The top floor of Karmara Forum…
Minutes ago, it had fallen into silence.
Most of the people lying on the ground had slowly started opening their eyes.
Some were holding their heads.
Some were taking deep breaths.
Some were trying to understand what had happened.
As Boran tried to stand up, he grimaced.
"Damn… feels like I got hit by a truck."
Riven tried to laugh.
"Not a truck, man… an entire building."
Boran laughed involuntarily.
"You're still making jokes…"
"We're not dead, are we?"
"True."
But Karel wasn't laughing.
His eyes were still fixed on the three people lying on the ground.
Two women…
One man…
All three were still unconscious.
The doctor knelt down and checked their pulses again.
"Very high…"
"What?"
"Their body temperatures."
The doctor's wife checked the other one.
"Their hearts are beating way too fast."
Karel frowned.
"What's causing this?"
The doctor shook his head.
"I don't know."
"I've never seen anything like this in my entire life."
That answer bothered Karel.
For the first time…
Something was happening that no one truly had an answer for.
Just then…
One of the men lying on the ground started shaking violently.
"Doctor!"
The doctor quickly moved beside him.
One second…
Two seconds…
The man's breathing became faster.
His veins started turning black.
Dark-colored lines began spreading upward from his neck.
Mira stepped back in fear.
"This… isn't normal."
The doctor swallowed.
"No…"
"It's not normal at all."
One of the women started convulsing at the same time.
Her body bent backward like a bow.
Strange, muffled sounds came from her mouth.
Another woman began crying.
"Please save them…"
No one could do anything.
Karel took a few steps closer.
But this time…
He didn't know what to do.
He silently watched.
For the first time…
He was forced to just stand there and watch.
Suddenly…
The man's eyes opened.
But…
There were no pupils.
They were completely black.
The doctor jumped back in fear.
"Stay away!"
The man suddenly stood up.
Not like a human…
But like a broken puppet.
His neck was tilted strangely to the side.
Low growls came from his mouth.
"GRRR…"
Nobody could move.
A one-second silence…
Then the creature lunged toward the nearest woman.
"RUN!"
The moment Karel shouted, everyone scattered in different directions.
The creature reached for the woman's shoulder.
At that exact moment, Boran threw the chair in his hand with all his strength.
BAM!
The creature was knocked to the ground.
Boran stared at his hands in shock.
"Wait…"
"Did I really throw it that hard?"
Nobody had time to think about it.
Because the other two people had also stood up at the same time.
The three of them were no longer human.
The doctor spoke with a trembling voice.
"No…"
"They…"
"…won't come back."
Riven raised his spear.
"What do we do?"
Karel stayed silent for a few seconds.
This time, he didn't answer immediately.
He truly wasn't sure.
Finally, he took a deep breath.
"…We have no other choice."
At that moment, one of the creatures suddenly jumped toward the ceiling with unbelievable speed.
Everyone froze.
"These things…"
"…aren't normal zombies."
The creature leaped from the ceiling straight toward Karel.
Karel rolled to the side at the last second.
The claws tore through the floor where he had been standing.
For the first time…
Karel was genuinely surprised.
"That speed…"
As the creature prepared to attack again…
BANG!
A shot was fired.
The bullet hit the creature's shoulder.
But it didn't stop.
It only staggered.
The smile disappeared from Boran's face.
"You've got to be kidding…"
"Even bullets can't stop them."
Karel clenched his teeth.
"So only a shot to the head works…"
The moment he said that…
The second creature jumped toward the doctor.
The doctor's wife screamed.
"No!"
Karel tried to reach him.
But he was too far away.
For the first time…
He felt that he wouldn't be able to reach someone in time.
And he had no idea how this would end…
To Be Continued…