I'm not too late

Ben's anguished cries echoed in the air but it was soon muffled by the sounds of growling and the gruesome crunching sound of what appeared to be his bones.

"!?" The people in the midst of their frantic escape couldn't help but hear the horrifying noises that were coming from behind them. But soon as the Ben's cries gradually faded into silence, drowned out by the relentless crunching of bones and flesh, it send shivers down the spines of everyone present.

Girls like Nicole and Bella struggled to contain their nausea as their faces drained of color. They tried hard to ignore but the sounds made their reality grim. Even the boys appeared visibly shaken, yet none of them halted their desperate flight.

"Quickly!!! All of you follow me!!" As Job and the others neared the scene, Wendy and Fred ceased their defense against the Dead Walkers and made a hasty escape from the encircling monsters, joined by the rest of the group.

"They sure are fast..." Observing Wendy and Job's successful escape, Peter recognized that there was now no one to block the Dead Walkers or maintain the opening.

"If you all want to live then run faster." Peter urged his people as his voice sounded stern and emotionless as he increased his pace abandoning his subordinates behind.

"W-Wait for me, Peter!!!" Even his friend, Cary, struggled to keep up since Peter was very fast.

But because of their drastic measure to escape, Peter and a few others managed to escape before the gap closed, but the same couldn't be said for those who lagged far behind, their progress sluggish.

"Please don't leave me!!!!"

"Shit!!! **** you, Peter!!!!"

"Damn it!!!! I shouldn't have teamed up with that maniac!!!"

As the gap diminished and Dead Walkers encroached, their anxiety and fear escalated.

Regrettably, if they had possessed the courage to confront the monsters, they might have had a chance at survival. However, their timidity and panic left them only with curses for their leader, words that offered no hope in the face of the looming threat.

"Growl!!!!" Within seconds, the remaining people were entirely encircled with no hope of escape.

"G-Get away from me!!!"

"AHHHH!!! H-Help me!!!"

"GAHHH!!!!!"

"!!!! HELP!!!!!!"

Their cries turned into desperate wails.

"GROWLLLLLL!!!!"

Beneath the relentless onslaught of the Dead Walkers, gruesome sounds reverberated through the woods, more bone-chilling and nightmarish than ever before.

****

Having successfully broken free from the encirclement, Fred and the others continued their sprint for over thirty minutes, stopping only when the need to catch their breath became imperative.

Throughout their journey, they encountered relentless numbers of Dead Walkers.

But fueled by a combination of fear and determination, each member of their group fought valiantly, including Nick and Nicole, who, despite their initial weaknesses, managed to eliminate their fair share of the undead.

With every Dead Walker slain, a white orb entered their bodies, gradually increasing their powers. This uplifted their confidence in confronting the Dead Walkers, but it also exacted a toll, leaving them thirsty and mentally fatigued.

Even though the forest was dark, fortunately, the light fog and not-so-thick trees allowed the moonlight to provide just enough visibility to spot the monsters nearby.

"Hah... Thank you for saving us!!" Job then thanked Fred and Wendy as they somehow left the multiple of Dead Walkers behind.

"Don't mention it!" Despite the sweats covering his face and his breath rough, Fred answered with a grin, "Besides you are Kalsie's friends, right?"

Job and the others didn't know what else to say, but they sincerely thanked both Fred and Wendy for once again saving their lives. They were also pleasantly surprised by the strength displayed by both of them. Although there were initially some lingering doubts, considering that the families of Fred and Wendy were also involved in their abrupt awakening in this dangerous place, those doubts dissipated as they all fought together. The realization came that Fred and Wendy were just like them—stranded without a clue.

"Huff… Anyways, where are we even going?" As they were running, Fred then inquired after releasing an arrow that dispatched the final Dead Walker in their vicinity.

"Does anyone know of a good place where we can take shelter for the night?" Wendy directed her question at Job and the others.

"There's a beach with large rocks… but in this darkness, I doubt we can find our way," Job responded, his concern deepened by the fact that night had fallen, obscuring the marks they'd left on the trees to guide their return.

"What about you guys?" Jack inquired of Noah and Bella.

"We don't." But they shook their heads in frustration.

"This is bad… Although we know of a secure location, one I'm sure it could offer us shelter, but it's quite far from here," Wendy lamented, recognizing that venturing there amid the looming threat of Dead Walkers was a bad idea.

