Day 270, Year 986, Millennium 41
Lower Hive
In the darkness of the Lower Hive in Sector E
Holy shit, in this future world, besides tentacled creatures and humans modified with machines that looked like they'd come out of cyberpunk, there were also zombies!? Eric thought to himself as he tried to look for an escape route. He found that the path behind him, leading to the deeper paths in Sector E, was the only escape route right now. The remaining paths were already surrounded by these zombies, and many of them were slowly approaching. Some were smiling and laughing with a hoarse, distorted sense of happiness. Eric turned to Castra and told her to follow the plan he had quickly devised.
"Run, Castra... Follow me!" Eric said in a slightly louder voice as he pulled Castra's hand behind him and slowly led her as fast as he could. The speed wasn't much different from jogging, but his chest was aching from the heavy breathing. Castra, whose wrist was being grabbed, asked Eric in panic what was going on. Eric understood, as she didn't have a night vision device like him.
"Erica, what are you running from? I can't see anything. I can only smell a foul odor and strange noises!" Castra asked with concern. He could clearly see the worry in her face, so Eric responded with the only thought he could think of.
"There are zombies everywhere, Castra! We have to get out!" Eric said as he turned to look and saw that the area behind him was already filled with them. The smell only intensified as they gathered together. He quickly turned back and jogged back. As he ran and breathed, he felt his chest hurt more, but Eric gritted his teeth and tried not to cry out. But as he ran, Cas pulled on his shirt and asked,
"Big sister, what are zombies?" Castra asked, terrified and curious. Eric turned to her and gave her the simplest answer.
"That's a walking corpse. That's all I know because it's the easiest way to do it!" Eric replied, turning around to see that some zombies, faster than the others, were already approaching. Eric raised his large pistol and aimed it immediately. When he pulled the trigger, the panel on top glowed blue. A bright flash temporarily blinded Eric, whose night vision was now only white. For about two or three seconds, a ball of energy shot out at the creature. However, his arm felt a jolt from the recoil of the pistol, which made him exclaim in pain.
Vheee!! Boom!!
"Ouch!!" Eric's voice rose slightly. He felt pain in his arm and shoulder. He thought the recoil of the gun was quite strong.
The ball of blue energy exploded, destroying the zombie. Its entire upper body was gone, leaving only its lower half, burned and bubbling, with smoke emitting from it. Two or three other zombies around it were also affected, suffering severe heat damage and collapsing. Eric looked at its power with a slight satisfaction. At least it was in keeping with its size. But the point was, there were hundreds or thousands of zombies behind it, already approaching. Even though he had spare ammunition for the pistol, he needed Castra to reload it, and reloading in the dark was a terrible experience.
"Shit!" Eric cursed as he turned to shoot the approaching zombies. They could only jog along, stalling for time. It was a terrible situation. If Eric hadn't been injured, he would have picked Castra up and run. But as he turned to shoot the horde of zombies behind him, he heard Castra screaming in alarm.
"Erica, watch out!" Her voice was terrified and urgent. Eric turned immediately and saw a zombie wearing a factory worker's uniform approaching from the alley, approaching him just a few meters away. He used his foot to kick it away before striking it with his pistol, knocking it down. Some of the pus splashed onto his clothes and onto his gun. The smell made Eric flinch, but he tried to ignore it. Eric didn't want to use the pistol at close range, as he often did with pistols. He'd seen what it could do to zombies, and he wasn't afraid to use it at close range.
Eric didn't hesitate to lead Cestra forward. He couldn't see the zombies in front of him, which was definitely safer than behind him. He also tried to look to the sides for any lurking zombies. They continued this retreat until they reached an industrial area. It seemed Eric had fired about ten rounds from the plasma pistol, which wasn't a lot. The weight and recoil caused some pain in his left arm and shoulder, so he didn't dare use it too much for fear of further injury. He only used it to shoot zombies that got too close. Furthermore, the pistol was starting to heat up. He didn't notice a zombie approaching from his left side, holding a metal pipe. However, he could hear heavy breathing and a foul smell wafting closer. Eric turned back to it and pointed the pistol at it. But just as he was about to pull the trigger,
Click! Oh my god, why did I run out of bullets at this hour?
