They both fell, and the zombie climbed atop him, trying to bite his face off.
But Grey held the steel bat between himself and the zombie, using it as a barrier to keep the ghoul at bay.
The creature was relentless, pushing and biting at Grey's face, forcing him to turn his head to the side.
He noticed a pen on the floor, picked it up immediately, and stabbed it into the zombie's head digging it into its brain.
The zombie stopped moving, and Grey pushed the creature off him.
He hurriedly rose to his feet with his back, just in time, as another zombie lunged at him.
Grey swayed, narrowly dodging the attack, before delivering a vicious blow to the back of the zombie's head.
"One more zombie down," Grey thought as he turned to face the last three zombies.
He kneed one of them, a female, in the ribs, grabbed her by the hair, and mercilessly smashed her face into the edge of his desk.
He then swung his weapon with such force that it flew out of his grip.
This undoubtedly took out the second zombie, but there was a third and he had no weapon.
Grey seized a keyboard and struck the last zombie in the chin, sending keys scattering.
Turning to Jace, he found his friend ensnared by a zombie's grip.
Grey, fueled by adrenaline, picked up his fallen steel bat and pulled the assailant away from Jace by the shirt.
The zombie struggled to free itself, but Grey finished it off with a lethal strike to the head ending its life.
The zombie crumpled to the ground, its neck grotesquely twisted as blood spewed.
Breathing heavily, Grey surveyed the bodies of the fallen zombies. Despite being defeated their bodies were still twitching.
"Tenacious bastards," Grey muttered as he finished them off so they wouldn't rise again.
Jace's chest heaved as he stared at the bloody scene in disbelief.
"What the hell is happening? zombies...none of this makes sense." Jace said shaken by everything he had just witnessed.
"Yeah, it doesn't, but it is real," Grey said, wiping the cold sweat off his forehead. "And if we don't fight, we die."
He didn't understand how he was able to fight without any hesitation almost as if he'd been doing this all his life.
Was it adrenaline?
Grey wasn't sure, but one thing was certain:
He enjoyed the rush he felt, and the feeling of getting stronger.
Ding!
[You have killed a zombie]
[You have received a strength shard]
[You have killed a zombie]
[You have received a vitality shard]
[You have killed a zombie]
[You have received an agility shard]
Grey summoned all the shards he had gotten and swallowed them without much thinking.
Once again, he felt a tingling energy flow through his veins and balled his fist.
"Yeah, it's definitely working."
Grey said and then looked at his stats.
Name: Grey Adamas
Race: Human
Title: Necrotic Heir
Strength: 12
Agility: 11
Stamina: 10
Vitality: 11
Intelligence: 10
Energy: 500
Health: 1100
Affinity: [None]
Elemental Abilities: [None]
Innate Ability: [Essence Plunderer]
Jace who had seen him ingest something weird decided to ask:
"What are those things you keep swallowing, and since when did you get so strong? You manhandled the zombies like a freaking bear."
"I got the shards from killing the zombies. They boost your strength. " Grey replied casually. "Do you see a system in front of you?"
Jace stared at the empty air and replied:
"Yes."
'Guess everyone has it.' Grey nodded.
That was one answer to one of the dozens of questions he had.
"I don't know where it came from, but when I killed the zombies, I got a notification that I was given shards as rewards," Grey explained.
"Like a video game," Jace inferred.
"Yeah, like a video game," Grey nodded. "Whatever the system is, it was given to us so we can survive whatever the hell is going on."
Jace grimly shook his head:
"I'm a fan of video games, but I'd rather do it at my desk eating chips, not with my life at stake. I can't fight zombies."
"Unfortunately, we have to fight if we want to survive. Do you hear the sounds of growls and screams? It means the entire building is filled with them, and the only way to get out, at least the only way I know of, is to fight."
"God," Jace placed his hand over his head in panic. Just the thought of it scared him. He had almost gotten a heart attack when one tried to kill him, now he had to face a whole building of them.
"Let's go! We need to keep moving before they start coming in," he urged Jace.
And though Jace was scared he decided to follow.
He had seen what Grey could do, he knew he stood a better chance of survival with him, than alone.
Together they made their way toward the exit and as they ran down the hallway, their eyes saw through the glass wall to the section on the floor, witnessing the same horrifying scenes through the glass walls.
Zombies biting and tearing into the unturned survivors, the sounds and screams of their colleagues echoing.
Grey saw the horror and turned away knowing he could do nothing about it due tp the number of zombies, while Jace was just trying his best not to puke at the gruesome sight.
They continued, and Grey ran towards the stairs, but Jace had a different idea.
"Wait!" Jace exclaimed and Grey halted at his track.
"Why not use the elevator?" Jace asked.
The elevator was a gamble they couldn't afford. If they opened and there were zombies inside or if the floor they wanted to go to was teeming with zombies, they'd be overrun instantly. So the elevator was a no-go.
Grey was going to tell Jace that, but he didn't get to utter a single word as he hurriedly jumped backward evading the bite of a zombie who suddenly came from the side.
"The hell."
Grey had been too focused on Jace, he hadn't noticed there was an open entrance beside him. Zombies shuffling out. They blocked Grey's path to Jace, leaving both individuals to fend for themselves.
Meanwhile, on Jace's side, he had already pressed the elevator button, and it arrived with a chilling ping, its metallic doors sliding open.
Jace's eyes widened in terror as he saw the number of zombies huddled inside.
One zombie immediately attacked, scratching at his face.
Startled, Jace stumbled backward in fear, falling on his butt. The same zombie lunged at him while he was on the ground, but Jace rolled away just in time and took off without looking back.
"Shit!" Grey exclaimed in panic as he watched Jace run in the direction they had just left.
There was no escape there.
Jace was going to get...