Charles' mind raced. If it couldn't see them, they had an advantage. A slim one, but an advantage nonetheless.
The creature landed on a car with a sickening crunch, the roof caving in under its weight like crumpled paper. Its head swiveled back and forth, nostrils flaring as it sniffed the air. Hunting.
"Don't move," Charles whispered, barely breathing the words. His hand slowly moved toward his specialized pistol. "Stay absolutely still."
Elias froze, his rifle still raised but trembling slightly. Sweat dripped down his temple despite the cold air biting at their skin.
The creature's head snapped in their direction. It had heard Elias's breathing. Charles could see the thing's muscles tensing, coiling like springs ready to release.
Then it pounced.
Charles fired. The specialized bullet hit center mass, the wing-like blades spreading on impact. The creature shrieked, that same ear-splitting sound, as its torso shredded from the inside. But it didn't stop. It kept coming, propelled by momentum and rage and something beyond human comprehension.
"Shoot!" Charles yelled.
Elias fired. Once. Twice. Three times. The bullets tore through the creature's legs, sending it crashing to the ground only meters away from them. It writhed and screamed, tendrils lashing out wildly, seeking flesh to grab, to tear, to infect.
Charles pulled out his handgun and put three more rounds into what remained of its head. The screaming stopped.
The body twitched once, twice, then went still. That oily substance oozed out, pooling beneath it like spilled tar.
Both men stood there, panting, staring at the corpse.
"We need to keep moving," Charles finally said, his voice steadier than he felt. "Where does your wife live?"
"Eastern district. About fifteen minutes from here on foot."
Charles nodded. "Then we run. No stopping. No matter what we hear. Understood?"
"Understood."
They took off running through the abandoned streets. The city felt like a tomb. Buildings loomed on either side, windows dark and empty. Doors hung open. Personal belongings lay scattered across the pavement as if people had simply vanished mid-step.
Charles kept his eyes forward, his grip tight on his weapon.
***
The two had run quite far and ran into no disturbances during their route. Despite some minor noises throughout the vast silence of the city, nothing actually attacked them other than that singular creature.
Charles had never actually thought of the fact that these creatures may have some form of intelligence, one of great fortitude at that. Maybe if the virus kept growing, it would eventually develop a mutation to be able to inherit human intelligence. Dealing with a virus is a complicated thing. It can change and adapt to any kind of situation it could be in.
Charles sighed.
Maybe the movies weren't so wrong. Maybe people just got full of themselves and jinxed their own downfalls. Authors, directors, and producers who came up with the idea of zombies and creatures who keep moving after death? Maybe the Stasis is just a figment of humanity's own fears and imagination. Whatever the hell that would mean anyway.
"Charles, we're here!"
Elias stopped in front of a tall apartment building, probably around thirty floors. But Charles wasn't even sure that this area of Greenland even still had people left, seeing that everything was completely empty. Or maybe they all fled north or west, farthest away from the outbreak.
'Argh, I don't know. I'll just follow his lead for now.'
Elias rushed up the flight of stairs without checking his surroundings. To Charles, he was begging for an ambush.
Charles grabbed Elias' arm and stopped him from moving faster than needed. If his wife was in danger, things would be way different in the building. So it would be best for him to slow down, wouldn't it?
'But would I listen?'
"Shit, nevermind. Just slow down."
Elias nodded slightly after snatching his hand away and rushing to the thirty-second floor. His footsteps echoed in the stairwell, frantic and desperate.
"Honey, I'm here!" Elias shouted as he slammed open the door. But to his surprise, what lunged at him was not his wife. It was an Undead, around Stage III.
Luckily, Charles had pulled Elias back just enough to not have his face bitten right off.
This creature was especially unique. It had heightened smell and hearing and strength in exchange for going blind like every other stage besides one. Its eyes were hollow with black sclera and the pupils were a very white blue that seemed to glow in the dim hallway light. Not only that, but this Stage III could summon the oily, grotesque tendrils from its rear to attack.
'Shit! Versatile son of a bitch.'
Charles grabbed his handgun and immediately shot at the creature, but Elias told him to stop after pushing his arm to make Charles completely miss his shot.
"Shit! What are you doing?"
"Wait, please Charles... What if that's... her?"
Charles paused for a moment, giving the undead the perfect opportunity to send its tendrils flying towards them.
The whip sent the two of them flying through the wall into the room in front of thirty-two.
Charles broke through the door and landed on the kitchen floor of room thirty-one.
Coughing up blood, Charles grunted and held his rib in pain. 'Shit, I think I broke one...'
Elias was knocked out completely against the wall outside the room. But before the creature could take a bite, Charles shot the creature four times in the head with his handgun before pulling out his specialized pistol and shooting the creature in its shoulder, obliterating it.
The creature screamed in agony and destroyed the entire hallway, then crawled down the hall to the flight of stairs. Each time it moved, it left an oily flesh-like substance in its wake. That substance filled the entire hallway like some kind of hive. It was sticky and stuck to the walls, leaving behind webs of this stuff to block the hallway.
'Ahh, crap!'
Charles rose up and grabbed his bag that had fallen due to the impact. It was going to be tough, but engaging in combat may not be the smartest thing to do right now.