Thud!!!
"Aaaaah!!!" Eric screamed in pain as the pipe slammed into his back and he fell to the ground with a force that was beyond his imagination for the zombies to handle. Eric tried to get up before the zombies and the others caught up to him. Where was Casta? He didn't have time to think anymore. The zombie that had been using the pipe to hit him in the head was about to smash it down. Eric kicked the zombie's leg with his right foot so hard that its leg bone broke and pierced through the skin. The zombie fell down and tried to crawl towards Eric. The now unarmed Eric kicked the zombie's face with his leg over and over again, crushing it on his boot. He quickly picked himself up, picked up the pistol on the ground and looked for Casta. She was now several meters away, standing still in the dark, confused. Eric ran to her, took her hand and led her away. Things couldn't get any worse, there were more zombies following him. His right arm was broken, his ribs were broken, and there was a bruise on the left side of his chest. His right back was still hurting. And now, their pus and rotting blood were making him smell even worse. And it wasn't the usual stench, it was so bad he wanted to vomit all the time.
But right now, he couldn't vomit. He was wearing a gas mask.
After he had gained enough distance, he was certain they'd be around five or six minutes away. Luckily, these were slow-moving zombies, but they weren't stopping. Eric put his gun down on the ground and rummaged through his pockets, searching for a magazine or something to store ammo or power. Luckily, the corpse contained five energy cells or something that might fit the gun, and he finally found it. Eric pulled out a rectangular metal cylinder or something and handed it to Castra. He couldn't reload himself, and he couldn't use the traditional one-handed reloading method. The gun was incredibly hot. He couldn't hold it under his armpit, using just one hand to reload.
In the darkness, Castra, who could barely see anything, looked in Ariel's direction and saw the energy cells in her small hands. Before she could even look around in confusion, she replied:
"Big sister... don't be mad at me. I really don't know how to do it," she replied, her voice trembling with fear. Eric didn't hesitate to teach her, as seconds were precious. He pressed the pistol against the ground. He could clearly feel the heat through his shoe. He reached out to grab the magazine from her hand and placed it on the floor next to him. He fumbled for a button or latch before removing the old magazine and inserting the new one. Once he was done, Eric quickly removed his foot from the gun. It seemed so hot that part of his shoe sole had melted.
"AHHHHH!!!" Eric screamed in shock. Something had grabbed his shirt, nearly knocking him backwards. He managed to regain his balance and avoid falling. Out of instinct, he elbowed the zombie that had grabbed him. The zombie swayed slightly, then he used the large pistol he held to smash it in the head, killing it instantly.
Eric gasped in panic. His heart nearly skipped a beat when he looked behind him, and the horde of zombies was getting closer. He quickly grabbed Castra's hand and jogged with her. After running for a while, Eric heard a faint bell ringing from ahead.
... ring.... ring...
The sound wasn't loud, but it was so clear it made the hair on Eric's back stand on end. He instinctively slowed his pace, motioning for Castra to stop, then scanned the night vision camera in the direction of the sound.
Out in front of him, a dim, yellow-green glow swirled through the air like a toxic mist. Within it, he saw "something" approaching. A tall, bloated figure in a tattered robe, the color dull as if soaked in blood and pus. A rusty metal bell hung in one hand, and a staff hung from it, like a talisman, with three circles and thorns. The bell rang again...ring...
The smell of decay intensified. Even more powerful than the horde of zombies behind him.
"What the hell is this?!..." Eric muttered softly, taking a half step back. Underneath its hood, the camera captured the most hideous, disgusting face. Its skin was covered in pustules and festering sores, covered in maggots and insects. One eye was oozing out of its cheek, and its mouth was in a wide, misshapen grin, like the smile of a rotting corpse.
But what nearly took Eric's breath away was that it could "talk." A hoarse voice escaped its throat, seemingly filled with pus.
"The sick... the suffering... do not be afraid..." it said in a soft, strangely compassionate voice. Eric frowned deeply. This zombie was inviting him!?
