The End Of Life

Turning around the corner, David searched for the nearest fuel station as he drove. Mark looked out for any zombies on the road. Kevin and Suzie sat in the truck behind them, following their lead. 

"Ugh, there is no fuel station in the area at all. Should we just go back to the one near the museum?" Asked Mark, feeling irritated. After finishing the fuel problem, they still had to search for a place to hide the truck and then find the military base in the city. Mark could only sigh seeing all the problems. 

"Now don't get irritated, Mark. If I remember correctly, there should be one right around this area." Consoled David, looking out for fuel stations. 

Mark turned towards David and asked suspiciously, "Don't you live in Stargaze city? How do you know Evergreen City so well?" Looking into his eyes. 

David chuckled hearing him and said nonchalantly, "Well yes, as I told you before I work in a rather famous hospital and it has many branches in the nation. I mainly work in Stargaze City's hospital branch. But I also had to travel to Evergreen city's branch to treat patients a lot of times. So because of this, I know the city well in a way." Waving his hand. 

"Hmm, it seems like you are relatively a big shot in your hospital." Keeping his hands behind his head and leaning on the seat more comfortable. 

David let out another chuckle and said, "Well, let's just say I am better than most people in the hospital. I won't say I am the best, there is so much to learn even for me." 

Mark only sighed hearing him and looked out as they crossed a block. He suddenly became happy and said pointing out of the window, "David, there. A fuel station, it's after 3 blocks. Come, let's go." 

David looked to the side and couldn't see that far. But he turned the jeep around and made his way towards where Mark pointed. He trusted Mark's powers and didn't question them. Mark finally exhaled in relief when he luckily noticed the fuel station with his enhanced eyesight a few blocks away. 

Kevin and Suzie followed them quietly, and they finally reached the fuel station. Mark smiled as David stopped the jeep inside the station and got out of the car. But as he stepped out, he suddenly felt chills run down his spine. He looked around and found nothing. 

He frowned at the sudden sensation. He found something wrong when he stepped out of the jeep. Something which made his instincts tingling. This happened after he 'adapted' to the present situation. It only happens when he encounters dangers and only happened during fights till now. 

"What happened, Mark? Is there a problem?" Asked David when he noticed Mark standing like a statue. 

Mark did not reply immediately and shook his head after a few seconds. The truck also stopped by the side and Kevin got down with Suzie. Kevin went straight for the pump and turned on the machine. But no petrol came out of the pipe. He went back to the machine and noticed the indicator on it showed there was still some petrol left. 

"There seems to be a problem. We should probably go and check the control room for these machines inside the store." He turned towards Mark. Mark nodded and looked at David and Suzie before saying, "Both of you stay here. We will go inside and check the problem." Kevin went and took his AK 47 from the truck. 

David and Suzie gave a nod and Mark made his way inside the small store in the station with Kevin. Mark took out his sword and looked around as they entered the small store. He looked for the door leading to the staff room. Kevin tugged his shirt and pointed at the door on the far behind. 

Mark gave a nod, and they slowly made their way towards the end. Mark continued to look around and found something really strange. There were no zombies in the store. This made him frown. He did not relax and instead became more conscious of the situation. 

As they reached the door, Mark stopped Kevin from opening the door and whispered, "Let's be careful. I get the wrong vibes from this place. So let's go slowly." Kevin looked at him and gave a nod. Mark slowly reached out for the door and slowly turned the knob. 

He slowly opened the door and peeped in. He found only one zombie in the small hallway with 3 rooms. He could see the control room was to the far right while the manager and staff room were to the left. He gave Kevin a signal to wait and slowly got into the hallway. The zombie faced the other side, making it easier for him to approach it. 

As he crossed the staffroom which was closed, he reached the zombie and quickly sliced its head off in one sweep. As the zombie's body fell down, Mark suddenly felt something was not right and jumped back. As he did, he noticed a purple liquid from the manager's room to the left. He looked at the wall and noticed it corroded. 

Mark's eyes went wide seeing this as he saw a purple zombie make its way out of the manager's room. His face was pale as he looked at the bald purple zombie. It was like any other regular zombie but in purple and cracks on its skin. He regained his composure when he noticed its cheeks bloat as it seemed to be ready to spit something out. 

He immediately crawled back while facing the zombie and watched it spit on the place he previously was in. The floor became black in that area and the carpet corroded with some cement beneath it. 

He did not think more when he saw the zombie getting ready to spit once again and threw the sword right at its chest. The sword easily pierced it as it fell back. Unlike the normal black blood, purple blood spilled out from it as it slowly tried to stand back up. The blood corroded the carpet. 

Mark hesitantly stood up when he noticed the zombie slowly standing up and took out his gun. He aimed at the zombie and rained down bullets. He stopped after shooting a couple of times and noticed the zombie was dead. He sighed in relief and went near the body. The blood was oozing out from it as it stained the carpet and corroded it. 

But his attention was not on the body, but rather on his sword, which was embedded into its body. 'I hope it does not corrode the sword. It most likely is.' sighing to himself. He did not touch the handle as there were a few stains of blood on it. But even with some blood, it did not corrode, which made Mark have some hope. 

He looked back first and said, "Come in, Kevin. It's safe now." And the door opened as Kevin came in tightly, grabbing his gun. He flinched when he saw the purple blood and the corroded hallway. He then noticed the purple body in front of Mark. 

Pointing his finger at it, he asked, "What is that thing? What happened here?" 

March could only shrug and say, "It looks like it is a new variation of the zombies, like the biter and bloater. This one spits something similar to acid and could corrode even cement by the looks of it." Showing the damages made. 

Kevin could only nod, and he noticed the sword in the zombie's chest. Mark turned towards the body and said, "Yeah, the blood is also corrosive and there is some on the handle. I need to get the blood cleaned before I pull out the sword." 

"Wait before we do that, are you sure the sword is still good? I mean, you said, even the blood is corrosive just now." 

Mark shrugged once again and said, "Let's hope it is good cause I won't be able to find another fine sword like this one ever again." 

He looked around and then made his way back to the store. He found a new pair of rubber gloves that stated 'acid proof' on a rack and took them. Taking them out of the cover, he went back inside the hallway and wore them. 

He slowly reached out for the handle and slowly grabbed it. He could feel the blood slowly corroding the glove and quickly took it out and threw it aside in one swoop without any extra blood splashing out. He looked at his hand and noticed a small hole on the glove and his skin rapidly healing. 

He took out the glove and heard Kevin's concerned voice, "Are you alright? Did you get some on your skin too?" As he went near him. 

Mark shook his head and said, "Don't worry too much. See, my hand is fine. Only the gloves got corroded." Showing his now healed hand and the hole in the glove. 

IMPORTANT NOTICE PLEASE READ BELOW.