Chapter 8: Walking Dead
Zombie Lvl. 5
Zombie Goblin Lvl. 6
Zombie Ogre Lvl. 15
“Shiiittt!” I screamed.
We ran like hell after the corpses rose up. I didn’t know how it was possible for a real zombie to exist. I mean, there’s no fucking way for a corpse with dismembered flesh to move. It doesn’t make any sense. This must be one of the magical laws that the blue screens were talking about. I didn’t know anything about magic laws yet but I expected it to be like: First Law of Magic: If can’t be explained, it must be magic.
Since the apocalypse, anything that doesn’t make sense can be explained by magic. Blue screens popping out of nowhere? Magic. Disappearing books after using them? Magic. Money and other items appearing out of thin air? Magic. Walking corpses that eat flesh? Magic. Superhuman speed and strength? Well, probably after a serious work out and weight lifting but of course, it must be magic.
We were speechless and our thoughts were silenced by fear. Except for swear words like shits and fucks. We ran without question as to what we do next. Not only that it was obvious but it was scary as fuck. Even I, a usual calm person, panicked at the sight of a thousand zombies.
As we ran through the streets avoiding the undead horde and hacking only those who blocked our way, we were surprised to encounter a limping and wounded ogre who was also running from the horde.
Ogre Lvl. 27
The ogre and our group stopped when our paths crossed. When our eyes met with his, I saw fear in its eyes and it probably saw the same fear in ours. When we saw another wave of zombies from the ogre’s back, we ran. The ogre was left behind but it also ran with us. We were a bit faster because it was wounded. I had thoughts of using [Heal] on the ogre but I quickly dejected the idea because it might turn against us and I didn’t want that.
We were getting tired and our SP was getting low. Since Dianne’s SP was the highest among us, she didn’t even break a sweat as we ran. I tried to activate [Meditate] but unfortunately, my mind at that time was like a chaotic amusement park on fire.
[We need to find a place where we can rest for a bit. My SP’s getting low.] – Miguel
As a fat person, my cardio wasn’t that great. I was starting to regret eating two to three bowls of rice every meal and I eat five meals a day not including the snacks in-between meals. Even though I know Arnis, it doesn’t mean that I train my body every day and have a good physical form like every martial artist depicted in the movies. Ever watched the movie Beverly Hills Ninja? Yeah, I was like that but I don’t have the fancy moves and ninja gimmicks.
“Arrrrghhhh!!! Arrrrggghhhh!”
The ogre screamed in agony as the zombies caught up with it and tear its flesh. We used this opportunity to hole up in a partially ruined two story building.
As we entered the building, I saw thousands of zombies gathered around the ogre and feasted. It was a gruesome scene - lots of blood spraying everywhere. Meanwhile, as I guarded the door, the others killed five zombies on the first floor.
Thanks to our toolbox and Eric’s obsession with construction materials, we quickly nailed the door shut with wooden planks. With Eric and Claire’s strength, they could lift heavy bookshelves and other furniture to block the doors and windows. We cleared the whole building of zombies including the other three on the second floor.
All of us breathe heavily while sitting on the ground. Running and playing dodgeball with zombies exhausted our energy. I think adrenaline was the only thing that made us kept going for an extended period. After the zombies were finished with the ogre, they walked aimlessly and seemed to forget about us.
We were silent again. We were facing yet another dangerous situation and we might not make it. I could see despair on their eyes and they’re losing hope. I was losing hope.I was the one who suggested crossing the university belt. I screwed up and place ourselves in this hopeless situation.
“Oh god…” Melissa broke down in tears.
“It’s okay… Shhh… It’s okay…” Eric embraced her as he tried to comfort her. Melissa buried her head on his chest as she cried.
I also felt like crying. Perhaps I should bury my head on Claire’s breast and cry but I think the zombies would be a safer alternative than that. Even with the pressure of the responsibility of being a leader, I have to remain calm. I figured that I needed to make a speech to boost our morale even for a bit. I tried to move my mouth but I couldn’t find the right words to say. I looked at my hands and they were shaking. I was scared.
“We shouldn’t stay here.” Dianne said.
