Chapter 24: Chapter 24

The woman's abandoned cellphone sat despondently in the stairwell's corner. Her phone's flashlight function continued to provide light as its owner gets devoured mercilessly.

Like a demon rising from the depths of hell, a behemoth among men lumbered past the swarm of zombies surging up the steps slowly but surely, shoving away the pesky little creatures obstructing its path. It trampled on the woman's damaged carcass, squashing whatever remained of her.

The torn fabric dangling from the imposing beast's body resembled a police officer's uniform. Its golden police badge glimmered under the circular light emitted from the abandoned phone's flashlight, symbolizing the glorious and heroic man the beast once was. Bulging green veins wormed across the beast's massive arms as its rancid tongue swayed side to side.

Listening to the hurried footsteps above, the beast retracted its tongue as the cracked corners of its mouth curved upwards.

Thump… Thump. Thump! Thump!! THUMP!!!

Charging up the winding stairs, the monster began moving faster and faster as it rammed away all the zombies impeding its movements.

It was starving for fresh new meat.

Having a bird's eye view from above, Theodore witnessed the unstoppable force making its way up the stairs.

"Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! It's catching up!" Theodore yelled, urging everyone to run for their lives. Knowing that their lives depended on it, they exerted their legs till they burned as their breathing grew heavier with every extra step. But despite their efforts, not everyone was fit enough to sustain the gruelling task of ascending the endless stairs of a skyscraper.

Although he was one of the survivors' strongest men, Roko's rotund physique has indicated his vulnerability in terms of endurance. His energy to lift up his legs had already begun diminishing as he began to slow down.

"We've been running up twenty flights of stairs Theodore."

Crying in distress, warm tears have begun to slide down Roko's reddened face as fatigue impeded his breathing with every step he took.

"To be honest, I don't think I can make it. Cardio was never my thing…"

Stopping abruptly, the big man's hands were on his knees as he wheezed for air. He understood what he was doing. He knew was going to die no matter what. Roko broke down in misery, bashing his fist at the concrete stairs that had drained all of his energy. In a split second of contemplation, he ceased all his actions.

Roko straightened his back despite struggling to breathe, his tired eyes sparkling with unyielding determination. Waving goodbye to the others ahead of him, he smiled resignedly.

"Good luck guys! Hopefully, I'll at least delay them for a second or so!"

Dumbstruck by Roko's reaction, Theodore gritted his teeth and bawled back furiously. "Don't you dare give up like that!"

But nothing was going to change the mind of a man determined to sacrifice himself. His rotund figure pummeled into the swarm of agitated monsters stumbling up the stairs as he knocked them down the long flight of stairs, creating a few seconds for the others to escape.

Reverberating in the harrowing darkness, the sounds of Roko's agonizing screams cleared up Idris's muddled mind.

"Theodore, listen to me. I have a plan to help you guys create more time!"

"Seriously? Not you Tyler! I will not let you sacrifice yourself after what you've done for me!" Theodore yelled back unwillingly, still fazed by his newly recruited member's death. His gums bled sparingly from the clenching of his teeth.

"Just listen to me!"

Idris boomed as he raised his deep voice for the first time in forever, stunning his childhood best friend.

"If you can stall them for a little while longer, I can save all of us!"

Theodore couldn't say a word. Since the tragic death of his family, Idris has never raised his volume or lost his temper, no matter the situation.

Realizing the value of Idris's words might be intrinsic to their survival, Theodore began to analyze his surroundings as he answered softly. "Fine Tyler. Fine. But don't you dare die, you hear me!"

Moving close to an emergency exit, Theodore yanked out the red fire extinguisher mounted on the wall.

"CO2 fire extinguishers like these are usually useless for an attack. But for delaying those mother fucking zombies, it might actually work!"

Tugging out the safety pin attached to the fire extinguisher with his teeth, Theodore aimed the nozzle against the staircase leading down. A blizzard of compressed gas sprayed out the nozzle frenziedly as he squeezed down on the lever, blanketing the concrete stair with liquid and powdered residue.

Turning to Idris who was preparing to enter the zombie-infested floor, Theodore bit down hard on his lower lip as he threw a heavy punch at Idris's muscular arms. "Whatever the fuck you're doing, just make it back alive man. Please."

Receiving the punch with a grimace, Idris brushed Theodore's worry off as he caressed the picture frame sitting snugly in his front suit pocket. "Don't worry brother. When I make a promise, I keep that promise!"

Ending his vow, Idris barged into the emergency exit door, vanishing from Theodore's sight.

