“Hey! Where are you going?”
Ace didn’t reply after dragging the teens out of the car. He wondered how they’d react when they found out that he was going to leave them for real.
“You should start praying that your phone still has a battery and signal to contact your family before the zombies come to get you,” Ace said and went back to the driver’s seat.
The girls placed their hands on their waists, screaming profanities in different languages.
“I suggest you save that energy to call for help instead of yelling at me,” he told them before driving, only to step on the break when the boys blocked the road with their arms spread.
“Damn it! Do you want to die so badly?” Ace screamed through the window. “Get out of my way or I’ll bump you for real,” he threatened, but none of the boys seemed to take his words seriously.
They even laughed together, thinking that Ace wouldn’t do it.
“Let us in and we’ll forgive you for trying to abandon us,” one of the boys said and the others agreed. “My father can buy you a better car than the one you have. Just do what we tell you,” he added.
Ace clicked his tongue. He thought his sister was the most stubborn teenager he’d ever met but these five were on a different level. Plus, their arrogance could make him bald if he listened to them any longer.
“I bet your father can buy you a wheelchair too,” Ace responded and drove the car backward for several meters. He then stepped on the gas pedal and made his way forward, scaring the shit out of them.
“You’re crazy!” they chorused, but Ace was too far to hear their complaints.
“See you later, brats,” he mumbled and checked the road ahead. Although Ace wanted to leave them for real, he couldn’t imagine someone doing it to his sister.
He planned to scare them and make them reflect on their bad attitude. He was going to return and pick them up after checking the town ahead. Before they could reach the open field those guys were talking about, they had to go through a town. Ace was worried about zombies, especially when the town ahead should at least have over 5,000 people. He was worried about the zombies appearing in town and killing the civilians. It would be a huge problem if they had to face a horde.
“Holy shit!” Ace held his breath when he saw that the town ahead was on fire. He couldn’t believe his intuition was right.
“Shit! Shit! Shit!” Ace stopped the car when he saw the coming wave of undead. “Damn it!”
Ace pressed the brake and the clutch. Then he moved his shift into reverse and started the engine again. He made sure to wear the seatbelt before stepping on the gas pedal, hard. Ace didn't have time to check what was behind him, what he was worried about were the zombies chasing after him.
After keeping a considerable distance, Ace made a flashy U-turn and drove back to fetch the teens. He almost hit his head on the wheel when he saw them sitting on the rock while fiddling with their phones, not thinking about the impending dangers.
“Get in if you don’t want to be the zombies’ meal!” Ace ordered them as he stopped the car in front of the group. “Hurry!”
He gritted his teeth when the guys just laughed and the girls rolled their eyes. “Fine. I’m not wasting my time with people like you. I’ll make sure to tell your parents that you died out of stubbornness though,” Ace said and was about to leave when the five blocked his way.
“What’s this? You’re the one who left us here and now you’re worried? Is it because you realized who we are and changed your mind? Well, after all, my daddy can even pay for your life—OMG! What’s that?” the most bratty girl among them exclaimed, pointing at the horde of zombies who followed Ace.
“You brought those monsters to kill us?!” she shrieked. “You are so dead! I’m going to tell Dad about this and he’ll take care of you—Ah! What are you doing?”
Ace grabbed the girl by the hand and shoved her in the shotgun’s seat. “What about you? Do you want me to carry your asses in the car?” he asked the others who quickly sat in the backseat.
“Take this,” Ace took out some weapons from his dimensional storage. “I’d take care of them if I’m not driving but I can’t leave the wheels to any of you, so make sure to deal with the enemies once they get closer,” he instructed, handing his ax to the girl next to him.
“Ew! The stench is unbearable,” she complained.
“Fine. Just sit and do nothing even if the zombies grab you. If you’re useless, I’ll leave you behind. I already had enough of your complaints so do something before I push you outside and feed you to the zombies. Do you understand?” Ace clenched his jaw while focusing his eyes on the road.
He heaved a sigh of relief when they all kept quiet and held onto the weapons he gave them.
