---
When the ballroom doors finally creaked open, the crowd outside expected people to rush out. But instead, what they saw froze them in place.
Inside, the infected weren't lunging toward the exit , not yet. They were devouring each other, tearing flesh with sickening snarls and wet cracks of bone. The guests outside gasped in collective horror, their trembling voices swallowed by the chaos within.
Then, as if on cue, the first-stage infected turned toward the living , their new prey ,and charged.
Screams erupted. People scattered in panic, pushing and shoving to escape. Blood sprayed against the marble steps as the infection spilled outward. Guards stationed at the gates tried to fire, but their efforts were useless against the sheer frenzy of the horde. They were dragged down within seconds.
---
Inside the collapsing ballroom, Margaret finally spotted Nai through the chaos.
"Nai!" she called, her voice cutting through the shrieks.
"Margaret!" Nai yelled back, slamming her fist into an infected's face and shoving its collapsing body aside. "Have you seen Lucius?!"
"No! He wasn't with you?!" Margaret shouted, slashing her umbrella through another attacker and throwing up a shimmering force shield around herself.
"No!" Nai's expression tightened with dread. For a brief moment, both women shared the same thought , where the hell was Lucius?
But there was no time to dwell on it.
"It doesn't matter!" Margaret barked. "We have to think fast. I'll create a force barrier to contain the infection. Nai, protect anyone you can! Keep the uninfected alive until the military force wielders arrive!"
Nai nodded sharply. "Got it!" She darted off into the chaos, energy flaring around her fists as she cleared a path through the screaming crowd.
Margaret planted herself at the heart of the ballroom, extending her hand. Power rippled from her fingertips, distorting the air like heat waves as a massive force wall began to form around the area , a shimmering dome intended to lock the infection in.
An infected suddenly lunged at her from behind, claws bared
but its skull exploded midair.
Margaret didn't even flinch. Her gaze flicked upward to a distant balcony, where Liam crouched behind a sniper rifle, methodically picking off any infected that came near her or Nai. Each precise shot echoed like punctuation amid the chaos.
---
Meanwhile, away from the battlefield, Lucius lay sprawled in a deserted hallway, unconscious.
A dull, relentless ringing filled his ears. His body twitched, fighting to wake, until finally, with a sharp inhale, his eyes snapped open.
"Ugh… my head…" he groaned, clutching his temple as his blurred vision steadied.
That's when he froze.
Someone ,or something ,was inches from his face, staring directly into his eyes. He couldn't make out details, only the faint glimmer of their gaze and the oppressive weight of their presence.
Before he could react, the figure vanished.
Breathless, Lucius sat up, his chest heaving. "What… was that?" He pressed his palm to his forehead, sweat beading along his skin. "Great. Now I'm hallucinating…"
But his moment of confusion didn't last.
Screams echoed in the distance , real ones, tearing through the stillness like blades. Without hesitation, Lucius stumbled to his feet and broke into a run.
Rather than returning to the ballroom, he veered off, taking a narrow shortcut outside. When he emerged, his breath caught at the sight of the massive dome shimmering over the grand plaza.
"…Is that… a force shield?" he muttered, eyes wide as chaos raged beneath it.
To be continued -