Chapter 6 Street Smarts

• Liam had always been fond of dogs, but the infected kind didn’t seem too friendly. Having barely survived the infection, he knew another bite would be fatal without the antidote.
• Remembering his basics, Liam remained calm and tried not to excite the mutts with any sudden movements.
• “Easy now…I know you’re hungry, but you don’t need to eat me.”
• Keeping his eyes on the snarling dogs, Liam slowly reached for his backpack and fished out two cans of Spam from inside.
• He stabbed the cans with his knife, letting the meaty liquids pour out from within.
• “Who’s a good boy?” he shouted. “Go, fetch!”
• With a sudden movement, he hurled the two cans as far as he could.
• The two infected dogs were ready to lunge at him, but as they smelled the meaty aroma leaking from the punctured tin cans, they quickly became distracted and ran off to grab the food.
• Liam’s thundering heart calmed down as he saw the two dogs running off.
• Seizing the chance, he ran toward the other end of the playground and climbed over the steel fence to jump down onto the road again.
• “That was a close one. Even the damn animals are infected,” he cursed in frustration.
• Liam was about to cross the road when he heard barking noises behind him.
• The two infected rottweilers jumped onto the steel fence with powerful leaps and climbed over the railing.
• “Come on!”
• Liam ran down the street to put some distance between himself and the dogs, but they soon vaulted over the fence and landed on the other side.
• Hearing the barking sounds behind him, Liam stopped and turned around, facing the two dogs who had now started convulsing violently and shedding their dirty fur in tufts.
• With the sharpened bone knife held tightly within his grasp, Liam tried to intimidate the mutts.
• “Back off!” he yelled, waving the glistening steel at them. “Get the hell away from me!”
• But the dogs kept coming, driven by the scent of their fresh human prey.
• Liam realized there was no way he could scare off these infected mutts, and the only way to survive this encounter was to fight back. But all he had on him were a pair of bone knives, and his ripped black tee barely offered any protection.
• Remembering all the survival games he had played as a teenager, Liam thought on his feet and quickly slung his backpack off his shoulder and gripped its strap loosely with his left hand.
• The bone knife remained firm in his right hand while his eyes stayed glued to the two mutts.
• Letting out a short, crazed bark, the bigger dog rushed across the street and pounced on Liam.
• He reacted in an instant and thrust his backpack forward, holding it between himself and the animal.
• The dog bit down hard on the backpack as it got in its way.
• Liam swiftly raised his left arm, lifting the dog in the air, and with one smooth stabbing motion, jammed his knife into its head, puncturing its skull.
• The dog yelped in pain and dropped dead.
• But Liam was so distracted that it allowed the second dog to scurry across and bite his leg.
• “You damn bitch!”
• Liam dropped his backpack and kicked the dog with his other leg, sending it yelping back.
• But it had already managed to tear off a chunk of his flesh and puncture a vital artery.
• Overwhelmed by pain, Liam lost balance and dropped to his knees.
• The infected dog snarled at him, licking the fresh blood of its blackened lips. Twitching with every step, it lurched toward its prey.
• Unarmed and defenseless, Liam had no way to protect himself, and his bleeding leg made it impossible for him to run away. Even though he could regenerate his damaged tissues, he needed to first survive being mauled by the dog.
• Liam locked his eyes on the infected canine and kept low on the ground. He knew he was going to get only one chance to fend the mutt off, and a late reaction could get him killed in an instant.
• The infected dog yelped and ran at Liam, its paws flying off the asphalt as it launched itself into the air and pounced on him.
• Liam put his left arm in the way, guarding his face, and the dog’s jaws clamped shut around his wrist.
• Fighting the excruciating pain, Liam raised his right arm and muttered, “Bestial Grasp!”
• His right arm immediately hardened, and his hand morphed to a bulkier form. Clenching his fist, he punched with all his strength, driving his knuckles straight into the dog’s chest.
• His toughened fingers tore through the dog’s skin, spearing through its soft muscles.
• “Get the hell away from me!” he yelled, ripping the dog’s heart out.
• The dog twitched and dropped to the ground before breathing its last, its glassy eyes staring blankly into the distance.
• Liam breathed a sigh of relief and crushed the heart within his grasp.
• Immediately, the translucent system panel flashed open, highlighting a new notification.
• [New infected DNA acquired!]
• [Assimilating canine DNA into the host!]
• [Failure!]
• [The host does not possess the genetic alteration to assimilate bestial DNA.]
• Liam didn’t care about the failed assimilation. He was just glad to have survived the encounter. But his arms and legs were still bleeding.
• He knew he needed to get to a safe shelter quickly, or he could pass out in the open and attract all the undead around him.
• With all his stamina severely depleted by the fight, Liam didn’t have enough energy to expend on regeneration, so he tore his shirt open and used it to bandage his open wounds.
• Bleeding and exhausted, he hobbled across the grassy path and headed for the church at the eastern end of town.
• Fortunately, there were no undead in the vicinity, and Liam reached the stone steps leading to the church’s main door without running into any trouble.
• But just as he looked in through the window, a terrifying sight chilled his blood.
• Inside the church, the bishop had turned, and the infection had transformed him into a hulking brute with an oversized left arm beefed with unnatural muscles. His white robes clung to his grotesque body in tatters, and a deformed hump protruded from his back, likening him to a beast of burden.
• Driven by mindless hunger, the infected bishop had gone into a feeding frenzy and slaughtered all the choir boys.
• Liam felt a cold chill run down his spine as he watched the abomination feasting on the flesh of the fallen with its humped back turned toward the door.
• “What the hell is that?” he gasped, staring at the infected bishop in horror.