The intercom hissed like a wounded animal, then reports tumbled through, urgent and hard to parse.
"—all remaining monsters acting strangely… the corpses of the bird, the turtle, the lion, the centipede swarmed by insects!"
A dozen voices followed, breathless, distant. "They're regrouping. The zombies are more violent. They're—"
Julian's knife flashed before he felt the full weight of the warning. He drove his blade into Leo's side, shallow and focused, meant to pin and punish, not to kill. Leo didn't scream so much as choke out a laugh, blood bubbling at his lips. "What are you doing, Julian?"
Julian warned him sharply, his voice low but firm. "Don't do anything reckless."
Leo, still impaled by Julian's blade, only grinned with a manic gleam in his eyes. "I'm ready to die," he said, his tone wild and unhinged.
