19 Chapter 19

A sudden jolt forced PQ to wake up.

"What the fuck is going on! An earthquake?"

PQ blasted out in frustration as his mattress violently jumped out of the bed frame. Toppling over, he landed on his bottom and groaned in pain. The floor beneath quaked once more as he struggled to stand on his two feet. Grabbing on the window sill to balance himself, PQ took a peek out the window.

After several hours of rest, Terra's two moons have ended their overnight shift. The harrowing darkness looming over the city has dispersed, cowering under the shadows of infrastructure where the day couldn't reach. Embedded high up in the sky was a great ball of fire, beating down its parching heat.

The world has once again been illuminated by nature's blessing to humanity!

But under the scorching rays of sunlight radiating the land, hundreds of wandering undead were introduced to their surroundings. Many unfortunate people who failed their escapes had reanimated, joining forces with the hordes of blood-thirsty zombies around them.

The carnage left unbothered by the zombies was presented under the light. Corpses too mangled to reanimate scattered lifelessly across the usually lively neighbourhood while severed limbs and organs splattered over the landscaped estate.

The neighbourhood he has lived in his whole life has been redesigned overnight by the apocalypse.

And it was a revolting scene to see.

Without having enough time to lament over the destruction of his neighbourhood, he could see innumerable waves of zombies pounding against the infrastructure around them. Instead of myopic grey completely enveloping their eyes, thin visible veins protruded out of their eyeballs like a pit of squirming snakes, as if they were consumed by an uncontrollable outrage.

Provoked by the lack of human flesh, the waves of zombies willingly sought their next meal, desperately clawing at brick and mortar.

"AH!!!!"

A shriek of horror pierced through the air as a wave of zombies knocked down the entrance to an apartment complex across him, surging inside the first floor and devouring the man who expressed his fear.

Diverted their attention, the army of zombies pounding against his apartment complex incessantly swarmed towards the opposite buildings, joining in on the demolition.

Abruptly, the ground beneath rattled again as the wooden bookshelf in his room toppled over. Dodging backwards instinctively, PQ scarcely avoided the bookshelf trying to crush him. Pages of wrecked books alighted beside his foot, trembling under vibration created by the aftershocks.

"What's causing this mess! I thought the horde left!"

Swiping the knife stored in his half-open table drawer and his trusty spear leaning against his closet, PQ rushed out of his room, trying to figure out the situation he was in. His apartment on the eighth story was a mess. Salt preserved pork chops have fallen onto the marble floor, while clay pots and plastic basins used to marinate his fermented vegetables were tipped off the table, spilling their contents all over the floor.

Wincing at the wasteful sight of his beloved creations, PQ put on a coat despite the scorching heat outside as extra protection and ran out of his apartment in a state of indignation.

"Now that I'm a little stronger than before, let's see which asshole is messing up my turf." Boosting himself with some confidence, PQ followed the intensity of vibrations, trying to locate where it was coming from.

He accessed the emergency stairs, feeling the hollow echoes reverberating in the winding stairwell. The loud banging was coming from downstairs, an area PQ has yet to explore.

Feeling the heat captured in his thick winter coat, he reassured himself with a flex of his pathetic muscles before venturing down, clearing the stairs with leaps. The relentless beatings were emanating from the fifth story, accompanied by the chilling crunching of brick and mortar.

Whoever is the culprit of the quaking was strong enough to crush solid concrete!

A chill bolted down PQ's spine as he decided it was best to take things slow. Taking a glance into the common area through the tiny window on the emergency exit door, he saw the mangled corpse of a middle aged lady lying in the middle of the common area. Her stout body has been ripped open brutally, revealing her severely damaged internal organs.

Embellished with streaks of blood, a gigantic spotted creature rammed towards one of the apartment doors relentlessly. Stopping to howl at the sky, PQ was able to identify the creatures from their features. The creature causing all the disruption was an Australian Shepherd!

But something wasn't normal, unlike intelligent creatures dog breeds were, the Australian Shepherd, with the size of a fully-grown horse, battered against the rattling door with tireless drive. Its snout has begun to disfigure become the constant infliction of destruction but it never flinched or reacted to the pain it was causing itself.

"No way! Animals can be infected too!" Dumbstruck at the enlarged, zombified dog breed, PQ secured his grip on his knife.

'Could I possibly handle that monstrosity?' PQ wondered, praying for the survivors living within that apartment.

All of a sudden, the door of the apartment on the right flung open, revealing a teenage girl around 15 or 16 years old.

"Chloe! Come get me!"

Calling out to the rampaging Australian Shepherd, she quickly retreated into her home, shutting the door right as the canine pounced towards her direction, colliding into the door.

Only then did PQ notice that the door to the teenage girl's apartment had also experienced its fear share of attacks. Like the apartment on the opposite side, the enraged Australian Shepherd was responsible for the claw marks and indents decorating the thick, wooden slab of door.

