Chapter 23: Jokes might not be your strong suit
"How the hell did you even get into that mess?" Adam asked.
For a moment, no one replied. Then the blonde-haired woman finally spoke. Her voice was calm, but still tense.
"We have a base... a shelter, really. In the dorms. After everything that happened, maybe a hundred of us are left. Mostly students, a few professors, some staff. We did what we could—barricades, makeshift alarms made from cans and wire."
She paused, as if trying to gather her thoughts.
"We started running out of food," she said quietly. "And medicine. We stayed in the base as long as we could, but eventually, we had to take the risk. Someone suggested forming teams from those willing to fight and go out for supplies. At first, it was manageable. Mostly zombies—nothing we couldn’t handle with a bit of teamwork."
Adam listened silently, eyes fixed on her face, trying to read more from her tone than her words.
"We entered the supermarket area," she continued. "And that’s when it started. Rats... they appeared out of nowhere, like they were growing from the ground. No noise, no warning. They just started emerging—from cracks, under cars, the sewers. From every direction. We were surrounded before we could react."
"Like they were defending something," said a deep voice. It was the man with the hammer. He was still breathing heavily, but his eyes were alert.
The girl with the sword and shield looked at him and nodded solemnly.
"Exactly. It didn’t feel like a random group of brainless monsters. It felt... coordinated."
Adam nodded.