Caught a Cowardly Little Zombie - Chapter 5

Outside, the world was bathed in broad daylight. Chu Xiaoran stretched her uncoordinated limbs and, mimicking the way she’d seen Ling Mo handle the entrance that morning, tried to pull at the metal shutter. However, perhaps because zombification had robbed her joints of their dexterity, she couldn’t get a solid grip on the handle no matter how hard she tried.

After several failed attempts, Xiaoran let go, her spirit wilting. She squatted on the ground, her small face twisted in a pout. Am I really locked in again? She had only just tasted freedom; there was no way she was going to let herself be trapped in this building forever.

Gathering her courage, Xiaoran stood up. Most jewelry stores had glass display windows, and she figured that if she could just break one, she could crawl out.

Over the last two days, her cognitive functions had sharpened slightly compared to when she first woke up.

She rolled her clouded eyes around the room in search of a tool, eventually locking onto a small swivel stool near the counter. Its base was made of sturdy metal. Xiaoran shuffled over and hoisted the stool high. She was just about to hurl it at the window when a thought gave her pause. She turned back to the gold and silver trinkets glittering in the display cases.

Without the shop lights, the jewelry looked duller than before, but several diamond pieces still caught the dim light, sparkling with a mesmerizing brilliance. It was this very glitter that had lured her inside yesterday. Her sluggish brain began to grind: If I leave, will I never see these pretty things again?

After pondering for a long while, Xiaoran decided she couldn’t leave them behind just yet. She swung the stool with all her might—not at the window, but at the glass display case.

THUD.

The glass remained perfectly intact. Instead, one of the stool’s metal legs snapped off.

Chu Xiaoran: “…” Useless stool!

She raised the stool again and began a relentless assault: Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud! Finally, with a sharp CRACK, the seat of the stool tore away from the base and clattered to the floor. Xiaoran stood there, staring blankly at the cushioned seat in her hands.

A breeze of pure awkwardness seemed to whistle through the shop.

Well, at least no one was here to see that, she thought, tossing the cushion aside and searching for a different tool.

Finding nothing else useful in the main shop, she realized only the break room remained. She remembered all too well how Ling Mo had killed the zombie in there and dragged it back inside. The memory made her shiver.

Trembling, she pushed open the door. The sight of the blood-spattered room was visceral, yet as a zombie, Xiaoran realized she didn’t feel the slightest bit of fear or nausea. Looking around, she spotted a small window.

It was just large enough for a petite woman to squeeze through. Xiaoran’s eyes lit up. She scanned the room for a tool once more, and when her gaze landed on the female zombie’s corpse, an idea took root.

Perhaps because her nerves were no longer active, she felt no pain or muscle fatigue despite the strain. Her physical strength, however, had increased significantly. She walked over to the corpse and, with a burst of brute force, ripped one of the zombie’s arms clean off. Using it like a club, she swung it at the window.

This time, the glass didn’t stand a chance. It shattered instantly, leaving the frame rattling. Xiaoran swung the “arm-club” again, knocking the entire frame loose until it tumbled outside.

Satisfied, she tossed the arm aside and—ever the clean freak—wiped her hands on the dead zombie’s clothes. She adjusted her green surgical drape, wrapping it as tightly as possible, and slowly climbed onto the bed to reach the window.

She was halfway through when she felt a sudden snag. Her hips weren’t large, but she had wrapped two extra layers of the surgical cloth around her waist to keep it from tripping her, making her a few sizes too wide for the opening. She was stuck. A zombie shuffled past outside, pausing to give the half-suspended Xiaoran a curious sniff. Deciding she wasn’t food, it moved on. Then came a second zombie, a third, and a fourth…

Chu Xiaoran: [Crying.jpg] We’re the same species! Can’t someone lend a hand?!

She wiggled frantically, tugging and twisting in hopes of breaking free. The sudden movement caused the surgical drape to loosen and slide down. With a sudden lack of friction, Xiaoran shot forward and fell out the window.

SPLAT.

She landed face-first on the pavement in all her pale, unclothed glory.

The passing zombies stopped in their tracks and turned to look. The air hung silent for several long seconds.

You can’t see me, you can’t see me! Xiaoran chanted internally, keeping her face pressed against the dirt.

