Chapter 80: Surviving the Insect Tide
Lynn Shelby and Aaron Palmer continued to cull the swarm with incendiary bombs. The others seized the chance to consolidate their defensive line. After holding out for over half an hour, the bulk of the cockroach swarm had finally passed.
But there were far too many zombies downstairs, and many of them started breaking through the building’s doors and windows to climb inside.
Hearing the increasingly frequent sounds of shattering doors and windows, Blake Blue mustered all his remaining superpower to reinforce the stairwell entrance even further.
’In this situation, we absolutely can’t let the zombies get up here!’
Rhonda Dawson bit her lip, panicking. Her blade became a blur as she endlessly stabbed the cockroaches scurrying toward them.
"Watch out! Luna!"
She suddenly shouted. A cockroach gleaming with a purple sheen had actually taken flight, heading straight for Luna Dawson’s back!
Kevin Keane and Luna Dawson whipped their heads around. With lightning-fast reflexes, Kevin launched a thunderball at the cockroach.
The cockroach was only knocked to the ground, where it tumbled a few times before struggling to fly again.
Kevin Keane cursed, "It’s a Second Order!"
A surge of urgency hit him, and he summoned a bowl-sized Thunder Snake, striking directly at the creature.
He maintained the attack for over ten seconds, not stopping until the ground was scorched black. He finally let out a breath of relief when he saw the cockroach was motionless, charred to a crisp.
Blake Blue had exhausted his superpower. His face was as white as a sheet, and every breath brought a searing pain. His strength was fading fast, and his arms were so sore and numb he could barely hold his gun.
Just as he reached to pull a Crystal Core from his pocket to replenish his superpower, a sharp, stabbing pain shot through his right leg, like a red-hot steel needle being driven deep into his flesh.
Blake Blue sucked in a sharp breath, fighting through the pain to look down.
An egg-sized cockroach had somehow crept up on him. Its sharp forelimbs had torn through his thick combat pants, and its dark brown mandibles were clamped tightly onto his calf. Dark red blood slowly seeped through the fabric.
Disgust and fury surged through him. He yanked the cockroach off, slammed it onto the ground, and swiftly drew the combat knife from his calf sheath, viciously stabbing through the insect’s struggling body.
A gush of purple fluid with a foul, rotten smell immediately poured out, spreading into a small, grotesque stain on the ground.
Then, a wave of dizziness hit him. With his last ounce of consciousness, he shut off the flamethrower and collapsed.
"Sawyer!"
"Uncle Ian!"
Seeing Blake Blue fall, the people near him screamed in horror.
"Wendy, hurry!"
Evan Olson yelled anxiously, telling Miles Dawson to cover the gap in their defenses.
Wayne Dawson immediately rushed forward and hoisted Blake onto his back. But Blake was too tall, and his legs dragged on the ground. Wayne ended up half-carrying and half-dragging him onto the helicopter.
Rhonda Dawson hurried over to examine him. She saw he’d been bitten by a cockroach; the flesh around the wound was turning black. ’He must be poisoned!’
She quickly took out the water Luna Dawson had given her, rinsed the wound, and activated her healing power, covering the injury. A white halo of light emanated from the wound.
Seeing Blake collapse, Kevin Keane shouted a warning, "There are Second Order cockroaches in the swarm! Everyone, be careful!"
Luna Dawson had just dealt with a few cockroaches that had sneaked in when she turned to check on Blake Blue’s condition.
She quickly pulled out a Crystal Core Solution and tossed it over. "Sis, after you’re done healing him, make him drink some of this!"
The main body of the cockroach swarm had already moved past, and the once-impenetrable tide of insects had mostly receded. Only tens of thousands of stragglers remained at the tail end.
They were scattered across the ground, some still writhing their dark brown bodies in a panic.
Dozens would gather and then disperse, as if trying to confirm their direction or waiting for a signal.
