《The Alpha Virus》 Chapter One

Chapter One

All I see is zombies Walking all around us. You can hear them coming. (They come to take your life.) - Childish Gambino Somewhere in the USA. Maybe Maine. Or Ohio. Or something. Nathan ran full pelt across what had once been the football field behind his university, and which was now an overgrown tangled swamp of knee-high grass and thorny weeds that tore at his bloodied sweatpants. Anyone who might have seen him would have been able to tell that he hadn¡¯t changed his clothes in months, at least. It was clear they hadn¡¯t been removed at all in days because the varying shades of blood spatter on his clothes perfectly aligned with that on his skin. They were also at least two sizes too big. At the time of the apocalypse, Nathan had not been able to run a full minute without seeing stars, the breath rattling from his lungs easier than he could pull it back in. The great thing about the end of the world ¡ª about peril around every corner; the scratching fingernails of death against every closed door ¡ª was that really did tend to be damn good cardio. He cleared the football field that he wouldn¡¯t even have dreamed of so much as gracing with his out-of-shape presence last year, without so much as a stabbing pain in the side of his receded gut. And he couldn¡¯t help but hitch up his backpack and look over his shoulder with a sense of pride. Still the reanimated dead flew across the field behind him at a speed he had never witnessed. Since when could a rotting corpse move like that? Nathan had seen plenty of movies. What about their degrading muscles? Their lack of bloodflow? It was impossible; it had to be. This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. And yet this thought barely even registered in his mind before flitting away again. Nothing that had happened in the last year had been possible. He reached the trees and, panting but alive, pressed his back against them to catch his breath. Line of sight ¡ª that was one thing he knew these milky-eyed predators needed in order to track their prey. They had no sense of smell, and seemed to only hear loud noises. They needed to see movement, and keep their vision trained on it. To block their line of sight and then remain still was the best, and sometimes only, way to stay alive. Nathan allowed himself to slide down with shaking knees until he was sitting on the ground, his face in his hands, trying to control his breathing as he had done too many times to count. He just had to keep still and he would be alright. Just had to keep still. His breathing slowed and he stayed curled up in a silent, still ball for as long as he could bear it. Then a couple of seconds longer. Finally, aching and exhausted and thirsty beyond anything he had experienced before, Nathan lifted his head and brushed his unkempt curly hair from his face before daring to look around. Nothing. The forest was as still and quiet as it might have been before the apocalypse. He breathed a sigh of relief and got up to walk home. He hitched his backpack up further, filled with the spoils of his journey ¡ª medicine for little Rita and an original Gatorade(definitely flat by now) for Carlos plus all the non-spoiled food he¡¯d been able to find, as usual ¡ª and set off in the direction of the hideout with adrenaline pumping. It was a rush every time he escaped death. Time and time again, it remained a rush. He had played games before for a facsimile of this giddy feeling, but when the world had become just like a survivalist horror, the rush had become simultaneously a hell of a lot more intense, and a hell of a lot less fun. Life was now set to Hardcore, and so far, Nathan was fucking owning at it. His Kill-Death Ratio (KDR) was somewhere around thirty to nothing. It had to be. And that was the most that any of his friends had. Well, he called them friends. Really they were just bunker-mates. Confident now that he remembered he was a badass, Nathan walked faster. Was that a noise? Shit, he was paranoid. But paranoia had helped him to survive, so he walked faster still, and jerked his head left and right, and then all the way behind him. A little rabbit hopped and then looked up at him, nose twitching. Nathan let out a dry chuckle, and shook his head, turning around again. ¡°I need to calm the fuck¡ª¡± An impossibly wide, bloodsoaked mouth lined with cracked yellow teeth was all he saw as the dead man launched at him, tongue-first, and ripped the vocal chords right out of his throat.
You have lost the game.
It was something of a bug that death triggered that text, to be perfectly honest. Because Nathan was never going to open his eyes again to see it. Chapter Two

Chapter Two

When there is no more room in Hell, the dead will walk the Earth. -Dawn of the Dead Fairacres, England One year earlier¡­ Tucker was being a total butt about the TV remote, and that was really pissing Liza off. She kicked at him from her comfy spot on the couch, under a thick warm blanket. It was bitingly cold outside even though it was only September and there was plenty more cold to get through before the weather started to warm up again. Leaving the warmth of the blanket to kick at his ribs with her toes was a sacrifice, and she really hoped he appreciated the seriousness of it all. ¡°What?¡± he laughed, and she was not happy about this reaction at all, so she jabbed his firm side harder. He was wearing a loose black t-shirt that only served to make his skin look paler and his dark hair look darker. ¡°The remote!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t give it to her,¡± James said, which prompted Liza to shoot him the filthiest look she could. He just laughed. The polar opposite in looks to Tucker, James was heavy, especially around the middle, and olive-skinned. She pulled her limbs back under the blanket and exuded hate. ¡°We should watch the news anyway, it¡¯s good for your brain,¡± Tucker said, but his grin gave away that he was only saying it to annoy her. ¡°I read the news online,¡± she said hotly. ¡°I get updates to my phone. I¡¯m not being ignorant about the world, I just want to finish that movie.¡± ¡°Well, I want to get to the fluff pieces at the end. Revs is doing a live press conference thing and nobody can figure out why,¡± Tucker replied. ¡°They¡¯re definitely doing a promotional event on our campus since we won that slogan competition. They¡¯re going to reveal more about what that is, and why they keep saying this new game is going to revolutionise the industry forever.¡± ¡°Live on TV? That¡¯s a little, I dunno, self-obsessed, isn¡¯t it?¡± Liza said. ¡°I mean, not really. But Malcolm McCray is pretty into going all out with his promotional events,¡± Tucker said, letting his knees spread wider and wider until she didn¡¯t have much room. He was definitely doing it on purpose. Liza squirmed to get comfier on the cheap fake leather couch she was sharing with him, while their other housemate James lounged on the smaller one at the other end of the room. ¡°You should give her what she wants, Tuck,¡± James said. ¡°She¡¯ll set her dad on you.¡± Liza tutted, and leaned back, getting ready for a wave of teasing. ¡°Why the hell do I tell you guys anything about my life?¡± ¡°Because you love to get your lady balls busted for it,¡± James told her, and then began to do that irritating gasping laugh thing he always did when he was about to make fun of somebody. ¡°Hey, uh, it¡¯s a little chilly in here, Liza, can ¡­ can you build us a fire?¡± Tucker snorted, and Liza looked from one boy to the other. ¡°You are really running out of ammunition if that¡¯s the best you can do. You can¡¯t build a fire? Really?¡± James opened and closed his mouth, and she laughed. ¡°That¡¯s not exactly a crazy thing to know.¡± ¡°Your family is still weird,¡± he said. Liza couldn¡¯t argue with him there. ¡°Did you ever get airdropped into the wilderness for five straight days and told not to come home if you died?¡± James asked. Tucker laughed. ¡°Did they ever have you and your siblings engage in battle royale for the last slice of pizza?¡± ¡°Did you have to then make that pizza using only bunker-grown ingredients, substituting sawdust and water for the dough? And red sawdust and water for the sauce?¡± ¡°No cheese?¡± Liza asked. ¡°Cheese is for winners, Liza,¡± James shouted in a poor attempt at a Russian accent. There were plenty of stereotypes to draw from when making fun of her humourless Russian dad, and the boys never seemed to tire of them. ¡°You¡¯re both idiots,¡± she said. ¡°And we¡¯re missing so much movie right now. I came down here specifically to watch it.¡± ¡°Well, I left my bedroom specifically to watch this guy talk about this game,¡± Tucker said, waving the remote in the direction of the screen, which was showing devastation that was not of the fictional variety. The real reason her upbringing had been so crazy. Plenty of people nowadays conformed to the belief that they were not far from total devastation, from World War Three, and one of those people happened to be Liza¡¯s hotheaded ex-marine father. ¡°Is that really important?¡± she asked. ¡°More important than Dawn of the Dead?¡± ¡°First of all,¡± Tucker half-interrupted, ¡°I know for a fact you¡¯ve seen Dawn of the Dead at least twice before ¡ª and secondly, you¡¯d be interested to hear about this game anyway. It¡¯s all zombies and shit.¡± Liza fake gasped. ¡°Zombies and shit?¡± ¡°I know, your two favourite things.¡± Tucker looked surprised when her toes escaped comfort once again to prod him. ¡°I¡¯m really tired of you two flirting while I¡¯m in the room,¡± James sighed. ¡°No! God, gross,¡± Liza called and withdrew her toe as fast as lightning. There was a second of silence. They collectively winced at the sight of an explosion somewhere in Eastern Europe ¡­ fuck. Things were really heating up, all over the world. ¡°Can we go back to the fact, for a second, that James is so unevolved that he hasn¡¯t even unlocked the use of fire yet?¡± Liza said, distracting them from the sight of things they weren¡¯t able to do anything about. Tucker grasped at the lighter topic, pulling himself into an upright position and forcing a smile. ¡°Wait til you see the look on his face when he discovers the wheel.¡± It was a typical evening in their student house on London Road. Talking without saying anything, fighting about what was on the TV without actually minding much. ¡°Where are the girls?¡± she asked. It would have been better to have a little more feminine energy in the room. The two boys she lived with in this creaky old five-person house were fine in small doses as she happened to have similar interests to them, but after a while the combination of James and Tucker¡¯s teasing-based sense of humour became tedious. Occasionally they did make her laugh, but there were plenty of times that Liza would rather wander back up the stairs to her bedroom than hear them say another word. It was pretty normal, since they had all lived together in a small, mostly broken house for two years now. In terms of housemates to be randomly paired with, though, she could have done all kinds of worse. The five of them had been put together in halls in first year, and in second year they had opted to continue all living together in a rickety old townhouse across the field from the microcosm that was the Fairacres University campus. ¡°So ¡­ what do you know about the game so far?¡± Liza said, her voice deliberately cutting across horribly depressing news about war ravaging foreign countries. She had already read a piece about this particular awful event and she didn¡¯t feel she needed to revisit it, even though the images were hard to tear her eyes away from. She didn¡¯t play many video games, but when she did, she found that she got pretty obsessive and meticulous. That was a big reason why she avoided them, honestly. She still found that she was interested in video game news, though; a particularly exciting jump in technology might be enough to get her into something new. And if anyone was going to change the landscape of modern gaming, it was going to be Revelations Software. ¡°It¡¯s about zombies, and it¡¯s on a new system that hasn¡¯t even been announced ¡ª they¡¯re going to give away free copies of the system with every sale of the game tomorrow. They want to have a huge launch, I guess; as many buyers as possible on day one.¡± ¡°Yeah, it¡¯ll be free ¡ª it¡¯ll be like a ¡ê4,000 game with a free console,¡± James scoffed. Liza raised her eyebrows in agreement. ¡°I dunno, man, and I don¡¯t care. I¡¯m spending all my student loan on this thing if that¡¯s what it takes. At their last big promotional event for Harp they gave away free copies of the game, so maybe I won¡¯t even have to,¡± Tucker said, his face uncharacteristically animated. Liza only ever saw him this excited about three things: drinking, girls, and games. ¡°Can we just turn over to the movie for one little death scene and then back over for the press conference?¡± she pleaded. ¡°I can¡¯t stand more news about angry men and their big weapons.¡± James snorted. ¡°Careful, don¡¯t want to start a civil war in this room.¡± She shrugged. ¡°I don¡¯t actually care about politics enough to fight about it, it¡¯s just all these shots of devastation are depressing.¡± ¡°Can¡¯t argue with that,¡± James said, ¡°I think it¡¯s starting. Let him watch his live press conference and we can all move on with our lives.¡± At that moment a female face peered through the doorway from the stairs and Celia pushed her glasses up her nose. ¡°What are you guys fighting about?¡±If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. ¡°We¡¯re not fighting,¡± Liza said with a smile. ¡°Tucker¡¯s just being a gamer nerd and refusing to change the channel.¡± ¡°And Liza is being a zombie nerd and insisting she watch a stupid old movie instead of the news,¡± Tucker said. ¡°And James is being awesome in the corner,¡± James added, causing Celia to exaggeratedly roll her eyes. ¡°I¡¯m going to the lab,¡± she said. ¡°It¡¯s seven in the evening,¡± Tucker pointed out. But Celia was already gone, the door thoroughly slammed so that the entire house juddered. She wasn¡¯t angry, just intense and deliberate in everything she did. It had taken Liza a while to realise the distinction; she and her brothers had grown up with the need to utilise humour in order to get through every gruelling day. Liza wasn¡¯t always sure why, but she was a big fan of Celia. They almost hadn¡¯t had anything to talk about, since Celia was a Physics major, who was pretty much also doing a second degree in Engineering she had taken on so many extra modules ¡ª she was also two years younger than the rest of them, a bona fide genius ¡ª and Liza was, well ¡­ she was just Liza. A normal girl who had gone to university to study Literature since she thought she was pretty good at reading books, and then had realised she was very bad at remembering to read a novel every single week. She had managed to switch last minute to a degree in Digital Design. The two girls were polar opposites, but they managed to get on well. ¡°The lab,¡± Liza said quietly. ¡°I wish I could say I was popping into a lab for a bit. Don¡¯t you?¡± ¡°No,¡± Tucker, who was also a Physics student, said just as the press conference flashed onto the screen. In a weirdly arrogant move, it seemed that Malcolm McCray, the head of Revelations, had sent on his assistant to field some of the earlier questions. She was clearly an ex-supermodel or something. She had the harsh, sharp features, the impossible height, and the imposing confidence of someone who knew she was insane looking. ¡°Fuck me,¡± Tucker confirmed, shifting in his seat when she stopped at the microphone and rested a taloned hand on her hip. The equipment around her whined as if experiencing the same emotions as the twenty-year-old boy beside Liza. ¡°What even is that?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t be a misogynist,¡± James tutted. ¡°She is clearly three things.¡± Liza pre-emptively rolled her eyes as he began his muted gasping laughter. ¡°She¡¯s a fucking fox, she is out of your league, and she is the future mother of my five children.¡± ¡°Five?¡± Liza repeated. ¡°Need I remind you of what happened to Sparky the hamster last year?¡± ¡°Always bringing up Sparky,¡± James muttered. ¡°So uncool.¡± The woman on the screen answered some basic questions. It was a game. It was about zombies, as the rumours had implied. It was technologically more advanced than any form of entertainment to date. When McCray himself finally graced the stage with his presence to the flashing of cameras, he raised both of his hands and did a little 360 degree spin in place before chuckling at his shoes and slapping his palms on the podium. ¡°Hello, New York!¡± he cried, and Liza squinted. He was in England. Was he joking or was he ¡­ drunk? It could go either way; the guy was famously a little crazy. He was wearing a fantastic, expensive-looking tailored suit, but the jacket was salmon-coloured, and his hair was long and unkempt, waving around his shoulders. His eyes, small and intense, darted around at the reporters, taking everything in. He didn¡¯t just look ¡®kooky¡¯ to Liza, with his enlarged pupils and rapidly rising and falling shoulders ¡­ he looked insane. But who was she to judge? He might have a pretty fun event planned out on her campus that she was happy to attend tomorrow ¡ª especially if there was going to be free stuff. She would certainly make the sacrifice and play the most highly anticipated video game to date if she could get it for free. ¡°So, for a numbero uno,¡± he said, botching the Spanish language for no feasible reason, ¡°I am pleased as punch to be here with you, with The Alpha Virus launching officially tomorrow.¡± The reporters politely clapped, and a couple clamored for the opportunity to ask him questions. He nodded at one of them, a pretty young woman near the front, who nodded back. ¡°Mr. McCray,¡± she said in a clipped BBC accent. ¡°You said this game would revolutionise gaming. What did you mean?¡± ¡°Great question, and a beautiful pair ¡­ of eyes!¡± he said, staring without blinking right at her. The woman knew she was in the shot of a couple of cameras, so her faltering expression found its way into a smile after some hesitation, but Liza could feel the creep factor crawling across her skin even from the couch ¡ª she knew the reporter felt it too. He looked to be on so very many drugs. ¡°Listen, you¡¯ll find out everything tomorrow.¡± ¡°Tomorrow? At launch?¡± she repeated. ¡°Yes, we will launch the game worldwide at the same time to an unsuspecting population,¡± he said with a laugh that felt more ominous to Liza than it seemed to for the boys. ¡°Unsuspecting?¡± the reporter said. ¡°Of course, you know that this is the most highly awaited launch in recorded history.¡± ¡°They suspect a game,¡± McCray said with a nod. ¡°I don¡¯t think anyone suspects something quite so world-altering.¡± ¡°That¡¯s very confident,¡± the reporter said, and opened her mouth to ask another question while she held his attention, but he turned to somebody else before she could. He had not answered her question at all. Liza still knew nothing about the actual game, and she was pretty tempted just to go upstairs. There was a launch event taking place up on her campus the next day that she was going to stroll over and check out, but the fact that McCray was going to be there was making her feel odd, for some reason. In fact, the more she watched Malcolm McCray the more uneasy she felt, and she wasn¡¯t able to explain why. ¡°Mr. McCray, you didn¡¯t really answer my¡ª¡± ¡°Yes, you.¡± Malcolm had already jabbed his forefinger in the direction of another reporter. This one was middle-aged, beautiful, and dressed in a sharp skirt suit. ¡°Mr. McCray,¡± she said carefully, glancing at the younger reporter quickly with a quirked eyebrow, ¡°is it true that you believe your games to be more addictive than¡­¡± She checked her notes for the specific substance, but she was interrupted. ¡°Ha!¡± he said, rather than actually laughing. ¡°I can neither confirm nor deny that, but I can say that it¡¯s true.¡± Uncertain chuckles rippled across the crowd onscreen. Unwilling to be cast aside like the younger woman, she snapped back quick as a whip. ¡°What do you have to say to the allegations that video games that unapologetically glorify violence and what is essentially genocide when a world war seems to be around the next corner--¡± ¡°Enough,¡± he said quietly, and Liza raised her eyebrows as the reporter shut her mouth. ¡°There are many things I could say in answer to that. There are, as you know, many words in the English language. But I think none could convince you. Next question?¡± He leaned away from the microphone and addressed his assistant. ¡°Will they all be so boring?¡± ¡°What a fucking freak,¡± James said lightly. ¡°He¡¯s creepy!¡± Liza agreed. ¡°We¡¯re all going to the event, though,¡± James stated. No arguments would be accepted. ¡°I do have lectures all fucking day tomorrow,¡± Tucker said, running his hand languidly through his dark hair. It always looked damp, the amount of product he put into it to make sure he looked like Heathers-era Christian Slater. ¡°I¡¯m free tomorrow,¡± Liza said, shooting him a wink. ¡°I can go and tell you what you missed.¡± ¡°Fuck that! I¡¯m obviously skipping.¡± ¡°Again?¡± James scoffed. He was a Literature student, and though he only had a few hours of lectures a week, he liked to laugh at Tucker¡¯s habit of never turning up to classes. ¡°We¡¯ll convince all of us to go. Even Celia.¡± ¡°Actually I reckon Celia will be easy to convince since Malcolm¡¯s going to be there. She gave us like a two hour lecture on exactly why his last VR system was groundbreaking,¡± Tucker reminded them. ¡°Shame it was completely unaffordable,¡± James said, blowing out his cheeks. ¡°My family took me to a VRcade for my birthday but that was so expensive by itself. I don¡¯t know anyone who actually owns Revelations¡¯ VR console, like, in their house.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t either, I forgot it existed,¡± Liza said, and then didn¡¯t bother to stifle a yawn. ¡°Turn it back over, he¡¯s clearly not giving away any actual information, and we¡¯re going tomorrow, so who cares.¡± ¡°You¡¯re talking over the whole fucking thing,¡± Tucker muttered, tapping on the volume button until it was just a touch too loud, and Yana yelled through the floor above them to tell them so. Tucker tutted at the ceiling and tapped it down again. ¡°She trying to sleep this early?¡± James laughed huffily ¡ª he was about to deliver a ¡®joke¡¯. ¡°That or she¡¯s having a really tricky wank and doesn¡¯t want to get distracted at the finish line.¡± ¡°Ugh,¡± Liza said over his final words. On the screen Malcolm was being asked what his ultimate goals for the game were. ¡°... as in, what is it that you actually want The Alpha Virus to be remembered for?¡± the awkward mousey-haired reporter asked. It was then that Liza realised that Malcolm had not accepted a single question from a male reporter. ¡°Great question, Barbara,¡± he said, and the bemused expression the girl scrunched her face into indicated that that was in no way her name, nor had she ever implied it. ¡°And I think I know the answer.¡± ¡°He thinks? He is really bad at interviews. Bring back the random supermodel!¡± James yelled, punching the armrest and causing the flimsy old house to judder once again. ¡°Jesus, dude, you¡¯re going to cause the walls to crumble around us all one day,¡± Tucker said. ¡°The answer¡­¡± Malcolm said dramatically, and leaned in closer to the microphone. Liza wasn¡¯t sure why but she shifted on the couch slightly so that she was sitting up. ¡°What The Alpha Virus is going to be remembered for¡­¡± ¡°What is with this weirdo?¡± Liza asked. Nobody replied. ¡°In fact ¡ª what my company, Revelations Software, is going to be remembered for, for all time ¡­ is The Alpha Virus. There are very few things in this life, in this heartbreakingly predictable, repetitive, lonely known universe that can be guaranteed, but I am about to guarantee you one thing: This game will change your life.¡± His eyes flicked over from camera to camera until they settled on the one that Liza was watching him through. It felt like he was looking right at her. Her stomach felt cold. ¡°Whether you play it, or not. That is my guarantee.¡± His eyes took a second to leave hers, and when they did Liza felt weaker, as though the strings holding her upright had been cut, and she leaned against the armrest and blinked. Beside her, Tucker massaged his forehead, uncomfortably, and James looked completely dazed. What kind of an effect had Malcolm McCray just had on them? Liza wanted to put what he had just said out of her mind forever. After all, though he was something of a household name, she had barely engaged with any of his previous properties. She shouldn¡¯t care so much about the upcoming game. And she hadn¡¯t, until seconds ago, but something about him had wormed its way into her skull and she could tell it was planning to stay there. For some reason ¡­ she was desperate to get her hands on a copy of The Alpha Virus, even though she still knew nothing about it. It was so hyped up, and this man was so confident it would blow her mind. She couldn¡¯t wait to go to the promotional event the next day; it suddenly couldn¡¯t come fast enough for her. It was almost as if Malcolm McCray was some kind of insane magical force. He certainly dressed like a space alien. ¡°I can tell you one other thing ¡ª a select few of the students at the event tomorrow are currently, undeniably, the luckiest people on Earth.¡± The laughter that spilled from him after that odd statement wove in and out of Liza¡¯s dreams that night. Chapter Three

Chapter Three

Nothing is so painful to the human mind as a great and sudden change. -Frankenstein Liza had forgotten how difficult it was to get up before eleven in the morning. Her classes were usually at two or three, so rolling out of bed early was almost painful to her entire body. She sneered at her droopy self in the mirror for many more minutes than was probably socially acceptable, and then pulled her long fair hair up into a high ponytail and strolled out of the house in yesterday¡¯s jeans and a slightly too small shirt. The way up to the pretty Fairacres campus was a hill that she allowed herself to refer to as ¡®steep¡¯ as long as the person she was talking to had never visited. It was winding and it was definitely a hill, but it only felt steep to her because she wasn¡¯t in the best shape of her life. Before coming to university, Liza had been active out of necessity. Now that she was in university without the pressure of her patriarch, she had taken a break from the physical side of life and had invested her time in more cerebral activities, like the film club, and the wine-tasting club. Her dad would be so mad at her for neglecting the hour-long workouts she and her four brothers had had to do twice daily when they all lived at home with her dad. ¡°The Volkov family take no shit,¡± her father had spat to them almost every single morning, pacing up and down. The only reason she and her brothers had been allowed to go to school, instead of living out in the English wilderness (was there even any?) was probably because it had been her mother¡¯s dying wish, or something. Her nature had won out, and she had gained the freshman fifteen. Fifteen extra pounds. In her opinion, the extra weight only served to make her look more feminine since she had worried she looked like a young boy before, but on her last visit her father had reacted to her new body shape with disappointment. Oh well! Onward and upward to better things. Literally. Liza eyed the hill ahead of her with a bitter sort of distrust. ¡°You won¡¯t get the best of me,¡± she muttered, and strode on at twice her normal speed to ensure she wouldn¡¯t be late for the testing of the game. The game. The game! She was so excited that her heart leapt into her throat every time she thought about it, almost as if she were on her way to meet a potential love interest. The game. The game that she ¡­ knew nothing about, and hadn¡¯t been excited about at all until weirdo Malcolm McCray had locked eyes with her through her television screen. But that wasn¡¯t something she was interested in unpicking; c¡¯est la vie. Magic did not exist. Something about his mysterious tactic of selling the game must be what was making her so damn excited. She had butterflies in her stomach at the thought. The Alpha Virus. What a beautiful, perfect name for a game. She sped up even further, her cheeks pink and her breath short and hanging in small clouds in the air with every breath. Did it have to be so damn cold? Liza hoped the event would be indoors. Whatever it was going to be. The competition they had won to earn McCray¡¯s visit? The gaming society up at the campus had apparently come up with the perfect marketing slogan for The Alpha Virus, and won the right to host the promotional event. Liza had glanced at it when she had been unable to sleep the night before. ¡°The Alpha Virus ¡ª play here in life, stay here in death.¡± Liza thought it was shit. There had been an interview with the head of the society who had okayed the slogan, Paul T-something, and she remembered his quote on the matter. ¡°I was so confused to be chosen, honestly, because we¡¯ve never played the game, we came up with it in five minutes, and I thought it wasn¡¯t very good. But if there¡¯s one thing to be said about Malcolm McCray ¡­ the man knows how to sell a game!¡± The writer of the article had waxed lyrical about how Paul was right: Malcolm McCray did indeed know how to sell a game, as evidenced by the phenomenal global success of Harp. If McCray himself was a household name, the game Harp took up every room in the house. Liza figured somebody would have to search pretty damn far and wide to find someone who had never heard of the multi-award winning RPG experience. Despite the fact that it was horribly expensive. There had been a famous bank robbery a few years ago wherein the criminal had been caught, and asked why he¡¯d done it, and had responded, ¡°Fucking Harp, man. I need to play fucking Harp.¡± The video had gone viral. All over the internet she had seen it. ¡®MRW my mom asks me why I haven¡¯t tidied my room yet.¡¯ Etc. Even though Liza had never played it, she felt like she could recognise an out of context screenshot from the game nine times out of ten. It felt like she had played it, just because of the ubiquity of the thing. She just wasn¡¯t that much of a gamer. She¡¯d always had other stuff to do. Since living with Tucker and James she had dabbled in a lot of multiplayer, but that was pretty much it. And yet, for some reason, all she could think about was the intense desire she had to get her hands on this game. To progress through it, hit milestones, see what happened. She wondered if this was what addiction felt like, even though she hadn¡¯t had even a single taste of the thing yet. And she remembered what had been said on that interview. It wasn¡¯t possible that she was addicted, of course; she was clearly just easily influenced. She cursed herself for it, but still she kept walking. Because whatever the reasons for it, she really, really had to get her hands on this game. * Tucker was bouncing from foot to foot when Liza arrived at what was clearly a massive event. Almost every student must have been out there in the field, most of them under one of the large white marquees because the clouds above looked a little grey and threatening. It had taken her a little while to find her friends, and she was surprised when she approached them to find that both Yana and Celia were there as well. Five thousand students doing their undergraduates at this university, and an extra ten thousand doing postgraduate study. Liza couldn¡¯t gauge the numbers perfectly, not by a long shot, but she would have put the number of attendees at around two thousand. ¡°Hey,¡± James greeted, the first to see her, and Tucker immediately spun around to grab her shoulders, making her jump. ¡°They¡¯re giving out free copies,¡± he was babbling, and repeating himself over and over. ¡°They definitely are. To all of us.¡± ¡°Someone¡¯s excited,¡± she said, turning back to James, who shrugged. He was playing it cool, but Liza could tell from the way he was shifting and rubbing at his own arms, and glancing at the stalls under the nearest marquee that he was just as excited as she was, and he probably wasn¡¯t even completely aware why either. ¡°Free copies,¡± she said again, looking over to Yana and Celia who were both on their phones. Yana played a Candy Crush lookalike and grinned as she got a sparkling match that set off a bunch of others, while Celia was just scanning over some sort of article on her own. ¡°You guys gonna play too?¡± She tried to sound like she didn¡¯t care much but it was hard to hide it when her heart was pounding so hard. Celia looked up with a blank expression behind her magnifying glasses and Yana shrugged. ¡°The maker is here,¡± Celia said quietly. ¡°That¡¯s why I came.¡± ¡°The maker?¡± Liza repeated, wondering with some concern if Celia thought God had attended this lowkey gaming event on a university campus. It would be a hell of a time for him to announce his existence. Everyone would be too busy speculating about ways to kill some pixelated undead to even notice him. ¡°McCray is here,¡± she said again, her eyes darting left and right as if she didn¡¯t want anyone else to hear, but surely they all already knew. ¡°The game creator. Here in Fairacres, can you believe it?¡± ¡°You¡¯re a fan of his,¡± Liza remembered. Come to think of it, she had probably heard Celia and Tucker excitedly discuss some of his previous accomplishments, but since she herself knew nothing about technology outside of the basics, she wouldn¡¯t have been able to join in. She also had never been that interested in searching to find out more. ¡°Huge fan,¡± Celia said, brow twitching as if she was a little hurt that a friend of hers would even have to ask. ¡°He¡¯s a genius. He¡¯s one of my role models.¡± Liza thought back to how completely insane the man had seemed, but she smiled and nodded anyway. ¡°It¡¯s great to have goals,¡± she said, and then kind of immediately regretted it, because that didn¡¯t mean anything. ¡°He¡¯s here,¡± Tucker squealed like a preteen, and James tipped his head back and roared with laughter at the sight of his friend forgetting to act like a dude. Malcolm McCray stepped up on a short platform underneath the largest marquee, and luckily the others had reserved a space close to him so Liza could see and hear him across the field without straining. Beside him was that same assistant: the supermodel. Seeing her closer up, Liza noticed the totally self-assured vibe around her. She was almost impossibly tall and thin, with zero curves, and she wore red leather pants, a white ruffled blouse, and a tailored red jacket with shoulder pads. Her black bob was choppy and feathered, and her eyebrows were intense and arched. Liza found herself weirdly a little jealous of the woman¡¯s apparent self-confidence. She clicked onto stage a pace behind Malcolm, and a foot taller than him. Her heels struck the wooden stage with precise echoing ¡®click¡¯s and her gaze travelled coolly over the hundreds of students staring up at her. It took some effort to tear her eyes off of the woman and look at her boss instead, which was probably an interesting choice for him to have made for an event where he would surely want rapt attention. McCray was wearing something equally bizarre, but the way he walked ¡ª a sort of sheepish, wide-eyed shuffle ¡ª just didn¡¯t hold anyone¡¯s attention quite like the bullheaded swagger of the woman taking up the rear. His suit was an intentionally crinkled silver-grey pleather material with cowboy fringe on the upper arms and down the sides of the legs. His shoes and belt were a down to earth brown, which cut his body into two weird silver segments. ¡°The guy looks like an alien,¡± James leaned over and whispered to her, and she smirked in agreement, but she didn¡¯t look away from the stage. ¡°Seriously. What do you think his deal is?¡± The outfit, the sharp-featured, sneering assistant, and his trademark dilated pupils and long, wild hair made Liza almost willing to believe that he was a man from outer space. ¡°There¡¯s no drug I can think of that could allow him to consistently be some kinda technological genius, while still having him make zero sense most of the time, dress like an expensive homemade Halloween costume, and stare into people¡¯s souls without ever blinking.¡± The words left her in a rush, but to her relief James nodded rapidly as though he had felt that last bit too. Tucker turned and looked over his shoulder. ¡°Ketamine, I¡¯m telling you,¡± he said. ¡°Fuck off,¡± James said, shoving his shoulder. Then after a pause, ¡°...maybe quaaludes.¡± ¡°Thank you, beautiful people, for bringing your young bodies to join me in this field while we discuss, rather one-sidedly, my video game,¡± McCray said, his voice booming surprisingly well through the field with only a cheap mic borrowed from one of the university¡¯s societies. Liza shook her head. ¡°Bath salts,¡± she whispered. James smirked. ¡°I have gathered you all here for a surprise event.¡± There was a pause where every die-hard fan of Revelations Software held their breaths collectively. ¡°This game is rather unusual for a brand new release, in that it has never been playtested before. Never been played before at all. Today, in the field behind me, you are going to be playing the game together. For the first time. Something of an alpha test of The Alpha Virus.¡± A beat, and then genuine screams broke out. ¡°Calm, please, calm!¡± McCray said, and Liza thought he sounded jovial until her eyes returned to his presence on the stage ¡ª wide-eyed and running his shaking hands through his curly hair. He was genuinely nervous. ¡°This must go as planned! Children!¡± ¡°Bring out the game!¡± a tall, beefy-looking guy near to Liza yelled up at the stage. ¡°We ain¡¯t hear for you, mate.¡± His friends all laughed. The students weren¡¯t stampeding like he was making it sound, but they were chatting excitedly with each other and exchanging looks left and right. At the sound of his voice again, the hubbub mostly died down and McCray semi-deflated with relief. ¡°This needs to go perfectly,¡± he said again. ¡°Rayna. Are you hearing me?¡± He was still speaking into the microphone but he was clearly addressing the scowling supermodel beside him, her hip jutting and her hand resting on it. She swivelled her eyes to meet his gaze, and gave a sharp nod. ¡°This needs to go perfectly,¡± he said again. She replied with something that Liza couldn¡¯t hear. ¡°Yes. Exactly. Children? Listen to me.¡± The crowd of excitable students looked to him once again. ¡°This is important. I want to speak to you about something very important to me.¡± ¡°His home planet,¡± Liza suggested. ¡°Drugs,¡± James countered. The whole situation was becoming so close to surreal that they all giggled. ¡°This planet,¡± McCray finally stated. The five of them couldn¡¯t help it ¡ª they all just about collapsed in fits of barely stifled giggles. Luckily they were far away enough that the man on stage wrapped in tin foil couldn¡¯t see them falling about laughing at him, and the fact that he had accidentally played into their in-joke. The immediate people around them, however, shot them glares and shushed them. ¡°This planet is the most important thing to me because it houses all of humanity,¡± McCray confidently continued as the group choked back more laughter. ¡°Humanity fascinates me, you know.¡± At this, he pulled the mic out of the stand and began to very slowly pace from left to right on the stage, thoughtful. ¡°Humanity fascinates me because there are two facets to it: there¡¯s society, with politeness and rules and laws and expectations ¡­ and there¡¯s the primal instinct that we still have, which we ignore, to hunt and to kill and to dominate and subjugate.¡± ¡°What the hell is he talking about?¡± Yana hissed, looking up from her phone to crease her brow. Liza felt her heartbeat kick up again, like it had before, but this time she thought maybe she understood why. Malcolm was staring at her again, right in the eye, and though his face stayed still, there was a smile dancing behind his gaze. A sinister one. She turned to look around, and then looked back at him, and he was still staring at her. And only her. She was scared, almost frozen to the spot, and this time she knew why he had this effect on her: For the first time in her life, even if just for a second, she felt like she like prey. ¡°Now what happens when we build up society and we ignore the primal?¡± he asked. ¡°Well, you¡¯ve all seen the news. War happens. So many of your countries are in turmoil, children. Dictatorships are rising and falling left and right, and the population are signing their ballots in blood!¡± He ceased his pacing and raised his arms violently to the sky, making a couple of the nearby students flinch, but luckily his gaze left Liza, and she felt like she could breathe freely again. ¡°If you ignore the primal parts of humanity, it heats and heats unchecked and then one day the pot boils over and the entire kitchen is ruined. Do you get my meaning?¡± Liza heard several people around her mutter ¡®No.¡¯ ¡°Is he OK?¡± she whispered to James, closest to her. He shrugged emphatically, so she turned to Celia on the other side, who was squinting through her glasses up at her idol, her mouth having fallen open slightly as if she was trying to decipher a particularly complicated equation. ¡°Something seems really off about this,¡± she said to the smaller girl, who tore her eyes away and looked up at her, blinking.Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on. ¡°It does,¡± she said simply. ¡°I think ¡­ because there is. He doesn¡¯t normally talk this much. He barely ever talks at all.¡± ¡°What¡¯s his point?¡± Liza whispered. ¡°That modern civilisation and human nature cannot coexist,¡± Celia suggested, her words cutting through McCray¡¯s ramblings. ¡°Not at the same time as each other. Something has got to give. But what¡¯s that got to do with a dumb zombie shooter?¡± ¡°Fucked if I know,¡± James tutted from her other side. ¡°... and if they cannot,¡± McCray concluded, as if he had taken on Celia¡¯s point as his own and was completing her sentence, which made Liza uncomfortable with how surreal it appeared to be, ¡°then humanity will surely perish. Just as every other advanced civilisation has before now.¡± ¡°What?¡± Murmurs around her pricked up her ears. Other advanced civilisations? Jokes aside, the man was really starting to sound an awful lot like¡­ ¡°Is he actually an alien?¡± Tucker demanded, spinning around to face them all. ¡°I think ¡­ I think he might believe he¡¯s an alien,¡± James replied, rubbing his forehead in disbelief. ¡°Yes, you heard me right,¡± McCray said. As soon as society advances to a certain point of civility and expectation, the heat gets too much and the primal wins out. It happens without fail. I can assure you that. But humanity is special. We will beat the odds, together.¡± ¡°Where¡¯s The Alpha Virus?¡± that same dude near the five of them roared. He was wearing a sleeveless shirt and shorts, and had the exact same haircut as the gaggle of boys around him who were vehemently agreeing. ¡°Just give us the game!¡± another one laughed. They actually high-fived each other. McCray expertly ignored them. ¡°I have witnessed the self-destruction of too many societies and I am tired. I do not wish to see any more.¡± ¡°The gaaaaame!¡± one of them yelled. ¡°This will be the world on which I will hang my¡ª¡± ¡°Game! Game! Game! Game!¡± ¡°I mean ¡­ they have a point. Where is this stupid game?¡± Liza asked, but her words were drowned out by the steadily increasing volume of the chanting all around. ¡°Have any of you heard of the, um, the uh¡­¡± McCray was getting incredibly flustered up there, and Liza couldn¡¯t believe she had felt unnerved by him before. He was clearly just a nutjob, not someone who wanted to eat her, or whatever. ¡°The ¡­ the Great Filter is a theory that¡­¡± He squeezed his eyes shut hard. His assistant hovered a nervous hand over his shoulder, the first time Liza had noticed emotion on her face. ¡°Please, be quiet, let me talk. I¡ª¡± ¡°Game! Game! Game! Game!¡± ¡°I just wanted to ¡­ communicate with you; I want to explain why I¡¯m here. What I want ¡­ can¡¯t have it be senseless.¡± ¡°Game! Game! Game! Game!¡± McCray¡¯s hands were clamped on either side of his head now. ¡°Can¡¯t have it be senseless,¡± he repeated, and there was no doubt that his words would have been pretty much silent if it weren¡¯t for the microphone in front of him. ¡°Need you to tell everyone.¡± Liza noticed that many of the people around her who weren¡¯t busy punching the air with every chant had their cellphones out and trained on Malcolm McCray. ¡°He¡¯s having some kind of public breakdown,¡± she said, shaking her head. ¡°This is just sad ¡­ should we be getting someone?¡± Celia crossed her arms across her chest and tilted her head. ¡°It¡¯s just strange that he has hardly made any public appearance until the last couple of days. Ever. And now he has something that he seems to really want to say, and he can¡¯t get it out.¡± ¡°That¡¯s sad,¡± Liza agreed. She took a couple of steps through the crowd to the initiators of the chanting and waved her arms above her head. ¡°Hey. Hey!¡± she yelled. ¡°Game! Game! Game! G¡ª¡± The head thug turned to her with a quizzical brow. ¡°Let the guy speak! He¡¯s trying to give you the damn game!¡± she yelled over everybody. The dude stared at her for a while, and then he let out a chuckle. ¡°Chill out, blondie. We all came here for the GAME! Not a fuckin¡¯ lecture about humanity!¡± he yelled, punching the air. His friends roared wordlessly again. ¡°I think you¡¯re the one who needs to chill out,¡± James countered, his arms folded and a scowl across his face. ¡°You¡¯re not hurrying him up, you¡¯re just pissing everybody off.¡± ¡°You what?¡± the dude yelled over to him. He was immediately a lot less patient with James than he had been with Liza. ¡°He said, you¡¯re pissing everybody off!¡± Tucker snapped over his shoulder. ¡°Just cut it out!¡± ¡°The weird guy is just trying to speak and you¡¯re screaming in my fucking ear,¡± Yana agreed, glaring up at him. The dude was about to say something to her, and Liza had the feeling it was going to be terrible, when the mic squealed with feedback. Rayna, the leather-clad assistant, grabbed it and yanked it to her own mouth. Behind the wail of the feedback ¡ª so loud that a couple of people nearby grimaced and clamped their palms over their ears ¡ª was a gentle electrical thrumming. ¡°You, you, you ... all ten of you,¡± Rayna demanded, jabbing her finger in their direction. The crowd turned to stare at Liza, her friends, and the chanting tank-top wearers. ¡°All of you. Up on the stage, please. Now.¡± They were there voluntarily but Liza certainly didn¡¯t feel like she was allowed to refuse. Rayna spoke as if nobody had ever even thought to contradict her before, and maybe they hadn¡¯t. Beside her, Malcolm stood, his posture defensive and yet defeated, looking up with baleful eyes. She slowly made her way through a crowd that parted for her, and behind her strutted the five men in shorts and flip flops with grins and nods to everyone as they went, and her four housemates as well. Up on the stage and seeing so many faces staring up at her, slackjawed, gave her a kind of stage fright that made her palms begin to sweat, even though she wasn¡¯t expected to do anything. She tugged on the hem of her shirt, which rode up a little too high and exposed her navel. Not for a fashion reason; it had just shrunk in the dryer and she hadn¡¯t bought any new clothes in a year. ¡°You understood what he said, yes?¡± Rayna asked. Up close now, Liza wondered if the woman actually needed the microphone at all. Her voice was harsh and grating and seemed to cut right through any other sound she could hear. Close to her she could see the gritty-looking silver grey of her eyes. Liza swallowed, and then nodded, because it seemed easier to lie a little bit. ¡°Good. You¡¯ll do just fine.¡± ¡°We¡¯re going first?¡± the head douchebag said with a pearly white grin of such smugness that Liza kind of wanted to casually shove him off the stage and onto the faces of the students gawping up at her. ¡°You¡¯re testing it first,¡± McCray confirmed, his voice hoarse and his eyes sad. ¡°I ¡­ am sorry. You are the ones who will be in charge of sharing the message that I have shared with you today. Here, I¡¯m going to show you where the other campus outbreaks are going to be. Pretty much every other major university in the world.¡± He bent down and grabbed a tablet, from a laptop bag on the stage. ¡°He¡¯s definitely crazy if he thinks Fairacres is a ¡®major university¡¯,¡± James said. The douchebags who heard him laughed appreciatively, but head-bag remained focused on McCray. The silver-clad man tapped on the tablet a few times before showing it to her. ¡°Are you looking? This is important.¡± ¡°For the game?¡± the douchebag confirmed. ¡°For the game,¡± McCray agreed, but Rayna laughed. McCray smiled as well for a moment. He showed it to Liza, but the d-bag pulled the tablet from in front of her so that he could see it as well. ¡°Here,¡± McCray said again, and Liza realised she was looking at a map. There were rippling red circles like radar at different points of a map of the UK. There so many in the cities that the entire areas just looked like pulsing dots, and then they were scattered around the rest of the country, here and there. ¡°These are the stores that are going to hold the game. In fact, the stores that are currently handing them out to those who have queued for hours. These are the hotspots. The campuses like this one holding promo events simultaneously right now.¡± ¡°Simultaneously?¡± Liza repeated. ¡°I thought we were the only one?¡± He laughed and didn¡¯t reply. She furrowed her brow. ¡°We estimate that several thousand have been bought already, in the UK alone.¡± ¡°OK¡­¡± Liza said, shaking her head. Why did he think she cared? ¡°These are the zombies. The people you¡¯ll be playing with,¡± he explained. ¡°Oh, I get you; the game takes place across the whole of the UK, that¡¯s pretty cool,¡± said the tank top wearing dude beside her. ¡°Can we get started? Where are the consoles?¡± ¡°Rayna is handing out the AR systems,¡± McCray said, turning back to use the microphone. His assistant had indeed descended the steps and was handing out fancy-looking bluetooth headsets, a green colour with white biohazard symbols stamped onto them. ¡°Install them as quickly as you can so we can get started.¡± The crowd looked confused, but slipped the devices into their ears all the same. Some of them whispered excitedly to each other, some just concentrated hard on getting it in as quick as they could. ¡°When do we get ours?¡± one of the douchebags demanded. ¡°Right now,¡± McCray said, his voice like the cold deliberate steps of a spider across Liza¡¯s skin. ¡°I¡¯m not sure I want to play anymore,¡± she said, but it was so quiet that only Yana heard her, and the other girl raised her eyebrows in agreement but said nothing. She looked at the sea of students again. Why was she up here? She could just quietly walk down the steps and make her way home, but ¡­ everyone was looking at her. And it was just a game; it wasn¡¯t the game¡¯s fault that the creator was a bit reclusive and weird. She¡¯d have her fun and then get home and into her PJs and watch Netflix. And this would remain a hilarious story. Liza looked at her friends. James and Tucker looked just as confused by everything, but from the way Tucker was clenching and unclenching his fists she could tell he was very excited. Celia was regarding Rayna in the crowd with a deep confusion, and Liza wondered why she wasn¡¯t taking the opportunity to bombard McCray with questions, being only two feet away from him. Yana wasn¡¯t on her phone, but she wasn¡¯t really paying attention either. The five lads in tank tops, shorts and sandals all grinned and exchanged looks. Liza figured that they were still so excited about the game because they hadn¡¯t been paying enough attention. What had McCray meant with all of those strange and ominous things he had said? The civilisations he had seen fall? He meant in games, perhaps? ¡°Here.¡± After a short rummage he pulled out ten bluetooth headsets that were almost identical to the ones in the crowd, but they looked a bit bigger and were a deep red. The symbol on them was not quite the same. Upside down, and rough-looking. ¡°Put ¡®em on.¡± ¡°Yeah, let¡¯s get it over with,¡± Yana said with a shrug. ¡°Why¡¯d you even come?¡± Liza couldn¡¯t help but laugh. ¡°You could be drinking milkshakes in bed right now.¡± Yana¡¯s eyeline trailed across to land, just for a second, on Tucker as he laughed and shook his head at some comment a douchebag made, and then Yana¡¯s eyes flicked back to Liza¡¯s and she shrugged. ¡°Who knows? I¡¯m unpredictable like that.¡± ¡°Ah,¡± was all Liza said in return. No point in teasing her about a crush just yet, when there were zombies to kill. ¡°I¡¯m guessing we put these on and we can see zombies?¡± James asked, reaching out to take the set that was offered to him. ¡°Exactly,¡± McCray said. ¡°Turn them on and have a look.¡± He nodded his head at James encouragingly as he installed it in his ear. At a button press, a light turned on, his eyes grew wide and his pupils shrank to the size of pinpricks. ¡°You alright, man?¡± Tucker asked. ¡°Yeah,¡± James breathed, scanning across the crowd. Liza looked in the same direction, but all she could see was a crowd of people jamming headsets into their ears and giggling with each other. ¡°Is that¡­¡± He switched it off and blinked a couple of times before looking back around him. ¡°OK. That just ¡­ it¡¯s so real, guys, you have to try it.¡± ¡°Cool,¡± Liza said, ¡°thanks.¡± She took her offered headset and carefully fitted it into her ear, feeling the coolness of the metal. She slid her fingers over it and found the tiny groove of the button and clicked it. There was a gentle metallic hum in her ear, and then a screen swished across her field of vision from nowhere, that she could still just about see through.
Welcome to The Alpha Virus! You have taken on the responsibility of being a PLAYER. You must spread the message to the world. You must try your hardest to survive. We at Revelations Software WANT you to survive! Good luck.
It disappeared the second her eyes had swept over the final word, which was slightly jarring, and she let her eyelids flutter a couple of times to get used to the weird sheen over everything in front of her as she stared off the side of the stage, across the field at the trees far away. The shiny overlay lasted just a moment, as it the headset was making sense of the world around her. ./,
Calibrating...
Then it all looked completely normal and natural again. Liza stared at the trees, wondering what she would see for a moment, and then she turned to her friends. They all looked totally normal. In fact, everything did. Awkward, stilted movement from the crowd caught her attention and she turned to look at them, which was where everyone else up on stage was staring. Thousands of people, the same people she had just seen, except ¡­ they all looked wrong. Their skin was now grey and drooping, their eyes pale and faded, and their lips stretched, dry and cracked. Their brows were swollen, their hair missing in clumps. They swayed, open-mouthed, and gnashed their exposed teeth. And it looked just as real as anything else around her. Liza shuddered and turned to exchange a look with her friends. The other guys were waving their hands in front of their faces and whooping with amazement. ¡°I just have one more thing to say,¡± McCray said quietly. Liza turned to him, wide-eyed, and feeling her skin crawl even more intensely at the way that he spoke. ¡°You ten are the Players, or the Hunters. You will kill the zombies and collect the loot, and upgrade things around you in order to survive. It¡¯s simple.¡± ¡°Awesome,¡± one of the guys announced. ¡°Remember that life is pain and life is struggle. If a shark stops swimming, it dies. If you stop working to survive every day, you aren¡¯t really living a life at all. You might as well be spending your days playing a video game and waiting for a nuclear apocalypse. So take your lives into your own hands. That¡¯s what The Alpha Virus is all about.¡± He nodded, seemingly happy that he had said all he needed to say. ¡°This guy is really into his own game,¡± Yana whispered. The skin on Liza¡¯s neck was pricking up and she wasn¡¯t sure how to respond. ¡°And I swear he was staring right at me during his speech. Like, into my eyes. I thought he was going to eat me.¡± Huh. ¡°Rayna, let¡¯s go. Initiate the Alpha Virus.¡± ¡°Everyone! If you haven¡¯t already, click the ¡®on¡¯ button on your headset. Raise your hands if you haven¡¯t. Drop them when your headset turns on,¡± Rayna barked to the crowd. It was an efficient system. Finally with one each, all two thousand or so crowd members slowly dropped their arms from the air. One by one, two by two, until there was no single hand in the air. Liza still saw them as glassy-eyed zombies, tongues lolling, unable to quite keep their balance where they stood. ¡°Initiating,¡± McCray called. ¡°Ready,¡± Rayna called back to him. ¡°Connected to all headsets worldwide. Alright ¡­ Three ¡­ two ¡­ one ¡­ and ¡­ welcome to the new Earth!¡± McCray tapped at his tablet and Rayna had a smartphone in her hand. They both did an identical mini motion: a swipe, and then a four-digit tap. Go. ¡°Collect loot, kill the zombies, and most importantly ¡ª survive,¡± McCray reminded them. ¡°The headset will help you; it is the key, Players. Good luck, and work together!¡± Liza frowned, wondering what was going to happen next. The crowd ¡­ they would probably be briefed quickly on how to be zombies and what their objectives were, right? How were they supposed to try to kill each other without hurting each other? They had no weapons, and ¡­ honestly, wasn¡¯t a game like this kind of a health and safety nightmare? What if somebody freaked out and actually attacked a zombie? They looked so real. Just as she thought that, her eyes scanning across the crowd once more with a shiver running continuously up and down her spine, they all seemed to lurch in unison, their heads lolling and their bodies convulsing from the bottom up, like they were about to throw up. Liza flinched backwards instinctively; watching people vomit was disgusting. But of course they were fine ¡ª it was probably just a little feature of her AR intended to freak her out. The way they moved, like spiders, with their limbs arching and flailing deliberately, was so unnatural that it freaked her out in the same way arachnophobia did. ¡°Let¡¯s go,¡± James said, tapping her on the shoulder. The other guys were already away, tearing off down the field behind the marquee, making a beeline for something or other. ¡°They found a map feature that shows a weapons cache. C¡¯mon, girls. Don¡¯t lag behind ¡ª let¡¯s get a perfect score!¡± He grinned and turned and ran away, following the boys who were somehow sprinting in sandals. Before she followed along, Liza watched as a vast number of predatory human beings stepped forward, their eyes lit up by something she had only seen traces of before. Hunger. It was definitely hunger. Their nostrils flared and their mouths gaped and, singularly, they all locked on her ¡ª the only remaining Player on the stage, and waded through each other blindly to get to her. She was frozen, watching them, for a couple of seconds. Her own mouth opened and shut while she tried to think of something to say, but there was no reason to speak. And nobody to speak to. The zombies treated Rayna and McCray like they were other zombies, and ignored them completely. They ran bodily into the stage and reached for her with grasping, wrinkled hands. A couple managed to happen to use the stairs, but it seemed like luck. Was the AR altering her perception of their behaviour? Had they been told to ram into the stage instead of to ascend the stairs to get her? It didn¡¯t matter! She wasn¡¯t going to be the only one to lose the game and get killed instantly. So she turned, hopped off the back of the stage, and ducked through the tent flap that the others had disappeared through. Immediately she felt the sensation of something raking against her back, and let out a squeal and spun around. What used to be some kind of girl stood in front of her, mouth wide and drooling, blonde hair lank and hanging in clumps. She wore a tight top and a miniskirt that exposed her saggy grey midriff, and raked again at Liza¡¯s front with long talon fingernails. The thing was desperate to get something in her fingers, to clench and then trap her. Liza had no way to kill her, and didn¡¯t want to push or strike a student, no matter what she looked like. Her instincts were screaming for her to exterminate the threat before she got into trouble, but she fought it back and sprinted away instead. Luckily she was wearing tennis shoes that day instead of something like pumps or kitten heels. She tore across the grass with a pumping heart and a dry mouth and reached the others panting hard. The other nine players stood around a large wooden crate, black with the same symbol stamped on the front as was on their headsets. That jagged biohazard sign. ¡°What do we have?¡± she managed to ask. The two groups: her friends and the men she 100% assumed to be rugby players were bickering and sniping at each other about everything they were doing. ¡°Yes, it¡¯s mine, because I touched it first.¡± ¡°You didn¡¯t touch it first, you grabbed the crossbow first! I saw you!¡± ¡°I d¡ª¡± ¡°Don¡¯t lie to me!¡± Liza raised her hands and waved them in the air. ¡°Everyone shush! OK? We are the first people who are able to play this game ever, let¡¯s not go down in history as the worst gamers in the world. Alright?¡± That sentiment actually seemed to work to calm down most of the boys. Yana sighed emphatically at them to really bring the point home. Celia squatted nearby and took apart a rifle and put it back together, her mouth open wide. ¡°Yeah, so I should get the shotgun,¡± Tucker said, jamming his hands grumpily into his pockets. He was almost wearing the same outfit as the group of d-bags, which was kind of funny. Liza realised that they were all looking over at her, as though she had something else to add after her first point. ¡°Uh, well, weapons should go to whoever is best with them,¡± she said. ¡°I did some shooting with my dad, so I¡¯ll be comfortable with a pistol.¡± She shrugged. ¡°I don¡¯t want the crossbow,¡± a dude snapped and clenched his jaw. ¡°Well, first thing ¡­ what are all of your names? I can¡¯t keep calling you the Douchebags.¡± ¡°Wait, what?¡± ¡°Yeah, so¡­¡± the largest one, the ringleader, began, and jabbed his thumb towards all of his friends in turn. ¡°That¡¯s Fosters, Tommo, Spitfire, Ham Sandwich, and I¡¯m Blazer.¡± ¡°Oh, for fuck¡¯s sake,¡± Liza muttered under her breath. Chapter Four

