A Dead Welcome[4]

"Ah fuck...."

A creaking sound came from his bed...

Atlas turned around and found the body of his landlord slowly get up like some kind of contortionist.

"Kaaaahhhhh!!!"

It screamed and rushed towards his.

"AAAAHHHH ZOMBIEE!!"

Only to flop over, twisting its ankle.

"..."

'Forgot that old man was like 70'

"Phew... man that scared me!"

Atlas kicked the zombie on the floor.

"Hahhah, you're just a weak ol' zombie"

He then felt something touched his foot.

"AAAHHHH!!! ITS SUCKING ON MY FOOOOOT!!!"

He kicked the zombie away, being left with a slight 'biting' sensation on his foot.

Atlas looked down to see teeth stuck on his foot, chomping on his toes.

"Eewwww... Forgot that old man had fake teeth"

He kicked away the fake teeth, which clattered away to the side.

"Now what was that sounds outside?"

He turned around, more serious than before.

He chose to ignore the nibbling on his foot and looked through the eye hole.

A corpse in front of his door, or so it seemed.

"Is it another zombie?"

He slowly opened his door and crouched down.

He poked the body with a knife.

"Hey, you awake?"

*Poke Poke*

"You alive?"

It groaned.

Atlas flinched back slightly, getting on his guard.

His other hand by his gun and the grip on the knife tightening.

"Help me..."

"Well ofcourse I am"

Atlas shrugged recognizing the voice.

"Damn Barley, you must've had a good time"

"Stop calling me that..."

Barley groaned in pain and turned over, lying on his back.

He had black hair over his brown eyes, the red sporadically splattered on his clothes contrasted with the black color.

"I have no reason to help you ya'know"

Atlas casually played with his knife. The nonchalant act he so enjoyed to play accompanied him.

"You know I have clues to your past... to the time before... so why aren't you curious...?"

Barley questioned; this fact had bothered his for years.

"I have no reason to dig up my past. It holds no weight in my heart"

Atlas smiled with his eyes.

"Dammit... so you really won't help me out? Even for old times' sake?"

Atlas closed his eyes for a second.

'Maybe... just to clear up any favours I might owe him...'

He knew Barley would survive somehow; he wasn't one to die so easily, otherwise he wouldn't have met him.

"Alright, but I'll only give a first aid. That should make us even."

Barley furrowed his brows.

"Only a kit? Nothing more? Damn, so I guess our friendship really means nothing huh?"

"What friendship? Take what you can get."

Atlas scoffed.

He casually walked back into his apartment. His socks were slightly wet.

He kicked the landlord away on the way to his bathroom.

"Who's that?"

Barley asked, staggering his way into the room.

"The old man"

"Wha?? That's him!?"

Barley was astonished.

"He got killed by a... go- a green creature"

Atlas wanted to say goblin but Barley always made fun of his interest of fantasy stories.

"Yeah, those damned creatures also messed me up pretty bad"

"They should've also scarred that pretty face if yours"

Atlas remarked.

'If even he got this injured by this many that must there should be alot of them around here, otherwise 1 isn't. too strong'

He opened the bathroom cabinet, inside of which had a first aid kit.

'He won't kill me; he isn't the type to do that. But maybe he'll use me as bait for the goblins.. Are they even goblins?'

He turned around to Barley only to see him screaming on the top of his lungs.

"-MY FACE!"

'Oh yeah, I forgot about his complex'

"Alright alright, stop screaming"

The heaving Barley calmed down slightly.

"Here, catch!" Atlas tossed the first aid kit.

"Ahh, how dare you throw such a heavy thing at an injured person!"

"Shut up"

Atlas didn't want to hear his voice anymore.

Atlas caressed the gun on his side while eyeing Barley from the side.

"So... how many of them were there?"

"How many what? Those things?"

"Yeah!" Atlas shouted from his bedroom, gathering things he tought might be useful.

"Atlast 50"

Atlas paused.

"Are you sure?"

"Yep, otherwise I wouldn't have come here at all"

Atlas nodded his head slowly.

'Shit! That's way more than I anticipated'

"Also, the noise coming from downstairs must be them"

"WHAT!?!"

Atlas turned around in a hurry.

"Welp, I must be off now!"

Barley, by the window, waved at Atlas.

"Goodluck dealing with them!"

He disappeared in a blur.

"Ah fuck!"

He concentrated on his ears.

A slight rumbling came from below, weird high pitched sounds and...

"Are they fighting with each other?"

He distinctly heard fighting from down there.

And the sound of them rushing up.

"Shit, I can't stay here"

Atlas rushed out of the apartment, looking down the stairs.

On the floor just below, a dozen goblins were running up.