The second one, the beta, fights desperately, throwing punches, but he’s doomed to fail too.
He’s also forced to join my undead ranks.
I feel ridiculously charged now, holding all this unfamiliar energy, yet it’s also much easier to control them with it.
We move in the direction my instinct drags me.
Unfortunately, we run into yet another person.
Shit. A guy walking alone, probably drawn by the screams.
He doesn’t even try to fight. He bolts immediately, sprinting in the exact direction I’m heading, which is… not ideal.
I urge my undead soldiers to hurry, feeling like a necromancer leading his army out of a horror novel. It’s so insane and surreal that it feels like I’m on a movie set, except it’s actually happening.
We reach the stairs the beta ran down. They lead into some kind of deep basement.
At the bottom stands a wide double door he slammed shut behind him.
But I have a zombie horde, hello! That’s something you need to account for. Anyone who watches apocalyptic movies knows zombies will eventually break through anything, right?
I order them to ram the door with their full weight. Six bodies hurl themselves forward and the door creaks and groans.
After a few minutes of that effort, the plaster shakes loose and litters the floor, and the hinges clearly begin to give way.
The door finally crashes inward, and at that same moment I hear gunshots.
Someone is shooting at my zombies. Idiot.
I stay hidden behind their bodies, as they’re obviously not sensitive to gunfire.
The shots crack one after another, then silence. Maybe the magazine is empty. Or maybe the beta saved a single bullet hoping I’ll step out from behind the corpses?
For some reason I am certain it’s the beta shooting, which is why I cannot allow him to continue.
I move close, and under an omega’s arm I manage to see where the beta is huddled behind some crates.
Of course I send the zombies toward him. He tries to run, shoots once, shoots again, then throws the gun aside and in a desperate attempt to save himself, he climbs up onto the top of the cage and crouches on the bars.
Wait. A cage?
A big one! Does Eugene have some sentiment to it? As far as I know he was once a cage fighter himself, back in his younger days.
Only now do I step inside and finally see what’s in the center of the large chamber.
Inside it stands none other than Eugene.
And on a chair beside him sits… my beloved Bay, his hands cuffed behind his back.
Wow, what a relief!
Honestly, I expected to find him in a terrible state, but he only has a split brow and a bloody smear on his cheek, nothing more. Apparently the ‘show’ had just begun, which brings me a wave of relief.
My gaze meets his.
I see his brow lift slightly, his eyes widening as they flick over the zombies.
Hell, I have surprised him for sure. But I surprised myself even more.
