About ten seconds later, the retching transformed into dry heaving.
Gavin fought against his nausea and racing heart, spat out the bitter water in his mouth, and retreated from the bathroom, trembling.
With a saber in hand, he approached the window, crouched down close to the glass, and pressed his face as near to the floor-to-ceiling window as possible to peer into the villa's backyard.
The swimming pool remained unchanged, but the figure that had been rolling moments ago had now plunged into the water.
Dark blood spread rapidly across the surface, growing more vivid as the two figures thrashed in the pool.
"Call."
Gavin let out a sigh of relief, carefully took two steps back, gently pulled the curtains, and hid in the corner of the window, parting the fabric slightly to continue watching.
The gunfire in the yard had long ceased, and the screams were no more. Only a few twisted figures darted back and forth across the garden.
There was no roaring—rather, the commotion could not penetrate the well-insulated glass.
Yet Gavin's mood did not improve.
Those ferocious figures moved with alarming speed!
It was as if they were racing in a hundred-meter sprint!
With a heavy heart, Gavin lowered the curtains, returned to the bed, and sat down.
The soft carpet and bed offered him no comfort, but the mobile phone on the bedside table provided a flicker of warmth.
He belatedly reached for his phone and checked the time: 2:52 AM.
It was even worse that a zombie crisis had erupted at this hour.
Tonight was meant to be a night of celebration, a moment of glory for him as he led the Dallas Cowboys to dominate the NFL and secure a championship for five consecutive seasons.
He had only intended to enjoy himself until nearly three in the morning, witnessing Gigi's transformation into a zombie in the bathroom.
What about the others?
Some people hadn't even seen Los Angeles until four in the morning!
And it was still only three!
During this time, if one person in a family turned like Gigi, the entire family would likely face ruin.
No attack was more lethal than one launched in sleep.
His mind swirled with chaotic, uncontrollable thoughts.
Gavin scrolled through his phone in haste, but found no news about zombies.
There were no reports of the various epidemics that typically appeared in movies before such a crisis.
No firsthand videos of zombie outbreaks from around the globe, the kind that often surfaced in games.
Glancing at the notifications on his phone, Gavin felt as though this was a prank, as if the zombie crisis had only erupted in the manor where he was!
Boom boom boom!
Thud!
The sudden sound of knocking at the door jolted Gavin upright from the bed.
He rushed to the door in one swift motion and peered nervously at the source of the noise.
Boom boom boom!
"Gavin!"
A frantic shout echoed from outside.
"Are you still alive?!"
"Madison?!"
Gavin was taken aback. He recognized the voice—his teammate on the Cowboys, a fellow member of the offensive squad, with whom he had worked for four years.
Madison was a towering figure, standing 6'9" and weighing 310 pounds.
Hearing Gavin's voice, Madison hesitated for a moment, then began knocking on the door even more urgently.
"Shit, great, you're still alive!"
"Open the door quickly, please, open the door!"
"They're coming up, Gavin, help me!"
Bang bang bang bang!
Faced with the increasingly frantic knocking, Gavin had to make a choice without time for deliberation.
Should he let Madison, who could still speak coherently for the moment, into his room?
He cast a worried glance back at Gigi in the bathroom.
If Madison transformed into a zombie, with his size, Gavin would have no chance against him as easily as he had with Gigi!
But after a moment of stunned silence, Gavin raised his hand and opened the door, allowing the staggering Madison to stumble inside.
Thud!
As she collapsed onto the carpet, Madison crawled forward, using her hands and feet, shouting at Gavin.
"Close the door, close the door!"
"I know!" Gavin replied as he quickly poked his head out, glancing left and right.
In the corridor to the left, two blood-stained figures were barely seven or eight meters away from the entrance. They were his former teammates, now rushing toward him with wild, feral movements.
The corridor to the right was empty, with only a faint moonlight illuminating the window at the far end.
After a brief look, Gavin pulled back, slammed the door shut, and locked it.
Just as he secured the door, he heard a loud bang from outside.
Boom!
The sound of his teammates' hefty bodies slamming against the door made Gavin's heart race.
Madison crawled five or six meters before finally rolling over and sitting on the ground.
"Leonard is dead. Kendrick bit him to death right in front of me. I even saw Kendrick pull out Leonard's intestines and stuff them into his mouth!" she spoke rapidly, trembling, her hands pressed against the carpet.
"Kendrick's gone mad. He's a lunatic!"
"Leonard's gone mad too! After his intestines were pulled out, he actually charged at me. I nearly shit myself in the corridor. Damn it, damn..."
"Shut up!"
Gavin turned around and took two steps, kicking Madison in the calf, causing her to scoot back in pain.
As she was about to rise, he turned and saw Gigi lying in the bathroom.
"Fuck!"
He was startled and quickly rose, gripping the glass wall of the bathroom, looking at Gavin with alarm.
"You killed someone! You killed someone too!"
As he spoke, he eyed the knife in Gavin's hand with increasing anxiety.
"Shut up, be quiet, and don't pretend you don't know what those things look like!"
Gavin cursed, then carefully scrutinized Madison.
Very good. Aside from looking a bit disheveled, she bore no wounds or bloodstains. She did not appear to be on the verge of turning into a zombie.
As for whether Madison would pose a threat to him...
That was fine—Gavin knew he could run faster than her.
On the other side, Madison's Adam's apple bobbed as she processed Gavin's words, and she asked, "You mean... dirty?"
"Otherwise, could it be rabies?" Gavin shot back, then returned to the door, glancing anxiously at the door being battered.
He knew his teammates Kendrick and Leonard too well. Together, they weighed at least 580 pounds. Could this door truly withstand their full-force impact?
But to remove them...
What a joke! Gavin wasn't even wearing any underwear right now—he would never risk that.
So he leaned against the door, trying to brace it, and spoke to Madison in a low voice.
"Old Mac."
"I'm here, what did you say? I'm a bit of a mess, damn it."
Madison's voice had grown quieter, and she slid down the bathroom's glass wall until she sat on the floor in despair.
Gavin frowned at her wet underwear and issued a silent command.
"Bring me my phone; it's right there on the bed, quick!"
"Okay, I know, I... damn, I left my phone in the room!"
Madison muttered instinctively as she stiffly climbed to her feet, resembling a corpse, and made her way toward the bed.
After traversing a distance of sixteen or seventeen meters, she reached the bed, picked up the cell phone, and turned to hand it to Gavin.
As a member of the offensive squad, Gavin, the quarterback, was undoubtedly the brain and core of the team. Madison had long been accustomed to following his instructions.
But as she passed by the bathroom, she turned her head away, unwilling to look at Gigi lying there.
"Give."
Handing the phone to Gavin, Madison swallowed hard and looked at him expectantly, as if silently asking what else she could do.
She was a bit panicked and confused now, instinctively seeking something to occupy her mind.
Seeing Madison's dazed expression, Gavin leaned against the door, turned on his phone, and pointed toward the bathroom.
"Go get a punch, man."
"I'll do it, damn it, I really need to wash up... No, we have to run, damn it!"
Madison walked toward the bathroom with a sigh of relief, deliberately avoiding Gigi as she made her way to the shower.
At that moment, Gavin's voice called out from behind her.
"Don't get in the damned water; use the bathtub instead. It's much quieter.
By the way, how loud is your cell phone's ringtone? Is it louder than Leonard's and the others'?
I remember our coach's ringtone was quite loud, and he had a bit of trouble hearing it."
As he spoke, Gavin selected a number and dialed it.