-I do not want to interrupt your work . . . but could you get me out of this cage?

Gabriel quickly turned around looking for the source of that sound, after a few seconds he realized that the cat he had fed was talking to him. With a quick movement he tore the Hell Crystal from the Runner and approached the cage.

-Great now I suffer schizophrenia, so many years of loneliness have finally made me crazy-

-Although it would be entertaining to play with that concept, I must assure you that my existence is 100% real-

-That's what a hallucination would say-

-I am really something so impossible? we are in the middle of a zombie epidemic-

-You see the mutations of Gehenna can twist the laws of nature but can not break them. Unless you're a zombie . . . . . fucking cheaters-

- So your problem is that you find the fact that a cat can speak impossible? if you allow me, I would like to argue how my current state is possible-

-Well . . . I was going to let you out of your cage anyway, but if you want to explain yourself go ahead-

-To be able to speak we need two fundamental factors, first the ability to generate words and second to have enough intelligence to perform this task. Tell me, are these mutations capable of generating an alteration in the vocal cords of an individual?

-Yes, skills like changing the tone of voice to imitate others or the volume of this to perform sonic attacks are rare mutations but they occur -

-Then the idea that of suffering a total modification of my vocal cords so I can speak like a human being is not such an outlandish idea.-

-Hmmmm, that explains why you can talk but now how can you be so smart with a brain the size of a walnut? -

- That's an interesting question. The brain is basically a biological computer. What happens is that mine is smaller and as efficient as yours.The difference between a smartphone and a desktop computer-

- How do you know all this? Being smart is not the same as having knowledge -

- Judging by my great knowledge about music and the instruments on the shelves all of this was from my former owner. While I got his knowledge it seems that I do not get his memories or personality.-

-Well your argument is smarter than anything that could have thought so you're not a hallucination-

Immediately Gabriel opened the door of the animal's cage.

-Thanks for recognizing my existence-

The cat responded with a sarcastic tone as he stretched and left his confinement. Slowly he began to move around the department observing the person who had given him the gift of knowledge.

-Well, I suppose I should explain to you what's happening in the world first-

-A zombie apocalypse, right? In this age, who has not seen a movie about that kind of monster? -

-Yes but technically not-

Then Gabriel gave him a summary of what he knew about the Gehenna virus and about his resurrection. He didn't share information out about his plan and about future events to not cause unnecessary stress on the poor animal.

-It doesn't sound credible although I can think of a couple of theories about why your "time travel" may be possible. I would like to discuss these concepts with a real time traveler-

-Maybe later, now I have a lot of work pending-

The survivor said that and walked towards the exit of the apartment but quickly the cat cut him off.

-Wait before you leave I want to discuss an alliance with you. You do not have to be a genius to know that forming a group is the best route to survive-

- Do you want to be my partner? cool . . . being honest I didn't want to insist too much on the subject to not sound desperate-

-But with one condition . . You see my body is not fit for combat so I must warn you that I will not fight directly against our enemy-

-The truth is not necessary, with your feline senses and agility you are extremely useful as an scout -

-A scout ? so my job would be to inform you of dangerous and interesting objects. It sounds like an optimal use for my skills-

- More or less yes, you tell me information about the zombies so they do not surprise me and I kill them. We have a deal?-

-Deal. . . , .now that I think about it what is your name esteemed partner?-

-Gabriel, and yours? -

-My owner called me Michi, so because I respect his memory I will keep it. Even though he mutilated my genitals, this is the least I can do to reward his hospitality.

-Well Michi, our current goal is to clean the whole building, but for that I'm going to need a new weapon-

-What do you have in mind? Another wooden club?

-No . . . I'm looking for something that has more durability-

The building where Gabriel lived as many in the area was quite old. This gave a rather unusual advantage since the pipes of this one were made of steel. After cutting the supply of the water and doing a little of amateur plumbing in the pipes of the departments the survivor had his new weapon.

Metal pipe

A bit heavy but ideal to kill common infected.

- This will serve, well the plan now is to go door to door. You will go ahead and using your stealth, explore the floors and come back with relevant information-

-I understand if they find out what I should do? -

-If you are cornered, remember that height is your ally. Try to get into a place where zombies can not grab you and you will be safe-

-Well, I'm counting on you Gabriel-

-Let the purge begin. . . . . Did that sound cool? -

-Unfortunately not, do not force it so much and you will get something better-

-Yes, sometimes I think too much about my sentences -

-The best phrases come out naturally-

-What about "Let the hunt begin"? -

-That sounds better although I do not think it's appropriate for this task since we are not pursuing or tracking an objective-

-Let the body hit the floor? -

-Didn't you take it out of a song? Well musical references always sound good-

The duo began cleaning the upper floors. Gabriel had only conquered the fourth floor so there were another 9 to completely secure the building. Methodically they went door to door slaughtering zombies without compassion. Even the runners were not much of a problem due to the reduced space and the survivor's new weapon. With Michi's help he could know exactly how many enemies there were, the tactical advantage combined with the years of experience proved to be a lethal combination.

The only problem was Gabriel weak body, on each floor he had to stop a few minutes to catch his breath. He knew that they had to continue since the infected evolve and every second was vital.

When they reached the roof the survivor stopped his cat from going outside. With all this carnage it was already night and they weren't ready to face the horrors in the dark.

