Chapter 8 A Calculated Gamble

• Nora's arm trembled as she stared at Liam. He was her only friend in this rotting gorefest, but she had seen those bite marks clear as daylight.
• It was difficult for her to trust anyone after witnessing the madness in her own house. Her own parents had turned on each other once the infection took hold, and she had barely made it out alive.
• A million thoughts raced across Nora’s mind as she held the gun aimed at Liam. Her finger kissed the trigger as she steeled her nerves.
• “I am sorry, Liam!”
• She exhaled the breath she had been holding and lowered her gun.
• “I am too much of a chicken to kill you,” she added, getting down on her hunches.
• Liam breathed a sigh of relief and chuckled softly. “I really thought you were going to shoot me.”
• “You and me both,” Nora said, smiling back. “I am taking a chance here, you know? Don’t bite me, okay?”
• Liam grinned ever so slightly and shrugged his shoulders. “No promises. But I’ll try.”
• Nora stood up straight and calmed her shaky nerves. “You said you wanted to enter the church and find the antidote. Do you have a plan?”
• “We have to kill the bishop first. As long as he is still in there, we can’t scour the building.”
• Nora raised her eyebrows. “I saw one of the nuns entering the church. She thought she could reason with the bishop. But he pounced on her like a feral beast and ripped her in half. He is far stronger and quicker than the other infected roaming the streets.”
• “Then we need to improvise,” Liam replied, setting his eyes on the church. “How good are you with that gun?”
• Nora looked at the Colt Python in her hand and replied, “Pretty good. My dad taught me how to shoot during our camping trips. I can definitely hit something at point-blank. But I am afraid our dear bishop is too quick for me. He will be onto me before I can bring him down.”
• “That’s why we are going to tag-team it,” Liam replied. “I am going to act as the distraction, and you will go for the kill. I’ll head through the back door, and you will enter through the front. Wait for me to catch the bishop’s attention, and then you shoot until he drops dead.”
• Although Liam’s plan sounded pretty straightforward and precise, Nora knew this wasn’t some game. Even a single slip-up could ruin everything.
• “Are you with me, Nora?” Liam asked, shaking her by the arm. “We need to do this together. Work as a team.”
• Nora still had plenty of doubt in her mind, but nodded regardless. “Alright, let’s do this. I hope you find that antidote, Liam.”
• “Don’t worry, I will.”
• Liam grabbed an empty soda bottle from the ground and walked away, circling around the churchyard to find the rear entrance. A small bolted door at the back led to the bishop’s chamber.
• Liam pushed the door with his left hand, but it refused to budge. Someone had locked it from the inside.
• “Oh, screw it. Just my damn luck!”
• Liam was still looking around, trying to find another entrance, when he spotted a half-open window on the left. He quickly climbed onto the sill and squeezed in through the little gap.
• He landed softly inside the prayer hall, his sneakers cushioning the impact.
• The musty air smelled of rotting flesh and stale human blood, mingled with the stench of bile.
• Liam was about to retch, but somehow controlled his urge by pressing his arm against his mouth.
• As the crunching of bones and the soft squelching of flesh reached his ears, he realized the infected bishop was still busy with his meal.
• “What kind of a freaking nightmare is this?” he mumbled to himself.
• Crouching low, Liam made his way to the altar and peeked from a corner. His eyes widened in horror as he beheld the gory scene in front of him.
• In the dim glow of the flickering chandelier, he saw the infected bishop chewing on a choir boy, his lips smothered in blood, and his glassy eyes devoid of any semblance of humanity.
• There were half-eaten corpses lying scattered all around him, and blood splattered on the walls like paint.
• [Warning! Powerful infected nearby!]
• [Proceed with extreme caution!]
• Liam inhaled sharply as his system window flashed a dire warning. He knew he shouldn’t have entered the church, but it was the only way he was going to get his hands on the antidote.
• “Screw it. I’m dead anyway.”
• Pulling his arm back, Liam hurled the empty bottle of soda with all his strength.
• The glass bottle shattered into a thousand pieces as it smashed into the wall, immediately alerting the infected bishop.
• Letting out a guttural shriek, the bishop raised his head and rushed toward the wall like a feral beast. He scanned the room with his glassy eyes as blood dripped from his mouth.
• Taking advantage of this little distraction, Nora sneaked in through the front door and hid behind one of the pews.
• The hungry bishop growled like a rabid dog and stomped around, smashing the tiled floor with his oversized fist.
• Liam picked up the silver goblet lying on the altar and stood up in a flash.
• “Over here, you dumb sack of meat!” he yelled, tossing the goblet at him.
• Nora understood the signal and immediately moved into position, closing the distance for a better shot.
• As the infected bishop spotted Alex, his glassy eyes turned bloodshot, and he lunged at him.
• Liam rolled to his right, just in the nick of time, barely avoiding the hulking brute as he came crashing down and pummeled the floor with his fist.
• “Do it now!” Liam yelled, backing away into a dark corner.
• “Surprise, father!” Nora shouted, springing into action.
• She fired twice in rapid succession, punching holes into the bishop’s crooked hump. Rotting pus oozed out of his back as he squealed in pain.
• As Nora fired again, the infected bishop turned around and lunged at her, leaping across the prayer hall with his powerful legs.
• The wooden pews shattered into pieces as the enraged bishop smashed everything with his oversized arm.
• “Fuck!”
• Nora fired again as the bishop caught her in his sights, but despite being hit repeatedly, he refused to go down.
• “Why don’t you just die? What the hell are you?” Nora gasped as the infected bishop growled at her.
• Smashing the remaining pews out of the way, the bishop opened his bloody mouth to reveal two rows of sharp, serrated teeth.
• Nora’s legs froze, and her breath caught in her throat as the bishop inched closer, ready to make a meal out of his new prey.