"Or maybe the outbreak came from inside the bunker."

"What?" a murmur went through the room.

"You mean an infected is inside the bunker?" Nathan asked further.

Zane looked at Zero, who seemed as shocked as everyone else, and turned to the Lieutenant. "But how is that possible?" He asked.

 "I don't know either, but it seems more likely that the entire hospital building fell into the bunker..."

"So you mean the outbreak destroyed the bunker?" Zero asked as the soldier at the console intervened.

"I have a picture!" Everyone turned to him. "Not all of it, but better than nothing."

"Well done!" The Lieutenant turned to him and looked at the console screens.

They toggled through the individual displays of the surveillance cameras. Some showed nothing but static, while others showed empty corridors and lounges. Damaged walls and doors could be seen, as well as completely collapsed corridors.

"How can radiation do so much damage?" Zane wondered, looking over the lieutenant's shoulder.

"Look there," Asagi pointed to one of the screens. It showed one of the bunker rooms where people seemed to be. They all sat huddled in the corners and on the wall, the words "Help us!

"Survivors!" Zane was delighted.

"Obviously not all the radiation shelters are affected ..." the Lieutenant remarked as he continued to stare at the screens.

But something is wrong here ... the eruption damaged some of the bunkers, but why are the corridors in the west so badly affected? thought the Lieutenant.

"What do we do now?" Zero asked who had regained hope after Asagi had smiled at him.

"We'll save them of course!" Zane said confidently.

"And the doors, can they be opened from here?" The lieutenant turned to the soldier at the console.

"Yes," the soldier replied. "I have access to the controls."

"Any indication why they can't be opened from the outside?"

"No, only the ones in the west seem to be damaged..."

In the west again? Zane wondered.

"But otherwise ... Maybe it was a malfunction?"

"What about infected?"

"I can't say for sure, we're only getting a fraction of the signals."

"Ok, anyway, I'll tell the leadership and the evac troops that we can open the gates so they can evacuate the civilians in the bunkers," the lieutenant said as he slowly retreated from the control room. "Keep an eye on the screens and get ready to leave," he ordered, just before disappearing behind the door.

Immediately, with Asagi's help, Zero began to search the control room for useful items while Zane, Nathan and the soldier continued to stare at the screens.

Zane didn't know what to look for, but the sight of so many people still hanging on in the bunkers gave him hope that everything would turn out all right.

"Have you seen Carol anywhere?" Asagi asked who came back to the control room with Zero. Zero carried a large bag on his right shoulder and several rifles on his left while Asagi carried a backpack in front of him.

"Unfortunately, no ..." Zane shook his head. Asagi looked a little shocked and Zero sighed worriedly.

"What did you find?" Nathan asked.

"Some weapons and emergency medical equipment," Zero showed the bag and pointed to the guns around his shoulder.

"We also found some grenades and a rope," Asagi picked up the backpack.

"Well done," the lieutenant said from the direction of the door that had opened with a soft hiss. "I've informed the leadership about the situation," he continued while he went back to Zane and the others.

"What's the situation outside?" Nathan asked.

"The containment seems to be working."

"Does that mean Tyler made it?" Asagi said happily.

"I think so, but the Teikoku attacks continue undeterred."

Almost an hour had passed since the Teikoku troops began their attacks and the second ring of the wall had become a battlefield. Urban warfare raged as the Teikoku tried to claim the sky before reinforcements could arrive.

After a hard fight, Tyler and his team had now eliminated all the infected, who began to disintegrate. Tyler looked up at the jets flying overhead and turned his gaze back to the hospital entrance.

"Damn Teikoku!" Zane swore.

"What about the infected? Isn't it too dangerous to open the bunker?" Nathan objected.

"Yes, but what if the infection spreads?" Zero asked.

"I have informed the leadership. Also about our encounter with an unknown fourth party," he began. "We should open the doors anyway, even if there are still infected people in the bunker. The authorities are of the opinion that since most of the infected we encountered have already disintegrated, the risk of another radiation outbreak is much higher.

"Understandable," Zero agreed.

"So what are we waiting for? Let's get those people out of there!" Zane shouted, and everyone started to smile.

"Exactly," the Lieutenant nodded.

⬢

At the same time in the streets of the city.

Outside, evacuation troops had taken up positions at the bunker entrances. Because of the Teikoku attack, only a few people could be spared. Soldiers, medics and volunteers waited nervously for their turn.

"They're opening the gates," one of the soldiers reported as he took his hand off his headset.

"Ok..." replied the captain of the group. "Get ready!" He waved to the members of the evacuation team. The minutes passed and everyone prepared for when the gates to the bunker would open.

Some of the gates were set into the ground beneath the buildings, others were in the large shopping malls or in the hospital. Many of the entrances had been blocked by falling rubble. Ricochets or crashing jets that couldn't be stopped by the inner ring barrier had damaged the buildings, the debris now blocking the entrances. But they all had one thing in common: they had all been locked since the alert and could not be opened.

