Hey guys, Nether Lord Hades here with the second chapter of Crimson Dawn. Well, I don't really have anything to say and I know you guys are itching to read so let's just get this show on the road!
We exit the mall and start moving, checking around corners and keeping alert. Better be safe than sorry.
The alleyway was empty, thankfully. We continue out onto the streets and I take note of the immense number of Infected. There's so many...What's odd, though, is how they're not paying attention to us. We've walked past a couple and They haven't tried attacking us.
We make it in front of a store with music playing outside. I think it used to be a music store or something, the Infected are crowded underneath the speakers.
"What's going on leh?" I whisper to Matt.
"If Left4Dead logic applies here, the Infected are only attracted to sound." He whispers
We continue walking. I'm surprised that we've made it this far without an incident.
SQUECH!
I take that back. I look to my side in time to see PL impale an Infected that seems to have gotten too close.
Nonetheless, we carry on.
After a few more minutes of walking, I break the well-settled silence. "Almost there lah," I point down the street to a tall building. "There's the hotel."
"Finally!" Ben says, a little too loudly.
I shush Ben. "We're almost there lah, shut up can or not?"
Ben smiles cheekily, raising his hands in mock fear and we carry on. I slash a couple Infected in the back of the head with my new axe as we creep to the hotel.
"Here it is!" I exclaim as we approached the hotel.
"Finally, we can relax for a while lah." Matt muttered.
Not wanting the carts to take up valuable space, we leave them outside, taking the supplies inside, beginning to put the bags onto a comfy looking leather couch. When the carts were empty, I swept the place quickly with the girls. The reception itself was fairly large. It looked totally clear, but I wanted to check just in case some of Them had gotten inside or something.
"It's clear, but we should check upstairs 2nd floor lah!" I called out to the others.
"Why not the first floor leh?" Matt questions.
"Because there will probably be nothing there," I reply. "Now come on, let's go."
My friends nod, picking up our bags of supplies and heading for the lifts.
The bloodied elevator doors open smoothly. There weren't any Infected directly in front of the doors, since they're all spread out.
Blood stains the once-lavish carpeting in the lobby. There are some dead bodies on the floor, likely Infected that were killed before their assailants became Infected themselves.
I point to Ben, PL and Matt, then to a horde at the opposite end of the lobby. I then make a throat-slit motion. Ben, PL and Matt nod, going off to do their job.
I motion Catherine to follow me and we sneak up on the Infected crowded around a door nearby.
I make the elimination motion again after pointing to the group. Catherine nods and raises her combat knife. I do the same with my axe, gripping the handle with both hands.
Catherine brings her knife down, splitting a skull open like a water balloon. I swing my battle axe with as much force as possible, the heavy steel blade going right through into the back of an Infected's skull. A small amount of brain matter sprays out, splattering on my T-shirt. A few of the still alive Infected start to turn around.
I glance at Matt to see him struggle with an Infected. What the hell is he doing? Ben has a bit of blood on him, suggesting he killed at least one, but Matt... Seriously?
BAM!
Shit, he shot! Matt, couldn't you have just hit that thing? Oh well, doesn't matter now.
I unsling the M16 with my other hand, flicking off the safety and shouldering the rifle, aiming at the horde in front of me. Peering through the scope, I line up the shot, trying to get as many in the sight as I can.
I squeeze the trigger for a second, firing a couple rounds. Wow, this recoil is strong.
The spent casings lightly thud on the carpet, as do six Infected. Catherine stabs another Infected in the head, caving it's skull in before jumping and flawlessly backflipping over an Infected behind her, her knife piercing the the thing's head from behind as she comes down. The Infected crumples, lifeless.
A few more shots are fired from Matt's rifle.
I grip my axe in my hand before bringing the double-headed blade down on a walking corpse's head. Through the axe, I feel the skull break and some mushy resistance, immediately feeling the Infected go limp beneath me as I pull the blade out.
Catherine seems to be making short work of those Infected over there.
BAM! BAM! BAM!
