Chapter 8: From Allies to Enemies, So Fast?

Noah tried to ask as nonchalantly as possible, as they had just caught him in the middle of his excitement. He had just discovered that he doesn't have to hold the money on his person, but for some odd reason, the gold disappears and shows up in his status panel!

He was worried about venturing outside while wasting gold since his plan was to go out to grind levels. Who knows what he can obtain with all of the gold he planned on collecting? Just that thought alone made him chuckle uncontrollably while he tried to hold in a full-blown laugh.

The sudden change in Noah's facade gave rise to mixed feelings concerning Noah's mental well-being. Even more so since the casualness he was exhibiting wasn't one that one should be exhibiting when sitting amidst a room of bloodied corpses while he himself was covered in their blood.

"I think he may have a couple of screws loose…I remember this guy..it's that guy that Regina hates, you know? The one who's always getting into fights and gets beat up? He's a total weirdo, we shouldn't deal with him."

It was already quiet during this time, only the sound of blood occasionally dripping and muffled screams outside could be heard, so everyone, including Noah, could hear what was said.

Everyone turned to the voice and noticed that it was Charlie who had spoken.

But he only returned their stares with a questionable look of his own. He believed that he was right in what he said. He wasn't exactly sure what Noah may have gone through or how much he changed, but his current mindset wouldn't allow himself to see Noah as anything other than being inferior to himself.

This was not how Mark wanted things to go. He felt the need to speak up to reconcile with Noah despite how disturbed he felt when in his presence. Granted, he did believe that the man before him was a little empty upstairs, but at the same time, he would be of more help than his group combined if he really was the one who did everything here. Sadly, he wasn't given the chance to atone for what Charlie had said.

"Hmmm? Well, it seems you know about me, but I don't really care about who you are, although I do agree with you on something: you shouldn't deal with me. As you can see, I'm kinda busy here, so shoo shoo."

No one knew how to respond, at least not immediately. Noah's lack of fear and initiative to not join their group was not something they were able to process at this time. They couldn't understand how someone would not desire to surround themselves in the safety of numbers when considering all that had happened.

Noah left no room for discussion and left little time for Mark to respond. Just from Charlie's last words, he was able to get an idea about their situation. In this situation, there's safety in numbers, so he can assume they are looking for more people to group with.

'Heh, you think I'll share my exp with you? No chance! Not only my experience, but they would also want part of my loot too, and then I'd have to handle the more difficult monsters that ar-!'

Noah caught himself amidst his thoughts. He wanted to go solo from the very beginning, but he had to sleep at some point, and just like a few moments ago where he was exhausted, he would surely die if he had to handle anything more dangerous before recovering. Before he gets a reliable monster, he would need a group.

Not long has passed during this brief pause, but that was all Mark needed before his mind returned to the matter at hand. Just the fact that Noah refused to join them proved that he either is mentally insane or he really did accomplish everything here by himself. Personally, he assumed that both situations were correct. He had to at least try to persuade him to join, but he also was too proud to beg. Taking a deep breath to calm himself, Mark was prepared to try to reason with him.

"Wait, before you say anything, please list-"

"Fine, I accept!" Noah propped himself up after collecting all of the remaining gold in the chest. Among the open jaw expressions of the group standing at the door, he walked over to his side of the room to grab his bookbag which he then emptied out of all its contents. He then proceeded to grab a few snacks and two water bottles he kept in a drawer that he used as his emergency rations for when he would be too beaten up to go to the cafeteria.

The last item he grabbed was his cellphone that he barely used but maybe there would be a use for it in this situation. He then proceeded to place the dagger from earlier in a side pocket of his bookbag for easy retrieval. Before leaving, he remembered to put on his run-down sneakers he used during his entire stay in college.

With his bag now slung over one shoulder, he strode over to the group with a satisfied smirk on his face.

"Pst….Mark, are you really letting him follow us? Can you still not see how mental he is?" Charlie whispered to Mark but loud enough for everyone else in the group to hear.

And yet Mark was too stunned to speak. It took some mental effort to think of reasons to convince Noah to join.

However, after turning them down, he all of a sudden changed his mind? With no attachments?

'I hope I'm not making the wrong decision…' He could only think to himself while he shook his head to rid himself of any negative thoughts.

"Why the long faces? Let's go, let's go! We're wasting time here, people!"

"Wait, where are we going anyway?" Noah didn't help to relieve Mark's turmoil as his words only gave rise to doubt about his decision even more. It seems like it'll happen often, but he left the group speechless once again. Thankfully, the soft-hearted one of the group, Jackson, filled the silence.

"W-We are heading to the girls' dormitory, to sa- to find Mark's-" He gestured with his eyes towards Mark. "sister. Bu-but are you not gonna change?"

