Doomsday Pillars

DDay +3 <South Section> Denpasar City

Outside a school's dormitory, a group of students were frantically running away from the undead. One boy in particular ran in panic, failed to see what was on his path, caught his foot on a corpse and tumbled to the ground.

With a terrified look on his face, he shouted at his friend. "Dean, save me!"

Dean turned to the call and saw that the zombies were quickly closing in, there are at least 3 dozen of them. With eyes full of fear, he hesitated only for a second before and dashing off without looking back.

"Dean come back!! Barry.. anyone please help me!!"

The horrified boy screamed at the top of his lungs.

This desperate voice stopped Barry on his track.. His eyes instinctively turned to the direction of his cry for help, only to see no less than 10 zombies pouncing on him on the ground. Gnawed without mercy, as his agonizing wail and the sound of flesh ripped apart fill the air.

Witnessing such horrendous scene unfolding before them, everyone's faces ashen and their legs went limp. But their instinct took over, as the adrenaline rushing in and they fled without turning back a second time.

Without help, it only took a few minutes before the 10 savages had their fill on the boy's body and just like that the boy's cries subsided.

As it was a holiday season, the dorm was quite empty.  There were 40 students who stayed back in the dormitory during the New Year's eve. When the disaster struck, the students who got infected immediately left the dorm to find help. The dozens left decided to hold up in the dorms.

It's been three days and they were anxious, not to mention running low on food and water. Two days ago they saw a military APV who announced everyone to move North. Followed by series of loud explosion from the South. At that time, the field outside the dorm was clear from the zombies, and the group was hopeful for the Army to fight the zombies, win the battle, and help will eventually arrive for them. They thought this was their one and only way out, thus they all unanimously decided to wait.

After two long and agonizing days, regret and hopelessness steadily crept in. From out of the windows they can now see the streets filled with more and more of the undead. Every now and then they would hear a ruthless growl followed by the bellowing sound of their cry.

In their desperation, on the third morning, the group decided to push their luck and run up towards the North. As they realized that it's only a matter of time before the scary monsters would find and end them.

Never to anticipate that their movement as a group would attract a group of zombies, and the screaming only makes things worse, more zombies were drawn and started chasing them.

The group kept on running and found themselves in a small street leading to the North. Straight ahead of them stands no less than 10 zombies. They are blocking the only road leading to the North. Now they were sandwiched between two groups of hungry undead.

The road was not very wide, the zombies ahead seems to be well occupied on a lifeless body. At first glance it appears that these zombies were blocking the whole street, but wait, there were still a small gap!

At this critical moment, two of the boys rushed toward the zombies ahead of them, yelling loudly. They were the baseball club students, who used steel baseball bats to knock down two zombies to the ground and crush their heads.

Dean as one of the fastest runner took the chance to dash through the gap.

But he was a step too late, that's when a big cold hand stretched out and firmly grabbed his arm.

"No! Help! Help!"

In a panic, Dean pulled out a kitchen knife and started jabbing at the zombie's arm. But three more zombies immediately followed, grab his other hand and opened their jaws to bite hard on his neck.

"Aaargghhh! Help!!"

Dean let out a sharp scream.

The three zombies, whilst firmly holding Dean, began ripping apart his flesh. The remaining zombies were instinctively attracted by the smell of blood and they marched towards the group. The two boys with the baseball bats were soon surrounded by the zombies.  They didn't last three seconds and quickly submerged by the undead, they let out a miserable shriek.

Barry and the remaining 7 students witnessed the scene with eyes filled with terror.

"We're done for!"

One student was so scared that he collapsed on the ground.

Barry yelled  "Get him off the street!! Let's go inside this house".

The group carried the unconscious boy and went into a small two storey. They broke a window, made their way inside and hurriedly barricade the door and windows with whatever furniture they can find.

GROOOAARRRR!!

"Ahh, the red monster is here. We're finished!"

"I told you we should have stayed in the dorm!"

