The noise of feet pounding in the shallow pool of water on the empty street could be heard as several people hurried around the bend in the road.

The sky had long gone dark, and what reflected on their path was the lighting from various broken-down buildings around.

"Hurry, we have to lose them," a girl running in front of them voiced out. She wore black trousers and a white sleeveless top that held her chest region firmly from easily bouncing around.

Her red scarf flowed behind her as she led the group to safety.

"How much longer?" The boy beside her, dressed in blue jean trousers and a black turtleneck top breathed out in exhaustion.

He was carrying a black bag pack behind him to which he attached several wooden bats to it for protection.

"Not much," she answered. "Once we pass this street, we will completely lose them,"

They all increased their speed one after the other in their various clothing as they continued running from whatever seemed to be chasing them.

"Get ready," she voiced out again after they took another turn and then, she charged even further from them and shortly after reaching what seemed to be the end of the street, she jumped.

"Wait, what?" The boy exclaimed as he saw her jump.

The group of people suddenly halted their race as they watch her leap through the air before landing on a very large trampoline.

She bounced off it and landed on the ground next to it and immediately after, she turned around and called out to them.

"Jump, we don't have much time," 

The platform on which she stood and where the rest of the group was standing was different.

The one she stood on was a bit lower, hence allowing anyone who jumped across to land safely.

"S- shit!!" The boy got angry and immediately jumped after her.

After landing safely, he also called out to the rest of the group, and one after the other, they all leaped across except for the little girl behind.

"I'm scared of heights," she cried out as she took a step closer to the edge. 

Little stones fell from it and went straight down into the dark hole that separated the two platforms.

It was a road that got cut in half by an earthquake. To one side of it were buildings and to the other, almost the same.

"Just jump, we will catch you," they tried assuring her but it didn't work, instead, she took several steps back.

To the far back of where she stood were several zombies who had been trailing them this whole time. They ran in their regularly awkward manner as they got closer.

"We don't have time, just jump," the boy called out to the little girl but she still stood there, panicking in fear.

"Jump!! They are coming from behind," they alerted her hoping she would gather the courage to do so but instead, she fell on the ground and began to cry.

"I want my mummy!! My mummy won't leave me," tears fell from her eyes as she cried in the face of danger.

The zombies charged even faster upon hearing the cry and soon, they got close to her.

"Hurry out of the way, I'll go get her," the girl with the group ran a few meters back and was about to charge for the trampoline again.

"What if you don't get to her?" 

"What if you fall off instead of getting to her?" They all began to question her as she calculated in her mind.

"I have to try!!" She replied with a solid look on her face and wanted to charge for the trampoline when a black figure leaped off a building, grabbed the little girl, and leaped across.

The figure leaped even higher into the sky as it flew past the group who was looking surprised and landed several meters after them.

"W- wait!! Where are you going?" The boy wearing a black turtleneck top shouted out to him.

"Meet me at the base," the figure replied without letting go of the girl and continued leaping off buildings as he left.

"Hey, they're coming!!" Someone from the group alerted them as the boy and the girl folded the trampoline into a small hiding space.

"Let's go!!" The girl replied.

The hordes of zombies ran straight for the edge and fell into the hole in front of it.

Without expecting anything further, the group turned their backs to leave, when a stage-two zombie leaped across the hole and headed straight for them.

"A stage-two is coming!!" The boy alerted the group and so, they all ran for their lives.

The boy immediately pulled one wooden bat from his backpack and gripped it with his two hands.

He then took a stance and waited for the zombie to get closer as he prepared to bash its head with the bat.

"Rex!! What do you think you're doing?" The girl asked.

"Buying time," he replied anxiously.

"You can't stop it!! Get out of there!!" She yelled out to him while the rest ran.

"You guys go on ahead, I'll try to hold it off for some time,"

The rest of the group all ran as they were defenseless and thus couldn't protect themselves from danger.

As the zombies stepped foot on the ground, a bullet was shot straight to its head and sent it off along with the rest of the zombies into the hole.

"Get moving!!" A strong ladylike voice ordered as she reloaded her sniper rifle from the top of a nearby building.

"Right!!" Rex replied as he and the girl ran away shortly after.

"Suzie?" The lady dressed in a completely white outfit with black boots and gloves called out to her. "Don't let him get there before you," she warned with a stern look on her face.

"Yes, lady Sabrina," she bowed and then hurried along with the group.

****

At the upper base of a large building was an office-like room where several people, mostly dressed in a suit stood waiting.

"It's always them, always," a middle-aged man started ranting about in the room.

He wore a black shirt on top of grey trousers as his black shoes thud on the floor.

The first three buttons on his shirt were loose, thus revealing his chest region with the few hairs that covered it. He folded his sleeves as he walked about endlessly.

"Why does it have to be them?" He asked the people around him. "You couldn't send any other team?" 

"They were the only ones, available sir," one of the men replied as he trembled in fear 

"Bullshit!! That was a simple mission for them to easily carry out," he continued his ranting.

"And what was the mission?" He asked the man.

"T- to retrieve a-"

"To retrieve a damn container for me!!" The man angrily kicked the table by his side, shifting it a few meters to his right in front of the couch.

Sweat began to drop from several corners of his body as his temperature rose by the minute as he couldn't contain his rage.

"Somebody get me something to drink!!" He exclaimed with a voice that shook the entire room.

A few of the people around him dashed away to get something for him while his fury went sky-high.

Some ran down the stairs by one side of the room, while others ran up another set of stairs by another side of the room, all looking for something he would like.

From the looks of things, he was their boss and he wasn't in a good mood.

"Gosh!! For a damn container to save y'all's life," he rubbed his face hard as he sat on the couch by the side of the wall.

"For you, boss," a girl dressed in a black suit extended a glass to him.

"Thanks," he replied and took it from her. Shortly after, she poured him a cup full of whiskey as the ice in the cup danced around.

He immediately took a sniff of it and gulp down the content slowly.

"How long has it been since they left?" He asked after dropping the cup on the table in front of the couch.

"For about four hours now," the man closest to him replied without flinching a bit his muscles.

"You see? If you had sent another team, they'd be back already," he complained again.

Just as they were talking, the door to the room blew open, grabbing everyone's attention.

"Where is he?" Suzie questioned angrily.