THE ZOMBIE OUTBREAK

chapter seven

The soldier fell down from Ethan's grip and his face went pale. " Have him prep up and have that one locked aside. We are going to have him killed lastly." Derek pointed at Ethan

Ethan was dragged away from Sandra as she clawed at him. " Stop!" Derek shouted seeing what was going on. " Is he your husband?" He looked at Sandra and then back at Ethan, who was now looking sacred. " No, no," Ethan shouted

" Have her prepared. I want her heart served on my table tonight." Derek instructed and walked away.

Sandra was pulled apart from Ethan. A picture fell from her clothes as they dragged her away. Ethan looked at Derek and his eyes showed he was going to have him killed. He looked at the lady who had her hand tied to the chair and still couldn't see her face.

Ethan was thrown into a separate room and the door was locked. He looked around him and the loud snarl of the zombies was heard. His heart thud faster trying to see if he could see but he couldn't. " You don't need to be scared. They can't hurt you." Another voice said again. Ethan recognised the voice and gently called Marcus name. " Marcus, is that you?" Ethan said slowly trying to snifflle his running nose.

" Ethan? Ethan Harris?" Marcus called out to his friend. " What the hell are you doing here?" Marcus said with a saddnen voice. " We..we went to scavenge for food and we met Derek and his troops. They offered us sanctuary and we took the offer." Ethan said slowly sitting down on the bare floor. " What sound is that? Do they have zombie locked in here too with us?"

" I don't think you need to be worried about that. They are not coming near us. " Marcus said flashing a small light towards the cages the zombie were kept.

' I can't believe I am seeing you, Ethan. We need to get the hell out of here." Marcus said flashing the light at Ethan to see his face. " Rachel? Did you see her?" Marcus added

" Is she here with you?" Ethan asked

" Yes, after I called you. I was surprised to find her at my door step running away from the herd. We both left the house to find you but then you were going. We heard about a sanctuary and we thought you might be there. We felt into Derek's trap on the way." Marcus ended his speech

" I think I saw her. She was seated with Derek." Ethan replied,feeling a pang of happiness inside of him. " I can't lose my sister again. We need a plan."

" I don't see us leaving here alive without a weapon. We need that first."Marcus sighed

Ethan looked at the herd before him and he knew he just have to let them lose but he need a good plan to have the herd out without killing them. He was about to say another word to Marcus when he heard a severe migraine. Ethan shouted in pain as he rolled on the floor with Marcus flashing the light at him. " Oh my god! Ethan, are you alright?" He shouted at him trying to know what was going on.

After thirty minutes, Ethan woke up and looked at his front. An holographic message appeared right in front of him again.

Ethan blinked, his vision clearing as the holographic message faded. The pain in his head subsided, leaving behind a strange clarity. He glanced at Marcus, who was watching him with concern.

"I'm okay, Marcus," Ethan said, his voice steadier than he felt. "I think... I think I just received some kind of message from the system."

Marcus frowned. "System? What do you mean?"

Ethan hesitated, then explained quickly, "It's like... a game interface. It just gave me a task, and if I complete it, we might have a chance to get out of here."

Marcus nodded slowly, accepting the bizarre explanation. "Alright. What's the task?" He asked even though everything Ethan said looks stupid

Ethan took a deep breath and focused. The task details began to materialize in his mind, as if the system was guiding him.

[ WELCOME BACK TO THE ZOMBIE SYSTEM ]

[ ZOMBIE SYSTEM ONLINE]

[ SYSTEM TASK: ESCAPE THE CELL ]

[ OBJECTIVE 1: LOCATE A WEAPON ]

[ OBJECTIVE 2: FREE YOURSELF AND MARCUS ]

[ OBJECTIVE 3: NEUTRALIZE THE GUARDS ]

[ REWARD: WEAPON UPGRADE ]

He explained the information to Marcus, who looked determined. "We need to find a weapon first," Marcus said. "Maybe there's something in this room we can use."

They began searching the dimly lit cell. Ethan's eyes fell on a loose brick in the wall. He pried it out and found a rusty metal rod behind it.

"This might work," Ethan said, showing the rod to Marcus.

Marcus nodded. "It's not much, but it's a start."

With the rod in hand, Ethan felt hopeful. They approached the door, listening for any signs of guards. Hearing none, they began working on the lock. After a few tense minutes, the lock clicked open.

The door creaked as they pushed it, revealing a narrow hallway. The sound of snarling zombies grew louder. " We need to have the zombie lock opened. They could be a perfect diversion for our escape. Also, we need to find Sandra and Rachel," Ethan whispered. "And take down Derek."

They moved silently down the hallway, alert for any guards. As they turned a corner, they spotted a guard dozing off in a chair, a gun resting on his lap. Ethan exchanged a glance with Marcus. This was their chance.

Ethan crept up to the guard, his heart pounding. He raised the rod and brought it down on the guard's head with a swift motion. The guard slumped forward, unconscious.

"Grab the gun," Marcus said urgently.

Ethan took the gun and checked its ammo. It was fully loaded. "Let's move," he said, looking at Marcus who was alittle scared.

They continued through the corridor avoiding the alarms and taking down any guards they encountered. Each victory brought them closer to freedom and the weapon upgrade the system had promised.

Finally, they reached a room where they heard muffled voices. Peeking inside, Ethan saw Sandra and Rachel, tied to chairs. Derek stood nearby, his back to them.

"Ready?" Marcus whispered.

Ethan nodded. "Let's do this."

They burst into the room, guns raised. Derek spun around, surprise and anger flashing across his face. Before he could react, Ethan fired a shot, hitting Derek in the leg. Derek crumpled to the floor with a scream.

"Get away from them," Ethan ordered, keeping his gun trained on Derek.

Sandra and Rachel looked up, relief washing over their faces. Marcus hurried to untie them, while Ethan kept watch over Derek.

"You won't get away with this," Derek spat, clutching his bleeding leg. " I will find you and I will kill you!" He shouted at Ethan. " Are you ready?" Ethan looked behind him and felt a blow to his face. He touched his head as blood tricked down his father. " Brother!" Rachel shouted as one of the soldiers landed a hot slap to her face. Ethan wanted to surge forward and attack but the clanging in his head and the pain was to much to bare. He looked at Derek who was getting up with a smirk on his face. Ethan was about to faint when he looked behind them. A squeak sound was heard. The door opened slowly as the soldier kept firing rounds of bullets at each other.