"Stop shooting can or not?" I shout, turning back to Matt. There's a small pile of dead Infected and Ben in a corner, his shirt and face covered in blood and brain matter.
"And let Them kill Ben?" Matt asks, aiming the L115 at another Infected. "No way lah!"
He pulls the trigger again, causing another Infected to fall. His aim doesn't seem precise, probably since he hasn't used a real gun before, until now.
The hotel's 2nd floor has become a slaughterhouse. There aren't that many Infected left, five from what I've counted. Blood is everywhere, even on the ceiling. I do not want to know how it got up there.
I watch as Pui Leng spin-kicks an Infected, her foot connecting hard with the thing's head, sending it to the ground before plunging her one of her spiked brass knuckles through it's skull.
Another glances around and it seems I was right. Four are still standing, but they won't be for much longer.
I grip the M16's handle with my right hand again, switch the fire selector to semi-auto, and take aim at a lone Infected in the far corner.
I suddenly have a idea. "Hey dumbasses!" The Infected all look at me, now I have their attention.
"What are you waiting for? Shoot lah!" Matt yells.
"Shut up and check on Ben!" I shout back.
My attention returns to the Infected. There's something I want to try, so I start to walk backwards. They need to get lined up for it to work.
It's basic science, I guess. I know that if you fire a projectile and it goes through a target, it will keep going for a while and possibly penetrate another target. Line up four targets in a close row and maybe the bullet will go through them all.
At least the bodies of the Infected seem to be structurally weaker so it might work.
The four all move their heads in roughly the same direction and my finger pulls the trigger.
The bullet leaves the barrel of the rifle and punches through two of the skulls, leaving the other two standing. I quickly pull the trigger again, taking down the remaining undead.
I look around, satisfied by the carnage that we caused and glance at Ben. He looks pale. Pui Leng and Matt seem to be taking care of him, but I haven't got a idea what's wrong.
Catherine and I hurry to the opposite side, where Ben, PL and Matt are.
"What's wrong leh?" I ask, flicking the safety on, then slinging the assault rifle over my shoulder.
"Don't know lah," Matt says. "He wasn't bitten, but..."
"Maybe he's just in shock leh," Catherine hypothesises.
I look at her, an eyebrow raised.
"What do you mean lah?" PL questions.
"Remember what happened last week in school or not? Ben threw up while we were dissecting that frog in science!" Catherine reminds us.
"Ya," I say. "Even when we were watching that Untamed Science documentary about animal births last term, he covered his eyes and totally freaked out remember?"
"How can I forget lah?" Pui Leng laughs.
The elevator to our left suddenly opens and I shoulder the M16.
Inside are two people, Jared Lim and Rachel Lee from our class, blood covers their clothes, some of it spattered on their faces.
The lift's light is flickering and there seems to be blood inside of the lift as well.
I lower the rifle upon recognising them.
"Are you guys bit or not?" I ask.
Rachel is shaking, probably from shock of me pointing my rifle at her earlier. "N-no..."
I look at Jared, who's shaking his head.
"Were you guys on the seventeenth floor?" Matt asks.
Jared nods, coming out of the lift. "Ya, why?"
"Just checking lah," I nod. "The last thing I want is for all of us to be bitten and Turned."
Rachel follows Jared, but she's limping. My eyes lock on to her right leg, which is bleeding. She has a small chunk of flesh ripped out of her lower leg.
"She's infected!" I shout.
Matt grabs my shoulder. "Wah lau! What are you doing leh? We find more survivors and you say one is infected?"
Rachel spins around. "I'm not-" She coughs, blood pooling on the floor.
She stumbles and coughs more.
Jared turns around and grabs her before she can fall on her ass.
"Don't worry," he says, trying reassure her. "You'll be fine lah."
I unsling the rifle and pull it up. "Get away! She's been bit!"
"No!" Jared insists. "She cut her leg while we were running!"
"A cut doesn't take out a chunk of flesh!" I reason.
Matt holds his arm up as I step forward. "Wait leh."
"For what lah? For her to go crazy and bite him?"
"Jared may be telling the truth lah. We should listen." He insists.
