Chapter 3 - The Escape from the Apartment Part Two

"Heave... ho."

I tightly tie the sheet to the railing on the balcony.

I give it a gentle tug. It seems secure enough.

"Just a bit more. Let's take it slow."

I move down to the floor below.

Opening the balcony door, I look around, but it seems no one is around.

Still, I can’t let my guard down.

I should proceed with caution.

It looks like a student similar to my age used to live in this room.

There’s a baseball glove and a bat lying around.

"If I’m going to crush a brain, the bat might be more useful..."

I hesitate while picking up the metal bat.

Then, I forcefully shove the metal bat into my backpack.

The handle sticks out quite a bit, but I manage to get it in somehow.

"Alright, let’s go."

I descend one more floor using the sheet and finally make it down to the ground.

I check my surroundings.

"Aaaahhh!!"

I hear a scream.

I turn toward the direction of the voice and see a man struggling with a zombie on the balcony of the apartment building across from me.

But all I can do is watch.

"Stop! Don’t come any closer!"

The man punches the zombie, but it bites into him anyway.

"Gaaah!"

The man falls from the balcony along with the zombie, followed by a sickening crunch.

"This is reality... This really is reality..."

I tell myself that, then move as quietly as possible.

The reason I thought this was because of the zombie I killed earlier in the apartment (though strictly speaking, she might have already been dead).

The important point was that her eyes were clouded over.

Most likely, their vision is completely white.

Or maybe they don’t even have the concept of sight anymore.

If those creatures detect enemies by smell, it would be hard to mask their scent, but sound can be suppressed.

Crunch… crunch… crshhh.

I hear the sound of gravel being crushed in the apartment parking lot.

Moreover, the rhythm is uneven.

I slowly move closer to the parking lot and observe from behind a wall.

There’s a zombie wriggling around.

Just one — a middle-aged man who looks like a salaryman.

Let’s use this one for an experiment.

First, I throw a fairly large stone that was nearby.

Thud.

The stone hits the ground with a sound.

"Urrgh... Aaaargh..."

The zombie staggers over to the spot where the stone landed.

I threw another small stone, and it moved in the same way.

(No doubt about it... it’s detecting by sound. And with quite a bit of accuracy.)

Next, I’ll test if it can detect by smell.

(Scary, but I have no choice...)

I raise the bat high, ready to strike at any moment.

Then, I lightly kick a stone at my feet.

The zombie starts moving toward me.

(Eek!? Y-Yeah, this is really scary!)

But it’s an experiment.

I have no choice but to endure it.

The zombie comes within reach of the bat’s swing.

There, it stops and starts wandering around the small stone.

It seems it can’t detect the smell.

“I’ll put you out of your misery.”

I mutter under my breath, then slam the metal bat down on the zombie’s face as it turns toward me.

There was a thunk as the bat dented, and the zombie’s head caved in too.

Thud.

The zombie collapsed.

After confirming that, I started walking again.

My destination was the high school I attend.

"Alright, let’s do this!"

I cheer myself on.

Right after that.

"Arrghhh!"

A voice comes from behind.

"N-no way..."

I looked over my shoulder.

There, dozens of zombies stand.

"Damn it!! My shout just attracted them all!?"

I sprint at full speed.

And the undead start chasing after me.

"Eek!! Run, run!!"

I run faster than I ever have before, dashing down the road.

Fortunately, the zombies can’t run, so I manage to shake them off somehow.

I quickly slip into an alley, sit down, and catch my breath.

“Hah… hah… somehow…”

Breathing heavily, I lower my gaze.

"!! What the—!?"

What's lying there is the head of a child.

“W-w-what!?”

I press myself against the wall, putting some distance.

That head seems to have already stopped functioning, showing no sign of movement.

And then I realize—

I've been shouting loudly.

"Ah! Crap!"

The alley has two exits: the way I came in and another leading to the main street. But zombies are staggering out from both.

I’m trapped. Completely surrounded.

That’s exactly the situation I’m in.