Reyan fumbled for his keys, nearly dropped them, caught them, jammed them toward the lock—
"Wait." He turned, counting heads. Vikram. Samir. His daughter. "Where's Taj?"
Everyone froze. Looked around.
"He was right behind me on the stairs," Samir said, voice tight with sudden panic. "He was—"
"TAJ!" Reyan shouted, his voice echoing through the garage. "TAJ!"
No answer. Just the distant groans of infected somewhere above.
"Oh my God," Samir whispered. "Where —Where is he?
"There are dozens of them up there!" Vikram protested. "We can't—"
"We don't leave people behind!" Reyan's voice cracked. He handed his daughter to Vikram. "Stay with her. Keep her safe. Samir, with me."
"I'm coming too," Vikram said.
"Someone needs to stay with her!"
"Then we ALL go," his daughter said quietly, her small voice cutting through the argument. "We don't split up. That's how people die."
She was seven years old. Almost eight. And she was right.
They ran back up the stairs, weapons ready. Back through the emergency exit, into the main building. The infected that had chased them were still there, but scattered now, some wandering aimlessly, others hunched over... something. Reyan didn't look too closely.
"TAJ!" Samir's voice boomed through the hallway. "TAJ, WHERE ARE YOU?"
"We split up," Reyan decided. "Cover more ground. Samir, you take the east wing. Vikram, west. I'll check the courtyard. We meet back here in five minutes. If you find him, you SCREAM. Understood?"
They nodded and scattered.
Reyan and his daughter moved toward the side exit that led to the building's small playground area. Old swings, a rusted slide, a sandbox that had become a litter box for stray cats. His heart hammered in his chest. Where would Taj go? What would make him leave the group?
"TAJ!" he called again. "TAJ!"
They burst through the door into the dim morning light, the sun was about to rise, and Reyan's eyes scanned the courtyard desperately. Empty. Nothing. Just—
Wait.
There. Beyond the chain-link fence. On the footpath.
Taj was on his knees, surrounded by infected. Three of them, closing in. His knife was gone—knocked away or dropped. His glasses were in his hand, the cracked lens twitching with the dawn light. He looked up at the approaching creatures with an expression of blank acceptance.
He was going to die.
"TAJ!" Reyan screamed.
Then the gunshot cracked.
"REYAN!" Samir's voice came from behind—he'd heard the shots. "REYAN, WHERE—"
The infected nearest to Taj jerked, a hole appearing in its temple, and collapsed. A second shot. Another infected down. "REYAN!" Samir's voice came from behind—he'd heard the shots. "REYAN, WHERE—"
A third shot missed, but the remaining creature turned toward the sound, distracted long enough for Taj to scramble backward.
Samir and Vikram burst through the door seconds later, weapons raised, and all of them converged on the scene as another gunshot finished the last infected near Taj.
Four figures emerged from behind an overturned delivery truck, weapons raised. Three men and one woman, all armed, all moving with the practiced coordination of people who'd survived together.
They had their guns trained on Taj, who was slowly, carefully raising his hands.