Leaving the small convenience shop, Wendy had to avoid all the possible urges to look back when she noticed that her group members had also arrived. However, they didn't look panicked or worried as they were confident that whatever or whoever she encountered, she would be able to deal with it.
After all, she was appointed as the squad captain of this small team because she was one of the most powerful members of the group, which called itself the Zombie Hunters.
"That zombie, you let him get away?" Hazel asked, having heard Wendy's earlier response and seeing her walk out alone.
"I didn't let him get away," Wendy replied in a matter-of-factly way, "He got away, you know how smart he was, and besides, I don't think it's wise for us to chase a zombie that is smart enough to talk without investigating the matter properly. We never know what we might be getting into. After all, there could be an evolved zombie or worst, it might be leading us into a trap. So we should understand the situation first."
They nodded at Wendy's words, and if she thought it was dangerous for the rest of the group, then the rest felt like it most probably was, and she did the right thing. Still, they couldn't help but think about just what type of zombie they had encountered. How was it possible for a zombie to act human?
"It would have really done us well if we had caught that zombie, don't you think?" Sharp said with a smile. "I didn't even give him a few cuts for hurting me like that. Next time he won't be able to escape."
Sharp started to spin his blade using just his fingers, which was something he would do whenever he tried imagining a scene playing out in his head.
"For all of us, it's best if we don't tell others about this," Wendy said, which caused a few eyebrows to be raised. Looking at their expressions, it was clear that they believed they should report this to their base and make the higher-ups look into this matter.
"I can understand why you all are giving me strange looks, but we don't know what the case was with that zombie, and not to mention the fact that we weren't able to catch it, which might just bring more trouble for us. So for now, we should keep this to ourselves until we find more clues and understand the situation better."
Right now, all Wendy could think about was the other person who had come out towards the end, the man that had protected the zombie. It still didn't make sense in her head as she thought about everything that had happened. However, she could only guess that he, too, was probably a zombie, and the two of them had a relationship somehow.
As for why she had let them live or decided not to try and take them on, she didn't know herself fully. However, what she had done at that point and time was quite possibly because she was treated as if this event had occurred in a game. She thought back to what she would have done in a game situation.
An encounter like that in a game would be one that would create two paths for the player. Either she could fight and attack the strange zombies or let them live, and in her mind, the more interesting path in a game was to let them live and find out what would ensue in the future.
'Redhead Zombie, we might be meeting again in the future.' Wendy inwardly smiled.
"Alright, let's clear up this place, we have five more days here, and after that, we are to head back and get our next assignment," Wendy said, and the others nodded as they headed back to the apartment building. Maybe they could find something else or some other clues.
——
After making sure that the group chasing after them had decided to head back inside an apartment building, Zain quickly scouted the area. He was marking in his head where they were.
He didn't want to cross paths with them again, and since the female leader knew what his face looked like, even if the two groups were to meet in the future, Zain had already revealed something to a person he would have liked to have kept hidden. And anyway, in this case, he could not pretend he was human.
'Judging by that group, they aren't the type to work with others. I'll have to ask Brandon or Ryan if they know anything about them. Speaking of which, I should make my way to the others. There could be trouble.'
Zain was on the move towards the hospital, only this time, he was moving with his entire horde and had the scarf wrapped around his neck.
———
After waiting outside the hospital for a few minutes with their hands raised up, Dave and Brandon were getting somewhat tired, but the fact that guns were pointed towards them, and nudged forward every time their hands started to falter, had gotten rid of some of the tiredness.
Eventually, the man who had gone in had come back out.
"The doctor has agreed to see you. However, you must hand in all your weapons before entering the hospital."
It was hard to tell what the current situation was for Brandon, and he was happy that Kun had suggested that they leave their guns behind.
'This was one of the groups that Ryan was unsure about. There were some strange rumours from the people who had come out of the area.' Brandon thought.
After handing in their weapons, they stepped inside, pulling Pink's mother along the way. There was a guard inside with a gun as well. While trying to gauge their strength, Brandon noticed that the group wasn't particularly short of weapon supply.
However, when they reached the end of the double doors, the guard told them to take a right instead of heading to the main reception, where Brandon could see quite a few people through the glass. The guard then instructed them to take a large elevator on the side.
"Please, wear these masks." The man said, handing them over. He was the one leading them.
"Due to the severity of the case, it is possible that you might spread the infection to others, so only the doctor can see you." The man informed them.
Understanding the situation, they all went into the elevator and pressed the number 6, as the 6th floor of the hospital was where the doctor's office was known to be located. The tension was heavy in the elevator as it began to move up.
No one said a word as the elevator slowly moved up, and Brandon was just looking at how the guard was standing inside. Although they had weapons and were seemingly disciplined, he clearly knew they were not professionally trained and were most likely normal citizens.
The guard had his back facing them as he stood near the front, and at any point and time, Brandon was confident that he could disarm him and take control of the whole situation, but they needed the doctor's help, so he restrained himself for now.
-Ding!
As soon as the elevator made the noise, it began to slow down. They had reached the 6th floor, and upon stepping out of the elevator, they found themselves in a long hallway.
It was intimidating, to say the least, as they noticed a set of brown double doors at the other end. Although, there was no need for them to head down the hallway of double doors because the doctor was already waiting for them.
"Welcome, welcome." The doctor greeted them with open arms. However, he had gloves and a mask on. "I heard that there is a sick patient here with you."
Although Brandon couldn't see anything, he was sure that the doctor had a big smile underneath that mask.
At the same time, Dave was getting shivers as the hair all over his body stood up in surprise. There was an odd feeling that he was getting from this doctor that he had never sensed from anyone else. It was an intuition, and the intuition was telling him to get out of this place as soon as possible.
"Please, I think it is best if we all head to the treatment rooms together. There is a need for an x-ray, and based on your patient, there is a chance that the two of you are infected as well. So please, if you could follow me to one of the rooms, I think we can get to work straight away."
Although he felt the danger, Dave started walking forward as he wished to deliver Pink's mother. He was carrying her like a piggy bank, and he wasn't exactly the strongest person regarding these things.
"Wait!" Brandon said. "This treatment, are you willing to look at her and treat her for free?" Brandon asked.
It was then that the doctor started to shake his head.
"I see you don't understand how things work around here. When a favour is made, there is, of course, always a debt to be paid, and depending on the severity of the case from where you guys have come from, the debt could be very high, very high indeed."
*****
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