Remember the screams I heard when I first entered this store? Those voices came not only from these two people beside me, but also from above us. There were also other humans inside this building, just like the armed man I met and killed.
As the three of us hurried upstairs, blaring gunshots and groans coming from various people resonated the staircase. Before we could even reach and enter the door, I pulled the kid and the girl back and motioned my fingers for them to tone their voices down.
The girl's eyes widened as she witnessed my sudden jerk. But the kid heeded my instructions and stared above the series of steps.
"There are other people on the third floor…. Mister, are you saying that we should not trust them?" the boy asked, while sending question marks towards me.
"Yes, smartypants. You guessed it right. I only want to save you because I could save you. And I need you two to look for an electric outlet or a generator, which your sister knows."
The little boy wanted to talk, but the screams of those humans cut him off. They tried opening the door by twisting the doorknobs from the other side. However, nothing happened. Their efforts turned into nought when the gate did not budge an inch even after pressing their fist against it.
"That's the vault inside this store. Kinda like the ones banks have inside!" the kid shared his thoughts, while pointing at the room. "Onee-chan told me that before!"
"Wait, I told you? I don't remember…. I don't even recognize that place," the girl tilted her head, while recalling those memories.
"Okay, I've heard enough. And it doesn't matter who heard it first," I said, before asking a question. "Does that bank room have a separate emergency exit? We need to go anywhere but here!"
Below the staircase would be the spider's den, waiting for an opportunity to strike. Inside that metallic gate were the armed humans that would kill anyone on sight, including zombies like me. We also can't trust them, especially after meeting the guy I killed on the lower ground.
If we wanted to escape, now was the time for us to move. But we had no other options left but to waddle around in this place.
This third floor was the last store's level. There were no other areas above it, except for the rooftop….
"That's it!" I shouted. "The rooftop! Kid, there's a rooftop here, right?"
The little boy nodded his head. "But it's right past the vault."
Upon hearing the kid's voice, everyone knew what we had to do. After exhausting all of our options, the three of us had to enter inside that room.
We did not have any choice at all… We need to meet these armed people and storm straight through them one way or the other.
As we compiled these ideas in our conversation, sounds of something snapping came below us. When we gazed down the stairs, the insect's thorny limbs greeted our eyes. Within a few seconds, that spider caught up to our tails, with some zombies running beside it.
"Here's the plan. We run towards the room, hide behind my back, and get out of that place!" I announced, while patting the boy and the girl's back. "Just hide behind me and try not to die."
After saying those inspirational words, the three of us went to the locked door. Everyone carried their heavy hearts as we approached the uncharted room. I destroyed the handle by firing a bullet and made it inside. Those people on the opposite side of this room did not think about that since they all panicked. They never heard the gunshot coming in our direction, considering their screams overshadowed the gun.
Dozens of humans welcomed my sight. Some of them were children, while others had older couples taking part in this chaotic event. However, a few groups of people caught my eye. This little organization they created was the ones armed with firearms and other melee weapons.
But they never greeted our presence since the survivors had a lot of things on their plate…. Well, not yet.
Those who had noticed our figures aimed told the others of our existence. And that would come by biting our backs soon.
And just like our temporary team, all those shouting survivors ran straight at the emergency exit. They pushed each other down and let others die to save themselves. But none of them had reached the gates, since something…. or someone stopped them.
Those people running around getting bitten by a bunch of zombies, with a giant undead that stood among them. Beside the monstrous entity was a bed filled with dead bodies, with their twitching heads and fingers. That figure had a grotesque image of an insect inside a human body. I wanted to cower in fear after seeing such a hideous sight.
But after all that we had been through, I did not want to waste this chance. Even though a weirdo obstructed our path, we will push through this trial no matter what! I shook my fear out of my body and narrowed my eyes at the crowded road.
"RUN!" I yelled, and sprinted onwards.
We pushed through the walls of humans, running at the same pace as ours. I told these siblings to stick by my side and avoid crashing against other people. Fortunately, the three of us made it halfway to the gates.
But those equipped with weapons fended the people and us back from the gates. They refused to take everyone with them, as their group schemed to close the rooftop's door.
Within a few moments, the people standing beside the exit slavishly massacred everyone in sight. They did not even differentiate people from those zombies, as they relentlessly took the lives of those beside us.
"Hey, you fuckers! Get out of the way! Why are you blocking the door!"
I did not know why these hoodlums schemed on killing everyone instead of saving them. But in these difficult times, there will always be heartless people living among us.
Our situation had reached the next level of difficulty when the spider behind us arrived on set. That insect also had a flock of zombies at its flank, as some bodyguards. Those murderous fiends gnawed the fallen people who couldn't race away fast enough from these undead monsters.
"Get down, you two!"
I pulled these siblings near the metallic boards and took cover from the raining bullets. As soon as we ducked, the shells from those thugs fired their guns in different directions. Those projectiles hit the zombies chasing the crowd. Woefully, those slugs also killed most people inside this room.
"What are you waiting for, you idiots! Close the goddamn door!" a voice shouted from afar, which came from the rooftop's area.
Those two guys handling the gun flashed us a grin as they continued firing their rifles in our direction. "Let's kill them all! Look at them! We won't let them pass this area!"
"Suit yourselves."
After saying the latter words, the metallic door shut behind those two thugs, trapping them inside. I clicked my tongue, knowing that the door would be a challenge for all of us to escape right now.
When the two hoodlums realised their situation, they turned around and tried punching the sturdy gates. That pair even tried shooting the door, hoping they could tear down the iron. Unfortunately for them, the door did not budge a centimetre even after firing their guns.
"Shit! We got locked out!"
"Open up, you idiot! We're still inside!"
As soon as those two shouted, the one behind the curtain yelled back. "Thank you for your service. We will now take our leave."
If I had to guess this group right, these people called themselves Yakuzas. As I squinted my eyes, a tattoo of a dragon painted on their arms stole my attention. That image alone told me they included themselves in the criminal group. But I heard that these Yakuzas even reduced the crimes around Japan.
Well, I did not care about them, since I had no reasons for meddling in their actions. However, I finally crossed paths with them in this zombie apocalypse.
"We are brothers from different mothers. You two vowed in our ritual when you joined our group. However, I never taught you to kill innocent lives for no reason. Therefore, I shall bring upon those consequences to your lives as well," the man spoke behind the door.
I assumed the guy was the Yakuza's notorious leader in Japan. I did not know why, but these two Yakuza became pawns for the leader to escape, together with his other mates.
However, those Yakuzas left us three behind. That even caused us some trouble, since we needed to escape from these zombies and the spider.
"What are we going to do now?" the girl asked, as she squeezed herself beside me.
The little boy did the same and braced my decaying arms. Even though I was a zombie, these two thought of me as their harmless babysitter. How could I hurt them after treating me with such respect and kindness?"
I cleared my throat and answered, "Well, we pray to whoever deity we believe in and hope for the best."
(Author's Note: I have nothing against Yakuzas. I just added them here to make room for other dramas and side plots in the future. Those people are cool. And according to google (and other Yakuzas that guests in youtube videos) Yakuzas are actually respectable individuals! They're awesome!)