Monsters were distributed in grades. The normal monsters were the ones they killed on the road. 99% of the monsters are in this category.

The Rare monsters are the ones Matt killed. Those 3m uglies.

Then came the 'Elite' rank monster, the one that Ashton and Sam killed together. As the grades passed the monsters become more powerful. More frightening.

"M-M-M-M-M-My place is just 5 minutes away from here. W-W-W-W-We can get in there in no time." Sam stuttered.

He didn't know whether he should cry or laugh right now. He was happy now he could go home and see his family. But sad when he saw the situation they were in.

“Start walking then. I am behind you.” Matt whispered as he slowly rubbed Ashton’s face.

“No. Let me. I will take care of Ashton and you kill anyone who gets in the way. We can’t waste any more time here." Sam replied as he hurriedly wiped his tears and picked Ashton in a bridal way.

Matt didn't say anything. He just stood up and start walking outside of the mall. And truly all the monsters ran away when they went outside. It was the same as before when they were running in fear. This time he knows what they were running from.

There are more awakens like the once Sam and Ashton killed. There must be. There has to be. There got to be.

Well, at least the growl they heard before was more powerful than the growl of the one they killed just now.

"My house is on the other side of the street," Sam whispered as he showed the way.

No monster got in their way. No. It is right to say. Every monster within 500 m ran away. And within 3 minutes they stood in front of Sam’s house.

It was big.

Calling it the house would be an understatement. It was as big as a bungalow but it was covered with walls from all four sides.

Security was tight. CCTV's were all over the place. And the door was still intact. That means no awaken attacked this place yet.

Sam opened the gate directly. They hurriedly went inside the house. The house was silent. Too silent. The more silent it was the more fear Sam felt seeping inside of his heart but he ignored it and without saying crossed the hall and directly went upstairs and entered the third room.

Sam put Ashton down on the bed as he stuttered “I-I-I-I-I-I-I will see if my brother is here. H-H-H-H-H-He will know what to do.”

Matt looked at Sam and just nodded.

Sam hurriedly went outside to look for his siblings.

Matt who was silent and calm from the beginning has now had tears running down from his face. His eyes were bloody red. He still couldn't believe what he was seeing.

Ashton's whole body was black burning like charcoal. His skin was charred. His hairs were gone. His breathing was shallow. And he couldn't do anything but just look.

"A-A-A-A-A-A-A-Ash." Matt stuttered. He opened his mouth to say something but nothing came out except Ashton's name. And then everything came rushing to him. Terror, fear, panic. He felt himself shuddering.

At the end of the day, he was just a nine-year-old kid. He has nothing except his Ash. And now his Ash was lying on the bed. All burnt. And he didn't know what to do. For the first time in his life, he felt so useless.

"C-C-C-C-C-C-Cards. Yes. Cards. Cards can save him. T-T-T-T-T-T-Those purple cards. I-I-I-I-I-It helped his breathing stabilized. If I find more and made him crush more then it will all be alright. Y-Y-Y-Y-Y-Y-Yes. I-I-I-I-I-I-I just needs to kill more awakens. G-G-G-G-G-G-Get more purple cards. A-A-A-A-A-And Ashton will wake up." Matt mumbled as he smiled but tears were still falling from his eyes. He just nodded his head like he finally found the solution.

“J-J-J-J-J-J-Just need to kill more. U-U-U-U-U-Until I find enough purple cards. B-B-B-B-B-But first, i-i-i-i-i-i-I need to wait for Sam to bring his brother and check Ashton up. T-T-T-T-T-T-Then I will kill, kill, kill, kill, kill, kill, kill. U-U-U-U-U-Until I found a solution. T-T-T-T-T-T-T-This game world has to have a solution. I-I-I-I-I-I just need to find one. Y-Y-Y-Y-Y-Y-You need to be strong Matty. F-F-F-F-F-For your Ash you need to be strong." Matt mumbled.

The more he mumbled the more his emotions stabilized. The more he reasoned himself. And he only came to two solutions.

Kill until there were enough purple cards or find an item that can save Ashton's life.

………………….

Sam's house layout is pretty simple, at least that's what it looks like.

On the ground floor, there is a big hall, kitchen, a restroom.

On the first floor, there are three bedrooms, one guest room, a library.

And the second floor is restrictive, only Sam and his younger brother Chris use it. Others are prohibited from entering it.

But other than that, there is one more room that is not known to anyone besides Sam and Chris, not even their younger sister Jade has any clue about it.

Sam knew if Chris and others are in the house then they must be hiding there. Other than that, there is no place for anyone to hide in this house. Moreover, that room is fully loaded. Food, weapons, phone, laptop, generator, first aid kit, anything, and everything can be found in that room. It was made as an emergency bunker by Sam.

Without wasting any time Sam ran towards the library. There is a secret passage there which leads directly to the underground bunker.

No one enters the library besides the family members. Even the workers need permission to clean it.

Sam entered the library, went to the third book cabinet, kicked the below two times, then paused, then two times, then paused, and then three times.

With a click, the sixth book cabinet which was at the end, pinned with the wall sidestepped. Sam ran and entered it. Some stairs were going downstairs. There was only enough space for one person to walk at a time. Sam hurriedly descended the stairs and saw the door locked.