"Christian?" Perry called out, one of the few times it wasn't out of spite. Eli and Perry entered the basement— why? Because there was no room near the basement. And knowing Christian, he was probably in there.
"Guys.. is it you guys?" Christian's voice erupted from the darkness as they entered.
"Christian?" Eli said this time, making his way down the stairs with Perry.
"Why are the lights off?" Perry asked, trying to find any source of light. But to no avail. It was too dark, she couldn't see anything.
Eventually, Eli being the smart one, he took out his phone and turned the flashlight on. And immediately froze. Zombies. And from the way they had started to lunge towards them, they were the type that had vision.
"RUN!" was Christians immediate reaction, but it wasn't as easy as yelling it. Especially considering they were the most… intelligent type.
Eli tried not to get out but tried to fight them, keeping his flashlight somewhere that'd light most of the room. And boy was it a bunch harder than fighting the 'normal' zombies.
"They're so bloody stubborn! Can someone text for backup??" Eli yelled out. Perry dodged all the zombies' attacks, kicking it effectively. She hurried to take out her phone, sending Three exclamation marks to the group chat they'd made earlier.
It was a symbol for backup they'd settled on. One for mild, just to let the group know there was danger. Two exclamation marks for needing backup and three for danger they'd need backup for and was pretty dangerous. For four exclamation marks, it was undiscussed.
Perry sent the message and had dropped her phone trying to dodge another zombie attack. She couldn't care to pick it up since there were three zombies surrounding her. There were at least more than 10 zombies in that basement alone. Perry fought, but three was a bit much. Especially the zombies with sight being more.. accurate with attacks and their strength was visibly more than the other type which was more brain-dead like.
"Perry!?" Ruby's voice cut through as she and Nicole barged in. They stared down at the scene, Nicole taking a mental note of the quantity of zombies in the room. They'd each approximately have to fight 3 zombies with the five of them. Great. That was already an unexciting amount.
"Ruby!" Perry turned to the sound of her voice, relief evident in her voice. She saw Nicole standing beside her, but said nothing about it. "Don't just stand there!" she added, abruptly turning her head back to the zombies.
And so, Nicole and Ruby hurried their way down the stairs, helping them out. Ruby stood with Christian, fighting alongside him.
Damn. Perry thought. These zombies sure are persistent. She lunged at one, only having knocked one other down.
"Uhm.. you guys?" Eli called out, eyes fixed on a glowing timer under a chair in the room. A bomb? The hell? "Is that a flipping bomb?" he spoke, making everyone else freeze. Slowly, Nicole tried holding off a zombie while simultaneously walking towards Eli.
Nicole, having gotten a look, could surely confirm.. it was. "..We have to get out. It's ticking and fast." He replied, voice sharp. The time on the clock fell just below a minute by the time they all managed to react properly.
Christian stumbled over his feet to reach the stairs, Eli selflessly waiting until they all managed to at least start their way up.
Ruby almost tripped on the very first stair, but Eli caught her. Ruby gave Eli the chance to go first, and they rushed upstairs, trying to get out of the house. All the while, Perry and the others rushed out, running across the street to get to the van, too caught up in trying to get away to notice anything else.
Axelle spotted them from outside, as Rexine, Maverick and Waylen turned their heads. They were bored out of their minds as the other five had left, just waiting for their return. "Look. It's them." She spoke, attaining their attention.
"Really? So early? That was a lot faster than I expected.." Rexine mumbled. She sighed before slumping back in her seat though. Maverick was too busy counting the number of zombies surrounding the area to pass the time. He'd already finished counting all the apartment buildings around.
They barged in without any words, and when everyone got in, all Christian said was, "Drive, drive, drive!!" He panicked out in words, as Perry settled, not caring to buckle her seatbelt.
"...Wait." Nicole commanded softly. "..Where the hell is Ruby?" he asked, already getting ready to get out.
"If the bomb was to explode, it already would've. It might've been just for show, for all we know."
Christian's eyes widened ever so subtly. How could he have been so blind to forget about her? Yes, It has indeed been more than a minute by now. So the bomb was for show and they fell for it.
"We have to go find her." Perry spoke, already stepping out herself. It was risky, but she was willing to put herself through that for Ruby. Especially if this bomb thing was some bluff, she'd be furious. This time, they all had exit the van, walking across the road to reach the house. The group was silent. Even Maverick.
Christian, Perry and Nicole being the three to rush the fastest towards the basement, as soon as they got inside the house.
Forcing their way in, the light displayed nothing in sight. Then, as they ventured in completely, they saw her.