Despite Luka's order to not move a muscle, my instincts told me otherwise. I was beginning to hyperventilate. If I couldn't handle the small group of zombies at the school, how am I expected to deal with this whole hoard?

Rather than hoist me over his shoulders like usual, Luka instead gave me a piggyback as he made his way towards a tall tree. "Climb." He commanded.

I've never been much of a climber, so this could pose a problem. Please don't let my poor strength fail me now! As I clumsily made my way up the tree, I felt my heart skip a beat as one of the branches started to break.

I clung to the tree as tightly as possible. If koalas can do this for a living, then so can I!

To my relief, my weight was just light enough to keep it from snapping any further.

Once I was high enough, I found myself giving into fatigue as I nearly passed out from the exhaustion. I don't know how much more stress I can bear at this rate.

Once I saw the hoard slowly come into frame from below, my exhaustion quickly disappeared.

As I sat up stiffly, I covered my mouth in fear. I don't think zombies are good climbers, but then again, I shouldn't underestimate the enemy here. I had hoped Luka had a plan for getting rid of the zombies, but to my dismay, it would appear that his grand solution was simply to play along with the mob.

As Luka limped around aimlessly looking for me, I wanted to bang my head on the tree in frustration. C'mon think of a way to distract them or something—

Wait. I don't need Luka to distract them when I can just do it myself! But I'll have to be strategic about it. One wrong move and I'm toast!

I don't really have many options so the best thing I could come up with is to quietly snap a twig from the tree. Sure, I could throw it in the opposite direction, hoping that it'll catch their attention. Or I could guarantee it attracting them by taking a certain risk...

I tore off the bottom of my white t-shirt and using the fabric I tied it around the stick. With this, my scent is sure to attract and divert their attention!

As I aimed the stick above my head, I released it like a throwing dart off into the distance. It may have not gone as far as I had likened it to, but it was still far enough to guarantee my safety.

As all of the zombies were instantly drawn to the soft thud, even Luka looked off into the direction in which it landed. But as the hoard quickly dispersed to investigate the noise, Luka redirected his attention back up towards me. Rather than look relieved, he adorned a stern face that didn't put my worries to rest.

Regardless of his thoughts on the plan, we didn't have a choice but to make a break for it right now. As I quickly climbed down the tree, I paused when I noticed Luka standing there with wide-open arms. Rather than risk making any more unnecessary sounds by dropping down myself, I instead leapt safely and quietly into Luka's arms.

I had thought the plan went rather smoothly, but I could tell that Luka didn't agree with me. As he quickened his pace while still holding me in his arms, he leaned into my ear to whisper. "They will track your scent now."

Oh fuck. I didn't think zombies knew how to do that. I'm beyond screwed right now!

Just as I thought it couldn't get any worse, a couple of zombies had already caught onto where we were headed as we were ambushed from the front.

Luka quickly dropped me to the ground as he viciously attacked two of the three zombies before us. I had to think quick on my feet as the other zombie came lunging straight for me. I quickly dodged to the side and grabbed a nearby branch for protection.

As I held the branch before myself, I used it to block the zombie from biting me. He may not have been as strong as Luka, but he sure as hell matched me strength-wise. As I felt my limited luck start to run dry, Luka came to my rescue just in the nick of time.

As he pulled the zombie off of me, he then tore its head off with ease. As the zombie's black blood splattered straight on my face, my weak constitution kicked in as I keeled over and vomited my guts out.

If given the chance, I would've just sat there trying to expel everything I could from my stomach, but that wasn't going to slide with Luka. To my dismay, he was hellbent on getting me back up on my feet as he pulled me along by the hand.

As we finally made our way out of the forest and onto the vacant country road, I wanted to drop to the ground and finally catch my breath. But I knew better than to call it a victory just yet. The rest of the hoard was still hot on our trail as I could hear their footsteps gaining in on us.

We only had one last hope left. And it came in the form of wheels in the distance. If the high-speed van approaching us didn't stop, then I'd be just about dead. Not wanting to take that risk, I knew I had to play it dangerous.

I stood centre of the road and flayed my arms around like a madwoman to try and catch their attention. However, the speed of the vehicle didn't slow down. At this rate, it seems like I might die from a traffic accident sooner than a zombie bite.

As I felt my whole life flash before my eyes, I was quickly brought back to reality by Luka's arm shooting out right before me. He stopped the van with just his hand.

My chest was practically heaving as I found myself panting in shock. But just as I was about to thank Luka for saving my life, the sound of a man sticking his head out the now open car door caught my attention.

"What the fu—" The hoard of zombies which were now outside of the forest were quickly approaching us. "Ah, shit! Get in quick!"