LOGINEllen didn't have a free hand to fix the backpack sliding off her shoulder. She just tightened her grip and kept climbing.Once she made it up, the last two people stepped forward. They were a married couple. The husband jumped into the elevator shaft first. He pressed himself against the inner wall and reached out his hand."Come on," he said to his wife.She grabbed the doorframe carefully and stretched her arm toward him.Just as their hands finally connected and her body tipped into the shaft… Potatoes suddenly came raining down from above.A whole pile of them.The man's grip jerked violently as the weight shifted. The next second, his wife slipped and fell straight down with the tumbling potatoes."Honey!""My potatoes!"The man and Ellen shouted at the same time.Thud!The woman hit the bottom of the elevator shaft like a sack of meat. Blood spread across the dark floor instantly.Her skull burst on impact. Pieces of bone and flesh were scattered across the concr
Hayley turned to look at Ellen, whose eyes were wide with anger."There's no way we're giving you our food!" she shouted. "We grew that ourselves. Blood and sweat went into it. You won't even guarantee we live, and you still want our supplies? No chance!"Hayley didn't bother responding to Ellen. She looked at Warren instead."You've got 30 seconds," she said calmly. "Give me your answer."Warren turned to Ellen. "This isn't your decision.""Have you lost your mind?" Ellen snapped. "That woman will take all our supplies and leave us with nothing! How are we supposed to survive after that?"Warren's thoughts were racing.The snarling growls of zombies echoed from the stairwell below, while Ellen's words kept circling in his head. His scalp felt tight with stress."Forget it," he muttered finally. "We have to go with them."Giving the supplies to Hayley might mean death, but staying here meant certain death."I don't agree!" Ellen shouted."I don't, either," Theo said. He was
"Raarh!"A zombie finally managed to grab the edge of the fifth-floor stairway and began clawing its way up.Warren swung his fire axe and brought it down hard. The blade chopped through the zombie's arm, sending the severed limb tumbling.But before he could even catch his breath, another zombie scrambled up in its place.He kept hacking and kicking, barely holding the line.Just as it looked like he was about to be overwhelmed, Donnie shouted from above."Get up here!"Warren spun around and ran.He sprinted across the damaged landing between the fifth and sixth floors. The platform was already cracking from the beating it had taken.The moment he cleared it, Donnie and Charlie smashed the last section apart.Several zombies that had climbed onto the fifth floor tried to rush after him. Instead, their feet slipped through the broken gap, and they dropped straight back down into the swarm.Warren leaned against the wall, gasping for air.For a moment, he felt as if he had
When Jasmine heard that, she snapped.She rushed at Warren like she had lost her mind, pounding her fists against him."You killed him! You did this!" she screamed. "It's all your fault! You're the one who got everyone killed!"A flash of anger crossed Warren's eyes, and he shoved her away hard.Then he looked down at the hand still clinging to the railing.Without hesitation, he lifted his foot and kicked it.Warren was a strength-enhanced Gifted. After three brutal kicks, Kemp's hand was already mangled and soaked in blood.Below them, zombies were climbing over each other like a ladder, using Kemp's body as a foothold.Kemp's grip weakened. Then, finally, his fingers slipped, and he fell. He dropped straight down into the swarm, dragging a mass of zombies with him."Osbert!"Jasmine collapsed to her knees on the fifth-floor landing, screaming down into the darkness.Hayley raised an eyebrow when she heard the name.Osbert.Wasn't that the name on the ID badge they had f
"Jasmine's the one who dropped it!" Ellen snapped, turning around. "What does that have to do with me?""Cut the crap," Donnie shot back from behind her. "You slammed into her.""I saw it, too," Charlie added. "Jasmine could barely carry that thing to begin with, and you knocked right into her. I've never seen someone so stupid."Ellen clenched her fists, shaking with anger.Jasmine, Jasmine, Jasmine.Everyone always took Jasmine's side.Not a single person stood up for her."I'll go back and carry another one," Jasmine said quietly.Ellen didn't respond. She flung her hand impatiently and marched straight to the fifth floor.Up above, Hayley watched the little drama unfold without saying a word. There weren't many people in this group, but there was no shortage of scheming and tension.About ten minutes later, most of the planters had been carried upstairs.Meanwhile, the zombies below kept piling higher.The two-floor gap was roughly twenty feet.At first, it had been im
Large waves of zombies rushed up to the third floor.Then, they began falling. One after another, they tumbled down the broken stairwell like a herd of antelope running off a cliff.Bodies slammed into the zombies below. Some crashed into the railings, while others dropped straight onto the growing pile beneath.Not a single one made it up to the fifth floor.Within minutes, the tall stairwell was packed solid with them.The zombies writhed below like creatures trapped in a deep pit, craning their necks upward."Raarh… Raarh…"They stared at the living people above them with relentless hunger.Warren and the others instinctively backed away from the railing.Hayley stayed where she was, gripping the stair rail and looking through the gaps at the massive swarm. Her brows tightened."Liam, how much longer?""We've found the records room," Liam replied through the headset. "Looking for the files now. Twenty minutes at most.""Make it fast."Hayley didn't say anything else. Sh
The rumble of the armored truck grew louder, rolling in from a distance.Hayley heard it, and the tension in her chest finally eased. The zombies climbing beneath her suddenly felt like nothing at all.She only needed to survive another ten seconds.Right then, Griffin's voice drifted lazily past
Robert filled the last missing spot Hayley needed.With him around, Hayley no longer had to deal with miscellaneous chores.Before long, the end of the month arrived.Thanks to everyone working together, all the greenhouses in Haylight Base were finally completed.On the last day of the month, a
For the past three days, Hayley had been staying inside the base, practicing her gifts over and over again.All the crystal cores from Liam and Alex had arrived.After hearing Liam pass along the message, Alex spent the whole night thinking about it before finally agreeing to Hayley's terms.He g
"Alright, go on. Get back inside," Hayley said, waving him off."God, I promise I will live a good and honest life, eating well-balanced meals, as long as you keep my boss and my colleague safe out there," Robert prayed earnestly.Hayley and Leonard held back their urge to roll their eyes.Derek