I didn't move. I wasn't even sure I was breathing.
The Elite Crawler slowly tilted its head.
Crack... crack...
Its neck bent farther than any human neck should. The sound of bones grinding against each other made my skin crawl.
Those dark maroon eyes kept trembling nonstop. It wasn't looking for me. It was listening. Every tiny sound seemed to catch its attention.
I looked at the bathroom doorway. I needed to get to the living room window, but the Elite Crawler was standing directly in the center of the unit, a massive barricade of infected meat between me and my exit.
"So," I murmured. "Death match it is."
I tried one of the oldest trick in the book with a bit of improvisation.
I grabbed a bottle of shampoo from the edge of the tub.
Plastic. Half-full. Good enough.
I took a deep breath and tossed it.
The bottle bounced off the Elite Crawler's shoulder and landed on the floor.
The giant Crawler slowly turned its head. Its shaking eyes stared directly at me.
No charge. No roar. No reaction.
Just that trembling gaze.
Interesting.
Maybe those blood-filled eyes weren't working properly anymore. Maybe everything looked blurry to it. As long as I stayed completely still....I might as well be invisible.
We'll then....I took another deep breath.
"Yo, bro!" I shouted. "I've got free protein powder with...."
The Elite Crawler exploded into motion. Its roar shook the apartment.
He must have really loved protein powder in his past life.
The giant charged straight at me. He wasn't crawling like the others. He was sprinting. Every step made the floor shake beneath my feet.
I slammed the bathroom door shut. My shoulder pressed against it as I counted inside my head.
One....Two....
The footsteps grew louder.
Closer. Closer. NOW!
I yanked the door open.
The Elite Crawler didn't have enough time to hit the brakes. His momentum, driven by those hypertrophied muscles, carried him straight past me. He crashed into the bathroom, slamming into the tiled wall with a force of a small vehicle. The tiled wall exploded. The mirror shattered into hundreds of pieces. Even the floor beneath my feet trembled.
I didn't wait to see him get up.
I moved.
Out of the bathroom. Into the living room.
I was halfway across the living room....
Suddenly, The apartment door flew open.
A female Crawler rushed inside.
Its body was twisted into that unnatural four-legged stance. Its blood-red eyes shook constantly, and yellow foam dripped from its mouth.
"Shit!"
I changed direction so fast my sneakers squealed across the floor.
The living room window was no longer an option. So I ran into the bedroom.
The female Crawler followed without slowing down.
I knew these things could jump. Trying to climb onto the bed normally would be suicide.
So I did the exact opposite.
I threw myself onto the floor. My body slid across the floor, carrying me under the bed from the right side.
The Crawler lunged after me.
Its head dropped low as it tried to crawl underneath.
Thanks. That's exactly what I wanted.
I grabbed the left side of the bed frame. Using all my strength, I pulled myself upward. My body shot onto the mattress just as the Crawler snapped at empty air beneath the bed.
For a second....it completely lost track of me.
I didn't waste the opportunity. I sprinted across the bed. Jumped onto the bedside table. Then grabbed the edge of the window frame.
I didn't stop.
I scrambled across the bed, launched myself onto the bedside table, and caught the lip of the window frame.
Almost out....
BOOM!!
The entire room shook.
I looked back.
The Elite Crawler came for round two.
He slammed into the bedroom wall again.
And again. And again.
Every hit sent another shiver through the apartment.
Cracks spread across the drywall. Chunks of plaster fell onto the floor.
My grip slipped.
I tightened my fingers around the rough brick outside the window.
Seriously? How could his head still not wide open!
Below me, more Crawlers were gathering. The noise had drawn them from every direction. They crawled toward the building like insects swarming around food.
Fantastic. My fan club keeps getting bigger.
I kicked against the wall and swung my body onto the narrow ledge outside.
For one dangerous second, my balance disappeared. Then I caught myself.
I didn't look down. I didn't look back.
I just kept moving.
One careful step. Then another. As fast as I could without falling.
By the time I reached my apartment, my lungs felt like they were on fire.
I climbed through the kitchen window and nearly collapsed onto the floor. Without wasting a second, I pulled the window shut and locked it.
Only then did I let myself breathe.
I dropped my backpack onto the counter and wiped the sweat from my forehead.
"Damn..." I muttered between breaths. "That guy really needs to work on his hospitality. From now on, I'll call him The Protein Hunter."
I turned around with a tired grin.
"Hey, I'm back from the...."
"Hey," I panted, wiping a smudge of brick dust from my forehead. "I'm back from the...."
The words stopped in my throat.
Aurora was standing by the sink. She looked like she'd been holding herself together by a single thread.
The moment our eyes met....That thread snapped. Tears poured down her cheeks. She didn't even try to hide them. Her knees gave out, and she slowly sank onto the floor, crying without making a sound.
For a moment....I just stood there.
I didn't know what to do.
My brain, usually so quick with a calculation or humor.
I could explain how the virus works. I could figure out how a Crawler behaves. I could even outrun one if I was lucky.
But this....This wasn't something logic could solve.
I hurried over and knelt in front of her.
"Hey...." My voice came out much softer than I expected. "I'm here."
She kept crying.
"I made it back."
Still nothing.
I scratched the back of my head. "You know, they tried to recruit me back there."
She looked up a little.
"But I told them, hell no! Terrible company culture. No dental plan."
A tiny laugh escaped through her tears.
I continued. "The duty is terrible. No weekends. No holidays. Always looking for citizens to convert them into anti-vegan volunteer."
That finally earned me a weak smile.
Before I could say anything else....
She suddenly threw her arms around me. The force almost knocked me backward. She held me tightly, as if letting go would make me disappear again.
"I thought..." Her voice broke. "I thought you weren't coming back."
I hesitated for a heartbeat, then slowly wrapped my arms around her.
Her whole body was shaking.
"I am here, Aura," I whispered, using the name her father called her. "I'm not leaving you alone."