Chapter Four

¡°And then like Pandora, opening the great big box of the world and not being afraid, not even caring whether what¡¯s inside is good or bad. Because it¡¯s both. Everything is always both. But you have to open it to find that out.¡± -The Girl with All the Gifts Ham Sandwich handed Liza a pistol, but first made a point of peering at it, cocking it, and then winked at her before pressing it into her hand. ¡°Hey, babe, maybe w¡ª¡± ¡°Not with that name you¡¯re not,¡± she said, taking it from him as well as its holster, which she secured around her waist. She posed and aimed, winking one eye, and then after checking that it was fully loaded she popped it into the holster where it sat comfortably.
You have equipped your first weapon. Glock 19 Compact, light and effective, this Austrian-made pistol was primarily used by law enforcement officers. Check your weapons page to learn more about this weapon.
Liza looked at the link for a second extra, wondering how she was supposed to click on it, when it opened right in front of her eyes. The thing must have been closely tracking her eyeball movements. How cool was that?
Weapon Features Power
Glock 19 Capacity: 15 25
Not really sure what most of this meant, Liza flicked her gaze over the ¡®X¡¯ in the top corner and watched it fall away to reveal the world around her again. ¡°This whole thing is so cool!¡± she said to the others, but everyone else had long-since finished getting their weapons together and now they were all staring behind her at what was approaching. Oh yeah. The horde. Two thousand limp zombies with their dried out mouths stretched into silent hungry yawns were steadily making their way towards the group of ten. They were not running, they were not desperate or scrabbling ¡ª which Liza figured must have taken the students an awful lot of self-control ¡ª but they were getting closer and closer, spreading around the marquee stage and converging like river water around a stone. ¡°Let¡¯s test this puppy out,¡± Ham Sandwich said, unnecessarily cocking his own pistol and sending her another wink. ¡°Where did you get that name?¡± Liza asked, raising her pistol to squint past it. ¡°Mine?¡± he asked. She didn¡¯t say ¡®no¡¯ so he continued. ¡°It was pretty legendary, to be honest with you. We had a challenge for the uni rugby club initiation. There was a pile of ham sandwiches and we had to take turns and get as many in us as we could. Everyone else only got one, maybe two, in their mouths but I got my turn and I managed six.¡± ¡°Fascinating. You must have a huge mouth,¡± Liza said dryly, focusing on her stance. The zombies were a couple of minutes¡¯ lurch away from them. ¡°Nah, only got one in my mouth,¡± he said. There was a pause, and then Liza turned to frown at him. He winked at her for the third time since she¡¯d met him, and she grimaced and turned back to the horde. ¡°Longest-ranged weapons,¡± Tucker said. ¡°Crossbow, rifles, take aim.¡± He raised his shotgun and took careful aim, but he was right ¡ª the pistols and shotguns were not going to be as effective at this range. ¡°They¡¯re all loaded already,¡± said Blazer, the stockiest and loudest of all the other group, ¡°but how do we figure out who gets the priority ammo when we run out?¡± ¡°We divide it equally,¡± Liza yelled over, without quite breaking her gaze from the horde. ¡°What did you think we would do?¡± ¡°I think the better fighters should take priority,¡± Blazer replied. ¡°The people with better aim.¡± ¡°That¡¯s fair,¡± she conceded after a pause. ¡°But no one should be left without.¡± ¡°Right, so all of us are more active than you lot, obviously, and I always fucking nail it in the arcade, so I think I should be given ammo priority,¡± he continued. James made a disgusted face behind his rifle. ¡°Well, whatever keeps you quiet,¡± Liza called back with a fake honeyed smile. It didn¡¯t really matter. ¡°And no offense but the girls should be last on the priority list.¡± There was a record scratch moment. Liza lowered her pistol and whipped her head over to face him. ¡°You what?¡± ¡°It¡¯s just smarter. You haven¡¯t played as many games like this, I¡¯ve never met a girl who has been able to beat me at a shooter.¡± He shrugged coolly. He wasn¡¯t trying to rile her up, just stating what he thought was fact. ¡°Lol,¡± Ham Sandwich actually said, out loud. Liza resisted the urge to look over at him, dreading wink number four. ¡°Seriously, no offense intended. Genuinely,¡± Blazer said, and she knew he at least thought he meant that. ¡°It¡¯s just that we¡¯re the first to play this game and I want to do well. And being a leader means making tough decisions, so I¡¯m sorry if I¡¯ve offended you ladies.¡± ¡°That¡¯s a bit sexist, mate,¡± piped up the one Liza thought was called Tommo. She guessed his actual name was Tom, but you never knew with these people. He was lanky and tall, with terrible-looking spiked up black hair. ¡°Just because you¡¯ve never met a girl who was better than you doesn¡¯t mean they exist.¡± ¡°Please, feel free to prove me wrong,¡± Blazer said with a big, kind smile down at Liza, which then got a lot wider when he turned it onto Yana. He ignored Celia completely. ¡°Tool,¡± Liza muttered. ¡°Crossbow, rifles, shoot now,¡± Tucker said, addressing James, Celia, Spitfire and Tommo. ¡°And Blazer, stop talking. Please.¡± The four he had named aimed carefully. ¡°Aim for the heads, lads,¡± Blazer roared, and pointed to the shuffling horde like he thought he was Braveheart. Liza felt really uncertain about this. The weapon in her hands felt totally real. It was even loaded; she had seen what looked like completely real ammo inside it, and the people they were aiming at only looked like zombies. Really they were her classmates. And McCray was insane. Liza saw the four of them carefully and slowly taking aim and shooting. ¡°Wait¡­¡± she said, but everyone was concentrating too hard. Their aim was all terrible, but one zombie was blasted in the chest with rifle fire. It jerked and then continued to walk. That made her feel a lot better about the whole thing. Of course it was fake. She was being paranoid. Her father would be proud. If the weapons were real, that person would have fallen. Liza looked at her own Glock, satisfied for now that it wasn¡¯t a real weapon ¡ª no matter how real it looked ¡ª and tried to bring up range stats for it.
Weapon Features Power Range
Glock 19 Capacity: 15 25 50m
¡°OK, shorter ranges. Pistols, it¡¯s your turn now,¡± Tucker said. Liza raised her weapon and then lowered it again. She wanted to shoot, to join in with the game, but this was all so weird. ¡°Don¡¯t be scared, girls,¡± Blazer said to Liza and Yana, who had also yet to shoot. ¡°You just have to try it.¡± He appeared to be completely ignoring the fact that Celia had just landed her second hit right beside him. ¡°No one is going to be mad if you miss ¡ª unless you shoot one of us, that is. Aim straight ahead...¡± ¡°Fuck that,¡± Liza snapped, lifting her pistol up again to aim. The headshotted zombies had fallen, but those that had been nailed elsewhere on their bodies continued to shuffle forward like nothing had happened. That was good enough evidence to her that McCray had not orchestrated some kind of massacre here and forced them to off each other. Whatever was happening ¡­ the zombies would have been screaming and running if they were in pain. And now she had something to prove. She checked her stance, sighted down her arm, and shot four times, felling four zombies one after the other beside each other.
Headshot COMBO! x4 80 UP 80 UP (+10) 80 UP (+20) 80 UP (+30)This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it. 400 UP
Smug, she turned to Blazer to see his reaction, but he was swearing and struggling with his own weapon. ¡°Yes, Liza!¡± Tucker roared, readying his own shotgun. ¡°Where the hell did you learn to do that?¡± ¡°Shooting stuff,¡± she replied with a grin. ¡°Four brothers. You know.¡± ¡°You shot your four brothers?¡± James fake-screamed. ¡°Look, there¡¯s four hundred of them and we¡¯ve taken out maybe twelve,¡± Liza pointed out, ignoring him. ¡°We have to gather up these supplies and retreat while we still can.¡± ¡°Never surrender!¡± Spitfire screamed, and continued to wildly ¡ª wildly ¡ª miss with every single crossbow bolt. ¡°How much experience did you get from four headshots, Liza?¡± Tucker asked, risking a blast from his shotgun and splattering one zombie¡¯s chest with buckshot, causing it to miss a step. ¡°Shit,¡± he muttered, pulling back to open it and reload with two more shells. ¡°400,¡± she said. ¡°Some kinda combo bonus happened.¡± ¡°Fuck me, that¡¯s a lot,¡± James said. ¡°You for real?¡± ¡°Yeah, I guess it¡¯s because it was four in a row.¡± She shrugged. ¡°I guess I¡¯m bad at games because of the controllers.¡± She shot a look at Tucker. ¡°Told you that was why. They make no sense!¡± ¡°You take that back!¡± he yelled. ¡°A poor workman blames his tools, Liza.¡± ¡°I just got 50 for shooting something four times until it fell,¡± James laughed, ¡°just to compare.¡± ¡°What¡¯s a UP anyway?¡± Tucker said, pronouncing the letters carefully. ¡°Or is it an ¡®up¡¯?¡± ¡°Something Points,¡± Blazer said with confidence. ¡°We gotta move back,¡± Liza said, sighting down her arm again before lowering it. The horde, still thousands strong, realistically, was maybe twenty generous seconds from reaching their delicious flesh. ¡°You said you didn¡¯t wanna lose the game.¡± ¡°Bet we don¡¯t have much time left,¡± Spitfire called out from the back of the group, clumsily slipping bolts back into his crossbow before shooting them limply three feet forward and into the grass. ¡°You¡¯re wasting so many goddamn bolts,¡± Tucker snapped. ¡°I shoulda taken the crossbow.¡± ¡°Fuck yourself, it¡¯s a learning curve!¡± Spitfire yelled. ¡°Am I the only one with no points?¡± No one replied for a second as they continued to shoot. Liza stepped back and took aim again. 15 rounds in her gun. She didn¡¯t want to waste them all if she didn¡¯t have to, but then again ¡­ it had been really satisfying to get that number of points. She raised her gun again and shot twice, getting one gaping zombie through the eye, but the second one got away from her a little and grazed another zombie¡¯s upper arm. It didn¡¯t notice, or bleed.
Headshot! 80 UP
So the combo system reset after a couple of seconds without shooting? That was fair, but annoying. She lowered her gun, put off by that miss, and opened her mouth to tell the others to help her gather up the rest of the supplies in the crate and move out, for the third time, but was put off by the sudden feral screaming of the crossbow-wielding Spitfire. The dude threw his crossbow over his shoulder and flailed a machete above his head ¡ª clearly nobody had wanted to grab any of the melee weapons from the crate; Liza hadn¡¯t even seen them ¡ª and launched himself fully at the approaching horde. His friends began to laugh, slowly at first, and then they bent over to slap their knees, wipe tears from their eyes, their faces contorted and red as Spitfire slashed and swiped through the air. In front of Liza¡¯s eyes she watched as he jammed his weapon straight through the skull of a female zombie with waist-length red hair, and then kicked her in the stomach to dislodge his machete. Liza covered her mouth with both hands ¡ª what the hell was going on here? How had McCray ensured that stuff like booting other players was safe? How had anyone approved of this game if it wasn¡¯t? She let out a small breath. The answer, of course, was that this wouldn¡¯t be happening if it wasn¡¯t safe. Somehow, for some reason that she couldn¡¯t see, the other students were safe. Maybe they weren¡¯t even there at all! AR could do anything, right? ¡°Shit, guys!¡± Spitfire screamed, turning around. ¡°I just got 100 points for a melee h¡ª¡± Another zombie approached and grabbed his arm, yanked it, and then chomped down on it. Blood spurted and dribbled down his pale skin and dabbed the grass below. Spitfire¡¯s gleeful face instantly became devoid of all colour and his eyelids flared wide as he bared his teeth. ¡°Ow,¡± he breathed, and a tear slipped down his cheek. ¡°That hurts.¡± His voice was small, and croaking, and he looked close to unconsciousness. ¡°Jesus, guys, help him,¡± Liza stammered. The other boys were still absolutely dying with laughter. ¡°He¡¯s messing. He¡¯s a daft twat!¡± Blazer assured her, swatting her shoulder with the back of his hand. Liza looked into Spitfire¡¯s eyes, and his opening and closing mouth, and she raised her pistol and squeezed on the trigger.
Headshot! 80 UP
The zombie fell to its knees and then folded backwards like it was a department store mannequin, dead as anything could ever be. Spitfire was trembling, and looked up at her to mouth something. ¡°Get away,¡± she interrupted, unable to hear him. ¡°I think th¡ª¡± he screamed. He enunciated, his veins bulging, sweat crowning on his brow, all of his energy going into making sure she 100% understood exactly what he was trying to say, but just then the rest of the horde reached him and clawed at his body. His sentence was reduced to terrified, hoarse screams as his already bitten arm was torn off by two zombies and the stump spurted blood. The screams became gurgles as two other zombies bit without hesitation into his collarbone and jugular, and the spray of blood almost made it ten feet to hit Liza herself. She backed away. The horde had stopped advancing because every single one of them was attempting to pick at the boy¡¯s body, as he burned as bright red as his nickname suggested. In moments it seemed like all that was left of him was a sizeable smear of bright red on the grass below. ¡°So realistic, it¡¯s insane! Do you think he¡¯ll respawn at the stage or somewhere else?¡± Blazer asked. Liza felt the familiar sensation of her stomach contracting and hot bile working its way up, just like she had that time Tucker had gotten drunk and tried to slice a pizza, and had ended up carving right into the palm of his own left hand. She had swallowed it back then and she pulled herself together now. It was a game. It was a game, it was a game, it was a game. But it was no game she wanted to be a part of. ¡°Nope,¡± she cried, and while the zombies were still occupied lapping at the grass for any stray morsel of Spitfire ¡ª the sight of that solitary tear of absolute terror sliding down his cheek stuck in her mind forever ¡ª Liza yanked off her bluetooth set and threw it to the grass. McCray was insane. She wasn¡¯t about to get any goddamn PTSD from a video game ¡­ she would march back to the stage, past all the students, and she would shove the headset into Rayna¡¯s manicured hands and tell them she was not going to be taking part any further ¡­ and that they needed to cool it on the realism! No one was going to buy a game so that they could see the flashes of total fear on their friends¡¯ faces as they succumbed to a brutal death. Where was the fun? But Liza didn¡¯t do any of that, because when she looked up again, the horde was done with Spitfire. With bloodied mouths their gazes locked right on her, and once again they began to advance. She looked at the AR system on the ground, and then back up at the horde, at the bloodstain that used to be a boy, and then back to the AR and its symbol. Wait. Why hadn¡¯t anything changed back? What¡­ ...the¡­ ...fuck? ¡°No ¡­ what?¡± she said in a small voice. It was a dream. It was fake. It had to be. What the hell was going on here? She squinted beyond the advancing tidal wave of hungry teeth at the main marquee, and she saw Malcolm McCray, a tiny blurry stick figure of a man from where she was standing, with his hand above his eyes as if he was casually watching a baseball game from behind the tent. ¡°Guys,¡± she said, backing up. James had already removed his, looking as pale and disgusted as she knew she probably did, and on watching the two of them, Celia pulled hers off and punched Tucker in the arm so that he did the same. Yana was off, running through the trees behind her, her headset lying nestled in the grass. ¡°Is ¡­ is he respawning?¡± Ham said, squinting through the mass of dangerously close zombies. ¡°Is he going to respawn right there?¡± His voice had an edge of panic. ¡°Take off the AR,¡± Liza said quietly. ¡°All of you. Take it off, see for yourselves, and then run.¡± Blazer was still laughing a little, but when every one of his friends pulled off their headsets and choked on the shock of what they saw ¡ª or rather ¡­ didn¡¯t not see anymore? ¡ª he finally yanked his off and rolled his eyes. ¡°What?¡± he said. ¡°Is this a prank or something? Spitty? Spitfire?¡± A pause. Blazer stared into hundreds of advancing blank eyes. ¡°Spit?¡± ¡°Run,¡± Liza gritted out again, pausing to pull a knife from the chest, as well as a handful of clips and a roll of bandages. The zombies were four feet from her by the time she got up, sucked in a breath, and ran. She didn¡¯t have time to see if everyone else had finally followed her advice. She just ran. The trees behind the field led out to a dual carriageway, and beyond that there were private farms and orchards. Fairacres University was a campus college in rural Kent, many miles east of London, and was named that for a reason. It was a stunningly beautiful campus surrounded by rolling green hills, farmland and trees. The campus itself was the most highly populated two square miles for about thirty square miles. It made sense that McCray would choose somewhere like a college campus to do something like this. Whatever it was that he had done, exactly¡­ Once over the road, and having hopped a private fence, Liza ran until she was breathless, and then walked until she was terrified, and then ran until she had to double over and cough. When she had enough breath to move again, she shimmied up to the lower branch of a tree at the edge of the empty grass field, and then up to the next branch, which was thick enough that she could lower herself down to a safe sit and look over the field in front of her, and the road to her right. Beyond which, she knew, was a disaster zone. Had everyone else escaped? Liza allowed what had just happened to sink in. They had ¡­ they had just witnessed something completely impossible. She thought back to McCray, and the things that he had done with his life so far. The things that Celia worshipped about him. He had introduced at first a form of renewable energy made from lichen. It had been in the news nonstop for a couple of weeks and he had been hailed as a sort of saviour, until it had proven to just be too expensive. Then it had sort of fallen out of the news, and though McCray was fairly famous and had plenty of money by that point, he never did manage to finalise that plan. Liza remembered there had then been news like ¡®frustrated scientist trashes mansion after energy plan falls through.¡¯ He had been devastated, moved out of his huge house and downsized. Then he wasn¡¯t heard from again until maybe five or six years later, when he founded Revelations Software and launched Harp, the game that had changed the face of entertainment forever. ¡®And we expected nothing less from one of Earth¡¯s greatest minds,¡¯ the news had said, the only true nod she recalled to what McCray had originally been in the public eye for doing. Then came the hype for The Alpha Virus, and now ¡­ now this. Had McCray done this by accident? Turned students into creatures? No way. No way in hell that this was an accident. He meant for whatever he had done to exist outside of the AR headset. But how? Was this the end of the world? Liza thought back to the map he had taken care to show her. Those pulsing red dots in the cities and scattered elsewhere where the game was being sold. Right this second, and had been available since the morning. Was this happening everywhere? She couldn¡¯t even check; she had left her phone in her bag back on the stage. He had wanted so badly to give a speech and no one had listened. Would there have been clues as to why he had done this, if they had paid attention? I don¡¯t want it to be senseless. This was not a zombie apocalypse yet, but he had definitely created real actual hungry zombies. Zombies that looked like they had been dead for weeks. If he had done something like injected them with a virus like the name suggested, they would have all looked about the same, but hungrier. No, he had turned them into zombies. Not dead people who ate people, but actual pop-culture, recognisable, zombies. If his intention had been to begin a massacre, and he had figured out a way to make humans want to kill and eat each other ¡­ then why go through all the trouble of the AR headsets and the zombie aesthetic? Liza had nowhere near enough information to come to a conclusion about what had just happened. It just wasn¡¯t going to be possible. She didn¡¯t know what his motive could possibly have been, and she didn¡¯t know how he had done what he had done. One thing was fairly certain, though ¡­ McCray had killed all of those people out there. But he hadn¡¯t killed her. Liza rearranged herself to get ready to hop down from the tree, her jacket pockets filled with ammunition that clicked and rattled as she moved. If she alerted the media quickly enough, she could stop this. She had to get back to the stage, where she had left her bag. She had to reach her phone, record this teeny tiny apocalyptic event, and then distribute it to the right people. She could do that. She could¡­ Her thoughts were interrupted when, as her shoes hit the ground, the deafening sound of a low-flying helicopter clipped across the canopies across the road, and the jet black flying machine lowered itself into the field of zombies, and out of her eyeline. The military? Already? Or someone else here to help destroy the horde? Whatever it was, she thought it might summon her friends, so she swept the bark and dirt from her jeans, and took off once again in a run. This time back in the direction she had come. To find her friends, to get more answers, she would once again need to navigate pastthe horde. Chapter Five

Chapter Five

¡°It is a truth universally acknowledged that a zombie in possession of brains must be in want of more brains.¡± -Pride and Prejudice and Zombies Liza arrived panting and sweating into a field that was now no longer 60% zombie. There were maybe fifty of them left, milling around and working their slack jaws, eyes darting around. They hadn¡¯t seen her yet, and she knew that whipping out her pistol from its holster would be exactly the kind of movement that would draw some attention, especially as a couple of the zombies dotted around were lurching as close as twenty feet away from her. Instinctively she wanted to keep still and quiet, but there was very little point since the helicopter was drawing their attention more than anything else. All of them were gaping up at it, a couple lifting long fingers to swipe the air in its direction. Liza figured that depth perception was just one of those things you lost in death¡­ The helicopter alighted, and McCray strolled across the grass ¡ª still ignored by the undead, who were limping up to the whooshing helicopter ¡ª and Liza took her chances, knowing the pistol in its holster still had something like 8 bullets in the chamber. The zombies were paying more attention to the chopper than to her. ¡°Wait!¡± she yelled, darting a wide berth around each zombie as she cleared the field to reach the man in his shining silver outfit. ¡°Wait, Malcolm, please!¡± He turned, to her surprise, and raised his eyebrows at her like this was any other day. ¡°Yes?¡± he said, and she almost couldn¡¯t hear him over the blades slicing the air beside them, throwing her hair into her face. ¡°I just want to know ¡­ why?¡± she called, her voice so hoarse that she wondered when she had been screaming. She didn¡¯t remember it. ¡°I thought I explained it?¡± he said, louder this time, helping Rayna up to the steps in her ridiculous shoes. ¡°Didn¡¯t I?¡± ¡°Explained what?¡± Liza yelled with desperation. The zombies were all lurching closer and closer, and she was aware of them most of all because of the instinctive tingling on the back of her neck that told her to run again. She was definitely going to sleep well tonight, after all this exercise. That was for sure. ¡°I did this to help you!¡± he yelled back, pointing his finger right at her. She resisted the urge to spin around and look behind her. ¡°Me?¡± ¡°Humanity,¡± he elaborated. ¡°I have travelled from place to place and I want to stay somewhere for longer this time. I don¡¯t know where else is left to go! Humanity is the last intelligent life of this cycle.¡± ¡°What?¡± Liza screamed, lifting her hands to her hair. ¡°Please, I just want to know ¡­ what was this? What happened? What is going to happen next?¡± He quirked the corner of his mouth upwards in an awkward facsimile of a smile. ¡°Listen, Liza,¡± he said. She struggled to remember when she had introduced herself. ¡°I promise you. Your world was a year, two years max, away from total destruction. Self-destruction.¡± ¡°So you thought you¡¯d do it first?¡± she cried, her eyes welling up. ¡°Is that it? You wanted to take back control?¡± Malcolm let the smile fall away and shook his head sadly. ¡°I did this for you. You need something to fight that isn¡¯t each other. Now that you¡¯re at the top of the food chain, you have nobody to destroy but each other. I saw it with the Galthrim, the Varargos, the Xthinikirigim, the Essecheran¡ª¡± ¡°Stop it, stop, I can¡¯t hear you,¡± Liza yelled. ¡°I don¡¯t ¡­ I still don¡¯t understand. Why just us? Why here? Because we won that competition?¡± McCray looked up at the helicopter and then back down at her, and let out a small sigh. ¡°You didn¡¯t win a competition,¡± he said. ¡°I don¡¯t even remember what logline you entered. I¡¯m sure it was awful. I¡¯m here because you¡¯re my demographic, and I could determine that I would get several thousand of you to demo the headsets. But I¡¯m not just here, I am in other places, in other universities, colleges, schools, all over the world.¡± Liza shook her head, unable to wrap her mind around what he was saying. Was any of this real? Was it true? ¡°As for what happens next, that¡¯s up to humanity. But your will to survive is just as strong as any other creature¡¯s. Stronger, perhaps. You have to fight. The world as you know it will end. The wheels are already turning. I¡¯m sorry for that. But you will defeat the threat after many decades of fighting, and you will rebuild society. I have given you a gift, Liza, though you will never ever be able to appreciate that ¡ª and I understand. I have given you the gift of a chance. Your species will take more than a hundred years to get back to the point you are at now, and at that point we will think of something new to set you back again. I am here now. I am here, on Earth, and I will never let anything bad happen to you.¡± He was crying. She was struck dumb by the sight.This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it. ¡°You¡¯re not from here, are you?¡± she said, but her voice had dropped too low for him to hear her. ¡°I made it zombies because I knew that you would know exactly what to do in this situation ¡ª everyone has a zombie apocalypse plan.¡± She looked at his face, puffy, defeated, and wondered what she was seeing. ¡°Fight,¡± he said. ¡°I want you to win. I would go so far as to say that I need you to win. To ensure that you have a true headstart, I gave you those headsets. With them on, your kills will earn you upgrade points. Those upgrade points will allow you to get better gear. I want you to win, like I say, but it can¡¯t be easy. Appreciate life, Liza. Appreciate all you have, and appreciate those around you. ¡°Everything changes right as we speak. Stores have handed off headsets in the thousands. People will stick them straight to their heads without second thought, and they¡¯ll become a monster. Tomorrow we will wake up to a dangerous new world. There¡¯s no more life as you know it. No more smartphones, no more internet ¡­ soon the people ensuring all the servers are up and running will all be gone. Everything holding you back from being the true concentrated essence of an apex predator is gone.¡± He clenched his fist and then splayed his fingers to indicate some kind of ¡®poof¡¯. Liza was trembling as she listened to the madman¡¯s ramblings. ¡°Where is your headset, by the way?¡± ¡°I threw it,¡± she said thickly. ¡°No, you¡¯ll need it. It¡¯s the one thing that will separate you from them.¡± He pointed all around at the zombies. ¡°Everyone who is not a part of the solution will become part of the problem. That¡¯s the way the zombie apocalypse works. It¡¯s an apt analogy, honestly, for the way the world was going anyway.¡± A pause. ¡°To hell in a handbasket!¡± ¡°You¡¯re crazy,¡± she told him. ¡°By your standards, yes, I am. But by mine, you are.¡± He pointed to the far end of the field. Liza didn¡¯t need to look to know that Spitfire¡¯s blood was still splashed across the grass. ¡°Get the boy¡¯s headset. Zombies won¡¯t eat them. If you don¡¯t crush them, there will be plenty for everyone. Use it and become more powerful. Kill them. Win.¡± He smiled, and this time he looked more confident. ¡°I¡¯m counting on you. When I return, the Earth will be safe once again.¡± ¡°But how did you do it?¡± she demanded to know. ¡°How?¡± ¡°There are things that you will never know. That intelligent civilisations have never before advanced quite enough to find out about. Let¡¯s change that.¡± Liza had plenty more things she wanted to say, but McCray was done talking. He ascended to the door, and then looked conflicted even from behind. He turned on his heel, holding tight onto the handle, and flipped a gun from his waistband that she had not seen even a glimpse of up until then. He pointed it right at her head, and fired, and she screamed and bent double. But ¡­ felt nothing. When she straightened up again, she turned around to see dark congealed blood welling up from a hole right in the centre of a zombie¡¯s forehead. If McCray had felt like it, it would have grabbed her; it had clearly been within a split second of her throat. She turned around to speak, but he was gone and the helicopter rose from the grass. Liza made a pact to never turn her back on a zombie again ¡­ no matter how many questions she might have had. The noise had once again drawn the attention of every roaming creature in the vicinity, and plenty of them were within thirty feet of her already, so Liza took a second to pull in a breath, orientated herself, and made her way to Spitfire¡¯s pool of blood. She gagged, and then righted herself and reached down to pick up the headset that the zombies had indeed left. And then she saw something else. It was still attached to Spitfire¡¯s goddamn ear. That was it ¡ª she had a strong stomach, but that had to be it. She leaned against a tree and in a flurry of panic, disgust and fear, she lost everything she had eaten all day. Which wasn¡¯t much. The thick sound of phlegm rattling in something¡¯s throat caused her to whip around to see that a creature was too close for comfort already ¡ª she kept underestimating the speed of their walk! ¡ª and she sucked in a couple of deep breaths and yanked the knife from her waist, opposite to her pistol, and strode forward. Her stomach was still in turmoil, but if she gave off a couple of shots the zombies who had lost sight of her while she threw up in the trees would start to slope towards her again, and she would have to get used to disgusting stuff sooner rather than later. So Liza hesitated for only a second before she drew back her arm and then ¡­ thok ¡­ jammed the six-inch blade into the temple of the approaching monster. It jerked for a second, and then its knees buckled so fast that she almost lost her balance and toppled down after it. With a good yank, she retrieved her blackened blade and wiped it on the grass, pausing every other second to allow herself a dry heave. The others who had spotted her running, maybe twenty of them at varying distances, were coming for her, so with tears in her eyes Liza kicked at the ear, and it didn¡¯t come apart. So she picked up the headset, and pulled it from the ear herself. Standing with a tiny football-shaped hunk of plastic and metal in one hand, and a human ear in another, with tears in her eyes and the taste of acid in her mouth, Liza wondered what the hell there was to do next. Barricade herself somewhere? Hide? Fight? She wanted to find her friends, that was certain. A tremble rippled through her as she thought about where they were, and she backed away from the approaching cluster of four zombies, and nearly stepped on something. There were at least four headsets on the grass here, where people had ripped them off and then started to run. She looked again at the ear in her hand and let out an audible yelp of horror ¡ª she hadn¡¯t had to touch this freaking thing at all! ¡°OK, alright, here ¡­ what¡¯s this?¡± she said, as if talking to a dog, and flapped the ear through the air. ¡°Go get it!¡± She threw it with all her might behind the group of zombies ¡ª ears were a touch more aerodynamic than she probably would have guessed ¡ª and their nostrils flared and they turned to follow after the exposed bloody flesh scent. ¡°Thanks, Spitfire,¡± Liza muttered, and attached one of the clean sets to her own intact ear, before orientating herself and beginning to jog. If she could get to the high street, maybe she could warn people who were buying and putting on the headsets right at that moment. Maybe she could save lives. And not only the lives of the people who would pop on the AR in the streets ¡ª McCray was truly a genius, she realised; he had made a game that people wanted to play in highly populated areas ¡ª but also the people who would become their victims. She had no energy left to run. No food in her body, lightheaded from disgust and adrenaline, and thirsty as all hell, Liza half walked and half jogged back to the road to make her way, somehow, the four miles to the nearest town. Chapter Six

Chapter Six

¡°I came "here" to get "there." Do I have any fucking clue what "there" is? Hell the fuck no. I''m just trying to live in a world of the dead.¡± -The Walking Dead Vol. 26 Aaron squirmed in his seat beside his oldest friend and reached for the shopping bag between the two boys. Fred snatched it away with a grin on his tanned face and tossed the hair from his eyes. Aaron had always been jealous of the other boy¡¯s ability to look like a movie star even when committing to something entirely mundane. Like riding the bus home after a morning of browsing their favourite gaming store. Aaron squirmed in his seat with excitement, since Fred had promised that he would give him a go at the game as soon as they got to the street he lived on ¡ª the gaming company had released a statement that the game, being AR, was almost pointless to play indoors, and was best played in crowded areas with friends. ¡°Just try it here, quickly, see what the fuss is about. I just wanna look through it once. Just once,¡± Aaron said, grinning back at his best friend before catching sight of his goofy reflection in the bus window behind Fred, which made his mouth snap shut immediately. ¡°Dude,¡± Fred said with a laugh, having seen exactly what had happened. ¡°Your smile is fine. You¡¯ve gotta chill out! Alright, you can peek through it now on the bus, but we can¡¯t play it or we¡¯ll probably freak people out.¡± ¡°Haha,¡± Aaron voiced, looking down, ¡°yeah, it probably would.¡± He looked around at the other people on the bus; it was less crowded than it usually was when he took it in the evening to his shift at the restaurant. There were a couple of old people, a woman with too many shopping bags, and a smattering of student-aged people, which was common enough on a bus that went right past the university campus. Fred pulled it out, and turned the shiny box around in his hands, the corner of his mouth upturned with muted excitement, and causing a dimple in his cheek that Aaron couldn¡¯t help but stare at. It always made him feel self-conscious when he caught himself staring, and he looked away. ¡°Damn, it¡¯s tiny!¡± Fred laughed as he managed to get the box open and squeaked the polystyrene out and onto his lap. He plucked the tiny headset out. Greenish with a white biohazard symbol emblazoned on the side. It looked like one of those pairs of magnets Aaron used to toss into the air and watch clang back together on the way down. ¡°Uhh, are you meant to look through that thing?¡± ¡°No, dude, you attach it to the ear, look.¡± Fred swivelled the box around to show a clean sketch of the product clipped to the top part of somebody¡¯s ear. Across the face was a bezel-free screen that showed the words ¡®GAME OVER¡¯, which was probably a weird choice for the packaging, but it got the point across. Revelations Software had kept their plans very secret, but it looked like The Alpha Virus was an earpiece that somehow projected augmented reality screens in front of the eyes. How incredible was that? It kind of seemed impossible. ¡°OK, you gotta let me try it. That¡¯s amazing. Give it!¡± Aaron teased, reaching across his friend¡¯s lap, but allowing Fred to move it out of his reach. ¡°Me first,¡± he said. ¡°I just wanna go first.¡± Aaron wrinkled his nose in an exaggerated grimace. ¡°Selfish.¡± ¡°Yep!¡± Fred said, and hummed as his fingers trailed across the simple instructions. ¡°Clip to ear, press button to start. Fuck me, this is amazing. No charging even needed.¡± ¡°How?¡± Aaron asked, snatching the box from Fred¡¯s lap as he fixed the blue scrap of plastic to his left ear. ¡°Shit, but that¡¯s so cool.¡± ¡°Yeah, man, is that on?¡± Aaron checked. ¡°Yup.¡± He squirmed some more. ¡°Do it. Did you do it? What can you see? Are you still on a bus?¡± Fred chuckled. ¡°Chill out, wait a second. OK, there. Pressing.¡± There was a tiny click as Fred¡¯s fingernails scratched across the plastic to find the ¡®on¡¯ button, and then dug into it with excitement just as the bus stopped to let somebody on. Aaron grinned, bouncing around, and Fred¡¯s head lolled for a second. He must have been staring at something interesting on his lap. ¡°Dude!¡± he squealed, not caring how dumb he sounded. ¡°Dude.¡± He shoved playfully at Fred¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Are you reading something? Fuck! Stop ignoring me, I¡¯m dying he¡ª¡± In a slow motion, Fred raised his head again and opened his mouth. A thick line of drool escaped from between impossibly cracked lips. Seconds ago he could have applied to be a male model and now he looked ¡­ unwell. Aaron struggled to get out the rest of his word, and then his best friend leaned forward, his lips hovering from Aaron¡¯s skipping jugular. And then Fred nuzzled into his neck, breathed hotly, and tore out his throat with his front teeth. There was a scuffle, and then a scream, and then it harmonised with half a dozen other screams. ¡°What¡¯s going on back there?¡± the bus driver demanded in a voice ravaged by cigarettes. The last thing Aaron saw was a muddy, crazy-looking blonde girl by the front of the bus. He thought she must have just hopped on because he would have noticed her earlier. He saw her reach determinedly into a hip holster as Fred gorged himself, and just as she lifted the gun with her left eye closed, surrounded by shrieks, Aaron slipped painfully into death. For only the first time that day. *
Headshot! 80 UP
Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there. The zombie on the left slumped forward and oozed thick black blood on the seat in front of him, now vacated since everyone on the bus was screaming and jabbing at the emergency exit button on the door. ¡°The fuck is going on back there?!¡± the bus driver yelled. ¡°What the fuck?!¡± The back doors slid open even though the vehicle was cruising down the road at what had to be 40 miles an hour. ¡°Don¡¯t do it!¡± Liza protested, moving towards the group of terrified people standing at the doors and looking insane with terror, from the zombie and back to her gun. There was a groan then, and the poor chewed up boy stirred in his seat and lifted his head up. His pupils were faded and there were deep purple bags under his lifeless eyes. He groaned again, and it rattled violently due to the general state of his throat. ¡°Shit,¡± Liza squeaked, and her breath caught in her throat as the bus rounded a corner violently. ¡°Fuck, is that a gun? Don¡¯t fucking shoot anyone! Please!¡± the bus driver screamed. ¡°Shoot! Shoot!¡± an elderly man roared with all his might to Liza at the same time. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I¡¯m sorry!¡± Liza cried, no idea who she was talking to. She let out a breath and went for a headshot, but the zombie lunged from his stained red seat towards the cluster of deliciously alive people by the open doors ¡ª and her bullet burst through the chair instead. They all screamed, and the bus turned a corner wildly as the driver cried out too, clearly having caught sight of the true enemy in his mirror, finally. The combination caused four of the people to fly out of the open doors and roll onto the ground at a high speed, and Liza winced. The zombie, who had probably been only a year or two younger than herself in life, lunged to the one young woman who had managed to hang on to the poles when everyone else had knocked each other out, her eyes squeezed shut and her lips trembling so violently it looked like she was stammering, but no noise was coming out. ¡°Fuck, keep still!¡± Liza ordered the zombie desperately, but he was moving faster than the last zombies up til now had, and that was really throwing her off. The shooting she had done with her father had been stationary targets. When the targets started to move, she had always missed. Always. Fuck. She remembered everything she knew. Stance. Arms. Eyeline. Breathing. Fuck. Come on. ¡°Help me help ¡­ HELP ME!¡± the woman screamed, a louder noise than Liza thought a human could produce, but it didn¡¯t even pause the zombie for one second as it lunged to her, teeth-first. ¡°Fuck,¡± Liza hissed, and squeezed the trigger, hoping desperately that the bus wouldn¡¯t lurch around another corner and cause her to shoot a hole in the alive woman. The bullet punched through the zombie¡¯s nose, cutting it clean from his face, and this gave him a second of pause as though he felt that he had run into a barrier ¡ª nothing more. He grasped at the woman¡¯s arms and she managed to kick him in the knee with such force that it snapped, and he fell down, teeth still gnashing through the nose blood. Liza¡¯s bullet grazed the top of his head and he gargled with a desperate hunger. How many bullets did she have left? She had stopped counting. ¡°Please!¡± the woman was yelping, kicking at him again and again, tears coating almost her entire face. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I¡¯m so sorry,¡± Liza gasped, and breathed out again just as the zombie leaned forward. The gun let out that now-familiar, comforting ¡®boom¡¯ and kickback, indicating that she had at least one more beautiful bullet in the chamber, and it ripped through the boy¡¯s head.
Headshot! 80 UP
¡°Th¡ª¡± the woman professed, just as the driver screeched around a sharp corner with a screaming expletive, and at least three horns honked. The woman¡¯s eyes flew open wide and she tumbled from the open doors. ¡°No!¡± Liza screamed, but the movement caused her to tumble and slam her entire abdomen into the luggage rack, and her pistol skittered across the floor. Stars in her eyes, and the bus whining to a halt, she pushed herself to her feet and tried and failed to suck in a couple of breaths. Totally winded, she staggered and gasped her way towards the back of the bus just as the front doors opened and a tubby guy in a police uniform leapt on, gun drawn. Liza fell to the ground and raised her hands, gasping and shaking her head rapidly in his direction. She tried her hardest to speak as he raised his gun at her with shaking hands, but all that came out was a wheeze. The driver door opened and slammed shut and the sweating driver rested his hands on his knees and looked like he was going to throw up. He managed to croak out a few words. ¡°Don¡¯t shoot her, she ain¡¯t done nothin¡¯ wrong.¡± ¡°Is she ¡­ are you ¡­ one of them?¡± The cop shook his gun in her direction and raised his voice. ¡°Why aren¡¯t you speaking?¡± He was scared, she could see that. She shook her head again and pulled in a breath. ¡°No,¡± she managed to wheeze. She coughed, and rolled around on the floor. ¡°No, I¡¯m me.¡± What did that even mean? ¡®No, I¡¯m me.¡¯ He didn¡¯t know who she was! ¡°OK,¡± he said. ¡°Where¡¯d you get a gun?¡± he asked, pointing to the pistol behind her with the barrel of his own. Liza had never seen a police officer with a gun up close ¡ª it was a rarity in the UK, especially outside of problem areas like the centre of London. ¡°I¡­¡± She struggled to think of an explanation that didn¡¯t sound insane. ¡°I found it. I just found it.¡± He paused, and then nodded. Score one for her being a wide-eyed 20-year-old girl. ¡°You be careful,¡± he said, looking pretty grey and glancing over his shoulder. Liza sat up quickly when she realised that she could hear chaos through the ringing in her ears. ¡°People are tearing each other up in the streets.¡± He rubbed his palm against his mouth for a second. ¡°It¡¯s like a goddamn zombie apocalypse out there. Keep yourself safe.¡± His eyes lingered on the two dead boys for a second before he shook his head in a mixture of disgust and sorrow and exited the bus. ¡°Get off, get out, they might stand up again,¡± the driver said, scratching manically at his bald spot. ¡°C¡¯mon girl, go, go.¡± A goddamn zombie apocalypse. Liza got to her feet and snatched the Glock up again, staring at the town centre through the front window of the bus. People screamed and ran, some splattered with blood, some cradling wounds. A car had smashed into a shop front and was flickering with light flames. Two living men beat each other to shit in front of the scene. A police officer let off a warning round into the sky but nobody took any notice. A woman snatched a screaming toddler, hopefully her own, off the street and took off at a sprint. A group of hooded teens streamed out of a big store with heads ducked low and expensive merchandise under their arms. Liza couldn¡¯t even see a single zombie. Was this all it took? A couple of slow-moving undead, to devolve humanity to this extent? Out of the corner of her eye she could see a car driving at full speed towards the illegally-stopped bus and she screamed and dove out of the open doors, but the impact never happened, because a second speeding car t-boned it metres away, and they both skidded through a group of looters and smashed clean through the glass into the store. There were so many screams and sirens and shouts that for a second it sounded like nothing. Like one solid white noise, instead of hundreds of separate ones. Liza stood there and stared, her gun hot in her hand, and then she wiped the sweat from her face and began to walk. So much for getting here to save people. It looked as though McCray had won already. All over the world, this was happening. She could see a TV in a mostly-looted tech store, behind the spiderweb cracks in the glass. The news was silent, but clear as day. Across the world the same thing was happening. He had won, she had never had a chance. The police officer had been exactly correct. It was a goddamn zombie apocalypse. Chapter Seven

