3

You tried to resist the bats but they clung unto you tight, making you unable to shake them off. You start to shake violently, thrashing your hands here and there, in hopes of scaring them away, but they latched unto you hard, refusing to free you.

They bite you all over your body, giving you scratches as well. The injuries were not big but they were deep and hurting. Coupled with your previous injuries from the creatures, they felt like hell. Your energy was depleting fast, and you no longer had hope of surviving. You give up, letting the bats do whatever they wanted.

Suddenly, you feel someone grip your hands and pull you out of the swarm of bats. Before you could register what was happening, you felt the person holding you running, dragging you along. The swarm of bats were still behind you, following you aggressively.

You both enter a small store and before the bats could follow you in, the other person shuts the door quickly. You collapse on the floor, tired and weak. You were sure you were going to die because your body would not be able to handle all this any much longer.

After the other person shuts the door, he walks towards you. You squint your blurry eyes to take a clearer look at the person who had just saved you.

He looked to be around the same age as you, with a tall physique that exudes a sense of youthful energy. His bright blue eyes sparkle with a warm intensity, fringed with thick lashes that add to their allure. His hair is a dirty, dark brown, messy and unkempt in a way, probably as a result of all the shit that's going on around.

His features are chiseled and refined, with high cheekbones and a strong jawline that gives him a resolute and confident air. His skin was a bit dull but had a warm golden glow, albeit covered in dirt and sweat. He was also quite thin, like the lot of you survivors.

You blushed. You couldn't blame yourself. Even in an apocalypse, you would always be attracted to a person with fine physical features.

"Take a picture, it'll last longer" You hear him say. Your cheeks suddenly flushed a deep shade of red, and you turn your eyes to look at the other side, breathing heavily.

You hear him chuckle then take several steps towards you. You turned your gaze back to him and watched as he crouched down to your level.

"Are you okay?"

You raise a brow at him, as if asking with your eyes if he thought you looked okay. He turned his eyes away from you, his face flushed in embarrassment.

"Thanks for saving me back there" You murmur. He smiles at you before responding, "No problem. You gotta help a person in need"

You nod. He walks over to a corner and sits, before suddenly materialising two loaves of bread out of nowhere. You're not shocked as you know he got that from his inventory, but you're surprised that he was able to find food in this world's current condition.

He takes a huge bite from his bread and you stare intensely at his lips as he chews on it. You hear your stomach rumble, and you lick your lips from the hunger. You were so hungry, you felt like you could eat anything.

"The way you're staring at me makes me think you're about to devour me any second from now" You hear him say.

" You're not far from the truth" You respond as you continue to stare. He gives you an apprehensive look before throwing a loaf of bread at your face.

"If you were hungry, you could've just told me" He says as he crawls towards you. You pick the bread from beside you and immediately tear out the wrapping before devouring it. You suddenly cough, choking from how fast you're eating.

"Here, have some water. Don't choke to death"  He says, passing you a bottle of water. You take it before gulping the entire liquid down.

" Thank you" You whisper, your mouth full of food. The same robotic voice rings again in your head, informing you of your stats changes, but you ignore it, focusing on eating instead.

"Don't talk while eating" He chuckles. "My name's Avery by the way" He says.

You stare at him, not knowing what to say, but you eventually nod. He give you a look, raising a brow.

" Aren't you going to tell me yours? "

You're quiet for a while. You didn't remember what your name was, but when you remember your character stats, you realize that your name was filled in as *Hazel Forecaster*.

So you'll just assume for now that your name is Hazel. "My name, Hazel" You say, downing the last drop of water down your throat. He nods, trying your name on his lips. For some reason, you loved the way your name rolled off of his lips, it gave you a tingling sensation in your tummy.

Just as you sat there, crushing on someone you'd just met. You both hear a booming voice rang throughout the city.

[Death Wave 3 Shall Now Commence. Countdown initiated from 50....

49...]

"Shit!" You hear Avery curse. "Come on, we gotta get out of here!"

"But I'm still so weak" You say, your voice barely above a whisper. Avery doesn't say a thing, but he immediately rushes to carry you, piggyback. You're stunned as you did not expect such a move from him.

"We have to go back to the base" You hear him say.

"What base? What's happening?" You're confused. You didn't know what the hell was happening. He starts running with you on his back. As soon as you both exit the store, you immediately catch sight of a huge horde of zombies moving towards your direction from all side.

