The zombie crumpled to the ground as arrows struck its leg joints with extreme precision. A metal arm burst out of the air vent and the mutate bit it instinctively, chipping off a few chunks of its teeth. Yuxia rushed out of the hole and pushed it against the wall. The zombie snarled one last time before the Red Clover popped two arrows into its skull. She swung her hand with disgust, tossing the motionless zombie away carelessly. Darn, I was hoping its head would fall in front of the grille.
“Oh my god, that was awesome! You’re such a badass!” Henrik piped as he exited the air vent.
“It’s not over yet,” Yuxia said in a nonchalant voice. “I see a path out of here, but we have to hurry before the zombies block our only exit.” She took off with a slow jog as Henrik scuttled behind her.
“Carry the bag for me, will ya?” Yuxia passed the bag of food to Henrik as they reached a long staircase. “I’m gonna carry you on my back, so hold on tight.”
“What?! I’m fit enough to climb these stairs!” Henrik protested.
“But you won’t be fast enough. Hurry up and get on.”
The boy reluctantly climbed onto her and she began leaping up entire flights of stairs, although she occasionally had to jump twice due to the increased weight. The two of them quickly reached the ground level and began running towards the emergency exit, ignoring the nightmarish groans behind them.
“Oof!” Yuxia grunted as a zombie appeared out of nowhere, tackling her from the side.
Crap, I still wasn’t fast enough?
She pushed it aside and fired her crossbow, terminating it before it even hit the ground. A rush of footsteps barely gave her enough time to react as three more zombies slammed into her. Yuxia’s crossbow fell to the ground and snapped as the zombies trampled over it. They began pulling at her armour, trying futilely to bite through the metal.
“Miss!” Henrik screamed, picking up a nearby fire extinguisher and hitting the nearest zombie with it.
“No!” Yuxia yelled back. “Run! Save yourself, boy!”
But it was too late.
The zombie turned its attention to the boy and leapt towards him. It flew over his head as Henrik ducked easily with his small frame. He lifted the extinguisher overhead with a hoarse war cry and crashed it down on the zombie before it could get up. The boy smashed its head repeatedly until the zombie was unrecognisable with brain matter splattered all over the ground. Henrik breathed heavily, adrenaline coursing through his veins.
A gut wrenching scream shook the boy out of his daze. The zombies had begun pulling Yuxia from both ends of her body. Henrik moved to help her, but he had problems of his own. His head whipped back at the sound of a guttural growl; a large zombie had appeared from the side and was blocking the path forward. The boy fell backwards in horror, his nerves failing him this time. He crawled backwards frantically from the monster in front of him. They locked eyes for a moment, and it let out an ear piercing screech before charging towards him.
“NOOOO!”
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The sumo sized zombie looked up, distracted by the sudden hysterical scream. Two zombies flew at it in quick succession, knocking it off its feet. Yuxia rushed forward, sweeping Henrik into her arms and ran for the exit before the zombies could regain their footing. She curled up protectively around her young companion, using her shoulder to break off the doors and tossed a grenade behind her.
The Red Clover sprinted at full speed away from the facility, ignoring the loud explosion behind them.
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Yuxia did not slow down until they stepped back into her home. She set Henrik down and shut the door immediately, even though they were obviously safe already. She trudged to a chair and took off her armour.
“Yuxia, you’re bleeding!” Henrik gasped.
“Yes, thank you for noticing,” Yuxia muttered, wincing in pain as she touched her bloodied side tenderly. The stitches from her previous stab wound had reopened, thanks to the zombies’ attempt at sundering her in half.
“Please be a dear and fetch me the first aid kit before I bleed to death,” Yuxia said in an overly honeyed tone, her voice dripping with sarcasm. “It’s on the bottom shelf beside the rations.”
The boy quickly scuttled into the room.
Yuxia slumped against the wall, pressing hard on the swollen area around her wound. Damn, I really thought it would have completely healed by now. The bleeding was not as profuse as the first time, but she did not want to leave it to chance.
“Miss Yuxia, I found it…” Henrik’s voice trailed away.
“Stop gawking and give it to me, boy,” she hissed, not bothering to cover her bare torso. The boy passed the first aid kit to her with shaking hands, turning his bright red face away. Yuxia ignored him and started taking out the bandages and medical gel. Henrik feigned interest in a broken computer, avoiding his gaze from the woman tending to her wound.
“Hey kid. Thanks for helping out back there.” Yuxia put her top back on and walked to him, placing a hand on his shoulder. “You must’ve been so scared.”
Henrik shrugged his shoulders. “Eh, my mother got chopped into pieces in front of eyes. My entire survivor group was massacred and literally served as dinner. Things can’t get worse than that.”
Yuxia’s heart sank upon hearing Henrik's words; no kid his age should have to go through that. The world was truly a messed up place. A small sense of respect for the boy's mental fortitude stirred up within her.
“You and I are not so different then.” Yuxia smiled warmly. “I’ve lost my father too; the man you saw in the recording killed him. His name is Firdaus, and he is the leader of Sector 163 now.”
“I thought he said he was going to be dead? So that’s how that ruthless conqueror looks like. Did you go after him then?”
“Yes, but…” Yuxia’s voice dropped. “I found out that revenge isn’t worth it. It clouded my mind and I lost my purpose in pursuit of this toxic dream. But once I thought I had it, it just… vanished. And the people around me paid the price for my folly.”
Henrik tilted his head. “That guy, Firdaus. He seemed like he wanted to save the world too, but he’s doing the exact opposite now. Do you think he lost his purpose as well?”
“That’s for us to find out.” Yuxia pulled out the science journal that she had cramped into the food bag.
“But how about our food supply?” Henrik asked, gesturing to the canned food that they had just scavenged. “It’s cut off for real this time; these can only last us for about a month.”
“We’re gonna go hunting.” Yuxia grinned mischievously, and Henrik shrunk back in fear. She let out a hearty laugh. “I obviously didn’t mean it when I said I was going to use you as bait. Don’t worry, we won’t be hunting animals for food.”
“We’re going to hunt criminals.”