I push Matt's arm away and shoulder the rifle.
Rachel's gone limp, so that's not good. The virus has already taken effect.
If I can put a bullet in her head before she goes full on Infected, maybe it'll still work, but Jared is still caressing her body.
"Move out of the way lah!" I shout at Jared.
"She's going to be fine!" he yells back. "Look, she's getting up!"
I swear under my breath and start running forward, the rifle still shouldered. It's uncomfortable to run while aiming a rifle.
Rachel rears her head back. This is my chance. My finger pulls the trigger once more. The muzzle flashes and the bullet flies to meet its target.
She bites him on the arm, causing him to cry out, just before the bullet impales itself into her head.
"Shit!" Jared yells, looking toward his dead friend. "Wah lau! She's dead! You chee bai!"
"Obviously lah," I walked over to Jared. "You should've just said she was bit."
"But..." he groans, pain likely pulsating from the bite. "You would've just shot her!"
"And I ended up doing that! If you had said something, you wouldn't be about to die too!"
PL comes up next to me and gently puts her hand on my shoulder. "You're being a bit too blunt lah."
"I'm just stating the facts, he needs to know." I reply.
No one says anything, silence looming all around us.
"Look, your death's inevitable." I lean down next to Jared. "I can let you suffer and Turn, or end it now."
"There must be some other way!" He must have a very thick skull.
"There's no other way, I'm sorry lah." I state
"You're a fucking prick, go and kill yourself!" Jared shouts, spitting in my face.
Catherine shoots Jared one of her infamous death glares, stepping forward and raising her combat knife, holding the blade to his neck.
"Face it lah! You kena got bit and you're going to Turn!" She continues glaring.
Jared's eyes just stay wide. He doesn't say anything.
"So I'm dead?" he finally asks, sounding defeated.
"About time you understood lah. I promise you, you'll die a man, but I have one question." I stand back up, that way I can shoot when the time comes.
"What's your question lah?" He coughs some more.
"Is anyone still alive on the seventeenth floor or not? Anyone else from our group?"
"Group?"
"The Sec 4 and 5 trip lah."
Jared shakes his head and coughs again, this time throwing up blood as well.
"Everyone's dead?" I ask.
"Can't be lah." Catherine mutters, she was shaking her head in disbelief.
"Rachel and I... We were the only ones to make it to... the lifts..." His breathing is becoming more laboured by the minute. He's probably in agony.
"Don't talk lah, just stay still." I raise the M16's barrel to his head, using only one hand.
"What are you doing leh?" Jared asks.
"Stopping you from becoming one of Them." I answer.
With that last word, I pull the trigger, the bullet going through his skull. Blood sprays onto the surrounding carpet and walls just like it did when I euthanised Rachel less than five minutes ago.
It was silent for a couple minutes, the five of us just standing there, Jared's and Rachel's corpses at our feet.
"What do we do now lah?" Matt asks, finally breaking the silence.
"We need to shower while we can lah." Catherine suggested, sheathing her knife.
PL nodded in agreement.
The girls then proceeded to rush around the floor trying to find a unlocked room. When they found a couple, they walked into two of them and shut the doors.
"Let's check for stuff lah." Matt suggested.
"There's probably something in here leh." I guessed, walking to one of the other unlocked rooms and opening the door.
We entered the room. The room was relevantly small, with a table, chair, mini fridge, a bed, a closet, flat screen TV and bathroom.
"Whoa! Eh guys, over here!" I heard Ben exclaim after a while of searching.
I turned to see him crouched by the cabinet under the TV, full of games and books on one side and on the other, a lot of ammunition, three silencers and a scope. Ben passes me one of the silencers and I slide the silencer onto my M16.
"This one might work with your sniper rifle lah." Ben passes Matt one of the other two silencers, then slotted the last one onto his own gun along with the scope.
Matt takes out his rifle and tries to fit the silencer.
"Seems tight leh, but it might work. We won't know until we try it lah." He said.
"Did you receive any training with guns? You seem to know a lot leh." I say.
