Voss tiptoed around the corridors, careful not to make even the slightest noise. As he thought, the zombies were distracted by something.
It left him free to explore the labs and scavenge for resources he lost along the way.
Unfortunately, most materials were locked behind biometric system locks.
All of which got fried following the sun’s strange behavior.
Frustrated by the situation, Voss headed directly to the director’s chamber.
Only to find a surprise waiting for him there.
A zombie was standing there. Surprisingly, it wore a pristine suit as if it were headed to a meeting.
The thing had its back toward Voss and didn’t seem to have noticed him yet.
Voss backed away, hiding behind a wall. Just because the creature hadn’t seen him didn’t mean it couldn’t smell him.
"Maybe I should leave... no, I need food. I won’t make it far without eating something."
Desperation fueled his bravery as he peeked out again.
The door to the director’s office had an electronic lock, but by some miracle, it was open.
As long as he got rid of the suit-clad zombie, he’d get everything he wanted.
However, the question was... could he do it? Did he have the strength to pull it off after starving for days?
Before deciding on the next course of action, Voss looked around the corridor.
There were no zombies in sight. Just one.
Voss clutched the scalpel-spear tighter.
It’s just the one. Come on, you can do it!
After hyping himself up, he crouched and approached the zombie.
Voss shouldn’t have yelled, but he was so nervous that he couldn’t help it.
It was kind of an involuntary reaction to fuel his strength as his scalpel dug into the back of the undead’s head.
The zombie groaned as the scalpel and the scissors repeatedly hit its head.
Within seconds, it slumped on the ground, dead once again.
Voss didn’t stand there to celebrate his victory. He rushed inside and shut the door before piling up the chairs against it.
The sound of scraping furniture would certainly attract the zombies’ attention. However, he didn’t care anymore. He was safe, and that’s all that mattered.
As the adrenaline faded, Voss slumped next to the makeshift barrier.
His blood-drenched hands were shaking uncontrollably. He clenched them into fists before smiling.
The fear of the undead in him had taken a dip.
Before he saw them as invincible creatures, but not anymore. With preparation and a bit of luck, he could defeat them.
Voss was so engrossed in the feeling that he forgot his purpose in being there.
He got up and began looking around the office. In his rush before, he had failed to notice the state of the place.
The broken frames and awards were scattered all around the room.
There were clear signs of a struggle. Not to mention the dried and blackened bloodstains.
It seemed the director had already met the maker.
"Good. I hope he’s still around," Voss smirked, clutching his spear.
After killing a zombie, his personality had already shifted a bit.
No longer will he shy away from taking revenge. At least on his undead colleagues.
Forgetting all that, he walked around the desk. There, he saw what he had been looking for.
All the drawers were taken out of the desk, and a small fridge had been installed in their place.
Thankfully, it didn’t have an electronic lock, or else everything Voss did would be in vain.
"Please have something decent..."
Voss yanked the door open, only to be hit by the foulest rotten smell.
The director had stored quite a collection of high-quality stuff inside. Unfortunately, it had been twelve days since the fridge stopped working.
Every piece of meat in there had turned rotten. Even the vegetables weren’t spared and had strange mushrooms and fungi covering them.
However, there was some canned tuna. Three small cans, but they were better than nothing. And a 12-pack of beer.
Voss grabbed a can and began devouring it.
It wasn’t fresh, and had a strange aftertaste, but for a starving man, it wasn’t less than a five-star meal.
After licking the can clean, he instinctively reached for the next one, only to smack himself.
"No! I have to save it."
As delicious as the meal was, Voss had to restrain himself.
The two cans wouldn’t last long, regardless of whether he ate them or saved them.
"If only I had gotten here earlier..."
Voss cursed his cowardice.
If only he had been brave and not feasted upon bland mushrooms, he could have used all the premium meat there.
"Meat? Wait, why did the director have meat in his fridge?"
For as long as he could remember, the director had been a staunch vegan. So why would he, of all people, have meat in his fridge?
"That hypocrite! No wonder he had a fridge here!"
To the world he preached veganism, but in here, he was anything but that.
Well, it was that or someone else put them there as a prank?
With the toxic work culture there, Voss wouldn’t be surprised if it were the latter.
Voss shrugged and grabbed a beer. Just one sip brought him immense joy.
"Truly the god’s creation," he said, walking to the window. "PAH! What is going down there?"
Voss wanted to have a view while drinking, but what he saw made him spit it all out.
Dozens of zombies had gathered in the courtyard below, but that wasn’t all.
"They’re... killing each other?"
He couldn’t believe it. This was what the zombies were busy with.
Voss put the beer aside as the researcher in him triggered. If he could figure out why they were fighting, then his life would become super easy.
No... If he could control them, then the world would be his.
A smirk formed on his lips.
Just the thought was so enticing to him.
However, that was the extent of his ’dreams’.
He was stuck in a broken lab with no food, no resources for long-term survival. Forget about researching the undead; he would be lucky to get out of there alive.
With a sigh, he took the can of beer and began chugging it, only to spill it out again.
"Who the hell is that?"
It was another man wearing a suit, only he had a mask on covering his face, yet even then, Voss could feel the man’s glare on him.
He was standing right in the middle of the zombie horde, yet none of them were attacking him.
Upon seeing him, a strange thought hit Voss.
"Could he... be the reason the zombies are fighting each other?"