Furrowing his brows with concern, Theodore resisted the urge to call out to Idris. "You better keep that promise." He threw the half-empty fire extinguisher at the first zombie head that emerged from the stairwell before bolting up the stairs towards the rooftop.

Dashing towards the employee elevator on the other end of the corridor, Idris knocked down a zombie with a swing of his cleaver before arriving at the elevator panels. He jammed his knife into the crevice between the panels as he fended off an incoming zombie with a powerful side sweep.

Idris forcefully squeezed himself through the gap he pried open as the zombies on the floor clawed against the agape elevator panels, eagerly take a bite off Idris's flesh.

The analog clocks on the office walls ticked away, indicating the fading of precious time.

"Focus! Their lives are in your hands!"

Rallying in motivation, Idris leaped towards the rope dangling in the middle of the elevator shaft. He felt the same sting from his first attempt just hours ago as the rough fibre material grazed his burning palms. He had lost his harness and gear a while ago, but it wasn't enough to prevent him from executing his plan.

The pain scorched his skin. But Idris simply ignored it.

Releasing a robust bellow to validate himself, Idris hoisted himself upwards as he inched closer and closer to the end of the rope.

Stretching her hand out, Qi Rui grabbed onto a zombie's disfigured face blocking her path. The exoskeleton enveloping her fingertips sunk effortlessly into its flesh as she yanked the zombie against the wall, crushing its facial structure. Decimating the zombie's face, an eyeball popped out from its bleeding socket, splattering beside her hard boots. Blood and ripped skin trickled down the surface of the wall, leaving bits and pieces of jaw bone and tissue adhered to it.

Smearing the filth on her palms against the wall, Qi Rui cracked open a sneer. "Do you reckon my exoskeleton can kill that beast, Theodore?"

"It's a good weapon you have there. But it won't be sufficient."

Unimpressed, Theodore shook his head as he decapitated another zombie. They were currently at the 28th-floor stairway, catching a quick breath while clearing the zombies ahead.

Qi Rui examined the frazzled survivors gasping to breathe, clicking her tongue. She sighed as she glanced at Theodore, who was spewing liquid chemicals from the fire extinguisher onto the stairwells.

"Be honest with me, do you think we can live to see tomorrow?"

"Maybe." Theodore gave an ambiguous answer. The discharge coating the staircases were slippery enough to cause clumsy zombies to trip and fall, but the heavy footsteps of the horrifying monster were getting closer to them, and they had no solution against it.

Reestablishing the group's faith with a series of convictions, Theodore's group continued their toilsome ascent.

Meanwhile, two thick hands latched onto the ledges of the 30th floor as Idris emerged from the pitch-black depths of the elevator shaft.

The shattered vase scattered all over the ground welcomed Idris as a shard pricked his fingers.

He was back at his familiar office. The office that used to be bustling with a toxic atmosphere was quiet and vacant, reeking with the aftermath of the chaos.

Picking up the cleaver that originated from his office's staff kitchen, Idris dragged himself toward the emergency exit door that Gary the manager had locked shut.

Theodore had rounded the stairwell towards the thirtieth floor with the swarm hot in pursuit when he heard the emergency door ahead rattling violently.

"Theodore! Keep on running! Keep on running! Keep on running!"

Idris threw his entire body onto the door, yelling at the block of steel clamouring under his massive weight. There were no vision panels for him to see the other end of the fire exit, but he resumed his rampage nonetheless, hoping his repetitive words would get to whoever was on the opposite side.

"What the fuck are you doing Tyler! You're going to get yourself killed!" Furious, Theodore roared back at the door separating them. He suddenly realized what Idris's plan to save all of them was. Theodore threw a barrage of punches against the steel material, venting his frustration and distress. "You better stay put in there! Don't you dare attract that monster to your location! You hear me! Stop banging the fucking door!"

Idris's rampage did not falter. Going berserk, the commotion only escalated as he rammed against the door with brute force.

"Tyler you bastard! We had a promise! Your family—"

Theodore's sentence was cut halfway as a mechanical glove clasped tightly over his mouth.

"We need to move on Theodore or else the rest of us will perish!" Grabbing him, Qi Rui forced Theodore up the next flight of stairs as the other survivors sprinted past them towards higher ground.

"You lying mother fucker!" Theodore climbed up the stairs in tears, his scream raspy from overexertion. The unstoppable monster below had already caught up to the survivors as it ascended towards the 30th floor, trampling over the rest of the insignificant zombies around it.

