My Undead System

Ch. 14 - Escape

The constant growling deafened the beat from their hearts. When the zombies surrounded them, they blocked their only way out. The teenage inmates were in and out of consciousness, and there was no other way than to carry them.

Kroll shot at them until he emptied his clip, but a few bullets weren’t enough to clear a path. Jin slapped the teens back into consciousness. “Get up! Rise and shine, sleeping beauties…”

Rena stared at him, confused. Yes, they were hindrances, but he didn’t have to hit them. To their surprise, Jin dropped the guy he was carrying and rested the trustee bat on his shoulder. He stood in front of them and smirked. “I’ll clear a path, so make a run for it when you can…”

He spun the bat a few times and charged ahead. With every swing, a smashed head sent blood flying in different directions. He redecorated the interior with blood and scattered brains.

Rena and the others didn’t waste the chance that Jin created for them. They made a run for it while the undead focused on Jin. The restoration skill he earned earlier reversed the rotting process. Constantly, when parts of his body rotted, they would immediately heal.

Jin pushed forward and swung his weapon of choice maniacally without stopping. Most of his companions went through the door that led to caved steel gates. Although he kept an eye out, an undead went past him and grabbed a teen.

The corpse had a juicy bite off the youngster’s arm. His screams echoed throughout the Detention Facility. Jin was further and wouldn’t make it when Rena shot the undead. The bullet went clean, and one could see through the undead’s skull.

It released the young man, who lost streams of blood in mere seconds. After that, they all got out of their predicament. Jin fought the undead for a little while longer to give his friends time to create distance.

Once he made sure of that, he ran behind them. He reached the yard and, along with the others; he noticed the gates crashed down and sealed their only way out.

Kroll with the help of Rena put the weakened teenagers in the Jeep while Jin held the door closed so the dead wouldn’t pour out and overwhelm them.

Kroll and Rena leaned on the car to catch their breath. Salty sweat burnt their eyes when it drenched their faces. Their breathing was erratic, and their mouths were dry. They simply stared at the blocked entrance, discouraged.

 The banging on the door Jin was fighting to keep close, and the growls coming from behind it added to their demoralization. Their attitude visibly annoyed the young man. “Hey, Kroll! Is this all you got, man? You got your son out and you gave up?!”

Kroll’s eyes widened. He glanced over at Jin, who could barely hold up. Filled with scratches and drenched with undead blood. Yet his morale was unwavering. Kroll slapped his face together and wiped the sweat off with his sleeve.

Once the adrenaline cooled down, the man with the brown beard had a thought flash in his mind. “One kid was bitten…”

He hurriedly opened the jeep’s door and checked them one by one. He sighed in relief when he realized it wasn’t his son, but the fact was still true, and they couldn’t leave it be.

The teenager had a piece missing from his arm. His eyes narrowed and his complexion sorrowed. “I’m sorry kid…”

Without uttering a word, he pulled him out of the Jeep. In his weakened state, the young man couldn’t fight back. Resisting was futile either way. Kroll placed the youth next to Jin. They both looked at each other with the same saddened expression painted on their faces.

Jin struggled to keep the steel door closed, but the undead pushed harder each time as more piled up behind them. From time to time, they would push him forward and slip their hands through. Jin would then break them with his bat and push the door shut.

He felt himself weakening over time, Jin shouted. “I can’t hold on for much longer. If you are going to do something, do it now!”

Kroll, muzzy, searched around and glanced at the debris. Rena took a deep breath, filled her chest with air and exhaled slowly, giving time to her brain to reset. She closed her eyes and one by one; she cut off sounds that threw her off.

The loud banging on the door, the constant growls that sent chills down her spine and the teenager’s protest that Kroll dragged out of the Jeep. She opened her eyes and surveyed the area. She grabbed a metallic pole and slammed it into the debris, trying to force the rubble off their place.

Kroll joined her for a while, but it proved their tires pointless when they barely moved a single boulder of minimum size. Kroll, dissatisfied, growled and kicked the ground. “Not enough hands on this. It’ll take forever!”

“Dad…!”

Upon hearing his son calling out to him, he dropped everything and ran to the Jeep. Panting, he peeked through the window. He gulped a mouthful of saliva and dust down his dry throat. He flinched and his voice came out crackling. “What’s the matter, Krish?”

The young man could barely keep his eyes open from exhaustion. He shakily pointed at his feet. A smile formed on Kroll’s mouth. He grabbed Krish through the window and kissed his forehead. “You saved us, son!”

He opened the back door and pulled a rope from his son’s feet. He turned to the girl with the emerald eyes, raised the rope into the air and scoffed. “You were sleeping next to the damn thing…”

When she saw it, Rena felt embarrassed and mad at herself. “How did you expect me to remember after everything that happened?”

Jin reached the limit of his stamina. “That’s good, Kroll, but can you leave the annoying remarks for later? I’m losing my grip here…”

Kroll clicked his tongue and rushed to tie the rope at the fallen gates. He looked at Rena as he ran back to the car. “Get in!”

He tied it to the back of the vehicle and got into the driver’s seat. Kroll started the Jeep and floored the gas. The tires rotated in the dirt and scattered dust and pebbles. It felt as if it floated for several seconds, before the tires got a hold of the slippery dirt ground and pushed the Jeep forward.

The gate got loose and as the Jeep pulled forward; it released the rubble that held it in place. Kroll changed gears and sped up when he felt the kick. The sudden boost of power cleared the entrance completely.

Jin released the door, threw his bat through the window and jumped on the Jeep’s hood. He yelled at the top of his lungs. “Floor it!”