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Chapter 6 - FIGHT OR FREE RUN

The main group reaches the outskirts of Old Berry town, where they observe the entire area engulfed by thousands of roaming zombies. Kiren expresses fear, stating that there are too many zombies for them to handle. In response, Ezzy confidently suggests that they locate survivors and unite to acquire the necessary weapons to defeat the Riders. Frank notices a nearby gun store and points out that it is only surrounded by a few dozen zombies. He suggests that they stealthily navigate around the zombies to obtain some weapons. Megan then hands Leona over to Kiren, jokingly remarking that he is now responsible for guarding Leona and Duke as a part of his hero duties. Ezzy, filled with excitement, takes the lead with Megan and Frank, while Kiren watches them slide down the hill, feeling somewhat disappointed that he was left behind to babysit.

Shortly after, the trio reaches the town walls. Frank raises concerns about having only two weapons and how they can enter without alerting the zombies. Ezzy volunteers to act as a distraction, stating that she has been waiting for this moment for a long time. Frank questions her statement, and Ezzy swiftly runs into the town, climbing a pipe and reaching the rooftop. Frank is surprised by her agility and speed. Megan observes Ezzy's parkour skills and suggests that she must be an expert. Ezzy jumps in place on the rooftop, preparing herself, and then lets out a scream that attracts all the zombies below. She jumps to the next building, effortlessly maneuvering around obstacles. Some zombies even attempt to follow her on the roofs, but Ezzy evades their attacks and successfully diverts them away from the gun store.

While Ezzy continues her rooftop acrobatics, with the pursuing zombies struggling to keep up and falling off the roofs, Frank and Megan enter the gun store and begin looting. Ezzy grabs onto a horizontal pole and propels herself onto a higher rooftop. From there, she observes numerous zombies congregating around the building below. Taking a moment to catch her breath, she hears the zombies' footsteps approaching the stairs. Ezzy gazes at the door on the roof and stretches, preparing herself. The zombies violently bang against the door and breaks it open. Ezzy. She quickly runs across the long roof and leaps far onto a different rooftop, rolling on her shoulder to minimize the impact. As she looks back, she sees the zombies jumping to their deaths while trying to reach her. Ezzy smiles, exhilarated, and shouts in excitement, expressing how long it has been since she last experienced such freedom of movement.

Megan and Frank find themselves inside the gun store. Megan focuses her attention as she grips her knife, spotting a few wandering zombies within the store. With ease, Megan swiftly dispatches them and examines her bloodied hands, marveling at how her body moves so effortlessly.

Frank checks on her well-being, and Megan confesses that she has never had the opportunity to fight before. However, when she does, it feels as if she's an expert in combat, leaving her perplexed. Frank speculates that it could be magic, suggesting that things beyond explanation might be attributed to such forces.

They proceed to search the gun store, but their findings are meager, consisting of only a few bullet boxes. Entering another room, Frank notices a slightly shifted tile on the floor. Curious, he removes the tile and uncovers a long square opening in the floor, revealing four assault rifles and numerous boxes of ammunition. Excitedly, Frank picks up the rifles and shares a thrilled look with Megan. She takes one of the rifles from him, and they suddenly hear voices approaching from the door.

Both of them instinctively aim their guns at the door, ready to defend themselves. Megan turns to Frank and asks for instructions on operating the rifle. Frank removes the magazine to check the bullets and disengages the safety trigger, pointing the weapon towards the door. Megan quickly comprehends and mimics his actions even faster than Frank anticipated, surprising him.

As they prepare for the unknown, they hear the voices of a woman and a man nearing the door. When the door opens, the man and woman raise their hands, and Frank immediately lowers his weapons, captivated by the woman's appearance. Megan informs them that the loot belongs to them. The woman introduces herself as Mai(27) and presents the man as her brother, Xai(25).

Mai explains that they noticed the zombie movements shifting to a different area, taking the opportunity to retrieve their stashed weapons. Megan lowers her weapon and realizes that Frank is still entranced by Mai's stunning looks. Megan inquires if they are affiliated with the Riders. Xai clarifies that their group has personal issues with the Riders, as the Riders previously offered their group safe haven at a mansion, but they declined, leading to a war between the two factions.

