Zombie Slaying System

Chapter 2: Infection

Jonah stood frozen, his legs stiff and his heart pounding like a war drum. What he was seeing didn’t make any sense. It couldn’t be real. It shouldn’t be real.

Right in front of him, Conor had Helen pinned to the floor. His face was twisted in rage. Pale skin stretched tight over his bones, and thick blue veins bulged along his neck like ropes.

“Conor! Stop it!” one of their coworkers shouted.

Two others ran forward and tried to pull him off Helen. But Conor didn’t stop. He didn’t even flinch. He seemed inhuman, his strength too much for the two men to handle. Then, without warning, Conor let go of Helen and turned around, his eyes wild and empty. In one quick motion, he lunged at one of the men and sank his teeth deep into his shoulder.

A scream tore through the air.

Jonah’s thoughts were racing. This isn’t possible... This isn’t happening… Is this a dream? He blinked, hoping the scene would disappear. But it didn’t. It only got worse.

“What the hell is happening to him?” Clara gasped beside him. Her voice trembled as she watched Conor snarl like a wild animal.

Jonah was about to step forward when a loud, high-pitched scream echoed from outside. He turned to the window. Across the street, a woman was being attacked by four men. They weren’t just hitting her, they were biting her.

His heart dropped. “No,” he whispered. “This… This is spreading.”

Then it clicked. Conor wasn’t just acting strange, he was infected. Just like those men outside.

He turned quickly to Clara. “We need to leave. Now.”

“What? Why?” Clara narrowed her eyes. “Conor’s still here, he needs our help. Don’t tell me you’re trying to slack off again.”

“No, Clara, listen to me,” Jonah said quickly, gripping her arm. “It’s not what you think. This isn’t normal. Conor… he’s not sick. He’s turned. Like the others outside. This is something else. Please trust me.”

Clara pulled her arm back. “Turned? What are you even talking about?”

“I don’t have time to explain,” Jonah said, panic rising in his throat.

But before Clara could reply, Helen let out a soft, guttural groan. They both turned.

Helen was shaking. Her eyes rolled back. Her skin began turning white. Her lips trembled, and blood dripped from her nose.

Then she stopped moving… and lifted her head. Her eyes locked on Clara.

“What, Helen?” Clara stepped back.

Jonah felt it in his bones, Helen was no longer human.

“Watch out!” he yelled, and grabbed the nearest chair. Without thinking, he hurled it.

The chair slammed into Helen just as she leapt forward.

She collapsed to the ground.

Clara stared at her, horrified. Her mouth hung open, but no words came out.

“Let’s go!” Jonah grabbed her hand. They ran through the office halls. Around them, people continued typing, unaware of the nightmare creeping in.

Jonah shouted, “Run! Everyone! Get out now! You have to leave!”

But nobody listened. Some laughed. Others frowned. None of them took him seriously.

“We’re on our own,” he muttered, pulling Clara toward the main hallway.

“Jonah, what is going on?” Clara asked breathlessly. “Why did Helen attack me? She, she looked dead…”

“I think…” Jonah took a deep breath. “When Conor went home, something must’ve happened. Maybe it was in the air or something he touched. Whatever it was, it turned him into… that. A monster. And when he bit Helen, ”

She gasped. “You think she got infected?”

“That’s the only thing that makes sense.”

“But that’s not possible! You can’t just catch something and turn into a, ” Clara stopped mid-sentence as another horrible sound reached them.

A gurgling noise.

They turned the corner… and stopped.

A man stood in front of the exit. He was hunched over another person, feeding.

Clara screamed.

Jonah pulled her back. “We can’t go that way!”

She trembled. “What are they? Zombies?”

“I think so,” Jonah said. “Or something like them…”

He turned and ran, dragging Clara along. Every hallway they passed held more horrors: coworkers crying, screaming, shaking… and some already turning pale, their eyes growing blank and lifeless.

“Clara, we have to keep moving,” Jonah said. “Please.”

“I, I don’t think I can,” she said, stumbling.

“You have to. I’m not leaving you behind.”

They kept moving. He spotted the red emergency box at the wall up ahead. Inside was a fire axe.

Jonah sprinted toward it, smashed the glass with his elbow, and yanked out the axe. It was heavier than he expected, but he gripped it tightly.

Now he had a weapon.

“We’re on the seventh floor,” he said. “If we can find the emergency stairwell, we can escape.”

Clara nodded weakly.

As they walked quickly toward the fire exit, Jonah tried to distract her. “We’ll be okay. We just need to stay calm, keep quiet, and get out. Once we’re outside, we’ll find help. We’ll figure this out.”

They reached the stairwell door.

Jonah grinned. “Finally…”

Then he heard it. A rush of footsteps behind them.

He turned. Half the office, former coworkers, now looked dead. Their eyes were empty. Their jaws hung open. And they were running fast.

“Clara, go!” Jonah shouted.

They pushed through the door and into the stairwell.

But then, slam.

The door shut behind him. From the other side.

Jonah turned, confused. Clara was inside the stairwell. He was still outside.

“Clara?” he called, banging on the door. “Open the door! What are you doing?!”

Clara’s face appeared in the small window. Tears filled her eyes.

“I’m sorry, Jonah,” she said. “You have the axe. You’re strong. You can make it.”

“No, no, don’t do this. Open the door!”

She shook her head. “I can’t. I won’t make it out alive. I’m not strong like you. I’m scared. I can’t take the chance.”

“Clara, please!”

“I’m sorry,” she whispered. “Please don’t hate me.”

And then she was gone.

The door stayed shut.

Jonah stood there, heartbroken, the axe heavy in his hands… and the monsters closing in behind him.