"What! You are unbelievable! How could you put a young child in danger…"

Censuring, Jay's wife began smacking him angrily, visually worried about Jericho's safety.

Jericho would have been extremely entertained by this scene if he hadn't chosen himself to become zombie bait.

'Run Jericho. RUN!'

Sprinting across the shoreline that seemed to stretch endlessly into the dark horizon, Jericho contemplated on his subsequent actions. Fighting off the zombies would be nearly impossible without getting bitten or scratched in the process; escaping on the other hand, although a piece of cake for Jericho, wouldn't be sustainable as time goes on. Right now, all he needed was to lift his legs up and run, run till he reaches his limit, which was for now nowhere in sight.

However, the determination of a hundred agitated zombies wasn't to be reckoned with. Their strident growls and roaring added onto one another, eerily forging into a deafening discord that resounded throughout the island. Attracted by noise, this was a nightmare to Jericho as isolated zombies that were separated from the main group constantly launched out within the forest, generating enough hassle that they managed to slow him down.

Having to scarcely dodge another zombie coming his way, Jericho was hoping for a miracle. He had been running for what seemed to be ages and his calve muscles were beginning to tire out.

'Have faith in yourself Jericho! You've survived hundred of scenarios, treat this as another casual mission.' Jericho began to hypnotize himself with confidence, a technique required for man-made soldiers like him.

With the forever darkness permeating a sense of deceit and a trail of monsters closing the distance, Jericho was running out of strength and options.

Just then, he noticed the pinnacle of steep hill entering his view at the end of his vision. He recalled his intake of information about this island, as well as the bird's eye view of Kujil island when he was still flying in the air.

'West of Kujil is a mansion, South of Kujil is a hill, East of Kujil are the gardens, North South Kujil has calm waves.' Jericho hummed the information he remembered into a little joyful tune, distracting himself from the fatigue arising from his legs. He doesn't know where he was at, but judging from the hill's located within his vision, he has passed the gardens at the East wing of Kujil Island, now racing towards the South.

He had been running a marathon without a break, circling half of the island yet the restless zombies behind did not show any signs of slowing down.

His mind began processing. If there are no helicopters here, how can the butlers and maids at the mansion leave in case of emergency?

Inhaling a gust of sea breeze, Jericho tasted the salty yet refreshing aroma of the ocean. That's right! They needed a boat. And since the rich visit here often, perhaps even a private yacht could be docked at the shore. Eliminating the North, which was the beach where the plane landed on, Jericho narrowed it down to the hill at the South of Kujil island. Who knows? Maybe some tasteful masters of architecture decided to place the docking platforms within the mountains where a sea cave coincidentally formed thousands of years ago.

In fact, some well known interior designers did come up with the exact idea. Within the husk of the hills were a complicated cave system that burrowed into the center of Kujil hill where a relict sea cave would ultimately be found.

"Be careful kids, don't stray too far away from me or else you could get lost. These cave systems are very much tricky!" Echoing in the enclosed tunnels, an old raspy voice warned the two groups of people following close by. An elderly man in his 70s ambled towards the unknown with a hazel brown walking stick as his flickering lantern guided the way.

The people walking in two groups quietly were none other than the survivors at the mansion, meticulously traversing through the maze-like cave systems.

The old man up ahead is the head of the mansion, bestowed upon this position due to his familiarity with the island. Acknowledging the danger lingering in the forests, the elderly head of the mansion offered to help them off this island.

"Young chaps like you are so spoiled nowadays. Look at me, skin and bones yet I remain energetic." The old man heaved a heavy breath, as if trying to clear his throat. "When I was younger…"

Zhou listened to the old man patiently as he turned around to do another head count. Split between two groups, Zhou and Don, the two most vocal and influential people took the role as their group leaders. The walk towards here has been relatively smooth. He surmised that it was due to the plane landing at the very opposite of this hill, and that the zombies haven't invaded this part of the island.

This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

The old man was the only person speaking along the way as if oblivious to the apocalypse. Everyone else was either too scared or on high alert during the trip. The old man although talkative, is very wise. He claimed to be an experienced fisherman who visited the island frequently for fresh catches before rich folks exploited and developed the island into their haven. Logically, he was drafted to become a worker on this island to watch over maintenance. Over the years, he attained his position as the head of the mansion, or, as the old man loves to claim, 'the King of Kujil Island'.

"Ah… the paint over here has faded a little more…" Chuckling, the old man ground a piece of fallen limestone with his staff, bending down slowly to retrieve some of the chalky substance.

