The World Is Mine For The Taking

We managed to break free from the horde, but the flare that had drawn their attention gave us only a brief window to escape. We'd be chased again soon, but there was no time to dwell on it.

"Run! Run as fast as you can and don't look back!" the military man shouted, his voice urgent.

Hordes of zombies were closing in on us, but the military man used the remaining flares to push them apart, creating a gap for us to sprint through. Find your next tale on m-vl-em|p-yr

The building was in sight, close enough that we could clearly see it now. We were almost there. Zombies that came too close were either shot or hacked down.

If it weren't for the overwhelming swarms, we might have made it without such a frantic struggle.

When we reached the entrance, we were met with a massive obstacle.

"Arggh! ArrrrrrrrrrrrrrrggghhH!"

A colossal, menacing Demon Zombie blocked our path. It was gargantuan, far larger than the hulking zombie I'd fought earlier. Its skin was a ghastly purplish-blue, mottled and slimy, and its eyes burned with a deep, sinister red. A wicked horn jutted out from the center of its forehead, emphasizing its horrifying appearance as the embodiment of a Demon Zombie.

"Shit! What the fuck is that?!" the tattooed man exclaimed, his voice trembling with shock.

I could understand his reaction. This was something beyond words, an indescribable horror that left us all stunned.

But there was no time to think. If we didn't get inside now, the zombies chasing us would catch up.

"I don't have any more flares..." said the military man.

That left us with no choice but to take down this monstrous creature.

The Demon Zombie finally caught sight of us and unleashed a deafening roar that shook the ground beneath our feet.

"Raaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!"

The military man charged forward, his rifle blazing with gunfire. But the creature barely flinched. The others joined in, their bullets piercing its flesh only superficially. The shots did little more than make a dent in its grotesque hide.

"I don't think we can take down that fucking monster with just this!" the tattooed man yelled.

"This is hopeless! We're going to die!" the terrified man screamed, his fear palpable.

The military man, while keeping his rifle trained on the Demon Zombie, dashed toward it, deftly evading the beast's massive, slow-moving fists. Each thunderous strike sent shockwaves through the ground, causing it to quake violently beneath our feet, making it nearly impossible to maintain our balance.

Finally, the military man reached a spot directly beneath the Demon Zombie. With its fists failing to reach him, the creature attempted to crush him with its enormous, gnarled feet. The military man dodged the stomps with agile precision. Seizing the moment, he drew a machete from his side and slashed at the Demon Zombie's foot, the blade biting into its thick, grotesque flesh.

"Raaaaaaaaaaah!"

The Demon Zombie emitted a low, guttural groan, its monstrous form shuddering from the impact. The military man's attack had clearly struck a nerve.

"It didn't slice all the way through, huh?" the military man grunted, his voice strained but determined. "But targeting its Achilles tendon should make moving a real bitch for it now."

He yanked his machete free from the Demon Zombie's foot, then quickly swung the blade toward its other foot.

"Raaaaaah!"

The machete didn't penetrate as deeply this time, but the blow was enough to stagger the Demon Zombie. The massive creature wobbled, then crashed onto its back with a thunderous thud, its grotesque limbs flailing helplessly as it struggled to rise.

"He's strong..." I muttered to myself, awestruck by his sheer power. It wasn't entirely surprising, considering he was a veteran soldier, but witnessing it up close was something else. I'd never seen a veteran soldier fight in person, nor even online, and watching it unfold right before my eyes was mind-blowing. The intensity, the precision—it was beyond anything I could imagine trying to replicate.

"Hurry...! We don't have much time...!" he shouted, urgency dripping from his voice as he dashed into the building. Behind us, the Demon Zombies were closing in fast, their grotesque forms lumbering closer by the second, their guttural growls echoing through the night.

We sprinted towards the entrance, adrenaline pumping through our veins. As soon as we were inside, we slammed the door shut with a resounding thud. We grabbed anything and everything we could find—desks, chairs, cabinets—and piled them against the door, creating a makeshift barricade.

