RED AND THE APOCALYPSE
Chapter 57 — The Hidden Survivors
The two jeeps slowly disappeared deeper into the underground parking lot.
The darkness swallowed most of the vehicles as they moved away from the entrance, leaving only the faint glow of their headlights sweeping across abandoned cars and concrete pillars.
Natsuki carefully searched for a place where the vehicles would be difficult to notice.
"There."
He pointed toward a darker section of the parking lot, tucked between several abandoned cars and a large concrete support column.
The two jeeps slowly maneuvered into position.
Natsuki reversed slightly, adjusted the steering, then moved forward again until the vehicle was almost completely concealed from the main passage.
Aoi did the same with the second jeep.
For a few seconds, neither vehicle moved.
The group simply sat there, listening.
No voices.
No footsteps.
Nothing.
Natsuki glanced into the rearview mirror.
"Everyone ready?"
Aoi's voice came through the radio.
"Let's stay calm. From this point on, we move quietly and cautiously. We don't know what's inside this place."
Tokita nodded.
Mira checked the equipment beside her.
Nezuko tightened her grip on her weapon.
Kaito took a slow breath.
One by one, they acknowledged Aoi.
"Yeah."
"Got it."
"Understood."
"Okay."
Once everyone had responded, the radio went silent.
Aoi switched hers off.
Natsuki did the same.
Then the headlights went out.
Darkness immediately swallowed the parking lot.
The engines were shut down next.
Silence.
For the first time since entering the underground structure, there was no artificial noise surrounding them.
The group carefully opened the doors.
One after another, they stepped out.
Each of them carried a flashlight, but they kept them off for the moment.
Natsuki slowly looked around.
"This place is quiet."
Tokita stood beside him.
"Yeah."
His eyes moved across the darkness.
"Maybe too quiet."
Aoi raised one hand.
"Stay on your guard. We don't want a repeat of what happened at that military facility."
Kaito nodded.
"Yeah. We definitely don't want that incident happening again."
The memory was enough to make everyone more cautious.
They began moving.
Slowly.
Quietly.
Their footsteps barely made a sound against the concrete floor.
Flashlights remained off as they relied on the faint ambient light filtering in from the entrance behind them.
Then—
Scrrrch...
Everyone stopped.
Nezuko immediately raised her flashlight.
She switched it on and aimed the beam toward the sound.
The light swept across the floor.
Nothing.
Then the beam stopped.
A rat was crouched beside something on the ground.
It was chewing on a severed limb.
The creature froze when the light hit it.
For a moment, it stared directly at them.
Then it darted away into the darkness.
Kaito grimaced.
"Jesus..."
The group slowly approached the limb.
Mira crouched beside it.
Her expression changed.
"This is strange."
She reached toward it.
Before her fingers could touch the flesh, Natsuki grabbed her wrist.
"What are you doing?"
Mira looked at him.
"What?"
"What if it's infected?" Natsuki asked. "You could get exposed."
Mira calmly pulled her hand back.
"I wasn't going to touch it bare-handed."
She reached into her medical kit and pulled out a pair of gloves.
"I was about to put these on."
She slipped the gloves over both hands before crouching again.
"Tokita, hold the light for me."
Tokita immediately stepped closer and aimed his flashlight at the limb.
The others gathered around Mira.
She carefully examined the severed arm.
Her eyes moved across the fingers, the skin, the wounds, and the tissue around the point where it had been separated.
"What are you looking for?" Nezuko asked.
Mira didn't answer immediately.
Finally, she spoke.
"I'm curious."
She turned the limb slightly.
"Really curious."
Tokita frowned.
"Why?"
"Because this doesn't look like an infected's arm."
Everyone became quiet.
Mira continued examining it.
"The skin. The structure. Even the way it was severed. It looks human."
Nezuko tilted her head.
"Could an infected have accidentally torn it off someone?"
"It's possible," Mira said.
Nezuko looked at the limb.
"That kind of thing has happened before. Sometimes infected tear their victims apart while trying to catch them."
Tokita nodded.
"Yeah. I've seen it happen."
He looked down at the limb.
"They can rip off limbs while attacking."
Mira shook her head.
"I know."
She carefully inspected the wound again.
"But this looks too clean."
Silence.
Everyone exchanged glances.
Mira slowly stood.
"If an infected did this, I'd expect more signs of a struggle."
Aoi's expression hardened.
"Good observation, Mira."
She looked around the parking lot.
"And that's exactly why we need to be careful."
Her eyes moved across the darkness.
"Remember what I said a while back—out here, it's kill or be killed."
She paused.
"Infected are dangerous. But they're not the only problem we have to worry about."
Tokita looked at her.
"Wait."
His voice became more serious.
"You think there could be humans in this building?"
Aoi didn't answer immediately.
Instead, she pointed her flashlight toward the surrounding floor.
"Look around."
The others followed the beam.
Only now did they begin noticing what had been hidden by the darkness.
There were bodies.
Not just one.
Dozens.
Some were infected.
Others were clearly human.
Severed limbs were scattered between abandoned vehicles.
Some bodies had bullet wounds.
Others had deep cuts.
Several had stab wounds.
The parking lot suddenly felt different.
This wasn't simply a place where infected had attacked people.
Someone or a group of survivors had been fighting here.
And whoever had fought here had used weapons.
Mira stared at the bodies.
"Aoi's right."
Tokita slowly tightened his grip on his weapon.
"Then everyone stay sharp."
He looked toward the dark corridors surrounding them.
"I've got a feeling the infected aren't going to be our biggest problem here."
He paused.
"If we run into survivors, we should avoid conflict if possible. We don't know what kind of people they are or what they've been through."