"Old man, could you please hurry up? You have been babbling nonsense for the past hour. There could be zombies hunting us down right now!" A plump man broke the silence of respect towards the old man, squeezing a flashlight under his armpits as he waved a metal pipe in the air pettishly.

"I am done putting up with your childish behavior Donald!"

The young butler in blue waistcoat who Donald had chastised pulled out his pistol, barely suppressing the temptation to shoot him on the spot.

"Enough is enough."

A raspy yet soothing voice floated by the quarreling men, simmering down the escalating conflict. "For a man who runs a major company, you are quite ignorant…"

Displeased by the old man's criticism, Donald was just about to berate back before the old man's next sentences shut him up for good.

"I recommend another head count. Haven't I been saying? Don't stray too far away."

That's right! He hasn't done a head count for a while!

"7…8… 9… 9 PEOPLE? 9! Donald oh you STUPID PIG!" Zhou grumbled coldly, having done the head count for Donald's group. "You had one job, but now you're missing two of them. They were your responsibility!"

Withstanding the disdainful look of everyone present, Donald tried to defend himself. Before he could rebut, an unkempt woman stumbled out of the harrowing shadows from where they had came from.

The woman was severely injured, her skin pale as snow. She was holding tightly onto her stomach, inching herself towards the group in excruciating pain. She tried to scream for help, but all she could do was open her mouth before a gush of blood spurted out her oral passageway. In a weakened state, her control over her arm waned and she revealed what she had been holding onto.

Digestive fluids and shredded lumps of small intestines spilled out of the gnarly puncture in her stomach region, the colors on her skin draining away onto the rigid stone beneath her. The life on her vanished into the harrowing darkness as she crumpled onto the nauseating blend of pungent liquid and severed intensities.

As the victim fell, the culprit emerged from the shadows, sprinting towards the group. Its most noticeable feature was the shredded right sweater sleeve fluttering in the air. There was a tiny purple and swollen cut on his forearm, covered in multiple scratches and bruises.

"That bastard! He told us he was experiencing the aftereffects of plane sickness! His wife must have lagged behind for him!" Don yelled out his observations, justifying himself with excuses even though no one would remotely fall for it.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

The muzzle flares lit up the cave for a few seconds before darkness returned. Walking pass the man's corpse, black waistcoat took a few steps towards the fallen woman, putting a bullet in her brain to prevent her from reanimating.

"Thank you Norman. Thank you Adelgard." The old man had already gotten up, praising the two young men. Refining the material into morsels between his rough fingertips, the old man smeared the chalky limestone against the fading marking to enhance its visibility. "We have arrived."

On another side of the hill, another two group of survivors were navigating the sophisticated cave systems. Unlike the other group who had a guide, these two groups were clearly less orientated. Using the process of elimination and trusting several faint markings on the walls of some cave tunnels, Jay's group was one of the two groups venturing towards the secret sea cave where boats were docked.

A complete family who all survived the initial attack decided to stay on this island, along with another widowed woman and two maids of the mansion as the mansion itself provided enough resources to last a few years. The commotion caused by the zombie horde drew away most of the zombies, prompting two of the survivors to return to the beach so that they could verify the truth and at the same time, possibly salvage the plane. That was when they bumped into Jay's group.

After collecting about everyone's whereabouts, Jay's group also set off on their journey, leaving another widowed man behind who was not willing to take the risk.

While both groups were destined to intersect at the sea cave, Jericho was more than ecstatic to finally arrive upon the foot of the hill. The long and grueling shoreline ended at the foot of the hill, granting Jericho a change of scenery. Licking off few drops of dew resting atop a bayleaf to temporarily quench his thirst, he immediately trekked up hill as several zombies begun to catch up to him.

"Damn it, even if there was a secret cave, it'll take a while to discover the entrance." Murmuring, Jericho continued maneuvering through the terrain with hundreds of zombies chasing behind.

All of a sudden, he felt something. A strange sensation that stood out from the tranquil environment around him.

It was vibrations. Following the abrupt yet short lasting vibration, Jericho's speculations came true.

He arrived at a towering passageway leading deep into the hill, hidden discreetly behind the natural forestry of the island.

Woah… no wonder the rich claimed Kujil Isalnd…

Although impressed, Jericho immediately broke out of his enchantment as the horde of zombies located his position. Without hesitation, Jericho entered the passageway.

Unknowingly, he was leading more than a hundred bloodthirsty zombies towards the last few surviving human parties. In other words, Kujil Island's last line of defense.