Up in the sky, you noticed a larger swarm of bats following the zombies closely behind. Your heart suddenly began to pound hard in your chest, and you couldn't help but exclaim, "Oh my God!"

Avery looks back, and he spots the creatures behind you guys. "Fuck!" He curses before increasing his pace. Other kids began running out from all directions, all screaming their guts out from the terrifying scene behind them. Not all of them had the privilege of being piggybacked like you, so they were under much pressure.

At this point, you were hyperventilating, you'd experience too much shit in one day to suffer again. You tapped Avery on the back, silently telling him to run faster. As if understanding you, he grunts but begins to run at a much faster rate.

You didn't know where you guys where headed, but from the way Avery was running so surely, you knew he had a plan, so you didn't worry that much.

[19...

18...

17...

16...]

The countdown neared the last digits, and by this time, you were already feeling worried. You look up ahead, in hopes of seeing anything that looks even remotely like a base, but you see nothing. Behind you, the zombies and bats were nearing in. You've knocked several bats charging at you down through the course of the running but you weren't sure you could go on till you reached the base.

Several of the other people running alongside you had already fallen behind. Either died of exhaustion, or were outran by the zombies behind them. You didn't want to be one of them, so you silently urged Avery to move faster.

"Relax, we're almost there" You here him breathe out. With one final turn round the corner, you immediately notice the huge, gloomy dome like building that a large sign that read *The Base*  hung on its massive gates.

You couldn't even describe how you were feeling right now. The countdown reached ten, and you along with the others still had a fair amount of distance to cover. Your heart raced. This was the umpteenth time you were losing hope since you came here.

You hear Avery panting beneath you, and you knew the load on him was too much. You move slightly, hinting for him to let you go "I think I should get down, it'll make you run faster" You suggest. Just as you finished speaking, you feel his grip tighten on you.

"No, we're gonna make it. You're too weak, you won't make it if I let you go, and I'm not gonna let you die just like that" Your heart suddenly fluttered. You didn't know who this was, you didn't know what he wanted, neither did you know why he helped you in the first place, but the way he said those words made you want to lean on him forever.

" Why are you helping me? " You couldn't help but ask. No human in their right minds would casually help a person they had seen on the streets, covered in a swarm of man-eating bats in the middle of a freaking apocalypse.

"It's not time for questions like this sweetheart. Hold on tight, I'm about to make a leap for it" You take heed to his words, clutching even tighter than before. You hear the robotic voice call the very numbers that would continue to make you weak in the knees.

[5....

4...

3...

2...]

Just as the final numbers were called, Avery leaps, jumping straight for the gate. You close your eyes, and held unto him even tighter, almost strangling him. By the time the last number was called, you feel the impact of your body slamming against the cold floor.

You here a loud bang, and you opened your eyes,  looking on to see that the massive gates that were once open were now locked shut, trapping everything outside. This was the last scene to saw before your vision went blank.

But one question floated unanswered in your mind. Did you make it?

...............

"Hazel... Hazel" A faint call of your name has you returning back to reality. Your eyes slowly fluttered open, staring intently at the ceiling.

"Hazel, are you awake?" You turn your head to the side and you caught sight of Avery in a panting mess beside you. He had both his hands wrapped around yours and a worried expression plastered on his face. It was quite odd coming from a person you had just met.

"Avery?" You called.

"Ughh. Thank God, I thought you'd died for a second" He grunts.

"Where are we?" You asked. Your eyes scanned through the entire place and you noticed some unfamiliar features. You seemed to be in a bedroom of some sought, with nothing more than two bunk beds, a desk and a small ceiling fan. The room looked empty.

"We're safe and in the base" He responds, releasing your hands.

"What base? This is the third time you've said this word and I—" Your words are interrupted when a familiar robotic voice resounded through the entire room.

"All remaining survivors should immediately find their way towards the cafeteria. Directions shall be given by your databots. I repeat, all remaining survivors...." The voice slowly trailed off from your mind and you stared at Avery in confusion.

"What the fuck is going on?" You inquired.

"We don't have much time right now. I'll explain everything to you once we've reached the cafeteria" He assures. You nod, albeit still perplexed and frustrated but you say nothing and slowly got up from the bed.

***Download NovelToon to enjoy a better reading experience!***