After gesturing to David to stay put and not move, regardless of what might happen, Malachi carefully approached the metal bat in the open space.
Fortunately, nothing happened.
Malachi bent down to pick up the metal bat and then took a deep breath before turning to look at David, who glared at him from the corner of the wall and nodded.
Bang!
Malachi struck the metal bat heavily against the ground.
In a split second, a few hurried footsteps echoed from the store before falling silent.
It's working Malachi thought as he observed the situation inside the store with his unique vision.
Malachi noticed that when he had used the metal bat to strike the ground, the zombies near the store's entrance had reacted.
After a few seconds of stumbling and colliding with each other, they quieted down.
Taking another deep breath, Malachi turned to glance at the street behind him.
It stretched out, quite long and sloping downhill like the numerous other streets in the area.
Malachi's decision to use the metal bat to create noise was part of his plan to draw the zombies out of the store.
While it would have been a less risky strategy if the store were the only building within a few hundred metres, the current situation was more complicated.
Malachi had observed that his method appeared to be effective in luring the zombies near the store's entrance.
However, there was no guarantee that the sound wouldn't also attract other zombies or monsters lurking in the neighbourhood.
If the area happened to be infested with both zombies and monsters, along with the ones inside the store, Malachi could easily find himself surrounded.
This was one of the reasons why he had instructed David to stay in his current location.
While both of them took it upon themselves to deal with the zombies in the store, Malachi didn't want to expose his son to unnecessary danger.
David's powers were not suited for their current plan of luring the zombies out, as his abilities were primarily destructive and would only draw more attention if used.
Malachi's priority was to keep his son safe, even in the face of a challenging situation.
Tightening his grip on the metal bat, Malachi raised it and slammed it on the ground again.
Just as before, the zombies in the store reacted, and some began to come out.
Malachi didn't stop; he continued to strike the metal bat against the floor as he retreated backward.
The more he pounded the metal bat into the ground and moved down the street, the more zombies rushed out of the store and followed him.
The sight of the growing group of zombies sent shivers down David's spine. He couldn't help but worry about his father's safety.
The number of zombies was concerning, but fortunately, they were slow-moving.
From his vantage point in the corner, David watched as several zombies followed his father's retreating figure down the street, maintaining a considerable distance between them.
It seemed that as long as his father was careful not to get surrounded, everything would be fine. However, the condition was that the noise Malachi was creating wouldn't attract distant zombies to his location.
The situation was still fraught with uncertainty.
As David and Malachi shared similar thoughts and wishes, they both hoped that if the sound Malachi was making down the street did attract any attention, it would be limited to zombies.
David's concern was relatively mild, but Malachi wished that if he did draw attention to himself, he hoped it would be from zombies alone.
While there was still a risk of getting surrounded by the undead, Malachi knew from his recent experiences that attracting monsters would be far more perilous.
As he continued down the street with a horde of zombies in pursuit, Malachi calculated that the zombies should have already exited the store by now, or at least there should be only a few left inside. With this in mind, he ceased his act of striking the ground with the metal bat and attempted to minimise the noise produced by his movements as he traversed the street.
The zombies were still following a straight path, but after a few seconds, they stopped when there was no sound to guide them, remaining motionless.
They've stopped moving Malachi thought. He, too, halted and stayed in one position.
After a few moments, a faint smile crept across Malachi's face. He had successfully lured a significant portion of the zombies out of the store. Now, it was time for him to return.