Chapter 4: The First Battle
1075 Words
Constance was puzzled. "I…I don't know. I'm not a security guard."
Luther frowned. "We're going to the parking lot, then.”
His sister frowned and did not want to disappoint him. “Let me think…there was a fire ax on the 18th floor. Would that work?”
If security at the mall were not so tight, Luther could carry his own weapons and not be unarmed now.
"We'll have to risk it," he sighed, "What's on the 18th floor?"
"Five floors down. Above that is where all the hotel rooms are." Constance replied.
Luther nodded and proceeded down the stairway. He had not gone taken three steps when he heard a noise coming from below. He looked over the railing and saw a man stagger up as if he were drunk. He soon reached the corner of the building, and Luther and Constance saw him much clearer.
The man was dressed in a security uniform, about five feet nine inches tall, and had a wide build. His face was a pale blue, and his eyes were completely white.
Constance watched the guard stumble up the stairs. "It’s Travis, the rooftop security guard! He...he’s..."
Luther peered further down the corridor. There was no place for them to hide. "He’s been infected. You need to go back the way we came. This space is too narrow, I have to take him out."
Constance felt a small lump in her throat at the thought of her brother killing what once was another worker in this building. But she nodded and climbed the stairs back up. About halfway up the next flight of stairs, the security guard let out a roar and rushed up to meet Luther. She gasped and her eyes widened in fear for her brother. The security in the International Trade Center was trained well.
Luther had felt sorrow for the world of innocent people around him. After humans were infected, their strength and speed would double under the influence of the TMG virus. Although the virus was still in an early phase, it also made any of its victims much deadlier than ever before.
It is only going to get worse. As the zombies evolved and TMG multiplied, anyone infected would get stronger and stronger. Ordinary people could not defeat them, which was why Luther was so eager to gain his power.
Luther's only weapon now was a dagger with a three-inch blade. He knew the only way to kill a zombie was to destroy their brain. Unfortunately, that was going to be especially difficult with such a small knife. Luther also knew that the longer it took him to kill him, the angrier and deadlier Travis would become.
Although he was a bronze first-level Erazer, with a slight increase in his physical fitness, Luther was in a lot of danger now that he was in such a narrow space with no proper weapons to fight with.
As the zombie rushed toward him, Luther breathed out calmly. If he had to survive through doomsday he was going to need to control his powers and his mind, able to adapt to any circumstance.
Luther threw a large ball of water that knocked the security guard to the ground and sent him falling down a flight of stairs. If any normal person had fallen down those stairs, they would have at least fractured or broken a bone. But Travis simply got back to his feet and paced back up the stairs in rage.
Constance peered over the railing anxiously. "He’s getting angry, Luther!"
Luther groaned in disappointment at how little damage he could do with water. He couldn't control ice very well, so he had to stick with water.
As Travis got closer, Luther threw another large ball of water and dropped the zombie.
Was he just going to have to keep doing this?
As he prepared another one, Luther could feel his body become tired. "I can't do this forever."
He looked down and noticed Travis starting to sidle up the stairs, timid and precise.
He realized that zombies had a strong ability to adapt. If you attack them the same way every time, they quickly learn how to avoid it and find another way to get to you.
By now Travis was only 8 feet away from Luther, and ready to lunge forward. Luther stopped creating water and gripped his dagger.
He kicked the zombie in the chest, but that made it step back. Then Luther jumped, stabbing the zombie with his dagger. He pushed the blade as deeply as he could into its head.
The dagger slipped right in. Luther was surprised by both his strength and the weakness of the skull. The dagger pushed in so deeply that the handle even reached the zombie’s brain.
The zombie was furious at this and howled, throwing Luther down on the stairs and biting into his skin.
Luther reacted quickly. He grabbed the zombie's neck with both hands, not letting it bite him again. The odor of Travis’ rotten breath was so strong. Luther was not too exhausted to hold him off, but he could see how close the zombie was getting to his face the longer they fought.
"Luther!”
A small fireball hit the zombie, not big enough to knock him over. But it was hot enough to set his back on fire. The burn spread quickly to consume Travis.
Luther felt angry at this, "Constance, you i***t! Are you trying to burn me too?"
As he fought Travis off, he had an idea. The zombie’s mouth was black and wide open as the rest of his body got burned to a crisp.
Luther quickly made another ball of water with his hand and placed it into the zombie's mouth. He quickly froze the water into ice and forced the zombie’s mouth wide open.
Travis could not reason or understand what was happening, and it only kept trying to bite Luther. But now that his mouth was forced wide open and full of solid ice, it could not.
Luther yanked out the dagger from the zombie's head and stabbed him again and again before Travis had a chance to claw at him. He sent every blow between the zombie’s eyes.
After Luther's vicious attack, the zombie’s head looked completely torn in two. He struck the zombie again with all his might, and a thick red and white liquid poured out of the zombie's head. It finally stopped moving, with only a small twitch in its hands.
After killing the zombie, Luther pushed the body aside and gasped for air. He kept thinking about the fight but even more so, the opportunity to strengthen his power.
- Writer
