Bea's school was located inside a private subdivision. So it shouldn't be that bad compared to the main city proper. However, knowing that Bea already told him that there were zombies in the school meant that the subdivision is already compromised.
He tried reaching out to Bea but he couldn't reach her phone. It's just saying it cannot be reached.
Of course he wouldn't lose hope. It hasn't been an hour since their last call. Probably her teacher told them to put their phones on silent so as not to attract the zombies.
He hoped that would be the case.
The subdivision entrance was coming to view, and it was eerily quiet like there's no zombies here. Even the loud engine of the motorcycle, which is loud, couldn't draw any nearby zombies.
This is good news for him.
He eased off the throttle.
The Kawasaki rolled toward the subdivision gate at a controlled crawl.
Adrian's eyes scanned everything.
The boom barrier stood half-raised. The guard post window was shattered. A chair lay tipped over inside, papers scattered across the floor. Guard was not present.
That made his neck prickle.
He let the motorcycle idle and coasted through the gate. Tires crunched softly over gravel and broken glass. The subdivision road stretched ahead, lined with parked cars and neatly trimmed hedges.
Doors hung open on some vehicles.
A stroller lay on its side near the sidewalk.
Adrian kept the rifle loose but ready across his chest as he rode deeper in. Houses passed on either side, gates were open, front doors ajar. Curtains fluttered in open windows.
Signs of people leaving fast.
He slowed at an intersection and killed the throttle for a second.
Silence swallowed the street.
His heartbeat sounded loud in his ears.
Adrian restarted the throttle gently and continued, eyes sweeping rooftops, driveways, shadows between parked cars. Every blind corner felt like it could spit something at him.
Bea's school was a few blocks ahead.
And as he was about to turn to a corner, Adrian's eyes widened.
Multiple heads, over a hundred of them turned towards him. There were zombies! Most of which are parents and students still wearing their uniforms.
"Roar!!!"
The zombies charged like an army towards him.
"Shit!"
Adrian turned his motorcycle around and started accelerating away from the hordes of zombies. He glanced at the side mirror and saw the zombies chasing him.
He thought he would encounter small numbers of zombies but he didn't expect it to be that many. And what's more, in front of his little sister's school. Judging from the numbers alone and how quiet they were before he arrived, there is a possibility that the entire school was compromised.
He shook away those thoughts. He doesn't want it to be true. And perfect timing, those zombies were chasing him, meaning, he had just lured a lot of zombies from the school.
But he still has to clear them, so he grabbed one of the grenades from his vest with one hand while keeping the other locked on the handlebars.
He momentarily let go of the handlebar as he pulled the pin from the grenade.
He counted in his head.
One—
He twisted his torso just enough to look back.
The front ranks were only a few car lengths away.
Two—
He lobbed the grenade low into the center of the pack and snapped his hand back to the grip.
Three—
He leaned forward and gunned the throttle.
The Kawasaki surged.
Behind him—
BOOM.
The blast punched the air. A shockwave rippled down the street. The rear tire kicked as debris rattled the pavement. Adrian felt the pressure in his chest more than he heard it.
He glanced in the mirror.
Bodies were thrown sideways. The front of the horde collapsed into a torn crater of limbs and dust. Those behind slammed into the wreckage, tumbling over each other in a snarling pile.
The charge broke but those who survived regained their footing and continued their chase but he was too far away from them.
[Infected Eliminated ×15]
[Points Earned: +150]
[Current Points: 930/ 1000]
Now to return to the school, Adrian turned to one block. There's another way leading up to the school and this time, he planned on leaving the motorcycle in a right distance so that he could walk towards the school. The motorcycle engine produced a lot of noise and attracted unwanted attention.
300 meters away from the school, Adrian parked the motorcycle and put it on stand.
From here, he'd walk towards the school. He kept his eyes alert, scanning around for dangers. Fortunately, there were no zombies in sight. It took him quite some time to reach the school as he was pacing slowly.
There's no zombies. He sighed in relief before entering the school premise.
Inside, the school was quiet like there's no one present in the room. He immediately went to where Bea reported her location, Room 2304, which means it's in building two, third floor, room number 4.
He reached the staircase and walked up slowly, careful to not make noise. On the second floor, he saw blood pooling the tiled floors, and the stench was hitting his noise, causing him to recoil a bit.
Adrian looked around before proceeding to the third floor, not wanting to get pincered by the zombies from this floor. Seeing none, he proceeded to the third floor.
On this floor, there were also no zombies, which is weird. Last time he remembered from the call, the zombies were banging on the room where his little sister was trapped.
He quickly went to the room, looking up at the sign on the door. Room 2301, 2302, 2303, 2304!
There, he saw it! And when he looked down at the door, a chill ran down his spine. It was breached!
He entered inside and saw blood, chairs overturned, and dead bodies that could almost make him puke. He didn't know if they were zombies or someone who died as a human but it's gruesome. His heart throbbed in fear as the worst case scenario started to sink in. He looked at the faces of the dead but none of them looked like his little sister.
Could they have escaped? He doesn't know. Looking back at the room, it looked like it was a massacre. Well, if she isn't here, that means there's a chance that she's still alive.
Just as he was about to leave the room, he stepped on blood, causing him to slip his boot sliding out from under him.
Adrian hit the floor hard.
THUD.
