Chapter 73: Turning the Tide
"Aaaaaaaa!"
Suddenly confronted with such a skeleton, some people screamed, others collapsed.
Will was also jolted in fright, his legs trembling slightly. But he quickly regained his composure.
Turning to his colleagues, he narrowed his eyes: "It’s just a prop. Don’t be such cowards, will you!"
Layla stammered, "Will, behind you... behind you..."
The others also began to panic, shuffling backward in fear.
Will frowned: "What is it now..."
Then he turned his head—only to see the skeleton tilting its skull at him. The ashen skin stretched around its mouth curled upward, causing maggots to drop even faster.
The crackling of bones echoed, and in the next instant, the skeleton suddenly lunged at Will. Before he could react, it tore a massive chunk of flesh from his neck!
Fresh blood sprayed nearly two meters away. Will clutched his throat, both in agony and terror. His carotid artery had been severed; blood gushed out, making his body grow even colder, as though death might claim him at any moment...
"No! No! Get away from me!"
"Aaaaaaa!"
The group scattered like a swarm of startled bees, rushing toward the door—but it was sealed shut. No matter how hard they tried, it wouldn’t budge even an inch.
A few of the girls had already broken down crying.
Meanwhile, the skeleton continued dragging itself toward them step by step!
"No, I don’t want to die! Why won’t this door open?!"
"Damn it, damn it, what the hell is this?!"
"Help! Help! No—"
"Sob... sob... sob..."
Will seemed to lose his mind. Even though his body was already cold, he desperately pushed harder than the others.
At that moment, a male colleague suddenly stammered, "Will... Will... you..."
Will whipped his head around and roared: "What?!"
The others could also clearly see his current state under the dim candlelight. The place where he had been bitten was now rotting at an unimaginable speed, oozing a sickly gray hue and releasing a stench so foul it defied imagination!
Maggots crawled endlessly across his flesh, devouring it. One of his eyes was now writhing with those grotesque little creatures—and yet, he seemed to feel no pain at all.
He let out a furious roar, his teeth turning into shark-like fangs, drool dripping from his mouth.
Before anyone could react, Will suddenly lunged at the nearest male colleague, opening his jaws to bite!
The man fought back quickly, the two grappling fiercely while the others screamed in terror. Someone even mustered the courage to step forward and try to pull Will away.
Meanwhile, the candle Will had been holding slipped from his grasp—but before it hit the ground, a hand caught it!
That hand trembled so violently that hot wax dripped nonstop onto the floor. The grip was so tight that veins bulged, as though the candle might be crushed to pieces at any moment.
Louis felt utterly powerless. Glancing at Layla beside him, he saw she wasn’t trembling!
His other hand clutched his wrist, only to realize that the shaking hadn’t stopped—it had doubled.
Louis: "..." Damn it!
By now, the group had become a chaotic tangle, and even those who hadn’t been bitten were getting snapped at by Will.
Louis took a deep breath. He knew things couldn’t go on like this.
Layla, too, wore a worried expression, while the other girls huddled behind her. But the skeleton was still closing in step by step. With the fight raging on the other side, it wouldn’t be long before they became the following targets. Some of the girls cried even louder, completely drowning in despair.
And just then, a figure suddenly stepped forward, blocking their way.
Layla looked up in shock: "Louis..."
Louis now stood with his back straight.
He turned, his long hair falling over the lenses of his glasses. Raising his hand, he held the candle toward Layla: "Hold this tight."
Layla let her eyes drop to the trembling hand before her, then looked up at Louis’s tightly pressed lips.
She didn’t smile either. One of her hands touched Louis’s, and she said softly, "Don’t be afraid." Then she took the candle.
Louis: "..." Layla really is gentle.
But he was still terrified—only his life mattered now.
Louis raised his hand, and instantly, a gleaming metal baseball bat appeared in his grip.
Everyone behind him gaped at the sight; Layla’s eyes widened, stunned into silence.
Louis didn’t care about them at all. He remembered clearly that monsters like these smash their heads, and they’re done for it.
So without hesitation, he lunged forward, swinging the bat; it flashed in the darkness like a streak of light.
The creature sneered and charged without a shred of fear.
"Whack!"
Louis dodged its attack, swung the bat, and smashed the monster’s skull to pieces!
Fresh blood and brain matter sprayed everywhere, soaking his bangs and face, making everything before his eyes blur and stick repulsively.
The stench of rot hit his nose so hard he felt he might drop dead on the spot.
So filthy—disgustingly filthy!
Unexpectedly, the bat did the job well enough.
[Note: the baseball bat came from store 666! There’s nothing one bat can’t smash—if one isn’t enough, then use two!]
Even the note was as silly as that fat cat. Louis forced himself to think of anything else to distract his mind.
Without delay, he dove toward the tangled group after crushing that monster’s head. Anyone who’d been bitten even once deserved their skull cracked—those idiots wouldn’t listen to me before; fine—everyone die now!
"Whack! Whack! Whack!"
The sickening sounds of bones being smashed rang out again and again.
One man who hadn’t yet been bitten collapsed to the floor; blood sprayed his face with each of Louis’s blows, making him flinch every time.
Blood kept spurting, pooling into a large puddle.
The female colleagues who’d fallen scrambled to their feet. Their faces, pale with horror and panic, stared ahead; silence pressed down like cicadas in winter.
Then Louis straightened up all of a sudden.
Everyone flinched. The male colleague on the floor backed away toward his teammates, shouting, "I haven’t been bitten—I swear I haven’t!"
Louis stood fully upright. One hand swept his long hair, matted with blood, back. He grabbed his large glasses, flung them aside, then turned to look at the colleagues behind him.
There were ten in total; counting himself, only six remained now.
The young man with a face smeared in blood, his blue eyes glinting in the dark, his lips stained red, moved them and said in a cold voice, "Let’s go."