"F*ck! Damn it, you ugly mutt—I'm going to end you!"
Inside the cafeteria, chairs were overturned, tables were smashed, and broken trays littered the floor. In the middle of the chaos, a pistol slipped from someone's grip and clattered across the cold tiles with a sharp metallic echo.
U.B.C.S. Sergeant Nikolai Zinoviev was slammed onto his back by a snarling Zombie Dog. Its rotten breath poured over his face as it snapped wildly at his throat.
Nikolai reacted fast.
He jammed one hand against the dog's snout, forcing its jaws shut before they could close around his neck. His other hand clenched into a massive fist and began hammering down on the creature's skull again and again.
Each blow landed like a sledgehammer.
Bone cracked.
Cartilage collapsed.
The Zombie Dog let out a high-pitched, twisted squeal as its skull began to deform under the brutal assault.
Victory seemed close—
Then another growl echoed from the side.
Nikolai's face froze.
Slowly, stiffly, he turned his head.
Another Zombie Dog stepped out from behind a table, its ribs visible through torn flesh, its tongue hanging low, saliva dripping as it locked hungry eyes onto him.
"F*ck," Nikolai muttered. "This is it."
Bang! Bang!
Two gunshots rang out almost at the same time.
The second dog's head exploded like a smashed watermelon, blood and brain matter splattering across Nikolai's face.
The body dropped instantly.
For a moment, there was only silence.
Nikolai blinked.
He wiped the gore from his eyes and looked toward the cafeteria entrance.
A man in a red-and-black bodysuit stood there casually lowering two golden Desert Eagles.
Behind him stood a tall Black man with a thick gold chain around his neck.
And—
A little girl.
Nikolai squinted.
"A little girl?"
He pointed carefully.
"You're Angela?"
Angela nodded obediently.
Nikolai then shifted his gaze to Deadpool and L.J.
"You two received the same mission?"
Both nodded.
Nikolai let out a relieved breath.
"Then we're comrades-in-arms."
He bent down, retrieved his pistol, holstered it, and walked forward with a confident smile.
"Nikolai Zinoviev. Thank you for saving my life."
Deadpool shook his hand firmly.
"Wade Wilson. You can call me Wade… or my superhero codename—Delicious Pants Captain."
A question mark seemed to float above Nikolai's head.
"…What?"
Before things could get weirder, L.J. stepped in urgently.
"Guys! Maybe introductions can wait? The nuclear bomb countdown isn't exactly pausing for this bonding moment!"
Everyone went quiet.
Time.
They were running out of it.
"Move," Nikolai said immediately, raising the rifle slung across his chest. "I'll scout ahead."
As they left the cafeteria, Deadpool carried Angela in his arms.
Nikolai asked while moving, "How many of you are there?"
"Six besides Angela," Deadpool replied. "Five already inside the school. One more on the way."
"Excellent."
The more guns, the better.
Nobody knew how Dr. Ashford planned to extract them from a city scheduled for annihilation.
If they had to carve a path through hell, numbers mattered.
"What about you?" Deadpool asked.
Nikolai's expression darkened slightly.
"There were three of us."
He paused.
"Now there are two."
---
They reached the first floor lobby just as the others regrouped.
Jill Valentine stood near the corridor entrance, her weapon lowered but ready. Beside her were Peyton, Tali, and—
Alice.
Carlos Oliveira, who had come with Nikolai, stepped forward to join them.
When they saw Angela, relief spread across their faces.
They had succeeded.
Alice walked up to Deadpool first. She returned the knife he had lent her earlier.
Then she gently lifted Angela from his arms.
Angela didn't resist.
She stared at Alice with wide eyes.
"You're the same too."
Alice smiled softly and tapped Angela's nose.
"Yes. We are."
L.J., however, looked utterly confused.
"What does that mean? What do you mean you're the same?"
Deadpool casually slung an arm over L.J.'s shoulder.
"Buddy, given the situation, we won't hide it anymore."
