In a large space, two people were fighting, their bodies were covered in sweat as they used metal batons to attack the other person.
The woman was the most out of breath between the two. She panted as she kept blocking the other person's high-speed striking. Her white tank top was drenched in sweat, making her bra and skin show underneath, but neither of the two people paid attention to it. Her legs were full of red line marks from being kicked by her opponent, and her shoes were slipping from the sweat on the floor. Despite how tired and painful her body was, she kept pushing herself because the younger person in front of her didn't show much exhaustion.
The 18-year-old in front of her was fierce. He aimed at all her vital points, having her be always on her toes. He wore a black shirt that clung to his body and black shorts that stuck on to his legs. His median-length hair was pulled into a small ponytail and his brown amber eyes were watching her every move. Once in a while, he would say something for her to correct before continuing on his attack.
Besides the two was a rocker with a baby girl sleeping peacefully. Her red hair was long and messy, her body would occasionally scoot closer to the sleeping kitten-sized cat sleeping next to her.
To the right of the sleeping duo was a 7-year-old boy. He was currently watching the two figures fight each other while he ran in place. He's been doing body strengthening exercises at the same time the adults have been fighting. He didn't stop doing his little exercise until a bam echoed inside the space.
The woman laid on the floor panting. Her body ached all over and her blue eyes stun from the salty sweat. Footstep sounder next to her left ear and above her, the face of the 18-year-old teen who was looking down at her.
"Get up and stretch, it's not good for your muscles," he said before heading to the boy to tell him to also stretch out. Sighing to herself, she pushed her body up and began doing the cool-down exercises the teen taught them. They've been doing this training for about two weeks now. After waking up to see the teen doing exercises, Charlotte also joined in. Chris after two days of watching them also grew interested and asked to join in. Two weeks of hard work made the red-haired woman more stable and her relearning ability of the bow much stronger. Chris also had a great development. His stamina and youth made him faster and more adaptable to sudden changes when they go out.
Grabbing a towel, Nikolai walked out of the big space and down the open hallway. The light shined down onto him, making him feel comfortable. He was going to pass the window, but he stopped. Looking outside, the sun that he woke up to in the morning was no longer there, instead, there were clouds. Big dark green clouds. Staring at the clouds, he felt an ill promotion.
"You should bring in the plants from outside," A voice said below him. Looking beside him, a cat that was the same size as that of a tiger was also staring at the ill omen clouds.
"What do you think it is?" He asked while heading outside.
"From my judgment, it could be the second wave of infection. Clouds usually change colors either due to the sky itself, chemicals from pollution, or even the water's evaporation. In this case, it could be either the second option or the third," The cat discussed solemnly. Nikolai finally reached the front door and opened it. In front of him were a bunch of plants that they got and planted. Lily continued discussing her thoughts while he put the plants inside.
"The infection could've been airborne in the beginning, but it slowly evolved into something that can only be spread through a bite, scratch, and even blood. But this evolution shouldn't be so fast. You were at home when the first zombies hit, and it was about two or three days before the military came, but no one got infected when they went outside at the time. So safe to say that the virus evolution rate is quick. But even if it evolved, there will be the outdated version, and it seemed that the outdated version grew into the clouds…".
Nikolai put the last plant outside before looking up. The green cloud grew darker than what they were before he started putting plants away. "It looks like they're going to rain," he said softly. Turning to go back inside, Nikolai heard the sound of a car coming from a distance. Turning his back from a distance, he saw ten or so armored vehicles coming in their direction. Squinting his eyes, Nikolai quickly walked into the house and locked the door.
"Go get my gun," He said before briskly walking upstairs. Walking into one of the rooms that had a window that faced the road in front of the house. He slightly drew the curtains and looked out. The armored trucks were extremely fast. They were all deep black and on them the best steel that had a couple of small dents on them. The ten trucks slowed down the pace before reaching a stop in front of the gate of the mansion.
The door behind him slowly opened. Lily came in with the case of his gun in her mouth and behind her was a nervous-looking boy and not so much a nervous woman with an awake bubbling baby in her arms. He put a finger over his mouth to single silence before quickly putting the gun together. After the gun was assembled, he slightly opened the window and slightly poked out the muzzle. The boy handed him a walkie that was connected to the front gate's communications.
A set of people came out of one of the cars and looked up to the mansion they were discussing as they approached the gate. When they reached the gate, one of them put their hands on the gate, but quickly withdrew as a scream ripped out his mouth from being electrified. The other quickly grabbed him and made a quick distance away from the gate. The nonchalant attitude they had earlier quickly become serious. One of the people brought out a walkie-talkie and said a couple of things as he scouted the house in front of him. The man said a couple of things before turning to the left, where the communications box was at.
Pressing the button, Nikolai and others heard a Mandarin accented voice through the speakers, "Hello? Is anyone there? My pals and I need a place to hide. Do you see this rain? This rain is very dangerous and if we don't get inside we will be in danger,". The voice sounded casual, the English was clear and mellow.
Niko stared at the man through the scope as he pressed the button on the walkie. "Go to another house," he said. The Russian accent was strong due to apprehension.
"Ah, a Russian Person! I'm sorry, should I spe-"
"No need. I can speak English," Nikolai cut the man off. His accent went down as he calmed himself. "Find another house, there's no need to come to this one,".
"Well, my boss said it has to be this one. You know, for security and space reasons. We won't cause trouble, we will even give you food and items in exchange for letting us stay here,". The man said with a nervous chuckle.
