Chapter 63 - Sixty Two - Hidden Dangers in a Garden (2/2)

”Hide upstairs, they can't get us so easily if we get to the loft!”

”What about Shaun?” Brooke's nose wrinkled as she looked at the man stuck in the wheelchair. Who asked him to not be able to climb and want others to risk their lives for his?

”Go to the gym!” Eraj suggested. ”There's lots of metal there and Shaun can, maybe use it?” He had some elementary knowledge about their abilities, having much the same curiosity as Patrick, just not the same levels of exuberant enthusiasm. Besides, it was not like he could use it himself.

Shaun nodded; it would certainly be easier using that which existed already over that which did not. He wanted to be strong, not wanting to let the chair define him. He didn't want to be protected all the time, wanting to protect others instead. Surely, he couldn't turn down an opportunity to test himself?! Brooke watched as they headed to the gym, but hesitated. Glancing at the increasingly large tear in the thin metal barrier, she bit her lip and followed after them.

The metal from the weights became a thicker barrier, but one with a series of very narrow gaps. More metal became poles with dangerously pointed ends; it was Shaun's intention to use these as spears, piercing the undead with the ends as they attacked the bars. Only problem was that there was a serious lack of muscle from their point of view. Autumn and Eraj held the spear and thrust it through the narrow gaps, the scraping of metal on metal causing sparks. They barely scratched the rabbit gnawing at the bars with its sharp teeth, but managed to pierce into the flesh of a vole. The next couple of attempts were in vain.

”At least hit one!” Brooke complained in a panic as she held her crying baby in the corner. She was wishing she had taken to the loft now! She didn't want to die!

”Trying!” Eraj replied, gritting his teeth.

”What about Shaun controlling it?” She asked, looking accusingly at the man now flopped in his chair.

He shook his head, a look of irritation mixed with frustration upon his face. ”I can't, I've no energy left!” A bottle of water suddenly appeared in front of him, held by Nathan, but the man waved it away. ”Thank you, but I'm not thirsty, just feeling completely drained.”

Nathan backed away, clutching the bottle to his chest for a moment before he tilted his head and opened the window. ”Nathan, stop!” Eraj went to grab his wrist, worried he'd let more zombies in. Instead, a long, flower topped stem appeared in the gap and shook its yellow petals. It looked somewhat like a dandelion, only bigger and its yellow petals had red tips.

A bar suddenly snapped, distracting them and the rabbit with diamond tipped teeth was shoved forward and the bar fell from the door, taking with it the top of the wooden frame. The smaller rodents began to rush through. Eraj began to curse profusely, while Brooke screamed again and began to cry, even snatching the bottle of water from Nathan's hand and to throw it at the rodents. Shaun gritted his teeth and used what little energy he could summon to toss a weight at them, crushing a few.

The flower aged suddenly and the green bulb remaining burst into a head of white. It shook itself again and the seeds floated through the window and as if drawn to the zombie mice, landed upon them. A series of small explosions happened over the rodents bodies and they collapsed, twitching as if in shock, their remnant fur and flesh wriggling about weirdly. Roots suddenly burst from their corpses as well as small green shoots and leaves. The girls and Eraj both heaved, it was pretty shocking to see.

”Now that's just freaking weird,” Nan Li Liang muttered, while Shaun managed a weak laugh.

The rodents still outside the barrier had also paused at the sight for some reason, Eraj and Autumn took the opportunity to stab one of the remaining rabbits, while the last also became a flower bed of mutant dandelions. The one eyed rat fled only to meet its demise at the end of a blast of angry black fire which consumed it in seconds, leaving only ash behind.

Ren Zexian ignored the carnage at his feet, to press against the metal bars and to see that the ones they had left behind in the house were alright and he exhaled a breath. ”You are all well,” he said, aloud to solidify this fact. But as he said it, his eyes were on one person alone. His worries were washed away with one tender smile from his Nathan.