Chapter 22: Mutated Zombie?

When he heard the footsteps hurriedly approaching, he approached his bag to retrieve his remaining weapon. It wasn't an ideal weapon but it was the only weapon he had to protect himself. He would call on his spider but not only could he sense that it wasn't close to full recovery, the room they were in wasn't big enough to allow it to maneuver around. If anything he would make a break for it outside if he has to. 

He mentally prepared himself while he faced the door opposite him. The creaking sound of the door opening seemed to grab Isabelle's attention, finally making herself aware of her surroundings. She hastily rose from the ground, ironically cowering behind Noah, the reasoning for her earlier injury forgotten as her fear trumped over any sense of reason. As the new arrivals approached, Isabelle's mind raced with the first thought that came to her, 'zombies!' Not once did she question the fact that technically zombies shouldn't be able to open doors. 

The door stopped when there was enough space for someone to stick their head in. Hesitantly their head crept through at a miniscule pace, their forehead had finally come into view before they became startled, comically slamming the door on their own face when they heard a voice. 

"You can open the door already." Noah voiced out annoyingly, he was more annoyed by their contradicting hesitation. They didn't bother to hide their footsteps but then they wanted to sneak their way in? 

Boom! 

"Fu-fuck!" 

"Henry, what are you doing? Whatever's in there definitely heard you now…"

"Crap, don't you think I know that? But there's a person in there, don't tell me you didn't hear him?"

"...D-do you think it's a gho-ghost? Let's get out of here, we already checked anyway!"

The more Noah had to listen to the two bickering, a sense of irritation began to build. The end of his lip twitched; he was on the verge of yelling towards the two, but he held it in. But he also didn't want to continue on like this.

Cough!

"There's no ghost in here; it's just the two of us now. So, can you open the door, or should I come to you?" Noah's annoyed voice cut through their bickering.

Soon after, there was an immediate silence before the door creaked, a head slowly peeking through once again, causing Noah to let out an audible sigh. At least this time, they didn't pause opening the door and fully opened it to reveal the two speakers on the other side.

Both of them had the aura of lackeys, and even their appearance quite resembled one. The first individual, who had accidentally hit his head on the door, appeared to be your average Joe. He wielded a hammer similar to Noah's own that he obtained in the beginning. There was nothing noteworthy about him besides the fact he appeared to be easily startled. 

The second individual behind him was even more questionable; he had a geekish look and was constantly fidgeting about. He held a wooden crossbow, yet Noah couldn't help but notice the lone arrow tethered back by the string. His eyes analyzed the figure once more, besides the one arrow, there wasn't anything resembling a quiver that would show he had any more arrows in his repertoire. 

Noah wasn't quite sure why they would be sent to be the first responders to the noise. It seemed unlikely that they were chosen for their skills, unless they were being treated as dispensable. The thought slightly surprised him.

'It's a little too early to treat people this way, no? Heck, what am I saying? Society has always been this way.'

Instead of addressing Noah, the two individuals stared in disbelief at the mutated dog he had just killed. Noah was sure that even though it's only been a few hours since the start of this mess, they didn't have to partake in any of the confrontations. He couldn't wrap his head around how these two skittish people could have the courage to come here even if ordered to, unless they couldn't comprehend how dangerous it was.

"So? How long are you two gonna stand there? I'd rather not stay here with a broken window and attract anything else in here."

The two finally focused on Noah; an audible gulp could be heard from one and a gasp from the other. Noah's appearance hasn't been treated since the start of his first bloodbath. If anything, it's gotten worse; his clothes and most of his visible skin were covered in dried blood. Additionally, the altercation with Derrick had taken its toll on his clothing and armor, leaving them visibly worn and torn.

The sun was still rising, so there wasn't much sunlight in the room. No one thought about turning on the lights since it would be an obvious attraction to the dangers lurking outside, so the two newcomers couldn't observe Noah properly. Their eyes tried to adjust to the dim room to gauge the speaker, but the more they saw, the more a deep sense of fear seeped into their hearts. It wasn't until they made eye contact with Noah that their fear reached its peak, driving them over the edge.

