In the vast stillness—quiet as the far edge of an endless void—parasitic organisms began crawling from the Monster’s carcass. They drifted into the air like tiny white petals of light, spiraling before my eyes, drawing my soul toward a boundless world of forgetting.

  If tomorrow I must walk alone on a trail paved only with exhaustion and calculation; if I must weep until my tears wash away every shred of resentment... would I still have the strength to go on?

  Click, click... A faint sputtering broke the silence. A flicker of amber light flared from a match struck between the rough fingers of a man I knew all too well.

  "Kael!"

  My cry was one of pure relief. I collapsed into him, sobbing against his chest.

  "You did well, Annie," he said quietly.

  On any other day, he would have scolded me for losing control. Not this time. He just held me.

  I didn’t know how long I stayed there, or how tightly I clung to him. Only when Kael gently pushed me back did I realize I was still shaking. He picked up my rifle, pressed it back into my hands, and helped me up.

  "I’m not sure that door will hold the horde for long," he said. "We need to barricade it."

  I managed a nod. There was no reason to hesitate. Kael—my faith, my hope, my guiding light—was back. He gave me a faint smile, disappeared into the room, and returned with a thick piece of rotting timber. Tearing a strip from his shirt, he wrapped it around the end and fashioned a crude torch.

  Fwoom. The flames swallowed the wood, casting a wavering glow down the hallway. The corridor was deep, but the light reached far enough to reveal the exit in dim outlines. Kael kicked the shriveled body of the Monster aside and raised the torch.

  "All clear," he said at last.

  We searched the rooms one by one. It wasn’t hard to fill two backpacks with rations and ammunition. Two crates of supplies still remained; Kael hid them behind a shelf in the armory and reinforced the corridor door with heavy beams.

  In the end, the precautions were unnecessary. All night, the howls and moans outside told me we were surrounded, yet none of them tried to break in. Perhaps the stench of the dead Monster masked our scent. At dawn, as the first rays of sunlight broke the horizon, the blind horde retreated. Their snarls quieted as they wandered off into the shadows of the city.

  With heavy packs, we hurried toward our next destination: Harvint Harbor. Once a bustling port, it was now our only hope. Kael wanted to find a vessel seaworthy enough to flee the Iberian Peninsula. With our current supplies, we might even reach the north. In that freezing cold, perhaps the undead would struggle to exist.

  The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

  Along the street to the harbor, we encountered a lone infected—newly turned. It spotted us and charged in a blind fury. Kael frowned and muttered a curse, something I had never heard him do before. It ended quickly. One clean swing of his machete sent its head tumbling. I used to call him the "Zombie Hunter." After last night, he joked that perhaps I should be the "Bane of Monsters."

  Everything has its price.

  The rest of the walk was strangely peaceful. No wandering figures. No distant moans. The street felt as though it belonged to us alone. Before the outbreak, my mornings had been filled with anxieties: finding work, applying for assistance, finishing classes at Hamster University. Now, there was only one task: survive.

  Strangely, the world had become simpler. The undead had stripped life to its barest form. No more bureaucracy. No more the prospect of spending a life within the same two city blocks. Every day began somewhere new. Each day was just walking, eating, hiding.

  Sometimes I thought: Maybe this is better.

  I hurried to keep pace as Kael quickened his stride. His gaze was fixed ahead, toward the sound of waves. Since yesterday, he felt different. Stronger. Harder. He moved as if his heavy pack weighed nothing. I was breathless just trying to keep up.

  At last, we reached the pier. The sea was blue and serene. White birds perched on boats slowly surrendering to rot. Kael scanned the area, then froze. His eyes locked onto a dark window in the building overlooking the pier.

  "What is it?" I asked.

  "It’s watching us," he said. "A Monster."

  "I don’t see anything... it’s too dark. And it’s too bright out here."

  "And too hot," Kael muttered. He tugged at his collar, tearing it open. "I hate this sunlight."

  A chill ran through me. Something was wrong.

  "We need to go inside," he said, pointing toward the coastal guard station. "They’ll have keys to a lifeboat."

  "But there’s a Monster in there," I whispered. "I... I'm afraid."

  "Then wait here," Kael said. He drew his blade and walked toward the building.

  He's different, I thought. So different.

  "I’m coming with you." I couldn't lose him again.

  Crash! Before I reached the doorway, a grotesque body came flying through the window. It hit the ground and began shriveling beneath the sun, convulsing. Kael’s machete was lodged through its throat. Within seconds, the corpse ignited in intense UV light.

  Kael stepped out, a ring of keys in his hand. His eyes were streaked with red. He retrieved his blade, slung his pack, and signaled me to follow.

  The boat was small but intact. White paint. Bold red letters: "Sea Rescue." Kael helped me aboard and fit a key into the ignition.

  "This is the manual for operating small vessels," he said, handing me a book stained with dried blood. "Follow it."

  "But you already know how," I replied. I hated learning new things—especially when Kael was there to lead.

  "I can't," Kael answered.

  A sharp pang of dread hit me. "Why? You’re smarter than me."

  He laughed softly. Bitterly. "Well, I won't be smarter than you for much longer."

  "I don't understand..."

  Kael sighed and rolled up his sleeve. The world tilted. I stumbled back, gripping the railing to keep from collapsing.

  On his arm was a deep bite wound—blackened and festering. Dark green filaments spread from it like creeping veins, twisting into his flesh.

  He had been bitten by the Monster.