Chapter Seven

¡°What wonderful thing didn''t start out scary?¡± -Warm Bodies It was ordinarily a fifteen minute walk from the high street where the bus had left her to her home on London Road, but this time was not so ordinary, and it took her half an hour. Every building she passed had not gone undamaged by the first few hours of the end of the world. Shops had been decimated by looters, and everything else by people who just wanted a taste of destruction the second they realised there were no rules. Every ten paces something new was smashed or scorched. A street that she knew so well, almost unrecognisable, but not quite. Reality, but altered. Different. Augmented. She burst into her house and slammed the door behind her, resisting the urge to plant herself on the hallway floor and stare at nothing, stunned, for the next day and a half. She had things to do. She had to make a plan, and stick to it. Number one on her list of priorities was already set in stone. Liza was going to survive the apocalypse, by any means necessary. It was the specifics that were a touch murkier. McCray had said that he wanted humanity to win. That was why, at the college events, he had given a group of students at each meetup the unique ability to play the game as it was meant to be played. To win. Games were created to be defeated. As long as they were a challenge. McCray had proven to everybody that he was a master gamemaker with Harp. The entire point of Harp, Liza was starting to realise, was to create an inordinate amount of hype for The Alpha Virus, ensuring that the most people possible worldwide went out and bought it first thing. The campus events across the world served to ensure that hundreds of thousands of fit young people were turned from potential zombie-killers to zombies. Swarms that would ripple outwards like the red points on that map, destroying everything in their path. Liza gingerly pushed at her lower ribs and felt no stabbing pain, so assumed that meant nothing was broken, and then made her way to the living room. Which was empty, of course. She was tempted to squeeze her eyes together and do that loud scream-crying thing that seemed to make toddlers feel better ¡ª at least, just for a while ¡ª but she managed to curb that impulse and flopped instead onto one of the two cheap leather couches in front of the TV. The room was a mess, but it was a cosy mess. It was a student house that was coming apart at the seams. The floorboards in the middle of the hardwood living room came up with just the prying of fingernails, and they had lovingly nicknamed the dark and cobwebby crater underneath the ¡®body hole¡¯, for just in case one of them ever murdered somebody. The leather covering on the couches was split and cracked like a thirsty desert, there was a hole in the wall from that one time Tucker had gotten drunk and dumped by what was, by his standards, a long-term girlfriend because she¡¯d cheated on him. The house was lived in, and comfortable; all the flaws and degradation made it quirky and comforting ¡­ and in the context of a zombie apocalypse, it was incredibly unsafe. So incredibly unsafe. A sleepy zombie could just about breach the walls by leaning on them. She buried her head in her hands for a moment, knowing she really didn¡¯t want to leave, but knowing that she really didn¡¯t want to die. And wishing that her friends were here. But she could make preparations now, and they could wait out the storm, together, when they got home. Because they would make it back home. She was sure of it. They were all armed, and they knew the area. And zombies are slow, easy to trick, and stupid as a sack of rocks. She traced her finger across the cigarette burn mark on the arm of the couch, and thought back to what McCray had said to her, again. He wanted them to win. He had given them an advantage. Not just the weapons, but the headsets. Right? She had points and he said she could use them to get stronger. Getting stronger was a pretty appealing thought right about then, sitting and listening to the screams and roars of the end of the world, and feeling exposed in a crumbling old house that would likely blow away in a stiff breeze. So she pulled one of the collection of headsets from her pocket ¡ª not the one covered in blood; she would try to remember to clean that off before gifting it to somebody ¡ª and popped it onto her ear, wincing as she did so as if afraid that it would change its purpose out of nowhere and turn her into a creature like the green ones had. But nothing happened, not that she could see, anyway. A slight rippling sheen appeared, as it had before, on the surface of the objects in the room as it calibrated, and then nothing more. Liza concentrated with one eye closed and her nose wrinkled, hoping to get back into the screen that held her weapons.
Weapon Features Power
Glock 19 Capacity: 3/15 25
Bowie Knife None 10
It hovered in front of her and instead of ¡®X¡¯ing out of the page, she trailed her eyes over to the name of her gun and ¡ª noting that it was incredibly useful that she could take the time to check how many rounds were left ¡ª concentrated on it, wondering if anything was going to happen. A new table replaced the old one, and she took the time to familiarise herself and try to understand it. She did not have the greatest track record of being good at things like this. In the past, she would have had one of her brothers help her out with hard levels, preferring to play games for the story if she played them at all.
Glock 19 UP to Next Level
Features Capacity: 15 400
Empty Slot (Unlock) 100
Unlock an empty slot? What the hell would that do? She tried to concentrate on different parts of the table but nothing happened. She blinked a couple of times. In the top corner of the interface she saw a little ¡®UP Available¡¯ tab and she maximised it. 820. She had 820 UP already. It seemed like a lot, but it almost certainly was not. If she unlocked the two options on her screen at that moment she would be down very low, and she wasn¡¯t sure what else she could do with it ¡ª and if more capacity was worth it over another option she hadn¡¯t yet discovered. She bit the bullet ¡ª pun intended ¡ª and decided to go for unlocking the second slot, because the cost was low and she was very curious as to what she would be able to add. After ¡®hitting¡¯ Confirm with her eyeballs she was sent back to the same table.
Glock 19 UP to Next Level
Features Capacity: 15 400
Empty Slot ?
Empty Slot (Unlock) 200
Well ¡­ OK, then. That just seemed like a giant waste of points, or was she missing something? In vain she figured she would try to stare at the words ¡®Empty Slot¡¯ until something magically happened, and to her surprise, another prompt appeared, overlaid on top of the table. At that moment there was a loud splintering crash from outside that made her jump to her feet, the interface jumping forward with her to remain in front of her vision, but the noise had been at least two houses away so she nervously swallowed and brought her attention back to the upgrades ¡ª this was what she needed to be doing at that moment. This was what was going to save her life. The prompt was simple. Too simple to make any sense.
You have unlocked a slot for a new feature for this weapon. What would you like to add?
That ¡­ was it. There was nothing else there! Liza furiously looked up and down, did her best to will the interface to scroll, to move onto page 2 ¡ª anything! Nothing happened. Nothing at all. ¡°Shit,¡± she hissed. Did she have to unlock actual features somehow? What kind of features even were there? Apart from increased capacity for bullets, what else could a gun do? If her brothers were here they would be pissing themselves with laughter right now, and she knew that, but she still didn¡¯t know the answer. A fucking paint job? What could she do? She thought hard back to her father and her brothers, and the time they had spent together doing what her father considered bonding family activities. Peter Volkov was a man with very specific ideas and opinions that would never have been changed for anything; a second-generation Russian immigrant, he believed in hard work and little payoff. If an activity didn¡¯t ¡®build character¡¯, what was the point in doing it? If Liza really, truly, thought about it ¡­ it occurred to her that even though she had been a miserable little girl, with a childhood as cold as a Moscow winter, she was really far more prepared for the events that were about to unfold than any of her peers. Her father had taken the five of them camping twice a year, taught them how to skin a rabbit ¡ª six-year-old Eliza had cried on and off for more than a week after that first one ¡ª and taught them how to shoot at targets and tin cans. ¡°The world is a cold and lonely place, Eliza,¡± her father had said to her. He had only been to Russia once to visit ailing family with his parents, as a boy, but in her memories of her childhood Liza always heard him speak with a slight accent. ¡°No children of mine will grow up without knowing how to scare away the monsters under their beds.¡± She did wonder if her family was doing alright in these critical first few hours. Two of her older brothers were in the military, so they were probably already on their way to quell some of the troubles, but the other two ¡­ one stayed at home playing games, and getting into screaming matches with their father almost daily on the subject of being a layabout, and the other was in grad school up in Scotland. Her father was in his 50s but he was the hardiest goddamn human being that Liza had ever met. He would never die. She could imagine a zombie coming for him and then just turning around and sloping away because he shot them that look. She thought back to the first time he had taught her how to shoot bottles, illegally, in the thick English woods with his father¡¯s old pistol. She remembered how the awkward shape and weight of the old service revolver had felt in her teenage hands. The freezing air on her face; the boiling heat of her father¡¯s disappointment when she had missed five shots in a row. The warmth that had washed over her when she had squeezed the trigger on the sixth try and the bottle had exploded in a shower of brown, shimmering glass¡­ She would never forget it. ¡°Eliza, having a gun is akin to having magical powers,¡± her father had told her that day, his hand on her shoulder with as much affection as he had ever showed her. ¡°The problem is that in a world where everyone has superpowers, it might as well be nobody.¡± Liza had wondered whether that was why he had stayed in England despite complaining about the country almost daily. Most of the Volkov family had emigrated from Russia when it looked like nuclear war was starting to rear its ugly head around 2020, but most of them had gone elsewhere. Poland, America, Canada. His parents had moved to England, and he had stayed there and acquired a hunting license. But he never hunted, and he had far more guns than he had reasons to own any. Including handguns, which were almost impossible to find in Britain. She had always wondered what the consequences would be if they were ever found, but she had never even come close to asking. There was plenty that Peter Volkov did that Liza was not sure was entirely above board. Feeling helpless ¡ª and disliking the feeling immensely ¡ª Liza opened up the Glock¡¯s menu again and stared at it.
Glock 19 UP to Next Level
Features Capacity: 15 400
Empty Slot ?
Empty Slot (Unlock) 200
¡°Fuck, Dad,¡± she muttered, and got up, realising that if she hadn¡¯t left her bag with her phone in it back up at the field, she could still probably have called him and asked how to best improve a pistol. And made sure that they were all OK, sure, but honestly Liza was way more worried about herself than any of her highly capable brothers or her father. She lay down again and allowed herself to close her eyes for a second, trying to clear her mind of adrenaline and fear, for just a moment. ¡°For small prey you can use any kind of ammunition, if you just want them dead,¡± she remembered him saying. ¡°If you want to use the pelt, or the meat, it¡¯d be best if you used a knife.¡±This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source. The memory was completely useless in terms of figuring out how to upgrade gun, but Liza had the idea to open up her knife¡¯s menu as well to take a look.
Bowie Knife UP to Next Level
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Well, that had nothing at all that was available to her to upgrade, and since she knew that the next menu contained nothing if she unlocked one of the slots, she held off. 15 rounds in one gun was perfectly alright with her for now, too, so she wasn¡¯t quite sure what to do. McCray had told her that this was the way to gain the upper hand in this new world, and she just couldn¡¯t quite figure it out. She was about to resign to her desire to wallow in uncertainty for several hours ¡ª or maybe just sit and watch Netflix with glazed-over eyes while her college town outside burned ¡ª when there was a small explosion sound outside, and then crackling, and screaming. It sounded like fireworks. More and more went off, and the screams got louder, and suddenly there was a furious, desperate pounding at the front door. ¡°Hey. Hey! Anybody in there?¡± a voice was crying, so broken and terrified that she couldn¡¯t even identify the gender of the speaker. Liza bolted through the hallway to look through the peephole ¡ª not willing to take any chances in a situation where people were setting off fireworks at what sounded like windows. She threw open the door and Yana shoved past her to get inside, and slammed the door shut before pressing her back against the wall and sliding to the ground ¡ª much like Liza herself had wanted to when she had returned. The other girl was a mess. Yana was normally so put together and had that trademark air of bored beauty, with her shiny burnt caramel hair, olive skin and almond-shaped green eyes. Everything about Yana apparently reminded Liza of food. She lifted her hands to scrape through her messy hair and clenched her fists, trembling violently. ¡°They¡¯re dead,¡± she said quietly, and then before Liza could answer she looked up, mascara smudged across most of her face, and glowered. ¡°Didn¡¯t you hear me? I said they¡¯re dead!¡± ¡°Wh-who?¡± ¡°Everyone. Everyone is dead.¡± She lowered her face into her open palms again, still quivering uncontrollably. Liza felt numb. ¡°All of them?¡± she asked quietly. ¡°Tucker, James, Celia?¡± There was a pause, and then a shrug, and Liza¡¯s knees felt weak with relief. ¡°I was with a couple of those other boys. I ran and ran and then I had to stop, I thought I was going to throw up. Then two of them caught up with me and we ran together. For forever, it felt like. Through the trees. Somehow we curved backwards and ended up at a farm just beside where it ¡­ happened.¡± ¡°Yeah?¡± Yana nodded, sick. ¡°There were a couple of sheep in the field. Nothing dangerous, so we hopped it and kept going. There was ¡­ a gap in the fence. The things got in. One of them got distracted by a sheep so we kept running. But it was disgusting, Liza, it tore the thing apart.¡± She sniffed. ¡°But better it than us.¡± There was a silence. ¡°What happened to them?¡± Liza asked quietly. ¡°We rounded the corner in the field, thinking we were safe, but there were ¡­ fifty, sixty of them there. Eating the sheep. Picking them clean. They all looked up and saw us. It was nightmarish. The guy, Tommo, he turned and ran for it without a word. We yelled for him to come back and be careful, but I think he just couldn¡¯t hear, he was too afraid. He ran right into a clump of them coming up behind them. Struggled.¡± She swallowed hard. ¡°Dead.¡± Liza opened her mouth but she had no idea what to say. She hadn¡¯t known him, but she remembered that he hadn¡¯t been a bad guy. And even if he had been one of the annoying ones ¡­ no one deserved to die like that. Ripped to shreds, surrounded by sheep guts, on a day you¡¯d woken up and thought was like any other. ¡°The other one. Fosters. We stared at his friend getting killed for so long, we could barely move, and then there were hands on us. We both bolted, but he ¡­ fuck, I think he tripped me on purpose. Then he left me there.¡± ¡°Holy shit.¡± ¡°Yeah. I blasted the closest thing with my gun, right in the mouth. I remember that, but somehow I lost my gun somewhere. I don¡¯t¡­¡± She was shaking, eyes darting. ¡°It¡¯s OK,¡± Liza assured her, unsure what else to say. ¡°Then I ran again. I saw ¡­ I saw the farmer come out. He shot at the zombies who were eating his sheep, he got a few of them, and he shot at me before I managed to get too far away. Then I heard the dude screaming, Fosters, and then a gun blast, and then complete silence.¡± ¡°The farmer?¡± ¡°He was just shooting, and shooting.¡± Yana let out a shaky breath. ¡°I saw him reloading, and then I just saw zombies. Like a hundred. And then I couldn¡¯t see him anymore.¡± ¡°They¡¯re all still out there.¡± ¡°And I ran into one on the road. I kicked it right in the crotch and ran.¡± She cracked a small smile, and Liza helped her up. ¡°We have to make a plan. I was thinking ¡­ we could stay in this house and wait out this portion of the apocalypse. The looting and the shooting. Wait for the army to get here or the police to regain control, and then come out when it¡¯s safe. But the streets aren¡¯t safe. We¡¯re more likely to be killed by another person than a ¡­ a zombie.¡± ¡°Fuck¡¯s sake, I don¡¯t want to have to call them that with a straight face.¡± ¡°I know, but what else do you want to call them? You want to make up another word for them?¡± Yana¡¯s brow twitched. ¡°No, that¡¯s stupid.¡± She made her way into the living room to slump down onto the sofa and process all the things she had just seen, while Liza moved to look through the peephole onto the street again. The pub across the road from their house was on fire. ¡°Didn¡¯t like it much in there anyway,¡± she said to herself. Their road was the busiest one in the town of Fairacres: London Road, which led to the capital city. There were always cars and buses zooming up and down the residential road. But there were no cars today; not even parked. To the left, an abandoned car completely blocked the road, and Liza imagined that there were only more further on. People dashed across her fish eye lens field of vision every so often, holding things, chasing each other, screaming. Always screaming. The screaming hadn¡¯t stopped. Two zombies shuffled around the corner, up the hill towards the university, and then for a moment there was silence ¡­ and then another deafening shattering sound from one of the houses next door, and Yana screamed from the living room. ¡°Was that us?¡± ¡°No, but I think we need to board up our windows,¡± Liza said, peeling herself away from the door and turning to walk through the short hallway. ¡°Check the news.¡± She expected the other girl to switch on the television, but she pulled a tablet from the side table and searched her Facebook feed to see what people were saying. ¡°Any good apocalypse memes?¡± Liza asked dryly, but Yana never knew when she was joking, and looked up with narrowed eyes. ¡°What?¡± ¡°It was ¡­ nothing. Just because people tend to take stuff pretty lightly. It was a joke. It¡¯s all very sad.¡± ¡°How many people have you seen die today, already?¡± Liza shuffled awkwardly. ¡°A few.¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± Yana said. Liza hated feeling like she was being told off, especially by someone she considered a peer. Yana didn¡¯t consider anyone a peer, though. She flicked her eyes back to the tablet and scrolled. ¡°Looks like ¡­ it¡¯s everywhere. People are doing that thing where they¡¯re labelling themselves ¡®Safe¡¯; you should do it. For your family.¡± ¡°Sure,¡± Liza said. ¡°Honestly, if I don¡¯t survive this, my dad will posthumously disown me anyway,¡± she said. ¡°It¡¯s exactly the kind of character building he would have wanted me to go through.¡± ¡°Everyone who tried out the game.¡± She was on a news site now, ignoring Liza ¡ª which was probably for the best. She tended to babble when she was at a loss for something else to do. ¡°It¡¯s worldwide. Deaths got to an estimated mid five figures in the UK before counting stopped. That¡¯s only counting the people who died in the first couple of hours this morning, after the release.¡± ¡°So, everyone who bought the headset has turned, pretty much?¡± ¡°Yep. It¡¯s chaos.¡± Yana massaged the bridge of her nose. ¡°Who knew it would take something so small as to witness a couple of people eating people for society to completely break down.¡± As if on cue, a shattering explosion and an ear-piercing scream made both girls flinch. ¡°Boarding up the windows sounds good,¡± Yana said, straightening up. ¡°Then what? It¡¯s still not exactly safe in this house.¡± Liza looked at the scuffed white plaster walls they had tried to spruce up by tacking up curling movie posters. Their house was a heap of crap, it had to be said. Ideally they would go somewhere else, but where? ¡°We should stay here to let the others in,¡± she said. She had had her house key in her jeans pocket, but the others may very well have left theirs in their bags on the stage. ¡°Then go somewhere else?¡± Yana asked. ¡°Maybe we could just stay down there for a couple of days,¡± Liza suggested, nodding to the door beside the TV that led down to the kitchen basement that had made the house seem so quirky when they¡¯d come to view it. What it actually had meant, though, was a constant smell of mildew and an unending slug problem, and Liza had barely used the house¡¯s kitchen in the year they had lived there. ¡°All five of us?¡± It was a small kitchen. Counters wrapped around the far two walls, and a four-seater table took up the rest of the room. The floor was cold exposed red brick. It didn¡¯t exactly scream welcoming apocalypse bunker. But if they got enough food and barricaded the door, and maybe covered the floor in blankets, it would be alright for a day. They could fit if they all lay side by side without moving, probably. Except for the fact that there was no bathroom. Yikes. Scrap that plan. The familiar sound of a key scraping into their front door lock had both of their heads snap towards the door as it swung open. Tucker arrived, blood splashed on his cheek and staining the front of his dark shirt, his mouth and eyes wide and open with shock, his chest rising and falling. ¡°It¡¯s ¡­ it¡¯s insane out there,¡± he breathed. ¡°Thank god you¡¯re here. Is it just you two?¡± Liza got up and took his arm to help him onto the couch. ¡°It¡¯s just us so far,¡± she confirmed. ¡°Tommo is definitely dead. Fosters is almost definitely dead.¡± Tucker swallowed, his glazed eyes flicking up to catch hers. ¡°One more,¡± he said. His face was and unhealthy shade of grey, and Liza braced herself and squeezed his hand. ¡°Who?¡± she asked. Tucker¡¯s eyes dropped again. ¡°Me.¡± There was an uncomfortable pause, and he gripped the bottom hem of his shirt and with shaking hands he lifted it up. His abdomen was slick with dark red blood, and Liza felt instantly like she was going to be sick. ¡°Oh, god, no,¡± she moaned. ¡°Tucker, were you bitten?¡± He shook his head. ¡°No,¡± he said through cracked lips, his eyelids fluttering shut. ¡°I ran into ¡­ Ben. I thought ¡­ everyone was going to shit. People were beating the hell out of each other all around us. So I got in a good punch. I think I broke his nose.¡± He gently smiled. ¡°Just thought he deserved a punch. Can¡¯t fuck someone else¡¯s girlfriend with no consequences.¡± ¡°What happened?¡± Liza urged, pulling the shirt off his head to no resistance from him, and dabbing it on his stomach in vain. The bleeding wasn¡¯t stopping, but it wasn¡¯t gushing. She knew that he needed medical attention, and soon. But there was no way that any of the hospitals would have time to see him. They¡¯d already be completely at capacity. ¡°Fucker had a knife,¡± Tucker chuckled. ¡°Guess he wasn¡¯t in the mood to be punched.¡± For a second his head lolled, and then snapped up again, and he blinked in confusion. ¡°Sorry, I shouldn¡¯t have come home just to die here.¡± Yana stood up and sat next to him, pressing her hand against his wet forehead. His head lolled against her shoulder, and she started to cry, the tears she had been holding back coming thick and fast. ¡°We need to call an ambulance,¡± she said, and pulled the oblong from Tucker¡¯s red-stained basketball shorts, unlocking it with the ease of a trusted friend, and lifting it to her ear, her lip quivering. ¡°Hello? Ye¡ª¡± She cut herself off, frowning. ¡°What?¡± Liza prompted. Yana selected the speaker icon and held it out. It was a crackly and hasty recording of some kind, on repeat. ¡°¡ªzz the emergency services. Every single car is currently dispatched. Leave a message and we will get to your emergency as soon as we can. Please get inside and block your windows and doors as best you can. If you cannot get inside, get to your nearest designated safe area. You have reached zz¡ª¡± Safe area? Liza felt very cold, watching Tucker¡¯s head roll again, his eyes twitching beneath his lids. ¡°You¡¯re not going to die, Tucker,¡± she said. ¡°You¡¯re just in shock.¡± She had no idea what she was talking about, but it occurred to her that she had grabbed that roll of bandages from the crate. ¡°Try to wake him up,¡± she told Yana. ¡°Or is that just concussions? Whatever. Keep him awake.¡± ¡°Maybe it would be better to let him sleep,¡± Yana sniffled, fresh tears coating her cheeks again. She smoothed Tucker¡¯s dark hair from his forehead and kissed his damp skin. ¡°I really feel like it¡¯s better to keep him awake,¡± Liza said, but she had honestly no idea. She rummaged through the pockets of her jacket and spread the clips she had grabbed out across the coffee table before pulling out the bandages, which looked completely pathetic in the face of a real emergency. A rapid, desperate pounding on their front door and a shriek pulled Liza to her feet again. ¡°Shit!¡± she cried, fumbling with her attempt to unwrap the bandages. ¡°They¡¯re so fucking small and thin, I don¡¯t ¡­ I don¡¯t know¡­¡± More, furious pounding. ¡°Tucker,¡± she yelled. ¡°Yana, keep him awake.¡± ¡°Hey, Tuck, you wanna watch some TV?¡± Yana asked softly, her voice wobbling and her fingers tracing his cheeks. ¡°Can you hear me?¡± Liza threw the door open. ¡°Please be someone who can help!¡± she said aloud, barely even aware of it. Celia blinked at her through cracked glasses, holding tight to her dangling left arm. She was breathing awkwardly, raspily, and Liza let her in without a word, and shut and chained the door. ¡°Good,¡± she wheezed, when she saw that Yana and Tucker were on the couch, and then she stomped up the stairs to the bedrooms, her breathing laboured and painful-sounding. ¡°Asthma?¡± Liza yelled up to her. ¡°Sec,¡± Celia rasped, and kicked her bedroom door open. Liza ran back to Tucker and pulled the tight roll of bandages apart with her fingers as it sounded like a drawer was emptied onto the floor above their heads with a loud clatter. ¡°Celia, punch the floor if you need help,¡± Liza yelled upstairs. ¡°Finally, our ridiculously thin walls can do some good.¡± The mood refused to be lightened. Yana was shaking with sobs, her lips pressed to Tucker¡¯s temple, and his eyes were fluttering shut again. ¡°Celia!¡± Liza yelled, at a total loss as to what to do. What kind of an advantage over the masses was this, really? They were all going to die; they were flesh and blood like everybody else. Tucker¡¯s quick temper had gotten him killed the second people stopped following the rules. Liza felt her eyes start to well up with tears. If she couldn¡¯t make dumb comments, make jokes and try to make people crack a smile, she wasn¡¯t sure what she even had. Her sense of humour, more than her affinity for any type of weapon, had been the reason she had survived her childhood. I survived eighteen years with Peter Volkov and all I got was this lousy apocalypse. So much for becoming an adult and finally being free. ¡°Celia,¡± she cried again. ¡°Are you OK?¡± There was a slam and then the thundering of feet down the stairs and Celia burst, gasping and smiling, still clutching at her arm. ¡°I needed to find my spare,¡± she said, holding up a little white inhaler. Her eyes trailed over to the slumped over boy on the couch. ¡°Tucker?¡± Her eyes widened behind her one cracked frame. ¡°I need your help, I don¡¯t know what to do,¡± Liza said, holding out the unfurled bandages. ¡°Just wrap them? I don¡¯t want to waste them.¡± ¡°The ambulance isn¡¯t coming, we didn¡¯t even leave a message,¡± Yana howled. ¡°I¡¯ve got this. Liza. Put your headset on his ear.¡± ¡°W-what?¡± ¡°The headset you¡¯re wearing.¡± Celia tapped her own, which was still on her ear. Liza reached up to touch hers. ¡°Quickly, you have to give it to Tucker, Liza. Put it on him..¡± She pulled one of the spares from her pocket, and clipped that one onto Tucker¡¯s ear instead, hoping that was good enough ¡ª she didn¡¯t want to lose hers, just in case. Celia nodded once and pulled the bandages from Liza¡¯s hands. ¡°Did you hear the things he said?¡± Celia asked. ¡°What?¡± ¡°McCray. He told us that he wanted us to have an advantage and spread the news. He wants us to beat them back. I¡¯m pretty sure he chose ten of us because he expects only one or two of us to actually survive long enough to get a decent body count.¡± ¡°What?¡± Liza said again. ¡°So he gave us the ability not just to gain points for kills and exchange those points for upgrades ¡ª I¡¯m guessing that none of you have tried to figure out how to do that yet, no offense or anything, but I am assuming you were all busy running ¡ª but he also made it so that we can check each other¡¯s vitals.¡± Celia eyed Liza. ¡°Look, check out Tucker.¡± ¡°Hey, we¡¯re just friends,¡± Liza said weakly. Celia entirely ignored her comment, and quite rightly too. ¡°Concentrate on him for a second. Try to will his health to be visible to you, or whatever. Not exactly sure the device tracks anything other than your eye movement, but it can¡¯t hurt to pretend like it¡¯s psychic too.¡± Liza blinked, and then stared at Tucker, which she had been doing already ¡­ but this time she specifically tried to concentrate on the outline of his body and think about his health as though it was something that could be measured and visualised. Like in a video game. And it popped up. A red bar above his head appeared, and she almost laughed out loud with excitement; how fantastic was that? But then her smile quickly dissipated when she realised that it was draining, visibly, and it was getting somewhere close to empty. ¡°What do we do?¡± she hissed to Celia. Yana was wracked with sobs and didn¡¯t seem like she would be able to answer ¡ª Yana and Tucker were pretty close friends, and it was tearing Liza apart to watch how heartbroken she was. ¡°Well, watch. Just a theory, but we got these bandages from a starter crate, correct? We were promised an advantage, and ¡­ this was written like a video game.¡± ¡°What was?¡± Celia turned to her with a frown like it was the most obvious thing in the word. ¡°The apocalypse, Liza. This whole situation, McCray wrote it, programmed it, and set it in motion. It¡¯s a video game. And we¡¯re the only ones with controllers.¡± ¡°What happens to the people without these?¡± Liza asked, tapping her headset as Celia carefully untangled the bandages, keeping an eye on Tucker¡¯s HP, and then carefully pushed him back against the cushions and removed the ball of his ruined shirt from the open stab wound. Now that a lot of the blood had dried or been absorbed it was clear that the wound was a lot smaller than it had first appeared to be. Celia began the long, arduous task of wrapping the bandages tight around his abdomen. After three firm circumferences, the redness inside the health bar stopped slipping away and remained still, stuck at maybe 10% of his full health. Liza swallowed hard. It was unnerving to see just exactly how close they had come to losing their friend, in front of their faces, in the form of a video game HP bar. ¡°You did it,¡± Liza said quietly. ¡°I¡¯m going to guess that with the headsets on, we¡¯ll be slightly easier to heal. As if we were players in a game. You see? The people without the headset are essentially NPCs, uh, that¡¯s non-player characters¡ª¡± ¡°We know,¡± Liza said quickly. ¡°I didn¡¯t,¡± Yana said, finally breaking her face away from Tucker¡¯s and staring at him. ¡°That really worked. It really worked?¡± ¡°It really did. Now, he can¡¯t get hurt or remove the bandages until he¡¯s healed up a little. Let¡¯s treat him like a china doll until his health is up to 50%, guys, OK?¡± ¡°I see nothing,¡± Yana said, and Liza had already fished out a headset and handed it to her. ¡°These things are way more important than we thought at first,¡± Liza said. ¡°Let¡¯s make sure that we all wear them.¡± She felt in her pocket for the final one, coated in dried blood, and thought about James. A shudder ripped through her. If Yana and Tucker were the closest pair in the house, she and James were probably the second closest. They spent a lot of time together just goofing around ¡ª losing him would damage her, for sure. ¡°So let¡¯s get Tucker to bed,¡± Celia said. ¡°Did anyone get bitten on their way back?¡± ¡°No,¡± Liza said, wide-eyed. ¡°Did you?¡± Yana shook her head, and the three of them gingerly helped their friend to his feet. His eyes were only open a crack and he mumbled something that they couldn¡¯t quite hear. ¡°You did great,¡± Yana told him quietly, and they repositioned themselves so that they could get him into his bedroom. Tucker slept in an extension at the back of the crumbling student house, through a door at the back of the living room and overlooking the tiny garden. To get him there required the three small girls to half-carry him past a little shared bathroom and through a tight few feet of corridor before figuring out how to help each other open his door and get him through it. Then his single bed was right at the other end of the bedroom, past piles of dirty clothes and a hamper of clean clothes. It was like navigating around a maze, with all three of them working together to make sure that his bandages weren¡¯t snagged or tugged, his head didn¡¯t loll too far, and most importantly that they didn¡¯t drop him onto the floor. When Tucker was all tucked up safely in bed, the girls stared at him for a moment, unspoken words hanging in the air. This kind of thing was going to happen again. Nobody was available to help them. And where the hell was James? Chapter Eight

Chapter Eight

¡°I don''t see any. Maybe it''s not as bad as all that. Oh, no, wait, there they are.¡± -Shaun, Shaun of the Dead ¡°McCray told me that the reason he did this to us was partly because every human seems to have a plan to survive the zombie apocalypse,¡± Liza explained to the girls over a cup of tea. Outside the screams had dissipated, but flames still crackled. The air was hot and dry even indoors, and neither of them cared to mention it. There was no way for them to contact James. They had called him and it had rung out, and there was no telling what exactly that meant. ¡°So, is that true?¡± Liza prompted. Celia and Yana sipped, heads lowered, not speaking. Liza felt like, somehow, she was processing all of this a little bit quicker than the others. She had accepted it. Maybe McCray was right, with what he had said ¡ª maybe deep down she was kind of ready for this. ¡°I always said I would build a bunker after I graduated,¡± Celia admitted finally, and blew on the hot liquid. ¡°I don¡¯t have the money right now. But I knew that something bad was going to happen.¡± She looked up and pushed her broken glasses up her nose. ¡°I thought it was going to be nuclear war.¡± ¡°Apparently you weren¡¯t far off. That was what McCray said. Every society wipes itself out once it reaches a certain level of knowledge or ¡­ society. Or something.¡± ¡°He did say something like that, didn¡¯t he?¡± Celia sighed. ¡°I don¡¯t feel very proud of being right. It didn¡¯t amount to anything.¡± Her lip quivered. ¡°After everything ¡­ I¡¯m never going to amount to anything. I spent my whole life so far working towards the real world and I¡¯m never going to see it. The world ended while we were still preparing for it. How sad is that?¡± ¡°You¡¯re right,¡± Yana said, her eyes still swimming, as they had been on and off since she had returned to the house. ¡°We¡¯ve wasted our lives getting ready for something that isn¡¯t going to exist when we wake up tomorrow.¡± Liza shrugged. ¡°That might be what McCray believes ¡ª and hopes ¡ª will happen, but it isn¡¯t necessarily true. What about the army? They¡¯re going to fix this. This thing won¡¯t last more than a couple of days. Zombies have what? Teeth?¡± She snorted. ¡°The government has¡ª¡± ¡°Nuclear weapons,¡± Celia laughed. ¡°I guess that would be nicely ironic, if McCray caused the very thing he was desperate to avoid. But I don¡¯t know ¡ª I guess he would have thought about that.¡± ¡°I just see no way at all that a pack of stupid shuffling corpses could defeat a team of highly organised trained soldiers,¡± Liza said. ¡°They have a plan for things like this. Maybe not ¡­ the actual zombie apocalypse, but ¡­ maybe they do. They¡¯ll wipe it out in minutes.¡± ¡°Or they¡¯ll be so busy wiping it out in the highly populated city areas that they will let it fester out here in the middle of nowhere for weeks until we¡¯re all dead. They¡¯ll win, but we¡¯ll still die,¡± Yana said quietly. They both looked at her. ¡°I don¡¯t think so,¡± Liza said, but she didn¡¯t have anything else to add. ¡°I was going to go find my older brother and his husband,¡± Yana said. ¡°We were talking about it last Christmas. Bobby is an amazing carpenter and Christian is an amateur gardener and chef. I figure they would do pretty well if the world ended. Bobby is working on a canoe right now and Christian makes dinner using only homegrown stuff.¡± ¡°That sounds idyllic,¡± Liza said, leaning back just as two cars collided deafeningly down the road from them, causing all of them to wince weakly. But still nothing breached their non-existent defenses. It would be only a matter of time before the looters began to break into houses, assuming them abandoned or not particularly caring. If they managed to wait out a few extra days, then they would have to beware of survivors simply searching for supplies. And if a ground floor window was smashed in, they would have to leave; it wouldn¡¯t be safe any longer. And Liza had no idea where else they would go. She tried James again on Yana¡¯s phone, and felt her hope begin to slip away. ¡°We have the advantage here,¡± she said to nobody in particular. ¡°We should be able to find him. Where would he be?¡± ¡°He was actually right behind me when we ran,¡± Celia said. ¡°So was Blazer or whatever. I turned around after a while and I couldn¡¯t see them anymore.¡± She raised her arm in a makeshift sling made of a torn shirt. ¡°I fell, and by the time I got back up I had lost everyone completely. It took me a while to get back. It¡¯s really hard to shoot with a useless dominant arm.¡± ¡°I can imagine,¡± Liza muttered. She stared at Celia¡¯s glasses, and thought for a moment. ¡°You smashed your lens,¡± she said. ¡°Yep, and I¡¯m blind as a bat. I basically lucked my way back here. I don¡¯t know how I made it.¡± ¡°Could you pass them to me?¡± she asked, holding out her hand. ¡°Uh, why?¡± ¡°Tucker is an interactive object and we didn¡¯t find him in the crate.¡± Liza¡¯s heart kicked up a beat. ¡°What if everything for us is an object in this game?¡± ¡°Huh?¡± Liza looked around for something relevant that hadn¡¯t arrived in that crate, and grabbed the first thing she could see in the room: a lonely plank of wood behind one of the sofas that had curiously come with the house. She concentrated hard on it until, sure enough, a shimmer of light ran along its outline and a table appeared before her eyes. ¡°Yes!¡± she cried.
Wooden Plank UP to Next Level
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¡°Hang on.¡± She pulled it out, leaned it at an angle on the floor, and then stomped on it so that it splintered down the middle and flopped awkwardly when she lifted it again. ¡°Come on, video game. Let¡¯s do this,¡± she muttered.
Broken Wooden Plank UP to Next Level
Repair? 33/100 70
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¡°Yes!¡± she cried, and tossed the wood under the sofa. ¡°I know you didn¡¯t see any of that, but please trust me. Give me the glasses.¡± Tentatively, as if she really was not used to anybody apart from her having wild brainwaves and not explaining it, Celia pulled off her big round spectacles and placed them in Liza¡¯s hand. The left lens was almost completely broken away, with just a couple of shards remaining, which looked very dangerous, but Celia hadn¡¯t been preoccupied with that.
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They were less broken than the plank, but they needed more points to repair. Liza wondered if that was because they were a higher priority item ¡ª more important to them. Or if the repair was more difficult to pull off. Heart pounding, Liza selected the repair option, but was refused. ¡°Shit!¡± she muttered.
Requires ¡®glass¡¯ to repair.
¡°Any glass?¡± she said aloud, though no one else could see what she was seeing. ¡°Hang on.¡± She walked confidently to the ugly beach painting hanging above their TV that had come with the house, carefully pulled it off the wall, placed it on the floor, and stepped on it so that the glass smashed. ¡°The hell are you doing? You can¡¯t just replace a glasses lens with any fucking glass you find!¡± Yana yelled at her. ¡°You¡¯re going to cut somebody!¡± ¡°Wait,¡± Liza said sharply over her shoulder, and then turned back to pry a long evil-looking glass shard from the frame and inspected it.
Shard of Glass UP to Next Level
Features Empty Slot (Unlock) 100
Empty Slot (Unlock) 200
The hell could she do to upgrade a shard of glass? Stupid game. Did it just say that with everything even if there were no options? Was that what had happened with the gun? That would be weird, because she was certain there were plenty of ways to potentially upgrade a Glock; she just couldn¡¯t think of any. She selected ¡®repair¡¯ again and a little countdown appeared, from 10 down to 0. When it hit 0 the glasses in her hands vibrated a little, and the shard of glass disappeared from sight.
Celia¡¯s Glasses are fully repaired. Shard of Glass was used up.
¡°Jesus,¡± Liza said, raising her eyebrows. ¡°I actually didn¡¯t really think that was going to work. Put them on?¡± Celia stared at them incredulously for quite some time before snatching them up and popping them back on her face. ¡°Wow,¡± she said after a second. ¡°It even repaired the wonky arm.¡± She wiggled it and swallowed, staring through them. ¡°It worked perfectly.¡± She gripped at Liza¡¯s arm. ¡°This changes everything.¡± ¡°It does?¡± ¡°Everything,¡± Celia said. ¡°How many points do you have?¡± She checked it out quickly. ¡°620.¡± ¡°I have 300. Yana?¡± ¡°110,¡± Yana said, still frowning deeply at the smashed picture frame in the middle of the floor. ¡°You must have encountered quite a few more on your way back home,¡± Celia said. ¡°Listen, I think I have the start of a weird idea. I need to try something first. Can you update the prescription?¡± ¡°Ha,¡± Liza said uncertainly, ¡°I don¡¯t think so.¡± ¡°Would you see if it¡¯s possible?¡± If she could put them back together, could she update the prescription? It seemed insane. ¡°Umm.¡± She inspected the glasses and stared at the sheet again.
Celia¡¯s Glasses UP to Next Level
Features Empty Slot (Unlock) 100
Empty Slot (Unlock) 200
She swallowed, and then shrugged, and spent the 100 points.
You have unlocked a slot for a new feature for this item. What would you like to add? Updated Prescription ¡ª 200 (+known prescription)
¡°What?¡± she said suddenly, and stood up. ¡°Yes. It¡¯s actually there. I can¡¯t believe it. Because you said it out loud? Because I had a definite idea of what I wanted? This is ¡­ amazing. Should I do it? It¡¯s 200.¡± ¡°Wait, not yet.¡± Celia stood up too, looking as excited as Liza felt. ¡°If that came up because we thought about it, then what else could we do? Think of something crazy. Something SciFi.¡± ¡°Optional zoom,¡± Liza said, clicking her fingers. ¡°That¡¯s something a spy would have. You can zoom in and out.¡± Celia pointed at her, grinning. ¡°Yes, that. Look again.¡± Liza brought it up again.
You have unlocked a slot for a new feature for this item. What would you like to add? Updated Prescription ¡ª 200 (+known prescription) Optional Zoom ¡ª 900 (+basic blueprint)
¡°900,¡± she said, and tutted. ¡°And a ¡®basic blueprint¡¯, it says.¡± ¡°But it came up?¡± Liza smiled wide. ¡°It came up.¡± ¡°Everybody shut up!¡± Celia suddenly yelled and spun around to face the wall, punching her thigh rhythmically as if to speed up her own thoughts. ¡°Yeah, Yana,¡± Liza said. The other girl glared at her. Celia turned again, her face filled with colour and her eyes bright. ¡°I have an idea, to keep us safe, for sure. But it¡¯s going to require a hell of a lot more points.¡± Liza looked over to the front door and thought about what was beyond it, and what kind of danger James was currently in. ¡°How many points?¡± Celia grinned and sat down, spreading her arms out wide. ¡°A fuckton.¡± Chapter Nine

