Our journey continued and everything was going well despite our pace being slow.

  It took us around a week to get to the ruins of a big city. The place was crawling with the undead, but given the dark clouds approaching in the sky, we decided to take refuge there. The question was where to.

  The time, according to the watch Raven gave me, was a quarter to one p.m.

  We didn’t have time for our lunch break, but even if we did, we decided to skip one meal a day. Eating twice a day left me feeling a bit peckish, but it was tolerable.

  We were behind schedule on our travel and the food we had left might be insufficient, even adding the provisions we took from the raiders long ago.

  On that particular day, we all wore jackets as there was a moderate wind and the weather was relatively cold for a summer day.

  There were more scavenger birds than usual loitering around, looking for any leftovers there might be. This might have been the biggest ruins we’ve visited thus far.

  The large number of undead proved my prediction. Some of them moved around, others stayed still and third were lying on the ground. Often, they growled.

  Nature had taken parts of the city, growing its thick greenery whenever it could, but its spread wasn’t that deep into the city. Most of the buildings were damaged and some had fallen. A few rusty cars were around the city, some upside down, others on the cracked roads, while third were crashed into other vehicles or structures.

  All of the above combined complicated the question of where we should take refuge.

  “Let’s hear your ideas and let’s have a majority vote,” I proposed as I was uncertain where the best place would be.

  We were hiding behind a building in an alleyway after we had silently taken down the few undead in it and kept an eye out for any enemy movement.

  “Having the high ground always helps,” Roosevelt proposed.

  “I don’t trust those half-fallen buildings. I’d rather stay in a basement than be in constant fear of falling down,” Lily objected.

  “Anywhere but the streets. Unless we take care of all the zombies,” Raven shared his wisdom.

  I nearly said ‘No shit, Sherlock’, but kept it in me.

  “I’d rather go into a building than a dark place. At least in the light we could see all the danger there is,” was Leo’s opinion.

  “I’ll have to agree. We cannot know how big an underground place could be,” Rich added.

  Raven didn’t say anything else, but hearing the others’ opinions, I decided.

  “Let’s go to a high place. That way, we could see what would be happening around us. Now, where to?” I said and started looking for a suitable place.

  We climbed one of the more stable-looking buildings near us for a better view.

  “Do we have binoculars?” Raven asked suddenly.

  “No, why?” Roosevelt asked him.

  “Look there,” he pointed with his index finger, “I think I saw the glint of a sniper rifle in that building.”

  “Let’s try to get their attention?” Leo proposed, but his voice showed his uncertainty.

  After our previous encounter with humans, we all developed trust issues with strangers.

  “After our last experience with other humans? I’d rather pass,” Rich objected.

  “I think they already spotted us,” Roosevelt said.

  I looked at the said building. It was a few miles away from where we were. It might have taken us a few minutes to get there, but as we had to move stealthily, we might need at least half an hour.

  The building had more than one floor. At the rooftop, someone well-hidden was giving us repeatable light signals.

  “What are they doing?” I wondered.

  “Three short, three long, three short, three short, three long… SOS signal?” Raven told us.

  “It does look like one,” Lily agreed.

  “It most certainly is. But whether it is true or a false one?” Roosevelt also agreed, but was wary of the strangers.

  “Let’s go check them,” I said and gave a thumbs up for the person to see.

  I was going to be on guard if we met them. I didn’t want to repeat my last mistake, but running from the people we encountered wasn’t an option.

  I wasn’t certain if they managed to see me, but they stopped glinting and we started to move slowly and cautiously towards them.

  Due to the outrageous number of undead, going there wasn’t easy.

  In fact, we had a few close calls. We even got spotted once!

  Then we managed to hide away until the group of undead that spotted us got close enough for Raven to break the necks of a few of them. Lily and Roosevelt assassinated the ones focusing on him and we moved away before other undead came from the noise of the battle.

  By the time more undead came, we were already gone. Still, we barely managed to get away with a few seconds to spare! Good job, team!

  If a single or up to three undead were in our way, we took them down silently from behind or in close quarters. We used melee and kept on moving as silently as possible. We didn’t want to create a horde that would chase us.