“I mean, I don’t want to spend the night here. There are too many zombies outside and I don’t think that will hold.” She pointed at our crude barricade.
I agree. This place was too risky to spend the night. We should find a way out of the university belt and hopefully, there are no zombies there. We should at least find a better place than this.
“You should wait here and rest for a bit.” Dianne stood up and held her bow to her side.
Claire gripped Dianne’s wrist in an attempt to stop her. “No… It’s too dangerous outside.”
“I have to do this Claire… There’s no one who can do this but me.”
Dianne turned her head to me. “Am I right?”
The truth was I didn’t know what to do in that situation. My mind was too distracted to think anything. I looked at Dianne and nodded.
Claire and I went to the second floor to see her off. There was a window on the right side of the building leading to a roof of another ruined building.
“I’ll be back…” Dianne said as she jumped off the window and did her ninja hopping thing.
We went back to the first floor and since I got nothing to do, I activated [Meditate]. It was already on intermediate level, I could activate it while thinking other things despite what the blue screen said about having a clear mind.
I guess I was totally wrong when I said that Dianne was so clumsy that she couldn’t do anything that could help us survive. Like I said, I knew her since childhood. Everything she does will always end up in failure.
I remembered when we were in chemistry class. She was assigned as my partner in the lab experiment. She broke a lot of things in the lab such as test tubes and a microscope. Can you imagine that she accidentally spilled a flask of hydrochloric acid? Seriously, that scared the shit out of the entire class.
Later on, Dianne was forbidden to touch anything in the lab. As usual, our chemistry teacher kept assigning her as my partner. I had hard time doing all our lab experiments especially that I couldn’t rely on my partner. Thankfully, my chemistry teacher gave me good grades for it.
I didn’t know what Dianne was thinking but I think that she’s just trying to prove herself. She’s no good at anything except gymnastics. It was fun watching her do her thing in a balance beam especially when she’s wearing her leotards. It gives me a boner whenever I think of it. I loved seeing her doing the Bridge.
Now that I think about it, it doesn’t make sense. How can a person be so good at gymnastics but be clumsy at the same time? I could see that her being good at gymnastics was probably the reason how she do the ninja stuff but how about the fact that she’s good at not being noticed? Is she a secret agent or something? Whatever, I’m probably just overthinking about it.
“Why did you let her go?”
A voice called me as [Meditate] deactivated. I turned my head on my back and it was Claire. She sat on the ground in front of me. None of us have taken a bath since we left the restaurant and we were dirty and covered in dry blood from the zombies we’ve taken out as we ran.
Although Claire was dirty too, she looked hot especially that she’s wearing shorts. And when I say shorts, it was really short. I mean, I could almost see her vag while she’s sitting on the floor. Her legs were still good to look at even if dirty. It’s a pity that I couldn’t find an opportunity to jerk my little junior since the apocalypse. My boner’s starting to hurt.
“Why did you let her go? Aren’t you concerned about her?” Claire asked.
“I am…” Not really. But it would be better if she stick with us a little longer until we rescue my sister.
“But she’s right… If you haven’t noticed, we’re stuck here with a thousand flesh eating corpses outside the door.” I continued.
“I’m aware of that but shouldn’t we go with her at least?”
“No, she’s good at what she’s doing and we’ll just be a burden to her. Let her scout the area alone. Maybe she could find a way out of this shithole.”
“And we are supposed to do nothing?”
“Yes… We do nothing.” I responded. “It’s surprising, isn’t it? How productive doing nothing can be.”
“You should distribute your stat points while we wait. I know you’re concerned about her but you should learn to trust her more. I’m worried about her too but I have faith in her.”
Claire nodded and didn’t say another word. I just said that in order to shut her up. She stayed silent as I opened my Character screen and distributed my stat points according to my build.