"It was good meeting you, Theodore. Thanks for being my moral support for the past few years!" Idris roared out in genuine gratitude as he cut open his palms with an untainted glass shard, slamming it into the almost non-existent gap at the bottom of the door. His boiling red blood streamed profusely from the cut in his palms, seeping through the tiny gap and onto the stairwell floor.

Being a mindless monster, the beast's short attention span immediately shifted away from the survivors climbing up the steps. The fresh hot delicacy oozing out from under the door was more impactful to the monster as it symbolized a sumptuous meal, piquing its interest.

Feeling the heavy footsteps and a domineering presence approaching him, Idris instantly backed away from the metal door as the tightly secured emergency exit burst into ruins. As the smoke subsided, the beast's towering figure was revealed to Idris. Waves of dread and vulnerability engulfed Idris, making him feel feeble and powerless. Perhaps it had devoured at least 20 humans, maybe even more.

"No human can ever defeat this monster."

Surrender has taken over Idris's thoughts. Helpless, Idris cuddled the cardboard picture frame in his arms. It was his little angel's first handcraft, gifted to him as a birthday present.

"Daddy! Look at what me and mommy made!"

The gratifying warmth he obtained that day was cozier than any amount of sunshine. But the Mona Lisa he held in his arms was also his little angel's only and final creation.

"If I die, at least you were with me until the very end." He nuzzled the photograph as the beast jerked its hideous face towards Idris.

The mellow moonlight filtered through the architectural glass, landing lightly on his wife's and daughter's cheerful grins.

He was standing at the spot where Theodore had made him a promise, under the view of the obelisk looming high above all human infrastructure.

'Though that alien structure ain't omnipotent, it might have something you're looking for.'

Theodore's sincere promise to him echoed in his cold heart.

'That tower has good stuff waiting for you if you're willing to strive for it.'

Money? Fame? Power?

Idris didn't care about any of that.

He just wanted his family's love again.

The thought of bringing back his family reignited the extinguished flame in his heart as his fearful gaze grew stern. Rotating his body, Idris began to burst towards the elevator shaft in an attempt to revive the situation.

If he could reenact the scenario of mindless zombies falling to their deaths, maybe he could escape the monster's grasp! Upon reaching the agape elevator, Idris was prepared to take another leap of faith.

But suddenly, a meaty object coiled around his waist, restricting his movements.

From a distance away, the monster hissed fiercely as its rancid tongue began to retract, pulling Idris's massive body with ease.

"Get off me!" Idris roared, stabbing the monster's slimy tongue repeatedly with the glass shard he used to cut himself.

"Arghhhh!"

The monster growled in pain as it flung Idris towards the open office area. Idris collided into the dividers and office equipment. The broken computer and furniture under him prickled his skin, prompting him to awaken from his dazed state.

Rolling off from the rubble underneath him, the elongated tongue of the beast swatted against him once again. Upon impact, Idris's ribcages crunched as a deep, intense aching enveloped his senses. His internal organs felt like they have been brutally rearranged by an unstoppable force. Holding on to his snapped ribcage, Idris stumbled forward, his face paling as blood gushed out the corner of his mouth.

Idris supported his severely damaged body against a desk, heaving out painful breaths. The office desk he was leaning on coincidentally belonged to himself.

Several years of work here, just for his miserable life to end at the same exact location.

The massive beast withdrew its rancid tongue back into its mouth as it sneered in delight. Witnessing the humanoid expression on the monster's face, Idris sighed in defeat as he spewed out another lethal gush of blood.

His head was light and his strength has dissipated.

He collapsed onto the seat that he serendipitously encountered as incessant ringing bombarded his head. Exerting his last ounce of strength, Idris raised his quivering arms as he gently took out the picture frame etched in his pocket.

Laying a soft kiss on it for a final time, bitter tears trailed down his cheeks. He always thought that his tears had run dry, but the grudge in his heart just couldn't let go.

Beads of tears smeared the bloody outline of Idris's lips, splattering onto the photograph in his hands. However, he was too weak to even lift his fingers and wipe off his tears of sorrow.

"Honey. Angel. Here I come…"

In the far distance, the unbeatable beast lumbered its way towards Idris's dying body like a swarm of hungry zombies flooded in from behind.

Numb from the immense pain, Idris's eyelids began to flicker, struggling to stay open. Before his eyelids folded over his eyes, Idris saw the faint silhouette of two familiar figures hovering before him. One of the ghostly silhouettes was shorter than the other, brimming with youth and energy. The little figure reached out, placing her tiny hands over Idris's bleeding palms.

"I missed you, daddy!"

"I really miss you too…" Smiling, Idris couldn't be more satisfied with the last moments of his life.