Chapter <b>297 </b>Run or Die
Chapter 297 Run or Die
Eva had learned the hard way–take something now, and sooner orter, the cost wille due. Depending on anyone else? That was just asking to get yourself killed.
Theresa couldn’t help it when Eva said that; she felt a spark of respect. <i>This </i><i>woman </i><b><i>has </i></b><b>steel </b>in <i>her </i>bones<i>. </i>
A sudden boom tore through the air, rattling the ss.
Theresa’s head whipped toward the sound. She moved to the window, leaning on the frame, and her <b>lips </b>slowly curved. <i>Perfect</i><i>. </i><i>Reinforcements </i><i>are </i><i>here</i>.
Smoke curled up from the north. Down on the streets, the zombie horde went berserk, everyst one of them spinning toward the noise like someone had flipped a switch.
st after st followed, rolling across the empty city, pulling every starving zombie out of the woodwork. From the malls to the hospitals, from the crumbling neighborhoods to the schools–they <b>all </b>stampeded toward the chaos.
Eva stood frozen at the window. She could feel her pulse hammering in her throat.
She muttered to herself, <i>Whoever’s </i><i>pulling </i><i>this </i><i>off</i>… <i>they’re </i><i>not </i><b><i>just </i></b><i>strong</i>. <i>They’ve </i><i>got </i><b><i>their </i></b><b><i>act </i></b><b><i>together</i></b>. <i>Theresa </i><i>isn’t </i><i>just </i><i>tough</i><i>–</i><i>she’s </i><i>ying </i><i>in </i><i>a </i><i>whole </i><i>different </i><i>league</i><i>, </i><i>way </i><i>out </i><i>of </i><i>my </i><i>reach</i>.
Upon the third floor, Malik’s crew was pressed against the ss<b>, </b>eyes wide.
“Mr. Stark! Look at this!”
“They’re luring the horde away!”
“That has to be the crew downstairs!”
“Eva wasn’t bluffing about that breakout n. Someone’s out there running a full–on zombie diversion!”
Malik’s jaw locked tight as he stared. Zombies poured north in a tide, the streets below slowly shifting from wall–to–wall death to scattered stragglers.
He thought, <i>Those </i><i>people </i><i>downstairs</i>… <i>they </i><i>aren’t </i><i>just </i><i>some </i><i>run</i>–of<i>–</i><i>the</i><i>–</i><i>mill </i><i>survivors</i>.
<i>They’re </i><i>the </i><i>real </i><i>deal</i>.
<i>Each </i><i>st </i>hit <i>at </i><i>just </i><i>the </i><i>right </i><i>moment</i><i>, </i>pushing <i>the </i><i>horde </i><i>farther </i><i>and </i><i>farther </i><i>away</i><i>, </i><i>until </i><i>the </i><i>streets </i><i>are </i><i>nearly </i><i>bare</i><i>. </i><i>That’s </i><i>not </i>luck. That’s <i>a </i><i>team </i><i>that </i><i>knows </i><i>exactly </i><i>what </i><i>the </i><i>hell </i><i>they’re </i><i>doing</i><i>. </i>
By the time Malik snapped out of his daze, only a few stray zombies were left staggering aimlessly. The crushing tide that had choked the streets was gone.
On the second floor, Theresa’s people didn’t hesitate.
11:30 a.m.
Go time.
Sat To Aug
Chapter 297 Run or Die-
They tore out of the building like a single, sharpened de. Lucas led from the <b>front</b>, his fighters formin a tight perimeter around the old and the weak. Kids were strapped to their fathers chests<b>, </b>held eine file precious cargo. Theresa anchored the rear, eyes scanning, ready to drag anyone forward who stumbled
<b>They </b>weren’t just running. They moved like a single living machine, every piece working in syne
Malik watched from above, almost in disbelief.
Then he spotted Eva’s group.
They were chasing hard behind Theresa, but their formation was a mess. Months of hunger had <b>gutted </b>their strength, and Malik had walked off with nearly all of their strongest fighters.
By 11:40 a.m., Theresa’s team had chewed through nearly 1.1 miles without breaking stride.
They’d been through this drill before, and it showed. Every step was steady, every move sharp. Not a single person had fallen behind.
The streets were nearly deserted now; the horde had thinned out to scraps.
They’d cut down maybe a couple hundred zombies along the way, clearing a path without slowing down.
Eva’s people… not so much.
They trailed behind Theresa’s crew, safe enough with hardly any zombies crossing their <i>path</i>. Even so<b>, </b>their formation was a mess. Running on nothing but scraps for weeks had taken its toll, and after barely half <i>a </i>mile, some of them were already stumbling.
Eva gritted her teeth, forcing herself to the back, barking orders and shoving the stronger ones to carry <i>the </i>weaker. No way in hell was she letting anyone fall behind.
11:48 a.m.
1.7 miles down.
Barely 0.8 miles stood between them and the rescue point.
Theresa nced back mid–run.
She was genuinely impressed. Eva’s people were still hanging on, sweaty and staggering, but they were still there. Eva’s sheer willpower was the only thing holding them together.
Theresa smirked. <i>Not </i><i>bad</i><i>, </i><i>Eva</i><i>. </i><i>Not </i>bad at <i>all</i>.
Then a screech ripped through the air.
From the bushes ahead, a zombie in a shredded business suit lunged out. Its hair hung in filth jaw split wide, gums crawling with maggots that wriggled free and hit the ground with <b>soft</b>, w
<b>des</b><b><i>, </i></b><i>its </i><ol><li><i>ps</i><b>. </b></li></ol>
<i>Raaagh</i><i>! </i>