Thirty minutes before Cherry and Ethan descended the stairs:
Third floor, Kintner branch of Sinclair Hotel.
Nick, a middle-aged man using the fourth room, returned to his quarters after finishing his meal and unlocked the door with his hotel key.
In an hour, he was scheduled to join the Kintner search party to gather supplies.
Everyone at the Kintner survival camp, regardless of age or gender, was conscripted into the supply search parties. Refusing meant immediate expulsion.
Firearms were issued for protection during searches, but survival rates didn’t improve much.
Nick thought today might be his last. Each time his turn in the search party came around, he couldn’t help but wonder if it would be the end.
When the apocalypse first struck, this camp had over a hundred members, but now that number had dwindled to less than half.
That was because Elliot treated everyone as disposable. To him, they were slaves existing solely for his benefit.
Still, people followed him without complaint because the camp provided minimal rations and because Elliot’s guards were brutally efficient.
‘If it were me, I wouldn’t run the camp so cruelly.’
It was a reign of terror.
Sighing, Nick lay on his bed, hoping to rest a little before heading out. But as soon as he lay down—
Bang! Bang! Rattatatat—
Gunfire. No, it wasn’t just gunfire; it sounded like a full-on firefight.
Startled, Nick shot up and stepped out of his room. Others had also emerged into the hallway, drawn by the noise.
“What’s going on?”
“It sounds like it’s coming from the top floor.”
“The top floor? Isn’t that where Mr. El’s room is?”
“Oh, forget it. Let’s go back inside. Someone probably messed up again.”
Nick listened to the murmurs of the others, his expression darkening as he glanced down at his hand.
His left hand was missing its ring and pinky fingers. During a supply run, he had dropped some food while fleeing a monster. As punishment, Elliot had cut them off.
Elliot was merciless, allowing no excuses or second chances. Every mistake required payment in blood.
‘Is this even living?’
Nick stared at his mutilated hand with a weary expression. But leaving the camp wasn’t an option either.
Thud—
A massive sound rumbled from the first floor, like something enormous had collided with the building. The entire structure shook.
“What... what the hell was that?”
People rushed back into the hallway, all heading for the stairs to find the source of the noise.
When they reached the first floor, the sight in the lobby left them horrified.
A search party member was slumped on the ground, his bag spilled open.
The loud impact had come from the hotel door. Thick, solid wood was splintering, cracking under repeated blows from something massive on the other side.
Nick had no doubt it was a monster.
The door eventually gave way, and monsters flooded into the lobby. Screams erupted as people scattered in all directions.
“Ahhhhhh!”
The creatures immediately pounced on the search party member, tearing into him before turning their attention to his spilled bag. More monsters gathered around the bag, burying their faces into its contents.
“Get to the second floor!”
Nick shouted, urging people to retreat upstairs and block the passage.
If the monsters couldn’t see anyone, they usually wouldn’t break through barriers or attempt to get inside. As long as they blocked the doors and stayed silent, they might survive.
Or at least, that’s what Nick desperately hoped.
Meanwhile, in a Hidden Passageway
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Amy and Jose stumbled out of a storage room, confused after navigating a maze of corridors.
“Where are we now...?” Jose muttered, glancing around the mysterious laundry room as he loaded his semi-automatic rifle.
His sharp gaze caught something strange among the piles of laundry—something bundled up in fabric.
Amy darted over and pulled back the covering, gasping.
“Ah! Jeez, I thought it was a corpse!”
Jose gestured for silence, putting a finger to his lips. Amy exhaled in relief, clutching her chest as she fell quiet.
“Someone must’ve knocked him out on purpose,” Jose said, inspecting the unconscious man.
“Do you think it was Sugar Star?”
“Could’ve been Sir Ethan or Miss Cherry. But it doesn’t feel like their style.”
“This looks like a laundry room... Let’s check outside first.”
Amy approached the only exit, gripping the door handle as she listened carefully.
“It’s noisy out there. What’s going on...?”
Jose joined her, also straining to hear. Just as she said, there was a commotion outside. Amy tightened her grip on the handle and spoke.
“I’ll open the door. Cover me from behind, Jose.”