Name:Miguel ArevaloRace:HumanLevel:14HP:526/526MP:745/745SP:120/120EXP:11.14%STR:18WIS:40AGI:12INT:53VIT:42LUK:13DEX:12CHA:21Satiety:FineStatusNormalUndistributed Attribute Points:0Title(s):Masochist: +10% Pain Tolerance and HPPerk(s):Leadership: +10 Charisma and increased follower loyaltyTactician: Tactics and Strategies have higher chance of success
After distributing my stat points, I found that Melissa was still having panic attack and clinging on Eric like a koala. Claire was still beside me and quiet. Again, I activated [Meditate].
It was already night. It was full moon and its light shone brightly. We waited for hours but Dianne was still out there. Melissa was calmed now and Claire stood up and looked uneasy.
“What happened to Dianne? Why hasn’t she come back yet?” Claire said as she walked nonstop back and forth.
“Relax… She’s going to be fine…” I said.
“Relax? How can I be relaxed? I’ve been trying to message her but she’s not responding!”
“Shhh….” I placed my finger in my lips signalling her to be quiet.
I peeked at the windows and luckily, the zombies haven’t heard us. I sighed deeply in relief. I looked at the Party Screen and Dianne’s HP was still full. She’s probably fine.
“She’s probably more than two kilometres away from us that’s why she’s not responding.”
I walked towards her and placed my hand on Claire’s shoulders. She looked very uneasy so I try to calm her down.
“Take a look at the Party Screen. Dianne’s HP is full. She’s fine so relax… Okay?” I said to her.
Claire nodded as she sat down on the floor. I sat beside her to make sure she won’t do anything stupid. I activated [Meditate] as I sat down. After a few more hours of no response, Dianne finally responded to Claire’s message.
[I’m okay guys… I’ll be back in a few minutes…] – Dianne
[What took you so long? We’re so worried about you…] – Claire
[Did you find something?] - Eric
[Yeah, I... took care of a few things. I’ll tell you later when I return.] – Dianne
Claire quickly went upstairs to wait for Dianne’s return. I followed her upstairs while Eric and Melissa remained on the first floor to watch. We waited for almost an hour for Dianne to return.
“I’m so worried about you...” Claire said as she hugged Dianne.
“I’m sorry...” Dianne laughed wryly as she embraced Claire. “Uhmm... Where are the others? I-ah needed to discuss something with all of you...”
“They’re downstairs...” I said.
From her looks, it looked like she found something important. It could be that Dianne did something that she’s hesitating to tell us. Either way, it’s better to listen to what she’s going to say. Dianne, Claire and I went downstairs and I called for a group meeting. We all sat down on the ground as Dianne reported us what happened in her scouting mission.
“So what happened?” I asked.
“I found a safe place here in the university belt. It was the Political Science Building.” Dianne responded.
“A safe place?”
“Yes... There are no zombies inside and they won’t come near the building.”
“How do you know it’s safe in there? Did you confirm it by yourself?” Eric asked.
“Well, I assure you it’s really safe... There were hundreds of zombies chasing me but when I came near the building; the zombies couldn’t get near it. There’s some kind of barrier protecting the building...”
“I see... Is there anything else?” It was very suspicious. It's too good to be true. There’s no such thing as a safe place – only safer.
“Uhmmm...” Dianne seemed to hesitate as she spoke. “I-I also met other survivors... in that safe place.”
I knew it. She really did something suspicious. My eyes glared at Dianne and she avoided my stare. I looked at the others and their eyes met mine. They also looked at Dianne with suspicion.
“You said survivors, plural not survivor. It means there are more than one right? How many are they? Did you say something to them? Did you mention about us?” I asked one question after another.
“Did they do something bad to you?” Claire asked.
“What are their weapons and their levels?”
“Do they have magic?”
Dianne fidgeted as she was barraged with one question after another by our group. I didn’t expect her to meet other survivors especially in this area where there are too many zombies. I really wanted to avoid other survivors as much as possible whether they have good intentions or not.
“Tell us what happened, Dianne...” I said in a firm voice.
Dianne gulped. “W-well, they’re not bad people. There are at least 20 of them in the building and most of them were students like us and they have children with them. Most of them carried 2x4 as weapons; I only saw two of them with fire axes. The highest level among them was level 7. I did mention about our group but I didn’t tell them anything about our skills especially Miguel’s unique skill.”
