Chapter 3 - On The Way Up

Mark slowly made his way up, not making any loud noises with the rod in his hand ready to swing it at anything which jumps on him. His grip increased as he heard the noises from below get louder.

He remembered the maximum floors in the building were 15 and he was now between 10 and 11. He made the last floor his goal and wanted to ultimately make his way onto the rooftop of the building. It would be the safest place in the present situation. Forming a goal in his brain, he reached the 11th floor.

He looked down through the railing and noticed the zombies were on the 6th floor, slowly making their way up. He turned towards the door and slowly opened it to check the situation inside. He slowly peeked inside and noticed a zombie down and no one else in the lobby.

He looked closer at the zombie and noticed its head completely crushed with black blood coming out of it like an endless river. The change in the blood color caught his attention. He slowly closed the door behind him, hoping to not grab any attention of any possible zombies inside the room.

He checked on the zombies and noticed them halting on the 8th floor for some reason. But multiple screams for help he heard from below his confusion was answered. He felt chills running up his spine as he heard them. He ignored them and continued up.

He reached the 12th floor and noticed the zombies already resuming their way up from the 8th floor. He then slowly peeked inside the 12th floor and noticed no one inside. He looked around and a snack bar caught his attention. His stomach grumbled as he remembered not having any lunch.

He once again checked for any zombies and slowly made his way in. He closed the door behind him and made his way towards the snack bar. As he almost reached the snack bar, he looked at the lobby and found a woman's body. His eyes shot wide when the body started twitching.

Pausing momentarily, he observed the body as it continued to twitch. Only after it stopped, he slowly went inside the snack bar and saw all the food. He slowly opened the shelf filled with snacks. Looking around for anything to carry some, he found a medium-sized backpack. He quickly grabbed it and noticed it was spacious. 

Emptying the bag, he slowly kept some of the snack bars and chips he found. He opened some more shelves and found a complete loaf of bread. Stuffing it inside, he searched the other shelves.

As he reached out for the refrigerator full of water and drinks he heard something growling behind him, making his heart skip a beat. He retracted his hand and peeked over the counter. He noticed the female body standing at its place, growling aimlessly.

His breathing quickened as he felt scared. He quickly closed his mouth with both his hands, trying to not make any sound. He continued to observe the zombie as it looked around. It suddenly stopped as its gaze fell on the snack bar Mark was in.

He quickly turned around and curled himself up, trying to not make any sound and not be seen. He heard the zombie walking towards him and slowly gripped the metal rod he had with him tighter.

As the sound of the zombie's legs became louder, Mark's heart beat faster. Sweat accumulated on his forehead and his back was drenched in sweat and he slowly started to panic. The footsteps suddenly stopped, and he heard the zombie growling right above him.

Mark tried to stay as calm as he possibly could. The growling stopped when he heard a noise from the other side of the room. The zombie turned around and made its way towards the source of the noise. Mark slowly peeked out with his hand still over his mouth to see what caused the sound and what happened to the zombie.

The zombie slowly moved inside a hallway to the end, out of Mark's vision. Slowly removing his hand, he exhaled in relief and used his sleeve to wipe the sweat off his face. Not willing to stay there anymore, Mark quickly opened the refrigerator and stored 10 water bottles inside the bag.

He slowly stood up and made his way towards the door he came from while looking at the hallway the zombie went into. He wore the bag and gripped the rod tighter as he opened the door. He quickly closed it and exhaled in relief.

He silently checked the situation of the zombies below him and became alert as he saw them on the 10th floor. He silently made his way towards the 13th floor, not making any sound. As he made it to the 13th floor, he tried to open the door and noticed it was locked

He wondered if it was humans who locked it or they locked it even before all this happened. Deciding to leave it, he made his way towards the 14th floor. He noticed the zombies were already on the 12th floor and quickened his steps.

He reached the 14th floor but noticed it was locked from the outside by a mop. Not taking the risk to open it, he continued onto the last floor. As he finally reached, he looked down and saw the zombies were on the 13th floor.

He made his way towards the door and tried to open it. He noticed it was locked and tried to knocking, hoping that there people inside. He had no other way as the way to the terrace was closed and this was the only way. out of the staircase.

He could suddenly hear people whispering from the other side and confirmed that there were human. He once again knocked and whispered, "Please open the door."

Once he asked, there was complete silence on the other side. He brought his hand near the door to knock again, but stopped as he heard, "Are you alone?"

"Yes, I'm alone."

"Are those things near you?"

"No, they are 2 floors beneath."

There came no response after this, and the door slowly opened. Mark noticed it was a man standing by the door, slowly peeking outside. He had white hair and looked like he was in his early 40s. He waved his hands, asking Mark to get in, and closed the door once he did.

Mark looked around and noticed around 20 people in the lobby, most of which were middle-aged women and some men holding things like wood handles and metal rods looking at him with hostility, ready to attack.