Chapter 18
An overbearingly strong stench hung in the air. It had always been present, but it was easy to overlook. Now it hit with full intensity. Arthur could literally see miasma escaping from the bodies of the undead.
'The presence of these beings could knock someone out.'
As if replying to his thoughts, a system screen popped up before him.
[ Fatigue: 5% ]
'Classic.'
Lifting all twenty-nine convulsing bodies, Arthur yawned.
"Do it quickly, what are you waiting for?" a student beside him said, looking fearfully at the horde of zombies situated outside the hall.
It was night time. In fact, it had been night for quite a while now. Arthur and the others had decided to have some night's rest, but everyone had woken up hours earlier feeling refreshed.
The day before had been longer as well; however, Arthur didn't notice because of the events taking place. While others woke up naturally, Arthur had been woken up when the bodies of the adults started moving.
This didn't alarm Arthur in the slightest. The strongest zombie would probably be the principal, since she was an awakened. The rest would be level one zombies.
However, the bodies were merely convulsing. So to avoid a battle, they had to be dealt with quickly. Arthur was assigned to that role, since he was the one who executed them.
Standing close to the second outside window, the barricade was slowly being removed. Arthur was then left to stare at the groaning zombies trying fruitlessly to grab hold of him.
He was already getting quite sick from the mere sight of them. Every time he encountered zombies, it was to kill them and move on. Now he was forced to stand still and observe them closely.
Their pale white bodies twitched unnaturally. Some parts were missing huge chunks of flesh. Their eyes were fully grey, stained with blood, and their clothes were torn into ragged pieces.
They smelled like rotting corpses, mixed with an acidic miasma that seeped from their constantly open mouths.
Could a normal human even stand here and watch this?
'It's almost dawn. Thankfully, that still exists.'
Stepping forward, he leaned closer to the multitude of outstretched hands.
'Disgusting.'
Rising, he pointed at the horde, and the mutating adults shot forward like cannonballs into the crowd.
[ You Have Slain A Level One Zombie ]
[ Your Essence Grows Darker ]
'I even killed one. I am really getting better at force manipulation.'
Signaling the awakeners close by, they began barricading the window again. He turned and met Peter and some others walking up to him.
"Why is your expression still so bitter toward me? I did you a favour. You should be grateful for it," Arthur said with a mocking smile.
Peter's expression twisted into disgust.
"I am surprised how you don't feel remorse after what you did."
"Remorse is for the weak. If it pleases you, just know that I also find your righteousness quite amusing," Arthur replied, walking past him.
"The favour is done. Call me if something important happens."
"Was he always like this?" a girl standing with Peter asked.
"I wasn't close to him. I just know him as someone who liked the pain of others," another boy said with a snort.
"I wonder why those guys decided to follow him."
Peter turned away from Arthur, who was disappearing into the subtle darkness, and looked at the window he had just used.
"I wonder too."
Reaching his quadrant, Arthur found Marcus distributing snacks to everyone.
"Arthur, here. Have a cracker. The principal got it from some shops nearby."
Taking the pack of crackers, he said, "No wonder she kept talking about resources. I was preparing to venture outside in search of food and clothes."
"We would have to do that soon. The entire hall shared all the snacks present. Unsurprisingly, everyone received only a single item. Some people in Peter's quadrant received chocolate bars," Marcus explained, handing a pack to a disheveled girl.
Her hands quivered as she received it.
'Is she here by mistake? Probably suffering from shock.'
"Well, I am going into the middle school today. When I am back, we can discuss getting food. Clothes would have to wait," Arthur said.
Arthur walked over to the four chairs they had.
"Tell Ethan to find and send over a healer. I need to get going," he said, sitting down and massaging his arms.
'Even I stink. Hygiene is going to be a problem. How long can I last without a bath.'
"Sir?"
Arthur looked up and met a girl staring timidly at him.
"Yes," he replied, already slightly irritated.
"Err… Ummm… You asked for a healer, and I heard, so I thought I could help."
"What's your name?" he asked, not taking his eyes off the Asian beauty.
"Mira Lang," she replied.
"Very well then. Let's see what you can do, Mira," Arthur said, pointing to an injury on his thigh.
It was from the first Home Slinger he encountered. The one that made him limp until he got used to the pain.
She looked at the grievous injury with a troubled expression.
"I will be back."
Watching her hurriedly walk toward an area of general supplies, Arthur shook his head.
'At least I've got a healer.'
She returned moments later with a first aid kit and began tending to Arthur's injuries.
Throughout the treatment, all Arthur could feel was pain. Especially when she poured methylated spirits, he couldn't help but groan.
"I am sorry," she apologized, staring at his pained expression.
"It's alright. I can handle the pain," he said as she began bandaging the injury.
'This girl is weird. Normally everyone is afraid of me, but she isn't. I have to watch her and Caelith more.'
When she was done, she looked at him with a small smile.
"If you're ever hurt, just call me over. I would be glad to help."
Touching the area around the bandage, he dismissed her with a single word.
"Alright."
'She just wants protection, expected. If she does her job well, she gets that.'
"Arthur!!" Ethan called out as he approached hurriedly.
"Where have you been all this while? What the fuck have you been doing?" Arthur questioned.
"You said something about scouting the middle school section. Well, I have things to do and might not follow you, so I was briefing some mentally capable guys I saved," Ethan explained.
Pointing to a group of survivors, he began introducing them.
"This is Tamsin Crow. She was done with school before the apocalypse, so she isn't a student," Ethan said, motioning to an older girl to step forward.
'Slender and tall. Beautiful face. I could work with this.'
"This is Caleb Wyne," he said, pointing to another boy with a bandaged knee.
"And this is Noah Pierce. All are awakeners with suitable abilities, so they would work for this mission."
Noticing the coming dawn, Arthur sighed and turned to Ethan's suggestions.
"A liability would be left behind. I don't sweet-talk suicide missions. If you know you would hold us back, find something else to do."
After saying this, Arthur stared at the group, expecting them to walk away or respond. However, none did.
Arthur rose and turned to the window in his quadrant.
"Let's go."
He walked to his firearms and selected what he could carry, a pistol and an assembled assault rifle. Filling his pockets with ammunition, he ran and vaulted over the window into the middle school's hallway.
Before his feet could touch the ground, a thought flashed through his mind.
'Where is Silas?'