Survivor System: From Weak To Overlord

Chapter 6. Pacing Through

The hallway stretched ahead, dim and cold, filled with the smell of dust and faint rot. Wilson took a deep breath and looked at the woman walking beside him. 

For the first time since everything went wrong, he didn’t feel completely alone. He had met Sophia only a few minutes ago, but somehow it already felt like they’d known each other longer. 

She carried a small boy, Kevin, in her arms. The boy’s head rested on her shoulder, his small fingers gripping her jacket tightly.

Wilson smiled faintly. “At least I’m not talking to myself anymore.”

“Now,” he said, trying to sound calm, “since we’re already on the fifth floor, that means we have a good chance of getting out of here. We just need to be careful. No slip-ups. And hopefully,” he looked at her, “we won’t find zombies flooding the next floor.”

Sophia nodded, her face calm though her hands trembled slightly. “All we have to do is follow you,” she said. “As long as we keep moving and don’t make too much noise, we’ll be fine.”

Her voice was steady, too steady. Wilson could tell she was scared but trying not to show it. He admired that.

“You know,” he said, smirking a little, “you don’t have to act tough all the time. I get that you can take care of yourself, but please don’t try to be some fearless warrior. I don’t want you getting hurt.”

Sophia looked over at him with a playful grin. “You don’t know me yet. I might surprise you. Maybe you’ll be the one who needs protecting.”

Wilson laughed quietly. “We’ll see about that.”

They kept walking. The corridor was silent except for their footsteps and the soft squeak of Kevin’s shoes brushing against Sophia’s leg. It was too quiet, no groans, no scratching, no moaning. Just stillness.

It made Wilson uneasy. He slowed down and glanced around. Every broken door, every shattered glass window seemed to hide a threat. He could feel his pulse rising.

‘System alert,’ a voice echoed suddenly in his head. ‘Zombie presence detected. Ten to fifteen nearby.’

Wilson froze. His eyes darted around. The alert had come out of nowhere. His heart pounded in his chest. “Wilson?” Sophia whispered. “What’s wrong?”

He forced a calm look. “I just… have a bad feeling about this area. Let’s move quietly. There might be zombies nearby.”

Sophia’s eyes widened. “You sure?”

“Not completely. But I trust my gut.”

She tightened her grip on Kevin and nodded. “Okay. We’ll go slow.”

They stepped carefully past a line of overturned desks. Wilson strained his ears, trying to hear anything, breathing, movement, footsteps. Nothing. The air was still. Too still.

Then he heard it. A faint shuffle. Then another. He turned his head toward the stairwell and felt his stomach twist. 

There they were, fifteen of them, standing together like a wall of death. Their gray skin sagged, mouths open, eyes empty. One of them tilted its head and let out a low, hungry growl.

Wilson’s fingers clenched around the axe handle. He couldn’t let Sophia see what he could really do, not yet. Not his speed, not his strength. That would raise questions he couldn’t answer.

Okay, he thought. “No skills. Just strength and speed.”

“Stay here,” he said quietly, turning to Sophia. “Keep Kevin close. Don’t move.”

“Wilson.”

He didn’t let her finish. He charged forward. The world blurred around him as he dashed toward the horde. 

His muscles tightened, his heart racing faster than he could count. The first zombie lunged, and he swung the axe clean through its skull.

The second came next, and the axe split its jaw. The third stumbled toward him, its arms outstretched. Wilson kicked it hard in the chest, sending it crashing against the wall.

He moved like lightning. Each swing was quick, precise, merciless. Blood splashed across his clothes, but he didn’t stop. One by one, they fell. Ten… twelve… fourteen… fifteen.

When it was over, the stairwell was silent again. Wilson wiped his forehead with the back of his hand and let out a shaky breath. 

He looked at the carnage, bodies piled together, unmoving. “Now that’s that,” he muttered, forcing a grin.

He turned around and froze. Sophia was staring at him. Her eyes were wide, mouth slightly open. For a moment, neither of them spoke.

“You…” she finally whispered. “You took them down like they were nothing. You didn’t even flinch.”

Wilson tried to act casual. “Guess all those years of sports finally paid off,” he said, half-smiling.

Sophia shook her head. “No. That wasn’t just sports. That was something else.”

Wilson felt his stomach tighten. “She’s suspicious.”

But then, instead of fear, she smiled. “Whatever it is, I’m glad you’re on our side. Let’s keep moving before more of them come.”

He nodded quickly. “Right. Let’s go.”

They moved down the stairs to the fourth floor. The air grew colder as they descended. Wilson could feel the tension easing slightly, though the smell of decay clung to the walls. “This has been the longest day of my life,” he said, exhaling hard.

“Tell me about it,” Sophia replied. “A few hours ago, I was trying to finish work and impress my boss. Now I’m running from corpses.” She gave a nervous laugh. “The universe really has a weird sense of humor.”

Wilson smiled faintly but his mind drifted elsewhere, to Katie. He remembered the moment she shut the door on him. 

The fear in her eyes. The way she didn’t even look back. “I hope she’s okay,” he thought, clenching his jaw. “Wherever she is.”

Sophia noticed his silence. “You lost someone?”

He nodded slowly. “Maybe. I don’t know if she made it out.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be,” he said quietly. “We’ll all lose someone before this is over.”

They walked in silence for a while. The emergency lights flickered, throwing red flashes across the walls. The sound of distant thuds echoed from above.

Sophia’s voice broke the silence. “What if this isn’t just the city? What if the whole country’s like this?”

Wilson looked at her, his expression unreadable. “Then we survive. No matter what it takes. We keep moving, we keep fighting, and we don’t lose hope.”

Sophia smiled softly. “You sound like a hero in a movie.”

He laughed. “I wish I was. But heroes don’t get scared.”

“You’re still human, right?” she teased, though part of her didn’t sound so sure.

“Yeah,” he said, almost too quickly.

They reached the end of the hallway, where a sign pointed toward the exit stairwell. A soft breeze drifted from the broken windows. 

For the first time in hours, Wilson felt like there might be a way out. “Well,” Sophia said, shifting Kevin’s weight in her arms, “I guess I’m in your care from now on. Just don’t get tired of me.”

He looked at her, then at the stairs leading down. “I wouldn't dream of it. Let’s keep moving before the next wave shows up.”

They started down the steps slowly. The lights flickered again, and a loud bang echoed from somewhere below. Sophia stopped. “What was that?”

Wilson froze, gripping his axe. His heartbeat quickened. Another bang. Then a dragging sound, like something heavy being pulled across the floor.

He glanced down the stairwell. Shadows moved below them. This time, it wasn’t just zombies. Something else was coming, and it was fast.