Chapter 26 - Opposition

Zera and Astherielle watched Beatrix and Jaspreth expertly run from one building to the next, hiding behind the ruined remains and trying to be stealthy to avoid any sudden attack from the zombies.

When it was just her and Astherielle, the latter inched closer towards her.

"Hey, Z," Astherielle whispered beside Zera. "I was on your side the whole time. You know, when you were trying to avoid having to fight the other team."

Zera looked at Astherielle.

"It's fine. I knew I was wrong, but I was too stubborn to admit it. So, yeah. Please don't feel guilty about it or anything. I wouldn't mind if…." Zera trailed off, clamping her mouth shut.

She could hear the gurgling of the zombies behind them getting louder. Risking to take a peek, Zera immediately dragged Zera to sprint to the other side of the ruined building.

A lone zombie was approaching their way, sniffing the air, her head jerking back a little towards the sky.

Her tattered office clothes made Zera want to pity her. If this happened in the real world, she would hope for a cure to be developed. ASAP.

When they were safe from being seen, Zera watched the re-animated dead woman slowly investigate their former hiding place.

Zera noticed her twisted ankles, causing her to limp, but it hardly hindered her from pursuing Zera and Astherielle.

"Okay," Zera muttered. "It's time for us to move."

Astherielle responded with a nod, following Zera's lead. Opposite of where Jaspreth and Beatrix had disappeared, Zera mimicked their strategy of hiding behind the pieces of ruined buildings that surrounded them.

Putting her gun back on the holster, equipping herself with the twin daggers she had chosen for short-range fights, Zera braced herself for the worst.

She has watched several apocalyptic zombie movies, which often required the leads to use knives and try to avoid firing their guns if it could be helped.

If only they weren't trying to avoid calling the attention of the entire horde, she and her friends could have taken down the surrounding zombies. She could easily count them in her fingers.

Concentrating on the task at hand, Zera stopped midway upon hearing a deep growl. It sounded so close that she and Astherielle had to press themselves against the wall.

Picking up two pebbles, Zera threw one of them towards the ground opposite the direction they were headed.

She listened to the heavily dragging steps that followed the sound. Throwing the second one, Zera pulled Astherielle to run for the next ruined remains.

Grrr.

The two of them watched the same zombie lady appear in their line of vision. They both pressed themselves against the wall, clutching each of the weapons in their hands.

Zombie lady continued to sniff the air, letting out a gurgling sound, her eyes dilating. She seemed to be calling out for her comrades.

"This is not good," Zera whispered, her hold on Astherielle's hand tightening as she braced to drag her into a full sprint.

A uniform growl came from behind where they were hiding. Zera was helping herself not to mutter a series of curses.

"I think this is the perfect time for us to…." Astherielle trailed off. One of the monsters had climbed over the small piece of the ruined building they were hiding. His feet caused some broken fragments of cement to fall towards the two.

Both Zera and Astherielle put a hand over their mouths, halting the cough that was itching from their throats to come out.

Astherielle had to shut her eyes close; some of the fallen dust had entered and momentarily irritated her vision. Zera tried to help her out, fanning her hands over her eyes without making so much noise.

Grrr.

"Damn," Zera grumbled, picking up all the pebbles she could find and hurdling all three. She threw them simultaneously towards the lady in a tattered office uniform, dragging Astherielle to hide behind the other side of the wall, and came face to face with an oncoming trio of zombies.

It was Astherielle's turn to mutter a curse. Zera was done keeping quiet. They were going to get caught if they didn't do anything.

"Run!" she whisper-shouted, putting aside the daggers and pulling her gun from the holster.

Bang! She missed hitting one zombie in the head but managed to shoot its leg.

Upon hearing the sound, the oncoming zombies turned their way.

"Well," Astherielle sprinted ahead. "So much for keeping quiet."

Bang! Bang! Bang! Astherielle joined the fray. She was scowling at the zombies.

"Die, you monsters!" She covered their back while Zera was covering the sides and the front.

If they fail to find someplace else to hide, they might be overtaken any minute now, the zombies coming in from all around them.

"Just how many are there? These zombies seem to keep coming in hundreds."

Zera shrugged.

Bang! Zera shot one zombie getting closer to their left.

Bang! Bang! She shot another on the other side.

"I don't know, but we can't let them overtake us. Real or not, I have no plans to let any of us become zombies."

"Me too." Astherielle agreed, firing steadily. "Um, Z! We need to run a bit faster."

Zera risked looking behind, her eyes going wide. Previously, the zombies were supposed to be running close to being in slow motion.

However, the few zombies chasing after Zera and Astherielle were joined by an upgraded version, resembling a fetus with their heads cleanly shaven.

Their clothing was torn like everyone else, but their skin was more bluish than white. Their sockets were empty, but their speed was faster than the regular ones chasing after them.

"Great! Do they have different types and classes now?" Zera complained, hitting the rest of those oncoming towards them.

Astherielle did the same.

"Switch!" Zera shouted. Astherielle took her place, facing forward while Zera ran backward, her eyes zeroing in on the new type of zombie hurtling towards them at almost the same speed as they.

"Leave us alone, you monsters!"

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

"Z!" Jaspreth's voice suddenly echoed from afar. Zera didn't have time to search where it was coming from.

"I'm a little busy, Jay!" She shouted, hoping he could hear her just fine. "Spill it out!"

"We found them!" Jaspreth responded. "The last two digits!"