Gideon stopped when he saw the state of the chamber.
The floor was covered with dead infected, their white blood spreading across the stone. Good.
The hole in the center was still covered in layers of pale tissue, and thin strands continued to twitch around its edges.
Aaron was sprawled several meters away, his body covered in white growth and his clothes torn from the struggle.
While all the rest of the infected paused to look at him as if he were a rat that should have been exterminated long ago, their faces slowly twisted into snarls.
One by one, they abandoned Aaron's body and turned toward Gideon.
There were only five of them left.
Gideon looked at the group, then down at Jasper hanging from his left hand. He was still conscious, although barely, and despite the blood covering his face, there was a strange calmness in his expression when he saw the infected turn toward Gideon.
"They will tear you apart," Jasper muttered.
Gideon glanced at him. "You sound hopeful."
