07. Dash’s Appearance

Luca and Ruth are two people who are always cautious in their actions, especially in a world full of dangers, like the world they live in now. Through the surveillance camera, they saw a familiar man standing outside the gate. It was Dash, Luca’s friend.

Although they wondered why Dash had gotten here, they didn’t discuss it right away. There was still time to ask about it, anyway.

Ruth let out a long sigh of relief. “It is Dash. Come on, go down and check it out!”

Nodding lightly, Luca responded, “Bring weapons. We don’t know what’s going on down below.”

They got ready to go down and check on Dash. In fear of zombies following Dash, they decided to dress up with weapons. Luca took his M16 rifle while Ruth carried a pocket knife and a pistol.

They walked out of the house carefully, ready to face the danger. The streets around their house were quiet and dark, with only dim street lights illuminating the streets.

“Dash!” called Luca.

Dash, outside the gate, heard his name being called by a familiar voice. Desperately he shouted, “Luca! Luca, it’s me, Dash! Let me in!”

Luca glanced at Ruth. Even though they had decided to meet Dash, it was still necessary to be careful. So he whispered to the girl, “Raise your gun and keep watch. I’ll open the gate. If anything happens, don’t hesitate to shoot.”

Nodding firmly, Ruth stood a few steps behind Luca, raised her pistol, and aimed at the slowly opening gate.

Luca opened the gate carefully. At this moment, Dash rushed in with a bloodshot face and shortness of breath. Seeing two people he knew, Dash couldn’t hold back his surge of emotions. He cried like a child.

Luca, who closed the gate, was a little stunned. This was the first time he had seen his friend cry so desperately.

“Hey, what’s up?” Luca asked casually.

After a while, Dash stopped crying. He looked at Luca seriously. “I really can’t believe the world would change so fast! I’ve only lived half a century and haven’t had a partner. Why are people turning into zombies?”

He sucked his nose and complained again, “Luca, how can I face this world?”

Dash’s change in attitude dumbfounded Luca. This was very different from the company days. “What are you worried about, huh? Don’t you trust us?”

“Yes, yes, I’m sorry for that, but... Yes, you know the situation back then, right?”

Exhaling a long breath and trying to be indifferent, Luca did not want to prolong this matter.

While the two were talking, Ruth’s attention was focused on Dash's hand. Dash’s hand looked injured and was bleeding profusely. Seeing this, Ruth carefully pulled Luca close to her.

“Your hand is hurt,” she told Dash. “Why?”

Dash looked at his hand, then thought about the problem, and was surprised. “Ah, this... It looks like something back scratched it in the nearby village.”

“Were there zombies in that village?” Ruth asked again.

Dash nodded, “Yes.”

“Really? It wasn’t a zombie that hurt your hand, was it?” Luca asked this time.

“I’m not lying.” Dash showed a serious expression, but he pressed his hand firmly.

After a moment of investigation, Ruth and Luca believed him. Ruth tried to heal the wound on Dash’s hand using her powers, but she realized that her powers weren’t strong enough to heal a bleeding wound. So they just asked Dash to clean the wound with water and bandage it.

Nevertheless, Ruth and Luca remained vigilant to avoid anything bad happening.

“Stay in this room for three days.” Ruth pointed to a small building that served as an isolation room outside the main building of the house but was still within the scope of their base. “If you don’t turn into a zombie in three days, then we’ll let you stay at the base with us.”

“Are you serious?” Dash looked at Ruth in disbelief. “I told you I don’t get zombie scratches or bites!”

Ruth rolled her eyes lazily and replied, “Your word can’t guarantee anything. Only if you remain human after three days of confinement will I believe you.”

Next to Ruth, Luca also nodded in agreement. It wasn’t that he didn’t have a sense of friendship, but he had to be fair and vigilant. After all, it was the end of the world. No one trusted anyone.

“What Ruth said is right. Stay here for 3 days. We’ll keep you fed and watered.”

Dash desperately wanted to resist, but he saw the gun in Ruth’s hand that was pointed vigilantly at him. He gritted his teeth and walked towards the isolation room.

Ruth turned the gun and locked the isolation room door from the outside, before saying, “I hope you didn’t bring any trouble when you came here.”

Inside the isolation room, there was a closet filled with sleeping bags, there was also a small bathroom. Although the place wasn’t very comfortable, it was still quite safe. Dash sat on the floor, leaning against the icy wall, and closed his eyes. In the dimness, he felt the throbbing in his injured arm.

It should have been a normal effect, but over time, he felt a numbness in his hand. When he turned on the light, he could see that the skin of the hand was starting to turn black, stiff, and smelled strange. Dash was in a panic. He didn’t want to become a zombie.

“Luca!”

“Ruth!”

He shouted frantically, pounding on the door of the room and making big movements. However, no one responded. They specially made the room to be resistant to destruction.

Looking around, Dash found a surveillance camera. In front of the camera, he showed his injured hand and continued to speak.

“Luca, save me!”

“Ruth, I’m telling you the truth. A zombie bit me!”

“Luca, Ruth, you have to save me!”

Dash raised his hands in resignation and despair. He didn’t pay attention to anything else. The door behind him opened and a savior figure appeared, but he didn’t dare to approach directly.

“I got bitten by a zombie,” Dash explained. “It’s just a little bit, so can you guys help me? I don’t want to be... Ah!”

Before he finished his words, Ruth hit Dash’s head angrily. “You...! You should have told me from the start!”

Luca pulled Ruth to his side, away from Dash, afraid that she would catch the infection.

“So, what should we do now?” Luca asked Ruth.

“What else? Cut off his hand now! By the way, we should also prepare ourselves. The zombies will come after smelling it.”

Three hours had passed since Dash’s arrival. The distance between the residential area and this place was about one hour.

“It’s estimated that the zombies will get here soon.”

Luca and Dash stared at Ruth, who explained the situation, inevitably feeling goosebumps. Luca was even very angry with Dash and wanted to throw that person outside. However, he refrained considering the lack of life at the end of the world.

Seeing the two inexperienced people staring at her, Ruth exhaled tiredly. “Come on, cut off his hand!”

“What, are you crazy?! Dash took a step back and expressed his horror. How could he live without one hand? “I don’t want to. You guys... Don’t you have medicine, just give it to me!”

Luca laughed mockingly. This fella was troublesome. “You don’t think the zombie virus is the same as the flu virus, do you? How can we treat it that easily?”

“If you don’t want to become a zombie, the only thing we can do is cut off your hand,” Ruth added seriously. “Otherwise, we’ll have to throw you out of this place.”

Looking at his numb hand and the growing black skin, Dash closed his eyes and responded, “Come on, cut this off.”

Not wanting the zombie virus to spread throughout Dash’s body, Luca and Ruth decided to cut off the injured hand as quickly as possible. This was difficult, but there was no other choice. After they cut his hand off, Dash fell unconscious. Ruth used her healing powers to help a little.

Unfortunately, just as the scene was under control, the warning alarm went off again.

“It’s the zombies from the settlement!” exclaimed Luca from outside, telling Ruth.