  Raven sometimes threw objects near the undead to distract them and get them out of our way without a fight. He didn’t want to use it as it wasn’t going to succeed all of the time, but there were no problems thus far.

  After around an hour, we finally had the building near us.

  What we saw wasn’t very pleasant.

  It was a four-story building, but around it, a small horde of Undead was trying to get in or were guarding the perimeter, looking at the upper floors.

  “The heck is this?” Leo cursed.

  “No wonder they wanted help,” Rich slapped his forehead in amazement.

  Both Lily and Roosevelt said nothing, just stared coldly.

  “So, what are we going to do now?” Raven asked me after finishing an undead.

  He didn’t want to have anything to do with this before us. I bet most of us thought like him.

  I was wondering what to do when I saw a person on the rooftop. They were carrying a rifle.

  Was he the one who asked for help?

  I looked at them, then at the horde and back at them.

  He made some facial expressions, but I couldn’t see them well, and shrugged.

  “Maybe we can use this to climb?” Raven pointed at a ladder at the side of the building.

  We could use it to climb up a few floors, but neither the rusty ladder looked safe nor getting there was going to be easy. It was pure stupidity to attempt to take down all the creatures that were besieging the structure.

  “If you really desire to meet with them, I can make a commotion and give you the opportunity to climb,” Raven proposed.

  It was an outrageous idea, but I wanted to hear his wisdom. Maybe it was a safe and foolproof plan.

  “How would you do so?”

  “By becoming a decoy.”

  This didn’t sound safe at all!

  “More precisely?”

  “I will fire my gun, attract their attention and allow them to follow me for a while until you climb. Then I will also come. When you do climb, I would be glad if you were to help me by giving me cover fire.”

  “That’s dangerous!” Lily objected.

  “It does not have to be me. If others want that role, feel free to take it.”

  No one said anything.

  “What if you get overrun?” I asked.

  I know you are strong, but can you fight hundreds of them simultaneously?

  “Then this was my worth.”

  “…”

  “This is only if you want to help them,” he added at the end.

  He was implying that if I were ready to risk his life, we could try.

  I couldn’t reply after such an accusation. He was more important than those strangers, but the people were in a predicament and I couldn’t see an exit for them without our intervention.

  Yet again, risking our lives for people who might be worse than the undead didn’t seem like a good idea.

  I was again looking at the man up there. I was about to turn around and leave them to their fate, but next to him, a woman came. No – a child. They were both armed and were looking at me.

  Why was a child there? What youth must she have had to be in such a predicament? I disliked it when children had to face hardships they shouldn’t have from a young age. I… didn’t want other children to have a sad childhood like me… It always broke my heart.

  I clenched my fists and decided on what we should do. Sorry, everyone. I hope my whim won’t cost us.

  “Let’s help them,” I was firm.

  How could I let an innocent child be in danger?

  “…”

  Most were speechless, Raven included.

  “If that is the case, wait here until I start shooting. Also, do me a favour and carry my backpack,” Raven said while assembling his assault rifle and filling his pockets with magazines.

  After Raven was done, Leo took his backpack and he went somewhere.

  “Mary, what the … This is too dangerous!” Lily scolded me when Raven was nowhere to be seen.

  “I don’t find him pleasant, but even I wouldn’t want him to risk his life like this,” Leo was also discontent with what he was about to do.

  “That’s when you leave alone the fact that we might also get stuck with them,” Rich added.

  Roosevelt made hand gestures towards the people.

  He pointed at them, then at his gun and at the undead.

  They nodded their heads.

  “Since we already decided to go, let’s make sure all of us do so alive,” Roosevelt tried to motivate us.

  “Well, with how tough that bastard is, I bet he’ll be fine,” Lily said.

  She believed in him even if she said it in a mean way. When did they become friends to this extent?

  “True,” Rich agreed while Leo nodded.

  A few minutes later, gunshots were fired from the street opposite where the ladder was.

  The show began.

  All the undead in the vicinity stopped what they were doing and looked at him. The next moment, they all rushed towards him with hungry, bloodshot eyes.

