Bio Defense ~A City Built in a World That Has Ended~

Chapter 4-4

“Come on, let’s go! It’s her fault for not showing up.”

Kanata, sulking in his seat, spoke those words. Already, they were half an hour past their agreed time.

“But we didn’t tell her directly, right? Maybe there was a mix-up, and the message didn’t get through…”

Subaru, looking troubled, said, but Kanata paid him no attention.

“So, what do we do now? Go back and tell her again? Even if we do, she’s probably not there anymore. She seemed busy, and today she’s probably practicing with some handsome captain or other.”

Kanata was not in the mood to be reasoned with. Subaru, at a loss, turned around to see that Daigo was struggling with something he wanted to say to Tachibana. If he said it, it would likely cause another problem: either accepting that “there’s nothing we can do about it, so we should trust Tachibana and focus on our own tasks,” or deciding to “go after the bastard who did this. Haruka might be in danger! Turn the car around!”

“I can’t say anything!”

Daigo, alone and agonizing, was approached by Matsushiba with a gentle voice.

“Daigo-kun, I’m sorry, but could you leave this to Fumika? I can tell Kanata-kun to do as he pleases, but if he does, he might feel better for now, but later, it will definitely cause a lot of trouble. It will be tough, but later, I and Fumika will apologize to Kanata-kun in any way we can. Could you pretend you didn’t know anything about it?”

“Did you know about this, Grandma?”

Tachibana had told him in secret, and now that Matsushiba had said so, Daigo was at a loss. He promised that he would apologize along with them, and Matsushiba took Daigo’s large hand in both of hers, pressing it to her forehead, and apologized once more.

After about 30 minutes, Matsushiba declared, “Time’s up!” in a bright, joking tone, and they finally set off.

The car, carrying everyone but Haruka, slowly exited the main gate and began its journey towards their destination.

Matsushiba was driving. It was natural, as no one else had a license. Subaru and Daigo expected the atmosphere to be heavy during the journey, but their expectations were quickly proven wrong.

The car carrying the group was driving through the city. They couldn’t go fast, as this area was beyond the reach of the city’s influence, and there were many abandoned vehicles, and infected individuals might emerge from their shadows. The infected were sensitive to sound. This was something they had learned from experience during the panic, and it was common knowledge. With no other loud noises around now, the sound of the car could be heard from quite far away.

As they moved further away from the city, the car’s speed gradually increased.

Even at normal speed, the car was making a lot of noise.

“Hey! Grandma, brake! Ahh!”

They ran over and knocked off the side mirror of an abandoned car.

“Granny, to the right! Infected! Ahh!”

They knocked over the infected who had been attracted by the sound. There were also a few people still using cars for evacuation or moving, and soon they spotted a car near the highway entrance. Matsushiba approached it with full force, sticking close behind and signaling for the car to go faster. Occasionally, she would swerve into the other lane, creating the impression that she was about to overtake, but she never actually did so.

“We’re gonna crash!” Daigo was clinging to his seatbelt in a state of confusion.

It was a classic case of tailgating.

If the police had been there, they would have sounded their sirens and rushed over. The driver of the car in front was acting suspiciously, repeatedly checking the rearview mirror.

Matsushiba, for her part, muttered, “I’ve always been bad at overtaking. It’s hard to find the right timing.”

“Huh, I feel like I’m gonna throw up…” Kanata, in the back seat, was barely holding on as the car swerved to avoid obstacles and infected individuals, and ever since they started tailgating the car in front, Matsushiba had been slamming on the brakes and accelerating suddenly, causing Kanata’s body to lurch right, left, forward, and back.

Fortunately, the car in front eventually turned off. They had raced through the city and onto the highway, but even there, they spotted abandoned vehicles and possibly infected individuals who might have been in those cars.

Realizing that they couldn’t keep up this pace, everyone agreed and asked Matsushiba to stop at the nearest service area.

Matsushiba had been in high spirits while driving, but she relented and pulled into the SA as everyone requested.

“Modern cars sure run well, and the steering is so light and smooth,”

Matsushiba said as she stopped the car, but the passengers, including Kanata, were not amused.

“Hey, Grandma, when was the last time you drove a car?”

Subaru, with his face out the window, enjoying the wind, asked. After a moment’s thought, Matsushiba replied,

“Hmm, it was when Grandpa was still alive… no, it was before we got married. I didn’t have this either,”

She said, pointing to the power window switch.

“To be honest, this is the first time I’ve driven this car.”

She laughed as she pointed to the automatic gearshift.

“Hey, Subaru-kun, can you drive a car?”

Daigo, lying face-down on the dashboard in the front seat, asked.

“I can, but the only time I’ve driven is between home and the fields…”

“But… can you drive safely?”

“Yeah…”

Subaru’s family was a full-time farming family, and he was often called upon to help out. In a large farm like theirs, agricultural machinery and light trucks were essential, and although Subaru didn’t have a license, he had learned to drive. As he said, he often drove between home and the fields, or moved a loaded vehicle a short distance during work, and it was more efficient for helpers to do these tasks themselves.

In truth, it probably wasn’t a good idea, but Subaru often drove tractors and light trucks on private property, using the excuse that it was within their land.

Kanata and the others hadn’t expected Daigo to propose unlicensed driving on public roads, but considering everything that had happened, Daigo, who had been riding in the front seat, must have been terrified. They agreed and gave their consent.

Still, they felt a little bad about proposing this to Matsushiba, who had been enjoying driving.

“Come to think of it, Grandpa also hated it when I drove. No matter how tired he was, he insisted on driving himself.”

She readily agreed, surprisingly easily. Now, she was in the back seat, feeding her favorite, Daigo.

“Hey, Grandma, we’re getting off at Mima, right?”

As they drove slowly but safely, they spotted a sign that read “Mima 2km.” It was a place name they had heard about beforehand, so they confirmed it.

“Yes, that’s right. If you get off at Mima, I’ll show you the way from there,”

Matsushiba said, leaning forward from the back seat. Everyone was relieved that she didn’t say anything about driving herself, but they were also a little worried that she seemed to have taken a liking to sitting next to Daigo.

From Kanata and the others’ perspective, sitting next to the large Daigo was a bit cramped, but Matsushiba seemed to like it, saying, “It’s nice to have the sense of security.”

They decided to use Daigo as a human sacrifice, a weight to seal away Matsushiba’s dangerous driving. Subaru and Kanata nodded to each other, and Daigo responded with a determined expression. It was a moment when their plans came together.