[Warning! A horde of zombies is incoming! Warning!]
Zera's screen suddenly flashed a red warning. It came along with a blaring sound that echoed around them.
This had momentarily provided Zera and Astherielle a beeline to run towards Jaspreth and Beatrix, with the zombies getting distracted by the siren.
The four friends looked at each other, receiving a uniform warning from the system.
"Okay, we should remain calm," Beatrix plunged the pointed tip of her weapon towards one of the zombies, piercing it right through the head.
Zera pushed it off as Beatrix pulled the pointed end of her staff from its crushed skull.
"Gross," the two girls chorused, catching sight of each other's nauseated expression.
"Code? Anyone?" Jaspreth asked, catching his breath. He caught sight of Astherielle and exchanged high-fives. "That's a super cool upgrade, A."
"I know, right. It had something to do with that animal affinity thing. Wait until you guys acquire it. It's fun."
"Here's to hoping we get it now. We desperately need a miracle." Beatrix lamented, her gaze shifting from left and right, expecting to find a large company of zombies hurtling towards them.
"Right," Zera crouched on one of the padlocks. She tried one of the codes she had been thinking of earlier. "Someone else should try different combinations on the other side. While the two will keep watch. Let's move it! We're running out of time!"
Beatrix positioned herself on the other side, leaving Jaspreth and Astherielle to face off the zombies coming towards them.
Astherielle used her crossbow while Jaspreth beheaded the zombies with the samurai sword in his hand.
Muttering the codes she had been coming up with earlier, Zera tried each one of them, and still, none of it worked.
Frustrated at how things were turning out to be, Zera stared at the butterfly signage. She wished someone could give them a definite clue to help them figure out the padlock code.
'A genie, a witch, a fairy. Anything was welcome.' Zera thought of all the impossible creatures who might jump out of the blue and hand them something they could go with.
The ground had begun to shake. Zera exchanged glances with Beatrix and gulped.
"I'm not going to lose my life in this game because of some stupid zombies!" Beatrix belted out, focusing on the padlock in her hands, angrily trying out any combination that came to her mind.
Zera stared back at the butterfly sign, tilting her head to the side as she imagined it flapping its wings.
In her mind's eye, she was seeing it coming to life, flying towards her with its gentle wings.
It landed on her nose, having Zera blinking as it stayed there for a few seconds before flying away and slowly vanishing into thin air.
"1-7-0-7-1" Zera imagined the butterfly and its structure. Suddenly it hit her. "7-1-0-1-7!"
Trying out the code, Zera heard the click, the padlock finally opening up.
"EE!" She shouted in time for the ground beneath their feet to shake unstoppably. A sound from nearby reminded Zera of an impending stampede from one of the television shows they had watched before.
Her eyes had grown animatedly wide while she hurriedly removed the padlock from the metal shutters. She then crossed the other side, catching Beatrix's bewildered gaze.
"You figured it out!" She exclaimed. Zera nodded, taking over the unlocking of the padlock while Beatrix pulled her guns out, firing at the first batch of zombies who must have run at the front lines.
Hearing the click, Zera tossed the padlock aside and began pulling at the metal shutters, putting all her might to finally open it and get all of them inside.
"A little help here, please! Jay!" Zera called out.
Jaspreth could barely hear Zera, the sound of the incoming horde getting louder.
"A little busy! Sorry!"
Beatrix glanced at her friend, letting out a grunt of frustration before tucking back her guns and helping her pull the shutters up.
It was surprisingly very heavy.
"At the count of three, we'll give it everything we got! Ready?" Zera stared at Beatrix; the latter nodded.
"One, two, three!" They both grunted, pulling with all their might while the ground beneath their feet shook as the horde of zombies came close.
Opening the shutter halfway, Zera and Beatrix felt the cold whiff coming from inside the building. An air conditioning was most likely at work.
"Jay! A! Come and get inside!" Beatrix called out, her arms feeling the weight of the metal shutter.
Their two friends were busily keeping the zombies at bay. The horde has yet to reach them, but the number of zombies coming in was enough to keep them on their toes.
Grunting with effort, Zera slowly lowered her body to take a peek inside. She wanted to make sure they weren't putting themselves in grave danger once all of them safely entered the building.
Red light infiltrated her vision, and she could make out an expansive space with nothing else inside. The coast was, as Zera hoped, clear. Their goal now was to escape the horde and lock themselves inside the building.
Slowly dropping to the ground without removing her hold on the metal shutters, Zera gently moved her body to enter the building.
Checking all the sides, Zera mentally sighed with relief.
"Bee! Get your butt in here, and we need to brainstorm how to help the two." Beatrix slightly let go of her hold on the metal shutter, leaving Zera to put in so much strength to keep it open while she ducked and slipped inside.
Beatrix immediately went back on helping Zera to keep the shutter open. Their two friends were still rapidly firing and slashing on the beasts that kept coming.
"Hey! You two! Come on!" Zera shouted. Her arms were beginning to stiffen. "EE and I cannot hold this shutter for long! The horde is coming!"
"You go ahead, Jay!" Astherielle screamed, kicking one super zombie away from her before firing at it right through its skull. Using the back of the gun she was holding, she hit another one, making it stumble while she fired on another zombie to her left.
"No!" Jaspreth immediately dismissed the idea, beheading one zombie and kicking away another before pulling his trigger on it. "Let's fall back slowly together! I can't leave you behind!"
"Fine! But you seriously need to go ahead! I have super speed!"
"Ugh," Jaspreth fired rapidly as a trio came rushing towards him all of a sudden. "Don't remind me. We need to move now!"
Taking a step back, Jaspreth continued to simultaneously fire his gun and use the sword with the other to avoid getting bitten.
Astherielle was solely using her gun, but she was handling herself quite well with the added agility.
[WARNING! A HORDE OF ZOMBIES AHEAD!]
[WARNING! A HORDE OF ZOMBIES AHEAD! Please note that they will come in all directions. The Priestess wishes you good fortune!]
"JAY! A!" Zera shouted once more. "We need you two to come here, now!"