For a mont, everything was dark.
Then sound ca first.
The low growl of an engine. The rattle of loose tal. Her own breathing.
Lila’s eyelashes fluttered as she opened her eyes. The world felt slow, like it was still catching up to her. She pushed herself upright in the driver’s seat of the rusted car, hands braced against the steering wheel.
The feeling hit her fully then.
Light.
Warm.
Clear.
It spread through her chest and up into her head, smoothing out the noise that was usually there. The constant ache. The hunger. The doubt.
She hadn’t felt this steady in days.
She looked into the rearview mirror.
Her reflection stared back at her, sharper than usual. Focused. Alive.
She lifted her fingers and traced the skin beneath her eye. The faint amber glow in the corner was still there.
Amber was in her veins again.
Of course it was.
For a second, she just sat there and let herself breathe. The clarity felt like freedom. Like she wasn’t tied to anyone. Not to Adrian. Not to the cravings. Not to the fear of losing control.
Just her.
But even as the thought ford, sothing colder followed.
It won’t last.
It never does.
The mory ca back without warning.
Her on the grass. Weak. Shaking. Abandoned.
A shadow falling over her.
"You ever need more of that shit? Just co running, blondie. We’ll hook you up."
The woman with the mullet had grinned as she handed it over. Like it was a gift.
Like it wasn’t a chain.
She was dead now.
Lila tightened her grip on the steering wheel.
"I don’t need you..." she muttered.
She shifted the car into reverse and slamd her foot on the gas.
The tires spun, then caught. The car fishtailed out of the lot, gravel spraying behind her.
"I don’t need you," she repeated, louder this ti.
The gate scraped against the side of the car as she shot through it. tal scread. She didn’t slow down.
The road opened ahead.
The clarity was already thinning at the edges.
But she drove anyway.
—
My body moved before I told it to. Mark quickly got up from his chair as if to chase— but his daughter stopped him.
The Lattice detonated inside my skull.
Distance: thirty-two ters.
Speed increasing.
Trajectory: direct line toward the east access road.
Interception probability: decreasing—decreasing—
Shut up.
I didn’t want numbers.
My boots slamd into pavent. I was already running.
Wind cut into my eyes. Gravel bit into my palms when I pushed harder, faster. The world narrowed to the shrinking outline of that car.
"Lila!"
No response.
The Lattice adjusted again, kept feeding shit that I didn’t care about.
The gate hung half-open from earlier repairs. The car clipped it on the way through, tal screeching, sparks flying.
She didn’t slow down.
My lungs burned. Blood from earlier combat dripped from my nose again, hot and steady.
The Lattice pulsed.
Override recomnded.
Muscular strain acceptable.
Continue pursuit.
It wasn’t helping.
It was pushing.
For the first ti, the calculations felt wrong.
This wasn’t so fucking enemy to dismantle.
This was her.
Locked inside that car.
Alone.
If she was conscious, she was unstable.
If she wasn’t—
My stomach dropped.
The car hit the main road and swerved violently before correcting itself.
Seventy ters now.
Too far.
The Lattice offered solutions.
Acquire vehicle.
Disable tire via precision shot.
Calculate ricochet probability.
No.
If I misjudged—
If I hit her—
My pace faltered for half a breath.
The system didn’t.
Optimal shot window in three seconds.
Wind compensation minimal.
"Shut. Up."
I skidded to a stop in the middle of the road, chest heaving, watching the car shrink into the distance.
For the first ti since I learned how to stop hesitating—
I didn’t know what the right move was.
The Lattice humd.
Waiting.
I wiped the blood from my lip.
Then I started running again.
If the world thought it could take her from again—
It had just made a mistake.
—
The next scream cut short with a wet choke.
The body slumped forward.
The executioner stepped to the next captive.
Aubrey’s wrists had been twisting inside the rope since the sacks ca off. Slow. Careful. Grinding skin raw. She had already forced one thumb halfway out of place without making a sound.
Pain was better than dying clean.
She leaned slightly toward Isabella.
"When I move," she whispered, "fall left."
Isabella didn’t respond.
The boots stopped behind them.
A hand grabbed Isabella’s hair and yanked her head back.
She gasped.
The blade hovered at her throat.
That was the mont.
Aubrey slamd her shoulder into the captive on her right.
Hard.
The man panicked and jerked forward. His basin tipped. Thick blood spilled across the concrete, spreading fast beneath their knees.
Soone shouted.
The executioner shifted his footing.
That was enough.
