Back upstairs, Selena continued to fight the remaining aberrant zombie, another sprinter. She had seen Shinon being kicked downstairs, but there wasn't much she could have done to help him, other than believe in his skills.
'I can't even use the gun to dispatch the bastard.' Selena thought while staring at the teenagers behind the Sprinter.
Despite being an aberrant, the zombie's flesh had decayed a lot. If Selena shot a bullet at it, there was a high chance that the bullet with push through and hit the kids, and it was the same story with her crossbow.
As such, she could only depend on her fists and a makeshift knife to take care of the Sprinter. Unfortunately, close combat wasn't her forte, and fighting an enhanced species like that wasn't looking good for her.
Selena stared at the Sprinter, watching its every move. Its twisted form, writhing and snarling in front of her. Suddenly the creature lunged at her. She felt the heat of its breath on her skin as it attacked her with its sharp claws, trying to slice her in half.
Selena ducked and rolled to the side, the zombie's claws barely missing her as it crashed into a pile of debris. She took the opportunity to strike, plunging her blade into its back. But the zombie was not so easily defeated, and it quickly spun around, its eyes glowing with rage.
"Uh oh!"
True to its name, the Sprinter reacted so fast that Selena did not have time to pull her knife out.
Even without her weapon, Selena continued to fight the aberrant zombie, her movements fluid and graceful as she evaded its attacks. She knew she couldn't let her guard down for even a moment, or she would be doomed.
The zombie was relentless, its claws striking out again and again. Selena ducked and weaved, but it wasn't enough as she got kicked to the curb, as Shinon had been mere moments ago.
Out of nowhere, a high-pitched scream echoed through the factory, and Selena's heart sank. She knew what it meant - a Screamer had arrived, and it was calling for reinforcements.
The aberrant zombie seemed to grow even stronger, as if it was feeding off the energy of the Screamer. Selena glanced around, looking for a way out, but the zombie was already on her.
"Fuck..."
The Sprinter's one blow had knocked the air out of her lungs, and she could barely move, let alone dodge the incoming attack. Just then, the Sprinter got hit by a bunch of rocks.
Selena looked sideways, only to see the teenagers were trying their best to distract the zombie. They were yelling as well, but thanks to the Screamer's cry, she could only hear a constant buzzing noise.
"Don't... do it..." She weakly mumbled.
The kids had no chance of making it alive after aggravating the zombie. Soon, the Sprinter changed its target, slowly heading towards the children. It almost felt like even it knew the children were weak and wanted to torment them before feasting on their flesh.
However, someone else wanted to torment the zombie instead.
Suddenly, Selena heard a whooshing sound, and the zombie was sent flying into a steel pillar. She turned around and saw Shinon standing there; his legs shrouded with shadowy energy. He had kicked the zombie, and it had crashed into the pillar, its head splitting open on impact.
"Are you okay?" Shinon asked, rushing over to Selena's side.
"Yeah, thanks to you," Selena replied, panting heavily.
The kids were ever so excited to see Shinon and hugged each other. But both Shinon and Selena knew the trouble was far from over.
A Screamer was hiding somewhere in the factory, which meant a Bloater must be accompanying it as well. Not to mention the other aberrant zombies that might be heading their way.
"We need to take out the screamer before it calls in more zombies," Shinon said, scanning the factory floor.
Selena nodded. "What about the kids?"
Shinon felt conflicted, but he had made his decision. In one swift move, he removed his hoodie before handing it to the girl.
"Use it well, alright?" Shinon smiled, patting the boy's back. "I have nothing to give you, but as long as you're around Selena, you'd be safe."
"Thanks, big bro!" Both of them nodded vigorously.
"Shinon, what are you doing?" Selena questioned, but she knew exactly what he was doing.
"I'll take care of the zombies, and you take the kids back to the settlement. I'll meet you there-"
"NO! You can't possibly-"
Shinon grabbed Selena and planted a kiss on her lips. "Look, I'm a stranger to this world. A man who shouldn't be here! Who cares if something happens to me? Don't make this decision any more difficult than it already is... go!"
Selena bit her lips. She had never felt so helpless before in her entire life, and even if she didn't want to acknowledge it, Shinon was correct. If they stayed there, all of them would die. But if someone stayed behind to distract the zombies... the rest might have enough time to escape.
She grabbed Shinon by the collar of his neck and whispered. "Don't you dare die on me, bastard! I'll be back for you with reinforcements."
Shinon smiled and replied, "You do that."
As Selena and the kids fled, Shinon watched as they disappeared down a hallway before returning to face the factory floor. He could hear the distant sound of groaning and shuffling - the zombies were getting closer.
The only reason Shinon decided to stay behind was to take down the Screamer and the Bloater. If left unchecked, they could become aberrated, which wouldn't be good for anyone.
"I have to take out the Screamer first. If I can do that, the other zombies should lose their direction and focus." Shinon mumbled to himself before warming up for the carnage to unfold before him.
Soon, the undead came bursting through the doors. Some fell before the others and were stomped to death by their kind. All of their eyes glowed red, and Shinon knew it was an after-effect of the Screamer's cry.
"Let's dance," Shinon mumbled, his sword cackling with energy, and two shadow swords hovered behind him.
***
Mission Progress:
-> Learn more about different nests. (Completed)
-> Kill Roamer Zombies: 15/15 Killed. (Completed)
-> Kill Sprinters: 4/7 Killed.
-> Kill Screamers: 0/2 Killed.
-> Kill Bloaters: 0/1 Killed.
Time Left: 2 days: 21 hours: 17 minutes