CHAPTER 9 — The Apartment Door
The hour of walking didn't feel long.
It felt heavy.
Every step we took deeper into the residential district made the silence stranger, thicker—like the world had gone from "abandoned" to "deliberately emptied." Like everything was hiding. Like everything was waiting.
Alexiy stayed close, half a step behind me, breathing harder than she wanted me to notice. Sweat clung to her forehead, strands of pink hair sticking to her cheek. Her arm strapped to her torso was stiff. Her thigh injury made her limp.
But she didn't complain. Not once.
Finally, I held up a hand.
"We stop here."
We ducked behind a dented blue sedan on the edge of the Sunridge Apartments parking lot. The cracked windshield cast jagged shadows across the pavement. Ahead of us, the entire building complex loomed—six stories tall, beige paint peeling, smoke drifting from one of the far balconies.
And on the stairwell visible through the open windows…
Zombies.
Dozens of them.
Maybe even Hundreds.
They crowded the staircases, pressing against railings, wandering in and out of the halls. Too many for a frontal assault.
"Sit," I said.
Alexiy slid down the side of the car with a soft, shaky exhale.
I opened my Inventory and pulled out:
—Two premade sandwiches—A bottle of water—A can of soda—A small bottle of pain meds
Her eyes softened as I placed them in front of her.
"I… Elion, I—thank you," she whispered.
"Eat," I said. "And take one pill."
She obeyed instantly. She pulled off a bite and her shoulders relaxed as she swallowed, like real food was grounding her in a world falling apart.
After she finished half her sandwich and took the meds, I leaned back against the car and asked:
"Your apartment. Where is it exactly?"
She straightened, wiping her mouth with her sleeve.
"Fourth floor," she said. "Room 413. Right next to the parking garage stairwell. If we enter through there, it's only… two doors down."
Good.
"Any windows into the hallway?"
"No. Only the living room window faces outward."
"Anyone else in 413 besides your family?"
"No just my mom. My sister Lily. She's sixteen. And my brother Aaron—he's six."
Her throat tightened around the words.
"They should've all been home when… everything started."
I nodded. "Then we go through the parking garage."
She looked at me, eyes trembling but determined.
"Okay."
We rested five more minutes. Long enough for her breathing to even out. Long enough for the meds to dull the sharpest pain.
Then I stood.
"Let's move."
She pushed herself up with her good hand.
"I'm right behind you."
The Sunridge Apartments parking garage entrance was cracked open—a car probably just power through the barricade. We just slipped silently inside. The interior was dim, cool, thick with oil fumes and the metallic scent of blood.
Shadows stretched between rows of abandoned cars.
My Danger Sense tugged immediately.
I raised my hand.
"Two ahead."
Alexiy froze.
A faint shuffling came from behind a pickup truck. Then—
Two zombies staggered out.
One missing an arm. One dragging a broken ankle.
I stepped forward and swung hard.
The bat cracked the first skull instantly.
The second zombie limped toward Alexiy—and she panicked, hand shaking.
"L-Lightning Bolt!"
The pink crack of force shot forward and hit the zombie square in the jaw.
It fell backward down the concrete steps, tumbling violently until its head hit the bottom with a wet crunch.
She flinched.
"Good," I said. "Keep doing that."
She blinked like she didn't believe me.
"I—I will."
We headed up the stairwell. The concrete steps echoed under our feet.
Second floor.
Third.
Then—
A distant moan vibrated through the stairwell.
"Faster," I said.
We pushed upward.
The fourth-floor landing came into view.
And so did three zombies—shambling toward us from the hallway intersection.
I stepped in front of Alexiy.
"Shadow Veil."
The world dimmed around my body. Their attention scattered for just a heartbeat.
I rushed forward.
One hit from the bat—skull split.
Second one lunged—I kicked its knee sideways, sending it sprawling.
Alexiy fired a Lightning Bolt at the third—it hit the zombie in the face and knocked it back. It rolled down three steps before catching itself on the railing.
I brought the bat down on its skull.
Silence.
"Come on," I said. "413 should be close."
She nodded, breath shaking.
We stepped out onto the fourth-floor hallway.
The corridor was a nightmare.
Blood smeared along the walls. Abandoned shoes, toys, dishes, blankets, purses scattered everywhere. A stroller tipped over. Doors splintered open. Ceiling lights flickering in a sickly amber glow.
And down the hall…
Four zombies spotted us.
Their heads snapped up.
They screamed.
"ELION—!" Alexiy yelped.
"I SEE THEM."
I stepped in front of her and swung the bat as hard as I could—shattering the nearest zombie's jaw and knocking it sideways into the wall.
"GO TO YOUR DOOR!" I shouted.
She ran.
Limping, breathless, terrified.
"Mom! MOM!" she screamed, pounding on 413 with her good fist. "Mom, it's me! It's Alexiy!"
The second zombie grabbed my arm—I slammed my elbow into its face, Telekinesis adding invisible force.
CRACK.
It flew backward into the opposite wall.
The third zombie lunged—I parried with the bat and slammed its head into the floor.
But more footsteps thudded from down the hallway.
Too many.
"OPEN THE DOOR!" Alexiy screamed, voice breaking. "Mom! Lily! Please—please open the door!"
Her sobbing voice tore something in my chest.
Another zombie grabbed my shirt—I ripped free, slammed it with telekinetic force, and brought the bat down with everything I had.
"OPEN THE GODDAMN DOOR!" I roared, kicking one away.
Then—
The lock clicked.
The door burst open.
A woman grabbed Alexiy into her arms and pulled her inside.
"Mom—!""Alexiy—thank God—thank God—!"
Her siblings appeared behind her—a teenage girl with tear-streaked cheeks, a younger boy clutching a baseball bat of his own, both trembling.
I slammed the nearest zombie back with telekinesis, then shouted:
"INSIDE! NOW!"
They froze—eyes wide as they looked down the hall seeing me fighting off the zombies that were coming due to the noise.
"HURRY!"
They rushed inside. I smashed one last zombie in the skull, darted through the doorway, and slammed the door shut.
The lock clicked.
Quiet again.
Panting.
Breathing hard.
But alive.
Alexiy sobbed into her mother's shoulder while her siblings clung to her.
I leaned back against the door, bat bloody in my hand, chest rising and falling steadily as I exhaled.
We made it.