"Ya, I went to the Bedok Army camp to take a course last November holidays and was trained by Commander Desmond Kuek himself leh, no kidding one." Ben spoke as he started to load bullets into his gun.
"Whoa, remind me not to get on your bad side." Matt joked.
Ben laughs as he proceeds to sort through the boxes of ammunition. He set out two piles, both fairly large. I looked at the largest pile.
"Can our guns take this ammo or not?" I asked.
"Cannot lah, different type," Ben says. "Our guns can only take the 5.56×45mm NATO cartridges."
"Still a pretty good find lah." Matt says.
"Ya," Ben averts his attention to the games and books. "Too bad They are attracted to sound lah. If not we could have had a good night."
"Ya, it was always fun to get you guys over, play some World of Tanks and watch movies." I agreed.
"Aiyah, we can still have fun lah." Matt said, getting up and walking out the room. He came back into the room with three bottles of soft drinks, biscuits. plastic cups and a foldable chess set under his arm
Ben looked at him, surprised before grinning at me.
"Want a game or not?" He asked me, taking the board and pieces from Matt and setting them down.
"Sure lah." I said, sitting down across from Ben who was still grinning. I couldn't tell if he thought of this as a friendly match or competition, but I knew that he was the school's best player and I was going to have to really think.
Ben moved first and then I did. We kept going back and forth until eventually the game started to get more challenging. I was slightly down on material but had a better position.
Then to my surprise, Ben made a miscalculation and that cost him the game.
He groaned, Matt and I laughing and teasing him. "I got my ass kicked." He complained.
Matt, still laughing, unscrewed one of the soft drink bottles and poured some into each cup. We then clinked the cups together and drank.
"Whoa, this is good." I said.
I took another sip, feeling satisfied. I was usually stressed with the amount of homework and assessments I had since I entered Sec 4 at the beginning of this year before everything went to hell; it felt nice to let all that stress go for a while.
There was a knock on the door before Pui Leng's voice was heard from the other side of the door. "Can we come in or not?"
"Sure lah, come in." I say.
At this, Catherine pushed open the door and the girls walked in, PL closing the door behind her.
"What are you guys doing leh?" Catherine asked.
"You guys just missed it, Ben just got his ass kicked by Ryan at chess." Matt tells them.
"Ha ha, so much for you being school number one!" Catherine teases Ben.
The girls were all wearing looser, more comfortable clothes for sleeping. Catherine had her wet hair loose but her fringe clipped up out of her eyes and was wearing a baggy T-shirt with knee-length pyjama shorts, which showed her lean athletic form quite well, while Pui Leng wore a looser-fitting long sleeved silk shirt with matching silk long pants, wearing her long black hair in a loose ponytail.
"You guys should go shower." Catherine suggests, flopping herself onto the bed.
"Okay then, I'll go first." I say heading for the bathroom, stopping only to collect a pair of my new clothes before walking into the bathroom and locking the door.
Turning on the shower, I strip down to nothing and step in.
Wow, that felt good. I step out of the shower, drying myself off before pulling on a fresh set of sleepwear then walking back out into the actual room.
Catherine was now sitting at the table cleaning her knife, looking up as I came out.
"PL, Ben and Matt leh?" I ask.
"Matt is outside on the balcony, PL is in her room and Ben is showering in my room toilet since you took so damn long lah." She sheaths her knife.
"Thanks." I say, heading to the balcony.
"Whoa, this is crazy leh," Matt hands me the pair of binoculars he had found, having had enough. "Take a look lah."
I take it from him and lift the binoculars to my eyes, focusing on the ground where a mass of people had gathered.
It appeared some kind of riot, or protest the citizens were starting.
"Eh, it's just like that riot at Little India two years ago leh." I say.
"Except worse lah." Matt adds.
"Don't tolerate the tyranny of the military! We strongly condemn this biological weapon, this circulation of a 'Killing Pandemic' developed by our government and military!" The protesters were so loud we could hear them from up here.
"Killing Pandemic?" I questioned.
"I think they're talking about the Infection lah." Matt replied.
