Chapter 12: Condominium

I'm lost, and my head hurts.

I've passed buildings, highways, and even an entire railroad overpass. All of these paths were picked randomly with the sole purpose of getting as far away from my former base as I could. I am actually not planning to move to this part. I was forced to take bends due to the abandoned vehicles scattered around the road, the occasional debris and broken buildings that blocked certain paths, and even holes that always forced me to slow down, or else I would go splat on the streets.

I don't know where I am. I just picked the roads randomly. I just passed by a sign awhile ago, and I recall reading Chuo Ward on it. I think that was still within Chiba?

I don't know if I actually managed to get far. I just took random paths and hoped that I'd gotten far from that hellscape. The roads were dark. The lamp I put in the front basket of this bike could only illuminate five meters at most. It was hard to even call it fully lighting up my path due to the two-inch square openings of this basket. There were many shadowed lines blurring my path forward, and as the light also hit me in the face, I couldn't just look down as it would flash me.

Well, I wasn't familiar with my surroundings, so maybe I did manage to get far. I just have to hope it was as far as I was hoping for, because I can't handle this headache anymore!

I stopped at a large condominium just near the overpass, and I was just planning to park the bike on the side when I stopped as I realized.

Right, this is the apocalypse. There is no need to park my bike as if this is still a civilized world. In fact, there is a high chance some survivors see it and decide to take it on their own. A bike is one of the better ways of transportation right now because it doesn't need fuel, and it's faster to travel with it and quite convenient too, even if the road has obstacles in it. So it is quite possible for someone to just take it.

I need this bike for my survival, so I'll have to bring it with me!

With those thoughts in mind, I brought it along with me, stopping by at the entrance of this condominium. The door was wide open, so I simply had to enter.

I frowned at the sight of the condominium. I've been getting used to the smell as it permeated everywhere on the street, but it was still a shock to see copious amounts of dried blood and bits of unknown flesh scattered around the floor. It made me hesitate whether I should stay or not.

"Ghk!"

I can't. I don't have much time!

The building pain in my head told me otherwise. So I have to settle in this building and at least rest. I needed several hours to fill up my mana again and get rid of this horrible headache.

If this place is dangerous, then I'll leave immediately after a rest, but if it's safe, then I'll be using this as my new base!

But for now, I have to go upstairs. I brought my bike along with me. If I'm not holding it, then it won't come along with me when I jump back to the real world. Now that I've decided to use this bike as my mode of transportation, I can't afford to leave it alone!

This place is bloody, so that means zombies or other types of monsters are gathered on this floor. That is obvious. Usually, zombies roam the streets. The entrance will usually be overflowing with them. I'll have to go up the stairs!

So I walked around until I found the stairs. The height of each step made me frown, but it couldn't be helped. I wrapped one of my arms around the body of the bike and used my free hand to grip the front of the bike before hefting it up.

I quickly regret bringing the bike with me. It's heavy!

But I can't afford to leave it alone, so I endure it.

Ugh... my head hurts. My arm hurts, and my entire body feels so sore. I am also feeling sleepy. It's the middle of the night when those zombies reach me, so I don't have time to sleep at all!

Why is this happening to me? I hate this! This whole apocalypse is stupid!

Even as I complained within my mind, I resumed my trek within the building. Climbing the flight of stairs was tiring. The sound of my breathing echoed in my ears. My lungs burned with the amount of effort I've been pushing on my body.

I'm so tired...

But I have to do it.

I am so close. Just a few more steps and I can take a rest.

After I find a safe room, I'll take a nap as soon as possible.

I keep telling myself that as I walk on the stairs, hauling a bike while using the bare amount of light the lamp reflects around the square holes on the basket, which made it possible for me to navigate the stairs without tripping.

It didn't take long before I got to the last set of stairs.

"Ugh..."

I put the bike down and then hold onto it as I take a few mouthfuls of air. While taking a moment to get my breathing, I glance around and notice the lack of bloodstains around this area.

That is a good sign!

My brief time on the streets made me contemplate it, and I've made a conjecture.

Do bloodstains indicate whether a zombie has come here or not?

I do recall the floor I have been staying on doesn't have it when I'm scavenging. It was only when zombies got to my room that I saw their bloody footprints in the hallways. If that is the case, it gave me a hint of whether a zombie was there or not.

This is important. I am vulnerable when I jump back to the real world. If I jump back and find myself surrounded by zombies, I'm dead!

So knowing whether a zombie is present in my current location is important. The bloodstains will be my guide to it.

Hopefully, my assumption is right, because if I'm wrong... well, I don't want to think about it...

"Okay, I've rested enough. Ghrk! Ugh, my head!" I clutched the side of my head, nursing it with my free hand as I forced myself to move while pushing the bike forward with my pace.

I cannot rest yet. I'm still at the alternate dimension, draining my mana dry. My vision is spinning for a bit, and I feel like fainting from this headache. So despite my tiredness, I hasten my pace.

I walked towards one of the rooms that was already open. Seeing the mess inside the room made me frown for a bit, but without the bloodstains in it, it makes me hopeful.

"... I don't have time to think about this!"

I want to pick a more appropriate room, but once again, there is no time. I'll have to go back to the real world before I run out of mana.

