Lear's consciousness had been awake the entire time. He could clearly perceive Marvin and the others lifting him onto the vehicle; the roar of machine guns and the thunderous explosions of cars echoed in his ears. He also remembered the jolting turbulence as the car nearly went airborne while Jill carried him and Sherry on their desperate escape.
At this moment, he could also feel little Sherry using the bottled water stacked in the room to soak rags, carefully trying to bring his temperature down. But Lear's eyelids felt heavy as lead; no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't open them. His entire body felt as if it were burning, and there wasn't a single spot on him that didn't ache.
After Sherry placed a wet rag on Lear's forehead, a soft knock suddenly came from the door.
She tensed up instantly, whipping her gun up to aim at the entrance, her breathing falling shallow. She didn't make a sound, because she knew that if it were Jill returning, she would have called her name first.
In the best-case scenario, the person at the door was just another survivor. Even so, Sherry glanced back at the unconscious Lear and then slowly shook her head.
She couldn't let them in. She knew that once strangers barged in, there was no telling what they might do to Lear. Sherry used stacked cardboard boxes to temporarily cover Lear.
Just as Sherry stared tensely at the door, a series of shrill barks suddenly shattered the silence. The previously gentle knocking instantly turned into violent slamming. Something was ramming into the thick door panel, sending dull vibrations through the frame.
Then came the sound of frantic scratching from outside; sharp claws scraped against the metal plating, a piercing sound that made one's skin crawl. Within moments, the once sturdy iron door had been gouged with several deep gashes, the metal edges twisted and curled.
A large, pitch-black dog with rotting flesh thrust its head through a broken gap. Viscous saliva dripped from the corners of its mouth, and its clouded white eyes locked onto Sherry.
A Zombie Dog.
Sherry trembled all over, terrified by that cold gaze, but she suppressed her fear and quickly raised her pistol. Aiming at the Zombie Dog's head jammed in the door crack, she decisively pulled the trigger.
The bullet whistled out but failed to inflict much damage.
Perhaps her strength was too low, causing the trajectory to veer, or perhaps the Zombie Dog's skull had been reinforced by the T-Virus. The monster merely shook its head, let out a roar, and continued its frantic clawing at the iron door.
What was more terrifying was that there was more than one outside. Peering through the cracks, Sherry saw at least three or four more Zombie Dogs growling and clawing at the door together.
Seeing this, Sherry gritted her teeth and shuffled toward the door step by step, firing several consecutive shots at the Zombie Dog head stuck in the gap. The dense cluster of bullets instantly reduced the head to a mangled mess; foul-smelling blood and grayish-white brains splattered across her face, cold and slimy.
However, the gunfire had alerted the remaining Zombie Dogs. Aside from the one she had killed, the rest warily retreated into Sherry's blind spots and continued to batter the door. The already damaged iron door let out a piercing screech as the metal plating finally snapped.
The next second, the iron door was slammed open, and a Zombie Dog roared as it lunged into the room. Sherry ducked instinctively, the creature's massive jaws snapping past her as a wave of foul, metallic stench filled her nostrils.
She scrambled behind a discarded metal display cabinet. The space behind it was cramped, preventing the Zombie Dog from squeezing in; the creatures could only swarm around the outside, their claws raking frantically against the metal with an ear-piercing screech.
Sherry didn't panic. She calmly counted: "Four of them."
Holding her breath, she aimed at the nearest Zombie Dog and pulled the trigger again. The bullet pierced its skull with precision; the monster's head exploded as it collapsed instantly.
The remaining two seemed to sense a lethal threat. They backed away slowly, pacing around the display cabinet as they searched for an opening to attack.
Wait... two?
Sherry's heart tightened. Where was the other one?
She scanned the area quickly and finally spotted the third Zombie Dog standing outside the door. Its head was tilted back, its nose twitching as it sniffed the air.
In the next instant, it snapped its head around, its gaze locking directly onto Lear's position.
"Oh no!" Sherry's face went pale. "They're going for Lear!"
The Zombie Dog let out a low bark to its companions. Hearing the signal, the two monsters that had been relentlessly attacking the cabinet turned their heads. Seizing the opening, Sherry raised her pistol and fired repeatedly at the closest one. Bullets tore into its skull, and the monster slumped to the ground in a series of violent tremors.
But just as she prepared to fire again, the remaining two completely ignored her. They lunged toward Lear's hiding spot.
Terror seized Sherry's heart. She frantically pulled the trigger, emptying the last few rounds in her gun. The bullets whizzed past the Zombie Dogs' flanks; though she missed, the shots forced them to retreat a few steps back outside the door.
They stared at Sherry for only a heartbeat before turning away again, lunging back toward where Lear lay.
Looking at the empty pistol in her hand, Sherry's heart constricted. She gritted her teeth and squeezed her eyes shut, throwing the gun aside to create a loud clatter. Then, she bolted from behind the display cabinet and ran straight out the door.
She would lead the Zombie Dogs away herself. She had to protect Lear.
The two beasts fell for the bait. They abandoned their target and turned to give chase.
Sherry had only run a few paces when she heard the rush of foul wind and the sound of claws tearing through the air right behind her. She stole one last glance toward Lear, her eyes brimming with tears as she gently closed them.
"Goodbye, Lear... thank you for always protecting me. I hope they'll leave after they're done with me. God bless you, you have to hold on until Jill comes back..."
She waited for the agonizing pain of the first bite, but it never came. Instead, several piercing, high-pitched yelps of canine agony rang out.
Confused, Sherry opened her eyes. A tall, powerful figure stood before her, his hands gripping the heads of the two Zombie Dogs, pinning them in a death throttle.
"Lear!" she cried out in shocked joy.
Lear looked back and smiled at her, but when his eyes fell on her face—covered in filth and blood—and her tattered clothes, his expression instantly darkened.
"Close your eyes, Sherry," he said, keeping his voice as gentle as possible.
Sherry obediently shut her eyes.
"You all deserve to die." Lear's voice was laced with suppressed fury as he turned his gaze back to the Zombie Dogs, which were still thrashing and flailing their claws.
His arms surged with sudden power. His knuckles whitened as he slowly increased the pressure. The skulls of the two Zombie Dogs began to deform under the strain until they were crushed entirely in his grip, spraying foul blood and gore in every direction.
Throughout it all, Lear kept Sherry shielded behind him, ensuring not a single drop of the filth touched her.
"Lear! I... I was so scared..." Sherry rushed forward, her voice trembling uncontrollably.
"It's okay now. It's over, Sherry. It's all over," Lear whispered, leaning down to pull her into a gentle embrace. "I should be thanking you. You were like a little warrior. You protected me."
Sherry shook her head against his chest, her suppressed whimpers finally breaking into loud, rhythmic sobs. All the pent-up terror and grievance of the night were released in that moment.
"Let it out. You won't be scared once you've had a good cry," Lear said softly, patting her back and soothing her with a tender voice.
Under the night sky, in the clearing outside the Kendo Gun Shop, the silhouettes of the man and the young girl, both covered in grime, cast long shadows in the moonlight.
(Translated by yourtl.app)