Apocalypse: Building And Hoarding My Way Through.
Chapter 61: Blood And Tears.

Chapter 61: Blood And Tears.

The tongue lashed out, stopping just a few inches away from Garvin’s face, spraying blood across his cheek as it slammed against the wall behind him. Its slimy, horror texture clung to the surface, leaving a dark, dripping smear.

Garvin’s eyes widened in sheer horror as he stumbled backward, his feet tangling awkwardly beneath him. He nearly toppled over, his breath coming in short, ragged gasps.

"What the...?" Louise’s voice wavered, breaking into a mixture of disbelief and disgust. He instinctively clutched his weapon tighter, his knuckles whitening with tension.

Scarlett, however, remained unfazed. Her cold, calculating gaze locked onto the horror appendage.

Without a moment’s hesitation, Scarlett moved and struck the tongue with deadly precision using her fire element severing it cleanly in two. One half of the tongue recoiled violently, retreating through the shattered window and into the rain-soaked darkness outside. The other half writhed on the tiled school floor, twitching abnormally as it oozed a foul-smelling ichor.

"Get back!" Scarlett barked, her voice sharp and commanding, pulling the group out of their momentary paralysis.

She quickly slammed the door shut, her movements precise and deliberate. Just as she turned to secure the lock, another horror appendage ten centimeters long, black, and glistening with rain shot through the air. It pierced through Scarlett’s abdomen with a sickening squelch, the tip bursting out from her lower back.

Gasps filled the room as the survivors watched in stunned horror.

But before anyone could react, the tongue retracted just as quickly as it had struck. It slithered back, disappearing into the night, as if recognizing its mistake. Scarlett’s blood was no ordinary blood, it was the blood of the Monster Queen, a fact that sent even these savage predators into retreat.

The room was deathly silent. The other survivors fell to the ground, trembling. Their breaths were shallow, their bodies shaking as if they might collapse from fear.

Yet Scarlett remained standing. Her posture was steady, her expression unchanged despite the fresh wound staining her shirt.

Ignoring the terror etched into the others’ faces, she turned back to the door. She finished securing it with a firm click of the lock before pulling the heavy curtains closed, blocking out the storm outside. The sound of the rain battering against the windows only seemed to amplify the tension inside the room.

Finally, Scarlett turned to face the survivors. Their wide, terrified eyes followed her every move.

"S..she just got stabbed," one of the survivors stammered, his voice barely above a whisper. "How is she still... standing?"

"That’s because I can regenerate faster," Scarlett replied, her voice cold and emotionless. She turned to face the man who locked eyes with her. In an instant, he collapsed, losing consciousness the moment their gazes met.

Scarlett shifted her attention back to Garvin, who looked desperate and torn. "Where’s Golden?" she asked, her voice steady despite the chaos around them. "I sensed that she was in this school. Although I couldn’t feel her presence much, I’m sure she’s here. Where is she then? Did she escape from Victor? Is that why you’re all trying to run before he tracks her down?"

Garvin’s expression crumbled. "Golden... she’s..." he began, his voice breaking as tears streamed down his cheeks. "She came here, but she’s..."

"She’s what?" Scarlett asked, her voice sharpening, demanding an answer.

"She’s dead, Scarlett," Garvin whispered, his voice raw with grief.

Scarlett’s eyes widened in shock. The words hit her like a physical blow, and for a moment, the world seemed to tilt, as if the very foundation of her reality was crumbling beneath her feet.

"What did you just say?" Scarlett’s voice trembled, a mixture of disbelief and pain in her tone, as she sought to confirm what she had just heard. Blood began to drip from her eyes, staining her cheeks as her emotions surged.

"She’s really dead, Scarlett," Garvin repeated, his tone heavy with sorrow and guilt. "Victor killed her."

The weight of the words hung in the air like a thick fog. Scarlett’s body stiffened, her breath shallow, as her mind tried to process the impossible. Her hands clenched into fists, and her heart seemed to beat louder in her chest.

"What... what happened to your eyes?" Garvin asked, his voice soft with concern, finally noticing the blood leaking from her tear-streaked face.

Instead of answering, Scarlett’s anger and pain erupted like a storm. Her fingernails elongated into razor-sharp claws, and her teeth sharpened into pointed fangs. Her skin darkened and became covered in rough, scaly patches.

The growls of monsters outside grew louder, as if sensing Scarlett’s pain. The survivors trembled in fear, watching in awe and horror as Scarlett’s transformation continued.

"I told you, she’s a monster!" one of the survivors shouted, his voice filled with terror.

Scarlett, her rage blinding her, covered the distance between herself and the terrified survivor in a heartbeat. She pinned him to the wall, her claws digging into his neck, her strength suffocating.

"Let go of him, Scarlett!" Garvin cried, his voice breaking, as he rushed forward. Tears continued to stream down his cheeks, the weight of the loss still fresh. "You’re not a monster!"

Scarlett’s eyes flared with anger, her grip tightening around the survivor’s throat, but something in Garvin’s voice made her hesitate. She looked down at the man in her grasp and slowly, reluctantly, released him. He fell to the ground, gasping for air.

"Victor will be here soon," Garvin said quickly, his voice pleading with urgency. "He knows we’re here . We need to leave...now..before it’s too late!"

Maya, her face streaked with tears, nodded fervently. "Yes, we should leave. We can’t stay here any longer. We thought the monsters would thin out, but more keep coming. If we stay here, we might die in a monster attack or get caught by Victor’s men. But if we slip away quietly, we can escape. We’ll be free."

Scarlett expression was still a mask of fury, but she turned away from him, walking toward the door.

"Where are you going, Scarlett?" Garvin called out, his voice strained with emotion. "You can’t do this alone."

Scarlett didn’t answer. Instead, she yanked open the door, and as it creaked open, headlights from multiple vehicles flooded the room. Several vans screeched to a halt outside, their lights cutting through the darkness like knives. Gunfire erupted as soldiers from the vans unloaded rounds into the horde of monsters, engulfing them in flames.