“Get in here and strip.” [Goldfrey]
“What?! Now?! With everything that’s happening?! With people dying just outside?!” [Jessica]
Jessica exclaimed incredulously at Goldfrey who had dragged her into his private bedroom. He had removed his tie and there was a gauze on the left side of his neck.
“It’s BECAUSE so much has happened that I need to let loose! There’s blood all over my floor, my employees killed each other, the cops aren’t here yet, the city’s in flames and I nearly got my head bitten off! Besides, we’re not hearing anything anymore, so maybe they’re all dead.” [Goldfrey]
“Then why don’t you go check?” [Jessica]
“What was that?” [Goldfrey]
Hearing the defiance in Jessica’s voice, the balding, dark brown-haired man, who was taking off his jacket, glared at her.
“Who do you think you’re talking to? You strip when I tell you to strip. You get on the bed when I tell you to! Why do you think I hired you?! Why do you think I’m letting you stay in my office?!! NOW! STRIP!!!” [Goldfrey]
He furiously yelled at her with bloodshot eyes and spit flying, having unreasonably lost his calm. Then, just as he was about to move to grab her, he suddenly started coughing.
“What the *cough cough cough cough* damn *cough cough cough* this! Ugh!” [Goldfrey]
Furthermore, as if suffering from a headache, he groaned and put one hand on his forehead.
“Uh… M. Goldfrey?” [Jessica]
Jessica, who saw that something was wrong with him, called out his name. However, he didn’t answer. Instead, just as abruptly as his coughing fit began, he powerlessly fell on the floor like a puppet with its strings cut.
“M. Goldfrey?! M. Goldfrey! M. GOLDFREY! GOLDFREY!” [Jessica]
Out of nowhere, her boss keeled over and stopped moving. Time quietly passed and there was no sign that he was getting up, leaving Jessica at a loss for words.
“…” [Goldfrey]
However, he eventually stirred. A finger twitched, followed by the hands.
“Oh, M. Goldfrey! Y-you’re alright!” [Jessica]
“…” [Goldfrey]
Jessica said, but he didn’t answer. Ever so slowly, his limbs moved awkwardly to get him up until he stood on his feet. But, his posture was strange since he was leaning forward as if his spine couldn’t fully support his weight. Furthermore, his shoulders were slumped, his arms dangled lifelessly and his face was hidden because he was looking down.
“M. Goldfrey…?” [Jessica]
“…” [Goldfrey]
Weirdly, a chill went down Jessica’s spine upon seeing his behavior, making her take a step back. At that moment, Goldfrey lifted his head, revealing glassy eyes that reflected no light and swollen black veins under his skin.
“Raaah…” [Goldfrey]
He groaned and walked towards Jessica with his body swaying side to side.
“Ah…!” [Jessica]
The sight of him made her recall the scene she had witnessed an hour ago where her colleagues were attacking each other. Understanding intuitively that her boss was about to do the same to her, she ran for the door and closed it.
----------------------------------------
“I pushed the other sofa in front of the door to block it, and that’s how we got to here. Still… Back then, he had become a zombie… I didn’t notice at all. Just thought he went mad.” [Jessica]
“Well, to be fair, he wasn’t fatally injured or rotten yet, so I guess it’s normal.” [Ryner]
Jessica laughed deprecatingly while hugging her legs and resting her chin on her knees.
“If he hadn’t turned in the bedroom, then I wouldn’t have been able to trap him there… You know, he once said that he renovated it for me and that it was completely soundproof, so I could be as loud as I wanted. I can’t believe that disgusting room ended up saving me.” [Jessica]
Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
“Yeah, no offense, but it sounds like you were working for… I want to say pig, but then it’d be an insult to the pigs.” [Ryner]
“Haha, that’s true. That bastard just did whatever he wanted since his family owned the company.” [Jessica]
“For real?” [Ryner]
“Dacles Rubicon is owned by the Goldfreys. Everyone knows that. They’re rich and powerful, so no one messes with them, but they can mess with everyone. I should have known it’d happened to me when he’d find out that I used to work as a stripper.” [Jessica]
“Oh, you were a stripper?” [Ryner]
“Mmm-hmm, I had to pay for college, and the orphanage wasn’t going to help.” [Jessica]
Jessica combed up her bangs and sighed tiredly.
“Freshly graduated and got hired by D-Rubicon. I was so excited, even if I didn’t expect anything fancy. But, it was way, way worse. I got the glorified position of secretary… Nobody helped me. In fact, they even joined in. Haha… Hahaha…” [Jessica]
The blonde-haired woman laughed weakly and dryly.
“Now they’re all dead… And I’m still here…” [Jessica]
“Hey, cheer up, kid. I don’t think anyone’s going to mind that you skip work from now on.” [Ryner]
“Kid?” [Jessica]
She asked as she stared at Ryner’s profile.
