Although it wasn't advisable to be on foot right now, the trio still managed to make their way towards the hospital.
A few times, they ran into hordes of zombies, but with them and the street gang, it felt like a game they could win.
After all, the two muscular males were equipped with steel bats, Mikasa and the other female both carried the same weapon—the chainsaw—and the skinny male had a pyro gun.
While the boss was an awakened, these guys took pleasure in killing zombies, using the excuse that they weren't human.
"These guys are too weak... bwahaha."
Cain, on the other hand, hated himself for being useless at a time like this.
"Miss Nora will be fine," Mikasa said. She was the only optimistic person in the group.
Owen knew the truth. They had walked this far and hadn't seen a single human who wasn't a zombie. On top of that, the whole place was eerily quiet.
"Woah, isn't that a cop's car?" the bulky street gang male said as he noticed the cop car hiding at the corner of an alley in front of them.
"Tsk, don't tell me you're scared of them? Who would bother arresting us during this commotion?" the boss said, reassuring him.
Owen and Mikasa stared at each other as they overheard what the gang was discussing, which likely meant they were fugitives from the law.
Owen sighed. "Let's not stick our noses in any further," he whispered.
Meanwhile... when the street gang approached the car, the inside was filled with blood and splintered intestines.
However, the cop still seemed to be alive. He was barely clinging to life from all those injuries and blood loss.
The bulky male stretched his hand through the window, reaching for the Wesson M37 Airweight that the police used.
But when he tried to pull his hand back, the dying cop grabbed a tight hold of him.
"Fucking let go, you bastard!" the bulky male yelled.
This pulled everyone's attention to the scene. Owen watched as the bulky male pulled the trigger back, ready to fire.
Owen quickly stopped him before he could shoot. "He's not one of them, he's still alive," he said.
He glanced at the boss, expecting backup, but instead, the gang's boss approached the car.
Just then, Owen realized how wrong he was.
Having smelled fresh flesh, the zombie cop latched onto the bulky male, tearing into his arm with its rotten teeth.
"Rrrghaaa... my arm!!" the latter yelled. Without hesitation, he pulled the trigger and sent a bullet straight through the cop's head, instantly killing him.
As the bulky male fell to his knees, everyone saw how deep the injury was, which made them step away.
But the boss maintained his composure and stepped forward. He squatted near the bitten male and asked,
"Is the gun loaded?"
"Ye... yess," the male groaned in agonizing pain. "It has—"
Before he could finish, the boss had already taken the gun and aimed it at his forehead.
It didn't take more than a second. He didn't think twice before killing one of his own. He stood up and spat on the dead body.
"He's already bitten. Any moment now, he'll become one of them," he said, trying to justify his actions while looking at Cain.
"Even taking him along would only drag us down," he added. "We don't need liabilities. He isn't fit to survive in this world."
Owen swallowed hard as fear gripped him. 'He... he knows about Cain,' he thought.
Cain, on the other hand, chuckled. Even if this guy didn't kill him, he was going to die anyway.
The only reason he hadn't succumbed to the feeling of death was because of his mom. If he were certain about his mom's safety, then he wouldn't care what happened to him anymore.
"We should hurry up. We don't have much time left before nightfall," the boss said as they began moving.
He was right. They had at most three hours left before nightfall.
Soon, they finally reached the hospital. Inside was no different from every corner of the city—blood everywhere.
"Cain, try calling Miss Nora again," Mikasa suggested. It was a great plan, except his phone battery had already died.
"Alright, let's split into two groups. Three men take the first floor, the next three take the second. We regroup here after ten minutes. The first team to arrive waits five minutes before searching for the others," the awakened explained.
He attempted to take Cain with him; however, Mikasa slapped his hand aside.
"Our group is already complete," she said, referring to Owen, Cain, and herself.
His idea of bringing Cain along was already shattered. He watched them take the left route and hissed.
Owen and Mikasa checked every room on the second floor. They didn't know if a zombie was there or not, so they moved quietly.
With the lights damaged and repeatedly blinking, it made it hard for them to see.
Cain coughed. "He might be right, you know," he said.
His friends turned to look at him, bewildered, but as Cain continued, they frowned.
"I've become a liability," he groaned. "I shouldn't have helped that man." Cain regretted it. If he saw the man right now, he'd kill him without hesitation.
Owen walked close to him and placed a hand on his shoulder. "It wasn't your fault."
Hearing that only pissed him off, and Cain slapped Owen's hand off his shoulder.
"Mikasa has been the smart one so far. You? You've been the muscle. I've been nothing but a liability." Cain felt broken. Why did he go back to help that selfish man?
Soon, they heard incoming footsteps, but it wasn't a zombie.
It was the skinny male from the street gang. "Glad I found you. It's the boss—he wants you to come," he said.
After saying that and pointing at Cain, he brought out his phone, and a familiar voice came from the other end of the call.
But before any words, they heard a female scream from the phone. "Mom!" Cain yelled.
"Yeaa, I found the little nurse of yours, hahaha. Now all I need is simple—you come here alone, unless... after playing with your mom," he said, accompanied by an explicit scream.
"She'll be zombie food next. Remember, I said alone," he added before ending the call.
Cain bit his bottom lip hard. "If anything happens to my mom," he growled.
"Woah, dude, relax. I'm just a messenger," the skinny male said as he stepped forward.
On the other hand, Mikasa and Owen has other plans for the so called messenger.