He lowered his voice dramatically.
"I, Alice, and Angela… we're all infected with the T-virus."
He coughed exaggeratedly toward L.J.
"We could turn into zombies at any moment."
"WHAT?!"
L.J.'s eyes nearly popped out of his skull.
In one smooth, terrified movement, he teleported behind Carlos and used him as a human shield, peeking out only halfway.
"Are you telling me one-third of us are infected?!"
Carlos raised a hand awkwardly.
"Actually… four."
Everyone looked at him.
He sighed.
"I was bitten during evacuation. I treated the wound quickly. I've been holding out."
L.J. immediately abandoned Carlos and dashed behind Peyton instead.
"God save me."
Angela went quiet for a moment.
Then she spoke calmly.
"There's medicine in my backpack."
The room fell silent.
Alice gently put Angela down and opened the small backpack.
Inside was a black case.
She pressed the center button.
The lid opened automatically.
Inside were nine test tubes filled with glowing green liquid.
Alice looked at Carlos.
"How long since infection?"
"About four hours."
She nodded.
"Then today is your lucky day."
She took one syringe and tossed it toward him.
Carlos caught it, still stunned.
"What is this?"
"T-virus serum."
"There's… a serum?"
L.J.'s eyes locked onto the box.
Tali, the journalist, narrowed her gaze sharply.
"Wait. Why does she have serum?"
All eyes turned to Angela.
The little girl instinctively stepped back.
Immediately, she felt her hand being held.
She looked up.
Deadpool.
"Don't be afraid," he said gently. "No one here will hurt you."
Angela held his hand tighter.
"My family has a hereditary disease," she explained softly. "It causes paralysis. My father is already paralyzed. He didn't want that to happen to me."
She looked down at the serum case.
"He worked on something new. Something stronger."
The T-virus.
Umbrella Corporation's nightmare creation.
Angela continued.
"He believed the virus could repair damaged cells. But it needed control… so he developed a stabilizing serum."
Understanding slowly dawned on the group.
Angela wasn't just a random target.
She was the key.
The cure.
Alice exhaled slowly.
"So you're not just infected."
Angela nodded.
"My body adapted."
Deadpool tilted his head slightly.
"So technically, you're like a DLC upgrade."
No one responded.
Carlos injected the serum without hesitation.
A few seconds passed.
Then a minute.
His breathing steadied.
The faint dark veins creeping up his neck began to fade.
He looked up in disbelief.
"I… feel normal."
L.J. cautiously stepped forward.
"You're not going to bite anyone, right?"
Carlos gave him a flat stare.
"Not unless you ask."
L.J. retreated again.
Peyton, meanwhile, kept staring at Alice.
He swallowed.
"I like that smile."
Deadpool didn't miss it.
"Wake up," he said mercilessly. "You like that face."
Peyton shrugged.
"So what?"
Deadpool grabbed Peyton's head with both hands and shook it dramatically.
"Buddy, when you like someone, you can't just focus on her face!"
Peyton blinked.
"I know. You have to look at her inner self too, right?"
"Wrong."
Deadpool leaned closer.
"When you like someone, don't just focus on her face. Also look in the mirror. Look at your own face."
Silence.
Peyton: "…Oh."
Deadpool bowed slightly in mock apology.
"Sorry. I forgot. It's dark. You can't even see your own face."
Peyton: !!!
"Keep joking about my skin color and I'll drag you down with me," Peyton growled.
While they argued, Jill checked her watch.
"One hour and forty minutes until dawn."
The reminder hit hard.
The nuclear strike wasn't theoretical.
It was coming.
And somewhere outside the school walls—
Heavy footsteps echoed faintly through the night.
Alice lifted her head.
Nemesis.
Still hunting.
Still closing in.
Deadpool adjusted his grip on his Desert Eagles.
"Alright," he said calmly.
"Let's move."
Behind them, the school stood silent again.
Above them, the sky remained dark.
And beyond the horizon—
The missile countdown continued.
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