The door creaked open as Zed pushed his way through, he rose the bloodied crossbow in hand.
He drew a fresh bolt from the side pocket of his cargo pants and nocked it on the bow. Gently, he flicked off the bits of rotting flesh that clung to the trigger. Throughout the process, Zed appeared unnaturally calm, as if the darkness in the office hadn't yet registered the presence of another living being.
He took two careful steps forward, avoiding any noise as he trying to make sure the room is clear.
The swivel chair, the desk, the sticky floor, and the broken printer that spat out sheets of paper—it all seemed eerily quiet.
Zed's every step was calculated and cautious.
Suddenly, his foot caught on something soft and stiff. Zed's face paled as he felt the fabric of a woman's dress through the thin sole of his boot.
Crouching down, he hesitantly reached out with trembling hands. For the first time since his rebirth, Zed felt genuine fear, the kind that he had never experienced while slaughtering monsters and even humans that had crossed his path.
It was the only thing that could scare him now.
"Please don't play a joke on this..." Zed muttered as he gripped the crossbow tighter and prepared to turn over the body.
"Zed! Is that you?" a soft voice called from the corner of the room.
His nerves on edge, Zed instantly aimed his arrow at that familiar corner. There, under a desk next to the coffee machine, a fragile figure trembled.
Upon seeing this, Zed let out a long sigh of relief. He gestured for the girl to be quiet as he crept over to her, keeping low to the ground.
"Zed!"
Lucy cried out as she saw him, tears streaming down her face as she threw herself into his embrace.
"Everyone's...everyone's dead..." she sobbed harder.
"It's alright, it's alright..." Zed comforted her.
"I'll get you out of here." He took Lucy's hand, trying to help her up, but she winced in pain after just a few steps.
Zed's heart sank as he realized the severity of her injury. He turned and supported Lucy, squatting down to examine her ankle.
A vivid smear of red blood stood out in the darkness.
When Lucy and Zed's eyes met again, she looked as helpless as a child who'd been hurt but didn't dare tell their parents for fear of being scolded.
"No worries," Zed reassured her before she opened mouth.
"I'll go have a look outside."
He pointed to a bag of supplies next to Lucy and nodded approvingly. "Good thing you got these. They should last us a while."
As Zed moved to leave, Lucy tugged at the hem of his shirt, cautioning, "Be careful."
He smiled back at her in response.
Stepping out of the room, Zed pulled a pack of David Dof from his pocket, struggling to knock one loose. He placed it between his lips but didn't light it—he couldn't afford to risk attracting the unwanted attention in the shadows with the scent of smoke. Besides, he had found this pack on the street earlier.
It didn't go with lighter.
Through the crack in the door, he could see Lucy sitting quietly in the chair, no longer trembling or making a fuss. She hadn't shown the slightest fear that Zed might abandon her or any sign of concern.
"Just like before..."Zed mused.
He drop the cigarette as he raised crossbow with stealth. Silently, he crept through the hallway, searching for any signs of monsters.
Their office was on the 13th floor of the building.
All Zed needed to do was head back down the same staircase he'd come up. The main issue, however, was that there were too many monsters on some floors.
On his way up, Zed had managed to avoid them, but he knew that carrying Lucy would slow him down and make it much more difficult. He needed to find an alternate route, even if it meant taking a longer path.
As Zed moved carefully through the building, he couldn't help but reflect on how much had changed in just a few years.
"I use to work in this place..."
"But, now..."
"Hope you crap aren't too hungry," he muttered to himself.
With bated breath, Zed eased open the stairwell door, immediately, his eyes widening in shock at the scene face him.
The hallway was teeming with Brutes, their gray forms packed together like twisted reeds sprouting from the building's concrete structure. Their heads bowed and swaying, they appeared to be engaging in some bizarre and sinister ritual.
The grotesque creatures were covered in swarms of insects, freshly hatched larvae huddling close to the larger bugs, as if anticipating the emergence of even more of their kind.
The faint creak of the door opening instantly drew the attention of the insects. A Brute's head snapped towards Zed, twisting at an unnatural angle. Its gray eyes bore down on him with a suffocating aura of terror.
"HOOOOO..." The monster's mouth split open without warning, and it charged at Zed.
*Whoosh*
With a flick of his finger, Zed loosed an arrow that cut through the air and pierced the skull of the monster on his face.
This was no amateur shot. He knew clearly how to target their weekness with lethal precision. Years of experience and countless battles had honed his ability to dispatch these creatures using a myriad of methods.
The impact sent the charging Brute tumbling backwards, taking down a cluster of monsters in its wake.
As he sprinted, Zed crushed a power spore at a drop of a hat.
A huge of energy surged through him, coursing from his palms to the soles of his feet. His boots were torn apart as the floor under him cracked and splintered.
"120...119...118..." Zed counted down the spore's duration, knowing he had to make the most of the opportunity it granted him.
The monsters, having momentarily paused, resumed their relentless pursuit, then treating the fleeing youth as tantalizing prey.
The faster he ran, the more frenzied they became.
Zed reloaded his crossbow as he dashed, seizing every chance to strike. Time and again, he felt a chill at the nape of his neck as the monsters' claws raked the air, bringing with them the icy winds of death.
One false move and he would be swallowed whole.
Using the power spore to its fullest potential, Zed's limbs became capable of piercing or climbing the walls with ease. For a brief time, he felt as though he possessed the effects of a speed spore as well. This skill had been learned through numerous brushes with death, as each spore was precious, often earned at the cost of a survivor's life.
Terrain play was a crucial aspect of spore usage.
"58...57... I need to go faster."
With the Brutes hot on his heels, Zed sprinted to the end of the hallway, slamming open a door at the bend before finding a weak in the wall.
He dug his hands into the surface, his muscles straining with effort.
"Come on!" he shouted, the fang stabbed into lips.
He could hear the distant howls of more monsters closing in.
It was risky, but he could only pray that the building's design would hold up.
*Bang*
The wall collapsed, burying a group of Brutes in the corridor.
With his last ounce of strength, Zed lured the remaining monsters away, killing them one by one. When his crossbow failed, he used it as a blunt weapon, and when that too proved futile, he wielded the arrows like daggers.
Finally, his arrows dulled and his body covered in cuts and bruises, Zed made his way to the office where Lucy stayed.
"No worries," he said as he entered, making sure to check his waist for parasites and his body for insects.
"Zed!" Lucy's eyes widened, clearly having heard the commotion outside. The noise confirmed that the other floors would soon be swarming with monsters as well.
With the last moments of the power spore's effects, Zed used his strength to barricade the office. He gestured towards a bag of supplies and handed Lucy a his phone with a string of numbers.
Lucy have never see these type of phone numbers before.
"Call the number morning and evening. Remember to turn off it...*cough*when...when you're not using it on the number..."
"Zed, your shoulder..."
Lucy's hands were stained red with blood as she tried to tend to Zed's wound.
"We'll make it."
Zed didn't respond to her concern directly. Instead, he wiped the blood on his face and gazed out the window.
Through the big clean windows, bodies continued to fall outside. A grim reminder of the countless buildings where similar scenes across the city.