2026-03-25 13:43:15
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22. Forced Separation
The deafening echo of the gunshot that had just executed the old man still rang relentlessly in their ears, ringing infinitely louder than the heavy rumble of the military transport truck’s diesel engine.Inside the dark, violently rocking bed of the truck, not a single survivor dared to make a sound. Even the desperate sounds of crying and sobbing were forcefully swallowed back down. Xavier sat hugging his knees tightly to his chest, his face as pale as a fresh corpse, his eyes staring completely blankly at the cold steel floor of the truck. Bianca held firmly onto Kimberly’s hand, which had absolutely not stopped trembling since they were thrown inside.Daniel sat leaning rigidly into the darkest corner. His breaths were incredibly shallow and highly calculated. Beneath the thick, bloody bandages completely wrapping his right shoulder and armpit, the hard polycarbonate glass vial containing the deadly Strain Zero specimen felt exactly like a solid block of ice aggressively pressing
21. The Fake Gates of Salvation
"Come on! Start, you piece of shit! Start!"Xavier violently twisted the ignition key over and over again, but the black SUV only responded with a pathetic, dying clicking sound. Thick white smoke continued to billow relentlessly from the completely crushed hood, a direct result of slamming violently into the massive pileup of cars on the toll road."Xavier, it is totally useless! The engine is completely destroyed!" Bianca screamed from the backseat. The girl aggressively kicked the heavily dented door of the car. "We absolutely cannot go any further!""Do you honestly think I don't know that, Bianca?! But if we just sit here doing nothing, we are literally going to become canned sardines for those things!" Xavier yelled back hysterically, his eyes bulging as he stared in absolute terror through the cracked windshield.Through the thick curtain of heavy rain and fog, hundreds of pale silhouettes had begun sprinting aggressively toward them. Their high-pitched, horrifying shrieks comp
20. Breaking Through the Highway of Death
The V8 engine of the patrol SUV roared to life, its sound ricocheting off the concrete basement walls like an iron lion unleashed from its cage. The large, aggressively treaded tires shrieked, fighting for grip on the wet ramp slick with blood and rainwater."The wipers, Vier. Turn on the damn wipers. I can’t see a thing back here," Bianca screamed, her hands gripping the front seat so tightly her knuckles turned white."I’m trying to find the switch, damn it. This isn't my dad's car," Xavier’s reply was just as hysterical. His hands fumbled frantically for the lever behind the steering wheel while his foot slammed the gas pedal to the floor.Screech… Screech…The wiper blades finally lurched into motion, smearing the thick black blood and bits of flesh plastered across the windshield. Instead of cleaning it, the glass was left with a reddish film that made the outside world look like a cheap horror movie filter.The SUV shot up the ramp, smashing through the steel parking barrier at
19. THE JUMPER CABLE OF LIFE
Inside the shattered glass walls of the security control room, Chania was still pressing a gauze pad against Daniel's abdomen where the arrow had been. The boy's breathing was shallow and shaky. His face was as pale as wax.Outside, the puddle on the concrete parking floor was slowly spreading. One of the slow-moving mutants, which had been wandering aimlessly, accidentally stepped into it.The dirty water soaked into its torn canvas shoes, seeping up to touch its dead ankle. In a matter of seconds, the magic of the Degrees of Death went to work. The muscle fibers that had been contracted by the cold air of the central AC suddenly expanded. The black veins on the creature's neck pulsed wildly.The creature stopped dragging its feet. It looked up, its back straightening, and its jaw opened to let out a sharp hiss. Its slow phase was gone. It had returned to being a Listener."Ca," Kimberly whispered in horror, pointing through the glass. "That one, it's moving differently."Bianca tigh
18. THE FREEZING TEMPERATURES OF THE BASEMENT
"Daniel! Wake up, Niel! DON'T CLOSE YOUR EYES!"Chania's hysterical scream echoed like a distant sound in the darkness. Daniel tried to open his eyes, but his eyelids felt as heavy as concrete. The pain in his stomach and shoulder had morphed into a creeping cold that spread through his entire body, numbing him. He could feel the cold rain on his face, and Chania's trembling hands pressing on his wound, trying to stop the bleeding."We have to get him somewhere safe! He's losing too much blood!" Bianca shouted in a panic. She tore a strip from her shirt and gave it to Chania. "Press harder, Chan!""Where?! We're on a roof, Ca!" Kimberly cried back, hugging Xavier, who could only stare blankly at Daniel's helpless, prone body.The storm raged, growing stronger. The tin roof of the Student Center building groaned under the force of the wind. Down below, on the campus grounds, dozens of mutants, drawn by the screams and the fresh scent of blood, were beginning to gather, looking up at th
17. THE LEADER'S BURDEN OF EMPATHY
The large window at the end of the third-floor library corridor overlooked a scene straight from hell. Down below, in the main lobby, dozens of Listener-phase mutants crawled and shuffled about. The heavy rain pouring in through the shattered glass doors made the marble floor wet and slick, reflecting the grotesque shadows of the creatures."Are you serious, Niel? We're crossing on those cables?" Xavier repeated, his voice an octave higher. He pointed to three thick black cables stretching from the library wall to a utility pole on the roof of the Student Center building across the way. The distance was about fifty feet. Below them was a three-story drop to the wet asphalt.The storm winds howled outside, making the cables sway like giant black snakes."You've got two choices, Vier," Daniel replied without turning around. His sharp eyes were still calculating the risks. "You can crawl across that cable, or you can go downstairs and be their lunch. Pick one."Xavier swallowed hard. He
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