Apocalyptic Terror

Chapter 6

"No!"

A flash of the blade, and Lawrence's head fell to the ground.

With all his strength, Ethan's strike cleaved Lawrence's head clean in two.

Red and white brain matter exploded like a burst watermelon, spraying cruelly across the vehicle.

Ethan gasped for air. After confirming Lawrence was dead, he calmly covered the gunshot wound on his shoulder and bent down to pick up the handgun.

Though this fight seemed extremely dangerous, for someone who had fought his way out of mountains of corpses before, it was nothing special.

If he had been at his peak, he wouldn't have even been injured.

Meanwhile, inside the bus, Johanna, who had been in utter despair moments ago, now stood frozen in place.

She stared at Ethan outside the vehicle, shocked and amazed. The sudden turn of events felt like a dream she couldn't believe.

'Who's this man?' she wondered.

The powerful and cruel Lawrence had been so easily dealt with by this stranger.

"Thank you. Thank you so much. I'm... I'm Johanna. Thank you for saving us."

As if waking from a nightmare, Johanna stuttered her thanks, while her terrified daughter broke into loud sobs.

However, before Johanna could say anything more to Ethan, her eyes filled with awe, he simply nodded at her.

Then, holding his wounded shoulder, he dashed off towards the distance.

"No need to thank me. You two hide for now."

There were still others to deal with.

Although he had taken out Lawrence in less than two minutes, he feared Rina might not be able to hold out much longer.

Hearing angry shouts and cries in the distance, Ethan knew Rina was being hunted.

***

"Catch that damn b***h! I'll break her legs!"

"Rina, run!"

The crowd cried out in pain and terror.

At the back of the chaotic convoy, Rina ran for her life.

Seeing George, who had always looked out for her, have his leg shattered by a thug's club, her heart trembled.

To create a chance for Ethan, she had to convince the other survivors to cause a distraction. Luckily, when she showed them Ryan's necklace, half of them believed her.

But the difference in strength between the two sides was too great.

Weakened by long-term hunger, they barely had the energy to run. Their resistance against Lawrence's strong henchmen was pitiful.

"Rina, run! Don't look back!"

With a roar, just as Rina was about to be caught, George, knocked to the ground, grabbed the pursuer's legs. Even with half his leg broken and the white bone exposed, he held on with grim determination, managing to slow the man down.

He had been close friends with Rina's father. In the apocalyptic world, his wife and children had died horribly at Lawrence's hands.

So when Rina came to him, he agreed without hesitation.

He trusted Rina wouldn't lie to him. If that man could do what Rina said, this was his only chance for revenge.

"Damn slave, let go!"

The thug, enraged at being held back, brought his steel rod down on George's head without mercy. With a sickening crack, it split his skull open.

Brain matter splattered as the thug kicked George's limp body away like trash. Grinning cruelly, he pulled out the short axe from his back, cursing loudly.

Though they didn't know where these worthless people found the courage to rebel, they didn't mind a killing spree given the situation.

In the apocalyptic world, human life was worth less than that of pigs or dogs.

"Kill them all!"

"You pieces of s**t, how dare you fight back! Anyone who tries to run gets chopped up. We'll leave no one alive!"

Faced with the thugs' threats, the already panicked crowd grew even more desperate.

Among the fleeing people, a man in a tattered suit was nearly driven mad with fear.

Seeing others fall one after another, he finally burst out in angry despair, turning on Rina.

"Why did you lie to us? We're all going to die because of you! Where's this man you talked about? Didn't you say he'd show up soon?"

"Ah!"

Before the man could finish yelling, a scream tore from his throat as an axe from a pursuer behind him severed his arm.

Blood sprayed as the limb fell to the ground with a thud. The intense pain made him lose his balance and fall heavily.

Looking up at the thug who had caught him, his eyes filled with despair, his heart bitter with regret and hatred. He cursed himself for believing Rina so easily, for fighting back. Although death was inevitable, if he hadn't resisted, he might have lived a few days longer.

He believed that Rina had tricked them. Lawrence had a gun. How could the man Rina spoke of possibly take him down? Maybe that coward had already run away in the chaos.

Faced with these angry accusations, Rina's eyes filled with bitterness. She had no way to defend herself.

She didn't know why Ethan hadn't shown up yet. According to the plan, he was supposed to act right after she caused the distraction, before Lawrence could react. In a sneak attack, the fight between them shouldn't have lasted more than two seconds.

But by now, Ethan had either run away without daring to act, or was caught in a prolonged struggle.

She couldn't imagine how Ethan, with just a short knife, could deal with Lawrence if he had time to react.

"Ah!"

Suddenly, Rina cried out in pain as a steel rod from behind struck her to the ground.

Already weak, having given her last bit of food to Ethan, she couldn't even crawl.

Footsteps behind her sounded like a death knell.

Long-term starvation had pushed her body to its limits.

In her extreme weakness, her vision blurred. She could barely make out the grinning thug approaching.

'Am I dying?' Rina thought bitterly.

Her heart sank into despair as she almost gave up fighting.

"You filthy w***e, tell me, where did that bastard with you run off to?"

The thug grabbed Rina's hair, violently yanking her head up. Seeing her dazed expression and clenched jaw, the man sneered, moving to shove his steel rod into her mouth to force it open.

Now all the rebelling survivors had been caught, with only Ethan missing.

Though they hadn't found Ryan's body, which Rina had hidden, they realized the troublemakers must be connected to the disappeared boy when they saw the cut ropes in the truck.

Faced with the thug's threat, Rina's body shook. She knew how these men would torture her.

Yet for some reason, even feeling betrayed and deceived by Ethan, she didn't want to reveal where he had gone.

She hoped that he had escaped. Of course, maybe Ethan hadn't run away. Maybe he was already dead.

Just as Rina was about to close her eyes in despair, a calm voice suddenly rang out from behind the crowd.

"Are you looking for me?"