Stel satisfied Elsie's request, leaving behind some tokens of their time together. An hour later, armed and ready, he prepared to venture out. He carried two steel knives and concealed a dagger in his coat. Wearing an asbestos protective suit ensured that even if a zombie bit him, there was a high chance it wouldn't penetrate his flesh.
"I'm leaving," Stel said, turning to Elsie.
Elsie nodded, watching Stel go. Stel stood at the front door, peering through the peephole. He didn't see any zombies in his line of sight.
"It seems all the zombies that were wandering in the hallway were drawn downstairs by the noise those people made," he muttered to himself.
"Click!" Stel turned the doorknob and quickly slipped through the door, shutting it swiftly behind him.
But as he turned around, he noticed a zombie standing just outside the peephole's blind spot. The creature, with its gaping mouth and body covered in sores, emitted a rotten stench and stood there, lifeless.
"Damn it!"
Stel was less than two meters away from the zombie.
"Click!" The door closed with an unavoidable sound, catching the zombie's attention.
"Raaaargh!" The zombie reacted immediately to the noise, spreading its arms and lunging at Stel with its foul-smelling mouth wide open.
"Fuck!"
Stel cursed under his breath, wishing he could feed the person responsible for constructing this apartment complex to the zombies.
"Why the hell would you build such a luxurious apartment and then be so stingy with the door design? The noise when opening and closing is as loud as a nightclub!"
Such loud sounds were bound to attract zombies.
Stel reacted just in time, sidestepping to avoid the zombie's attack. Quickly, he drew the steel knife from his waist. As he had practiced in his combat training, he drew the knife, aimed at the zombie's head, and struck in one fluid motion.
As Stel swung the knife, the zombie's head was instantly severed.
"Thud!"
The head rolled off the zombie's body, spinning a few times before coming to a stop in the corner of the hallway. The zombie's body lost all movement the moment its head was severed, standing still before losing its balance and collapsing to the ground.
Stel recognized this zombie as the first one they had seen through the peephole when the crisis began. Surprisingly, he managed to dispatch it with ease.
"It looks like a month of training has really paid off."
With a firm grip on his steel knife, Stel started moving cautiously along the hallway towards the staircase. Fortunately, there was only one zombie on the third-floor hallway. For some reason, this particular zombie had remained stationary on the third floor.
Holding his breath, Stel carefully approached the staircase. The doors to the other apartments were all open, indicating that these homes had already been invaded by zombies.
They had all turned into zombies.
"Such a miserable sight..." Stel peeked inside, seeing what were once warm and harmonious homes now reduced to utter devastation. The rooms were scattered with countless bones and fragments of flesh.
Stel made his way to the staircase. The staircase area was in ruins, with glass everywhere, all shattered, and the ground seemed to be painted with a layer of red, emitting a strong stench of blood. It was like a scene from a hellish nightmare.
"No wonder they call it the real apocalypse, it's more intense than any movie."
As Stel descended the stairs, he was relieved to find few zombies in the stairwell. Still, he had to constantly watch his surroundings to avoid any ambushes.
Upon reaching the second-floor landing, Stel, not paying close attention, stepped on a piece of glass.
"Crack!"
The glass was extremely fragile, breaking instantly under his weight.
"Hisssss!!!"
The zombies in the second-floor corridor, with their sharp hearing, immediately ran towards Stel's location.
"Fuck, who the hell leaves glass lying around like this!"
Stel muttered, knowing full well that the person who had discarded the glass was probably already a zombie. There was no one left to complain to.
Three zombies charged at Stel, snarling and clawing.
"Slash! Slash! Slash!"
Stel couldn't afford to move quietly anymore. He quickly held his steel knife in front of him, aiming at the three approaching zombies. With a swift motion, he decapitated them all. Their heads rolled down the stairs like balls.
Clutching his steel knife tightly, Stel wiped a cold sweat from his forehead. It was a close call. Fortunately, his quick reaction saved him.
"Strange, why does it feel so weird? When those three zombies approached, it felt like their target wasn't me at all."
Stel couldn't shake the feeling of something being off.
Stel quickly shook off this feeling.
"Never mind, there's not much time left, better get to the car."
He quickly ran down to the first floor.
"Holy shit..."
As soon as he reached the first floor, Stel was nearly scared out of his wits by the sight before him. The stairwell was packed with zombies. Some were hunched in corners, some were staring blankly at the ceiling, while others were repeatedly banging their heads against the wall.
"Are these zombies having a meeting?"
Stel shouted in surprise, and his voice immediately caught the zombies' attention.
"Hisssss!"
The zombies all turned towards Stel and charged at him.
"Damn it!"
Stel realized he had no choice. Retreating now would mean all his efforts were wasted. He decided to fight his way through.
"There are only a dozen zombies at the entrance. If I can cut them down quickly, I can get to the car and grab the supplies."
"Slash!"
Stel had become quite proficient at decapitating zombies. With one swift motion, he took down a zombie. The others followed, their mouths dripping with blood.
"Ha!"
Stel turned to see a zombie about to bite his right hand. But to his surprise, the zombie pushed his arm aside and ran straight towards the stairs.
"Huh?"
Stel was stunned, barely escaping death.
"Did that zombie forget how to bite people?"
He felt lucky to have escaped. He had only worn an asbestos suit for protection, leaving his hands uncovered to maintain his grip. If a zombie bit his hand, it would be over.
"Slash!"
Stel quickly decapitated the remaining zombies in front of him. Just then, he felt a chilling gaze from the shadows, watching him closely.
"It's because of you. If you had helped us back then, we wouldn't be in this situation..."