Highschool of the Dead 03: Dying is not an option

EPISODE 03: Democracy Under the Dead

Picking up from the last episode, Takashi's group are still inside the faculty room watching lol CMN news, which tells them that the zombie outbreak has become a global phenomenon. Saya declares that it's a pandemic and likens it to the influenza outbreak in Spain in the 1800s as well as the recent flu panic. I wonder which one: bird flu or swine flu? This chapter of the manga was published way before the aHn1 scare so I'm guessing they're talking about the avian flu virus. I'm in Asia but we never had the bird flu in our shores. Lucky. Anyhoo, Shizuka says that this new outbreak they are currently facing is more similar to the Black Death that gripped Europe and killed millions of people. In this episode, they say everything, except the actual word "zombies." So, if this was a pandemic, how do we stop it? If scientists the world over are still puzzling over that question, what the hell can we expect from a bunch of high school kids? So there's your answer. The only adult in this group theorizes that the walking corpses might decompose all on their own but that could take days or months, depending on the season. Either way, none of them are willing to bank on that theory.

Left with no other option, the group decides to push forward. Busujima-senpai ♥ (btw, I'm going to punctuate her name like that from now on) suggests that they move as a team in order to increase their chances for survival. Nobody questions the logic of this. They decide that the easiest way to get to the parking lot is through the front entrance. But to get there, they have to pass through several of "them."

Meanwhile, another group of survivors get surrounded by "them." Fortunately, Takashi's group arrive just in time to save them. With their numbers increased, they all huddle around in the staircase near the lobby, waiting for the first opportunity to slip out. Saya, however, insists that it's no use hiding since "they" have no sense of sight. An annoyed Takashi tells her that if she believes that, then why doesn't she test out her own theory? Well, that shut her up. lol But it's all pretty useless because Takashi ends up going at it alone anyway. The good news is that Saya was right. The bad news is that some people are just clumsy. A student in their group accidentally hits the metal handrail of the stairs with his weapon, making an echoing sound. All over the school, "they" start honing in on the source of the noise.

if death isn't an option, the only other choice left is to RUN

Their cover blown, Takashi gives the order to run. All of them scramble towards the minibus, taking out zombies along the way. Busujima-senpai ♥ !! So cool!

Saya is just no match for those bubbles

even Busujima-senpai ♥ agrees

this is why you don't learn to drive just an automatic

sounds like something from right out of the mouth of Shishio

But just when Takashi's group are about to make their escape, another group of survivors spot them and head their way. Among them is Shido, one of the teachers, and Rei has some really serious issues against him. So much so that she even suggests that they just leave this new group behind. Takashi, of course, will have none of it and holds their ground just long enough for Shido and his students to make it. While they're all busy fighting the zombies that are swarming around them, they don't see Shido deliberately leave an injured student behind.

insert boob joke here

Once inside the bus, a predictable power struggle occurs between Shido's group and Takashi's. Shido is quickly alerted to the fact that there's no leader and so appoints himself as such. This disgusts Rei so much that she voluntarily gets off the bus. Of course, this means that Takashi has to get off the bus as well. But while he tries to convince Rei to keep her patience until they get to the station, a bus filled with "them" careens their way and nearly hits them. The upturned bus blocks the tunnel, which was their way out that road, cutting off Rei and Takashi on the other side. After Takashi tells Busujima-senpai ♥ that they'd rendezvous at the station the next day, the two groups go their separate ways. Takashi and Rei are now left to themselves and have to hurry out of the tunnel. They make it out of there just as the bus explodes. But their troubles don't end there as right after the explosion Takashi gets mauled by a zombie in a helmet. Rei saves him and the two of them soon make it out to the station on the zombie's motorcycle.

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