When morning came, Ryner and Jessica drew up a plan and got to work. They walked around the 20th floor that had corpses strewn about. It was to make sure that nothing still moving was hiding somewhere, to scavenge for supplies and to let Jessica grow accustomed to being near cadavers. At first, she gagged and covered her mouth. But, gradually, her face was no longer pale from seeing gore. In fact, she was quietly and intently staring at the disfigured faces of her former coworkers without minding the blood on the floor or the stench in the air.
Ryner noticed her rapid adaptability and the way her eyes turned dark when she gazed at the remains of her acquaintances. But, he did not ask her about it, considering how she hated her job. Instead, he focused on picking up any useful items he came across. Once they were done, they returned to the office room where Goldfrey’s zombie was locked up.
“I’m surprised the bugs aren’t swarming them. It’s like they know better and are staying away.” [Ryner]
“…” [Jessica]
Ryner said, but Jessica, her back turned to him, did not react, appearing to be in a daze. She was wearing a beige trench coat that hid her body from her neck to below her knees. It was something that they had found and that she had, reluctantly, agreed to wear.
“Are you used to seeing dead bodies yet?” [Ryner]
“…” [Jessica]
“If the answer is yes, then we can move to the next part of the plan.” [Ryner]
“…” [Jessica]
“The goal is to make sure that you don’t freeze up in front of zombies when we leave this place, even when I’m smashing their heads in. Sooo… We’re gonna kill your former boss now.” [Ryner]
Finally, Jessica reacted and turned around.
“Are you ready?” [Ryner]
“I’m ready.” [Jessica]
She said simply and instantly. The two moved in front of the bedroom door. Ryner pushed to the side the sofa blocking their way, fully revealing a black keypad above the handle. It was a mechanical type that had five steel grey push buttons in a column with the numbers “1” to “5” written next to each one from top to bottom.
“The code is 5-3-4-1-2… M. Goldfrey set the lock since he didn’t want anyone but him to enter. I know because he sometimes wanted me to welcome him in a naked apron.” [Jessica]
“Thanks, but that was too much information.” [Ryner]
Ryner said as he inputted the code. Meanwhile, Jessica waited behind him, holding tightly onto one of the broken legs of the coffee table. Ryner had destroyed it and given the leg to her to use like a club. She watched as he opened the door and held her breath when she saw what was standing behind it.
“(M. Goldfrey…)” [Jessica]
Inside the pink-colored bedroom was her boss that hadn’t changed much since the last time she saw him. He was still wearing his black trousers and his blood-stained white shirt, but his skin had turned greyish and a rotten smell reached her nose. She also thought that he had perhaps lost some more hair. His head was bent to the side and he walked towards her while groaning.
The look in his eyes was different, since they were vacant, glassy and reflected no sign of life, but it made her think of the past. He would approach her with a lewd smile on his face, eyeing her like prey. Whether dead or alive, it would appear that he would always attempt to assault her. However, the same thing was not going to happen again. The moment he got close, Ryner kicked him in the bulging stomach, easily knocking him on his back.
“THIS is your boss?” [Ryner]
The man casually walked up to him while examining his physique.
“I was expecting someone scarier since he was part of such a powerful family, but, yeah… He’s pretty normal.” [Ryner]
He didn’t seem to care as Jessica’s former boss slowly stood up.
“My mistake. I shouldn’t be so quick to judge.” [Ryner]
The zombie attacked, his hands reaching out for him. Ryner nimbly stepped to the left, grabbed his right wrist and pulled him forward as he tripped him with one leg. To Jessica, it looked as if the two walked past each other and her former boss just fell on his own. Lying on his stomach, he gazed at her from below, letting out a hoarse growl. Before he could get up, Ryner stomped down hard on his body.
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CRACK
“Important to note, kid, the zombies are moving corpses that don’t feel pain even with a hole in their chests. But, their bodies still work like a person.” [Ryner]
CRACK
“For whatever reason, if you break their arms and legs, they can’t move them anymore.” [Ryner]
CRACK
“Instead of the entire limb, go for the joints to make it quick and easy. You can be thorough if you have time.” [Ryner]
CRACK
“They don’t die unless you destroy their heads, specifically the brain. I blew one’s face off before, and he still came at me.” [Ryner]
CRACK
“That’s why breaking their necks won’t do anything either. So, if you want to kill a zombie, always.” [Ryner]
CRACK
“ALWAYS.” [Ryner]
CRACK
“Go for the head.” [Ryner]
CRACK
CRACK
CRACK
Jessica silently listened to his lecture and to the sound of bones breaking, to the sound of M. Goldfrey’s bones breaking. The black-haired man with the sleepy-looking, odd-colored eyes that she had just met was repeatedly slamming his foot down on her former boss. She quietly gazed at such a scene without even blinking.
