56
Facing each other, urgent footsteps echoed from downstairs. Zenith Franklin immediately aimed his gun.
"We can't stay here," he said, urgency in his voice.
Chris appeared, chest heaving. "Let's go!"
The previously quiet stairwell became chaotic.
"Uh...uhhh..."
"Uh..."
Zenith's expression changed.
The sound was all too familiar to everyone present.
The zombie horde... was here!
We immediately sprinted down the stairs.
With the fifth floor on fire, the fourth-floor fire escape became our nearest way out. We had to leave the stairwell before the horde arrived.
"Where are they now?" I asked.
Anne peeked over the railing. "They're on the third floor!"
There wasn't enough time.
Going further down would likely result in a direct encounter on the stairs.
We stopped on the fourth-floor landing.
"Back to the fifth floor!" Zenith commanded.
Without hesitation, we rushed back up.
At the fire escape door, Zenith reached out to gauge the temperature inside. Meanwhile, the horde appeared in our sight.
Chris immediately raised his rifle and fired. The front row collapsed instantly, but within moments, more zombies were climbing over their fallen comrades.
The entire corridor was packed with the horde, relentlessly advancing toward us.
After a few rounds, the number of zombies seemed to increase rather than decrease.
An empty magazine clicked, and Chris's rifle went silent.
Out of bullets.
Anne quickly handed over her rifle.
But in those few seconds, the zombies had already reached us.
I had already exhausted my ammo.
Facing the overwhelming stench of blood, I couldn't help but turn away and close my eyes.
Just then, gunfire erupted from behind us.
"Rat-a-tat-tat, rat-a-tat-tat."
I opened my eyes to see the fire escape door violently burst open.
Zenith finally had a free hand.
"Retreat, now!" he shouted.
With intense covering fire, the horde's advance was halted. We retreated, fighting all the way, until we finally made it inside the mall just as the last magazine was emptied.
"Bang—"
"Bang bang bang—"
The horde didn't relent.
Their continuous pounding made the door creak under the strain. The lock had been damaged by gunfire, preventing the door from closing properly. Anne and I held it shut with all our might, preventing the horde from breaking through.
Once Zenith and Chris dragged over shelves to barricade the entrance, I was nearly spent.
Taking a breath, I surveyed our surroundings.
The fire in the mall wasn't too severe. At a glance, the blaze was centered around the escalator leading to the rooftop.
By Anne's feet lay an empty alcohol bottle, identical to the ones Emily used for disinfecting vehicles.
This was the daily disinfectant used at the base. It seemed Louis Westwind had repurposed it as an accelerant.
Emily must have been worried he would double-cross and burn everyone on the rooftop, so she only gave him a small amount.
Zenith stared at the empty bottle and spoke slowly.
"When Emily first arrived at the base, she was skin and bones. She told me she jumped out of a window when she saw there was enough snow to cushion her fall because all the 'food' was gone."
"In the end, I'm not a competent leader. If she trusted me enough, she wouldn't have chosen to handle this alone."
I listened with my head down.
When did Emily start recognizing us? We had fought side by side against Lucas Westwind.
Why did her attitude change after I woke up from my coma?
"When she arrived, Simon and Ethan were overjoyed," Zenith's voice carried a hollow sadness. "They said it was a good omen to reopen on Lunar New Year's Day. The gathering point would only get busier."
"But now... the three of them..."
He didn't finish the sentence.
I sighed deeply.
In just a few short months,
these three had faced death and division.
Who could have predicted such an outcome when we first met at the Lunar New Year?
Wait.
Lunar New Year's Day.
I felt like I was missing something.
My thoughts flew back two months.
It wasn't Lunar New Year's Day.
It was Lunar New Year's Eve...
That night, Chris almost fell from the ninth floor.
Emily, as a survivor from our complex, must have heard my shouting clearly.
I couldn't remember if I had called Anne's name loudly during the confrontation with Lucas Westwind.
But she must have had her suspicions, which is why she insisted on escorting us back with Zenith.
There was no escaping this.
Even if we avoided this ambush, another would be waiting for us.
Everyone fell silent, each lost in their thoughts.
"Why did you go downstairs earlier?" Anne suddenly remembered something and turned to ask Chris.
"She chose to reveal everything now, which means her task is complete," Chris leaned against the shelf. "I was thinking about how Louis Westwind would kill us."
"And? What did you see?" I pressed.
I still didn't know what method he used. Before the horde invaded, I hadn't heard any unusual noises.
How did Louis Westwind lure the horde into the corridor while ensuring his own safety?
"He tied a live zombie to the first floor. So, he didn't need to be near the corridor at all."
Chris switched hands to hold the shelf.
Outside, the horde continued to pound relentlessly at the door.
"Just one shot from a distance, and every zombie near the mall would swarm over."
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