Chapter 24 Peril In A Nearby Camp

Deep in another part of the woods, a separate group of students fought for their survival.

"Molly! I need support over here!" Louis called out.

The small group of friends defended with everything they had. The zombies were now beginning to get past the first layer of traps that they had set to defend their small settlement. With a measly group of six people, the students lacked the capability to rest.

The small group had split up into two groups, three people per team.

Molly rushed over to Louis and conjured a bomb in her hand.

"Block your ears!"

She threw the bomb into the crowd of zombies, blowing them to smithereens. Limbs, blood and flesh splattered all over the ground, decorating the ground with decayed pieces of human anatomy.

One of them yelled in pain in the distance.

"AH! They're biting my leg!" Jack screamed.

"Crap, molly do you have any more grenades?" Louis asked frantically.

"No... I'm out for fifty seconds."

As they spoke, Jack's flesh was being chewed by a zombie. The viscous red liquid flowed all over the ground, he screamed in pain as the zombie clung to him.

"SOMEONE HELP ME!"

Louis turned around and ran towards Jack. He pulled out a [Lesser Stone Sword] and swung at the zombie that was biting Jack. More zombies approached from behind as he frantically tried to free himself from the jaws of the vicious zombie.

As soon as Jack was freed, Louis was then attacked by another zombie. The two of them scrambled to try to get away but not without sustaining scratched from the zombies.

*

On the other side of the settlement, things were not looking much better.

"We need reinforcements here! If we don't get back up soon, we'll be overrun. Henry, can you see how things are going on the other side?"

"I just heard a scream from the other side, I think they're probably struggling as well!"

"Dammit! When will we get a break from this bullshit?!"

Jordie shouted in vain as the zombies continued to endlessly pour into their camp. They had struggled to whittle down the numbers of the main wave and there seemed to be a never-ending stream of zombies walking straight into their base.

He took out his [Silver Sword] which he had spent a very large amount of time grinding for and raised it. Swing after swing, he slashed frantically at the increasing number of zombies which were slowly but steady flowing in like a fog.

The flesh and blood of the zombies flew out at the sword sliced into them. However, his arms eventually began getting sore and his movements got more and more sluggish.

"Gaah! Ashley, can you move your turret over here?"

It took a few moments before he could hear a reply, finally, a panting Ashley shouted in response.

"I-I can hardly hold up over here... I just c-cant..."

The turret fired bullets into the swarm every once in a while. It was a pretty low-levelled turret so it wasn't nearly strong enough to be able to make a significant dent in the hoard.

"Fuck all of this, let's just accept that man's offer."

"B-but we'll lose all of our freedom."

"Fuck our freedom! At this rate, we'll all die!"

*

In the middle of the settlement, there sat a man, wearing a dark hoodie over his clothes. He had come a few hours prior, giving the camp an offer. He was initially turned down, but as their situation rapidly deteriorated, the students were basically left with no other choice.

Beside the man, there sat a boy who had come with him. The boy said nothing the entire time, leaving all the talking to the man. The two of them watched as the other students struggled to survive in this horror.

After a few moments, he was approached by a boy, covered in blood, sweat and the flesh of the zombies. His face showed complete defeat as he lethargically walked up to them.

"W-we, accept your offer..."

"Good."

The moment the two heard that, the boy made his way towards the front line. Despite how quiet the boy was, his strength was undeniable. He slowly ambled towards Ashley's group and looked at the horde of zombies which approached. Both Ashley and Henry were at the brink of collapse and it was obvious that they weren't able to continue fighting.

This boy, Callum Ffrench, was at one point the fifth-ranked human on the planet. He raised his right arm, balls of light gathered around him. They floated just barely above his shoulders and the entire area was illuminated.

At his command, rays of light rained down and struck the zombies. The balls of light were like cannons, shooting lasers into the hoard of zombies. The lasers fried the zombies like a magnifying glass, sizzling holes in their bodies before they collapsed to the ground. After just a few cycles the size of the zombie hoard had significantly decreased. His light penetrated through the skin of the zombies until their bodies eventually disappeared into nothingness.

The man guided Ashley and Henry back towards the centre of the settlement as Callum began making his way to the other side, preparing to fight the other hoard. He slowly walked across the settlement, past the wooden huts and fireplaces that the students had built. Eventually, he was greeted by a severely injured Jack alongside Louis and Molly who were also on their last legs.

Again, Callum simply conjured a few balls of light, which floated around his body, after quickly scanning the zombies, he fire them, burning the zombies from the outside. His rays of light cut them down, one by one until the second hoard was practically eliminated. The dying corpses gradually dissipated into the air as Callum brought the balls of light back into his body.

The group of students eventually gathered at the centre of the camp where the man stood up in on a log and spoke to them.

"As per the deal, your settlement is now ours and you are now members of our group."

The students appeared disheartened but this was the only outcome for them.

In exchange for their freedom, they got to live.