Everyone took notice of his attire: baggy sweats and a plain black t-shirt torn at the shoulder and the rib section. The only attire that could be considered clean was his old sneakers. Everything else was splattered with blood and a few pieces of brain matter here and there that fell off occasionally.

Now that Noah was no longer in the room full of dead bodies, the group was able to get a better look at him without distractions in the background, leading one paranoid person in the group to find a disturbing factor.

Raising a pointed finger towards Noah, the pale, skinny figure, Tom almost screamed.

"H-he! He was bitten! Look, look at his shoulder! We can't let him come with us! K-kill him now before he turns and kills us!"

His screams put his group on edge, and when they saw the torn spot on his shoulder with the blood that had yet to dry, it caused all of them to go on the defensive. One by one, they each held up their weapons.

Mark, on one hand, was disappointed. He wasted time that could have been better spent, and he felt that he lost a valuable person who could've helped him in his cause. However, beneath that disappointment lurked a sense of satisfaction. In rejecting Noah, Mark reassured himself of his own superiority. He clung to the belief that his own special skill elevated him above others, giving him an edge in this unforgiving world.

"Look, I'm sorry to say this, but you should go quietly… It's best to die as a human instead of as one of those things, trust me," he said to Noah while he took a step forward. He was becoming more anxious by the second, especially when he didn't see Noah move a muscle besides the twitching of his eye. He assumed he had given up, which made his heart race since this would be the first time he would kill someone; the zombies weren't actually someone he considered human, at least not anymore.

"Hold up!" Noah finally responded while holding up a palm to signify everyone to stop. This is real life, not one of the novels he usually reads, and yet why did everything turn out like this?

Everyone in Mark's group paused. Mark believed that Noah was starting to get cold feet and was going to try to convince them he wasn't bitten or something of that nature.

"There's no point in making excuses now; quit being selfish before-"

"Will you shut up already? God! I feel as if you just like to listen to yourself talk." Everyone could clearly hear the agitation in Noah's voice, and he had every right to be agitated. They are talking about killing him when they were the ones who came to him, not the other way around.

"Let me get this straight… You guys want to kill me because I was bitten? First, do any of you know how long it would take before you turn? Would you also let someone kill you if you were told you were infected?" He observed them, waiting for an answer, only to see them all look towards one another for a lifeline, so he continued his rant.

"Second, who the hell made you all gods to decide when someone can and will die? I'm not just going to sit here and lay down for you.

And finally, why do you think I'm not worried about being bitten? It's because I'm confident that I'm not going to turn, doofus."

There was a pause in the air. Noah made sure to stay alert as he observed the group's reactions, hoping that his observation skills would help him determine if they were still going to attack him or not. What he was not aware of before were the small cracks in some of the doorways further down the hall. There were still people alive on his floor and they were just bunkered in! Noah could only guess that they were too scared to fight and decided to wait it out for help. He began to silently scheme using this piece of information if they still planned to attack.

Meanwhile, Mark's group all wore constipated expressions as they went over Noah's rant. No one wanted to speak up, either from guilt or the fact that everyone besides Mark was obviously inferior to Noah if he decided to retaliate. Their eyes wandered back to the pile of zombies not too far away. All but one person, that is.

"Bullshit! Who would believe that? We've seen people turn right in front of our eyes, and you say you're immune? Bullshit!" Tom yelled while stepping ahead of the group, his distraught steps disabling any sense of fear during this instance.

He had lost someone he considered a brother right before his eyes, only to have that same person attempt to eat him moments later, just to hear someone say they are unable to turn? He couldn't accept that! Why did his 'brother' have to be killed by a zombie? Why couldn't that person who killed him also be immune to turning? His 'brother' could still be alive.

The emotional display from the tearful individual seemed to sway the rest of Mark's group. Despite their initial hesitations and uncertainties, witnessing their companion's raw display of fear and distress appeared to evoke empathy and compassion among them. In moments of crisis, emotions often override logical reasoning, and Mark found solace in this familiar pattern.

"He's right, how can we believe you won't turn? We can't trust our backs to you and have you try to kill us in the end. Besides, if we left, you'll only turn later and kill someone else. It doesn't matter what you consider right or wrong. All that matters is that by letting yourself die now, you'll possibly prevent yourself from taking another life, and you won't end up like those things.

You don't get a choice when it concerns not only your life but others too!" As he continued to speak, his words seemed to bolster his own courage, as if he were convincing himself as much as his companions. Though his arguments may have sounded reasonable to him and his group, they likely fell on deaf ears for the person they were directed at, who perceived them as mere gibberish in the face of their own survival instincts.

"What the fuck…" Noah couldn't believe what he just heard. He knew that he was a little crazy, but this Mark guy wins hands down; he was like an imitation of a hero on crack.