"Ahhhhh!"

"I-it's a zom-zombie! Henry! It's a talking zombie! We gotta get out of here!" The friend following Henry, who was already very fidgety since the start, took off, leaving his friend behind.

"We weren't told they could talk!" His voice trailed behind as he ran.

Now only three remained in the room; Henry was slowly retreating to the safety of the door. His focus was entirely on the entity before him that he had yet to even notice the other presence. Henry's mind raced, thinking back to the zombies his group encountered before. They were all slow-moving, and the only audible noise they made were mumbles and growls, nothing like the figure standing before him now.

Just like how many animals started to mutate, growing in size or gaining a boost in certain attributes, he began to wonder if a zombie who could talk would be any different.

He was preparing to leave before he finally noticed Isabelle cowering behind the "zombie". She was a beautiful girl, but now her beauty was covered with dirt and her tattered clothing. Torn between his fear and the damsel brought about a strong inner conflict that gave rise to his hesitation to leave.

'Wait…this could be my chance…even if it's mutated, a zombie should still be a zombie. And because it's a special one…that should mean special rewards! I can get the prize and…..the girl." Henry wasn't dejected by Isabelles current disheveled appearance. He was always considered somewhat of a loser; hence why he became a lackey to do others' bidding. But, if he could look cool in saving the damsel, then he should have better luck with earning the woman's affection, or so he thought.

His expression turned grave as he confirmed his self-deluded decision. With a heavy heart, he maneuvered to the side to get a better view of the girl cowing behind the "zombie" before calling out.

"Don't you worry, I'll save you from that zombie!" He yelled towards her, but….he didn't exactly get the reaction he was expecting. Instead of the relief he was expecting Isabelle to exhibit, she became startled and shrieked in an annoyingly distressed voice, followed by a fit of coughing. What confused Henry even more was her reaction: instead of distancing herself from the perceived threat, she cowered further behind the so-called zombie he was trying to save her from, clinging desperately into its waist.

Henry thought he'd seen everything, but then he thought that maybe she was so startled that she mistook the zombie to be a person. It could talk, so in his mind, confusing it for a human was extremely plausible. He didn't remain shocked for long; time was of the essence, and his newfound guilt gave rise to a courage that he never knew he possessed.

With the realization that her death would be on his hands, he was even more determined to save her than he was before. But he was yet again made to be surprised when the 'zombie' held out its palm, signaling him to stop, and then the "zombie" spoke again, halting Henry in his tracks. 

"If you're really this stupid, then you need to at least wear a sign so you can warn everyone else so we can decide to avoid you. I had yet to move nor did I attack her, and I'm clearly talking to you. Are you choosing to ignore what I say just for you to fight me? Maybe you're the zombie, only someone this stupid can compare with a mindless corpse."

Blow after blow, Henry felt invisible pains impacting his gut. Maybe he could believe in the idea of a talking zombie, but the insecure feelings he was subjected to by its words would not allow him to believe in an insulting one. There was no doubt in his mind that he would give up on trying to survive if zombies really did mutate in that direction. With his low self-esteem, he would lose the fight before it even began.

Bang*

His arms slumped to his side, gradually the hold on his weapon weakened before it slipped from his hand. The impact against the floor wasn't necessarily loud, but the silence in the room created an echo that amplified the sound.

Isabelle couldn't help but become startled by the noise, her panicked gaze laced with a severe dose of embarrassment. However as she turned to identifying the source of the noise, her humiliated feelings turned into one of resentment.

Initially, she was under the assumption that she was the target of Noah's insults. At least to her, there wasn't any clear indication or reasoning for Henry to mistake Noah for a zombie after being in his company for so long, the comparison never crossed her mind.

She was already embarrassed enough that Noah could've been referring to her as the stupid one after her more than shameful display. She didn't realize that Henry was the target of the abuse all along.

