Chapter 79: Battle At The District Part I

Chapter 79: Chapter 79: Battle At The District Part I

The moment Killian threw the truck door open, the growling erupted once more.

The zombies surged forward as one, stumbling over abandoned vehicles and climbing across shattered windshields in their desperate attempt to reach fresh prey. Their movements lacked coordination, yet their sheer numbers made them terrifying.

"Move!" Killian ordered.

He didn’t charge recklessly.

He advanced with measured steps, forcing the others to stay behind him.

The first zombie reached him before anyone else.

Its arms shot forward, fingers grasping for his throat.

Killian pivoted to his left, allowing the creature’s momentum to carry it past him. As it stumbled, his machete rose in a clean arc before dropping decisively onto the back of its head.

The zombie collapsed without ever touching him.

He had already taken another step before the body struck the pavement.

Erik matched his rhythm.

Another infected lunged from between two luxury cars, forcing Erik to abandon the direct path toward the jewelry store. He sidestepped the attack, planted his boot against the zombie’s chest, and shoved it backward. The creature crashed into another infected, tangling both together for a brief moment.

"Keep moving!" Erik shouted.

"I’ll create the opening!"

Kai immediately understood.

He grabbed Ben’s shoulder and pushed him through the gap Erik had created.

"Don’t stop!"

Ben stumbled forward, his heart hammering against his ribs.

He had never imagined that surviving would feel like this.

There was no time to think.

No time to breathe.

Every second another zombie appeared.

Penelope stayed close behind Ben, constantly checking both sides of the street. Every abandoned car had become a blind corner. Every open doorway could conceal another infected waiting to wander toward the sound of their footsteps.

A low growl echoed from their right.

"Ben!"

He reacted instantly.

Instead of freezing, Ben remembered every lesson Erik had drilled into him.

Don’t retreat in a straight line.

Create space.

He took one step sideways just as a zombie reached around the front of a black sedan. Its fingers sliced through empty air where his shoulder had been a heartbeat earlier.

Ben’s eyes widened.

If he had hesitated...

It would have touched him.

The realization sent a chill through his entire body.

He tightened both hands around the machete.

The zombie turned again.

This time, Ben didn’t wait.

He stepped into the swing.

The blade struck cleanly against the side of the zombie’s head.

The body crumpled to the ground.

Ben stared at it for only a fraction of a second before Kai grabbed the back of his vest.

"Eyes up!"

Another infected had already taken its place.

Kai shoved Ben behind him and met the newcomer with a powerful kick that sent it crashing across the hood of a sports car.

"One becomes two," Kai warned. "Two become five. Never admire your work."

Ben nodded quickly.

"I understand."

Ahead of them, Killian had reached the center of the intersection.

He glanced toward the jewelry store.

"Fifteen meters!"

His words were almost drowned out by the chorus of growls surrounding them.

The zombies were closing in from every direction.

None of them moved particularly fast.

Individually, they were manageable.

Together, they became a wall of grasping hands and snapping jaws that refused to leave them a path forward.

Erik looked over his shoulder just long enough to assess the group’s formation.

"Closer!"

Everyone instinctively tightened the distance between one another.

If someone stumbled now, another person would be close enough to pull them back before the infected could reach them.

That single adjustment changed everything.

Instead of five people fighting alone, they became one moving unit.

Killian broke open the path ahead.

Erik protected the right flank.

Kai guarded the rear.

Penelope watched the left.

Ben remained in the center, striking only when an opportunity presented itself.

The formation advanced another five meters.

Then another.

Every step had been earned.

Every zombie forced them to fight for the next one.

The entrance to the jewelry store was finally within reach.

And that was when they heard the sound that made every one of them stop.

Metal scraping against concrete.

Killian’s eyes snapped toward the storefront.

The decorative security shutters covering the neighboring boutiques had partially collapsed, leaving twisted sheets of steel leaning against the buildings.

The grinding noise hadn’t come from the wind.

Something was pushing its way out from beneath them.

More infected.

Dozens of pale hands began reaching through the gaps beneath the bent shutters, clawing blindly toward the sound of living voices.

Kai let out a slow breath.

"...Please tell me that isn’t what I think it is."

Killian tightened his grip around the machete.

"It is."

The path to the jewelry store had just become a great deal longer.

The scraping of metal continued as another infected forced its way beneath the damaged security shutter. Its movements were awkward as it crawled across the concrete, but the moment it cleared the opening, it pushed itself upright and turned toward the group.

Another zombie appeared behind it.

Then another.

Kai tightened his grip around his machete. "Please tell me we’re not about to fight everything inside those stores too."

"We’re not," Killian answered.

Kai glanced at him hopefully.

Killian continued, "We’re going around them."

"That works too."

Erik’s attention remained on the damaged shutters. More hands had appeared beneath the twisted metal, but something about the way the zombies were struggling to escape caught his attention.

"They’re bottlenecked."

Killian had already noticed.

The narrow openings beneath the shutters only allowed one or two infected to crawl through at a time. The zombies behind them continued pushing forward without any awareness that they were making it harder for those in front to escape.

That wouldn’t last forever.

But they didn’t need forever.

They only needed a few minutes.

"Stay in formation," Killian said. "We’re changing direction."

Nobody questioned him.

They immediately adjusted their path, moving away from the storefronts and closer to the abandoned vehicles blocking the center of the street.

Another zombie approached from the left.

"Penelope," Erik warned.

"I see it."

Penelope waited until the infected came close enough to commit to its attack before stepping sideways. Its hands reached for empty air, and she immediately brought her machete down in a controlled strike.

The zombie collapsed.

She didn’t stop to look.

She was already moving again.

Kai noticed and smiled.

"Look at you."

"Not now, Kai."

"I’m just saying, I’m impressed."

"Kai."

"Moving."

Ben would have laughed under any other circumstances.

Instead, he tightened his grip around his weapon and followed.

The formation advanced another few meters before Killian suddenly raised his fist.

Everyone stopped.

Two luxury vehicles had collided ahead of them. One had spun sideways during the crash, while the other had struck its rear bumper at an angle. The wreckage had created a narrow passage between the vehicles and a concrete divider.