Chapter 76

The sun slipped below the horizon, casting its final rays over the apocalyptic city, bathing it in a faint, fiery glow before plunging it into shadow.

The streets lay in a heavy silence, devoid of any movement except for the distant shuffle of undead figures and the occasional groan of rusted metal. Above the city, a lone figure jumped from rooftop to rooftop, a giant shadow leaping gracefully over the desolation below.

Ali surged forward, each leap carrying him closer to his next objective. He wore a bag stuffed with ration bars, and a massive four-litre bottle of water was strapped securely to his back, sloshing with each jump.

The skyscraper in his sights had once gleamed with white walls, a symbol of modern luxury. Now, it was buried under layers of grime, corrosion, and soot, the ravages of time and disaster stripping it of its former shine. Ali pressed on, vaulting from roof to roof, barely breaking pace.

Midair, Ali glanced down at the undead shambling below, noting a change in their sluggish movements. 'The zombies are moving slower and slower, he observed, landing on another rooftop. He paused, assessing his surroundings. He had reached the closest point he could safely approach before reaching his destination.

The building loomed ahead, its shadow stretching long and dark. Ali noticed the entrance: an open maw leading into the building's depths, left wide open for any zombie to wander in and out. He frowned. 'First things first, what the fuck to do with the entrance?' The massive double doors had been torn from their hinges and now lay shattered on the ground, exposing the wide-open lobby to the street.

Ali surveyed the area, searching for any advantage. His gaze landed on a colossal steel sign hanging from the seventh floor of the skyscraper.

Though smeared with filth, the faint outline of a corporate logo could still be discerned beneath the grime. The massive sign leaned forward precariously, hanging directly over the open entrance below.

'If it fell the right way, it might block the entrance, he calculated, eyes narrowing.

'But how to make it fall?'

After a moment of contemplation, he realised his options were limited. 'There's no way I can drop it from down here, he thought. 'Either I hit it from inside on the seventh floor, or I climb up there myself! He weighed the risks.

With the sun setting and most zombies walking towards the skyscraper, climbing seemed the better option-safer, quieter, and less likely to draw a horde from within.

Ali took several steps back, inhaled deeply, and sprinted forward, launching himself off the edge of the roof with all his strength.

He sailed through the air, his muscles coiled with energy, reaching the outer wall of the skyscraper's fourth floor. His hands latched onto a set of deep crevices in the wall, fingers finding purchase in the worn stone.

He glanced down, confirming that the zombies below hadn't noticed him, then began his ascent. 'I need to be careful', he thought, examining the decaying structure, 'some parts of this wall might give fall off if I use it to climb and attract attention!'.

Ali's hands and feet moved with precision as he climbed, his fingers probing each crevice to ensure it was stable. The sign above loomed larger with every inch he gained, swaying slightly as he approached.

Its rusted metal frame looked like it would snap at any moment.

After several minutes of calculated climbing, Ali reached the side of the massive sign. Up close, he could see the metal scaffolding holding it to the wall had deteriorated badly. Sections of it were entirely missing, while other pieces hung loosely, barely attached.

Ali gripped the frame, steadying himself. With a practiced movement, he withdrew his quinque-a weapon crafted with a unique, fleshy material that pulsed with a faint red hue, its form resembling a muscular longsword.

He raised the sword, aiming for a weak point in the structure. In one fluid motion, he brought it down with a powerful strike, hitting precisely where the metal was most vulnerable.

BANG

The quinque sliced through the rusted steel, severing the scaffolding's last hold.

The massive sign broke free, teetering for a moment before tipping forward, plunging straight down toward the street below.

The sign flipped once in midair before it struck the ground directly at the building's entrance.

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A thunderous crash reverberated through the street, sending a shockwave that echoed off the buildings. The sign had landed perfectly, covering most of the entrance and crushing several zombies unfortunate enough to be directly below.

The heavy impact sent a cloud of dust into the air, and the echoing sound drew every nearby zombie toward the scene, a mass of undead now crowding around the metal obstruction.

Ali took advantage of the momentary chaos, swiftly scaling down to a nearby window on the building's second floor. He glanced down once, observing the zombies now clustered around the sign. Many of them clawed at it in mindless fury, their numbers growing by the second as more were drawn by the sound.

'Shit, some of them are squeezing through', Ali noted, his gaze focusing on a small gap at one corner of the sign. Though narrow, it allowed a few zombies to push through one at a time. He cursed under his breath. 'If they keep pressing against the gaps, they might eventually push the sign aside.'

Without hesitation, he smashed through the window, entering the building's dimly lit second floor. The room he found himself in was a post-apocalyptic rest area.

Broken chairs and shattered tables littered the floor, but the most alarming feature was the crowd of zombies slowly turning to face him, eyes glinting with that ravenous hunger.

Ali wasted no time. He unleashed his quinque, the blade glowing red as it extended to its full length. With deadly precision, he cut down the zombies closest to him, his blade slicing through flesh and bone with ease.

He moved like a whirlwind, his strikes a blur as he severed limbs and decapitated heads. The reek of rotting flesh filled the air, but Ali pressed on, ignoring any body parts that were still moving as he needed to get to the entrance ASAP.

A zombie lunged at him from the side, teeth bared, but Ali sidestepped and swung his blade horizontally, cleaving its torso in half. Another zombie stumbled toward him from behind, and he whirled, driving his sword through its skull in a single, powerful thrust. He moved through the horde with a relentless efficiency, his blade a crimson blur as it tore through the undead ranks.

He never paused to check if his foes were truly down; any movement in his peripheral vision was met with an instinctive slash, his blade always one step ahead.

Bodies piled up around him as he carved a path toward the stairwell. Nearly a hundred zombies had fallen by the time he reached the far side of the second floor.

Ali bolted down the stairwell, taking the steps three at a time, but the ground floor presented an even grimmer sight.

The spacious lobby was swarming with undead, at least two hundred of them standing shoulder-to-shoulder. As All burst into view, they turned toward him, their vacant eyes flaring with a renewed hunger.

Beyond them, the gap at the entrance continued to allow zombies to trickle in, the floor rumbling under the pressure of the approaching horde.

Ali gritted his teeth, gripping his quinque tighter as he prepared himself for the fight ahead. He needed to cut through these two hundred zombies to clear a path and secure the lobby before the horde outside could breach the gap entirely.

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