Finally the duo returned to the fourth floor and considered starting to purge the lower floors but when Michi returned from his exploration he said something strange.

-Gabriel I saw something strange in the lower floor, a zombie in the hallway who seemed to be a rather fat person -

- A Fat? Obese people infected, due to their body mass are basically rams that can break most doors unlike common infected. It would be quite problematic to approach because he can simply throw himself on me and crush me-

-Do you have any idea how to deal with it? -

- Yes, let's go back to my apartment. We need to raise some levels, I also need to make something and teach you the method to choose mutations -

The dynamic duo returned to their initial base which was now quite full of various things that they had plundered from the other departments. Apart from food and medicine they had several UPS (Uninterrupted Power System) that they stole from some computers they found. These will give them enough energy to keep Gabriel's smartphone charged for a week.

-That sounds interesting.What evolutionary path should I choose? It would be foolish of me not to follow the advice of an expert-

-First grab Sleep efficiency, in your case it would reduce your time sleeping in 8 hours so it is essential that you grab it first. Then you need something very important "Radar", a skill that allows you to detect almost all infected within a radius of 10 meters-

- Sleeping fewer hours would be useful but is it necessary for a feline to acquire the other mutation? -

- Is absolutely essential to avoid hordes of zombies and be able to leave this building. The more levels you invest in this mutation the higher your radio will be, even I saw people who had a detection radius of one kilometer-

-How does this work? Can I see through the walls? -

-It's like a sixth sense, you just feel where most of the infected people are-

Then they performed the ritual to absorb the crystals. First it was Michi who chose to swallow them instead of inhaling them as his partner and with the help of him the cat was able to create a skill book.

Michi evolved:

Sleep efficiency 1: You only have to sleep 8 hours per day.

Radar 1: You can detect infected in to 10 meter radius.

Then it was Gabriel who, as usual, crushed and inhaled the crystals to level up. As Michi he gets two mutations. First he had to solve the problem of his stamina that was below average, because of this he chose Enchant Stamina.

Gabriel evolved:

Enchant Stamina 1: You have great Stamina! You can run easily run a marathon.

Finally, he needed a way to make sure that at least with ordinary zombies he would be able to kill them in one fell swoop. The common thing would be to grab the Herculean Strength mutation that simply increases your strength but Gabriel had another idea. There was a different version of that skill called Explosive Strength, it was twice as strong but only effective for 6 seconds and then I needed to wait a full minute to use it again.

Herculean Strength was more useful if you planned to use heavy armor and weapons that weigh several tens of kilos. Explosive Strength, on the other hand, was the ideal option if you had a more agile style of combat if you knew where to aim a simply attack was enough to kill any infected person. A more methodical approach that added to the experience that Gabriel had been the best option.

Gabriel evolved:

Explosive Strength 1: For 6 second you can have extra strength, you could lift 100 kilos with ease. This mutation has 1 minute cooldown.

After making his improvements the body of the survivor had changed a little, went from being a typical weakling to a person with normal muscle mass. He was not an Adonis but at least he did not give the impression that a strong gust of wind could take him flying.Gabriel appreciate his new body for a few seconds and after getting dressed he started to create a new tool that would be ideal for his plan. Using several leather garments of his death girlfriend he put together one of the oldest weapons in history.

Homemade Sling

One of the first range weapon of history, useful if you have enough practice and room to use it.

Then he grabbed a few stones he had in the pots of his balcony to use as ammunition and put them in his pockets. Calmly he signaled to Michi to follow him as he left his apartment.

- Look Michi we have to take advantage of that for now the zombies are not smart, even an animal has more brain than them. That's why we should use things like the terrain in our favor, choose where and when to fight is our best weapon against them-

-That makes sense what is the plan ? -

-Easy, calls the attention of that fat man and bring him here. There with my sling I'll kill him with a shot in the head-

-I dislike the idea of being used as a bait-

-I do not want to sound like an asshole but it will be essential to use you as a bait to lay traps for the infected. Look at the positive side at least you do not have to fight, do you?

-Fine . . .without doubt we live in difficult times-

As planned Michi went to the third floor to lure the creature up the stairs. Using the advantage of the height plus the fact that he had enough room to maneuver in the corridor the man waited for the beast. He quickly loaded his sling and began to rotate it in the air to have it ready. In a matter of seconds the cat came back and ran past him. Following him was that extremely obese man with his eyes bloodshot. If it were not for the supernatural properties of Gehenna it would have been impossible for a person with that morbid obesity to walk. However the huge fat ball charged against Gabriel and he active Explosive Strength. His muscles cried out in pain and for a few seconds Gabriel felt as his strength of his previous life has returned. With a safe distance the reincarnated one launched his projectile that impacted without problems. Years of practice with this weapon had made him an expert and that's why he was able to bust the creature's head with a single blow.

-See? that wasn't so bad -

Said the human quite sore for using his skill, until he got some complementary mutations activate Explosive Strength generates a lot of physical and psychological stress in the body. But looking at the piece of contemporary art that was now the head of the zombie the results are worth it.

-True but so much action has left me exhausted I will suggest that we rest for today? -

It was essential to be prudent during these hours because a certain extremely dangerous infected that becomes active at night.

-Give a second, I need to take out the hell crystal. Let's see if tomorrow we can clean the whole building and get to the garage in the basement. In there is a fundamental item for our survival-