Meanwhile, Reize ran frantically through the city's ruined streets.
Her footsteps pounded the cracked asphalt as she dodged abandoned cars, trash, and concrete debris. The cold air burned her lungs, and her breathing came in short, ragged gasps, almost painful.
She couldn't stop thinking about the others.
The images of them falling to the ground kept replaying over and over in her head.
The distant sound of voices forced her to react.
—Let's look over there!
—He can't have gone far!
Reize quickly turned between two collapsed buildings and ended up finding a small hidden space behind some ruins. Without wasting any time, she crouched down behind the rubble, clutching the gun to her chest as she tried to control her breathing.
Her heart was pounding so hard she felt it was going to give her away.
She closed her eyes for just a second.
Calm down… calm down…
But it was impossible; the voices kept getting closer.
Every step echoed closer.
Reize lowered her head even further, trying to hide in the shadows.
Then she heard boots stop a few meters away.
—Do you see her?
—No… but maybe she's hiding around here.
Fear tensed her whole body; she tried to back away slowly…
And then it happened.
Crack.
Her foot accidentally crushed a piece of broken glass.
The small sound shattered the silence like a gunshot.
Reize opened her eyes suddenly.
The footsteps stopped.
—…I heard her.
Her breath froze.
Before she could react, a figure suddenly loomed over her.
—I found you!
One of the men grabbed her arm roughly and forced her to her feet.
—Let go of me! —she shouted, struggling.
Reize tried to raise her weapon, but another man appeared from the side and struck her wrist, snatching it away.
—Damn… she really fights back — one of them laughed.
The first man tried to pin her down by grabbing both her arms, but Reize reacted immediately.
She headbutted him in the nose.
—AAAGH!
The man stumbled back, cursing, as blood began to stream down his face.
Reize seized the moment and delivered a brutal kick to the second man's stomach, sending him crashing into some concrete debris.
But the first man lunged at her again, filled with rage.
—Damn bitch!
He grabbed her by the jacket and shoved her violently against a broken wall.
The impact drew a gasp of pain from her. Even so, Reize quickly managed to pull out the knife Ethan had given her. The blade glinted faintly in the grayish light of the sky.
The man smiled contemptuously.
—What are you going to do with that, huh?
He lunged at her.
The two began to struggle violently.
Reize's hands trembled with the effort as she tried to keep the blade away from him.
But the man was stronger. With a sudden movement, he managed to deflect the knife.
The blade cut deeply into Reize's arm.
—Ahhh…! —she cried out, clenching her teeth.
The pain was instantaneous, searing, as if fire were burning through his flesh. Blood gushed out immediately and began to trickle down his arm, soaking the fabric of his clothes in a dark red.
The man smiled with a sickening cruelty.
—Now you've really learned to calm down.
But Reize didn't let go of the knife.
With tears of pain welling up in his eyes, he spun around suddenly and plunged the blade with all his might into the man's leg.
—AAARGH!!
The man screamed and fell to his knees, clutching the wound as blood quickly soaked through his pants.
Reize staggered back, panting, his chest heaving violently.
The second man was beginning to get back up, still dazed. The one with the wounded leg raised his head and shouted at him angrily:
—Get up, you idiot! Catch her!
Reize was breathing heavily as she held her wounded arm.
And then…
She sensed something behind the man who was trying to stand up.
A silhouette, moving slowly through the mist and shadows.
His eyes opened slightly.
The man managed to turn around.
—What the hell—?
The creature pounced on him brutally.
—AAAAAHHH!!
The infected one bit him right in the neck.
Blood splattered on the ground as the man fell, screaming desperately.
The other man recoiled in horror.
—No… no, no…!
But it was already too late.
More infected began to emerge from the surrounding area.
Reize felt terror course through his entire body like an icy shock. Without a second thought, he turned and began to run.
—Hey! Where are you going!? —shouted the wounded man as he yanked the knife out of his leg—. Help me!
Reize barely glanced over her shoulder.
