Zera squinted her eyes to get a better look at their surroundings. She and her friends were led to the rooftop of the safe zone building.
From the higher ground, they could view the vast entirety of the stage they were in and the number of zombies milling about.
Smoke was rising to the skies at the parts Zera believed had been bombed.
The sound of growling could be heard even from where they were at, and Zera could only imagine what it would be like if they were to jump right back at the zombies below.
Half of the roads in the surrounding area were swarmed by zombies. There were the regular ones who walked slowly and the super zombies who could outrun them if they would stumble.
"The game stated that we need to finish off the zombies before we could proceed to the next level," Astherielle commented, her gaze falling on the hordes of zombies below them.
"But how do we kill all of them in one go? It's not like we have a hundred grenades."
Zera turned to Astherielle.
"I only have one grenade," Zera's mind was trying to map out possibilities for them to achieve the task of killing all the remaining re-animated dead so they could finally advance to the next stage.
"If we could only lure all of them in one place, the grenade could work. We'll have to aim our guns at all the others remaining."
"That's not a bad idea," Jaspreth joined in. "But our next problem would be how do we gather all of them in one place and where? Where would be the perfect spot?"
There was a resounding silence that enveloped the five players, each contemplating on what they could do to make it possible for them to use the grenade and finish off most of the zombies loitering around.
"The prison," Nayowmi stated, catching the attention of the four friends. She was looking thoughtful. "What if the platform could be lowered back, and we could gather them there? Once the grenade is dropped, we need to make it out."
"The whole building will explode," Beatrix immediately countered. "But that could actually be option number one. We could run as fast as we can and see what happens. After all, if we managed to get them all, we'd be spiraled into the next level, right?"
Zera caught each of their gazes. It was actually not a bad idea.
They could go with that. But there was a high chance the gate for the next level won't appear in an instant or at least throw them towards it once the bomb went off.
Were they willing to take a risk?
Looking at the hordes and hordes of zombies below them, Zera wasn't even certain if the safe zone building could hold all of them. It was looking more and more likely that they would have a better chance if they hopped down the building and fought the re-animated dead head-on.
But the downside would be; they would be fighting for hours, yet those monsters will keep coming at them until the last one is finished off.
Who knows how long that would take?
The first option they had was doable. But maybe it wasn't in the same building they were at.
"We need to find a wider building, one that would be able to hold the zombies," Zera stated.
"What about the zombies inside this building or in every building? How do we make them come out?" Astherielle voiced out.
"The game would probably release all of them at some point. We need to strategize." Jaspreth encouraged.
"Astrid has the speed upgrade. Zera has the grenade. I think we could make something work with that. Don't you agree?" Beatrix eyed her teammates, letting her gaze fall last on Zera.
"Agreed. First, we need to figure out how to get out of here. Second, we must find the building to gather the zombies. Third, if we want all of them to come out, We must make a very loud noise, calling out to them." Zera paused.
"Fourth?" Jaspreth asked. "Strategy?"
Zera nodded her response.
"We need a strategy, one that can't fail. We'll have plan A and plan B. Plan C and plan D for backup. And in order for that to happen, we need to work together."
–
*Year: 2770
Location: Calix Studio, City: Zion
Erza Reinheart's hands shook uncontrollably as she put a hand to her lips. The scene that lay before her was so horrible that tears began to spill from her eyes.
She fell on the floor, her legs losing strength in carrying her weight.
Avalon was lying beside Liam Ford, the next in line for the government seat for Hearth. A spool of blood covered the ground beneath them, and neither of them were moving.
Erza's hands continued to tremble even when she had heard footsteps coming towards the room. She got on her feet hastily and crawled under the bed, placing her trembling hands over her mouth.
"Are you sure they are dead?" A man's deep voice echoed inside the room, making Erza's heart thunder inside her chest. She cannot be exposed, or she might end up having the same fate as her friend.
Erza scooted further under the bed, afraid that the man walking towards the lifeless bodies of Avalon and Liam would see a silhouette of her.
Her tears were continually streaming down her face, and she had no way to stop them. But she needed to stay quiet. If she wanted to find out who did this to Avalon, Erza must not be caught.
"You can check, sir. No pulse," another voice replied to the first. There was an exchange of scoffs.
"I'll trust your judgment. Serves him right. He wasn't fit to be the governor of Hearth."
Erza heard the man cursing, taking his leave with his men trailing after him.
When she was alone once more, Erza looked at Avalon's dead body lying a few inches away from her. The tears came pouring in as she thought she could have saved her from suffering a terrible fate had she made her wait until the wedding was over to tell Liam about the great news.
"I'm sorry, Avalon," she whispered. "I promise, I'll find the ones responsible for your death. Let karma make them pay for what they had done," she sobbed.
"May you find peace, Avalon."