Chapter 71

Now that he knew Zac was safe, he turned his mind toward killing the final two zombies on floor twenty-one. Priscilla, by this point, had fully categorised them. One was an ice zombie with a touch of enhanced speed, and the second a typical Hulk. Thick skin and immense strength. Daniel reacted slightly when the mouse supplied those details. Earth armour and speed were the zombies he had learnt to fear.

When he returned downstairs, he found Hua Chua sitting in the stairwell of level twenty-four with sweat glistening on her forehead, and she was puffing heavily.

“What happened?” he asked.

She looked up. “I clean, lots of magic. Very tiring.”

Daniel looked down into the partial darkness and was surprised to see that a lot of the mess was gone. More importantly, the smell had vanished, replaced with fresh clean air. “The bodies?”

“We did that,” Ivey said from behind him. He turned to look at his fighters. “We threw them out the window after scavenging anything useful.” She caught his expression. “It is all in room forty-three.” She pointed. “It was hard to label cores because of the state of the bodies, but we did our best.”

“Later,” Daniel declared. “There are two more zombies to take care of, a Hulk and an ice mage. I am going to draw them into the stairwell.” Daniel went into the freshly smelling space and immediately saw the dried bloodstains. While Hua Chu had got rid of the mess, she had obviously baked in the worst of the stains rather than extract them all together. Not that he cared. There were no slippery body parts to trip over and, just as importantly, no smell. The walls now having an interesting-looking paint job did not bother him in the least.

Thirty percent of his traps were still intact, and he repositioned them to create a new kill zone. His plan was to stand on the landing on floor twenty-two and meet them. It was unlikely they could scramble up to flights of steps, but even if they did, he was confident that his abilities and his club could take care of them, anyway.

Priscilla, bring them, he thought while using his magic to open the door. He was not helpless. Restraint vines criss-crossed the space in front of him, which would slow the zombies if they reached that far and Ingrid, Ivey, and Tamara were on the steps leading up, ready and able to supply support.

Through his eyes, he saw Priscilla trying to bait the zombies. “Help,” he yelled, but if they heard, they did not noticeably react.

Bite them.

Distaste washed up from the mouse, but he saw her go for the ice zombie, biting it on the soft skin between its toes. It blurred forward, but Priscilla was moving faster. The zombie chased her out the door.

“Help,” he hollered again.

“ARRRGGG.” A blood curling scream was unleashed from right behind him. Daniel turned, bringing his club up defensively only to see Ivey smiling. Priscilla showed him both zombies running towards them.

“Again,” he ordered.

“ARRRGGG.”

They paused at the base of the door, refusing to come up.

“Again,” he whispered.

“ARRRGGG.” It was shockingly loud in the stairwell. Echoing. The door next to them shuddered as a heavy body slammed against it. Floor twenty-two was not yet cleared, and he wondered if maybe this was the wrong call.

The door to his left trembled as the monster slammed into it once more.

Ivey was backing away up the stairs, making space from the potential threat. Daniel touched the wood and then sighed in relief. It was not even close to breaking.

There was another image from Priscilla. The two zombies below were retreating, shambling away no longer interested in coming up. They had not taken the bait. Something about the stairwell worried them, or maybe they had seen their companions die within their depths.

There was another thump next to them.

“Don’t worry, it won’t break,” Daniel assured the others. “We are not in any danger.” The zombies below were still retreating. “And those two will not take the bait. We are going to have to fight them on the floor below.”

“RARRAG,” the zombie behind the solid door roared in frustration. Daniel ignored it, as there was no way it would get through.

“That sounds . . .” Tamara said, nodding.

“Like a childish tantrum,” Daniel responded absently. She smiled, even as the door shook again. Some dust fell from the ceiling.

“Are you sure it can’t break through?” Ivey asked.

Daniel checked. The wooden structure was completely undamaged, but there was more to look at than just the wood. He checked the sides and the anchor points. Despite the dust, the brickwork was still solid. With a flick of power, he grew the anchors further, extending the roots that were holding the door in place through the hollow bricks that filled the wall behind the plaster. He had learnt more about how highrises were built this week than in his whole life.

“Positive. Get the rest of the team. We are going to have to set up defences below.” Below him, the door to the lower level slammed closed, sealing the two zombies away just in case they changed their mind. If Daniel and his companions were going out in the corridor as opposed to fighting in the stairwell, they would need additional restraints. Controlling the battlefield was critical to protecting themselves. There were plenty available on floor twenty-four, so he walked up with the others. “Dave, can you help?”

“Raraf.”

They grabbed two rolls of restraints each and then walked down together. While Daniel was clearing the traps and adjusting them to be moveable once more, Ivey brought the other fighters down. She was telling the new fighters how they were going to approach it. Get out, quickly but quietly place the traps down, and then when ready, lure them to their death.

“And then they will die.” She was smiling, confident and happy while directing everything. Calculating angles and the explosive power of the different traps.

Priscilla sent him an image: they were back in the room from earlier. Daniel put a finger on his lips and then silently, the door swung open.

It was killing time.

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