The pounding and scratching from the other side intensified, but our blockade held, keeping the nightmarish creatures at bay.

"Phew..."

We all exhaled deeply, the tension melting away as we took stock of our narrow escape. That had been incredibly nerve-racking. I'd faced countless dangers before, but this was the closest I'd ever come to death.

"Alright, the next step is to get to the top," the military man said, his voice calm and commanding despite the tension.

He was right. This wasn't over yet. We had to scale the building and make our way up to the rooftop.

"The elevators are probably out of commission," he continued. "So we'll need to take the stairs. First, let's check this floor for anything useful. And watch out for the windows—don't get too close. The Infected might spot you, smash through the glass, and come flooding in. Luckily, it looks like survivors were here before us and barricaded the windows.

Still, stay clear of them and don't wander around carelessly."

We followed his instructions and began searching the floor. The terrified man was visibly shaking, his hands fumbling as he tried to find anything of use. His timid nature made his efforts seem even more desperate. The tattooed man searched as well, though with noticeable reluctance. After a thorough but fruitless search, we had no choice but to move on.

The ominous growls of zombies echoed through the walls, so close we could almost feel them vibrating. It was clear that zombies were not only on this floor but likely above us as well—probably extending up through several more floors.

"Get ready…" the military man said, his voice low and steady, preparing us for the next fight.

As we cautiously ascended the stairwell, the sound of growling grew louder, more aggressive. The oppressive atmosphere made each step feel like a descent into hell. With each floor we climbed, the sounds of the undead grew closer, their hunger almost palpable.

We finally reached the next floor, and the scene was grim. The corridor was littered with debris, broken furniture, and the scattered remnants of what used to be a barricade. The faint, flickering light from a single dying bulb barely illuminated the darkness.

"Stay sharp," the military man warned as we pressed forward.

Suddenly, a loud crash echoed from the end of the corridor. A massive Demon Zombie, even more grotesque than the last, burst through a wall. It was a hulking monstrosity with sickly green, pulsating veins running across its body. Its eyes glowed with an eerie yellow light, and its mouth was a gaping maw of dripping, venomous fangs.

"Shit! Not another one!" the tattooed man swore.

The Demon Zombie charged at us with an earth-shaking roar, its enormous fists smashing through the debris like paper. We barely had time to react. The military man fired his rifle, the shots echoing through the narrow hallway. Each bullet struck the Demon Zombie's hide with a sickening thud, but it barely flinched. Its thick, rotting flesh absorbed the impact with horrifying ease.

In a desperate bid to create some distance, I grabbed a nearby fire extinguisher and hurled it at the Demon Zombie. The explosion of white foam was momentarily blinding, but it only seemed to anger the beast further. It roared in frustration, swinging its massive arms and sending chunks of the floor and walls flying.

"Get the fuck out of the way!" the military man shouted. He lunged forward, weaving between the Demon Zombie's wild swings. He managed to close the gap, dodging a particularly vicious swipe that cracked the floor beneath him. With a determined grunt, he thrust his machete upward, aiming for the exposed underside of the Demon Zombie's chin.

The machete sliced through the Demon Zombie's flesh with a sickening crunch. The beast let out a deafening screech, stumbling back and clutching its mutilated face.

The tattooed man and I used this moment of distraction to our advantage. I pulled out a makeshift molotov cocktail from my backpack and tossed it at the Demon Zombie. The bottle shattered against the creature's chest, the flames quickly spreading across its oily skin. The fiery blaze illuminated the dark corridor, casting eerie shadows that danced along the walls.

The Demon Zombie roared in agony, its movements becoming increasingly erratic. The intense heat and flames seemed to weaken it, its monstrous frame swaying unsteadily.

"Push forward!" the military man ordered, his voice strained but commanding. "We need to get to the rooftop before more of these fuckers show up!"

We raced past the burning Demon Zombie, its screams of pain echoing in our ears. As we ascended the next flight of stairs, the sounds of the creature's desperate thrashing faded behind us. We knew that the fight was far from over, but for now, we had bought ourselves a precious moment of respite.