I had barely taken ten steps forward when sothing grabbed my ankle. The sensation was cold and felt disgusting.
Whatever it was, it was very much not friendly. I looked down slowly.
A half-decayed hand had crawled out from beneath a pile of rubble and was now tightly wrapped around my leg like it had just found its long-lost soulmate.
"...You’ve got to be kidding ."
The rubble shifted. Then the rest of the body followed.
A zombie dragged itself out. Its jaw hung at an angle that made uncomfortable on a personal level. Its cloudy eyes locked onto with disturbing enthusiasm as it let out a wet, choking growl.
"Yeah, no, I am not into whatever this is."
I yanked my leg back hard, but the grip didn’t break.
Instead, I lost my balance.
"Oh co on...!"
I crashed onto my back, the air getting knocked out of my lungs as dust puffed up around . The zombie imdiately took this as an invitation and started crawling on top of , its mouth opening wide like it was about to go in for a very illegal bite.
"Personal space!"
I slamd my fist straight into its face.
There was a sickening crunch as its head snapped to the side, but that barely slowed it down. If anything, it just seed more motivated.
"Why are you like this?!"
I brought my knee up and kicked it off , sending it rolling a short distance away. I quickly scrambled to my feet, only to freeze again as more movent echoed from nearby alleys.
One.
Two.
Five.
...Ten?
"Ah."
Zombies began erging from broken windows, crawling over debris, and stumbling out of narrow streets like I had just triggered a very unfortunate event.
"Okay, this is getting crowded!"
One of them lunged first.
I sidestepped just in ti, grabbed its arm, and used its own montum to slam it face-first into a nearby wall. Its skull cracked against the concrete, and it slid down like a sack of ’very ugly’ potatoes.
Another one ca from the side.
I ducked under its swing and drove my elbow into its ribs, then followed up with a quick punch to its throat. It gagged, staggered, and I finished it with a shove that sent it tumbling over a broken streetlight.
"Stay down... please stay down...!"
Spoiler.
It did not stay down.
Behind , two more rushed in at the sa ti.
"Of course they’re teaming up! Give a partner too! Even that psycho Victoria will do!"
I grabbed a loose tal rod lying near my feet and swung it in a wide arc. The first zombie took the hit straight to the head. The impact made a dull, hollow sound, while the second one got clipped across the shoulder.
The rod bent slightly because of the impact.
"Great... budget weapon."
The first zombie was still moving.
"Why are your skulls built like this?!"
It lunged again.
I stepped back, raised my hand, and snapped my fingers. A tiny spark flickered.
A small burst of fla ignited right in front of its face. The zombie paused for a split second, almost confused.
Then its dry, tattered skin caught fire.
"Oh!"
The flas spread faster than I expected, licking up its head and shoulders as it stumbled around wildly. It let out a distorted screech, flailing its arms as if that would sohow fix being on fire.
"Okay, that actually worked...!"
Encouraged, I kicked it hard in the chest, sending the burning zombie crashing into two others behind it.
Now there were three on fire.
"Even better!"
Unfortunately, the celebration lasted exactly one second. Because the rest were still coming.
"Yeah, no, still bad, still very bad!"
One grabbed my shirt from behind and yanked back. I twisted my body, slipping out of the torn fabric just in ti, and drove my shoulder into its chest. We both slamd into a parked car, setting off a loud tallic clang that echoed through the street.
"...That was not quiet."
The zombie didn’t care. It snapped its teeth inches from my face. I headbutted it, which led to... Instant regret. That hurt like hell!
"Why did I do that...?!"
It worked, though.
The zombie staggered, and I took the chance to shove it away before grabbing the car door beside . With a grunt, I ripped it open and slamd it straight into another approaching zombie, knocking it off its feet.
"Use the environnt, they said... it’ll be easy, they said...!"
I was talking about a survival show called ’Man vs Wild’ which I saw when I was a kid. Good old days. But before I could reminisce about my past. More hands reached for .
I ducked, weaved, and pushed through them, my movents getting ssier as fatigue started to creep in. Every hit mattered, every second counted, and one mistake would be all it took.
A zombie lunged from the front. Another from the side.
I jumped onto the hood of the car, my shoes scraping against the tal, then kicked off and landed behind them. Before they could turn, I grabbed the earlier tal rod again and swung with everything I had.
One went down, followed by another.
"Stay down this ti!"
They didn’t. Of course, they didn’t. They were zombies for fuck’s sake. Fucking masochist bastards!
"Why do I even ask...?!"
A burning zombie suddenly stumbled into from the side, its flas brushing dangerously close. I shoved it away with a hiss, feeling the heat graze my arm.
"Okay, new rule... less fire near !"
The group was thinning, but not fast enough. I needed sothing bigger. Sothing more decisive.
My eyes darted around quickly before landing on a cracked gas pipe near the edge of a building, faintly leaking.
"...Oh."
An idea popped into my head. A very questionable idea.
"Alright, don’t blow yourself up..."
I backed away just enough to give myself space, then raised my hand and focused.
A spark ford in my hands. It was weak and small, but enough. I flicked it forward.
The spark hit the leaking gas. For half a second, nothing happened.
Then—
WHOOM!
A burst of fire erupted, engulfing the area in a sudden explosion of heat and light. The zombies closest to it were instantly set ablaze, their bodies jerking and collapsing as the flas spread rapidly.
The shockwave knocked back onto the ground.
I lay there for a mont, staring up at the sky, ears ringing.
"...Okay."
I slowly sat up, coughing slightly as the sll of burning filled the air.
"...That worked."
Around , the remaining zombies either burned or lay motionless, finally staying down for good this ti.
I pushed myself to my feet, brushing dust off my clothes as I looked at the aftermath.
"ssy... But effective!"
I adjusted my bag again and started walking, stepping over the charred remains with a small sigh.
"Next ti, though, let’s try not to fight an entire army, yeah...?"
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