Back Home With Trouble

Alex felt a little awkward. He didn't know if the rat will attack or not.

It seems like the rat wanted him to stay away.

Alex decided to back off. He picked up his baseball bat and went back to the entrance.

The giant rat finally stopped hissing and resumed its feast.

Alex was both relieved and horrified.

If the rats are already starting to scavenge on human bodies, then it means that they're no longer afraid of humans.

Maybe they even saw them as food.

He can't even imagine what it would be if their population grows unattended. Would giant rats start roaming around the neighborhood in large groups looking for food?

If that happens, they might become as dangerous as zombies.

"I have to stay vigilant. More monsters will appear and it's important to always be on guard. I can't let my guard down or I'll be eaten alive."

Alex shook his head and headed out of the supermarket.

Next, he'll clear the zombies on the way home.

As expected, the zombies weren't that difficult to kill.

Alex was getting used to the process and as long as he only encounters one or two zombies, he could easily deal with them.

"There are enough supplies in the supermarket to last me for months. I should try to collect some clothes too, and detergents if possible or I'll have to keep throwing away my clothes every time I have a bloody battle."

Alex made a mental note and decided to look out for these items.

It took him a while to get back, but he managed to kill the remaining zombies along the way.

He didn't even had to do anything to attract attention since the trolley was doing a great job in creating noise.

However, the trolley had some trouble climbing the stairs. In the end, he just lifted the whole thing up to the second floor.

As soon as he got back to his apartment, he was stopped by the locked door.

"Did I lock the door when I left last night? Probably... and I didn't even bring the keys with me. I'm such a genius."

He searched on his bag and found a bunch of hair clips on one of its pockets.

CLICK!

Alex unlocked the door on the last hairpins and even destroyed it in the process.

He unloaded the goods on the kitchen and decided to take a shower.

"Ugh, my clothes smell like shit."

He threw the clothes into a pile and put it aside. He'll wash them later. As for his pants and shoes, if he can find a new set then he'll throw them away.

Alex finished showering and reached out to his towel but he only got air. The place where it was supposed to be was empty.

"Hmm? I'm pretty sure I hanged it here last time. That's weird..."

He only had the dirty clothes on the bin but he didn't want wear it.

Left with no choice, Alex left the bathroom butt naked, water dripping from his body.

Though no one was looking, he felt embarrassed being naked, so he dashed towards his bedroom. His footsteps left water prints on the white tiles on the floor.

He turned the doorknob to his room but it didn't open.

"Huh? Did I lock my room too? I could've sworn that I didn't lock it when I went out."

He tried one more time but the door didn't budge.

"Damn it!" Alex sighed, "Time to use the hairpin again."

Alex looked around and found a box of paperclips on top of the living room table.

"Okay, I haven't tried using paperclips, but they should be distant cousins of hairpins, right?

With the hairpins in hand, he went and kneeled in front of the bedroom door.

Though he got some experience picking locks on the previous day, using a new tool posed some difficulties. He destroyed seven paperclips before unlocking the door on the sixth attempt.

Shockingly enough, the door opened on its own. A woman in a cream singlet and black boxer lunged forward preparing to bash him with something.

The woman had a modified baseball bat with nails on it, and swung it at him.

Alex blocked with his arm and used Energized Skin before he got hit on his right forearm.

DING!

Alex stumbled back and felt a sharp pain on his arm. Thanks to his improved physique and Energized Skin, he blocked most of the damage, but he had to endure most of the impact and the pain.

The nails also scratched through the Energized Skin after the baseball bat was pulled back.

Alex didn't know what to do. He was just minding his own business and suddenly a stranger attacked him on his own apartment.

His mind was in chaos and he didn't have the chance to figure out what's going on.

Alex ran to the living room and jumped on the couch. He quickly grabbed his gun and aimed at the stranger with his left hand.

Seeing the gun, the woman escaped back into the room and shut the door.

Alex shouted.

"Come out or I'll shoot you!"

The woman's voice came from the room.

"Who are you? What are you doing in my apartment?"

Alex was confused at first then became dumbfounded. "What do you mean 'your apartment'? This is my apartment!"

"Your apartment?"

" Yeah, right?! There's so many apartments here, lots of abandoned houses nearby. Why would you think I'll pick this one? Because IT'S MY APARTMENT!"

Alex waited but the other person didn't respond. He really didn't want to shoot the first person he met after such a long time but he can't lower his guard either.

His body started regenerating slowly but it will take at least half an hour before the scratches on his forearm fully recovers. He felt the itch coming from it and had to fight the urge to scratch it.

A few moments later, a hesitant voice came from the bedroom, "Are you really the owner of this apartment? I saw the man left last night and never came back..."

She saw me? That means she lives nearby on the area.

"I met some trouble outside, so I had to spend the day somewhere else. Zombies are stronger in the morning, you know?"

"They're stronger in the morning? I don't know, I don't want to test it. I try my best not to fight them if possible. Running away works best for me, so I do just that."

"Alright, enough of that. This is my apartment, so I want you to leave. You sound like a decent person and I don't wanna shoot the first person I talked to after all this time."

"... I'm going out. Please don't shoot me. I only attacked you because I thought you we're trying to kill me. I had to defend myself."

"How did you even think that I was trying to kill you? I was just picking the lock on the door."

"I don't know... you can't tell things nowadays. I'm coming out now, I have my hands raised."

The door opened slightly and the woman peeked outside. She saw the gun still pointed at her, and slowly went out of the room with her hands raised, her weapon in clear view.

Her hair was short and brown, and her eyes were hazel. Her lips plump and red but her skin was pale, probably from being scared or the lighting of the room.

"Liz, 19 years old and I'm a third year student at Ursa University. You?"

She wore a white shirt, a loose pants and a rubber shoes. She was a bit lean and a little shorter than Alex.

"My name is Alex, 21 years old and I graduated this year as an IT professional but the world decided to end itself, so my diploma is useless. Haven't even used it for long."

Liz nodded and lowered her head.

"I would like to apologize for attacking you. I thought you were a bad guy trying to do something bad to me. I've had some few encounters with men these past few days and unless you tell them off harshly they won't stop having weird thoughts."

Alex didn't know how to respond.

"So, what's your plan now?"

"Again, I'm sorry for breaking into your apartment. My place got looted, so when I saw you leave and didn't come back I moved here. I'll just go back to my apartment downstairs."

Alex frowned and stared at her. The more she spoke, the more questions he had.

"You live downstairs? If I remember correctly, the tenants downstairs were a couple and a woman who likes sports, an athlete... Y-you're the ungrateful woman who ran away after I helped you!"

The woman raised her eyebrows.

"I'm sorry, I don't know who you are. I've seen you last night but I think we've never met before. Unless you're the guy from the CCTV... "

There was an awkward silence between the two of them.