Apocalypse: Building And Hoarding My Way Through.
Chapter 16: Battle Lines.

Chapter 16: Battle Lines.

"Damn it! We’ve been detected!" Garvin cursed under his breath. "Everyone, grab something, ’anything’ to protect yourselves."

"How did they even detect us?" Scarlett questioned, clutching the baby tightly against her chest as she edged away from the window.

Ding!

{Your tears attracted the monsters, host.}

"What?" Scarlett’s heart raced as she read the system notification.

{Whenever you injure yourself, the scent of your blood draws nearby monsters. They’re compelled to come, sensing your vulnerability. And your tears, they contain traces of that same scent, calling to them just as strongly.}

"What the heck? You could have told me that earlier! I wouldn’t have kept crying," Scarlett whispered, swallowing hard. "I don’t want to be the reason anyone dies."

{Unfortunately, these monsters won’t leave just because you’ve stopped crying. Your tears already attracted them and they’re here for a fight, and they won’t retreat until they’ve had it.}

Without warning, Scarlett’s vision turned crimson, and her eyes glowed a deep red. She could now see beyond the walls, scanning the building and even the space outside.

"What?! There are so many monsters out there!" she screamed inwardly, and in an instant, her vision returned to normal.

{Yes, host. Your tears attracted quite a few.}

"Damn it!" Scarlett muttered, her voice barely a whisper.

Though it was dark outside, Scarlett had already caught a glimpse of the monster at the window. It was the same black-skinned, slimy creature that had attacked her earlier, clinging to walls and ceilings and blending seamlessly into its surroundings.

"What do we do now?" Mary’s voice trembled with fear as she looked from Scarlett to the others, her gaze lingering on Scarlett.

Rose, her face contorted in anger, shot Mary a glare and said. "You’re not actually thinking of asking her for help after you tried to send her outside to those monsters, are you?"

"I’m sure those monsters are here because of her," Louise sneered, gripping a stick with a sharpened end. The scar on his face seemed to twist with his smirk. "They sense the pain of their kind. Whenever their kind in distress, they come running. And from the sounds of it, there’s more than one out there."

"I told you, Scarlett isn’t a monster!" Garvin said fiercely, his fists clenched.

"You keep telling yourself that," Louise retorted with a grin.

The sound of growling and scraping claws echoed throughout the mall, sending a fresh wave of dread through the group as monsters thudded against walls and scratched at floors.

"Oh my goddess," Mary whimpered, her face pale. "I don’t want to die. I still haven’t found my parents..."

"We would have been safe if she had left when we asked her to!" Mrs. Anderson hissed, her anger boiling over. "Those monsters would have gone somewhere else to find her if she wasn’t here."

"Oh, shut it, old woman!" Rose scoffed, her expression full of irritation.

Garvin leaned close to Scarlett and whispered, "Scarlett, is there anything we can use to protect ourselves? Like when you gave us food and clothes?"

Scarlett took a deep breath and nodded, prompting a wave of hope to light up Garvin’s face. The other survivors looked at her with eager, expectant eyes. She held onto the pendant around her neck, clutching it tightly as if it were the true source of her strength.

"System, I still have 100 silver coins left. I should’ve bought weapons back when I had gold coins, but I chose other things instead. How foolish of me. Even if I can fight using my own element, the others need something to defend themselves with too."

{Yes, host. You have 100 silver coins remaining.}

"Is that enough to get weapons for everyone?"

{Affirmative, host.}

The system screen then loaded with an array of weapons

{Swords (katana, broadsword, rapier), Knives (daggers, switchblades, combat knives), Axes (battle-axes, hatchets), Clubs (baseball bats, crowbars), Maces (flails, morning stars), Staffs (bo staffs, quarterstaffs), Spears (javelins, pikes), Hammers (war hammers, sledgehammers}

{Firearms: Handguns (pistols, revolvers), Rifles (assault rifles, sniper rifles), Shotguns (pump-action, semi-automatic), Machine guns (submachine guns, heavy machine guns), Crossbows.}

{Ranged Weapons: Bows (longbows, compound bows), Arrows (various types, e.g., explosive, poisoned), Throwing knives, Shuriken (ninja stars), Grenades (explosive, smoke, stun}

"Can I purchase everything here with the 100 silver coins?" Scarlett’s eyes darted between the monster at the window and the holographic screen before her.

{No, host. With 100 silver coins, you can buy 50 handguns (pistols and revolvers) and 100 bullets.}

"Fine. I’ll take it. But make sure to distribute the weapons only to those here. Keep the rest with you for now," Scarlett declared in her mind.

{Affirmative, host.}

Suddenly, pistols materialized in the hands of each survivor, startling them.

"Defend yourselves with those," Scarlett instructed, watching as their eyes lit up with relief. "They’re already loaded."

"Whoa! That pendant of yours is amazing," Rose murmured, admiring the weapon in her hand. "Just aim for the monster’s head or eyes. It may not kill it outright, but it’ll slow it down, giving us time to escape."

"Thank you, Scarlett." Garvin’s expression softened in gratitude. Scarlett nodded, acknowledging his thanks.

"But what about those of us who can’t shoot?" Mary’s voice trembled as she looked down at the pistol in her hand, terror evident in her eyes.

"Then get ready to die, sweetheart," Rose sneered with a smirk, watching Mary’s fear grow. "You watch action movies, don’t you? Use what you learned there in real life."

"Holy Mary, please save us," Matthew muttered, breaking his long silence. His wide eyes were fixed on the monster at the window, his hands shaking as he clutched the pistol.

"If we start shooting now, the other monsters will find us," Garvin said, tightening his grip on the gun. "But if we wait, the monster at the window would get in. It’s not very smart, which is probably why it hasn’t figured out how to open the window yet. Or maybe it’s because of its species, it’s more like a slimy shadow than a giant monster."

Louise nodded, his eyes hardening as he focused on the window. "Whether we shoot now or later, we’re looking at one hell of a battle. One way or another, we’ll have to fight them all."