"Everyone, we shouldn't eat too much. If we properly ration our food, this supply can last us for a week. There are more zombies inside the building now so it would be harder to get more food." Brandon reminded them.
"Brandon is right. The situation down there is very dangerous so it's better to ration our food and supplies." Carlo voiced his agreement.
The others were convinced by their words and they held back themselves from eating more.
Brandon distributed the supplies evenly, but he gave more to Celine who was still recovering. This made some people uncomfortable, but they didn't say anything since Brandon's group collected the food.
While everyone was eating, the number of zombies outside the room increased and this made them alarmed. They were afraid that the door wouldn't be able to hold out the weight of so many zombies.
Carlo asked the men to secure the door by blocking it with more heavy objects like chairs and tables.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Growl! Growl! Growl!
"Why are they not leaving?" Someone asked nervously.
Brandon stood with a frown. "It looks like we are not the only ones who are hungry." He muttered. The door was made of thick mahogany which is a very durable material. However, it might not be able to withstand too much weight.
Thinking about this, Brandon quickly searched for another exit. There was no vent they could go through and the only way out other than the door was the window. However, they were on the sixth floor and it was impossible to go down without a rope.
Brandon went to the window and stared at the situation beneath the building. There were zombies everywhere and there was no chance for them to escape even if they managed to get down the building.
The banging on the walls intensified and everyone was horrified because cracks started to appear on the wall near the door.
"Shit! I think the door is about to collapse!" Someone shouted, his words spreading panic into everyone.
"Brandon, what should we do?!" Carlo called out to him with an anxious voice. The others also stared at him, hoping that he could come up with a solution.
Brandon took a deep breath as he stared at them. "We have to go down." He said.
His words stunned them.
"What are you saying? How could we go down there? There is no rope in this room!" The gay man stared at him with bloodshot eyes.
"There is no rope, but we can use our clothes to create one." Brandon said as he took off his shirt.
Everyone had a look of realization and the gay man was ashamed of himself.
"I know this is very embarrassing, especially for the ladies, but there is nothing we can do. There are only five of us men here and our clothes alone wouldn't be enough to reach us to the fifth floor. We just need enough clothes to go down there." Brandon said with a straight face.
The men readily took off their clothes to show their willingness, but the women were a bit hesitant.
Seeing their hesitation, Brandon sighed in his heart. "Let's just use what we have for now." He said. He then asked someone to tie up the clothes. The person he chose was a former boy scout and he was an expert in tying knots.
Some of the clothes were thin so Brandon asked the former boy scout to add another layer to the thin clothes. They also took down the curtains inside the room and asked the boy scout to tie them together with the clothes.
"It's done." The former boy scout said while looking at Brandon.
Brandon nodded his head. "Good. Now, let's check its durability." He grabbed the 'rope' and asked someone to hold it while he pulled it all his strength.
The 'rope' remained firm and didn't fall apart even after two more people pulled it.
Brandon was satisfied by its durability. He then grabbed it and hung it by the window to see if it could reach the fifth floor. To his disappointment, they still need to add more length to it.
Brandon stared at the gay man and the ladies imploringly.
The men had already taken off their shirts and pants. They were only left with their underwear and it was impossible for them to give up this final piece of clothing.
The tomboyish girl gritted her teeth and said while taking off her top. "You can use my shirt." After her shirt was taken off, she covered her chest in embarrassment. Although she had a bra, she still felt uncomfortable.
The eyes of the men lit up when they saw his shy look, but they quickly looked away. They still have a shred of humanity in them so they didn't take advantage of her.
"You can also use mine." Celine uttered in a low voice.
"No! You are sick and your fever might worsen if you don't have your shirt on!" The tomboyish girl rejected her right away.
Celine wanted to say something, but the tomboyish girl glared at her.
"We just need a few more." Brandon's voice was cold. The situation was already dire, but they were still hesitating.
"Just take mine then." One of the middle-aged teachers sighed while unbuttoning her uniform.
"You can take mine as well." The other female teacher quickly said after seeing her friend's actions.
"Y-You can also take mine." A female student took off her uniform and handed it to Brandon.
"Thank you." Brandon stared deeply at them. He also glanced at the people who remained stubborn. After seeing his cold gaze, they all looked away from him.
After tying the clothes, it was finally long enough to reach the fifth floor. Brandon asked them to test its durability again to ensure that it could hold their weight. Luckily, none of them were too fat or it would have been disastrous.
"There might be zombies in the room below so I'll go down first. Carlo will go next and you guys will decide who will go down after the both of us." Brandon said while the former boy scout tied the 'rope' into the window.
Everyone agreed with his arrangement.
"I'll go there first." Brandon muttered before climbing up the window.
"Be careful, buddy." Carlo patted his shoulder.
"Take care, Brandon." Celine worriedly said.
"Be careful." The tomboyish girl, Arianne, also said.
Brandon nodded his head before he slowly went down. He wasn't an expert in rope climbing and he was also holding a bat on one hand so he looked a bit awkward. However, he still managed to land safely on the balcony of a room on the fifth floor.
Brandon tightly held the handle of the bat as he looked through the glass door on the balcony. There was a zombie inside, but it seemed to be unaware that he was nearby.
Soon, Carlo also managed to go down.
Brandon pointed at the zombie inside the room while nodding at Carlo.
Carlo understood his intentions.
The two slowly opened the sliding glass door, but slight noise still leaked out which made the zombie turn its head towards them.
"I'll take care of it." Carlo was now braver after the experience from earlier.
Brandon didn't say anything, but he looked at the situation carefully. He was prepared to make a move if Carlo would be in danger.
Growl!
The zombie growled as it pounced towards Carlo who was closer to it.
Carlo shifted his body to dodge the zombie's attack. He then swung his axe, but he didn't hit the zombie's neck. His axe struck the zombie's back, making it scream like a beast.
Roaarr!!
"Move away!" Brandon's voice echoed in his ears. Carlo released his grip on the axe and took a step back.
Brandon dashed forward and repeatedly smacked the zombie's head with the bat.
Pa! Pa! Pa! Pa! Pa!
Not long later, the zombie collapsed and blood leaked out from its disfigured head.
Brandon felt nauseous when he saw the gruesome scene, but he held back the urge to puke. Carlo looked away from the zombie's corpse. It was too disgusting even for him.
"I'll tell the others that it's safe." Carlo said as he went back to the balcony to tell the others to go down.
The next person who got down was Celine. Carlo was surprised to see her and she didn't even look like she was struggling when she climbed down. "I have experience in rope climbing." She smiled in embarrassment.
"No wonder." Carlo gave her a thumbs up.
Soon, the others climbed down one by one.
***
"Boss, we discovered a group of survivors near the location of the horde." A soldier reported to Arlan.
"Survivors? Show me." Arlan was surprised to hear this. He thought that everyone in Quezon was already infected with the zombie virus. He never thought that a group actually managed to survive.
The soldier showed him some photos captured by their drones. It was a photo of a building and there were people climbing down from the window using a makeshift rope.
"Look for Sigurd and tell him to see me." Arlan said to the soldier.
"Yes, boss!" The soldier bowed and left.
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