Out of nowhere, something crashed through the shelf half full of snacks next to them.
The three humans looked at it in bewilderment. Lying there was one of the mentioned "strong member" of their cohort, looking helpless and utterly defeated.
"V-Victor?" said the girl in a low voice.
He was slowly beginning to turn into a vicious Struggler.
However, without giving them time to process what just happened, a Struggler coldly stepped out of the cover of the shelf which was still standing beside the three of them.
It was a bit different from the others. With a hint of intelligence in his eyes, its muscles were more pronounced. It had less of a rotting look, more like something that's actually alive. Its skin was a darker shade of green than that of the Struggler Spawns. In addition, it also looked much faster and stronger than an average zombie.
"Oh, Gods!" said the girl in a shaky voice.
Zane's worse nightmare came true. There was a reason for why this place looked fine compared to the other stores and supermarkets. It was ruled by a Struggler Warden. Anyone that would step their foot in this place would get massacred before they know it.
His heart suddenly started beating faster.
'Is this how it's gonna end?' Wondered Zane, starting to lose hope.
'No, this is just the beginning.' Protesting against his own momentarily weakness, remembering how you were supposed to awaken your powers.
But would he even be able to stay alive until then?
The Warden tilted its head, noticing his new preys. His bored eyes lit up with fury in the darkness.
Suddenly, it angrily launched forward, with a furious strike aimed at the tall young man. He desperately tried to block it with a stone rod that he used as his weapon. Predictably, it just shattered to pieces and the force of the strike sent the young man flying.
Slamming into the shelf behind him, the young man was knocked unconscious.
While this happened Zane was having an internal debate.
Should he leave these two unfortunate souls and escape by himself, or should he try to defeat the monster with them?
He wasn't some righteous and noble person, but it just felt wrong to leave two fellow humans to their deaths and do the runner.
He wouldn't be able to sleep at night if he did that.
Just as he finished that thought the fearsome zombie was about to attack the petite girl, who was paralysed by fear. Looks like she was a freezer.
"Hey, get yourself together!" Shouted Zane, bringing back her to reality.
Getting back to her senses, she reached and pulled out the kitchen knifes decorating her belt.
As the monster began its mad attack on the girl, Zane didn't waste the opportunity to close in on it from the side and land a blow on it, while it was distracted.
As the girl was trying to sidestep the ferocious downward slash of the zombie's hand, Zane was already upon them.
He recklessly thrusted his dagger towards the seemingly distracted monster, but it swiftly blocked the assault on raw instinct with its forearm, while still finding its balance.
The dagger fully pierced its forearm. Zane desperately tried to pull it out, knowing that if he failed, he could say goodbye to his only tool to defeat this monster.
Just as he was pulling out, the rage-filled zombie jerked its arm to the side, not letting him get a grip on the weapon. As a result, the dagger was sent flying in the opposite direction to where the tall young man was lying unconscious.
'Shit.' Thought Zane, knowing what was about to happen
The monster was about to attack the defenseless young man, but the petite girl came to his rescue.
Still visibly shaking, she tried to muster up all her strength, but it was all for nothing. The monster deflected the strike with ease.
Not giving her any time to react, it was already launching a furious counter-attack.
She tried to deflect the assault with one of her knifes, but it proved to be useless. She was knocked back a few meters as well, before stumbling and falling to the ground.
Zane didn't waste the chance, so he was already picking up his dagger from the floor. His eyes were filled with grim resolve.
The monster looked at him with its eyes burning with fury. This time it was the first to attack.
It ferociously lunged at him with rapid movements. A sideways strike was approaching Zane with tremendous speed. He tried to deflect it, just like with the first Spawn, but it proved to be useless.
The dagger was sent flying again, but this time he had no protection.
Guessing its next strike, he put up his hands in a boxer defence stance. The zombie's hands slashed across his forearms in a blur, creating five deep cuts on them.
Zane's face showed a bitter expression. He was not prepared for another attack, but the vicious monster didn't care.
Suddenly, a downward slash came crashing down. It created another five deep incisions from Zane's collarbone, down to the middle of his chest.
"Arghhh.." Wailed Zane.
His face was filled with agony. He has never experienced pain like this before.
By then, the girl attempted another panicked attack, but this time the monster just savagely knocked her out of the way with the back of his hand.
The monster grabbed Zane by the neck and raised him up with ease. He was almost high enough to be able to see the whole supermarket.
Ready to eviscerate him, it was interrupted by a spat of blood on his face, that came from Zane's mouth.
"Fuck you." Said Zane in a raspy voice.
The zombie wiped off the spat, getting even angrier, it brutally ripped apart Zane's stomach. His guts almost spilled out.
Dropping him to the floor, He turned around.
Zane has never experienced pain like this before. It was so intense, that he should've passed out seconds ago. He was holding on by sheer force of will.
"There is no way I'm gonna die here. I have way more things to accomplish before meeting my end." Thought Zane, remembering why he was so desperate to get stronger, even if that meant leaving the safety of the Shelter, just to be able to fight more.
An image of his childhood popped into his mind. Him and his family barely having food on the table, when he hadn't eaten anything in a day. Growing up in poverty, he never knew how it felt to be full. His father and mother were working all the time, sleep deprived, just to afford a small shack in the slums. There was no escape from that life.
Then, an imagine of a small and helpless girl, with dark brown braided hair surfaced into his consciousness. Suddenly, his forehead started to get hot and he clenched his jaw, he felt anger.
That's when something unexpected happened.
For a moment, all his pain disappeared, then he felt as if there was a lump forming in the middle of his chest, and with it came wrenching pain.
It felt as if there was a growing ball with spikes on it spinning in his chest.