"Sigh... For now, we should focus on conserving our energy."

Feeling tired, they rested against nearby trees, trying to recover before the Dead Walkers surrounded them again. But their short break didn't last long.

"Hey guys~! I've finally found you! Haha!"

Hearing this voice, their expressions tensed, and they swiftly raised their weapons in vigilance as they immediately recognized the speaker's identity.

"I'm sorry, but would you guys mind serving as bait for me?"

Immediately afterward, sounds of something hurtling through the air reached their ears from one direction, alerting them.

"Take cover!!!" Wendy's urgent cry echoed through the group as she thought Peter shot arrows in their direction.

But, instead of arrows, multiple spears were hurled in their direction.

Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!

Assuming that taking cover would offer safety, they remained unaware that the spears had a different purpose from the start.

Each spear carried something attached to it, and upon crashing nearby, these items tumbled onto them.

"What's this!?!?" A collective gasp of shock escaped their lips as they saw the gruesome sight before them.

It was then that a thick, nauseating odor enveloped them, one that caused some to instinctively pinch their noses in disgust while others paled visibly.

The items that Peter dropped near them had some pieces of flesh.

The source of the stench was immediately apparent, though the how and why remained enigmatic.

"Urgh." They struggled to suppress the urge to vomit as the sickening scent of blood assailed their senses, compounded by the repugnant splash of blood on them.

While they were still in shock, Peter's voice reverberated, "HAHA~! NOW ENJOY THE TREAT I HAVE FOR YOU ALL!"

Though Wendy and the others failed to grasp the full meaning of his words, Nicole's expression darkened as realization dawned. She shouted in alarm, "I think h-he's attracting Dead Walkers toward us with the smell of blood!!!!!!!"

"WHAT!?"

"We must leave this place!!" Nicole insisted urgently.

Nicole did not alarm them without any base. Her reasoning was based on two previous situations she had witnessed. The first occurred when she observed those monsters become frenzied upon smelling the few drops of blood on the tree, which had come from Nick's small wound which was on his hand. The second instance was when she saw some of the monsters ignore them and instead go straight for Ben, who was also injured but more than Nick was.

Understanding the urgency in Nicole's words, despite their lingering doubts and seething anger at Peter's sadistic way of treating them, they heeded Nicole's warning and quickly resumed their escape.

As they were running, their doubts were swiftly dispelled as they heard the menacing growls of approaching monsters.

"GROWLLLLLL!!!!!" Just as Nicole had predicted, the Dead Walkers went berserk, sprinting toward the source of the bloodied spears and the clothes which were attached to it.

"RUN!!!!!!" Job shouted.

Their fortunate escape earlier had been a close call; had they been even a minute late, it might have spelled their doom.

The scent of blood permeating the surroundings had a profound effect on the Dead Walkers, rendering them faster and more ferocious.

It didn't take long for them to reach the spot where the bloodied spears lay, and when they did they all descended upon them in a frezy state.

Initially, they had hoped that the monsters wouldn't pursue them. However, due to the lingering scent of blood clinging to their clothes, a significant number of Dead Walkers, unlike the others, refused to halt and instead continued their relentless chase.

Their dread wasn't limited to the dangers behind them; even ahead, danger loomed as the sounds of their chaotic flight drew more and more monsters toward them.

"Shit!! I swear, if I ever lay eyes on that scum again, I'll drill all my arrows in his guts!!!!" Fred raged as he observed some monsters approaching from the front.

"We'll deal with him later!! Focus on getting out of here!!!!"

Despite their stamina not fully recovered, they continued defending themselves against the monsters' relentless onslaught as they sprinted.

"AH!!"

Out of nowhere, Nick's foot was caught by a monster, throwing him onto the ground due to the momentum.

"H-Help--!!!" Nick's plea was cut short as he watched a nearby Dead Walker leap toward him, jaws wide open.

"Nick!" Job's desperate shout echoed as they turned to assist him, though they were still few meters away.

Fred and Noah hastily aimed their arrows at the advancing Dead Walker to rescue Nick.

However, just before they could fire their arrows, a brilliant flash of light streaked past them, homing in on the monster that leapt onto Nick.

"GROWLL!!!!!!!!!!!!" Upon impact, the monster's body immediately burst into flames along with the agonized wails.

"W-What?" Nick was baffled by the sudden turn of events until he recognized a familiar voice.

"Hah... Hah... Looks like I'm not too late."