The hunt

'Oh no,' Frank threw up his gun inside the trench and fired on them.

Dust exploded everywhere partially blinding them. He leapt out, ran toward the crew and ripped and slashed at men's bodies with his claws.

Zipporah swung a chainsaw at a man. He dodged it and others gripped his arms. He screamed when she pushed the chainsaw against him.

'AHHH!'

The zombies followed suit and circled them like lions.

A man tried to reverse the forklift out of the way, three jumped inside devouring him.

'Shit!' Frank cursed again.

More went after him regardless of the loose branches.

He shot at the tires of the buggy and they lessened.

[Stat]

Strength: 14

Agility: 16

Sense: 25

Vitality: 17

Dexterity: 17

Intelligence: 12

remaining stat point: +600

He found an injured man crawling away. He had to build an army, which meant every soldier counted.

The lumberjack who had a chunk of flesh bitten off from his neck and a painfully twisted leg pulled back to a tree. He shook his head.

Frank walked closer. A grin spread across his face. 'Hehehe'

'No, please.' The poor man raised a shaky hand.

He laughed when his skin turned grey. Veins extended up his arms to his neck and face. His eyes decayed to whites and he stood up mindlessly crawling to join the horde.

Frank smiled victoriously.

'What do we do now?' Zipporah Tate said holding up the chainsaw. It was dripping with blood and a human hand was wedged in the teeth.

Frank took up an ID Card from the dead man's pocket.

'We wait for explorers'

...

Agamemnon rose upright from his chair,

He was twenty-four years old and he ruled over the central station in Stalios.

He had well-trimmed blond hair, dark green eyes, a cut handsome face, he had white skin. He wore a brown leather tunic with fleece collars, belt straps, black pants and boots.

He thumped his foot when a maiden fearfully reached up.

He ignored her.

'Status reports'

'Sir, we are in dire need of construction supplies. The quota for importing metal is rising extensively. We can't continue to purchase weapons if the government are setting the bar too high'

He listened to another female councilman.

Agamemnon Shane wiped his chin.

'We're low on ammo.'

He imagined the country being low on stock. All because they had more pests to deal with. He growled. 'Well, send the iron workers out, have them gather as many scraps as possible, solder them and make more weapons_"

'But with what, to go out there, they will require arms too.'

His eyebrow quirked.

***

Frank stepped one foot after the other in the igneous rock field, he was tired of trying to round them up. He counted the men they augmented in the ambush.

Only five men were turned. The others were devoured entirely.

He grimaced at the ones hanging inside the nets. Limbs and ashes were scattered inside, it looked like a spider left its prey in a cocoon.

A zombie's head was also caught in a bear trap.

'Idiots'

He sat back uneasy and impatient. He missed his old life.

'One last run'

His vision narrowed and his head nodded. He jolted up. He did not trust anyone. He clung to his rifle. The sooner he got to eat, the better. He slept off.

His agility stat points reduced after that run.

He shook his head.

'You should rest' said Zipporah.

He was unsettled by her concern.

He should take her out too. 'This is how I rest! So don't bother me!'

Zipporah Tate winced and then frowned. 'Yes, sir' She eyed him and sulked.

He looked around the side of the building. 'I hear them coming.'

The scouts surveyed the grounds.

The scout on a tank searched with torchlight on his gun, others went on foot.

Slowly, one of them turned to a crevice where flies were.

Agamemnon dismounted his horse, his blond hair drifted in the breeze, he frowned and stepped forward and inside the crevice. Tentatively, he flashed a torchlight at the walls.

Blood was all over the walls, the enclosed space reeked of dried blood. The slightest smell of decay lingered in the air.

He grimaced at the eyeball on the floor.

The dead scout's mouth region under his helmet was hollow. So was his stomach. The other one was just bones and pieces of meat. The beetles fed on the remains.

He flapped his hand over his face.

'Search the other ones' He said.

'Their weapons are missing'

There were a few troopers outside who wielded spears and metal bows ready to strike.

....

Ding!

{ You have gained enough bonus points to level up }

{ Stat points will be reset in 5 minutes }

You have gained a new title: The deathly forerunner.

Frank smiled in gratification. Then he signalled the zombies to fall back.

Some with strength dragged the logs away from the entrance. Others took the bodies.

ZZZZZZZZZ!

'Keep it steady if you can' He said to Zipporah while watching from the log.

Zipporah's eyes flashed angrily at him. 'Yes sir'

The chainsaw buzzed momentarily as she drew the string and swiped it at him.

'Sorry, poor mastery'

WHIIIIIIIIIRRRRR!!!!

Agamemnon gazed ahead at the grove when he heard that buzz. 'Who's there?'

'Just a few lumberjacks. Is all.' He glared at him and the guard shrunk.

'We'll be having some logs delivered soon. Rest assured' He gulped.

He took flight on his horse past the shore.

***

Frank noticed that the scouts were forthcoming. He grinned and walked lamely to a corner. He got a scent on more humans. His mouth watered.

'Perfect. Do not wreak carnage unless I say so'

She clenched her fists and he realized something had to be done about her half rotten fingers.

She nodded.

'Good'

Cedric the older man hobbled around him while he left.

He sensed humans coming and his mouth watered. He could count up to eight of them. A poor family on a wagon.

From afar, the scouts met them halfway at the boundaries questioning them. He smirked at the odds today. 'Go!'

He ran at full speed and ripped off the man's arm, slashed the wife's neck and degutted the children.

The scouts shot sporadically and he snarled lifting a man by his vest. He used his body as a shield trotting toward them and rammed them down like bowling pins.

The last born child paled at more zombies arising. Screaming at them as they gathered her.

Frank used the end of the gun to whack a Scout's head, thereby displacing his neck.

He hobbled to his knees while the others shot him.

'We need back-up_alert we need_ACK!' Frank stabbed his throat and took out his voice box. He dropped on his knees, his eyes trembled and he fell face flat on the sand...

{ Hp: low } The system said.

His Hp stats flashed red before his eyes and his chest was splintered by the shots.

'Ah!'

He heard a shrill scream like a banshee's.

Zipporah stepped up and jumped on one putting her bony fingers into his eyes.

AHHH!

He screamed and threw her off.

She fell over but she put up with his mask.

He dropped on his knees writhing in agony.

Frank's tongue traced his chapped lips. He groaned when Zipporah screamed so loud that the scouts were forced to yield. Grinding their teeth.

The other zombie scout infected them with his bite and attacked one of his mates, tearing an arm off his body and eating off his neck.

Frank stood up dizzy and staggered. He looked straight at Zipporah when she offered a hand.

'Get outta the way' He pushed her aside.

{ You have sustained maximum damage }

He heard a cry and looked right at a wagon, There was newborn inside crying. His head tilted in sympathy at its pink, moist pudgy face. He lifted it up by the arms and it cried even harder.

His expression hardened and his claws dug into its skin until it was shattered into pieces. Then he swallowed the flesh whole and threw away the tender bones.

'Nourishing'

Zipporah held her hands together. Unsettled.

MRRHHHH

The scouts rose after they were zombified and moved to Frank. He stood back and smiled at the crew's increasing number.

One hopped on his broken leg. Another who looked like a shrunken head with a body contorted by.

'We need more people to overwhelm the city.' He said. 'I say we head north'