The PC Bang
KRAAAAAH—!
I kicked out the leg of a zombie lunging at me with its jaws wide open. The thing staggered and went down.
Crunch!
I stomped its neck, snapping bone, and in the same motion swung the felling axe upward from below. The blade shattered its jaw and stopped at the bridge of its nose. I drove it home with everything I had — the sensation of the steel churning through brain, and the zombie collapsed.
I let go of the weapon. Spinning hard, I whipped my foot around and caught another zombie clean across the side of the head.
Thud!
The impact sent it flying into the wall. I lifted my leg again and shoved the sole of my foot straight into its face.
Crunch!
The eyeball burst. Bone gave way under my heel — every bit of it transmitted straight up through my foot.
KRAAAAAH!
One left. The moment it swung at me, I slipped the blow, seized its arm, and slammed it face-first into the floor.
Thud!
I kicked the pulped, twitching head. A grotesque crack, and the neck folded the wrong way.
"Hoo…"
I leaned down and wrenched the felling axe free. Brain matter, flesh, and blood coated the blade; once I wiped it down, the damage was obvious. The edge was ruined end to end.
That's done for.
How many zombies had I put down with this thing by now? It wasn't a medieval sword — just a camping tool — and the fact it had lasted this long was damn near a miracle.
I prowled the area near the basement stairs. A few steel pipes sat in a corner; I grabbed one and started climbing.
This new ability feels like Physical Enhancement.
My strength and speed had jumped to a level that didn't even compare to before. Not superhuman, exactly — more like an athlete's body, maybe. My line of sight sat a little higher, too, as if I'd grown a bit. Earlier, hunting for a weapon, I'd caught my reflection in a bathroom mirror: broader frame, actual muscle starting to show.
All good. But the side effects have me a little worried.
No power came free. Sensory Enhancement had already been taxing my mind harder than normal. Physical Enhancement would almost certainly have its own price.
Might as well figure out what the downside is now.
At the top of the stairs, a pitch-black main road stretched out ahead.
KRAAAAAH!
The second I stepped out of the karaoke entrance, a zombie charged as if it had been waiting. I cracked it across the skull with the steel pipe and stomped its face flat, then looked around.
The female zombie that had been standing in front of the PC bang building was gone. Inside? Or had she moved somewhere else?
Might as well check.
This commercial strip sat uncomfortably close to our building. Bad luck, and that bitch could end up on our doorstep. I needed to confirm either way — though if I was honest, curiosity was doing most of the driving.
Kraaa…
A zombie stood motionless with its head planted against a building wall. I grabbed the back of its skull; it made a questioning kraaa? and tried to turn. I put power into it and smashed its face into the concrete.
Thud!
A line of blood dripped down. A few more repetitions, and bone gave with a wet crack as brain matter spilled out. I released the head and moved on. Four more zombies went the same way.
Do they not move at night?
Creatures that had been lively in daylight now only writhed like insects after dark. Sleeping? Not quite. Get close enough and those red eyes lit up as they lunged. Activity just dropped a notch after sundown.
Clang!
I clubbed one with the pipe, then drove the L-shaped end into its chest. Bone shattered; something burst. Blood jetted up the hollow of the pipe. I yanked it free and the thing went still. I scowled at the blood dripping off the metal and kept walking.
Kraaaa—
Zombies clustered from the PC bang entrance onward — the ones the woman had summoned, still bottled up inside.
No wonder the strip looked so empty. They're all packed into this building?
Part of me suddenly didn't want to go in. The other part saw a lot of zombies to kill. I approached the stairs.
Clang—
I tapped the pipe lightly against the floor. Every head on the stairwell snapped toward the sound at once.
KAAAAAAH!
Red eyes blazing, they came pouring down — so fast half of them tripped and tumbled. I closed in and crushed their necks underfoot. The ones that managed to stay upright shoved their jaws at me.
CLANG—!
Both hands on the pipe, I swung with everything I had. One dropped like a sack. The others reeled back after taking hits to the head. I kicked off the ground, closed the gap in a blink, and raised the weapon.
Clang!
