14

"Whoosh—" Someone yanked open the curtains.

Sunlight streamed onto my face, making me squint.

"Wake up," Anne came over and yanked the blanket off me, "If you sleep any longer, you'll miss dinner."

"I'm still a patient..." I clung to the blanket, refusing to let go.

"Please, you've been fever-free for ages," she suddenly remembered something, "By the way, what were you doing last night? Didn't I tell you to lock the bedroom door? You actually forgot!"

Last night...

"It's okay, Anne," I cut off her rambling, "Last night I already sold both of us to Chris Carter."

She stared at me with suspicion.

"What's with that look? Get those dirty thoughts out of your head. It's not what you're imagining." I felt a shiver run down my spine under her gaze.

"But whatever kind of 'selling' you're talking about, are you sure it worked?" Anne pointed outside the door, "He's packing up to leave."

What?

I jumped out of bed immediately. In the living room, Chris was leaning against the glass door of the kitchen, seemingly waiting for me to question him.

"I need to go back and get some things."

He spoke first.

"If you're interested in the outside, you can come with me."

This was an invitation Anne couldn't refuse.

I glanced at her, but she surprisingly didn't immediately agree.

She was actually staying calm.

I knew she was waiting for me to make the decision.

Although I had confidently made big promises to Chris last night,

I had neither the courage nor the conviction.

Our contact with Chris had been too brief for me to gauge his character; I could only guess what might persuade him to stay.

But I hadn't expected to be tested so soon.

The thought of going outside to face zombies made me hesitate again.

I hoped I had convinced Chris, rather than fooling myself into a corner.

"What do you need us to do?" I steeled myself and asked.

I had never planned to confront zombies directly. Otherwise, our house wouldn't be so lacking in proper weapons.

"Just dress warmly and cover all exposed skin."

He pointed to our clothes.

"Zombies can sense sound and have some vision. Don't get too close to them."

Chris slung his bag over his shoulder, "No need to do anything special, just follow me." The distance between the two buildings wasn't far.

From the window, we could see quite a few zombies on the road.

I felt uneasy, "During the day, they're scattered throughout the complex. Isn't it dangerous to walk through?"

"In the complex, the density is lower. Just be careful. But if they're gathered in the lobby, it's impossible to pass them."

"We need to leave now."

He glanced at the clock on the wall.

There were four hours left until sunset.

Besides clothing, Anne and I put on masks and gloves.

Before leaving, Chris opened the fire cabinet in the hallway, revealing a rescue axe.

"I checked 903 last time. There are no zombies inside. Your floor is currently safe."

We nodded.

Since Anne had no weapon, the axe went to her.

Fully equipped, we cautiously descended the fire escape.

Chris led, staying half a flight ahead of us.

I clung to the handrail, moving carefully. After each floor, I closed the fire door connecting the stairwell to the hallway, just in case.

"I thought you'd never want to go out," Anne whispered, squeezing my arm.

I closed the fire door on the 8th floor, fiddling with it for extra security, and replied absentmindedly, "Do I look willing now?"

"You've come around, but you're still pretending," she said happily.

We reached the first floor.

Despite the virus outbreak, this was my first close-up view of such carnage.

The door was ajar, and a man lay on the ground.

From his neck down, he had been stripped clean, leaving only his skull, resembling a fishbone.

The cold weather had preserved the head from complete decomposition.

As I looked at him, a maggot burrowed through the skin of his cheek.

I felt nauseated.

"They're eaten clean, otherwise the smell of decay and flies would worsen the sanitary conditions,"

Chris glanced at the corpse. "Let's go."

We followed closely behind him.

There weren't many zombies between the buildings.

We carefully avoided the remains on the ground and slipped through the bushes.

Soon, we reached building 58.

"This seems easier than I thought," I whispered to Anne.

She gave me an okay sign.
Upstairs, while Chris gathered his things, we looked around his apartment.
Apart from the huge bookshelf facing the entryway, there was little furniture.
Food and water were stacked on the living room floor.

"What are you doing?" I asked Anne quietly as she subtly searched around.
She peeked onto the balcony, about to say something, when Chris emerged from the bedroom.
Anne straightened up quickly but bumped her head, clutching her forehead in pain. Chris walked to the balcony, removed a telescope from its tripod, and opened a cabinet nearby, revealing a diesel generator. Said "It's here,"
Having recently chosen a power generator, I recognized it immediately.
Anne rubbed her head, undeterred by being caught, "It's a waste to leave such a good generator behind."

Chris didn't refuse.
He packed the generator into his backpack.
There were three oil cans in the corner. He grabbed one, and Anne and I took the other two.
They were heavy.
I checked the label: 4 liters.
No idea how efficient it was.
With the extra weight, descending took more time.
By the time we reached the first floor, the density of zombies outside had increased.

"What time is it?" Chris asked me. I checked my watch. The sun was about to set.

"Can you carry this?" Chris handed me his oil can.
I nodded. Carrying two cans, I felt my steps grow heavier.
Exiting the lobby, Chris scouted ahead, then turned back, whispering, "We can't return the same way. We'll go another—"

Before he could finish, Anne exclaimed,

"Watch out!"

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