One of the girls cried...  Barry had a crush on this girl name Cynthia for a while now. But he was really helpless... A group of 16 year old teenagers were not equipped to survive this kind of situation.

BAAMM!!!... BAAMM!!!..

The mutated zombie slamming on the barricaded windows trying to break in. "It won't hold for long".. dozens of zombies have surrounded the house.

"Let's go upstairs."

Barry didn't think much and grab the Cynthia's arm and walk her upstairs. But just as they reached the top of the stairs ...

CLAANKKKK!!!

One of the red zombie leaped inside through one of the second-floor windows...

"..."

The red monster slowly rose up before him... it was at least 2 meters tall. Up close, Barry can see the reddish color actually came from a bulking and stretch out muscles that raised out of the skin... some of the skin were still attached on some of the muscle joints. The monster's fingers have turned to claws, the mouth splits open and a row of sharp wolf-like teeth revealed.

"This is it.." he whispered under his breath, so this is how he's going to go. Behind him, Cynthia was shaking uncontrollably. He can feel the trembling from her arms... if only he's stronger.... he thought...

The zombie advanced with a jump with mouth wide open, when suddenly...

SPLATTT!! The head exploded... the body crash down right in front of Barry and blood now splattered all over his body.

Barry was stunned for a few seconds as the girl behind him screamed hard.. He still can't comprehend what had just unfold.. Who or what saved him? There are no one around...

Meanwhile, one thousand meters away, a woman in black outfit was in a prone position on top of a 4 storey building.

"Target Down"

"Great.. you can break the party now Rama," Alex said.

"Sure. No problem!"

Wasting no time, Rama rushed towards the house, charging in with a spear.

Pa!! Pa!! Pa!! PA!!

The speed of this spear completely surpassed his own expectations. It was a multiple stealthy thrusts. Every single stabs crushed a zombie's head with accuracy.  Rama was able to advance forward while constantly vanquishing all the zombies in front of him. He has practiced the Pencak Silat basics on spears, but he has never been this impressed by the technique before. There was this innate inner strength, every movement has a surge of power, as if the entire strength of the body was perfectly used in harmony with the spear.

A wide swipe to the zombie's legs and all 5 were effectively knocked down. Rama jumped up while thrusting to the fallen zombies' heads.

Pa!! Pa!! Pa!! PA!!

More zombies eliminated.

BAMMM!!!

Shield bash and few zombies thrown back and fell on to the ground. With such speed, Rama managed to overcome them one by one. Within the 30 seconds Rama successfully crushed almost 3 dozens zombies and reach the front porch of the two storey house.  There he faced the red zombie, right before he was about to advance...

SPLASH!! It's head splattered without warning.

"Aria! You should have left that one to Rama"

"..."

"There are two behind you, you should take care them."

A simple glance to her back, Aria draw her handgun and shoot..

"BANG! BANG!"

2 bullets, 2 headshot, 2 red zombies. Piece of cake!

Alex were monitoring their performance from a distance. In the last two days, Alex have given each of them six spirit stones, that should make them both a high-rank mortal realm spirit enhancer. Their strength, speed, perception are monumentally heightened.  These red zombies are too easy for them to kill now. Spirit enhancers really are extraordinary.

The zombies in the vicinity were all dead. The three of them gathered in front of the house.  Alex has stored the golem back to his storage rings since day one. The golem consumes too much energy. Just a few hours of fight has sufficiently depleted its energy level down to 5 percent, plus, it's not yet easy to find spirit stone. Alex walked around the house and picks up another spirit stone.

"O spirit stone out of four red zombies, sigh.. the lady of luck is not on our side today."

The group of student walks out to see them. Barry saw everything Rama did from the top and secretly wished be able to possess all that power too.

"You kids should advanced ahead to the North now, just follow this road and you will find the closest post around 4 kilometers away."

.

Tut...Tut...Tut

Alex's two-way radio receiving an incoming call.

.

"..."

Time to go back to base. "My daughter's awake!"