Hruday freaked out as he realized it was someone else's blood. The metallic taste filled his mouth, making him gag.
He screamed, "Aahh... shit!" and kept cursing while looking back. His panic stopped when he shoved his arm into the zombie's mouth. "Eat, eat, you f*ck," he shouted, pushing and kicking the zombie away. "F*cking hell, stop clenching on me," he yelled as he finally freed himself. The cold, clammy feel of the zombie's teeth against his skin made his stomach churn.
Michael had a similar struggle, while Roy, luckily intact, managed to stay near the compound despite the helicopter crash nearby. The collision was so powerful that it killed some zombies. The stench of burning flesh mingled with the acrid smell of smoke. The wind carried the scent of death, making their eyes water.
Reaching the big 7-foot wall, they all tried to climb simultaneously. Roy helped Michael to climb up, as his eyes wet, holding back tears that threatened to spill over. then Hruday suddenly shouted with frustration, "Why the f*ck are you following us?"
sam yelped feeling guilty then realized that He was addressing skinny Tory, who ignored him desperately trying to climb. After that Michael climbed helping Roy climb faster, hruday and Troy climbed relatively faster with Michael and Roy's assistance which otherwise would have been a stressful almost impossible task for both of them.
"Where's John?" Michael asked urgently, his voice trembling with worry.
"He went that way," Roy said, pointing in the direction. His voice was heavy with suppressed emotion, almost breaking. His mind raced with fear for John, guilt gnawing at him.
"Shit! I'm worried, man," Michael responded, feeling his heart heavy and his eyes a little damp trying to pire beyond the black smoke.
Roy, his voice thick with emotion, said, "Don't worry. I looked back. He ran safely. There were only a few zombies." He couldn't hold back his tears any longer and cried while standing on the wall.
Hruday lingered for a second, his eyes turning calculative, turning off his emotion for a second as he looked in the distance and asked, "What happened, Roy? Did you get bitten?"
Roy, his voice a blend of hatred and sorrow, snapped, "Didn't I tell you not to say such things? You have a black tongue. Look at this, losing loved ones."
Hruday paused for a second and replied "Don't worry about your parents right now. I'm sure they are alive. Let's be positive and survive."
Troy, looking around, said, "ahh Guys, we should run now. These things might climb up."
"Shit, run!" Roy shouted, his voice filled with urgency as he jumped simultaneously with others into the bushes off the compound.
before they could catch a breath they were staring at a group of zombies right in front of them everyone got spooked and started running They circled the hospital garden and the doctor's houses, shaking off the pursuing zombies. Finally, they stopped, noticing Michael's bag clanking.
"Hey, dumbass, why did you carry everything?" Roy asked, frustrated, his breath coming in short gasps.
Hruday tried to calm him: "Ahh, well, you know that's for good. Michael, did you bring old coins to brag about?"
Sam kept looking at everyone back and forth not knowing what to say, Seeing this, Roy sighed and took a few deep breaths. Michael nervously chuckled and nodded.
Roy understood the idea and asked, "Did you bring that metal geometric box too?" His tone was sharp.
"What!" Michael responded gloomily, understanding their intentions. "Should I use it now?"
"No, just use your notebooks to cover them and make sure I don't hear that clanking sound again," Roy instructed, his voice stern.
Michael didn't understand why Roy was so irritated, but his thoughts halted as he saw Tory.
A blooded hand gripped Tory's shoulder, and he screamed, "Wohh f*ck!" A doctor, holding his shoulder tightly, said, "Shit! Shut up, kid."
Hruday jumped back and quickly made an awkward fist. and reached for his backpack to take out the wooden leg, only to find that Roy had already taken it. The doctor, with bite marks everywhere, said, "Help me escape, or I'll scream." although he looked like he was going to bite Troy's ears
He held his arm around Tory's neck tightly. The doctor reeked of blood. Hruday kicked the doctor in the face as Roy made a move, causing him to lose his grip on Troy.
The doctor, now angry and coughing, looked at them with hatred. Roy hit hard with a broken wooden leg, the doctor bled from a gash on his arm, the wound looking gory; his arm was visibly broken. Hruday was surprised by Roy's strength.
