'No rest for the wicked.'
Kael wasted no time. Encouraged by his previous inhuman feats, and wanting to take advantage of the remaining two seconds of his strength boost, he closed the distance, his speed visibly slower than before.
He knew these zombies had strange abilities, but if he could eliminate them before they could act, then they were no different from normal undead.
As the female zombie, who seemed to have been a high-schooler from her attire, turned, Kael mirrored its movements, sticking to its back like a shadow.
'One second...'
He grabbed the zombie at the waist with his right arm, and with the veins under his torn shirt visibly bulging, Kael pulled backward with all his might in a suplex.
-E...?
The undead opened its disgusting mouth in a shriek, but before any sound could come out...
-CRACK!
A sickening sound of snapping bones echoed in the room.
The undead's neck collided with the edge of the bunk bed, its neck giving way from the violent impact.
[LV 2 ZOMBIE(RARE) KILLED!]
[4 EXP GAINED]
'Nice...'
The feeling of accomplishment didn't last long as Kael suddenly felt weakened, all the ENERGI draining from his body.
But he knew he couldn't afford to relax. The sound from the short exchange might have drawn the attention of the zombies roaming in the corridor.
He quickly shifted the body off himself and got to his feet, just in time for the sound of quickly shuffling footsteps to reach him.
He had noticed the entrance door hinges were broken, so he did the next best thing.
There was no good place to hide in the room, and he didn't dare face the zombies with his Energi used up. He knew this zombie he just killed was only because he caught it off guard.
But with three zombies, he wouldn't be able to stop them from using their strange powers.
His mind churned rapidly.
There was a door at the side of the entrance, what Kael guessed must be the bathroom.
He moved quickly to the door even as his heart pounded wildly. However, no matter how he pulled, the door refused to open.
'Fuck!'
'It's locked. There might be someone inside.'
Faint shadows were drawing closer, prompting Kael to quickly move behind the main door of the room and pull the handle against the wall, obstructing his figure.
The squeaking sound of the damaged hinges resounded, causing the arriving zombies to suddenly erupt into agitated motion.
-ROAR!
-GRRR!
Three figures moved into the room in quick succession, their deep growls echoing loudly.
Crashing sounds filled the place for a while before gradually dying down.
Throughout the time, Kael held his breath, his forehead matted in sweat. He could only pray the sound of his beating heart was not loud enough to attract the monsters.
Thankfully, it seemed fate was also on his side this time.
One zombie quietly staggered out of the room after a while, yet Kael didn't dare to move.
The pooling sweat on his head slid into his eyes, still he didn't blink.
A few tense moments passed, and another zombie approached the entrance, about to leave when...
-BAM!
The sound of something colliding against the wooden door resounded loudly within the room.
Kael's heart almost leapt from his throat and it took everything inside him not to release the door handle. In fact, his sweaty grip was so tight on the metal that his knuckles turned white.
'It is not this one...'
He thought tensely yet a bit relieved.
The last zombie had headbutted the door to the bathroom, less than a meter before him, obstructed by the door he was tightly holding onto.
In fact, if the zombies had intellect, from the small gap caused by the broken hinge of the entrance door, they would have long noticed him.
-GRR!
The undead that was just about to leave turned around once again at its partner's actions, causing Kael's heart to thunder rapidly against his ribcage.
'God damn it... God damn it.'
'Just leave. Please just leave.'
Kael could almost smell the stench of the zombie from the gap behind him.
He didn't want to test his luck and could only wish with all his heart the creature left soon.
Thankfully, his wish was answered.
The last zombie that had collided, not perceiving any movement on the other side, quietly moved away.
As if sensing there was no issue, the second zombie also left.
Kael released an imperceptible sigh of relief.
'It's remaining one...'
'That motherfucking zombie almost scared the shit out of me.'
'If I catch it, I swear to God I will—'
A hand suddenly peeked from above, black claws gleaming ominously.
Kael's breath seized.
'Oh dear!'
'Bro-brother...'
Tears almost formed in Kael's fear-filled eyes.
'I'm sorry. I didn't mean that.'
'I swear on my life...'
The clawed fingers, as if teasing him, wriggled around, Kael's eyes glued to them.
'Please, just leave.'
'Bro— no daddy! Leave! Please, get out of here.'
Kael's eyes reddened, his mind pleading furiously.
After a few tense seconds, the hand retreated out of view as the creature dragged its claws down from the top of the door to its midsection, the unsettling sound tugging at Kael's tired heart.
Soon after, the zombie left.
Yet Kael's eyes remained fixed upward, as if still gazing at the black limb.
From how his mouth was tightly shut, one could tell he was still holding his breath.
He remained in that position for another minute before releasing the breath he had been holding, his lungs greedily taking in air in short, erratic gasps.
His eyes shut, the tears held back within them finally spilling.
'Bloody hell!'
'I will fucking butcher that bastard.'
*****
AN: The first survivors will be introduced in the next chapter. Also, please add the novel into your library and give some power stones if possible. It motivates me to write more.