Chapter Nine

¡°My mama always told me someday I''d be good at something. Who''d a guessed that something''d be zombie-killing?¡± -Tallahassee, Zombieland ¡°Why me?¡± Liza asked it, but it was pointless because she knew the answer and honestly she agreed with the plan. ¡°Because I¡¯m slow and easily startled, with an injured arm and terrible asthma,¡± Celia said. ¡°Let¡¯s say I¡¯m more suited to desk work than fieldwork.¡± Liza turned pointedly to Yana who lowered her eyes. ¡°I want to stay and look after Tuck, and help Celia can get stuff done. Also ¡­ you¡¯re the best shot; we all saw it back on the field.¡± The brunette folded her arms. She had wiped away the smudged makeup underneath her eyes and some colour had returned to her cheeks, and once again she looked beautiful. Liza let out a breath. ¡°I get it,¡± she said. Behind her, past the probably false safety of their thin front door, sirens wailed endlessly, back and forth, as people worked tirelessly to nip whatever was going on out there in the bud. She sort of wished that she hadn¡¯t shown off her shooting skills back at the start. But she knew this plan made the most sense. ¡°So it¡¯s settled?¡± Celia confirmed. ¡°We have our roles. I¡¯ll draw up vaguely workable blueprints, Yana will play nurse and housekeeper¡ª¡± Yana frowned but did not argue. ¡°¡ªand Liza will be points-earner. You go out and get as many as you can, then come back and we¡¯ll distribute them into the house. When the boys are available, they¡¯ll help you.¡± ¡°We need to pour some points into weaponry, too, Celia,¡± Liza said. ¡°I have exactly 500 UPs right now, can you think of something really short and sweet that I can do to update my Glock?¡± She brandished it with a wiggle. Celia stared at it for a second, and then scratched her head. ¡°I think ¡­ everything to update a pistol would be pointless at this stage. It¡¯d cost a lot of points and I¡¯d just be imitating features from other weapons you could be using instead. I¡¯ll have a think, but for now it¡¯s probably best if you update something different.¡± ¡°Uh.¡± Liza looked around. ¡°Like what?¡± Celia tapped her chin. ¡°Your clothes. Go upstairs, grab your least favourite outfit and slap it on. Whatever we do to it might destroy it. You have anything you hate?¡± ¡°Oh, yeah, totally,¡± Liza said, and ran up the stairs. Minutes later, she came downstairs with a too-small t-shirt with a slogan emblazoned across the boobs, and some tight black hipster jeans. Celia stared at the top and then back up at Liza. ¡°Shirt happens,¡± she read aloud. ¡°What?¡± Liza said, looking down at it, and then back up. ¡°It¡¯s not wrong.¡± ¡°I want you to thicken it. Double the thickness of the fabric. That¡¯s all. Shouldn¡¯t be too complicated.¡±
T-Shirt UP to Next Level
Features Empty Slot (Unlock) 100
Empty Slot (Unlock) 200
Liza already hated unlocking slots for UP when she didn¡¯t know what was coming next, but she did so anyway.
You have unlocked a slot for a new feature for this item. What would you like to add? Double Thickness ¡ª 300 (+t-shirt)
¡°I guess I need two shirts,¡± Liza said. She didn¡¯t hesitate before pulling off the plain dirty tee she was wearing and she held them both in her hands and selected the upgrade with her eyeballs. The dirty shirt was gone, as if it had never been there, and the other one vibrated slightly against her fingers, tickling her with its reforming fibres. ¡°That¡¯s done it,¡± Celia said brightly, clapping her hands together. ¡°That¡¯s amazing. We¡¯re an amazing team!¡± She grinned wide, her eyes squeezed shut, and she just looked so happy that Liza had to laugh. ¡°I¡¯m kind of annoyed that this was the shirt that stayed,¡± Liza said, pulling it on and frowning down at the slogan across her chest. ¡°Liza, when you pop out, can you grab some more teabags?¡± Yana yelled from the living room. Liza and Celia exchanged a glance. ¡°Teabags...?¡± Liza called back. ¡°You want me to kill a crapload of zombies, on my own, and to also swing by the store for some tea?¡± Yana poked her head into the hallway and furrowed her shaped brows. ¡°We¡¯ve run out and Tucker drinks at least five cups a day. Don¡¯t you want him to recover?¡± She put her hands on her hips. ¡°Don¡¯t you want us to feel calm and safe in our own home? How the fuck do you think we¡¯re going to get through the apocalypse without any fucking tea?¡± Liza blinked. ¡°OK, sure, I didn¡¯t think about it like that. I¡¯ll grab some teabags.¡± Yana disappeared again. ¡°And some milk!¡± she yelled sweetly, and the door to Tucker¡¯s extension slammed shut, leaving Celia and Liza alone. ¡°Cee, I¡¯m really worried about James,¡± she said, the words surprising her a little as they came rushing out. ¡°Why isn¡¯t he back yet?¡± ¡°Maybe he found the safe area,¡± Celia said, but the smile on her face seemed fake to Liza. ¡°I bet he¡¯s over there with tea and a biscuit ¡ª so he¡¯s better off than we are over here in our beverage-free hell.¡± Liza returned the smile. ¡°I hope so. While I¡¯m out there I¡¯ll grab a policeman¡¯s attention, find out where the safehouses are.¡± ¡°It¡¯ll be somewhere fortified. Somewhere everyone knows the way to. Somewhere big and thick with large rooms,¡± Celia said. ¡°Alright,¡± Liza said, and turned to face the door. It seemed really daunting. She peered out of the peephole and the fire blazing at the pub across the street had spread to the house next door, but the flames were not reaching nearly as high as they had been. Hopefully somehow it would put itself out before it levelled the entire block. ¡°Anything else we can do for you before you leave?¡± Celia asked her. ¡°I can give you a rifle and ammo, and the rest of the bandages. But ¡­ I don¡¯t know what else.¡± ¡°I would just really feel better with some kind of a gun upgrade,¡± Liza said. She couldn¡¯t even afford the capacity increase anymore. ¡°If you think of something I will sketch out a way to make it workable,¡± Celia said with a small shrug. ¡°As long as it¡¯s not, you know, rocket science.¡± ¡°I thought you were doing modules in Space Engineering?¡± Celia gave a dazzling smile, and Liza realised she had walked into that. ¡°OK, OK, I get it, you¡¯re a rocket scientist,¡± she tutted, and then turned back to the door ¡­ then back around again. ¡°I¡¯m going to wait a couple of hours. Is that alright? I just think things will calm down in an hour or two.¡± ¡°But Liza,¡± Celia said, gripping onto her upper arm tight, so that Liza felt a surge of panic roll through her. ¡°Tucker might need a cup of tea!¡± She stepped back and giggled at her own joke. ¡°No, that¡¯s fine. We¡¯ll go through the house and decide what we¡¯re going to fortify, and then we¡¯ll know how many points we want you to get: a minimum and an ideal.¡± ¡°Great,¡± Liza said. ¡°Let¡¯s start with the front door¡­¡±
Front Door UP to Next Level
Features Cheap Wood 400
Simple Lock 300
Empty Slot (Unlock) 100
¡°Well, you could upgrade the material right now,¡± she told Celia, exiting the interface. ¡°It just says ¡®Cheap Wood¡¯ ¡ª 400 to next level.¡± Celia approached the door and stared at it for a moment. ¡°I need a little extra solid wood,¡± she said, drumming on her chin. ¡°It suggests planks of oak.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll bring back some oak,¡± Liza said, happily and knowingly overestimating how much she could achieve in one solo trip, but riding the high of making a plan to overcome death. She would worry about logistics a little later. ¡°Windows next,¡± Celia said, manoeuvring Liza expertly through the door to their right, to James¡¯ room. Both boys slept on the ground floor and shared that bathroom in front of Tucker¡¯s room, while Liza and Celia slept on the floor above, and Yana got the attic room above that. The windows they would need to worry about were the ones to James¡¯ bedroom, to the living room, to the hallway before Tucker¡¯s room, and into Tucker¡¯s room itself. Four similarly-sized windows. Celia stared at them for a while. ¡°Could add an extra pane, as in double-glaze them, or we could convert the existing glass to something much stronger. The former requires you to haul back glass as well as the oak for the front and back door.¡± Shit, Liza had genuinely forgotten that there was a back door by Tucker¡¯s room that led out into the small garden. Of course there was. And chances were it wasn¡¯t even as strong as the front door, since it had been hastily added before they had moved in. ¡°Ugh, this is already too much,¡± she moaned, making her way back to the living room to throw herself onto a couch. God, they were so uncomfortable. Hmm¡­
Small Leather Couch UP to Next Level
Repair? 66/100 180
Features Faux Leather 200
Empty Slot (Unlock) 100
She let out a gasp and Celia glanced over at her from the living room window. ¡°Did you know these sofas are fake leather?¡± ¡°No,¡± Celia said, turning back to trace a finger down the peeling pane. Liza huffed her hair from her face. ¡°I¡¯m calling the police.¡± ¡°Liza?¡± She turned around to see Yana standing in the doorway to the extension, fidgeting with her fingers. ¡°Tucker¡¯s, uh, his HP is a little higher than it was before,¡± she said. ¡°He says he just wants to speak to you real quick before you go.¡± ¡°Oh?¡± Liza said, getting up from the couch. If she found herself rolling in points ¡­ she thought that it might be nice to give some other stuff in this house a little upgrade. Now that she had the power to, it seemed like it would be a nice idea to at least get something out of the end of the world. She made her way back through to Tucker¡¯s room and carefully shut the door. ¡°Hey,¡± Tucker croaked, a sick-looking lump underneath his daisy-yellow duvet. ¡°Bring me that water?¡± Liza spotted a mostly full bottle on the dresser and stepped across his laundry to hand it to him. He grimaced as he sat up, and Liza took the opportunity to bring up his HP bar again. It was at least 15% full now; definitely higher than it had been before. ¡°When was the last time you were in my room?¡± he asked, flashing her a dangerous smile over the lip of his water bottle. It was dampened somewhat by the way his hair stuck to his face, and the near-translucent pallor of his skin, and it made her frown. ¡°When I helped carry you in here just a little while ago,¡± she said. ¡°I¡¯m about to head off, is there something you needed from outside?¡± He let out a hoarse, single laugh. ¡°No,¡± he said. ¡°I just feel ¡­ I don¡¯t know. I just wanted to talk to you for a second. Is that alright?¡± She perched on the side of his bed and folded her arms in her lap. ¡°What¡¯s up?¡± she asked, looking over at his dark, messy room instead of at him. He squirmed in his place to sit up more comfortably, pain clamping his features into unnatural positions. ¡°The world fucking ended, Liza,¡± he said low. ¡°You¡¯re acting like you don¡¯t care that much.¡± She shook her head hard. ¡°Sorry,¡± she said, ashamed, because she really didn¡¯t know what else to say. ¡°I just ¡­ I don¡¯t know how to explain it.¡± I feel like I¡¯ve been preparing for this for a long time? She couldn¡¯t say that. What was something normal to say? Shit. ¡°I just really hope my family is OK,¡± she landed on. It was a platitude, nothing more Her family would be fine; she knew it in her gut. Her brothers, being older, had received even more ¡®character building¡¯ one-on-one time with her father than she had. Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author. And her father was the kind of force of nature that would rival the apocalypse itself, but concentrated down into one dense, angry man. He would be fine. ¡°I¡¯m worried about my family too,¡± Tucker said, latching onto this and speaking quickly. ¡°My mum, she¡¯s not the healthiest these days. I just ¡­ I don¡¯t know how she¡¯ll do. I haven¡¯t been able to get ahold of her but her phone is always off. I¡¯m worried. She should have tried to call me by now. The phone service will cut off soon, completely, won¡¯t it?¡± He lowered his head into his hands and Liza rested her palm on his knee, through his yellow duvet. ¡°It¡¯ll be alright,¡± she said pointlessly. What do you say to a close friend who is fairly sure his family is dead? Even if none of this had happened at all, Liza would still be avoiding being alone with Tucker for a few more weeks, at least. After what had happened last week. She didn¡¯t want to think about that. As if he was reading her thoughts and specifically disregarding them, he pulled his arm out from under the covers and wrapped his long fingers around hers. His hand was hot, and he barely had the energy to squeeze, but he tried. ¡°I just wanted to tell you that I know things have been weird, but I want you to be able to talk to me if you want to. If you¡¯re scared.¡± ¡°I think I¡¯m doing OK,¡± Liza said, getting to her feet slowly and allowing his hand to slip away. ¡°But thank you, Tucker, that means a lot to me.¡± ¡°If I hadn¡¯t gotten into that stupid fight I would be going by myself. In fact, I wanted to know if you wanted to wait until tomorrow, and I would go with you. Or instead of you. I don¡¯t know how quick this gamified healing works ¡­ I just hate that you¡¯re going by yourself.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll be fine,¡± she said, noting as she said it that she totally believed it. ¡°I have guns, I know how to use them, and ¡­ I dunno how to tell everyone this because nobody seems to really be grasping it ¡­ but zombies move, like, really slowly.¡± She gestured with her hands to punctuate the sentiment as best she could. ¡°The army or the cops will dispatch them easily. I promise. We¡¯ll be out of the woods in no time. You just have to concentrate on resting and healing up as fast as you can.¡± He swallowed, his Adam¡¯s apple visibly bobbing even in the dark, and looked away. ¡°Look, just let Yana take care of you for a little while, alright?¡± Liza said with a smirk. ¡°She¡¯s been secretly hoping for this moment for ¡­ forever. Just play the role of the invalid until I get back, and we¡¯ll make another plan from there. Hopefully by the time I return, James will be back too,¡± she added lightly. There was no point in being negative. Perhaps he had found a safe area on his way home, or maybe he was holed up somewhere waiting for a horde to pass by. James was a smart dude. But his fitness wasn¡¯t the best. She put that thought out of her mind and strode towards the door. ¡°I¡¯m going now,¡± she told Celia on the way out. Yana looked over at her with concern, and then her gaze darted in the direction of Tucker¡¯s bedroom, as if it could pierce through cheap plaster. ¡°He¡¯s fine,¡± she added to Yana, though she knew that wasn¡¯t what was on her mind ¡ª Yana was wondering what Tucker could possibly have wanted to speak to her alone about. The answer was ¡®nothing¡¯, but there was no way to bring that up without being asked. ¡°Good luck,¡± Celia said. ¡°Ideally we need points in the thousands. 800 to upgrade the structural integrity of both doors. 400 each to strengthen the glass of each window. That¡¯s 2400 points, Liza.¡± She chewed her lip. ¡°Minimum, really. There¡¯ll be more we could do.¡± ¡°2400 points,¡± Liza repeated. She had gained 800 with only a couple of encounters and she had barely broken a sweat! This was going to be easy enough. ¡°Sure. I¡¯ll see you guys in a couple of hours. Barricade yourselves in if you can.¡± ¡°But then how will you get back in?¡± Yana asked. ¡°I¡¯ll knock to the tune of ¡®Shave and a Haircut¡¯,¡± Liza said with a shrug. They both looked at her blankly so she sighed and rapped on the wall. Dun dundundun dun ¡­ dun dun. ¡°Bye!¡± She wondered how she was going to find enough zombies to get 2400 points. It would involve making combos, probably, so she would need to keep calm and focused and try not to mess up a chain if she began one. A stab to the skull also netted a fair amount of points. Liza figured that if she was quick enough to create a combo, a flurry of Melee 1HKOs would have her home in time for a cup of tea. If she remembered to grab the teabags, of course. * Celia had given her the rifle to use and Liza had it strapped to her back. The Glock was on her hip at the right and her Bowie knife was sheathed on her waistband at the left. Liza was ready to kill some motherfucking zombies.
Weapon Features Power Range
Glock 19 Capacity: 15 25 50
Bowie Knife None 10 10
M1 Carbine Capacity: 10 20 300
The rifle had just a touch less capacity and kick than her trusty pistol, but it made up for it in range. Looking over the stats made her heart race. Hopefully she would grab more than 2400 points, because then she could upgrade these guns. Her backpack was stuffed with ammo, water, and the rest of the roll of bandages. She would need to get to a quiet, safe space in order to reload, which wasn¡¯t the most convenient ¡­ but for times like those, she did have her knife. It was just important not to allow herself to get trapped, or boxed in for any reason. Period. McCray had made a deadly mistake setting the zombie apocalypse on humanity. Liza had seen all the zombie movies; read every post-apocalyptic book and graphic novel. She was going to fight back, and she was not going to make any stupid mistakes. And she was going to take down every single undead in her neighbourhood before she headed back home that day, or her name was not Eliza Volkov. London Road was deserted. A car sat lengthways across the road, the driver door open. Beside it, a decimated motorbike lay in pieces beside a levelled streetlight. The flames had died, and the pub was a blackened husk while the house next to it looked just as if it had been splashed across its side by a flamethrower. There was no person, alive or dead, on the busy road that she could see. As she walked carefully across the shattered glass of every other window she passed, she saw nobody and she saw nothing. The sun was beginning its descent. For the first time in a long time, Liza wished that she had a camera on her so she could capture the charred rubble and the abandoned vehicles bathed in a dangerous but warming orange glow... I call this one ¡®Sun Sets over Life as We Knew It¡¯. Nice and poetic. It¡¯d probably get shared so much online. She reached the corner of the street and looked out, and her breath caught in her throat at what she saw. At least ten cars were piled up, smashed and smoking, in the intersection, right on the train tracks that cut through the tarmac road to the town centre. To the left, beyond the barriers, was a train with a smashed front window. As Liza approached, she noticed that the strange ragdoll-like thing hanging out of the splintered train window, impaled on a dozen shards of glass like it was being held in the jaws of a predator, was actually the train¡¯s driver. And he was still moving. She gently cleared her throat when she got to about thirty feet away. He was thrashing, his jaw working, but she couldn¡¯t quite see his eyes, or the bite status of his upper body and arms. Blood rivulets coiled around his skin, giving him what almost looked like tiger stripes from far away. ¡°Hello?¡± she called out to him, keeping her voice quiet enough that she didn¡¯t attract a hundred zombies from all around her, but not so quiet that he wouldn¡¯t be able to hear her. ¡°Are you alive or are you dead?¡± She slid the rifle tentatively from her back, glancing in a 360 degree all around quickly before she approached any further ¡ª she was getting perilously close to the pile of cars, and therefore something of a dead end. ¡°Hey, I¡¯m talking to you,¡± she said, and loudly cocked the rifle for effect so he knew she wasn¡¯t messing around. ¡°Are you a person still? Just make a sound if you are.¡± A guttural rasp escaped his lips audibly, and his head snapped towards her. His pupils were faded and even though she was still ten feet away from him, his arms whirlwinded in her direction, desperate to get his hands on her. His teeth gnashed. ¡°Thank you,¡± she said politely. Since it was short range now, she popped the rifle back into its place and snatched up her Glock, aimed, and his head exploded in a shower of red.
Headshot! 80 UP
¡°Yuck,¡± she commented, watching the rest of his bloated dead body sag against the splintered glass, dripping dead blood onto the tracks below. She should have waited, actually. A prone, stationary zombie would have been the perfect thing to keep around to shoot to keep up her combo score, in case there was a lull. In fact ¡­ Liza had an idea. Stationary targets were her forte, after all. She would figure out how to utilise that to her advantage. She just needed to collect some tools. The sound of her gunshot had already attracted two loping monsters as far as she could tell from a quick in-place spin. They were both wearing bloodied cop uniforms. She still had not seen anybody alive. It made sense ¡­ unfortunately. Britain was very proud of its anti-gun culture, but that did mean that the world around her was going to become very full of the undead very quickly. It also meant that her weapons gave her a definite edge. Over the zombies, and over any other survivors, if it ever came down to that. Liza had seen enough movies to know that it might. ¡°Here, zombie zombie zombies!¡± she cried, and then gave a short sharp whistle for good measure. The two dead cops still had to navigate their way around the car pileup. A quick scan of the area revealed three more limping up to her from behind, and then a noise brought her attention to the motherlode. She hadn¡¯t even noticed this store because it was cordoned off and unsmashed. The local video game store: Game-a-Palooza. It spanned maybe fifteen metres in width and it was all glass. The door handles had been blockaded with nylon rope, and Liza could see why. At least a hundred zombies were tightly confined, pressed up against the glass, silently moaning and smearing blood with their fingers. And every single one of them was staring right at her. The rope. Shit ¡­ what was she thinking? Was she really going to do something so stupid, when she had just promised herself she wouldn¡¯t? ¡°They¡¯re going to break through eventually anyway,¡± she told herself, her heart pounding with excitement behind her ribcage, but she wasn¡¯t totally convinced by her own argument. Liza scraped her hair from her face and made her way towards the game shop. The zombies increased their vigor, pounding and walking against the glass that separated them. ¡°Hello!¡± she said brightly, jutting out her hip and resting her hand on it. ¡°Wow. You guys are making me feel like a movie star.¡± She strutted up and down like she was on a catwalk, and then turned and shot them her best pout. Some of the zombies were scraping their tongues and rotting teeth against the glass, and she could see the doors rattling, the rope straining to keep them all in. Whoever had the key to lock the glass doors and pull down the steel covering must have died. Maybe they were one of the creatures in there now. So clearly someone had improvised and just tied the handles together. The five approaching zombies outside, and probably more that she could not see, were getting closer and closer every passing second. How was she going to do this best? Before a reload, she had 14 short-range bullets and 10 long-range bullets. If she could get time to reload, she had 25 more total, but she was not counting on being able to pause and mess around with ammo. The rope holding the doors together had a long tail at each end of several extra metres. Liza whipped out her knife and sawed at it as close as she could without damaging its overall integrity, and then repeated that at the other end, and tied them together. ¡°Would you say that was long enough?¡± she asked her zombie audience. ¡°I think that¡¯s long enough.¡± She tied it tight as she could around a half-broken car bumper that was on the far left of the store window, and then wandered over, humming a tune, to tie the other end around a pole on the right. There was a good two-metre gap on the sidewalk between the rope and the store window that a zombie could easily just stroll through to get around the blockage and towards her, but Liza knew how to combat that. ¡°First things are first,¡± she told the watching, desperate zombies. ¡°Watch this, it¡¯ll be fun.¡± She buttoned her jacket up tight and gripped her knife hard in one hand, and then blew out a breath. The two cop zombies were at the rope now, and the three from the other side were just three metres or so away. Liza very slowly backed away towards the storefront so that the five zombies met in the middle, and then she ducked under the rope with her back to the glass doors. The five zombies reached the rope barrier and continued to try to walk, grasping at her and opening and shutting their jaws, urgent, hungry. Their arms flailed in her direction, but they couldn¡¯t reach her. ¡°Great, so we know it works,¡± Liza said, throwing a smile to her audience behind her, and brandishing her knife above her head. ¡°Sorry you all died. That sucks. But it¡¯s OK ¡ª because you are all really going to help my friends and I out by dying this second time. So, thank you.¡± She brought her arm down once, twice, three, four, and then five times. That last one was a bitch to pull out, and when she did her blade was covered in disgusting black blood.
Melee 1HKO COMBO! x5 100 UP 100 UP (+10) 100 UP (+20) 100 UP (+30) 100 UP (+40) 600 UP
¡°Yes!¡± she cried, raising her blade in the air as the message popped up for her. ¡°Suck it, apocalypse. I am going to make you my bitch.¡± The doors behind her rattled and she jumped out of her skin and turned on her heel to face them. Without the tail of the rope on each end, it was starting to look a lot like the general figure of eight someone had wound around the handles was going to come loose. No matter. She would be ready if they burst through. ¡°Come and get me!¡± she said, watching as the doors rattled further. ¡°Come on, come out here and eat me! Eat me!¡± She waved her arms up and down and bounced on her feet, and then let them fall and sighed. She stepped tentatively forward. The zombies were pushing hard on the large glass double doors, but it just wasn¡¯t hard enough. The strain on the ropes only sprang back after a little while, and caused them to stagger backwards a couple of steps. Liza reached out, chewing on her lower lip, and touched the nylon rope again, and then the door rattled and she danced backwards again. People died in the zombie movies she watched even though they tried their hardest to avoid monsters and to stay alive and to help their friends to survive. If this went wrong, Liza would have died because she had goaded the zombies. And then, knowing the irony of the universe, the army would arrive and gun the threat down, and the rest of humanity would be perfectly healthy again within one day of her death. She would have died for dancing around like a skewer of fresh meat in front of a pack of predators. That was a pretty damn awful reason to go. Which meant she had to do this right. She sighed and, annoyed, turned around to leave the zombies inside the Game-a-Palooza. She would find the rest of her prey the old-fashioned way: by walking around and searching, and picking them off one by one. It was just that ¡­ she had really wanted those combo points. ¡°Ugh!¡± she cried, and stormed away, around the barrier she had created of the five zombies leaning over the stretch of rope. On the floor by the impressive wreckage she spotted something shiny that gave her pause on her way to clamber over the pile of cars. On bending over and picking it up she realised that it could be a shell casing from a gunshot. Every weapon could help to make the difference between life or death in an apocalyptic scenario, so Liza pinched it between her finger and thumb and looked around carefully for a discarded weapon it might have come from. Another shell lay right by the crunched up remains of a red Audi, and she bent over to pick it up from under the car. An arm shot from the shadows beneath the wrinkled bonnet and curled around her wrist, and Liza couldn¡¯t help but scream when she caught sight of a lipless, wide-eyed zombie face using her for leverage to pull itself from its place, trapped beneath the car. Her left hand shot to her hip and just as the zombie clacked its yellowed teeth together and craned its neck to snap off one of her fingers, to snack on like a baby carrot, Liza¡¯s Bowie knife had sawed through its wrist. She fell back and crab-crawled away, panting, with the dead, cold hand still wrapped tighter than tight around her own. She could feel her heartbeat in her skull. She rested her wrist on the tarmac and stomped with all of her might on the bloodied stump, causing the third hand attached to her body to stay on the ground while the rest of her moved away. Adrenaline was screaming in her ears, and so when a clattering noise sounded behind her ¡ª echoing through the empty high street ¡ª she whipped around and fired a single shot straight behind her, her chest rising and falling. She hit nothing made of flesh; the distant shattering noise in the place of silence, or screaming, alerted her to that. A black cat launched across her path, eyes white with pure primal panic, and disappeared into the bushes beside the train tracks to her right. She relaxed, first that there was no zombie behind her, and second that there had been no human person that had fallen victim to her uncharacteristic panic. She made a vow to nip the ¡®shoot first, ask questions later¡¯ impulse in the bud. There were plenty of people still alive in this new world, and she refused to be the kind of person that couldn¡¯t be relied upon by them under pressure. Blowing air carefully through pursed lips, Liza turned back around to the trapped corpse under the car, gargling quietly and waving its stump in her direction, and she closed one eye and pulled the trigger once more.
Headshot! 80 UP
It occurred to her that she didn¡¯t even know what the prompt for killing a zombie with a gun but without a headshot looked like, and that made her smile. Until another noise ¡ª a much, much louder noise than a cat knocking over a hubcap this time ¡ª forced her to slowly turn around again. She had certainly shot something with that bullet aimed at the poor cat, though she thought she hadn¡¯t. The double doors to the Game-a-Palooza. Slowly but surely, the zombies were filing out of the single pane, now just a pile of bluish hunks on the ground beneath their feet, and shuffling right towards her. The barrier. It was keeping some of them away, but some were coming towards her to their right, which was blocked by nothing. They were coming for her. A hundred, at least. Liza stood there and wiped at her brow, with just 22 bullets in her possession and the knowledge that they were absolutely blocking her path back home. She had given up on this plan for a reason, and the reason had been death. The greatest reason of all to give up a plan. There was nobody around. No one was coming to save her from the wave of monsters approaching. Behind her was a pile of cars. It had happened. She was pretty much cornered, after all. So much for being smart. ¡°Shit,¡± she whispered. Chapter Ten

Chapter Ten

¡°Imagine what could be accomplished if only the human race would shed its humanity.¡± -World War Z Eliza Volkov faced at least one hundred zombies, trapped by some brilliant genius inside the prison cell of the gaming shop that had turned them in the first place. And then released by some brilliant moron: herself. ¡°Goddamn,¡± she whispered, and then drew in a deep, cleansing breath. Feeling already a little more level-headed, she shoved her pistol into its holster at her hip and yanked the rifle from her back, carefully aiming it at the zombies filing towards her, and stepping forward. The barrier she had erected was proving to be quite functional. The rope she had tied to a bumper and to a lamp and stretched across their path was preventing them from walking in that direction and spreading across the entire street. She had only been in this new world for a matter of hours, but already Liza could tell that zombies operated somewhat like a very predatory and single-minded liquid: they basically altered their collective shape to fill the container. The container in this case being the Fairacres high street. So all she had to do was pick off the ones who had wandered around the sides of the barrier towards her, while making her way to the other side of the rope. Zombies were stupid. They would just keep trying to walk forward, blocked by their five dead compadres hanging over the rope barrier, for her to kill easily. ¡°You can do this,¡± she said to herself, but it didn¡¯t sound very convincing. ¡°You can do this!¡± she said again, trying her best to embody the spirit of the world¡¯s peppiest game show host. Weirdly it made her feel a little better. She tried to relax, and squeezed the trigger. Miss. ¡°Shit!¡± Her heart was pounding so hard she could barely hear. Rifles were not her favourite weapon by any stretch; she wasn¡¯t quite as used to holding them or firing them, and she was beginning to panic as they started to spread and close the distance. She took another breath to calm herself down all over again, and fired. A zombie was knocked back by the blow to his head ¡ª a perfect shot, right between the eyes. Liza resisted the urge to bend over double with pride and relief, and instead she tried to take in the newfound confidence and utilise it. To win. A second shot, and then a third, and then a fourth went without a hitch. She didn¡¯t lower her rifle even though her arm was starting to ache already, but she blinked a couple of times to take stock. She had knocked out the four closest to her, and the rest were tangled around each other a little around the rope/corpse barrier, so Liza tossed the rifle into her left hand and shook her right arm out, at the same time launching into a full sprint so that she stood perpendicular to the shattered pane that they poured through.
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The zombies diverted their path without stopping for even a second in their tracks and began to move themselves ¡ª slowly ¡ª towards her, in the position she was now in. Three zombies managed to untangle themselves from the side of the barrier and limp towards her quick and clean, but the rest of them all got caught on the corpse blockade and tried to walk towards her in vain. ¡°Yes!¡± she hissed. ¡°Suckers.¡±Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation. She brought her rifle up again, newfound life in her dominant arm, and squinted down the barrel before squeezing. One glancing slice still managed to fell her target but her aim was imperfect. She recalibrated and took down the other two stragglers, feeling a lot more confident with the lightweight rifle in her hands. But she wasn¡¯t entirely sure how many rounds she had left in the long-range weapon and she didn¡¯t want to run out, just in case. So she strapped it back onto her back and pulled out the pistol again, certain it had far more bullets. She figured that she should start counting them.
Headshot COMBO! x3 80 UP 80 UP (+10) 80 UP (+20) 270 UP
Looked like changing weapons was enough to end her combo, which was a bummer. That was probably reason enough to spend points upgrading her weapon capacity. For the combo points. She took a couple of seconds, knowing she had them since her prey was going nowhere, to get used to the feel of her pistol in her hands again, and then she aimed from the left and smiled. Their heads were very slightly bobbing as they walked on the spot, but they were barely moving at all. It was her perfect shooting exercise. From left to right, Liza began to clean up the row of diseased undead. She was growing to love the combination of the ¡®bang¡¯ and the visual of the monster¡¯s head snapping backwards as it fell, or occasionally burst in a sickening display of thick black gore. She shot until her pistol clicked three times, and tutted, slinging off her rucksack to dig around for a new magazine for her Glock. She pulled out rifle ammo and shoved it back in, fishing around, humming and tapping her toes on the ground, when something caught her eye to the left. The bumper had partially come loose from the car ¡­ the one that the rope was attached to. And it was straining visibly under the weight of a horde of determined undead.
Headshot COMBO! x12 80 UP 80 UP (+10) 80 UP (+20) 80 UP (+30) 80 UP (+40) 80 UP (+50) 80 UP (+60) 80 UP (+70) 80 UP (+80) 80 UP (+90) 80 UP (+100) 80 UP (+110) x5 bonus! 100 UP x10 bonus! 250 UP 1970 UP
Holy ¡­ shit. ¡°Whoa,¡± she said aloud, looking around as if to search for someone to share this moment with. If she had upgraded her Glock capacity she would have made hundreds of extra points. Maybe thousands. That was reason enough for her. And to think she had thought it would be pretty useless. Liza had to bring up her total to see how many points she had now ¡ª Celia was going to be so happy! She bit her lip just thinking of all the ways they could pimp their crappy house to turn it into some kind of kickass apocalyptic fortress¡­ 2990 UP to her name. She had already fulfilled her quota and it kind of felt like she had only been outside for a little while. She got back to rooting around for her ammo and then a loud pop, an elastic twang, and the bizarre squishy crunching sound of zombies being smacked in the rotting ribcages by rope recoiling at the speed of light. They weren¡¯t slowed by these injuries, though. A couple at the front of the formation toppled onto the ground, but they were quick to begin to pull themselves forward with their arms, not minding that they were being trampled by dozens of their friends. Liza let out a squeak of concern as she lifted her pistol instinctively and shot straight for the closest zombie¡¯s skull, and heard that terrible hollow ¡®click¡¯ again instead. ¡°Mmnope,¡± she said, and shoved everything into her bag, grabbed the strap and took off at the fastest sprint of her life, ducking underneath the grasping arms of the nearest zombie and panting her way down the high street, to the corner, and back to the empty, quiet glass-covered road that she lived on. The normally fifteen minute stroll took her less than five. She stopped and bent double for a second to suck in air, wondering if somebody could contract asthma in their twenties and figuring that now would just be the best possible time for that to happen if so, until finally her muscles were loose enough that she could get up and walk again. After a quick scan around her for danger ¡ª she was definitely getting better at remembering to be on alert at all times ¡ª she opened the gate to her front door, a proud smile fixed to her face. And then stopped dead. The door was cracked almost in half, off its hinges, and halfway into the hallway. The lights were all still on, and no one was home. They were all gone. Chapter Eleven

Chapter Eleven

¡°Don¡¯t you get it? We ARE the walking dead!¡± -The Walking Dead Vol. 05 Liza stepped over the first half of her front door, and then the second half, and fully into the hallway of her student home. It was horribly still and silent in the entrance to her home, and Liza swallowed the dryness in her throat, eyeing the off-white walls for signs of blood and gore. There was none. A scuffling sound under the floorboards -- the kitchen -- made her pause and flatten her back to the wall. The instinct was to yell out to find out if the occupant of the room downstairs was somebody she knew, but that didn¡¯t seem too smart. Right now, whoever it was had no idea she was in there, and armed. At that thought, she paused in the hallway and fell to a crouch, snapping a new magazine into her Glock and carefully loading up the rifle to full again. 25 rounds, short and long range, but the noise would draw every zombie in a half-mile radius right to her unprotected doorstep. The noise. That would make the perfect upgrade to her guns. Silencers! How had she not thought of that sooner? All she needed was to find a silencer or find Celia to draw a rough diagram, and the game would create one for her out of ¡­ plastic, or whatever they were made out of. Peter Volkov was a smart and powerful man, and undeniably a leader, but as far as she could recall he had never been into silence, as a concept in general. It would have to be something Liza discovered how to utilise on her own -- she was pretty confident about throwing herself headfirst into a situation, guns literally blazing, but the idea of sneaking about and manipulating things from the shadows was alien to her. It would have to be a skill she learned if this apocalypse was going to carry on for more than a couple more days. The way Fairacres had crumbled and fallen right around her eyes had been insanely fast, so much quicker than she ever would have expected. At the slightest sniff of trouble, most people had just jumped in their cars and headed down London Road to the capital. Anyone who hadn¡¯t made it had been turned into one of the monsters, and all the people who happened to be left seemed to be busying themselves taking out any latent frustrations on the city itself. Liza had assumed that there would be help by now, but the military, or whatever, would be starting with the highly populated areas. The cities, not the sweet little suburbs and campus towns. By the time they devoted their attention to Fairacres, there would be nothing left. Liza¡¯s survival had to be in her own hands, and she was uniquely capable of getting through this. No excuses. She stayed in a crouch and made her way past the closed door to James¡¯s room, through into the cramped little living room. Her heartbeat picked up considerably when she caught sight of the floor by the small couch. Two smeared droplets of what was definitely blood, indented with a patterned shoeprint, Was that Tucker¡¯s blood, or was it more recent? She didn¡¯t know enough to know how old the stain was -- a couple of hours, or less? Another scuffle underneath her and the sound of clanking crockery. Liza held her breath and backed into the hallway again. No ¡®maybe¡¯s about it; there was somebody down the stairs. A gruff laugh followed by a higher pitched noise of glee informed her that it was no animal, and it was almost certainly more than one person. A low murmur echoing somewhere in the back of her perception indicated that they were speaking -- she had lived in this house for a while now, and she knew the origins of most strange noises that crept through the insulation and escaped the walls. She also knew that if she stood in a specific position to the left of the 50-inch plasma, she could hear almost word for word any conversation going on downstairs. ¡°...you stupid fuck, why would we?¡± ¡°I thought I might be able to eat them tonight?¡± ¡°You and what microwave? Fucking spanner.¡± The first speaker seemed to be a big fan of swearing, and had a deep rasp in his voice from cigarettes or general extended screaming. The second sounded more unsure and had a lazy accent that implied he kept his mouth open for longer than was necessary. Probably a mouthbreather. ¡°We could make a fire and we could share--¡± ¡°Shut the fuck up, your voice is doing my fucking head in.¡± Liza slid slowly down to a crouch, knowing that in this position most of her body would be obstructed by the shelf they used for CDs and DVDs. Her butt knocked a lamp, and she span around as quick as she could to catch it. Her long fingers curled around the metal shaft of the standing lamp, and she resisted the urge to hiss out her relief, instead gently pulling it back to its upright position, with a brief clattering noise that made her wince, her teeth gritted tight. ¡°Did you hear something?¡± Raspy said suddenly. ¡°Nah, they all left. They wouldn¡¯t come back. You proper scared them.¡± A nasty laugh. Raspy didn¡¯t sound convinced. ¡°They had that injured guy with them ¡­ maybe they came back for supplies. Maybe the cathedral isn¡¯t well-stocked.¡± They were definitely talking about her housemates; about Tucker. They had been the ones to scare them off for sure. They were probably the ones who had broken the front door in half. ¡°You think they¡¯d have the balls to mess with us a second time?¡± Mouthbreather asked. Liza¡¯s lips tightened. Did that mean her friends had messed with them a first time? She could not imagine either Celia or Yana giving somebody a hard time when they had just split a wooden door in half and invited themselves inside. And Tucker might have tried to be a hero and miserably failed, with his debilitating injury. Luckily it sounded to her that they were all still alive, and they had fled for the safe area. Fairacres Cathedral. The padding sound of deliberately muted footsteps up the stairs alerted her to their approach. ¡°Who wants to mess with us?¡± Mouthbreather taunted, and then kicked the door to the basement kitchen open, a bundle of canned goods balanced with one arm, and a thick butcher¡¯s knife gripped tightly by the other. He was a lot chubbier than she had thought from the sound of his voice. ¡°You picked the wrong fucking people!¡± Raspy added, stepping out through the doorway and revealing greased back dark hair and a band t-shirt that indicated he liked someone called the ¡®Abandoned Stairwells¡¯, depicting a naked, bleeding woman lying across a staircase in the middle of a forest. Liza waited for them to spot her, partially obscured by the wall-mounted television and the shelving, and politely cocked her gun in their direction. Mouthbreather¡¯s mouth fell open, and she heard a sucking gasp as he struggled to keep his breaths even. The raspy-voiced guy didn¡¯t move a muscle except his twitching brow. ¡°You boys appear to be in my house,¡± she said, flicking the Glock¡¯s muzzle from one to the other and then back again, just to make them as sure of its presence as she could. ¡°Now, we¡¯re going to stay calm. Drop the knife down the stairs behind you,¡± she said, nodding her chin at Mouthbreather, who was standing with his puffy lips parted and the knife trembling in his hand. ¡°And you,¡± she said to Raspy, who still hadn¡¯t moved, ¡°do you have any weapons?¡± He shook his head, and she smiled. ¡°Great, we can do this easily. Drop the knife down the stairs, now. And any of your other weapons.¡± With a clumsy wrist movement, the kitchen knife clattered down the wooden stairs and skittered noisily across the exposed brick floor at the bottom of the stairs. ¡°Nicely done, now ¡­ sorry to do this, because you stole it all fair and square, but drop the food on the floor again. Keep eye contact with me. Don¡¯t look at each other. And don¡¯t get any ideas. This is fully loaded, and it has a pretty exciting body count already.¡± Raspy gently cleared his throat, and she eyed him, wondering why he didn¡¯t look as frightened as his girthy pal. It unnerved her, but she wasn¡¯t going to let it show. She pulled in a deep, slow breath through her nose and watched the mouthbreather lower into a squat and let the cans tumble onto the floor. ¡°Thank you,¡± she said. ¡°We can be pleasant about this.¡± ¡°We need that food,¡± Raspy said low. ¡°We have a whole group, and there¡¯s only one of you.¡± She frowned at him, really disliking the way he was talking back to her when she had a gun. That wasn¡¯t the way it was supposed to go. ¡°Well ¡­ go raid the supermarkets,¡± she said. ¡°I¡¯m not really interested in giving a couple of thieves survival tips, to be honest. I just need you to get out of my house.¡± Raspy stepped forward, his palms facing her, his face expressionless. ¡°You¡¯re not going to shoot,¡± he told her gently, and for some reason his matter-of-fact way of speaking right then reminded her of the way her dad spoke to their old dairy cow. ¡°You have no idea what you¡¯re talking about,¡± she said. ¡°You said body count. You meant zombies,¡± he said. ¡°Stop. Stop there. I will shoot you!¡± she said, her voice raising an octave, and she internally cringed at her instinct to take a big step back to regain the distance between them. He was maybe a yard and a half away from her, his palms still up. Was he right? Could she shoot a person? She swallowed, and his gaze flicked to her throat and then back up at her face, and he smiled. He could see her nervousness like it was written in neon lights on her head. ¡°You aren¡¯t going to shoot me. We¡¯re going to walk out with a couple of these cans -- not all of them -- because we¡¯re neighbours. Lower the gun. We don¡¯t have any weapons on us.¡± The balls on this guy were unreal. Liza really, really wanted to open up the gap between them as wide as it would go. She trained the pistol on his forehead, knowing that she could blow a perfect steaming hole right between his eyes the very second she decided to. But knowing at the same time that he was right. She wasn¡¯t going to. She wasn¡¯t going to lower the gun, though. ¡°Good girl,¡± Raspy said, his voice hoarse and confident, and his smile patronising as all hell. Her arm quivered. Liza really didn¡¯t like being patronised. ¡°We could do with a gun, Eric.¡± Raspy slowly turned to look at Mouthbreather, whose lip twitched upwards into a smile, and then he looked back at Liza. ¡°Don¡¯t listen to him, he¡¯s just high on apocalypse,¡± Raspy -- Eric? -- said to her, staying completely calm. ¡°Just get out. Hands where I can see them.¡± That last bit was a cliche, but she understood its necessity. She didn¡¯t trust these boys one iota. If this meant giving up some food, who even cared? It would take a while to replace their stock, in a time when non-perishables were key, but that was better than having to look into the dark eyes of this smirking boy for one more second.The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement. ¡°The gun is mine,¡± she said, her voice a growl, her knuckles white with the effort to keep the pistol locked onto Eric. ¡°Leave now and keep your lives.¡± ¡°Where did you get it?¡± he asked, while his crony behind him gathered up the cans again. All of them, expressly against her orders, but she wasn¡¯t feeling like arguing with them for another second. She wanted to find her friends and make sure they were alright. Liza was standing in the way of the open door to the hall. She would have to slink further into the living room to allow them to leave, and she didn¡¯t want to back down. She was the one with the weapon here, dammit! ¡°I said where did you get the gun?¡± he repeated coolly. What was she supposed to say to that? ¡°None of your business.¡± She hated how awkward her voice sounded to her; she was supposed to have the power here. Eric looked to her like a coiled cobra, ready to strike her at any second, and Liza wasn¡¯t ready to pull the trigger in return. In a world like this, it wasn¡¯t the more heavily armed who had the upper hand, but the willingness to harm another that made somebody more deadly. That was what made the zombies outside so scary, after all. There was no hesitation. ¡°Bitch,¡± he laughed under his breath. Then took three quick strides towards her. Liza kept the muzzle of the gun trained right on him, until the Glock was sticking him right between the ribs. Her eyes widened, realising the seriousness of this situation, and he smiled, and curled his long, cold fingers around her wrist. ¡°Get off me, I will shoot,¡± she said, but her voice was quiet. She was a bad liar. ¡°I said get off.¡± The boy leaned forward, his lips touching the strands of her hair that hung around her ears. ¡°This should be in the hands of someone who is willing to use it,¡± he said softly; reasonably. ¡°Do you agree that¡¯s fair?¡± ¡°Fuck you,¡± she said, struggling against the vicegrip he had around her gun hand. ¡°I don¡¯t want to shoot you.¡± He chuckled. Mouthbreather let out a nervous laugh behind him too. ¡°But I will,¡± she finished. He was stronger than her. He pushed her hand away from his ribcage and then away from his body entirely, pointing the muzzle, against her struggles, towards the window to the garden. With a sharp tug and a strategic elbow jab, he had the pistol out of her hand, and the breath from her lungs. She sucked it in again, her cheeks on fire, and let her mouth fall open. What the fuck, Liza? she asked herself. Her heartbeat quickened by what must have been a hundred beats per minute. She still had a rifle they had not seen yet, leaning beside the television and obscured by the shelving from where Eric stood, but if he was observant he would grab that the second he walked past her towards the front door. And if she lunged for it, he would shoot her. She knew that with absolute certainty. ¡°Thank you,¡± he said, parting his lips to show teeth. ¡°As a thanks, I¡¯m not going to kill you. I¡¯ll let you stay here. But we are taking the food. Do you have ammunition?¡± ¡°No.¡± His face twisted and he arced his arm through the air, the butt of her own Glock smashing into her right cheek, splitting the skin and, judging from the blood that filled her mouth, her gum as well. ¡°You¡¯re a fucking terrible liar,¡± he spat at her. She knew that was true. ¡°Where is it?¡± It was in her bag, on the ground half an inch away from the propped up rifle. She used all of her self control not to glance to her left at it. She cradled her cheek instead, pretending it had stunned her mentally as well as physically. She had to think her way out of this. It was probable that she would not get another weapon for quite some time. If her friends had had their weapons to hand, these looters would already have them, and wouldn¡¯t be acting like these were their first guns. And Liza couldn¡¯t help but think that Tucker would have fucking blown holes in them if he had been able to reach one. Why couldn¡¯t she be more like that? ¡°Tell me where the ammo is,¡± he said again, louder. He had struck her hard without seeming outwardly angry; Liza could only imagine what he¡¯d be capable of if she riled him up to real fury. ¡°I ¡­ I need to get it,¡± she said. ¡°How stupid do you think I am?¡± He waved the gun around. ¡°Tell me where it is.¡± ¡°It¡¯s in a safe,¡± she lied. ¡°Let me open it. Then you can have whatever you want from inside it, and you can leave me.¡± ¡°So you can get your spare weapons and whatever else?¡± he said. ¡°You must be really fucking dim if you think that¡¯s going to work, bitch.¡± She let out a shuddering sigh. ¡°I won¡¯t kill you,¡± she said quietly. ¡°I can¡¯t. I can¡¯t do it.¡± He paused. He glanced at Mouthbreather. ¡°Hurry up,¡± he said. ¡°Eric?¡± the chubby guy said from the end of the room, a playful lilt in his voice. As Liza wandered over to the entertainment centre, wondering how she was going to get out of this alive and still armed against the dangers outside -- and it was only day one of this whole damn thing -- she could feel the two men in her home communicating specifically about her silently behind her back. She held back a shudder and kneeled to pretend that she was reaching behind the television to access some kind of safe ¡­ that was right underneath the TV in their living room? They weren¡¯t worried? They really did see her as zero threat. Eric let out a low laugh. ¡°I don¡¯t give a fuck, Micky, but I sure as hell don¡¯t wanna watch.¡± There was a pause, where Liza¡¯s hairs pricked up at the back of her neck while his gaze scraped over her. Her breath was coming in sharp bursts. ¡°You don¡¯t?¡± ¡°Not my type.¡± Micky, Mouthbreather, laughed shrilly. Out of their eyelines, her left hand inched to wrap around the butt of the rifle, and she instantly felt a thousand times better. Even though it was a far cry from having it properly aimed with her finger on the trigger. And Eric had the pistol pointed right at her already. Liza carefully pulled the magazines from her backpack out of his eyeshot while the continued to quietly talk about whatever they were talking about. ¡°You¡¯ll need to hold the gun though,¡± Mouthbreather said. ¡°Fucking disgusting,¡± Eric said with a sigh. ¡°I¡¯m not watching, I told you. Figure something else out.¡± ¡°Mate, I saved your life twice. You told me you owed me.¡± Eric sagged. Liza tossed a look around her shoulder just in time to see him advance on her and drag her backwards by the back of her shirt. She yelped and struggled, but he pressed the cold muzzle on her temple and bared his teeth until she went limp against his body, panting with fear. The rifle she had been tentatively holding onto had fallen so that the muzzle was visible between the shelving and the entertainment centre that housed their consoles. She squeezed her eyes shut and silently begged anyone who was listening for the two boys not to glance down at that exact square inch of space. Her left foot was hovering by his shin, and she knew that she could stamp down hard and debilitate him easily, but what then? Either he would keep his composure enough to squeeze the trigger, or it would fall to the floor and his friend would grab for it and end her life. Spraining his ankle wasn¡¯t worth the uncertainty. She needed a real plan. ¡°Down,¡± Eric said, pressing his knees into the backs of hers until she dropped to a kneeling position. ¡°How do you want her?¡± he asked his friend with a sigh. And Liza realised then exactly what was happening. ¡°Hey,¡± she said, trying to get back to her feet, but Eric shoved her back to the floor. She fell onto her knees again with a cry of pain. ¡°No,¡± she forced through gritted teeth. ¡°Please, no.¡± ¡°That¡¯s fun,¡± the mouthbreather told her, stepping forward to run his fingers through her hair, tenderly at first, but then he tangled it around his fingers and tugged. ¡°Keep doing that.¡± She twitched backwards, her head darting instinctively in the direction of the door. ¡°Don¡¯t run,¡± Eric said, bored. ¡°I¡¯m not like you. I will shoot.¡± ¡°I believe you,¡± Liza said, shivering. She swallowed, looking up at the chubby guy grinning down at her. His hands danced through the air, down towards his belt, making a show of it. ¡°Lucky for me, you don¡¯t know anything about guns.¡± Eric snorted. ¡°What do you mean?¡± She let out a laugh of her own, though she felt like making any other noise at that moment. ¡°I¡¯m not scared; I bet you don¡¯t even know how to switch off the safety.¡± She glanced over her shoulder to see him turn the gun on its side and frown at it, and she didn¡¯t hesitate. Her elbow launched backwards the hardest she could manage, right between his legs, and then as he bent double to let out a horrible choking noise, she slammed her head back as hard as she could, her skull connecting with his. She saw stars, but since she had been expecting the blow, she managed to throw herself to the left, yank the rifle from its poor hiding place, and turn it onto Eric before he moved. ¡°Wait,¡± he sputtered, one eye closed as he looked up at her. Liza fended off hyperventilation, and blew a hole in his skull. ¡°What the fuck?!¡± the other guy screamed, staggering backwards and pressing a hand on his mouth, the other on his stomach. ¡°Your fly is undone,¡± Liza said, and squeezed again, ripping all the way through his gut just as he retched dark blood over the front of his shirt. Eric toppled over, blood pouring across the wooden floor and seeping between the cracks. Micky the mouthbreather staggered forward, groaning, while she stared at the dead body she had made with wide eyes. His hands closed around the pistol and he swung it in her direction, firing wildly, but she darted out of the way and the 50-inch brand new TV exploded in a shower of sparks. Under the cover of the electricity, she ducked under his arm as he fired again, punching a hole in the plaster right where she had been just a split second before. ¡°You¡¯re going to die,¡± she screamed, leaping over the arm of the couch in an effort to get through the door to the extension. Maybe she could get into the garden and hop a fence. ¡°Stop shooting and ¡­ call an ambulance.¡± Micky coughed, and then let out a gargling cry at the pure, primal pain. ¡°No one will come,¡± he sputtered. ¡°No one is coming.¡± He pointed the gun limply in her direction again, his eyelids drooping. ¡°If I¡¯m dying, so are you,¡± he added at a whisper. The door behind her was shut. His hands were weak and he was swaying, but he lifted the gun up again and squinted in her direction. ¡°There¡¯s ¡­ one problem with that,¡± she said, leaning against the wood behind her and struggling to catch her breath. ¡°No point in trying to keep me talking,¡± he mumbled, slipping away before her eyes and struggling with the pistol. ¡°The ¡­ what¡¯s the problem?¡± She blew out a breath, delaying him for as long as she could. ¡°It¡¯s a big problem,¡± she said. ¡°The sound of all this gunfire. It attracts¡­¡± ¡°I don¡¯t have time for¡­¡± he interrupted, and then trailed off. His brow knitted as he noticed she was looking pointedly right behind him. ¡°Oh, fuck,¡± he said weakly as the sound of rasping breath cut through the room and rotting hands wrapped around his torn abdomen. Teeth ripped into his neck and Liza screamed as the pistol went off, ripping through the couch beside her, and then again, up straight into the light. Then the hand holding it lolled, and the gun fell loudly to the floor. Liza lifted the rifle and aimed carefully, chest heaving. ¡°Thanks, guy,¡± she said to the feasting zombie, and then squeezed the trigger.
Headshot! 80 UP
The rotted skull exploded in a shower of gore and the intense smell of metallic rot that almost made Liza heave. But she didn¡¯t have time. More zombies would be coming in soon, attracted by all the noise. She gathered up all of her things, breath shallow and head spinning at the knowledge of how close she had come to death just then. Or worse. One thing was for sure: she was never going to hesitate in protecting herself again. What she would have done for a few extra hours to splash cold water on her face and huddle under some blankets. A few hard blinks to clear her head later, she had all of her weapons reloaded -- she only had a couple of magazines left for each weapon -- and back securely on her body, and the cans of food packed into her backpack along with the rest of her ammunition. The smell was almost getting to be far too much for her stomach, and with her pistol in hand she made her way out of the hallway. She had been right about the noise -- at least a dozen zombies were trudging towards her front gate, ready to make their way up the two steps and past the nonexistent front door. She tutted and pulled the Bowie knife from her pack, ready to run past as many as she could without making any more noise. Her friends had left with their lives, and they were somewhere safe. Her eyes trailed across the silhouette of the small city and landed on the gothic spikes and arches of the Fairacres Cathedral. Then her gaze lowered to where London Road turned into Main Street. Her route. A horde a hundred strong was beginning to round the corner, ambling right for her and her enticing gunfire. The bunch she had freed from the store, plus plenty more. She rubbed at her forehead -- if she made no more noise and drew no more attention to herself, it was possible that she would be able to jump into an abandoned car and go all the way around to make it to the cathedral in one piece. As soon as that thought entered her head, a deafening ¡®crack¡¯ made her drop to a crouch on her doorstep, eyes darting left and right. Then another gunshot, and then another. Three of the zombies in front of her dropped to the ground, two of them still alive but incapacitated. ¡°You idiot,¡± she hissed low, and then she dared to lift her head to see what well-meaning soul had braved the horde to come and clear a path. ¡°Yo!¡± a tall, well-muscled guy with ash-blonde, styled hair, a long stained tank top and sandals yelled over to her from the corner. He strolled over as if he was unafraid of the rapidly increasing number of zombies that Liza herself had set upon them. ¡°What was your name again?¡± Liza groaned inwardly. ¡°Hello again, Blazer,¡± she said. ¡°It¡¯s Liza.¡± ¡°You headed to the safe place too?¡± he shouted, his hand cupped to his mouth for extra volume. Well, she had no choice but to step from her front gate and glower at him. He laughed. ¡°What¡¯s got your knickers in a twist? Aren¡¯t we going to the same place? It¡¯ll be safer together.¡± In response, Liza lifted her gun and took out the two prone zombies he hadn¡¯t managed to off completely, plus another one behind him.
Headshot COMBO! x3 80 UP 80 UP (+10) 80 UP (+20) 270 UP
He chuckled. ¡°You¡¯re a pretty good shot,¡± he said encouragingly. Liza hated him. ¡°C¡¯mon then, Blazer,¡± she muttered, lowering the pistol to hang by her side and looking over at what had to be two hundred shuffling monsters blocking the entirety of the road ahead of them. From the way it looked to her, there was no way through. But, as always, she had to try or die. ¡°Let¡¯s find that safety we were promised.¡± Chapter Twelve

