Chapter 18: A Smart One

When will this horror end? When will we stop running for our lives and be free from the constant fear of inevitable death? That brief moment we had away from the zombies gave me time to rest my legs. I was still drained by my run.

Our visitors weren't the typical type of visitors people welcomed. They were thieves, thieves, and inflictors. Thieves that steal the little Joy, one manages to have and inflictors that inflict; sorrow, pain, and hardship.

The visitors we had, were six zombies, they followed me to the ridge. Pleased that they found a human. They had seen us, but they didn't approach us.

Kin and I watched as more zombies fell one by one. We froze in terror. Some few seconds ago we were trying to cook up a plan to escape and now we were honestly outnumbered and cornered.

The main reason the zombies didn't react to us or attack was because Kin and I made no sound, we also kept completely still, watching the way we took our breath. Breathing slowly.

My throat was itchy, it itched from the cold air that penetrated my nose. I tried my hardest not to breathe too loudly. My heartbeat was loud, I could hear it drumming on my chest in fear, I feared the zombies might hear it beating.

Before I knew it. The whole horde fell down the escarpment, falling on top of each other. Their sounds were intimidatingly loud, maybe that's what covered the sound of my heartbeat, I managed to think to myself. If we moved even a finger or made a little sound, we'd join the horde or be completely devoured.

There was one problem we had, a big one to be exact. The zombies could smell, even though they were rotten and dead. They had four senses.

Sight: they can see if Their eyes weren't gourged out.

Hearing: sharp as ever. They can hear sounds kilometers away.

Sound: they can produce sounds from Their vocal chords to alert others on what they heard or what they saw.

With their sense of smell, they can tell if you are one of them or not. They are dead, so they don't feel any form of pain.

The realization of the zombies being able to smell us even though they couldn't see or hear us sent a chill to my spine. Over sixty zombies stood searching for us. There was no way we could outrun them. Our only chances were to distract them. But how many were we going to distract if we had the chance to?

I looked for the hole my friend told me about, it was completely covered by them.

I wanted to speak to my friend and see how he was doing and how he was feeling. If only we were telepaths. I imagined.

Morbid. I felt a morbid feeling when a zombie came towards me, it was sluggish but fast. I closed my eyes. Shutting it so it wouldn't notice me blink, I heard other footsteps and other zombies followed.

I had completely forgotten about my mini-spear, if only it could turn into an assault rifle so I could use it to burst the heads of the zombies, I thought to myself.

As I spoke to myself in my mind it felt like the zombies could hear me. I opened my eyes and I saw the zombies were very close to me. It just remained for them to smell me.

I heard an ominous sound, it was loud and almost deafening. It sounded like the sounds generated by scientists for T-Rexs. I closed my eyes, afraid of a sound I had never heard before.

When I opened my eyes, I saw no zombie before me, they had gone after the sound. I turned almost immediately to have a look at Kin. Even through the dark, I could tell that he was as shocked as I was.

"What was that?" I asked with the lowest tone my voice could make.

"I think it was the Hybrid I saw," Kin said looking blankly into nothingness.

I had this silly urge to take a peak where the zombies went. No, I couldn't. I preferred to be alive than eaten.

"Dane, I don't know if we were just saved by the universe but I think we have to get out of here now." Kin was still looking at the nothingness. I decided to take a look at what his eyes were eyes were fixed on.

I wasn't sure if it was me or if my mind was playing a trick on me. I saw some figures in the dark, four-legged creatures running with great speed at us.

"Run," I said, I looked behind me and I did not Kin there.

I wasn't told before I got to my feet. My legs were braced to the ground like I was about to sprint for a hundred-meter race.

I jumped rather than ran, I stretched my legs forward, covering more space. I looked behind me and I saw the horde of zombies circling a large and tall figure.

Through that brief moment, I managed to see the figure, it was looking at me. It had something covering its mouth like a mask.

What I saw was the scariest thing I had ever laid my eyes on, it was scarier than the normal zombies.

Kin was right there is a hybrid zombie, an intelligent zombie, a zombie that can control other zombies.

I turned to my front and narrowly hit a tree. The figures behind me were closing on me. I realized what they were.

I was being chased by zombie wolves, there of them. I didn't see Kin around.

Just as thought I was safe. The zombies that were circling the mysterious figure rushed after me. Luckily I had gained some space from them. The sounds they made were louder this time, louder than I ever heard them. Am sure Those at camp could hear them but faintly

"Keep moving," I said to myself, dodging the trees in front of me.

The wolves behind me growled eager to get to me.

A tree? It was too dangerous to climb. I just had to keep on running. Running non-stop. My legs didn't ache me this time, it was aware of the dangers behind me.

"Dane" I heard Kin yell to me. I couldn't pinpoint where his voice was coming from.

"Where are you?" I asked

"Trace my voice," I think I heard him say, the noise from the zombie and growling wolves covered that of his.

"Turn to your left" I heard Kin say.

I turned to my left and I was sure my pursuers turned to the left also. It was an open place in the woods, the trees were scanty and it didn't seem like they were shrouded together.

"Over here, up here " I heard Kin's voice.