When William was nearing his apartment building, something immediately felt wrong.
The street was too quiet.
Then he saw them.
Armed men wearing heavy gear and riot shields moved slowly down the street in tight formation. Their rifles were raised, and their movements were precise—cold, disciplined.
They weren't panicking.
They were hunting.
Each time an infected person appeared, the soldiers fired without hesitation.
BANG.
An infected dropped instantly, its skull exploding against the pavement.
"H-help me…!"
A man suddenly ran out from between two abandoned cars, his clothes torn and soaked with blood. He sprinted desperately toward the armed group, his hands raised.
"Please! Please help—"
BANG.
The man's head snapped backward as the bullet tore through his skull. His body collapsed lifelessly onto the street.
No warning.
No hesitation.
William froze behind a rusted car, his heart hammering in his chest.
"Fuck…" he whispered.
They hadn't even checked him.
They just executed him.
William slowly backed away, panic rising in his chest.
"I can't go back to my apartment."
If those soldiers were clearing the area, anyone nearby was a target.
He turned and ran.
William sprinted down a narrow alleyway between two decaying buildings. Trash cans crashed over as he pushed past them, his boots pounding against the wet concrete.
After several turns, he spotted a small pharmacy.
The door hung half open.
He slipped inside and immediately slowed his breathing.
The streets outside were crawling with infected. One loud noise and they would flood in.
William stepped cautiously into the store.
Broken glass crunched beneath his boots. Shelves were overturned, medicine bottles scattered across the floor like debris after a storm.
Then he saw movement.
Two infected wandered near the back of the pharmacy, their bodies twitching violently as if their muscles were fighting against themselves.
William tightened his jaw.
"Can I pull this off…?"
His eyes scanned the room.
Then he saw it.
A baseball bat leaned against the counter.
Beside it lay a corpse.
William slowly crept forward, every step careful and controlled. He reached down and wrapped his hand around the bat.
The moment he lifted it—The corpse suddenly jerked.
Its head twisted violently toward him.
GRRRRRR!
The infected let out a horrifying growl, its jaw snapping open like a starving animal.
"Fuck!"
William swung the bat with everything he had.
CRACK!
The bat smashed into the infected's skull with a sickening impact. Bone shattered instantly, spraying dark blood across the counter. The creature collapsed to the floor, its head partially crushed.
But the noise echoed through the store.
The other two infected froze.
Slowly…
They turned their heads toward him.
Then they screamed.
They sprinted forward with terrifying speed, knocking shelves aside as they rushed him.
"Shit!"
William moved quickly through the narrow aisle between the shelves, forcing the infected to chase him in a straight line.
One step.
Two steps.
The first infected lunged.
William pivoted to the side and brought the bat down like a hammer.
CRACK!
The bat crushed the top of its skull. The creature dropped instantly, its body collapsing in a heap of broken limbs.
But the second infected was already on him.
It slammed into William, its rotten teeth snapping inches from his face. The stench of decay filled his lungs as the creature clawed at his jacket.
"Get off me!"
William shoved the bat upward, jamming it into the infected's throat to keep its jaws away. The creature shrieked, thrashing wildly.
William growled and swung again.
CRACK!
The bat smashed across the side of its head, sending teeth and blood flying across the shelves.
The infected staggered.
William didn't stop.
CRACK!
Another swing.
CRACK!
Another.
The final blow crushed the creature's skull completely. It dropped to the floor, twitching violently before going still.
William stood there, breathing heavily.
Blood dripped slowly from the end of the baseball bat.
The pharmacy fell silent again.
William wiped sweat from his face and muttered under his breath.
"…I really need a gun."