Once the zombies realized there was nothing to eat, they turned back and shuffled away. Hearing the footsteps fade, Xiaoran sat up and brushed the dust off her skin, hurriedly grabbing the fallen drape to wrap herself back up.

Oh no… did I ruin my face?!

Panic-stricken, she felt her face with her hands, but her numbed fingers couldn’t tell her anything. She stood up and wobbled over to the shop window she had used as a mirror the day before.

Her face appeared intact—a bit dirty, but nothing a good wash wouldn’t fix. Still, something felt… off. She leaned in closer. It turned out she had flattened her nose in the fall, leaving it crooked.

Since she was undead, there was no swelling or pain. Xiaoran simply reached up and, with a dull squelch, manually pushed her nose back into place.

By the time she finished her “surgery,” the sun was low in the sky, cloaking the street in an orange glow. Xiaoran began to walk down the road, her heart dancing with joy.

I’m free! I’m finally free! The only lingering regret was the jewelry back in the shop. If I ever get the chance, I’m coming back for those sparkles!

*****

The hundred-meter alleyway that should have taken five minutes to cross had cost Ling Mo three hours. She had spent two of them fighting that zombie dog. Animals were naturally agile, and zombification had only made this one more resilient. While Ling Mo could dodge its attacks, killing it was another matter. The dog had clearly been a stray; its survival instincts were honed to a razor edge. Every time she swung her machete, the beast would leap out of reach.

I really need a gun, she thought.

The zombie dog seemed to realize she was a formidable opponent, circling her relentlessly to wear down her stamina. But even a clever animal was no match for a human. Ling Mo feinted a stumble, baiting the dog into a lunging strike—only to bring the machete down in a clean arc that severed its head.

Fortunately, most of the zombies in the alley had already wandered out into the main streets. By the time she reached the safe house, Ling Mo was exhausted.

The house was a hollow shell. There was nothing inside but a simple wooden desk. She opened the drawer and found a smartphone lying there in the dark. It was turned off, as there was no power left in the city. Ling Mo grabbed the device and hurried out of the alley.

A car engine can generate electricity, but she didn’t have a charging cable on hand. She tried to power it on, and as expected, the battery was on its literal last percent. Before the screen went black, she managed to read the mission briefing.

Mission: Locate Dr. Chu Sheng, a leading researcher in viral biopharmaceuticals. Protect him at all costs and escort him to a research base a thousand miles away to develop a cure for the apocalypse.

Below the text were the doctor’s details and a photo. It showed a middle-aged man with his arm around a young girl. The man had a gentle gaze, and the girl was radiant, her smile as bright as a flower. They looked very much alike—clearly father and daughter. Ling Mo stared at the girl’s face. A prickle of recognition stung her mind. She had seen this girl before.

Sitting in her truck, she drank some water and ate a piece of bread to combat her fatigue. Then it clicked. She had seen her the day before the outbreak. She was at the hospital, just coming off her shift, when she overheard an ER doctor complaining about a girl who had to sign her own surgical consent because no family had shown up. She had glanced toward the ER and seen that pale, delicate face being wheeled out.

If the girl was in surgery that day, she would have been in the hospital when the world ended. According to the photo, Dr. Chu Sheng clearly adored his daughter. He would have gone to the hospital to find her, no matter what. As the man most likely to create a cure, he certainly wouldn’t leave his only daughter behind.

But a week had passed. Ling Mo had no idea if the girl was even still there. She decided to head back to the hospital to investigate.

She drove past a mobile phone store and, seeing few zombies nearby, hopped out with her machete. After clearing out a few stragglers, she found a matching charging cable and grabbed several new phones. She planned to use Bluetooth to transfer the photo to all the devices as a backup.

By then, the sky was turning a deep orange. With the sun setting, Ling Mo decided to rest and begin the search in the morning. Navigating the night without light was far too dangerous.

She headed back to the jewelry store from the previous night. She had already cleared it, and the anti-theft glass made it a relatively secure fortress. She parked her truck in a hidden spot and approached the shop. To her surprise, the metal shutter looked exactly as she had left it. Is that green bundle still hiding inside?

She frowned. Such a timid soul wouldn’t survive long in this new reality. Nevertheless, she grabbed a bottle of water and two bags of bread from her supplies and unlocked the shutter.

She didn’t see the flash of green that had just wobbled away from the back of the building.

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