Having reached the blood-stained offices on the 20th floor, Ryner saw that the place was better lit than the previous corridor since there were large windows letting in the sunlight. The floor had white tiles and the walls were painted a light beige. There were doors on the walls leading to private offices or meeting rooms.
Most of the space was covered by rows of wooden desks with laptops, computer screens, mouses, keyboards and documents on them. Other items were also present like water bottles, bags on the floor and coats hanging on the chairs. Furthermore, blood-stained, undead employees were everywhere, limping towards him.
When Ryner looked behind him, the blind monster had arrived at the doorframe and was madly swinging around its big arms that were like dried tree branches. It knocked away the zombies near it, crushed one that was on the floor and grabbed another. It easily lifted him up with one giant hand before bringing the prey’s head to its gaping maw.
When it bit down on the undead’s skull, a sickening crunch was heard as the bone was crushed and penetrated by the rows of sharp teeth. At that moment, as if realizing that it was chewing on a zombie’s brain by the taste, the eyeless creature dropped its quarry. Dark red matter dripped from its jaw and it let out a distorted screech, as if angry that it lost track of the human.
But, the moment Ryner killed a zombie with his sledgehammer, it turned its head towards the direction of the sound. Screeching once again, it gave chase, clumsily yet rapidly moving on its crooked legs with its giant arms supporting, pulling it forward. Like a blind using a cane, its arms felt its surroundings. When it touched a zombie, it would shove it out of its way. When it touched a desk, it would push it aside or walk around it.
Ryner bolted like a rabbit, taking out any infected within range. He tossed his revolver on a chair in favor of using both hands to swing his sledgehammer. He ran laps around the office while killing any undead in his way and making sure that the four-armed monster followed behind him. He pounded the zombies’ heads in or knocked them off their feet. Sometimes he would hop on top of desks or throw any items he found like staplers at his enemies to slow them down.
After running in circles several times, the number of zombies had dwindled until they were none left, except for the strange mutation.
“Now it’s only you and me, baldy.” [Ryner]
Facing off against it, Ryner taunted, causing it to charge and attack. However, its massive arm missed as he dodged to the side and took some distance while killing the sound of his footsteps. The blind creature lost track of him and thrashed about. Then, once it stopped waving its arms around, Ryner slammed his sledgehammer into the back of its head with all his might.
“That’s freaking hard! Are you made of steel?!” [Ryner]
He exclaimed since the skull held against his blow. The monster screamed and attacked the place where he last heard his prey, but hit nothing. Waiting for an opening, Ryner bashed its head again, causing it to stagger, roar and slam down its arms in the general direction of where it got struck. But, he had already swiftly and quietly retreated outside of its range. Over and over, using hit-and-run tactics, he continued to one-sidedly pummel it.
Eventually, it couldn’t endure the onslaught. The eyeless monster fell, the bone of its head had cracked and caved in. As it lied on the floor, twitching, Ryner delivered one last blow to finish the job, followed by another for insurance. With its skull broken like an egg and its brains crushed, Ryner, having confirmed its death, swung his sledgehammer to the side, flinging off a trail of dark red matter.
“Two headshots and thirteen hits to kill it… I should find a bigger hammer for next time. And bigger bullets.” [Ryner]
He muttered, annoyed at how long it took to kill that strange zombie even though it was blind and easy to misdirect. After locating and picking up his revolver, he reloaded it, pushing into the chambers the three bullets he had left.
“Great, I’m already almost out of ammo after one fight. Doesn’t this city have more guns? Where are the gun shops? The police? The police with guns that they won’t use anymore?” [Ryner]
Ryner said and turned around dramatically, as if talking to someone. But, there were only brutalized corpses present, the result of his handy work.
“And of course there’s nobody. No, wait, there should be somebody. I think.” [Ryner]
Switching gears, he decided to retrieve his backpack and duffel bag before resuming his search.
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“Room A-001… Room A-001… Found it.” [Ryner]
Standing in front of a door that had a plate on it with “A-001” clearly displayed, Ryner tentatively called out and knocked.
“Hello? Is anybody there? Possibly someone with a pulse and won’t try to kill me?” [Ryner]
For a dozen seconds, there was nothing, no answer. However, he soon heard some rustling sounds behind the door. It was a sign that there was somebody in the room, and he guessed that the person was pushing aside some furniture blocking the entrance. Most likely, it was a living human. So, Ryner made sure that his sledgehammer was ready for use and patiently waited. The sound continued for a while until eventually stopping, and the door was opened by a crack.
“… Y-you… Are you here to help…?” [???]
The unsure voice of a woman asked softly.
“Uh, yes, yes I am. I’m here because someone asked for help on a piece of paper.” [Ryner]
“…” [???]
