The Chase
1356 Words
The moment they stepped outside the training complex, the full extent of the devastation hit them.
The campus looked like a war zone from the movies.
Buildings that had stood proud yesterday were now crumbling ruins. Smoke rose from at least a dozen fires scattered across the grounds. The beautiful flower gardens were trampled and destroyed. Bodies lay everywhere — some torn apart, others still twitching as they slowly turned.
The air smelled like death. Burnt flesh, rotting meat, and chemicals.
Raiden tightened his grip on the Silvermoon Sword. "Stay close and move quietly. We should avoid fights unless we have no choice."
Mira and Kade nodded. They'd instinctively taken him as the leader of their group.
They moved along the eastern pathway, using buildings and landscaping as cover. The girls' dormitory was roughly two kilometers away, and that was normally a fifteen-minute walk. Today, it would take much longer.
Every shadow could hide a zombie and every corner was a potential ambush. They moved slowly, checking each area before advancing.
The first zombie they encountered was a groundskeeper, still holding a rake in one rotted hand. It shambled between two buildings, groaning softly.
Raiden held up a fist and everyone stopped.
He watched the zombie carefully. It hadn't noticed them yet. Its back was turned, and the wind was blowing away from it, carrying their scent in the opposite direction.
"Go around," Raiden whispered.
They circled wide, giving the zombie a berth of at least twenty meters. It never turned or saw them.
Ten minutes in, they reached the central courtyard, a wide open space with a fountain in the middle. Normally, this area was packed with students between classes.
Now it was a killing field.
At least fifty zombies wandered the courtyard, scattered in loose groups. Some fed on corpses. Others just stood there, swaying slightly, waiting for prey.
"We can't go through that," Kade whispered.
Raiden studied the layout. The courtyard was the fastest route, but also the most dangerous. Going around would add another thirty minutes to their journey.
"There," Mira pointed to the left. "The library building. We can cut through it and come out on the other side."
Raiden nodded. "Let's move."
They slipped into the library through a side entrance. The door hung open, glass shattered across the floor.
Inside was eerily quiet. Shelves had been knocked over and books lay scattered everywhere. Blood stained the carpet in long, dark streaks.
But there were no zombies. At least none they could see.
They moved through the stacks carefully, weapons aimed forward. Raiden led with Mira in the middle and Kade covering the rear.
Halfway through, Raiden heard a soft scraping sound from above.
He looked up.
A zombie clung to the second-floor railing, staring down at them with dead eyes. It was a student, female, her uniform torn and bloody.
For a moment, no one moved.
Then the zombie opened its mouth and shrieked.
The sound echoed through the entire library.
"Run!" Raiden shouted.
They bolted for the exit as more zombies emerged from the shadows. Five, ten, twenty, forty — they'd been hiding between the shelves, dormant until the noise woke them.
Raiden burst through the library's back door into daylight. Mira and Kade were right behind him.
Behind them, zombies poured out of the building and surroundings like a swarm. Their numbers kept building up.
"Keep moving!" Raiden yelled.
They sprinted across an open lawn. The zombies gave chase, their groans echoing across campus.
Raiden's lungs burned. His legs screamed in protest. But he didn't slow down.
Ahead, he spotted a maintenance building. A small, concrete, with a metal door. "There!"
They reached it in seconds. Kade yanked the door open. All three dove inside. Kade slammed it shut and threw the bolt lock.
A second later, bodies crashed against the door from outside. Fists pounded on metal and claws scratched on it. The door shuddered but held.
Everyone collapsed against the walls, gasping for air.
"That... was close," Kade panted.
Raiden nodded, too breathless to speak. His heart hammered in his chest like it was trying to break out.
Mira checked the window — a small, high opening covered with metal bars. "They're not leaving anytime soon. At least a hundred of them are out there."
"How long until they wander off?" Kade asked.
"No idea," Raiden said. "Could be minutes. Could be hours."
They waited in tense silence, listening to the zombies outside. The pounding eventually lessened as some of the creatures lost interest and shambled away. But others remained, lingering near the door.
Ten minutes passed. Then thirty minutes.
Raiden used the time to check his equipment. The Silvermoon Sword was still sharp. His Glock was loaded with the safety on. Five magazines at his belt, each holding seventeen rounds.
Eighty-five bullets total. Hopefully, it will be enough.
Mira sat with her back against the wall, eyes closed, recovering her mana. Kade kept watch at the window with the M16 aimed outside.
"I count eight left outside," Kade reported quietly. "They're spread out now. Not as grouped up as before."
Raiden moved to the window and looked out. Kade was right. Eight zombies remained in the immediate area. Two near the door. Three by a tree. Three more wandering aimlessly.
"We can take them," Raiden said.
Mira opened her eyes. "You sure?"
"Eight zombies against the three of us. Shouldn't be a problem."
That wasn't entirely true, but they didn't have much choice. They needed to keep moving. Every minute they wasted was another minute Mira's friend might not have.
"Alright," Mira said, standing. "What's the plan?"
Raiden thought quickly. "Kade, you take the three by the tree. Use the rifle to fire single shots, and aim for the head. Mira, you handle the three wandering. Use fire magic to stun, then finish them in close range. I'll take the two at the door."
"What if more show up?" Kade asked.
"Then we retreat back inside and reassess."
It wasn't a great plan. But it was a plan nonetheless.
They positioned themselves at the door. Raiden gripped the bolt lock, ready to throw it open.
"On three," he whispered. "One. Two. Three."
He yanked the door open and charged out.
The two zombies at the entrance turned immediately. One lunged at Raiden, arms outstretched.
Raiden ducked under its grab and brought the Silvermoon Sword up in a sharp thrust. The blade punched through the zombie's skull, piercing the brain.
[You have killed a Level 2 Spirit Circle Zombie and acquired its mana]
He yanked the sword free and spun to face the second zombie. This one was faster, a male student with an athletic build. It swung at Raiden's head with surprising speed.
Raiden leaned back, feeling the clawed hand pass inches from his face. He countered with a horizontal s***h that took the zombie's head clean off.
[You have killed a Level 3 Spirit Circle Zombie and acquired its mana]
Behind him, gunshots cracked through the air from Kade's rifle.
BANG. BANG. BANG.
Three shots were fired. The three zombies by the tree dropped, heads exploding.
Mira moved like a dancer. She thrust her palm forward at the first wandering zombie. "Ignis!"
Fire erupted, engulfing the creature's upper body. It shrieked and stumbled, blind and burning.
Mira drew her sword and finished it with a clean decapitation.
The second zombie charged her. She sidestepped smoothly and kicked its legs out from under it. As it fell, she drove her blade down through the back of its skull.
The third one was almost on her when Kade's rifle barked again.
BANG.
The zombie's head snapped back, and it collapsed.
Silence fell over the area. The eight zombies had been taken out and no reinforcements had shown up.
"Clear," Raiden called out.
Everyone regrouped, breathing hard but uninjured.
"Good work," Raiden said. "Let's keep moving before more show up."
They left the maintenance building behind and continued toward the dormitory. The path ahead looked clearer now, fewer zombies in sight.
Maybe their luck was finally turning. Or maybe they were just walking deeper into danger.
- Writer
