Mutagen

4:32 PM City Mall Bacoor West Wing, TechZone

Mark sighed as he looked at the screen of the laptop in front of him. He managed to contact the rescue department and called for rescue but the time the rescue would arrive was indefinite. In that conversation with the agent, he noticed the crucial factor as to why the rescue would be delayed. The main reason was because of their large numbers. If it was smaller, then it was likely for the rescue to be sent sooner.

He already checked the food and water the employees managed to gather and with the number of people here, the supply would really likely to run out after three days or might even be less.

In a zombie apocalypse, it was true that there was strength in numbers. However, it would also come with implications and he just encountered two of those consequences.

And there was the third one…

Mark looked outside the store, he could hear people shouting.

The third implication was conflict. The more people in the group, it was more likely for the members to have different views and ideals. As such, conflicts were likely to arise.

He turned and watched the sleeping Mei beside him. Mark had to pat her head to calm her several times since she slept as she kept squirming around, frowning and even wailing in her sleep. The trauma she received was really severe to make her have nightmares several times in a short period of her sleep.

The angry shouts were getting noisier which made Mark stood up from his seat and check what was happening.

When Mark reached and stood by the door of the store, he could see the people being divided into two groups. Still, there were only several people who was arguing while the others were stopping them.

"If not for you selfish pricks! My- My wife should still be alive! You people just hid there! You people should have known that this will happen and still abandoned us!"

A man shouted while pointing at the dead body of a woman on the floor.

"Now you are blaming us? If I remember you are one of those bastards who stopped our friends from taking the food WE gathered. You think you are the only one who had a dead relative? My cousin IS dead because of you bastards!"

It was actually the shorter cousin of Fernan who was arguing with the man.

These people were playing the blame game.

Hearing what Fernan's cousin said, Mark looked around and finally noticed that the other cousin was not there. With what he heard, then the other cousin should be dead. No wonder Fernan looked down since earlier.

Mark also noticed the two people who were not joining the commotion. Paula's boyfriend was standing nearby leaning on the wall watching the fray with a bad mood and the body guard who sat on the side, not talking nor watching the argument. His head was just hanging low as he sat on the floor.

Speaking of Fernan, Mark noticed that he was not around. The three who they met in the roof top, even Ange and Paula were not here. Reyah was watching beside the door of the store where her daughter was resting. She looked worried for some reason.

Seeing that no one would seem to be able to control the situation, Mark decided to step up. It was not like he really wanted to but these people were getting too noisy. Who knows what these people would attract from the outside with their noise.

Mark approached the people and spoke in a very stern voice.

"It's better if you people stop. You're making too much noise."

They all looked at him. The employees and Fernan's cousin seemed to sober up when they saw him but it was the opposite for the other group.

"Who are you to speak to use like that!"

It was the man whose wife died. Hearing his question, Mark sneered.

"You're being mistaken here. You guys are the ones who had no rights to behave that way. You people are nothing but freeloaders here."

When Mark finished saying that, many of the people from that group was shaken. Some of them realized that they had no power here. But, there were still those who did not get the meaning.

"I don't care if we are freeloaders or not! My wife died! And these people are responsive for this!"

"Wow, you are something aren't you?"

Mark replied with sarcasm before looking at Fernan's cousin.

"Say, did this entire group side with that fat guy?"

He asked while pointing at the opposite group. The employees looked at the people on the other group, whispered to each other.

"What are you people whispering about?!"

The man kept on shouting loudly which made Mark look at him coldly. Mark looked calm but his stare could somehow make the man's back drenched in cold sweat. From inside the store they were hiding before, they also saw how this man killed the zombies and splashed blood everywhere without batting an eyelid. That scene was etched into their minds and somehow became a discouragement as they faced Mark like this.

"Shut up for a bit, will you?"

After the employees' group whispered for a bit, finally Fernan's cousin replied and pointed at two people behind the other group, a man and a woman.

"Except for those two, all of them all of them did."

Hearing what he said, Mark nodded before facing the angry man again.

"You are blaming them for selfishly abandoning you guys outside right? You think they knew that this will happen?"

The man gulped and nodded.

"Well, you better stop that. They knew nothing about it and they only followed the orders I gave them."

Mark shrugged.

"You—"

The man pointed at Mark before asking.

"Your orders? Why? You expected this to happen and abandoned us to die like that?"

Mark stared at the man.

"Don't twist the facts you idiot."

Mark's stare now were filled with killing intent making the man shiver and his temper started to subside due to fear. The man stepped back but he still asked.

"What are you talking about?!"

"Except for the two at the back, you all sided with that pig in forcing these employees to close the shutters right? Then tell me, why didn't these employees want to close the shutters? Think about it."

The people went silent. They remembered what these employees said before and thought about what they did.

And this person in front of them killed all the zombies and these employees seem to know him. Still, they never saw him in here when the shutters were closed. These people finally realized that this scary man was one of the people who was left outside when they forced the employees to close the shutters.

As the people went silent, Mark was disinclined to stay with them. He turned around and decided to continue what he was doing but he stopped and glanced at the people behind him over his shoulder. He decided to announce it.

"Anyways, while you guys are doing unproductive things, I already contacted the military and asked for rescue. The time they arrive is still unknown so you people better stop making noise. Well, unless you guys want the rescuers to find nothing but zombies and dead people here when they arrive."

With that he continued walking away. He knew that what he did and said would shut this people for a while.

These people were not really bad but they were driven to desperation because of their fear and what they experienced on the lower floors. Still, they did something unreasonable and with that, they paid a lot, even the lives of their loved ones. They wanted to blame someone but they could also be blamed for what they did.

Then, some of them realized.

If there was someone to be blamed, it was that pig. They looked at that person's bodyguard who was sitting on the floor outside one of the stores. He did not say or do anything since the place was cleared of zombies. They wanted to vent their anger at him and shout at him. Yet, they could not muster any energy to criticize the man. Not because they were afraid or because the man was scary.

It was because the man looked really pitiful for some reason.