Flora Bloom really wanted to just axe someone and make a run for it right now. 'These people have no idea what they're doing. In the apocalypse, the more people gather, the stronger the scent for the zombies.'
What's more, the horde of zombies from the school was getting closer and closer; they would reach the main gate in less than a minute. It would be too late to run then!
However, Flora Bloom still didn't attack anyone. At least according to her moral compass, ignorance wasn't a crime punishable by death. The only one here she actually wanted to kill was Belle Bloom.
Seeing the smug look on Belle Bloom's face, Flora Bloom rolled her eyes. With a sigh, she suddenly fell back to Neal Wallace and Ethan Monroe's side, pulling them back toward the center of the main road.
The group found it strange at first. 'What's the deal with those three moving back toward the road?'
But in the next second, a girl in the group let out a bloodcurdling scream. Everyone started to scatter in chaos.
Only then did they realize that a zombie army had arrived at the school gate at some point.
It was an endless zombie army, a vast, oppressive black mass. If they were caught, there wouldn't even be bones left.
The crowd finally understood what Flora Bloom had meant earlier. They all started shouting as they fled in every direction, "Flora Bloom, you venomous bitch! You knew the zombies were coming, but you didn't tell us. You did it on purpose!"
Flora Bloom completely ignored them, instead hacking at the zombies that got close as she retreated toward the shops behind her.
But this row of shops had no usable back doors whatsoever. If they kept retreating, they'd be walking into a dead end when the zombie army arrived.
What infuriated Flora Bloom even more was that Belle Bloom's group was now closing in on them. Their "if I'm going down, I'm taking you with me" attitude left Flora Bloom speechless.
Although Flora Bloom was angry, she already had an escape plan. If they were truly surrounded, she would take Ethan Monroe and Neal Wallace into her space to wait out the storm.
Having already stored the giant mantis and the golden cicada, Flora Bloom knew that any living creature entering her space would be forcibly branded with her spiritual imprint, acknowledging her as its master. Flora Bloom didn't know if the same would happen to humans. But compared to letting the two of them lose their lives, entering her space at least meant they would stay alive.
Because of this, however, Flora Bloom decided she wouldn't bring them into her space unless it was a last resort. She wasn't perverted enough to make two grown men call her "Master"; the very thought gave her the creeps.
Flora Bloom had intended to avoid the people closing in on them. After all, if it got too crowded, they would just die faster when the zombies swarmed, with no room to escape.
But she didn't know if these people were doing it on purpose. The more Flora Bloom tried to move aside, the more they followed. After this happened a few times, Flora Bloom got pissed.
She let out a cold chuckle. "Looks like you won't learn unless you see some blood. You really think I'm a pushover?"
Without waiting for a reaction, she raised her hand and swung her axe toward the face of the boy closest to her. Just as terror filled the boy's eyes, she changed the axe's trajectory, slashing a gash across his arm instead.
She had controlled her strength, so the wound wasn't deep.
The boy, still reeling from his brush with death, felt his legs go weak and collapsed onto the ground. His lips trembled, unable to form words.
"Hah. Pathetically weak. You might as well die now and spare the apocalypse from one more dangerous zombie."
Flora Bloom's words made the boy's face flush red. When he glared back at her, his face beet-red, he saw that Flora Bloom and the two men who hadn't said a word had charged to the front of their group. Each was holding an axe and had begun to hack away at the terrifying zombies.
He was in a daze, his legs still like jelly.
But watching Flora Bloom's small, slender frame, he saw she could single-handedly fight off two or three zombies without getting hurt. She could kill one in less than three strikes before moving on to engage the other two.
'That's right, the apocalypse is really here. Why are we still getting hung up on petty squabbles?'
He suddenly looked over at Belle Bloom, who was hiding behind the PE committee jock, Scott, sobbing pitifully. But now, that sight just seemed contemptible to him.
'What Belle Bloom said was just her side of the story. I've been so foolish.'
Flora Bloom, on the other hand, hadn't defended herself once from start to finish, yet she was the one charging to the front to fight the monsters in a moment of crisis.
