“Well, I guess I’ll have to worry about more than zombies during the day too.” [Ryer]
Ryner thought as he recalled the weird undead that had a giant zit on his back. He didn’t see any other strange infected afterwards and had a relatively smooth journey. In the afternoon, after walking for hours while following the street signs, he finally saw his goal.
“That’s probably it… I think.” [Ryner]
A bunch of skyscrapers could be seen in the distance. Ryner had walked past several on his way, but he was looking for a place where many tall buildings stood, grouped up together.
“There’s usually a lot of skyscrapers downtown. Maybe it’s the same here.” [Ryner]
With no real clue on what to do or where to go to stop a zombie outbreak, he decided to first find the center of the city. From there, he would set up a safe place to sleep, get his bearings and begin his search in earnest. With the center as the starting point, he would pick one direction and explore the city outward, systematically repeating the process.
“Hopefully I find someone else there. And they won’t try to kill me.” [Ryner]
Ryner muttered wistfully and headed for the skyscrapers. The closer he got, the greater the number of vehicles on the road. They ended up forming a barricade and he had to walk on top of the roofs of the cars. Also, the number of zombies had greatly diminished. He found it odd since downtown should be the busiest part of the city.
“Shouldn’t there be a bunch of zombies around? What do you think, Betty?” [Ryner]
He asked his sledgehammer that he rested on his right shoulder. Soon enough, he was proven right. There was a blue cargo truck with its container blocking the road, and when Ryner climbed on top of it, he saw what laid on the other side.
“Crap…” [Ryner]
A horde of zombies was there, filling up the street. Hundreds of infected stood crookedly, swaying in place or walking aimlessly. Their clothes were torn, dirty and covered in blood. Their bodies were rotten and sported injuries of varying degrees. Some had pieces of flesh torn off, exposing their bones. Others were missing limbs. Regardless, anyone who saw them would not mistake them for the living.
“Oh, right, downtown should be avoided during a zombie outbreak.” [Ryner]
The closest infected noticed Ryner and locked their glassy eyes on him.
“Now that I think about it, I don’t actually have a plan to get through them.” [Ryner]
It then spread to the rest as more mangled faces missing noses, cheeks or lips turned towards him.
“Maybe talking to a hammer is reducing my ability to think.” [Ryner]
The horde of zombies let out a chorus of groans and moans that seemed to echo from hell as they limped towards him.
“Shut up, Betty. I need to get out of here.” [Ryner]
And so, Ryner’s first attempt to reach downtown failed.
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“To anyone who reads this…” [???]
Inside a big office, a woman was sitting at a dark brown wooden desk, writing on a piece of paper with a pen. On her right, put in the corner, was a white laptop connected to a computer screen, a keyboard and a mouse. On her left was a stack of documents and a black wire mesh pen cup that contained several pens, pencils, markers and scissors.
White curtains were pushed aside to let sunlight enter through the large windows that covered the wall behind her. Besides the luxurious-looking desk, the place was beautifully decorated with paintings adorning the white walls. There was also a black leather armchair on her left, positioned next to the window along with a round coffee table, allowing a person to take in the view outside while elegantly enjoying a drink.
If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.
Furthermore, a brown cabinet was placed against the wall on her left and by the wall on the opposite side was a table with three drawers. On top were several glasses and a decanter half-filled with an amber liquid. In front of the desk was a black, rectangular coffee table. Below it, covering the white tiled floor, was a round, soft, black carpet that had “D-RUBICON” written in red.
Other tasteful furniture was present in the office, but they were being used as a barricade. The entrance to the room was located in the middle of the wall facing the desk. A bookshelf filled with books and a dark gray sofa that could fit three people were blocking it. Moreover, there were three other doors, one on the left wall and two on the right. The door on the right that was closest to the entrance was also blocked by a black sofa.
“… Floor 20, room A-001.” [???]
The woman, having finished writing, put down her pen, picked up the paper and stood up from her black leather desk chair. She went to the window where a small hole was present, letting in the breeze. After rolling up the paper, she slipped it through the hole. It fluttered about and was soon carried off by the wind.
