Chapter 04
“Stanley! Open this door right now!”
“Stanley Parker, open up!”
Neither the coach nor Alex’s words made any difference.
…
6
5
…
“Stan? What are you doing?”
Even Anna Harper, the cheerleader who was supposedly his girlfriend, pleaded with him, but it was no use.
Stanley shook his head firmly and pointed behind us.
…
2
1
[Creatures have been deployed.]
With the message, a group of people in rotting, blue-tinted rags appeared from the direction Stanley was pointing. Zombies, clearly. Where did they suddenly come from?
When we turned back to Stanley, he was shaking his head and gesturing at the frightened kids behind him.
He was making it clear: letting us all back in would risk everyone inside the bus, himself included.
Oh, really? If he’d just opened the door earlier, we’d all already be inside! What a pathetic excuse, you cowardly jerk!
“Stanley Parker! We’re done! It’s over! You trashy piece of garbage!!”
Anna’s cry, filled with fury and grief, was understandable. Her boyfriend had just abandoned her.
“Anna, I know you want to kill your ex, but we need to escape quickly.”
As I grabbed Anna’s shoulder and pulled her, the cheerleading squad hesitated but then agreed.
“Christine’s right. These zombies are faster than they look—we don’t have time to waste.”
Selena assessed.
“How could Stanley do that to you? Ugh, you two fight so much you should just stay broken up. For now, let’s run, okay?”
Jean added.
The zombies, now right in front of us, tilted their heads, sniffed the air, and then started moving even faster!
“Oh, please! I hope these aren’t running zombies. Everyone, run!”
As we started running, the zombie horde also ran.
Right. These are zombies that can run.
“We’re going to get caught.”
Strangely, the coaches were struggling to keep up and falling behind.
No, it was the awakened students who were too fast. The zombies were also incredibly quick.
I was worried. Linda and Coach Bill might die at this rate.
A zombie that had already caught up was about to attack Coach Bill.
[Bella Carpenter uses ‘Focused Shot’. Accuracy increases.]
Bang!
Kuaaaaak!
Fortunately, Bella’s shot blew off the zombie’s head. With a splat, black, sticky blood spread from the shattered skull. But they weren’t out of danger yet.
Was it because I wanted to save the coaches?
[Christine Hilton uses ‘Group Movement Speed Buff’. Allies’ movement speed increases.]
I used the skill. Now I understood how to use it.
But while the students’ speed increased, the coaches kept falling further and further behind.
‘Damn it, does this only work on the awakened?’
“Aaaaaah!”
Coach Bill and Linda’s final screams echoed, followed by the chaotic sounds of zombies swarming over them.
I clenched my jaw and didn’t look back. I had wanted to save those responsible adults, but…
Thanks to my movement speed buff, we could escape faster than the zombie horde. As we ran through the forest, a building-like structure began to appear not far away.
Despite it being afternoon, it was shrouded in a damp fog… It was the Green Lake campground, our destination.
“Let’s take shelter there!”
“Hey! Christine Hilton. What have you been doing since earlier?”
The cheerleading squad leader, Selena Rodriguez, interrupted.
We’d created some distance from the zombie horde and felt somewhat safe, right?
“So, do you have a plan? From what we’ve seen so far, isn’t it more dangerous to go there?”
Since my statement wasn’t wrong, Selena pretended not to hear and continued running ahead with her friends.
Sigh, I shouldn’t expect to change the image of Christine I’ve built. The wall of distrust was too solid.
We arrived at the campground cabin and opened the door.
The cabin door was narrow, so Alex and I had to wait at the back. The kids who entered first were startled again.
Kyaaaaak!
A zombie had been summoned inside the cabin, and the kids started confronting it.
As if that weren’t enough, the zombie horde from the forest was arriving and approaching quickly. They were so fast they seemed about to raid us immediately.
Selena, who discovered this, slammed the cabin door shut and locked it.
Hey! Alex and I are still outside!
For a few seconds, Alex and I looked between the door and the approaching zombies, then exchanged a glance. Without a word, we took off running at the same time.
Alex glanced at me, his expression clear.
Why do I have to be stuck with Christine of all people?
For now, there was no choice but to keep running and put some distance between us and the zombies.
But as we kept running, we were moving farther and farther from the campground.
“I see a warehouse over there. Let’s go there.”
I pointed with my finger, and Alex nodded while running.
“Sure.”
No matter how much movement speed buff we have, we can’t keep running forever.
Since zombies can run fast but don’t have the intelligence to open doors, Alex went ahead.
Having the same movement speed buff, it was natural for Alex, an amateur league player in college, to be fast. He arrived at the warehouse first and opened the door.