A blow to the thigh dropped one to its knees. I kicked its chin upward and sent it flying into the wall. The rest went down the same way. When it was done, I hurled the steel pipe far down the corridor — too many impacts had bent it into useless curves.
Not like I'd be able to swing it properly in here anyway.
I climbed the narrow stairs. Rot and blood hung thick in the air. On the second floor, a shattered glass door and the edge of a pool table came into view. Billiards hall, then. I glanced at the stairs to the third floor, then stepped inside.
Kraaa—
A few zombies lay sprawled across the tables. I walked to the nearest rack and pulled out a cue.
"Hmm."
Durability wouldn't be great as a weapon — but there were dozens of them here. Disposable spears, basically.
I decided to test it immediately and closed on the nearest zombie.
Thrust!
Before it could react, the tip punched into its eye. It shrieked and thrashed. I drove deeper — a soft, yielding resistance under my hands. It didn't take long to realize that was brain.
I pulled the stick free. The zombie hit the floor. One hit.
Not bad.
The feel of a spear put a smile at the corner of my mouth as I moved to the next one.
Thud!
A sideways strike this time — plenty of force. The zombie reeled into a table after taking it in the shoulder.
THUD!!!
Both hands on the cue, I brought it down hard and finished the job.
KRAAAAAH—!
The noise was enough to rouse the others. I reversed my grip on the cue.
Something like this, right?
I mimicked a stance I'd half-remembered from TV and hurled it like a javelin. The tip cut the air and punched halfway through a zombie's skull.
Nice.
KRAAAAAAH—!
One of them fully upright vaulted onto a table and charged — a runner, by the way it moved.
Thud!
I snatched a ball off the table and threw. Mid-sprint, it crumpled and hit the floor. I stepped in, crushed the head underfoot, then scooped up every ball I could find and started pitching them at anything still moving. Most never even got close. The stragglers I finished with my legs.
Second floor cleared, I grabbed a fresh cue and stepped back out.
"Hoo…"
Power thrummed through me. I'd been tearing through the place like a maniac and felt zero fatigue. What worried me was the hunger — a ravenous, bottomless kind of empty.
Does it burn calories as fuel?
I'd stuffed myself with snacks and drinks before leaving the karaoke, and I was already starving. That wasn't normal. Body overflowing with strength and vitality, stomach screaming for food — the contradiction made me snort as I climbed.
PC bang should have something to eat.
I speared the zombies on the landing on the way up and reached the third floor. Unlike the second, shutters had been pulled down here — and every one of them had been ripped wide open. Ordinary zombies didn't have that kind of strength. Had to be the mutant.
So she doesn't just scream to draw them in. Those tentacles can tear things apart, too?
I ducked low and slipped inside. A counter, hundreds of computers and desks stretched into the dark.
A melody just for you~
Music drifted from somewhere deeper in. I peered into the room, but the place was too wide and too dark to make much out. Earlier my night vision had cut through blackness like daylight; the ability seemed to have weakened a little.
Pull back now?
The thought lasted only a moment. I headed for the snacks and drinks on the counter. I'd expected the shelves to be stripped bare — surprisingly, a fair amount remained. A shattered Hallabong bottle lay on the floor. That glass-breaking sound from earlier must have been this. Of all the places to drop a bottle, right above a special-type.
Some people really have no luck.
I felt no sympathy. They'd put me in danger. If I hadn't thought to duck into the karaoke, I'd have been a zombie right alongside them.
Gulp, gulp—
I carefully cracked a drink and drank. I even made a little noise on purpose. Nothing reacted.
The singing from further in, maybe.
I topped off enough to take the edge off the hunger and walked the corridor. A glass door split the space front to back — student side near the counter, adult side beyond the glass. I checked both directions. Not a single zombie in sight. Unease prickled at the back of my neck. I swallowed and eased the glass door open.
Listen to my song!!!
The music hit harder the moment the door opened. I slipped through fast — noise like that could pull every zombie outside right to us.
Rot and blood stung my nose. I turned toward the sound and saw them: dozens of zombies sitting in chairs. And at the computer the music was pouring from, the female zombie sat.
Fuck. What the hell is this?
It was an extremely grotesque sight.