Aubrey wrenched her half-loosened hand free, skin tearing as her thumb slipped fully out of joint. She lunged sideways, throwing her entire body into the man holding Isabella.
The blade ca down.
It caught her shoulder instead of Isabella’s throat.
She didn’t scream.
She drove forward again.
The executioner slipped in the blood and went down hard. The machete clattered across the floor.
Another infected swore as blood splashed across his apron.
"You idiot!" he snapped at the one who fell.
"You pushed him!"
"I didn’t—"
The line broke.
Captives started scrambling. Soone tried to stand and slipped. Another began screaming uncontrollably. One of the infected kicked him in the ribs, but his boot slid in the blood.
Control cracked.
Aubrey dove for the machete.
An infected grabbed her jacket from behind. She swung blindly, the blade catching his forearm. He recoiled, more shocked than hurt.
She turned imdiately and cut Isabella’s bindings first.
"Up," Aubrey ordered through clenched teeth.
Isabella hesitated.
"UP!"
Another infected charged.
Aubrey shoved Isabella sideways as the man lunged. He crashed into one of his own. The two stumbled, arguing as they tried to regain balance.
"You’re wasting it!"
"Shut the hell up!"
The room was no longer organized. It was loud. Slippery. Chaotic.
That was all Aubrey needed.
She grabbed Isabella’s wrist and dragged her toward the side wall instead of the main door. Everyone would expect a run for the exit.
There was a smaller service door half-hidden behind hanging tarps.
An infected noticed them.
"Hey—!"
Aubrey threw the empty basin at his face. It hit hard enough to stun him for a second.
They burst through the side door just as a blade sliced across Aubrey’s back.
She stumbled but didn’t stop.
Behind them, shouting turned to furious yelling as the infected argued over who let them slip.
The hallway beyond was dark.
Narrow.
Not safe.
But not a slaughter line either.
Aubrey slamd the door shut and shoved a rusted pipe through the handles.
Her shoulder bled freely now.
Isabella stared at her, shaking.
"You’re bleeding—"
"Still alive," Aubrey snapped, forcing her thumb back into place with a sickening pop.
She t Isabella’s eyes.
"This isn’t over."
From the other side of the door ca pounding.
Angry.
Disorganized.
They hadn’t escaped.
They’d just changed the battlefield.
And that was enough.
—
My legs felt heavier on the walk back.
Every step dragged, but I pushed through it. The lot ca into view, half wrecked from the barricade, gravel torn up where Lila had driven through.
Mark and Agnes were waiting near the entrance.
"What do you expect to gain from chasing her?" Mark asked.
I didn’t look at him. I was already scanning the row of abandoned cars, checking windows, door locks, steering columns. One of them would start. One of them had to.
"She’s infected," he continued. "She belongs with her own kind."
My jaw tightened.
I moved to a faded blue sedan and yanked the door handle. Locked.
"Listen, son. It’s best if you—"
I turned then.
"You know what’ll happen once they see her?" I asked, eting his eyes. "The sa one who escaped that wretched place with ?"
He didn’t answer.
"She betrayed them," I continued. "She doesn’t belong anywhere. She has nobody."
The words hung there.
He held my stare for a mont longer, then looked away first. Without another word, he turned and walked back toward the building.
The door shut behind him.
Only Agnes remained.
The wind moved through the lot, carrying dust and the faint sll of gasoline. For a few seconds, neither of us spoke.
I smashed the side window of the sedan with the butt of my gun and reached inside to unlock it.
"Got sothing to say as well, doll face?" I asked without looking at her.
I expected anger. Maybe a lecture.
Instead, she stepped closer.
I straightened up just as she leaned in and pressed a quick kiss to my cheek.
It caught off guard.
I blinked at her.
"Thanks for saving and my pop," she said.
Before I could respond, she dug into her jacket pocket and grabbed my hand. She opened my palm and dropped a small bundle into it.
Loose rounds.
A small folding knife.
A wrapped bandage.
"It ain’t much, but..." she said. "That’s all I could really give."
I looked down at the bullets, then back at her. I gave a single nod.
It was enough.
"Good luck with your girlfriend," she added, a faint smile pulling at her mouth.
Then she turned and jogged back toward the building, catching the door before it closed.
I stood there for a second longer.
Girlfriend.
I shoved the supplies into my pocket and slid into the driver’s seat. The steering column cracked open under my knife. Wires exposed. Red to red. Twist.
The engine coughed once.
Twice.
Then it roared to life.
I gripped the wheel and stared at the open road ahead.
An exhale.
The tires spun as I pulled out of the lot.
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