Philip and Henry were still only observing the creatures from afar, not wanting to make any rash moves. As they kept a lookout, more and more hollow-eyed creatures popped up. The two guys however did no waver when confronting the sheer disadvantage at hand. They exchanged knowing look like comrades in arms. Some could say there were a bit too close to each other.
No matter how you look at it, neither of them was a beast tamer. Even a ringmaster wouldn't be able to train them without the possibly of being torn to shred anywhere and anywhen. Henry was wearing a pair of metal knuckles while Philip held a crowbar on his hands, saying that it felt nostalgic to have the thing in hand.
Soon, a group of the creatures begin moving towards Philip's house. The manly spirit inside the two began to howl as an oath to fight until the end even if they were to fall in battle. Weapons in hand, they charged ahead and greeted the hostile creatures with the equal fierceness. Conclusively it wasn't easy. As they knocked one away, another would lounge itself onward. Henry and Philip were clearly struggling with the turn-based assault from the mindless creatures devoid of freshness in their skin. Any living being had its own limitations, yet the creatures restlessly crave something essential to a living.
Due to the survival insinct of mankind, the two men knew not to let these vile beings get closer to their vessels blessed to them by their respective birthgiver. Finally switching to the available artilery they had which would only be pistols, they repeatedly pulled the trigger as they decided to make use of the avaible set of magazines.
...
Bryce finally managed to pull off something. Although, he would need the help of others do ensure the success. He dashed off to the living room only to find the men nowhere to be seen. They were handling the creatures with the experience of a gamer, perhaps comparing what they were doing with Dead Rising 3. He wondered if they had resorted to overcome fear by forcefully becoming dunces.
Nevertheless, a decent number of damage had been delivered to the enemy's side. It was a good thing to know that they won't have to hesitantly try things like candles or salt. As conventional as the weaponry a human could have, the application it had for self-protection didn't decrease much.
"God damn it! How persistent could these rats be?" Asked Henry, growing weary after the relentless assault.
"I don't know." Philip responded. "But it is clear that resting was never an option for either side."
"Close your eyes!"
Bryce run outside and told the two of them to shut their eyelids before taking out a flashbang and threw it on the ground, stunning the ferocious horde. With that done, the three humans ran off into the house. By the time those creatures regained their vision, they would be gone.
Fortunately, Bryce found a flashbang while trying to see what was hidden inside the basement. Took him a while because he had to use a lock picker. Who would have thought there was an entire weapon storehouse in the basement.
Walking into the basement, each of them bring along with themselves a bunch of artilery. Bryce then disclosed what he had in mind with the other two. They nodded, Philip was initially hesitant but agreed in the end. From what they could gather from the current situation, whatever discussed was the only ideal choice.
"With that said, let's go." Bryce signaled them to follow him.
They followed right behind him. At the moment, the instinct of man was telling them nothing mattered except standing still in the end, unscattered if they could. Even with weapons available, the chances for one criminal and two policemen to overcome a horde of terrifying creature were quite slim. It would be great if some miracle showed how to take down those ferocious morrons with ease. But life never worked that way, whoever was responsible for creating this world seemed to severely crave entertainment.
None of them would do something as dramatic as battle cries. They would have to focus on the guidance of their instincts to overcome the overwhelming sense of dread. With heavy steps, they went outside once more. Their eyes were locked on the targets and bullets were ready to be used. No words were uttered, it immediately started with the everlasting rhythmic sounds of gunshot. Even if many others were still coming, the gunfire never ceased. Submachines and miniguns always served their purpose well. It couldn't be know if Bryce's hands were trembling with fear or simply due to the contious inpactful force he tried to take hold off as every bullet flew out like spits.
As for the horde of grayish skinned creatures, more kept coming as each one of them was shot down. Perhaps it was due to the creature possessing something infectous that turned the victims into their allies, ferral and witless as they always were. The situation was so grim that Bryce couldn't afford to ponder about the origins of the creatures. After all, they needed to keep themselves intact before having any time to spare for theorizing.
