Leveling Up Wives In The Apocalypse

“So this is the floor,” Mathew muttered in a low voice while looking up the stairs.

With the help of Norbert’s ghost, Mathew’s group didn’t need to look for the guy they were hunting for. Even before they approached anywhere near him, they were perfectly aware of his location.

But that didn’t mean the other party was aware of that fact.

“Shall we?” Leila asked, turning her head over her shoulder to look at Mathew.

She was the vanguard of the group, ready to jump into action at the first sign of trouble. Yet, she still had enough reason in her head to check with others before actually invading the floor.

“Just remember what I said before,” Mathew pointed out before gently shaking his head from one side to the other.

“I know,” Leila muttered while rolling her eyes in annoyance. “But don’t you think it’s Daria who you should be telling that?” she pointed out as a small smile quivered in the corner of her lips.

“That’s a good point,” Mathew admitted as he turned his head to the left, where the other party of his second wife stood. “Are you ready?”

“I couldn’t be any more ready.” There was no hesitation in Daria’s voice.

To the outsiders, she would appear too focused on hogging Mathew’s left arm all to herself to consider her a threat. Yet, for Mathew’s group, she was actually a hidden triumph card.

‘If she can see Norbert’s ghost, maybe she will be able to see through that guy’s cover as well?’ Mathew thought, unwilling to waste even the tiniest opportunity to make the looming fight easier.

And right now, there are only three possibilities.

First, the guy regretted shooting Norbert as it was something he didn’t really mean to do. It was the best possible scenario assuming that he was willing to cooperate.

The second option was the most realistic one that Mathew derived from what they guessed about their opponent so far. In this scenario, that bastard would simply use his wish to hide, hoping that Mathew’s group wouldn’t notice him.

‘That’s exactly what I would do if I were to be in the same place he is in right now,’ Mathew thought, perfectly aware of the overwhelming feelings of distrust that all the survivors felt back in the early days of the apocalypse.

Yet, there was the third possibility. The one that Mathew hoped wouldn’t come true. It was the chance that upon seeing them, that guy would simply attack.

‘As much as I don’t want that to happen, it would lead to the quickest solution to the situation,’ the young man thought when he took placed his foot on the first step of the stairs.

“He is on the move,” Norbert reported when Mathew blinked and kept his eyes closed for a little longer than one would usually do.

“He hid in the third classroom to the left.”

“He hid my body in the lockers at the back of the classroom.”

“I can’t see Carol anywhere; I’m still looking.”

The reports from Norbert flooded Mathew’s ears whenever he would close his eyes.

“Here we go,” Leila muttered and tightened the grasp over the handle of her machete right before setting her foot on the floor of the level they were aiming to conquer. “Are you sure this is the right floor?” she then asked, casually asking.

“Yeah,” Mathew nodded his head, not bothering to keep his voice low at all. “The fact that we had a close call before doesn’t mean I would forget where I summoned him,” he added before theatrically rolling his eyes.

“You really should put some more trust in him,” Daria said as she wrapped her hands tighter around Mathew’s arm.

“And you should learn how to keep your dirty paws away from my man,” Nadia quickly joined in, reciting the lines the group came up with like a born actress.

Her voice was oozing hate and disgust. If her eyes could kill, then not a single other girls on the floor would be left alive at this point.

“Girls, calm the heck down,” Mathew said, pretending to meditate between his companions. “What if we missed a zombie while clearing this floor before? It should be your ears and eyes that are wide open, not your mouths!” he said, turning his meditation into a lecture.

“You wouldn’t need to worry about it if I was the one to clear that floor with you,” Nadia muttered silently and averted her eyes to the side.

“Okay, that’s fucking it,” Mathew uttered, an ugly grin appearing on his lips as he swung his right arm to the front. As she was wrapped all around Mathew’s right side, Nadia had no other choice but to struggle to stay on her feet by suddenly running a few steps forward. “Didn’t I tell you lot to focus?!”

Mathew’s scream caused the entire group to stop… Right in front of the doors to the classroom their prey was hiding at.

‘If he wishes to attack, he will do it now,’ Mathew thought before swallowing and continuing the act.

“I found Carol,” Norbert reported when Mathew blinked.

“I understand that this entire situation is weird for you,” Mathew stated as he pushed Daria away from his side, only to rest his hands on the sides of his hips while standing in a confrontational pose. “But right now, I don’t give two shits about your jealousy and conflicts,” Mathew uttered through his teeth before raising his hands only to cross them over his chest.

“What will happen if we don’t raise the fortress?” the young man suddenly asked, his voice as stern as it was loud.

“We will likely die when a stray zombie finds us while we sleep,” Leila replied without even a moment of hesitation.

In the scenario that Mathew prepared, she was the one with the coldest blood and reason dictating her actions.

In theory, complicating the situation like that had no meaning at all. Yet, if the push were to come to shove, the more unexpected their approach to the fight would be, the better.

“Is that the outcome that you wish for?” Mathew asked, his eyes glossing over Leila’s face as if he was certain of her response, only to lock on Daria’s and Nadia’s faces.

“I’m sorry…” Nadia was the first one to apologize. This part of her role was something that she actually refused to give up. “I just can’t handle the idea of this bitch laying her dirty hands on you!” she uttered in a trembling voice.

‘Damn, she is an insane actress,’ Mathew thought, genuinely surprised by the insane talent of the girl.

‘If I didn’t know any better, I would really think that’s what she thinks!’ he thought. Yet, his real thoughts aside, Mathew’s face only reflected his anger growing.

Mathew then turned silent while staring at the two girls before him. Both Nadia and Daria had an apologetic look on their face, and both of them refused to look Mathew in the eyes, as if too ashamed to establish eye contact.

“We gucchi?” Mathew then asked in a stern tone before taking a moment to blink.

“He is right by the doors,” Norbert hastily reported.

“We… we are,” this time, it was Daria’s turn to speak first.

“Nadia?” Mathew moved his eyes to the right, seemingly putting his attention away from the doors. And then, he blinked again.

“…UCK!”

Mathew swung both of his legs forward, ignoring the instinctual resistance to lose his footing just like that. His body fell to the back, only for a thin blade to slide right past his nose and embed itself into the wall.

“What the…” he only managed to utter a single word of surprise.

“DIE!” Nadia shouted, both her voice and her eyes filling with intense hatred.

And then she swung her own machete at the doors where the attack came from.

Swish!

The blade of the girl’s weapon cut through the air as easily as it did cut through the thin wood the doors of the classroom were made off.

By the time Nadia’s blade reached the bottom of the doors, Daria kicked one of its parts inside, allowing Leila to leap inside.

She swung her blade sideways at what appeared like a shadow… Only for an average-looking guy to suddenly appear in everyone’s vision.

His face was filled with a mix of disappointment, surprise, and panic. Yet, rather than pressing their advantage, the girls stopped as soon as the guy revealed himself.

“So you woke up and chose violence, huh?” Mathew muttered silently, shaking his head as he looked at his schoolmate’s face.

The guy didn’t bother to reply. Instead, he brought up a metal leg of a chair with a sharpened end. He then pulled his arm to the back.

“Left eye,” he uttered, taking an aim with his improvised spear.

“Stop him,” Mathew gave only two words. And before their enemy could as much as throw his makeshift projectile, Leila rushed in and sliced the fingers of his hand off.

“Wouldn’t killing him be easier?” Leila asked when she landed behind their schoolmate as she sent Mathew a curious glance.

“It would be,” Mathew admitted as he took a step forward, grasping the handle of his fireman’s ax that he didn’t use in a long while already. “But that’s not your burden to bear.”