  There were mostly Walkers, but a few Runners here and there sprinted towards him.

  The people from the higher ground gave him supporting fire the second they saw him. They targeted the Runners, as he did.

  Most of the Runners were either killed or sustained enough injuries to neutralise them.

  Raven was firing sparingly, despite it being impossible to miss when they were this close together. From three shots, he killed two undead.

  The Walkers were sluggishly moving their rotting bodies in his direction, roaring and stretching their skinny, wounded arms. When they got within arm’s reach and were about to get him, he ran around.

  He was faster than them and could evade them without much effort. The ones from above shot the zombies that weren’t near him.

  Only the few hidden Runners in the mob of Walkers and the ones joining after they heard the battle were a threat to him. Therefore, they were his priority targets.

  While he was distracting them, the rest of us tried to get near and up the ladder. We did our utmost to be silent. All his efforts would have been in vain if we had been attacked.

  There were close to no undead to get in our way, as every moving thing in the area went after him. As for the few stragglers, we took them down silently.

  I was the second one to climb. Lily went first to check the ladder. She climbed without a problem.

  Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

  The ladder was rusty and occasionally a rung was broken, but I also managed to climb up successfully.

  Soon after me, the others came, leaving only Raven down and fighting valiantly.

  “Get up! We are ready!” I screamed and aimed my gun to support him.

  I started pulling the trigger. I soon realised hitting targets that didn’t move straight towards me in an absent-minded way was this hard.

  Yes, I was hitting, but I took down one every fifth shot – a waste of bullets compared with my teammates and the people from above.

  My raised voice and shots attracted some looks from the undead, but Raven was their biggest priority. They could catch him, but not us.

  With all the cover fire he was given, he didn’t even need to worry about any of the undead behind him. He moved swiftly, evading the few undead in his way or forced his way through.

  Everything was going well and he was next to the ladder. The undead clogged the alleyway and his only way was up.

  He began climbing and everything seemed to be going smoothly until a liquid unexpectedly splashed on the upper end of the ladder just as he reached the midpoint. We were all taken aback.

  I tried to look where the goo came from, but couldn’t find out, as something more troubling took all my attention.

  I heard the sound of metal bending and breaking, but there was also a quiet hissing from where the goo landed. The ladder broke and with it, Raven was falling towards the ground where the undead were waiting for him, their rotten arms stretched out to catch him the moment he fell.

  “Not again…” he lamented and sprang into action.

  In the span of seconds, with fast and precise movements I have yet to see until now from him, he made the ladder do a 180-degree turn and jumped towards the building through the windows.

  ‘Smash’, ‘Clang’.

  I was speechless and impressed, but the worry and fear overtook me.

  “Let’s go after him!” Lily exclaimed, returning me to reality.

  “The ground floor and the one above it are filled with those creatures! We are coming to help you!” the man from the rooftop said.

  We entered the first floor and started dealing with all the undead.

  There were only Walkers, so we had no problems dealing with them despite their number.

  At some point, the others also came and helped us. They were four in total. Two men and two women, one of whom was the child.

  With the pincer attack, the undead were done for.

  After the fast skirmish, the floor was a mess – blood, guts and bodies were everywhere.

  We had no time for greetings and immediately went to the ground level where our compatriot was in danger.

  What we saw there had all of us gobsmacked.

  The entire floor was dyed red. Too many to count undead were already down. What we did on the upper floor compared to this was just a slight painting.

  He was effortlessly dealing with them. He shot their heads, they closed the distance, he ran and repeated. If an undead came too close, it got a kick to its legs, a stab to its neck or a strong knuckle punch.

  He had blood all over him, but showed no fatigue, only annoyance and anger.

  “Stop fucking around and barricade the door!” he exclaimed and awoke us from our gobsmacked state.

  “Blocking the first floor is impossible, but we have the third ready!” one of the others said.

  “Then let’s get a fucking move on!” he said and started to run towards us.

  We covered him and we all were going upwards without much trouble, as only the Walkers were left to chase us.

