"I can't move!" Red, the youngest survivor sought help and yet, no one came to pull him out from being sucked in.
There were multiple holes that led to different various rooms, making it difficult for the survivors to find each other without going deeper into the hideout.
"Don't move, just stare at it for now." Blessy whispered to her sister.
Since the southern living undead was preying on those deceased humans, it became the source of its strength based on the study of experts, butterflies also take a liking to blood and tears. 'This one is also an infected half-human...'
"Peppermint, milkweeds, or... A coneflower!" the girl decided on a way to distract the distorted butterfly-like creature, reaching for the traces of a purple coneflower on the heel of her boots, knowing that there is a probability of diverting its attention to the.
"How is a single flower going to save us from this monster??" her sister rolled her eyes.
The older female was already sighing in defeat, slowly giving in to her assumed end but Blessy, on the other hand, did what she thought would be for the best.
"When the coast is clear, we escape." she whispered as soon as the creature closely attacked them, she pushed Rissa out of the way after dodging the enemy.
Stuffing the flower into its antenna.
"Let's leave!" the ground was too slippery in the hole that they had entered, letting Blessy into dragging her sister even though she was still laying there and hasn't recovered from the sudden fall. "They're alive! Everyone, gather back here." June shouted and that made their situation all the worse than it already was before.
Everything around them was starting to break loose from their places, the walls and ceiling were moving as if they were being freed from the chrysalis.
"We have to go immediately!!" Ace did not budge from his spot, he was staring at the specie or organism ahead of them, he and Blessy were practically being hypnotized.
"What is going on with you? Sis, are you feeling okay??" Rissa stood back up on her feet to keep her sister from being in grave danger once again, having their visions filled with delusions that satisfied the desire as they thrive to survive.
The butterfly-looking undead was feeding on the wishes of its prey as well, having already taken two of the survivors in its preparation to put them under metamorphosis like the other deceased people in the hideout.
"Snap out of it!" Blessy regained her senses as they quickly departed from the dark and narrow hole that was connected to the other area where the rest of them were located. "Hold on..." Blessy dropped her older sister's grasp on her.
"Red! Are you in there? What happened??" the younger female went near, discovering the youngest of their member in a chrysalis that was slowly enveloping his surroundings.
Rissa and Blessy struggled to pull him out from there without getting him hurt by creating a larger way out, the blonde-haired boy wiggled in his spot to keep it from reaching up and fully covering his body.
"Just do whatever it takes to free me, cut this thing if you must!" he sounded determined.
'If he says so, then I am certainly choosing that option.' Blessy held out one of her daggers to tear the chrysalis open.
"We're doomed!" Shawn was assisting his friends as he arrived back on the surface, leading them to a wide area to get away from anything that pursues all of them.
"We aren't doomed, let's ditch this place and run fast!"
Ace retrieved his composure, taking the front position as they prepared themselves to disappear from the sight of their enemies.
The senseless infected beings lurked close to them.
Finally regaining their feral characteristics, slowly but surely pounded on the vehicle which the survivors had moved away to cover themselves.
"Woah!" Mike rose lastly from the ground and came in contact with the monstrous-looking creatures as they hustled the group that was already fleeing from the entrance of the underground hideout.
Rissa grabbed onto his jean jacket, taking him with her and the others.
"Face your front and stop looking behind!" Mike was taken by surprise as the gap between him and their enemies had turned into a mere yard, jump scaring them all from here to there.
'Where do we head now??' June was exceeding in his pace, catching up on Ace.
Red was struggling to keep up with the group, drifting away from them again because the infected creatures were not letting them have the space to breathe or reach each other. "Red!" Shawn powerfully threw a whistle toward his friend to make sure that they would be able to find their way back together as a whole.
Their team was split into different units, scattering since they had no path or plan.
"Everyone, remember our chitchat from earlier..." Rissa was running out of breath as she worked hard and continued to keep the other two survivors from being left behind since they were already having a ton of trouble grouping up.
The enemies drove them far from each other, losing one of the only things that strengthened their bond which is the quantity and qualities that they had.
"Hide there!" Rissa reached for a tree branch as they headed inside the oak forest where the train tracks guided them toward.
"Face me, you little and huge monsters!" she was riled up by the exhaustion that they were feeling from all the running and encounters they had with their enemies.
"What the hell?" Blessy swung her hand in the air with one of her daggers in hand, almost stabbing Ace directly on the head which made him cuss at the younger female.
Her group consisted of Ace and June while Shawn, Mike, and Rissa were together elsewhere, leaving the youngest of them such as Red alone somewhere.
"Watch it!" June made eye contact with his older friend, feeling a slight irritation toward the girl in their front.