The pitch-black bodies of the insects glistened with an oily sheen in the light, making everyone clench their fists, not daring to relax for even a moment.
Another half an hour passed. The group had finally survived the cockroach tide. Exhausted, they all collapsed onto the ground, gasping for air.
The flamethrowers were still scalding hot. Everyone’s face was smudged with black soot, making them look like grimy kittens.
Lynn Shelby and Aaron Palmer landed the helicopter and jumped out. Before they could even steady themselves, they rushed toward the still-unconscious Blake Blue.
They saw him resting quietly against a seat, the wound on his calf already scabbed over. They let out a huge sigh of relief.
Rhonda Dawson spoke gently, "He’s fine. He was likely bitten by a Second Order poison-type cockroach. He’ll wake up after a little rest."
Lynn Shelby and Aaron Palmer looked at Rhonda Dawson with gratitude. Only now did they truly feel the importance of a Healing Ability User.
Just a few minutes of treatment could make a wound inflicted by a Second Order mutated creature scab over immediately.
"Thank you!"
"Thank you, Sister Wendy!"
"You’re welcome. We’re a team. You all protect me up front, so I have to contribute to the team too."
Rhonda Dawson had always been the one everyone protected. She knew her combat strength was low and always tried not to be a burden.
Back at the residential complex, she usually just healed small animals. Now that her superpower had proven truly useful on this trip, she finally felt needed. It put her at ease, knowing she wasn’t the one holding the team back.
When Hector saw his mom use her superpower, his eyes sparkled. He looked at her and said encouragingly, "Mommy, you’re so amazing! You were glowing just like an angel."
"HAHAHAHA!"
"Hector is such a sweet talker!"
Everyone burst out laughing.
Luna Dawson said, panting, "Good thing they were mostly First Order and lower-level cockroaches. If they were any stronger... I can’t even imagine countless giant super-cockroaches flying at me. I think I would’ve just died on the spot."
’Seeing a swarm of that scale, she was truly terrified. If it had been any other team of survivors, they probably would have been devoured until not even a bone fragment remained.’
"Don’t say that!" Mrs. Dawson quickly cut Luna off. "That won’t happen! Don’t say such unlucky things!"
Kevin Keane wiped his face. "The fires in the city are probably from other survivors or the military fighting the cockroaches. I bet the safe zone took heavy losses this time."
Aaron Palmer raised a pair of binoculars and looked toward the city. "There are at least dozens of fires along the entire migration route."
"Don’t worry. The safe zone is garrisoned by the army. They’re not that fragile."
Miles Dawson said, breathing heavily. The army in the safe zone had more advanced weaponry. In his view, there was nowhere safer than with the military.
"There are at least ten thousand zombies gathered around our building."
Lynn Shelby had seen it clearly from the helicopter. It was a dense black mass. "Thank goodness Blake sealed the stairwell, or we wouldn’t have this chance to catch our breath."
"Let’s rest for a bit. Later, while there are still fires everywhere, we’ll take care of the zombies too. The cover of night is good; we won’t have all sorts of random people trying to get a share of the spoils like before."
Evan Olson remembered the several groups of survivors they had to drive away while burning zombies during the day. With the military also launching attacks now, it provided the best cover.
"Right!"
"Sounds good!"
Everyone was in agreement.
Gritting her teeth, Luna Dawson stood up and walked to the edge of the roof.
She took out a high-powered flashlight. The moment she pressed the switch, a beam of light pierced through the thick, cold fog, shining straight down below.
In the open areas of the complex and on the road outside the walls, densely packed zombies swarmed together—at least ten thousand of them.
Their grayish-white eyes reflected a dead, vacant sheen under the beam of light. Their faces were a bloody mess; some had half their cheeks rotted away, exposing the ghastly white bone underneath.
In the cold wind, many of the zombies were clutching cockroaches, mindlessly roaring and chewing.
The dense black mass nearly covered the entire ground, like a writhing, black tide reeking of decay.