Her eyes narrowed towards Henry, her gaze radiating a spiteful resentment; she didn't like the fact that she placed herself as a subject of ridicule all because of his misunderstanding. She even had a slight suspicion that he did it intentionally. However, as she got a better look at his expression, her attitude inevitably shifted to one of pity. It's a shame that only she was affected by his vulnerable appearance.

"Are you really about to cry right now? You know, don't even answer that…" Noah looked on helplessly; he didn't know how to deal with the person before him. He couldn't believe that he was actually crying. It wasn't a full-blown sob, but the man was heaving loudly enough that it could be heard across the room. Noah could even hear the silent sniffles people would normally get when they were distressed.

He wasn't emotionally equipped to handle a situation of this nature. Emotional problems were just as difficult as a complex puzzle; one wrong move would only lead you to further wrong moves until you realized you screwed up. He felt the urge to dismiss him and move on, but then he remembered the guy's "friend" who deserted him. He was sure that he would just walk into another misunderstanding that he was in no mood to handle.

"Hey, you." Noah beckoned to the guy to get his attention, seemingly oblivious to Henry's emotional state. Henry glanced up, surprised to notice that not only was he not being ridiculed, but the tone Noah was using towards him was indifferent, a stark contrast to someone meaning to ridicule him. Even though this indifference helped him in this cause, the depressed and self-loathing body language transformed into one of fear and panic. Noah's appearance didn't exactly do him any favors when he behaved this way, but he would rather deal with a fearful person instead of a crying one.

"Wh-what…? You're not gonna hurt me, are you?" Henry took a step back as he inquired towards Noah. Even before this apocalypse began, he knew that people tend to become aggressive in these kinds of situations. Naturally, his body reacted in the same manner it would any other.

Again, Noah was helpless coming up with a retort. He wanted to tell the guy 'I will if you keep being weird'. He didn't respond aggressively nor did he express himself in any way that he was going to attack him. Did he have the appearance of some common thug?

He wasn't planning on asking a question like that aloud; who knows what answer he would be given. Instead he began to slowly move forward, answering Henry's concern in the process. 

"I don't plan on it as long as you don't get the wrong ideas again. But speaking of that, I think we may have a small problem."

Henry became more alert towards what he said and took a few more steps back in a hurry.

"Wha-what problem? There's no problem here, man, if I had known earlier than I wo-"

"Hold on hold on! Sheesh…what I mean is, your little friend who ran off earlier. I don't know how many people are in your group but I'll need you to at least clear up the misunderstanding when the time comes. I mean, they do have that saying 'you are the company that you keep'. So you can at least do that much, no?"

After speaking up to here, Henry didn't continue to retract his steps. He only looked warily towards Noah while he considered what he asked. His thoughts recalled back to his "friend" from earlier. He could only imagine the vivid story he's telling the group right now. Henry was sure that he would leave out the part about deserting him too and also exaggerate the 'zombie' so he wouldn't look bad for running away.

Imagining the comical scene almost caused his face to break out into a smile, but that indifferent gaze from Noah was similar to cold water being poured over him. He shook his head on impulse to get his thoughts back into the game before he looked back at Noah's confused expression.

"I…I can do that much…I-if that's the only thing I have to do…" Noticing that his response could be taken the wrong way, his voice instinctively lowered to almost a mumble. Noah didn't bother with his tone or lack thereof; he was at least satisfied that he met someone sensible, at least more sensible than what he had to deal with so far.

He didn't want to continue the talk in the room, especially with the bloodied corpse present, which was sure to emit a nauseous smell soon. 

"Well, let's go and get this out the way then, as you can see my day has been hectic and I need to rest for a bit."

Noah proceeded to walk towards the door. Henry subconsciously moved out of his way and was about to follow behind, but something was missing, and he didn't know what it was. Shortly after, he heard someone crying softly, the cry was muffled as if it was being covered up, but it was there.