Zombie Slaying System

Chapter 9: The Ringing in the Silence

The room was quiet. Too quiet. Jonah lay on the cold, dusty floor with his back against the wall. His axe was resting beside him, and his eyes were closed, just for a moment of peace. 

The night had been hard. His muscles ached. His mind wouldn’t stop thinking about everything, Lisa, Kevin, the zombies, and the strange power inside him that no one else knew about.

But then, “Jonah,” a soft voice called his name.

He opened his eyes fast. His hand reached for the axe before he even knew it. His body moved on its own. “Who’s there?” he whispered sharply.

Lisa stood in front of him. Her face was calm, but her eyes were heavy with worry. She looked like she had been thinking a lot. “It’s just me,” she said quietly. “I... I couldn’t sleep.”

Jonah slowly lowered his axe and sat up straighter. “Is something wrong? Did you hear something?”

Lisa shook her head. “No, I just... needed someone to talk to.”

Jonah looked at her for a moment, then nodded and moved over so she could sit beside him. He could see it in her eyes, she was scared. 

Not the kind of fear you feel when a zombie is chasing you. This was different. This was the fear that grows when you start to lose hope.

Lisa sat down slowly, wrapping her arms around her legs. Her shoulders were tense. She didn’t speak right away.

Jonah looked over at her. “You sure everything’s okay?”

She gave a tiny smile, but it didn’t reach her eyes. “I just keep thinking... what if the world outside is worse than inside here? What if it’s all gone? No safe place, no people, just... death.”

Jonah stayed quiet. That same thought had been sitting in his chest like a rock for days. He wanted to say something strong. Something brave. But he didn’t know what to say.

“I don’t know,” he said at last. “But I’ll find a way to live. Even if the world is full of zombies, I’ll keep fighting.”

Lisa nodded slowly. “I didn’t think I’d make it out of that locked room, you know. Before you came... I thought I was already dead. But you... you gave me hope again.”

Jonah looked down. Her words felt heavy and warm at the same time.

“You made me believe I could survive,” Lisa added. “And if you keep going, I want to keep going with you.”

He smiled a little. “So you’re saying I’m your hero now?”

Lisa laughed, just a little. “Maybe.”

Then, without warning, she leaned in and pressed her lips against his. It was short, soft, and full of emotion. Jonah blinked, stunned.

“All I’m saying is,” Lisa whispered, “if the world is ending, I want to be with someone like you.”

Jonah felt something strange in his chest. Something he hadn’t felt in years. Was it hope? Was it care? Maybe even love?

“You really think you’d want to follow me?” he asked with a shy grin. “You haven’t even seen me dance. It’s terrible.”

Lisa giggled and leaned her head on his shoulder. “Then I’ll just have to teach you.”

Jonah didn’t know what to say. He looked down at her as she started to fall asleep, breathing soft and slow. He gently laid her down beside Kevin and pulled an old blanket over them.

He sat back down and stared at the wall, thinking. “Should I tell her?”

He had a secret. One that could change everything. He was faster. Stronger. Smarter. Not like before. 

He didn’t know why or how, but something inside him had changed. Something that saved him from the electricity. Something that helped him kill zombies with ease.

But would Lisa still trust him if she found out? Maybe she would laugh. Maybe she would run.

He shook the thought away. Not now. Not yet.

Just then, a sound cut through the silence.

Riiiiing... riiiiiing...

Jonah jumped to his feet. His heart pounded. 

A phone? 

He hadn’t heard a phone ring since everything went bad. Phones meant cell service. Cell service meant someone, somewhere, was still alive.

He looked back at Lisa and Kevin. They were still sleeping.

“I’ll be back,” he whispered, grabbing his axe.

Jonah walked down the broken stairwell to the third floor. The sound was louder here. He moved slowly, careful not to make noise.

The hallway was dark. Dust floated in the air like fog. Cracks lined the walls. Doors were broken. The floor creaked under each step.

Riiiing...

He turned his head. The sound came from a room up ahead. The door was half open. Inside, it was quiet.

Jonah paused. Something didn’t feel right. His body tensed. He gripped the axe tighter.

‘System,’ he thought, ‘what’s going on?’

The voice echoed in his mind.

“There are 11 to 50 zombies nearby... but also human life detected on this floor.”

Jonah's chest tightened. ‘Humans? Here? Were they hiding? Trapped? Could he help them?’

He stepped forward but stopped again. “No. I need to be sure. I can’t risk walking into a trap.”

He called out in his head again. “System, is there any skill I can use to see them before I go in?”

“Affirmative. Skill: Infrared Scan. Reveals heat signatures of all living and undead targets in range.”

Jonah activated it. At once, his eyes glowed faint red. The world around him changed. 

Through the walls, he saw glowing red shapes, ten of them. People. Huddled together. Scared. 

And then he saw blue shapes. Zombies. Fifteen of them. Moving. Waiting. Hungry.

“They’re in the same room...” he muttered.

Ten people. Fifteen zombies. All in one place.

He gritted his teeth. “This is going to be messy.”

He turned off the scan. The room looked normal again. But he now knew what waited behind the wall.

Jonah took a breath. He was alone. No backup. No second chance.

But those people needed help.

He tightened his grip on the axe, eyes locked on the door. “I’m coming,” he whispered. “Just hold on.”

Then he stepped into the darkness.