Gantzuke woke just before dawn.
Sleep had never really claimed him—nightmares saw to that.He dreamt the purple giant had broken in, torn his head from his shoulders, and dragged the girls away to be devoured alive.
But then… warmth.
The soft brush of Mari's hair against his chest. Her body, curled close. Her breath, calm.
It was just a dream.
He exhaled slowly, easing himself out from beneath her without waking her.Then, rifle in hand, he stepped quietly toward the steel shutter riddled with bullet holes.
...Sure, cuddling a beautiful girl's nice. But holding a rifle? That's peace of mind.He smirked at the thought.
With his titanium leg gleaming faintly in the early light, and muscles forged through relentless training, Gantzuke looked less like a man and more like a machine from some gritty Japanese version of The Terminator.
He checked the lock at the base of the shutter—still secure.No signs of entry beneath the seams.
...Where the hell did they all go?The silence was unnerving.
No barking dogs.No cawing crows.Not even the ragged moans of the undead.
The city felt dead in a different way now—still, cold, deserted.
The stench of decay was rising. Gantzuke covered his nose and headed upstairs.He passed the tiny corpse at the stairs, the blood beneath it now dried to black.
In the bedroom, flies had started to gather on the blanket that covered the mother.
He went to the window, drew the curtain slightly.
Outside, the golden light of dawn was just beginning to bloom over the horizon.The streets were empty.Even the body of the black man who'd been infected—gone.
Tire tracks and spent shell casings glittered faintly at the intersection, leading east—toward the coast.
Then he heard it.
"Rrghhh... aaagh..."
A low, broken rasp from across the street.
His eyes shifted.
There, blinking in red and blue, was the neon sign of a women's hair salon—a glowing scissors icon above its window. The front glass was still intact.
And then he saw it.
A zombie.
Or half of one.
It had no legs—just arms clawing desperately across the floor, intestines dragging behind it like a grotesque tail.The thing was pulling itself into the dark recesses of the salon.
...They're hiding from the sunlight?Gantzuke's pulse spiked.
"Holy shit..."
If the undead avoided daylight, they had a chance.
He rushed downstairs, heart racing—hope blooming for the first time in days.
"We'll need a vehicle," Gantzuke said later, turning to Molly, who sat curled in a chair.
"We don't have one," she replied.
"That's not a problem. There's plenty of abandoned cars outside."He sipped the black coffee Mari had made him—no milk, no sugar.Didn't matter.
The sight of her face, glowing in the morning light, made everything else taste better.
"I saw a black Hummer parked just across the street—next to the salon. Big enough to go anywhere."
"You mean Mr. Limo's new Hummer?" Molly tilted her head, frowning.
Hummers were expensive toys for survivalist types—part military beast, part luxury tank.
"Maybe it was his. Don't know if anyone's still alive to claim ownership."
"So... we're stealing it?"Mari's voice was bright, amused.
"If he's dead, it's not stealing. Right, Molly?"
Molly shrugged."I don't know. He might still be alive… but his damn cat, Cameron, is the one that bit my sister."
She looked away, the grief washing over her again.
"If he's still alive, I won't take a thing from him," Gantzuke said sincerely.
"Wait—actually…" Molly perked up.
"Last week, he offered to take my mom for a ride in that car. Said it was a gift to himself after scoring big on some crypto deal. I think my mom still had his contact info on her phone."
Her eyes lit up with a flicker of hope.
"Doesn't matter."Gantzuke pulled out the phone he'd taken from the dead officer—"John Wick."
No signal.No network.Dead silence.
"Cell towers are probably down. I can't access anything."
"So what now?" Molly asked.
"I'll knock on his door," Gantzuke replied, voice calm.
The look in his eyes made both women sit straighter.
Mari came forward, gripping his arm gently.
She didn't say be careful—but her eyes screamed it.
"He might shoot you," Molly added. "He's ex-military."
"I'll be quick."He gave them both a soft, reassuring smile.
They didn't see a stranger anymore.
They saw a protector.