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I sighed deeply in relief. Since Dianne was a big airhead, I thought she revealed us completely to strangers. “So... what took you so long? We’ve been waiting for hours. Surely, you didn’t just spend the whole time talking to them right?”
“They have children with them and they told me that they haven’t eaten anything since yesterday. They’ve already looted the whole building for food but they couldn’t get out since there were too many zombies. So I volunteered to loot food for them. I looted three convenience stores near the building.”
I face palmed myself as I heard Dianne’s story. Her kindness would be the end of us. Why would anyone volunteer for that? More importantly, they’re strangers and we’re also getting low on food.
“Did you give them all the food?” Melissa raised her left eye brow.
“I gave them most of it because they needed it more but of course, I left some for us.” Dianne murmured.
“And the food?” Eric asked.
Dianne opened her inventory and poured a lot of canned goods and other food stuffs on the ground. I’d say that it was plenty enough for the five of us to survive for a week so she must’ve looted a lot of food. She even got rice and lots of bottled water on her loot.
We decided that Melissa will keep most of it since she handles all the food preparation of our group. We split up the rest of the food and bottled water as our emergency ration. If one of us got separated from the group, it would be great if we got something to eat. Our emergency rations were good for two to three days and all of it is ready to eat.
At least Dianne used her head a little. I thought she gave them all of the food just for the sake of those starving strangers and let us starve. But still, she’s too kind. Kindness, even in the old days, was often abused and those kind people always end up with nothing.
If you ask me, will I let a child starve? No. I have a soft spot for children. Will I let another adult starve? Yes. They can get their own food. If they want food, they should have something to trade.
“Next time, if one of you encounters another survivor, tell the group first before you make a move. Do you understand?” I said to them.
Dianne nodded as she stared on the ground.
“We don’t know them. What if they did something to you? We wouldn’t know what happened. Look, I will only say this once and you won’t hear me saying this again…”
I turned my eyes to Dianne and said: “Dianne, you’re a cute girl. You’re very cute and sexy.”
Dianne blushed and she quickly turned her gaze away from me. I turned to Melissa next.
“Melissa, you are beautiful too. Men these days would look at you like a treat and Claire... Uhhh…”
I had second thoughts on giving compliments on Claire. She might use what I say as a weapon of insult destruction. They raised their eyebrows as they look at me. Eric was surprised too. I never gave compliments to a woman especially about their looks because those compliments coming from me would be too creepy to hear and unnatural. When I confessed to Dianne a long time ago, I never told her that she’s beautiful. Not even once.
“What about me?” Claire lowered her eyebrows and her glares were sharp.
I gulped. “You’re… pretty too. I guess?”
“That’s it?” Claire didn’t look thrilled or impressed with my statement.
I shrugged and rolled my eyes. “Anyway, the point is: What would happen if a man finds a beautiful woman? In the old days, the man would try woo that woman. But now, most humans are dead. Beauty is now a rare commodity. Imagine if an all-male survivor group found the three of you, what do you think they would do? Heck, if it was me, I’d probably…”
“Rape us?” Claire interrupted me and finished my speech. She was still giving me the death glare.
“Sell you… Why would I waste a fresh and beautiful woman? Like I said, beauty is rare commodity and I’d make lots of money.”
Their fearful expressions turned to disgust. What the fuck did I just say? I gave myself a mental face palm. I just wanted to prove a point but all I did was to show them how greedy I was. Shit.
“B-but you wouldn’t do that, r-right?” Dianne asked as she stuttered.
“No, of course not…” I responded and it looks like they weren’t convinced. Not even for a bit.
“Just to be clear. I consider all of you as my friends. You’re probably the only persons I trust besides my family. The world and the civilization have ended but it doesn’t give anyone an excuse for being a dick. I admit, sometimes, I can be a dick too but I still have morals and I don’t want to lose my humanity… It is what differentiates me from those monsters outside.”
Finally, they looked convinced and they nodded in agreement.
“I get it. You’re just… worried about us, aren’t you?” Claire said.