Slowly, the opening widened until the person standing behind the door revealed herself.
“… Ah…” [???]
It was a teary-eyed woman in her early twenties wearing red glasses that had rectangular lenses.
“A normal person…” [???]
She had blue eyes with long blonde hair that reached the middle of her back. Bangs covered her forehead and long locks that went passed her shoulders framed the side of her beautiful face. Her fair skin was a bit dry and had a light color that was rather unhealthily pale, probably from her lifestyle. The dark eye bags indicated that she hadn’t been sleeping properly.
“I thought… I was… The only sane one left…!” [???]
The woman had slim limbs, more on the skinny side, due to a lack of eating, and possessed an hourglass figure that would make people look twice.
“… Thank God…” [???]
Her body was clad in a short-sleeved white shirt for work. Several buttons were missing, from the top to below her generous chest, forming a deep V-neck that exposed her cleavage. A tight, black skirt reached mid-thigh and wrapped around her waist to show off its slimness. Thigh-high black stockings with garter belts covered her long legs and she stood on black shoes with stiletto high heels.
“Thank God…!” [???]
The survivor, losing strength from relief, fell on her knees and sat down. She put a hand on her left breast, feeling her heart beating loudly. Tears fell from her eyes and soft sobs leaked from her cherry red lips.
“Uhhh, are you alright? And what’s that I’m hearing?” [Ryner]
Ryner asked and tilted his head. Upon hearing his question, as if remembering, the blonde-haired woman gasped, hurriedly got back up and looked to her right in fright.
THUD
THUD
THUD
Something was hitting the door that was blocked by a sofa.
“I-it’s a monster…! Please…! Help…!” [???]
So, Ryner was quickly ushered inside by the woman. Next to the door that he had entered from was a haphazardly placed sofa and bookshelf with its books all over the floor. He thought they probably served as a barricade.
“By the way, I’m Ryner.” [Ryner]
He introduced himself and examined his surroundings.
“… I’m… Jessica.” [Jessica]
The woman, Jessica, gave him her name in return. Though she was more focused on controlling her urge to puke which arose when she caught a glimpse of the corpses littering the floor outside.
“Nice to meet you.” [Ryner]
Ryner said as he confirmed that he was in a big office. There was a desk in front of a wall of large windows with the curtains pushed to the side, letting in the light of the sun. A patch of duct tape covered a small part of a window. Furthermore, the place was connected to three other rooms. One of them was blocked by a dark gray sofa.
THUD
THUD
THUD
There was a presence inside that room, tirelessly banging on the door.
“… Yup, probably just a normal zombie. He can’t break it open by himself and is too dumb to turn the doorknob.” [Ryner]
Ryner said casually and nodded to himself as he looked at the door. The other living human worriedly watched him from behind, keeping her distance.
“Zombie?!” [Jessica]
She took another step back and exclaimed in shock at his carefree statement.
“Like in movies?!” [Jessica]
“Wait, you don’t know about zombies?” [Ryner]
“N-no! I mean, I wasn’t sure! I heard about it online, but I’ve been too scared to leave this office for two months! A-a-and, yes, when I looked out the window, I saw people, and they looked… Strange…! And scary! There were also monsters sometimes! Real ones! Just, walking with them like it’s normal!” [Jessica]
Jessica talked rapidly while holding her head and shaking it left and right in fear and disbelief.
“A-and I know that something was wrong with him. He was hurt, suddenly collapsed and, and he… Changed! But… Zombies?! Is that what happened to everyone?!” [Jessica]
“Who’s in this room anyway?” [Ryner]
“I-i-it’s my… My boss.” [Jessica]
“Your boss?” [Ryner]
“Y-yes, of my department. We’re in his office, and I locked him inside his private bedroom… Oh my god…! Zombies…!” [Jessica]
“Your boss, has a private bedroom?!” [Ryner]
While Jessica was shaken at the realization that the people around her had turned into the living dead, Ryner was shaken by the fact that there was a bedroom in the office.
“No, wait, that’s not important! Jessica.” [Ryner]
But, he quickly got himself together and called out to the scared, glasses-wearing woman who was trembling like a newborn fawn.
“This can’t be happening…!” [Jessica]
“Jessica, can you hear me?” [Ryner]
“H-huh? Uh, y-yes, I’m here…” [Jessica]
“I need you to tell me what happened before your boss changed. Before all of this. Do you remember… What went wrong?” [Ryner]
Jessica didn’t answer immediately. She looked at the floor while taking deep, panicked breaths. After a few minutes, having finally managed to calm down somewhat, she spoke up.
“… So much was wrong.” [Jessica]
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Item of interest
Bookshelf:
* Perfectly normal furniture.
* Just push it in front of the door or window like in video games.
* Add books to make it heavier.