Nick seems Sus_infectents

The morning sun cast long shadows as Hruday and his friends gathered near the zipline. They had spent the previous evening discussing their plans and experiments, and now it was time to prepare themselves physically and mentally for the challenges ahead. Tyler, eager to showcase his abilities, leaped from the building toward the church, landing directly on the compound wall without touching the ground.

Michael started commenting holding his hand like a mic imitating a certain tone "In this concrete jungle, Tyler, one of the alphas, is showcasing his prowess to establish dominance, while teaching newly formed temporary pack to combat the overpopulated hyenas together."

roy hissed alpha shut up your commentary nobody is laughing Michael looked at hruday trying to control his laughter acting like he has been controlling piss for 1 hour

"Michael continued, 'It seems like Alpha Roy isn't able to accept this. Despite the situation, these wreaked beasts fight for dominance...' Pfft, Michael couldn't hold it anymore when Hruday burst into laughter."

Hruday and Michael laughed their asses off and tried to see Troy to share the joy, but he seemed to have left already. Roy felt annoyed, knowing he would have taken a separate class if it weren't for the fact that he too found it hilarious and no one else was around to hear it.

hruday wondered "Are we laughing like this not because of the actual joke but find that semblance of joy and relief or is our weird in such a way that after too much stress it will try to laugh to realise that chemical ahh thinking about it ruins the fun "

Hruday hesitated, feeling a flicker of confidence but choosing not to risk it. He took a more mundane route, reaching the church less dramatically but ensuring he watched every movement he made, even scrutinizing his foot placement.

Standing in the before the church, Michael grinned and commented, "It's tall, fat, and tight—just my ideal type." His wild smile elicited reactions from the group.

Mark controlled his laughter, looking away and scraping his foot against the ground to suppress the sound. "Don't embarrass us with your corny joke," Roy whispered.

"What? I'm talking about the building's integrity. If it's tight, it's not right," Michael replied, rubbing his hands.

Mark, with a straight face, added, "Yes, it should be tight, but we have to always make it wet once a day so that it lasts longer in the beginning ." Both he and Michael laughed, though Roy was shocked by Mark's comment, realizing he shared their humor.

Micheal commented it could have been better Mark said laughing you too

Hruday put his hand on his head, thinking, "These perverts won't let me think in peace."

Troy, too tense to be bothered by the banter, was deep in thought about his sister and the things he needed to rescue her. He contemplated asking for help or robbing the storage room for supplies and a car. Tyler, meanwhile, looked at the building and began climbing.

"What a show-off. When is he going to teach us?" Roy muttered.

Tyler thought, "This is going to take longer than expected. They're going to make me do all sorts of stuff, and they keep adding new things. I guess they're using me, so am I." He smirked. "Whatever, having company isn't that bad even if it is for a short while."

"Guys, now I know how to teach you. First, watch me jump and land," Tyler said, demonstrating how he lessened the impact by rolling and jumping.

"He's like a rabbit. Doesn't his feet hurt? If I jumped like that, I'd need a few seconds to recover," Michael said as Mark nodded.

Tyler suddenly got an idea. "Guys, climbing buildings is advanced, so let's see who can climb the tree first."

Everyone tried. Michael felt something snap in his thighs, and his stomach seemed to loosen. He regretted trying to climb faster.

While Roy, Mark, and even Troy climbed faster after taking some time, Rick was surprisingly more agile.

Hruday hesitated but tried, climbing until he lost his grip and fell. A sharp wood splinter pierced his toe, making him jump in pain. He hissed in pain.

Then he noticed Nick watching, and the pain suddenly became more bearable as his pride took over. Looking at his toe, he saw his nail pried open, some of it stuck inside. It looked dangerous for a second, but Hruday calmed his useless anxiety.

"Shh, that looks like it hurt a lot, huh?" Michael said.

"No, not much. It hurts a little," Hruday replied.

Michael smiled. "Okay, man. Should we wrap this up and start the experiment?"

"Dude, we didn't even start," Tyler said.

Michael chuckled nervously. "Haha, so... what's next?"

"We'll climb those five trees five times and try to jump from one tree to another. The branches are thick, so no need to worry. Just don't try to climb higher than that branch," Tyler explained, showing with his hands.

Michael whispered to Hruday, "I can't, man. I feel like my thigh's nerves are being pulled. I might have dislocated my leg, and my stomach feels weird. Do something."