I nodded and Claire smiled at me. It wasn’t a smirk or a smile out of contempt or ridicule like the usual. It was the first time I saw her genuine smile and I was mesmerized by it. I should keep my damn mouth shut. I don’t want her to think that I was just dodging bullets.
“By the way, there’s one more thing I forgot to say…” Dianne said.
“What is it?”
“George was their leader. You know him, right?”
“George? As in George James? He’s still alive?” I asked.
“Yeah, I never said they were strangers but they’re survivors…”
“I see…”
“Who is George James? Is he a foreigner?” Claire asked.
“No… It’s just his surname but in fact, he looks like an average Filipino. He’s a great guy.” I said.
“But how about your sermon, Father Miguel?” Melissa asked sarcastically.
“My argument still holds. I knew him but it doesn’t mean I trust him completely…”
“Uhmmm… George told me that there’s a system shop and he showed it to me.” Dianne said.
My eyes opened wide. “And?”
“I saw it and it’s true. It has a lot of skill books and items for sale. George and his group couldn’t afford to buy since they have no money. But I think we can afford it. I didn’t buy anything because I want your opinion on the matter. They said that we are welcome to use it.”
“Should we go?” Eric asked.
“I don’t know this guy but he might rob us.” Claire said.
“I… think we should go…” Melissa murmured.
“We should have a vote…” I said.
Is it worth the risk? If we go there and assuming that George and his group weren’t cooking something up for us then we would have an access to a Shop. I could finally get new spells and be a proper mage.
George was a good guy. He’s a librarian and I befriended him when I was a first year. He’s very helpful especially when I try to find good review materials. He’s the reason why I always get the highest grade in exams. Even though I knew George before, it doesn’t mean that he didn’t change. This apocalypse fucked up everyone’s minds.
“We should go. Miguel is just being too paranoid. They’re people too.” Melissa said as she cast her vote.
“I think we should go… The skill books and equipment we might get. It’s going to be a great help for us. Besides, I also knew George.”
“No Eric, it won’t be of any use if we end up killed not by some zombies but by other people… We shouldn’t risk it.” Claire said.
“I don’t think we should go… We can find another Shop somewhere else.” I said.
We all looked at Dianne as we waited for her vote.
“I agree with Melissa and Eric. They were very grateful for the food I brought them and they agreed to share the safe place with us.”
I felt really bad. Perhaps my lesson wasn’t absorbed by the rest of them except for Claire. This could be another fucked up situation. The monsters were predictable but a human isn’t. I hope that I was just being paranoid. I have no choice but to stick with this group since there's no way I could survive alone.
“So it’s done. We should go there and check the Shop.” Eric said.
“Easier said than done. The zombies are still outside.” Claire said.
I sat on the ground thinking of a way how to escape in this hell hole. I activated [Meditate] so I could think more clearly.
I analyzed all what I know about the zombies. From what I observed, when the zombies ate the ogre, they totally forgot about us. They became attracted to the ogre’s scream. Perhaps they’re attracted to sound too?
In my conclusion, the zombies might have a short span of attention because of their poor short term memory. Sound and smell could be the only stimulus that attracts them. If not for their smell, then why don’t they attack each other? I don’t think it was their sense of sight because we also looked shitty as a zombie.
I remembered all the zombie movies I watched. Obviously, we don’t have chainsaws and armoured van but even if we have those, all electrical equipment and cars won’t work because of the SYSTEM. I have to think of a way to escape without relying on machines.
After a few minutes of thinking, I finally had an idea. I wasn’t sure if it would work but it was the best I got.
“I have an idea.” I said to them.
“Let’s hear it...”
“Have you watched the first and sixth season of Walking Dead?” I asked.
“I never watched that TV show. It sucked. Or so I’ve heard.” Eric said.
“I watched up to season two.” Melissa said. “Are you talking about Rick and Glen’s escape using zombie guts?”
“Yes, that’s the idea. I wonder if that would work here.” I pointed at the zombie remains that we killed in the building. “The idea is we cover ourselves with zombie’s guts to cover our scent. That’s it.”
“Do you want me to test it?” Dianne asked.
“You’re the fastest runner in the group and if it fails, you can run fast. I know it’s dangerous but...”
