DAYLIGHT

Chapter 13

T i l d en

I went inside the dorm without a moment of hesitation. Time was running. I shot two zombies who rushed towards me soundlessly after adding a silencer to my gun this time. The rest of the zombies who were banging on the door turned their heads to me. I was relieved that there were only about eight zombies there and I fired at them immediately bringing down two more while the remaining four who were standing and waiting in the hallway took a run towards me.

There was nowhere to run from that straight hallway, only the rooms.

As if playing a shooting game in a festival booth, I shot those zombies on their heads one by one. I gritted my teeth every time I clicked on the trigger, I recognized their faces and at the same time loud continuous gunshots were echoing from the outside. I opened the door where the woman was trapped.

"Look out!" The woman screamed and I was surprised when someone just showed up from behind.

I was glad my body moved on its own.

I held the zombie's rotten neck with the hand where I was holding the gun making me drop it creating a loud thud and slid near a chair while the zombie kept opening its foul mouth in front of my face, its dark teeth clattering every time it tries to bite me. I was glad they didn’t know how to use their hands or I would be a zombie now.

Its breath smelled so gross that someone who has a weak stomach would wretch at it smelled like rotten flesh. It proved how fast the virus spreads in the human body. It quickly eats the organs of the victim.

The woman was terrified but I was glad that she did not scream again but covered her mouth instead. I motioned my eyes to the gun hoping the terrified woman would understand as I tightened my grip on the zombie.

The woman stifled a cry as she didn't look away from the zombie in my hand she quietly walked near the gun and bent to pick it but her body touched the chair as she bent down alerting the zombie.

It made a loud groan and the woman was too slow. I tightened my grip, my fingers digging into the flesh of the neck and threw the zombie to the nearest wall detached black flesh left a mark on the white wall and before it could stand up, I grabbed the gun from the trembling woman and clicked the trigger only to find that the gun was already empty.

"Fvck!" I muttered and hastily picked up the wooden chair and smashed it into the zombie, its innards splatted around the room as I smashed its head until it couldn't be recognized.

My clothes were filled with black and smelly blood and maybe small pieces of zombie flesh.

The woman made a puking sound but there was no time to rest, I grabbed the woman's hand and dragged her outside the dorm feeling the injury on my leg throbbing but I endured it.

"Get inside the car!" I called Marie who was happily stabbing those zombies who got stuck in the pile of dead zombie bodies.

Bullet cases were scattered on the road beside the machine guns.

"Aww." Marie glanced at the running zombie from afar before whipping her knives from sticky dark blood and sliding it in its case then ran to the armored car and went inside the driver's seat.

I settled in the passenger seat while the woman sat in the backseat with the groceries. She even sat on a few packs of chocolate chips. Marie drove the car fast.

"You weren't bitten, right?" I asked the woman as I removed my uniform and threw it outside the window leaving me with a white undershirt.

"N-no. Not bitten." She answered.

Tilden nodded. "Good."

"Thank you." She said and I saw quiet tears streaming from her eyes.

She was still in her late twenties and still had a long life ahead of her.

"It's our duty." I said. "And if you can, force yourself to take some rest. It'll be a long ride."

...

L e a n d e r

"Whoever bought and kept that zombie in the backyard was at fault." Someone behind me said.

All the seats were taken so I had to stand near the door. I turned at the man who was standing behind me who made that comment and recognized his face. He was one of the men who caused chaos at the cafeteria for getting the same portion of soup as everyone even though the food came from them.

Arrogant and self-centered people even in times of crisis.

"Someone from your people got bitten by the captured zombie?" I asked.

"Wouldn't it be your fault? Are you raising those zombies?"

"They warned you about it. You never listened because you're only thinking about yourself—"

I was cut what I was saying when the man grabbed the collar of my shirt and glared at me.

Everyone was looking at us with anxious and terrified faces. Just because of one careless mistake and everything came tumbling down and the one at fault wasn't the least concerned about it.

I smacked the man's hand and turned to look outside the door. Everyone was silent except for a few soft sobs. I thought about what happened back at the dorm. If Tilden and Marie were safe and just when I started to worry, I heard the familiar sound of a car approaching the bus.

The surroundings suddenly went dark as the bus went inside a tunnel and a few zombies ran over the bus. It was a full minute of darkness and the terrifying feeling of hearing groans from the zombies hiding in the tunnel. I could feel the tense atmosphere easing when the bus got out of the darkness and I saw the familiar armored car right in front of the bus door.

I could see Marie driving it and Tilden sitting in the front seat and our eyes met. Tilden smiled and gave me a flying kiss before the armored car overtook the bus and went ahead.

I realized that my heart was beating fast and I felt so relieved. I held my hand on the railings and closed my eyes. It was amazing how Tilden's squad trusted each other with their lives and they were in sync.

After an hour of driving, everyone was almost sleeping. I looked around the place where factories were everywhere. The bus did not take the highway but instead chose a private road that was free from abandoned cars. We were already in the V-Zone and the zone was famous for having a lot of factories. The air in that zone was almost dark and the heat was hot as if it were biting on the skin but after the factories stopped operating for a few days, the air got colder and the place looked haunting. Zombie could be hiding anywhere in that area.

Having seen enough, I stepped back and my vision suddenly spun and my knees went weak. My grip on the railing slipped and my strength was gone as if I was paralyzed, then I was suddenly in mid-air. I let out a low groan as I felt my body hitting the hot ground hard and I was rolling.

Tinnitus was ringing in my ears and my body was hurting as I landed on my left side but I swore, even though my body was the one that turned weak, I felt someone pushed me out of the bus intentionally.

......