Chapter Twelve

¡°My zombie apocalypse plan is simple but effective: I fully intend to die in the very first wave.¡± -Graham Parke ¡°So what the hell do you propose we do?¡± Liza looked up at the tall, smiling man beside her, waiting for his idea, and wished that she had been lumped together in this apocalypse with anyone else. ¡°I reckon we mow our way through.¡± He lifted up the rifle in his hands and smiled down at her. She holstered the Glock with a sigh to indicate her thoughts on his idea. They were now around fifty feet away from any zombies they could see. Maybe it would help her to think her way out if she had both hands available. ¡°No?¡± he asked. She shook her head. ¡°No, we don¡¯t have enough ammo between all three weapons to make a pathway through all of them. Any space we make will just be filled, unless¡­¡± Liza trailed off. Mow our way through. His plan wouldn¡¯t work, but his wording may just have given her an idea that would. ¡°Blazer, I need you to break into one of these cars,¡± she said with confidence. He didn¡¯t look like he was willing to move, and instead raised up his rifle and levelled it at the horde, moving it left and right as he tried to pick a target. ¡°Are you listening to me? Come help me with¡ª¡± She flinched, gritting her teeth as he took a shot. The zombies worked their jaws and continued to come at them. With more determination now, if anything. Liza was beginning to realise that their hunting prowess relied almost solely on movement and sound. Their eyes were milky and faded and she figured that they didn¡¯t draw breath, so they probably couldn¡¯t smell. Which meant that the guy beside her was making the worst possible decisions, one after another. Sound was the enemy. She grabbed at the barrel and lowered it forcefully, glaring up at him and hating the fact that he was making her feel like some disapproving shrew. He yanked the rifle away from her with a frown, but kept it lowered. ¡°What?¡± he demanded. ¡°You¡¯re a lousy goddamn shot,¡± she told him. ¡°And do you really think one or two hits is going to make a dent in that? There are hundreds. Now, I hate to say this, but I need your help.¡± He grinned again, his lips peeling back to show one wonky canine. ¡°It¡¯s fun, love, you should try it.¡± ¡°Fun, or shooting? Because I¡¯m pretty adept at both,¡± she tossed over her shoulder as she walked away, to the one or two remaining cars in the street. The last time she had looked at this road properly it had been lined on both sides with parked vehicles; it just proved that pretty much everybody had fled Fairacres at the first sign of trouble. That car blocking off most of the road at the other end was still there, which showed that nobody had tried too hard to move it. The driver¡¯s side door hung open, and Liza waved Blazer over as quickly as she could. He squinted past his rifle and let out another echoing crack, felling not one single monster. ¡°Stop!¡± she shouted, gathering up the fabric of his dirtied vest in her hand and yanking him towards the doors. ¡°You¡¯re wasting ammo, and you look like a twat. Get in the car. Find the keys.¡± She looked the vehicle over, an old two-door blue-grey Mazda, and made sure that the laughing boy let himself into the car and began searching in earnest. ¡°You gotta get in here too, love, it¡¯s not safe out there with all the crazy bastards.¡± Liza peered at him. ¡°Zombies,¡± she said. ¡°They¡¯re definitely, obviously, zombies.¡± ¡°Zombies, vampires, werewolves. You know what they all have in common?¡± he asked, leaning his head out the door with a stupid look on his face. Liza shrugged. Twenty-four hours ago the answer would have been simple. They didn¡¯t exist. Now? ¡°They can all bite my fucking banger.¡± She didn¡¯t need to look at him to know he had grabbed at his own crotch when he said that. She turned back to the horde, suppressing a shudder. ¡°Keys.¡± They were coming straight for them anyway. The gap had closed to twenty feet and they had swallowed up the possibility of a couple of other cars, but Liza was certain that if any of them had the keys still inside, it would be this one abandoned in the middle of the road, not any of those still parked outside the houses. ¡°Anything?¡± she asked, lifting her rifle and sighting at them. A couple of stragglers at the front of the group could get picked off, and they were moving in unison in such a way that if she missed because they were moving, she would probably snag a different one instead. But she didn¡¯t want to waste ammo on a drop in the ocean until she knew it was necessary. ¡°Nothing,¡± Blazer announced finally. ¡°Looked everywhere. No keys.¡± ¡°Yeah, that would have been too easy, in retrospect,¡± Liza said, and went for it. Five gunshots, the noise ricocheting almost painfully around the abandoned residential road. Three perfect headshots, one blown off ear, and one neckshot.
Headshot COMBO! x3 80 UP 80 UP (+10) 80 UP (+20) 270 UP
She was getting slightly better at hitting moving targets. But she would prefer if the skill came to her more quickly than it was. When she met with Celia again she would see if there was a way to upgrade a gun to make it easier to aim, somehow. ¡°Blazer, I¡¯m gonna need to hear good news from you soon,¡± she said. There was no true panic in her voice ¡ª after all, the road behind the car was fairly clear of zombies, except for perhaps one or two faraway stragglers that weren¡¯t going to be an issue anytime soon. ¡°Love, I¡¯m telling you, there¡¯s nothing,¡± he snapped back. Liza lowered her gun and huffed out a sigh. ¡°Maybe ¡­ there¡¯s something I can do.¡± She nodded for him to get out and aim his nearly useless gun at the approaching zombies while she climbed into the car. ¡°I told you, there¡¯s nothing in here. Unless you know how to hotwire a car?¡± She chewed her lip. ¡°I guess, in theory, but ¡­ no, not really,¡± she said. ¡°But if all the components are already present, then maybe I do.¡±
Mazda 626 (2000) UP to Next Level
Repair? 77/100 100
Features Weak Body 400
Empty Slot (Unlock) 100
¡°Hotwire!¡± she snapped to the interface in front of her, smacking the wheel with the flat of her palm. ¡°Stupid game.¡± Blazer began to shoot, and from the rapid gunfire followed by the hissed cursing, Liza didn¡¯t have to look over to see that her time to figure this out was running low. There were two options, and repairing it would do nothing but fix the dents.
You have unlocked a slot for a new feature for this item. What would you like to add? Hotwired (temporary) ¡ª 400
¡°Yes!¡± she screamed. Blazer let out a strangled noise as his rifle began to let off hollow clicking noises instead of gunfire. ¡°Get in. Get in, now!¡± she yelled out to him. He was frozen, a couple of feet from the horde and staring at the grasping rotted hands. ¡°Get in!¡± she roared, slamming her door shut as the engine turned over, as if by magic. Jolted back to action by the rumbling car behind him, Blazer darted to his right, driving the butt of his rifle into the closest zombie¡¯s sternum. The rotting flesh caved in and the boy screamed, dropping the gun like it had a fat spider on it, and circling the car before heaving open the side door and leaping inside. His breaths came short and heavy, his eyes wide and darting. He looked over to Liza, who was smiling at him, her hands on the steering wheel. ¡°What the fuck are you doing? Gun it, love. Hurry the fuck up,¡± he gasped. ¡°I¡¯m waiting for you to tell me how amazing you think I am for hotwiring a car,¡± she said. A zombie fell onto the bonnet and gargled wetly, reaching its hand to slam against the windscreen, and Blazer let out a shout of pure primal fear. ¡°Not so funny now that they¡¯re close up, is it?¡± she asked. ¡°You¡¯re amazing, you¡¯re fucking incredible,¡± he stammered, and sucked in another breath at the sight of the main body of the horde. ¡°You¡¯re the most capable woman I want to be in this car with right now.¡± ¡°Eh,¡± Liza said, throwing the gearstick into reverse. ¡°Good enough.¡± They squealed backwards and the zombie rolled off the bonnet. When she got to the curb she curved forwards again, closing the gap to the horde and causing Blazer to let out the sound of a boiling kettle briefly before she straightened up and took them backwards again. She reversed maybe an eighth of a mile and then stopped suddenly, enjoying the sight of the terrified boy beside her. ¡°We¡¯ll need to fortify it for this,¡± she told him, popping open the door again. ¡°Help me out. Bring over the biggest glass shards from the broken windows, and any wood you find ¡ª but preferably metal.¡± She hopped out onto the street, but he stayed put. ¡°You listening?¡±This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon. ¡°Keep ¡­ keep going,¡± he said. ¡°Just turn around; let¡¯s go to London.¡± ¡°But our friends,¡± Liza said. ¡°I¡¯m gonna show you how to fortify a car. OK?¡± ¡°Fuck,¡± he muttered, and then punched the dashboard hard. ¡°Fuck!¡± he cried, shaking his fist and grimacing at the pain from his punch. ¡°They¡¯re coming. Get in the car.¡± ¡°Give me one second.¡± Liza could see the obliterated motorcycle she had noticed earlier on. The dented body would integrate into the body of the car if she had correctly interpreted the game¡¯s rules. Like alchemy, nothing could just be created from nothing. She could strengthen glass with glass, metal with metal. She lifted the bike¡¯s body with all of her strength and hurled it as close to the car as she could. Back inside the car, a few quick eye movements later and the ex-bike had vanished. Blazer opened and shut his mouth in confusion, but said nothing. ¡°Thank you for not driving off,¡± Liza said lightly, and checked out the car again.
Mazda 626 (2000) UP to Next Level
Repair? 77/100 100
Features Hardened Body 900
Hotwired N/A
¡°Hardened Body!¡± she said, turning to present him with a high five. Blazer looked pale, and ignored her hand, so she let it drop. He had come pretty close to death just then, so she forgave him for not grabbing any glass. She slammed the door shut and settled into the seat, hands on the wheel. ¡°Seatbelts on.¡± No response. She turned with a frown. ¡°Seriously, dude, this is gonna suck. Put your seatbelt on and say a prayer.¡± He clicked his belt into place wordlessly, robotically. ¡°There¡¯s a boy,¡± she cooed. ¡°Now let the only woman you want in the car with you take you for a spin, huh?¡± She was already thinking about all the amazing things she could do to pimp out this car, or any other vehicle they found. It may as well be this one, she reasoned, as she had already sunk points into it to hotwire and strengthen the outer shell. ¡°What are you waiting for?¡± Blazer growled, regaining some of his colour. ¡°Pedal to the metal, love.¡± ¡°Roger that,¡± she said, and blew out a breath. The little car¡¯s engine chugged along happily, and Liza put it in gear and then slammed her foot on the gas. The Mazda roared forward. They approached the horde at what felt to her like a snail¡¯s pace. They weren¡¯t going to make it. They were going to get bogged down in a mess of rotting flesh and they were going to get overpowered. ¡°Please, little car,¡± she said. ¡°Hurry up.¡± ¡°Fuck, fuck, fuck!¡± Blazer yelled, holding onto the seat on either side of him, knuckles white. ¡°Go faster!¡± ¡°What do you think I¡¯m doing?¡± she cried back. The first zombie rolled up onto the bonnet and then, to their relief, up and over the top of the car completely, flying through the air before landing with an almost comically wet ¡®splat¡¯ on the road behind them. ¡°Fuck you, zombies!¡± Blazer said, flipping his middle finger at the twitching creature. Liza whooped, but they were far from out of the woods yet. A fact she was reminded of as she looked at the hundreds in front of them. Their speed wasn¡¯t high enough. It couldn¡¯t be. But there was no time to think about the things they could have done differently. That was the moment that they ploughed into the thickest part of the horde. Neither of them could help but yell out at the top of their lungs as they bowled over and rolled under the zombies like pins, cutting through the masses of hungry grabbing arms and clacking yellow teeth like a butter knife through caramel. The speedometer dragged backwards through the numbers they had already cleared, despite how desperately Liza kept her foot to the floor. The decision to fortify the car had been an important one, because the body was getting dented left and right even with 400 points spent on hardening it up. She had no doubt that without that extra effort, they would have been in far more trouble. ¡°Think of something,¡± Blazer grunted. ¡°You think of something, I¡¯ve done all the thinking so far!¡± she cried back. The speedometer slowed further. They continued to plough zombies, and they were making their way speedily through the group, but there were a couple hundred more to carve through and they barely had any power left in them. What would Celia do? She let her eyes flutter shut, and then opened them, and a frown cut through her face. ¡°Love, we really ¡­ we really have to think of something quick.¡± ¡°What makes a car go faster?¡± she asked. ¡°The fucking ¡­ the fucking accelerator,¡± he stammered. ¡°Nitrous oxide, exactly,¡± she said, drumming on the steering wheel. ¡°Nitrogen and oxygen. In the air. Come on, system. You get me, I get you. We¡¯re friends now. Let me have this.¡± One of her brothers, Tobias, had always been really into cars. One time when she was a preteen he had let her sit in the garage and watch as he installed a NOS booster to the gorgeous old car he¡¯d been working on for years. Liza had thought back to that moment regularly; it represented one of her favourite things about growing up in such a resourceful family: the ability to swap skills back and forth as casually as conversation. The information might save her life now. She unlocked a slot with her eye movement, and rapidly scrolled to the important menu. They were down to 20mph and things were looking dire. The undead in every direction scraped and slammed at every single inch of the car that separated them from death. ¡°What ¡­ what are you doing?¡± Blazer asked. ¡°What are we gonna do?¡± ¡°Give me a second, this is maybe ¡­ a stupid idea.¡± Or maybe an amazing one.
Mazda 626 (2000) UP to Next Level
Repair? 77/100 100
Features Hardened Body 900
Empty Slot (Unlock) 100
You have unlocked a slot for a new feature for this item. What would you like to add? NOS Booster ¡ª 800 (Nitrous Oxide)
¡°It¡¯s in the fucking air!¡± she screamed. ¡°Nitrogen and oxygen; what else do you want?¡± ¡°What are you talking about?¡± Blazer yelled, squeezing the seat underneath him even tighter as they crunched erratically through two dozen more corpses. ¡°I¡¯m trying to add a NOS booster but the system won¡¯t acknowledge the nitrogen and oxygen to make nitrous oxide,¡± she said faster than she had ever spoken before. ¡°The game? The headset? You can do shit like that?¡± he asked, gripping at his seat. ¡°Can you just add shit for real? Anything? I couldn¡¯t fucking figure it out.¡± ¡°What would you do?¡± ¡°Check if the car has a turbocharger.¡± He wiped off his forehead. ¡°Can you do that?¡± ¡°Fuck!¡± Liza replied, concentrating hard on the car and willing some kind of more detailed specs page up. A vague light rippled across the dash in front of her.
Mazda 626 (2000) Known in Japan as the Mazda Capella, this mid-size car was introduced in 1970 as an alternative to the larger Luce and smaller Familia. [View more information] Hardened Body Mid-Size Weak Glass Turbodiesel engine [View full features list]
¡°I don¡¯t know. Turbodiesel engine. I don¡¯t know,¡± she told him; she had never read that fast before, it almost gave her motion sickness. ¡°Well turn it the fuck up!¡± he cried, his voice cracking. She unlocked the option and, breathing hard with panic, brought up the menu again. ¡°Now what? I need to know how it works to use it! I need to know exactly¡ª¡± ¡°Spin the fan faster! It¡¯s a fan ¡ª just spin the fucking fan!¡±
Mazda 626 (2000) UP to Next Level
Repair? 77/100 100
Features Hardened Body 900
Turbocharge 850
¡°Yes ¡­ yes!¡± Liza cried. As she wilfully selected the option she turned to Blazer. ¡°Hang o¡ª¡± The car lurched, leaving Liza¡¯s stomach ten feet behind. They zoomed across the body-strewn tarmac, slicing through the last section of reaching, clawing zombies. They could barely hear their own screams, but the hoarse pain in her throat proved that she was. ¡°Thundering cocksuckers!¡± he screamed at the top of his lungs. Liza couldn¡¯t help but let out a high-pitched laugh at his choice of words. ¡°Could not have said it better myself!¡± she said, yanking the wheel so that they drifted rapidly through the final undead. Blazer leaned over and shoved the wheel to the right, and Liza held on tight so that they whipped around the corner and launched onto Main Street ... headed straight for the pileup on the train tracks. ¡°Left, left!¡± she roared, no idea if Blazer knew they were headed for the crash of their lifetime once they had cleared the horde and back in empty air, still hurtling at neckbreaking speeds.
Vehicular Manslaughter! x43 50 UP 50 UP (+10) 50 UP (+20) [see 40 more lines]
Liza lifted her fist and whooped as they careened wildly down the narrow street to the left of the pileup, before coming to a roundabout and slamming her foot down on the brakes as the boost eased down to nothing. She scraped the hair from her eyes and turned to Blazer, a newfound affection for the man beside her now that she had escaped the impossible with his help. To their right was a grassy strip and a path that led to Fairacres West train station, and to their left were a couple of office buildings, and a winding path that led up the hill to their campus. Beyond was an industrial park. The road that curved to the right by the roundabout they had squealed to a halt at led to the cathedral. ¡°Hell yeah!¡± she cried. He blew out a breath and shook his head, but then his face contorted and he started to laugh. She joined in, and they leaned back and let the giddiness of succeeding wash over them. ¡°That was by far the craziest thing I¡¯ve done since this whole thing has started,¡± he said, leaning, spent, against the headrest. ¡°Oh, I¡¯ve seen a fair few crazy things already,¡± Liza said. ¡°Thieves, weirdos, criminals; the very worst of humanity already, it feels like. Some guys just tried to kill me in my own house.¡± ¡°What the fuck?¡± he asked, looking genuinely angry for her. ¡°What did you do? How did you escape?¡± Liza paused before telling him, but she felt like saying it out loud. Cementing it. It was her real life now, and Blazer had earned a secret after surviving with her. ¡°I ¡­ I guess I killed them first.¡± His eyes widened. ¡°You did? You could just ¡­ kill someone?¡± ¡°It was me or them,¡± she said, sinking back into her chair and blowing hair from her face. ¡°That¡¯s how it has to be now.¡± He shook his head slowly, in awe. ¡°I didn¡¯t think about it.¡± ¡°I had help. The zombies.¡± ¡°Fucking zombies.¡± ¡°Yeah!¡± Liza said. ¡°Thundering cocksuckers, the lot of ¡®em!¡± He stared forward. ¡°It¡¯s alright,¡± she said. ¡°We have a huge advantage with our weapons. ¡± ¡°All I have is a rifle with no bullets,¡± he reminded her, pressing his fingertips into his temple. He had a sheen of sweat on his face that she didn¡¯t remember seeing just a moment earlier; he must have really been nervous about what lay ahead, now that they had crashed through the great zombie barrier. ¡°Ammo has become the most important resource in the world for us. Life or death. We need even more if we want to stay alive.¡± ¡°I do want to stay alive.¡± ¡°I think the next step is to get to the cathedral, find the other survivors. Then we¡¯ll figure out what the step after that is. Probably London.¡± He remained silent, his hands trembling. At something she had said, or at some secret thought locked away beneath his boyband hairstyle? ¡°Did you see all those points?¡± Liza asked, bringing up the enormous scrolling list and then dismissing it, unable to trawl through it all quickly enough with her eyes. Instead she checked out her overall UP score by navigating to the plus sign she could see by her full health bar. 13,040 UP. She leaned her head back and let out a laugh. ¡°Look, look at how many points you have.¡± She nudged Blazer. He had a really strange look on his face. Her own smile fell when she noticed it. ¡°What? Did you leave your headset back at the¡ª¡± He had her Glock in his hands. When had he taken it from her holster? At some point she must have completely let her guard down, when he had leaned over to her. He lifted it, let out a burdened breath, and then closed his eyes as he fired it. Heat pooled across her abdomen. Then came the pain. ¡°You¡¯re still a lousy shot,¡± she growled, feeling the blood leave her face almost instantly, and then the shock from being cut open by hot metal fill her from head to toe. Blazer whispered something that might have been ¡®Sorry, love¡¯, but might have been something else entirely, and then popped the driver¡¯s side door open behind her, and pushed her out into the middle of the road. Liza rolled neck-first onto the tarmac, in too much pain to fight back. And the man whose life she had just saved jumped into the driver¡¯s seat, slammed the door shut above her, and squealed away with all of her possessions, leaving her prone and bleeding out in the middle of a city filled with ravenous undead. Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Thirteen

¡°Zombies don''t act like a predator; they act like a virus, and that is the core of my terror.¡± -Max Brooks, author of World War Z Her health was falling from the HP bar to the top left of her vision. Draining out like tomato soup through a sieve, and if the trickle remained as steady as it did, Liza estimated that she had only hours left. It was likely, though, that it would drain rapidly for a little while and then begin to drain a little more slowly as her blood began to clot. Bandages. She had the headset on, which meant that medical supplies had a fairly magical effect on her ¡ª as if she were a character in a video game. She wanted bandages to quell the pain just as much as to staunch the flow of blood. The lower her HP fell, the more distracting the pain was. ¡°Oh, Eliza,¡± she said firmly to herself, giving herself just the slightest tinge of a Russian accent and sounding as disapproving as she could; channeling the ghost of her paternal grandmother. ¡°What a burden you have become.¡± The phrase came out as such a spot-on impression that she let out a chuckle, which devolved quickly into a cough as the pain wracked her body from the inside out. She looked around. On a white-painted roundabout a block away from the high street, a block and a half away from a shuffling horde of undead, and a long walk from anything she could ever have called home. Damn. Home. If she had just stayed there (after hauling out the bodies of the looters before they began to stink) and used her points to repair the door, she would never have met Blazer. She would never have been shot. She could have quietly fortified the place and gone to bed. Liza was exhausted, and the blood she had lost was only adding to it. She was beginning to run out of adrenaline. After the adrenaline had gone, there was only pain, fear, and a fatal kind of fatigue that, in the new world, only ended in death. She gingerly lifted up her shirt to check the dark stained patch of skin above her waistband, to her left. In the car she had twisted her body to look up at him. He probably thought he was shooting her in the abdomen, but he had just shot her hipbone. It was agony. After wailing through her teeth for long enough to check the back of the entry point, Liza determined that there was no exit wound. There was a chunk of murder metal still inside her body. ¡°Fuck you, bullet,¡± she told her hip. At least the presence of the thing was probably doing a bit to keep her from bleeding too much, too fast. Blazer hadn¡¯t even had the balls to shoot her point blank in the head. He hadn¡¯t had the guts to watch her die instantly right in front of his eyes. Liza took a couple of steps just to test it out, and tears instantly sprang to her eyes. It was difficult, but it wasn¡¯t impossible. She took stiff, shallow breaths and blew them out with force between her lips. Desperate as she might have been for a fiery wreck, to watch him crash and die horribly, it seemed like he was away, free and clear. He¡¯d gotten away with no consequences. Screw him. Liza had thought they were getting along pretty well, too; she had been ready to accept him into their fold of survivors when she found her friends, to tell the others that he was annoying and arrogant, and couldn¡¯t shoot for anything, but he was alright really. That would show her. Visions of her family flitted through her mind. Her father, shouting on the phone in Russian that she had barely bothered to learn herself. He was unstoppable. His mother, her grandmother, sitting in her dirty armchair, exuding hate. Always. Exuding. She would probably never die, either. Olga Volkov. A name like knives. She would be posthumously disowned if she died so easily. What would they say? Be more careful who you trust. ¡°In a crisis, trust no one,¡± her father had told her once. ¡°Everyone is out for themselves in a world that wants them dead. And don¡¯t believe anything else for even a second.¡± ¡°I should have listened to you more,¡± Liza muttered to herself as she walked, slowly, towards the menacing spikes of the cathedral in the near distance. Talking quietly gave her something to focus on; to distract herself and stay lucid. ¡°I thought you were crazy.¡± She turned a corner out of necessity, and found herself walking perpendicular from the cathedral instead of right to it, blocked by recently abandoned buildings. She wished that she knew where all of those people were. Were they alive? Inside waiting for rescue? The almost total lack of parked cars anywhere told her that most people had left at the first whiff of danger. Gone elsewhere to see the state of things. Most of them, presumably, to London. That was where the bulk of the help would be. The army, the police, the helicopter aid ¡­ whatever there might be. When London was secure, they would come here. And to other tiny cities or towns ¡ª Fairacres was a town, for all intents and purposes, but it was technically labelled a city since it housed a cathedral. Rules were arbitrary, and Liza found herself unreasonably angry at the people who had made those decisions. It was better than pointlessly directing her anger at her impending demise. And the thought she couldn¡¯t banish: that her father would be so disappointed if she died on day one of the apocalypse. The sun had set on the first day of the end of the world, and the cathedral was beginning to glow like a beacon in the low light. The electricity hadn¡¯t shut off quite yet, which was good. Fairacres Cathedral was set up with white light from top to bottom, and it looked gorgeous at night. It also made it impossible to miss. That was where the survivors would be, she was sure of it. Certain. If she made it there, she wouldn¡¯t be alone. And hopefully nobody there had stupid nicknames. She refused to be friends from now on with anybody unless they had a good, proper first name. Fucking Blazer. Fucking everything. Fucking fuck. She gritted her teeth and leaned against a glass wall for a second to suck in a couple of breaths. ¡°Ow,¡± she whispered, as if saying it out loud would help. She had read somewhere that cursing could curb pain to some extent. ¡°Fucking ¡­ fuck.¡± If it helped at all, it wasn¡¯t enough to write a scientific essay on it. When she finally raised her head, coated with a sheen of sweat, it was just in time to see the man in a bloodied suit lurching towards her. She took in three breaths in quick succession and she looked around for safety, knowing that even with an improvised weapon she wouldn¡¯t be able to take this thing out in her current state. Zombies were a lot scarier when they were real, it turned out. On TV they barely seemed like a threat most of the time. The glass windows she had been leaning on were those of a mini supermarket. A corner shop. Its familiar, comforting green signage was almost more of a beacon of hope for her right then than the literally glowing cathedral standing proud somewhere to her left. Water. Food. Supplies. There would be things in there that could save her life. She was certain that some little convenience stores like this one sold bandages, and had painkillers behind the counter. Wonderful painkillers. By some beautiful stroke of luck, pushing on the door actually worked, and it opened inward with barely any resistance. No one had bothered to lock up before fleeing, and Liza wondered what had actually happened here. It didn¡¯t take her long to piece it together. Inside the store the wares were strewn across the floor, the shelves picked clean by quick-acting looters and thieves. One display shelf was lying across the floor, and there were push pins scattered by the counter. Liza had no way of knowing if someone had done that as a form of panicked defence, or if it had just been an accident. The counter itself was smeared with thick, dark, congealed blood. She looked away from it and grimaced. It had slid down in rivulets and pooled on the floor beside the tacks, which ¡ª if they had been placed tactically ¡ª had done nothing at all to save the poor soul. She needed to worry about saving her own soul, though. Pain sliced through her more vehemently before, as if her body was reminding her to work to stay alive. It took her longer than it should have to find the right aisle in such a small convenience store. Her first clue was when she almost stepped in a stream of errant conditioner and slid four feet into the wall, but since her head was hanging low and her every step was deliberate, she managed to avoid it. Conditioner, shampoo, deodorant, medication ¡­ bandages. ¡°Yes,¡± she breathed, plucking a small roll from the shelf, the last one left, and unpicking it as best she could. Her vision was growing dimmer. Though she had not lost enough blood to slip into death, not quite yet, she had lost enough ¡ª and experienced enough shock ¡ª to slip into a deep, several-day-long sleep. And if she did, she was dead. Finally the roll came undone in her hands and unravelled down to touch the conditioner puddle on the floor. ¡°Noo,¡± she whispered at it, and gently pressed one end to her side, trying to figure out the best way to do this. She should really clean the wound first. It didn¡¯t need to be perfect, since this stuff was partially going by game rules, but she didn¡¯t feel good about wrapping herself up when she was still coated in her own sticky blood. So she let out a breath and eyed the rest of the sparse shelving for answers. Wet wipes. She tore into the packet and dabbed around the wound to remove the stains from her skin. Her eyes were watering, her limbs all violently shaking, but she managed to just about clean herself up. What next? Rubbing alcohol. Of course, there was none. She wasn¡¯t even sure what she was looking for. Her sights turned to the counter again. More accurately, behind the counter. Alcohol and painkillers. ¡°Yes please,¡± she said hoarsely, and staggered her way over the scattered wares to get to the flap that let her behind the counter. It occurred to her momentarily to try to get into the till to snatch the money, but ¡­ that made no sense. Who cared about money in a world of the dead? Currency was a product of civilisation, and civilisation was no more. She allowed herself one pitiful cough, shaking with pain, and lifted the flap with her remaining strength. Her fist closed around the closest bottle of vodka, which happened to be the kind that she had never been able to afford but she had always wanted to try. She let out a chuckle, wondering if that was irony and feeling certain that it wasn¡¯t, and unscrewed the cap. She angled herself backwards, letting out a squeak of pain as her wound stretched and leaked blood, and then upended the bottle above the bullet wound. Liza screamed. At first she stifled it, but the burn was too intense. And when she started to scream, she found that she couldn¡¯t stop. It felt so luxurious to make noise like that; to open her mouth and screech and feel like she was never going to stop, but she knew that she had to. She was in no state to fight anything that came through the¡ª ¡°Mrrr.¡± The throaty, gargling growl from around her ankles made her pause, and she could feel her heartbeat in her vodka-soaked bullet wound. A tear of pain and resignation made a track down her filthy cheek. Her breathing was ragged as she turned to the source of the noise. She had thought the pile of bloody clothing peeking out from beneath the counter had been just that, but it wasn¡¯t. It was a man so torn apart that, try as he might, he couldn¡¯t even make himself move the four inches to wrap his half-eaten hands around her ankles and make her one of them. Even with no stomach left, the creature on the floor was so, so hungry. It blinked its one remaining eye at her, the other socket a mess of red flesh, and bared its teeth to let out a predatory rattle once again. Liza shook her head and stepped away, just as it managed to turn onto its side and thrash an arm out across the space she had been occupying. On his shirt she could just about make out a nametag that said ¡®Hello, my name is GREG¡¯. ¡°Sorry, Greg,¡± Liza said. She grabbed a handful of painkillers and shoved them into her pockets for the road, as many as could fit, and then after a small pause took a swig of the vodka, and then gagged. It would take the edge off her pain. She wrapped the bandages around her middle then as fast as she could, knowing that the bullet was still in there but not willing to carve it out of her own flesh ¡ª she would pass out, for sure, if she did that. Filled with more painkillers than the label recommended, and crudely wrapped up at the middle with just a small blooming red stain at the side, she knew that she was going to be alright. She was going to survive long enough to get to the cathedral. To find someone there who could dig a bullet out of her side and keep her from dying. Maybe there was something that the system could help her to do? All the game required were the basic components and a fairly intimate knowledge of how the thing worked, and it could be created. This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there. Could she get Celia to make guns for them? Ammo? Where the fuck else was she going to get weapons in England? There was a military store in the middle of town. But, again, this was England. They sold air rifles and camo jackets. Liza had been there to buy a utility belt for a friend¡¯s superhero costume. They obviously didn¡¯t sell guns. Not real ones. She had picked hers out of a crate, as part of that promotional event. Was it possible there were still guns in that crate? Almost certainly not. And the fields by campus were in the opposite direction to where she wanted to go. With no space to carry much except a bottle of much-needed water, Liza forced herself to eat a small amount of carby food, resisting the urge to heave it back up, and made her way outside again. It looked like her roar of pain hadn¡¯t attracted that much attention. There was a shuffling zombie at the other end of the street, and after that scream the entirety of that horde would probably be seeking her out, but the road looked almost clear but for the abandoned or smashed cars, rubble and glass. A few doors down was a luggage shop with a smashed-in window, which made Liza crack a smile. Who, during the first hours of a zombie apocalypse, decided that what they really wanted was expensive luggage? Her smile fell again when she realised it was probably because they were fleeing their homes at the last minute. That wasn¡¯t that funny, actually. Gingerly, she stepped inside the cracked storefront and crunched over the glass as quietly as she could to grab a big leather tote bag. Just for fun, she glanced at the pricetag and her mouth fell open. ¡°I could never afford this,¡± she mumbled. ¡°Should I splurge?¡± She slung it over her shoulder and stepped out again. It wasn¡¯t anywhere near as convenient as the backpack had been, but it was a hell of a lot better than nothing. She shoved the bandages, the water and the rest of the sandwich she hadn¡¯t been able to stomach deep inside, and continued onwards towards the cathedral. The roads were not too cluttered to drive down if she went slowly and carefully avoided the glass. She was tempted to spend some of her considerable hoard of points on doing up a random semi-crushed car on the side of this small offshoot of the high street, but the engine would only draw more monsters towards her. And after a little while, the repetitive motion of walking was beginning to make her side feel better. A quick glance at her HP had it creeping very slowly upwards again, which confirmed that whatever the trick was, she had done it right. Three blocks, give or take, from the cathedral. She was going to make it. The walking was soothing, and quiet, and she took a couple of turns down side streets ¡ª making sure she always had a few yards of empty space in each direction so nothing could jump at her ¡ª to try to lose any masses drawn by noise. At the next corner she had long since passed the pileup of cars on the train tracks. She stood outside a pub and stared towards the rest of the high street, the river running beneath the road under her heels. Standing underneath the crumbling archway of the Fairacres jail gates ¡ª the old castle gates that now stood alone, like some theatre prop in the middle of a modern street, leading to a pedestrian-friendly high street ¡ª was a formation of police officers in full riot gear, complete with shields. ¡°Oh, thank g¡ª¡± Liza began, but then stopped herself instantly, in speech and in motion, when she realised that none of them were human. Of course. That would have been too good. The shields were splattered with blood. They were rasping and gargling audibly even from where she stood. Their teeth clacked together as if practising for when they would be clamped around skin. They were completely blocking the path to the cathedral. It was, as far as she knew, the only way to get there from where she was. If she went another way it would, at the very least, be a long and winding path filled with other horrors. She didn¡¯t know the way, and she was in pain. The zombies were milling about, but they were remaining in a fairly tight formation underneath the crumbling stone arches, completely blocking her path. There was no way for her to fight through, even with a full selection of weapons. Even without an injury. They were protected from most injury, and they didn¡¯t even know it. Their formation made Liza wonder if an echo of their past remained with them even after death; they seemed to feel as though they should be blocking the street, though they clearly didn¡¯t know why. Or maybe she was just being whimsical in her old age. (Because maybe this was the oldest she was going to get.) She let out a sigh, which turned into a strained grunt of pain, and she pulled back to lean and compose herself against the wall of the pub. Her health was not dropping, but it was not climbing either. She concentrated briefly on the cylindrical symbol underneath the red bar, hoping it would tell her more.
You have a Bullet in the Body. Your health cannot rise higher than 30% with the aid of bandages alone. Remove the bullet within 48 hours or you will contract Lead Poisoning.
¡°What?¡± she asked it, but it had no answers for her. Clutching her stomach, she remembered to look around in a full 360 degree arc, since she hadn¡¯t for a while, and noticed that the pub she was leaning on was positively packed with the things. Thank god she had checked. They hadn¡¯t noticed her yet, since she was being quiet and leaning against the brick, not the glass, but on seeing their staggering, slack-jawed faces she nearly let out a noise of surprise. She took a couple of determined steps around the corner, and blew out a breath. Soon the cop zombies would look her way and see her, and honestly she was running out of energy to keep moving. Day was officially night now; the sun had set on the first day of the new world. She could still see alright, but a fair few of the streetlights had not turned on, and Liza knew that the next night it would fewer, and the night after that fewer still. Cars would crash into them, bulbs would fail, and then the power grid would say goodnight, for good. Liza was struck by the overwhelming urge to take a nap. The horde was not heading straight for her now, but they would be spreading out, and she would be found soon. Her eyelids were heavy. Maybe she could just give up. But ¡­ her brothers. They would laugh at her. It was day one. And she would become part of the horde. Unacceptable. ¡°Goddammit, fine,¡± Liza muttered, getting back to her feet ¡ª she had barely even realised that she had slid down to a sit against the wall. She pulled in a couple of deep, painful breaths, and she tried to think of a plan. But, oh yeah, there wasn¡¯t one. She was screwed. Zombies to the left, zombies in front, zombies behind. Volley¡¯d and thunder¡¯d. She rubbed her head hard, feeling a lot like she was descending into a state of mind that was not helpful for survival. Survival was all that mattered. Plan mode engaged, Liza instantly looked over at the crushed vehicle beside her. A van caved in at the side, covered in scuffed red paint from the offending car beside it. She probably had enough points to fix it up, integrate the second car into the first to make it tougher, and add a couple more bells and whistles, but that would pour a huge number of points into something that would be incredibly hard to pull off without drawing attention. She could have the van drive into them, and then remotely ignite the gas to create a last minute explosive, but that level of noise would draw the thousands of wandering monsters from every direction and then ¡­ she would be dead. Boxed in. She could make a small amount of noise and draw the zombies away from the road, and then gun it through the archway, but without a car, and injured, she wasn¡¯t able to move very fast. Trapped. Dead. Eaten. A rattling from her right had her turn her head. Great. A herd of at least twenty was making its way towards her from back near the train line pileup. There were twenty inside the pub she was leaning on, and she counted ten blocking the road up ahead. That meant that three of the four directions were now, for all intents and purposes, blocked. If she still had rope or something she could cordon one of the groups off, but her head was swimming with pain and she was finding it incredibly hard to be inventive. She was under the pressure of maybe four different timers, and she had no way of knowing when one of them would go off and end her life. ¡°Psst.¡± Hope was running out. Time was running out. Her limited energy was nearly done. And ¡­ wait, what was that noise? ¡°Hey. Hey.¡± Liza whipped her head around left, and then right, and then upwards, to see the hard expression from under a map of messy red hair, big eyes blinking rapidly at her from a window. ¡°Come here. Are you stupid? You¡¯re gonna die.¡± ¡°Am I stupid?¡± she replied quietly, then looked down at the floor, eyebrows scrunched together with concern. ¡°Am I?¡± ¡°Wait.¡± The head ducked back inside and Liza was left with the faint impression of thick, bright red hair when she blinked. There was a rattling noise by the black door she had barely even noticed she was standing next to, and then it swung open. ¡°Get in,¡± the girl hissed, looking over Liza¡¯s shoulder with wide pale blue eyes. ¡°Get in, you idiot.¡± She ducked back inside and slammed the door shut the second Liza managed to clear the threshold, and bolted and chained it, blowing her already generous cheeks out with her brows raised. ¡°What were you doing out there?¡± the girl demanded, rounding on Liza before she could make her way through the dark hallway to see where exactly she had ended up. So far it seemed like a house. ¡°What¡¯s your name?¡± She had a haughty, demanding way of talking and her demeanour in general had Liza convinced that she had grown up getting everything she wanted. ¡°Liza Volkov,¡± she said, for some reason giving her full name as if she were at a job interview. ¡°Who are you?¡± The girl clicked her tongue against the roof of her mouth and looked away as if she wasn¡¯t sure if she wanted to give this information away. ¡°Lilian,¡± she said finally, and then turned and walked further into the house without another word. It was a house, she confirmed. It had probably been owned by whoever ran the pub next door, in fact, as it seemed to stretch on quite a way back, meaning that whoever lived here would need to be alright with the constant noise through the walls. It was gaudily decorated, with big Persian rugs overlapping and covering almost every inch of hardwood floors, and Liza counted at least four cuckoo clocks on her way through to the stairs that Lilian led her up. ¡°Is this your house?¡± she asked. Lilian didn¡¯t respond, and instead opened a door to the reception room, with the window that looked out onto the street. Liza crossed the carpet, behind a floral sofa, and peeked down at the spot where she had just been standing outside. When she looked to the right, the twenty-strong herd was already close to sweeping over where she had been. And she still had no plan. Would she have just ¡­ died? Probably not, she reasoned. There was a van to hide out inside, but how long would that have lasted? There were only so many last minute explosive plans in her. Her points would run out, and so would her energy. The squishy, hideous couch was looking pretty good to her now. ¡°I ¡­ need to get to the safe area,¡± she told Lilian, turning around to see the other girl fumbling with tea-making instruments. She was boiling water on a burner that she had raised up with very flammable National Geographics ¡ª presumably to ensure that the Persian rugs remained unscorched. The setup was giving Liza anxiety, especially as she was certain that the electricity was still generally working. ¡°The safe area?¡± Lilian repeated, jolting Liza out of her extended staring. She pulled in a breath and circled around to flop on the sofa. In front of her was a tiny box television, dwarfed further by an enormous landscape painting that depicted what looked like an invading armada at some sort of harbour. ¡°I need to find someone to dig a bullet out of my side,¡± she said, glancing up to see that the indicator was still underneath her health. ¡°Otherwise I¡¯m going to get lead poisoning.¡± ¡°You got shot? By a bullet?¡± Lilian shook her head. ¡°Did they mistake you for a corpse?¡± ¡°A zombie?¡± Liza half questioned, half corrected. ¡°No, uh, someone stole all of my supplies.¡± Lilian looked up from the mug she was stirring, with those watery blue eyes wide again. She would have looked like a delicate china doll, with her porcelain skin, button nose and big eyes, if she were a more delicate kind of size. ¡°Your friend?¡± she asked, and Liza could hear something akin to concern in her voice, and it made her feel warm. ¡°I guess not,¡± she mumbled. The cushions beneath her cheek were cool and downy soft and she could feel the pressure lifting from her skin like steam, and soon the pain in her side was just a dull thud, like her heartbeat¡¯s twin in her hip. Someone else¡¯s problem. A clink right by her head had her sitting up with a jolt, which made the pain in her side much more real, and she cried out, clutching her abdomen. ¡°Shush, hush, are you an idiot?¡± Lilian chided, swatting at the air between them, getting up real close and personal in Liza¡¯s face. ¡°Noise. It¡¯s noise that pulls them to where you are.¡± ¡°If you call me an idiot one more time,¡± Liza began in a low growl, but she trailed off as Lilian gestured to the steaming mug of treacle-coloured liquid she had set in front of her. ¡°I put in a sugar, whether you take one or not, because this has been quite a stressful day,¡± Lilian said bossily, hands on her hips. ¡°Oh.¡± Liza looked at the cup, and picked it up, bringing it to her lips. ¡°Are you rude as well as slow?¡± Lilian tutted, shaking her head. ¡°I¡¯m really asking, I¡¯m just trying to figure out what kind of a person you are, just sitting on the street when it¡¯s full of dead people.¡± ¡°They¡¯re zombies,¡± Liza said. There was a pause, and she looked back at the mug. ¡°Sorry for being rude.¡± Lilian stared at her with her thick eyebrows raised high. ¡°And thank you for the tea,¡± Liza added quietly. Lilian smiled, the first genuine smile she had given since they had met, and she already looked a whole lot less irritating. ¡°Now,¡± Lilian said, ¡°since you¡¯ve taken up the entire sofa.¡± She settled herself into the armchair at the other end of the room and slurped at her own mug of tea, but Liza was too tired to be annoyed anymore. Her eyes fluttered shut and once again she slipped away. For twenty minutes, or so; it was a fitful sleep, full of vivid images of the dead, the undead, and the bloodied. She jerked awake at the sensation of cold, grasping, dead hands at the hem of her shirt, and sucked in a breath when she found herself face to face with Lilian¡¯s big, watery eyes. Their noses almost touching, and still with the very real sensation of the other girl¡¯s hands on her shirt, Liza gently cleared her throat. ¡°Can I help you?¡± she asked quietly. Lilian didn¡¯t have the decency to look embarrassed, and instead her brow twitched as if the implication was annoying to her. ¡°I wanted to look at your bandages; you said you had a bullet wound.¡± ¡°Right, but usually people ask before they lift up my shirt,¡± Liza said, looking down at the aforementioned haphazard job she had done to clean herself up. ¡°I¡¯m going to unravel them,¡± Lilian said, deadpan. ¡°Please stay still.¡± ¡°Um, I think maybe I¡¯ll wait for a medical¡­¡± ¡°I¡¯m a nursing student,¡± Lilian interrupted, her irritable words swatting away Liza¡¯s objections. She relaxed into the cushions at this. ¡°Or, I suppose, I was. I¡¯m not sure when class will start up again after all this.¡± ¡°Oh,¡± she said. ¡°Well, have at it, then.¡± Lilian didn¡¯t need to be told twice ¡ª or once ¡ª and soon the bloodied bandages were bunched up and placed on the coffee table beside the half-drunk tea. On a coaster, of course, to be hygienic. ¡°This looks bad,¡± Lilian said. Liza grimaced. Maybe the bedside manner classes happened in the final year. ¡°Really bad, actually. Point blank. There¡¯s so much bruising. The bullet is still in there?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± Liza said. ¡°It¡¯s probably stopped by the hipbone.¡± She poked and Liza sucked air in through her teeth. ¡°You might get lead poisoning, like you said, but ¡­ you probably won¡¯t, to be honest with you. It¡¯s the worst case scenario. I think it might be better just to leave it in there until we can get you an x-ray.¡± How did Liza explain that she didn¡¯t have control over this? Removing the headset might work to remove the future lead poisoning status, but it could also just be reading her body, instead of physically creating issues within it. It was unclear. ¡°I¡¯d rather get it out,¡± she said. ¡°Now, preferably.¡± ¡°Your flesh is really torn up. But it has stopped bleeding. Obviously, digging it out would start the bleeding up again, and there¡¯s no way to get new blood inside you.¡± Lilian straightened up and shrugged. ¡°My professional opinion is to clean it, wrap it, and carry on.¡± ¡°My personal insistence is that I need to remove the bullet,¡± Liza said through gritted teeth. ¡°And I don¡¯t need your permission.¡± Lilian raised her hands in mock surrender. ¡°Go for it, then.¡± ¡°I need to get to the cathedral.¡± ¡°The cathedral?¡± Lilian repeated, glancing over her shoulder at the wall in its direction. ¡°Why?¡± ¡°It¡¯s the safe area, isn¡¯t it? It¡¯s where the medicine is; where the survivors are.¡± Liza pulled herself painfully up to a semi-sitting position. Lilian let out a chuckle, a patronising chuckle, and shook her head, her orange curls swishing. ¡°No..?¡± ¡°There aren¡¯t any survivors,¡± Lilian said, and let out another laugh, a far more bitter one. ¡°There are no emergency services. There are no people. There¡¯s only death.¡± ¡°What are you saying?¡± Liza spluttered at her. Lilian flicked her gaze to the ceiling and then back down again. ¡°I saw everyone leave. Buses. Coaches. They¡¯re all gone.¡± ¡°They can¡¯t be.¡± Lilian sighed. Rolled her eyes. ¡°It is. I¡¯m telling you. We¡¯re the only ones left.¡± Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fourteen

Zombies are then a symbol of our own mad urges to destroy ourselves, and a terrifying portent that we might succeed. -Gospel of the Living Dead ¡°We¡¯re not the only ones left,¡± Liza said, shaking her head as if this were an absolute certainty. ¡°I saw Blazer. I had looters. My housemates were seen alive just a few hours ago.¡± Lilian shook her head harder. ¡°I have been looking out of that window¡ª¡± She jabbed her forefinger in its direction. ¡°¡ªsince it started. At first there were lots. And there was stuff on TV, and on the internet. The radio. And then nothing. Nothing. Not here. Everyone got into these emergency coaches and buses to London, where it¡¯s safer. Or they¡¯re ¡­ out there, but they aren¡¯t people anymore, so it doesn¡¯t matter.¡± Liza wasn¡¯t sure what to say. Everyone had gone to London. Did that include her friends? They had been kicked out of their home, had nowhere safe to go, and, what? They had just ¡­ gone? She looked down to experience some brief self-pity, but was immediately faced with the ragged bullet wound in her side, and the flowering purple and green bruising all around it. She had been shot point blank, so it was a miracle that it wasn¡¯t much worse. She had a feeling it was down to the headset. Video game characters get shot all the time, after all, and they mostly just shrug it off. ¡°I need to get this out. Do you have a toolbox?¡± she asked. Lilian stared at her for a moment, expressionless, but then nodded. ¡°And some alcohol?¡± Nothing. ¡°Please get it for me.¡± ¡°Fine,¡± she said finally, and got up to leave. Liza waited with bated breath until she returned with half a bottle of whiskey and a rusty metal box, which she opened and displayed. ¡°Thank you,¡± Liza made sure to say, and looked through it. ¡°Pliers, hello,¡± she said. ¡°And hello, Jack.¡± She lifted the whiskey bottle and sloshed it. ¡°Do you greet every inanimate object you come across?¡± Lilian asked. Liza glanced at her. ¡°Just wondering. I can see that getting annoying.¡± Knowing that just pouring alcohol onto the rug would really piss off the other girl, Liza grudgingly placed the pliers over the half-empty mug and poured the Jack Daniels over the needle nose. ¡°Don¡¯t waste it,¡± Lilian muttered, so Liza stopped, breathing out slowly. ¡°Also, Jack Daniels? That¡¯s ¡­ not a good idea to put inside your body.¡± Making full eye contact, Liza brought the two remaining fingers of alcohol to her lips and swallowed it all. She gagged and shook her head. ¡°Yeurgh.¡± ¡°Fine, your choice.¡± ¡°Lilian,¡± Liza said, hovering the pliers over her own wound and realising that the angle was completely off. She squeezed her eyes shut and pulled in another ragged breath. ¡°Ever played Operation?¡± ¡°No¡­¡± the girl said. ¡°This is stupid. You have no idea what¡­¡± ¡°Please? I know what I¡¯m doing.¡± She thought about explaining the headset to the other girl, but she didn¡¯t know how to do that without sounding completely insane. It might need to be a speech she rehearsed later on for other situations like this. ¡°All I need to do is get it out. I didn¡¯t really even need to sterilise the pliers. I just need the bullet out.¡± ¡°You could bleed too much,¡± Lilian said, lowering her gaze and chewing her lip. ¡°Everywhere.¡± Liza laughed. ¡°For a second I thought you were worried about me, not the couch.¡± A storm crossed the other girl¡¯s features. ¡°Don¡¯t you dare tell me what my priorities are! I will do it if you need me to, but I think it¡¯s stupid!¡± Liza opened her mouth but then shut it again. ¡°Stupid.¡± ¡°Thank you,¡± she said simply, and lay back. ¡°I can¡¯t put you to sleep,¡± Lilian said. ¡°You, uh ¡­ might want to drink the rest of what is in your mug.¡± The half-tea half-whiskey mug. It was a dark brown colour, almost appealing, but ¡­ milk, sugar, and whiskey. Was that a thing? Would she die from that before she died from lead poisoning? She swirled it around and swallowed the pre-regret in her throat, and then chugged three quick gulps, gagged hard and covered her face with both hands. ¡°Oh, god,¡± she said, and then coughed. ¡°That was¡­¡± ¡°Interesting?¡± Lilian gave a wonky smile, taking the pliers from her and getting down onto her knees. ¡°I¡­¡± She coughed again, and then pulled a cushion from under her head and pressed it to her mouth. ¡°Are you going to throw up?¡± Lilian asked. ¡°No,¡± Liza said, as evenly as she could, muffled by the down. ¡°I¡¯m going to scream.¡± * ¡°Shirt happens?¡± Liza pulled the shirt down over her new clean bandage and watched her health tick slowly upwards, but grimaced at how dirty her hair looked. A few hours of sleep had stiffened her neck and back, but refreshed her mentally. She looked at the words across her chest and nodded. ¡°Yes,¡± she said. ¡°It does.¡± Lilian frowned and it took Liza a couple of seconds of combing her greasy hair with her fingers back into a ponytail before she realised the other girl was packing up her things. ¡°What are you doing?¡± she asked through the mirror. Lilian didn¡¯t look up. ¡°I¡¯m coming with you,¡± she said. ¡°Where?¡± ¡°To London,¡± she said, as though it was the most obvious thing in the world. ¡°There might be a coach left. If there¡¯s no coach, we¡¯ll rent a car.¡± ¡°Rent a car?¡± Liza repeated. ¡°I don¡¯t think the rental places will still be operating as normal.¡± Lilian sighed, and slung a gym bag filled with things over her back. ¡°The rental places have cars, and they have keys,¡± she said. ¡°Put two and two together.¡± ¡°Fine, yes, yes,¡± Liza said irritably. But she couldn¡¯t be too annoyed, considering the nursing student had just penetrated her torn flesh with pliers like an absolute champ. No crying, no retching, no complaining. Just in and out. The offending bullet sat on the coffee table beside the disgusting mix of tea and whiskey, which now also stained the cushion Liza had been screaming into, and the bloody bandages. The bullet got a coaster, too, of course. Couldn¡¯t have germs rising up to kill all the remaining humans, after all. ¡°Where are we going?¡± Lilian asked when they were all ready to get going. ¡°The cathedral,¡± Liza said, but her determination about that fact had wavered. ¡°I really feel like it would be safe there. And I think people I know have gone there.¡± ¡°Or they went there, and then got on one of the coaches to London from the bus depot across the street.¡± Liza shook her head. ¡°I live on London Road. There¡¯s been a car across both lanes until recently. Then there was an impenetrable horde. Not to mention the blocked train line. There¡¯s no way they got past without me noticing. They would have stopped for me.¡± Unless she had left by the time they had passed. But the horde! ¡°There are other ways,¡± Lilian said. ¡°There¡¯s not just one road. It¡¯d be the quickest, but there have got to be other ways to London from Fairacres.¡± Maybe. ¡°I just can¡¯t think of anything else to do,¡± she admitted after a short silence. ¡°What else is there to do?¡± ¡°Drive to London,¡± Lilian said. ¡°It¡¯s our only chance of survival, isn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know about that.¡± Liza led the way down the stairs and to the door, while Lilian scoped out the situation out the window. ¡°What about the police zombies?¡± ¡°The what?¡± Lilian clomped down the stairs after her. ¡°There was a bunch of riot gear zombies in the archway,¡± Liza said over her shoulder. ¡°I couldn¡¯t see if they were still there through the window. If they are, we¡¯re going to have to do something dramatic to get past them.¡± Her hand hovered at the Bowie knife at her belt. Now that she had her mental faculties back, and now that she had eaten some good high-energy breakfast foods, and her health was filling instead of emptying, she felt so much better. She felt faster and sharper than she had in a little while. Having only a knife to her name didn¡¯t seem to be the death sentence she had thought it was. Once out of the door, Lilian looked to Liza much less imposing and much less of a consideration in general, to be honest. She was larger around the middle than she was (and, by some cruel joke of the universe, smaller around the chest) but in the context of the dangerous outdoors, Lilian seemed suddenly to be very tiny, pale, and frightened. They had left her house, and entered Liza¡¯s. Now she would call the shots. ¡°The archway is clear,¡± Liza breathed, resisting the urge to bend double at the waist and praise everything. ¡°We can get to the cathedral from here, easily.¡±You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version. ¡°Don¡¯t get too excited,¡± Lilian said, expressionless and when Liza followed her line of sight she saw exactly what she didn¡¯t want to see. At least five zombies had filed out of the pub at some point during the night but they hadn¡¯t bothered to roam very far. Along with two riot zombies, they remained under the awning, softly rasping and shuffling up and down. She could see what had drawn them out, and the sight made her wince. A smear of dark blood on the floor, and the remains of some poor four-legged animal; a thick red tail and what looked like a paw or two. A fox, maybe. Now, sated, the group was just content to shuffle back and forth, turn around, gnash their teeth and stare vacantly. Liza moved back around the corner and nodded to the van at the other side of the street. ¡°We¡¯re going to have to run,¡± she said. ¡°You¡¯ll need to get in as fast as you can and then just trust me.¡± ¡°It¡¯s completely demolished, are you insane?¡± Lilian asked. Liza deflated, and shook her head. ¡°I am not insane,¡± she said. The girl had saved her life, in a couple of ways, and they needed to go. There was no time to argue about things like this. ¡°Just get in the passenger door as soon as it becomes possible.¡± She glanced around the corner again to see how close they really were, and found herself face to face with a wandering corpse. Its jaw dropped open and its arms flew forward. Surprisingly strong hands gripped at the material of her jacket and Liza suppressed a cry of surprise and pressed her palms flat on its upper chest. It kept trying to lean forward and rip the skin from her throat, and the commotion riled up the rest of its pack, who began to shuffle towards them with interest, and then with hunger. ¡°Go,¡± Liza snapped. ¡°Get in the van, if it¡¯s unlocked.¡± ¡°You¡¯re crazy,¡± Lilian yelled, and yanked the knife from Liza¡¯s sheath and stuck it into the desperately struggling zombie¡¯s temple. It fell to the floor and Lilian tugged and tugged to remove the Bowie knife. Liza grasped her wrist and helped, and the blade sickeningly rasped out against the skull bone. ¡°Go,¡± she said again, and this time Lilian bolted across the street, Liza close behind, and a pack of monsters at their heels. The door was unlocked on the passenger side, but the dent meant it only opened a foot or so, and then made a noise not unlike nails on a chalkboard. ¡°Come on,¡± Liza said, panicking now. They were only across a road from the oncoming pack, with one knife and nothing else. They barely had seconds.
Ford Transit (2010) UP to Next Level
Repair? 24/100 410
Features Standard Body 700
Empty Slot (Unlock) 100
410 points just to repair it? Liza had never clicked a button with her eyeballs so fast. The van, before their eyes, was as good as new as though it had never been a wreck. It was more like they shifted to a different reality than the van actually changed. ¡°In!¡± she yelled, popping the door and ushering Lilian to the passenger seat. She sprinted around just as the zombies clawed at the slamming passenger door, and they began to swarm around the van just as Liza hopped in. She slammed the door as hard as she could, amputating a dead hand as she did so, and before the garbling noises of the hungry undead could draw any of their friends over, Liza quickly unlocked the ¡®Hotwired¡¯ aspect and when the engine began to turn over she whooped. ¡°What is going on here?¡± Lilian screamed suddenly, and Liza could see out of the corner of her eye that the girl¡¯s frizzy orange head was in her hands and her entire body was trembling from head to toe. ¡°First the undead, the dead people everywhere, like a bloody ¡­ movie! And this? What is this? How did you do that?¡± She was shouting at the top of her lungs now and Liza was trying hard to concentrate on weaving around the zombies, not sure how much a crash would compromise the integrity of the van, or the speed they were building up. ¡°This is crazy! This is insane!¡± Lilian was screaming. She was scratching at her own cheeks with her bitten fingernails and it seemed like she was having something of a delayed nervous breakdown in response to the end of the world. Apparently it had been climbing into a miraculously brand new van that had been previously crushed that had done it. Liza was suddenly incredibly impressed that the girl had managed to hole herself up, believing that everybody else had left for the capital city, watch outside the window as cars crashed, people were killed left and right, and the dead rose again just, as she said, like a movie, and then pluck a bullet from a stranger¡¯s body, all without going completely insane. It also meant her insult of choice make a little more sense. Everything was insane. And it was a little odd, probably, how quickly Liza had accepted the whole apocalypse thing. But it was what it was, and she wasn¡¯t going to pretend to freak out when there were things to get done. They whizzed through the archway and lost a wing mirror, with a crack that made Liza yell ¡®Woops!¡¯ while Lilian¡¯s screaming rose an octave or two. The zombies on the pedestrian-friendly high street beyond the archway turned and gaped with their milky eyes trained on the erratically zooming van, and the long piercing note that escaped it. They tore through the street, turning and screeching down the side street that led to the regal, gothic silhouette, and halting. Lilian continued to scream into dead air for a few minutes, and Liza patiently waited for her to run out of breath. But then she sucked in another lungful and began to start again, and Liza had to press her hand to her mouth. Then yanked it back. ¡°Ugh, you licked me!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t put your hands on people¡¯s mouths! Do you know where most hands have been in a day?¡± ¡°You think my hand is dirty so your instinct is to lick it?¡± Liza yelled, and they looked around. Zombies. So many of them, approaching slowly but surely, in every direction. ¡°Gotta go, no time to talk,¡± she said, interrupting Lilian¡¯s inevitable response. ¡°Get out and run. Panic later, OK?¡± Lilian was scraping her bottom lip with her teeth and staring in front of them. ¡°I stabbed it, right in the head,¡± she said. Right. Yeah, that kind of thing usually freaked people out a lot. Liza figured it would be akin to the first time she had snapped the neck of a wild rabbit. A shudder rolled through her body. Except this had to be worse, because the zombies had human faces. Almost. Not quite. ¡°Out,¡± she said firmly. ¡°Run to the gate, and we¡¯ll see if it¡¯s open.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not,¡± she whispered. ¡°We¡¯re stuck out here.¡± ¡°OK. OK, Fine, you stay in here,¡± Liza said, feeling desperate at how close the monsters were getting, and figuring that the other girl was not willing to move herself from the safety of the van any time soon. ¡°Just ¡­ wait here.¡± She popped the door and slammed it behind her, and sprinted the few feet to the gate, and yanked it. Through the big back gothic entrance was a pretty, manicured courtyard and then the imposing, safe structure of the Fairacres Cathedral itself. She shoved it the other way just to check. Nothing. The zombies were almost at her. She cursed under her breath, and ducked under the grasping hands of the one closest to her, span and booted another one in the chest so it fell backwards, and she pulled open the van door and hopped back up into the leather seat, slamming it shut. ¡°What do we do now?¡± Lilian cried, her eyes welling and her voice thick. ¡°We go to London? What about your friends?¡± She stopped talking and clutched her chest, beginning to pant. ¡°Lilian?¡± Liza asked, reversing as far back as she could go as the zombies still advanced. She didn¡¯t fancy another drive straight through a horde. That feeling when the car had slowed and being surrounded by grasping hands and clacking teeth ¡­ that had been the worst. Beside her, the breathing had sped up and become more shallow and urgent. ¡°Lil?¡± ¡°I ¡­ can¡¯t ¡­ breathe.¡± ¡°You¡¯re panicking,¡± Lia said as calmly and matter-of-factly as she could. ¡°You just have to ¡­ try to calm down.¡± ¡°You idiot, you think I can just calm down? Do you know anything at all about panic? Or do you just make everything up as you go along?¡± Lilian bellowed. Liza¡¯s eyebrow twitched. ¡°Looks like you¡¯re OK now,¡± she said. ¡°Seatbelt, please.¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°Seatbelt.¡± To her surprise, Lilian clicked her seatbelt into place and turned back to the front. ¡°Thank you,¡± LIza said politely. ¡°You¡¯re welcome,¡± the girl muttered. Liza changed gear and put her foot down, hard. The van roared and groaned and then accelerated as fast as it could. ¡°Shit, it¡¯s not enough,¡± Liza yelled, slamming her palm down on the wheel and hearing the beep ricochet through the empty street, but for the herd now at least a hundred strong. ¡°Faster!¡± she yelled at the van. ¡°Stupid idiot!¡± ¡°Stop talking to inanimate objects!¡± Lilian yelled back. ¡°Brace!¡± she ordered, and Lilian actually did lean forward and cover her head with her arms, with a small gasp as they crashed through the gothic gate and into the courtyard. She turned and screeched to a stop and launched herself out of the door to run back to the gate as fast as she could. Already four, five, six zombies had filtered through and more every second. Liza inspected it.
Cathedral Gates UP to Next Level
Repair? 29/100 350
Features Empty Slot (Unlock) 100
Empty Slot (Unlock) 200
She spent the points and it suddenly looked brand new, as if it had never been demolished for a second. She backed up fast, counting thirteen zombies who breached the cathedral grounds, and ran to open Lilian¡¯s door. ¡°Now, get out, no more moping. No more panic. Survive. Come on. Out!¡± Lilian half fell out the door and into Liza¡¯s arms, limp from adrenaline, exhausted mentally and physically from tensing up and screaming, from hyperventilating and questioning everything. But Liza didn¡¯t have time for sympathy, or for empathy, or for anything. She grabbed the girl¡¯s upper arm so tight that Lilian let out a mewling noise, and she dragged her to the huge double doors. Holding her breath, she pounded on them. Lilian waited. The zombies lurched towards them. She pounded again. ¡°Help us!¡± she screamed. ¡°Help us, God!¡± Lilian yelled. ¡°I know you¡¯re in there!¡± ¡°Let us in!¡± ¡°You bastard!¡± The zombies approached. They were close now. Run past them, through them, back to the van? Keep knocking? Split up and hope for the best? Take on a baker¡¯s dozen of predators with nothing but a relatively small knife between them? There was nothing smart to do; nothing that jumped out at her. ¡°B-back to the van,¡± she said, tripping up on her own uncertainty. ¡°What?¡± Lilian asked, face wet with tears and limbs trembling. ¡°What?¡± she asked again, louder this time. ¡°To the van. Past them. I don¡¯t ¡­ I don¡¯t see what else we can do.¡± Liza yanked the knife out of its sheath and ran to the closest zombie, slamming it into its eye. The creature gargled and fell and she pulled the blade out with ease before pulling her arm back and punching it into the temple of the next nearest one. She pulled it out. Eleven more came closer, reaching, scratching at her clothes, working their jaws, eyes wide¡­ ¡°Liza!¡± Lilian screamed, grappling with a zombie near the doors. Liza booted at one and then ran the three paces back to Lilian, yanking the zombie off of her with all her strength and slamming the knife between its eyes. She could see her skin shining with sweat. Her hands shaking.
Melee 1HKO COMBO x3 100 UP 100 UP (+10) 100 UP (+20) 330 UP
What now? And then Liza could almost hear angels sing, church organs trill, as the double doors behind them opened. They were pulled inside, and the doors pushed shut against the straining undead outside. Finally the huge deadbolt was pushed into place, and Liza bent double, knife loose in her hands, and caught her breath while Lilian tried her hardest to stop the tears of fear. They were safe. They were safe. Whoever this person was, she could kiss them. Liza looked up at her saviour. There was a beat as their saviour stared back, palms raised. And then she lifted her knife and lunged right for him. Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Fifteen

