"Tsk, we can't waste Sam's sacrifice. Let's get out of here before we're surrounded by the zombie hordes!" Frankie clicked his tongue and shouted at everyone.
"Let's go, Zayn." Alex immediately helped Zayn to stand up. He knew it must be hard for Zayn because the serum he had just found failed to save Sam.
"Sam, thx." Arnold clenched his fists and gritted his teeth. He then rushed away from there before the fire got bigger and bigger.
*Vroom!*
A military-grade hummer sped out of the building. It speeded in the opposite direction of the oncoming horde of zombies.
No zombies could catch up to them, and the escape journey was pretty smooth. However, the atmosphere became completely silent because of Sam's sacrifice just now.
"Where are we going now? Back to prison?" Frankie suddenly asked. They just left with no clear direction now.
"Let's head north and take the overpass that's still accessible. We can't lure the high-rank zombies into the prison. We're being targeted right now." Zayn checked around to confirm their situation. He seemed to be able to feel the danger lurking everywhere, but he didn't know where they came from.
"The exposed higher ground, huh. It's better to keep an eye on the surrounding area, but we also make ourselves a clear target." Frankie wasn't too sure it was a good decision.
"If that monster survives and comes hunting us, we'll destroy it with our anti-tank guns. We have some machine guns, miniguns, and a high-penetrative long-barreled rifle. I'll make sure no zombies survive." Alex bumped his fists while glancing at the rearview mirror. They had some nice weapons hidden in the back trunk.
"Alright then." Frankie turned the steering wheel, and they headed straight north.
"Zayn, is our mission impossible? Perhaps, a far more dangerous zombie is already there. First, it was Steve, then now it's Sam. Six of our comrades have died in the past week. Apart from that one day, every day, there's always at least one of our group that dies.
Every time we go out exploring, there's always one person who can't come back with us to our prison base. Is God really with us?" Arnold looked at his shaking hands with a desperate look.
"..." Alex and Frankie fell silent when they heard that. They wanted to know Zayn's answer too.
"Arnold, do you think everything that happened was someone's fault? Everything happened by God's will, and we started our journey and quest to find an answer and a solution. We will die in the end, but how will you decide your ending?
We must ensure that we return to nature after we meet death clean. May all those who died before us receive forgiveness and a place in heaven. Please remember that death is not the end of the journey." Zayn tried to stay strong to accept everything that happened even though his heart ached and was heavy over the facts that had happened in the past week.
What Arnold said was true. Every time they left the prison base and explored the city, there was always one member who died. Their core team only numbered four now because of Sam's departure.
"What if God has abandoned humankind? It's like the apocalypse that wiped out the past dinosaurs. Perhaps, humans are no longer wanted, and the zombie era will replace us." Arnold looked into Zayn's face.
"We can only fight and pray. May God always be with us and protect us. Right now, we only have the choice to fight on the battlefield or take refuge anxiously at the base. It's between grasping your destiny and changing it or waiting for fate in a shelter. Safe or secure... we have to create it with our efforts." Zayn clenched his fists.
"..." Everyone fell silent after hearing that. They pondered to reconsider why they were there and what they stood for.
They had come that far, and their decisions were not forced by anyone other than their own will. Zayn himself came with amazing knowledge and a great leadership spirit. They are human, and they have only two choices.
At that moment, they would choose the first option. It would be much better to try their best to determine their own destiny than to wait for uncertainty and die in anxiety.
"You are so wise, Zayn. Are you not afraid, or have you ever had doubts?" Frankie suddenly asked. The sentence had a deep implied meaning, and he wanted to test Zayn again.
"I'm actually scared, afraid that I will fail and disappoint. However, I have to believe that God is the one who will guide us to find a way out of this situation." Zayn looked at his hands. He trembled slightly because of the previous incident.
"I see... Your willpower is strong, but please remember that there comes a time when we have to retreat and leave. The situation in this city has become very dangerous even though the zombie invasion has only been going on for two weeks. That superhuman experiment turns humans into zombies that keep mutating. At the same time, we're weak humans who rely on weapons for resistance." Frankie nodded and offered a piece of good advice.
He felt that failure would come to the stubborn, but he knew Zayn was a wise man and could see the limits to what they could reach.
"You're right, Frankie. We'll try to find the truth for three more days. After that, let's get out of this city. Maybe, we're not strong enough and worthy enough to uncover the truth and solution." Zayn nodded in understanding.
"Three days, huh... Hopefully, tragedy won't happen again." Arnold muttered under his breath. He tried to believe in Zayn and surrender to God's will.
After that, they climbed to the highest flyover still accessible. It was high enough for them to monitor the surrounding area within two to three kilometers. They can also watch the top of the building from there if something is stalking them.
Zayn and his three friends prepared the weapons with high-penetrative power as if ready to kill the high-rank zombies.
"..." Zayn looked around his surroundings while folding his arms. He observed the visible zombies' behaviour and assessed their strength.
A few days ago, he classified the levels of zombies based on their abilities and strengths.
Rank one were zombies who moved slowly, lacked intelligence, and attacked like savage undead. This kind of zombie was pretty easy to deal with.
Rank two were zombies that were able to move rather quickly and could run under certain circumstances. This kind of zombie was a bit troublesome but still easy to deal with due to their minimal intelligence.
Rank three were zombies mutated to another level with various abnormal physical bodies. This type of zombie has a strong body and usually very hard skin. They possessed the intelligence of a beast with a survival instinct.
Rank four was categorized as a high-rank zombie. This kind of zombie was the peak predator with quite impressive intelligence. They could strategize and trap or ambush their prey. Due to the high combat power and defense, a high-rank zombie was very dangerous.
Zayn and his group would choose to withdraw if they encountered a high-rank zombie. They had never killed one, but it would be different now that they would hunt one with themselves as the bait.
The last one was rank five, the one they had never met and was only categorized as the walking disaster. The super zombie with human intelligence may already be out there. Everything was unknown, but Zayn was sure that a walking disaster class monster existed.
"Zayn, you're right. That red devil will be after us. That monster survived the explosion and is now rushing towards us here." Alex took a deep breath as he gazed into the distance with the binoculars.
"Get ready. We're going to kill a high-rank zombie." Zayn squinted his eyes and prepared his minigun.
"Yeah, we're going to avenge Sam's death. That red devil is going to hell today." Arnold grinned like a psychopath. He wouldn't let that blood-red high-rank zombie go alive at all cost.
Alex got into the car to control the anti-tank rifle, and Frankie got into position with his sniper rifle.
Arnold immediately took a long-barreled rifle and a shotgun from the car's trunk. After that, he took some grenades and got into position.
Zayn and his friends were ready to welcome the high-rank zombies with a well-prepared surprise.