Chapter 6: Better to avoid contact
Adam walked slowly through the city’s ruins, the bag of medicine bumping against his thigh with each step. The street was quiet, almost dead, though he constantly felt as if something were watching him from behind shattered windows and the shadows of abandoned cars. The air was thick with dust and the stench of burning, and every breath reminded him of the exhaustion creeping deeper into his bones.
His body ached, but his thoughts were elsewhere. He kept returning to that moment in the pharmacy—the moment the man transformed into something inhuman. When Adam, desperate, shouted and made an instinctive motion, and the air exploded between them.
"It must’ve been that skill... Void Manipulation," he muttered under his breath, gripping the bag’s strap tighter.
In all the chaos, he had completely forgotten to analyze the ability he’d gained from the scroll. Void Manipulation... how did it even work? His mind circled around that wave—around that moment when the air seemed to tear the attacker from space itself. He’d have to test it properly later, analyze it in detail. First, he needed food. Shelter. Only then could he afford to experiment without risking his life.
After several more minutes of walking, Adam reached a fork in the road. He planned to turn right—he remembered there had once been a store a few blocks down. But after a few steps, he saw and heard them—an entire section of the street was packed with zombies. Maybe twenty, maybe thirty.
He stopped, muscles tensing. He froze for a second, assessing the situation. He could try to sneak along the side wall. But one mistake, one sound—and the entire horde would charge. He drew in a deep breath and slowly exhaled through clenched teeth.
Not worth it.
He turned silently and backed away, looking for another route.
A few minutes later, he had to change course again—this time due to a collapsed tenement. He passed through an overgrown yard, jumped over a low wall, and found himself at another intersection.
From a distance, he heard groans—but this time, they weren’t the usual kind. These were more intense. Screams. Impacts. Dull explosions.
He cautiously approached the corner of a building where the sounds originated and peeked around the edge.