“I’ll do it.” Dianne said in a firm voice.
“Good, so here’s what we’re...”
“Dianne has done enough. Why don’t you test it by yourself?” Claire said before I could finish.
“It’s okay, Claire. I will do it.”
“No Dianne, you don’t have to...” Claire gripped Dianne’s wrist to stop her.
This bitch was really getting on my nerves. Claire was being overprotective for Dianne. I guess girl BFFs are always like that.
“Who wants to volunteer?” I asked.
“...”
“Fine, I’ll do it myself...”
None of them wanted to test my theory. I have no choice but to test it myself and besides, I was very confident that my idea would work. These clowns can suck my dick.
We forgot to loot the zombie we killed in the building so I dragged a body and carved it with my bolo knife. I grabbed a table cloth and made a hole in the middle so I can put my head in it. Fortunately, we have disposable rubber gloves from the hardware store.
The rest of them watched me and vomit while I rub zombie guts on my cloak. I put intestines around my neck just to make sure I really stink. I advised them to do the same in case it worked. They hesitated at first but I told them that if it worked, I’ll fucking leave them behind.
It smelled terrible but I hope it was worth it. I went to the second floor and the rest of them followed. I tied a rope to make an exit by the window. It wasn’t that high but I didn’t like the idea of jumping from the window.
As I climbed down using the rope, the zombies near me were walking aimlessly and ignored me. After I landed on the ground, they continued to walk and ignore me. I approached one and poked it to try and grab its attention but it still ignored me. I decided to push my luck and chopped off its head to test whether it would attract another zombie.
-78 HP Critical Hit!
Target Died
Fortunately, it didn’t. The zombies have very low HP and surprisingly, their heads were easy to chop. I know that it’s stupid and reckless but what can I say? I got balls of steel and I was stupid enough to test the theory by myself. I looked up to the window to see their faces. They couldn’t believe that it worked.
[Get down here and let’s go...] – Miguel
I killed another zombie and gained another skill.
You have gained a new skill!
Sword Mastery[Passive] Lvl 1 Beginner
Effect: Increases proficiency with swords by 25%. Increase Damage with swords by 2% per level.
Current Bonus Damage[Physical]: 2%
After we exit the building, Dianne led the way as we tread the zombie infested streets. It was really surprising that my idea was super effective. Even bumping with the zombies wouldn’t catch their attention.
We killed any zombies that got in our way as we ran. We avoided the Zombie Ogres at all cost because they’re freakishly big and probably very hard to kill. The zombies were too many so we didn’t actually clear the whole area. We just kill anything that blocked our way. I wasn’t counting on how many zombies we killed on our way but we leveled up once.
All of us were using melee weapons because we wanted to save arrows. We didn’t have time to loot the corpses, let alone time to retrieve the arrows because we were constantly moving.
My idea must the equivalent of aggro bug in an online RPG.
In the online RPG I played, I discovered an aggro bug in the game. I discovered it by duping items that decreased aggro rate. Whenever I duped the item, the decreased aggro rate stat would double. Eric and I exploited the bug and we grinded hard on high level mobs. After a week, Eric and I already laid low because it became a popular bug. The GMs banned those they caught exploiting the bug and we were never caught.
I think it took us almost an hour to get to the Political Science Building. Dianne was right. The zombies instinctively avoided the area. We stood near the entrance and catch our breath.
[We made it…] – Miguel
[I’m so glad, your idea worked…] – Eric
We tried to open the door but it was locked. I guess there was no need to barricade it since the monsters couldn’t get in. But if it was me, I would use anything I have to barricade that entrance because this safe place would draw other survivors like moths to a flame.
We didn’t want to make a lot of noise so Dianne leaped to the second floor in order to call the other survivor’s attention. After a few minutes of waiting, I saw George, Dianne and five other people walking to the entrance. They opened the door and welcomed us.
“Miguel!” George called my name as he smiled.
I hope I didn’t make the wrong decision…
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Author's Note: Sorry for the delay. Something happened from work. I hope you enjoy this chapter. Leave your comments below and tell us what you think.