Chapter 12: Survivors at Akra Hill
The road to Akra Hill was quieter than expected.
Too quiet.
No infected.
No movement.
No sound except the wind brushing against broken fences and abandoned vehicles.
Farid slowed his steps.
"That's not normal."
Zul nodded.
"Yeah. Places like this should be crawling."
Adam looked toward the research building ahead of them.
Windows shattered.
Outer walls damaged.
But—
the main structure still stood.
"That means someone cleared the area," Adam said quietly.
The entrance door was half open.
Someone had been there recently.
Fresh footprints.
Boot marks.
Farid raised his weapon.
"Stay alert."
They stepped inside.
The corridor smelled like antiseptic and dust.
Strange combination.
Too clean for an abandoned facility.
Too silent for a safe one.
Suddenly—
a voice echoed from the hallway ahead.
"Stop right there."
Everyone froze.
Weapons raised instantly.
Figures appeared from behind a laboratory door.
Survivors.
Not infected.
Humans.
Alive.
A young woman stepped forward first.
Her lab coat was dirty but still intact.
Her eyes were sharp.
Tired.
But strong.
"My name is Lyana," she said.
"We're from the pharmacy unit."
Behind her stood another survivor.
A tall man holding a metal pipe like a weapon.
"Raj," he introduced himself briefly.
Farid lowered his gun slowly.
"We thought this place was empty."
Lyana shook her head.
"It almost was."
Myra stepped closer immediately.
"You worked here before the outbreak?"
"Yes."
Lyana answered without hesitation.
"Some of us refused to leave."
"Why?" Malik asked.
Raj answered this time.
"Because this place mattered."
Myra's expression changed.
"What kind of research was happening here?"
Lyana looked at Raj.
Then back at Myra.
Her voice lowered.
"Immunity trials."
The word hit everyone at the same time.
Even the air inside the hallway felt heavier.
Farid turned slowly toward Adam.
"You hear that?"
Adam nodded.
"Yes."
Lyana continued speaking.
"Not everyone believed a cure was possible."
"But some scientists here did."
"They were testing combinations."
"Antiviral compounds."
"Plant extracts."
"Experimental immune responses."
Myra stepped closer.
"Fingerroot?"
Lyana froze.
"You know about that?"
Myra didn't answer immediately.
Instead—
she opened her bag slowly.
Inside it—
a wrapped sample container.
Lyana's eyes widened.
"Where did you get that?"
"Outside the quarantine perimeter," Myra replied.
Raj looked shocked.
"You shouldn't even have that."
Before anyone could continue—
a loud metallic sound echoed from outside the building.
CLANG.
Everyone turned toward the entrance.
Silence followed.
Then—
another sound.
Closer this time.
Dragging footsteps.
Many of them.
Farid whispered,
"Tell me that's not what I think it is."
Raj didn't answer.
Because he already knew.
Lyana grabbed a flashlight from the table.
Her voice dropped.
"They found us."
Then—
the first scream echoed from the lower corridor.
Not human.
Not alive.
Infected.
Dozens of them.
Maybe more.
Running.
Climbing.
Hitting the doors.
Breaking the glass.
"Positions!" Farid shouted.
Zul moved toward the stairwell instantly.
Malik dragged a cabinet across the hallway entrance.
Diana helped Lyana secure the laboratory door.
Raj grabbed extra weapons from a storage box.
Myra stood beside Adam.
"How many exits?" she asked.
"Two," Lyana replied.
"One already gone."
The building shook.
Something heavy slammed against the main entrance.
Once.
Twice.
Then—
the door broke open.
Hands reached inside first.
Then faces.
Then bodies.
Hungry.
Fast.
Relentless.
Adam tightened his grip on his weapon.
His heartbeat slowed instead of rising.
Something inside him felt different again.
Stronger.
Sharper.
Focused.
He stepped forward.
Farid noticed immediately.
"Adam."
Adam didn't turn.
"They're coming."
The infected flooded the corridor.
Too many.
Too fast.
Too close.
And somewhere inside the chaos—
deep inside the research facility—
a red warning light began blinking again.
As if the building itself
was waking