Tonight, in the middle of nowhere, far from anything human, a man was walking through the woods. The darkness clung to him like wet skin. The trees twisted unnaturally, their branches scraping against one another, whispering as if they knew his name.
The air was cold. Too cold.
With every step, the ground felt wrong—soft, breathing, alive.
As far as his eyes could see, the forest stretched endlessly, swallowing light and sound. It felt less like a place and more like a nightmare that refused to end.
Ahead, through the trees, a structure emerged.
A church.
Its walls were cracked and blackened, its steeple leaning like a broken bone against the sky.
"Come to me…"
The voice slithered through the air, crawling into his ears, settling deep in his skull. His body moved before his mind could resist.
The church doors groaned open at his touch.
Inside, darkness pressed in from every direction. The smell of rot and old blood hung thick in the air. Each step echoed too loudly, as if the building were hollow—and listening.
At the altar stood a statue of Jesus.
Its eyes were hollow.
Behind it, stone began to grind against stone. A hidden door slowly opened, revealing a descending passage that breathed out cold, foul air.
The man followed it downward.
The walkway led into a tomb.
Six coffins waited in silence.
They were old, carved with symbols long forgotten, their lids scratched from the inside.
"Come to me…"
The middle coffin trembled.
Drawn against his will, the man stepped forward and placed his hand on its surface. The wood was warm.
Too warm.
Darkness exploded inside his head, swallowing thought and memory.
A voice rose—ancient, heavy, starving.
"I have been dead for centuries. Find the one with the pure blood. Find my heart. Wake me up."
The coffin pulsed beneath his palm.
He screamed and woke up choking
Milan jolted upright on the cold floor of the mini hall, lungs burning, sweat soaking his clothes. His heart pounded so violently it hurt.
"Bad dream," he heard a sound. He turned.
Scarlet stood against the wall, staring into the night through the cracked window. Her face was pale, her eyes sharp.
"You didn't sleep?" Milan asked. Zero lay on the floor nearby, unmoving.
"How could I?" Scarlet whispered. "With him here, I don't trust him."
She turned slowly heading to him.
"What did you dream about?" Milan told her everything. As he spoke, Scarlet's face drained of color.
"That was Victor Valois," she said. "He shouldn't be able to reach anyone. Not anymore. Why you? And why now?" Her voice drowned
"Could it be my eyes turning dark?"Milan hesitated. Scarlet didn't answer immediately.
"Did your father ever mention Victor's five loyal servants?" Milan asked. "Creatures that don't die easily?"
"No," Scarlet said. "But we'll find out."
"And the one with the pure blood?" Milan asked. "The one he wants?"
Scarlet turned her head slightly and noticed Zero was awake.
"Isn't that right, Zero? Do you think you can take us to the countryside where they went?"
Zero was still lying on the floor, apparently asleep.
"Why are you asking him? He's asleep." Milan said
"No, he's not, He's pretending so he can hear our plans."Scarlet replied
Zero slowly stood up and walked toward them.
"I'm just trying to keep myself safe, so you won't stab me in my sleep. Especially when people around me consider murder an option." he said.
"Things have changed, Can you take us there?"Scarlet said.
"When do we leave?" Zero asked.
"It's already dawn We'd better move."Scarlet said. They all agreed.
They geared up, took their weapons, and headed toward the exit. Zero led the way, turning instead toward the cafeteria.
"This isn't the exit, Where are you taking us?"Scarlet said.
"Patience, lady, There's an emergency elevator in the cafeteria that goes straight to the parking lot. Besides, we might find more weapons there." Zero replied.
As they walked down the corridor, they saw a group of vampires feeding.
Milan drew his last remaining sword.
"Let's leave this one to Zero," Scarlet said, stopping him. Zero stared at them.
"You really need to work on your trust issues," he said, drawing his swords.
He charged at the vampires, slashing through them. Milan watched as Scarlet leaned against the wall, smiling. But there were too many. More kept coming. Zero was surrounded.
One vampire managed to bite his arm.
Zero shouted.
Milan rushed in and joined the fight. Zero collapsed to the floor, bleeding, as Milan finished killing the remaining vampires.
Scarlet walked toward Zero, watching closely.
"You're crazy, But if I turn into a vampire, I swear I'll hunt you down and take you with me."Zero said weakly, holding his wounded arm.
Milan pulled bandages and antiseptic from his bag, cleaned the wound, and wrapped it carefully.
"At least you'll remember I tried to help you, when you turn into one of them."Milan said
Scarlet smiled.
"How long does it take to turn?" she asked.
"Ten minutes at most," Milan replied.
"Then we have seven minutes left," Scarlet said, leaning against the wall, waiting.
Zero glared at her.
Milan helped Zero stand and returned his swords. Zero began coughing blood, his heart racing violently.
"Are you okay?" Milan asked.
Low growls mixed with the coughing. Scarlet reached for her weapons.
"Talk to me, Zero, Are you okay?"Milan said.
Zero knelt, coughing harder—then slowly steadied.
"You said ten minutes," Zero said.
"I guessed, But you're okay." Milan replied.
Zero stood and walked toward Scarlet.
"I don't know what you're trying to prove, but I'm not what you're looking for. I don't know how, but I'm not a vampire. Try something like that again, and I swear I'll cut you into pieces. Even your boyfriend won't be able to count them."he said coldly, Scarlet said nothing.
"Let's go," Zero said, turning away.
"I won't save you next time," Milan told Scarlet.
"I don't need saving," she replied.
They reached the cafeteria. A door stood open.
Zero froze and drew his swords.
"We're here. Eyes sharp. Inside, they found a woman kneeling on the floor, shaking, covered in blood. Milan rushed to her.
"It's okay, You're safe."he said gently.
"Who is she?" Scarlet asked.
"I don't know, You tell me."Zero said.
Milan asked her, "What's your name?"
"Nadia," she replied. Zero pulled Milan back and aimed his sword at her.
"She's the reason this started, Dr. Patel said she was the one biting people—turning them into vampires."Zero said.
"I am not a vampire, I didn't know what I was. The last thing I remember is the Amazon. Then everything went dark."Nadia said, crying.
"And Zara? Do you remember coming here with your daughter?" Zero asked.
Nadia gasped.
"Zara… where is she?"
"She's safe, They left the hospital. We're going to them." Zero said.
"Can I come with you?" Nadia asked.
"If you clean yourself and tell us everything," Milan said. She agreed
Milan and Zero walked to the parking lot and found one van left. It was prepared, and they loaded some few weapons.
A few minutes later, Scarlet and Nadia showed up. Nadia was well prepared.
"Are you a fighter?" Milan asked her.
"No one goes into the Amazon for research without surviving instincts," Nadia replied, Milan took a gun and giving it to her as she loaded it.
"Let's go find my daughter," Nadia spoke. They all got inside the van. Scarlet started driving and got out of the hospital. Zero was sitting next to her.
"So, Zero, where in the countryside are we heading?" Scarlet asked him.
"They went to the Scottish Highlands," Zero replied. They were all shocked.
"Reaching there will take us 4 months under apocalypse conditions," Milan spoke.
"If we keep moving north, through the ruins, through the blood, through the cold, we might reach the Highlands by winter if we live that long, because we will pass through Watford, Milton Keynes, Leicester, Nottingham, Sheffield, York, Newcastle, Edinburgh, Dunkeld, Pitlochry, Newtonmore, Ardlui, Ullapool, and Altnaharra," Nadia said. Everyone was quiet, looking at her.
"How do you know all these?" Zero asked.
"I told you, I am a researcher," Nadia said. They were quiet and kept driving