I suddenly remembered a horror movie cliché.
“Alex, wait a second!”
But before my warning, Alex had already stepped inside.
Kyaaaaak!
He was attacked by a zombie.
Oh, this is such a typical plot device.
Despite the unexpected ambush, Alex immediately stood his ground.
He slightly dodged the zombie’s body and then used a football-blocking technique to push it outside.
Yeah, your mouth might be rotten, but your body isn’t.
However, Alex’s close contact with the enemy is disadvantageous when fighting zombies.
I immediately cast a defense buff skill and drew out a hunting knife.
And then… more trouble hit.
Kyaaaaak!
There was another zombie inside the shed?!
As Alex pounded the first zombie into a pulp, a second one lunged at him.
‘They’re no longer human, no longer human.’
Trying to convince myself, I attempted to stop the zombie by stabbing its back.
Swish!
Ugh, the sensation of slicing dead flesh was horrifying.
But I couldn’t stop the zombie, in its painless state, from approaching Alex.
Fortunately, the second zombie was small in stature.
With a single swing of his arm, Alex sent it flying quite far.
“Alex! It seems there are no more zombies, so let’s go inside. Before more zombies converge.”
Understanding my intention, Alex immediately jumped in.
We entered the shed and closed the door.
Huff, huff, huff….
The heavy breathing of two people filled the air, the adrenaline from the fight still pumping through us.
We slid down against the door and wall, sitting side by side.
For a while, there was no sound except our ragged breaths.
“Are you hurt?”
I asked worriedly, and Alex met my eyes.
“Why? Worried I might have been bitten by a zombie?”
“…..”
“Like this?”
When he raised his arm, a clear bite mark was visible. Bruises and blood.
“How perceptive.”
With that, Alex lowered his arm and gave a faint smirk.
I couldn’t think of any words of comfort.
“Christine, can I borrow your phone for a moment?”
“Even in a situation where we might die, I’ll still reject giving you my number.”
“That’s not it. Just let me see it for a second.”
Alex casually took my phone from my jeans pocket. Then… he posed to show the bite mark and took a photo.
Returning the phone to me, he said,
“If this weird situation ends and we return home, could you explain things to my brother? In case I can’t go myself.”
Right, Alex had mentioned before that he lived with his older brother after their parents passed away.
“By the way, my brother is—”
I stopped him as he pulled his busted phone out of his back pocket, which was nearly destroyed from the earlier fight.
“Stop! I’ll listen to your quasi-will, but that’s it.”
Family photos are totally a death flag!
We’re not even friends, and I’ve only known you for two weeks, but people dying is seriously the worst.
“Hey, there’s always a chance you won’t die, even if it’s one in a million. Who knows? Maybe you’re immune to the zombie virus or something.”
Alex suddenly stared at me intently.
“You’re not Christine Hilton.”
“What? What are you talking about?”
“The Christine I know wouldn’t just be bad at comforting people—she wouldn’t even try. Back at school, she was like a reptile with high intelligence but no visible emotions. Her eyes only ever showed cold anger when she did show anything at all.”
Wow. This guy was not only blunt but also surprisingly perceptive.
“From what I see, you’re absolutely not Christine.”
Rumble…
Crash!
The thunder striking around the cabin startled me momentarily.
Swoooosh─!!
A downpour began.
Somehow, other zombies had gathered around, casting black shadows on every window. The sight of them pressing their noses against the window gaps and sniffing, searching for us, was spine-chilling.
I couldn’t help but think,
‘Alex…. Why is he weaving such a perfectly textbook death flag? This is too ominous.’
“As expected, it doesn’t matter whether you’re Christine or not if I’m about to die anyway.”
Whether he knew my inner thoughts or not, Alex shrugged and started rummaging around the cabin.
Suddenly, he looked up and spoke to me.
“Let’s not just sit still. Let’s find something that could be used as a weapon.”
It wasn’t a bad suggestion, so I was diligently searching through the warehouse supplies when a crashing sound came from nearby.
Crash!
“The back door!”
The rotten wooden door at the back couldn’t withstand the weight of the zombies pressing against it and gave way.
Zombies rushed in en masse.
Alex dashed forward.
“What are you doing, Alex!”
“While I hold them back, you need to go!”
“B-but—!”
“You need to survive so my brother hears what happened. Just go!”
Something touched my feet.
Peeking through the gaps of an open wooden box, several dart pins had spilled out.
[Beginner’s Dart Pins (F-grade)]
[▸ Worn-out dart set]
[Durability: (100/100)]
[Acquired!]
Thank you for reading! ♡
