Pregnant During An Apocalypse [BL]

Chapter 138: Chapter 138 - Tunnel

Yunfeng’s lungs burned as he sprinted through the desolate streets, his legs threatening to give out beneath him.

Every fiber of his being screamed at him to run, to keep moving, to escape the nightmare closing in around him.

But in his blind panic, his foot caught on something—a jagged piece of debris or perhaps the outstretched arm of a corpse. He stumbled, his body pitching forward, and before he could react, he crashed onto something wet, sticky, and unnervingly warm.

He choked back a gasp, shoving himself up, and froze.

A soldier lay beneath him, his torso split open, ribcage shattered like a broken cage. The man’s insides were spilled across the pavement in a dark, glistening mess, organs half-eaten and swarming with flies.

The nauseating stench of decay curled up into Yunfeng’s nose, and his stomach heaved.

His hands trembled as they pressed into the cooling flesh of the corpse, and for a moment, his heart stopped.

But his brain kicked in.

He twisted back, his blood still roaring in his ears. The child zombie that had been chasing them had already moved on to another target. This was his chance.

His fingers latched onto the machine gun still strapped across the soldier’s body. He yanked, struggling against the weight of the corpse, then gritted his teeth and ripped it free. A belt of bullets was still slung across the dead man’s shoulders. Yunfeng didn’t hesitate. He took everything.

”Jai, quick! Take his guns!”

Jai was still frozen, staring at the soldier’s hollow, gaping chest. Something cracked inside Yunfeng’s patience.

”JAI!” he barked.

The sharp command snapped Jai out of his daze. He jerked into motion, stumbling forward. His trembling fingers ripped the pistol from the dead man’s holster, and he stuffed it into his waistband. His breath came in shaky gasps, his face pale with terror.

Then, a loud, wet crunch echoed through the air.

They both flinched.

Yunfeng turned just in time to see the child zombie tearing into a woman’s leg. Her screams were raw and guttural, filled with unimaginable pain. The zombie bit deeper, and blood sprayed everywhere. The woman collapsed, her body convulsing as her screeches filled the air.

Then—

A growl, deep and guttural, cut through the chaos.

The child’s head snapped up.

Its black, bottomless eyes locked onto Yunfeng.

It saw him.

Yunfeng’s blood turned to ice.

The zombie let go of its victim, crouched low, and then—

It sprinted.

Right. At. Them.

”FUCKING RUN!” Yunfeng bellowed.

Yunfeng and Jai bolted, their shoes pounding against the blood-slick pavement. Their breath came in ragged gasps, lungs burning as they tore through the wreckage of what used to be a city. The child zombie was fast—too fast. Its small body zipped between overturned cars, bare feet smacking against the road with unnatural speed. And it was gaining on them.

”Where do we go?!” Yunfeng gasped, gripping the machine gun with slick fingers.

Jai didn’t answer. He was too busy shoving down the rising panic threatening to choke him. His eyes darted around, searching for somewhere, anywhere to take cover. Ahead, the street curved into an underpass—a tunnel.

Jai made a snap decision.

”THERE!” he pointed. ”GO!”

They veered sharply, cutting across abandoned cars, some with half-eaten corpses hanging out of shattered windows. The child zombie shrieked behind them, its shrill cry echoing off the crumbling buildings.

It was right there.

Yunfeng felt it.

The way its footsteps got closer, closer—

Then a rush of air.

A hand snatched at his shirt.

Yunfeng whirled around, swinging the butt of the machine gun with all his strength. It slammed into the child’s head with a sickening CRACK. The impact flung the small body sideways—right into the open door of a mangled car.

The zombie tumbled, but It twisted unnaturally, like a spider, and latched onto the car frame, pushing itself up instantly. It was about to lunge again.

”FUCK!”

Jai pulled the pistol.

BANG!

The gunshot split the night.

The bullet hit the zombie’s shoulder. It jerked back, but it didn’t even scream. Just tilted its head, its black eyes gleaming with an eerie, unnatural intelligence.

Then—

It charged again.

”RUN! RUN!”

They darted under the underpass, darkness swallowing them whole. The sound of their footsteps echoed, multiplied—but not just theirs. From deep within the tunnel, there were other sounds. Low, shuffling movements. The clatter of something hard dragging against the concrete.

And then—

A growl.

Not the child zombie.

Something else was in here.

Jai and Yunfeng skidded to a stop.

”Shit.”

The darkness moved.

Eyes gleamed from inside the tunnel.

The pounding of bare, inhuman feet against the pavement echoed, bouncing off the cold concrete walls. The high-pitched shrieks and guttural growls curled in the darkness like a whispering death sentence.

Yunfeng held his breath.

Don’t breathe. Don’t move.

He pressed his back against the frigid tunnel wall, every muscle locked in place. His fingers, slick with sweat, clamped over Jai’s mouth, stifling any sound. Jai’s wide eyes screamed at him, filled with terror.