She saw him slowly being surrounded by the infected, trapped between trembling hands and faces distorted by hunger.
Then she raised her hand and gave him the middle finger.
—Go to hell.
The man tried to curse her.
—Damn you, b—!
He didn't get to finish.
One of the infected lunged at him and violently knocked him to the ground.
Reize looked away and kept running.
Behind her, the screams began to mingle with wet, gut-wrenching sounds of flesh being torn apart.
She clenched her teeth and sped up even more.
Finally, she found refuge between a partially collapsed building and several overturned vehicles.
She darted inside and slumped against the wall.
Her breathing was ragged. Her arm burned from the wound, and fear continued to squeeze her chest like a claw.
Slowly, she brought a trembling hand to her face.
She tried to hold back the tears, but she couldn't.
—Ethan… —she whispered, her voice breaking.
Then she slowly wrapped her arms around her legs, trying to rest, even if only for a few minutes… while outside, the sounds of chaos continued to spread throughout the city.
In the alley, the atmosphere remained thick with tension.
The unconscious bodies of Ethan, Elion, and Koen had already been loaded into the vehicle while the men quickly scanned the area, alert to any strange movements.
The blond man paced back and forth with obvious irritation.
The dried blood on one of the scars on his face made his expression look even more aggressive.
—Where the hell are those useless idiots? —he growled, looking down the street where Reize had escaped—. How the hell did they let a single girl get away?
One of his men swallowed hard before answering.
—Maybe they've already caught her and are on their way back…
—Well, they'd better be —the blond snapped irritably.
Then he kicked a rusty can that rolled noisily across the ground.
—I'm not leaving without that girl.
He turned to the others and pointed at the trucks Ethan and the others had managed to get.
—Look for the keys among those guys' stuff. We're taking those vehicles too.
Two men began hurriedly searching Ethan and Elion's pockets. But just as one of them was about to search Koen's pockets…
He stopped.
—…Boss.
The blond man raised an eyebrow in annoyance.
—What?
The man slowly pointed behind the trucks.
Silhouettes began to emerge from the fog in the alley.
The blond man frowned.
—Are those idiots back already…?
But as soon as the figures advanced a little further, his expression changed completely.
They weren't his men; they were infected.
Their bodies moved erratically, shuffling through pools of blood and piles of trash.
And behind them…
More appeared.
And more.
One of the men nervously stepped back.
—Shit…
The blond man muttered a curse under his breath.
—Everyone to the car! Now!
—What about the trucks? —asked one of the men, alarmed.
—Leave them! —roared the blond man —. We'll come back for them later.
He knew perfectly well that fighting there would be suicide; there were too many of them.
The infected began closing in faster and faster, letting out horrible growls that echoed between the buildings.
One of them stumbled against the hood of a truck and jerked his head up when he spotted the men.
—GRAAAAHH!!
Then the entire horde surged forward.
—Fire!
Several men began firing frantically as they climbed into the vehicle.
The gunfire lit up the alley. Heads exploded, black blood splattered across the concrete. But the infected kept coming.
One of the men barely managed to close the door before a creature slammed violently against the glass.
—Move, damn it! —someone shouted.
The driver slammed on the gas.
The tires screeched as the vehicle jerked backward and then swerved toward the alley's exit.
The infected pounded on the bodywork, trying to catch up to them.
The vehicle finally managed to break through and skidded out onto the avenue.
Inside the car, several people were breathing heavily.
One nervously checked the windows. Another reloaded his gun with trembling hands.
The blond man looked back one last time. And then he saw them, among the crowd of infected…
Two familiar figures staggering slowly. The men who had been chasing Reize.
Their faces were covered in blood, their skin torn, and their movements no longer human.
The blond man clenched his jaw in fury.
—That damn girl…
He slammed his fist hard against the dashboard.
—If she's still alive… I swear I'll find her.
His eyes glowed with hatred.
—And when I do… I'm going to kill her myself.