The trio proceeded with caution, making their way through the hoard. As they made their way through the hoard, they encountered more zombies on the second floor, most of them separated from each other and away from the group. It seemed like none would pay any attention to them so long as they stayed quiet. That didn’t last long, however, as the creaking wooden floors didn’t help their stealth all that much.

  Ryan, Karin, and Mike knew they had to pick up the pace in order to make it out alive. As much as they wanted to escape without causing trouble, they knew it wouldn’t be an option, as some zombies blocked their line of sight. With no other way around them, Mike readied his bat and swung at it full swing, causing it to fall over the railing and hit the ground hard. Karin saw an opportunity to use the shovel and whack another creature, knocking it into the one next to it as they fell, breaking a part of the railing in the process.

  The zombies from the corners turned to the source of the sound and crept closer to the group. The trio picked up the pace as they headed to the flight of stairs. They stopped in their tracks, finding many more zombies waiting for them at the bottom of the staircase. They hadn’t noticed the group yet, but were still close enough to potentially get into contact and attack if one wasn’t careful.

  There would be no way to avoid this without a fight, but even then, it’d be challenging to win. Ryan bit his lip; they had to come up with something.

  Karin glanced up at the awning between the first and second floors and sighed.

  “Okay, I have an idea. It’s a risk, but you’ll have to trust me on this.”

  Mike sighed in turn. “Alright. We don’t have much of a choice either.”

  Karin took out her backpack and dug into it, searching for something.

  Ryan hid behind Mike while he readied his weapon and took on an offensive stance.

  “Do I need to buy you time?”

  “Nah, I got it.”

  “Ok, hurry.”

  Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

  Karin pulled out two disgusting meat packets from earlier, readied her arm, and then threw them over the zombie’s heads. The stuff caught their attention as they turned to walk over to the source.

  The trio lowered their guards, but only for a moment.

  “Good work,” Mike said, craning his neck. “That’ll buy us some time to devise a new plan out of here.”

  “Wow, was that a compliment I heard?” Karin teased, hoisting the backpack up.

  “Not the time.”

  Ryan glanced back at the stairs. The monsters down there hadn’t noticed the group yet, but were still blocking the path. He hated admitting it but couldn’t find another way out of this mess. It looked like that was their only ticket out.

  Jumping over the railing down from that height would prove fatal, regardless of whether they landed on the floor or table. Even if Mike and Karin knew how to parkour and roll, they’d still risk getting close to a zombie unprepared. Plus, Ryan wasn’t in the best state to perform a dangerous stunt.

  Ryan’s eyes darted back and forth, hoping they’d have an idea in time. No matter what they plan for, they have to take the new guy into consideration, especially since he doesn’t have the energy or willpower to make many of their options. No additional stairs to descend or windows to climb out from. Neither of them brought rope to tie and slide down, but even that had its own share of issues to consider.

  Mike glanced over the awning, examining where the zombies were coming from and which areas they were most frequent in. He also mentally checked where the tunnel (with the staircase) began and ended. He rubbed his chin in thought before snapping his fingers.

  “Maybe we don’t need an alternate path after all.”

  “Wanna run it quick?” Karin asked, glancing at the horde. “I don’t think it’ll keep them for much longer.”

  “Karin, do you still have those meat packets?”

  “You bet I do. I brought them with me for—”

  “Yeah, I know. Throw one over there.” Mike said, pointing in a direction down below. “That should draw attention away from us.”

  “You got it.” She turned around. She hadn’t zipped up her backpack yet. “Grab it, hurry!”

  Mike rolled his eyes and dug into the backpack. He plugged his nose as he pulled out the meat packet and handed it to her. Karin readied her aim and threw it over the railing.

  Splat. The packet slammed onto the ground, its contents and juice splattering across the floorboards. A horde took notice of the smell it gave off and roamed towards it. Ryan peeked at the entryway again; zombies walked away from the stairs and followed the source of the smell. He gave a weak thumbs-up to the duo, letting them know the coast was clear. Mike and Karin ran ahead, with Ryan following behind.