Chapter 26: Stage 1: Loot

Two youthful eyelids fluttered open, revealing the deep hazel irises once hidden beneath.

Hot sand, all she could feel was dry hot sand. Her head ached mildly and her vision was somewhat blurry. She propped herself up, utilizing her arms and sat up, displacing the mound of sand upon her back.

She was both uncomfortable and bemused. She had never once been to the beach. She hated beaches and people. What was she doing here, playing 'dead' in the sand?

Then, a mountain of exhaustion unleashed an avalanche upon her. Her joints, limbs, bones, her entire skeletal system screamed for respite. She clutched her head with her right hand; an intense headache assaulted her with vengeance, rendering her somewhat incapable of cohesive thoughts.

She struggled to steal a glance at her left wrist, hoping to check her location with her DaleWatch. She was greeted by her morbid scar, an indelible mark scorched onto her very skin and a lurid reminder of her younger afflictions. Her expression switched from one of confusion and contemplation to detached indifference.

Alex's head cleared instantly; an immediate recollection of her recent activities forced her to stand with haste. Her legs wobbled beneath her, groaning in protest. Alex paid her physical exhaustion no heed.

She was astounded by the bewildering scene before her. In the sand, there was a pit. Laced with murky solids and unrecognizably disintegrated substances, the artificially introduced crater sparked questions within Alex.

The sand particles closest to the crater had taken an ominous green shade. They had hardened, forming sturdy walls for the pit.

Her clothes now had tears and holes most possibly from contact with the aftermath of the explosion. Alex herself had come out relatively unscathed. The tears on her outfit were mending themselves, albeit at a snail's pace.

Each step was burdensome. Her legs had been swapped for blocks of heavy lead, sapping energy for every movement she dared to make.

She got closer to the centre of the crater, her rewards could never be abandoned. Whether she knew the use of the zombie shards or not, they were still her spoils, leaving behind loot would emotionally affect her - a feat, not many things could do.

Nearly at the centre, Alex's knees buckled. Sheer willpower alone was not enough to successfully steer a weary vessel.

She collapsed: her body was unable to execute any more demands. Her parched lips kissed the sand. Her hand was outstretched, unable to grasp the shining crystal shard a few centimetres away.

She needed replenishment, but could not move a muscle. Her suit even refused to release any of her stored food. It was alright though, she had gotten her main priority already.

Her hands fell, landing lifelessly atop a blade, brimming with green light and obvious vigour.

She knew the effect the blade had. It was obvious to her that she ought to acquire her weapon first.

The green glow dimmed drastically, almost losing its hue, while Alex felt entirely renewed and reinvigorated. She felt like she was continuously pumped with energy. She got up from the ground, blade in hand, dusted her clothes and glimpsed at the golden runes.

123: 50:24

'My precious shards must have lost quite a bit of their power now. I mustn't continue to waste them.'

In reality, Alex had stayed unconscious for barely ten minutes despite the blast's immense power. She should have been grateful but was more worried about the diminishing power of her zombie shards.

On the sand, far from the devastated land, Alex sat with a bottle of water in hand and a shard in the other. This was the last shard she had yet to ingest, a regretful fact.

Alex did not mourn the shard too much and instead swallowed it. That blissful warmth engulfed her from a source she could not pinpoint. Unlike the previous times, the feeling was much more discernible.

Her wakizashi washed away her exhaustion, allowing her to retrieve her chakram and ponder on her next steps.

Alex carefully studied the map, happy to see that her remaining zombies had not strayed too far, instead retaining their normal unhurried pace.

It was still early in day 3, but Alex made it a habit to never leave roaches alive for any more than necessary. As easy to kill as they were, they could very well bite you when you least expect it if kept alive.

When she fell, Alex assumed she lost the remaining healing potion that had once occupied her mouth. Therefore, her safety net had been a complete waste of resources and she no longer had a fail-safe.

' I've already wasted quite a bit of shards. I'll just approach with more caution rather than relying on a potion.'

Alex leapt up from the ground, ready to catch up with the zombie group to finally annihilate them.

She stretched. The still repairing clothes revealed parts of her sandy back and dirty kneecaps.

After a satisfying stretch, Alex sped to the South, running at a terrifying 750m/s. She rejoiced at her higher velocity, assured that the crystals harboured a significant use after all.

In no time, she reached her long-time targets. Seventeen lesser zombies in front of three greater zombies. They were not particularly huddled together nor were they far apart. This time, Alex did not spend too many moments calculating. Rather, she went for a more straightforward approach.

Using her amplified agility, she directly killed the hunched zombie: she simultaneously delivered a stab in the back and a slash to the neck. She had approached from the side, allowing her to perfectly position her attacks.

She drew out her weapons before running backwards at a much slower speed and throwing her chakram at the greater zombie beside the zombie with a detached head.

Unfortunately, her chakram only landed in the sand, her intended target dug itself into the ground. The lesser zombies were fiercely running towards her, crazed hunger evident on their faces. Alex had done enough, she turned around and sped away at full speed.

At the spot where she formerly stood was a crystallized zombie arm piercing from within the ground into the air and another detached zombie arm with its talons deep in the sand.

From a distance facing her previous position, Alex suddenly had a bitter expression.

' I knew those two would be trouble.'