“(They really are dumb.)” [Ryner]

Ryner thought as he laid on his back, his left hand holding a handgun. Having spoken to Omari, he had taken the opportunity to gather as much information as possible, which included the known behavior of the infected. The leader of the Caravans had told him “Zombies are stupid since their brains are rotten.” in a blunt manner, showing that, though afraid, he did not think much of them.

Zombies could use stairs, but they couldn’t use a ladder.

Zombies could hit a door all day long, but they weren’t capable of turning a doorknob.

Zombies could detect people by sound, but they couldn’t search a room.

Zombies could crawl on top of a car, but they couldn’t climb to the top of a truck.

Omari had let Ryner know that several individuals had survived despite being stuck in the same room as the infected by hiding in the closet or under the bed. So, should the same happen to them, he, Jessica, and the deceased Tom had made preparations to each hide somewhere. One of those hiding spots was the top bunk bed.

“(Like Omari said, zombies go over a fence if the height is below their shoulders, but not when it’s higher.)” [Ryner]

Although it was within reach, the undead could not use the ladder or climb up. They could, however, stick their hands through the horizontal bars that surrounded the bed to prevent someone from falling. As such, sheets cut out from cardboard boxes were affixed to the bars using duct tape to block such an attempt.

“(Still, I would have preferred something more solid than a curtain, cardboard and faith in the zombie’s stupidity to protect us.)” [Ryner]

Ryner complained silently. Staying in a locked room instead of one shared with infected would have been better, but as luck would have it, a mutated type that could break down doors had appeared.

“Be careful of mutated zombies. They come in different shapes and sizes, but are all more dangerous than the regular Walker-types we see everywhere. I’ll tell you what we know about them, so remember it all. It could save your life.” [Omari]

He recalled what Omari had told him about the headless zombie that he had seen.

“(The headless one is a Scab Zombie. Their scabs protect them from bullets and knives like armor. They’re not actually headless. Their heads are stuck in their upper backs. Fire is their weakness. Yeah, killing it shouldn’t be too hard. But, fighting at night is too risky.)” [Ryner]

Ryner considered the situation again. He could eliminate the undead that had entered the coffee shop, but the sounds of fighting might attract other unwanted guests. Moreover, night had fallen and from what Omari had said, there was a mutated zombie that only came out when the sun went down. “Don’t fight it and stay in the light! I’m serious! Don’t! Just don’t!” was the advice he had given while looking scared when Ryner had asked how to beat it.

“(It’s probably the same type that I had seen on my first night in this world. In that case, if winning is impossible, escaping from them might be tough. Especially…)” [Ryner]

Ryner turned his focus to Jessica.

“(If I have to do it while protecting someone.)” [Ryner]

She was lying on top of him. The two were hiding on the bed, behind the curtains. Because of the bunk bed’s position, the walls were to their right and above their heads. So, they stuck to the right side of the bed and placed their backpacks and duffel bag to their left. The bed was big enough for two people. However, with half of the space occupied by their belongings, they had to lie on top of each other to fit in.

Ryner thought it would bother Jessica, but she was surprisingly fine with it. Currently, the blonde-haired woman no longer had a dark, obsessed look in her eyes. After Tom’s demise, her usual attitude had returned as if she was no longer possessed by an evil spirit. Sadly, it meant that her fearless drive, though reckless, was also gone. So, the blonde-haired woman was busy hugging tightly onto Ryner and shivering faintly in fright.

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“(I’m scared…! I’m scared…! I’m scared…!)” [Jessica]

She could hear their eerie groans, she could smell their dead flesh and she could see their shadows moving on the curtain.

All of which reminded her that she was rooming with a bunch of undead that would happily devour her. Luckily, she uttered no sound. Even as she clung to him, Ryner found her admirable, but given that it was mainly her fault that the infected had gotten in, he wasn’t going to pity or raise his evaluation of her. Nevertheless, he decided to put his right hand on her back as a sign of reassurance.

