Michael glanced at Eric, “Let’s go.”
Eric followed after Michael, but stopped when he saw Melissa from the gym. He noticed her eyes were red from crying so much. He knelt down next to her with a gentle smile, “Hey. How’re you doing? Feel alright?”
Melissa looked up at him, “I know what you’re really asking about. I haven’t felt any changes yet, I feel completely normal.”
Michael looked over, “Are there any changes to your information screen? What’s your health at?”
She pulled up her screen with a thought and looked it over. She shook her head, “Nothing changed. My health was at 16/20 when I was bitten, but now its at 19/20.”
Eric let out a sigh of relief, “That’s good to hear.”
Michael nodded slightly before saying, “Still, we have to quarantine you a little bit longer, for safety's sake.”
Melissa felt sad, but she nodded regardless. She didn’t have much of a choice. Eric stood up and followed Michael into the cafeteria. The cafeteria had a food court, a seating area, and a stage that was higher than the rest of the floor. It was used for bands or school events. Michael and Eric jumped onto the platform and walked to the middle. The principal arrived a few moments later. Michael cupped his hands over his mouth and yelled, “Everyone, if I may have your attention!”
The cafeteria was already pretty quiet, so when Michael yelled, everybody heard him. They looked over and waited for him to speak. Michael continued, “It has come to our attention that our reality has changed in more ways than one.”
Michael held up the bat in his hand, “For example, this metal baseball bat now has a durability. I assume that when its durability reaches 0, it will be destroyed. This bat isn’t the only thing with durability, the metal doors that prevent the zombies from entering the school have them as well. I’ve determined that they will last an hour or two at most.”
“What?!” The students exclaimed in shock and horror. If the doors were destroyed, what would they do?
Michael motioned for the students to quiet down. When the students calmed down somewhat, he continued, “Me and Eric here have already killed a few zombies on our own. These bats are quite effective, but we only have 5 of them. Now… I’m sure most of you have acquainted yourselves with your information screen. We’re going to need 3 volunteers with high stats. If you want to smash some zombie heads and protect the school, then raise your hand.”
The students looked at each other in silence. None of them raised their hands. Who would want to risk their life fighting zombies with a baseball bat? Michael scanned the crowd with a frown.
Just then, a hand was raised followed by a deep voice, “I volunteer!”
The students surrounding the male student took a step back, allowing Eric and Michael to get a clear view. He was large. Not in height, but in muscle mass. He was a junior in the wrestling club. Eric’s eyes lit up as he asked curiously, “What’s your strength?”
“14!” The male student responded with a hint of pride.
“I volunteer! My strength is normal, but my agility is 15!” A feminine voice resounded throughout the cafeteria.
Eric whistled in awe. That was the same as him, and he knew how flexible he was. He had been stretching for three years straight now, so he knew how much hard work he put into it.
“Come to me, please,” Michael waved them over before asking, “Anybody else?”
Ten seconds passed, but nobody else raised their hand. Michael turned to the principal and handed her a metal bat, “Pick the strongest member among the faculty and watch over the cafeteria. If a zombie comes, use this bat.”
“Okay,” The principal accepted the bat with a nod.
The two volunteers walked up to Michael and Eric. Eric extended his hand, “My name is Eric.”
“Freddie,” The wrestler said with a firm handshake.
“Courtney,” The girl said with a smile. She was tall and slender, and her limbs tone. She was a senior in the gymnastics club.
“I’m Michael.” Michael handed them the last two bats, “Follow me, I’ll explain as we go.”
The group left the cafeteria and traveled to the gym. Michael explained his plan as they walked. When they reached the gym door leading outside, he turned around, “Everybody understand?”
Courtney nodded, “I’m on flank duty.”
Freddie exhaled through his nose, “Mm.”
Michael had come up with a battle plan for their zombie bustin’ squad. He, Eric, and Freddie were to be the front liners. He was afraid that they would be distracted during the fight, so he wanted someone to watch their flank. This was the perfect role for Courtney. She was fast and nimble.
“One last thing,” Michael added, “watch your stamina stat. I don’t know what will happen when it reaches 0.”
“Got it.”
Eric walked up to the gym door and peeked through the window. He smiled, “There are only a few, let’s do this!”
Chapter 6
The zombies were blocking the door from opening, so Eric turned to Freddie, “Can you help me out, Freddie?”
Freddie nodded and walked over. Eric glanced at him, “On 3. 1, 2, 3!”
They pushed the door at the same time, using all of their strength. The zombies were knocked backwards as the door opened. A few even fell to the ground. Eric and Freddie stepped backwards and joined Michael and Courtney. All of them watched the open door, waiting. Waiting for the zombies to come through.
