Trash in the Apocalypse

"Let me help."

They turned around and saw Bernard standing straight. His skin already regained some color, and he had a bright smile on his face.

"Thank God!" Ester ran and hugged him. "I'm sorry... it's my fault. I should have been the one who got bit."

"It's okay, I'm fine." Bernard patted her head like how he would assure his daughter.

Bernard looked around and noticed everyone's warm gaze. He felt good inside like he somehow found his place in this new world.

"I'm okay now. Let's go!" Bernard said as he took his baseball bat from his dimensional storage.

Edward went upstairs cautiously, yellow light covering both his hands. There are three rooms upstairs with a single hallway.

Edward opened the first door slowly. He peeked inside, searching for anything that is moving.

He first saw the table beside the wall, then a closet, followed by the bed. He chose to open the door widely and was greeted by a perfectly tidy room. There were towels on top of the bed and some gifts for couples besides the table lamp.

"Any devil's minion here? None? Okay~" whispered Edward then went to the next room. He did the same thing as last time and quietly opened the door. Just like the first room, it was empty.

Edward stood in front of the last room, and as if bored, this time, he wanted to do it with a bang. He yelled as he charged into the room. He stopped in the middle of the room, then spun looking for any infected that might attack him. To his disappointment, the room was also empty.

Edward forgot about something, or maybe he didn't even think about it. The rooms on the second floor were for the customers to use, so it would be strange to find an infected here. Instead, it would be odd if the owner doesn't have his room in his resort.

Sheila took the lead as they searched the canteen. The search was quick since the room was mostly filled with tables and chairs. Besides the empty kitchen, there were no other points of interest.

***

Adrian ran as fast as he could. He could feel the wind brush onto his skin as he ran. When he leveled up, he put all his stat points into SPD, which now showed its effect as he ran like a professional athlete.

When he reached outside, he looked left and right, searching for Paterno. He found him in between the pathway for the kiddie pool and the adult's pool area.

Paterno was currently kneeling on the grass while holding the shoulders of a little girl, who repeatedly tried biting him.

It seems like he already found his granddaughter, but not like how he wanted to.

The little girl was barefooted and wore a ruffled dress with a few frills on its end. Her eyes were yellow, and they shone brightly. They didn't emit light but had some unique brilliance deep inside it. The surroundings of her eye had web-like cracks which appeared dry while her arms hung on her sides like the usual obedient child. Her humerus bone, the bone after the shoulder, was showing. There was a considerable amount of missing flesh, making her unable to control her muscle to raise her hands.

Paterno stared at the little girl trying to wiggle out of his hands. Tears appeared on the side of his eyes as he pulled his granddaughter into a hug.

"It was Old Pat's fault. I promised you that I'll be back quickly but reneged on my promise. It's my fault." Paterno said, patting his granddaughter's back.

The little girl didn't bite him and instead knocked her forehead on his shoulder.

Paterno was surprised since he thought that his granddaughter would surely bite him, and so he happily turned his head.

An action he wished he could take back, but couldn't. His eyes widened in horror as he stared at the knife lodged in his granddaughter's head. He followed the hand holding the blade, and his eyes met with Adrian.

Adrian yanked the knife out then shakes it, causing the blood to fall. The serrated part of the blade brought out some flesh and other solid substances from the head. 

The little girl slumped on Paterno's body; her blood flowed down on his shoulders.

"No one else gets bit today," Adrian said then walked off.

After taking a few steps forward, Adrian felt the whole world turn around. A heavy feeling came from his back as he was now lying on the ground. He rolled with all his might and felt the weight on his back disappear.

After rolling, he saw Paterno, who hasn't stood up, crazily charged at him. His feet pushed on the ground repeatedly, then tackled Adrian.

Paterno was an old man, and he looked to be in his early fifty's. Although he was old, he didn't cower and proved that anger could raise someone's strength onto a whole new level.

They rolled around on the grass, and for safety reasons, Adrian threw the knife away.

Paterno won the rolling game and sat on top of Adrian. His hands rapidly went for Adrian's neck, wanting to choke him to death.

During their struggle, the serene pool made splashing sounds. From the adult pool's area, a head appeared. When it's whole body finally climbed up, an elderly figure was shown, it was the missing person that Edward's group have been looking for, Paterno's wife. Her hair was sticking close to her skin as water dripped from her body. Her skin was bloated as if she had absorbed a lot of water.

"Pat! Hold up!" Adrian shouted.

Adrian could only watch as the infected dashed towards them. When the infected pounced on them, he pushed Paterno to the side.

The infected fell right on top of him and immediately started biting him. He used his right hand and blocked its advance so it couldn't reach his neck.

"Elisa?" Paterno said emotionally. He was looking at his wife longingly when Adrian's yell resounded on the area.

"What are you waiting for! Help me!" Adrian signaled with his eyes for Paterno to look to his right.

Paterno followed where he was looking and saw the knife that Adrian threw away earlier.

"Kill it!" Adrian shouted.

"I can't! I can't..."

"Then, are you letting it kill me? Are you going to watch her kill someone?" Adrian shouted, looking into Paterno's eyes. He then slowly pulled his hand away, leaving his chest and face wide open.

Paterno was shocked. Does he really need to kill her? Or does he want to watch her kill someone? Both weren't options that he would like to take but have to make his choice as soon as possible.

When he saw his wife planning to bite Adrian's neck, a firm will rose from inside him, the will to keep his wife's pleasant image in his memories.

He quickly grabbed the knife on his side and tackled his wife.

As he sat on top of her, tears flowed down from his eyes. His wife produced a shriek that a human couldn't have possibly made, then he firmed his will and stabbed her in the head.

When everything became quiet, he started crying and lied on top of his wife.

Adrian lay down on his back while staring at the clouds. He wryly smiled as he stared at his uninjured arm filled with saliva.

Then he muttered softly. "No one else gets bit for today."

***

Edward came down and noticed the commotion outside. He ignored them and chose to head into the canteen to quench his thirst. He found a pitcher on one of the tables and poured some water onto a cup.

"Uwaaaah~ that's refreshing. But why does it taste sweet?"

He then opened the pitcher and found a set of dentures inside. He ran towards the sink then tried vomiting what he just drank but failed.