Blood is really warm, it''s like drinking hot chocolate but with more screaming. -Zombie Haiku ¡°No, please, Liza ¡­ Liza!¡± His voice echoed through the hall, empty but for rows upon rows of pews, a stage, an altar. An ominously realistic statue of a ravaged Jesus, blood coiled around his limbs, head lolled. And him. Him. He grabbed her knife arm and it pissed her off how easily he pushed her back; how effortlessly. She let out a growling scream as he wrestled her blade from her hands. ¡°Fuck you!¡± she screamed. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I¡¯m sorry.¡± She swung for him hard with a fist fuelled by fury but he weaved out of range and she righted herself before being thrown completely off balance, still letting out a noise of pure anger from deep in her throat. ¡°How dare you dodge?¡± she demanded. ¡°I¡¯m sorry! I ¡­ you can punch me if you want, I guess that¡¯s at least--¡± She swung again and jerked away. ¡°Stay still!¡± ¡°Liza, what the hell?¡± Lilian shouted, her fists balled and her face red. Liza stepped back, her heartbeat going a mile a minute. ¡°Lilian, you have to stay back. We¡¯re no safer in here than we were out there.¡± She swallowed, and wiped her upper lip with the back of her trembling hand. Then pointed at the man she had tried to attack. ¡°He¡¯s the one who shot me.¡± Blazer ran his fingers through his hair and grimaced at her accusation as Lilian gasped. ¡°Look, I ¡­ you freaked me out with all that murder talk. That talk about resources. But I regretted it, so fucking much. You have no idea. I¡¯m so sorry, Liza. I came here to make amends. I knew you would be here.¡± Liza shook her head. ¡°There¡¯s no way. No amends are going to be made. Drop the knife and kick it back to me.¡± Blazer looked at her blade in his hands and shook his head hard as if he had forgotten it was there. He dropped it with a clang to the hard floor and then swept it back to her with the toe of his hiking boot. Looked like he had found that military store on his way here ¡ª he was wearing a thick jacket and combat trousers as well as the sturdy new shoes. It was a welcome change from the tank top, shorts and sandals, but he still looked like a douchebag. His hair was still combed back like a greaser, and his smile still looked as fake as anything. ¡°Look, I just ¡­ I got scared, and¡ª¡± ¡°And the guns. Give them back. Kick them across.¡± He raised his shoulders in a shrug. ¡°They¡¯re in the communal stores. I can take you to them.¡± She narrowed her eyes at him. ¡°I have nothing else you can steal; you know that, right? Neither does she. We have nothing.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want to steal anything,¡± he said. ¡°I promise.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t ¡­ you ¡­ soil my ears with your greasy promises,¡± she yelled, too angry to care about how much she was making sense. ¡°Liza.¡± He rubbed his eyelids with his fingertips and let out a sigh as if she were a troublesome child. She bristled so intensely she felt like she was close to sprouting hedgehog spikes. ¡°Are there ¡­ others here?¡± Lilian dared to ask. Blazer nodded winningly, and she smiled, which made Liza¡¯s face collapse in on itself in a scowl. ¡°Yeah, just through here, in the back. The others are here.¡± He looked back to Liza. ¡°Your friends. They¡¯re all here, too.¡± She blew out a breath. ¡°You¡¯re lying,¡± she said. He looked genuinely surprised. ¡°What would I have to gain by lying to you?¡± ¡°I¡­¡± She trailed off. Her eyes narrowed. ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± ¡°C¡¯mon, Liza, don¡¯t be wet.¡± Lilian strolled after Blazer, her hands in her gilet pockets, towards the back of the cathedral room. ¡°The hell did you just call me?¡± Lilian shot a pouty look over her shoulder. ¡°Don¡¯t be soppy,¡± she said. Her voice was so nasal. So superior. Liza¡¯s heart was pounding in her chest with hatred and it was being misdirected towards the annoying girl in front of her. ¡°Don¡¯t fucking call me names; I saved your life,¡± she growled, dangerously close to seeing red. What was he doing here? What did he want? Why was he not groveling, sobbing at her feet? He had shot her. He had tried to kill her. People used to hang for less. ¡°And I saved yours,¡± Lilian snapped back, not missing a beat. ¡°Come on, let¡¯s figure this out. No point in moping over here.¡± She could talk about moping now? One minute of lucidity and now she was an expert in maturity? Liza didn¡¯t want to stay in the church by herself, alone with Jesus and the rhythmic pounding of the children of hell outside the double doors, but she didn¡¯t want to follow Blazer behind that red velvet curtain either. ¡°Liza, your friends are really worried about you,¡± Blazer called, dipping behind the curtain. Lilian followed closely, and giggled at the sight of whatever it was behind the red sheet. Liza took tentative steps. ¡°Wow, you collected all this?¡± Lilian squealed, unseen, to Blazer. Her voice sounded different from anything Liza had heard out of her up until then. He laughed modestly. ¡°Not just me,¡± he said. ¡°You look like you wouldn¡¯t struggle much to do it yourself,¡± she said. And Liza realised what it was in her voice. She was flirting. Hesitantly she cleared the gap and threaded the curtain between her fingers, pulling it to one side. Blazer stood in the anteroom that led to the cathedral vestry, his jacket bunched up and his hands shoved in his pockets, a lazy smile on his face. Around them were supplies. Food. Water. Blankets. Flirting? With him? Sure, he was conventionally handsome. He looked strong, and his smile was charming. Even Liza had been sucked in for a minute; had thought that maybe it would be nice to be friends, or at the very least allies. And then he had struck. She shook her head to banish the thoughts. He was a piece of shit. She would never trust him. No matter what. Knife gripped in her hand, her hair wild and messy, half in a ponytail, and dirt and blood smeared across her clothes and face, Liza stepped through the threshold, under the cool stroke of velvet, and into the anteroom, and then through to the vestry. It was full to bursting. ¡°Liza.¡± ¡°Liza!¡± ¡°Oh my god.¡± Before she had readjusted to the feel of this new room ¡ª a touch less I died for your sins and more tea and biscuits ¡ª she found herself wrapped up tight in Tucker¡¯s arms, the smell of earth and the metallic tang of blood filling her nose. Over his shoulder she smiled warmly at Yana and Celia who hovered around them, ready to gather her into their arms as well. As well as them, there were at least twenty other people, craning their necks from squashy, throw-covered couches or cushions and beanbags on the floor. The room was filled with hangers, cupboards, a teakettle, mirrors. ¡°Oh, god,¡± Tucker said again into her hair. Her horribly dirty, lank, greasy hair. She pulled away and shot him a smile. ¡°Shit. Are you hurt?¡± He misinterpreted her unwillingness to cling to him, but she ran with it. ¡°Yes,¡± she said, tugging up the hem of her stupid shirt and indicating to the bandages stained with fresh red blood. ¡°He shot me.¡± She nodded in Blazer¡¯s direction. Tucker rounded on him. ¡°You what?¡± Blazer raised his hands again, and Liza crossed her arms across her chest. ¡°What do you want to say to explain yourself in front of all these people?¡± she asked. ¡°You kicked me out of a car I hotwired to save your life¡ª¡± ¡°Shit, that¡¯s cool,¡± she heard Tucker interject from the sidelines. ¡°¡ªyou shot me point blank and shoved me onto the road, in the wake of a hundred zombies! You stole all my weapons. You left me for dead. You¡¯re scum.¡± She was working herself up, feeling her face flush bright red as she spoke. Blazer had the decency to lower his gaze and look truly embarrassed. ¡°You said all that stuff. You said ¡­ we¡¯re going to die without ammunition, supplies, weapons. There are no other weapons, and, well, I¡¯m useless. I¡¯m shit. The only strength I have is taking what I want. I¡¯ll freely admit that.¡± He shrugged, a lazy rolling motion, and he allowed the corner of his mouth to curl upwards, where it seemed to belong. ¡°But I came back for you, didn¡¯t I? I just saved your life, so ¡­ I guess we¡¯re even.¡± Liza lifted her knife with a guttural growl and Tucker and Celia pulled on an arm each, forcing her backwards again. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t have been in that position if you hadn¡¯t tried to kill me!¡± she yelled. ¡°I would have had guns. I would have been here already. Fuck you. How dare you?¡± ¡°Sshh, shh, baby, it¡¯s¡ª¡± Tucker began.A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. ¡°Don¡¯t you fucking call me baby!¡± she interrupted, rounding on him. She had far more to say, but ¡­ that was for another time. She bit her lip, her breathing heavy, her face red. She turned to the others. ¡°He¡¯s not trustworthy. I say we kick him out. Do to him what he did to me. He can make his own way in this world.¡± She was addressing every survivor present in this claustrophobic vestry. Most of them blinked silently at her, huddling around mugs of tea, glancing at each other, whispering. ¡°Liza, Blazer has only been here since last night but he¡¯s done so much for us already,¡± Yana said softly, carefully. ¡°He brought us so many supplies. He helped us with ¡­ a few things. Some gross things. He has done a lot for us, in just twelve hours, I don¡¯t think¡­¡± She bit her lip, looking away. No one spoke up to argue with her. ¡°He needs to go, he¡¯s¡­¡± She had lost steam almost as quickly as she had gained it. Tucker was staring at her with concern on his features. Yana and Celia mirrored his expression, glancing at each other. Nobody was looking at Blazer. ¡°Fine,¡± she said, folding her arms. ¡°But as long as he¡¯s here, don¡¯t turn your back to him.¡± She looked around, at everyone¡¯s awkward averted gazes. ¡°And he should be ¡­ punished. Somehow. Right? Attempted murder.¡± ¡°We¡¯ve all done stupid, awful things and it¡¯s only day two,¡± Blazer said. ¡°I feel sick about what happened, but you ¡­ you did kill people.¡± ¡°Liza?¡± Tucker asked. She looked from Blazer to Tucker and her mouth fell open. ¡°They tried to kill me first.¡± ¡°You wanted to save your own life,¡± Blazer said. ¡°And I wanted to save mine. I felt terrible. I immediately came here, added your supplies to the cache, I ¡­ we ¡­ killed so many things together, with your supplies. There were so many here. People came here to pray and they were all changed.¡± He swept his hand over his mouth. ¡°We piled them high out back and we burned them. The smell...¡± He shook his head, and Liza saw the others nodding and mumbling behind him and she felt sick. They had really been through that much together in such a short time? Did she really have zero allies? ¡°Maybe I should have just gone straight to London,¡± she said dully, and moved to sit on a wooden chair by the curtain. ¡°Don¡¯t be like that, Liza,¡± Yana said, her voice strangely comforting, coming to kneel in front of her. ¡°You¡¯re forgetting that Blazer is¡­¡± She lowered her voice so that only Liza could hear, in theory. ¡°...that he knows. He knew that you just needed to wrap a bandage around yourself and you¡¯d be fine. He panicked. He did a really, really shitty thing. But he came straight here because he knew you¡¯d survive and arrive soon. He wanted to straighten it out, and make it up to you. What else can he do?¡± Liza straightened up and looked at him. ¡°He can leave, unarmed with a bullet in his gut, and wander the streets for twelve hours.¡± ¡°She was with me,¡± Lilian instantly said at that, looking very pleased with herself. ¡°I pulled out the bullet. I looked after her.¡± ¡°Thanks, Lilian,¡± Liza said, feeling bitterness deep inside her gut. Why was he getting away with this? ¡°We can¡¯t just let people die. Blazer is strong,¡± Yana said, standing up. ¡°We won¡¯t give him access to any weapons until he proves he is trustworthy. We¡¯ll keep an eye on him.¡± She looked over at him for a few seconds. He looked back. ¡°Is there something going on between you two? Is that it?¡± Liza asked. Yana narrowed her pretty eyes. ¡°No.¡± Liza got back to her feet and looked around. The dirty faces of the first wave survivors looked back at her. In a year, how many would be left? She saw the expression on every single one of their faces. They were scared. Truly, primally, out-of-their-minds scared. And Blazer was by far the biggest, physically the strongest, the most confident of all of them. She understood. She hated it; it made her sick, but she understood. Most of them didn¡¯t know her. From what he had just said it sounded as though he had made an executive decision to save his own life at the cost of hers, and they could understand that. Then they had been rescued by him over here. He had burned bodies with them. He had comforted them. She was nothing to them. ¡°I get it, Liza,¡± Celia said, moving to her side while the others continued to speak amongst themselves, a low rumble that filled the entire vestry. The smaller girl pushed her glasses up her nose. ¡°We¡¯ll keep an eye on him.¡± Liza relaxed, visibly. ¡°Thank you,¡± she said. ¡°You have to realise, though, that you claim he shot you point blank hours ago, but to them you are at the peak of health. If we didn¡¯t know better, it would sound like you were¡­¡± ¡°Lying,¡± Liza finished slowly. ¡°We aren¡¯t gonna let anything happen to you,¡± Celia said. ¡°It¡¯s just the others. Blazer¡ª¡± She winced physically at having to say his nickname, which made Liza smile despite herself. ¡°¡ªhe¡¯s done so much for them, already, and I think they look up to him as the leader of this group.¡± Liza¡¯s smile quickly fell into a scowl. ¡°If anyone is qualified to¡ª¡± ¡°I agree,¡± Celia said quickly. ¡°It¡¯s not official, or anything, but if it ever came to a vote, you know that we all would¡­¡± She trailed off; it didn¡¯t need to be said. ¡°I¡¯m glad someone is on my side.¡± Celia paused. ¡°It shouldn¡¯t be about sides, it should be us against them. We can¡¯t turn on each other. Panic does crazy things to people.¡± Her eyes lowered. ¡°Crazy things. We¡¯ve all been acting differently for the last twenty-four hours. That¡¯s why they¡¯re willing to ignore it.¡± ¡°Different how?¡± Liza asked carefully; it seemed like there was something specific Celia wasn¡¯t telling her, but she shook her head quickly. ¡°Things ¡­ it doesn¡¯t matter.¡± Celia sighed. ¡°It¡¯s been a really long twelve hours; most of us haven¡¯t really even slept. We cleared out the church and the courtyard. You missed all of it. But it¡¯s finally safe and secure here. No way are they getting in through that gate.¡± There was a poorly timed thump that Liza and Celia could hear even from the other end of the church from the double doors. A dozen zombies were heaving at the entrance with all the strength of the starving. Liza gently cleared her throat. ¡°Where might the guns be, please?¡± she said. Celia straightened up and pointed to the back of the vestry, at a crate. Liza started towards it, and then paused, furrowing her brow at the sight of it. A wooden crate, so out of place in a cathedral. On the side was a spraypainted biohazard symbol. Just like that one in the field. Had someone lugged it all the way down here and inside? Celia spoke as if reading her thoughts. ¡°We found it in here. Only we did ¡ª with the headsets on. When we opened it, everyone else saw it, as if it had always been there.¡± At Liza¡¯s side, she crossed her arms and chewed her lip. ¡°It was full of guns, and ammo.¡± ¡°Great,¡± Liza said, raising her eyebrows high. ¡°If this one is here, I bet there are more. All over the place.¡± Her mouth twisted into a smile; this was the best news she had heard in a long time. ¡°This is fantastic. We just have to find them often enough to stay stocked up. And we¡¯re the only ones who can?¡± Celia nodded. ¡°Until it was opened, and then the others could interact with everything inside. It¡¯s a huge advantage for us.¡± ¡°Keep the headsets safe,¡± Liza reminded her. She still had a couple of spares ¡­ or Blazer did. Wherever he had put her pack. Anger gripped at her once again. She turned back to the vestry and saw him chatting and laughing at the other end of the room, patting the back of some other men. He had made friends quickly. He was charming. He was handsome. That got people¡¯s guards down. It had hers down too. But now she knew. Lilian was there too, smiling up at him. Noticing the heat of Liza¡¯s glare on the side of her face, the redheaded girl turned to her and frowned. ¡°Why don¡¯t you stop being a spoilsport, Liza, and sit down and have some food?¡± She propped her hands up on her generous hips. ¡°Or have a nice chat with these people. You wanted to find them, after all, didn¡¯t you?¡± Liza¡¯s heartbeat picked up again. She did not like feeling like she was being told off by someone her own age. Or anyone. Especially when she knew she was in the right. ¡°We need to be doing something about all of this,¡± Liza said low, gesturing all around them and at nothing in particular. ¡°We can¡¯t sit still anymore. We lost that luxury while everyone around us lost their lives. I think we got the fairer deal.¡± Lilian pinched her features together in the most incredibly argumentative way, without even saying anything, but Blazer cut in. ¡°She¡¯s right. Let¡¯s talk about what we want to be doing next. For survival.¡± He gave her a sheepish half smile and she pretended she hadn¡¯t seen him. ¡°We need to fortify wherever we decide to stay,¡± Liza said. ¡°During that time we will locate, strengthen and fix up vehicles. Enough to take the lot of us down to London. Coaches. Buses. Those are our best options.¡± ¡°Liza is very resourceful about things like that,¡± Blazer added quickly, loud enough for the whole group to hear. A thump of anger hit her but she ignored it. ¡°We¡¯ll split into groups.¡± She thought about it for a few moments. The double doors gave another thump across the echoing church and one young survivor jumped and squealed. ¡°Some will stay, some will go and locate vehicles. Everyone looks out for each other.¡± She looked around to the group of survivors, waiting for a positive response. There was a silence that lasted a beat too long, and her face fell. ¡°Who put you in charge?¡± a dude asked, with the exact same hairstyle that Blazer had. They tended to stick together. ¡°Yeah,¡± a few others agreed, eyeing her up and down. ¡°She just walks in and takes over,¡± she heard someone mutter. ¡°Uppity wench,¡± a guy snorted in the corner. She shot him a glare and he pretended he hadn¡¯t been the one speaking, averting his gaze. ¡°Accused Blaze of killing her and she¡¯s completely fine,¡± someone else hissed, not even saying Blazer¡¯s stupid nickname correctly. ¡°He should be the leader.¡± ¡°Blazer should be the leader.¡± ¡°Yeah!¡± ¡°Hey, hey, hey,¡± a defending voice sounded out. ¡°Hold on a minute!¡± Liza covered her face in her hands. The only one speaking out against them ¡­ was Blazer himself. ¡°She¡¯s capable. She¡¯s a fast thinker. She knows what she¡¯s doing.¡± A beat. ¡°She¡¯s a woman and I can honestly say I trust her to be by my side in a fight. Now, that¡¯s saying something.¡± Her eyes narrowed to slits so fast it gave her double vision. Blazer turned on her with a smile and she saw that crooked canine again. I hate you. I hate you, I hate you. ¡°I think we should do Liza¡¯s plan because it sounds smart,¡± he said, reaching up and scratching the back of his head. ¡°What else is there to do?¡± ¡°Tend to the sick,¡± a girl snapped, standing up and folding her arms. ¡°Rest, relax, now that we¡¯re finally safe. Most importantly ¡ª we need to be sticking together. Not off tramping about with Little Miss fucking Sunshine to go shopping for pretty cars.¡± Well, shit. Liza hadn¡¯t been fully told off like that in a pretty long time. Despite the situation, she found the corner of her lips twitching upwards. ¡°What¡¯s your name?¡± she asked the girl. Though she was exhausted, grey, pale and dirty, her thick flicked eyeliner hadn¡¯t been smudged even an iota, and her choppy black bob looked tousled on purpose, not by battling for her life. The girl looked at her stonily for a few seconds longer than was polite. ¡°Denslow.¡± ¡°Well, Denslow,¡± Liza said, ¡°I understand your points, but I think you¡¯re wrong. Sticking together in a group this big is even more dangerous than being alone right now. We don¡¯t know how vulnerable we are here. If one person gets infected, it ripples outwards. This isn¡¯t a ghost movie, or a slasher movie. This is a virus movie.¡± ¡°This isn¡¯t a fucking movie at all, this is our lives!¡± Denslow shouted. Liza pulled in a deep breath, determined not to say anything she regretted. ¡°Vote,¡± she said. ¡°Vote,¡± Blazer confirmed, which she hated. ¡°Hands up to split into groups and get shit done.¡± ¡°Fortification, fortification, fortification,¡± Tucker called out, shoving his fist into the air. ¡°I¡¯m with the survivalist,¡± Yana said pointedly, daintily lifting a finger to the air too. ¡°Wouldn¡¯t trust anyone else here with my life,¡± Celia said, lifting her arm up as high as it would go ¡ª a practised motion from all her years as the class nerd. In every class she was in. ¡°Liza, all the way,¡± James added, doubled over, out of breath. ¡°Bitch can make a fire without a fuggin¡¯ lighter.¡± ¡°Thank you, J¡ª¡± Liza began, tossing a look at the doorway to the rest of the cathedral, and then letting out a shriek of surprise as she ran to him. He fell to his knees, sweat positively pouring from his forehead. ¡°What happened? How did you ¡­ how long have you been here?¡± The big dude wiped his brow with his filthy, bloodied sleeve, and let out a shuddering breath of pure exertion. ¡°There¡¯s an open way in. A back way. They¡¯re following me. A breach.¡± He looked up at Liza. ¡°I am so glad you¡¯re here,¡± he gasped. She smiled at him, gesturing rapidly for some water. ¡°Give ¡®em hell.¡± He looked like shit. No food, no water, no rest, for twenty-four hours; that was Liza¡¯s guess. His normally flushed caramel skin was a pasty grey. And, too heavy for her to support on her own while everyone else hovered, mouths agape with concern, James nodded forward, and allowed himself to pass out onto the floor. There was a silence, and then, ¡°Breach!¡± one of the occupants of the tiny room screamed, and then everything went to hell. Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Sixteen

¡°Everyone barricaded themselves in their homes. Then supplies started runnin'' low. That''s when you saw what people are really capable of.¡± -Joel, The Last of Us ¡°We need a plan,¡± one of the guys at the back said, holding a wide-eyed girl tight around the shoulders with one arm while he looked from Liza to Blazer and back. ¡°What do we do? We thought we were safe here,¡± he said. Liza¡¯s eyes were on the survivors while Yana and Celia tended to James. She did know basic first aid, thanks to her father, but she would prefer not to deal with medical issues. What she could deal with, however, was shooting stuff. She strode to the crate behind this shivering couple and knelt to sift through it. Guns. Yes. Ammo. Yes. A couple more knives. Pretty much exactly the same haul as they had had from the starting crate, with perhaps a few more clips of ammo. A number was emblazoned on it: 320. What did that mean? There had been no number on the original that she could recall. ¡°What was your name, again?¡± the same guy addressed her from the squishy couch above her head. He had short, tousled sandy hair and freckles; he looked exceptionally non-threatening. She blinked up at them, two handguns in her hands. He attempted a friendly smile but it came out manic, panicked. His girlfriend bent to sob loudly in his arms. ¡°Liza,¡± she said, her voice catching. She cleared her throat. ¡°What ¡­ what were your names?¡± The girl¡¯s sobs got louder. ¡°I¡¯m Eli, and this is Angie,¡± the boy said, raising his low voice a little to make sure Liza could hear. It was clearly important to him that she knew that they were people. Not just two of many, but ¡®Eli and Angie¡¯. It was a tactic she knew to avoid attacks in some cases; to ensure protection. Give as many details about yourself. Humanise yourself. Eli probably wasn¡¯t even aware he was doing it. ¡°She¡¯s in shock, I think,¡± he told her, nodding at Angie. ¡°It¡¯s been a shocking day,¡± Liza said weakly. The girl said something, muffled by his arm. She lifted her face, wet and streaky, and looked up, shaky but determined. ¡°We need a plan,¡± she said. Liza loaded up a Glock with a satisfying ¡®click¡¯ and nodded in agreement. ¡°I have a plan.¡± They looked like they had more to say, and Liza felt a little bad about thinking this, but she knew that they had very little to actually offer her -- unless they happened for some reason to both have been through military training, what could they have to say to her that would be better than preparing for battle? ¡°Get James somewhere safe,¡± she commanded. Her voice seemed to naturally cut through the uneasy muttering of a roomful of scared people. Yana shot her a terrified look over her shoulder. Tucker was healed up far more than he would have been without the headset¡¯s help, but he was still cut open to some extent, and wincing from exertion. Celia could barely lift a fly. ¡°You boys, help her,¡± Liza said, flicking her fingers in the direction of two men milling around near Blazer. Who started to move to help, too, but she held out her hand without making eye contact. ¡°Not you.¡± He shrugged jovially. ¡°Whatever you want me to do.¡± Liza resisted the urge to tell him that he creeped her out, and instead turned to face the entirety of the group. ¡°Alright, listen. There¡¯s been a breach, from what it sounds like, and we need to cut them off or we¡¯re trapped in here with them. So I will move down the passageway to meet them, and pick them off before they get to you, while someone else -- whoever is the second best shooter -- will run round and assess the situation from the other end.¡± ¡°The second best shooter?¡± Denslow spoke up again, her voice commanding; dominating. Even more so than Liza¡¯s. Her shaped eyebrows were arched skeptically. ¡°Well, yeah, so we need to figure out who--¡± ¡°I¡¯m guessing that means you think you¡¯re the first best shooter?¡± Liza pressed her lips together tightly. She hated being interrupted. ¡°Look,¡± she said, ¡°we don¡¯t have time for whatever this is going to turn out to be.¡± She motioned back and forth between her and the other woman. ¡°If you have a problem with me we can discuss it when we¡¯re safe. I don¡¯t care, right now, unless you have a problem with my plan.¡± Denslow regarded her silently so she continued. ¡°I don¡¯t care about anything except survival. I can use a gun. That¡¯s all I¡¯m saying. I¡¯m good at it.¡± ¡°We¡¯re all on the same page there,¡± Blazer laughed, but Liza shot him the most withering look she was capable of and he had the decency to look sheepish. ¡°I go down and cut them off,¡± Liza repeated. ¡°Whoever can shoot the best out of all of you, go around and figure out what the breach is. Maybe you can just shut a door. Worst case, you come back around and tell us all that we need to leave.¡± ¡°That seems like the only thing to do,¡± Eli said, standing up and nodding over at her as if to show he had her back. Weirdly, this display of solidarity actually made her uncomfortable, but she was glad to have any kind of support now that her actual friends were all tending to a beaten up James. And the other survivors were whispering and nodding to Blazer. ¡°No one can shoot,¡± Yana said, irritably, as James was safely sitting up in a chair, mostly conscious. ¡°We¡¯re all English.¡± ¡°No one here has ever held a gun before this?¡± Liza asked. She resisted the urge to put her face in her hands, and instead kept her ears open for noises in the passageway -- zombies made noise, but there was nothing, not yet. ¡°No one?¡± Several shaking heads and more murmurs informed her that this was correct. No one else. Someone yelled something about playing a lot of shooting games but she ignored him. So did everyone else. Blazer pointed to the ceiling. ¡°I mean, since this whole thing happened, I have--¡± ¡°You do not get to hold a weapon,¡± Liza said, raising her voice to a higher level than was probably safe. ¡°Because you murder your friends. Say it.¡± ¡°What?¡± She looked into his sharply defined, classically handsome and yet extremely punchable face, and she narrowed her eyes, mirroring Denslow¡¯s look to her. ¡°Say it. What I just said. I want to know that you understood why you¡¯re not getting a gun any time soon.¡± He furrowed his brow, attempted a smile, but it faltered when he realised she wasn¡¯t messing around. ¡°The sooner we can trust you, the sooner you get the privilege of holding a weapon again. So show that you understand why you can¡¯t have one and say out loud that you murder your friends.¡± He paused, and then shook his head, his gaze never leaving hers. ¡°I don¡¯t¡­¡± He trailed off. ¡°For fuck¡¯s sake, you have the attitude but you don¡¯t have the urgency,¡± Denslow snapped, a comment that made Liza turn to her with confusion. ¡°If you¡¯re going to insist on leading you have to stop getting sidetracked. We¡¯ll do it your way. Pick someone at random. Fuck it.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll go.¡± Liza searched the survivors for the weedy-voiced volunteer and found that it belonged to Angie, who had finished up her panic attack and was standing and smoothing out her dirty skirt. ¡°We want to be useful,¡± she added with a resigned smile. ¡°We want you to count on us. We¡¯re smart. We might not have held real guns before but we¡¯re good at that kinda stuff. Really.¡± ¡°Yeah. We¡¯re pretty sporty,¡± Eli joined in, nodding. ¡°Hang on,¡± Denslow said, holding up her hands. ¡°You want them to go out and risk their lives while you stay in here and pop zombies off safely? If they fail they¡¯re dead.¡± Liza sucked in her lower lip and sighed. ¡°I thought about it. But if I fail in here, we¡¯re all dead. I think it should be me who goes through the passageway.¡± She turned to the awkwardly hovering couple. ¡°You guys can run fast, right? I just need you to see what¡¯s going on. Just shut a door, or a gate, if it¡¯s safe. Nothing crazy.¡± Eli nodded again. ¡°We run, we¡¯re runners. We can run.¡± The content of his speech betrayed how panicked he actually was, but his demeanour stayed relatively calm. ¡°Great.¡± Liza lifted her gun and eyed the passageway that James had entered through. ¡°There are things everywhere. The zombies. So be careful. Don¡¯t be stupid.¡± ¡°Got it.¡± Eli pulled out a gun and handed it to Angie, who looked a little pale and turned it over in her hands. Liza quickly made sure they knew how to point and pull the trigger. They probably wouldn¡¯t get many easy headshots, but in a pinch the guns could definitely save them. ¡°Alright, stay here. Arm yourselves,¡± Liza addressed the rest of the room. ¡°Blazer doesn¡¯t get a gun,¡± she added before he could speak up. She turned to Denslow. ¡°Everything sound OK to you so far?¡±A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. Denslow blinked slowly, like a cat, and then gave a single nod. ¡°Good luck,¡± she shouted over to the couple, who were nervously making their way through the church to the double doors, turning around the handguns they held nervously. Liza exited the vestry through the passageway that James had come in through, shot him one last look over her shoulder to see him limply wave at her and turn to the others. ¡°I¡¯m telling you, she¡¯s gonna be fine,¡± she could just about hear James saying. ¡°She¡¯s gonna save us all.¡± No pressure. Wiping her palms on her jeans, Liza twisted through the long corridor, ignoring any stairs or doors and focusing on making her footsteps as quiet as she possibly could -- no easy feat with thickly-heeled boots in an empty building. She rounded a corner with her Glock raised -- though it completely didn¡¯t matter, she kind of hoped it was her original Glock 19, but it felt different in her hands somehow -- and caught sight of what James had been running from. Thirty or more zombies were scattered throughout the open-plan archives, groaning and lurching around. The double glass doors that led from the garden, and the back streets, to the archives were shattered. Liza wheeled back around the corner and flattened herself against it, calming her breathing as much as she could. What sort of zombies were these? They didn¡¯t run. They had less intelligence as predators than a shark or a spider. They didn¡¯t track, smell, chase, hunt. They followed noise until they lost it, and then they just ¡­ stood there. They weren¡¯t Romero zombies, they weren¡¯t 28 Days zombies. Liza chewed her lip as it came to her. They were video game zombies. Low-intelligence mob enemies. They chased until you were out of range. Then they milled and waited. Forever. Maybe they moved on, but like with the riot gear zombies, it wasn¡¯t immediate, and it wasn¡¯t far -- and probably prompted by a noise. That was the reason they spread out to fill the space they occupied in a horde: they were programmed to all wander randomly. They were fake. Shells. There was no way to mistake a zombie for the person it had once been, because it simply wasn¡¯t. It was overtaken with ¡­ code. Or the closest approximation possible. So what the hell was Malcolm that he could integrate something so close to code into reality itself? Liza smoothed her hair from her face and, though there was not as much urgency as she had thought, if someone in the vestry shrieked or hiccuped particularly loudly, they were going to have a miniature horde on their hands and nowhere to run. She needed to clear them, but she couldn¡¯t just start shooting or that would mobilise a currently harmless bunch of monsters. Just as she thought that, a loud crack of gunfire sounded from somewhere to her left, outside the building. Eli or Angie had felt threatened enough already to start opening fire. Another shot went off and Liza winced internally. That wasn¡¯t good. And her own job wasn¡¯t too tough -- she should have done their job instead. Denslow, Blazer, whoever else, they had been right. But at the sound of gunfire outside, a glimpse around the corner confirmed that the zombies were beginning to mobilise. Most of them were wandering to the window through the open-plan archives to look at the tasty snacks, but the ones nearer the large shattered doors that led to the gardens and the cobblestone street outside followed the noise out that way, and soon Eli and Angie were going to have many more things to worry about. Liza paused to think. The many or the few. If she was overrun or passed by when she summoned this horde, the vestry survivors would pay for her arrogance. But if she could ¡­ lead them all somewhere else. There was another pathway to her left, and from her limited knowledge of the layout of this cathedral -- she had come to these archives for a tour when she had been looking into this university -- she was certain it led straight to the main church. Four limp strands of a weak plan came together. Feebly. She rubbed her forehead. ¡°Fuck,¡± she whispered. If this worked, she would not only help out the nice couple outside, but she would significantly change the chances of surviving in this small, beautiful city. At a cost, of course, but they all planned to go to London anyway -- staying here long-term was never the plan. And it wasn¡¯t as fortified, at all, as she had expected it to be. Should she do it? Force them to travel to London much earlier than they had wanted to? She couldn¡¯t help but think of all the points she would earn from something so reckless. But the zombies were moving, and the gunfire would be drawing clusters all around them closer and closer. This place had so much history, so much incredible beauty and so much cultural significance that it had put the city on the map. Could she actually destroy Fairacres cathedral? * The vestry had stood for a thousand years and with rigorous upkeep it would stand a thousand more. So many people had come and gone from within its walls. So many stories had played out. Every stone, every brick, even every foot of plaster and paint. The beautiful, majestic, culture-rich cathedral put Fairacres on the map. ¡°New plan,¡± Liza said, striding back into the room and going straight past the startled survivors to the crate, pocketing more ammunition and slinging a rifle across her back, and checking the Bowie knife was safe and secure. Armed to the teeth again, and flushed with anticipation, she stood and turned in a 360 degree arc to regard everybody. ¡°What?¡± Tucker asked low. The screen flickered and fritzed and Malcolm tutted and tapped on the side of it, looking to his right to see Rayna enter with a tray of colourful foods. He rolled his eyes at her. ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± she said forcefully; she couldn¡¯t speak any other way, of course. ¡°I¡¯ll leave you to it, Malcolm.¡± He leaned back and frowned, looking at the stripes of raw bacon and red cabbage, arranged just as he liked them on a plate, and then back up at Rayna. ¡°No,¡± he said, and stroked his stomach. ¡°Stay. Watch with me. Look at this girl.¡± The screen buzzed and flickered once again. Rayna flicked her grey eyes, almost identical to the glitching screen, up at the ceiling and moved to the back of the large observation room, where she could still see the screen as perfectly as he could. Possibly still more so. His eyes weren¡¯t the best now that his body was nearing its 50th year. When the image snapped back to perfect quality from the top corner of the vestry, over the AV Crate, he tapped excitedly on Liza¡¯s animatedly talking head. ¡°What?¡± Rayna asked, bored, as Malcolm peeled a limp, pink strip of meat from the plate and dangled it onto his eager poking tongue, his eyes never leaving Liza. ¡°She¡¯s exciting. I was switching from AV Crates trying to see something fun, but there was very little of interest. Then the system informed me that one of the players got over 13,000 Upgrade Points in under a minute so I had to go and take a peek as soon as I could. She¡¯s quite a firecracker. And, get this ¡­ the boy we were watching, earlier?¡± ¡°Oh, yes,¡± Rayna said, cracking a slight smile. ¡°Him.¡± Malcolm frowned. He wasn¡¯t sure why she was showing interest in any men she wasn¡¯t supposed to, but that was something he could take a look at later. ¡°Him,¡± he repeated. ¡°They¡¯re related.¡± Rayna raised an eyebrow. ¡°What sort of a coincidence is that?¡± Malcolm turned back to the screen while Liza argued back and forth with an attractive dark-haired woman that looked quite familiar to him. Curious. He would look her up but the internet had all but gone down. It would be a few hundred years before people prioritised server failures again. ¡°Turn it up,¡± Rayna said dryly. Her voice always sounded too dry to him. It was a weird quality that he had never been able to quite pinpoint or address, but it lay somewhere within the uncanny valley. ¡°... ready?¡± Liza asked. Malcolm counted thirty-three humans in that room -- so cramped -- and wondered what they had been thinking, designating the crumbling old walls as their safe area. The gate was effective, but it took a long time to open and shut, which made it almost useless. And then there were the glass doors connecting the new archive extension to the street. They had thought they would just sit in that vestry, protected from the rest of the weak cathedral by a velvet curtain and an irritatingly low doorway? When upstairs there were safe, thick, insulated quarters that would be so easy to convert into pretty nice living situations. At least until Malcolm believed that they were too comfortable ¡­ he hadn¡¯t done anything to help since the first couple of hours -- where he had really concentrated the zombies into the houses and highly populated areas to make sure that people were in a state of panic. After all, the zombies weren¡¯t runners. It wasn¡¯t cardio that killed you here, it was fear. It was stupidity. ¡°Government gone. Martial law enacted. They¡¯re really going to London?¡± Rayna asked, responding to what Liza was saying on the screen. ¡°They don¡¯t know that.¡± Malcolm thought for a moment, hands hovering over the controls beside the wall of screens. Some were splattered with gore, which he hadn¡¯t actually accounted for -- he would send drones to clean them when there was no one around to witness that. ¡°I could push them to stay or to leave or to go somewhere else, I suppose. People are quite easily manipulated.¡± Rayna let out a polite, close-mouthed laugh. ¡°I don¡¯t want to watch them stay in Fairacres,¡± she said. ¡°It¡¯s small. It¡¯s boring. Are they going to blow anything up? What is she saying?¡± Her grey eyes widened with joy. ¡°Fire.¡± ¡°You do like a good fire,¡± Malcolm said with a chuckle. ¡°I¡¯m more into the interpersonal relationships. The betrayals. Give me a tearful slap over an exploding car any day.¡± He picked at some shredded red cabbage on his plate, placed some strands on his tongue, and sucked on them as he watched the survivors stand and nod, ready to follow the small blonde into a warzone. Ready to splinter off and risk the tiniest victories they had won so far, for her. For this girl. Interesting. ¡°She has sent most of them away. Twenty of them with only three guns and two knives,¡± Rayna observed. Twenty of them indeed filed through the red curtain, and out of sight. Liza followed after them, gun raised. Malcolm strained his ears to hear the huge wooden doors creak open, and he heard screams and gunfire. Then Liza returned. The twenty survivors presumably were escaping through the gates. But why? Why leave the cathedral now, when she had only just arrived? Malcolm tutted at the dirtied camera he had pointed to the back door. Presumably the breach they had mentioned was fairly significant. When Liza split the remaining thirteen of them into groups and ordered one team of five outside, he strained his neck to try to follow them, before remembering it was a flat screen. He swallowed the cabbage by accident, tutted, and replaced it with a couple more pieces. ¡°Tucker, Yana, Blazer and Celia. You get to the bell tower,¡± she was saying, pointing. ¡°Quick as you can, the whole thing hinges on this. We need to make as much noise as we can.¡± The four of them moved fast. She turned and looked at the few that were left with her, none of whom Malcolm recognised yet. But he found he was excited to get to know them. ¡°We¡¯re going to do the most dangerous part. Are you up for it?¡± ¡°The most dangerous task? Herself?¡± Rayna snorted. ¡°She might be gutsy, but she is not yet a leader.¡± Malcolm spoke around the cabbage on his tongue. ¡°Why do you say that?¡± Rayna placed a taloned hand on her hip and narrowed her eyes at the events playing out on the screen. ¡°If she dies, I believe they all will. She should learn that.¡± ¡°Hmm,¡± Malcolm said, leaning back in his chair and considering her point for a moment. ¡°But if her plans fail, they may all die anyway.¡± They both looked on in silence for a moment, and he flicked at the joystick to zoom in on Liza¡¯s face for a moment. Her determined smile dropped when everybody else had left the room, and just for a second she turned and stared bitterly at the floor behind her, before shaking her head and walking away. ¡°I think I am rooting for her,¡± Malcolm said, sounding surprised even to himself. ¡°I want her to go into Phase Two.¡± He turned over his shoulder and looked at Rayna, propping up his elbow on the headrest and blinking rapidly. ¡°Do you?¡± The impossibly beautiful woman strode up to grab his empty water glass and take it from the room. ¡°I want what you tell me to, Malcolm,¡± she said, her voice dry; mechanical. ¡°You know that.¡± Chapter Seventeen

