[ Chapter 10 - Neighbor ]

Cole, Gerald and Denma have entered the apartment complex and before them stood a flight of stairs going up in a spiral manner.

[ Denma ] "This place looks old, because of the cobwebs and the mud-, wait, mud?"

Denma went past Gerald and Cole to the stairs and bent down to examine the mud on them.

Denma closely examines the mud.

[ Denma ] There might be zomboid's inside this building.

[ Denma ] Also, Cole, skip the first floor, the first floor is always reachable from the outside, even if the room was in good condition, it would not be safe.

Denma advised caution as he had found a hint for a zomboid residing in this complex and explained why the first floor's room would be a bad idea.

Gerald and Cole got cautious and went silent.

[ Cole ] Let's go!

Cole clenched his fists as he went ahead of the group, trying to show off that even a useless person can do it if he tried.

Gerald followed Cole and Denma followed Gerald from behind as they climbed the stairs.

[ Cole ] "Please, please god, don't let any zombies appear!"

Cole held his hands together while climbing the stairs.

Denma noticed the iron in the air while breathing.

[ Denma ] "There definitely is a corpse in this building."

Denma frowned as he looked on ahead with caution and clenched fists.

Gerald kept walking, but kept having this strange feeling.

[ Gerald ] "Do not think, do not think, focus Gerald, kill any monster that appears in front or in the back, to protect them!"

Determination shone in Gerald's eyes, as he kept walking bravely with his head held high.

Cole made it to the second floor with his team staying right by his side.

[ Cole ] All four doors on this floor are either painted in blood or have holes in them, what do you think, Denma?

Cole wanted Denma's opinion on the matter of where they will reside at, because Cole understood that Denma had known something that they didn't.

Denma got past Gerald and came up to Cole.

[ Denma ] It's risky to go up any higher, but it's also risky staying in a room with no cover.

[ Denma ] And if we went into the rooms with blood seeping through the bottom, I'm afraid we would either run into an undead or a rotting corpse.

Denma put his hand together as if to pray for something good to happen while thinking of ways to survive the night.

[ Gerald ] Let's go up.

He suggested, staring nonchalantly at them.

Denma turned towards Gerald.

[ Denma ] But we will most likely encounter the undead if we go up!

Denma revealed the problem to going up the stairs.

[ Gerald ] Won't we still meet them in a couple of hours or days?

Gerald's point made Denma to think again.

[ Denma ] "He's right, it's not as if the undead will stay in one place for a long period of time."

[ Cole ] Let's move then, maybe Gerald here, will take care of 'em!

Cole hoped to rely on Gerald's strength.

[ Denma ] Definitely not, any wound caused by the undead brings disease's, although I have a bottle of antibiotics, it won't help much against the disease brought by the undead.

Denma quickly shut down the conversation about 'hunting' the undead.

[ Denma ] Shit!

Denma's frustration had risen to a point that Denma started biting his nails while walking around, he often did it in his previous life.

[ Denma ] "We cannot hunt, we cannot explore further, we cannot even rest!"

[ Cole ] "This situation seems to really frustrate him, I wonder what I can do to help relieve that stress, hmm."

Cole, noticing Denma's frustration put up his hand to his chin and began to wonder for ways to relieve his frustration.

Cole's eyes suddenly lit up with an idea.

[ Cole ] Denma, Denma!

Cole grabbed Denma by both sides.

[ Cole ] What if, and if, we lure the undead outside and barricade the door!

Denma stood still for the moment, wondering if that was a good idea.

Denma rubbed his hair really fast not coming up with any other ideas.

[ Denma ] Fine, let's do it that way.

[ Gerald ] Let's search this floor for the materials then.

Gerald agreed to Cole's plan, he even put a thumbs up.

Cole ran over to a broken door near them and slowly opened it.

The door creaked as Cole opened it, but the scenery on the other side of the door shocked the team.

[ Denma ] "Survivors!"

The three survivors sat by a small fire that was surrounded by debris and under the fire was a metal sheet, the survivors most likely did not want to burn down their room or attract anything else.

The room had lots of holes, smashed glass, debris, blood, broken electronics.

[ Survivor #1 ] Ah, it's not a zombie, hello there!