The soldiers tried to unlock the gates via the panel, but all commands were refused. The system was rejecting all input, so all hope lay with Zane's group, who had managed to get into the bunker's control room.

"Everyone is in position and the leadership has informed the Teikoku about the evacuation, let's prepare to open the gates," the lieutenant ordered the soldier.

"Isn't it dangerous to evacuate while the battle is still going on?" Asagi asked.

"Why don't they stop the attack?" Zane asked annoyed.

"They won't bother us during the evacuation but they didn't promise anything else."

"Damn it!" Zane slammed his first against one of the walls.

"Don't get upset, Zane," Nathan patted him on the shoulder. "Backup will be here soon."

"He's right," the lieutenant confirmed. "It's been a while since I asked for backup. They should be here soon. "

"Is that why they won't stop the attack?" Zero wondered.

"What do you mean?" Asagi asked.

"Maybe they will get no reinforcements just like us and want to end it as soon as possible so that they are not at a disadvantage?"

"But then, it's stupid of them to give us time to evacuate," Zane wondered.

"It's rather bad for us," the lieutenant replied.

"Why is that?" Zane asked.

"We are tying up troops in the evacuation that could be used to fight the Teikoku under normal circumstances," Nathan replied. "Am I right?"

"Unfortunately, that's true..." the lieutenant replied. "We're spreading our thin forces even more ... and the outbreak isn't exactly an advantage either ..."

"I hope the reinforcements will arrive soon," Asagi worried.

"Don't worry, we'll make it," Zane smiled at her.

"I can open the gates now," the soldier who had been concentrating on the console suddenly reported.

"OK, I'll let them know, get ready for us to go into the bunker."

⬢

With the sound of hydraulics in the background, the gates of the bunker entrances to the city opened. The light illuminated the passage that led deep into the bunker. As ordered, the soldiers immediately trained their guns on the entrance to the bunker, but nothing happened. The corridor was deserted and there was no sign of infection. The activated evacuation protocol flashed arrows on the walls to direct civilians outside.

Minutes passed, but nothing happened.

It was quiet, only the sounds of battle could be heard in the background. No one expected a rush of people, as they had all been informed of what was happening in the bunker, but no one came.

"Were the people brought out through other exits?" One of the soldiers, tired of pointing his rifle in the direction of the entrance, asked his captain.

"Not that I know of," the captain replied. "But it seems safe. Let's go in, maybe they need help. "

"OK, we're going in!" One of the soldiers waved to the waiting people.

The soldiers marched slowly down the corridor. They had to hurry as the fighting continued unabated. The city's defences had held so far, and the Teikoku had already suffered some casualties, while their own were relatively small.

The situation gave the citizens of the city hope, but it was still unclear how long it would last. Reinforcements would be arriving soon, but there was no telling if the Teikoku would receive reinforcements as well.

More ships could jump into the battle at any moment, so they had to hurry. But the fear of being next, if there was another radiation outbreak, was omnipresent. Nevertheless, the soldiers marched dutifully into the corridors of the bunker and disappeared.

⬢

"OK, it's time for us to go," the lieutenant ordered after receiving confirmation that the gates were open.

"OK!" Zane replied with motivation.

"What's the plan?" Nathan asked.

"We're going to go into the bunker and try to evacuate one room at a time."

"We didn't even have enough people to do that before, how is that going to work now?" The other soldier asked. "The maximum capacity of the bunker is 5000 people. How are we supposed to ... ", the soldier looked at Asagi, "... six people are supposed to do that?"

"The present evacuation workers will support us and the troops from outside will also join us. So don't worry," he tried to calm him down.

"What about that thing from before?" Nathan asked.

"Exactly! What about that thing? Shouldn't we go back and help the others?" Zane added.

"The leadership has decided that we should concentrate on the evacuation. A rescue team should already be on its way. "

"Hopefully, they'll make it," Asagi hoped and clutched his backpack tightly.

"I'm sure they will," Zero smiled at her and turned to the lieutenant. "Is there a way to find out which people have already been evacuated?" He asked cautiously.

Asagi, Nathan and Zane looked at Zero who reminded them why they were here in the first place. All of them, except Asagi, were assigned to support services in case of a crisis. So it was understandable that they were there, but this was an outbreak. There were no rules about what civilian helpers like Zero or the students of the academy had to do in such a situation.

Zero had used his paramedic service as an excuse to save Carol. But now, he regretted it. He had put Asagi, Nathan and Zane in danger and there was nothing he could do to help them.

"In the case of a normal evacuation after an attack, yes, but in this case..."

Zero swallowed.

"Carol will be fine!" Asagi encouraged Zero.

"Right," Zero nodded with a smile. "Thank you, Asagi."

Zane and Nathan looked at each other and nodded as well.

"Then we can start," Nathan said confidently.

"Right, let's go save Carol and the others!" Zane exclaimed.

"Thanks guys..." replied Zero.

"So pack up, we start the evacuation!"

"YES SIR!"