-----
-----
Upstairs, the noise of the zombies seemed to have stopped on the third floor.
From the sound of it, there were at least three of them.
Even for someone as experienced as Julian, taking on three zombies at once in a narrow stairwell was basically suicide.
He would only get one shot.
Wait for the alarm to lure the zombies in the lobby away—then sprint out.
Seconds dragged by.
"Ring—ring—ring!!!"
The alarm went off right on time.
But—
Something was wrong.
The sound wasn't coming from the elevator shaft on the first floor.
It was coming from… upstairs.
From the third floor.
"Are you kidding me…"
Julian almost swore out loud.
Which idiot had pressed the elevator?
Could it have been that zombie he killed earlier, stumbling around and accidentally hitting the button?
Was the universe trying to screw him over?
No time to think. The zombies in the lobby had already turned in unison toward the stairwell.
At this rate, every zombie in the building would be drawn to the third floor.
The lobby was no longer an option.
Julian immediately changed course and headed for the underground garage.
It was risky. Full of unknowns.
But staying put meant certain death.
He had only made it half a flight down when the stairwell door on the first floor burst open and a swarm of frenzied zombies poured in, howling as they charged upward.
Julian flattened himself against the corner, holding his breath.
Still, two stragglers inexplicably chose to head down instead.
"Damn it…"
He cursed under his breath and bolted for the garage.
Inside, the fluorescent lights flickered on and off.
Roars echoed from somewhere in the darkness.
There were definitely zombies lurking in the corners.
No time to plan.
Julian grabbed a rock off the ground and hurled it at a Maybach parked in the distance, then dove under the nearest car.
The alarm went off instantly.
The two zombies from the stairwell, along with several others hiding in the garage, all lunged toward the screaming Maybach.
From beneath the car, Julian counted the feet.
Twenty-something.
Even without doing the math, that meant at least ten zombies.
Good thing he hadn't run out blindly.
While they crowded around the car, he crawled out and quietly ran toward the adjacent building.
The two apartment buildings shared the same underground garage, connected as one.
"Guess being forced down here wasn't so bad," he muttered. "The ground level might've been worse."
He slipped into the stairwell of the neighboring building.
Climbing was always harder than going down.
Experienced as he was, Julian paused every two floors to catch his breath. If he ran into a zombie while exhausted, he wouldn't even have the strength to fight.
Soon, he reached the tenth floor—the one where the long-legged girl lived.
"Across from mine… so it should be 1003."
He slowly pushed open the stairwell door.
It only opened halfway before something blocked it.
That resistance…
He immediately knew there was a body behind it.
Tightening his grip on his small hammer, he pushed harder.
Luckily, whatever was behind the door didn't move.
He stepped into the corridor.
An older woman's corpse lay on the floor.
Judging by the crushed skull, she'd turned and then been killed by someone smashing her head in.
"So there were already zombies on this floor…"
A flicker of worry crossed his mind.
The long-legged girl had looked healthy enough, but a girl on her own dealing with zombies? That was rough.
He stopped in front of 1003.
The bloodstains on the floor made his stomach sink.
Still, he was here to save her.
He had to check.
After rummaging through the shoe rack and lifting the doormat, he found a spare key.
People always hid them in the same obvious spots.
At least he wouldn't have to break the door down.
He unlocked it carefully and stepped inside.
The living room was empty.
On the dining table sat an opened pack of instant noodles and a half-finished bottle of cola.
So she had woken up.
That meant his earlier blow hadn't killed her.
The guilt he'd been carrying lightened a little.
Then—
Running water.
Faint, but unmistakable.
"Is someone… showering?"
He froze.
If she walked out and saw him standing there with a weapon after breaking into her home—
How was he supposed to explain that?
Especially if she was in the shower.
He'd look like a complete pervert.
Awkward didn't even begin to cover it.
Just as he was scrambling to think of an explanation—
A pale hand slid out across the bathroom floor.
Then another.
Long black hair followed.
"Click… click…"
A naked female zombie slowly crawled out of the bathroom.
"Damn… she really turned…"
Julian stared.
Her body was enough to make anyone's heart race.
But she was still a zombie.
He wasn't that far gone.
He tightened his grip on the hammer, ready to end it.
"Help… me…"
The long-legged zombie lifted her head. It seemed she hadn't completely lost consciousness yet.
At that moment, a gust of wind blew in through the window, sending an A4 sheet of paper fluttering from the table to the floor beside her.
Help me!
That had been why he came.
To save her.
But—
How do you save someone who's already been bitten?
Even a year from now, no cure for the zombie virus would exist.
She might still be clinging to a shred of awareness now, managing to speak a few broken words. But it wouldn't last.
Soon, she would be nothing but a zombie.
As he hesitated, the zombie lying on the floor suddenly shuddered.
In the next second, she sprang up and lunged at him.
"Shit—I let my guard down!"
His moment of softness had cost him.
The attack was fast and vicious.
He had no time to dodge.
She slammed him to the ground. The back of his head cracked hard against a stool.
"It's over…"
Just before losing consciousness, Julian saw her open her mouth and bite down toward him.
…
He didn't know how much time had passed.
Julian drifted back to awareness.
A blanket was covering him.
Wait.
There was someone under the blanket with him.
He jolted fully awake.
"No way…"
He took a deep breath.
"....."