They didn't slow down even after putting distance between themselves and the last street, no one suggested stopping. The silence behind them wasn't reassuring anymore. It felt like a pause, not an end.
Arjun stayed near the middle this time, keeping an eye on both directions. The injured man leaned heavily on him now, his steps weaker, less stable.
"We need to stop," the man said under his breath. "Just for a minute."
Nisha didn't turn. "Not yet."
"I can't keep this pace."
"You will," Raghav said. Not harsh, but firm.
Arjun adjusted his grip, taking more of the man's weight. "We'll slow slightly, not stop," he said. "That's the best we can do."
The man didn't argue after that.
They turned into another narrow street, then another, moving in uneven lines, avoiding open areas whenever possible. The city around them felt quieter here, but not empty. There were still signs of movement—distant sounds, shifting shadows, things that reminded them they weren't alone.
After a few more turns, Nisha finally raised her hand and they stopped.
They weren't fully relaxed, but no longer moving.
"Two minutes," she said.
The injured man sank down against a wall immediately, breathing hard. Arjun stayed beside him, watching his condition more closely now.
The bleeding hadn't stopped.
It wasn't heavy, but it was steady.
"We need to deal with that," Meera said, crouching down.
"I know," Arjun replied.
She tore a piece of cloth from what was left of a curtain hanging nearby and pressed it firmly against the wound. The man flinched but didn't pull away.
"Hold this," she said.
He did.
Raghav stood a few steps away, keeping watch. "We shouldn't stay longer than this."
"We won't," Nisha said.
Arjun glanced at her. "Where are we going?"
She looked down the street, then to the side, as if mapping something in her head.
"Not back," she said. "And not forward the way we came."
"That leaves sideways," Meera added.
Nisha nodded. "Exactly."
Arjun leaned back slightly against the wall, thinking.
"They followed us too cleanly," he said. "That wasn't random."
Raghav looked at him. "You're still thinking about that?"
"We should be," Arjun replied. "They didn't spread out. They didn't search. They moved directly."
Meera stood up slowly. "Like they already knew the path."
No one liked that idea.
The injured man looked between them. "What are you saying?"
Arjun hesitated, then answered honestly. "That we might not be as unpredictable as we think."
Silence followed.
Nisha broke it. "Then we change that."
"How?" Raghav asked.
She pointed toward a narrow passage between two buildings. "We stop moving like a straight line."
Arjun understood immediately. "We split direction."
Raghav frowned. "That's risky."
"Staying predictable is worse," Nisha replied.
Meera crossed her arms, thinking it through. "Not fully split," she said. "We stay close enough to regroup, but not in one path."
Arjun nodded. "So if something is tracking movement, it has to adjust."
"And that gives us time," Nisha added.
Raghav didn't look convinced, but he didn't argue.
"Fine," he said. "But we don't lose each other."
"We won't," Meera replied.
The injured man pushed himself up slowly,
"Then let's move."
They didn't form a line this time instead they spread slightly, keeping distance but staying within sight. It felt strange at first—less safe—but Arjun understood why they were doing it.
If something was predicting them, then breaking pattern was the only option.
They moved through the narrow passage, stepping over debris, keeping their movements quiet.
For a few minutes, nothing happened.
No sounds.
No sudden movement.
Just the city, still and watchful.
Arjun almost thought it worked.
Then—
A sound came from the left.
A sudden shift.
He turned instantly and there he saw one of the wandering infected stepped out from behind a broken wall, moving slowly, its attention unfocused.
It hadn't seen them yet.
"Keep moving," Nisha said quietly.
They adjusted their path, avoiding it without stopping.
But then—
Another one appeared ahead.
This one moved differently.
It wasn't moving aimlessly.
Arjun slowed slightly.
"That one's not wandering."
Meera saw it too. "Yeah."
Raghav tightened his grip on his weapon. "Do we go around?"
"Too open," Nisha said.
They paused briefly, watching it.
The infected moved forward a few steps, then stopped, turned slightly and adjusted.
Arjun felt that same tension again.
"It's checking," he said.
"For what?" the injured man asked.
Arjun didn't answer because he wasn't sure.
Then—
It turned.
Not toward them but toward the direction they had just come from and started moving.
But slow and deliberate.
Raghav frowned. "It missed us."
"No," Arjun said.
"It didn't."
Meera looked at him. "What do you mean?"
He kept watching the infected as it moved away.
"It's not looking for us directly," he said. "It's following where we were."
That made things worse.
Nisha understood immediately. "It's tracking path, not position."
Raghav exhaled sharply. "So splitting didn't help."
"It did," Meera said. "It slowed it down."
Arjun nodded. "But not enough."
The infected disappeared around the corner.
But it didn't feel like safety, it felt like delay.
Nisha looked ahead again. "We keep moving."
No one argued.
They adjusted their formation again, tighter this time but not fully grouped.
Arjun's mind kept working.
If the system tracked movement—
Then every step they took mattered.
Every direction.
Every pause.
They weren't being chased.
They were being followed by something that learned from where they had been.
And that meant—
No matter where they went next—
They were leaving something behind, something that could be used against them.
"Next turn," Nisha said.
They moved because stopping wasn't an option.
And staying predictable—
Was no longer safe.