Inside the convenience store, the air was thick with dust and the echo of their labored breathing. Despite everything, the place offered refuge, even if only temporary. They closed the door with a dull creak and, for the first time in hours, were able to let their guard down a little.
Koen barely let go of his makeshift weapon before turning to Ethan. His eyes reflected a mixture of disbelief and relief.
—I thought you were dead, damn it —Koen said, letting out a ragged laugh as he gave him a friendly punch on the shoulder—. I haven't heard from you since everything went to hell.
Ethan smiled crookedly, that gesture of his so characteristic.
—Me die? Not in your wildest dreams, director.
The two shared a brief, sincere laugh, a spark of normality amid the chaos.
After that brief moment, Koen remembered the two figures waiting on the sidelines, looking at them with a mixture of exhaustion and curiosity.
—Oh, right... —Koen cleared his throat—. Let me introduce you to the people who have been with me all this time. This is Reize —he said, pointing to the girl—, and this is Arika.
Ethan walked toward them with a calm stride, as if all the horror they had just been through had not affected him at all.
He stopped in front of Reize first. He held out his hand with a smile that, although relaxed, had a different nuance... as if something about her particularly caught his attention.
—Nice to meet you —Ethan said, his voice low and confident—. I'm Ethan.
Reize, still a little nervous, accepted his hand. The contact was brief, but in that instant, an invisible spark seemed to pass between them. Reize looked down, feeling her heart race without fully understanding why. Ethan, for his part, took a second longer than normal to let go of her hand, a thoughtful expression in his eyes.
—I... thank you for saving my life —she stammered.
—It's okay, you don't have to thank me. I'm just glad you're okay —Ethan replied with a smile.
Koen raised an eyebrow but said nothing. He turned to Arika, who was watching him intently.
—And this is Arika —he said.
Ethan approached her, repeating the gesture.
—Nice to meet you —he repeated, holding out his hand —. I'm Ethan.
The moment his fingers touched Arika's, something exploded in her mind. A sharp pang of pain shot through her, causing her to stagger slightly. Vague images crashed into her consciousness: a memory. Ethan... reaching out to her in a place she couldn't identify. The same voice, the same greeting.
A second later, another memory hit her hard. It was the scene from her dream that morning: the boy she hadn't been able to make out in the forest... it was Ethan.
—Arika! —Koen exclaimed, stepping forward when he saw her stagger and put her hand to her head.
Reize also approached, alarmed.
—Are you okay?
Arika closed her eyes tightly, breathing heavily. The pain disappeared as quickly as it had come, but the feeling of dizziness and confusion lingered.
—I'm... fine —she murmured, though her voice trembled slightly.
Ethan looked at her with a frown, a slight shadow of concern crossing his face.
Koen put a hand on her shoulder to steady her.
—If you need to sit down...
Arika shook her head, even though her heart was beating wildly. Something deep in her memory had been awakened.
And she was sure Ethan had something to do with it.
Arika spent the rest of the morning resting in a corner of the convenience store, leaning against some half-crushed boxes. The dim light filtering through the broken windows was enough to see their tired faces, but not enough to reveal all the dust and destruction that covered the place. Hours later, the sun reached its highest point, but the infected were still lurking nearby, so going outside was not an option. They had to wait.
And so night fell, silent and heavy, and everyone took turns settling down as best they could among fallen shelves and broken food bags. No one slept well, but at least they were alive... and together.
At dawn, the leaden sky was still covered with heavy clouds. Arika sat up, stretching slowly. The feeling of discomfort and heaviness in her head still lingered, but there was something stronger beating inside her: the need to move forward.
—I think we should move now. Those things aren't around anymore. This is our chance. —he said, breaking the silence.
Koen nodded immediately, while Ethan and Reize also gave their approval with a brief gesture. It wasn't safe to stay in one place for too long.
They checked the convenience store one more time before leaving. There wasn't much food left: a few dented cans, broken cookie packages, dusty water bottles. Each of them took what they could carry in a makeshift backpack. It wasn't much, but in those times, anything was valuable.
When they reached the entrance, Ethan, who was carrying a heavier backpack than the others, turned to them.
—Does anyone know how to use a weapon? —he asked, his gaze serious.
Arika raised her hand without hesitation.
Ethan looked at her for a moment, a shadow of concern crossing his face. He clearly remembered how she had almost collapsed the day before.
—Are you sure? —he asked in a low voice—. You didn't seem to be in good shape yesterday...
Arika held his gaze, firm.
—I'm sure.
Something in her tone dispelled any doubts. Ethan, though not entirely convinced, sighed and took a small pistol out of his backpack, handing it to her.
—Be careful —he murmured.
She took it with steady hands.
Koen, curious, frowned.
—¿Where did you get those weapons, Ethan?
Ethan shrugged, as if it were nothing important.
—Before I met you, I came across an abandoned army tank, —he explained—. It was in pieces, but I found some useful things inside. I took what I could carry.
Koen nodded, understanding immediately. It was a stroke of luck.
Reize, however, continued to look at Arika with concern.
—Do you really know how to use it? —he asked quietly, moving a little closer.
Arika gave him a calm smile, though her eyes were still filled with steely determination.
—Yes. In fact... —she looked down for a second before looking up again with a half-smile— In a few days, I was going to get my gun license.
Reize blinked, surprised.
—But well... —Arika continued, shrugging —, As things stand, that's not going to happen now.
Her tone was light, but the shadow of sadness in her words was impossible to ignore.
Ethan watched the scene in silence, as if there was something else he wanted to say, but in the end he just secured the strap of his backpack.
—All right —said Koen, adjusting the rifle he was now carrying—. Let's move before something finds us first.
And so, with steady but silent steps, the small group left the convenience store, moving toward an uncertain future.
The group advanced as the sky began to lighten slightly with gray tones. At that hour, the streets were deserted, but the silence was deceptive. Every shadow, every corner, seemed to hide something lurking.
They had been walking for over an hour without incident, until a huge landslide blocked their path. The rubble formed a wall that was impossible to cross.
Reize looked around anxiously.
—We'd better find another way —e suggested, clutching her backpack to her chest.
Koen nodded and looked around for an alternative route, but at that moment a loud noise echoed in the distance. A dull explosion, as if something huge had detonated several streets away.
They stopped dead in their tracks. Everyone looked at each other tensely.
—That doesn't sound good —Ethan muttered, frowning.
Before they could react, a second, much closer explosion shook the ground. The asphalt trembled violently beneath their feet and, with a deafening crack, the road began to split in two.
Koen, who was in the middle of the street, lost his balance when a huge crack opened up at his feet, swallowing the ground around him.
—Koen! —Reize screamed, horrified.
Without thinking twice, Arika ran toward him. Her legs moved on their own, driven by pure instinct. When the crack widened, reaching the edges where they were standing, Arika pushed Koen hard to the other side.
—Watch out!