Chapter 57: Back to the Starting Point

Sosuke Kitahara strode ahead with his katana in hand. The entire building had fallen silent once more. Most of the zombies that had clogged the passageways had been drawn away by the helicopter. The few that remained posed little threat and were swiftly dealt with by Sosuke and his group of four. The stairwell was shrouded in eerie darkness. Due to the building's structure, natural light was almost nonexistent past the eighteenth floor. The four cautiously stepped into the hotel corridor. The dim lighting revealed a few corpses sprawled along the hallway, and the blood splattered thickly across the walls told the story of a desperate struggle. "Huh? Why isn't the display working? Don't tell me the elevator's broken?" Utaha Kasumigaoka frowned at the unresponsive button. "It really is broken? This is a five-star hotel. Don't they maintain their equipment?" "What now, Kitahara? Do we take the stairs?" "We have no choice," Sosuke sighed. Judging from the state of the corridor, it seemed other survivors had tried to escape. An eighteen-story stairwell there was no telling what they might encounter on the way down. "Let's just go then." Haruno Yukinoshita tightened her grip on her sharpened wooden stick, tapping it lightly in her palm. Tilting her head with a playful smile, she said, "Sosuke, our deal is done. If we run into danger now, I'll leave my life to fate. You don't have to worry about me anymore." "Same here. I don't want to be a burden to everyone again." Yukino Yukinoshita bit her lip, brushing her bangs aside. She looked at Sosuke with sincerity. "But before we go, I just want to thank you again. Without you, I wouldn't have survived this far. I owe you a lot, and I'll repay you if I ever get the chance." "Hey, hey, let's not get so sentimental. It sounds like you're saying your last words. Have some confidence, will you?" Sosuke smiled, then instinctively glanced back at the silent corridor. He turned back and raised his eyebrows. "Anyway, save your thanks for when we get out of here. From now on, we stick together. As long as you follow my lead, listen to my instructions, and don't do anything reckless, I'll make sure we all get out alive." The four of them entered the stairwell, one after the other. But what they encountered was completely different from what they had expected a discovery that left them ecstatic. Every fire door on each floor was tightly shut, though faint zombie growls could be heard from behind them. Thankfully, the group was already accustomed to the sound. Aside from Sosuke, the three girls were understandably anxious, but their descent was surprisingly smooth. "Sosuke, what's with these lower floors? Why are all the fire doors closed? Did rescuers arrive?" Utaha whispered as they reached the end of the passage, but Sosuke shook his head. "If this was a rescue mission, the Self-Defense Force would be sweeping floor by floor with guns. They wouldn't just lock the zombies in. Plus, we haven't heard any gunfire. Most likely, it was other survivors who sealed them off." "Whatever, as long as it's safe," Haruno breathed a sigh of relief. "Let's hope we can make it to the pier without trouble. Our car is in the underground parking lot. I have the keys, but I'm not sure how many zombies might be down there." "Let's check the lobby first." Sosuke nodded slightly, frowning. "When we first came in through the main entrance, there weren't that many zombies in the lobby. But with the helicopter crash and all those corpses falling, I'm worried the entrance might be blocked now. If we can't get out that way, the underground lot is our only option. Without a car, we won't make it far in the city. Running blindly is a death sentence." "Then let's move. I hate lingering here. I'll just follow your lead." Yukino nodded without hesitation, though she glanced nervously at the eerie, blood-streaked stairwell, where, oddly enough, not a single body remained. "Here, take this." Sosuke suddenly unshouldered the submachine gun and handed it to Haruno. "I don't know the model or range, but if we're in real danger, don't worry about headshots. Just flip off the safety and spray the zombies. It might buy us a few seconds to escape. But don't fire unless it's absolutely necessary." "Got it." Haruno slung the weapon over her shoulder. "Let's go." Sosuke moved to the door, carefully pulling it open just a crack and peering out. The reception lobby was a mess of dried blood and shattered bones. About a dozen rotting zombies wandered aimlessly about. Male and female, they had long since lost all traces of humanity. Every now and then, a chilling growl burst from their bloody mouths. "Not too many. I see around twelve or thirteen. We can cut our way through." Sosuke smiled, visibly relieved. He exchanged glances with the three girls behind him, then stepped out first. The reception lobby, easily several hundred square meters, was even more chaotic than when they had first entered. Overturned tables, shattered glass, and scattered luggage littered the floor. Even kitchen knives were strewn about, showing just how frantic the previous escape attempt had been. A few of the wandering zombies still wore chef uniforms, their flesh fresh and barely starting to rot. "Stop." Sosuke gripped his katana tightly and gestured for the girls to halt. His sharp eyes swept the room like a hawk, his footsteps barely making a sound. Behind him, Haruno's face was taut, her breathing nearly suspended. The zombies they had first seen were just the ones wandering in their immediate line of sight. Outside the lobby, crowds of zombies aimlessly roamed, and countless more were clustered around the burning helicopter in the distance. If even one zombie spotted them, it would trigger a tsunami of an attack. Just then, Haruno suddenly jabbed him hard in the back so hard that Sosuke frowned. He turned around, confused, only to see Haruno's terrified face as she pointed to a shard of glass leaning against the wall, her wide eyes filled with horror. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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"