Tap… Tap… Tap…
The sound of footsteps rushing through the dark and dilapidated streets echoed through the broken and
destroyed building everywhere.
The darkness is too daunting that anyone who runs through this area would feel fear gripping through
their hearts.
"Hah, hah, hah…" Marc painting while running with all his might slightly looks at his back.
What he saw made him break tons of sweat in his forehead.
The large brute that has been chasing him for a while now is still on his tail.
He did not know how he has intimidated this thing, but from the way he sees it, it is actually dead set
into killing him.
"Damn this bastard… Why won't it leave!" he cursed while his eyes darted all over the place.
Suddenly, his eyes caught into something strange in a street corner where he saw a broken building with
dried blood everywhere.
Without hesitation, he quickly turns towards it and then jumps on the broken window.
He rolled on the ground and did not have time to think as he sprinted towards the stairs to the second
floor.
As he runs he could hear the crashing sound following behind him. He did not have time to look back
and could only move forward without hesitation.
"I have to reach the 4th floor…" he muttered as his eyes watch every corner of the stairs.
Suddenly, an ugly head pops out from a corner and his movement suddenly went into slow motion.
His hand grabbed the dagger on his side and without hesitation stabs the temple of the zombie before
him.
He pushes the corpse to the stairs as he lets it falls behind him.
Crash!!!
The sound of something crashing not long later made his mouth smile as he soon reaches the 4th floor.
He looks at the rooftop of the building and found what he has seen from the streets.
It was a long pole which seemed to have been used and left by the construction being done in this
building.
He runs without stopping and grabs the pole. Then with all his might yanks it from the ground.
Thunk!!!
He staggered for a bit before gaining his balance after yanking the long pole.
Then his eyes landed on the dark door before him.
Though it is dark, his eyes has already adapted in the darkness as he could see everything in black and
white.
Though it feels weird, but everything seems as clear as a cloudy day before his eyes.
He focused his senses before him and feels the ground and the sound in his surroundings. He knew that
he only have one shot in this. The brute was too strong and sturdy that he almost lost his life after
deciding to fight it.
Though his broken limbs and torn flesh has recovered, the horror he felt when experiencing the pain
could make him suffer endless nightmares in the future.
Unless he kills the brute, he knew that he would not be able to live.
The stillness of the night lingers in his senses as the cold night wind brushes through his skin. He then
felt the slight tremors from somewhere below him and he knew that the nightmare is fast approaching.
Gripping the broken pole with a broken rusty sharp edge at the end made him feel a bit of comfort in
this troublesome circumstance.
"Now!" his eyes suddenly opened as his grip on the pole tightens.
Then he lifted it up to the side of his head and with all his might threw it.
Swoosh!!!
The flying pole made a slight echoing sound testament to the strength used in hurling it.
As it broke through the air, it flew with the speed of a bullet.
Then suddenly on its path a large head showing a grim expression appears.
The head turns and found its target before it.
It was not aware that an impending doom is fast approaching it with a deadly precision.
Thunk!!!
The sound of metal piercing through flesh reverberated through the air as the pole sunk almost half of
its long body impaling the large head of the brute to the wall.
"Hah… Hah… Hah…" Marc gasps his breath as a slight smile appears on his face.
He has used all of his senses in targeting the head of the brute. From its height to its speed, he has
already computed everything in his brain. And for some reason, he was able to determine the trajectory
he has to take to successfully deliver a deadly ambush on his target.
However, before he could catch his breath, a few ugly head suddenly appear from the stairs.
"Oh man…" he muttered helplessly as he held on his dagger and decided to fight against the incoming
group of zombies.
His figure flashes as he faced the zombies with a grim expression on his face.
…
"What is taking him so long…" muttered Mint as she paces back and forth on the apartment door.
She could not help but feel worried after hearing the growling and commotion happening on the ground
floor.
She wanted to look below but Marc has warned her not to expose her location several times already.
She has experienced how these zombies could locate her after seeing her only once. It's like they have
some kind of radar in their head that once they have seen you, they would chase after you until you die
or they do.
In clearing this apartment building, she had seen such a scene many times, that is why she would not
dare look down.
She could only listen to the increasing growling sound below her as anxiety filled her heart.
She has already grown the dependence in the guy that she knew that she would not be able to live in
this world without his help.
As Mint prayed deep in her heart, she did not notice that the sound below her is slowly receding.
Her eyes landed on the food they have stocked hidden at the side of the bed inside the drawer.
She could not help but walk to the side and take out a bar of chocolate and takes a bite of it.
Then she could not help but sit at the side of the bed and sadly hide her head between her knees.
"Please be well…" she muttered.
For some reason, a peal of tear escaped her eyes drawing a line on her fare cheek and rolling down
before landing on clothes.
Sniff!!! Sniff!!!
…
Meanwhile, Marc slowly picks his aching body showing his tattered clothes filled with blood all over. The
large gaping wounds are closing as he stands up.
"Arrgghh!!!" he groaned as he looks at the carnage around him.
He grabs his knife and without hesitation, began stabbing the dead zombies and collecting the crystals
inside of them. No matter what, he could not waste these crystals as he worked hard for them after all.
After harvesting almost 30, his eyes landed on the brute still impaled on the wall.
He could not help but show a faint smile on his face.
He has killed a brute before but not as big as the one before him. And that one yields a large crystal that
when he touched the surface of it, he could not help but feel a slight tingling sensation coursing through
his body.
As he began to dig through the skull of the brute after setting it down, he saw a dark crystal that is giving
off and ominous feeling in his heart.
He suddenly felt hesitation in his heart. He could not decide whether to touch it or not.
"This one screams danger…" he muttered.
But at the same time, a feeling of longing enters his brain as if being hypnotized by its dark void.
The longer he looks at the crystal still inside the zombie's skull, the more that he is being drawn to it.
Before he knew it, his right hand has already stretched towards the crystal even after his mind scream of
danger.
"Stop!!! Stop!!!" his mind screamed but his body seems to be moving on its own.
Marc has wanted to play it safe even before this apocalyptic event around him happened. He has
worked with different jobs and has earned a lot of money using his brilliant planning for his future.
He has always played it safe in almost every venture that he does, and though it did not cause him
harms… it also did not made him super rich.
Some of his colleagues online always told him that his cautious nature is the only thing that stops him
from getting truly wealthy. He knew that, but still, how could he change himself?
And so, as he reaches towards the zombie crystal, the same cautiousness filled his heart with anxiety as
his fingertips slowly neared the zombie crystal.
Time seems to have suddenly slowed as he noticed something strange happening in the crystal. As his
fingertip closes in the dark surface of the crystal, the void inside the crystal seem to be moving away
from his touch.
"They seemed afraid…" he thought but his tough process could still not stop his fingers from touching
the surface.
As helpless as he felt, he did not resist anymore and decided to be mesmerized by the strange
phenomenon.
He might not know what would happen next, but for some reason… he decided put his trust in his
healing ability.
"Whatever…" is the only thing that he could mutter before his fingertips finally touches the surface of
the crystal.