[Ti: 0530 Hours]
[Location: Unknown Rooftop – Manila]
Thomas stood at the edge of the rooftop, gripping the tal railing as he scanned the ruined city below. The battle for MOA was still raging, but from here, it felt like they were completely alone.
Erica leaned against a rusted air-conditioning unit, taking slow, deep breaths to steady herself. They had made it to the rooftop. But now what? There were no helicopters, no rescue signals, nothing but the wind howling through the shattered buildings around them.
Thomas exhaled and opened the System Interface in his mind.
[Zombie Kill Count: 600,000 / 800,000]
Still 200,000 short.
His grip on the railing tightened. The battle isn't over. At that rate, it's going to take them a day or two before his army were to conduct a rescue operation to locate him. Though he'd want them to focus on ending the wave so he would simply summon troops and get himself and Erica back to MOA.
But staying here wouldn't also be ideal in the long term as there are aerial threats like Reaper. He looked up to the sky, scanning it, and saw no flying creatures in sight. There might be none for now but what about later?
He looked at Erica, who was still panting from exhaustion.
"Did you lock the door?" Thomas asked.
"I did," Erica replied as she looked to the door which was being banged by the zombies behind it. "I really hope that soone will co and get us out of this place. We can't survive here."
"And we can't survive there either," Thomas said and continued. "We'll only last there until your supply lasts and after that, we'll be forced to make hard decisions which could lead us to our deaths. At least here on the rooftop, we have a better chance of survival as there might be military operations in this city."
Erica sighed, as if disappointed. "You are expecting a military to co here and save us? I don't think that is going to happen given that the governnt failed to contain the spread of the virus."
"How can you tell that?" Thomas probed.
"Because I was looking out of the window. There were no military helicopters, and if there were helicopters, I'm sure those are for the rich."
Thomas smacked his lips. "They really collapsed that fast huh? Well anyways be optimistic."
He walked towards her and placed a hand on her shoulder. Erica looked up and was not sure this happened before but there was a glint in her eyes that spoke of sothing—like it was her first ti seeing hope in this apocalyptic world.
He then removed his hands and offered it to her. "Let's go, we have to take cover. We can't afford to get spotted by the flying creatures. Luckily there is a storage room up there."
He pointed at what seed to be a storage room not far from them.
Erica hesitated for a brief mont before reaching out. Her fingers brushed against his palm before she fully placed her hand in his. It was the first ti she had willingly placed her trust in soone since the outbreak started. For a second, she simply looked at their joined hands before gripping his tightly.
Thomas gave her a reassuring nod and led the way, carefully stepping across the rooftop towards the storage room.
The storage room was just a few steps away. Thomas reached the door first and turned the knob.
It didn't budge.
He tried again, twisting it harder, but it was locked.
"How do we open it?"
Thomas glanced at her, then at the bats still strapped to their backs. "With force."
Without another word, he pulled out his bat, adjusting his grip before taking a powerful swing. The impact sent a loud crack through the rooftop as the knob snapped off, leaving the door slightly ajar.
Thomas held up a hand, signaling Erica to wait. He pushed the door open just enough to peek inside. The storage room was dim, but it didn't carry the rancid stench of rotting flesh. Still, he wasn't taking any chances.
He tightened his grip on the bat and stepped inside cautiously. His eyes scanned the corners, the shelves filled with rusted tools and abandoned supplies. No movent. No growls.
"Clear," he muttered before turning back to Erica. "Co in."
She stepped inside, closing the door behind her. For the first ti in hours, they had a secure place to rest, even if only for a little while.
Erica sat down against the wall, hugging her knees. "I can't believe we made it."
Thomas leaned against a tal shelf, gripping his bat as he listened to the distant chaos. "We're not safe yet. But we're alive."
And for now, that was enough.
***
anwhile, in the command center Conrad, MOA Complex. It has been a day since Thomas went missing, and the officials were restless.
"Do we have any clues on where Eagle may have landed?" Marcus asked and hoping he'd get an answer that he desperately needed.
As the Deputy Chief of Staff, his responsibility is to ensure and maintain order when the Supre Commander is incapable of executing his duty, making him the leader of the private army that Thomas summoned.
"Negative, we are still checking every angle on where that flying creature took Eagle, and its wide area of search," one of the staffers answered.
"Damn it!" Marcus banged the table, venting his frustration. "We have to get him back at all cost!"
"We can't do that, we are still facing a wave of zombies. As of right now, we can't commit our forces into conducting a wide search operation on Eagle. And I believe that Eagle is capable of defending himself and I am sure of it. Because if he is dead, we would get a notification," Elias chid in with a pragmatic tone.
"I can't believe that you can stay that with a straight face," Marcus noticed.
"We are individuals summoned by the Supre Commander to fulfill a responsibility, and our responsibility is to get through this wave of zombies so that our Commander can access his system and get himself out wherever he is," Elias continued, keeping his voice even despite Marcus's frustration. "We can't afford to be reckless. If we throw resources into searching for Eagle without securing MOA first, we risk losing everything—including him."
Marcus exhaled sharply, rubbing his temples. "I know that. But sitting here and doing nothing isn't an option either."
"I'm tasking a drone to conduct the search," Adrian said, ending what could be their scuffle. "Who was he with before he was taken?"
"I believe it's Phillip, Special Forces. He was still on the ground fighting against zombies," Marcus answered.
"Then we'll ask him the direction on where he was taken, narrowing our search," Adrian replied.
"Thank you."
Reviews
All reviews (0)