A Mistake?

    'Why do they keep gathering at that spot?' Aria thought, with a deep frown on her face.

   The number of zombies that crowded the wolf's body kept growing, until they numbered over twenty. 

   Meanwhile, Blake's body froze as he stared at the horde of zombies gathered behind him.

   The memory of his parents that he had been trying so hard to suppress suddenly sprouted up again, and he tightly clenched his fists in anger.

    'Zombies…' He mumbled inwardly, with his body trembling in anger. Just seeing how they were gathering around the wolf, walking sluggishly with no care in the world, filled his heart with so much pain and rage.

    Aria gaze turned back to Blake, and her expression squeezed into a deep frown when she noticed the look in his eye.

   She could still remember what happened the last time Blake met a zombie and how that little careless act made them go through so much unnecessary trouble.

   She didn't know what was going through his mind, neither did she know what he went through in the hands of zombies, but she knew she couldn't let him ruin their plans again, as that could cost them their lives.

   'I know we are supposed to head to the pharmacy, but… I just can't let these zombies go free!' Blake thought, gnashing his teeth together in anger.

   Without this thought in mind, Blake suddenly charged out of the alley, dashing straight for the zombies—or at least, he was about to, before Aria swiftly pulled him back in with a powerful tug.

   "What th—" Blake muttered, as he felt Aria pull his body back with great strength, before slamming his back into the wall. 

   "Where do you think you're going?" Ari muttered, her eyes briefly glancing towards the horde of zombies to see if they showed any reaction to Blake actions.

   Fortunately, it didn't seem like anything as changed, as the zombies simply kept walking around the place. 

   "What do you mean… those are zombies, we need to kill them." Blake replied, clenching his fists harder until his nails dug deeply into his palms.

   "No, we don't." Aria coldly said, with a deep frown on her face. She paused for a second, her eyes darting between Blake's that were burning with rage, and the zombies walking behind them, before continuing: "What are you, stupid? You're just going to charge at them or what?"

   "Yeah, and you're not going to stop me. So let me go—" Blake said, trying to forcefully free himself from Aria's grip, but to his surprise, her hand didn't move an inch, even when he tried pushing her away with all his strength.

   "Did you forget why we're here, it's not to hunt zombies, but to get drugs. Drugs Blake, get that into your skull, cause I can't have you ruining everything, like you almost did the last time." She muttered, tightening her grip on his shirt, and pushing him harder against the wall.

   She already had an idea on why the zombies were gathering around the dead mana beast.

   It was probably because of the light beam she used to end its life. Zombies were creatures attracted by sound and light, so they must have seen or at least sensed the beam when it flew up into the sky.

   With how bright the beam illuminated the air, it wouldn't be surprising if all the zombies in the area sensed it also.

   And if the light was attracting all the zombies in the area, there was also a high chance that some mana beasts would also be attracted by it. 

   "Ruining everything…" Blake mumbled, gritting his teeth tightly as his anger grew even more upon hearing the girl's words.

   "What do you mean by that, we just let those zombies walk away?" Blake mumbled, staring into Aria's eyes with anger.

   "Yeah, that's better than wasting time and energy on them." Aria replied coldly, with a frown on her face.

   Hearing her words, Blake suddenly became quiet, simply clenching his fists while gnashing his teeth in frustration. 

   'Wasting time… just letting those zombies go, that's impossible!' Harry thought, the images of his parents flashing in his mind once more.

   Suddenly, he gripped her hand tightly, so tight that Aria's wrist became sore, and with a strength he didn't even know he had, forcefully pulled her hand away from him, before pushing her away. 

   Aria stumbled backwards, her wrist aching from his tight grip. A weird glint flashed through her eyes as she gently rubbed her sore wrist.

   "I don't care, all zombies deserve to die. I will never show them mercy… not after everything they've done." Blake said, with a deep frown on his face, before swiftly turning around. 

    Unbeknownst to him, his eyes briefly shone with a strange red glint as he said this, before immediately returning back to normal.

   Aria's eyes widened slightly in surprise when she saw this; since she was standing close to Blake, she easily noticed that odd red glint.

   'Is it that am hallucinating, or did his eyes just turn red…?' She mumbled inwardly, with a weird expression on her face.

   "I doubt you even understand what it means to lose someone." Blake mumbled, but Aria still heard what he said clearly.

   Aria felt a deep pang in her chest when she heard Blake's words, and for a split second, the calm expression on her face crumbled into one of pain, however, Blake didn't notice this. 

  "Wait." Just as Blake was about to leave the alley, and charge straight towards the zombie horde, Aria suddenly called out to him.

   "Huh?" Blake mumbled, turning his gaze back to the golden haired girl.

   "I don't care what you've been through, but don't you ever tell me about pain." She coldly said, with a blank expression on her face.

   Blake's eyes widened slightly when he heard her words, and the meaning of what he said to her gradually sunk in. 

   Although her face didn't show much expression, he could still feel her anger through her words, and he realised how insensitive his words might have been.

   After all, everyone went through something in this apocalypse, and the chances of it being a good experience was close to zero. 

   "Convincing you is useless. If you're so hellbent on killing those zombies, then do it. I'll head to the pharmacy alone, it's probably better that way." Aria said, before turning her gaze away from Blake.

   "Someone's life is at stake here, and I'll save it, no matter what." She said, pausing for a second, before continuing in a mutter: "Teaming up with you might have been a mistake." 

***

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