The doctor's eyes were red, he looked at his hands in surprise and said, "Why do I not feel anything?" As he withdrew his shivering hand, everyone ran towards the compound, that led to the road. Hruday had thought most zombies would be near the hospital, but they were also near the houses. It was spreading.
They hid in a bush near the compound looking at the doctor's direction who seemed to be dead or unconscious hruday turned back looking at the road feeling fear and despair creeping in, taking small glances back from time to time and then he noticed a few people in a saloon waving at them. Calculating how to reach the saloon, they saw a free crossroad, but still zombies were roaming beside it. They had to run diagonally as quickly as possible.
Jumping and running with all their might, they reached the shop, only to find the glass door locked. Zombies were ready to jump on them. Roy quickly pulled the metal shutter down, but as zombies banged against it, the saloon door didn't open. They were suspicious of the blood and bite marks on their bodies.
Hruday thought, "I should have hidden behind everyone."
He stepped up, "I am not bitten. This is someone else's blood from the helicopter crash." He opened his shirt to show his paper armor, which had no visible bite marks. Everyone followed suit, and, still suspicious, they let them in.
"Ahh, hey, Hruday, how are you?" The saloon owner asked awkwardly, his voice wavering.
"I'm doing great, as you can see," Hruday replied dryly, trying to keep his voice steady.
Sujay, the saloon owner, said with a small pause, "I knew you would survive. You are kind who convinced me to buy a 70 rupee fighter fish for 250 rupees, calling it a beta fish."
"haha he laughed awkwardly"
Roy, knowing his intentions, added, "He even sold it to you."
They tried to calm themselves by talking but failed miserably as the screams brought them back to reality. Silence hung heavily in the air.
Hruday broke the silence: "Let's Stop this shit." successfully gaining everyone's attention, He knew comfort would lead to sorrow and depression. Action and more chaos were cures for depression.
then another long pause came In the awkward silence, he thought indifferently, controlling his labored breathing. He felt alive in this crisis, unlike his previous depression from isolation and frustration.
He gathered his thoughts and said aloud, "This is dangerous; we shouldn't stay here any longer."
Everyone, including the saloon owner and his workers, looked at him, in wide eyes.
Hruday continued "There is no way rescue is coming. Even if they do, they'll first establish a foothold in apartments. Here, we'll be trapped. We don't know much about these zombies, but I feel that they will get worse over time. At least now they seem to move in waves, leaving some behind. If we don't move now, we'll be stuck."
The saloon owner said, "No, that's the worst thing you could do. We don't know anything about them; they might die or become less powerful."
"Yeah, staying here is logical and safer...," Michael added, his voice tinged with doubt.
Hruday took a deep breath and argued, "You're right. But what about food and water and what if these zombies don't die out of starvation hell what if the virus spreads to animals? Will we survive? Imagine infected dogs and crows. We need to escape now before it gets worse."
Everyone was awed; their worst fears were visualized.
Hruday continued, "Even if that didn't happen, the army wouldn't clear every street; they would establish treatment bases and rescue large groups, not individuals."
Roy, realizing something, said, "So we need to escape now and reach a safe place."
"It's dangerous," Troy said, his voice shaking.
"Yes, but staying here only delays the inevitable doom. Do we want to live in fear for a few days or risk it for the future?" Hruday replied, his voice steady and determined.
The saloon owner, seeing Hruday's logic, agreed. "He has a point. We might need to hotwire a car, but we can't stay here."
Hruday said his voice filled with a mix of urgency desperation and determination "We can make weapons and use the air conditioner hole to get to the upper side and see the situation and we distract while you hot wire and then we get in and go to,... My house, because it's the nearest, and I know a safe way to get in."
Tory and Michael were shocked by his sudden plan and initiative. Usually less talkative and avoiding leadership tasks, Hruday's sudden assertiveness surprised them.
The saloon owner said, "Sorry, we can't come. We have a van. Why don't you go to our house? My family is waiting. We have a year's worth of food. We own a general store."
Hruday found it difficult to answer.
ahhh!(shit!)