The air thickened in the mall once the group inched deeper toward the center—the faint sound of shuffling footsteps kept trailing them. Dinl walked with his knife gripped, deliberate in every stride. Sarah followed close enough, her tight grip on a crowbar steadily firm, while Jake hovered rather close to Sarah, his hands trembling slightly holding onto his bat. Zeke hung back, his glowing dagger casting long, distorting shadows on the broken tiles.
"This place is giving me bad vibes," Jake muttered, his voice barely audible over the faint groans echoing from somewhere ahead.
"You should've gotten used to bad vibes by now," Sarah replied sharply, not taking her eyes off the dark corridor. "This whole world's a bad vibe."
Jake frowned but didn't argue. Dinl didn't turn around, his voice as keen as an icepick. "Quiet," he ordered. "We're being followed."
Sarah went rigid. "How many?" she whispered.
"Enough," Dinl said grimly, the pace slowing.
The silence exploded with a snarl. From the darkness ahead, zombies surged forward like a breaking wave, their jerky, uneven movements almost coordinated, it seemed, by some unseen force that drove them to act as one.
"Hold the line!" Dinl barked, spinning his knife into a reverse grip.
Sarah moved first, stepping in front of Jake and driving her crowbar into the nearest zombie. Its skull caved with a wet crack, but two more immediately replaced it. Jake swung his bat wildly, hitting one zombie's shoulder with a hollow thud.
"There's too many!" he cried, stumbling back.
"Then swing harder!" Sarah yelled, deflecting another lunge.
Dinl was already moving, dodging under a zombie's claws and opening its throat with ease. He spun, stepping into the space the creature left behind, and plunged his blade into the temple of another.
"They're too fast," Sarah growled, taking a step back as the horde surged forward. "What the hell is this?"
"Horde wave," Dinl replied, his voice tight with strain. His blade flashed, cleaving through the socket of a zombie's eye. "The Tower's testing us."
From behind them, Zeke laughed sharply. "Testing us? This is nothing!" he shouted, charging forward. In his wake, his dagger slashed, its blue glow lighting the air as it bit deep into a zombie's chest, collapsing it to pieces.
"Zeke, stay in formation!" Dinl growled, his sword cutting down two zombies in quick succession.
But he didn't listen—the dagger's light flared brighter with every kill as he darted deeper into the horde. The blade moved like it was glued to his arm, carving through flesh as if through air.
"Come on, is that all you've got?" Zeke shouted, his grin wide.
"Damn it," Dinl muttered, watching as the line broke. "Sarah, cover Jake. I'll get him."
"No promises!" Sarah exclaimed, smashing her crowbar into another zombie.
Dinl moved with precision, his blade slicing through two zombies as he pushed toward Zeke. A clawed hand reached for him, but he sidestepped and plunged his knife into its chest before twisting hard and pulling it free.
They were an endless horde, for every zombie that fell, ten more took their place. Dinl's movements were sharp and calculated. He ducked, weaved, and struck, deliberate in every motion. But Zeke's recklessness drew the bulk of the swarm.
"Zeke, fall back!" Dinl barked, his voice cutting through the snarls.
"I don't need help!" Zeke yelled, spinning to slash at a zombie lunging for his side. The glowing dagger cut clean through, but another came from behind, forcing Zeke to stumble forward.
Dinl charged forward, slicing his knife through the neck of a zombie reaching to grab Zeke. "You're gonna get yourself killed," he snarled, gripping Zeke's arm.
Zeke wrenched loose, his face obstinate. "I'm handling it."
"You're breaking formation. Handle that," Dinl growled, cutting down another charging zombie. Still, Dinl pulled him back into position, Sarah and Jake fought to maintain the line as. Sarah's crowbar moved with brutal efficiency, each blow landing with a sickening crunch.
"Jake, left!" she yelled.
Jake spun around in time to raise his bat against a zombie's slashing claws. He swung hard; the bat connected to the head of the creature with a hollow thud. It staggered but didn't fall.
"Finish it!" Sarah barked, stepping forward to take down another.
Jake hesitated, his grip faltering. The zombie lunged again, and before it could reach him, Dinl's knife had pierced its temple.
"Stay focused," Dinl said sharply, yanking Jake back.
"I-I'm trying," Jake spluttered.
"Try harder," Dinl said coldly.
The fight was dragging on, and the group was cutting into the horde bit by slow bit. Zeke fell back reluctantly, his movements not as quick now that exhaustion had begun to set in. Sarah and Jake could fight together, covering each other's blind spots, while Dinl moved like a shadow, hitting wherever the line was most weak.
As the last zombie fell and its body twitched before it lay still, they all stood in silence, panting. Jake leaned upon his bat, his hands shaking. "W-we managed it," he panted.
"Barely," grumbled Sarah, who worked at smearing blood off her crowbar with a handful of wet earth. She looked around at Zeke, her glance sharp. "What the hell was that?"
Zeke sheathed his dagger, shrugging. "What? I killed more of them than any of you."
"You almost got us all killed," Sarah snapped.
"If Dinl hadn't stepped in"
"I didn't need his help," Zeke interrupted, his tone defiant.
"You needed something," Dinl said coldly, stepping forward. His knife was still in his hand, his glare sharp. "This isn't a solo trial. You break formation again, and I'll let the Tower deal with you."
Zeke held his gaze for a moment, his jaw tightening. But he didn't answer.
As the group closed circles and renewed their pace, Dinl glanced over his shoulder at Zeke. The ghostly shine of the dagger pulsed, sending flickering shadows dancing across Zeke's face.
"Shortcuts never come free," Dinl whispered to himself, clenching his knife more tightly.