This time, I left the gun behind so they wouldn't be wary about us.
We exited the house and approached them.
"Hey!" I called out and waved my hand, showing off that I wasn't bitten.
One of them noticed me and immediately raised his pistol, ready to shoot. However, another man stopped him.
"Stop it. They are not them."
The man with a pistol looked at me suspiciously, but he lowered his weapon.
"What are you doing here?" He asked, his voice filled with suspicion. His eyes went to my waist, looking at the sword.
"We just ran away across the bridge and didn't know where the evacuation point was. You guys are police, right? Can you guide us to the evacuation point?" I replied, telling him a half-truth. "If not, we are grateful if you can tell us where the evacuation point is."
The three men looked at me, then at each other, then finally at us again.
Following that, the man in the middle, seemingly the oldest, stepped forward.
"There is no need to guide you, young man. Just follow this road to the mall. The police and military set up an evacuation point there." He said, pointing at the road ahead of us.
"The mall, got it. Thanks, sir." I smiled at him and bowed slightly. "We will take our leave, then."
"Wait!" The man who raised his gun at me earlier called, stopping us.
I looked at him, wondering what he wanted.
"Are you two planning to go there? It's too dangerous." He asked.
His eyes fell on Saeko, who stood quietly beside me.
I raised my guard in case he demanded something absurd.
"There are lots of 'them' there. We barely managed to escape after being overrun. I don't think you will be able to reach the place."
Hearing that, I didn't reply immediately. I had to be careful with what I said.
I was glad he didn't ask anything absurd. I was ready to beat him up if he did.
"Are you sure that's the only evacuation point?" I asked, "Is there anywhere else we can go to?"
"Yes. As far as I know, that's the only place."
So they didn't know about the Takagi house. I thought as much.
Communication had been severed since the outbreak, so it was hard to gather accurate information. The police at the bridge had failed to protect people, so I didn't expect much from them.
"Alright." I nodded and gave him a small smile. "Thank you for the information. We'll be on our way. Please be careful on your journey."
"Hey! Wait a minute." He said, stopping me once again.
Because he showed concern, I tried not to get angry and asked him.
"Is there anything more?"
"That sword, where did you get it? It's too dangerous for a high school boy like you to use that thing. Give it to us adults and I'll protect both of you."
I frowned at his demand. "No, thank you. We are capable of defending ourselves."
The man sighed heavily, shaking his head. "It's for your own good. Kids really like to be a hero nowadays. Give the sword to us and we'll protect you two."
"No, thank you. I have no reason to give my weapon to you. We are leaving now." I said firmly. My grip on the hilt tightened as I felt the need to unsheathe it.
"Don't say I didn't warn you."
He said so but didn't try to do anything. I nodded at Saeko and we left the scene.
'That was close.'
I was ready to slice them if they did something weird. Fortunately, they were sane enough to let us go.
We didn't head back immediately but walked around to ensure the three police didn't follow us.
Thankfully, they didn't. I guess they were still sane and only tried to act nicely. They weren't the type that would attack us in this situation, but I didn't trust them enough to lower my guard.
"Do you want to check the car?" Saeko asked, stopping in front of the burned vehicle.
I looked at it for a moment before nodding. "Sure."
There was a chance that there was something valuable inside the car. It was best to check, even if we found nothing.
We walked over to the wrecked vehicle. The smell of burnt rubber and plastic was overwhelming.
Just like its appearance, everything inside was burnt and charred beyond recognition. The only thing that remained in one piece was the driver's body.
"Nothing useful here." I commented and turned away, "Let's head back. We have to move early in the morning to reach a safe place."
Unfortunately, Rika's house wasn't safe enough. It had no one to guard at night and the supply was limited.
I had some supplies in our house, but that would be used for emergencies. Using that early in this apocalypse would defeat the purpose of me gathering them in the first place.
We had to find a better place, a safe place with a large amount of supplies. Something that could last for months, or even years.
'First, we have to meet Takagi Souichiro and ask for his cooperation.'
***
After Daiki left the three police officers, they went to the alley and talked to themselves.
"Are you sure it's here?" The oldest policeman, Ishida, asked his junior.
"Yes, I am pretty sure." The man with the gun, Takahashi, replied. "That was definitely a silenced gunshot, probably a sniper rifle. The muzzle flash was too small for an assault rifle."
"I see. I didn't notice that. Good job, Takahashi." Ishida praised him. "But are you sure it came from this direction? It could have come from anywhere."
"I have seen a few cases like this in the past. I can tell that the source of the gunshot came from here." Takahashi said confidently.
"I trust you, Takahashi!" The third policeman, Yamazaki, chimed in. "You are the best shooter in our police station!"
"Thanks, Yamazaki." Takahashi said with a smile. "As a police, we need to secure this gun to protect the civilians."
"I know that." Ishida nodded and looked around. "Will the owner be willing to hand us the gun?"
"I will persuade him." Takahashi replied, tapping his gun. "If he's not willing to cooperate, then we will have a little talk."
"Good." Ishida nodded. "Let's move quickly. I want to get there before the sun rises."
And so, the police moved carefully. Their destination was a rich neighborhood, at one of the houses.
***
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