Chapter 501

Chapter 501 Running Out of Time
Chapter 501 Running Out of Time
“Alright, enough stalling!”
Theresa’s voice cut through the air like a whip, sharp and bossy.
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“Clock’s ticking. Either cough up your share and stay with me, or take your stuff and run. Up to you!”
Desmond’s jaw clenched as he scanned the faces in front of him, most already showing cracks of doubt and fear. The team was disintegrating.
“Fine,” he snapped, tossing a bundle of supplies toward Cecilia’s group. “If you’re splitting, then split.”
Half of the loot was given to her people, while the rest was thrust into Theresa’s hands. Desmond was left with only ten exhausted, jittery survivors behind him.
A low, bone–chilling howl rolled up from below.
Rarghh!
Zombies came flying up, slamming onto the fifth floor like rabid beasts. Their claws scraped against the concrete, screeching as they scrambled and tore their way toward the sixth.
Desmond shouted the command loudly, his voice steady despite the chaos below. He ripped a piece of the tabletop, using it as a shield, and moved to block the stairwell.
His crew quickly followed, armed with pipes, knives, and makeshift weapons from nearby, their feet set firmly as they prepared for the approaching wave of monsters.
Cecilia remained on the stairs above, her group burdened with supplies. They gazed down at the scene below, torn between guilt and relief.
“You’ll regret it!” she yelled down, her voice cracking more than she intended.
She swung her bag higher on her back and took off, Matthew and the others at her heels.
By the time they hit the seventh floor, their luck ran dry. A ten–foot gap loomed above them, like a cruel joke.
Cecilia’s heart sank. “How the hell are we supposed to climb that?”
Theresa’s crew had vaulted down earlier with ease, but this was no jump down. This was a climb up. None of them had that kind of spring.
The group fidgeted in panic, each second wasted tightening the knot in their stomachs. Then Cecilia had a sudden idea.
“The elevator shaft! There’s a ladder in there. If we get to it, we’re golden.”
No one argued. They bolted for the elevator.
Matthew, blessed with a strength–type ability, wedged a crowbar between the doors. Metal groaned and screeched until the gap split open.
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Chapter 501 Running Out of Time
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A black void stretched before them. The shaft felt endless, like a throat waiting to swallow them whole.
Matthew peered into the dark shaft, scanning up and down until his eyes found the ladder attached to the right wall. It wasn’t very close–just far enough to make reaching it challenging from the doorway.
He adjusted his backpack straps, grasped the frame with one hand, and lunged forward. His thick fingers wrapped around the cold metal rung, gripping it tightly as he pulled himself up.
Seeing him climb, Cecilia hurried to catch up. She wasn’t tall enough, so she stretched, fingertips grazing the air. With a desperate push, she lunged and barely grasped the ladder.
Her heart pounded in her chest as her heavy backpack slipped from her shoulder. Potatoes pressed against the fabric, nearly falling out with each step. She gritted her teeth and kept climbing, too frightened to stop and fix it.
Behind her, a married couple took their turn. The husband went first, steadying himself against the wall to offer his hand.
His wife moved closer, gripping the doorframe with white knuckles before leaning in. She extended her hand, fingertips touching his. A look of relief crossed her face as their hands finally connected.
That was when it happened.
A shower of potatoes tumbled loose from above, bouncing and clattering against the steel walls.
The sudden weight shift threw the husband off balance. He slipped, his grip dragging her with him. “No!” “My potatoes!” Cecilia exclaimed.
The cries overlapped, twisted with panic.
The wife plunged into the abyss.
The sound that followed was sickening.
Thud.
Her body hit bottom, bones snapping like twigs. Blood sprayed against the shaft walls. Her skull burst on impact, mashed against a stray potato. Red and yellow smeared together, dripping into her eyes, her mouth, stuffing her face with a grotesque mix of flesh and pulp.
For a moment, silence. Then came the crash.
Boom!
The first–floor elevator door buckled.
Zombies spilled in like a flood, snarling as they threw themselves onto the fresh corpse.
Rarghh.
They swarmed her body, jaws snapping, bones cracking under their bite as they tore off flesh like starving. wolves fighting over a kill.
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Chapter 501 Running Out of Time
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The Level 2 zombies, more agile and swift, suddenly tilted their heads upward. Their yellow eyes caught the flicker of movement.
They scrambled up the ladder, hand over hand and foot over foot, like predators tracking prey.
“Climb! Don’t look back!” Cecilia shricked, her voice raw with terror. Her hands flew over the rungs. knuckles white as she dragged herself higher.
Meanwhile, down on the sixth floor, the stairwell shook with every impact.
Zombies repeatedly crashed into the barricade, piling up as they attacked. Desmond and his team pushed back using tabletops, their effort visible in their strained muscles and sweat–drenched brows. Each successive wave pushed them further into retreat.
Below, the zombie horde continued to thicken. The third floor was already a writhing mass of bodies, with the pressure pushing them upward.
By the fourth floor, the swarm resembled a wall of flesh stacked
upon
itself.
The fifth floor became a launch pad, with waves of zombies rushing toward the barricade like cannon fire.
It wouldn’t hold much longer. ᴜᴘᴅᴀᴛᴇ ꜰʀᴏᴍ
Theresa glanced at her watch, her eyes narrowing. Half an hour gone. Where the hell is Lucas?
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