  After climbing the stairs to the second floor, we crossed the makeshift barricade and the others dropped it down, blocking the incoming undead. We entered through a door and shut it. In the corridor, we all took a breather.

  “Are you all okay?” the man from the rooftop asked while panting slightly.

  Raven grabbed him by the collar the second he was done asking. The movements he showed were fast, precise and full of hostility. It was as if he were a beast, not a human.

  The man’s arms were in the air in a way that showed he was surrendering and he looked confused at Raven’s outburst.

  However, the other three immediately pointed their guns at him with hardened expressions, their fingers on the trigger.

  “Calm down!” I exclaimed to both parties.

  I tried to defuse the situation, but before I could even attempt to do so…

  “Drop your guns,” Lily told them in the most hostile way possible, aiming her gun at them.

  Our side also pointed our firearms at them.

  We were in a stalemate with neither side daring to make the first move.

  If there were a fight between us, there would only be losers.

  “Put them down!” the man who was a foot from the ground ordered.

  They listened to him, albeit reluctantly, some more than others.

  Raven’s rage was reduced and he also dropped him on the ground. Literally.

  The man wasn’t expecting it and fell on his butt.

  “What happened?” Raven asked after calming down, but it was obvious he was still angry.

  “The ladder broke,” Leo said the obvious.

  “No shit,” Raven bit back and stretched his left hand towards Leo.

  Leo took a defensive stance with closed eyes, ready to sustain a punishment, but Raven only retrieved his backpack. Leo sighed with relief.

  Raven is quite scary when angered…

  “We didn’t shoot it down if you think like that,” the man who was now on both feet said and Raven looked at him with one eye, ready to jump him again.

  “A liquid was thrown at us before the ladder fell,” Lily clarified before Raven grabbed the man by the collar again.

  “Liquid? Were any of you splashed?”

  “Yes,” Leo said and showed us his left sleeve, “Why are there holes in my sleeve?”

  “Acid,” Raven said with a cold voice.

  “Acid?” I asked.

  “A Spitter tried to snipe me. Great…”

  ‘Spitter’ is a rare mutation from a specific variant of the Bombers.

  Only the Bomber with acidic fluid may evolve into a Spitter. Unlike the Bombers, they don’t explode, but shoot their acidic insides.

  They are rare, have ‘low’ intellect and lack armour. They are in class ‘Common’.

  They are tall and plump, with slightly longer than usual limbs and fingers and their mouths and teeth are moderately melted due to the acid, despite having some acid resistance as a whole. They prefer to move on all fours, but can also move with their legs.

  They are disgusting to look at. The first time I saw a picture of one, I got nauseous. Their outer skin is melted, swollen, has blisters and many red and dark spots, making any specific body features unrecognisable. Even the mouth is melted into the skin! Disgusting!

  They have a limited amount of “spits” they can throw before wasting all of their stored acidic liquid. The liquid is often colourless, but sometimes it can have a colour. They can shoot larger balls at shorter ranges and smaller spits at longer.

  Over time, they produce more of their inner liquid, but need food.

  On death, if there is any leftover acid, it spills from the body, melting it over time and decaying the place near it.

  They usually try sniping from range while targeting humans or structures.

  On average, their maximum range is 165 yards, but it may vary depending on various conditions.

  They are the marksmen of the undead and one of the most annoying ones. They will run away if one comes too close to them – they have some self-preservation. In urban settings, they hide in buildings, peek, spit, retreat and repeat, while in nature, they use trees, rocks or other objects as cover.

  “Anyway…” the man was trying to say something, but Raven cut him off.

  “Are we done helping you?”

  It was obvious he blamed them for what happened and wanted to get away from them.

  “No.”

  “No? Are you courting death?”

  But shouldn’t I be the one who deserved his rage? It was my decision after all.

  “I meant that we’re thankful for your help, but we weren’t the ones who were in a desperate situation.”

  I see. We risked his life for nothing. If he weren’t mad enough, now he’d be for certain.

  Raven wasn’t the only one who was dissatisfied when he said so.

  “Continue,” I said before we pointed guns at each other again.

  “The ones who need help are the other four from our group. We were forced to divide and it’s them who need a helping hand.”