The 19-year-old female kept on making very risky movements that looked like she was neglecting to keep them from harm, every single thing that she ought to do became another source of their distrust of her.
Although, she began smiling from ear to ear, freaking out the other two beside her as they fought side by side without a single second to spare, every corner of their location had a bunch of ordinary living corpses, however, they were still as difficult as those from the southern island, given the fact that they can also mutate and evolve.
Both of the units were physically separated but they were all emotionally and spiritually connected as one.
"Thank you!" June pulled the girl's hair with force yet gentle care about her well-being, all of them understood what the other was going through, having to be in the same situation and circumstances gave them the right to be extremely doubtful.
While Blessy's group was in a mutual agreement in regard to helping one another escape the dangers surrounding them, her sister, on the other hand, was seemingly fighting the monsters alone until...
Shawn grasped onto the trees that were in his way, making his return to the older female's side, climbing up the trees and kicking the ones behind the female.
Mike, too, decided to go back and assist her.
They were tired of hiding and showing their enemies that they were weak, and after a while has passed, Rissa started losing her balance due to the lack of energy left in her before passing out.
Fortunately, they have already demolished or finished off every remaining infected being around their area. It was safe to assume that the coast was clear, letting them drop themselves on the grassy floor and look for a shelter to camp in.
"See those birds?" Mike approached the girl, carrying her on his back as he talked to his friend, pointing at the flock of birds in the sky as they flew near the surface.
"What about... Them?" Shawn wondered, feeling out of breath after he physically fought for the first time in his life.
"I remember my dad saying that birds often lead to streams of water."
He scoffed at the thought of it, lifting himself up from the grassy floor as the three of them followed the flying birds at the other end of the forest, the splashing and gushing sound of the waterfalls enlightened them.
Their unit decided to camp there for the night as the moonlight rose from the sky.
"We don't have anything to eat..."
Mike complained to his slightly younger friend while pushing back his silver-dyed hair, thinking of a solution to their concern that evening.
"Why don't we take a look at her things?" the male expressed his frustration and starvation but Shawn rebuked him from doing so.
"It isn't nice to meddle with other people's belongings." he shook his head.
Just when he was about to disobey his friend, Rissa pulled her backpack away from them looking like she has been awake the entire time.
"Shasha is right, I am not feeding a person who crosses the line and doesn't give respect to me." she rolled her eyes, soon realizing what she called the black-haired boy.
"First, it was Goblin, and now, Shasha was it??" the second male paused.
"These sisters are seriously into name-calling." he muttered under his breath, slowly removing the blazer her was wearing before leaving the premises, getting soaked by the flowing water above them which is blocking the cave from being exposed in a distance.
He washed off all the smudges of dirt and grass.
Including the blood he attained by helping the girl who offended him, rinsing his blazer before shaking it aggressively in the air.
At the same time, Shawn caught a short glimpse of a little girl's silhouette and/or figure in the dark, not so far from their location.
He did not seem to think much about it and continued cleaning up himself.
The black-haired male washed his face, letting the traces of slightly fresh blood drip in every corner of his seemingly soft textured face.
Shawn was in the middle of scrubbing his hands using the blazer when someone abruptly threw a small pebble at him.
He looked around to see what or who it was, thus, stumbling upon what appeared to be his friends, or rather, people that ended up with him.
"You look incredibly feminine..."
Rissa cluelessly shamed his appearance though Shawn did not mind it because he was already used to people saying that, even one or two of his friends.
He felt as if it was a neutral comment, it could be meant in a negative way but also, in a positive way. "Anyway, I think that my sister brought out her kite..." the older female pointed her hand directly toward the sky as a yellowish brown kite was shaped like a sunflower, staying very still in the same spot for as long as they stared at it.
It solemnly became their way of knowing where the other survivors are located which is close by within the forest too.
"Hey, you good there?" the girl was listening to their conversation after feeling that the mood was undeniably hateful.
"Just leave me alone, it is not like you aren't the same." he was evidently triggered by the words and actions they chose to use on him, failing to recover the peaceful affinity with one another.
They traveled from the waterfalls to the location of the sunflower kite, however, as the moonlight grew lighter, a flying living corpse struck it down with its beak as it glided past the spot where it floated, carrying the object before they could even get there.
"To Hell with you!!" a familiar voice shouted at the top of their lungs.
'And I thought she was angel-like...' Ace watched the girl as her hands were placed on her hips, stomping on the dirt as the dust flew away due to the wind, the fire was burning the wood they gathered earlier that day.
"Can you quiet down?" June unzipped the cover of the tent as he finished setting it up for them to use. "Oh, I ask for your forgiveness. Sir. For working here while the two of you rest there." she argued, still, with mannerism.