"Hmm… Niko use the GC2 bullet and make a deal with them. Have the others hide in their room," Lily said. The hand holding the gun clenched, but the teen still nodded his head. He told the others to enter their room and lock it while he pulled out a purple bullet. Loading the bullet, he pointed it at one of the men right next to the man talking to him. Latching onto the man's leg, he took a deep breath and pulled the trigger. The man instantly collapsed onto the floor, and the others drew their weapons, pointing where Nikolai was at.
"Tell your friends to put their guns down," Nikolai said through the walkie.
"You! You just shot at us, and you want us to put our guns down!" The voice was full of anger as English and Korean was mixed together
"If you don't calm down, he will die from the poison on the bullet. I suggest you be quiet and cooperate with me," Nikolai responded calmly and steadily. Heaving was heard on the other side. He saw the man make a sign, and the guns went down reluctantly.
"Speak," the man said.
"I want a month's worth of food for 12 people, alongside some medical supplies. You will be the one bringing me these supplies, try anything, then the poison in your man's thigh will become more than the bullet is already releasing. When I see that the stuff you sent is up to standard, you guys will be able to enter. You're not allowed to use the items in here unless you ask me. You're not allowed to use the rooms already occupied. If I see anything sketchy, don't blame me for being ruthless,".
"A month's worth of food for 12 people? What the hell are you trying to starve us?" The man sounded in disbelief.
"Do you agree or not? I don't believe you have the luxury to stall time at the current moment,". The man looked up at the quickly getting darker clouds before once again talking to his men in the walkie-talkie.
"We agree," he finally said. People from the other cars quickly got out of the car and brought out the requested items. Taking the scope out of the window and locking it. Nikolai hurried down the stairs and grabbed the keys for opening the gate.
Opening the front door slightly, Lily walked out and looked at the people in front of her. "I don't see a sniper… It's best to let me go and get the items and check for poisoning or drugs," she said as she walked to the gate.
The men looked confused as a white cat walked up to them. They backed up a little, wondering what Nikolai was up to. The gate slowly opened when the cat reached a stop; it didn't open fully, but enough for two people side by side to pass through. Wondering if they should go in and put the stuff down, right in front of them they saw the cat twitch before sounds of breaking and cracking came from it. The sounds of inhalation were heard as the small cat turned into a fierce beast, the same size as a horse.
The men's legs trembled, while the other men that were behind them raised their guns.
"Don't let your men shoot her, otherwise the deal is off and having her attack. Drop the bags, she will grab them herself," Nikolai's voice sounded from the communications box. The men instantly did as instructed, putting down their guns and putting agreement items on the floor. Lily walked up to them causing the men to back up a safe distance.
Sniffing at the bag, she poked and probed before grabbing them with her mouth. Looking at the worried men, she softly grunted before turning around. The gates opened, "You can enter," the communications said.
The man that was speaking to Nikolai sighed in relief before heading into one of the cars. Going in, he was met with five people.
"W-w- What w-w-was that t-t-thing," One of the girls said, pointing in Lily's direction. Her skin was pale, while her eyes were a warm brown. Her dyed strawberry blonde hair was in a messy bun, looking as if it hadn't been combed into for days. She was currently hugging the man that was sitting next to her that looked like a male version of her
"Who knows," the man said. The others were silent, most having furrowed eyebrows. The man that looked at the man in the middle looked calmer. His hair was black and straight, while his eyes were a rare blue double eyelid for people of Asian ethnicity. His jawline was sharp, and his nose was roman shaped. When they got into the gate, he got out of the car and his height of 6 '5 stood out among everyone else.
He walked up to the man whose leg was shot. The man looked green in the face, he was panting heavily while another man was looking at the wound that looked nauseating.
"What type of poison and can we cure it," The man made a strange face before getting up from his crouching position.
"Poison is unknown and that along with the cure. I have never seen such a wicked thing. The bullet locked itself on his bones and it's currently rotting it with the surrounding blood tissue and muscle. I simply probed it a little, and it's like it's alive, spreading the process a little faster,". Everybody sucked in a breath as they listened before looking at the man that now had a gloomy aura.
The man who was examining the wounded man looked at the blue-eyed man, "I thought you said no one was supposed to be here,". The man looked at him, then at the house.
"No one was supposed to… everybody gather the stuff and let's head in," he said.
" An ShuHui open the door," The man that was talking to Niko nodded and cautiously opened it. All the people entered and the first thing they saw was a teen sitting on top of the steps with a tiger-sized cat lying next to him. The teen looked at them without moving, like a statue, while the cat was looking at them like they were the most interesting thing in existence.
An ShuHui coughed trying to grab the human's attention, but the teen didn't look at him yet the cat did. "Um… Are you the person that was talking to us just a couple of minutes ago?" He asked uncertainly. The teen still didn't move, but the cat nodded her head. ShuHui looked confused, and so did the others behind him. The blue-eyed man's eyes narrowed as he looked at the teen. He felt that the appearance looked familiar to him, but can't remember from where.
While everyone was wondering if this awkward confrontation will continue. The teen finally moved. He slowly stood up from his sitting position and turned around to walk upstairs. He didn't turn around as he said, "Lily show them where the bedrooms are and don't let them enter the rooms already occupied,". When the last word was uttered, the teen was no longer in sight and what was left was a bewildered group of people and a grinning cat.