I was surprised by this. "Are they serious? Bioweapon my ass! They know that no science can explain why the virus causes Infected people to walk around eating other people!"
"Stupid right?" Catherine stood in the doorway, shaking her head in disbelief.
"Very. They are going to get themselves killed with the amount of noise they're making!" I say, lowering the binoculars.
"Neh'mine lah. Not our problem," Matt stated. "We'll just do what we need to do to survive and try not go insane."
I hand the binoculars to Catherine, having had enough myself and walk back into the room.
Sitting down on the bed, I could only think of what had happened over the past few hours, unable to forget how everything went from normal to hell on earth.
A light knock on the door snaps me out of my thoughts.
"Come in lah," I say.
The door opens, PL and Ben letting themselves in before Pui Leng quietly shuts the door.
PL takes one look at me before crossing the room and sitting on the bed next to me.
"You okay or not?" She breaks the firmly settled silence.
"Ya, I'm fine." I say, not wanting to worry her.
The balcony door slides open as Catherine and Matt step into the room, the binoculars still held in Catherine's hand.
"How?" I ask.
"Getting worse lah," Catherine replies.
"Wah'ppen leh?" PL questions, worried.
"People protesting outside about the Infected, saying they are a killing pandemic, a biological weapon lah." Matt says.
"Wah lau! Are they stupid?!" Pui Leng yells.
"Probably," Catherine briefly cracks a smile before becoming serious again. "It's not our problem so I won't worry too much lah."
"Anyway, we can't do anything even if we wanted to help." I reason.
"True..." Ben mutters.
"What time now leh?" PL wanted to know.
"10:00." I reply, glancing at my watch.
"Okay lah, I'm going to bed." Catherine starts for the door but is stopped by me.
"Do we need a barricade to block Them?" I ask.
"Don't need lah." Catherine states.
"Okay, goodnight then." I say.
"Goodnight lah, see you guys tomorrow." She and PL give me one smile each before walking out of my room and splitting off into their respective rooms down the hall.
"I think I should go too lah," Matt says, heading out the open door. "Come on Ben." Matt and Ben walk out of my room, the door clicking shut behind them.
Sighing, I flick off the lights before getting into bed, letting myself slip into the dark oblivion of sleep.
I woke up as sunlight began to seep into my room. I walked across the room into the bathroom, taking some clean clothes with me. I entered the shower, finding the cold water refreshing.
After about ten minutes I got out, dried myself and got dressed, starting to brush my teeth with a toothbrush and cup I had found sitting on the counter top.
The least we could do is keep hygienic.
I spit out the toothpaste in my mouth and pick up the cup of water. Swishing some water around in my mouth, I spit that out too. I can't imagine what it'd be like without toothpaste. I hold the toothbrush under the tap and rinse it off before walking out of the bathroom, grabbing the M16 and my sling bag as I head for the door.
Slipping on my shoes, I head out to the lobby.
Ben, Matt and the girls were already waiting when I got there. Like me, they were all wearing a new set of fresh clothes and had their weapons with them.
"What now leh?" Pui Leng questions.
"We go up to the seventeenth floor and look for survivors." Matt proposes.
"But Jared said no one made it mah." Catherine reminded us.
"Who knows? There might still be people in the rooms," Ben shrugs.
"Ya, it's worth a try. Come on lah." I press the up button, hearing the lift ding before the doors opened and we stepped in.
Blood and dead bodies greeted us as we stepped out onto the seventeenth floor.
Infected, that I guessed were once our teachers and classmates milled about in the hall, still unaware of our presence.
I unsling my rifle and start firing in an arc, mowing down four Infected. I aim for three heads individually and pull the trigger three times.
Shit, this place is a mess just like the 2nd floor. Brain matter, skull fragments and blood is everywhere.
Taking a look around the hall, it seems that it's actually less bloody than the 2nd floor lift lobby.
Is that an arm? There's a dismembered arm on the floor and I hope Ben doesn't see it or he'll freak out.
I motion for my friends to follow me.
We continue forward, checking the two hallways that are divided by a sort of fork. One seems clear, but the other has blood on the farthest wall that I can see.