The first zombie entered, an elderly female. She was missing her lower jaw as she walked in. Behind her were two more. Eric and his group spread out, each giving each other some space. Freddie mustered his courage and stepped forward as he swung the bat. The elderly zombie was knocked to the ground.
“Make sure you finish it!” Eric reminded with a shout.
Freddie looked at the remaining health of the zombie and attacked again. The zombie dispersed into motes of light before entering his body. Eric looked at the zombie on the left, “Take the one on the right, Courtney!”
Eric and Michael were giving Freddie and Courtney a chance to familiarize themselves before things got too chaotic. It took Courtney 4 hits to kill a zombie, while it only took Eric 2. When they finished, they stepped back and reformed the line. The zombies that were knocked to the ground when the door opened stood back up and entered the gym. There were 3 of them.
Eric and his group spread out and surrounded the zombies. The zombies ignored the people at their side and focused on the person in front of them. Eric took the initiative and stepped forward. There was a loud crack as his bat made contact with the zombie. Its skull broke. Michael and Freddie each took on a zombie while Courtney watched the gym door. A few moments later, the gym was quiet. Puddles of blood were left on the ground from the fight.
Eric looked at Courtney and Freddie with a smile, “Not so bad, right?”
“Mm,” Freddie nodded.
“They move so slow! They aren’t that scary once you get used to them,” Courtney commented.
The group gained confidence after their first battle. They easily dispatched 6 zombies. Eric took the lead and peeked out the gym door. There were no more zombies within 15 feet, but he could hear some moaning a bit away. He waved the group over before stepping outside, his bat in front of him.
Michael whispered to the group, “Remember, our plan is to wipe out the zombies surrounding the school before the doors collapse. We will leave the main entrance for last.”
Michael understood they were too weak to fight over a hundred zombies right now. He was afraid they’d run out of stamina or get surrounded. The plan was simple. Start on the left side of the school and work their way around before reaching the main entrance. As they killed zombies, they’d level up and invest their points. At that point, they’d be better prepared.
They followed alongside the school wall, keeping their eyes peeled for any zombies. Eric squinted his eyes when he found a figure in the distance. A few seconds later, he found a z
ombie banging on the wall of the school. It was alone, so he quickly stepped forward and killed it. The group continued onward.
Eric was in the front, Michael and Freddie were in the middle, and Courtney was in the back. Her job was to prevent any zombies from sneaking up on them, so she didn’t pay too much attention to the things going on in front of her. She placed her trust in her teammates and they placed their trust in her.
Every now and then, they found a zombie alongside the school walls. Eric took the lead and killed them each time. The group stopped when they heard groaning in front of them, lots of groaning. They walked quietly as they approached a group of figures. The zombies were banging against a door leading into the school.
“We leave our backs to you, Courtney,” Michael said.
Eric, Michael, and Freddie spread out, standing a few feet from each other. They slowly inched forward. Michael counted 7 zombies in total, not too much, but not too little. Eric gave a low shout, “Hey, zombies!”
The zombies slowly turned towards Eric before walking towards him. They were huddled together, with two in the front. Eric and Freddie stepped forward and got a hit in before backing out. The zombies were knocked into the other zombies. It took a few seconds for them to continue walking. Michael, Eric, and Freddie only hit once before stepping backwards. This was Michael’s suggestion. He was most afraid of getting surrounded, so he implemented a one hit rule. Hit once, then step back.
The zombies died slower this time, but Eric and his group were unharmed. The kills were split amongst the group, except for Courtney. Michael realized this and frowned. This was bad in the long run. They required more and more xp to level up, so it would be better if they had Courtney gain some levels as well.
The group continued along the wall of the school. After every battle, one of them swapped roles with Courtney. At first their battles with the zombies were slow, but they gained a better understanding of their strength as they fought. A single zombie was no match for someone with a metal bat. As they leveled up, their confidence continued to grow.
It took awhile for them to make their way around the school. An hour after they left the gym, they reached the main entrance. The groaning of over a hundred zombies was loud. Combine that with the fact they couldn’t see all of the zombies because of the fog, it was quite eerie.
Everyone was now Level 4. It required 50 xp to reach level 3, and 100 xp to reach level 4. They needed 250 xp to reach level 5. That meant 25 zombie kills!
Eric clenched his hand. His body was light, and the metal bat was nearly weightless. It was like he became a bodybuilder overnight. Even though he grew stronger, his muscle mass was the same. He looked at his information screen.
Name: Eric
Title: None
Age: 18
Kill Points: 30
Health: 26/26
Health Regeneration: .13/m
Stamina: 10/30
Stamina Regeneration: .15/m
Mana: 10/10
Mana Regeneration: .05/m
Level: 4
Experience Required to Level: 130
Stat Points: 0
Skill Points: 0
Strength: 16
Vitality: 13
Agility: 15
Endurance: 15
Intelligence: 10
Wisdom: 5
He put all his points into strength. He could now kill a zombie in one hit, but it required the strength of his whole body. He made lighter attacks instead to save stamina. Sweat covered everyone’s bodies. Courtney’s face was pale and she was gasping for breath, her stamina was the lowest of the group. Michael frowned, “We’re almost out of stamina, we should wait…”
Eric couldn’t help but say, “But the doors…”
“I know. We don’t have much time, at most twenty minutes.”