The group nodded.
"Yeah."
"Agreed."
"Understood."
Tokita continued walking, his eyes constantly scanning the darkness.
A few minutes later, they reached the far end of the parking lot.
An elevator stood there.
Its indicator lights were still glowing.
Kaito stared at it.
"The elevator actually works?"
Aoi nodded.
"But we're not taking it."
"Why?" Kaito asked.
"Because if there are survivors trapped somewhere in this complex, an elevator is the first thing I'd expect them to monitor," Aoi replied.
Kaito understood immediately.
"A trap."
"Exactly."
Aoi pointed toward the stairwell.
"We use the stairs."
The group entered.
The heavy door slowly closed behind them.
Clang.
The sound echoed through the stairwell.
Everyone froze for half a second.
Then they continued upward.
Their flashlights moved constantly.
Every corner.
Every landing.
Every doorway.
Nothing was overlooked.
They climbed another floor.
Then another.
Their footsteps remained quiet.
Tokita glanced behind them.
Empty.
He looked ahead.
Empty.
Then—
Creak.
A door behind them moved.
Everyone stopped.
Tokita immediately turned.
The door they'd just passed was slightly open.
Aoi's eyes narrowed.
"Did that door just move?"
Before anyone could answer—
Whoosh!
Something rushed past the doorway.
Natsuki reacted instantly.
His body disappeared from the staircase.
In a burst of speed, he launched himself down the stairs and toward the doorway.
"Natsuki!" Nezuko shouted his name.
"Wait, Natsuki!" Aoi's warning came too late.
Natsuki reached the door and kicked it open.
He rushed inside.
The corridor was dark and empty with the ceiling lights blinking.
He took another step.
Then—
SWING!
A baseball bat came crashing toward his head.
Natsuki tilted his body just in time.
The bat missed his skull by inches.
His eyes sharpened.
He grabbed the weapon.
Crack!
Electricity sparked from his fingertips.
With a sudden burst of strength, Natsuki snapped the wooden bat in half and ripped it from the attacker's hands.
The person stumbled forward.
Natsuki grabbed them by the neck.
"Got you."
He moved faster than the attacker could react.
In an instant, Natsuki slammed them against the wall.
BAM!
The impact echoed through the room.
He lifted the person off the ground with one hand.
Electricity began crawling across his arm.
Small sparks danced between his fingertips.
His eyes started glowing bright blue, with flashes of yellow flickering through them.
The person struggled desperately.
Then—
"LET THEM GO!"
Natsuki's head turned.
Several figures emerged from the darkness.
One.
Two.
Five.
Then more.
They surrounded him.
Weapons were raised.
Guns.
Knives.
Bats.
Every one of them was aimed at Natsuki.
"Drop them!"
Natsuki tightened his grip.
A man near the front aimed a gun directly at his chest.
"Let him go, now."
Natsuki's eyes continued glowing.
He didn't move.
Then Aoi and the others finally reached the room.
Tokita immediately stopped.
His eyes widened.
They were surrounded.
Aoi raised both hands.
"Everyone, lower your weapons."
Tokita looked at her.
"Aoi—"
"Do it."
Her voice was calm but firm.
"We don't know their intentions yet," she whispered to the group.
She looked at Natsuki.
"And you. Let them go."
Natsuki hesitated.
The electricity around his fingers slowly faded.
He released the person.
They immediately stumbled backward and were pulled behind the others.
Aoi slowly stepped forward.
"We surrender."
The armed group remained tense.
Aoi kept her hands raised.
"We didn't come here looking for a fight. We're only looking for supplies and fuel."
She paused.
"We also need somewhere to wait out the storm."
No one lowered their weapons.
Aoi continued.
"If you let us pass, we'll take what we need and leave. We won't cause trouble."
The man at the front narrowed his eyes.
"Put your weapons down."
Aoi nodded.
"Everyone."
One by one, the group dropped their weapons.
Tokita placed his weapon on the floor.
Mira followed.
Then Nezuko.
Kaito.
Finally, Natsuki reluctantly lowered his hands.
"Hands where we can see them."
They complied.
For a moment, nothing happened.
Then—
Footsteps emerged from the darkness behind them.
Tokita's eyes widened.
More people appeared.
They had been hiding.
Waiting.
Watching.
The group suddenly realized the truth.
The people in front of them hadn't been the only ones there.
They had been surrounded from the beginning.
Aoi's expression changed.
"Damn it..."
Before anyone could react, the hidden survivors rushed forward.
They grabbed Tokita.
Nezuko.
Mira.
Kaito.
Aoi.
Their arms were pulled behind their backs and restrained with handcuffs.
Black bags were pulled over their heads.
Kaito struggled.
"Hey! Wait!"
The bag covered his face completely.
"Let go of me!"
Nezuko was restrained beside him.
Mira tried to remain calm.
Tokita cursed under his breath.
Aoi didn't resist.
She understood that fighting now would only make things worse.
But Natsuki was treated differently.
Two men grabbed his arms.
He immediately tried to break free.
"Get your hands off me!"
One of them struck him across the face with the back of his gun.
THUD!
Natsuki's body staggered.
His eyes lost focus.
He collapsed.
Another man caught him before he hit the floor.
The group watched helplessly as a black bag was pulled over Natsuki's head.
Then his unconscious body was dragged away.
One by one, the survivors gathered the others.
Six members of Tokita's group.
Disarmed.
Restrained.
Blindfolded.
And completely unaware of where they were being taken.
The last thing Tokita heard before darkness swallowed everything was the sound of footsteps carrying them deeper into the building.
Then—
Silence.
The storm outside had not even begun.
And already...
They were prisoners.