System of the forsaken

Chapter 4

Zayn held his breath,as his eyes peered deeper into the darkness,fear engulfing his entire being.

The knife felt heavier than it should in his hand,the shadow moved again slower this time,not like the way the creature outside moved .

This one was… cautious,watching.

“…Who’s there?” Zayn called out, his voice low but unsteady.

No answer came 

Of course.

His grip tightened.

“Look, I’m not…” He stopped himself,not what? Not dangerous? That was a lie now. Not prey? That was worse.

“I’m not looking for trouble,” he finished, though even he didn’t believe it,then a soft sound came from behind the shelves,footsteps

Human.

Zayn’s eyes sharpened.

“…Human?” he whispered.

The silence stretched just long enough to flood his head with a thousand more thoughts 

Then….

“…Stay where you are.”

The voice was quiet,hoarse,but unmistakably human.

Relief hit zayn so suddenly it almost made him dizzy.

“Oh thank God…”

He let out a little chuckle 

“Don’t move.”

The sharpness in the voice snapped him back.

Zayn froze.

“I have a weapon,” the voice continued. “And I will use it.”

Zayn let out a slow breath. “Yeah… same here.”

Then came an awkward pause,then, slowly, a figure stepped out from between the shelves,a girl,one about his age.

Her clothes were torn, stained with dust,her hair was tied back messily, strands falling loose around her face. In her hand,gripped tightly was a metal rod, its edge darkened from repeated use.

Her eyes locked onto his,sharp,alculating,not relieved,not trusting.

Just… tired.

“You’re new,” she said.

Zayn blinked. “What?”

“You have that look,” she continued. “Panic,confusion,still hoping this isn’t real.”

Zayn swallowed hard before speaking.

“…It isn’t, right?”

She didn’t answer.

Instead, her gaze flicked briefly toward the front door.

“Something followed you.”

Not a question.

Zayn nodded slowly. “Yeah.”

“How many?”

“…One.”

Her shoulders relaxed just slightly.

“Then you’re lucky.”

Zayn let out a weak, humorless laugh. “That’s what lucky looks like here?”

“You’ll learn.” came her reply 

The words weren’t cruel.

Just… honest.

A heavy silence settled between them.

Zayn shifted, lowering the knife just a little. “You’ve been here longer.”

“Yes.”

“How long?”

She hesitated.

Then…“Long enough to stop counting.”

That wasn’t comforting.

Zayn ran a hand through his hair, pacing slightly. “Okay… okay, so…what is this place? What are those things? And what exactly does ‘survive until dawn’ mean? Do they just… leave when the sun comes up?”

The girl watched him carefully.

“You ask a lot of questions.”

“I just got dropped into a nightmare death game!” Zayn snapped. “ Am i supposed to be excited about being chased by a monster that supposedly wants me dead yeah, I have questions!”

The moment the words left his mouth, he stiffened,too loud,too emotional.

The girl’s eyes narrowed slightly,then she let out a little sigh

“…Fine. Listen carefully,i won’t repeat myself.”

Zayn nodded quickly.

She stepped closer,but not too close.

“Those things outside? We call them The Infected,they hunt anything that moves, anything that breathes,some are slow,while others are fast. Some…” She paused, her expression tightening. “Some are worse.”

Zayn swallowed. “Great.”

“They don’t stop,they don’t get tire,and the longer you survive,the more they change.”

“Change how?”

“They learn,and adapt.”

Zayn’s stomach twisted.

Yeah,he’d already figured that out.

“They’ll test you,” she continued. “Figure out your patterns,your weaknesses,and then they'll exploit them.

“…So hiding isn’t enough.”

“No.”

Zayn exhaled slowly, trying to steady himself. “And dawn?”

“They retreat.”

“Just like that?”

“For the most part.”

“For the most part?”zayn repeated, dread creeping into his voice.

She didn’t speak much about this any more,and didn't reply him.u

Of course she didn’t.

“Okay…” Zayn muttered. “Okay, I can work with that.”

Then a sudden crash from the front door cut him off, pulling him back to the danger that was behind that door.

Both of them turned their heads toward it.

The wood splintered slightly under the impact from the monster.

Zayn’s grip tightened on the knife. “It’s still there.”

“It won’t leave,” she said quietly.

Another hit,harder this time,and cracks spread further across the door.

“And now it knows there are two of us.”

Zayn’s pulse spiked. “That’s bad.”

“Yes.”

“Okay…so what do we do?”

The girl’s gaze shifted, scanning the room quickly.

“Back exit,” she said. “There’s one behind the storage area,if we move now, we might avoid it.”

“Might?”

She met his eyes.

“There are no guarantees.”

Another slam,and this time the door buckled inward slightly,then it dawned on Zayn the longer they waited the harder it might be to escape the monster 

Zayn flinched. “Right. Of course there aren’t.”

He took a steadying breath.

“Okay,let’s go.”

They moved towards the back exit, moving fast but quiet.

The girl led, moving quickly through the shelves with practiced ease.Zayn followed close behind, forcing himself to match her pace, to stay silent despite the adrenaline screaming through his veins.

Another crash echoed behind them,louder,closer.

“It’s breaking through,” Zayn whispered.

“I know.”

They reached the back of the store,a narrow hallway stretched ahead, ending in a metal door.

Hope flickered.

“Please be unlocked…” Zayn muttered.

The girl grabbed the handle,and pulled at it,but it didn’t budge.

“Of course,” Zayn groaned

Could this day get any worse he let out a frustrated shriek throwing his hands up in the air 

“Help me,” she snapped at him .

They both grabbed it, pulling, twisting, forcing

The metal groaned,but didn't budge 

Stuck.

Another crash from the front,wood splintering.

A low, distorted shriek filled the store.

Zayn’s blood ran cold.

“It’s inside,” he whispered.

The girl’s jaw tightened. “Again.”

They pulled harder,the door shifted just slightly,a little bit of light appearing through the crack 

“Come on!”

A sudden bang echoed down the hallway,footsteps moving quickly towards them 

Fast.

Too fast.

“It’s coming!” Zayn hissed.

“I know!”

They yanked the door again

CRACK.

It gave way just enough to let them squeeze through.

The girl slipped through first.

“Go!” she urged.

Zayn didn’t hesitate,he squeezed through the narrow opening, metal scraping against his shoulder as he stumbled out into the cold night air behind the building.

The girl followed, slamming the door shut behind them.

For a second silence enveloped them as the evening cool air brushed along their bodies 

Then,a violent impact shook the door from the other side,but it held,barely.

Zayn staggered back, breathing hard. “We… we made it…”

“For now,” she said.

Zayn let out a shaky laugh. “You really like saying that, don’t you?”

She didn’t respond.

Instead, she looked up.

Zayn followed her gaze.

The sky was still dark,but faint

Just barely

A hint of grey touched the horizon.

“How much time?” he asked.

The screen popped up again 

TIME REMAINING – 04:12:37

Zayn groaned. “That’s still a long time…”

“Yes,” she said quietly. “It is.”

A distant sound echoed through the streets,not one,but many.

Zayn’s expression fell.

“…Please tell me that’s not what I think it is.”

The girl’s grip tightened on her weapon.

“They’ve started moving in groups.”

Zayn stared at her.

“…You’re kidding.”

“I’m not.”

A low chorus of distorted cries rose in the distance,getting closer.

Zayn exhaled slowly, forcing down the panic.

“Alright,” he said, gripping the knife tighter. “Then I guess running isn’t enough anymore.”

The girl glanced at him,and for the first time, there was something different in her eyes,not trust,not yet.

But… recognition 

“Then keep up,” she said.

And together they ran back into the darkness.