Chapter 35 - How To Use

Dawn broke, and morning came.

Everyone emerged from their blankets before seven o’clock.

By 7:30, everyone had gathered in the conference room.

“So, what’s the plan for today?”

Takumi asked Tooru.

“Since it’s raining, I think we should have the girls use the collected rainwater to do laundry. They’ll wear raincoats so they don’t get wet. If they catch a cold, it’ll be hard to handle without medicine in our current situation. Also, welding is canceled today. Instead, let’s clean the remaining areas. And Ryū, could you get the radio working?”

“Radio?”

“Yeah. I’m pretty sure this school had an amateur radio club.”

“Got it.”

“All right, everyone, get to work!”

Each of them stood up from their seats.

“So, how do you use this thing?”

“Hmm… no idea.”

Opening the door marked with a sign saying “Amateur Radio Club,” they found the room cluttered with what was probably equipment for the radios.

“For now, let’s look for the manual.”

“Uh… oh, here it is.”

Taking the manual carelessly placed on top of the machine, it was so thick it felt heavy — probably hundreds of pages.

It looked homemade, crudely stapled together, but seriously, where’s the “Easy Amateur Radio for Anyone” part? Where?

For now, they powered it on.

“Um, what’s this?”

“Try calling out on FM to see if anyone’s there.”

“How do I do that?”

“Uh, well…”

“Ah, enough! Lend it to me!”

Rei snatched the manual away sharply.

It was way faster to just read it himself.

“Do this here, then that there…”

After fiddling with several panels, the familiar static noise filled the room.

“Did that work?”

“Yeah, probably.”

“Amazing…”

“Eh, it’s not that big a deal.”

Ryuu said, grinning a bit, then turned a knob to check if anything was broadcasting.

But the static noise didn’t change.

“This is going to take a while… Rei, tell Tooru it might be a long session.”

“Alright”

Rei left the room.

Watching him leave, Ryuu faced the radio equipment once again.

“Whoa—are we really doing this? Just the two of us?”

“Well, let’s do our best.”

In front of Daiki and Tooru, who were holding mops and buckets, stood a classroom stained deep red.

Chunks of flesh and brains were stuck in spots.

“Wow… it’s even soaked into the curtains.”

The yellow curtains were no exception.

Like the curtains used in haunted houses, they were torn and stained with blood.

"First off, let’s move the desks."

"Alright."

The two of them pushed the classroom desks up to the blackboard at the back.

It was such an unreal sight that it made them wonder if the peaceful classes they once had were just an illusion.

On top of that, the smell was awful.

If they didn’t ventilate properly, it wouldn’t be hygienic.

They opened the windows wide and started mopping the floor.

"Did you put on your rubber gloves? For the flesh, either pick them off or, well, use your foot or something to scrape them."

"I know, I know."

The two of them worked to clean the bloodstains from the floor.

Then, Rei entered the classroom.

"Ah, Rei. What’s up?"

"Ah, Ryuu said this is going to take a while. Just wanted to let you know."

As Rei started walking toward the door, a thick arm pulled him back.

"Whoa!?"

"Hey now... you’re not going to say you won’t help after seeing this mess, right?"

Sure enough, this classroom was too much for just two people to clean.

"Sigh... alright."

Reluctantly, Rei took the mop too.

Crackle

Amid the sound of static like a sandstorm, Ryuu leaned back in his chair, reading a book.

Though it was a book, it wasn’t anything heavy or serious.

It was a novelization of “Cheer Up! Godbind.”

The thrilling scene where Jezza corners Gric still got him excited even reading it in text.

Crackle

“Hm?”

The sound changed slightly.

He set the book aside and quickly called out.

“Is anyone there?”

Crackle… crackle…

“Hello? Hello?”

“…Truck Brigade, this is Truck Brigade. Are there any survivors?”

“It came!”

He hurried to respond.

“Hello! Can you hear me?”

There was some noise on the other end, like they were talking among themselves.

“…Survivors?”

“Yes, this is Shimoimachi Yuusei Academy.”

“This is the Truck Brigade. As the name suggests, we move by truck collecting survivors. Fourteen people total, currently in four vehicles. How about you?”

“We have fifteen people, all students.”

“Are you safe?”

“For now, yes. Please wait a moment; I’ll bring the representative.”

“Alright, thanks.”

There were survivors.

Fourteen of them, no less.

More people meant a greater risk of infection, but even more importantly, it meant more supplies could be expected.

Ryuu held back his excitement and headed toward Tooru.