Chapter Fifteen

Kouvr

The five of us moved down a seemingly empty street. This was the first time I saw one that was this empty. I spun around, brows pulling. There were massive skyscrapers all around us, but each one seemed abandoned. Cars were left, some even still burning.

“Where is everyone?” I asked, stuffing a piece of jerky into my mouth. I wanted to moan. Jerky was getting a bit pricey in the real world, so it was kind of nice to walk into a store and take it.

Food and snacks were all around us in the real world, yet because of money, we always felt like there was not enough. My throat swelled a bit from hurt. I remembered starving nights in the Pits, and I was always so grateful I did not have those nights anymore. I might not be able to get my favorite snacks right now, but I was grateful I was not in a scarcity or lacking mindset. One day, I knew I’d be grateful to get all my favorite snacks whenever I wanted.

“I don’t know,” Cyrus muttered, making me glance back. Something felt off, but I couldn’t tell what. Even Cyrus’s bright blue eyes were searching the area for something. This wasn’t a small city, and the number of zombies that should be surrounding us was more than unthinkable.

So, where was at least one of them?

I stopped in the middle of an intersection, looking both ways like there was traffic. Even the humans that were still fighting for their lives were gone.

Beep! Beep!

A constant, continuous beeping, but it sounded like it was getting… closer.

“What… the…” Theon muttered, reading my thoughts.

A car drifted into view around a corner, its sound now blaring throughout the street. The red fast car pointed its nose at us, barreling towards us.

I took a few steps back, now seeing a giant horde of zombies running after this car.

“Oh fuck,” Kyree said what I was thinking again.

“Move!” Cyrus shouted.

His hands pulled on me, making me turn and run. Glancing back, I saw the driver pull on something, and a loud screech came as he drifted at the intersection we were just at, the alarm still loud.

I couldn’t see much of his features, but I could tell he was a massive, wide guy.

Then, on a pull of the shift, the car went full circle before taking off down the other street. Growls filled the now quiet air, and their pale eyes were on us.

I focused on Kyree and Zelos in front of me and ran away from the massive hoarder behind us.

But were Theon and Cyrus nearby?

Looking to the side, I saw a sea of zombies pouring in from between the houses, creating a divide between Cyrus, Theon, and I.

Kyree, Zelos, and I ran on a porch.

“Wait, where’s Cyrus and-” I questioned, feeling disoriented and overwhelmed.

“Do not stop moving!” Cyrus screamed from a different porch. Theon was next to him.

Kyree burst through the front door, instantly pulling his weapon on the zombie eating someone by the front door.

Bang!

My eyes flinched, and a thud rumbled the floor. My eyes burned from the quick flash, but I could see Zelo’s closing the door behind us. Kyree grabbed my arm, and together, we rushed through the house and out the back door. The yard was fenced in, but I heard a door open somewhere else a few yards away.

Was that Cyrus and Theon? My heart raced, and I almost couldn’t think. Were they okay?

Kyree paused at the end of the giant fence before reaching up and easily lifting himself up.

“Oh, VR gives us strength, too?” I asked, making Zelos laugh behind me.

I glanced back at him, loving how heavy it was.

“No, reach,” Kyree said.

Zelos moved in front of me, cupping his two hands.

Fuck. I stepped on his hand and reached for Kyree. I did nothing as Zelos lifted me to Kyree, who pulled me onto the fence.

Looking down at the other side, I saw Cyrus and Theon waiting. I almost felt like a hindrance, especially as Zelos climbed the fence like it was nothing. But it was a huge fucking fence, I swear.

Cyrus held out his hands as if he was going to catch me. Maybe… these guys like helping me . It was easier for me, but it was hard for them, though none complained or showed signs of struggling.

I brought my legs over to one side and jumped down. His hands grabbed my hips, using his strength to slow down my impact. I bent my knee, leaning forward into him a bit too much and brushing his body with mine. Our eyes met as I steadied myself.

Heat rushed as I remembered the last time we were this close. I wanted so much… much more. My eyes glanced up at the drones still overhead as Kyree and Zelos jumped down beside me.

“Let’s keep moving,” Cyrus said, moving to the front of the group. Together, we didn’t sprint but jogged. The houses gave us a thick, confusing layer for some of the zombies to be unable to find us. A bunch probably still thought we were in the house.

“How many fucking zombies was that? At least two hundred!” I said, glancing down at the tablet on my arm as we ran. The drones were flying overhead, getting a bird’s eye view. We looked like ants, and all around us were hordes of zombies.

“At least,” Kyree muttered.

My mind wandered to the guy who was driving. He was a computer character, wasn’t he? Why wouldn’t he be? He wasn’t a real person. No one was in the game besides us, but what was this vendetta with us? Why would another human—AI or not—jeopardize our survival? Was I missing something to the story?

I ignored these thoughts, following the others. In someone’s yard, I grabbed a shovel to have a weapon that wouldn’t draw more zombies, but we didn’t come across more, leaving the yards to more of the city roads.

After running for a while, the car alarm noise started again, making us all turn around. And it was coming close again.

“Again?” I questioned.

Cyrus stepped forward, pulling a gun out before the loud car drifted around the corner and started barreling towards us.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

I flinched with each noise as Cyrus emptied his clip, but the bullets didn’t seem to slow the driver.

This time, a horde of more than two hundred zombies were on his tail. A few dropped, letting us know the bullets hit something.

“Stupid fucker,” Zelos muttered, reaching for my shovel. “Can I use this?”

I nodded, handing it over. But what the fuck was he going to do with that?