“Are you mad about being called a kid?” [Ryner]
“Um, no, just… Got used to being called other things, but how old are you? You don’t look older.” [Jessica]
“I’m 20.” [Ryner]
“I’m 23, so you are younger.” [Jessica]
“Maybe, but if you gather all of my past experience, then I’m well over 800 000 years old. So, you’re younger.” [Ryner]
“Um, that’s now how it works.” [Jessica]
“Then we’ll say that mentally I’m over 800 000 years old while my body was physically born… Come to think of it, I was literally just born yesterday.” [Ryner]
“… Did you also go crazy?” [Jessica]
“Not by zombies, so who cares.” [Ryner]
Ryner got up from the coffee table.
“Anyway, your ex-boss isn’t going anywhere. I’ve got more questions to ask, but it’s getting late.” [Ryner]
He then pointed at the windows with his thumb.
“The sun is setting.” [Ryner]
Jessica hurriedly got on her knees and looked out the windows.
“… I didn’t notice at all.” [Jessica]
With her hands on the desk and her head sticking out, she saw the sky lit up by the orange glow of the sunset.
----------------------------------------
Night…
The two barricaded the entrance with the bookshelf and sofa again before hiding the windows with the curtains and moving to the bathroom. The walls and floors were covered in white tiles, though it was too dark to see them since the door was closed and there was no light. The room had a mirror in front of a washbasin cabinet, a toilet next to it and a bathtub with a showerhead.
“… Then, there are monsters at night that even you can’t beat.” [Jessica]
“I wouldn’t say I can’t beat them, just that I might die.” [Ryner]
“… It’s the same thing.” [Jessica]
The two spoke in complete darkness. Ryner sat in front of the bathtub with his back against it while Jessica was curled up in it, lying on her side and wrapped in a blanket that he had given her.
“Putting that aside, are you sure about this?” [Ryner]
“Yes, please stay there.” [Jessica]
Every time night came, the blue-eyed woman would be too scared to approach the windows or stay in the big office. As such, she would lock herself in the bathroom and sleep in the tub, shivering in fright. However, Ryner had shown up. So, she had asked him to stay with her instead of sleeping in a separate location.
“It’s great that you trust me and all, but you really shouldn’t let some guy you just met get close to you, especially while you’re sleeping.” [Ryner]
“… If you really wanted to kill or hurt me, you would have done it already. There’s no way you can’t when you’ve killed every zombie to get here.” [Jessica]
“I won’t deny it. You lack training, grasshopper.” [Ryner]
Jessica let his joking comment pass through one ear and out the other.
“(It’s been two months since I slept with a blanket.)” [Jessica]
She was more preoccupied by the soft, fluffy blanket that she hadn’t felt in so long. It made a world of difference compared to sleeping on the cold, hard tub without one. Perhaps because of the warm feeling it gave her and the presence of another person, she felt safe. Even though she would be too scared to close her eyes, slumber was actually beckoning her peacefully.
“Also… You’re different.” [Jessica]
“Different how?” [Ryner]
“… You don’t look at me like the other men do.” [Jessica]
As a result, she was telling Ryner her impression of him in a sleepy voice.
“Uhhh, that’s not a good enough reason to trust someone. And hate to break it to you, but I do think you’re sexy. It’s just I’ve got bigger things to worry about than getting a girlfriend.” [Ryner]
“… Yeah… That’s exactly why you’re… Different…” [Jessica]
Jessica then quietly fell asleep with a small, peaceful smile hanging on her lips.
On the other hand, Ryner stayed awake.
“(Guess I’ll just meditate tonight.)” [Ryner]
He did not plan on sleeping next to Jessica who he had just met. That was why he was going to spend most of his time resting his body and meditating.
“(I can go without sleep for a week. Just one night shouldn’t affect tomorrow, even if I did kill a bunch of zombies.)” [Ryner]
He thought as he considered his constitution that had been developed to allow him to fight endlessly for days. The technique of meditation was something he had acquired that helped focus and steady his mind.
“(… Speaking of which, how much did I kill?)” [Ryner]
But, just as he closed his eyes, he then realized that he hadn’t checked the ability he had been given yet. So, opening his right eye, he willed it to manifest. Although his night vision was excellent, he was surprised at how clearly he could see the black and red smoke that appeared in his sight. It instantly formed the red screen with the black contour that he had seen yesterday. When he looked at the upper right corner, the number 302 was displayed there.
“(… I got over 300 kills in two days. Maybe getting one of those guns is possible.)” [Ryner]
Ryner thought as he looked at the different items that he could buy. It was then that he noticed that a certain option was available to him.
“… You’ve got to be kidding me.” [Ryner]
“Random item” was written on the screen.
----------------------------------------
Item of interest
Desk:
* Work desk in the office of a M. Goldfrey.
* Made of imported Italian maple.
* Various things happened on top, against and below it.