Ride On

The island city of Rokaibo.

I took the time to take a good look at the view of the vast blue waters and the buildings that surrounded the bay side.

From afar, I could see the long bridge connecting this island to the mainland.

Perhaps that could be the reason why the zombies ended up here?

I’ve always walked along this path to school, but I never really thought about how beautiful the city actually was. I didn’t bother to care.

You know that thing where knights let maidens ride on their horses and just breathe in the fresh breeze?

I sat on the motorcycle pondering, with my hands holding on to Perci.

This is almost like a romantic scene.

N-not that we’re in a romance or anything. We’re in the middle of a zombie outbreak right now!

The bad part about this was that you could hear some distant screams and see glimpses of fires breaking out, which ruined the whole immersion process.

The motorcycle stopped all of a sudden, which made me wonder what was going on.

“Um, why did we stop? Did the motor break down or something? Or do you just want to look at the view some more?” I asked.

“I forgot to give you this.”

Perci took something from the handlebars and gave it to me.

“A helmet? Why are you giving me this just now?”

“Safety is important, but it’s not like I had the time to give it to you. I planned on giving it to you once we reached a safe distance.”

“Just wear it yourself.”

“No, I insist that you wear it. It doesn’t sit right with me to use it for myself. I’m not gonna protect myself at the cost of a woman’s own protection.”

“I don’t want to be indebted to you.”

“You don’t need to pay me back anything in return.”

“How do I know you aren’t lying?”

I’ve encountered men who say they don’t ask for anything when they do you favors, but when it suits them well, they’ll guilt trip you someday into doing something for them just because they never asked for anything before.

“I can’t prove it, but I can give you a good reason to wear it. There are plenty of people that seem to hate you, so it’s probably better to conceal your identity with the helmet.”

“You’re pretty smart, huh? Hmph. Fine!”

I snatched the helmet from him and put it on my head.

Ugh, it feels heavy.

“T-thanks,” I muttered quietly.

“What was that?”

“I said thanks! Just know that I won’t owe you anything, ok?!”

“I promise I won’t ask for anything in return.”

I don’t believe in promises, but I have no choice. I’ll reject him if he ever tries to bring it up again anyway.

We got on the motorcycle and continued to go down the road.

“Look! It’s the convenience store, we can stock some supplies there!” I said.

The place was a pretty lonely convenience store by the road and it was mainly used for students who needed easy access to all sorts of supplies without having to go back to the city.

As for why the school was built high above the city, I have no idea. Maybe it has something to do with promoting exercise? It's quite the long walk, you know? At least the road wasn't steep, so any student could easily get used to it.

I wish I learned how to ride a bike though…

Perci parked the motorcycle by the store and proceeded to go inside.

“There doesn’t seem to be anyone inside,” Perci said.

“I guess I’ll leave it to you to collect the supplies,” I said.

“Just wait here. Call me if you need help.”

I sat still and waited for the time to pass.

Ugh..this helmet is so uncomfortable…

I ended up taking it off because I was feeling quite dizzy.

A little while later, I heard the sounds of engines coming from a distance.

“Hahahahahahahahahaha!”

Oh no.

It was coming from 3 motorcycles. The motorcycles on the left and right side had 2 people each and the center motorcycle was a big guy with a bleached pompadour haircut. Obviously, he was the boss.

What luck, it was the delinquent gang of the school.

They all stopped in front of the convenience store and got out of their bikes.

“Oy, oy! It’s that bitch Oriane! What a lucky day!” the boss said. “How are ya doing? Is your ass available at the moment? You wanna have some fun with us?”

“My ass was never available, Ryder,” I looked at him in disgust.

“Eh? What’s with that look? I know you want it. You’ve had the taste of a lot of men, right? Mine’s pretty impressive, I’m sure to rock your world compared to all of them! Maybe you can even take on all of us!”

The gang laughed as they looked at me with lustful gazes.

“You really believe the rumors about me? You’re all idiots as usual.”

“Rumors? I’m pretty sure it’s true. Wouldn’t you say so, Dustin?”

The person he called out to was a boy with spiky orange hair and orange eyes. He had a poor posture, with a slouched back, tucked shoulders and his fingers nervously tapping each other.

A guy with absolutely no confidence in himself.

Dustin looked at me nervously, then looked down on the floor.

“Um, um, um, I’m not sure. I guess?” he muttered.

“Speak louder!”

“Y-yes!”

“Come on, didn’t you use to date her back in the day? I won’t forget how you failed to introduce her to us!”

“I-I’m sorry!”

Ryder’s right. Dustin’s my fourth ex-boyfriend. I still can’t believe I used to find someone like him attractive. He was the type of guy who always followed what I would say and would never take the initiative to do anything. I used to view him as the cute sweet shy guy, but I realized that he was just being used by the delinquents to get close to me. Following their orders. When it really came down to it, he was too afraid to protect me and stand up against his bullies. He left me behind in an instant, which almost led to me losing my virginity to those freaks. I’m thankful a teacher happened to be nearby when it happened.

“Hey Dustin, is it ok if you watch us do it to her? I’m sure it’s fine, right?” Ryder said.

I held the garden cutter in my pocket, ready to strike at any moment.

“Um, n-n-no…..I mean yes! Yes! It’s fine!”