Reeling the shovel back, he stepped forward a few steps before taking off in a short sprint and then launching the shovel through the air. It flew through the air perfectly, and I didn’t expect it to slam into the car’s windshield just as perfectly.

The car swerved, break screeching, but then it drifted and came to a halt before us. Through the slightly tinted window, the figure stuck up his middle finger as his other hand wiped his cheek. Then the A.I. fucker drove away from us, leaving us against with a massive group of zombies.

My boots were heavy against the concrete as I started to run, and the others followed, cursing. This didn’t confirm that that guy was an A.I. There were questions I had, but I wanted to wait until I was safe from these zombies. I bet bites hurt in this game.

Shit, was I safe in this game with that guy?

Glancing back, I saw the worried looks on their faces. Brows furrowed, lips pierced.

Zombies stampeded behind us, and I thought of where to run. My heart was beating in my ear, but the taste of fear was delicious. I loved horror games, enticed by the rush of fear and adrenaline. Many people might not think or like that, like Theon. He didn’t like horror games. It wasn’t his rush, not like the stage.

“There’s a mall around these stores!” Cyrus shouted, pointing to the strip of stores.

A mall was bigger and better than being out in the open.

We sped up. We all pushed ourselves, running to the mall’s main entrance. I skidded to a stop, and Kyree pulled on the door, but it didn’t open. He pulled his weapon from his holster and pointed it at the glass.

My eyes traced the muscles along his forearm. He held the gun like he’d held one before.

“No.” Cyrus pushed the gun down. “The point is to be safe behind the doors. Not force ourselves in.”

“So, what now?!” he snapped.

My eyes caught movement behind the door. I pressed myself to the glass, using my hands to look inside better. Was it a zombie?

People stood there at the end of the entry hallway, eyeing us.

“Hey! Help us!” I pulled on the door, yet they jumped. My lips parted. Their fear to them—A. I. or not—is real. I pushed away. “Let’s keep moving and not bring the zombies here.”

“They are just A.I.s, Kouvr,” Kyree said. “They won’t feel it if they die.”

I glared at him, and instantly, he put up his hands in defense.

“Kouvr?” a voice said, muffled through the window.

I peeked inside, seeing the red-haired woman I saved from this morning.

“You saved me and my daughter. Honey!” she screamed, and a big guy came to her side. “Open it.”

“No,” I shook my head, glancing back at the horde heading our way. “There’s too many out here. I don’t want to risk it for you guys.”

The lady looked at me, lips parting. After a moment, she looked at her husband. “Let them in.”

He looked at her before nodding. Both had made their decision, and he unlocked and opened the door. “Hurry, so we can act like we aren’t here.”

I nodded, and together, we all went in. A few guns from the others were pointed at us. “Are you bit or infected?” the woman asked.

I shook my head. “No.”

“You'll still have to be checked. I’m sorry.”

I almost understood, but did that mean getting butt-naked for someone else? I’d rather it be for the four guys surrounding me like bodyguards.

We followed a guy with a gun through the halls after he jerked his chin for us to. The front doors were relocked behind us.

Kyree pressed himself against a shotgun barrel, smiling like a madman, as he passed one of the A.I.s.

And yet my pussy pulsed. How could my body want someone who seems so crazy? But looking at how guarded these men suddenly were around these people told me something. They might only know, “get them before they get us.” All my men surrounded me like bodyguards in a square. They stood tall, towering over almost everyone we passed.

The guys with the guns pointed at us moved us into some type of nursing office in the mall. One stood in the corner while the red-haired woman entered with her “honey.”

“Jackets off, and please expose as much skin as you can. You have weapons?”

“Military issued,” I informed, shrugging off my jacket with the guys. I was wearing the body suit with the gold chain on.

Together, we all showed our limps or torsos to show we weren’t bitten. Then they shined lights in our eyes.

“What do you know about this attack then?” The woman asked. “Is it military grade? Is it-”

“We don’t know as much as you do,” Cyrus explained. “We were looking for a safe place to try and contact our sergeant, but it hasn’t been good.”

The woman swallowed, believing his lie. “You all are welcome to change or shower. Food is in the food court, some places are still up and running. Please make yourself as comfortable as you can.”

“Their guns,” the guy with the shotgun asked.

“Buck,” the woman sighed. “They are in the military. They deserve to have their weapons as much as you do, if not more.”

Buck sucked on his lack of teeth, moving from the room.

The woman nodded at us, moving away.

I reached for her but stopped myself. “What’s your name?”

“Angelica,” she told me then pointed to the massive Viking-looking guy. “And this is my husband, Justin.”

I smiled. “I’m Kouvr.”

“I remember.”

“This is Cyrus, Kyree, Theon and Zelos.”

“Nice to meet you men and thank you all for your service,” she said, finally moving from the room.

“Based on responses is how people react to you. You come off as loving and trusting,” Cyrus said, nodding.

“I try,” I snorted.

Kyree sucked his teeth. “You don’t think Buck will turn on you from the slightest fuck ups?”

“He turned on you before?”

He shook his head. “I barely remember making this fucker.”

“So, how do you know then?” I asked, sending him a glance.

His shoulder sagged. “I apologize to you and the A.I.s for being so rude and wanting to end them.”

End them? More like kill them. A smiled crossed my lips, passing him. “I have a feeling that’s the first you’ve apologized before.” Now I was just teasing.

He sucked on his teeth. “I just don’t make mistakes often.”

Our eyes met, and I believed him. He wasn’t very good at apologizing, so maybe he did everything to avoid it.

“Time to loot a bit?” I questioned, almost feeling giddy. I loved a shopping spree, and this one was free.

Cyrus nodded with a smile.