In the store, a broken cry filled the air.
Ryan collapsed onto the floor. His body trembled as the sound tore from his chest.
The man who once stood tall as a captain of a group of soldiers, who had saved dozens of people by gathering them into the campus building, now crumbled into nothing more than a grieving man.
Nadine's throat tightened. She hated seeing him like this but she knew it was the truth of this world. Their strength and the sense of safety could shatter in an instant.
Myles leaned against the wall, dragging in a rough breath.
He felt the same weight of sadness pressing against his ribs, but he had prepared himself long ago for moments like this.
Right now, he didn't even have the strength to comfort Ryan. His muscles and skin were still painful from the fight.
A heavy and suffocating silence lingered between them. None of them knew why Nia had turned like that. It hadn't felt like a slow mutation. It was as if something else had slipped inside her and changed her into that monster.
Myles' gaze shifted across the room, and then he frowned. His eyes settled on the half-open freezer door. That was where Nia had staggered from before her transformation.
He pushed himself upright.
"We need to check the freezer," he said hoarsely.
Nadine looked at him sharply. "Why?"
"I saw her come out of there before she changed. Maybe whatever caused it is still inside."
Nadine's jaw tightened, but she nodded. "Alright."
They crossed the room carefully, Ryan still sobbing softly behind them.
The freezer door groaned as Myles pushed it open. Frosted air spilled into the room, carrying a biting cold.
Inside, two corpses lay stiff and frozen. A man and a woman.
Their skin was pale and rimed with ice. Their faces distorted in expressions of fear even in death.
Myles and Nadine scanned every corner but nothing else moved within the shadows of the freezer.
"So it must have been them," Myles muttered.
"But what exactly…?" Nadine whispered, her grip tightening on her crowbar.
"I don't know," Myles admitted. His eyes lingered on the corpses, unease prickling the back of his neck. "Let's just close it."
He shut the heavy freezer door with a dull thud and slid the lock back into place.
Then they went to Ryan and stood beside him. It was clear now that his relationship with Nia wasn't just superior and subordinate. That truth made everything feel even sadder.
Nadine crouched down, her voice low and steady. "This is just the world we live in now… you still need to stay strong if you want to survive."
Ryan stared blankly ahead, his lips moving stiffly. "Why do I need to survive now? I just lost her."
Neither Myles nor Nadine had an answer. The silence between them said more than words ever could.
So instead, they chose to focus on the moment at hand.
"We need to bring the food back as soon as possible," Myles said, forcing his voice to stay calm. "I don't know what might appear again."
Ryan clenched his teeth, then pushed himself back to his feet.
His face was pale but his eyes carried a faint trace of determination. Or maybe anger.
Together, they continued gathering supplies, stuffing food and drinks into their backpacks until the straps strained. It still wasn't nearly enough for everyone waiting back at the campus.
With careful steps, they retraced their path and eventually returned to the campus gates.
"What took you so long? I'm starving," one of the men snapped as soon as they entered.
Ryan seized the man's collar and pulled him close, his eyes burning with fury.
The man froze under the weight of that glare.
"Wh-why are you doing this?" the man stammered.
Ryan shoved him hard without saying anything.
The man tumbled to the floor, scrambling back in fear as Ryan turned away and walked toward one of the classrooms where Marcus and Kade were resting.
"Where's the food?" another man demanded.
Myles scoffed. Without a word, he tossed a can of food at the man and handed one each to the others.
"This isn't enough!" the same man from before shouted, his voice filled with complaint.
"I don't care," Myles said coldly. "This is the last time I'm giving you food. If tomorrow you still refuse to go out and find it yourself, then starve."
He turned away, Nadine following close behind, and the two of them walked down the hall toward their classroom.
Inside the classroom, the air felt quieter than outside. The windows were boarded, letting only thin slivers of sunlight through the cracks.
Myles and Nadine sat down against the wall, their bodies sinking with exhaustion. Neither of them spoke at first. They only listened to the muffled sounds of the campus..
Myles dug into his backpack and pulled out two small loaves of bread, their plastic wrappers crinkling loudly in the silence.
He tossed one to Nadine before tearing his own open. The bread was dry and slightly stale but right now it was food and that was enough.
Nadine ripped hers into pieces slowly, chewing without much taste.
Beside her, Myles twisted open a can of energy drink. Followed by the sharp scent of chemicals and sugar. He drank deeply.
Nadine followed, taking small sips of her own. The liquid burned slightly as it went down.
For a moment, neither of them looked at each other. They both stared at the opposite wall, their minds still tangled in the sight of Nia's changed body, and Ryan's breaking cry.
Finally, Nadine broke the silence.
"They have no idea." Her voice sounds soft but also sharp.
Myles tilted his head, glancing at her.
"The people out there in the hall," she continued. "They sit here waiting and then complain when we come back too long. But they don't know what it's like in that supermarket."
Myles chewed slowly, then swallowed.
"I think they just don't want to know," he said flatly. "That's the truth. Even when they didn't see it for themselves their fear already ate them alive. So it's better to just stay there and wait for us to bring them food."
Nadine clenched her jaw, tearing off another bite of bread.
Silence returned. They finished their bread and drinks slowly.
—