novelraw Chapter 80: Fear Is An Irrational Response
Chapter 80: Fear Is An Irrational Response
The streets weren’t quiet anymore.
Even before dawn had fully crested the rooftops of City H, the sounds had changed. There were fewer screams now, fewer sirens. Just the scuffle of shoes against pavement, the occasional gunshot echoing somewhere distant, and the ever-present weight of breath that didn’t belong to the living.
Everything around seemed to be heavier than it was this time yesterday, like a clock had counted down and now it was at zero.
Sera walked at the front of the group, her hands tucked in the pockets of her black leggings as she played with the silent cellphone she had stuffed in it. Her expression was unreadable as they approached the grocery store near the west side of the city. It was one of the smaller ones—family-owned, tucked between a vape shop and a massage parlor—but it hadn’t been fully looted yet. That made it a target worth checking.
Lachlan walked a few paces behind her, his rifle slung over his shoulder. Alexei brought up the rear, humming faintly under his breath like he was bored. "Looks clear," he muttered as they neared the storefront.
"Not clear enough," Sera said. She paused beside a cracked lamppost and tilted her head, scenting the air like it might betray more than human eyes could see.
It did. The creature inside of her whispered.
Movement.
Not a threat.
But definitely annoying.
She stepped forward anyway, motioning with two fingers for the others to stay put. It wasn’t that she didn’t trust them to handle themselves. But this was her moment, and she could already feel who it was before she saw him.
And oh, it was going to be delicious.
They found him near the back of the store where there appeared to be a small pharmacy with just over the counter type things.
Dr. Halvorsen... the distinguished expert on abnormal psychology, tenured professor of behavioral sciences, and author of The Myth of the Prepper: Fear Responses in a Rational World—was currently elbow-deep in a bin of expired multivitamins, trying to stuff bottles into a cracked leather briefcase.
The irony was not lost on Seraphina.
She stepped around a collapsed shelf, crunching glass underfoot, her voice flat. "Hello, Professor Halvorsen. Fancy seeing you here." Both her and her creature had hated the way he had talked in class about fear based response.
Like he had never been scared in his entire life, but still considered himself an expert on it.
He looked up, startled. His hair was unkempt, his cardigan torn at one shoulder, but he wasn’t gaunt or starving yet...just disheveled. Panicked. Fearful if you will.
His face lit with momentary recognition before tightening into something resembling anger.
Right, because a man as narcissistic as him would hate for someone he considered to be ’less than’ to see him in such a state.
"Sera?" he blinked. "You’re—alive."
"Surprise," she replied, a bright smile on her face as her arms crossed loosely over her chest. "You’re not looting, are you? That might be seen as prepping. And we both know what that means." Her eyes went wide, but there was nothing she could do to wipe the smile off her face.
He straightened, puffing out his chest like he still had tenure and authority. "I’m gathering medical supplies. For others. There are wounded—"
"Of course," she cut in smoothly. "Because staying home and trusting the government to rescue you was a sound, rational plan." She cocked her head. "Remind me again what you said about people who stocked up on supplies and don’t trust the government to do something? Something about paranoia?"
His lips tightened. "That was before."
"No," she said softly. "That was during. You just didn’t know it. Or did you really think the end of the world happened overnight? Or in our case, the middle of the afternoon?"
Behind her, Alexei chuckled. It was a low, amused sound, like watching someone slip on ice while holding their dignity.
Zubair moved silently past the pharmacy aisle without even glancing at the man. Elias, on the other hand, stepped forward with one slow, calculated motion—like a predator studying a new species.
"You teach psychology?" Elias asked, eyes dark as he looked the man up and down.
Dr. Halvorsen hesitated. "I—I did. At the most prestigious University in the Maritimes."
"Then you should understand projection," Elias replied. "You told your students they were afraid. But the truth was that you were probably the one terrified. You couldn’t imagine a world outside the illusion of order, so you attacked anyone who did."
"I was trying to discourage panic," the man muttered, his fingers tightening around the briefcase.
"No," Sera said, stepping forward, eyes level with his. "You were wrong. And you used your position to mock people like me for preparing." Her voice didn’t rise. It didn’t need to. "You made sure no one took us seriously. You taught them to laugh. Where are your students now, professor? The ones that took your words as gospel?"
Dr. Halvorsen swallowed hard. "I never meant—"
"But you did," she interrupted. "You meant every word. You stood on your podium and told us we were broken for trying to survive. And now here you are. Scavenging like the rest of us."
His voice broke. "I didn’t know."
"No one ever does," Elias said behind her. "That’s the point."
A distant sound made everyone go still.
Not glass. Not metal. Not the creak of settling concrete.
Breath.
Dozens of them.
Outside the store, at the far end of the shattered front windows, stood a line of zombies.
They weren’t attacking, they weren’t groaning, and for some reason, they weren’t even swaying.
They stood there, just watching, their bulbous heads cocked to the side like they were watching a drama on TV.
Silent.
Waiting.
A few still wore remnants of police or civilian gear. One had a child’s balloon twisted around its wrist. Another dragged a purse. But all of them were frozen in place like statues, their eyes glowing faintly in the dark.
Seraphina didn’t move. She didn’t need to.
Because they weren’t looking at her. Not exactly.
They were looking at the professor.
"Are they always that quiet?" Alexei asked softly, standing near a toppled display of toothpaste.
"No," Lachlan said. "No, they’re not."
Zubair drew his weapon in silence. Elias didn’t blink.
Dr. Halvorsen backed into the shelves, white as a sheet. "Why aren’t they moving?"
"They will," Sera said coldly. "Soon."
He looked at her like she was the only thing standing between him and death. "You’ll protect me, right?"
She tilted her head again, her gaze icy as she looked him up and down. "Why on Earth would I want to do that? Sorry, Sir, but since my grade isn’t dependant on you living or dying, I’m going to leave you to your own devices. Try not to be too scared. After all, fear is an irrational response."