A Maze of Corridors: Part 1

Raymond led the charge as they ran toward their target. Naturally, the disturbance caused by their quick advance alerted the nearby undead. They fired in retaliation, the gunshots reverberating across the empty city as they continued, the corpses falling all around them. They arrived noisily, and a chorus of guttural grunts rose in answer.

"Don't stop!" Calvin yelled. "Stay running!"

They hurried to the tall structure till they arrived at its entrance, where they took their places to enter.

Remember, Calvin added, "this Sakura Central Mall is where our goal is located." To get to the center, we still have to dash through the hallways.

The entryway was sealed, but they pushed through. The Sakura Central Mall was like a spectral remnant inside. Alongside mutilated, still bodies—corpses they knew may come alive at any time—signs were scattered across the floor. Food, clothes, and a variety of other objects, from gadgets to fishing gear, were scattered across the ground. The whole area was tainted by signs of desperate struggles.

The soldier, who had formerly been a businessman, whispered, "What happened to this place?"

Another said, "I was here just before it was considered unsafe." "Zombies started to emerge among us after we found refuge here. We were attacked by the government. Families of the sick rebelled, and the city was overrun by the mayhem these beasts caused. I ran away and landed up with the rescue team from the HHD firm.

Although he spoke calmly, Raymond and a few others could see the sorrow imprinted on his face. Their noise caused the rotten, shattered, and barely scratched bodies on the floor to suddenly move.

"This is odd." Calvin thought. "In the time we've been dealing with inactive zombies, this is the first time we've come across them."

"We just have to get rid of them, isn't that right?" Leopold spoke up.

Calvin said, "Yes," but there was a hint of doubt in his voice. "The mission remains intact."

He continued as usual, but Raymond noticed a glimmer of perplexity in his eyes. Was there more to this phenomenon than met the eye?

Raymond was brought back to reality by the sudden crack of gunshots, but his doubts remained unanswered. The reanimating dead had been fired at by the team. As Calvin had instructed, Raymond immediately resumed guiding them toward the center of the building. They stopped abruptly in front of a store.

"Is this it?" Calvin was asked by Raymond.

"Yes," Calvin said. "The center is located beyond this mart, per the blueprints."

An anxious soldier looked inside. There are plenty of hiding places, and it's too dark. Shouldn't we take a different route?

Calvin insisted that this was the wisest course of action. "Any detour would put us at higher risk over a longer period of time."

Tension hung in the air as the crew became silent in front of the entryway.

Leopold eyed Raymond and replied, "Go ahead." "Don't you have the lead?"

Raymond reacted angrily at Leopold's prodding, but he was correct. Raymond softly entered the store as instructed by Calvin.

He took ten steps forward, lighting the room with a tiny lantern attached to his weapon. The sight was horrifying—the most vivid stains of the bloodiest battles were found here. Blood covered the ceramic floor, which was covered in mangled limbs, eyes, and even heads. Every time he looked, he saw traces of the lives that had once existed here—a teddy bear that might have been held by a young girl who was trying to find safety told its own heartbreaking story.

Following his quick assessment, the group trailed behind Raymond, keeping a safe distance in a last-ditch effort to stay safe in this terrifying Sakura Central Mall. They entered and found themselves in a labyrinth of hallways.

"Well, in order to get to the other side, we have to cross one of these," Calvin stated.

Raymond started lighting up the signs in the corridors. “How about this one?” he asked the group after reading a few.

"How about it?" Leopold inquired.

It's the hallway used for inventory cleaning. In a crisis, most individuals would grab food rather than pass past here. There may be fewer bodies in it.

Calvin concurred, saying that we have nothing to lose. "We'll use that hallway."

They moved carefully toward it, listening for any noise that would indicate the whereabouts of a zombie. As they moved forward, they observed the other hallways filled with objects and bodies. Raymond looked at their selected route and saw that, except from a few fallen items, it was almost deserted.

Raymond went in, weapon ready, with nothing to lose. The hallway was longer than it looked. The room was too small for two people to walk side by side, so they moved in single file.

Someone said, "Hey!" in a desperate whisper. "I believe I heard a sound."

"What are you saying?" In response, Leopold hissed. "This place is silent."

Soon, however, they all heard faint groans coming from the nearby hallways. A few troops were about to shoot when Calvin's signal stopped them.

Calvin said quietly, "They're not making a scene because they haven't seen us yet." "Let's maintain that."

The groans increased in volume, but they continued. Raymond became aware that they were convergent rather than merely growing in volume. Then there was a pause, and Calvin motioned for them to stop.

"Now what?" Raymond enquired.

Calvin took a while to reply. From a nearby corridor came a clatter.

"Come down!" Calvin yelled suddenly. The flimsy walls were breached by arms that knocked things off the shelf. "Avoid getting scratched!"

Raymond looked back; the falling objects did not appear to have injured anyone, but the debris now blocked their way.

"What are you doing?" Calvin let out a bark. "Keep going!"

With a knife drawn from his pocket, Raymond cut at the fumbling hands. Hands pierced the walls, more objects crashed around them, and they rushed forward.

Zombies shuffled toward them as they approached the exit. Raymond instinctively raised his rifle with his free hand and fired, taking down multiple targets as the crew ran behind him and attempted to shoot as best they could. Some were still standing when Raymond rushed through and smashed them to pieces. The crew fled the passage as he threw his dagger into one, felling it, then turned to shoot others, keeping them at bay.

The team advanced while firing intermittently as the undead focused on Raymond. They ran out of the mart, passing him as they had practiced, with Raymond providing covering fire. They required a diversion once they were clear.

"Raymond!" Calvin yelled. "Leave that place!"

Raymond obeyed instinctively and returned to the team. Pulling out his light firearm, Calvin aimed a little gadget at the ceiling. The zombies' passage was blocked by a security wall that smashed down.

The immediate threat vanished instantly—there were no apparent zombies in the area they currently occupied. But to Raymond's astonishment, anarchy broke out among them.

"Have you not been scratched?" Leopold screamed.

When Raymond turned around, he saw Leopold pointing his gun at a soldier who was holding a ripped sleeve.

"N-no! I promise! The soldier objected.