Philip and Henry began to throw grenades at the humanoid group of monstrosity. Loud explosion could be heard, smoke spreading in all four direction. It seemed like some of them managed to endure a blow by using the others as meat shields.
"They knew that they should hide? Do they possess intelligence to some extend?" Philip confusedly asked.
"Doubt it." Henry responded. "They are clearly driven by instinct. Those eyes contained boundless hunger."
"You could understand empty eyes now?" Philip became even more confused.
"Don't lower your guard, there could be more coming." Bryce cut their idle talk.
The three of them walked three separate direction to make sure that no more hollow-eyed freaks would come after their very existence. With a bit of time to spare, Bryce wondered if this could somehow turn to be a bad dream and he would wake up alongside his beloved Miss Lily. But wishful thinking had always been a no-no, he knew that. If he told her about all this, would she believe him? Or would she call him a toddler again? His obsession to become her man would not tolerate having his ego undermined like that even if it was from her.
Henry reminisized about the days when Philip and him played some zombie survival games. He still remembered him saying that Left 4 Dead 2 was a masterpiece. Regardless of what game they were playing, it was an unforgettable experience. Jokingly, god has granted them a chance to be bros in a survival situatoin. Though saying it out loud would jinx it so he rather not.
Despite the bizarreness, Philip found the moment exciting, probably more than when he played games at Henry's house. The two of them had a good history with each other, their parents were even friends too. It would be deemed as a blessing, to be able to live a life knowing who to trust and picking the right person to support you no matter where you went. For Philip, he was always a good kid so goodness naturally came to him as a reward for his patience. Yet...
A roar could be heard where Philip was positioned. The sound alerted the other two guys as well. As a trustrworthy friend, Henry tried to rush over to Philip. Philip himself looked around only to notice a humanoid figure crawling on all fours which physical features bearing uncanny resemblance to the woman he once loved. In the end, such passion turned into trauma causing him issues that he never dared to open up to anyone. Even Henry, his buddy was out of the question.
His ex-date was in front of him, he somehow knew in his heart that it was unmistakably her. For a moment, neither the human or the monster made a move. Henry eventually came and attacked the creature but it ran away.
"Philip! WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU THINKING!?" Henry showed his visible raged panic.
"..."
"ANSWER ME! SAY SOMETHING!" Henry screamed, the skin on his face showed wrinkles out of concern.
"I... couldn't do it." Philip looked down.
"Can't? You promised me that you moved on and now you just can't."
"Those times with her were to sweet to be forgotten."
Henry grabbed Philip by the collar and twisted it. "Were they sweeter than your birthday? Your mother comforting you? Your father taking you out for fishing? Your friends and teachers liking you? Your hangout time with... me?" He grinded his teeth. "Snap the HELL out of it!" There went a punch landing on Philip's sad face.
'Uh... I don't want to get involved in this but somehow don't have the guts to tell this furious man to stop. I saw him as a calm person, yet...' Thinking to himself, Bryce stayed silent and watched.
Falling on the ground thanks to be knocked by a punch, Philip calmly accepted the hit and stood up. Despite unable to recover from the past shock, his friend was still there for him and would to anything to get him back on track even if he had to use his fist. He let out a sigh.
"Sorry, henry. I shouldn't have hidden it from you. I don't want you to worry about me all the time." He scratched his cheeks awkwardly.
"Isn't it obvious that being worried about you is my thing... I mean, we've been friend for so long. No need for the secrecy." He pat his shoulders... as awkwardly as well.
'The heck am I witnessing? Is this how close friend interact with each other most of the time?'
Unheard as Bryce's opinion was, he got his attention back into the surroundings. Apparently, nothing had yet to show up. Tired after throwing a fist, Henry suggested that they took a quick break. They all sat on the ground for a quick break due to lacking the strength to walk all way back home. At least they were still armed to brace any potential surprise attack but it would be the best if there were none.
In the meanwhile, Bryce thought about how he should carry out the next step with minimal chances of failure, as less as possible. Like people say on the net, less is more. Surely they would make it alive, or at least he still could visit Eric, his enemy.