“Please…” [???]
The woman said to no one in particular, but as if answering her, something hit the barricaded door on the right wall.
THUD
“…!” [???]
She instantly turned towards it and froze up, a look of horror in her eyes. Then, she quickly went under the desk and sat there while shivering and hugging her knees. A weak sob leaked from her mouth like a whisper.
“Help… Someone… I’m going crazy…!” [???]
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“But, really, if you think about it, I don’t actually have to make a base downtown. Sure, it sounds cool, but it’s not really important. What’s important is that I find a way to stop this outbreak. That means finding a clue on what caused it and being able to research the hell out of it.” [Ryner]
After quickly getting out of the area, Ryner began talking to himself again.
“And just so we’re clear, I could have handled that horde, but I’m carrying precious cargo and am on a clock. Gotta find shelter before night falls. Are you listening to me?” [Ryner]
“Gaah…! Raaahh…!” [Zombie]
Or more accurately, he was talking to a zombie. He was keeping the undead man pinned against the wall of a building by pushing the head of the sledgehammer against his chest.
“Yeah, I know this looks weird, but I figured it’s still better than talking to Betty… I wonder if Murray talked to Betty.” [Ryner]
Ryner looked up at the sky and thought about Murray, ignoring how the infected kept reaching for his face.
“It would have been nice if he didn’t go insane. Then maybe I would have learned something useful. Combing through this city for a solution is going to take forever.” [Ryner]
Finally, the zombie wizened up and tried to grab the hand holding the hammer. By that point, Ryner stopped talking, pulled his weapon back and swung it sideways, smashing his head in.
“So much for him. Guess I’ll go back to talking to Betty like a weirdo. Then, later, I’ll think it’s a good idea to walk around at night naked. No, I shouldn’t blame the hammer. Thor wouldn’t approve. Now, a safe house, a safe house…” [Ryner]
Having finished distracting himself, he resumed his search for a safe location before the sun set.
“Any building in this city would probably do, though preferably one with no infected and a second floor with no window. Now that I think about it, I don’t even know the name of this city. You’d think it’d be written somewhere. The word ‘Prototype’ often comes up on signs though. Is this place called ‘Prototype’?” [Ryner]
Just a Ryner wondered, he saw the signs of the shops that he was walking by.
Alpha’s Best Butcher Store
Alpha City Rent-A-Video
Alpha City Snack-a-Don
Alpha’s Restaurant Noodle
“… Huh, maybe it’s called Alpha. Well that’s weirdly convenient.” [Ryner]
Ryner said as he stood in place and tilted his head.
“But usually when something like that happens, it means I’m about to get into trouble.” [Ryner]
The moment he finished speaking, a piece of paper carried by the wind smacked into his face.
“…” [Ryner]
Silently peeling it off, he looked at the white sheet and saw that it was a document on some project proposition. When he turned it around, something was handwritten on the backside.
To anyone who reads this, PLEASE HELP!
Trapped inside with MONSTERS EVERYWHERE!
At 616 Williams, DACLES RUBICON, floor 20, room A-001
“… Seriously? A survivor? At this timing? Freaking convenient!” [Ryner]
Ryner said, surprised that it was a message from a person who was possibly still alive.
“But, it really is convenient…” [Ryner]
Moreover, when he looked up, in front of him, a skyscraper towered over the other buildings, a few hundred meters from his position. On its side was a giant sign saying “DACLES RUBICON” in red.
“Conveeenieeent…” [Ryner]
He muttered skeptically and put a hand on his chin. After pondering for a moment, he groaned and headed towards the skyscraper.
“… Mmm, I’m definitely getting into trouble…” [Ryner]
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“Hey, look what I found!” [???]
“Whoaaa! An S.O.S!” [???]
“Think they’re still alive?” [???]
“Could be.” [???]
“Should we go and save them?” [???]
“Hell yeah!” [???]
“Hell yeah?!” [???]
“HELL YEAH!” [???]
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Item of interest
S.O.S message:
* Written on the back of a rather confidential-looking document.
* The handwriting is beautiful, but shaky.
* Found conveniently.