The moment his foot hit the hallway floor, every revenant turned toward him.
Six pairs of glowing blue eyes locked onto him.
[WARNING: MULTIPLE HOSTILES ALERTED]
[RECOMMEND IMMEDIATE EVASION]
"Yeah, thanks for the tip," Eli muttered.
He walked slowly down the corridor, drawing them away from the armory.
The four near the break room started shuffling toward him. The two at the armory door hesitated, then followed.
'Good. They're following.'
Eli backed up toward the stairwell, keeping just out of reach.
The revenants moved faster now, not sprinting, but faster than their usual shuffle. Their corruption levels were rising as they sensed prey.
[CORRUPTION INCREASING: HOSTILITY RISING]
Eli glanced at the back. Marcus was moving along the wall, staying in the shadows, heading for the armory.
One of the revenants lunged at him suddenly.
He sidestepped and used his Soul Pulse ability that he never used before.
[SOUL PULSE ACTIVATED]
A wave of blue energy exploded outward from his chest, hitting the revenant square in the torso.
The creature flew backward, slamming into the wall.
The other five paused, tilting their heads like confused predators.
Then they charged at the same time.
"Shit."
Eli tried to reach out with both hands stretched as well, grasping two souls simultaneously.
The two revenants froze mid charge.
Eli pulled very hard, and both souls came free at once.
Two memories came rushing to him, and the system gave the notification.
[CORRUPTED SOULS CONSUMED X2]
[+180 EXP]
[HUMANITY INDEX: 68%]
Four percent gone in seconds.
But there were still three more.
And they were faster now, angrier.
[CORRUPTION LEVELS RISING: 42% -> 49%]
[CORRUPTION LEVELS RISING: 47% -> 52%]
[WARNING: HOSTILE REVENANT EMERGENCE]
One of them crossed the fifty percent threshold.
Its movement changed instantly, faster and smoother. Its eyes burned brighter.
It sprinted.
Eli barely got his hands up in time.
He grasped its soul and pulled with everything he had.
The revenant's claws raked across his arm, but the soul came free.
Gregory Walsh. 38. Sergeant. Angry about dying.
[CORRUPTED SOUL CONSUMED]
[+140 EXP]
[HUMANITY INDEX: 65%]
The last two were on him now.
Eli stumbled backward, blood flowed from his wounded arm.
'I can't take both at once—'
A baseball bat cracked across one revenant's skull.
Marcus.
The revenant staggered. Marcus hit it again. And again.
"Get the last one!" Marcus shouted.
Eli grasped the final revenant's soul and pulled. It dissolved quickly to his chest.
[+90 EXP]
[HUMANITY INDEX: 63%]
Silence now.
"I thought I told you to get the guns," Eli said between his gasps.
"Got 'em." Marcus pointed back at the armory. The door was open, and the duffel bags were full of the weapons. "Grabbed what I could. Then I heard fighting."
Eli looked at the kid. "Thanks."
Marcus grinned. "No promises, remember?"
*******
They hauled five duffel bags upstairs.
Eli's arm was still bleeding, but the wound was already starting to close.
They made it through the lobby without encountering more revenants. Most had wandered to other parts of the building.
The red sky greeted them outside.
"We did it," Marcus said, staring at the bags. "We actually fucking did it."
Eli nodded. "Yeah. We did."
They started walking back toward the safe zone.
Halfway there, Eli checked the bags.
4 Glocks, 2 Remington, 1 AR-15 rifle, and their ammos.
Eli held up one of the Glocks, feeling the weight.
A light smirk appeared at the corner of his lips. 'These changes everything.'
"Ever fired a gun before?" Eli asked Marcus.
"Video games, yes."
"Not the same."
"I know. But I'll learn fast."
Eli looked at the pistol in his hand, then at the ruined city in the distance.
'These will buy us time. And time is all we have.'
*******
They returned to the parking structure as the sun set.
The survivors rushed to meet them.
"You're back!" Sophie threw herself at Marcus.
Linda stared at the duffel bags. "Are those—?"
"Guns," Eli said. "And ammo. Enough to arm everyone who can shoot."
Mr. Chen's eyes widened. "You actually did it."
"Yeah." Eli dropped the bags on the concrete floor. "We did."
He looked at the group, all of them were picking the guns which they could use.
His mind thought bitterly.
'We're just seven people in a city of millions of undead.'
*******
The next morning came with gunshots.
Those were not from outside, but from inside the safe zone.
Eli bolted upright from where he had been sleeping, his hand instinctively reaching for the Glock he had kept beside him.
More shots. They were loud, echoing through the parking structure.
He ran toward the sound.
*******
Marcus stood at the third floor, near the eastern edge. He was holding the AR-15, firing controlled bursts down at the street below.
BANG. BANG. BANG.
"Marcus, what the hell—"
"Revenants!" Marcus shouted over the gunfire.
Eli looked over the edge.
Three bodies lay on the pavement below, near the barrier. They were not moving, with bullet holes in their chests and heads.
[CORRUPTED SOULS DETECTED: 0]
[THREATS ELIMINATED]
Marcus lowered the rifle, his breathing was hard. "I… I got them, right?"
Eli stared at the bodies. Then at Marcus. The kid's hands were shaking.
"Yeah," he said quietly. "You got them."
"First time I ever…" Marcus swallowed. "First time shooting something that wasn't a target."
"How do you feel?"
Marcus looked at the rifle in his hands. "I-I don't know. They were already dead, right? So it's not like I killed them?"
"No. You didn't kill them."
Eli put a hand on his shoulder. "You protected the safe zone. That's what matters."
Marcus nodded slowly. "Yeah. Yeah, okay."
The others had gathered now at third floor—Sophie, Linda, Mr. Chen, Linda's two kids—all staring at the rifle in Marcus's hands.
"Are we… are we going to learn how to use those?" Linda asked, pointing at the duffel bags still piled near the wall.
Only Marcus took the rifle last night. The others simply put them back after admiring them.
Eli looked at the group. Six survivors. Seven guns.
"Yes," Eli said. "All of you adults should hold at least one each. We start training today."