The girl survivor smiled and waved while sitting near the campfire.

The girl was wearing an orange jacket, blue jeans and round glasses.

[ Survivor #2 ] Get the fuck out!

A black male survivor screamed who was sitting behind the girl, he pulled out a gun and held it at them.

He wore a policeman's attire.

Denma put up his hands, as Cole and Gerald did the same.

[ Cole ] Chill, chill, we're not bad guys!

The team had forgot one very important part, they were inmates and still wore their uniforms.

The other male survivor picked up a long steel pole and had it ready to attack them.

That male survivor wore a green wool shirt with black jeans.

[ Zomboid ] Gah, ah!

The zomboid screamed in the stairway, the sound came from the top floor.

The policeman rushed to the team and pulled them all into the room, while the man with a green wool shirt put out the fire.

[ Policeman ] Get in!

The policeman whispered, letting the team in.

The team got into the room, the policeman still held his gun at gunpoint while leading them behind a corner in the room, away from the door.

The other survivors came along.

The team stood against a wall with their arms up.

The policeman put a finger to his lips, signaling to keep quiet.

[ Zomboid ] No, no, no help me!

The voice grew stronger.

[ Zomboid ] Save me!

The voice grew fainter.

Silence swept the room for a couple of seconds, until the policeman sighed.

[ Policeman ] Leave, now.

The policeman spoke in a dominant, but calm voice.

[ Denma ] I can promise you we never killed a human!

Denma swore while crossing his fingers above his head.

[ Policeman ] For what were you put in jail then?

The policeman continued his interrogation of the inmates.

[ Denma ] I don't know!

Denma frowned while looking away from the policeman.

[ Policeman ] How could you not know what you were put in jail for!

The policeman got enraged at the silly situation he was in that the accidentally got swept up in his own emotions.

[ Zomboid ] Help me!

A faint voice could be heard echoing throughout the complex.

[ Male survivor ] Shh!

The other survivor tried to quiet the policeman, because he was getting too loud.

Denma trembled at the policeman's interrogation, he felt his heart get tighter and tighter.

Gerald remembered what Denma had told him about his time before the jail, so he tried to interrupt the interrogation.

[ Gerald ] Please stop asking him questions about how he was jailed!

He pleaded the policeman while still having his hands up.

[ Policeman ] Shut your trap, you fucking scum!

The policeman's voice grew louder.

[ Zomboid ] Be quiet, it's gonna find us!

The zomboid's voice grew stronger.

The male survivor grabbed the policeman's mouth and held it shut, making the policeman waver his gun.

Cole looked towards Gerald, signaling him with his eyes:

[ Cole ] 'Get it!'

Gerald noticing what Cole was thinking nodded.

[ Gerald ] 'Let's go!'

Gerald and Cole both stared at the struggling policeman, who tried to get the survivor off of himself and plunged for the gun in the policeman's hand.

Cole went and hugged the policeman by the waist, while Gerald wrestled with the policeman's hands.

[ Policeman ] Mppfhh!

The policeman grabbed the gun with two hands, trying to resist.

Gerald, with his super human strength, took the gun out of his hands and threw it to Denma who recently stopped shaking.

[ Gerald ] Denma, catch!

He whispered while throwing the gun, dread filled the policeman's face.

The male survivor who held back the policeman backed off, worried so he went and stood in front of the girl survivor with his steel pole in hand.

[ Zomboid ] Dear, you're finally back!

The voice came from behind the rooms door.

Everyone fell silent and dared not to move.

The zomboid hit the door one time.

[ Zomboid ] Help me!

Silence once again filled the room with dread being it's biggest benefactor.

Every person in the room felt the cold sweat drip down their foreheads.

The zomboid had started walking, everybody could hear the silence, but loud footsteps too as it walked the stairs.

Everyone's eyes filled with sweat, the girl quietly sobbed behind the male survivor.

The male survivor sat down, laying his steel pole on the ground next to him, he stared at the ceiling.

Cole went down on his knees and put a hand to his chest, to check his heartbeat while breathing heavily.

Denma's mouth watered, he gulped really loudly while still watching the door, ignoring the cold sweat that dripped in front off his eyes.

The policeman held on to his knees while breathing heavily, his pupils shook with worry.