31
Last night, I seemed to have had another dream.
I tried hard to grasp a fragment of the scene but failed.
As I was staring at the ceiling, I suddenly felt something was off.
It seemed like something had changed.
I lifted my head; Anne was still asleep, and the room was very quiet.
Too quiet...
I finally realized.
There was no sound outside the window anymore.
The sound of rain, the wind, the birds—all had vanished, leaving only a vast, empty silence.
I climbed out of bed and pulled open the curtains.
The scene outside left me dumbfounded.
The entire world had turned into a vast expanse of white.
Snow had started falling at some point, now covering the rooftops, treetops, and the ground. Even the cars parked by the roadside were buried up to their wheels.
The newly risen sun hung in the sky, its bright rays reflecting off the snowy ground, blinding me.
In the living room, Chris was surprisingly still in bed.
"Get up, Mr. Carter," I nudged him with my foot. "It's snowing."
"Helen," he muttered, "I'm from the North," not sharing my excitement.
Fine, be ungrateful.
I went out to the balcony, where a thick layer of snow had accumulated on the railing, and a thin layer of ice had formed on the surface of the water barrels.
With the continuous rain, our stored power was approaching critical levels. Taking advantage of the sunny weather, I moved the solar panels back out and watered the vegetable plot.
When I returned, they were both up.
Chris was quickly going through his coffee stash. Five boxes of coffee were nearly gone, with only two left.
To make them last longer, he now used only half a packet per meal, earning Anne's mockery as "the last stand of a destitute man."
After breakfast, I heated up last night's soup and decided to go downstairs to find the black cat.
The heavy snow had confined all the zombies to the buildings, leaving only our footprints in the vast expanse of snow.
Carrying the meat soup, I jogged to the riverside but didn't see the black cat.
We called for it softly as we walked along the riverbank.
Suddenly, Anne stopped, staring unblinkingly at a nearby apartment building.
Following her gaze, I saw a golden retriever standing on a second-floor platform.
It looked emaciated, with ribs showing, and its long fur was matted and dirty.
"Wait here," I said, turning back. "I'll get Chris."
Chris wasn't by the river.
After searching for a while, I found him on the main road of the neighborhood, examining something by a car.
"Mr. Carter," I called from behind. He turned around. "What's up?"
"I've found a security chief, reliable for patrols and vigilance," I pulled him towards the river. "You'll see."
We arrived back at the building.
The golden retriever, initially lying down, shakily stood up as we approached.
It was covered in snow, too cold and hungry to shake it off.
"Woof!"
It tried to jump onto the platform's edge. "Woof, woof, woof!"
The sudden excitement made my heart race. The dog's barking was exceptionally loud in the quiet residential area.
"KK, quiet," Chris commanded. "Come down."
He seemed to recognize the golden retriever.
Obeying the command, KK quieted down
but still hesitated to jump off the platform, spinning in circles instead.
I glanced around. The sound hadn't attracted any zombies yet.
The neighborhood was as quiet as ever.
But soon, I realized my mistake.
Anne's face turned ashen. "They're coming."
They seemed to appear out of nowhere from the walkways between the buildings.
At first, there were only a few zombies, but as more turned the corner, I saw that the line of them stretched as far as I could see.
Their cheeks were sunken, and their faces almost devoid of fat.
The zombies were so emaciated they were little more than skeletons. They had been starving for too long.
At the same time, KK finally leaped down.
Chris caught the dog, rolling twice on the ground from the momentum.
"Run!"
We retreated immediately, but it was too late.
The horde surged out of the buildings, only a few steps behind us.
They were too fast!
My mind went blank. I just followed Chris and Anne, running through the snow. The cold air burned my lungs like fire.
Suddenly, something hit the ground beside me, but I couldn't spare it a glance.
Then another thud.
"Thump—"
The third time, it nearly brushed my face, landing just ahead. I finally saw what it was—a zombie that had fallen from above, now struggling to rise from the snow.
Looking up,
I saw shadows standing in the buildings flanking the road—those trapped inside wanted to join the hunt.
Most were blocked by the railings, but a few managed to leap over, crashing to the ground.
The snow was stained with dark brown patches.
After running a bit further, the pressure behind us suddenly lessened.
Glancing back, I saw the zombies that had fallen were now being surrounded by the horde.
I had almost forgotten that their blood was equally enticing.
Taking this chance, we gained some distance.
At the base of Building 51, Anne quickly set up the ladder.
Chris climbed up first with KK on his back, followed by me.
When it was Anne's turn, a few zombies had already reached the car below.
Just as she was about to climb, a withered yellow hand grabbed her ankle.
If she had previously avoided getting zombie blood on her, Anne now had no such concerns.
She drew the fire axe from her belt and swung it down without hesitation. The sharp blade severed the zombie's wrist in an instant.
Once she was on the second floor, we quickly pulled up the ladder.
The severed hand was still tightly gripping her ankle.
It took great effort to pry its fingers off and check for any injuries.
Thankfully, her skin was intact.
Below, more zombies were waking from their winter dormancy, each vying for a piece of their own kind.
My legs trembled uncontrollably as I leaned on my knees, my clothes soaked with sweat, sticking coldly to my skin.
KK seemed to know it had done wrong, curling up at Chris's feet.
"You know each other?" Anne asked, catching her breath, looking at the man and dog.
"In a way, I've played chess with its owner a few times," Chris said, rubbing his wrist.
KK despite being emaciated, had quite a bit of strength left from its leap.
"Weren't you looking for the black cat?" he remembered.
I didn't get a chance to answer before a meow sounded behind us.
Turning around, I saw the black cat's round face peeking out from the second-floor living room.
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