"Huh?"
Bryan's sudden question caught Sarah off guard. Her expression flickered, and after a moment's hesitation, she answered quietly:
"I... I let him go."
Bryan shrugged. He'd expected as much. Glancing at the clock on the wall, he rose from the couch.
"Alright. Time to move."
They exited through a side door and headed for the house across the way. Bryan had scoped out the route from the second-floor bedroom earlier—the direct path was completely blocked. Their only option was to climb through a window on the side of the neighboring building.
As always, they searched for anything useful first. No telling what they'd need on the road ahead.
Climbing out through the neighbor's window, they found themselves facing a massive crack in the ground—someone's basement, exposed by an explosion that had torn away the ceiling.
Bryan peered down into the gap. The space was carpeted with red fungal growths, and the air had taken on a sickly yellow-green tinge. The basement was maybe fifteen feet across, empty of infected, with an open window on the far side. Five seconds, tops, to cross.
"What do you think? Should we go through?" Sarah eyed the obviously dangerous passage with uncertainty.
"No way. Look at that air—something's wrong with it. We don't know if the infection spreads through spores. Can't risk it."
Bryan shook his head and surveyed their options. Left was blocked. Right led to the main street, now crawling with infected. He glanced back at the window they'd climbed through, considering whether to retrace their steps.
"Hey, we could go up there."
While Bryan searched for alternatives, Sarah had been looking up. She pointed at a second-floor walkway on the apartment building ahead.
Following her gesture, Bryan estimated the height—maybe ten feet. His eyes lit up.
"I think there was a folding ladder in that house. Not sure if it's tall enough, but let's try."
Back inside, he found a small stepladder in a storage closet—about four feet tall.
"Careful now." He fed the ladder through the window to Sarah, warning her to keep quiet. Dropping it would definitely attract attention.
Once outside, they unfolded the ladder against the wall.
"...Still way too short!"
The gap was still substantial. Bryan scratched his head, then climbed the ladder and straddled the top step. He measured the remaining distance with his eyes and nodded.
"Okay, new plan. Climb up and stand on my shoulders. That should get you high enough. Once you're up, tie the rope to the railing and I'll climb after you."
"Got it!"
Sarah didn't hesitate. She scaled the ladder, grabbed Bryan's outstretched hand, and pulled herself up until her feet rested on his shoulders. She made the mistake of glancing down—vertigo hit instantly, making her sway.
"Sarah, don't look down." Bryan felt her legs trembling and gripped them firmly to steady her. "Deep breath. I've got you."
His voice was like a shot of courage. Sarah inhaled slowly, steadied herself, and reached up to grab the railing. Two kicks against the wall later, she hauled herself over.
And immediately spotted an infected standing in the corridor, back turned to her.
She nearly screamed. Her left hand clamped over her mouth just in time, strangling the sound. Her right hand shot out the window, waving frantically—don't make noise!
Bryan understood immediately. He waited in silence.
After a tense moment, the infected still hadn't moved. Sarah exhaled carefully, slipped off her backpack, retrieved the rope, and secured one end to the railing while keeping her eyes on the creature.
Bryan caught the dangling rope, climbed to the top of the ladder, and scaled up easily.
Landing softly in the corridor, he spotted the infected ahead. He drew his knife and started forward—but a small hand stopped him.
He looked at Sarah questioningly.
She pointed at the knife, then whispered: "This time, let me."
The determination in her eyes was unmistakable. Bryan nodded and handed over the blade. In this world, everyone needed to grow. He'd watch her back.
Sarah gripped the knife and crept toward the infected. Her heart pounded, but she couldn't keep hiding behind others forever.
Bryan protected her when danger came. But who would protect Bryan if he was in danger?
She had to step up.
The infected was taller than her. Recalling Bryan's technique, she drew back her right foot and drove it hard into the back of its knee.
The creature buckled, dropping to the ground. In the same motion, Sarah's arm snaked around its neck from behind, cutting off any sound. Her knife found its temple, driving deep.
The infected went limp.
"Nice work." Bryan had witnessed the whole thing. "Didn't know you had it in you. I underestimated you."
"Yeah, yeah. It's getting late—let's keep moving."
Sarah rolled her eyes but couldn't quite hide her satisfaction as she returned the knife.
"Wait. Someone's down there."
Just as they prepared to continue, Bryan spotted movement on the street below. A young Black woman emerged from a restaurant, her backpack hanging flat and empty—clearly she'd found nothing inside.
As she skulked toward a convenience store across the street, something emerged from her previous hiding spot.
An infected. But unlike any they'd seen before.
Half its head was encased in mushroom-like fungal growths. The mass had erupted from one eye socket, completely destroying the eye beneath.
And it wasn't behaving like the others.
Instead of shrieking and charging, it crept silently behind the woman, closing the distance with predatory patience.
"What... what IS that?" Sarah pointed at the grotesque creature, horror in her voice. This one was clearly different—more dangerous.
"I knew it."
Bryan's expression darkened. This was the most heavily infected specimen he'd seen yet. The fungus had clearly completed some kind of transformation—a second stage.
His theory was confirmed. Over time, the pathogen was modifying its hosts, making them stronger, better hunters. All to spread the infection further.
The evolved infected closed to striking distance. It let out a sharp hiss and lunged at the woman. Simultaneously, its cry seemed to activate every dormant infected in the area—they shrieked in response and converged on the sound.
The woman spun at the noise. Seeing the creature bearing down on her, panic flashed across her face—but she'd killed infected before. Her reflexes took over. She raised her pistol and put a round directly into the thing's head.
The bullet struck the fungal mass. The growth exploded—but the infected kept coming.
Eyes wide with terror, the woman screamed and tried to run.
Too slow. The evolved infected was faster than any she'd encountered. It closed the gap in seconds and tackled her to the ground.
Her agonized screams echoed through the streets, a sound that would haunt every survivor hiding nearby.