Chapter 20 – Well, Shit.
7 PM.
35 Hours Remaining,
After hours of attempting to fix the shield, she failed. It was not that the shield was busted, but the energy cell was used up. Misha had to look for the replacement to activate it again.
Misha ate her ration and lay down within the APC, which she shut down the engine and all light.
The sun had set, and the darkness arrived. Everything outside was pitched black and quiet.
"I wonder what he was thinking, giving away this APC."
Misha snickered. She felt like she had conned Pioneer.
As she closed her eyes, planning to rest and skip the night in-game. However, the usual night-skip, which she had experienced in the boot camp, did not occur. Instead, the feeling of trying to fall asleep was real.
2 Hours later,
*HAWL*
*SCREECH*
Various screaming noise of monsters on the wasteland could be heard from within the vehicle, which gave Misha goosebumps.
"Eep! Please don't be like the usual [Monster gets stronger at night] setting. I don't want this game to turn into a horror game!"
Misha did not mind playing a horror game, but playing it within a virtual reality console was different.
By instinct, she placed her rifle in her arms as she tried to sleep.
.
*GROWL*
1 AM.
The noises got louder as the night slowly passed. Because of the nervousness and the unusual sounds, Misha could not sleep. She opened her eyes a bit and raising her head to see what was outside through the front windshield of the vehicle.
The moonlight was dim, but Misha's eyesight got used to the night. Several shadow figures were wandering near the APC.
Misha held her breath. She picked up the goggles and equipped it.
The goggles had the night-sight feather, which she turned it on.
"…"
Misha was speechless.
Another zombie horde!
And each of them was carrying a weapon!
Wait, zombies could carry weapons!?
Misha held her breathe and observed the zombies. The weapons in their hands were clubs, steel pipes, blades, or hand-held weapons.
Their look also differed from the previous zombies that Misha killed in the crater. Their bodies did not have any noticeable wound or rotten flesh, but they had black veins all over their body as if they were tattoos. All of them were bald and looked the same, which Misha could not even identify their gender by looking.
The APC was surrounded by a zombie horde, but they failed to notice Misha's presence.
Misha minimized her movements and her breath, waiting for the undead beings to pass.
1 Minute
3 Minutes
5 Minutes
Each minute was like an hour, yet the zombies staggered forward at a slow pace, torturing Misha inside the vehicle.
One of them sudden jumped on top of the APC. It sniffed around as if it were a dog.
10 Minutes
Another zombie with one eye, which size was half of its head, peeked through the front windshield. At this moment, Misha was already hiding under the console.
15 Minutes
The horde walked away from the APC, yet the sniffing zombie and the big eye stayed.
The last zombie with a steel pipe staggered, passing the side of the armored car.
*PONG*
The steel pipe hit the surface of the vehicle, which the tube created an echoing sound with the metal armor.
The horde stopped and turned toward the direction of the sound.
Misha's heart was at her throat.
The zombies walked back toward the APC's direction, and the nearest zombies began inspecting it by smelling it.
'No, no, no, no! Go away! I took a bath, I don't smell!'
*SNIFF*
*SNIFF*
More zombies surrounded the car and sniffed it.
While the zombies were sniffing, the odor of their bodies got into the vehicle as the APC had small areas of air ventilation. Misha had modded it so she could sleep in the car.
The rotten air got into the nose of Misha.
"Hichi-!"
She sneezed in a muffled voice.
*SCREEEEEEEEECH*
A zombie screamed and began swinging its pipe at the vehicle.
It detected Misha inside the APC!
*SCREEEECH*
*ROAR*
More zombies screeched and copied the first zombie's action.
"Fuck me!"
Misha started the engine, which the APC opened its spotlight by itself. The blinding light attracted more zombies.
*BANG*
*SCREECH*
The surface of the car dented from the strikes. Meanwhile, Misha stomped on the accelerator.
*VRRR*
The two zombies on top of the vehicle fell off as it suddenly moved. The APC dashed forward while the zombies ran after it.
The speed of the car jumped from 0 KPH to 100 KPH (Kilometer Per Hour) in two seconds, yet the zombies still caught up with the armored vehicle. Some of them even attempted to leap to get on top of the car!
One of them managed to get onto the front of the windshield. Its head splitted open, and the parts that used to be its head turned into a flower-like mouth with hundreds of finger-size fangs. At the center, three wiggling barbed tongues extended as if it wanted to catch Misha, who was driving the car.
*BANG*
The extended tongues hit the reinforced windshield, which had been covered by a metal plate armor.
*BANG* *BANG*
It kept slamming its tongue at the windshield even though the attacks were not effective. However, it made Misha panicked.
"GET OFF!"
Misha made a turn, hoping the shake the zombie off the front hood, yet its hands and claws stuck onto the vehicle.
"Fine! You're coming with me!"
Misha shifted the gear again, and the speed kept climbing. The red KPH counter in the console showed 160, 165, 170, and maintained at 200 KPH after a minute.
"Am I driving a race car or an APC!?"
She managed to gain a distance from the horde, but the guy on top of the front hood was still there. Misha put on the seat belt as she planned her next move.
Her gas-pedaling foot pulled up while the other foot stomped onto the brake.
The sudden kinetic-force pulled Misha forward, but the safety belt pulled her back to her seat. The zombie was caught off guard, and the force ejected it out of the front hood.
However, the impact of the seat made Misha's innards shook, and her collar bone cracked.
"Chance!"
Despite the pain and the dizziness, Misha shifted the gear and stepped on the gas pedal again, planning to run over the zombie.
*BANG*
The stumbling zombie was hit by the front armor and was sent flying to the side as the vehicle went pass it.
At this moment, the horde also caught up with the APC and the previous zombie. They charged mindlessly at Misha.
The girl exhaled as her trembling hands stopped shaking. Her mind reverted back to her normal state as she managed to get through her panic.
The APC dashed forward again, trying to get away from the zombies.
Though the crisis was averted for now, Misha had worries.
First, the gas in the tank was limited.
Second, the zombies were still chasing.
Third, she did not know how far she had driven through the wasteland. She did not even remember where she was.
And lastly …
*BUBBLE*
There were a rolling 10-meter green egg and another horde of several hundred green zombies, which was coming at her direction from the front.
"Well … shit."