The metal doors would break any minute now, preventing them sitting down to restore stamina. Michael did a quick calculation and found it would take him 3 hours to completely recover his stamina. They couldn’t wait that long. The students would be long dead before then.
“Let’s try to kill as many as we can,” Courtney said.
“If we run out of stamina, we can just walk away, right? They are slow,” Eric added.
Michael sighed, “We have no choice. Everyone ready?”
The group forced themselves forward. Courtney stood a few feet behind them and watched their back. When they stood 15 feet away, Eric shouted for their attention, “Heeeey!”
The zombies closest to him turned and began to walk towards him. Eric’s eyes lit up when he noticed only half of the group heard him. Perfect! That was more manageable. Eric led them towards Michael and Freddie. When the zombies were a bit away from the main entrance, they enacted their one hit tactic.
Chapter 7
Everything was proceeding smoothly. The pack of zombies were slowly whittled down. At the start there were over 50 of them, but now there were less than 20. As they fought, they lured the zombies in a circle. They had to be careful not to run into any vehicles by accident.
Freddie’s clothes were soaked in sweat. He gasped for breath as he eyed the zombie in front of him. He thought to himself, “C’mon, C’mon! You can do it. We’re almost done!”
It took all his strength to lift the baseball bat above his head. It was simple. Step forward, swing, and step back. He’s done the same motion over a hundred times by now. What was one more?
Freddie stepped forward and planted his foot on the ground. The muscles in his leg gave out underneath him. His attack missed the zombie by a longshot as he fell to the ground. His eyes widened in shock, “No!”
He quickly tried to stand up by pushing off the ground with his arms, but they were like wet noodles. He couldn’t muster any strength. He looked up, only to find a zombie bending over him. It bit into his neck, biting away at his flesh. Freddie screamed in pain, “AHHHHH!”
Eric, Michael, and Courtney were attracted by the scream. They didn’t notice him fall down. In fact, they hadn’t been paying attention to each other at all. They were all exhausted. Eric’s eyes turned red as he saw the zombies tear into Freddie’s body. His voice was hoarse as he screamed, “NO! FREDDIE!”
Eric summoned the last of his stamina as he ran towards Freddie. Michael blocked his way. He clasped Eric’s shoulder and prevented him from moving forward. He shook his head, “It’s too late! He’s gone! We need to leave, NOW!”
Eric looked over Michael’s shoulder. He could barely make out Freddie’s body amongst the horde of zombies biting into him. Freddie’s screams were gone. The zombies grew uninterested in Freddie and turned towards them. Eric looked up to the sky and screamed, “AHHH!”
Courtney walked up to them and spoke with deep breaths, “Guys, we need to go! I can barely move, let alone attack.”
They fell into the exact situation Michael wanted to happen least. Running out of stamina. He wanted to test what would happen if you reached 0 stamina, but he didn’t have time to. The doors were like a ticking time bomb, waiting to explode.
The zombies at the main entrance were attracted by Freddie’s screams, and now by Erics. The zombie pack that numbered 20 were now 80. Michael shouted at Eric, “Look! They stopped attacking the doors. We can lead them somewhere else, but we have to go, now!”
Eric watched as Freddie stood back up, not as a human, but as a zombie.
Level 3 Zombie
Health: 30/30
Eric’s heart clenched in pain, but there was nothing he could do. He could barely move. Eric turned around, and together, the group began to flee from the zombies. They couldn’t run, and could barely walk. Each step required all of their attention lest they fall down. Michael glanced behind them and frowned.
The zombies were gaining on them. Both them and the zombies were slow, but they were slower. Still, they couldn’t give up. They continued to flee down the street of the parking lot, leading the zombies away from main entrance. As long as they could make it to another door with mo
re durability, they would live.
Courtney pointed in front of them, “There! Another entrance!”
40 feet away was another metal door leading into the school. With a destination in mind, they were filled with motivation. But it was useless. Willpower alone couldn’t recover their stamina. By the time they were 20 feet away from the door, the zombies were a foot behind them. Michael could feel their hands brush against his back.
Michael’s eyes narrowed as he looked at Courtney. Just as he reached out his hand, a loud noise boomed through the parking lot. The group snapped their heads to the right and found two bright lights coming from the fog. The blaring of a horn came from the direction of the light.
ZOMBIE SLAYER!!: A LitRPG Apocalypse Page 4