“Feel free to jack off if you want, knowing that your girl is being banged by 4 different guys,” Ryder licked his lips.

“I’m not letting you do that,” I said.

Why are men such dogs? Is all they ever think about is sex? Why can’t they just see me as a person instead of some object to be used for pleasure?

It’s frustrating. I want to kill them so badly. I’m not letting men walk all over me again!

“Wait a minute, boss,” his gangmate said. “Why does she have a motorcycle too? I don’t recall her being able to ride one before.”

“Maybe it’s from another guy?” another said.

“What are you talking about, we’re the only bikers in the school. To think that there’s someone else who can ride one,” the third member replied.

“No, it’s harder to believe that Ori knows how to ride a bike. Is there really someone else who knows how to ride a bike…….ah!” Ryder had a thought in his head.

“There was a boy who recently bought a motorcycle, he was even trying to act all cool with it. Calling it a beautiful horse. That gentle guy! What was his name again?”

“It's ‘gentleman’. Please get it right next time.”

We all looked at the entrance to see Perci holding two bags.

“Oh, so it’s you, Ferdie!” Ryder said.

“It’s Perci.”

“I don’t care!”

Perci walked over to the motorcycle and stood in front of the gang.

“What are you going to do? Are you really going to take on all of us?” Ryder mockingly asked.

I know Perci is capable of taking on fights, but this time, his opponents held bats, crowbars and even knives as weapons. To top it off, his shoulder is injured. How is he planning to beat them?

“Hmph. I have already thought of the best strategy at this moment. I know exactly what I have to do,” Perci smiled confidently.

The best strategy? What could it be?

“Oh really now? Why don’t you show us? It’s five against one! What can you possibly do?”

“Good thing, I left the engine on,” he muttered and smiled at me.

“Huh?”

Perci quickly jumped on the motorcycle and immediately rushed back over to the road.

Ah yes of course, the best strategy is to run away.

I quickly put my helmet back on and looked back.

“H-hey! They’re getting away!”

It took them a second to realize what had happened.

“We were tricked!”

The bikers were just right behind us.

“Tsk, I knew this wouldn’t be easy,” Perci said.

“You’re not getting away!” Ryder said. “We’re the best bikers in this city!”

“I don’t have as much experience as them, so this will be a tough battle. So grab onto me like your life depends on it," Perci told me.

“F-fine!”

I hugged him tightly and squeezed my face.

“This curvy road isn’t ideal for chasedowns! We might fall!” I said.

“HAHAHAHAHAHA! We’re already used to this road, so don’t even bother warning us!” Ryder said.

The gang had finally caught up to us. It’s probably because Perci is trying to be slow and careful.

One of them tried to swing a bat towards Perci, causing him to tilt the motorcycle to the right and expose himself to the other biker.

“WOAH!” I screamed.

The biker beside him tries to swing a crowbar, but Perci kicks it away awkwardly.

Another curve!

Perci somehow managed to drift the motorcycle and keep ourselves on the road.

The rest of the bikers followed, with better drifting techniques.

“I’m no match for them,” Perci said.

“Take this!”

Ryder rams his motorcycle onto us, redirecting our path and kicking us out to the off road.

“WAAAAAAH!” I screamed.

We ended up flying for a moment, then fell back to the ground and ended up taking a shaky shortcut down towards the city.

“We’re going to crash!” I said.

“Hold on to me as tightly as you can!” Perci said.

The motorcycle had finally lost its balance and we both rolled away to escape. I accidentally let go of Perci and ended up flying in the air.

“AHHHHHH!”

Perci rolled over to the ground, then slid across the floor with his feet to catch me in a split second.

I landed on top of him and we both fell on the ground.

The motorcycle crashed onto a building and exploded.

“Ouch!” Perci said.

“Oh! I’m so sorry! I-”

I realized that I was laying right on top of him and my face was close enough to lean in for a kiss.

Even with the visor on, it still made me feel flustered.

“I-I-I…..”

“What is this squishy thing?” Perci asked me.

I suddenly felt a strange groping sensation on my chest.

“N-no! Don’t touch it!” I slapped his hand away.

“I’m very sorry. I didn’t mean to….”

I jumped away from him and looked away feeling like a tomato.

How can this be?!

“P-pervert……” I looked angrily.

What am I saying? It was just an accident….

Yet, I felt this strange sensation in my heart. I couldn't tell if I was supposed to be angry or embarrassed. Or maybe even….

No, these feelings are deceiving me again. It’s all lies.

It’s just the result of an awkward situation, that’s all.

Calm down and be rational.

“I’m really sorry.”

Perci looked at the crash site and dilated his eyelids.

“No…. Llamrei….this can’t be…..”

The bikers were still coming down the hill, so I removed my helmet, limped over to Perci and tapped his shoulder.

“W-we have to go…they’re still going after us.”

“Sorry, I got distracted for a second.”

Perci lifted me on his back again and looked distressed.

Instead of holding a grudge against Perci for touching my chest, I ended up feeling bad for him.

“It’s ok. You worked hard to buy that thing, so it’s ok to cry.”

“I’m good, I just feel really disappointed. We still have to focus on escaping from those bikers,” Perci said.

“Let’s go.”

“Goodbye, Llamrei, my loyal steed.”