Apocalypse : Transmigrated With Milf System-Chapter 11: The Zombie Horde - 2

The last filing cabinet shuddered into place against their makeshift barricade,

a groan of protesting metal a weak counterpoint to the relentless "thunk-thunk-thunk" from beyond.

A ragged chorus of exhales filled the dusty air.

"Think that'll keep 'em out?" Skinny's voice was thin, a nervous tremor lacing the edges as he swiped a sheen of sweat across his forehead with a shaky hand.

His eyes darted nervously towards the groaning door.

Boss Chen straightened, his broad shoulders slumping slightly with the effort, a weary sigh escaping his lips.

"Long enough to spit, maybe." He cast a skeptical eye over their precarious jumble of office furniture, his brow furrowed in doubt.

"Those things are like... like maggots on a corpse. You squash a few, and a hundred more crawl out of the woodwork."

Nina snorted, but her gaze was equally assessing, a grim line etched between her eyebrows.

"Pretty sure maggots don't try to rip your damn face off. We need a better plan than hoping this garbage holds." She tapped a wobbly chair leg with her boot, a sound of finality in the dusty silence.

Mei Feng, her breathing still ragged, finally lowered the chair she'd been struggling to wedge into a gap.

Her wet hair clung to her temples, framing wide, dark eyes that darted between the flimsy barricade and the faces of the others, a silent plea for reassurance.

She clutched the damp fabric tighter around herself, a visible shiver running down her spine.

Then, the rhythmic thudding from outside devolved into chaos.

The low, guttural moans twisted into something monstrous, a rising tide of pure animalistic hunger.

A shrieking, ululating screech tore through the air, a sound that clawed at their eardrums and sent a primal jolt of fear through their bodies.

It was the sound of pure, ravenous hunger amplified a hundredfold,

a maelstrom of guttural roars and piercing cries that spoke of a single-minded, horrifying intent.

The makeshift barricade rattled and groaned under the sheer sonic assault, and a palpable wave of icy dread washed over the room.

Boss Chen's head snapped up, his usual scowl replaced by a look of stark terror, his blood running cold.

"What in God's name...?" This wasn't the aimless caterwauling of the few stragglers they'd encountered.

This was a tidal wave of sound, a symphony of the damned rising in terrifying crescendo.

He scrambled with a desperate urgency towards the hulking reception desk, his boots scuffing frantically on the grimy floor.

"What the hell is that racket?!" Big Ben rumbled, his brow furrowing in confusion, his usual slow demeanor replaced by a bewildered unease as the unholy din assaulted their ears.

Balancing precariously on a stack of overturned boxes,

Skinny found a sliver of a gap between two warped planks of wood they'd jammed into the window frame.

He squinted, his breath hitching in his throat, his eyes widening in disbelief.

The scene that greeted him stole the air from his lungs, a silent scream building in his chest.

His eyes widened, pupils dilating in disbelief and dawning horror.

He recoiled, stumbling back from his makeshift vantage point, his face bleached white, his body trembling violently.

"Sweet Mary, Mother of God..." he whispered, his voice barely audible above the unrelenting wall of sound,

his eyes wide with a terror that transcended the immediate threat.

Every head swiveled towards him, their expressions mirroring a growing unease,

now morphing into a palpable terror at the sheer volume of the approaching threat.

"Skinny? What is it? What do you see?!" Nina demanded, her voice sharp with a sudden, icy fear that cut through the zombie's shrieking,

her hand instinctively reaching for the makeshift knife at her belt.

Skinny swallowed hard, his Adam's apple bobbing frantically.

He gestured wildly towards the barricaded door, his hand shaking uncontrollably, his voice tight with hysteria.

"You... you don't understand! It's not just a few... it's... it's a goddamn ocean of them! Their screams... they're everywhere!"

Big Ben's eyes widened, but a cynical smirk still wavered on his lips, though the bravado was clearly forced. "An ocean? What in the damn hell are you smoking, runt? We've seen a few stragglers, nothing-"

"No!" Skinny cut him off, his voice rising in a near-hysterical shriek, his gaze darting back towards the door as another deafening wave of guttural howls and piercing cries crashed against it.

"This isn't stragglers! This is... this is the whole damn parade! Hundreds! Thousands, maybe! They're packed together, clawing, screaming... the street is filled as if an ocean!"

He ran a frantic hand through his greasy hair, his eyes wild with unadulterated terror.

Boss Chen's usual calm demeanor finally fractured.

His eyes, usually so steady and calculating, now held a flicker of disbelief and dawning alarm,

his lips pressed into a thin, bloodless line as the horrifying chorus continued unabated.

"Thousands, runt? Are you absolutely sure you saw what you think you saw? That wasn't just... some kind of echo or... or a bad dream?"

Skinny's voice was raw with desperation, almost a sob.

"I'm telling you! It's a horde! Their screams are getting closer! This... this little pile of junk isn't going to stop them! We need to get out of here! Now! Is there another way? A back exit? Anything?!"

Mei Feng gasped, her hand flying to her mouth, her knuckles white against her lips.

Tears streamed down her face, mingling with the droplets of water in her hair, as the unearthly screams seemed to penetrate her very soul, a visceral assault on her senses.

Big Ben's massive frame seemed to coil, his usual easygoing demeanor replaced by a grim intensity, his eyes narrowed in focused fear.

He moved towards the door, his ears straining against the terrifying, unified roar that was rapidly approaching, a sound that promised only death and destruction.

The initial relief of a secured entrance had shattered, replaced by the horrifying reality of an overwhelming, unimaginable threat, heralded by a symphony of screams that would haunt their nightmares.

While Ruel watched their expressions with a strange, detached amusement,

a playful glint in his eyes, his gaze flickered back towards the shuddering door, a plan already sketching itself in his mind.

"Hmm... things might be getting interesting." He mused quietly, then his eyes drifted towards Mei Feng, who was fidgeting nervously, carrying a few light boxes towards the barricade.

"If this goes south... should I bother bringing the wet one with me?" He contemplated, a calculating look in his eyes.

"And judging by the way Chen barks at her... their little dynamic isn't exactly heartwarming."

A smirk touched his lips. "Might not be good for her, but definitely simplifies things for me."

He stood up, a newfound energy in his movements, and jumped lightly down from the upper landing.