  “Where are they?” Leo asked.

  “And in what situation are they?” Rich also asked.

  “They are in another building, approximately a kilometre or two away. They are also in a similar situation to ours. The only difference is that we have enough ammunition to fight them off and no food, but they are the opposite.”

  “Why don’t they run?” Lily asked them.

  “Spitters. They are keeping overwatch. If they see us, they spit. If we try to run, they spit. The four of us nearly managed to escape.”

  “I see,” Roosevelt replied and started to think.

  “They are done for,” Raven said in his usual uncaring way.

  “Don’t say that! Big brother won't die!” the child exclaimed with anger.

  “Vanessa, keep quiet!” the man scolded the girl.

  “But!” she tried to retort.

  “No buts,” the big woman spoke for the first time, “Please, excuse her. She’s still young and inexperienced.”

  “Might as well we at least know each other’s names while we’re at it. My name is Roosevelt.”

  “I’m Daniel. It’s nice to meet you.”

  He was the one we saw on the rooftop; he has a medium build, tanned skin and curly dark hair. He was also holding an assault rifle.

  “Vanessa.”

  She was the child. She’s short, slim and her skin is also tanned, but less so compared to her teammates. She has curly, light brown hair. Her weapon is a scoped assault rifle.

  “Nice SG.”

  “…”

  She gave no reply to Raven’s compliment. It was strange of him to give one, even more so when he was in such a bad mood.

  “… Luis.”

  He’s tall and slim. Like the others, his skin is tanned. His hair is dark brown and his weapon is a scoped rifle.

  Was he the one with the light signals?

  “And I’m Valeria. Glad to meet with y’all.”

  She’s a big and tall woman, with muscles that could make men ashamed. She also has rough skin and curly, dark hair. She is holding a light machine gun and belts for her firearm were wrapped around her clothes.

  She was of great help when we had to help Raven.

  All of them wore the Mercenary uniform, but the major colour was grey with a few darker spots here and there.

  Our camouflage was for forest environments, while theirs was for urban settings. No wonder we had a hard time spotting the sniper.

  “I’m Mariana, but please call me Mary.”

  “Lily.”

  “Richard.”

  “Name’s Leonard.”

  “I do not think giving my name is worth the trouble,” Raven replied, annoyed we were getting to know each other.

  You might have just said one word, your “name”, but you decided to say ten. I know you didn’t want to interact with them anymore, but show some manners! I also thought that saying your name was faster.

  “I don’t want to hear the name of such a mean person,” Vanessa said and stuck out her tongue.

  “You are too young to give out your tongue to strangers.”

  “That was unnecessary!” I scolded him, “He’s Raven.”

  “Tch.”

  I was somewhat tolerant of your sexual harassment, but leave the child alone!

  ‘Rumble’.

  We all heard thunder.

  “It might start raining soon,” Valeria said somewhat melancholic.

  “We should go help them while there is no heavy rain. Otherwise, I cannot give you good supporting fire,” Luis said.

  “You have sniper rifles?” Raven asked and for the first time had twinkles in his eyes, while his hostile demeanour was almost gone.

  “We have two, but only one of us is a good marksman,” Daniel replied.

  During our small talk, I contemplated whether helping them further was a good idea.

  We already risked our lives for them. I’d like to help them, but if I were to say it, Raven wouldn’t like it. I had to help them in a way that he’d agree…

  “What’s in it for us if we were to help you?” I asked in a bossy manner with crossed arms – a total contrast with how I usually was.

  “We could share some of our supplies or findings with you,” Daniel proposed.

  “Like? And you better show them,” Raven said.

  “Well, we currently can only show you our weapons. Everything else is with the others…” Valeria continued.

  Raven gave them the death glare.

  “Now, now! Calm down!” Valeria was trying to defuse the situation.

  “You will allow us to take anything or do anything we want from you after we help you,” Raven declared the ultimatum.

  They all looked at each other.

  Raven’s approach was hostile. It showed he didn’t care about them. I wasn’t glad with the way he said it, but it was so like him. I was the one to decide our approach, but I’d let it slide this time.