“There. That should do it.” [Ryner]
Eventually, it came to an end. The undead was battered and bloodied, left utterly immobilized. His limbs were crushed and contorted in strange shapes as fragments of bones were sticking out of his rotten flesh. His ribs and spine must have been pulverized too from the unceasing stomping. His neck was broken, no longer supporting his head that laid on the floor at a weird angle.
“Now, it’s your turn. Show me you can kill a zombie.” [Ryner]
The blonde-haired woman’s body almost moved by itself upon hearing his words. She kneeled in front of Goldfrey’s groaning corpse, raised the broken coffee table leg, and brought it down on his head.
THUMP
The first blow was weak and clumsy.
WHACK
The second blow was stronger and firmly hit his skull.
WHACK
WHACK
WHACK
The subsequent blows all contained strength and passion.
WHACK
WHACK
WHACK
WHACK
SPLAT
The rest was unadulterated violence.
SPLAT
SPLAT
SPLAT
SPLAT
SPLAT
Even after she broke her former boss’s skull and could see his brain, Jessica didn’t stop attacking. Over and over again, she slammed her makeshift club on his balding head. The room was filled with the wet sounds of innards being brutally crushed and it continued for a good while until she ran out of energy.
“Haa… Haa… Haa…” [Jessica]
She stopped, panting, her face and trench coat covered in blood. She dropped the bloodied table leg that had a piece of flesh stuck to it, and looked at her handiwork. The corpse in front of her had lost most of its head. It was flattened into a gruesome mess, turned into a dark red puddle of chunky meat staining the floor. Only the jaw could be identified.
“M. Goldfrey…” [Jessica]
The blonde-haired woman shakily muttered.
“… I quit, you filthy, disgusting, motherfu-!” [Jessica]
“Alright, he’s dead, good job!” [Ryner]
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A black-haired woman and a brown-haired man were walking in the dim corridor of a building with rows of doors on both sides. Accompanying the two survivors from behind was a young man who was about to hit his twenties.
“This area is relatively a safe zone, so there’s no infected. Right?” [Survivor]
Whispered the tanned-skinned young man, who was sporting light brown hair cut very short and energetic green eyes that vigilantly watched the surroundings.
“There’s few, but it doesn’t mean there’s no danger.” [Survivor]
The black-haired woman answered similarly in a quiet voice.
“But, like, another team assigned to search this apartment went missing around here. Maybe, I don’t know, it wasn’t the zombies, but a bunch of whackos that got to them.” [Survivor]
“Maybe, we’ll see, now quiet.” [Survivor]
“Sorry, it’s just, it’s my first run, and I want to prove to my mo-.“ [Survivor]
The brown-haired man, whose face was covered by a messy beard, raised his hand, making his whole group stop and go silent. Several meters before them was a corner to their left leading down another corridor. Each of them readied their weapons. The bearded man pointed his shotgun in front of him, the black-haired woman did the same with her semi-automatic handgun and the young man hesitated between his baseball bat or pistol.
Without a word, they waited. They waited and waited until they heard footsteps, or something similar to it, in the corridor beyond the corner. It moved erratically and stopped at times, but it was getting closer to them. Judging from the sound, the group thought that it belonged to one zombie, two at most. In just a bit, they would see it. While the bearded-man and the black-haired woman were wondering what to do, the young man slipped past them.
Ignoring their surprise and clear disapproval at his actions, he stuck to the wall and crept closer to the corner. Listening to the footsteps and the strange choking noise, he knew that his target was right on the other side. So, he jumped out, his baseball bat raised high, planning to instantly bash the zombie’s head in. However, what was waiting for him was an undead walking on all fours with a giant zit full of pus on its back. The young man’s bat nearly hit it, but he stopped in time.
“Oh shi-AAGHH!” [Survivor]
Sadly, he left himself open. The infected grabbed and pulled his legs, causing him to fall on his back. Then, it climbed on top of him to bite his throat out.
“GET IT OFF!! GET IT OFF!!!” [Survivor]
The light brown-haired man screamed fearfully, trying to push the zombie’s face away.
“OLIVER!” [Survivor]
The woman shouted, but did not get any closer. It was the same for the bearded man. In his panic, their youngest member was wildly thrashing his limbs around. Unfortunately, his baseball bat hit the large sack of pus, which resulted in its explosion. The zombie was torn apart as if its body was made of wet paper mache.
As for the young man below it, he was covered in pus and melting into a red, gooey mess. His two fellow survivors, who had predicted the outcome upon seeing the undead, had already run away. They had steered clear of the explosion at the expense of the third member of their group. It was a cruel decision, but there was nothing they could do.
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Item of interest
Trench coat:
* Stylish coat that belonged to a woman.
* Jessica hated her guts and wants to take it off as soon as possible.
* Waterproof, useful to protect against blood splatters.