The minutes passed and they reached the sixth passage, but all they found was black sand and dust. Silence had returned to the group.

"What are we looking for exactly?" Zane finally broke the silence, with the intention of dispelling the re-emerging melancholy, as well as to distract himself a little.

"Secured!" Said one of the soldiers who checked the next room.

"For the origin that triggered the radiation... probably an infected one," the group leader replied hesitantly before turning his gaze slightly to Zane and the distant Zero.

"An infected?" Zane asked puzzled. "Why that? I thought they're only created by the outbreak? "

"Yes, but ...", Nathan hesitated as well, looking in Zero's direction. "You know there are ..."

"They mean Infected, like those in the outskirts," Zero continued, whereupon Asagi looked at him. He seemed a little pale and bit his lip. Is it my fault?

"What?!" Zane was startled.

"Exactly ..." said the group leader and looked at Zero. "We're looking for someone infected, like in the outskirts of the city."

"In most cases, an infected was the reason for the radiation," Nathan continued the explanation.

"How come? And what is she doing here in town?” Zane asked frantically when his gaze fell on Zero, who averted his gaze. Did Zero? No this can't be!

Meanwhile, Zero was confronted with glimpses of the group.

Zane also thinks it's my fault. I never brought them here... all I did was take care of them.

Everyone knew that Zero went out to the outskirts and took care of the Infected. The news had spread across the net in no time. So it was understandable that everyone suspected Zero. He was the only one who had contact with them. The fact that he had once tried to bring some of the girls into town reinforced the quiet accusations he was confronted with at that moment.

They are good girls, they would never ...

Are they blaming Zero? Zane wondered, trying to find a solution when he realized that the soldiers had all cast their eyes on Zero. He would never do that! But how can I make this clear to everyone? What should I do…?

"Anyway," the group leader began. “At least that was the reason for most of the minor outbreaks in the past. But yes, it's strange that it took place in the middle of the hospital. It's almost like sabotage or a terrorist attack... ", he continued, while he turned away from Zero and ordered the soldiers to move into the next aisle.

Questions shot through Zane's mind. Zane knew little about the Outbreak, let alone the Infected.

He had skipped class.

The only class he'd ever skipped. But now he regretted it. If he knew more about it, he could help Zero. But now he had nothing with which to appease the reproachful glances of the soldiers.

He wanted to ask Zero, who seemed to know more about it than Nathan, but should he? The subject was already exhausted and asking Zero for more information would only reinforce the suspicions that already weighed on him. Therefore, he decided to put the questions aside.

The moment would come when he could ask Zero everything.

"How much longer until we reach the control room?" Zane asked the soldier, trying to distract from Zero.

"Two more corridors, then we reach the stairs in the basement," answered one of the soldiers, who projected a holographic map from his arm display.

They kept walking. Zero could hear some whispering between the soldiers but then a shock startled everyone.

"What's this? Another burst of radiation?!” Zane asked nervously.

"We're all going to die, that's it!" Yelled another soldier while crouching down and holding his head.

"Get it together!" Shouted the group leader before the panic could spread, while shots could be heard in the distance.

"Somebody's fighting!" Shouted Zero.

“That’s the other group for sure!” Assumed another soldier.

"They probably need help!" Zane yelled and started running.

"Hey wait!" Yelled the group leader and held out his hand to reach him. "Damn it, get after him!"

Hearing the shots in the distance, Zane ran down the hall when the stairs appeared in front of him. The group leader and the others followed him at a distance. All the security measures they had been following up to now went down the drain through Zane's spontaneous sprint.

"Zane wait!" Nathan called after him, who in the next instant jumped down over the banister of the stairs.

Zane landed on the other side of the stairs and continued down the stairs following the sound of the fight. One floor, two floors, three floors. When he reached the fourth basement, he continued to follow the sound.

He ran down the hall. The walls here were more damaged than those on the first floor. Cables hung from the ceilings and the lights flickered heavily. The walls were crisscrossed with large crevices and the floor had risen sharply in some places and was broken.

Zane looked around. The bullets had stopped. In the distance, he heard a scream followed by a thud.

Zane ran in the direction of the corridor from where he had heard the scream, while the group leader and the others struggled to follow him.

A side corridor... it must be there. Zane ran on when he stopped in front of the emergency-lighted side corridor.

"What the…?"

The white light from the lamps flickered, revealing a soldier pressed into the wall. The wall behind him seemed to have given way as it arched inward. The man's blood, which started running out of his mouth, ran over a massive black hand that had wrapped around his neck.

Zane followed the hand, which transformed into a black cloak. In front of the man stood a four-meter tall person, completely wrapped in a black cloak. The head itself seemed to be covered with a kind of sack that was riddled with holes through which lights shined.

"Zane stop!" Shouted Nathan, who, together with the group leader and the others, had finally caught up to him before Zane could continue running.