  “We agree if the condition is reasonable and within our powers,” Daniel replied.

  “But do we agree?” Rich asked me.

  “We do.”

  It was quite the offer and Raven was the one who proposed it. How could I turn it down?

  “How much is the time?” Raven asked me.

  “It’s around quarter past two a.m.,” I replied after checking the time.

  “I’ll be the other sniper,” Raven declared.

  “Is there really a need for a second marksman?” Vanessa asked, “Especially one like him!”

  “You know how to use a sniper rifle?” Roosevelt asked.

  “Long ago, I had to keep watch over an event as a sniper. I don’t remember if I used it. The first few shots might be inaccurate, but after I get used to the gun, it should be fine.”

  “That’s reassuring,” Vanessa mocked.

  “Let’s leave that for later. How are we going to get past all of those?” Rich said while pointing at the window.

  Outside, thousands of undead were waiting and roaring.

  “Tch. So annoying. Both the noise from outside and the ones near us.”

  “Kill them yourself if you don’t like it,” Vanessa retorted.

  The undead who were blocked by the barricade were hitting it and screaming, but were louder than the ones outside.

  Some of the same ones screamed as if the life was getting sucked out of them and I heard… something hitting the barricade heavy. Did a Runner ram it? Futile. The others ignored it, so it mustn’t be a concern.

  “We can try to shoot the ground and redirect their attention and find the chance to run,” Luis proposed.

  “But it will only give us a slight window of opportunity,” Valeria stopped fighting with Raven and joined the discussion.

  “Not all of us will make it out if we do that,” Vanessa added.

  “We have a few grenades left if things become dicey,” Daniel said.

  Weren’t grenades expensive?

  While we were considering what to do, the makeshift barricade used to stop the undead, the door to the stairs, and the wall it was attached to were all broken through by a Brute!

  It was now charging towards us! None of us was prepared for such a move and we were caught unaware, daring not to be in its path!

  The Brute’s charge continued until it hit Leo. After Leo managed to secure a foothold and halt its advance, they began to wrestle, with their lives on the line.

  “Hmph!”

  The charge was now over and both of them were trying to overpower the other.

  Leo was doing his best. Some of his veins popped out and his forehead was a waterfall of sweat!

  By the time we managed to understand what happened, Runners also assaulted us with Walkers closing in behind them.

  The first ones to recover were Lily, Roosevelt, Raven and Luis.

  They targeted the undead while Leo and the Brute were getting closer to the edge of the building. Leo was slowly but surely losing this exchange!

  By the time the rest of us recovered, Raven tried to target the Brute and help Leo, but before he could do anything, Leo did something amazing!

  “HAAAAA!”

  ‘Crash’.

  His loud scream and the sound of breaking glass made most of us turn and look at him.

  He managed to overpower the Brute and threw it out of the window at the last moment!

  Leo’s breathing was heavy and he was sweaty. His face was all red and he looked exhausted.

  I knew you were strong, but I never imagined you doing something like this!

  “Are there any other ways to get out of here?” I asked while shooting some of the undead.

  “The only ones I know of are with the now broken ladder or through all of them,” Daniel said and pointed at the Walkers coming towards us.

  “Any backdoors?”

  “We didn’t have the time to explore much.”

  We either had to find a way out of this place or hold up until all the undead were dealt with.

  “How about we jump?” Leo proposed after recovering some strength.

  “What?” Rich was the first to be gobsmacked, “Isn’t it too high for a safe jump?”

  “It’s at least nine metres! I’m not jumping that!” Vanessa exclaimed.

  I also thought that jumping would be too risky at this height of 30 feet.

  “If we land on the Brute, we should be fine!” Leo continued.

  I went to the nearest window and looked to see what he was talking about. The Brute had fallen and kissed the ground headfirst, dying on the spot. Even if we were to use the corpse as a cushion, there was still a high chance of injury. Falling on the Brute wasn’t much better than on the road or the pavement.

  “What if we do the jump from the second floor?” Raven proposed, and mocked, “Would the little girly be able to jump then? Or is she rather helpless and would need a helping hand?”

