Chapter 4 - 04: Elixir of Immortality
Before she could process what was happening, the figure lifted her off the ground effortlessly and threw her down with brutal force. Her back hit the hard floor, and pain exploded across her body.
"Ahhh!" she groaned, clutching her side as the shard slipped from her fingers. Her murmurs turned into cries of pain. Dazed, she struggled to lift her head and glared up at her attacker.
To her surprise, it wasn't a mindless, rotting corpse. It was a man.
He stood tall like a towering figure above her. He was clad in a full set of protective gear—a thick jacket, a reinforced vest, and sturdy boots that looked out of place in the ruined city. His sharp gaze locked onto her, and Liora felt her breath hitch.
Behind him, two more figures emerged. One was another man, slightly shorter but equally intimidating, with a rifle slung over his shoulder. The other was a woman, her long hair tied back under a helmet. She held a handgun, scanning the area with sharp movements.
Liora groaned again, clutching her side as her mind scrambled for answers. Who were these people? And what did they want?
"You! Are you human?" Liora asked them with a baffled expression on her face. Even she felt stupid after asking this question. Surely they were humans, but they looked more like aliens to her.
She had never seen such strange outfits in her world, and what was with the strange weapons they carried? Don't ask her how she knew they were weapons; it was her gut feeling which was screaming that these items are dangerous.
"Do we look like zombies to you, miss?" the man with the rifle said. He came towards her and extended his hand.
Liora blinked at him. Her gaze shifted from his face to his outstretched hand and back to his face. A question mark seemed to hover over her expression as if she couldn't understand his intentions.
"Your hand..." the man said again, bringing his hand closer to her.