Chapter Seventeen

In case you haven''t noticed, our popular culture is quite inundated with zombies. -Olivia Moore, iZombie Twenty survivors, the first group, had had the simplest job. Relatively. They had to leave the cathedral, open the gates, and board one of the coaches in the bus depot across the street. Then they were to wait for the others, quietly. Assuming that they would be safe, Liza had decided not to think about them just yet. Not until she and her friends were in the clear. She and Denslow and two of the stronger, more capable-looking people -- their names were Victor and Robbie ¡­ or something enough like that that they would turn if she yelled it -- ran between the pews, out of the open doors, and hopped into the white van. Quickly as she could, Liza put it in gear and the tyres squealed as she muscled her way back into the centre of the church. Through the windscreen, she stared at Jesus¡¯s sad, bloodied face, and she let out a breath. Why would anyone want to die for somebody else? For something you weren¡¯t a part of? Jesus would probably have been dead weight in the event of a zombie apocalypse. ¡°Now. Quick,¡± she said, adjusting the rear view mirror to see that the second group had done their job -- they made enough noise so that every zombie in the vicinity was drawn towards the cathedral itself, which was great for the first group and not so great for Liza herself. But she had known that going in. The bells began to sound. From above them, from all around them; the sound echoed and rang and clanged in her chest as she looked at the surging, creeping death in the mirror behind them. The four of them leapt out of the van and took a second in unison to turn and stare at the incoming horde. Through the courtyard gates they poured, eyes sunken and pale, hands scrabbling through the air, jaws slack, and soon the courtyard was heavy and thick with monsters. Hopefully that really did mean that the survivors had made it safely to the buses, with all the zombies drawn the other way. The rest would be on her. ¡°The tie,¡± she said. Victor removed the loose tie from around his neck, once a pale blue and now stained with red so that it was spattered with a blotchy maroon. She jammed her thumb into the gas lid and flipped it open, dangling the tie into the full tank as deep as it could go before pulling it out, flipping it over, and dangling the other end in too. ¡°The lighter,¡± she addressed Robbie, clicking her fingers in his direction. He fumbled in one pocket, and then the other, face pale and mouth open. ¡°Hurry.¡± She clicked her fingers again as if he were a disobedient dog. ¡°Fuck,¡± he whimpered, backing up and looking at the approaching tidal wave of pale corpses. ¡°F-- here. Here!¡± He handed it over, hands slippery and fingers clumsy with fear, and it clattered to the ground. ¡°Liza,¡± Denslow said simply, evenly. Liza had chosen her because she wanted to keep an eye on her -- she figured that if she put Denslow with a group with no alliance with her, she might direct them to do something else, and Liza didn¡¯t trust that whatever Denslow chose would be the right decision. She had sent Blazer with her friends to the bell tower, so that was out. Two people who seemed against her should be kept apart until she knew what to do with them. But it turned out that the girl was a level-headed presence, and Liza reminded herself not to view everything that wasn¡¯t in line with her own suggestions as a direct and personal confrontation. Everyone, after all, wanted to survive equally. ¡°Come on,¡± Denslow prompted. The lighter between her fingers finally, she snapped at it twice, three times, watching Robbie trip over a hymn book and catch himself on Jesus¡¯s foot as he stumbled away from the double doors. Fourth time was the charm, and she looked up. ¡°One moment.¡± ¡°Liza,¡± Denslow said. Her pitch remained the same but her volume was raised. ¡°Is this going to work?¡± Victor asked, smoothing his palms over his thighs and darting his gaze all around. Robbie whimpered and gripped behind him at the red curtain. ¡°Sorry, I ¡­ I can¡¯t do this ¡­ be here,¡± he said, his eyes wet and his lips quivering. ¡°I¡¯ll meet you at the bus.¡± He backed into the room, the velvet redness billowing around him and then consuming him, and with a shriek he was held tight around the middle. The cold, rotted arms concealed by the partition wrapped around him, grasped at him, a display that in another life could have looked like something artsy; erotic. Pale hands gripped at him, smoothed over his flesh, teeth finally found their way around the velvet and before Liza could pull the gun to fire, Robbie was down, disappeared under the fabric, nothing but disembodied screams. The curtains stayed the same colour. The zombies in the passageway paused and shared their spoils. While Victor choked, moved around, twitched, wheezed, Liza lit the tie. Denslow lifted her gun and shakily aimed at the oncoming mass as they breached the church. ¡°We¡¯re trapped,¡± Victor was crying, coughing, retching. Liza didn¡¯t know if the boys had known each other before this hour, but Victor wasn¡¯t taking it well whatever the case. ¡°We¡¯re trapped.¡± ¡°We have guns and they don¡¯t,¡± Liza told him. The tie was burning bright as she ran for the red curtain, pulled down to obscure Robbie¡¯s mangled remains. She didn¡¯t wait to let the others figure out their weapons; she lifted her arm and destroyed the monsters¡¯ heads with twin echoing booms. ¡°Run,¡± she roared over her shoulder. Victor was frozen in place until Denslow hurled a collections basket with all her might and caught him in the shoulder. He jerked to life and ran after them, overshooting his leap over the red velvet mess to such an extent that she stumbled and had to push off the floor with his palm in order to turn the corner and keep running after Liza. ¡°Alive?¡± she yelled back at them, but she could hear their pounding feet; his gasping, rattling breaths. ¡°Ye--¡± he answered, but Denslow cut over him. ¡°In front,¡± she cried, lifting her own Glock and pointing it over Liza¡¯s shoulder. Three quick bullets and the skull was sliced open. The zombie closest to them was felled. Liza couldn¡¯t fire when running, so she stopped, and closed one eye. In the hallway in front of them were a small clutch of them, trying their hardest to squeeze at the same time down the hallway towards all the exciting noise and delicious flesh. She took five down with five bullets while Denslow picked off the sixth with three. ¡°Damn,¡± the other girl muttered, lowering her gun. ¡°I guess I¡¯m sorry I doubted your skills.¡± Liza winked over her shoulder to see Denslow purse her lips in response. ¡°We¡¯re going to be OK,¡± Liza said, responding to what she assumed the others were thinking about. ¡°We¡¯re going to make it.¡± ¡°Robbie didn¡¯t,¡± Victor croaked. He hadn¡¯t so much as raised his gun. The first of the church horde rounded the corner to occupy the hallway behind them. Liza gestured at it with her gun. ¡°Keep moving,¡± she reminded them, and turned and jogged ahead. Behind her she heard the sound of Victor crying out as his shoes became entangled in the spaghetti of wet limbs beneath them, and came down hard and with a disgusting sound. ¡°Help me,¡± he cried, and Denslow was quick. She aimed and fired, causing the closest zombie, who was reaching as desperately as a plant for the sun for Victor¡¯s struggling leg, to lose its head in a shower of dark slime. ¡°Nice!¡± she praised herself, wheeling around to look Liza in the eye. There was a flash of adrenaline-fuelled pride that made her look even more alive than before. ¡°Hole in one.¡± Liza yanked Victor¡¯s armpits from the body pile and he scrambled to his feet just as the second closest zombie came within flailing range. Denslow sighted, but Liza took her elbow too to silently remind her to keep running. ¡°There¡¯s only so much time before--¡± The force of the explosion was not quite as intense as Liza had expected -- which was a good thing, as they were nowhere near as far away from the source as she had assumed they¡¯d get. She heard the crackling of pews, the gargling of corpses, and had to think that they had achieved what they had intended to achieve. The smell of smoke, and the smell it carried with it through the corridor -- burnt flesh -- threatened to close her airways, but she carried on. The other group had lured the zombies out of the passageway for their escape as best they could, but the bell tower had lured them back in through this back way just as effectively as it lured them in through the front doors. Liza lifted her gun for the second cluster and this time took out four with four bullets while Denslow took out two with three bullets, and Victor shot numbly to graze jaws and shoulders from safely behind them. ¡°We...¡± he said weakly, ¡°the ¡­ the fire is going to catch us. If the zombies don¡¯t.¡± ¡°Jesus, are you always this fuckin¡¯ bleak?¡± Denslow asked, the fire of war burning bright inside her; an inspiring force beside Liza that had come from a completely unexpected source. ¡°You¡¯re learning fast,¡± she told the girl as they hopped over the latest pile, turning around to -- perhaps a touch patronisingly -- guide Victor over as well. ¡°I love shooting games,¡± Denslow said with a swift shrug as they rounded the corner ot the archives. ¡°The only thing I don¡¯t know about shooting is how to do it.¡± It was a weird thing to say, but Liza kind of knew what she meant. If the theory was there, the muscles would adapt faster than someone like Victor who had probably never even thought about guns before for more than a quick second. ¡°You¡¯ve seen a lot of death already, I take it,¡± Liza said to the girl, her voice low as they came to exit. Forty, fifty bodies blocked the open glass doors to freedom, and there had to be countless more entering from the streets. ¡°You could say that,¡± Denslow asid low, holding up her gun and squinting at the oncoming horde. Behind them was another, hundreds deep probably but coming at them only three or so at a time from the hallway. ¡°We¡¯re fucked,¡± Victor managed to get out, with what seemed like great effort. Liza looked around, heart pounding in her ears from gunfire and the strangely addictive chemicals of intense fear. To the left, the archives, and zombies. In front, doors, zombies. Behind, the hallways, zombies. Above her was an ornate and huge circular chandelier, three-tiered and glittering. ¡°Press yourselves against me.¡± They looked at her. ¡°Get in here.¡± She pulled Denslow tight to her side and then Victor, too, to her hip. She shot upwards. Just as the zombies got too close and Denslow let out a whine of resignation, the chandelier disengaged from the ceiling and fell with a deafening crash on top of them. When they uncovered their faces from the threat of glass damage, the zombies were still upon them. Pressing with their torsos and shins against the copper circles of the chandelier that now surrounded them, gnashing their jaws, groping through the gaps.If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. ¡°That¡­¡± Denslow managed to breathe out, ¡°...won¡¯t hold them forever. And the fire.¡± The stench of thick hot smoke, burning, and the shrieking gargles of the undead got stronger by the second from behind them. Liza swallowed hard, the dry air burning at her throat. ¡°Lift,¡± she said, bending and grabbing at the lower coil, immediately feeling the sharp pain digging into her fingers from its weight. After some hesitation, and the swiping of fingers from the zombies just feet away from them, the other two bent and lifted, and they took a step towards the exit. The picturesque outdoors, with its swaying trees and big bright moon. Just beyond the shattered glass doors and, of course, the horde of zombies. ¡°Step at the same time,¡± Liza said as they struggled against each other and almost tumbled to the floor, straight into the jaws of a hundred waiting creatures. ¡°Step, step, step, step.¡± They got into a rhythm, pushing through the crowds, picking their way across the hardwood, and Liza could feel the hot trickle of blood circling her knuckles from the irresponsibly sharp copper she squeezed. ¡°Step, step, step,¡± she continued, and sooner than they could have thought, they had gently teased their way through the urgent crowd before them, slicing at the rotting skin and shredding the clothes of those closest with the outer layer of shattered glass. ¡°My fingers,¡± Denslow hissed. ¡°I can¡¯t ¡­ I have to drop.¡± ¡°Seconds away. Count to ten. Just get to ten,¡± Liza told her through gritted teeth. Her own eyes were welling with tears from an identical pain. ¡°We¡¯re through,¡± Victor said thickly, his red nose dripping. ¡°We¡¯re through.¡± ¡°...four ¡­ five¡­¡± Denslow whispered, pausing to let out a pained cry. ¡°Just a few seconds,¡± Liza encouraged them both, feeling the fire behind them burn the back of her neck; the sweat gathering between her shoulder blades. The building was mostly wood, after all. There was little else to it. Frankly, it was a fire hazard. ¡°Ten,¡± Denslow said, and then grunted and her third of the chandelier clattered to the ground just four paces outside the cathedral. Hot air blew through the hallways and the bell stopped tolling, filling the air with a heavy silence. With dread. Victor dropped his section too, and then so did Liza. They were free and clear of the burning building but they were still surrounded by more and more monsters every second. Reaching, clawing, grabbing. Victor¡¯s trouser leg was caught in the clenching fists and then yanked, causing him to fall hard on the grass and almost pushing the two girls hard enough against the coils that the chandelier upturned. But it didn¡¯t. The zombie who had him as he kicked and screamed tried its hardest to take a bite out of his shoe, which made a horrible noise and prompted more shrieking from him, but didn¡¯t transfer any infection, and didn¡¯t satisfy the creature. He kicked it in the jaw and scrambled away, leaning against the coil and panting, sweating, shaking. ¡°V--¡± Liza began, as a head jammed itself past the shattered glass, losing an eye in the process and not caring, and bit into his shoulder like one might chomp on an apple. It was pure bad luck that it had dropped so that its head had been down at that level ¡­ the other zombies were not smart enough to crouch or bend and slip through the gaps, but just flailed and chomped fruitlessly. Liza took out the zombie with her knife, but Victor was whimpering, twitching, pressing his hand against a sizeable missing chunk that had quickly stained most of the right side of his shirt. ¡°You ¡­ I think you need to¡­¡± Denslow began, but couldn¡¯t finish the sentence. ¡°What if it doesn¡¯t work like that?¡± Liza asked. ¡°I don¡¯t know if he¡¯ll turn now, just from that. We could get him help, or something.¡± Victor quivered, opened and shut his mouth and shook his head. ¡°Don¡¯t kill me,¡± he said, his leg spasming in front of him. ¡°I¡¯ll be fine, don¡¯t kill me. Please, don¡¯t shoot me.¡± ¡°Shit, I don¡¯t know what to do.¡± Denslow held out her own gun, her chest heaving with breaths and blood tracing its way down her wrists, just like the statue back inside. She could see plumes of smoke now from the top of the building. Had her friends escaped? ¡°We can¡¯t just¡­¡± Liza began, just as Victor¡¯s head lolled to the side and he lost consciousness. ¡°Wait,¡± she said, holding up her hand as Denslow squinted down her arm. ¡°He¡¯s just fainted. He¡¯s still breathing.¡± ¡°We don¡¯t know if he needs to die, or if he--¡± she started, her voice mostly drowned out by the rasping desperation all around them, combined with the crackling and popping of the building. Victor opened his eyes, glassy now, and lifted his unbloodied arm and wafted it at them, his lips parting. ¡°He¡¯s turning,¡± Denslow insisted, her voice shaking. ¡°I¡¯m going to do it.¡± Liza didn¡¯t stop her. Denslow took a second to aim, and then Victor began to push himself to his feet. She raised the gun with his movements, and then when he reached his apex and let out a steady rattle, she squeezed her trigger with a grimace and it sliced clean through his skull. He fell back, tipping the chandelier. ¡°Push back!¡± Liza yelled, leaning with all her strength to counteract his bulk. The chandelier landed again, slicing a hand here and a collection of rotting digits there. Learning from poor Victor¡¯s bad luck, they kept in the middle as best they could. She inspected the door and repaired it to pause the pouring of zombies, noticing that those furthest away seemed to be flickering with flames, and having them come outside to catch the rest on fire would bake Denslow and her like a squirrel caught in a barbecue. 550 points to repair the door, but she had gained much more than that fighting her way out. To her surprise, when the glass reappeared as if it had never not been there, every zombie who had been in the doorway was ¡­ sliced cleanly in half. Their atoms could not exist in the same place, so they had been quietly pushed aside by the system. The halved corpses slid to the ground.
???COMBO x 25
Wow ¡­ so even Malcolm had not known that would happen? It hadn¡¯t even given her any points for it. Liza dismissed the prompt and looked around for something else that would help her. The zombies were going to stop coming from the burning building, for now, but there were still a hundred strong all around them, pushing from every direction. ¡°How long can we stay here?¡± Denslow yelled over the rattling snarls all around them, drowning out even the noise of the crackling cathedral. The heat was becoming unbearable. Their fingers were damaged almost beyond repair and they had no bandages to hand. And the copper coil was starting to bend under the pressure all around them. ¡°Cheap, crappy chandelier!¡± Liza cried. ¡°What are they spending all that donation money on?¡± ¡°Fuck, Liza, what do we do?¡± Denslow screamed. ¡°What the fuck do we do?¡± She looked over at her, black hair wild and tangled across her face. ¡°We¡¯re stuck here, in a fucking chandelier.¡± ¡°Words you never thought you¡¯d say, right?¡± Denslow just let out a frustrated scream. ¡°I¡¯m thinking!¡± Liza yelled in response. ¡°Talking a lot helps me think, let me think!¡± She looked around. Glass double doors leading to the archives. Burning cathedral. Chandelier. Grass. Zombies. The copper coil bent in further and Denslow shrieked again. ¡°Plan! Plan! What¡¯s your plan?!¡± Liza paused. ¡°Help!¡± she yelled. ¡°Help us! Help!¡± Her voice was lost in the raging battle of noise. She looked up. Three tiers. They could climb to the top and balance on the highest copper coil for just a few moments. But then what? The copper bent inward another half inch. She pulled out her rifle in desperation. She could upgrade it however she knew how to, but ¡­ what did that include? Making it generally stronger required no knowledge. Increasing the capacity could be done immediately. But what else? Her guns were loaded and she had one more clip handy. ¡°Nothing to do but shoot,¡± she said, lifting her rifle with a grim smile. Denslow lifted her handgun with a look of total resignation. Back to back, they shot, taking down zombies left and right. She could upgrade the chandelier but with what material? There was nothing around them. She could upgrade the ¡­ zombies. Maybe. She kept shooting, slicing through soft skulls, punching through eye sockets, until her gun began to click. 10 rifle bullets.
Headshot COM...
She dismissed it. A lighter in her pocket. Incendiary bullets? But no, there was only lighter fluid and a spark. That wasn¡¯t actually enough to make fiery ammo. Hollowpoint bullets? If she was killing them all in one shot anyway, what was the point? ¡°We have to climb,¡± she said, looking upwards. A high branch stretched over them. Too far to reach, really, but what the hell else could they do? ¡°Liza!¡± Denslow was almost sitting, she had sunk so low in her distress, but the sound made her look up. ¡°Was¡­¡± Liza strained her neck. ¡°Here!¡± she screamed, and then pulled in a breath of smoke and started to cough. ¡°Who is it?¡± Denslow hissed. ¡°Here! We¡¯re here! Help!¡± Nothing. The coil bent, this time by more than an inch, and the girls stifled their screams. There was a beat, where Denslow¡¯s fingernails clutched at Liza¡¯s arm, and then with a screech a small car cannonballed through the masses and pulled up right beside their makeshift cage. ¡°Climb, now, climb and jump,¡± Liza ordered, and scrambled up the inside of the tiered chandelier, balancing on the top and feeling the copper sink underneath her. She hopped onto the back of the car, dancing to avoid the grasping hands. Dozens of them. Denslow hopped to the top of the chandelier and then screamed as it dipped suddenly, taking her down a foot, but Liza gripped onto her arms hard and yanked her the final foot onto the back of the car. ¡°We can¡¯t balance up here,¡± Denslow cried. ¡°Wait, wait.¡± Liza kicked a hand away and reached down to grab at the copper coil, which had split in half. She pulled it, watching the chandelier shudder with the weight of so many bodies pressing desperately against it. ¡°The car antenna. Thicken it up,¡± she said out loud. The system complied, and she managed to upgrade the antenna into a copper pole before their eyes. ¡°What ¡­ just--¡± Denslow began. ¡°Hang on,¡± Liza said, stomping on a reaching hand. Staring out at the sea of open mouths. ¡°Tight!¡± She kicked at the body of the car underneath her. ¡°Go!¡± Her stomach lurched as they rammed over a dozen bodies and shot away from the plume of thick black smoke, barely clinging to the now thick, sturdy car antenna with raw and bleeding hands. The car didn¡¯t slow down until they had left the city centre and came to the country roads leading up the hill that her campus was on. Tucker and Yana stepped out, flushed and grinning, and helped them down. Liza fell into a grateful four-way hug and didn¡¯t let go until she was aware of a rustling in the trees behind her. ¡°Where now?¡± she asked them, pulling away. ¡°They got onto the bus,¡± Yana told her. ¡°Great, so let¡¯s go back and rendezvous.¡± ¡°We ¡­ we couldn¡¯t see much of anything. We don¡¯t know if they got away. From the bell tower, it looked dicy. But we couldn¡¯t see what happened.¡± Yana and Tucker exchanged a pained look. ¡°If they won or lost. It was just a blur. It¡¯s probably best to just get to safety.¡± ¡°Having a huge group of useless people was probably a liability anyway,¡± Tucker added, and then dropped eye contact and clenched his jaw. ¡°Where is Blazer?¡± Liza asked, her palms itching. If he was dead, she would be irritated she hadn¡¯t been able to do it herself. If he had simply disappeared in the commotion, she would be furious. But he wasn¡¯t the priority right now, she had to remind herself. ¡°And Celia, and James,¡± she added. ¡°They¡¯re meeting us at the top of the hill. We just thought you might want to get inside the car,¡± Tucker said with a smirk. Squeezing in to the back, Denslow raised her eyebrow as Tucker extended a hand to shake. ¡°No, thank you,¡± she said low. ¡°Thanks for saving us, but ¡­ my hands.¡± She brought them up to show him and he made a face, wordlessly handing them his roll of bandages. ¡°What¡¯s your name?¡± he asked. ¡°Denslow.¡± ¡°Tucker,¡± Tucker replied. ¡°And this is Yana.¡± Yana gave a wave from the passenger seat without turning around. ¡°You look familiar. Do you go to Fairacres? Do you do Physics?¡± Denslow snorted a laugh, and wrapped up her hands. ¡°I could never do Physics.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t go to Fairacres?¡± he asked. ¡°Leave the girl alone,¡± Yana mumbled. ¡°No, I don¡¯t,¡± Denslow said, staring out of the window while Liza took her turn bandaging up her hands. She considered handing her one of the headsets, but she figured later would be better to have that discussion. Plus, bleeding palms weren¡¯t life-threatening. ¡°We need to stock up and leave this place,¡± Liza leaned forward and said. ¡°There¡¯s nothing here. We need to use the system and upgrade ourselves to the teeth. Celia will know how to upgrade weapons. Has the internet gone down?¡± Yana leaned forward and rested her face in her hands. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Liza asked. ¡°Are you hurt?¡± She started to panic and looked to Tucker, who continued to drive silently. ¡°Is she hurt? What¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°She lost her phone and her iPad,¡± Tucker said solemnly. Yana nodded into her hands and then sniffed. Liza leaned back in her chair while Denslow shook her head slowly, still staring out at the fields. ¡°We¡¯ve all lost so much,¡± Denslow whispered, mock-heartbroken. Liza cracked a smile at her joke, but then it fell. All those survivors, were they gone? She had arrived and told them to leave, to get somewhere better. If they were dead, would it be completely her fault? She allowed herself to feel bad for a little while, until she remembered the breach James had stumbled in through. Those survivors had been one loud noise away from carnage, just sitting in that vestry. Liza had at least tried to get them to London. Some of them had looked so capable. Big, sturdy men. But she reminded herself that it didn¡¯t matter. They were all one wrong turn, one poorly-placed foot, one extended blink away from death. She had been right, though. There hadn¡¯t been time yet to sit down and upgrade her weapons and armour but wherever they were going to meet Celia, that was what they were going to do next. As they neared the hill that would tell her who of her friends and lived and who had not made it, if anyone, Liza was determined she was never going to come that close to death again. No matter what the cost. Chapter Eighteen

Chapter Eighteen

Repent, The End is Extremely Fucking Nigh -28 Days Later The car rolled up to the peak of the highest hill in the city, which represented the border at the end of Fairacres, and the beginning of the unfortunately-named Slutterby Bay. The coast wasn¡¯t a bad idea. Whoever hadn¡¯t decided to go to London to seek out rescue would probably have gone there. Especially if they had a boat, and many residents of the more affluent half of Fairacres probably did. When they came to a stop, Liza saw a car already there, and she was the first to pop the door and step out -- she meant business now. ¡°Right,¡± she said, clapping her hands together and expecting the worst. ¡°Forty or so were in the cathedral. We have to assume the others took off. Who is left?¡± Celia and James hopped out of the other car and wrapped her up in a hug, but now that the adrenaline of near-death had worn off, she was uneasy wrapped in so many arms. She backed off and smiled awkwardly, patting them. ¡°Anyone else?¡± He nodded behind him. Out of that car hopped Blazer, and Lilian. The bell tower group alone remained. Liza swallowed. ¡°No time to dwell, or wonder what happened to everyone else -- they have each other, and we have each other,¡± she said. ¡°We are going to London.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll hop back in the cars, then,¡± Tucker said. ¡°Gas up on the road?¡± Liza turned around and looked at the beaten up red Honda Accord and the sky blue dented BMW with the huge copper pole sticking up from its head. Perfectly fine vehicles to take them a hundred miles. But they would be defenceless if something went wrong. And there was no way nothing was going to go wrong. She wanted them to do better than defenceless. She wanted them to do better than wishing, and lucking out. Liza needed to be prepared from now on. Now that they knew what they were facing; now that they knew what life was going to be like from now on. She swallowed and rubbed at her face. At her hair. ¡°I need a shower,¡± she mumbled. ¡°We all need a fucking shower, Liza!¡± Yana snapped suddenly, and everyone looked at her. She sagged. ¡°Sorry, I¡¯m really ¡­ on edge.¡± ¡°We all are,¡± Lilian said with a wrinkled nose. ¡°Everyone is. Until a few hours ago I had no idea anyone was alive except me.¡± A pause. ¡°And her.¡± She jabbed her forefinger in Liza¡¯s direction. ¡°And no offence but you¡¯re not exactly the best in a crisis.¡± Liza turned and looked over her shoulder, and then back at Lilian. ¡°What, me?¡± She felt her jaw almost literally drop. ¡°Seriously?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve hardly known you and you¡¯re always passing out and shouting and yelling!¡± ¡°Shouting and yelling are the same thing!¡± Liza shouted. ¡°Ladies, come on. Liza has some good ide--¡± Blazer began, lifting his hands. ¡°And you!¡± Liza drew her gun and rounded on him, and everyone instinctively took a step back. ¡°You are stupider than I thought if you still think you¡¯re coming with us. All your supporters are gone now. I should just shoot you in the gut and leave you here.¡± She cocked the gun dramatically and stared him down. Beads of sweat glinted on his face. The sun was rising behind him over the hills in the distance. ¡°Liza,¡± Tucker said low. ¡°Don¡¯t ¡­ don¡¯t shoot him.¡± She didn¡¯t turn around. ¡°Why?¡± ¡°I got into a knife fight in the first fifteen damn minutes of this shit,¡± Tucker said. ¡°With someone who used to be my friend. He slept with my girlfriend, I know, but I thought I was over that. I tried to fucking stab him.¡± He swallowed visibly out of the corner of her eye. ¡°There¡¯s violence in the air, especially for us -- people who aren¡¯t used to any real conflict at all. We got drunk on it for a while, but it¡¯s fading. Leave him out here if you don¡¯t trust him, but don¡¯t shoot him. You can¡¯t take that shit back.¡± She didn¡¯t lower the gun but she didn¡¯t fire either. Blazer was a human. He had expressive eyes and a twitch in his lip; he was definitely not a zombie. If she killed him, he would never be anything again. He didn¡¯t deserve any favours from her, but did he deserve death? Most of her thought ¡­ yes, he did. ¡°Liza,¡± Celia said softly. ¡°This isn¡¯t self-defence.¡± ¡°This is an execution,¡± James agreed. He looked at her sideways. Disappointed. She wondered if he had been filled in on the events up until then. The look on his face almost physically hurt her. He had always been a fan of hers; laughing at her jokes, agreeing with her publicly if she got into a disagreement. He was ¡­ probably the best friend she had ever had. How was that thought only just occurring to her for the first time? ¡°If you want to be a respected leader, you have to retain your humanity,¡± Blazer said quietly. ¡°Shut up,¡± she said. ¡°I didn¡¯t ever say I wanted to be a leader.¡± Her gun lowered by an inch and seeing the relief on Blazer¡¯s face made her shudder. ¡°I don¡¯t think¡­¡± ¡°You know better than any of us what we should be doing,¡± James said. He smiled weakly. ¡°When do we need to build our first fire?¡± She lowered the gun completely. ¡°You aren¡¯t coming,¡± she told Blazer, looking away. ¡°Find your own way. In fact,¡± she added, ¡°don¡¯t come to London at all. If I see you again, I will interpret your presence as a threat. And I will kill you.¡± ¡°Liza,¡± Celia said quietly. ¡°I know,¡± she said, holstering the gun and folding her arms. ¡°We never really spoke about anyone being a leader, as such,¡± Tucker pointed out. ¡°Is that better? Is it a good idea?¡± ¡°I think it¡¯d be fucking stupid for us to listen to anyone but her,¡± James said. Liza sighed. ¡°Well, does anybody not want me to call the shots? I know I can get us to the city.¡± A silence followed. ¡°Well, if I have to take responsibility for your lives, you¡¯ll have to promise to follow me. I can¡¯t guarantee who will live and who will die if you ignore what I say.¡± She looked around. She twisted her body in the full circle, trying to catch the eye of everyone there. ¡°I ask again. Does anyone disagree with me taking control here?¡±Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings. Her friends caught her eye, a couple of them shook their heads, including Yana, which was a good sign. ¡°Good,¡± she said. ¡°Now, I¡­¡± She trailed off again. Lilian¡¯s hand was high in the air, her pale blue eyes fixed on the ground beneath her. Liza felt a thump of anger in her chest that she hadn¡¯t been expecting. ¡°Why don¡¯t you stay with Blazer, then?¡± she snapped. Lilian looked up, brows creased. ¡°You¡¯re very bossy,¡± she said. ¡°And you talk a lot. But everyone is probably dead. They¡¯re gone. They were safe before you showed up. They could have waited for rescue there, and now they¡¯re in danger again. And you destroyed Fairacres Cathedral. How bloody irresponsible is that?¡± The nerve of Lilian calling somebody else bossy almost made her laugh, especially when the redheaded girl had her hands on her hips and a scowl on her face. But then the accusations hit Liza, and coming from somebody other than herself, it actually hurt. ¡°There was nothing she could have done,¡± Tucker yelled over. ¡°If they had stayed in the building they would have been killed. At least that way,¡± James said, looking pale and breathing slowly, ¡°at least they had a chance that way.¡± ¡°They might already be halfway to the city, completely safe and happy,¡± Liza pointed out. They all looked over the hill at the same time as if they would be able to see from all the way up there. The cathedral still burned violently, a rippling black column from the centre of the city. Inside, hundreds of zombies roasted, and their potential body counts died in there with them. Liza brought up the notification on the top right corner of her vision. It had continued to update as each zombie bit the dust (or the ash) and she had ignored it until now.
Roasted Alive (or Dead)! x288 50 UP 50 UP (+10) 50 UP (+20) [see 285 more lines]
How ¡­ how many points could that possibly even be? She didn¡¯t want to expand the message and stand there scrolling through almost three hundred lines of text in order to find out. She would check her Character Screen a little later. But Liza had the feeling that she would not have to worry about running out for a very, very long time. Even if whatever she had gained had been split five ways with her allies, including Denslow who still sat inside the blue car behind her. She closed it, and took a breath. ¡°Armour,¡± she said, turning to face everybody, but ignoring Lilian and Blazer. ¡°We¡¯re not going down because of a bite to the arm or the leg. We¡¯re going down because we get torn to fucking shreds in an incident we could never have protected against, or we are not going down at all. Do you hear me?¡± ¡°Sir, yes, sir!¡± James said. She didn¡¯t laugh. ¡°We are going to London and we are going to find out what plan the government has for us. We are not going in flimsy cars,¡± she added, gesturing at them. ¡°We¡¯re going in a bus, like I said. But not just any bus.¡± She opened up her Character Screen for a quick glance, and let out a little ¡°Holy fuck.¡± Rubbing her head, she turned back to the others with a big smile on her face. ¡°We are going to make the meanest, biggest, baddest bus that you can think of. A tank. A war machine.¡± She punched her fist into her other palm. ¡°Who¡¯s on board?¡± ¡°All aboard the party tank,¡± James wooped, raising his fist into the air. Lilian rolled her eyes, and Blazer stared at her, silently. ¡°Thank you for not hurting me, Liza,¡± he said finally, cutting through the celebrations. ¡°I think that took a tremendous amount of self--¡± She turned and, without pausing, she slammed her fist into his jaw with such unexpected power that he half-fell onto his side and had to use his hand on the ground to steady himself. He sucked in a breath and then spat on the grass. ¡°Punching happens to be one of the skills that comes with being raised in a crazy ubermasculine family,¡± she told him, and with her foot she knocked him off of his centre of gravity so that he fell fully, red-faced, averted eyes. ¡°And I never said I was not going to hurt you.¡± Nobody said anything, but Lilian tutted and looked away. ¡°We get back down there and loot the military store in town. Swiss army knives, thick clothing, and whatever else they have that we can use for survival. Also, we go places in groups of three or more. No exceptions.¡± ¡°Sounds fair,¡± Tucker said. ¡°Party tank!¡± He hopped back in the car, and Liza watched James and Celia get into the other one. Blazer sat up in the floor, knees drawn to his chin, and looked up at her with one eye squinting, a line of blood glinting at his lip. ¡°You¡¯d better be glad there were other people around,¡± she told him, too quietly for anyone else to hear. Lilian hovered by the car door but was clearly trying to listen surreptitiously. ¡°If you had just kept the panic locked away and managed not to act on it, you would be coming with us. We might have become friends. I would have protected you.¡± Liza backed away. ¡°You¡¯re lucky my friends aren¡¯t trigger happy yet. They will be. This world will change them. Well, some people will change. Others will just be revealed. Like you.¡± She paused by the door of her own car. ¡°Please,¡± he said, looking at the ground. ¡°You were fine. I don¡¯t have anything. You didn¡¯t let me have a weapon. I don¡¯t have anything.¡± ¡°No,¡± Liza said. ¡°But you don¡¯t have a bullet wound either. And I turned out fine, right?¡± She got into the car, slammed the door, and nodded at Tucker in the mirror. He drove up, made a u-turn, and started back down the hill. Fairacres was no longer filled with a horde hundreds thick, or clusters of thirty-plus, but there were zombies lurching every block or so. Here and there. They had made an marked improvement when it came to the survivability of this city. It was a shame, in a way, that they were leaving. ¡°Stop fussing with it,¡± Yana was muttering to Tucker in the front while he sucked in a breath through his teeth. She tutted and pulled his hands away from his wound and tugged on the bandage while Tucker focused on the road. ¡°How¡¯s it healing?¡± Liza asked. She had to admit she had forgotten to change her wound. The pain in her side thudded like some faraway metronome, the kind of thing she found it easy enough to get used to and work past. It was the pain in her hands that was the real issue right now. ¡°It¡¯s fine,¡± Tucker said. There was a silence as they navigated through debris, bodies, trash. ¡°So, you tried to stab that guy first, huh?¡± Liza said, drumming her fingers on her thigh and staring out the window like it was no big deal. ¡°Hmm?¡± Tucker asked, like he had no idea what she meant. There was a pause. ¡°Nothing,¡± Liza said finally. ¡°Go down here to the right. If it isn¡¯t already looted to the bare bones, we¡¯ll find some good stuff.¡± In the mirror on Yana¡¯s sun visor Liza could see pursed lips. Whether the expression was for her or for Tucker, she couldn¡¯t be sure. They pulled up and were careful to look around before they quietly opened their doors and ducked out from the car. The only shufflers were far away enough that if they were quiet, they would be able to make their way around the debris and into the store to see what they could salvage. ¡°We could convert the BB guns into real guns,¡± Tucker whispered to the two girls as they picked their way over upturned trash cans and burned up tyres. ¡°How?¡± Liza whispered back. ¡°Celia would know how.¡± It just didn¡¯t seem like a good use of their time to her. They already had a fair store of guns, and they would run out of ammo before they ran out of firearms. And no British high street store was going to sell real bullets. But would they sell plastic, or rubber bullets? BB pellets? Surely it wouldn¡¯t be too much of a stretch to upgrade them to metal. A wave of excitement washed over her. She had been neglecting the system, but the shock of the events had worn off, and the resolve that came from a complete and total will to survive had taken over. Her primal instincts were stretching and waking up deep inside her. For the first time since this all had started, she had a lull. They had a second. She could regroup and charge up and then they would be ready to face what came next. Her future enemies, whoever they turned out to be, would have no idea what they were dealing with. Chapter Nineteen

Chapter Nineteen

Alive or dead, the truth won''t rest. -Feed Tucker and Yana entered first, chattering in low voices about something or other, and Liza took a few quick steps to catch up, noting that the entrance at least was strewn in ugly, flimsy camo clothing that had been torn off the racks. The BB guns had been looted almost completely, along with most BB ammo, but a few other things remained. Heavy military-style jackets had been raided, but there were a couple of sizes left. Liza wasted no time in gathering them up and laying all the thickest that she could find on the counter. ¡°You want us to wear those?¡± Yana asked, trying her hardest not to pinch her face in an expression of distaste. Liza shook her head. ¡°No, actually,¡± she said. ¡°We can use the headsets to integrate the integrity of these heavy jackets into our existing clothes. I feel like it¡¯ll be advantageous, down the line, to pack more of a punch than other people expect us to. In case someone wants to take us by surprise.¡± Tucker smirked. ¡°I have to ask. Did that guy actually shoot you? With a real gun?¡± Liza tutted and lifted up her shirt, ignoring the bloom of red that appeared on Tucker¡¯s ears when she did, and showed the dark, perfect circle of blood beneath the bandage. ¡°Point blank,¡± she said. ¡°I don¡¯t know if I would have survived it without the headset. The shock and the pain were muted, I think. I dunno -- I¡¯ve never been shot before.¡± Tucker swallowed. ¡°I think I would have killed him,¡± he said after a second. ¡°Up there, on the hill. But I¡¯m glad you didn¡¯t.¡± She eyed him for a second, watching Yana in her periphery pretending to search through rifle scopes. ¡°I think I am too,¡± Liza said, but she didn¡¯t know if that was the truth. Killing someone was hard. It was almost impossible -- she had been able to do it to save her own life, but she felt a little sick whenever she thought about it. The guy had been talking one second, and then the next second his brains were spilled out all over her hardwood floors. It hadn¡¯t been a pleasant way to go. Liza was lucky that she had been taught how to skin and gut furry friends, because she might have swiftly lost her lunch if she was in no way desensitised to gore like that. ¡°Liza?¡± Her eyes flicked back over to Tucker and she smiled. He grinned back. ¡°Thought we¡¯d lost you there.¡± ¡°You¡¯re going to have to work harder than that if you want to get rid of me,¡± she joked, but her heart wasn¡¯t in it. ¡°Look hard for useful things. We¡¯ll go get the sturdiest coach we can find -- I¡¯m hoping the other survivors have already left, but maybe they haven¡¯t.¡± ¡°The buses down at the depot are flimsy,¡± Tucker said. ¡°Full of trash,¡± Yana agreed, flipping through the camo pants and looking bored. ¡°I mean they¡¯re cheap. There are real coaches. You know, streamlined, with a toilet and stuff on board. And TVs. They¡¯re up on campus.¡± Liza turned to Tucker with interest. ¡°Oh yeah? That sounds easier to upgrade, and a lot more pleasant than riding hundreds of miles on a dirty public bus.¡± ¡°They¡¯re built for long journeys, too,¡± Tucker added. ¡°And they just have one solid door instead of two weak ones, like a public bus. We¡¯ll just wait for the others and then head up there, I guess.¡± With a short nod, she strolled around the perimeter of the store, wondering if the others had run into any issues, and figuring out what would be useful to grab and what would just weigh them down. A sign by the stairs said in an ugly scrawl, ¡®There¡¯s More Down Stairs!¡¯ and she looked at the utility belts on the wall beside it for a moment before descending. ¡°Scream if there¡¯s trouble,¡± she said to the others as she descended into the depths of the store. At the bottom of the uneven wooden steps was a whole other level, but down here the wares were much more interesting. Liza guessed that they eyed people up at the counter and didn¡¯t just let any old schmuck down here to search through the high-value stuff. At the far end was a cluster of radios of varying shapes and sizes. Liza knew enough to use one, but no more than that -- she had no knowledge of engineering or anything like that, but if she could grab a couple they would be very useful for communication. And she knew that Celia would be able to keep them in working order for as long as possible. When she approached them another thought occurred to her and before she swept them into her bag she clicked one of them on and fiddled with its frequency a little, listening to the gentle whistling, fuzzing, and then clicking noises until¡­ ¡°...ent...cant¡­ury...¡± And then back to buzzing. She held her breath and poked out her tongue and very slowly dialled it back until the voice was audible but croaking like a frog, and then she ticked it forward again.This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon. ¡°...ing for survivors.¡± And then nothing. Liza smoothed her hand over the radio side until she pressed down a button. ¡°Hello?¡± she spoke in its general vicinity. Theoretically she knew about radios -- her father had been sure to convey to them that they would be important communication devices, but she wasn¡¯t sure if she had ever actually held one more advanced than a children¡¯s walkie talkie, of which she owned three. ¡°Hello? Uhh ¡­ this is a survivor in Fairacres. Who is there? Can you ¡­ fuck ¡­ can you hear me?¡± She let go of the button and searched the radio again to make sure she had been doing the right thing to transmit anything. ¡°Hello? This is Flight Lieutenant Jake Jameson of the-- fuck it. What is your location and how dangerous is it? Over¡± Liza fumbled for the radio button again. ¡°Shit, uh, mayday. Danger. Affirmative.¡± She shut her eyes and shook her head. ¡°I¡¯m Liza ¡­ you didn¡¯t ask that. Fairacres. I¡¯m in Fairacres.¡± ¡°There is a significant fire in your location, over.¡± ¡°Where are you? Flight Lieutenant? Are you in a plane nearby?¡± A pause. ¡°Hello?¡± ¡°You¡¯re kind of supposed to say ¡®over¡¯. It¡¯s fine, though. We¡¯re in a helicopter above Fairacres. Over.¡± Liza¡¯s heart leapt and she lifted the radio closer to her lips so quickly that her thumb brushed the dial and it faded into fuzz. She swore and altered the frequency back. ¡°You¡¯ve come to save us?¡± she asked, feeling her hands begin to tremble with relief. ¡°You¡¯re the RAF, right? The military?¡± Another pause. ¡°Oh. Over.¡± ¡°Yeah, just thinking. We are ¡­ not here to rescue you.¡± She heard the crackle of the radio and swallowed, waiting for the rest of his message. Her hands continued to tremble, but the reason was not the same. ¡°We¡¯re on a self-appointed scouting mission. We¡¯re just trying to gauge the threat levels in the rest of the country. There¡¯s a military base down here that went dark.¡± Another hissing silence. ¡°Sorry. Over.¡± ¡°That¡¯s alright, you¡¯re in a helicopter and you¡¯re going back to London?¡± Liza asked. ¡°You can pick me and my friends up, and take us there? It¡¯s dangerous on the roads. We might be stuck here,¡± she half-lied; she had no idea if their travel plans would work out. ¡°I don¡¯t know about that. I think it¡¯s a negative,¡± the Flight Lieutenant said slowly. His voice sounded unsure. Inexperienced. Liza wondered what he meant by a self-appointed helicopter mission. It didn¡¯t sound like a real thing. Paranoia flared in her gut but she pushed it down. There was genuinely no reason for anyone to lie to her. She wasn¡¯t going to give up that easily. ¡°Listen to me,¡± she said. ¡°Listen carefully, because I don¡¯t want to say this more than once. I don¡¯t know who is listening.¡± She tried to sound as covert and yet as trustworthy as possible. ¡°I know how this happened. I know the origin and I think I know how to stop it. But I need to get to London. Can you help me?¡± ¡°Negative. This is ¡­ hold on, please.¡± The line became dead air for almost thirty seconds, and Liza found herself turning in antsy circles. ¡°Who ¡­ are you? Come in.¡± ¡°My name is Liza Volkov,¡± she said. ¡°I was there at the outbreak and I know what happened. Is there anyone ranked higher than you?¡± She was really playing with fire now. She had a sneaking suspicion that the Flight Lieutenant she was speaking to was a recent promotion, and speaking to anyone higher up might force her into lying. She did believe that finding Malcolm was the only way to stop this, but she didn¡¯t know where he was. He owned a mansion in London, but that didn¡¯t mean he was there. Finding him also didn¡¯t mean she could stop him, but what else was there to do? ¡°No. Negative. Me, my pilot and an officer cadet. We were drawn by the column of smoke from your location. Interrogative--¡± ¡°It used to be Fairacres Cathedral,¡± Liza cut in grimly. A brief hiss. ¡°Shit,¡± the Flight Lieutenant said. ¡°Listen. Please land and we can discuss this in person,¡± Liza said, shifting from foot to foot. ¡°We need to get to London.¡± ¡°Are there many of you?¡± Liza swallowed; the question gave her prickles at the back of her neck. ¡°Yes, but a whole lot less than we started the day off with.¡± ¡°I hear you.¡± A pause. Liza was afraid to wander too far in case she lost him. ¡°You don¡¯t want to go to London.¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°The ¡­ everyone is gone. Pretty much. The streets are¡­¡± The radio crackled as he blew out a heavy breath on the other end. ¡°We¡¯re under martial law. Everyone is being conscripted. I just got promoted three hours ago.¡± ¡°I knew it,¡± Liza said under her breath before pressing the button again. But then his words hit her. ¡°Everyone is being conscripted?¡± ¡°The fight against the fucking walking dead outside is getting worse every day. You are in the city, and you¡¯re not a child? You have to fight. People have tried to leave but we¡¯ve seen pileups everywhere. Destruction. Dead people creating more dead people. It¡¯s like the least fun game of dominos ever.¡± She cracked a smile. ¡°You¡¯re more than welcome to come play with us, JJ. Over.¡± ¡°Hold your position. We haven¡¯t contacted anyone else all day, and if you think you can stop this ¡­ I barely even care if you¡¯re crazy at this point.¡± He cut himself off in the middle of a dry chuckle. Liza was about to speak, but then closed her mouth again. London had fallen. ¡°Where the hell am I supposed to bring my people?¡± she asked, but nobody answered. ¡°Come in, Flight Lieutenant, sir. We can¡¯t just stay here.¡± She shook her head and threw the radio into her bag, and then swept a bunch more inside too. ¡°Fuck.¡± She walked in a couple of tight circles and clenched her fists. London had fallen to the apocalypse. The help was there, but ¡­ it wasn¡¯t helping. So what the hell were they supposed to do now? And who exactly had she just summoned to her location? Chapter Twenty

Chapter Twenty

Leave your front door open and your lawn unguarded Sincerely, MOM (not the zombies) -Plants VS Zombies Liza ascended the stairs slowly, rubbing her forehead with the back of her hand and staring at the floor. What now? The plan had been pretty half-assed to begin with, but now it had no ass. And what kind of a plan had no ass? A bad one, probably. ¡°... is sick, I can¡¯t wait to see her. She always forgets to take her medication.¡± Liza looked up and her eyebrows raised up high when she saw that it was a broken and battered Angie speaking. Angie, of Eli and Angie fame, who had risked her life despite pure panic to carry out Liza¡¯s plan. Beside her stood a bloodsoaked Eli, panting from exertion and occasionally sharply shaking his head to rid his hair of gore. ¡°Guys,¡± Liza said warmly, remaining in the stairway to keep a bannister between them -- just in case they felt like hugging. Somehow, miraculously, she was one of the cleanest-looking of the lot of them. And with no shower in the cards anytime soon, she wanted it to stay that way if possible. ¡°Yeah, look who we picked up on the way here,¡± Denslow added, stepping forward with her hands in her jeans pockets. Liza craned her neck. ¡°Where is James?¡± Yana sighed. ¡°Tucker went to help him out of the car. He¡¯s been kind of a lump, to be honest. It¡¯s been tough dragging him around.¡± Liza resisted the urge to point out that Yana hadn¡¯t really helped with any of the dragging. She had been helping out in general more than Liza had really thought she would; no need to start a fight. ¡°I got a headset on him and it¡¯s just telling me he¡¯s totally dehydrated,¡± Celia said, removing her glasses to clean the smudges from them on her probably even smudgier shirt. ¡°We¡¯ll water him and see how much it helps. From what we know about the headsets, probably immediately.¡± ¡°Yeah, I have some spare water,¡± Liza offered, gesturing for the small gathered crowd to clear a path as Tucker and James appeared. Tucker set down his pasty-faced friend in a small pile of camo pants and took the water from Liza and fed it to her. She checked out his status to see if there was anything more to it than Dehydration, but that was all there was. ¡°Guys, I really need you to explain to me what these headsets are,¡± Denslow said evenly. ¡°Headsets?¡± Eli piped up. ¡°In a bit,¡± Liza said, a little more dismissively than she meant to. Four big gulps of Tucker¡¯s offered bottle later and James¡¯s status changed to add a ¡®Slight¡¯ in front of it. He took a break and leaned his head back, taking in his surroundings. ¡°Fuck,¡± he moaned. Liza slid her back down the wall next to him and rested her hand on his knee. It was the most comforting that she wanted to get, and James seemed to appreciate that. He patted her hand with a smile. ¡°I need to get some fucking sleep.¡± ¡°What happened to you?¡± Liza asked; she couldn¡¯t hold it anymore. ¡°After the beginning. What happened?¡± James shook his head. ¡°Fucking¡­¡± He swiped at some imaginary dirt over his face and smoothed his palm over his actually dirty jeans. ¡°I barely even remember. I have never run that much in my life. I ran. I hid. I did more running.¡± ¡°Did you get bitten?¡± Yana asked, matter-of-factly. James looked up at her with his dry lips parted, and she looked to Tucker with her eyebrows raised, for support. ¡°James would obviously have told us if he got bitten.¡± Liza tutted. ¡°James would have turned by now if he got bitten.¡± She nodded to Denslow. ¡°How quick was it?¡± The dark-haired girl raised her eyebrows at being suddenly addressed, and recalled the recent change they had witnessed. ¡°Oh, uh, it was ¡­ instant, wasn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°Fine,¡± Yana said, and turned back to the shelves to look through them again. ¡°No Lilian?¡± Liza asked, but she realised as soon as she said it that she hadn¡¯t been expecting her to come back with them. Not really. Celia shook her head. ¡°No, she went with Blazer.¡± ¡°Where?¡± ¡°They¡¯re going to find the other survivors if they stuck around,¡± Celia said. ¡°They¡¯re going to get on the road to London as soon as they can.¡± Liza thought about that for a moment. It would be almost impossible for her to find them and stop them. And ¡­ to be honest, why should she? ¡°Listen, guys¡­¡± she began. There was no easy way to tell them what she had discovered downstairs. About the ultimate end of their journey. Or, really, the fact that there wouldn¡¯t be one. They had to recalculate; recalibrate. ¡°Wait ¡­ am I asleep?¡± Liza turned to frown at James. ¡°Are you alright?¡± she asked, taking the bottle from Tucker and swishing it in front of James¡¯s squinting face. He ignored her and continued to stare straight through them all, and Liza followed his gaze. To Denslow. Eli and Angie were making themselves useful -- probably still trying to prove themselves helpful -- and barricading the door behind them. ¡°Are ¡­ you going to do some kind of a cheesey pickup line right now?¡± Liza asked, and then blew out her cheeks. But Denslow had averted her gaze and was obviously reaching desperately for a subject change. ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡±Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. ¡°I¡¯m going to search downstairs,¡± Denslow said. ¡°I¡¯ve already done that.¡± ¡°I¡¯m going to do it again.¡± Denslow gave a wide, fake smile and squeezed past Liza, who wasn¡¯t really willing to move. ¡°Is something going on?¡± she asked, cracking an awkward smile. ¡°You two know each other?¡± ¡°No,¡± Denslow said, uncomfortably. ¡°You totally do!¡± Liza cried. ¡°No, we don¡¯t,¡± James said, shakily trying to get to his feet. He pointed a finger, his back to the wall, keeping him up. ¡°You¡¯re Denslow.¡± Denslow stared at the floor. ¡°OK, what is going on here?¡± Tucker asked, moving from the temporarily barricaded door over to the rest of them. Eli and Angie exchanged an uncomfortable look from the doorway. A big smile spread across James¡¯s face and he shook his head as if he couldn''t believe what was happening. ¡°Denslow,¡± he said again. ¡°I can''t fucking believe it. I''m here, half-dead at the end of the world, and I''m in the same room as you.¡± He caught sight of Liza''s desperately confused face, and then looked over at the rest of his friends to see matching expressions. ¡°Guys¡­¡± he said. ¡°I talk about Denslow all the time. ¡° Something seemed to click for Tucker. ¡°Oh. She''s famous?¡± James turned to him and nodded with a wide grin. ¡°She''s my favourite singer. I have a poster of her in my room.¡± Liza snapped her fingers. ¡°Yes! You do! I knew I''d seen you somewhere.¡± She rounded on Denslow, triumphant as if she had solved a mystery. ¡°Why didn''t you say?¡± Seeing the look on the other girl''s face made her regret her dumb question instantly. ¡°Why didn''t I tell you that your breathless pal over there has a poster of me on his wall?¡± she repeated, eyes narrowed. Her eyeliner was still undisturbed; probably the only thing left that remained unaffected by the apocalypse. ¡°I guess mostly I didn''t know.¡± ¡°Right...¡± Liza said. ¡°I just figured you were a student.¡± ¡°She was probably passing through Fairacres to get to her tour in Slutts,¡± James said, referring of course to the neighbouring seaside town of Slutterby Bay. He was looking more animated by the second, healthier than he had since this whole thing had started. Silently she figured it might be best to keep James and Denslow together if possible. Even if being outed had clearly made her uncomfortable. ¡°Yeah,¡± Denslow said with an awkward shrug. ¡°Why don¡¯t you want people to know you¡¯re a singer?¡± Yana asked, hands on hips and lips pursed. She had no time for ¡­ well, for most things, and she wasn¡¯t afraid to show it. ¡°Like, it¡¯s just your job.¡± ¡°It¡¯s just not relevant,¡± Denslow snapped, wheeling around again to try to get down the stairs, but Liza¡¯s hands were still on the bannister and a smile was still on her face. ¡°I was going to go to that concert.¡± James nodded at Liza. ¡°You remember? I was trying to convince you to come with me.¡± ¡°Oh, yeah,¡± Liza said. ¡°I said I was going to be sick that day.¡± James shook his head. ¡°Worst friend ever.¡± He took a couple of steps towards the two girls and Denslow let out a laboured sigh. ¡°You know what would be really good for morale?¡± ¡°What, if I looted a guitar or something and sang to all of you?¡± she said. ¡°It¡¯s not gonna happen, man. Look around you. Jobs, vocations, social status -- none of that matters until we¡¯re safe. Until we get to London. Right?¡± She raised her eyebrows at Liza. ¡°About that¡­¡± Liza began. ¡°How is sitting around in a circle and listening to someone sing a song going to help any of us?¡± Yana snapped, and then waved her hands through the air as if angrily erasing a whiteboard message. ¡°Just get supplies. We need to get going. I can¡¯t stand to spend another second in this city.¡± Tucker rested his hand on her arm and she snatched it away and stalked to the other end of the store. ¡°Let¡¯s talk upgrades,¡± Celia said, cutting through the weirdly stilted, quiet atmosphere in the room. ¡°Liza ¡­ did you get points for the fire deaths? I figured if anyone did it would be you, since you lit the fire itself.¡± Liza glanced around. ¡°No ¡­ no one else got points?¡± she asked. ¡°Yeah, I got points.¡± ¡°How many?¡± Feeling a little guilty about hoarding them when she hadn¡¯t really meant to, Liza brought up the little box at the top of her vision. ¡°It says a total of ¡­ 569,000 UP.¡± Almost everyone in the room sucked in air in unison, and Tucker whistled low. Denslow stepped forward. ¡°What is she talking about?¡± she asked. ¡°Is what good?¡± ¡°I also would like to know what you¡¯re talking about,¡± James said, consciously or unconsciously sidestepping so that he was on the same side of the room as Denslow, facing all of the others alongside her. She flicked her gaze in his direction with veiled irritation. ¡°I mean ¡­ I know what you¡¯re talking about, but I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re talking about.¡± He gestured at Eli and Angie who were keeping to themselves by the makeshift barricade. ¡°Neither do they.¡± ¡°Fine. But you¡¯ve got to be happy with the abridged version:¡± Celia began. ¡°We have headsets. The apocalypse was an augmented reality event, triggered by Revelations Software and the Alpha Virus. He handed out these limited headsets to make sure that humanity wasn¡¯t entirely wiped out, but he wants our population to lower by a lot. No more civilised society. Not for many years, anyway. The headsets give us limited upgrade powers, fed by points we earn by killing the undead.¡± ¡°Do you understand how fucking insane you¡¯re sounding right now?¡± Denslow snapped. ¡°It¡¯s the truth,¡± Yana replied coldly. ¡°No need to waste time by calling us crazy.¡± Out of the corner of her eye, Liza could see James mouthing bitch-off to her and she resisted the urge to snicker. ¡°Liza, you have enough points to upgrade your character viewer to a character editor,¡± Celia said, staring glassy-eyed into the distance with her fingertips on her chin -- probably staring at her display. ¡°What does that mean?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve been spending a lot of time getting familiar with the headset to make sure there isn¡¯t anything we¡¯ve been missing. Have you seen the display picture of your avatar? I mean, um, of you?¡± Celia said, glancing around. ¡°Oh, yeah, I did see a picture of myself come up at one point,¡± Liza recalled. ¡°Does it do anything?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± Celia said. ¡°Concentrate on the text ¡®Character Screen¡¯ and upgrade it to ¡®Character Editor¡¯. You¡¯ll still have plenty of points left over, even if you don¡¯t like what you see.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll take a look. Everyone else, lay out supplies. Sort through them. Yana and Tucker -- do you have enough points to upgrade your clothing thickness?¡± Liza asked. They shrugged and nodded respectively. ¡°Will you teach James how to use his headset, and show the others how it works?¡± The last line came out a little stilted. Liza couldn¡¯t help but wonder if there was any chance that either Denslow, Eli or Angie would harm any of them in return for their headsets so that they could have their own -- or a backup pair. The advantage couldn¡¯t be denied, after all. ¡°Safety is in numbers!¡± she added loudly, as if foreseeing a rebellion and crushing it. Once people were done awkwardly hovering and back to sorting through piles of thick clothing, scopes, BB pellets and knife holsters, Liza took a seat on the clothing pile where James had sat, rested her wrists on her knees, and opened up the Character Screen again. She concentrated on the text, letting her gaze drift briefly over the hardened expression in her picture before a new window came up.
This is your Character Screen. Would you like to upgrade to a Character Editor? 100,000 UP
Chapter Twenty-One