  “I can manage on my own. In fact, if you were to jump from here and splatter, I’m sure I’d be able to jump safely on your leftovers!” Vanessa bit back.

  “There is no time for you to quarrel!” Daniel scolded both of them, “What should we do?”

  It felt as if the undead had no end! We kept shooting non-stop, but more were coming!

  I needed advice from him!

  “Can you help me?” I asked Raven.

  “How?”

  “Advice!”

  “Jump from the second floor,” was his reply.

  “Let’s push them,” Roosevelt said calmly yet firmly.

  “Okay, boys and gals, let’s rock! Whatever we decide, we have to move!” Valeria said with excitement after reloading her weapon and started to melt the undead with her rapid-fire gun.

  “Auntie…” Vanessa was unhappy.

  “Shh, dear. If now is not the time to use it, then when?”

  Was the ammo for that particular gun low?

  Every one of her bullets managed to hit an undead, taking it down, while the bullet continued to pierce more undead!

  With our skills and firearms, we managed to advance safely to the first floor, but only Valeria and her machine gun were enough.

  The steps behind us and the ones we walked on were slippery, but it was better than the floor where we “rescued” Raven.

  I thought I had got used to such bloodshed, but I was wrong. Never say never, I suppose.

  We were about to descend to ground level and I was starting to wonder whether we could leave through the front door.

  That was when I saw two Bombers climbing up the stairs… My hope was shattered…

  “Now we really have to jump,” Daniel said with a pale face.

  “Ladies and children last!” shouted Raven and climbed to the first floor with Vanessa running after him.

  What was with him?

  When we came to the “floor of the massacre”, a.k.a. the first floor, the stench of blood and rot was evident. The corpses littered the floor to an extent where we could only step on them. The fresh blood was slippery.

  “Like I’d let you be first!” Vanessa retorted to his earlier remark, sprinted, outran him, or he let her do so, and jumped on top of the Brute’s corpse.

  Around her, there were no threats.

  “Ha! I was faster, old geezer! Wait… Why are you up there?!”

  “I am not a moron. I decided to let a guinea pig test the waters,” he mocked and made a devious smile, “You alive, test subject?”

  Did you have no mercy even to the young? Even from here, I could see that the girl was holding her tears.

  “Let’s go!” Rich reminded us of the impending doom.

  “Girls should go first!” Daniel said.

  “We don’t have time for this. Mary, go!” Lily pushed me on the back.

  “And be fast!” Raven added as he passed me.

  I prepared, physically and mentally, and jumped the height of around 20 feet, without uttering a scream.

  ‘Bop’.

  OW! My butt!

  With the landing on the corpse, the fall was indeed reduced, but not enough to feel no pain.

  As I fell on my bottom, it hurt me… moderately. I stroked it in the hope of the pain going away.

  My butt…

  The next to come was Valeria, her fall shaking the ground and denting the Brute. Lily followed. They really had the girls go first.

  By the time the last woman jumped, we started getting attention from the undead on the streets.

  “Are you ready, gals?” Valeria said while checking her weapon.

  We had to keep the coast clear while the boys were coming one by one.

  I couldn’t see the exact order as there was a more pressing matter, but Raven was the last one.

  He had… let’s say that he had an “explosive” fall. This wasn’t his day…

  When he jumped, there was an explosion. No, two, one immediately after the other.

  I, by instinct, looked up and saw him flying.

  The blast pushed him further than all of us. He flew a few feet past us and did a roll to reduce his fall. It was impressive, but his movement got him right into the embrace of a Walker.

  “Get lost,” he said with a cold voice and punched the undead.

  It flew two feet backwards.

  Before he got overrun, he sprinted to where we were, dodging the ones in his way.

  “Led the way,” I said.

  “Move after me!” Daniel ordered.

  We were mostly running while taking care of the few Runners that were able to catch up.

  Behind us, a swarm of hundreds of undead was chasing us. The growls they made were numerous, but the ones in front were a bigger concern.

  If they got close, we shot them, if they didn’t, we ran past them.

  There were simply too many to fight.