“Where are we going? This is not the main road,” the girl in the backseat asked. “Are you sure we’re going in the right direction?”
“Shut up, missy. The town ahead is on fire. If you don’t want to be eaten by zombies alive or getting toasted to death, stop asking questions. I’m trying my best to bring you to your destination. I have other more important things to do than dealing with brats like you,” Ace said, driving through the forest outside the town.
He had no choice but to avoid the town at all cost or they’d be surrounded by thousands of zombies.
“We’re almost there. Sit back and hold tight. We’re getting out of the forest soon. Call your dad or whoever and inform them that you’re almost at the rendezvous point. I’ll leave once I drop you so you have to fend for yourself if there are zombies around,” Ace told them, kicking the gas to accelerate their speed.
His family had been waiting and he still had to go fetch his sister. He could no longer waste his time tending to others when he wasn’t certain if his beloved family was still safe.
“Daddy said the helicopter is coming. It will take a few minutes to reach the open field.”
Ace nodded. “Good. Now, grab your weapons and make sure to watch each other’s backs until your ride arrives,” he said and took a deep breath. “We’re here,” Ace announced as the jeep left the forest, emerging to the open field with…
“... Zombies!”
“Hold your weapons!” Ace shouted as he accelerated the car’s speed. “Where’s the helicopter?” He asked the girl beside him while pushing their way through the hordes of zombies. “We’re not going to last more than ten minutes like this. We have to kill them all,” he decided, his grip tightened on the wheel.“We? I haven’t killed anyone before!” A boy yelled from the back.“Well, congratulations. You’re having your debut right now. It’s either kill or be killed! A moment of hesitation will be your death. Make sure you don’t get bitten or scratched! Otherwise, your friend will be the one to kill you if you turn into a zombie just like them,” Ace warned, his foot never leaving the gas pedal.“The helicopter will be here in three minutes!” the girl informed them, her hands shaking while holding a phone and an ax.“Great. We have to survive for three minutes. You’re old enough to fend for yourself so do your best to survive. Good luck!” Ace braced himself as he made up his mind to confront t
“A child?” Ace blinked twice when he heard a child’s voice. He thought it was a zombie but the zombies he encountered weren’t talking at all.He stopped the car and watched as the figure ran in his direction. “How come there’s a child in the field with zombies? I should have noticed him earlier when we were taking a break and waiting for the helicopter,” Ace mumbled and sighed.He got out of the car to check what it truly was. He started to sweat coldly when he thought of what he was going to do if the child was indeed a zombie.“Hey! What’s your name?” Ace asked as he slowly approached the small figure that stumbled on the ground. He couldn’t help but frown when he heard a soft groan from the child.Ace didn’t waste any time and helped the child get up. He could just kill him if it was a zombie, but if it was a human child, he’d be swallowed by guilt if he didn’t do anything but watch him roll on the ground.“Hungry…” the child mumbled when Ace held him up.“Are you hurt?” he asked th
“Aw!” Nicola groaned when the car hit the metal gate.Ace grunted when he didn’t manage to push through the gate. On the other hand, he was glad that even with the car, he couldn’t open it. It only meant that his parents and other people were safe behind the gate.“Cover your head, Nicola. We’re going to try again,” he told the child while driving backward to gain momentum.“Can’t we just get down and enter normally?” Nicola asked with a scared look in her eyes.Ace almost laughed seeing the girl scared by a possible collision than the zombies outside. “We can’t get out. We’re surrounded by the zombies,” he said, clicking his tongue.“I can use purification,” Nicola suggested.Ace also thought about that but he was worried Nicola would get hurt if she tried to face the zombies. He couldn’t let the child take care of the problem if there were other alternatives.“Or I can just break the gate. Now that it comes to this, we’ll have to get rid of all the zombies to feel safe,” Ace mumbled,
