Once Purnima and her team complete their task at the laboratory, they begin their return to the hostel. However, the journey back is more treacherous than anticipated.
Unlike their earlier passage, the path is now crawling with more zombies—a stark reminder that time is running out and the infected are growing more restless and numerous.
Deciding not to take any unnecessary risks, the group avoids direct confrontation and stealthily navigates back through alleys and debris-filled corridors, eventually reaching the hostel without drawing attention.
As they reach the gate, a familiar figure stands waiting—Snehil. His presence is as expected, but his expression is not.
He stands still, quiet, and blank, like a statue that has seen too much. His shoulders are slouched, his eyes tired, and his face betrays a deep turmoil.
"Have you guys prepared the suppressant drugs?" Snehil asks with a voice that lacks its usual energy.
"Yes, we have," Purnima responds. "Though I don't know if the quality is up to the military-grade standard."
"If it works, then quality doesn't matter," Aditya replies dryly, brushing past him into the hostel.
"Well then, come inside. Standing on the door would only invite unwanted attention," Snehil says with a weak nod.
He follows behind and secures the gate, locking it firmly before trailing the others into the main hall.
Inside, the atmosphere is heavy but familiar. The dim lighting and dusty air are now their normal.
As the group settles into the common area, Aditya turns to Snehil.
"So, do you guys have enough food packages?" he asks, almost casually.
"Yes, we have..." Snehil begins, but his sentence is abruptly interrupted.
"I saw a huge crowd of zombies at the cafeteria from the roof of the school building. Tell me what happened," Aditya demands, a sharp edge in his tone.
"Yes, there was a sound of a container falling... some of the nearby zombies were attracted by the noise," Snehil explains hesitantly.
Jay, scanning the room, suddenly asks, "Where is Amrit? I don't see him here."
"Amrit was too tired and stressed from the events at the cafeteria. He went to his room to rest," Snehil answers.
He takes a breath, about to share more, when Aditya cuts him off again, his voice steely.
"Where is Samarth? Is he also resting in his room?"
Snehil hesitates. His mouth opens and closes a few times, as if trying to shape words that refuse to form.
"Well... the news I was going to share is that..." he stutters, struggling with the weight of his words.
"Will you tell us what happened already? Where is Samarth? Don't drag this out!" Purnima's voice cracks with concern.
"Sam... Samarth is..." Snehil's voice falters.
"Yes?" Jay prompts, already uneasy.
Just then, Amrit walks out from the hallway. His eyes are red, his posture tense.
Whatever rest he has taken in his room has clearly been an internal battle.
"Samarth was bitten by zombies on his shoulder," Amrit says quietly. "And he ran away afterward... maybe because he didn't want to risk hurting us once he turns."
Those words hang in the air like a shroud. A heavy, oppressive silence follows.
Jay sits in stunned disbelief, refusing to process the reality of what he has just heard.
Purnima bursts into tears, pressing her sleeve to her eyes, but it can't stop them. Sobs wrack her shoulders.
Even she, one of the most composed among them, has broken.
Aditya, for once, is still. He doesn't move, doesn't speak.
After a long pause, he finally says, in a low and flat voice, "So this is your decision, Samarth... I don't think you really understood our conversation today."
"What conversation?" Snehil asks, eyes narrowing. He is on the verge of his own emotional collapse.
"Nothing important," Aditya mutters, rising from his seat and walking toward the stairs.
He climbs slowly, the wooden steps creaking under his weight.
When he reaches the roof, the evening has fully descended into night.
The sky is crystal clear, stars flickering like distant eyes watching over them.
The moon glows bright and pale, casting silver light over the ruins below.
Aditya sits down by the edge, legs pulled close to his chest.
He says nothing. He only looks.
He isn't alone for long.
Amrit soon appears, stepping out onto the rooftop, and takes a seat beside him without a word.
After a long moment, he finally asks, "Are you thinking about how to take things from here?"
"Actually... no," Aditya admits.
"Samarth asked me earlier if I'd share his role... if something happened to him. I told him it was his burden alone. That he chose to carry it, and he had to finish it himself.
Then he hinted that he might give up. I should've taken that more seriously."
Amrit gives a small nod, understanding what Aditya doesn't say aloud.
"Before you doubt yourself... did Samarth seem disappointed by your answer?"
"He didn't," Aditya replies.
"That's all you need to know. The only thing that matters now is what lies ahead."
Aditya nods slowly, digesting that.
"I think I know what to do next," he says. "At least I can honor his last wish."
He pauses, then adds, almost absentmindedly, "I also told Samarth that after we escape this place, I'll be on my own path."
"That's your choice," Amrit says simply.
"Aren't you going to ask why?" Aditya looks at him.
"Did Samarth ask why?" Amrit counters. "If he didn't, I don't need to either."
Aditya gives a soft, humorless smile. "Thanks for understanding."
"You know," Amrit adds, voice quieter now, "we have to keep this understanding between us... to pretend nothing ever happened during the Eden mission."
Aditya's expression darkens.
"It's like a bad dream that we all saw. But the one most haunted by it was Samarth. It changed him more than any of us in the last six months.
If he's still alive... if he's even resisting death... it's because of that nightmare."
"There was one more person who suffered from it," Amrit says after a pause.
"Anaaya, right?" Snehil's voice joins them. They haven't even heard him approach.
"Yes," Amrit nods.
"Do you guys really think this is the best time to dig up that past?" Snehil asks, trying to hold himself together.
"If we've brought it up, maybe it's time to face it," Jay says, stepping onto the roof with Purnima just behind him.
The group sits together under the moonlight, not saying much more.
The night is unexpectedly chilly for July—a strange, bittersweet breeze in a season usually known for heat.
It is the kind of weather meant for soft, romantic confessions and warm laughter.
But instead, they are mourning.
They are remembering.
They are unpacking wounds that have never been given time to heal.
It isn't just grief for Samarth.
It is grief for the mission that broke them.
For Eden.
For the person each of them used to be before all this began.