In a flash, the red-eyed crows swooped down on him, and the dude totally blacked out.
Their sharp beaks pierced his heart, and then they went to town, munching away.
After gobbling him up, the crows seemed full, flapping their wings and flying out the window.
"Later, later, I owe you one..."
The unique call of the birds drifted through the sky, fading into the distance...
...
"This thing... kinda interesting."
Zane found it amusing.
He snagged a Core crystal, so the trip wasn't a total bust.
Suddenly, he remembered, there were two survivors in the room across.
They were still shaking, scared out of their wits, having dodged one disaster but still doomed to feed the Zombies.
Waiting for death was torture.
They'd rather have it over with quickly.
Then, footsteps approached the room.
"Is he coming back?"
"Didn't the Zombies get their fill?"
Their hearts jumped to their throats.
But when the door swung open, it wasn't the scary dude, Larry, but a tall, handsome young guy.
"Huh?"
Their expressions froze, then lit up with hope. Could it be... rescue from a shelter?
Zane eyed them, pondering his next move.
Killing them seemed pointless.
Two ordinary folks, only good as bait...
Because Zane had a hunch.
Not many Zombies around this high-rise, just lots of rat fur and droppings. Something was lurking in the shadows.
He could use these two to draw it out.
"Y'all better run..."
Zane pulled out a dagger and cut their ropes.
They were overjoyed, having braced for death, and now, a miracle!
"Thank you, thank you so much! Sob sob sob~~~"
The man cried with relief.
The other asked,
"Are you from the rescue team? Can you take us to a shelter?"
"Nope..."
Zane shook his head, "Got stuff to do, you go ahead."
"Ah? But..."
They hesitated, knowing the outside was dangerous without an Awakened to protect them.
But weighing their options, they decided to leave anyway.
Man, they couldn't stick around this freaky joint a minute longer!
Before they split, they raided the kitchen, grabbing some grub, a kitchen knife, and a boning knife—pretty well-prepped, all things considered.
But Zane knew their chances of surviving in this zone were slim, like less than one percent slim.
Whether they'd make it out alive was totally up in the air.
This area wasn't too deadly for regular folks, but on their own turf, they'd be goners for sure.
After packing up, they quietly cracked open the door and tiptoed down the stairs.
You could just barely hear the zombies growling in the hallway.
Stir them up, and they'd be zombie chow in no time.
Meanwhile, Zane was up on the balcony, watching the scene unfold, kinda curious to see if his bait would make it or just how they'd bite the dust.
About ten minutes later, two figures slipped out the building and hit the street, super cautious, sticking close to the walls, scared to stir up trouble.
Zane watched with interest, wondering if they'd survive or just how they'd end up.
On the street, one of the guys started griping, "Mike, that rescue dude was so not cool, just ditching us like that. If we make it to the shelter, I'm totally reporting him."
"Chris, what are you thinking, man? We're lucky he let us out at all. Plus, have you thought about it... was he really a rescue guy? Don't forget how we got nabbed in the first place," Mike said.
Chris gasped, remembering their ordeal.
That Larry guy had posted on the shelter's official site claiming he was part of a rescue team.
They contacted him, all hopeful, only to end up tied up in that room, zombie fodder!
"So, if he's not really rescue, why'd he let us go?"
"How should I know? Just... let's try to stay alive, alright?" Mike said, looking determined.
He scoped out the area real careful-like, noticing there weren't too many zombies around.
Just needed to be a bit sneaky and they wouldn't wake the dead.
If they could just get out of the city to the less crowded burbs, they'd have a solid shot at reaching the shelter.
"Man, a big ol' truck would be sweet right now," Mike muttered under his breath.
But then, crunch! He stepped right into a big ol' pile of rat droppings.
"Yikes, that's a whole lotta rat poop—totally gross!"
Just then, a creepy black fog started rolling down the desolate street, enveloping everything in sight.
It seemed like some sort of psychic force field.
"There it is..." Zane muttered from above.
He could feel that power, messing with people's minds, and if it kept up, it might just take over the whole area.
This place definitely had something funky going on.
And it wasn't weak at all.
Zane couldn't help but be curious about what it was...
Down on the street, Mike and Chris were clueless, just walking along, now shrouded in the black mist.
"Man, I'm starving. Let's grab a bite?" Chris suddenly said.
Mike frowned.
"Chris, what are you thinking? Are you nuts? Eating out here, you wanna get eaten?"
"This isn't a restaurant?"
Chris suddenly blurted out.
"Have you lost your mind?" Mike snapped back, as Chris mistook the zombie and rat poop-filled street for a dining spot.
But quickly, Mike noticed something was off with Chris; his eyes were glazed over, and he had this goofy grin on his face.
"Chris, what's wrong with you? Snap out of it, man!"
"Hehehe... so much yummy food..."
Chris just giggled foolishly.
"This is bad!"
Mike felt a chill, realizing Chris must've been hit by something—there were all sorts of freaky creatures with weird powers in the Apocalypse.
Could it be Ghost Corpses?
Just then, he saw an old lady up ahead, a familiar face, holding a steaming bowl of noodles, calling him.
"Son, come and eat."
"Mom?"
Mike's eyes also glazed over as he saw the kind face, a wave of longing washing over him.
Though his mom had passed away over a decade ago, he couldn't pull himself away from the comforting memory.
"Eat noodles... they're really good."
Mike, grinning, took the plate of spaghetti, his intense hunger overtaking his senses as he wolfed it down.
Meanwhile, Chris saw a restaurant filled with delicious dishes.
He was chomping down on a steak.
But from Zane's view above, the scene was entirely different; the two were just on the street, hugging each other, tearing at each other's flesh!