My Undead System

Ch. 19 - Ambush

Clouds obscured the silver rays of the moon from reaching the world below. The veil of darkness painted the sky as if it was a blank canvas. In the night's stillness, the cheerful chirping of crickets brought about a harmonious melody.

It reached the ears of Jin and the others as they lay on the cold ground after a tiring day of walking in the blazing sun. Those few moments of blissful noise raised their spirits.

A caressing wind tickled their skin when it blew past them in a hurry. Rena and Krish, along with the other two teenagers, had already fallen asleep. Kroll supported his head with his hand as he laid on his back, staring at the endless dark sky above him.

The clouds might have hindered the moon, but the flickering stars still assembled and sparkled proudly. He enjoyed the beauty for as long as he could since the sudden gunshots interrupted his long-awaited relaxation.

Upon hearing them, Jin jumped out of his seated position. With his bat in hand, he poked Rena’s ribs until he woke her up. Annoyance got the better of Kroll. He protested while getting up. “Damn it! Now what?”

Jin, unable to answer his question, shook his head. “We should get going…”

They hurriedly packed everything and headed towards the hospital. During the day, they tried their hardest to cover as much ground as possible. This night, they had but a little time to rest before they had to run again.

After a couple of hours into the night, they reached the outskirts of Colby. The menacing growls struck fear in their hearts. The horde they bypassed a few days ago was now in front of them and already poured into the hospital by the looks of it.

Before taking another step, they took the long way around to not get cut off. They even considered blending in with them since their visibility was close to nil in the dark, but they didn’t want to risk it.

Under the coverage of the unlighted streets, Jin and the others made their way through the town, from one house to the other, staying undetected. The entire time, they kept their guards up to avoid the same incident from the camp from happening again.

Even though they determined the undead moved based on sight, they still tried to move silently either way by sneaking around.

While on the move, Jin noticed light close to his home. At that point, his thought was that the people from the hospital made it out in time and went to his house to regroup.

He turned to the others and pointed at the bright source in the endless darkness. When they saw it, they nodded and agreed to follow Jin there, hoping to reunite with their people.

No matter how tiring the entire trip has been, the idea of seeing their loved ones again gave them strength to keep going. That especially held true for Jin, who wanted to get back to his mom and make sure she’s ok.

As they got closer, even though he didn’t have a heartbeat, Jin still felt his heart pumping with anticipation. He picked up the pace at some point, which forced the others to do the same. Jin’s actions irritated Kroll, but he didn’t say anything since he understood the feeling.

Rena, on the other hand, who was closer, whispered, hoping her voice would reach him. “Slow down! We are all tired…”

Jin heard her and halted. He looked back and saw everyone panting as they tried to keep up with him. He glanced over at his house and gritted his teeth at how close it was, and yet he had to wait.

A few seconds later, Kroll and the others caught up. They took a few minutes' time to rest and recuperate. They’ve been traveling all night non-stop since they heard the gunshots. Their hearts eased when they saw the light, thinking it was a beacon to guide them to safety.

Jin kept looking at his house while he waited for his companions to rest. He clenched his fist and drove his nails into his flesh. Fresh blood dripped off his palm and painted the ground.

Kroll sighed when he saw him and stood up. He urged the rest of them to get up. They reluctantly gathered their gear and faced Jin. Appreciative of their gesture, he nodded.

Jin knew the overnight trip exhausted them just from looking, their sweat dripping off their faces and drenching their clothes. With every passing minute, their breathing became heavier and their steps sluggish, but they were a breath away from his home.

At the sight of the old picket fence surrounding it, a smile formed on his face. Nostalgia and memories flashed in his mind. An old oak tree in front of it made him chuckle when he remembered that one time he fell off and broke his leg. His mom drove him to the hospital as fast as she could. After all this time, he still trembled when he thought of that woman’s driving skills.

His smiling face instantly vanished when a bullet grazed his cheek. Not even a second later, a gunshot echoed throughout the town. Jin gasped when blood flew away from his torn flesh.

Kroll ran towards Jin, grabbed him, and together, fell to the ground. He shouted at the top of his lungs. “Get down…!”

Rena frantically crawled next to them. “Did they think we were corpses?”

“Krish, are you ok?”

When Kroll looked back, the look on his frightened son’s face worried him. The bullet that grazed Jin hit a young man from the Detention Facility right through his chest. Kroll then looked in the house's direction and yelled. “You idiots, almost killed my son…”

A sole voice rode the wind to their ears. “Who are you calling an idiot…?”

Kroll, surprised, looked at Jin, who had the same ignorant face as him. He shrugged his shoulders and popped his head, trying to get a better look. A bullet ricocheted off a stone next to him, sending sparks flying.

Rena shook her head in disbelief. She mumbled internally for several seconds. “No way…”

She then raised her head just so she could peek. Her voice screeched out of her mouth. “Barton! Is that you?!”