"Ben and PL, stay here with Matt. Catherine, follow me."
They nod and slide their weapons out. Ben and Matt flick the safety off their guns.
I start heading down the 'not clear' hall, Catherine right behind me.
The hallway ends in a little common area. The lights aren't flickering, giving us a clear view of what we were up against: Infected, Infected, and more Infected.
Some are looking right at us, but they're making no moves to get us. I think they must be blind or something.
The groups surrounding the outdoor speakers come to mind, giving me an idea.
I motion for Catherine to move back down the hall a little. She shrugs, as if to ask why, but I start walking, regardless. She follows.
"What are you planning lah?" She asks quietly when we get back far enough.
"I'm going to try something, hold on lah."
I need something to throw, something like...That arm. That arm can be thrown. It's not the most practical or hygienic thing, but it's my only choice right now.
I run back to the arm, grab it, and run back to where Catherine was waiting. It's revolting, picking up the limb of a human being. It's just so gross...
"That's disgusting lah!" Catherine pulls a disgusted face as I pass her.
"You got a better idea or not?" I look back to see her shake her head.
I creep up to the room with all the Infected once more, weighing the arm, which is actually a forearm and hand. I should be much more disgusted, I really should.
The open room has several doorways and goes on for about fifteen meters. Maybe ten. Measurements have never been my thing. The Infected seem to be concentrated mainly around the doorway second-closest to me, so I'll just lob this piece of meat at the doorway farthest from me.
I weigh the forearm in my hand once more preparing to throw it. I've got to make sure I don't hit a zombie with this and land it near the doorway.
I aim the makeshift decoy at the doorway and toss, putting a reasonable amount of force into the throw. I watch the piece of human flesh soar above the Infected's heads, landing with a smack on the wall next to the doorway.
I don't know what's going to happen. Hopefully I'm right.
The Infected all turn to face the source of the meaty thud and some start running towards it.
Well, they're all in a crowd, so I guess I could start firing bullets into their heads.
I start pulling the trigger, basically shooting blindly into the mass of Infected. A couple Infected drop dead on the right flank, Catherine was making short work of Them, taking off their heads and limbs, her knife killing anything it touched.
Within about five minutes, all of the Infected are either in a pile in front of the doorway or severed limbs scattered about on the floor.
The door next to the pile of corpses is spattered with blood and peppered with bullet holes.
"What the hell were you trying to do with that arm leh?" Catherine asks.
I hit the M16's mag release as I walk over to her. "Matt told me that the Infected have at least two senses still intact." Thirteen rounds left, not bad.
"Then?" Catherine presses.
"Smell and hearing." I slide the magazine back into the rifle.
She just nods and we continue going through the rooms. All of the doors are open, meaning all the zombies should've been out here. There may be some left in the rooms though.
"You check the left side, I'll check the right lah," Catherine says. She had the same idea as me
She goes off to the right and I walk to the left.
The first room is clear, nothing of interest inside besides an uneaten glazed chocolate doughnut on a table.
I pick it up and walk out, progressing to the second room.
This doughnut's pretty good. The second room has some flowers in it and a black suit hanging in the open wardrobe.
I step into the third room and get a surprising sight. It has an Infected in it, but it's wriggling about on the floor, unable to get up. It's kind of funny, but I manage to contain my laughter.
I walk over to the Infected and raise my foot, curb stomping the Infected's face into next week.
I walk out of that room and turn to the fourth. There's only one more to go after this. Inside is nothing special. Why isn't there anything useful?
I head out of that room, with nothing of use inside and into the last room. Two Infected, male and female, are slowly shuffling towards the door.
I grin and unsling my axe, twisting it in my grip. This is going be interesting.
I run towards the zombie on the right, the guy, and swing upwards. The axe's blade pulverises the Infected's gonads, blood and some other unidentifiable liquids spraying out. I retract the axe and bring it down on his head, the heavy blade shattering the skull upon impact.
That was far more disgusting than it was originally.