And he, a man, was being so cowardly.
At that moment, it was as if Mervin Warren had a sudden epiphany. He looked around and finally found a thin iron rod, used for pulling down roll-up shutters, abandoned by a shop's entrance. Shouting "YAH!" to build up his courage, he charged toward the zombie horde.
Seeing his friend's actions, the PE committee jock, Scott, yelled in alarm, "Mervin Warren, are you crazy? Get back here!"
As he spoke, Scott started to move toward Mervin Warren, trying to pull him back to safety.
But when Belle Bloom saw Scott about to leave, she quickly grabbed his arm, afraid he would abandon her. "Scott, don't go," she said. "I'm so scared."
By now, the zombie army had crossed the center of the main road from the school gate and was formally confronting them.
Strictly speaking, it wasn't a confrontation. Having smelled so many humans after half a day of starvation, the zombies had long since gone berserk and were lunging at them.
FLESH!
FLESH!
In their eyes, flesh and blood were their source of energy. Instinctual need drove them to recklessly charge forward, to tear and devour.
Mervin Warren had just charged in. The moment his thin iron rod stabbed a zombie's eye, a hard shove from him caused it to lose all motor function and collapse. Killing a zombie for the first time made Mervin Warren feel they weren't as terrifying as he had imagined.
So, he excitedly went to stab a second one.
But what he faced was the full-on zombie army, a dark, overwhelming tide that seemed impossible to defeat. It made him freeze, unsure where to even begin, and he just stood there for two or three seconds.
A sudden THWACK came from behind him. Startled, he quickly turned to look.
A zombie with its skull split open lay at his feet. And behind him stood none other than Flora Bloom.
Flora Bloom had actually been somewhat impressed when she saw this boy charge in and kill a zombie. But then he just froze in a daze in front of the entire horde.
"Idiot, retreat already!"
Flora Bloom smacked him hard on the back of the head, then took the lead, retreating toward the other end of the main road.
Neal Wallace and Ethan Monroe immediately followed her, running in the same direction. Mervin Warren was quick to react and followed them. What surprised Flora Bloom the most was that her head teacher, Leigh Atwood, and the discipline committee member, Luna Thorne, were also retreating behind them, each holding a club.
In contrast, the group with Belle Bloom and Scott was in a miserable state.
They were a disorganized mess to begin with. The moment the horde charged, some screamed, others ran around in chaos, and there was even one fool who ran with his eyes closed right into a pile of zombies.
Naturally, his fate was to become the zombies' first spoils of victory. A number of zombies stopped, stooped to the ground, and began to gnaw on this fresh delicacy.
The fresh, metallic scent of blood instantly filled the air, making everyone on the scene feel sick enough to vomit.
Only Flora Bloom remained unfazed, her expression unchanged as she stayed vigilant while running.
Flora Bloom, Ethan Monroe, Neal Wallace, Mervin Warren, Leigh Atwood, and Luna Thorne had successfully broken away from the main zombie horde. Although a dozen or so zombies were still relentlessly chasing them, they could easily shake them off if they just picked up the pace.
And even if they couldn't, as long as they led these dozen zombies somewhere else, Flora Bloom was confident she could kill them all.
But just then, Leigh Atwood suddenly said to Flora Bloom, "Flora Bloom, I know you have a way. Can you... can you save them?"
Leigh Atwood was already panting heavily, but she still managed to speak.
Flora Bloom's expression stiffened. Without even looking at her, she replied, "You're wrong, Teacher. I don't have a way. Unless the army shows up right now, turning back is a death sentence."
Flora Bloom was no bleeding-heart saint who would go back to save people. With her current abilities, it was impossible to wade through such a huge pile of zombies uncontested to rescue them.
"TATATATATA!"
"BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!"
Just as Flora Bloom's group was running for their lives, a burst of gunfire suddenly erupted from behind them.
She glanced back and saw that the zombies chasing them had collapsed, their bodies riddled with bullet holes.
The gunfire continued. Flora Bloom looked toward the source of the sound and couldn't help but think: 'Don't tell me I actually jinxed it. Is the army really here?'