Zombies Apocalypse: Too Late To Run!

Chapter 12: Meeting Someone In The Military.

The helicopter’s swaying grew increasingly violent. After Hubert flew past the zombie, he aimed for the parking lot, pushing the lever to tilt the helicopter nose down for a faster descent. The helicopter’s tail was rapidly engulfed by flames, endangering the propulsion system, they would soon lose any control over their speed. Moreover, the aircraft was loaded with grenades and guns. If the fire reached them, they would all be obliterated in a massive explosion.

After a nail-biting minute, the helicopter finally arrived at the parking lot. The fire was spreading all over, the aircraft could no longer take off. Hubert slowly lowered the lever to stop the rotor blades, and the helicopter, through violent shakes, finally landed. As soon as they touched down, Hubert and the others finally experienced a moment of relief. Lucia kicked open the helicopter door, helping Bella and Zorion, carrying the unconscious Rowan, to disembark first. She then rushed over to assist Hubert.

Carrying Jacob on his back, who had passed out after a period of resistance, Hubert felt the weight of the big man crushing his ribs, threatening to break them. Hubert was exhausted, with no energy left to transform into his cat form.

“Follow me. I know a way out through an underground drainage pipe.” Lucia said. Zorion stepped forward to help Hubert, while Lucia swiftly took down the occasional approaching zombie before rejoining the group. Just as they had departed, the helicopter in the parking lot detonated in a loud explosion, blasting apart the zombies that had just arrived. Zorion led the group into an underground parking garage and down a staircase to another basement level, where a storage room was located. At the end of the path was a significant maintenance hole covered by a tightly chained lid, seemingly impossible to move.

“Zorion, help me with Jacob.” Hubert requested. Zorion moved Jacob, who was still unconscious, against the nearby wall. Then, Hubert used the crowbar Jacob had given him to sever the chains. This crowbar was excellent, cutting through metal like slicing through butter. With the chains broken, the maintenance hole was opened.

“I’ll go down first. Zorion, pass Jacob down to me.” Hubert said.

“Alright.”

Hubert descended the metal steps and looked up, waiting. Zorion and Lucia managed to get Jacob to the maintenance hole, and after a struggle, they finally got him down. Bella, carrying the unconscious Rowan since earlier, followed, with Zorion and Lucia being the last to descend. With the maintenance hole closed, Hubert could finally relax. He lay on the ground, gasping for air.

He squinted at Jacob next to him, giving him a light slap: “Jacob, Jacob, are you dead?”

Jacob, who had just regained consciousness, hearing Hubert’s simple question, was on the verge of dying: “I’m nearly dead...”

Jacob was far from jesting. Despite being a superhuman, his body was as fragile as an ordinary human’s. Struck by a far superior force and buried under heavy rubble, survival seemed impossible. His lungs felt crushed, his life on the precipice of extinction. Weakly, he clutched Hubert’s hand.

“But.” he said: “I’m not ready to die, not in the least. I can’t bear the thought of leaving you.”

A hollow laugh escaped from Hubert. He had always despised farewells, preferring death over expressing poignant sentiments on the edge of the abyss. Yet, witnessing Jacob's desperate struggle filled him with grief. He helped Jacob to sit, leaning against the wall.

"Take some rest." he suggested: "and then initiate your supernatural power. According to the ancient books of the Wang family, channeling your energy should accelerate the healing process. So, you should be better soon."

Jacob weakly shook his head. He was utterly drained, unable to move, let alone invoke his supernatural abilities. He longed to caress Hubert's face, wipe his blood, but his arm refused to lift, his broken bone gruesomely jutting out. Death seemed imminent.

As his consciousness waned, he considered revealing the secret he'd been harboring - the reason for his initial appearance before Hubert, his motives for approaching and accompanying Hubert till now. Should he show everything before his impending demise? Even if Hubert remained oblivious, Jacob felt he wouldn't attain peace in death.

At that moment, Hubert produced a flashlight and a roll of bandages from seemingly nowhere. Jacob had seen his stash and retrieved items countless times.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" Hubert asked: "You must have guessed by now. I possess a supernatural spatial ability."

Jacob remained silent. Why had Hubert disclosed this to him? Did he trust him to such an extent? Did he believe that he wouldn't harm him? Was Hubert oblivious to the dangers that a spatial ability user posed, how they were considered a highly sought-after prize? It was impossible that Hubert didn't know. The only plausible explanation was his trust in Jacob.

Jacob felt his throat parched. He had lied and deceived countless times before but never experienced guilt as intense as this moment. Hubert trusted him, believed in him. Hubert was a beacon of light in his life, yet he was deceiving him. Every deceitful act gnawed at his peace, filling him with dread that Hubert might grow to detest him.