Megan wondered why Xai's group didn't accepted the Rider's offer to join them. Xai responded by revealing that they had an insider in the Riders who informed them about the organization's urgent need for new players. The Riders were running out of participants for their system, which catered to non-magical humans competing for wealth and entertainment. Xai further disclosed that the Riders had resorted to kidnapping individuals for their games. Megan reveals that their friend Ezzy has recently managed to escape from the clutches of the Riders and is presently serving as a distraction to the zombies outside.

Concerned about Ezzy's safety, Mai suggested that they hurry and help her while expressing hope that Ezzy wouldn't attract an A-Star zombie, a particularly powerful type. They briefly discussed what A-Star zombies are, with Mai promising to provide more information once Ezzy was safe. Suddenly, they received an order through their earpieces. Xai asked Mai if she had heard the instructions from their father, but Mai decided that they wouldn't return to the base just yet. She acknowledged the crucial role played by Megan and her friends in recovering their weapons and expressed her determination to assist them, despite potential repercussions from their father for disobeying orders.

Leaving the stores behind, they all entered an armored van, with Mai activating machines releases smoke as they drove away. The thick smoke left behind hindered the pursuing zombies' visibility.

Meanwhile, Ezzy was maneuvering from rooftop to rooftop when she noticed a human flesh ball bouncing toward her. The ball transformed into a zombie and attacked, but Ezzy narrowly evaded it. Before the zombie hit the ground, it reverted back into a ball, and Ezzy continued to flee with the ball zombie in pursuit.

Spotting the roof ahead is too far to reach, Ezzy takes a leap of faith but missed, falling through a window and sustaining minor cuts upon landing in an office space. Her respite was short-lived as she realized she was surrounded by a dozen zombies. She quickly escaped through another broken window and found refuge on a power line cord. The pursuing zombies falls to their deaths as they attempted to follow her.

Walking carefully along the power line, Ezzy hears the ball zombie approaching once again. She falls from the power line to evade the zombie's attack. Before she could fall any further she grabs onto the power line cord with her hands and watches the ball zombie bouncing on the street below, with every bounce making the ball zombie to bounce higher. Ezzy swiftly pulls herself back up.

An approaching armored van caught Ezzy's attention as it is leaving behind a trail of smoke. Mai climbed onto the van from the back doors, armed with a rifle, and aimed toward Ezzy's location. The ball zombie bounced above Ezzy once more, but Mai's precise shot pierced its brain, causing it to transform back into a ball and bounce away.

Ezzy was taken aback by Mai's remarkable accuracy in her shooting skills, leaving her surprised. Additionally, Ezzy couldn't help but feel confused about how the ball zombie managed to stay alive even after its brain was pierced by Mai's shot.

The van stopped beneath Ezzy, and Megan, Mai, and Frank prepared smoke machines to conceal their position. Xai set up an inflatable bed on the ground to cushion Ezzy's fall but it'll take some time for the inflatable bed to be ready with enough air in it. However, Ezzy noticed a massive horde of thousands of zombies approaching from two blocks away. She warned everyone about the incoming horde.

Megan and Mai raised their rifles, ready to confront the onslaught. Megan asked Mai how they should handle the overwhelming number of zombies. Mai explained that they would focus on shooting the L-Stars first. Megan sought clarification on the term, and Mai pointed out the running zombies ahead of the horde, explaining that L-Stars were the agile ones, while the slower zombies were simply called Stars.

They continued shooting and reloading, eliminating the approaching L-Stars. Megan then questioned the reason behind the name "Stars." Mai explained that it stemmed from their glowing eyes and heart, which shines as brightly as a star.

Megan and Mai's attention was drawn to a zombie at the forefront of the horde, its eyes shining brightly. Mai identified it as an A-Star zombie, emphasizing the intense glow in its eyes. Ezzy chimed in, noting that the zombie could transform into a ball. As they observed, the zombie indeed morphed into a rolling ball, pulling in more zombies from the horde and growing in size.