Chapter Twenty-One

The world''s gone mad, he thought. The dead walk about and I think nothing of it. The return of corpses has become trivial in import. How quickly one accepts the incredible if only one sees it enough! -I Am Legend Her eyes rested on it for a moment. She had almost 600,000 points ¡­ and what else was she going to use it on? Upgrading clothing and ammo would take 10,000 UP give or take. Fortifying the coach was going to take significantly more, but she would be very surprised if it exceeded 50k. So she accepted. It could have been completely in her imagination, but Liza felt suddenly a little drained, as if her energy was connected to the points she had racked up, but that was probably not the case. It was toughto spend that many points, but she was instantly rewarded with a brand new screen when she returned to the previous page.
Name: Liza Volkov UP: 469,000
Weapon Features Power Range
Glock 19 Capacity: 15 25 50m
Bowie Knife None 10 1m
M1 Carbine Capacity: 10 20 300m
Attributes (100,000 UP) Strength: 10 Agility: 13 Constitution: 12 Stamina: 11
Skills (Varying) None
It was ¡®Skills¡¯ that caught her attention more. With ¡®none¡¯ there and no other information it implied it was almost certainly the same as the upgrading procedure as with everything else. She had to know for sure what she wanted and it would appear there. But what kinds of things could they be? Like ¡­ if she had a demonstration of some kind of a martial arts technique, she would be able to unlock and do it, presumably? ¡°Liza. Any use for these?¡± She turned around and saw James had slid open a drawer from behind the counter using a small key he had unearthed somewhere. She stepped behind the counter to take a closer look at what he was motioning to, and raised her eyebrows. A range of knives set into black foam with little price labels underneath them -- a couple of layers of them, too. The prices ranged from ¡ê25 to ¡ê1200. Her eyes were drawn first -- of course -- to the most expensive knife. A huge thing with shining steel blade, serrated and hideous, but strangely beautiful. Liza couldn¡¯t see any practical use to the thing at all other than to carve through a foe, and she wondered if they were legally allowed to sell things that were obviously just ¡­ weapons. Her eyes then trailed over to a set of four beautiful knives. Smaller, compact and with swirling patterns in their steel. Damascus steel, or a compelling imitation. She recognised that they were throwing knives from their shape, and popped one of them out of its protective casing and turned it around in her hands. Much more her speed. Small, powerful,light. ¡°I want this fucker,¡± James laughed, hefting the serrated blade from its place and zipping it through the air with a manic grin. ¡°I bet this could cut through bone without even trying.¡± Denslow approached, dark eyes shining. ¡°Guys, they have knives like that? Do you think they have swords?¡± ¡°Swords..?¡± Liza repeated,not looking up. ¡°Hell, let¡¯s go searching,¡± James said happily, and Denslow shrugged and followed behind him, dodging his merrily swinging arms. ¡°Sheathe that thing before you jab me,¡± she snapped. ¡°Right, yeah.¡± ¡°Throwing knives.¡± Liza held onto the metal shaft -- there was no grip or pommel or anything to distinguish the blade from the rest of the knife, just the gradual blunting of the edges. The thing was weighted perfectly. The dark swirling pattern across the matte blade was totally mesmerising. There was no doubt in her mind as to why the set of just four cost such an exorbitant amount. She chewed on her lip and tried to recall a memory she had long since tried to forget. One of many. If this worked, the system was going to have her trawl through her childhood to pick out old skills she had been taught. * The knife sailed through the air with an audible whistle and punched into the wood of the old oak tree. Dusk, her father¡¯s old mare, whinnied and gave them the side eye. She did not care for them using her field as weapons practise. ¡°It should be a knife made specifically for throwing purposes,¡± her father was explaining. He handed an identical small blade to each of the five Volkov children. ¡°Feel the way it¡¯s weighted.¡± He paced in front of them, holding it balanced on his four fingertips and bouncing it up and down. They copied him. Tobias dropped his and hisseda word they weren¡¯t allowed to say. His twin Emil -- though they pretty much looked nothing alike -- covered his mouth with his hands. Peter flicked his own blade upwards, caught it in his palm, and with his other hand he clouted his son over the ear. Tobias bent to pick it up with wobbling lower lip. ¡°Do you understand what I¡¯m saying?¡± The boys mumbled an answer, and Liza stared into the distance. The horses were running around the perimeter, like they had been spooked. Droplets of rain landed on her nose and she flicked them away, craning her neck to look up at her oldest brother who smirked, tossed the blade from his left hand into his right, and pinched it delicately between two fingers before turning his hips and letting it loose. It smacked through the tree trunk half a foot below his father¡¯s blade. ¡°Alyosha,¡± Peter laughed, and clapped his oldest son on the back. Alex rakedback his blond hair, and looked proud, standing with feet apart and hands out. Not that he knew any other way to look. Whether he knew it or not, he was always at least partially in a fighting stance. Always ready. Exactly like his father. Alexei Volkov was his father''s pride and joy. Marco, the second oldest, did alright at every assignment, task and lesson too. The twins tried sometimes, and were rewarded for their natural skill when they did. Liza hated all of it. Compared to her older, stronger brothers she felt clumsy and stupid at twelve years old. She tried her hardest but it never felt like enough. Her father tried hard with her, forgiving her most of the time because she was young and she aimed to please, but she could tell: he didn''t think she would ever be as competent as himself. ¡°Eliza. Hold it like your brother. Stand like this. Remember to breathe, and throw.¡± Liza was still watching the horses kick up dust by the faraway fencing. ¡°Ignore the animals, child.¡± He muttered a phrase in Russian and instinctively she squeezed her eyes shut and waited. ¡°Throw.¡± She flicked it like she had been shown; like she had seen her brother do, but it sailed from her fingertips prematurely, and bounced across the wet grass. Liza held her breath, closed her eyes again, and waited for the blow to come. * Liza was back in the shop, eyes shut as her mind fought not to remember what came next. What always came next. She just hadn¡¯t been good at stuff. Mostly because she had been young, but also because relative to her beefy, naturally tough brothers, she just hadn¡¯t been very strong. Her father didn¡¯t understand the idea of not having natural strength to fall back on, and she had had to find other ways to avoid conflict with her siblings. Like running away. But avoiding conflict with her father himself had been impossible. It was, instead, a feat of endurance. With a sigh, she opened the system up and navigated her way to the new tables.
You have unlocked the ability to learn Skills. A Skill is what truly separates a Player from a Non-Player in combat. When the basics and theory of a skill are mastered, the AV system will take care of the muscle memory equivalent to a certain number of hours of practise. Would you like to learn more about Knife Throwing? Yes/No
Uhh? She clicked Yes.This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.
Knife Throwing is a Skill that requires equipped Throwing Knives in order to use. Keep your body relaxed, and one foot behind the other. When your aim is true, let it fly. A Player who masters the Knife Throwing skill will be tough to defeat -- as long as they always have a spare on their belt. To Unlock and learn Skill lvl 1: 150,000 UP
Wow. That was a lot. Liza swallowed, noticing that there was a video underneath. A still of her own body, wearing the clothes that she was wearing, with a small Play button in the centre. She wilfully focused on it, and it began. It was a simple 4-second or so video, of her own body executing a perfect -- as well as she understood it, anyway -- knife throw. It was the way a video game would probably have displayed a learned skill, too, by showing the main character execute it, but it was really weirding her out to watch herself, so she dismissed it. Should she go for it? The system text had been fairly convincing. And if she could could make knife throwing her favoured way to take down a straggler or two, she would save ammo by the crateload. Literally. Ugh -- so many points, though! She bit the proverbial bullet and brought it up again, gritted her teeth, and bought the skill.
Muscle memory recalibration. Please remain calm. ...
Her eyebrows twitched at this brand new message that had come up, and then the most bizarre feeling came across her body. At first it was a muscular tingling, throughout her arms and legs -- even in her eyeballs -- and while she thought that was bad enough, suddenly a grinding pain ripped throughout her as something inside of her shifted ever so slightly. Just for the shortest of split seconds, and then she was back to normal. She rubbed her forehead and blew out some air. She hadn¡¯t thought that she needed that much internal alteration in order to simply flinga little blade. ¡°What do we have in the way of utility belts?¡± she called over to the others, who were muttering and stockpiling, and fumbling to upgrade their clothing¡¯s thickness. Yana glanced over her shoulder. ¡°Come and look,¡± she said simply. Liza smiled wide to resist the urge to roll her eyes. The things Yana said were often innocuous enough, but would it be so hard for her to just answer a question sometimes? She drifted over, past the knives, and pulled up a couple of belts. Immediately she was drawn to the one that looked the most heavy duty, but when she picked it up and tested it around her waist it felt bulky, and wouldn¡¯t tighten up to her size, which meant it¡¯d jump around when she moved and possibly rub her skin raw. As well as that, she had no idea what most of the slots were for. The second one she picked up was much more her speed. It tightened firmly around her waist and it had thin slots that would do perfectly for throwing knives. She tested them and they fit snugly, but not too tight that they might be caught at a critical moment. She plunged her finger into another slot and frowned, looking around. ¡°Swiss army knives,¡± she said aloud. Wordlessly Tucker handed her a grizzly-looking one, stuffed with razor-toothed instruments forvarious tasks. Liza had a Swiss army knife already, a fairly cheap and battered hand-me-down, but it was somewhere completely hidden under her stuff, back at home. She checked over the one Tucker had handed over to see if it was missing anything, or was too bulky to fit into her belt. ¡°Most expensive one,¡± he assured her. ¡°Nothing but the best for my girls.¡± His grin practically sparkled. She ignored him, and turned to walk back to her throwing knives. With her new knives strapped into her belt, she felt more secure by far, and she pulled her sloganed shirt to obscure most of it, and felt good about it. She had to test out her newfound skill, to see how effective it actually was. No matter how many times she had tried before, after all, she had never been able to effectively throw a knife so that it consistently landed blade-first into her target. It seemed to her that there were just too many variables¡­ Now that the skill was running through her body and mind, though, those things shouldn¡¯t affect her as much. ¡°James, hold up that jacket next to you,¡± she said. ¡°In front of the wall.¡± James looked up from his own shirt with a look of pure bemusement that didn¡¯t fade. ¡°My clothes are thicker,¡± he told her. ¡°They don¡¯t look thicker. What¡¯s the point in them being thicker again?¡± ¡°Could protect you from a bite one day,¡± Liza said. ¡°Unless, of course, it gets you in the hands or the face.¡± She winked, but James wrinkled his nose at the thought. ¡°Hold up the jacket. Far away from you.¡± ¡°Uhh, why? You want to know if it¡¯d suit you?¡± ¡°Sure,¡± she said. ¡°I only wear clothes if they¡¯ve been held up first by a trusted friend.¡± James gave her a look but he grabbed the nearest jacket from the floor and dutifully held it out next to him, in front of a blank wall. Liza pulled in a breath and tried hard to concentrate. In a computer game there would be a button to press for this, but she had to assume that the skill would just activate if she tried to do it. ¡°What are you even tr--¡± James began, but Liza had already whipped the partially obscured knife from her belt and zipped it in his direction. The beautiful Damascus steel blade caught the thick fabric and pinned the camo jacket to the plaster by the sternum of an imagined wearer, and James let go in shock. ¡°Fuck!¡± he said. ¡°Warn me!¡± ¡°Sorry,¡± she laughed. ¡°I wanted to test it. It would have been pretty embarrassing if it hadn¡¯t worked.¡± She clapped her hands together and walked up to yank the blade from the hanging jacket and returned it to her belt. While she was there she upgraded her own clothing from the bottom up with the jackets that were left, and then, satisfied that she was armed, defended and ready, she settled into looking at her attributes. She trusted that she could discuss the skills with Celia a little later to bounce ideas off of her. She was pleased with the one she had chosen so far. It was 100,000 to upgrade any of her attributes. She swallowed. She would do one for now, and leave plenty to sort out their transportation -- as well as some emergency UP to fall back on if something terrible happened -- and then later on she would spend a little more. There was no way of knowing when her next big payout would be, after all. Strength seemed the most obvious choice. It seemed the most logical choice for her ¡®build¡¯ -- if you could use that term to describe an actual human being. The alternatives were all appealing, too. Stamina and Constitution seemed a little similar, but she was sure that they would contribute to things like pain resistance and how much she could do before resting, and both were useful. But Strength was something she was seriously lacking relative to the rest of her skills and attributes, and that was annoying to say the least. It had been annoying her whole life. She hadn¡¯t been able to fight when Blazer or that looter had stolen her weapon. If someone wanted something she had, and they were bigger than her, they could probably just take it. In theory she knew basic self defence, but she had never used it, and even her father hadn¡¯t thought it was that important to teach his daughter much more than how to throw a punch. After nuclear devastation, after all, there wouldn¡¯t have been very many people to throw to the ground. After some hesitation, she shoved a point into her Strength, and accepted the prompt that she was ready for muscle recalibration. ¡°Are you OK?¡± Denslow asked, wandering back up the stairs. Liza looked up, realising that she was visibly out of breath and bent double. It turned out that increasing your physical strength significantly all in one second was way harder on the body than teaching your muscles how to best throw something. She tried to say ¡®Yes¡¯, but it just came out as a single cough, a pause, and then a coughing fit. ¡°Jesus,¡± Denslow said, her dark eyes narrowed. ¡°I¡¯m fine,¡± Liza got out. ¡°Growing pains.¡± The other girl gave her another strange look, and then walked back to James, shaking her head. ¡°No swords. Not a single one in this stupid place. Probably not a single one in this miserable town.¡± James lifted one corner of his mouth. ¡°It¡¯s actually a city.¡± ¡°What?¡± she demanded, looking over her shoulder. ¡°Fairacres. It has a cathedral, which makes it a city. Technically.¡± He stopped talking and awkwardly cleared his throat, which made Liza snort with barely concealed laughter. She had never seen her friend so obviously interested in anyone before -- ever -- but it was pretty clear that James was at the very least awestruck by the dark-haired singer. The thought that they were in the same room together now, here, at the end of the world when there was really no time or place for love interests, was almost hilarious. ¡°Maybe we can try to get some sleep before we head out again,¡± she suggested. ¡°It¡¯s been a long few hours. We can take turns keeping watch if that makes you guys feel more comfortable.¡± Outside the soft hum of faraway activity made her nervous. Perhaps the sound had always been there, but the thought of sleep seemed to have made it more obvious now. When she strained her ears to try to cut to the source of the noise -- what the hell was it? -- it began to sound a lot less like something a horde of zombies might create, and a lot more like ¡­ traffic? Some kind of mechanism? She was pretty sure it wasn''t just that she was becoming more aware of it.No -- the noise was getting louder, and rapidly. ¡°What is that?¡± Celia whispered, looking up at the ceiling. Liza instinctively followed her gaze to stare at exposed rafters. ¡°What is that?¡± Tucker agreed, striding over with a curious Eli to squint through the thoroughly barricaded small window by the door. ¡°What do you see?¡± Liza said, feeling a sudden dull ache in her abdomen. Dread? It seemed that whenever they had a single second to sit and try to make sense of the system so that they could actually utilise their benefits, something came along to destroy any sense of safety they might have had. She had to assume that it would be that way for a long time. But there was no telling, yet, what this was. It had evolved from a noise into a cacophony, and it appeared to pass right over their heads. ¡°That¡¯s a helicopter,¡± Denslow said low. She looked over at the others. ¡°That¡¯s a helicopter.¡± ¡°Rescue?¡± Celia breathed, moving to stand by the window too. Liza could see from where she stood that no helicopter was in view, but a dark shadow passed briefly over the buildings across the street, and the noise made her grit her teeth. James moved to stand next to her and folded his arms. ¡°Malcolm?¡± he said low, so that only she could hear. The helicopter didn¡¯t seem to get any further away: a rippling shadow of the blades spinning covered the pavement outside the store. The chopper seemed to be hovering over the ground on the high street nearby. ¡°I don¡¯t think so,¡± Liza said. She chewed her lower lip, and then nodded to herself. ¡°You guys get moving. Stay together, stay vigilant, and get up the hill to the university campus. Find a good coach, get inside by any means necessary, and stay inside. Keep gunshots for emergencies only -- and move fast after you discharge a firearm. Got it?¡± The others looked at her, some nodded, and some frowned. ¡°You¡¯re not coming with us?¡± Tucker asked, his brow creasing. ¡°I will meet you there,¡± she said. ¡°I think I know who is in this helicopter. I have some things I need to talk to them about. I¡¯ll be twenty minutes behind you, if that. Do you think you can keep each other safe?¡± She looked from face to face. ¡°I¡¯m really asking. You should stay here if the answer is no, but I don¡¯t want you guys to be boxed in. I can cut through the footpath from the high street. You guys should go around the back and take the cobblestone streets. They¡¯ll be empty of debris so that you can see all around you. Safer that way.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll go. The sooner we get to the coach, the better,¡± Tucker said. ¡°You shouldn¡¯t go by yourself,¡± Denslow said. ¡°That sound ¡­ it¡¯s so loud it¡¯ll be attracting every zombie in a two-mile radius.¡± Liza licked her lips and pressed them together. ¡°You¡¯re not wrong, but I would rather just go by myself. I know I can protect myself; I know how I move, and how I fight. I know you can protect each other in a group.¡± She didn¡¯t like the idea of leaving them, but something in the back of her mind did wonder how much she could trust the men on the radio. They hadn¡¯t sounded very military, after all. Why they would lie, she didn¡¯t know, but the things she had seen already -- the crazy, hysterical way so many people had been acting out of pure panic -- had taught her quickly to hold off before trusting anyone, or anything. But she wasn¡¯t yet too jaded to want to at least check it out. ¡°Are you sure you¡¯re all OK with this?¡± she asked again. ¡°I will be twenty minutes behind ¡­ oh!¡± She snapped her fingers and disappeared and reappeared from downstairs. ¡°Take these radios.¡± She handed them out. Not quite enough for everyone to have one, and one of them didn¡¯t seem to work, so Eli and Angie had to share and Tucker and Yana decided to share another. ¡°How do you use them?¡± Eli asked. ¡°They¡¯re ready to go,¡± Liza told him. ¡°Just holdthat button there and say something. I know it''s kind of a joke, but it does actually help to say ¡®over¡¯ at the end of your message so that people don¡¯t talk over each other. And, uh, speak clearly? I guess that¡¯s all the radio advice I can think of. Keep them on you. It¡¯s important.¡± Everyone nodded. For the first time Liza felt like she had a group of people in front of her who truly wanted to listen to her; who respected her, and would follow her lead. Although Lilian had never done anything wrong, she was glad she was gone. Now it was just her, and people she trusted. All that stood between them and safety, now, was the knowledge that London might not be the right place to go. She would scope out these shady radio guys, and try to figure out if they knew where she should go. Then when Liza got to the coach, she would direct them to the best possible place to hole up. No point in telling them to lose hope now. Not yet. Let them get up the hill fuelled by the idea that they were going to be free soon; safe. Liza slotted her radio into her utility belt and took a deep breath. ¡°Everyone upgraded clothes as best they can?¡± They all assured her they had. ¡°We upgraded some of the gun capacities too,¡± Celia said, gesturing at Liza¡¯s Glock. ¡°Did you?¡± "Yep." ¡°Good luck,¡± Denslow said as Liza began to take down the barricade to slip through the front door, and back into the streets. ¡°Don¡¯t die.¡± The statement was worded simply enough, as if it were a joke. But it wasn¡¯t. Even so, Liza shot her a dark smile from the other side of the door. ¡°Move fast,¡± she reminded. ¡°Shoot to kill. Survive.¡± And she turned to pick her way over the debris towards the ominous rumbling of the nearby helicopter, a curious dread lining her stomach. Chapter Twenty-Two

Chapter Twenty-Two

No, you soppy tart, those things are fucking zombies! -Cockneys VS Zombies The ideal situation in her mind was that she would come across Malcolm. Repenting for his sins, he had come back to assure the people of Fairacres that he would end the zompocalypse immediately. They could all get back to their regularly scheduled lives. Was that what she wanted? It was, right? As she continued to step over bits of car and shattered glass, and the occasional horrible red stain, Liza realised something that she found quite disconcerting. Actually ¡­ the thought of the apocalypse ending right now was disappointing. She had always been the weirdo. Kind of an outcast. She had poor social skills, it had to be said; always making jokes where they weren¡¯t really appropriate, and preferring to spend time by herself instead of partying, most of the time. But now she was not only useful, she was a necessity. She was saving people. Who would be dead without her? Some people. For sure. She didn¡¯t want this to end. If it wasn¡¯t Malcolm -- which it really wasn¡¯t likely to be, anyway, thinking about it -- it was most likely to be the men on the other end of the radio. Would they be waiting for her? What the hell did they want face to face that radio contact couldn¡¯t give them? And how did they know she wasn¡¯t just going to hide? As she sidled past the parked cars she wondered if it would be better just to pass them by; ignore them. It wasn¡¯t too late, after all. She just had to turn one bend in the road before she would see the chopper, and they would see her -- she could still double back and jog to get back to the others. But no. She had to figure out where would be the safest place to bring her group of friends. They had decided to depend on her. They trusted her. And she couldn¡¯t bring them somewhere that was more dangerous than Fairacres. There had to be a stronghold somewhere. There had to be a place somewhere in the world untouched by video games that would be safe to live until this thing played itself out. Like the Sahara desert or the middle of the ocean. Or a remote tribe of monks in the mountains. It had to mostly be the developed world that had been affected. Because those were the people -- and the values -- that Malcolm took an issue with; the things that he figured would bring about an actual apocalypse. The kind of apocalypse where there was literally no survivor left at all. She looked up from the ground when she rounded the bend to the high street proper -- the part of Fairacres with a McDonalds and a Burger King across the street from each other, with a round pedestrian-friendly brick spiral between them. And smack in the middle was a landed helicopter. And in front of its open door stood three men, dressed in fatigues, wrestling with a group of monsters fifteen strong. One of them, a stocky blond buzzcut, was mowing them down with a strangled warcry and a thundering assault rifle until the rainfall of discarded shells fell quiet and stifled clicking ensued instead. The tallest and most well-muscled with cropped dark hair was slicing threateningly through the air with a knife and by his body language it looked as though he was quietly chastising his friend for using such a loud weapon. Rightly so, but the helicopter blades had made that plan pointless from the start. And the third, the shortest by several inches and a large pink scar across his jaw, ran to shove his own blade into the throat of the closest zombie to him. The throat? Had he never, ever seen a movie before? Had he been living under a rock? She wanted to scream to him -- ¡®the head! Destroy the brain!¡¯ but she didn¡¯t. He managed it on his second try, anyway. Liza hung back, interested in watching more than leaping into the fray, until it seemed like stocky blond buzzcut was in trouble. A zombie stumbled on its comrade and fell, teeth-first right into a wrestling match with him, and his two friends were too occupied to help him out. Now was as good a time as any to test out the combat readiness of her brand new skill. She nodded to herself and jogged forward five or six paces, paused, and drew a throwing blade from her belt and let it flip elegantly from her fingertips. Just the way her father had showed her all those years ago; the way she had never been able to grasp by herself. It sang through the air and with a ¡®thock¡¯ it stuck in the wet temple of the blondie¡¯s attacker, and the military man fell backwards, panting, and too relieved to notice the dark blood spilling all over his clothing.
Melee Headshot! 100 UP Skill Bonus x1.1 110 UP
An amount that barely even registered to her now. She dismissed it without a second glance. The tallest was the first to turn and notice her. ¡°Hey!¡± he called, before turning over his shoulder and taking out the final corpse with a grunt, and his blade through the eye socket. He turned back to her and took a few long strides in her direction, over the bodies, as she continued to approach them, a second blade in hand just in case. They looked less armed than she was, though. Presumably they had more weapons in the helicopter but they were erring on the side of silence. In theory, anyway. She glanced with uncertainty at the bloodsoaked buzzcut, getting to his feet and visibly shaking. ¡°Hey,¡± she replied, clenching at the blade. The dark-haired man glanced at it, and then back up at her face, and stopped approaching. ¡°Jake Jameson. We spoke on the radio, I presume.¡± ¡°Liza,¡± she confirmed, and stopped six or seven feet away from the three of them. ¡°Who are you all?¡± Jameson nodded to his left and then to his right. ¡°Cole, and Thornton,¡± he introduced. She gave a small nod in return. ¡°The guys, uh, they all call me Truffles,¡± Thornton said, and he seemed to have regained his composure from his near-death experience but his fingers were still twitching uncontrollably. ¡°Of course they do,¡± Liza muttered. What was it with this damn country and people¡¯s intolerance of their own goddamn names? ¡°What happened in this city?¡± Cole, the shortest with the scar, asked her. He pointed to the plume of still-billowing smoke behind the buildings and she followed his finger to stare at it before snapping her attention back to them. ¡°The same thing that happened in every city,¡± she replied. ¡°Them.¡± The three of them glanced at the destruction, the bodies around them, the mini-horde they had just faced. ¡°They did that?¡± Cole asked, again meaning the fire. ¡°No, I did that,¡± Liza said, taking steps towards them again. ¡°Do you mind?¡± They parted for her and she retrieved her blade and wiped it clean before replacing it in her belt. She turned around, switching perspectives so that now she could easily see the plume of smoke, and they stared at their own helicopter and pile of zombies. ¡°Why?¡± Jameson pressed. ¡°To kill them. We pulled hundreds in with the bells. Then we locked them in and burned it.¡± She gave a half shrug. ¡°If I hadn¡¯t done that, you would have been met with a far more significant welcome party, so you¡¯re pretty lucky.¡± ¡°You¡¯re pretty lucky we weren¡¯t,¡± Thornton grunted, tugging at his wet, stained shirt. ¡°We would have just taken off again.¡± Liza said nothing, but her brow twitched in confusion at that. Jameson glanced at Thornton, and then nodded to her. ¡°Are you hurt? Injured? Do you have a group somewhere?¡± He swallowed when she didn¡¯t rush to answer him, eyeing her up and down. ¡°We¡¯re trying to ascertain the status of this city.¡± ¡°Sounds like an important job,¡± she said. ¡°Fairacres must be a top priority for the Royal Air Force.¡± Jameson¡¯s jaw clenched. ¡°Actually we have several military bases on the outskirts, and they went dark almost immediately. It wasn¡¯t a top priority, as you say, but it was certainly something of a priority. And then we saw all that smoke, and¡­¡± He looked at his friends, who were staring her out in a way that made her feel uncomfortable. ¡°Well, we had to check it out, right?¡± ¡°Right,¡± Cole confirmed. ¡°The helicopter will have drawn every single zombie that still lives in this city,¡± Liza reminded them, ¡°so whatever you have to do, I recommend you do it away from this street. And quietly this time.¡± ¡°Our business is with you, I think,¡± Jameson told her, and although his words were fairly formal, his lips were upturned in a smile that met his eyes -- a look of genuineness and something closer to ¡®calm¡¯ than she had seen in days.The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement. ¡°With me?¡± she repeated, feeling the dread pangs return to her abdomen, but remaining steady. She folded her arms partly to make sure she kept still, and partly to look as determined as she could manage. ¡°You said you knew how all of this started. I have a bet going with these two that you¡¯re not crazy. Do me a favour -- win me a tenner.¡± She couldn¡¯t help but let out a laugh. ¡°What a weak bet,¡± she said. ¡°I know I sound crazy, but ¡­ I¡¯m not. Malcolm McCray started this apocalypse.¡± ¡°Who?¡± Cole demanded, and Liza noted that he still had a blade in his hand that glinted whenever he gesticulated. ¡°He¡¯s the head of that gaming company that did Harp,¡± Truffles -- or whatever -- snorted, looking at her. ¡°You¡¯re getting confused with his upcoming zombie game, mate,¡± he told her. Then nudged Jameson on the arm. ¡°Told you she¡¯d be a mental. Let¡¯s get to the base and see if we can scrounge up s--¡± Jameson hushed his colleague with a silent raising of his palm, no eye contact. ¡°We got news that everyone who used a headset was turned, initially. I had no idea what that meant. Some higher ups figured there was something that altered brainwaves. Some other people were talking about injections. A virus.¡± He took a step closer to her. ¡°Did you see any of that happen?¡± Liza was about to explain the truth, as far as she knew it, but she saw the scrunched, incredulous faces of the men flanking Jameson and instead she let out a sigh and put it as accessibly as she could. ¡°Yes, I was at a demonstration for the new game. They handed out headsets to a couple of thousand students to test it out. When they turned them on, every student was ¡­ injected, maybe. Or altered somehow. Exactly like you said.¡± It was not quite the truth, but honestly it was close enough and since he had already said it, maybe she didn¡¯t sound insane. ¡°Do you have video evidence?¡± Cole asked. ¡°No,¡± she said tightly. ¡°Even if I did, I left all of my possessions behind when I was running for my life. Did I mention I was right beside several thousand zombies in one place?¡± ¡°It¡¯s remarkable that you survived,¡± Jameson commented. ¡°You seem capable. More capable, maybe, than a lot of the people the military has conscripted to fight them. I think you should come with us.¡± He glanced over at Thornton, who remained silent but still radiated uncertainty in a way that even she could pick up, despite not knowing him. ¡°We were ideally supposed to mobilise more troops, anyway.¡± ¡°Troops,¡± Thornton snapped back instantly. ¡°Not one girl.¡± ¡°So just because--¡± Jameson began. The blond waved his hands around quickly to silence his superior -- very unprofessional. ¡°No, I mean ¡­ she¡¯s just one person.¡± ¡°There¡¯s no one else.¡± The three of them turned back to her as if they had half forgotten she was listening. ¡°Come back with us. Fight for London. Fight for your country. We need as many people like you as we can get. You could help out. What do you say?¡± Jameson asked her. ¡°I¡¯m more than happy to get a ride back to the city,¡± Liza said. ¡°Especially since I have never been in a helicopter and it is one hundred percent on my bucket list ¡­ but I¡¯m guessing you¡¯re going to say there¡¯s not enough space for all my friends, too.¡± ¡°Four seats,¡± Jameson told her, lifting his fingers. ¡°Cole is up front, so that¡¯s space for two more.¡± ¡°I couldn¡¯t choose,¡± she said with a shrug. ¡°I don¡¯t want to choose. I¡¯m going to accompany them wherever they want to go, on the road. And then I¡¯ll go to London on my own, for my own reasons. Sorry.¡± Jameson took a tentative step towards her, and then pinched the bridge of his nose. It looked as though he did that a lot, and it looked as though his nose had been badly broken at least once, too. Liza realised that from afar that shape had made him look older and more distinguished, but closer up he couldn¡¯t have been a year over twenty-six. ¡°Look, we really need a win,¡± he said, quiet. After a quick look around, he confirmed that they were still without undead company, and continued. ¡°We have nothing. We¡¯re losing.¡± ¡°What is the government doing?¡± she asked him, shaking her head. ¡°I can¡¯t believe he¡¯s just ¡­ Malcolm is just winning. How is that possible? They¡¯re just corpses. They¡¯re slow. They¡¯re unarmed.¡± ¡°We were winning. A few times, actually, we were winning,¡± Jameson said. ¡°Then something changed. Every time. They¡¯d seem to be intelligent, just for a second or two -- long enough to gain an advantage. They¡¯d swarm exactly the right area. You know? Happen to smash just the right door open, and they¡¯d be back on top. The government isn¡¯t doing anything anymore. They disappeared, just last night. Gone.¡± ¡°Gone?¡± she laughed. ¡°Gone where?¡± Jameson pointed to the sky. Liza looked up. Clouds. She looked back down. ¡°Maybe you¡¯re the crazy one. Why would they leave?¡± ¡°You¡¯re seriously surprised about that?¡± Cole asked her. He asked her a lot of questions. He let out a bitter chuckle. ¡°They¡¯re not military trained. And their lives are more important than ours. They went to the air, or the sea ¡­ or abroad. We don¡¯t know. They just left. They enacted martial law, and they pissed off to keep themselves alive.¡± ¡°That¡¯s fucked,¡± she said. ¡°If it¡¯s true.¡± ¡°It is,¡± Truffles said, his voice a little too loud. His face was extraordinarily pale and he looked pained. He must have been a civilian up until really recently, she figured, to be so terrified by one measly near-death experience. ¡°What¡¯s your plan from here?¡± Liza asked, looking around and spotting movement in several spots on her periphery. A huge chunk of zombies had been eaten up by the fire, but so many remained, scattered around the city. ¡°We¡¯d like to take you back to our superiors,¡± Jameson said, running a hand over his jaw, and then looking her right in the eye in a probing sort of way that had the potential to make her very uncomfortable, but wasn¡¯t yet. ¡°So I can tell them my story?¡± she asked. He stared at her. They all did. As if waiting for something else. Did they know? About the headset? What would people in this new world be willing to do to get their hands on one? She chewed on her lip and looked at all of them. The silence was odd, but she didn¡¯t feel as though she was in danger. Not just yet. ¡°Will they believe me?¡± ¡°We¡¯ll find out,¡± Jameson said. ¡°You¡¯re going to make your own way to London, in your own time, is that what you¡¯re saying?¡± ¡°That¡¯s exactly what I¡¯m saying,¡± Liza said, folding her arms. ¡°First I need to find out what my friends want to do. And I¡¯m going to help them do it.¡± The flight lieutenant looked pained. He folded his arms consciously or subconsciously to mirror her actions, and faced away to think. ¡°Well ¡­ I can¡¯t do anything to stop you. But I am offering you a free and quick ride. A safer ride than on the road.¡± It occurred to Liza that if they left with no further demands, they probably were who they said they were. And, if so, she was becoming pretty paranoid already, with plenty of apocalypse left to go... ¡°Can you do more things like that?¡± he asked. ¡°The knife throwing?¡± He nodded. She chewed her lip, and then went with the most diplomatic and sensible answer she could think of. ¡°I can more than take care of myself.¡± Jameson waved over the other two. ¡°Let¡¯s go,¡± he said, and then looked back to her, taking her in from head to toe. ¡°Want a lift to your friends, at least?¡± Liza opened her mouth to refuse, but then closed it again when she turned back to their transportation. ¡°I¡¯ve never been in a helicopter,¡± she said. Maybe there could be one thing she could get out of this. But that would be stupid. ¡°You know,¡± Jameson said, ¡°by order of the military, we could force you to come with us.¡± Liza¡¯s hands dropped to hover by the weapons at her belt, but she smiled politely and allowed him to finish. He smiled back. ¡°Obviously we¡¯re not going to. But I ¡­ hope to see you again. Please do consider joining the fight as soon as possible. And handing over any actual information you have about stopping this. If you have any new information, we have the wrong people working on a cure.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right,¡± Liza said. ¡°Well, you could help,¡± he said, and strode over to the chopper, shaking his head. ¡°But I¡¯m not going to make you. Come on.¡± The other two made their way past. Truffles, or whatever, looked pale and uncomfortable and was avoiding eye contact with her. He made her nervous with that behaviour, but Cole made her nervous for the exact opposite reason: he wouldn¡¯t look away from her. His gaze was penetrating and quiet. To her, though, Jameson seemed pretty trustworthy so far. He just seemed like somebody doing the best he could in a bizarre, trying situation. Maybe, dare she say it, he reminded her a little of herself? ¡°Jameson,¡± she said, as Cole and Truffles climbed up through the entrance and into the helicopter. He turned back to her, eyebrows raised with genuine surprise. ¡°If you take me to my friends first, we can talk to them and make a plan together. You know more about what¡¯s happening in the cities. They just want to be safe. And I have my own plans. I¡¯d be interested to see whose they coincide with.¡± He listened to her, and then pulled himself up and through the doorway too. ¡°You can keep calling me JJ, if you want,¡± he said, and then settled himself out of sight. Liza stared. He stuck his head back into view. ¡°Come on, then.¡± She had said JJ on the radio. Maybe he¡¯d liked it. It proved he was the same person, if that were ever called into question. Liza stood in front of the helicopter and looked left and then right. Zombies were coming. She could do a crazy scramble up the hill and risk her life and waste energy and ammunition. Or she could get into the helicopter with the men tasked with saving society. She could get to know JJ better. She could learn more about the fight against the undead. Liza wasn¡¯t sure of much in this new hellscape, but she knew one thing right at that moment: if she let these men fly away, she would lose the one link she had with people who knew more than her. And maybe she should go and join the fight. Find her family, far more capable than she was. Her father even claimed to have hidden apocalyptic bunkers, plural, ready for war to break out. She could find him. Find her far more capable brothers. She¡¯d certainly feel safer, even in the eye of the storm, with the Volkov clan surrounding her. Her oldest brother would be fine, she knew that for sure. He¡¯d probably already be building up a brand new civilisation with the strongest men he could recruit. He was a natural born leader. If she found him she might be fine. Her friends might be fine. But there was absolutely no way she wanted to see any of her family members again if she could help it. Not after the way they had all left things. It would be the very last resort, but it felt good to have a plan Z. Liza stepped to the helicopter, and stopped again. ¡°What happens, then, if I say goodbye right here?¡± JJ leaned forward again. ¡°It¡¯d be a shame,¡± he said. She looked at him for a lot longer. ¡°Keep still,¡± he said, and raised his gun, winked an eye, and took a shot. A hollow ¡®pop¡¯ echoed through her ears and she looked over her shoulder. He¡¯d levelled a monster maybe forty feet away. Liza shivered. If he wanted to, he could have done that to her. He lowered the gun and looked her in the eye. There was something in his smile. Some other level to his personality that she hadn¡¯t seen before, and that she couldn¡¯t identify now. It drew her to him, and she didn¡¯t know why. Maybe people saw something similar in her when they met her. She had tried to be the party girl. The girl who wore tight dresses and drank tequila shots and danced with men who all had that same haircut, like Blazer and his friends, and wore polo shirts. She had tried to flirt, to kiss, to laugh and talk about boys and shoes and play dumb. She had tried to run away from her father and her brothers and have a normal life. But Liza just felt better, deep down, in her jeans and jacket, with her guns and knives, staring down the barrel of a military-issued rifle and knowing it wasn¡¯t going to discharge in her face. In that moment she felt invulnerable, and she felt a kinship with the handsome lieutenant in that helicopter, because she knew that that was what she was seeing in his eyes, too. He was happier here, fighting, surviving, than he ever had been in the real world. When he gripped her wrist, and then pulled her aboard with his gun lowered, she stepped inside and felt the atmosphere change. There was relative safety here, even without being airborne. The metal was cool and blocked out the waning light. ¡°You ever been in one of these before?¡± he asked. She shook her head. He hadn¡¯t let go of her yet, but there was nothing threatening in his body language. Up front Cole grabbed at the controls, and Truffles sat and stared at the floor. ¡°Strap in,¡± he said, and turned to her with a look that confirmed her theory. They were the same. They both loved this, and they both knew they could never admit it. His eyes were a bright green and his lips upturned. ¡°You never forget your first helicopter ride.¡± Chapter Twenty-Three

Chapter Twenty-Three

Every apocalypse deserves an after-party. -The Rezort The helicopter rose into the air until Fairacres stopped being a mass of disordered debris and became something segmented and laid out again. It looked like something that had actually been planned, with streets and buildings lined up and sectioned out. It looked like something that someone had wanted, and painstakingly created. It was strange to think about this, all of this, as something that so many people had collaborated on -- now just about destroyed in a matter of hours. Thinking about the shapes in what she saw below her was going a little of the way towards alleviating any fear of heights she might have had. But not all the way. ¡°Try not to look.¡± Liza leaned back in her seat facing the cockpit and nodded at JJ¡¯s words. ¡°I¡¯m not really one for turning my back to anything.¡± She could see him smirk in her periphery. He was leaning forward with his elbows on his knees in a way that made him look strangely much taller than if he had been sitting up with his back straight. ¡°I¡¯m looking forward to seeing you on the battlefield,¡± he said. The battlefield. ¡°Isn¡¯t that a weird way to put it?¡± she asked. ¡°You guys are fighting zombies. It¡¯s not like it¡¯s anything¡­¡± ¡°Real?¡± he finished for her. The sound of the rotor blades all but drowned out his words. She shrugged, a little embarrassed by how she had dismissed what they were doing. Sure, this all seemed unlikely, and fake, but she had seen people die. So had they, she was certain. So to belittle what was going on was disrespectful. ¡°Sorry,¡± she said. JJ didn¡¯t answer, and she followed his line of sight over to Truffles, the pale-faced newly-conscripted military boy on the opposite side of the helicopter. ¡°You OK, buddy?¡± JJ asked. ¡°Just, uh, just freaked me out. We nearly died.¡± JJ stretched himself out, frowning and thoughtful, and Liza realised she was wrong: he was much more imposing when he drew himself up to his full height. ¡°We¡¯ve nearly died plenty of times,¡± he said. The tone of his voice made the hairs on Liza¡¯s arms stand on end. This collected, presumably trained, self-assured man was nervous, at the very least. Scared, at most. ¡°Thornton,¡± he said, using the other man¡¯s real name, but keeping his voice very calm and even. ¡°Are you feeling well?¡± Liza pressed her back squarely on the seat behind her, and looked around. What for, she had no idea. The best weapons were strapped to her. She had to remind herself that she was prepared for anything. Even a hostile takeover of this aircraft was potentially in the cards. But she wasn¡¯t about to make an enemy of the Royal Air Force just because someone¡¯s tone of voice sounded weird. So she breathed, and remembered not to stare out of the gaping hole to her left at the city below. Even Cole, the pilot, must have sensed something was wrong because he glanced over his shoulder. ¡°Liza, let me know. Is this the university campus?¡± he asked, and she relaxed. He wasn¡¯t picking up on any tension at all, he was just being normal. Speaking of tension, though: JJ¡¯s gaze hadn¡¯t left Thornton -- Truffles, whatever the hell he wanted to be called -- for several seconds. A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. She thought giddily about a fact she had heard once: if someone stares you out for longer than six seconds without looking away, they either want to kill you or fuck you. ¡°Guys?¡± she asked. ¡°Liza?¡± Cole called out again. ¡°Kinda need to know sooner rather than later. It looks like a campus to me. Is that it? We don¡¯t want to land far away and have to¡­¡± He blinked. ¡°What¡¯s wrong, Jake?¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± Liza asked. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± JJ breathed out slowly, and then pulled his gun onto his lap, his gaze not leaving Thornton for a second. ¡°Our friend Truffs here is going to tell us if he¡¯s been bitten or not. And he¡¯s going to tell us now.¡± His face was excruciatingly pale as he turned to look at JJ. His eyes were purple and bruised. He blinked, looked at the gun, swallowed visibly; painfully. ¡°I wasn¡¯t bitten,¡± he said, his voice hoarse. ¡°Oh, God,¡± Liza said quietly. ¡°Are you lying?¡± ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± Cole yelled over the blades. ¡°Fucking hell,¡± JJ snapped, going to stand up and clearly stopping himself as he remembered he¡¯d just hit his head on the ceiling. Instead, he just jerked in place. The sudden movement made Thornton snatch up his own firearm and shakily point it at his superior. ¡°I wasn¡¯t bitten,¡± he said. ¡°I haven¡¯t been bitten.¡± His eyelids were heavy. ¡°Fuck this,¡± Liza said, grabbing for her knife. If a bullet hit the wrong part of the chopper, she didn¡¯t know anything about this stuff, but couldn¡¯t that cause a serious problem while they were still airborne? ¡°We¡¯re not going to be rash,¡± JJ said, raising his hands until Thornton lowered his gun with shaking hands. ¡°Pull back your sleeves and show us your arms.¡± Thornton pulled back his left sleeve with his best impression of unwavering eye contact. The skin was clear. Liza would have killed for a glass of water right then. ¡°Guys?¡± Cole yelled backwards. ¡°I need to know if I¡¯m landing.¡± ¡°It¡¯s probably best to land,¡± Liza called back. Thornton pulled back his right sleeve to expose another clear arm. ¡°What?¡± Cole shouted. ¡°Legs,¡± JJ said, pointing. ¡°I can¡¯t ¡­ hang on.¡± Cole turned fully away from the controls to face them. ¡°I need to lipread or something. Am I landing here or not?¡± Thornton pulled up his left trouser leg to expose clear skin, his eyes remaining fully on JJ. ¡°Jesus, fuck, mate ¡­ Truffs. What happened to your fucking back?¡± Cole, oblivious to the conversation, leaned far through the threshold into the body of the chopper and yanked down the uniform shirt to expose something that only he could see -- which made his eyes widen and his mouth fall open. ¡°No!¡± JJ roared, as Thornton¡¯s skin became yellowed and drawn before their eyes, and he craned his neck impossibly. Before JJ could even lift his gun, or Liza her knife, Thornton had moved faster than a human ever could, and clamped his jaws across Cole¡¯s face, pulling away to rip off his nose, and showering the studded metal floor with fresh dark blood. Cole screamed, JJ yelled incoherently, and Liza was up with the knife, backing up only when she realised that JJ was pulling his trigger whether she was in the way or not. She slammed her back against the seats again, dangerously close to the gaping doorway, as three consecutive shots were fired. The first, in his panic, fired from the hip and missed by half a foot. The second punched between Cole¡¯s eyes while he shrieked, still human, and finally silenced his horrifying, nasal noises. ¡°Fucking arsehole!¡± JJ screamed, filling the void left by Cole¡¯s silence. ¡°I knew you were a piece of shit!¡± His gun clicked, empty, and he swore and launched himself forward, smacking Thornton¡¯s undead temple while he gargled and chewed. ¡°How do we ¡­ what do we ¡­ we have to land!¡± Liza yelled over the noise. It wasn¡¯t her imagination -- they had dipped considerably and from the sensation in her gut, they were continuing to fall through the air. Slowly, sure, but the ground didn¡¯t much care about that. The men were grappling now, both of them straining and gargling almost identically. ¡°Damn it,¡± Liza said, staring dumbly out of the doorway as the realisation hit her. ¡°I shouldn¡¯t have got on the helicopter.¡± Well, now it seemed obvious. Just then, the zombie military man slammed through the threshold and onto the controls, and the helicopter tilted with a stomach-churning lurch. Liza turned to look at JJ, but saw nothing but her own hair in her face. She tumbled backwards through the doorway, helpless to gravity no matter how armed and ready she was. And she fell. And fell.