Throughout his life, anyone could hate or loathe him except Hubert. Swallowing hard, he finally decided to unburden his secret.

"Hubert..." he stated: "The truth is..."

The sudden silence left Jacob confused, questioning where to start. Just as he was about to speak again, a flashlight beam gleamed from a distance. A group of five individuals was slowly approaching Hubert's location.

"So, there are survivors here." the unmistakable voice of a man sounded. He was dressed relatively cleanly: "Was that huge explosion we heard just now caused by you guys?"

He directed his flashlight toward Jacob and Hubert.

"Are you injured? Jin, bring the first aid kit here." he commanded.

When Jin heard him, he ran over with a medical kit. Then, Lucia found her voice to ask: "Who are you? Are you also a power user?"

The man waited to answer Lucia. Instead, he helped Jacob lie on the ground, his companions shining their flashlights to provide light for his rescue operation.

Working swiftly, he set Jacob's dislocated bones and splinted them. There was a crunching sound, yet Jacob didn't emit a sound. It was hard to say if it was due to numbness or if the pain was so intense it left him speechless. After Jacob's arm was patched up, the man disinfected the wound on his face and answered Lucia's previous question.

“My name is Winston Nicholas. I am a military doctor and a lieutenant in the army. After learning about the destruction of the superpower gathering area, we’ve been searching for survivors to provide aid and relocate them to a backup gathering spot.”

“You... are in the military?” Hubert’s voice sounded for the first time since Winston arrived.

He had been sitting idly against the wall, his face relaxed. Only when Winston mentioned he was in the military did Hubert jolt upright. The sudden movement caused his rib injury to protest, and he cried out in pain.

“Oh...”

“You’re injured too?”

After finishing Jacob’s treatment, Winston moved to inspect Hubert. He lifted Hubert’s shirt, revealing a purplish-red bruise around his left rib. Winston gently prodded the area and found the rib was broken.

“It’s a miracle you’re alive.” Winston commented: “If it had hit your lungs or spleen, you would have been done for.”

“Ha... Ha... I have a large life, you see. But you still need to answer my question. Are you in the military? Do you know Theodore Wang?”

Winston seemed taken aback by the name Theodore Wang but managed to respond: “He’s a close friend of mine. But after the apocalypse... I did see him... He...”

“I know. I’ve seen him too.”

“You’ve seen him?”

“Yes. When I returned home to find my family, I saw my brother turned into a level three zombie.”

“Your brother? So, you’re from the Wang family?”

Hubert nodded, and those simple words brought back memories of seeing Theodore on that fateful day. The putrid smell of decay, the discolored body, the face full of bulging veins, the horrifying sight of white eyes with black veins. That person, his brother, who used to hold him in his arms, was no more.

He once declared: “As a soldier, I pledge my life to one country, and in matters of the heart, I reserve it for only one person.” Now, he was unable to serve his country, incapable of expressing his feelings, and reduced to a zombie hunted by all. If Hubert were to encounter him in the future, it would be on opposite ends of the battlefield, resulting in either Theodore’s death or his own, forever preventing them from walking the same path.

“Are you the fourth son, Hubert Wang?” Winston asked after bandaging Hubert’s wound. He seemed to be familiar with the title “fourth son.” The blood-soaked face had made him unrecognizable. Upon hearing Winston’s question, Hubert nodded.

“Yes, I am Hubert Wang. Do you know me?”

“How could I not? That scoundrel Theodore would constantly grumble about you in my presence, accusing you of being frivolous, corrupt, and incorrigible.”

Hubert’s face turned a deep shade of red in embarrassment. He was still blushing, even after Winston had left to treat Zorion and Lucia. Theodore, how dare he slander him in such a manner! He vowed to deal with Theodore the next time they met.

But would Theodore remember him when they met again?

However, Lucia’s call interrupted Hubert’s thoughts.

“Mr. Wang, catch!”

In the darkness, Hubert accurately caught what Lucia threw at him - a glowing crystal exuding a faint blue-green light, like the color of the water.

“Getting this crystal is why I’ve been beaten up and wounded so severely.” Lucia added: “You need to absorb it quickly to regain your strength and continue the journey with us.”

Hubert nodded, glancing at Jacob, who had now slipped into a dreamless sleep. Thankfully, he was unharmed too much. If Jacob were to die, his future leveling-up process would be immensely challenging. He sat down cross-legged and began to channel his energy, revolving the crystal in front of his chest, gradually absorbing it into his body. The battle with the fire-attribute zombie had caused all the crystals in his body to level up to level one.