to blink or look away. This might be the last time he saw Gakuto.
Gakuto gritted his teeth, exhaled and ran forward. His strides lengthened to the roof's edge and he leapt, shoving himself out as far from the clubhouse as possible. For a terrifying, wonderful second, he was in the air, above and away from all of the danger and horror and tragedy. Then he hit the brick wall of the fire escape balcony, and scrabbled and clawed at the smooth cement top, pushing himself up with his sneakers on the bricks.
Finally, his fingertips crept over the far edge of the wall, and he finally had some purchase to haul himself over it. He fell on the other side, heart nearly bursting from his chest. As soon as his legs would hold him, he stumbled to his feet, aiming a victory sign over the fire escape wall at his teammates.
Shishido shook Hiyoshi, squeezed his shoulders hard and clenched his jaw against tears. Choutarou was at the edge of the wall, throwing the rackets one at a time like flying discs across the gap to Gakuto. When he finished, Hiyoshi had to pry Shishido's hands from his shoulders.
Choutarou pulled Shishido back gently, gripping his shoulders in turn as Hiyoshi backed up to make the jump. On the other side, Gakuto was waiting, white-knuckled.
Hiyoshi sprinted and jumped, stretching as he pushed off from the roof. To him, flying felt like falling. It almost was.
He hit the wall with his hands, too low to get a grip over the top. Gakuto lunged over the edge to grab onto his arms.
"Let me go, Mukahi-sempai!" Hiyoshi yelled, thrashing to emphasize his point. "I'm too heavy! You'll fall!"
"Fuck you, Hiyoshi!" Gakuto answered through his teeth. "You're not leaving me over here alone, you snot-nosed brat!"
"Oh, Jesus," Shishido said, repeating it over and over against the arm he had raised to his mouth. "Oh, Jesus, oh, Jesus...."
With everyone clinging together on the opposite roof - even Atobe didn't have the heart to detach Taki's death grip on his arm - Gakuto braced himself on the wall and slowly, strugglingly, pulled Hiyoshi upward. Hiyoshi grabbed onto the far edge of the wall as soon as he could reach and helped himself over, falling into a heap along with Gakuto.
The rest of the team breathed their sighs of relief, Shishido sitting down quite suddenly in place. Atobe took a deep breath and ran his hands through his hair, then walked to the edge of the roof.
"Be careful going in! We don't know how many there are in the buildings!"
"Tell them to text us every five minutes," Yuushi supplied as he pried Jirou loose. "If they miss two texts in a row...." He didn't finish, because saying 'we'll have to assume the worst' would only send Jirou into hysterics, and possibly Shishido, too.
Atobe held up his cell phone for the other two to see. "Text us every five minutes!" he called. "If you miss two texts, we'll start working on a Plan B!"
"We should have grabbed supplies," Choutarou was saying as Atobe returned to the group. "We had bottled water, towels, medical supplies... but we can't get back into the clubhouse."
"If we can get into the school, we won't need supplies," said Atobe confidently. "As soon as we're all in the main classroom building, we can make our way to the roof."
"But if we don't make it that far," Taki pointed out, "we'll wish we had supplies. Especially if one of us gets hurt."
Yuushi held up a hand to silence Atobe's next argument. "Once we're all over there, we can get supplies from the infirmary and the gymnasium."
Across the gap, Gakuto picked up his tennis racket again, and he and Hiyoshi ventured up the stairs to the second floor. The halls were empty, eerie, but there were no zombies.
"We might be able to find what we need in the gym," Hiyoshi suggested as they jogged through the corridors. "Ropes and things, in the equipment lockup."
"We're in the arts building," replied Gakuto. "So, what, we go out a window and cross the breezeways 'til we get to the gym?"
"Better than hunting through the music room for things to build a bridge with," said Hiyoshi, only half-disguising a sneer.
Gakuto shot him a look. "Just keep an eye on the time, Hiyoshi."
"Yes, sempai."
They made their way across the building in silence, finally stopping as they came to a large window at the end of a hall. Gakuto peered out of it.
"Here's the breezeway to the library. We can get to the gym from there."
Hiyoshi started back down the hall. "We can't go out that window, though. It definitely won't break."
"Will we be able to make it along the wall to the breezeway if we leave through a classroom window?" Gakuto followed him to the door of a classroom, which Hiyoshi was trying to open with little success.
"I hope so." Hiyoshi stepped back. "The door's locked."