Jose nodded and stepped back, readying his rifle to aim at the opening.
Amy took a deep breath, then slowly cracked the door open. Through the gap, the scene outside came into view.
It was chaos.
“What the...?”
Jose lowered his rifle slightly, staring at the scene. Amy, puzzled, also peered through the opening.
The corridor outside looked like part of the hotel. At the far end, they could see the lobby, where people were fleeing in all directions.
Raaaahhh!
A monstrous roar echoed, sending chills down their spines.
“Damn it!” Jose hissed, his grip tightening on his weapon.
Amy quickly shut the laundry room door, her hand trembling slightly. Jose placed a steadying hand on her shoulder.
“Wait a second. Could Miss Cherry and Sir Ethan be out there?”
“You’re suggesting we go out there now? Did you forget what the lawyer said? He sent us to do reconnaissance, not to take risks. He didn’t send kids like us to deal with danger.”
“But what if Miss Cherry needs our help right now? The situation looks bad.”
“You’re right... I just wanted to stick to the manual so the lawyer wouldn’t yell at us.”
Amy gave a sly smile before reaching for the doorknob again.
Their deliberation didn’t last long. A young woman fleeing down the hallway suddenly flung the door open.
Behind her was a monstrous centipede-like creature. Its massive body writhed with countless legs, and its pincers clicked ominously as it approached.
Amy recoiled in shock at the grotesque sight, momentarily frozen. Jose, however, raised his rifle.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Bullets struck the centipede’s body, causing it to stagger backward with each shot.
Bang!
The final shot sent the creature collapsing to the ground.
“Ugh, I hate bugs so much,” Amy muttered, shuddering with disgust.
But the centipede wasn’t the only problem. From the hallway leading to the lobby, more monsters began flooding in.
Amidst the chaos, a man’s voice rang out, shouting to the panicked crowd.
“To the second floor! Everyone, move to the second floor! It’s safe there!”
The man darted through the lobby, risking his life to guide people to safety.
Amy and Jose, now joined by the young woman who had fled into the laundry room, followed the others toward the second-floor staircase.
As they reached the stairs, the man directing the evacuation approached them, clapping them on the back.
“What are you doing? Get upstairs, now!”
But the man only carried a flimsy stick he’d scavenged from somewhere. His hand, gripping the makeshift weapon, was missing fingers—clearly the result of an old injury. It was evident he wouldn’t be able to wield the stick effectively.
Jose glanced at Amy, who nodded, seeming to have the same thought. Jose stepped forward.
“We’ll help. You keep directing the people.”
“What are you saying? Get upstairs now! Kids like you shouldn’t—wait, I don’t recognize you...”
The man, Nick, couldn’t finish his sentence.
Bang! Bang!
Jose had already raised his rifle and fired at a monster lunging toward the fleeing people.
Nick had no choice but to accept their help. He continued guiding the evacuees, while Amy and Jose worked to ensure everyone reached the second floor safely.
Amy moved quickly, searching for stragglers on the first floor, while Jose covered her with his rifle.
As they finally seemed to have evacuated most of the survivors, the sheer number of monsters pouring into the hotel lobby became overwhelming.
“What’s with these monsters? Why are they swarming like this?”
“It’s like they’ve caught the scent of Elpinos herbs...”
Amy’s muttering trailed off as she noticed a discarded bag in the middle of the lobby. Around it lay scattered white powder and various herbs.
Among the mess, one herb stood out—a bizarre plant that vaguely resembled a centipede.
Before she could examine it further, the bag and its contents were quickly surrounded by the monsters. Those that couldn’t reach the herbs began attacking any nearby humans instead.
“Damn it, that’s Elpinos herbs!” Amy exclaimed, horrified. She stomped her foot in frustration, staring helplessly at the growing swarm of monsters.
As despair set in for Amy and Jose, a voice called out to them from the staircase.
“Huh? What are you two doing down here?”
Amy, Jose, and Nick turned their heads sharply toward the stairs. Two figures were descending—one a woman with striking pink hair wielding an axe, the other a man in a slightly disheveled but imposing police uniform, his golden hair gleaming even in the dim light.
Cherry and Ethan had arrived.