With the tension in the room palpable, the enigmatic figure, known as Mike, kept his gun trained on Cob, his voice dripping with malevolence.
"The name is Mike," he introduced himself, a cruel smirk gracing his lips. "Though you shouldn't be concerned about my name. Just thought you should know," he snickered, relishing the fear he instilled.
Mike's eyes never wavered from Cob, even as he maintained pressure on Jug's bleeding leg, crimson staining his trembling hands.
"Since you were so confident," Mike mused, his gaze locking onto Cob.
"Cob," Cob responded, recognizing the unspoken question in Mike's look.
"Ah, Cob," Mike sneered, his grin widening with disdain. "Right, what a shitty name."
"So, Cob," Mike continued, his voice a cold edge, "Since you threatened to kill me, I would love to kill you."
He raised a finger, a twisted smile playing on his lips. "But-" Mike's voice took on a sinister tone, "-I will let fate decide."
Gesturing with the rifle toward the door, where the relentless pounding of biters echoed, he issued a chilling command, "I want you to go outside."
Cob attempted to protest, his concern for Jug etched on his face, but his words were silenced by the deafening crack of a bullet piercing the floor next to Jug.
"Don't test me," Mike's anger flared, his voice laced with menace, "you will all die anyway. I will shoot the glass if you don't move."
Slowly, Cob rose to his feet, his hands raised in surrender. "Don't do it," Jug groaned through the searing pain. "I'm sorry, kid." Cob inched backward, his eyes never leaving Mike's firearm.
"Good. Keep going. Open the door and go out," Mike ordered, his gun a constant threat.
Zach, his eyes filled with a mixture of helplessness and defiance, shook his head as he watched Cob. Cob, however, communicated his readiness with a subtle nod.
With his hand trembling, he grasped the door handle and muttered, "Suck my nuts," before he flung the door open and sprinted into the grasping horde, the biters' fingers clawing at his retreating form, the group listening to his grunts of desperation.
"He's gonna get torn apart. Now, who's next?" Mike sneered, shifting his gun's aim to Maddy.
"You," he declared, his eyes boring into her. Zach's eyes widened in fear, Maddy's gaze met his, and she softly spoke, "Thank you, for everything."
With a pained limp, she made her way to the door, her gaze fixed on the nightmarish horde and the last, desperate struggles of Cob.
Then, in a moment of heart-wrenching finality, she saw Cob vanish into the throng of biters. Jug's heart pounded in his chest as he locked eyes with Mike.
Zach, his growing resentment for Mike impossible to ignore, allowed a snicker to creep across his face. "Fuck you," he spat, his words dripping with defiance. Mike's gaze turned toward Zach.
"You slippery fuck. I was going to aim for you, but I aimed for that kid instead," Mike hinted at Danny.
"You suck at aiming anyway," Zach retorted, his teeth clenched in defiance.
In the shadows behind Mike, Jug's gaze locked with Zach's for a brief, intense moment. Then, unexpectedly, a voice from the shadows broke the silence "Hey".
Mike turned to see Stalker, his body drenched in biter blood, emerging from the darkness.
Seizing this distraction as an opportunity, Jug summoned every ounce of strength he had left and hobbled toward Mike.
He leaped toward the sinister figure, his antlers piercing deep into Mike's leg, eliciting a piercing scream of pain.
Mike retaliated, using the butt of his rifle to strike Jug's head, but Jug, despite the pain, held his ground.
Suddenly, Stalker launched himself at Mike, driving him to the ground, while Zoe rushed to Carter's side to tend to his leg. Maddy, her trembling hand releasing the door handle, looked toward Zach.
With a determined nod, Zach sprinted toward Mike, landing a swift and powerful kick to his face. In the chaos, Mike lost his grip on the rifle, and Jackal moved with lightning speed to snatch it up.
Mike managed to push Stalker off and drew a knife, attempting to throw it at one of the group members. The blade sailed through the air, inches from Maddy, and blood splattered on the window from behind.
Lilah, with fearless determination, leaped at Maddy, knocking her to the side just in time to avoid the deadly projectile.
The knife struck the window, cracking it, as Cob swung the door open and hastily slammed it shut behind him, now drenched in biter blood and panting for breath.
As the windows of the room shattered, unleashing a cacophony of shattered glass, the relentless tide of biters surged inward.
Their pallid, hungry faces pressed against the newly formed openings, their cold, unfeeling eyes fixed on the group. Panic gripped the survivors, their eyes wide with terror.
Cob rushed to Jug's side, extending a trembling hand to help him up.
"WE NEED TO GO!" Cob's voice trembled with urgency as they witnessed the horde of biters tumbling over furniture in their relentless pursuit.
With a frantic determination, the group began backing away, the realization dawning that escape was their only chance.
Mike, writhing in pain on the floor, struggled to rise, but Zach, with unwavering resolve, snatched the rifle from Jackal's grip.
"Eat shit," Zach spat, his voice filled with defiance. He aimed the rifle and, with a swift pull of the trigger, delivered two shots to Mike's legs.
"For our friends," he grunted, his eyes hardened with resolve, as the group continued their retreat.
Mike's agonized screams filled the air as the swarm of biters closed in on him.
"YOU WILL ALL DIE!" he bellowed, a maddening laughter escaping his lips as he descended into madness.
"THIS WORLD IS HARSH! DIE!" Mike's voice crackled with a sinister fervor, his dark prophecy directed at the approaching horde.
As the biters encircled him, one of them seized his left arm, sinking its decaying teeth into his flesh.
Mike's screams intensified as blood spurted from the wound, painting a grotesque tableau of suffering. The group, their retreat now a desperate scramble, could only watch in morbid fascination.
Zach swiftly handed the rifle to Stalker, who took aim and fired at the approaching biters, saving the group from their relentless grasp.
But it was too late for Mike. Another biter lunged for his face, sinking its rotten teeth into his cheek, causing him to scream even louder. Blood gushed from the gruesome wound, exposing a grotesque display of shattered teeth and torn flesh.
Multiple biters converged on him, targeting his abdomen. They tore through his clothing, revealing his vulnerable flesh beneath, and began feasting.
Gurgles of agony escaped Mike as one biter clamped down on his throat, silencing his cries.
With ruthless determination, the others ripped out his intestines, their bloodied hands working with macabre efficiency. Blood spattered in all directions, painting the room in a gory tableau of carnage.
Yet, in a shocking twist of horror, Mike remained alive, his trembling hand reaching upward. A biter seized his outstretched hand, biting down with savage hunger, cleanly severing his fingers.
Zach watched with a grim satisfaction as they left the gruesome scene behind, shutting the door behind them to seal off the horrors that had unfolded within.
Their faces, marked by the ordeal, revealed a mix of relief and grim determination. "Where's Logan?" Zach inquired, his voice tinged with concern.
Rudy exhaled heavily, his eyes reflecting the somber reality. "Didn't make it," he replied, his voice weighed down by the loss.
In the alleyway, a lone biter turned toward them, its eyes fixed on the group. Stalker moved with swift precision, using the butt of the gun to knock it down.
With Zach supporting Maddy, Lilah helping Carter, and Cob assisting Jug, they began their journey through the alleyways, navigating the labyrinth of danger that had become their world.
Most of the biters seemed distracted by the horrifying spectacle left behind in the building, their insatiable hunger momentarily sated. As they moved forward, their shared determination was a beacon of hope in a world tainted by darkness.