The air was thick with the acrid smell of blood and decay as I turned back, only to freeze in my tracks.
One of the dead soldiers was moving. Slowly at first, its body jerking in unnatural, broken motions.
But it wasn't alive.
The way it moved was stiff yet disturbingly deliberate, it sent shivers down my spine.
The blank, glazed over eyes, the unnatural tilt of its head... Then it hit me.
It wasn't possessed. It was infected.
The realization slammed into me like a freight train. I had read about this in The World is Doomed.
Infective monsters rare but terrifying spread a parasitic infection through contact. They didn't just kill, they convert their victims into grotesque, mindless husks.
That explained the carnage around me. The soldiers weren't just slaughtered, they were both killed and turned.
My breathing quickened as I slowly backed away.
The infected soldier twitched, its head snapping toward me with an almost mechanical precision.
I was in a crumbling, partially destroyed house no doors, most of the walls missing. If I wanted to survive, I needed to get out of here.
My eyes darted to a gap in the wall. The forest wasn't far. I could run for it. If I stayed quiet, maybe...
The infected soldier lunged at me with terrifying speed.
I barely had time to react.
Instinct kicked in, and I ducked, twisting to the side as the creature barreled past me. It crashed through the already crumbling wall, landing outside in the dirt.
This was my chance.
I wasted no time, I bolted, weaving through the wreckage and the bodies that littered the ground.
Each step was careful, deliberate I couldn't risk tripping over one of the corpses or, worse, brushing against one.
If infection spread through contact, even a slight graze could seal my fate.
My mind raced as I ran, my heart pounding in my chest.
What happens if I touch them? Do I have seconds? Minutes? or will I even get infected? I didn't want to find out.
A guttural growl ripped through the air behind me, snapping me out of my spiraling thoughts. I glanced back.
It was chasing me.
But it wasn't just chasing anymore... it was changing.
Its body twisted and morphed with sickening cracks and pops. Its limbs elongated, its skin darkened, and its jaw stretched unnaturally wide, revealing jagged, bone-like teeth.
My stomach dropped. Fully transformed, these monsters were nearly impossible to kill.
But I remembered something from the novel: they were vulnerable during the transition phase. I still had a chance.
My eyes darted around desperately, searching for anything that could help.
Then I saw it...
A gun, lying near a fallen soldier's outstretched hand.
I skidded to a stop, crouched, and grabbed it. The weapon felt foreign in my hands. I'd never fired a gun before, but guns in this world were different. They were designed to be intuitive, their mechanisms simplified for the chaotic battles that defined this world.
The infected soldier-turned-monster was almost upon me.
I aimed, my hands trembling, and pulled the trigger.
Bang! Bang!
The shots rang out, deafening in the eerie quiet. The first bullet grazed its head, but the second found its mark, tearing through its skull.
The monster staggered, letting out a guttural scream before collapsing to the ground in a grotesque heap.
I stood there, panting, staring at the lifeless body. My hands shook as I lowered the gun.
"May your soul rest in peace," I muttered, though I doubted there was much of a soul left to save.
Turning to leave, I froze.
My breath hitched, my body going rigid.
Guns and bows. Many of them. Aimed directly at me. It looked like they can be shot at any moment if I make a wrong move.
The people who wielded them where awakeneds and soldiers, alive and armed with different kind of menacing weapons. Just by looking at them, makes me want to start pleading.
If they where to shoot me, i won't last a second.
Their expressions showed a mix of suspicion and hostility.
"Don't move," one of them barked, his voice cold and commanding.
I raised my hands slowly, the weight of the situation sinking in. First infected soldier, now them?!
"Great," I muttered under my breath. "Just great."