“I didn’t know you'd bring me a grandkid when you returned. I’m glad to live until today to see that beautiful child.”Ace groaned. “Mom, Nicola isn’t my child. She’s a girl I found on my way here,” he said, wiping the gun his father gave him. “She’s the only survivor of their town. I’m not sure if others survived aside from her but I saw the town burning earlier,” Ace explained.“What is going on? We felt an earthquake in the morning. It was too strong then a few hours later, those things appeared,” Jonas, Ace’s father said. He felt better after Nicola’s ability healed his wound.Ace stopped what he was doing. “I’m not sure. But after that huge explosion, the world has suddenly become like this. The situation here is better than in the city. I was there when everything was ruined,” he mumbled, clenching his jaw.Eula, Ace’s mother, rubbed his back. “I’m glad you made it home safely, Ace. We wouldn’t know what to do if something happened to you,” she said, hugging her son.Ace gently p
Everyone’s eyes were wide open as soon as they saw the fence upgraded to a wall and the fixed and more durable gate. Ace finally understood the ability he had, not fully, but a little that helped him make use of it.“Isn’t this nice? Now, I can go without getting too worried about you. Just stay inside the wall and avoid causing a loud noise. Zombies might get attracted to the loud sound so do your thing quietly unless there’s an emergency and you have to scream,” Ace explained.“Are you going now? Please be safe. I’ll pray that you return with your sister,” Eula said and hugged her son.Ace hugged his mother back and smiled at him. “You, too. Keep safe. Do not engage in any battle against the zombies unless necessary. As long as you stay inside the wall, nobody should be able to harm you,” he added and bobbed his head at his father.“Make sure to fire properly and only use that gun against the enemy. Do not harm another person, Ace.” Jonas firmly held his son’s shoulder. “Save your si
It was already past 7 p.m. when Ace and Nicola arrived at the Academy. As he expected, the place was swarmed with zombies. They checked the vicinity first, looking for an ideal route to use if things went south.“Ace, that gate has fewer zombies,” Nicola pointed at the small gate at the back of the Academy. “Think we can use it?” she tilted her head to the side, her finger poking on her cheek.Sighing, Acee nodded his head. “We have no better option than this,” he replied, removing his seatbelt. “Listen, Nicola. Stay here and watch over our car, okay? Meanwhile, I’ll go inside to get Ava.”He was worried she might follow him again. “It’s not safe for you to roam around at this hour. As you can see, only a few lights are working. I won’t be able to find you if we’re separated. You need to guard the car, too. Do you think you can do that?”“So, I’ll kill the zombies who come near the car?” Nicola asked, her brows furrowed in concentration. “Okay! I will do that. But you have to be quick,
Nicola crossed her arms on her chest, staring outside the window. An hour passed and there was no sign of Ace coming back with his sister. This made the girl wonder what could have happened to the young man.“Did the zombies eat him?” she muttered, tapping her fingers. “I knew I should have come along,” Nicola said, removing her seatbelt. She jumped off her seat and rolled down her sleeves.“I’m going to pick ‘em up,” she mumbled, reaching out for the door handle before kicking it open. Nicola smiled at the cold wind brushing her face. She took a deep breath only to choke on the smelly air.“Err! Not good,” she spat and covered her mouth, trying not to puke.Nicola closed the door and looked around. She couldn’t sense any zombies, but before walking away, she did some preparation.“Purification~” she chanted, casting a spell on herself, and giggled. “This should keep the zombies away from me like the last time,” Nicola whispered and tread lightly toward the gate.Humming, Nicola effor
Ace Crown stepped on the gas, speeding his way out of the city. He pursed his lips, focusing his gaze on the road ahead. His mind was filled with thoughts about Hannah, his girlfriend, and soon-to-be fiance.Earlier that day, Ace went to pick up the engagement ring he had ordered to propose to his girlfriend, but suddenly, a huge explosion broke the bustling rhythm, sending shockwaves throughout the city. A blinding light flashed for a minute before it was replaced with thick and dark smoke.Buildings crumbled one after another like sandcastles, and a thick dark smoke spread through the air, turning the day into night with the darkened sky. People reacted by instinct, running through different directions to escape, terror and confusion painted on their faces.It didn’t take another minute for everything to fall into ruins. Debris and abandoned vehicles were scattered on the once-lively street. Amidst the madness, screams for help and death throes could be heard. Nobody was prepared for