The chain clattered softly as the infected on the other side scratched mindlessly at the door, Nathan's shouting attracting them there.

Rolen didn't take his wide teary eyes off Nathan, the scene still replaying in his mind. Nathan's worried expression was so different from the vision that the engineer needed a moment to let reality sink back in.

Nathan's expression showed signs of relief when he watched Rolen readjusting to their situation. "There we go," Nathan's voice was calm, taking the leather bag Rolen unknowingly clutched to his chest carefully from his grasp. "Now breathe in." Nathan inhaled slowly, deeply, his chest rising with practiced calm. Rolen mirrored him, the movement shaky but steadying. "Good, now breathe back out again." Nathan continued, only for them to let the air flow back out in the room.

This repeated for a little bit, until Rolen felt his heart rate return to normal, and for his shaking to subside.

"Tell me your name kid."

"R-Rolen."

"Okay Rolen I need you to be clear with me, is this something that happens often? We can't have this happen out there" Nathan replied, his tone wasn't harsh or cold but more concerned than anything.

The young engineer turned his head, his gaze flicking over to the window. The sun was already going down.
The streets outside were drowned in a pale gray stillness, like the world hadn't decided whether to continue spinning or to give up all together.

"I don't know.." He whispered. "They started today, I didn't have them before.."

Nathan raised a eyebrow at this, it started today?
He got up, holding out a hand for Rolen to get back to his feet. "We will talk about it more later, for now we have to go." And with that, Nathan packed up all the stuff he collected earlier into the leather bag and gave it to Rolen. Who took it apprehensively.

Walking over to the back door, Nathan had his army dagger at the ready, preparing himself to stab the first best infected in the skull.

Rolen stood behind him, the heavy leather bag slung over one shoulder, still trembling from the vision. His cheeks were dry now, but his eyes still carried the weight of everything he'd seen-real or not

Nathan glanced back at him. "You ready?"

Rolen didn't answer right away. Then, a small nod. "Yeah."

Nathan studied him for a second longer than he needed to. He didn't like how pale the kid looked. Or how quiet he'd gone. Something about that trance he was in... it wasn't just shock. It was something deeper.

Nathan slowly and quietly unlocked the door, taking a deep breath before opening it, the silence of the building was worse than noise. Each footstep echoed like a gunshot against the worn down floorboards.

Rolen followed close behind, and for the first time, Nathan didn't tell him to keep distance. Instead, his free hand moved back instinctively, brushing Rolen's arm, guiding him. Making sure he stayed close.

Downstairs, in the lobby some of the windows were broken. Glass littered the floor like scattered teeth, and blood streaked in long, dry smears toward the exit. The walls held bloody hand prints, smeared out, someone was dragged to their death.

Nathan held up a hand-stop.

Through the shattered window, two infected shuffled by on the street. One was missing a foot, dragging itself forward on splintered bone. The other-a child, maybe ten years old-moved with a twitchy, unnatural jerk. Nathan's grip on the blade tightened, his jaw clenching at the sight of the child.

Nathan didn't breathe.

The child eventually staggered on, following the scent of something else.

When the street was clear, they moved, Nathan Fast, quiet. Rolen followed, although he tried mimicking the others footsteps he ended up a bit more clumsy, yet he managed to stay as quiet as a mouse. Outside, the air stank of mildew and rotting meat.

Sneaking out of the building, it didn't take long until They slipped down an alley.

Nathan stopped once they were deep enough in, his voice barely above a whisper "Where's your building from here?"

Rolen froze in place, squinting down the alley, then looked around, frustrated. "I think... I think my building's that way. Maybe."

"You think?" Nathan hissed.

Rolen flinched. "I just moved here-I don't know the streets yet."

Then he quickly pulled his phone out of his pocket, pressing the power button.

Nothing.

He tried it again, longer this time.

Still nothing, the battery must've died.

"No, no, no, Fuck!" he whisper yelled, shoving the phone back into his jeans. "Nathan. Do you have your phone?"

Nathan blinked. "My-shit. Yeah." He dug it out, screen lighting up. Battery at 47%.

Rolen grabbed it, tapped in his address. "there, thats my address, I remember walking past a laundromat does that help?."

Nathan studied the screen. "Alright. That works." He stuffed it back in his pocket and drew his knife. "Stick close"

They moved again.

Past the dumpsters. Past broken fences and dead cats half eaten and pasted to the pavement like roadkill. and a boot still stuck in a storm drain. The city felt it held on to its last breath, like something that had died and refused to rot away completely. At the corner of the laundromat, Nathan stopped.

Something was ahead-he could hear it before he saw it.

A different sound.

A low, rasping growl. And the occasional sound of tough flesh tearing.

There was a body there slumped over, its back propped against the wall like a doll. A large figure hunched over them, feasting. But it was the way it moved that made Nathan freeze.

It didn't twitch, it didn't behave like a wild animal, at least not entirely.

It chewed.

Slowly and controlled.

As if sensing their approach, The infected's head turned, and for just a brief moment, Nathan saw its face-it wasnt rotting or discoloured like that of the infected he saw during the outbreak, but the jaw was stretched unnaturally wide, the mouth lined with more bloodied teeth than it should've had.

Its eyes locked on him.

Not mindless.

Aware.

"Nathan," Rolen whispered from behind him. "What is it?"

"New type," he murmured. The grip around his knife tightens, his eyes never leaving the infected before him.

But the thing screeched. Not like an animal. Like a deranged mental institution escapee, it almost sounded like laughter.

It lunged, it's body moving way to fast for a reanimated corpse. It went for the knife, trying to claw it out of Nathan's hands. it had purpose, it had intelligence

Nathan shoved Rolen back, already swinging the knife towards its skull, The infected dogded the swing, yet Nathan managed to shove it deep into the Infected shoulder blade, giving it another twist for good measure before pulling it back out, it let out another ear bleeding screech as blood poured out of its back.

Nathan didnt waste another second and grabbed Rolen's wrist. "Run."

They bolted down the alley. The city came alive behind them-screams in the distance, infected trapped in buildings banging on the windows and the doors but none of them were smart enough or fast enough to catch up or reach them.

When they finally collapsed behind a rusted-out car, hearts pounding, Rolen clutched his chest.

"What was that?" he gasped.

Nathan didn't answer right away. He was staring at his own hands. They were shaking.

"I don't know," he said finally. "But that thing is certainly not the only one."

Then, he looked at Rolen-and that tremor inside him wasn't just adrenaline anymore. If he hadn't grabbed him and run, would Rolen have been infected? Eaten alive? He couldn't let that happen, not again.