The child zombie’s ragged breathing was close.

Too close.

THUMP. THUMP. THUMP.

The footsteps slowed.

Right outside.

Yunfeng’s heartbeat slammed against his ribs.

And then—

His fingers brushed against something cold.

A knob.

A door.

He barely turned his head, vision adjusting to the shadows. The door was rusted, almost invisible against the wall. Had he not leaned back, he never would’ve noticed it.

He looked at Jai.

Now.

In one swift, silent movement, he grabbed Jai by the jacket, pulled him sideways, and wrenched the door open just enough for them to slip in.

They dived inside.

Yunfeng swung the door shut behind them.

A fraction of a second later—

The child zombie ran past.

Its shrill shriek tore through the tunnel, bouncing wildly off the walls.

Yunfeng and Jai didn’t move.

Didn’t even breathe.

They sat, crushed together in the darkness, listening to the chaos outside. The tunnel was alive with the sounds of something... more. The shuffle of multiple feet. Deep, labored sniffing. A low, guttural growl.

There were more of them.

Jai pressed his forehead against Yunfeng’s shoulder, his breath hot and erratic. He whispered so low, it was almost lost in the screams.

”...We are so fucking dead.”

Yunfeng swallowed. He wanted to say something—anything—but all he could do was stare into the pitch-black space they were now trapped in.

The sound of claws scraping against metal rattled the door behind them.

Yunfeng’s hands were shaking.

He fumbled blindly against Jai’s pocket, fingers brushing against fabric and the cool, hard edge of a phone. Jai tensed under his touch but didn’t say anything—both too terrified to speak.

The moment his fingers closed around the phone, he pulled it out, tapping the screen.

The dim glow of the flashlight illuminated the space around them.

A narrow corridor stretched ahead, pipes running along the ceiling, moisture dripping from old, rusted bolts. The walls were stained, grimy, suffocating. A maze of electrical boxes and dusty vents choked the air with the scent of oil and rust.

It was a maintenance tunnel.

Yunfeng’s breath came fast. ”This... this might lead us out.”

Jai exhaled shakily, his hands still wrapped around the gun he stole from the dead soldier. He took one look at the closed door behind them—where the sound of sniffing and scraping claws continued—and then at the darkness ahead.

”...Better than staying here.”

Yunfeng swallowed hard and stepped forward.

The metal grates beneath his shoes creaked.

Jai winced. ”Shit, be quiet.”

”I’m trying,” Yunfeng whispered back, shining the light further down the tunnel.

At the far end, there was a rusted maintenance ladder leading upwards—toward a trapdoor.

”Look.” Yunfeng pointed. ”That’s our way out.”

Jai nodded. ”Let’s move.”

They crept forward, every sound amplified in the tight space. The muffled screams from outside still reached them, mixing with the deep, sickening groans from the infected.

Something dripped onto Yunfeng’s shoulder.

He froze.

His flashlight flicked upwards.

Above them, wedged into the pipes—was a body.

A maintenance worker.

His stomach was torn open, his intestines caught in the metal framework like grotesque vines. Blood dripped thick and slow from his gaping mouth, eyes staring blankly at them.

Jai hissed under his breath. ”Fucking hell—”

The body twitched.

Yunfeng’s blood ran cold.

Slowly—too slowly—the worker’s head snapped downward.

His mouth opened.

And he screamed.

The sound was inhuman, a guttural wail that reverberated through the tunnel. Yunfeng and Jai stumbled back, their hearts pounding as the infected worker began to thrash, his limbs twisting unnaturally as he tried to free himself from the pipes.

”Go, go, GO!” Yunfeng shouted, shoving Jai toward the ladder.

They scrambled forward, the flashlight’s beam bouncing wildly as they ran. The worker’s screams grew louder, more frantic, and Yunfeng could hear the sound of metal creaking as the infected man pulled himself free.

They reached the ladder, and Yunfeng shoved Jai upward. ”Climb! Now!”

Jai didn’t need to be told twice. He grabbed the rusted rungs and hauled himself up, his breath coming in panicked gasps. Yunfeng followed, his hands slipping on the wet metal as he climbed.

Below them, the worker hit the ground with a sickening thud, his twisted limbs scrambling to follow.

Yunfeng reached the trapdoor and shoved it open, the hinges screeching in protest. He pulled himself through, Jai right behind him, and they slammed the door shut just as the worker’s clawed fingers reached for them.

They collapsed onto the ground, their chests heaving as they tried to catch their breath. The world above was eerily silent, the air thick with the scent of smoke and decay.

For a moment, they just sat there, too exhausted to move.

Then Jai spoke, his voice barely above a whisper.

”What now?”

Yunfeng looked around, his eyes scanning the desolate landscape.

”Now.... I don’t know,” he whispered.