After finishing all the zombies surrounding us, I approached Miss Rika and told her about my theory. She looked thoughtful after hearing it, then nodded.
"Then it is more than likely a mutant," she replied with a serious tone. "We can't ignore what you said either. There are still a lot of things we don't know about this outbreak and its cause."
I stood beside Miss Rika, who kept her eyes on the mansion.
Nothing had happened since the last incident. I couldn't sense anything either, which was good because I didn't want to get attacked again. I hoped we would just have to wait for the others to complete the mission without doing anything. But then again, that wouldn't happen.
We stayed like that for several minutes. I noticed movement in the mansion, some zombies approached due to the loud sound made by gunshot, but nothing dangerous. We didn't do anything as it wasn't our job.
Then, we heard something. Something big.
"Look, there." Miss Rika said, pointing to her left. There was a hole on the side of the mansion wall.
It was Leon, moving pretty slowly with his shotgun on his shoulder. He seemed to have injured his leg. Blood was flowing from his thigh. But it didn't look too bad, and he was able to walk.
He was trying to climb the wall.
I asked for permission.
Seeing him injured made me feel worried. What could injure someone like Leon?
Just like Chris, he was a freaking beast. A skilled police officer who went through rigorous training. Even if a horde of zombies chased after him, he would be able to deal with them easily.
And yet, here he was limping.
"No, we stay here." She answered firmly. "If there is a danger, you will be able to kill it before it reaches him. So keep your position."
What she said was right, and I had no other choice. If I left and those zombies appeared when Miss Rika concentrated, she could get injured. And I didn't want to leave her alone, she was a precious ally and friend.
But if Leon was in trouble...
Well, shit. This is bad.
Leon climbed over the fence. He was panting heavily. He was injured, but it didn't look life threatening.
But then I heard a loud boom coming from the mansion, followed by the wall breaking.
... a large humanoid with an exposed heart came out. Its muscle was fully visible and its skin looked like it had been removed.
The mutated creature, prototype Tyrant, ran toward Leon at inhuman speed.
It was fast. Too fast.
I quickly aimed at its head and pulled the trigger. The bullet flew out from my gun and hit its shoulder instead of head due to its sudden movement. It made it stop though, which gave Leon time to dodge.
Rolling down the stairs, he quickly stood up, looking at the monster that almost killed him. His eyes were wide open and he was sweating profusely.
Leon raised his gun and shot the monster in its chest.
The Tyrant didn't seem fazed by the shot, and it moved fast to attack him again. Leon avoided it again and shot the creature in its face, but the Tyrant didn't die. It moved faster and hit him with its arm.
Leon was blown away, his shotgun dropped to the ground and he rolled on the grass.
His clothes were torn by the impact and his body hurt.
And yet, he was still alive. The creature approached him and tried to grab him.
But it wasn't going to get that easy. I was aiming at it with my sniper rifle, ready to shoot.
Without hesitation, I pulled the trigger.
My aim was good. I managed to hit its right leg, causing it to fall on its knees.
Leon immediately took his chance to get away from the monster, running toward his shotgun on the ground. The monster quickly got back to its feet, and tried to reach Leon, but Miss Rika managed to hit it in the back of the knee.
What an accurate shot.
I took the chance to shoot again, this time I aimed at the exposed heart. My aim wasn't perfect but the bullet still hit the Tyrant in its upper arm. It was close enough that it should have damaged the muscle there.
Miss Rika fired her rifle again, this time at the same spot where my bullet had hit. It was enough to knock the monster back down on the ground.
Not missing this chance, Leon dashed with his shotgun. He put his foot on the Tyrant's shoulder and shot its heart with his shotgun at point-blank range. He shot once, then again, until the Tyrant's chest was nothing more than a hole.
It was a good combination play between us.
But the fight wasn't over yet.
Leon looked at me and raised his thumb. But I quickly shot the Tyrant again with my rifle, right on the head, causing its head to explode into a bloody mess. He was surprised by the sudden shot but quickly nodded to himself.
I could see his shocked expression as he saw the Tyrant die in front of him. But then he realized that he would be the one who got crushed if I didn't kill Tyrant.
He looked at our direction, gave us a little nod, before continuing to the mansion.
"Good shot," Miss Rika complimented me. "If not because of you, Leon might be in danger. You're a great sniper."
She then patted me on my shoulder, smiling as well. She looked really satisfied with what we did.
"Alright. Now that Leon is safe, we need to move." She raised his body and began to pack up, "The fundamental of being a sniper is that you shouldn't be caught. We need to move and find another spot to observe. Besides, that noise would attract any zombies to our direction soon."
I agreed with her so I nodded. Following her lead, I took out my sniper rifle and followed after her.
She was leading the way as she led us to the new spot, and we soon found a place where we could see the entire mansion. It was just another part of the cliff with the same thick trees and bushes covering our position. It was good enough for now.
Miss Rika sat on the ground again and began to prepare her gun, and so did I.
We didn't talk much after that.
We were busy watching out for any signs of trouble. If anything happened, we needed to be prepared to deal with it quickly and accurately.
... And nothing happened.
I muttered to myself.
Nothing happened. Nothing was attacking the mansion. No enemy was coming out.
No one was moving, even the zombies outside of the mansion stopped walking and just stood there.
Everything was quiet. Too quiet. It felt like I was in a horror movie or something, waiting for something to jump out at us. My senses were heightened, and I could hear every sound around me.
Miss Rika's breathing became faster, her hands were shaking slightly, and she looked nervous. Her eyes were focused on the mansion, but she glanced back at me occasionally.
I looked at her with confusion and concern, wondering what she's thinking.
"What do you think?" I asked her quietly.
"It's too silent." She replied in a low voice.
We stayed silent for a moment, both of us were watching our surroundings carefully.
And suddenly, we saw movement from the corner of our eyes.
Dozens, no, more like fifty zombies began to move, running toward the mansion.