"Am I the only one bothered by the absence of the others?" she added, turning around to face the two of them.
"Uhmmm..." Ace sprung up from his seat and rubbed his eyes, trying to confirm if his vision was not tricking him or something like that.
"Blessy~" the younger female did not seem to realize it yet until...
"You're here!!" June stepped out of the pitched tent, welcoming the three others as they safely arrived at the location of the other unit.
"Wait, what??" the girl looked behind her, only to find the other survivors that she has been waiting for all this time but instead of being glad to see her own sister, she ran to hug the black-haired male, specifically, Shawn.
"I am so happy to-" Rissa had her arms wide open, feeling glad that her sister waited for her arrival. "HEY! I'm right here..."
The others were shocked to see this, it was so sudden that even the male, himself, could not react properly to the girl's actions toward him. "Are you sure that you are embracing the right person?" Mike's head appeared near them both.
"The world cannot lose such a gifted person like you! I am more than sure that Shawn is the one I am very glad to see."
"Uh-huh. And who here wishes to give me a hug??" her sister threw a tantrum, giggling as she shook her head from side to side in disbelief, simply finding the moment too precious to even get mad about. "I am happy to have met you again, including you guys!"
Shawn finally found the precise words to say.
"Well, this turned out better than what I had in mind." Ace went on to embrace his friends as well, even that one friend who has been by his side the entire time.
Blessy pulled away from suffocating the black-haired male though he was taller than her, she is certainly stronger than he can ever be. "Come here, join us."
Rissa was baffled over the invite, pointing at herself to verify whilst checking behind her if there was anyone else who stood near her. "Of course, there are only six of us here..."
June mentioned, not realizing that one of them was missing.
"So, Red is really out there by himself."
Shawn whispered as he tried not to imagine bad things that might happen to his poor younger friend being led somewhere alone in the dark.
'And with all that is going on around us...' Mike held onto his extra pillow as they all settled down inside the tent, ending the day with another peaceful slumber.
"Just rest up, you'll be needing it if you desire to go out tomorrow and search for him." Rissa pushed the silver-haired male away from her as he shifted to the other side, facing his left where Ace quietly slept as soon as he laid down.
"Oh, how I envy that guy." Rissa commented as she heard him snore, they all laughed at the statement she made, trying their best to keep the noise as light as possible.
"Is anyone willing to replace me then? Not everyone single one of us can get the rest we need because someone has to stay on the lookout."
Blessy remarked upon hearing them talk.
"I can stay on watch for the night if you want." Shawn opened his eyes to volunteer, sitting up as soon as the girl took off her duffle bag from being clutched onto her back.
Handing it over to him in case of an emergency though she also kept two of her favorite daggers in her sleeves.
"Won't you get hurt as you sleep?" the male didn't let this slide.
"At least hide it somewhere safe where you can easily get it when an emergency happens. If ever something comes up." she contemplated for a bit before agreeing to it.
Nodding in return to let the other individual know that she will surely take his suggestion into consideration.
"Thank you." she prepared herself for bed and soon fell asleep like the rest.
'I am once again alone.' he mumbled under his breath, feeling the cold breeze as he strapped the duffle bag over his chest before taking a seat near the dying fire.
It was quiet and no monsters were around them.
"This opportunity isn't to be taken for granted like people... The unexpected often occurs when you least worry about it." he spoke to himself.
*Fueeee~* he heard a sound that seems to be from a whistle somewhere around, finding it strange that such a noise would be playing in the middle of the night...
-\Did you know that the sounds you produce are more audible at night?\- a memory flashed in his train of thoughts, breaking the suspicion that was developing.
He took out his flashlight and directed it all around, awakening Blessy as she never sleeps so heavily unlike someone, in particular, the girl grabbed her daggers with her eyes still half-closed.
"Is that you, Red?" Shawn asked slightly louder than he usually calls for his friend's name. "Blow the whistle once more if that truly is you." he spoke again.
Blessy carefully unzipped the tent cover and locked the daggers within her sleeves, holding them in position as she sensed danger although, the girl was still half-asleep, not intending to actually get up and yet, move around as if she was fully awake and herself.
She walked behind Shawn as the male continued looking around with his flashlight.
Blessy flung her right dagger at him as soon as he faced her.
"Blessy!" they both fell on the ground as he caught her in his arms after successfully dodging the attack though the yell he made woke up the rest of the survivors, alerting them that something happened while they were comfortably in slumber.
The group of guys peeked through the open tent cover to find Blessy on their male friend, meanwhile, Rissa was still asleep and unmoved by the commotion.
"You good there, buddy?"