Everyone in the group gulped upon seeing the huge number of zombies flocked together in one place.
So far, they had only seen a couple or so zombies, other then when they had originally left their class. Now, seeing that the exit was chained and locked, they were even more nervous.
The group retreated to the second floor, where they had confirmed that there were no zombies but still kept their voice down in case there was one in some of the locked rooms they hadn't checked or the ones downstairs could hear them.
"What about the emergency exits? or any window or something?" Skittle asked.
"I checked them out on the way down. This is an old building." Zain explained. "The emergency exits lead to ladders. Some of them were locked like the entrance, so I didn't want to say anything.
"Most likely, all those on the second floor, maybe even on the third floor, are locked. Also, if we go via the ladders, the zombies will see us and start to gather."
There was silence as everyone thought about a way to get out. Honestly, Zain was wondering if, with the whole group, they could take out all of the zombies. However, doing it without getting hurt was a different thing altogether, and he didn't want to take any chances with a certain person in their group.
'Jade would just throw the other two under the bus the moment she gets a chance.' Zain thought.
"I thought you made us cover ourselves in blood so that the zombies won't notice us?" Jade asked.
"That's to cover up our smell. We don't know if their eyes work or not. I don't know much about them, so I didn't want to take that risk. Imagine going down the ladder, and they start piling on top of one another. We must sneak out if possible or fight if it's our only choice."
In the end, it looked like no one in the group could come up with a good solution other than attempting to just jump from the third or fourth floor from a window, which seemed to be the only option.
"If that's the case, then let me try first." Zain volunteered. "Once I'm outside, maybe I can find a way to break the lock or something."
For a second, Zain thought that he might have to argue his case to Buke and Skittle as to why he should be the one to go, but none of them said anything. However, this didn't surprise him. In this situation, no one wanted to risk their lives.
And, if Zain weren't what he was right now, maybe he would have been the same because, in the end, the risk for him was a lot less than theirs.
"Wait by the reception area. You can hide near the desk, it looked like there were no zombies in that spot. They seemed to be hovering around the glass on the outside. Also, be alert because you might have to sprint to get out of here any time."
After Zain passed those instructions, the rest went downstairs. At the same time, he stayed on the second floor, but rather than jumping out of the window on the second floor after the others had disappeared, Zain continued to go up, heading back to the third floor, where they had first met the other girls.
-----
The others had successfully reached the large oval desk in the reception area. As Zain had informed them, there were no zombies, apart from those around ten metres away. It was frightening, but they stayed with their backs facing away from the entrance while Skittle was on the lookout.
"Hey, I was just wondering, why do you listen to that guy so much?" Jade asked. "I mean, you're big and strong. You could probably break the door yourself. Don't you think we should listen and hear what you have to say instead of him?"
While saying these words, Jade once again grabbed Buke's arm and pressed her breasts against his arm. He could feel the softness of her breasts clad around.
"I guess you really think I'm an idiot, all muscle and no brain, don't you?" Buke replied, shaking Jade off of his arm, "You have no idea what we have been through together."
—
Reaching the third floor, Zain carefully walked and peeked from the corner of the windows to have a better look at the situation outside. There were zombies outside, but they seemed to be just strolling around instead of targeting anyone. This was In the university area, which was the only area Zain could see clearly. Either everyone had already left the place, hiding or was already dead.
Either way, the situation was not good for his group. If there were others, at least they could be used as a distraction, and if they were all dead, that just meant more zombies would be coming after them.
Walking down, Zain eventually stopped and tightly clutched his stake as he noticed a certain dark-skinned girl come out of a room. She was Tanisha, Jade's friend, who was allegedly attacked and killed by a zombie. She didn't look like she used to. Her skin looked paler and less alive, and her eyes were slightly different.
"She's a zombie now...I should have seen this coming. I should have kept an eye on her." Zain thought. "I'm sorry, I left. I just thought that girl was at least half a decent human being. I don't even know what she has done to you."
Zain was saying this because there didn't seem to be any visible wounds on her. No bite marks, or injury, only a large blood mark on her head that looked like someone had whacked her.
So as for how she was turned into a zombie, Zain didn't know. Maybe Jade had killed her or something else, but one thing was for sure, he would get his answer.
"I will make sure you pass on," Zain said in a low tone, but as soon as he took a step forward, a prompt screen flashed in front of him as a notification sound chimed.
[An anomaly has occurred, a mutated zombie has appeared]
[You will not lose Exp for killing the zombie]
[Quest: Survive]
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Thank you for reading the story so far, remember to use your stones to vote for WSA 2022