Natalya had been a regular person in her world, leading a normal life like anyone else. She was attending university, working hard to get her degree and hoping to secure a stable job afterward. Her days were filled with study, friends, and the usual stresses that came with young adulthood. However, her life took a tragic and unexpected turn one evening when she went out for a walk to clear her head.
She crossed the street, and in the blink of an eye, everything around her shifted.
Without warning, she found herself transported into a place she had never imagined-Paradise, though its name was bitterly ironic given the circumstances she soon discovered
Unlike many of the hardened survivors she'd encountered since her arrival in this brutal new world, Natalya was never a fighter.
She didn't have any experience with weapons or combat, nor had she been trained for a life of survival. What she did have, however, was a deep well of courage that would rise to the surface when she saw others in pain or distress. It was that inner strength, that burning urge to help, that had carried her through so far.
But now, in this moment, her deep blue eyes were locked on the most striking man she had ever seen in her life. Handsome as he was, though, she couldn't quite view him that way—he was something more, something fearsome and otherworldly.
Ali stood before her, dragging the lifeless body of the soldier he'd just dispatched with brutal efficiency. His cold, calculating demeanour sent a chill down Natalya's spine, though she couldn't deny the gratitude that bloomed in her chest. The man had saved them, after all, though in the most terrifying way possible.
Ali showed no emotion as he stepped on the back of the dead soldier, bending down to retrieve a set of keys from the corpse's pocket.
The women trapped in the cage watched him with wide, hopeful eyes. They moved closer to the iron bars, their breaths hitching as Ali held the key to their freedom.
Natalya, her blonde hair matted and dirty but her spirit unbroken, was the first to move toward the bars, her fingers gripping them tightly as she prepared to speak. Her voice wavered slightly, but she was ready to demand their release.
Before she could utter a word, Ali spoke, his deep voice cutting through the heavy silence, though it wasn't directed at her.
"You, catch," he said curtly, tossing the key not to the caged women but to the young girl who was still trembling on the floor, desperately holding her torn clothing together in an attempt to cover her exposed chest.
The girl caught the key clumsily, her fingers fumbling with the metal as her wide, tear-streaked eyes darted up toward Ali in confusion. His cold black eyes and imposing figure, which loomed even more menacingly in the dim light, gave the girl no choice but to follow his instruction.
"What are you waiting for? Get inside the cage," Ali said, his tone leaving no room for argument.
"Hey, what do you mean, get us out of here!" Natalya shouted at Ali, gripping the bars with frustration.
Ali turned his head slightly, his cold eyes locking with hers. "You will all stay in the cage while I handle the rest of them upstairs. Or you can stay out here with this guy," he said, shifting his foot from the corpse beneath him. The body began to squirm and moan, transforming into a zombie before their very eyes.
Natalya's eyes widened, but she fought to keep her voice steady. "But-"
"No buts," Ali interrupted, his tone leaving no room for negotiation. "All you need to do is wait quietly," he added before turning his back on them and shifting back to the young women on the ground.
The girl looked up at him, her mouth opening as if to protest, but she quickly closed it again, realising the futility. She stood shakily, taking slow steps toward the cage as if moving any faster might provoke the dangerous man who had saved her. She inserted the key into the lock with trembling hands, finally opening the door to the cage. She stumbled inside, and the moment she was safely behind the bars, she ran into Natalya's arms, collapsing against her and sobbing uncontrollably.
Natalya held the young girl close, whispering reassurances into her ear, though her sharp eyes never left Ali. She could feel the tension in the air, the sense that this man was far more dangerous than anyone they'd encountered.
"Now then", the women heard Ali say.
Ali let go of the zombie's torso, allowing the animated corpse to drag itself closer to the cage. The women inside gasped, pulling back as the grotesque creature lurched toward them. But before it could reach the door, Ali swiftly sliced through its legs with a single stroke of his blade. The zombie dropped to the floor with a sickening thud, unable to move beyond its limbless form.
Ali moved from behind and stepped again on the zombie as he closed the door to the cage and locked it before pocketing the key.
He then grabbed the writhing zombie by the neck and, to the horror of the women, shoved its face through the bars of the cage. Its teeth snapped inches from them, gnawing the air in a grotesque display.
"You better come back for us," Natalya said, her voice tinged with fear but carrying an undertone of resolve. She clutched the younger girl tightly to her chest.
Ali ignored her as he heard the sound of footsteps coming from the stairs.
"Please," Natalya added, her voice softer now, but Ali looked back at her and put his finger to his lips, signalling for her to remain silent.
He quietly moved to the side of the door that led to the stairwell, his expression serious. The women fell silent, watching him with growing tension as they sensed something was about to happen.
Moments later, the door opened, and two men entered, both gripping sharp machetes. They were immediately stunned by the sight of the zombie trapped in the cage, gnashing its teeth in vain while the women huddled against the wall in fear. The soldiers didn't even think to glance to their right, where Ali stood motionless, waiting for them to move farther into the room.
"What the hell happened here? What did you bitches do, huh?" one of the men barked angrily as he took in the sight of his limbless friend, now a mindless, biting zombie.
"Why don't you come closer and find out, you piece of shit?" Natalya shouted back, raising her middle finger defiantly at the soldiers.
The men were so distracted by her boldness that they didn't even notice Ali, his hands already moving into position.
BANG
With terrifying force, Ali grabbed both men by their heads and slammed them together with enough power to crush bone. Their skulls collided in a gruesome crack, and brain matter splattered to the ground as their lifeless bodies crumpled.
The sickening sound of their heads breaking was so horrific that Natalya and the other women recoiled in disgust, some squeezing their eyes shut at the sight. Ali, however, remained completely unfazed. He effortlessly shoved the corpses aside, stepping over them as he calmly exited the floor, closing the door behind him.
He continued his ascent, walking up to the seventeenth floor. This floor had been turned into an armoury, a locker room of sorts where the soldiers could gear up in their makeshift armour before venturing outside. 'I still don't know how they leave this skyscraper from such a height', Ali mused, recalling that the boy had mentioned something about a cable elevator.
The seventeenth floor was empty, and after a quick survey, Ali moved up to the eighteenth.
This floor, too, was vacant, though it seemed to serve a similar purpose to the one below. Weapons were stored here-blades, clubs, anything that could be scavenged and repurposed for combat.
Yet, just as he had suspected, there were no firearms. From what Ali had gathered, only the higher-ranking soldiers and their leader possessed guns, as they were rare and valuable items in this post-apocalyptic world.
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