'Who's that?'
Ryan, who heard Barry and Elaine's voices getting closer, started to come out of his hiding place.
He crawled out cautiously and filled with fear. When he finally peeked through the gap in the classroom door where he was hiding, Ryan saw the two of them.
'Is that...' Ryan narrowed his eyes. 'Elaine? Elaine Delaire?!'
Ryan's eyes immediately filled with light full of hope and delight when he saw Elaine approaching. Who doesn't know about Elaine at this school? She is one of the most popular students not only because of her beauty but also because of the influence that her family has.
Should he manage to get out of this school in with her, it would undoubtedly enhance his standing in the eyes of Elaine's family, securing a favorable reputation among them. Even when the world is hit by a disaster like this, with the money and power that the Delaire family has, they will definitely be able to protect themselves.
Ryan thinks like that and intends to use Elaine for his own purposes.
However, Ryan could see beside Elaine there was another male student. Ryan doesn't know him, he's never even seen him. He is seen just walking behind Elaine while Elaine faces the zombies that appear in front of them with her incredible power when swinging a baseball bat.
'He's definitely just someone that Elaine picked up out of pity.' Ryan thought while looking at Barry.
From any angle, Barry doesn't look strong. He has a thin body and is of average height. His face is also average, making him easy to be forgotten.
Ryan also only saw a dagger in his hand. But even so, Ryan is sure that Barry is not a threat. He can discard him at any time if he feels it is necessary.
A sly grin appeared on Ryan's face. He doesn't need another person with him and Elaine. Maybe, he can take it outside of school.
And then, when they are out of school he can throw him out of the group. With a good reason.
---
"Hey, how did you level up so fast?" Elaine asked breathlessly after killing another zombie. Barry didn't see that she was bothered even though she had just hit one of the people at school who she might have met.
That made him relieved. Elaine wouldn't be someone troublesome who would feel guilty after killing zombies so she wouldn't be hesitated. And therefore her chance of survival will be much higher.
"I've killed more zombies than you, I guess," Barry replied in a casual tone.
Elaine looked at Barry from top to bottom for a long time. "You don't look scared."
Barry stared back at her. "You too."
Then, a grin appeared on Elaine's face. A grin that looked almost psychopathic, but appeared on her beautiful face, the smile had its own kind of charm.
"I like you," Elaine said suddenly.
Barry was dumbstruck by her words. "W-What?"
"I mean, you could be a good partner because you're not a coward. In this situation, I don't really want to babysit anybody."
"Ahh." Barry nodded in understanding. "Fair enough. Me too."
They will only take people who are useful to work with in this situation. Barry felt relieved knowing they are on the same page.
However, Barry still doesn't know about what happened in the future. What if later he really faces a difficult situation where he has to choose whether to save someone's life or not.
'That can wait until later.'
Barry, who was getting impatient because he was worried about his mother and sister, started demanding that they have to speed up their pace. Elaine didn't really like it, but when she saw the look in Barry's eyes, she decided to nodded and let Barry join in killing the zombies.
Elaine also realized that she had to leave this school and meet her family. When Elaine finally remembered her family, she felt a sense of worry that suffocated her.
Earlier she only felt excitement when killing zombies and discovering her newfound power. Something that can finally help her from her boring life.
But now, when she finally remembered her family, especially her mother, she realized how dangerous the condition of this world is now.
As for her father, Elaine can't remember the last time she thought about him.
"Zombies!"
Barry's voice startled Elaine who was lost in thought. She immediately raised her baseball bat then stepped forward.
"Becareful. Don't let your guard down," Barry said.
Elaine only nodded briefly in response.
Elaine swung her baseball bat with a scream, knocking the zombie aside. Then, she continued to smash his head.
[ You have killed a Level 2 normal zombie! ]
[ Obtained: 50 exp. ]
Elaine received the text to her vision. But she couldn't help but sigh. Still long enough to catch up with Barry.
She turned her head and looked at him. Curious about how many zombies he actually killed.
Meanwhile, Barry just looked up, towards the strange and disturbing crack in the sky.
Elaine also realized that there was a crack there. Yet, she couldn't care less about that for now.
Maybe it was the beginning of a bigger disaster. Maybe nothing. But what is clear is that they can't do anything about it now.
They continue to advance. Until finally they arrived at the classroom where Ryan was hiding.
He came out slowly from his hiding place while raising his hands.
"Who's there?!" Elaine shouted with a suspicious frown.
"I'm a human. Don't attack!" Ryan replied. He walked out while wearing a relieved face. "Thank god I met you guys. I thought I was the only one who survived."
Barry looked at Ryan with narrowed suspicious eyes. Somehow, he got a strange feeling about him.
Blood has stained his body and hands, which means he has killed a few zombies. He probably also has useful skills.
Elaine frowned as if she was searching her memory for who exactly was in front of her.
"You forgot who I am?" Ryan asked when he saw the confused expression on Elaine's face. "I'm Ryan. Ryan Garver. We met at one of the parties your father threw."
Elaine finally knew where she had seen him. But Elaine was never happy with those parties where her father forced her to attend.
"Oh," Elaine said curtly. "What's your skills?"
---