The female Infected lunges at me, but I sidestep, causing her to fall. I could stomp her skull, but I'd rather use my axe. I swing, decapitating the zombie and sending its skull into the ceiling. A short burst of blood sprays out from the head and starts to pool from the neck.
I walk back out into the hall and bump right into Catherine. At least I don't have to wait or search for her.
"Should we go further down or not?" She asks.
"You go lah, I'll get Matt, PL and Ben up here."
Catherine nods and I walk back down the hall.
"Hey guys," I call when I reach the area in front of the elevator, but none of them are here. "Where are they leh?" I mutter.
I grip the axe again and head down the hallway designated 'clear' earlier, since Catherine should be fine on her own for a while. I need to find these three.
This hallway is clean, something I like compared to the bloody décor of the lobby and the other hallway. The big room with ten doorways is... Empty. Our rooms are in the next series of rooms down, so maybe they're down there. All of the rooms' doors are open, so I peek into each room as I walk down. Nothing. They must've all went in front of the elevator or in that other open space Catherine and I were in.
I'm near the end of these rooms, and I haven't seen anything unusual so far. Open door, closed door, open do-
Closed door? I walk back to it and press my ear up against the door. I think that's screeching. And footsteps. Rapid footsteps. Sounds like there's an Infected in there.
Jared, you are really full of shit. Calling me a prick...
I slowly open the door, trying not to be too loud. I peek inside in time to see a girl about my age sever an Infected's head clean off its shoulders with a machete.
A second Infected starts make its way towards her but is stopped as the girl brings her machete down on the Infected's head, the Infected meeting the same fate as its comrade as it falls lifelessly to the ground
The girl withdraws her machete from the dead Infected's skull before turning to meet my gaze from where she stood near the bed. She's pretty, lean and athletic.
She wore dark green bermuda shorts, a grey t-shirt and black tactical gloves. A handgun holster containing a SIG P226 hung at her thigh. Her long black hair, tied up in a ponytail was splattered with gore as were her clothes and hiking shoes.
Her features were cold, there was no hint of a smile or any kind of expression around her thin lips.
Only her eyes gave any hint of the what she was feeling, but even those betrayed no emotion at the moment.
"What's your name leh?" I ask.
"Cerina." She replies.
"I'm Ryan." I re-sling my battle axe."Why you were stuck in there with two of Them leh?"
"They got in because I forgot to close the door." Cerina states.
I nod. "I'm going to go get my friends, you coming or not?"
"Don't want lah." Cerina declines.
"Why not? We'll all need each other if we're going to survive."
Cerina gives me a look that could slice through steel. "Why the fuck do I need you?"
"Do you have anything else left?"
Cerina turns away from me, furiously wiping away tears before looking back and meeting my gaze. "Okay."
"Cerina?"
"I'll go lah," She says. "There no point in staying here anyway." She shoulders a black backpack and sheaths the machete, tucking it into her pants pocket.
"Alright then, let's go."
With that, the two of us leave the room and start heading down the hall.
"Did you get bit?" I ask, needing reassurance. Cerina shakes her head, "No lah."
I nodded. "Why are you here?" I found myself asking.
"Hiding from Them," Cerina replied. "You leh?"
"My class and I were on a excursion here, except that all my classmates, other then me and four friends are apparently dead."
Before any of us could say more, the next series of rooms come up and right in front of a door are Matt, Pui Leng and Ben.
"Hey," I say, not raising my volume.
They look up and their eyes widen. "Ryan!" Their eyes then hover over Cerina.
Cerina just shrugs and introduces herself.
I hear rapid footsteps coming from behind Matt and Ben, looking back to see who it is.
I unsling my M16 quickly, pulling it up to my shoulder. I'm not going to flick the safety off yet.
The steps get louder and a person appears. That person is Catherine and she's breathing hard, covered in sweat and blood, knife in hand. I re-sling my rifle.
"Ryan, where'd you go leh?" She then notices Cerina. "Who's that?"
"A survivor." I walk forward. "I found her as I went to get him," I point at Ben, "But he wasn't there. Nor were Matt or PL."
