The air was thick with moisture and ash when Arika and Reize left the shelter. The gray sky, covered by a thick fog, seemed to crush the ruins of the city, and the smell of dust, rust, and rotting flesh seeped through every crack. The open streets forced them to move cautiously, each step measured, each shadow observed with suspicion. Their eyes constantly scanned the ground, and their bodies, tense as strings about to snap, moved forward with adrenaline pulsing beneath their skin.
Sometimes they were lucky enough to find clear paths. But other times... they couldn't help it, it was hide or fight.
After a few hours, an infected appeared among the rusted remains of an overturned vehicle, its staggering figure emerging from between twisted doors. Reize reacted immediately, raising her gun with a sudden movement. Her finger squeezed the trigger, but the shot veered off course, whistling past the creature's decomposed face. It only grazed the cheek, drawing a stream of dark fluid.
The infected, enraged by the superficial wound, let out a deep growl and lunged at them with brutal speed.
Arika, her injured arm tightly bandaged, didn't hesitate. She stepped forward, her feet crunching on the debris-covered asphalt, and plunged her makeshift spear—a metal bar sharpened at the tip—directly into the creature's neck. The body fell with a thud, kicking up dust and shards of glass.
Arika was panting, her eyes narrowed in concentration.
—Focus — she murmured, her voice rough from the effort.
Reize nodded, pressing his lips together until they turned white. His pulse was racing, his hands were sweating. It wasn't easy... it never would be. But he couldn't give up now. Not here. Not with so much at stake.
Despite the difficulties, they pressed on. They advanced meter by meter, street by street. They crossed abandoned alleys, the walls covered with old graffiti and dried blood. They climbed rusty fences with barbed wire tearing the sleeves of their clothes. They dodged the remains of old battles: bleached bones, forgotten backpacks, burned-out cars.
Arika, though she held back her grimaces of pain, did not stop. Every time she had to use her right arm, a sharp pain shot through her shoulder, but she just clenched her jaw, adjusted her bandage with steady hands, and kept going. She was not one to complain.
It was Reize who, after turning a narrow corner, stopped abruptly. Her exhalation cut short and her eyes lit up.
—Arika... look.
In the distance, rising above the gray and broken landscape, the communication towers stood out against the overcast sky. Their blackened metal structures rose like giant fangs, almost unreal amid the desolation.
Reize let out a short laugh, broken by emotion. She turned to her friend, a spark of hope in her eyes.
—Those are the towers. We're close... very close to the meeting point.
Arika narrowed her eyes, scanning the distance. Her chest filled with a faint, almost forgotten warmth. Hope. However, her expression changed immediately when her eyes caught what Reize also saw seconds later.
In the distance, like an endless swarm, a crowd of infected people milled around the towers. A sea of erratic, staggering, violent bodies blocked any attempt to pass. Their growls echoed in the distance like a hollow, sinister echo.
The silence between the two became thick, heavy as lead.
Finally, Arika let out a long, harsh sigh. She brought a hand to the bandage covering her arm, her fingers trembling slightly.
—We must find a place to hide... just for a little while —she murmured wearily—. I need to rest... to regain my strength.
Reize watched her silently for a few seconds, biting the inside of her cheek. Then she nodded with determination.
—Of course. Let's find a safe place.
After a few minutes of cautious searching, they found a small, half-ruined store. The windows were broken, the door torn off its hinges, but the walls were still solid and offered decent shelter. Reize helped Arika settle down against a pile of old, dusty blankets. Arika collapsed with a barely audible groan, her eyes closing almost instantly.
Reize stood up immediately, his eyebrows furrowed with a mixture of concern and determination.
—I'm going to look for another route —he said firmly—. Maybe there's a less risky way. I won't be long.
Arika opened her eyes with difficulty, her mouth curving into a tired half-smile.
—Be careful...
—I always am. —Reize winked gently, trying to hide the tension that was squeezing his chest—. I'll be back soon.
Arika nodded. Only when Reize disappeared into the shadows did she let out a long sigh and, with slow movements, untie the bandage from her arm.
The wound had worsened. The flesh was more bruised, the skin open, the edge swollen with an unhealthy hue that was spreading. The strange thing was that, despite its appearance, the pain did not match. It was as if her body ignored the severity of the damage.
Frowning, she rebandaged it with determined hands and leaned her head against the wall, allowing herself a moment's respite.
Reize moved through dark alleys and corridors, his steps soft and controlled. His breathing was slow, his weapon loaded and ready in his hands. He was straying further than he had planned, but every intersection revealed another blocked route, another horde of infected prowling like restless shadows. Anxiety seeped into his bones, but he did not stop.
Finally, after almost twenty minutes of exploring and dodging threats, his eyes lit up.
A shortcut. A narrow passage between two collapsed buildings that skirted the tower area without having to cross through the crowd of infected.
—Perfect... —he whispered, letting a small smile curve his lips.
He turned to return quickly. However, just as he was crossing an intersection... three figures emerged from a dark alleyway.
Three infected.
Its empty eyes fixed on her instantly, and a guttural growl filled the air like a tangible threat.
Reize's heart leapt painfully in her chest.
It was the first time she had ever been completely alone.
Her hand trembled as she raised the gun. She aimed quickly and fired several shots. The shots hit their mark, but were not lethal. One fell to the ground with a scream. Another stumbled to one side.
The third did not stop.
With a roar, it lunged at her.
Reize raised the gun in time to block the jaw that was opening in search of her neck. She fought with all her strength, her arms trembling, her legs weakening, and sweat running down her temple like an icy river.
Am I really going to die like this?
No... I can't... not now. I have to get back to Arika... I have to get back...
The infected man pushed harder. His weight was slowly overcoming her. Her hands slipped on the hot metal of her gun.
And then, a sharp shot rang out in the street.
The infected man's body collapsed suddenly, lifeless, falling like a sack of meat onto the cracked asphalt.
Reize gasped, her eyes wide with a mixture of fear and surprise.
A familiar voice echoed behind her, warm and calm, with a hint of irony that made her skin crawl.
—You know... we have to stop meeting like this.
She turned slowly, her chest rising and falling with rapid breaths.
And she saw him.
Ethan was there. His silhouette stood firm in the drizzle, the shotgun still smoking in his hands, a calm half-smile curving his lips.
Reize looked at him, unable to control the tremor that ran through her. The lump in her throat dissolved in an instant. Her lips began to tremble, her eyes filled with tears, and, unable to contain it, she began to sob loudly.
—Ethan...
He said nothing else. He just smiled warmly at her.
A smile that, for the first time in days, made her feel that... everything was going to be okay.