180 Investigation (Part 1)
***Norbert’s POV***
“That should do it,” Norbert muttered as he pulled his consciousness back in.
Ever since he sat down to observe the area and help organize everyone’s efforts, he didn’t move from his spot. He continued to scan the area for some previously unperceived threats, ready to warn the others if he were to stumble upon something.
He looked when the zombies stood down, awaiting some sort of command.
He observed when the zombies suddenly attacked, seemingly for no apparent reason.
He kept on looking when Daniel went out to hold the zombies off.
It wasn’t Daniel that organized the survivors to make them throw all sorts of objects at the zombies from above. While the older officer was sure to get the praise, Norbert was the one who haunted the survivors for long enough to make them figure out how to communicate with him.
He was the one leading them around the building to help them avoid hidden dangers while collecting potential projectiles.
And so, Norbert continued to watch the events unfold when Mathew and his girls returned, dropping from the windows only to instantly charge against the mass of zombies.
Norbert watched with a batted breath how those few kids braved to take on an entire army worth of horrifying zombies, a feat that he himself would likely fail at.
And so, Norbert observed how those four kids took the brunt of the zombie attack on them and them alone, before mopping most of the zombies out and then finishing off the hidden leader of the army.
‘It didn’t go without a flinch, but it’s over,’ Norbert thought when the leader of the zombies left. Yet, rather than breathing a sigh of relief, that was when Norbert raised his focus by a whole degree.
And so, he was the only one who kept watching when the few surviving zombies from the army changed their characteristics right before the fight with the boss entered its peak stage. And he saw how those few surviving zombies changed again when the shadowy form of Daria snatched the head of the boss zombie leading the army.
‘They weakened right when the boss grew in power. And then, they weakened even further when those kids killed it,’ Norbert summarized his observations, registering them in the back of his head before moving back to his one and only duty.
And so, he continued to observe.
He saw one of the girls venturing out to get some manpower from the survivors. He spectated the entire encounter and then attempted not to pry too much when the girl happily rushed back to get her reward.
‘Let’s not interrupt them too much,’ Norbert thought, courtly averting the eyes of his soul as he left Mathew and Nadia alone to their own devices, opting to investigate the recovery of the other group of the survivors.
‘They are clearing the area pretty nicely,’ Norbert observed as he changed his observation point to an elevated position about the building’s courtyard.
The workers were split into two groups. A party of five had the simple task of digging several ditches deep enough to house all the corpses. As for the other five, they each have a task on their own.
The leader that made the others follow the girl in the first place was now in charge of collecting the stones.
‘Hmm?’ The officer’s spirit twitched as the eyebrows moved up on his physical face. Norbert focused his spiritual eyes on the man, eager to see whether his sudden bout of suspicion held true.
Yet, even after several minutes of strict surveillance, he failed to catch Peter snatching even a single core for himself!
‘I guess it’s my professional bias,’ he ended up assuming before moving his eyes towards the others.
One of the survivors was in charge of collecting the corpses and then dragging them towards the ditches. Another one would use some makeshift shovel to turn the bloodied ground over on itself, turning the courtyard from a bloody mess to a patch of titled earth.
A separate group of two took on the task of crushing the skulls of those zombies who lost their heads in the heat of the fight and now required a proper finish. The former TV presenter of around thirty years of age would catch and then hold those heads in place, allowing her handsome partner to smash them open with a small hammer.
The last of the survivors didn’t appear to do anything active. Yet, his role couldn’t be underestimated. Because while everyone busied themselves with their tasks, he moved around the courtyard, looking for any potential leftover zombies that could pose the threat to others.
‘He doesn’t even have a system…’ Norbert thought, closing in over the man.
He didn’t wear any elements or badges that would allow one to connect him to the company that originally managed the building. And a single look at his tattered uniform was enough to guess the man’s job.
‘A cleaning guy, huh?’ Norbert whispered to himself. His physical eyebrows moved up on his face as awe filled the officer’s heart.
It was a simple, nearly powerless man. And yet, he stood guard over everyone else, all of whom greatly outranked him in the social world of the past, with nothing but the handle of his mop in his hand.
‘I guess hard times make it clear who has the greatest balls,’ Norbert thought, before focusing his eyes in the direction of the element he originally set out to investigate.
It was a small shed, hidden in the far corner of the courtyard. The distance that separated it from the main building made it pretty hard to figure out its intended use.
It was too far to be equipment shed. Too small to be a separate studio or even a housing unit for the less fortunate employees.
Normally, not a single person would pay this remote building any mind. And yet, in the specific situation Norbert found himself in along with his companions, the inside of this building was of utmost importance.
‘If nothing bad happened to those other survivors and especially Peter’s girlfriend, then they will be much more willing to work hard,’ Norbert thought, before focusing himself on the shed, ready to peek at the state of things inside…
Yet, for the first time since he gained the ability to move around away from his body… Norbert failed to get to the place he desired to check.
As it turned out, the shed with the remaining survivors… was somehow off-limit for his ability.