[Survive]
[Main Mission: Survive for five days, 2/5]
Lynn heard the sound of the familiar notification echoing in his mind. He was already awake and keeping watch by the barricaded door.
Nearby, he noticed Alice was waking up. Rubbing the sleep from her eyes, she stood up and went over to join him.
"You could rest more. I can keep watch a while longer," Lynn suggested.
But Alice shook her head. "We should get moving soon. Can't stay in one place for long."
Lynn nodded reluctantly. As much as he wanted more time to recover, he knew Alice was right. Remaining static made them vulnerable.
After a quick meal and final preparations, the two headed out into the hall, making their way back to the central stairwell.
In short order, they arrived at the open doorway leading down the concrete steps to the 3rd floor. Lynn met Alice's gaze and gave a wordless nod. They had done this enough times now that verbal communication was barely needed.
With Lynn taking the lead, they descended cautiously into the shadowy stairwell. The echoes of their footsteps bounced off the walls as they wound downwards.
Reaching the bottom, Lynn paused with his hand on the metal door leading to the 3rd floor. He turned to Alice.
"Any guesses what we'll find down there?" he asked.
Alice's eyes seemed to flicker for a moment. "There's a cluster of zombies not far from the stairwell entrance," she said. "Maybe ten or so. No mutants that I can sense."
Lynn tightened his grip on his sword. Just an ordinary zombie welcome party.
"Let's go give them a proper greeting then," he said, pushing through the door.
As Alice had predicted, a pack of zombies occupied the nearby hallway. They looked up simultaneously as Lynn and Alice entered, empty eyes lighting up with predatory hunger.
Lynn didn't give them a chance to attack. He darted forward, sword flashing in rapid succession to behead three zombies before they could react.
The headless bodies remained upright a moment longer, dark blood fountaining from their necks before collapsing.
The remaining zombies rushed Lynn in a chaotic swarm. But their clumsy attacks were no match for his honed reflexes and precision sword work. He ducked and wove between grasping hands with graceful footwork, his blade neatly bisecting torsos and severing limbs.
Within moments, the hallway was littered with dismembered body parts and oozing corpses. Lynn flicked residual blood from his sword before turning back to Alice.
"Well, that's one welcome party taken care of," he said.
The two moved deeper into the 3rd floor, clearing each room methodically. Lynn's blade sliced through any zombies in their path with ease. The creatures stood no chance against him.
As his sword severed another zombie's head, Lynn paused to wipe residual blood spatter from his face.
[+1 Zombie Killed, 150/150]
Just as he was ready to check the mission section of his panel to redeem the reward, a sudden explosion rocked from the floors below. The entire hospital seemed to shake and tremble slightly from the force.
Lynn and Alice steadied themselves against the walls as the vibrations passed. Before they could ponder the cause, a piercing, inhuman shriek reverberated up through the building - so loud and shrill that they clamped hands over their ears in pain.
Even after the horrible sound faded, it left them feeling dazed and disoriented. Lynn shook his head, trying to clear the fog clouding his mind.
But before they could fully recover, another disturbance swiftly followed. Roars and screams echoed from the depths, growing louder by the second. It was the unmistakable sound of countless zombies in a frenzy.
"They're going berserk down there!" Lynn exclaimed, his eyes wide with alarm.
Alice furrowed her brow. "This is very bad," she said gravely. "Something must have provoked the zombies into a wild frenzy."
The roars and screams from the lower floors grew louder and more crazed. Lynne guessed hundreds of zombies were in a frenzy down there.
He turned to Alice. "Any idea what could have agitated them so violently?"
She shook her head, brows furrowed. " Maybe that shriek... I'm not sure... but it must have been something major down there."
As they spoke, Lynn glanced down the hall and spotted a lone zombie that was heading towards them prior to the explosion.
"Look at that one," Lynn said, pointing it out to Alice.
Previously, the zombie was heading toward them attracting by the fresh meat. But now, it completely ignored them, the zombie even changed direction, turning and lurching back the way it had come.
Alice observed the zombie as well, her eyes narrowing. As they watched, the creature gradually picked up speed, breaking into an awkward, staggering run. Before long, it disappeared around a corner, heading toward the lower floors.
"It looks like it's being drawn to something," she remarked. The zombie seemed fixated on responding to whatever force was stirring things up on the floors below.
"You're right." Lynn agreed.
Alice crossed her arms. "It's as if they're being called... that piercing shriek… " she said contemplatively. "The timing can't be a coincidence."
Lynn nodded slowly, contemplating the implications. The fact that all the zombies suddenly went into a frenzy right after the explosion and the shriek was too perfectly synchronized to be dismissed as a random occurrence.
"If some unknown power or creature can rouse and control those creatures, we're in even bigger trouble," Lynn said grimly.
"At least we already cleared the upper floors," Lynn added. "Otherwise, we'd be trapped between the frenzied horde below and zombies descending from above."
Alice nodded. "Yes, securing this area first was a wise decision. It gives us room to observe and plan our next move."
She glanced downward, her expression thoughtful. "I think our only option is to descend and confront whatever is whipping the zombies into this crazed state."