Chapter 32: Never Jinx It

"Listen up." Sosuke Kitahara lowered his voice. "When I open the door, follow me and charge straight out. I'll handle the zombies. You two head straight for the elevator." The others didn't object. But Yukino Yukinoshita shook her head, firmly opposing his plan. "You've been running this whole time without much rest. You must be exhausted. Let me take the lead instead. Don't worry, I've trained in Aikido. Normally, even one or two grown men wouldn't be able to take me down." Holding a wooden stick she had pried off a chair, Yukino was now full of confidence with a weapon in hand. Just like Kitahara had said, as long as you're not surrounded, killing zombies is actually pretty simple. "No, no, no. I'm really not tired. When it comes to dealing with zombies, no one here is better than me. Leave it to me." Kitahara quickly waved his hand in dismissal, and Haruno Yukinoshita immediately chimed in, "Yeah, Yukino, zombies are dangerous. Don't push yourself too hard." "No way! Sis, if things really get as bad as you say, then I can't just hide behind you all. If we want to survive together, I have to do my part too." Yukino stubbornly shook her head and looked at Haruno with unwavering determination. "I can't always rely on you. If you're that worried, let Kitahara follow behind me. That way, nothing will go wrong." With that, she was already standing at the door, fully prepared. "Kitahara, I'll have to trouble you to look after Yukino." Haruno let out a helpless sigh. Of course, she would've preferred Kitahara to lead, but her younger sister's personality was completely different from her own. Yukino might seem cold and distant on the outside, but she was actually a kind-hearted person. She liked cute things, loved cats, and even though she was born into a prestigious family, she still enjoyed bubble tea like any ordinary girl. She was stubborn, hated losing, took things too seriously, and was incredibly upright. These were her strengths but in the apocalypse, they could also become fatal weaknesses. At that moment, watching Yukino's firm expression, Kitahara suddenly realized something he had overlooked. He had been approaching everything from the perspective of someone already hardened by the apocalypse. But Yukino was still in the early stages of the outbreak. For someone who had yet to experience the brutality of survival, no matter how much you explained, it could never compare to seeing it with her own eyes. Maybe... maybe it wasn't a bad idea to let her experience what it's like to be protected. That thought surfaced quietly in Kitahara's heart, and he nodded to Haruno. "Don't worry, I'll look after her." Utaha Kasumigaoka, who had been quietly observing, suddenly felt a little sour. She pursed her lips. "Then I'll cover the rear. I've got a baseball bat. It's way more effective than your wooden sticks." Kitahara moved to the door and pressed his ear against it, listening carefully for any sounds outside. He then looked at Yukino seriously. "Ready? I'm opening the door. Remember, zombies can only be killed by destroying their heads." "Got it." Yukino stood in front of the tightly shut door, staring at the silver handle. Even though hesitation crept into her heart, she still nodded firmly. She knew Kitahara, who had previously underestimated her, was watching. At this moment, she couldn't afford to show even a hint of fear. She didn't agree with her sister's protective mindset. She wanted to prove to them that she wasn't afraid, that she could overcome every danger and crush every obstacle. Creak Kitahara carefully pushed the door open. Outside, everything was eerily silent. It seemed the zombies had been lured away by the earlier explosions. Yukino quietly let out a breath of relief. However, the sight of several motionless corpses and the dark carpet soaked with blood instantly made cold sweat bead on her forehead. Now she finally understood what Kitahara meant when he said he'd fought all the way here. People always instinctively fear the unknown and want to protect themselves. Even though Yukino had steeled herself mentally, her heartbeat still sped up uncontrollably. The blaring car alarms from the explosions echoed outside. Compared to the deathly quiet of this corridor, Yukino felt like she had stepped into another world. She instinctively gripped the wooden stick tighter and tiptoed forward cautiously. Not far away, a zombie heard the movement and slowly lifted its pale face, its gray eyes locking onto them. Its jaws clacked together unnervingly. Yukino instinctively took a step back, but a large hand gently steadied her. Kitahara's low voice whispered in her ear, "That zombie's leg is pinned under fallen debris. If you stab your stick through its head, it'll die immediately. If you're scared, I can do it." "I'll do it." Yukino took a deep breath and slowly approached the zombie. The zombie, unable to move, clawed desperately at the ground, its pinned leg mangled beyond recognition. Sensing a living human right in front of it, the zombie became even more frenzied. "Hurry up. We don't have much time." "I know." Yukino gripped the stick tightly, aimed the sharpened end at the zombie's head, bit her lip, and stabbed downward with her eyes shut. Squelch. It sounded just like a rotten watermelon being smashed. The zombie's head tilted to the side, motionless. "Let's go. It's dead." Kitahara led the group forward. Yukino turned to glance at the zombie she had just killed, a strange lightness rising in her chest. So that's it? It wasn't as terrifying as she thought. She quickly caught up, her nervous expression replaced by a new confidence. The elevator was still waiting on the seventh floor, meaning no one else had used it. Utaha couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief. Leaving was much smoother than getting here. But as the elevator ascended, her nerves began to tighten again. She asked anxiously, "Are we really sure taking the elevator is a good idea? What if... what if it suddenly stops, and the doors open to a swarm of zombies...?" Yukino frowned and quickly snapped, "Don't jinx it! Don't say things like that." "Yeah, Utaha, please don't curse us. Sometimes stuff like that really happens." Even Haruno began to feel uneasy. If something like that actually happened, the four of them would be trapped inside the elevator, completely helpless. She nervously added, "What if someone being chased by zombies presses the elevator button? When the doors open, we could have a zombie waiting right there." Bang, bang, bang As if to confirm her fears, a scream suddenly rang out from above, and the elevator door was struck with heavy, rapid thuds. But within just a few breaths, everything fell silent again. A fresh pool of blood quickly seeped through the moving elevator's door gap. The group exchanged silent glances, the elevator falling into a terrifying stillness. The display showed they had reached the twelfth floor. Only six more floors to the eighteenth. Normally, that would be a quick ride less than a minute. But right now, it felt impossibly far. The elevator doors in front of them looked like a giant, gaping maw waiting to devour them. Seeing their anxious faces, Kitahara tried to reassure them. "That guy probably pressed the down button. We're going up, so the elevator door " A cold breeze seemed to sweep through the elevator. Three pairs of cold, sharp eyes instantly locked onto him. Even the air felt like it dropped a few degrees. The rest of Kitahara's sentence stuck in his throat. Glancing nervously at the three women, he wisely chose to shut up. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Oh, you like the story? Wow, who knew. Go ahead, drop a review and throw some power stones maybe I'll be motivated to keep going. The story's already ahead on Patron. Go there if you want to catch up faster! [email protected]/_theon Change @ to "a"