Page 15 of Cruel Devotion

“Then, we will have to go through the zombies.”

“Lei, we can’t—”

“We can.” Lei’s gaze went wild as he stared at me. “Monique, since I’ve met you in this godforsaken apocalypse, I’ve realized that I can do anything as long as you are right by my side.”

The sound of breaking wood, accompanied by a gust of cold air, cut through our intimate moment.

Facing the splintering and crumbling door, we readied ourselves for the battle ahead.

The door exploded in bits of wood.

Hundreds of zombies poured in. Their grotesque forms twisted with each step, swarming our way. Their putrid stench filled the air.

Shards of wood on the ballroom floor crunched beneath their rotting feet.

Their fingers clawed at the air.

Closer and closer.

They rushed our way with this unnatural hunger for our flesh.

The first zombie lunged at me its arms outstretched.

With a swift motion, I sliced off its head.

Lei fired the shotgun repeatedly, taking out as many zombies as he could. His bullets always managed to take down more than two at a time, but his ammo was running low, and it was only a matter of time before we were overwhelmed.

Lei shot three in a row. “While I still have the bullets, we need to take the chance now to get through.”

“You’re right.”

“Ready?”

“Always.”

Together, we charged into the sea of undead.

I fought with all my strength, my machete a blur as I hacked at the zombies. But they kept coming, their numbers seeming to increase with each passing moment.

Lei’s shotgun clicked empty.

Cursing, he threw it aside and pulled out his sword. Soon he was cutting heads in seconds.

“We can do this!” He sliced one zombie into two parts.

A particularly towering zombie lunged at me.

Lei was there in an instant, his sword cutting through it like butter, saving me from certain doom.

Our eyes met. We did a quick exchange of gratitude and admiration, before diving back into the fray.

From then on, our movements were synchronized.

The sound of crunching bones and tearing flesh filled the air, and we hacked and we slashed and we killed our way through the horde.

As Lei’s sword sliced through the undead, and my machete found its mark again and again, zombie blood sprayed in every direction.

The cold black liquid always took me by surprise when it touched my skin.

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