Wendy could hear the steps of the Sabertooth quickly reaching her.
Despite her dizziness, she forced herself to run, her heart thudding wildly as she felt cold chills on her back.
The Sabertooth shoved and clawed its way through the zombies toward Wendy, a feral look on its face.
Wendy was exhausted; she wasn't athletic and fast enough to outrun the beast. It was only a matter of time before the zombie caught up to her.
But suddenly, she saw someone come out of the stairs holding what looked like a bat. Relief washed through her, and she yelled without reservation, "Help me!"
The man saw her and his eyes widened as he noticed the Sabertooth dangerously close to her. He gripped his bat tightly, set it on fire using his element, and hurried towards her.
In just a few steps, he had reached Wendy and raised his flaming bat, ready to swing. For a split second, Wendy was sure she was the target, but then he shouted urgently, "Duck!"
Instantly, Wendy ducked, and the flaming bat struck the Sabertooth, whose teeth were just inches from her neck The bat landed on the Sabertooth's face, sending it backward. The Sabertooth crashed to the ground, squirming in pain.
The man walked past Wendy, who was on her knees, heaving.
The Sabertooth leaped to pounce on the man, but he raised his hand and used [Fireball]. A ball of fire flew out of his palm and slammed into the beast.
Before the beast could recover, the man was airborne and landed with a powerful downward swing that bashed the Sabertooth on the skull, a loud crunch resounding.
However, this didn't end the Sabertooth, so the man raised the bat and swung down again on its skull, ending the beast's life.
Wendy pressed her palm to her chest as she let out a sigh of relief. She would have died if not for the stranger's timely help. But she couldn't be at ease just yet. Though the Sabertooth had been defeated, there was still danger.
The surrounding zombies began moving towards them, attracted by the noise, which made Wendy panic.
But the man with the flaming bat ran to meet them, dealing with them easily with his bat. A single hit from his bat was enough to finish a zombie. Wendy could only watch with her mouth open, awed by his unnatural strength.
The man struck down the last zombie and released a weary sigh, taking a rest.
Wendy rose to her feet and approached him. She noticed he was staring distractedly at something, most likely his stat window.
"Thank you for saving me," Wendy said in an appreciative tone.
The man turned towards her, and his eyes widened in shock as he saw her, his body going completely still. He had been so focused on the threat that he didn't realize whom he had just saved: the most attractive lady in the building and the desire of many men, Wendy Spivot.
He began to shake in excitement as his face and neck flushed red.
"There's no need for you to thank me. Those left alive need to stick together," Pius said with a fanatic shine in his eyes.
Wendy smiled, relieved she wasn't alone anymore. She would have been the Sabertooth's meal if he hadn't appeared when he did.
The man then stretched his hand for a handshake as he introduced himself.
"I'm Pius. I work on the 3rd floor."
Wendy was about to accept his handshake, but her eyes widened in shock at what she saw behind him. Pius noticed her reaction and turned. What he saw made his breath quicken.
A horde of Sabertooths were strutting inside the building in numbers, too many for him to handle.
"Shit, we have to go," Pius exclaimed, knowing that attempting to fight was suicide. But as he turned, he saw Wendy was nowhere to be seen. Pius' eyes bulged, and he looked around, wondering where Wendy was.
Then he heard growls and noticed the pack of Sabertooth had sighted him and were charging at him. Wasting no time, he ran towards the elevator he was close to and pressed the button frantically.
The elevator arrived with a ding, and he readied his bat in case zombies were inside.
But once the door opened, he saw two humans: a chubby man holding his hand in the shape of a gun and a woman hiding behind him.
Pius recognized the chubby man; it was the CEO of the company, Michael. As for the lady, she was probably a regular coworker.
"Stay away!" Michael yelled.
"Sorry, can't do that," Pius said, clutching his bat. He was ready to swing at Michael, CEO or not, as time wasn't on his side.
Michael frowned; he didn't have any way of knowing if the man in front of him was infected.
From experience, he knew not to be careless, as he had experienced an ally lie about not being bitten only to turn into a zombie and try to kill him.
Amy, the woman beside him, shoved him slightly and gave him a scrutinizing look that made him lower his weapon.
He had done the same for her earlier and released a bullet but he missed.
Then he held her at gunpoint, stating if she didn't transform into a zombie in five minutes, he'd let her go.
Five minutes passed, and there was no transformation, only an angry woman who made sure to vent her displeasure despite him being her boss. It was quite scary.
Luckily, he was saved by a loud zombie growl, which scared the two of them into entering the elevator.
Pius heard multiple feral growls from behind, indicating the Sabertooths were close.
"Screw this," he muttered, entering hurriedly and ignoring the threat from Michael. He pressed one of the buttons to go up.
The two then saw what he was running from and shrieked in fear at the dozens of Sabertooth approaching them.
Pius saw one of the Sabertooth, faster than the others, swiftly approaching them. So he raised his hand to use [Fireball] to stop it, but Michael beat him to it, releasing a fire blast from his finger that flew out like a swift bullet and hit the Sabertooth on the head, sending it rolling backward.
The elevator then closed, and everyone let out a collective sigh. But then they all froze, a mix of fear, confusion, and wariness on their faces.
"Did you hear that?" Pius asked, his eyes darting around.
Michael gulped, sweating profusely.
"Someone else is in here."