Ander slowly opened his eyes as Josh shook him desperately. "Ander, wake up!" he shouted, chaos erupting behind them as everyone fought for their lives.

  "Guys, we have to get out of here now!" Alicia warned, her voice trembling.

  "What happened?" Ander asked, confused, while Josh forced him to his feet.

  My legs barely respond… but I can’t stop, not now, Ander thought, battling against the weakness consuming him.

  Noah fired his weapon while holding onto a wounded comrade.

  "Lieutenant, I only have one bullet left," he reported.

  "Switch weapons, son. I’ll carry him," the lieutenant replied, hoisting the soldier onto his back while sliding across the ground, firing at the rear.

  The group pushed forward through the hostiles. Carlo fired a weapon he had picked up from the ground, but suddenly three enemies leapt out, cutting off the lieutenant and the soldier from the rest.

  "Lieutenant! Stop, we have to help them!" Cody shouted.

  Part of the group hesitated, but the others, driven by fear, kept running.

  "Stop? That’s insane—we need to escape as fast as possible," said a middle-aged man.

  The hostiles had them completely surrounded.

  "Don’t stop, keep moving!" the lieutenant ordered firmly.

  "Sir, I’m out of ammo!" the wounded soldier cried in terror.

  The lieutenant gripped the rifle. "Don’t worry, son. We’ll make it out…"

  With his last bullet, the lieutenant shot the soldier in the head, sparing him from suffering.

  The group froze, horrified by his decision. The lieutenant accepted his fate as the three hostiles lunged at him, tearing him apart mercilessly.

  "Lieutenant! Noooo!" Noah screamed, tears streaming down his face.

  Cody, Noah, and Carlo opened fire, killing the creatures.

  Meanwhile, the group that had fled was ambushed and devoured—the middle-aged man and those who followed him didn’t stand a chance.

  Their blood stained the street.

  "We can’t keep going," said Fermín, the butcher.

  "We need to get inside somewhere. Staying out here is too dangerous," Ander added, staggering, barely able to stand.

  Carlo kicked open a door.

  "Through here, hurry!" he ordered, as everyone rushed inside.

  The hostiles tore apart those left outside, while the exhausted survivors took refuge in the unknown building.

  "Quiet, kids, don’t make a sound," Martin, the father, whispered, trying to keep calm.

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  Cody held the door shut. "Everyone stay silent," he said in a low voice.

  "Look through the window…" Julia, the librarian, pointed.

  Outside, several hostiles wandered slowly, sniffing, searching for prey.

  Ander motioned for them to move into a room to hide.

  The group crawled carefully, avoiding noise, and barricaded themselves inside the nearest room.

  "Someone help me hold the door, please," Noah asked.

  "Let me, I’ll help," Carlo replied, joining him.

  Pomp! Pomp! Pomp!

  "I think they just came in… I see shadows under the door," Josh murmured.

  Silence fell.

  Suddenly.

  BOOM!

  An explosion echoed in the distance. The blast drew the hostiles away, and the shadows under the door vanished.

  Still, the group decided to wait longer before leaving.

  "Did you hear that explosion? It wasn’t far," Carlo said.

  "It must be from the evacuation zone. Something’s happening there," Felicia added.

  "We shouldn’t go out yet. We don’t know if the hostiles are gone," Martin warned.

  The group stayed locked inside, painfully aware of the losses from the last chase.

  Cody approached Ander and pointed to a couch. "Better save your strength and rest here."

  Anna, a teenager from Cody’s group, looked at Ander with a mix of fear and compassion. "Hey… don’t you like chocolate?" she asked, offering him a bar.

  "Chocolate? Of course," Ander replied, smiling faintly as he took it.

  "Anna’s been feeding us nothing but chocolate," Gaspar joked.

  "Hopefully that bar makes you feel better," Alicia added, watching Ander with concern.

  Ander devoured the chocolate.

  "Mmm, I don’t know… maybe I need another one to feel better," he teased, trying to lighten the mood.

  Anna checked her pockets. "I don’t have any more, that was my last bar. But maybe Mr. Rogelio can check you out."

  A man turned toward them.

  "Did you call me, Anna?" Rogelio asked from across the room.

  "We were wondering if you could examine our friend Ander. He was bitten," Gaspar explained.

  Rogelio’s face showed embarrassment.

  "I told you I’m a veterinarian, kids… but let’s see what I can do for him," he said, approaching.

  Rogelio examined Ander: listening to his heartbeat with his ear against his chest, checking his mouth, feeling his forehead for fever, and finally inspecting the bite on his shoulder.

  "You must be exhausted from running. Rest and regain your strength. Rebecca, you should sit too—the baby will benefit from it," he advised.

  A pregnant woman joined them.

  "I’m fine. My baby too, thanks to the chocolate Anna gave us. It helped a lot," Rebecca replied with a smile.

  "Can I feel the baby, Dad? Put my hand there?" Natasha asked eagerly.

  "Ask the lady, sweetheart," Martin answered.

  Rebecca leaned toward Natasha.

  "Go ahead, little one, give me your hand," she said, guiding it to her stomach.

  Natasha froze, waiting. "I think I felt a kick, Dad!" she exclaimed.

  That small, intimate moment distracted everyone in the room—a spark of hope in the darkness.

  But Cody noticed Noah, weighed down by guilt. "You okay, Noah?"

  "The lieutenant shouldn’t have died. It should’ve been me," Noah said, his voice breaking.

  The room fell silent.

  "There was nothing we could do. He died an honorable death in combat," Cody said.

  Noah gripped the rifle tightly. "He gave me this weapon. I gave him mine, knowing it only had one bullet…"

  "We’ve lost too many comrades in such a short time. We have to face it," Cody added.

  "That’s true… from the original group, only Noah, Cody, Mr. Rogelio, Ms. Rebecca, Don Saúl, and Gaspar remain," Anna said seriously.

  Weak but determined, Ander raised his voice: "Noah, don’t feel guilty for surviving. It means you still have a purpose to live for. Everyone here has a reason to keep fighting."

  Ander’s words reignited their resolve.

  They burst through the door and rushed toward the evacuation zone.

  Surprisingly, the streets were clear of hostiles. Ander kept walking, though the infection consumed him with every step.

  "We’re close, almost there," Carlo said, trying to encourage them.

  Five hostiles suddenly charged at the group.

  Cody, Carlo, and Noah stepped forward, ready to fire.

  But before they could shoot, a hail of bullets from another direction cut down the hostiles instantly.

  "What? What just happened?" Cody asked, stunned.

  From a nearby building, a voice shouted urgently: "Over here, quick!"

  Two silhouettes leaned out from an open window.

  Without hesitation, Ander’s group ran toward the building. Just as two hostiles reached the door, it swung open…

  Luke and Andrew appeared, firing with precision and dropping the beasts in seconds.

  "Get inside, now!" Luke ordered.

  Everyone rushed in, and the door slammed shut.