Hruday chuckled. "Oh, I think the stomach part might be the core problem."

Michael looked embarrassed.

Hruday thought quickly. "Hey, Tyler, how about this: You guys train here, while Michael and I will start preparing and planning for the experiment since we have to bring some materials anyway." He blinked vigorously, secretly pointing to Michael's stomach.

"Oh, I know. It's because you don't want to climb with the injury," Tyler said.

"Yeah, man. It bothers me to even put pressure on it," Hruday replied.

Hruday and Michael collected all the materials and headed to the abandoned college grounds directly. The others joined them as they navigated through areas with a few zombies. The safest path was to go through the church and exit at the second main gate opposite the auditorium. They only had to worry about a few stragglers outside the gate, but the more significant threat was near the bus stand and hospital, where there were still some concentrated zombies. Remembering his first day and the day he saw the horde gave him chills. He didn't know why, but he had gotten extremely lucky as it seemed as time passed, zombies seemed to gain their senses and abilities back. He thought, "Should I be grateful that this wasn't the case on day one, or should I be worried or proud that I was right when I didn't want to be?"

Fortunately, they crossed without incident, although Hruday overthought the ten meters between the bus stand and their path, feeling like they were walking on eggshells.

"Nick and Mark seem really silent today," Hruday said, even though he was looking at Troy, wanting to see if he was okay. Troy wasn't bothered a bit; he was mustering courage and making plans, considering trying to bait others since there was a big mart nearby. He knew all too well that there were gases on him and didn't bother saying anything.

"I was just wondering about something," Mark said, holding a wooden toy in his pocket.

Nick didn't respond until Hruday called him twice. "Huh? What?"

"Is everything alright?" Hruday asked with concern.

"Yeah, I was imagining stuff," Nick replied.

"Don't worry, man. You can always talk. I'm all ears—a secret hidden perk," Hruday said jokingly.

"I'm sure what Nick is imagining, looking at that zombie," Michael said, glancing at a naked female zombie.

"He isn't a pervert like you," Hruday retorted, doubting for a second if Nick even knew what recreation was. He chuckled to himself. "Not everyone is a late bloomer like you," Michael whispered.

Hruday hissed, "Yeah, is your stomach alright?"

Michael became quiet until they reached their destination. "Let's divide ourselves. Tyler and I will be one team, and Nick, Michael, and Mark another. We'll scout for zombies."

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They ran around, finding none initially, but upon looking inside an abandoned college classroom, Hruday saw zombies packed inside. "This is it, guys. Let's bring the supplies," he whispered.

"Can I stay here, please?" Rick asked, surprising Hruday with his intense gaze at the zombies.

"Please, you said anything," Rick added.

"Okay," Hruday sighed, giving Rick his trusted wooden leg as a weapon.

They started moving the steel wires and nails towards the college. Roy asked, "Isn't this too small for a college?"

"Yeah, no wonder they shut down," Hruday replied.

Suddenly, Michael shouted, "Guys, help! Help!"

Rick, who was holding Michael's hand, let go and ran towards the zombies. He jumped on one of them, attacking ferociously. Michael, extremely flabbergasted and worried, followed, shocked by Nick's behavior.

Rick was jumping upon zombies like a monkey, targeting a specific zombie, a ginger-headed female. He climbed trees like a monkey, jumping on them until he killed five zombies. Hruday acted as bait, helping Nick while the rest of them finished the remaining four zombies.

Afterward, Hruday scolded, "Have you gone crazy?"

Michael echoed, "Exactly!" After a brief scolding by all, they tried to talk silently. "Nick, are you alright?" Hruday asked.

"I'm sorry, bro. I wasn't myself," Nick said, but his attitude or the aura Hruday felt wasn't sincere at all. He later saw Nick was smiling all by himself.

Hruday felt concerned and thought it was an adrenaline rush. "We really need a good therapist," he muttered to himself.

Roy joked to ease the tension, "Guys, did you see Michael how he ran with his tail tucked? Nick is far better than Michael."

Mark continued, "Yes, even a kid is better than him."

Michael, no, he is just four years younger than me," Michael said.

They all continued setting up things. Now that one of the rooms was cleared, they made sure that the bait would be able to escape. They all climbed on the wall and poured acid on the lock. The diluted acid wasn't strong enough, so the bait, which was Troy due to his small build, went ahead and broke it.