"The grand father of decay... I will grant you the blessing of happiness... Accept the gift of eternal life... Accept it..." The sound of a bell rang out, like a distorted ritual rhythm. The sound of flesh and liquid dripping "pap...pap..." onto the floor from the hem of its shirt.
Castra immediately tightened his grip on Eric's hand.
"Don't move... Don't make a sound..." he whispered in a very soft voice. He knew what a zombie was and should know how to deal with it. But he had never encountered a zombie that could talk like this before. It might have happened in the movies he had seen, but in real life, it was definitely strange. While zombies were certainly strange, he had encountered some crazed monks in the Hive before, but he had never seen anyone, or anything dead, bloated, and swollen, and speaking like he was preaching in church. It was strange. The person slowly raised his head, as if looking directly at them.
"I know... you're hurting... I can smell your wounds and despair..." He spoke in a softer voice, like a grandfather comforting a child and inviting them for a snack. Of course, Eric thought he'd have to make a snack later.
Eric felt even more scared. He wasn't sure what it could do, and he didn't want to risk it. When he turned around, he saw the horde of zombies approaching, adding to the tension and tension.
"Come to me... I will purify you with my father's gift... Accept the blessing of my benevolent grandfather... he said with an unwavering light and a wide-armed veil. "Heh...hahaha... You will no longer fear death..." he said, a soft chuckle rising from his throat, filled with pus and insects and maggots. Eric turned again to find that the zombies were surely coming for him in about 50 meters. In just a few seconds, Eric quickly quipped (think, analyze, and distinguish). He chose between the zombie horde behind him and the zombie priest in front. He soon made his decision. Eric raised his pistol and aimed it at the zombie priest immediately.
"Die, you rascal!!!!" Eric shouted loudly and pulled the trigger. The mask he wore made his voice a little softer and muffled.
Wheeeee!!!!! Boom!!!
The distinctive charging sound of the plasma pistol rang out again before a white-blue energy ball shot out rapidly, temporarily brightening the area. The recoil made Eric's arm ache and tremble, but after firing the pistol for over ten times, he had gotten used to it.
THUD!!!
A loud noise occurred as the ball of energy collided with its body, and the result was slightly unexpected. The priest wasn't missing his upper body like the other zombies, but instead had a large hole in his body. He fell to the ground instantly, dead. It was a bit too easy to kill, considering how unusual it was. But that was a good thing. Seeing this, Eric didn't hesitate to lead Castra past the corpse, running forward, straight to the center of Sector E, where the elevator might be, occasionally looking back. These zombies weren't stopping after him!
And Eric continued his escape, with the horde of zombies following him. Suddenly, he saw a group of people step out of the shadows and attack the zombies. They were armed men, definitely not mutants, given his experience in distinguishing them. They were fighting zombies now. Eric smiled slightly, even though he was a little scared. He was afraid that these people would force him or do him harm, until someone said:
"For knowledge!!! And for the architect of destiny!!!" One of the people he saw had a third eye and an eight-pointed star symbol, a symbol Eric had seen on the psychopaths in his area.
Eric's smile vanished immediately. He knew how dangerous these people were. Eric quietly led Castra on, hoping no one would notice them. He quickly led Castra into an alley and sighed in relief. At least he was less worried about zombies now, but there were other things to worry about.
"Erica, Raoul, he...he..." Castra said in a voice that sounded both heartbroken and pitiful, and he felt pity for what she had seen. If it was Raoul, Eric frowned and immediately burst into anger at what he had done to him.
"Please, Erica... kill me. Please... end this torture!" A familiar voice rang out. Eric couldn't help but remember who it was. He gripped his pistol tighter and turned in the direction of the voice. And when he saw Raoul's condition, Eric felt pity instead of anger or immediate resentment. Raoul, who was very close to Castra, was now leaning against the wall, exhausted. His face looked unwell, his skin turning a pale green, and pustules were beginning to form on his body. He also smelled like a zombie, perhaps because of the smell clinging to his clothes.
"Oh, come on...cough! What are you waiting for? I understand you're angry with me for abandoning you two...but please, end this torture!" Raoul coughed slightly, his voice filled with pleading and pleading, as if he and he were suffering immensely.
"Please, help end this suffering."