--Phase 8 “The Sewer”--
“Is the sewer still far away?” Despite Allen's protests, Dominique went ahead and asked. knew the oncologist was tired because of the broken legs but the man just would not admit it or ask for a rest time. Neither did he know they could waste any precious time of trying to get the hell out of that hospital of the dead. Dominique swallowed hard as he looked around him.
Kaien’s earlier invasion had left clear landmarks. Dead zombies could be found everywhere, each one of them having a shattered skull and a brain that had been blown to pieces. Although he was concerned, he was happy that they had not come across any zombies since they had left the therapist's office.
“It's not that far,” Kaien whispered as he put his finger over his mouth to urge the others to be quiet as he walked alone first, making sure the route was secure enough. The sound of Kaien's gun cocking was audible to the others even if the weapon was soundproof. As he instructed the others to go quickly, Kaien shot two bullets at two dying zombies he found. If they did not move quickly, the zombies would send waves for the remaining zombies, and they would be surrounded in no time at all.
Allen was struggling to breathe. He was worn out and was aware that he could not run any faster. Thinking he was a burden, he kept working hard to avoid being abandoned with those monsters. He was fighting for his life at that precise moment, but the memory of three years before was still vivid in his mind. He would never again be left alone with those zombies. Yet, his leg gave up as he felt the ground was ready to hit him when he lost his balance.
“Are you okay?” Benji, who was the nearest to Allen, was able to catch the oncologist in time. Kaien quickly reflected on the situation and urged Allen to get on his back. Allen wanted to say no, but he understood that would just bring everyone else down with him. The situation brought back memories of the previous time Kaien had piggybacked him to rescue him from the monsters.
As Allen submitted himself to Kaien's care while riding on his back, he muttered softly, “Thank you and sorry.” He was finally starting to feel better when he heard hoarse screams chasing them from behind. Benji cursed as he and Dominique took down the few zombies that were closest to them.
“Come on!” Nathan shouted as he followed Kaien to the parking lot. Once they got there, they hurried inside a restricted door that led to a sewer that connected the hospital to the outside world. Dominique smashed the door in front to keep the zombies from chasing them into the chilly and dark tunnel. Not to mention the unpleasant odor that was present there.
Kaien hushed, “Don't let your guard down.” His goggles were lowered down and the night vision was switched on, allowing him to see clearly despite the low light conditions. “It's possible that they are even in this area. And we're at a loss because of the darkness.”
“They are here,” Allen stated. Everyone had their eyes on him. “Especially the moving corpse. Another access to this tunnel is from the corpse room.”
“Damn it,” Benji cursed as he pulled Nathan and Dominique to walk in front of him. “I’ll take the back. Kaien takes the front.”
“I’ll take left,” Dominique said while Nathan went with the final choice, right. They advanced cautiously, aiming their guns in every direction they could, as the chilly water beneath them began to wet their shoes, socks, and clothing. It was not until they were in the narrow deep that they noticed a strange odour, at which point the tunnel split into two separate branches, one to the left and one to the right.
“We should go right, since the left is leading to the corpse room. It’ll be suicide,” Kaien ordered as he looked at his map, using his small flashlight. They walked for a few more meters before Nathan started to recognize the smell.
“Ben...” Nathan whispered. “Is it the smell of iron?” In front of him, he saw some shadow moving in his direction. “Oh God! It’s blood!”
They were consumed by terror as they realised that the shadow was actually a zombie that was devouring a man's stomach. Kaien had intended to use a soundproof gun to kill the zombie, but when hordes of the zombies began to arrive, he quickly switched to a machine gun to protect them. Allen, who was riding on Kaien's back, and the others all kept firing. They sprinted, their feet moving in time to the rhythm of the guns repeatedly blowing off the zombies' heads. But it appeared that the number did not go down.
“Nathan, look out!” Benji yelled as he shoved Nathan away, causing the nurse to fall into the water. To Nathan's horror, Benji was defending him from a sudden zombie attack coming from the opposite direction. Nathan quickly rose to his feet and started shooting the zombies to kill them. Then he went over to rescue Benji, who had fallen down on the water and was just as soaked as he was.
“Hurry!” Dominique shouted as he helped the nurse and the surgeon to get up and they ran as fast as they could.
Within the chaos of the shooting gun and the zombies, Kaien's voice was barely audible, sounding more like a whisper. However, they were able to make out what he said and quickly switched their attention to the narrow tunnel on the right. They were approaching a propeller, but they were able to pass through it because it was off. When the three men finally entered the circular area, Kaien switched on the fan, causing the zombies that had been pursuing them to be slashed to pieces by the rotating blades. Those who became zombies were already dead, yet even in their zombie state, they still had some intelligence. The remaining zombies stomped out in a huff, growling with annoyance as they looked for a new entrance.
“Are you okay?” Allen asked as he managed to walk by himself now. He observed Kaien and the man nodded. They sighed as they looked around. There was only one way out of that room. It was from a stair leading upstairs, into another tunnel that was not in Kaien’s map.
“We can’t go back,” Dominique firmly stated the truth after he took a look at the map. “This is our only way out.”
They only could hope and pray that this room would lead them to an exit door of this madness, especially because now, they were blind without proper light and map. They decided to catch their breath and took a quick rest before resuming their journey.
“Kaien...” Allen sat near Kaien who was busy filling his guns. “Thanks for coming again.”
“Allen,” Kaien looked up at Allen with a grin on his face, and then he halted his work and pulled up his goggles. “You know it's my job to deal with those monsters.” Kaien's reaction made Allen's face shift into disappointment. But no one could blame Kaien. It was part of his profession, and he was definitely not looking for a specific person while he was there. Unless, of course, fate intervened. “To tell the truth, I have to admit that it took me by complete surprise to find you here. It’s déjà vu, you know...”
They just gazed and smiled at each other for the rest of the moment without exchanging any other words. Dominique was keeping his distance as he watched the two men in silence. He made an effort to understand their relationship, but all he could find was a strange twisted chemistry. Suddenly, a hissed was heard, followed by a scream, breaking the silence.
“Benji!”