So, after pushing the bike inside this messy room, I focused within myself for a moment and willed myself to return to the original world in my current location. The familiar sensation of being yanked back pulled my body, and then the deafening silence in the world suddenly returned with clarity.

The first thing I heard was the sound of groaning from below. The second was a wet slurping sound from the outside. I am curious but decided to dwell on that later.

Securing the room has to be done first!

Despite the pressure on my head vanishing, the pain still lingered, and I felt my brain throbbing. Even with that, I turn around and immediately close the wide open door. The creaks of the door and the loud click on the knob after I secured its lock made me flinch, and I stilled for a moment, holding onto my breath and waiting for something to happen. When nothing happened, I let out a sigh of relief.

Good... I don't hear the sounds of footsteps coming towards this room. I'm safe!

Next is checking the room. Before I do that, I put the backpack on the floor.

"Ah... finally." Even in relief and feeling a bit safe, I still spoke in whispers. There are definitely some zombies below this floor. I can't afford to attract them!

Ugh... I want to lay my head on a pillow and take a deep rest. I'm so tired and sore all over!

Before that, I have to check the room. I don't plan on using this as my new base due to the presence of the zombies below, but I have to check anyway whether something is in this room or not. There might be something useful in this room that can help me with my survival. There might also be a monster within this room. I'll be sleeping here, so I have to be thorough.

So with a heavy, aching head and sore limbs, I drag my body towards the interior of the room. I take the power lamp and point it forward to me as I look around.

The room is quite standard. After the entrance path, it leads to a room that has sofas, a table, a TV, and a dress rack. Another section of the room shows another table with multiple wooden chairs around it, a fridge on the side, and a railing partition that leads to another section of the room that has pantries, cabinets, and kitchen utensils. Respectively, I categorize each section as the living room, the dining room, and the kitchen.

I walk around for a bit and don't see anything around this room. In the dining room there is a door leading to another room. I've already checked everything in this LDK section, so the only room left is that one. The door is closed, so I feel a bit hesitant to open it. I look around for a bit, and not seeing anything, I decide to press my ear on that door to check if there is anything in there.

I don't hear anything even as I take my time just staying like that. Now feeling a bit emboldened, I straighten my posture and then reach my hand to the doorknob and then twist it. The creaking noise it made as I gently pushed it made me wince, but I immediately calmed myself and looked around after fully opening the door.

If I have to explain the state of the room inside, I'll say it is akin to a place that has been hit by a storm. The large, two-person bed in there is a mess, the blanket splayed on the floor. The side that leads to a veranda just beyond the room is the messiest. Wooden splinters are scattered messily on the floor, and I see signs of wood nailed to the side of the wall in it. Parts of what I assume to be from drawers and cabinets lay everywhere near that veranda, and beyond the veranda is a broken glass sliding door. The section where curtains were usually hung was tilted, while beyond the glass doors I could barely see the broken floors of the veranda and the bent railings, as if something dragged the railings with brute strength.

The sound of slurping is also strong in this room. It is coming from outside.

Whatever it is, I don't want to find out!

I immediately close the door and walk back towards my backpack and bike.

I regret opening that door, as whoever is beyond those windows seems to have heard me. I hear it clearly!

The sound of distant slurping stopped, and then, I felt a ringing in my mind, as if alarm bells were ringing repeatedly in my ears. My whole body tensed up, and my exhaustion was quickly forgotten as I stared at the door with all of my attention.

I gripped the sling of my bag, already preparing to flee at the slightest hint of that door moving.

I waited...

I waited for more...

All of my senses are focused on that door. My ears are feeling quite sensitive due to the sense of crisis in my life. I hear the sound of liquid dropping against a pool of some sort and the squelch of something rubbery stretching. The following sticky noise made me jump to my feet, and I gripped the handle of the golf club sticking out of the opening of my backpack while wishing within myself...

Please, don't open the door!

Please, let me rest!

Please, don't let it come here!

A tense silence stretched into eternity despite knowing within my mind that it was simply a few seconds.

I waited once more... and then…

The sound of some sort of thing slithering through liquid graced my ears, the noise growing distant until it stopped, before it returned into another distant slurping sound from the outside.

A mouthful of air I hadn't noticed I'd been holding left my mouth as a large amount of relief overwhelmed my body. I felt so weak that I could only sit on the floor while still gripping the handle of the golf club.

... I can't sleep like this, but I can't leave. I don't have enough mana!

So I don't have any choice. I have to stay here.

So I can only rest by sitting on the floor beside the entrance door. Going to the sofa might be better if I want to take a nap at least, but I can't.

No... I don't want to.

My legs felt like lead. Even if I force it, they refuse to move!

I am scared.

I don't want to move. I felt like if I did so, that monster from beyond might take notice.

So I was rooted on the spot, my heart beating loudly even as the threat had passed.

There is only one thing in my mind.

I have to stay still. Be alert to everything while I recover my mana.

So I sit there on the floor, staring at the door leading to that bedroom. Even if I don't sleep, it is fine. I have to force myself awake, and fear is a great factor for staying awake!

I spend my time like that while gripping the handle of my golf club. It gave me relief, though it wasn't enough to fully ease my fears.