Xai alerted the group that the inflatable bed was prepared. In a swift move, Ezzy jumped from the power line cord onto the bed, and they all hurriedly boarded the van, leaving the smoke machines behind. Xai takes the wheel and drives away, but they soon realized that the ball had swelled to the size of a town building and is relentlessly pursuing them.

Panic spread among the group, except for Mai, who coolly retrieved a hand camera and started recording the gigantic ball's pursuit. At an intersection, Xai skillfully maneuvered the van, making a turn, while the ball zombie crashed through several town buildings and relentlessly continued its pursuit. Xai, shouting in desperation, acknowledged that they can't keep evading it. However, Mai reassured everyone, instructing them not to worry.

Meanwhile, Kiren remained outside the town, watching as the enormous ball rolled through the buildings. From a distance in the forest, Kiren spotted a colossal robot resembling a building with mechanical legs and arms. The robot leaped into the town. Xai noticed the robot building and drives towards it, revealing that his father is using his magic. Mai grew even more thrilled and aimed the camera at the robot building. Ezzy, caught up in the excitement, asked Xai if they could join their group.

The robot building positioned itself in front of the ball, striking it with a powerful punch and bringing it to a halt. Then, from its arm, the robot released a magical laser into the ball, causing it to explode into a shower of zombie bodies, completely destroying the ball zombie as it's shiny heart explodes. The robot then lifted the van and placed it inside its garage. Exiting the town walls, the robot building quickly returned to the depths of the forest.

Amazed by what he had witnessed, Kiren, carrying Leona, followed the robot building, trailed by Duke. In the corner of Kiren's vision, he noticed a shadowy figure observing him from a distance. As he turned to look, the figure vanished quickly. However, Kiren then noticed in front of him the tall shadowy figure gazing at him. Fear paralyzed Kiren and Duke, with Duke closing his eyes. Covered in sweat, Kiren found himself unable to move, while the shadowy figure mentioned that Kiren wasn't interesting enough to cause trouble but suggested someone else might be problematic. Confused by the figure's words, Kiren watched as it disappeared into the ground.

Duke reopened his eyes and asked if Kiren had eliminated the shadowy figure. Without uttering a word, Kiren simply nodded. Duke smiled, expressing his gratitude for Kiren being his hero, and continued walking ahead. Wiping away his sweat, Kiren, accompanied by Leona, entered the forest where they encountered a group of walker zombies. Initially worried, Kiren's concerns dissolved when he sees Megan and the rest of the group dispatching the zombies. They reunited, and Mai proposed that they all head back to the base together. Xai sensed that their father wouldn't be pleased with their actions, prompting a sense of unease among them.

The group proceeds through a gate and arrives at a small mall building that was atop the Robot building earlier. Upon entering, they are warmly greeted by a group of people. A couple of children excitedly run up to Mai.

Rex(48), Xai and Mai's father, approaches the group and expresses his anger towards their willingness to take risks for these people. Xai apologizes to his father, explaining that he was merely following his older sister Mai's lead.

Mai interjects, asserting that the people they encountered are worth saving as they share the same goals. She apologizes to Rex for utilizing his limited magic to operate the building to save them. Rex acknowledges that it will take some time for his magic to regenerate enough power to operate the building again. He suggests that if Megan's group has a similar plan, they should join forces, emphasizing their collective mission to eradicate the Riders and rescue innocent captives.

Ezzy steps forward, disclosing that the Riders had taken her home and expressing her determination to reclaim it. She requests their assistance in gathering as many weapons as possible for the impending war against the Riders.

Rex reveals that their group had sent some members to investigate the nearby prison in Old Berry Town, rumored to house a significant arsenal of military weapons. Ezzy is surprised that they are already aware of the weapons at the prison. Rex further explains that the first group has yet to return, prompting the decision to dispatch a second group for investigation.

Ezzy enthusiastically offers the collaboration of their group. Rex and Ezzy shake hands, symbolizing their agreement to cooperate.