"This side," Catherine points to where she came from, "Is completely clear lah."
"As is the rest of this floor then." I reply.
"What now leh?" Matt asks.
"We should let Cerina here clean up first and get her some clean clothes then see what we should do from there lah." I glance at her.
"Fine with me lah, this blood is getting itchy anyway." Cerina walks over to the lift and presses the down button.
"Wait leh, I need to get something." Pui Leng sprints back down the hallway and returns a few minutes later with her two sheathed hook swords hanging by her waist and her Guandao strapped across her back.
The six of us step inside the now open lift and PL presses the 2nd floor button. While we're waiting, I guess I should reload my rifle for later.
I set the M16 down, opening the box of rifle cartridges and taking out six. After picking up my rifle again and sliding the first cartridge in, my hand accidentally pushes the slide, chambering it. Cerina anxiously looks on as I load the remaining five cartridges into the gun.
The lift doors open, revealing our carnage from yesterday, blood and brain matter splattered all over the floor and walls like some sort of gruesome abstract art.
"Did you guys do this?" Cerina wanted to know as we headed to the rooms.
"Ya, why?" I ask.
"Just wondering lah..." Cerina mutters.
Suddenly, Matt shouts a warning and before any of us could react, Catherine was suddenly taken to the floor as a Infected pounced on her from behind.
We watched on in horror, unable to do anything as the Infected's razor-sharp claws tore at Catherine's arm, brutally tearing at the flesh while she screamed in agony.
I got up, quickly shouldering the M16 and aiming, hitting the safety off before shooting the Infected three times in the head.
Catherine pushed the now-dead Infected off as she struggled to her feet.
"Shit lah!" Catherine mutters as she attempts to stop the bleeding.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw about ten other Infected running straight towards us, probably attracted by the smell of Catherine's blood.
"You guys go, I'll hold the others off lah." PL links her hook swords before unslinging her Guandao.
"No, we fight together." Catherine objects.
"Don't be so-" PL started.
"I'll fight as long as I can stand lah." Catherine unsheathes her combat knife, holding it with her uninjured hand.
"I'm just worried you'll Turn leh..." PL voices her concern.
"She won't lah." Matt interrupts.
"How you know one?" Pui Leng questions, narrowing her gaze.
"If you had watched the news you would know that the disease will only spread by contact from bodily fluids, Catherine wasn't bit so she won't Turn lah." Matt shoulders his rifle as well, aiming it at the incoming horde.
Matt, Ben and I wait for for the Infected to draw a little closer before pulling the trigger, three separate bullets crunching into three separate skulls.
I quickly unstrap my axe and swing at another Infected, the heavy steel blade shattering bone and destroying the brain.
There are only six Infected left standing, and there isn't as much blood as before. This is shaping up nicely.
Another two Infected in sight equals another two dead. I swing the axe upwards, the blade smashing into another Infected's jaw. The Infected gets sent flying backwards, right into Catherine's knife.
I look at PL and she's doing really well, stabbing the double-sided dagger at the end of the hook sword's hilt into their skulls, using the crescent guard to slash at any Infected that got too close and decapitating three in one swing, the second blade scything out in a deadly blur of silver, cleaving through their heads, effectively taking out more than Ben, Matt and I combined.
The last Infected turns and runs towards me, but that's not going to happen for long. Just as I raise my axe to splatter it's brain into the ground, a gunshot sounds out and the Infected crumples, a 5.56mm round embedded in the back of it's right knee.
I glance around before locking eyes with Cerina. She held her machete in one hand and a SAR-21 in the other, the barrel smoking.
I watched as she wielded her machete with extreme skill, stabbing downwards at the helpless Infected while it slowly crawled towards her, moaning.
The machete's blade comes down on the Infected's neck, instantly beheading it, blood spurts from the severed head and neck, pooling on the carpeted floor.
"Why did you have to kill it? I could've done it lah." I told Cerina.
Cerina just shrugs, sheathing the machete and sliding it into her shorts.
That's the end of Chapter 2! Hope you guys enjoyed it and don't forget to review!
NLH out!