"What are you doing ?!" Zane yelled. "Let go of the man!"

"What the hell?!" shouted the group leader in shock, whose attention was drawn to the colossus by Zane's words.

"What's this? Zero asked confused when the colossus turned to them. Immediately trembling, the soldiers pointed their weapons at the being staring in their direction. In the corridor behind the colossus, soldiers were spread out on the floor, some of them in pools of their own blood.

"Did that thing..." one of the soldiers began to whisper.

Then the colossus pulled his hand out of the wall in which he was still holding the soldier who was hanging limply.

"I said let go of him!" Shouted Zane furiously, who was about to approach the colossus but was held back by the group leader.

"We are withdrawing ..." the group leader swallowed.

"What?!" Zane protested. 

Then the soldier, the colossus was still holding in his hand, flew across the room and met one of the soldiers who, trembling, had pointed his rifle at the colossus.

"Damn it! Open fire!” Shouted the group leader whereupon the soldiers immediately opened fire on the creature, which put his hand in front of its head. The bullets pierced the creature's cloak, but some seemed to ricochet off with a metallic sound.

Unimpressed by the hail of bullets, the colossus began to move towards them.

"Watch out!" Shouted Nathan as he fired a huge fountain of water into the corridor, the rune of which he began to form immediately after the soldiers opened fire. The fountain hit the colossus, which was washed back a few meters together with the soldiers who were lying everywhere in the corridor.

"Well done Nathan!" Zane yelled immediately.

"You can always count on magicians," one of the soldiers agreed with relief.

"It's not over yet," Zero said, seeing the colossus in the distance.

“We are withdrawing. Come on, let's go!" Demanded the group leader in a stressed voice.

"Asagi can you ..." Zane started.

"No!" Interrupted Nathan. "The passage is wet, if Asagi fires a bolt of lightning now, the blow might hit us too."

Zane swallowed nervously as he realized his mistake.

"Let's get out of here!" One of the soldiers repeated the command of the group leader when the colossus began to straighten up.

Zero softly pushed Asagi in front of him and signaled that she should follow the soldiers. "Zane, build a wall of ice," shouted Zero as the colossus set in motion, unaffected by Nathan's attack.

"Good idea!" Zane replied, putting his hands on the floor. In a flash, runes began to form on the ground. The magic poured through his hands into the runes and in the next moment, a wall of ice shot out of the ground, blocking the passage in which the colossus was standing.

"Well done! Come on now!” Shouted the group leader who had already run a few meters ahead and was now waiting for the stragglers.

"What kind of thing is that?" Nathan asked as they passed the group leader, who made sure everyone was there.

"This is not an Infected, that is certain ..." the group leader swallowed. "But I doubt he would have let us go through ..."

"Why is that?" Asked Zero.

"The control room is in the same direction ..."

"What?!" Zane asked when he heard a knock. The sound came from the wall of ice. Another thump could be heard followed by a loud crack. They stopped in shock.

"Damn it, quick!" The group leader ordered, setting the group in motion again. "There is another way to the control room, but it's longer," he explained nervously, the sweat running down his forehead.

Then they heard the sound of ice breaking through the corridor. "He broke through!" Shouted one of the soldiers, who looked back.

The colossus had broken through the already weakened ice with a push of its shoulder and tore a huge hole into the wall. Weakened by the impact of the colossus, the ice wall lost its structure and collapsed. Huge chunks fell to the ground around the creature, which barely moved. The chunks simply bounced off its huge stature.

"Group two, take the civilians and go to the control room," the group leader ordered the soldiers as they ran down the aisle.

"And what are you going to do?" Zane asked.

"We're going to stop this one," he smiled at Zane, trying to convince him.

Zane was about to object when a soldier yelled again.

"He's coming this way."

"Come on now!" The group leader did not allow any disobedience.

They kept running, hearing the heavy footsteps of the colossus in the distance. They were almost back at the stairwell, where the path was parting ways. The colossus seemed to be catching up only slowly as its footsteps were barely becoming louder.

"This way!" One of the soldiers pulled Zane by his jacket to the right as they came running out of the corridor.

"But ..." Zane looked at the team leader, who nodded to him.

"Come on now, you have to evacuate the civilians!" He urged them, whereupon group two, consisting of two of the soldiers together with Zane and his friends, ran into the right aisle.

Shortly afterward, the colossus in his black coat stomped out of the corridor. He stopped for a moment and looked around. It seemed like he was scanning the area. First, he looked into the right corridor, which like every other corridor was only sparsely illuminated by the flickering light of the lamps. Then he looked to the left, where the soldiers had holed up behind rubble or the adjoining rooms. Finally, he turned right to walk down the aisle.

Then the sound of an impact followed by a rolling sound caught the attention of the colossus. He turned to the sound and saw three grenades by his feet.