The next second, the grotesque monster charged at him without giving him even the slightest chance to react.
Its enormous jaws stretched open, revealing rows of sharp, shark-like teeth, with fresh blood and pieces of flesh still hanging between them. Its unnaturally long neck stretched forward as it ran, allowing its head to reach Zixin far faster than something of that size should have been able to.
With its enormous height, it covered the distance between them in barely two strides, forcing Zixin to immediately turn and run in the opposite direction while keeping Lin Jing tightly secured against his chest.
"Hold on to me!" Zixin shouted as he sprinted away.
Lin Jing's small arms were already wrapped tightly around his neck, his face buried against Zixin's shoulder. "I am!"
"Then don't let go!"
Behind them, the monster's claws slammed into the ground where they had been standing only a moment earlier. The impact was powerful enough to crack the concrete beneath its hand, sending pieces of stone scattering across the street. Zixin felt the vibration through his feet but didn't dare look back for more than a second. He knew that if he slowed down even a little, that thing would catch them.
"Bao, what the hell am I supposed to do against this thing?" he shouted, his breath already becoming uneven.
"You could try killing it!"
"With what?!"
"The broomstick!"
Zixin almost stumbled from disbelief. "You're telling me to beat that thing with a fucking broomstick?!"
"It worked before!"
"That was a normal zombie!"
"Then improvise!"
"You're a fucking useless adviser!"
Bao flicked his tongue against Zixin's neck, completely unimpressed. "And you're a very ungrateful human."
Zixin didn't have the breath to argue with him anymore. He tightened his hold around Lin Jing and continued running, desperately searching for somewhere they could hide. The village was eerily empty now, the houses standing silent around them while the red glow from the sky washed everything in an unnatural color. The monster's footsteps continued to thunder behind them, each one getting closer despite Zixin running as fast as his exhausted body allowed.
He suddenly noticed an alley between two buildings and immediately turned into it, hoping the narrow space would slow the monster down. For a moment, there was nothing behind them except the sound of their own breathing, and Zixin thought he might have managed to lose it.
Then the wall beside him exploded.
The monster forced its way through the building instead of going around it, sending bricks and chunks of concrete crashing onto the ground. Its elongated body squeezed through the narrow gap, its claws digging into the walls as it pulled itself forward, and Zixin's heart sank when he realized that the creature wasn't merely following them anymore. It was adapting.
"Shit…"
He turned and ran again, but before he could get very far, the monster suddenly disappeared from his sight.
Zixin slowed for only a fraction of a second.
"Where did it—"
"Zixin!" Bao suddenly shouted. "Look up!"
Zixin's eyes snapped toward the roof.
The monster was crouched there.
Its long limbs were folded beneath its body, while its enormous head hung over the edge of the building, staring directly down at them. Its mouth slowly opened, revealing those terrible teeth again.
"Move!"
Zixin immediately threw himself to the side.
The monster dropped from the roof.
Its body crashed into the ground with enough force to send a shockwave through the street, throwing Zixin several meters away. He landed heavily on his side, but his first instinct was still to protect Lin Jing, and he curled his arms around the child before either of them could hit the ground too hard.
"Are you hurt?" Zixin asked breathlessly.
Lin Jing shook his head, his face pale. "I'm okay, Ge."
Zixin let out a shaky breath and pushed himself back onto his feet. His shoulder was throbbing from the earlier impact, his back hurt badly, and his legs were beginning to feel heavy, but he couldn't afford to care about any of it. He carefully shifted Lin Jing higher against his chest before reaching behind him and pulling out the broomstick.
Blue electricity immediately began crawling over his fingers.
The sparks were weak compared to what he had used before, but they were still enough to make the hairs on his arm rise.
The monster turned toward him.
Zixin stared back at it, knowing that running forever wasn't going to work. If he kept trying to escape, sooner or later the creature would catch him, and the moment that happened, Lin Jing would be the first thing it attacked.
"Fine," he muttered, tightening his grip around the broomstick. "You want me? Come and get me."
The monster roared and charged.
Zixin waited until the very last second before moving. He twisted his body to the side as the creature's enormous claw swept past him, then swung the broomstick with every bit of strength he had and struck its knee.
The impact sent a sharp crack through the air.
For a normal zombie, the blow would have been enough to shatter the joint. The monster only staggered half a step before turning its head toward him.
Zixin stared.
"You have got to be fucking kidding me."
Bao's tiny voice came from around his neck. "I believe that means the broomstick isn't enough."
"I figured that out myself!"
The monster swung again, forcing Zixin to duck while still carrying Lin Jing. The claws passed so close to his head that he felt the wind of the movement against his hair, and he immediately ran again, knowing that he couldn't afford to fight it directly. He turned sharply around another building, but the creature followed almost immediately, its long limbs allowing it to cross the distance with terrifying ease.
Zixin's lungs burned as he ran. His injured shoulder throbbed with every movement, and the weight of Lin Jing was becoming harder to manage, but he refused to loosen his grip. He kept one arm firmly around his brother while using the other to hold the broomstick, constantly glancing around for somewhere they could escape.
Then the monster's claw came from the side.
Zixin saw it too late.
He twisted his body instinctively, trying to keep the attack away from Lin Jing, but the force of the blow struck him across the back and sent him stumbling forward. His arms jerked from the impact, and for one horrifying second, he felt Lin Jing's weight shift.
"Ge!"
Zixin's eyes widened.
He reached for him immediately.
His fingers caught the sleeve of Lin Jing's shirt, but the fabric slipped through his grasp before he could pull him back.
"Lin Jing!"
The boy fell several feet away and landed hard on the ground.
Zixin lunged toward him.
He was only a few steps away.
He could still reach him.
He had to.
But the monster was faster.
Its head snapped toward the fallen child, and its enormous jaws opened.
Zixin's entire body tensed as he sprinted forward. "No! Get away from him!"
Lin Jing looked up.
His frightened eyes found Zixin's.
"Ge…"
Zixin stretched his hand toward him, his fingers reaching desperately through the air. He could see Lin Jing's small body lying helplessly on the ground, could see the fear spreading across his face as the monster lowered its head toward him, and somehow Zixin knew that he wasn't going to make it in time.
"LIN JING!"
The monster's jaws closed around him.
Zixin stopped.
For several seconds, he simply stood there.
He didn't understand what he was looking at.
His eyes remained fixed on the creature's mouth, on the small body that had disappeared between those enormous teeth, while his outstretched hand slowly lowered to his side.
Everything around him seemed strangely distant. The red sky, the ruined houses, the blood covering the street, even Bao's voice calling his name all seemed to fade beneath a heavy silence that had settled inside his head.
"...Lin Jing?"
His voice was so quiet that even he could barely hear it.
There was no answer.
Zixin stared at the monster, his expression completely blank.
That was his little brother.
The same child who had hidden beneath the stairs waiting for him. The same child who had clung to his clothes when he was frightened, who had called him Ge with that small, trusting voice, and who had believed every time Zixin told him that he would protect him.
Zixin had promised him.
He...he had promised that he would take care of everything.
Yet now Lin Jing was gone.
His fingers slowly curled into fists, but there was no anger in his expression yet. There was only disbelief, as though some part of his mind was still waiting for someone to tell him that this was a mistake and that Lin Jing would suddenly crawl out from somewhere and call for him again.
"...No."
The word finally escaped his lips.
Zixin shook his head slowly, his eyes never leaving the monster.
"No, that's not…"
His voice trembled, and he swallowed hard.
"That isn't possible."
He fell to his knees watching the bloody shoe that was left on the ground blankly.
Lin jing…
His little brother…
He… he.. was gone.