The impact rattled through the classroom. His rifle clattered against the tiles. Air burst out of his lungs in a sharp grunt as he landed flat on his back.
Then—
A sound from the hallway, footsteps and groans with its volume increasing by the second. They are coming!
Adrian rolled onto his side and snatched the rifle, fingers closing tight around the grip. He slid backward through the slick blood, boots scrambling for traction, eyes locked on the classroom entrance.
A shadow passed the doorway.
Another.
A pale hand slapped against the frame.
A zombie leaned into view, head tilted wrong, mouth working open and shut. Its nose twitched as if tasting the air.
It saw him.
Its jaw stretched into a broken grin.
It hissed.
Behind it, more shapes pressed forward, groaning louder, crowding the hall.
They were coming in.
He fired.
The rifle exploded in his hands, burst after burst tearing into the doorway. The muzzle flash strobed the classroom walls. The recoil hammered into his shoulder, but he barely felt it.
The first zombie's skull burst apart and it dropped in the frame.
Another pushed over it.
Burst.
Its head snapped back. The body folded forward, crashing onto the first.
They kept coming.
Adrian held the trigger longer.
Rounds chewed through the choke point. Bodies jerked violently as bullets punched through faces and throats. Zombies fell mid-step, piling into a growing mound at the entrance.
The doorway clogged with twitching limbs and collapsing torsos.
Still they forced themselves over the heap.
Burst.
A zombie stumbled onto the pile, its head vanished in red spray. It slid down, knocking two more off balance. They went down together.
And when he exhausted his mags, he'd refresh it with a fresh mag and continue firing.
It wasn't the sound of the rifle that was attracting the zombies, which are composed of students and teachers, but their footsteps and the loud thud whenever they fell and moved chairs around.
A flood of notifications detonated inside his vision.
[Infected Eliminated ×1]
[Infected Eliminated ×1]
[Infected Eliminated ×1]
They stacked faster than he could read.
[Infected Eliminated ×20]
[Points Earned: +200]
[Current Points: 1,130 / 1,000]
[You are eligible for a draw!]
[Infected Eliminated ×1]
[Infected Eliminated ×1]
[Infected Eliminated ×1]
Adrian didn't mind it as he was too focused on dealing with the zombie, who kept pouring and pouring in.
Suddenly, the M4A1 clicked, it didn't have any bullets and he didn't have any bullets. But he still has his pistol.
He pulled it out from his holster and fired.
The zombie's head jerked sideways and it rolled off the heap.
Another face appeared.
Bang.
It folded backward into the hallway.
They kept coming.
Adrian fired again and again, each shot punching through skulls at arm's length. The recoil snapped his wrist, but his grip held. Bodies tumbled down the growing mound, limbs tangling as they slid.
The pistol slide locked back.
Empty.
He hit the magazine release without thinking and reloaded with a fresh mag. Seeing that their numbers were starting to decrease, he took this opportunity to leave the room.
And when he got out, he encountered more in the hallway, to which he dealt them accordingly.
As he was to descend the stairs, someone lunged at him, it was a zombie of course and they rolled to the ground.
Adrian regained his position on top, and he slammed his left hand on the face of the zombie, pinning its head to the ground. But as he was about to pull the trigger of the pistol, he noticed something on hair. It was a green tiara. It looked so familiar and when he took a glimpse of its face, his eyes widened.
"Bea?"
His heart sank. The zombie in front of him was not just any other zombies, but his little sister.
He struggled to pull the trigger, how could he? Killing other zombies was easy but this one, it's difficult. Yes he had killed a zombie that was once human but this one had Bea's face.
"Bea…" he whispered.
The zombie didn't respond.
It snapped its jaws and twisted under his hold, fingers clawing at his vest.
Adrian's arm trembled.
He couldn't breathe.
For a second, the hallway disappeared. All he saw was his little sister laughing in their living room. Arguing over snacks. Tugging his sleeve to show him drawings.
Then.
A groan echoed up the stairwell.
Zombies were flooding the stairs. Students. Teachers. Faces he didn't know. All coming fast, drawn by the noise.
They would be on him in seconds.
Bea thrashed again, her head wrenching sideways. His palm slipped in the blood coating her face.
Reality slammed back into him.
If he hesitated…
They would both die here.
His jaw clenched.
"I'm sorry," he breathed.
The pistol pressed against her temple.
His finger locked.
For half a heartbeat, he froze.
Then he pulled the trigger.
Bang.
Adrian didn't look at her face again.
He shoved himself up, pistol already swinging toward the stairwell.
The first zombie lunged.
Bang.
It dropped mid-step.
Another climbed over it.
Bang.
Adrian backed up, firing as he moved, he needed to get into one of the safe places. He saw one classroom and no zombies inside. He entered that classroom and locked the door behind him.
Immediately after, Adrian the zombies caught up and started banging at the door. He instinctively stepped back with his back against the wall and saw that the zombies were actually damaging the door, it's caving from the hits.
So that's how the zombies get into the classroom despite its sturdy design. He looked at his arsenal. There's not much, he doesn't have ammunition for an M4 Carbine, his pistol mags were down to two, and he has three grenades.
He didn't have much firepower left until the system appeared in front of him.
[Current Points: 1,240 / 1,000]
He could draw from the gacha and get new weapons.
"Okay, draw!"