"Hey! That zombie is mine!"
Two survivors ran down the empty street, chasing a crippled zombie dragging itself across the pavement.
"You already killed four today," the square-faced man complained. "I only killed three! That's my experience points now! Be fair!"
"Fine! I'll get the next one. Take it," the other man, who was still bloodied from the previous killings, said with a shrug after glancing at the cleaver in his hand.
He just noticed that the blade was already dull, so he might as well look for a replacement.
"Ahh… Let's not be wasteful. I can just sharpen this back at the shelter anyway." He reminded himself.
He also had a gun with him, but it would be too wasteful to use on weak zombies…
"Hey! After that, let's return to the shelter. It's getting dark…" He added after seeing his companion walking toward the Zombie to get the last hit.
"Alright, this will be quick…" The square-faced man replied.
Ahead of him, he saw the zombie crawling forward slowly.
The undead looked pitiful.
One of its legs was completely missing, leaving it to drag its body across the ground with its arms. Its clothes were torn and stained with dried blood, and several parts of its gray skin had already peeled away.
But even after getting closer, he realized that instead of attacking him as every other zombie would do, it was trying to escape!
"Hey, look! This zombie is weird!" He shouted to the man behind. He then slowed his steps, as he was curious what it was planning to do.
Every zombie they had encountered since the apocalypse began had been aggressive. Yet this one seemed to be trying to crawl away!
For a brief moment, the man hesitated.
Then he shrugged.
"Whatever. Free experience is still free experience."
He stepped forward to close the distance.
Just as he lifted his foot, it suddenly slid out from under him.
"What the--?!"
There was a puddle on the ground.
He could have sworn the road had been dry just seconds earlier, but now his boot had landed directly in a slick patch of dark liquid.
His balance was lost instantly, and his body tripped forward before he could recover.
He fell face-first toward the ground.
Thud!
"Aahh!"
Unfortunately, the ground happened to be right in front of the zombie.
The creature's cloudy eyes turned to him, and he swore that it had become clear for a brief moment, similar to that of a human!
Before the man could react, the zombie suddenly grabbed him and bit into his neck.
Its teeth sank deep into his neck!
"Aacckkk--! No, plea--"
The scream that followed was short…
"You idiot!" the other man shouted as he watched his companion collapse to the pavement, with blood pouring from the bite wound.
But he already knew it was pointless.
Once bitten, there was no saving a person.
Everyone knew the rule by now. Infection spread fast, and within twenty to thirty seconds, the victim would turn into a zombie.
"Fool…"
The man cursed and drew the small knife hanging from his belt. It may be smaller than his cleaver, but at the very least, it was sharp.
His companion was finished. Nothing could be done about that.
But the zombie responsible was still there.
He approached cautiously, watching the creature dragging itself along the ground. Without a leg, it posed almost no threat.
Killing it with the pocket knife would be simple, and he wouldn't need to waste one of his precious bullets.
"Damn thing," he muttered as he raised the weapon.
However, just as he stepped within striking distance, the zombie suddenly moved.
Not by crawling, but by standing!
'Huh?!'
The man froze.
For a brief, confusing moment, he stared at the creature's lower body.
The leg that had been missing only moments ago was now completely intact.
The zombie stood upright as if it had never been injured at all.
"What--?"
He never finished the sentence.
The zombie leapt forward with unnatural speed and clamped its jaws around his throat.
The pocket knife slipped from his hand as his body collapsed onto the pavement.
As darkness closed in, one final thought passed through his fading mind.
What kind of cheating zombie… is this?