Blackout

The three adults quickly surrounded the two kids as the loud, hurried steps grew closer and closer.

"Take cover," Logan mouthed through gritted teeth. The others pulled out their guns and stood their ground, though many were visibly shaking. They weren't fully prepared for this. They never were.

Just a few days ago, they were average civilians living ordinary lives, with ordinary problems and ordinary worries. But now, they were fighting for survival against an enemy that was relentless, merciless, and seemingly unstoppable.

They had watched many of their loved ones and other group members being eaten and killed by the zombies.

Unfortunately, they feared their fate was sealed.

The footsteps grew louder, and the group could see the shadows looming in the distance. The zombies' groans and moans filled the air.

"They are coming," the little girl whimpered, clinging to her mother.

Suddenly, the lights flickered and died, plunging the group into darkness. There was a collective gasp as the group froze in terror, their guns pointed blindly into the darkness.

The children's sobs grew louder, and their mother's desperate whispers tried to calm them down but to no avail. This was followed by the sound of footsteps getting dangerously closer.

"Who has a flashlight?" Logan whispered urgently, his eyes scanning the darkness.

One of the men, who had been frozen in fear, suddenly snapped out of it and pulled out his flashlight. But as soon as he turned it on, he pointed it directly at a zombie standing right in front of him. The zombie's eyes gleamed in the light, and it lunged forward, biting the man's arm.

"Arghhh!" the man screamed, trying to shake off the zombie, but it was too late.

The zombie's teeth had already sunk deep into his flesh, and he was infected.

Panic erupted as the man screamed, trying to grab onto someone for help. One of the group members, a burly woman named Sarah, reacted quickly. She swung her gun at the man, hitting him hard across the face and sending him sprawling to the ground.

"Get away from us!" she shouted.

The bitten man writhed on the floor, the infection spreading rapidly. But the zombie that had bitten him wasn't finished yet. It lunged forward again, its rotting teeth aiming for the next closest person.

Sarah fired her gun, but in her haste, she missed. The others stumbled backward, tripping over each other in desperation to get away.

Logan reacted quickly, grabbing the flashlight and shining it around. The beam fell on several zombies, all coming straight at them. Without hesitation, he began firing his gun, trying to clear a path, but there were too many of them.

"Move!" Logan yelled, pushing people aside as one lunged toward the children. He fired a shot that hit it square in the head, dropping it instantly.

"Keep moving," he yelled, grabbing the children and pulling them toward the door as Sarah and Claire stumbled after him.

Elsewhere, Kia's heart pounded as he fumbled with the gun in his hand. The zombies were lunging right at him, and in panic, he fired the first shot, hitting one in the shoulder. But that wasn't enough; the zombies barely flinched.

Kia fired more shots, but now his hand was shaking, so again he missed the target. The zombies seemed to get furious as they began coming at him with increased ferocity, their groans and snarls growing louder as they closed in.

He began moving backward, slowly at first, firing again and again, missing every time.

Seeing that the zombies were too close now, he became overwhelmed. He turned and ran, dashing down the hallway in the direction he had come.

He ran past the spot where he had left Don, but to his surprise, the body of the man he had left unconscious was nowhere to be

seen.

There was no time to figure that out now; he had to find somewhere to hide. He turned a corner, and as he did, the lights went off, followed by loud gunshots.

"Damn it," Kia muttered, breathing heavily as he struggled to catch his breath.

The sound of the gunshots caught the zombies' attention, and Kia could hear their footsteps as they ran past the corner he had just turned.

He held his breath as they did when suddenly, a hand wrapped around his mouth and pulled him against the wall.

Kia's eyes widened in terror, fearing the worst. He struggled to scream and tried to pull his gun, but the grip was too strong to do anything else. Another hand reached out to grab the gun from him before he could react. Kia's heart pounded as he felt the cold metal slip from his grasp.

"Quiet," a voice hissed in his ear. A voice he immediately recognized. It was Don. "They are gone, but more will come if you keep making noise."

Kia nodded frantically, and Don slowly released his hold, making Kia gasp for air, clutching his chest as he tried to steady his racing heart.

"How... how are you still alive?" he managed to ask, realization suddenly dawning on him that he had been caught.

He heard Don scoff. "You think a hit on the head is enough to take me out?"

Kia nodded nervously, his mind racing. He had thought the zombies would have finished Don off, but here he was, standing next to him, glaring down with an intensity that made Kia's blood run cold. He shrank back, feeling instant fear. How was he going to get out of this?

"|...I panicked," he stammered.

Don stepped closer. "Panicked, huh?" he said, his voice low. "You know, I should drag you back to my boss and let him deal with you. You think what I did was bad? He'd make vou wish you were dead."

Kia's heart pounded harder. His breath quickened, and he felt sweat trickling down his back. "Please.., I was scared. I thought you were going to kill me."

Don paused, his eyes narrowing as he studied Kia. The silence stretched, thick with tension. Then, unexpectedly, Don's expression softened just a fraction. "But you know what? have to commend you for that.

Not many people have the guts to fight back when they're scared out of their minds.

Kia blinked, caught off guard by the shift in Don's tone. "W-what?"