Because of the heavy consumption of magic, Louis slept unusually deeply this time.
He was jolted awake by urgent shouting and rough shaking.
His eyes flew open, immediately meeting Shane's face, tense, anxious, and grim.
"What happened?" The remnants of drowsiness vanished instantly. Louis sat upright, his heart tightening.
Then he felt it, the familiar warmth flowing steadily through his body, his magical energy fully replenished. That alone calmed him a little.
"We might be in serious trouble," Shane said in a low voice, barely restraining the anger underneath.
He pointed toward the window.
Louis hurried over and carefully looked outside.
His heart sank at once.
The Walkers that had begun dispersing earlier were now converging again, drawn back toward the office building. And there were far more of them than yesterday.
They packed the streets, completely sealing every possible escape route.
"How could this happen?" Louis asked, stunned.
"I don't know!" Shane ran a hand through his hair in frustration, then pointed eastward. "About half an hour ago, a car alarm in that block suddenly went off. It blared for several minutes before stopping."
He slammed his fist against the wall.
"Even though it's quiet now, every Walker in the area got dragged here! Some idiot must've triggered it while scavenging and then bolted, leaving this mess behind!"
His voice trembled with barely contained rage as he paced the cramped manager's office like a trapped animal.
He had been stuck here for nearly three days.
Three full days.
In the current world, seventy-two hours was enough for countless disasters to unfold.
He had thought that today, finally, with the herd thinning, there might be a chance to escape this damned cage.
And now, because of someone else's stupidity, that hope had evaporated.
Outside, with no clear source of sound to chase, the Walkers resumed their aimless roaring and collisions. The heavy thump-thump of bodies slamming into doors echoed from below once more.
Danger was closing in again.
But that wasn't what frightened Shane the most.
What truly burned inside him were thoughts of the woman and child he'd left behind, Lori and Carl.
Rick, his best friend, had all but been declared dead.
And Shane had promised him he would take care of them.
Yet here he was.
Not only unable to reach them, but barely managing to keep himself alive.
The image of Lori and Carl trapped somewhere, surrounded by Walkers, short on food and water, living in constant terror, made Shane feel as if a red-hot iron hand were squeezing his heart, stealing his breath.
He wanted nothing more than to grow wings and fly to their side.
But he couldn't.
All he could do was remain trapped in this building, watching time bleed away.
The suffocating sense of powerlessness threatened to drive him mad.
"Officer…"
A familiar voice sounded behind him.
Shane turned sharply.
Louis had stood up at some point, looking at him with those clear blue eyes, eyes filled with cautious concern.
"Are are you okay?"
Only then did Shane realize how out of control he must have seemed.
The boiling rage inside him felt as though it had been doused with cold water, draining away in an instant.
He took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down.
"I'm fine, kid." He walked over and crouched down in front of Louis, deliberately softening his voice. "Sorry. I didn't mean to scare you."
"You look, really sad," Louis said quietly.
Shane gave a bitter smile and didn't deny it.
For some reason, in front of this child, his guard always slipped without him noticing.
"Yeah," he admitted.
"I was just, thinking about my family. And my friends."
He looked at Louis, pain and struggle flickering unmistakably in his eyes.
"When all of this happened… I wasn't with them," Shane said quietly. "I don't know how they're doing. I don't know if they're safe. I don't even know if they're, still alive."
"Are they waiting for you?" Louis asked.
"Yes." Shane nodded, his voice rough. "They're my brother's family. Which makes them my family too. I promised him, no matter what happened, I would protect them."
His gaze drifted away.
"But now, I'm stuck here like a useless bastard."
He let out a self-mocking laugh and gestured around the cramped room, then toward the dense mass of Walkers outside the window.
"I can't even protect you properly. There's a whole pack of monsters downstairs ready to break in at any moment. We don't know how long we'll be trapped here. I…"
His voice faltered.
The crushing weight of responsibility and the reality of his helplessness pressed down on him like twin mountains.
Louis listened in silence.
He could feel the despair radiating from the man in front of him.
After a moment, he reached out and gently patted Shane's arm.
"They'll be fine."
The boy said nothing else, but his tone was unwavering.
Shane looked up.
In the dim light, Louis's blue eyes seemed almost unnaturally bright, and something in them made Shane's heart jolt faintly.
"You, and they, will all be fine," Louis repeated. A subtle gleam flashed in his eyes. "Maybe, we'll even be able to leave tomorrow."
"Tomorrow?"
Shane froze for a second, then shook his head with a tired, bitter smile. He took it as nothing more than a child's attempt at comfort.
Facing that seemingly endless herd outside, leaving tomorrow was nothing but a fantasy.
Still, he couldn't bring himself to crush the boy's optimism.
"Let's hope so, kid," he said softly.
Shane turned back to the window, resuming his watch, completely unaware of the thoughtful expression that settled onto the eleven-year-old's face behind him.
Having verified the near-perfect effectiveness of the invisibility cloak, and possessing at least a basic means of self-defense, Louis had no intention of continuing to wait passively.
Waiting meant gambling his life on luck.
And deep down, Louis had never believed in luck.
If he wanted to survive, he had to take the initiative.
The most urgent priority was to exploit his unique advantages and search for essential survival supplies, especially weapons, to ensure his safety in the days ahead.
And for that, acting alone would be far more efficient.
The invisibility cloak and magic were trump cards that could not be exposed.
Staying with Shane offered the protection of an adult, but it also placed invisible shackles on him, preventing him from fully using his greatest strengths.
Louis liked these people. He didn't mind helping them, when he could.
But only after ensuring his own survival.
First, he needed to thoroughly understand his capabilities, scout the surrounding area, and evaluate the situation.
Only then would he decide whether to rejoin Shane, seek out other survivors, or integrate with the so-called "main cast."
In fact, the moment he'd spoken those words of comfort, a bold plan had already taken shape in his mind.
A plan that would allow both of them to escape safely.
And, just as importantly, give them a perfectly reasonable excuse to act separately.
For now, however, the core of that plan had to remain secret.
At least from the police officer standing beside him.