Hopefully, it would pacify her somewhat while he stayed on guard in case their luck became even worse. After all, he had lit up the room, but it wasn’t guaranteed to keep the most dangerous of the zombies at bay, not to mention that the batteries wouldn’t last forever. On the other hand, Jessica had noticeably calmed down after she felt his hand gently touch her back. Her trembling lessened and her body was less tense.

“(Right… I’m scared, but…)” [Jessica]

However, she hugged Ryner even harder, her limbs tightly wrapped around him.

“(I’m not alone anymore…)” [Jessica]

The blonde-haired woman firmly pressed her body onto his, not minding how her soft chest was being squeezed and deformed against his own.

“(Ryner said he’ll keep me safe…)” [Jessica]

The room stank of rotten flesh, so she escaped from the stench by burrowing her face in the right side of his neck and breathing in his scent.

“(… And I decided to trust him.)” [Jessica]

Despite developing a certain aversion to men, Jessica felt no shame or hesitation in her actions, but rather felt at peace.

“(… Weird… This feels… Nice…)” [Jessica]

She took comfort in his touch and warmth as much as possible to combat her fear, entrusting herself to him. As a side note, Ryner thought “She has big boobs.”, but didn’t feel anything despite being glued to such a beautiful woman on a bed, mainly because there were zombies everywhere and said beautiful woman was the cause of it.

Like so, they spent a sleepless night until morning came.

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Walking through the streets, a group of five survivors carefully watched their surroundings.

“Hey, don’t go too far ahead.” [Survivor]

Or at least, some of them did.

“We need to stick together.” [Survivor]

A black-haired woman in her thirties warned the girl that was walking at the very front of the group. She was in her late teens to early twenties, sported long, blonde hair tied in two pigtails at the back of her nape and blue eyes. Trailing a few feet behind her was a brown-haired man and woman of similar age. The trio was in the league and walking energetically. At first, their pace was slow and steady, but after dispatching the few zombies they encountered, it progressively quickened.

“We’re burning daylight. This part of the city is a low danger zone, so we should pick up the pace.” [Survivor]

The tanned-skinned man, who had sharp, green eyes and whose hair reached his shoulders, rebuked, a sledgehammer in hand. Next to him, the girl, who had her curly hair in a bob cut that reached her chin, nodded in agreement while holding a shotgun. Her dark brown eyes silently urged her two companions to pick up the pace.

Following the trio was a black-haired woman and a brown-haired, bearded man. The two were the oldest in the group and should have been in charge, but their new teammates were lively and not very good at following instructions. Still, they were skilled and a good addition to have. All of them possessed experience, having trekked through some of the more dangerous zones of the city and returning alive. They would surely be needed for the events to come.

“We’re going into Psycho territory.” [Survivor]

“It’ll be okay!” [Survivor]

Turning around, the blonde-haired, fair-skinned girl said while waving her left hand with a big smile on her face. Her right hand was holding a nailed baseball bat, which didn’t match her innocent and energetic expression.

“The five of us are on the job! This mission will be a piece of cake!” [Survivor]

The black-haired woman thought that she was a cute kid with a bubbly personality. If the city hadn’t fallen to the undead, she would probably be attending college, hanging out with her friends and enjoying popularity among the boys.

“(Will those old, ordinary days ever return? Will we survive this? Or did the rest of the world fall like Alpha Prototype?)” [Survivor]

Just as she was lost in her thoughts, a zombie was approaching the girl’s back. The undead man had emerged from behind a car that was next to her. Despite the dangerous situation, tragedy did not strike. The young woman swiftly turned around without panicking and hit the infected in the head using her baseball bat. As he stumbled, she continued to bash his skull until he tripped and fell.

“Batter up!” [Survivor]

After several more violent swings at the zombie that couldn’t defend himself, his cranium was reduced to pieces, his brain to a gory pulp.

“Let’s go!” [Survivor]

The blonde-haired girl said to her team, a big smile on her face and a bloody bat in her hand.

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Item of interest

Bunk bed:

* Two beds set vertically, held in place by a metal frame that can accommodate curtains.

* Some use different materials and styles and look really fancy.

* Doesn’t actually protect against zombies.