"So the two apartments have been allocating their focus alternately!" PQ gasped in awe at their tactics. But he soon started to shake his head, visibly worried. "Unfortunately it wouldn't solve the root of the problem. The doors won't be able to last forever unless they find a way to kill it."

Although seemingly in good shape, the door hinges of the apartment on the left has started to loosen a little bit, implying its inevitable destruction.

He was now stuck in a dilemma.

Should he hero up and unsolicitedly step in, possibly injuring himself in the process, or should he retreat back to his apartment and pretend that he never saw the development of this potential threat?

While stressing out over his decisions, PQ felt a surge of warmth in his palms. Unlike the heat trapped in by his thick winter coat, the warmth pulsating was soothing and therapeutic.

A comforting gush surfed over his mind, drowning his conflicted thoughts. Gradually subsiding after providing few seconds of tranquility, his train of thoughts were now aligned, cleansed by an impulsive urge to commence justice.

Was that John's powers clearing his mind? PQ didn't know the answer. But he was tempted to listen to the grey mist that gifted him an increase in strength.

"You know what. I've read enough novels to know that with risks comes rewards."

PQ slapped himself in the face to wake him up and heighten his alert.

"Fuck it. Let's do this shit!"

However, just as PQ planned to burst through the fire exit door and fight that enraged monster, the door to the teenage girl's house flung open. At this point in time, the neighbor on the left had just distracted the bast for a couple of seconds.

"Teresa! Are you trying to die?" The neighbor who was supposed to receive the Australian Shepard's attacks roared in befuddlement as he felt heard a creak on the other side of apartment complex. Through the tiny peephole on the door, PQ could vaguely imagine the look of ambivalence on the man's face.

"We can't delay it anymore Raphael!" Answering back in distress, the young girl retreated into her apartment. "We need to kill it as soon as possible!"

Seeing the opportunity presented to it, the hungry beast lunged into the open door, its bloody paws crushing the fallen clumps of debris.

"I can't watch her die like that!!!"

Swiping open the fire exit door, PQ saw the male neighbor on the left also opening his damaged door. The man who had a scruffy beard and untidy hair charged out his apartment with a taser and a kitchen knife, preparing to risk his life. Exchanging glances with the teenager boy he didn't recognize, he had no time to question where he had come from.

Acknowledging the urgency of the situation, they both stormed into the apartment, just in time to witness a sharpened pole being impaled into the Australian Shepard's ribcage. At the middle of the corridor leading to the doorway was a strange concoction of household appliances, tied up with curtains and duct tapes into a stationary fence. The doorway was constrained with every heavy object you could find in a typical household. Leather sofas, televisions, dinner tables, anything that would have been valuable before the apocalypse has become barricades to stop the zombified Australian Shepard.

Sharpened stakes of various materials were attached securely to the fence. Being supported by all the heavy objects behind it, the fence was an obstinate fortress.

With so many heavy appliances used as mechanical leverage, the mindless Australian Shepard who most likely wasn't able to slam its brakes in time was easily penetrated by the jutting poles. Hoisted few centimeters above ground, the injured creature thrashed its humongous body, fluttering off the blood coating its fur.

Snap!

Not able to sustain the beasts weight, the hardwood pole penetrating fractured in half. Even with a pole impaled through its ribcage, the frenzy gleam in the Australian Shepard's frosty blue pupils indicated its endless vigor.

Holding a grudge against the hideous concoction that hurt her, the canine hurled itself towards the barricade, destroying the sofas and splitting the expensive televisions in half.

Taking the advantage of the distracted beast, PQ dashed towards its behind, stabbing his makeshift spear straight into the canine's moist puckering asshole.

The warm sensation in his palms that convinced his heroic side to take over emerged once again, igniting a new fury in him. Unintentionally manipulating this energy, the warmth in his palms was channeled towards the spear in his grip. Slithering across the long wooden handle and towards the metal tip submerged inside the Australian Shepard's bleeding asshole, PQ had a strong feeling that his spear's length was changing.

"Ooooo…" The bearded man clenched his ass tightly, expelling a shuddering breath. "Brutal."

But he immediately dispelled the graphic image in his brain, crying out to PQ as he tossed an object towards him. "Boy! Catch!"

Yanking his head back to the cry behind him, PQ freed one of his hands to catch the object thrown at him.

Internally, PQ cheered blissfully. Rubbing his fingers over the surface of the taser, he found a button comfortable etched between his thumb.

"Take this!"

Jabbing the taser into the canine's skin, he pressed the button and activated the taser as it delivered a jolt of electricity into the weakened beast's flesh. High voltage discharged into the enormous body of the canine as an overwhelming sensation overpowered its control over its weakening muscle. Spasming and twitching, the canine howled in pain as the flawless teamwork between PQ's rapidly extending spear and electrifying shock.

With his grip still holding firmly onto the handle, the bloody blade of PQ's supposedly 1.8 meter (5'11) long spear protruded out of the horse-sized canine's jaws, penetrating through its entire body.