The night was restless. Growls and shrieks echoed outside the boarded windows, each sound slashing at the nerves of those still awake. The monsters prowled endlessly outside. Their voices moved through the dark like a chorus of hunger and rage.
Myles lay on the floor layered with spare clothes and torn blankets. His body and mind were exhausted. Today had taken too much from him already. He had to kill Nia who had turned into a B-Rank monster, Ryan's collapse, and the food run.
He knew if he forced himself to fight again without rest his strength would begin to wither. Both his body and mind would break piece by piece.
So he allowed himself to stop and rest. Just for tonight.
Beside him, Nadine moved quietly before scurrying closer. Her body pressed against him as she wrapped her arms around him in her sleep.
At first, Myles stiffened. But then warmth seeped into his chest, calming the storm still raging in his thoughts. He returned the embrace and also held her gently.
For a fleeting moment, the howls outside faded into the background.
The night passed uneventfully—if one could call a night filled with inhuman shrieks and claws scratching in the distance uneventful. But at least the monsters did not breach the campus gates and attack them. For now, that was enough.
Myles and Nadine managed to sleep soundly. Perhaps they were the only ones who slept soundly. The others lay restless, their fear gnawing at them in silence.
Ryan's grief still weighed in his heart while Marcus struggled against his pain in his torso.
When the pale light of dawn finally broke, it slipped through the cracks in the boards and fell across Myles' face.
He stirred awake, blinking against the brightness. Stretching his sore arms, he turned and nudged Nadine gently. She murmured faintly but opened her eyes and sat up beside him.
A few minutes later, Myles and Nadine pushed open the classroom door and headed toward the room where Ryan, Kade, and Marcus rested.
The air there was heavy, filled with the stale scent of sweat and lingering despair.
His eyes landed on Kade first. His legs had been mangled and useless. But now, the man stood on his own two feet even though not too steadily.
Myles nodded to himself. It was Lilian's healing magic. It was stronger than he had thought.
Kade noticed him and broke into a smile. "Myles. Nadine. It's good to see you."
Myles gave a small nod. "How's your leg?"
"It's… much better than yesterday. I can walk now. Where's Lilian? I need to thank her," Kade said earnestly.
"She already left. Doing her own business," Myles replied flatly.
"Left? Alone?" Kade frowned, concern creeping into his voice.
"Yes. Don't worry about her. She's strong. She'll be fine," Myles said.
Something in his tone closed the subject. Kade pressed his lips together, then nodded, obediently letting the matter drop.
Myles' gaze shifted to Ryan. The once-proud captain still sat slumped against the wall, his shoulders hunched and his eyes hollow.
Marcus sat beside him and was still clutching his side. His ribs were still broken. He had not received Lilian's healing. But compared to Ryan's emptiness, Marcus' pain seemed almost secondary.
"I still can't believe… that Nia would be…" Kade's voice cracked as he spoke. His face darkened, his words trailing into silence.
Myles exhaled slowly. "It already happened. I'm sorry. But we can't do anything about her anymore."
Kade bowed his head, struggling to swallow the truth. "I understand. It's just… too hard to accept."
No one else spoke. Marcus and Ryan kept their silence.
"We need to keep moving again." Myles' voice cut through the silence, low but firm. "I hate to say this… but the monsters won't wait for your sadness to fade."
Kade, Marcus, and Ryan all lifted their eyes toward him. For a moment, Ryan's lips parted as if he wanted to speak but only a breath escaped.
He closed his mouth again and exhaled a long weary sigh.
Marcus grimaced, his hand still pressed against his ribs. Even sitting upright looked difficult for him. He won't be able to move.
Kade shifted his gaze toward Ryan. "Captain… if it's alright, I'll go with them. I can carry supplies."
Ryan let out a bitter laugh without humor.
"Do what you want. There are no more ranks among us. You don't need my permission for anything anymore." His voice cracked at the edges, the words heavy with defeat.
The hierarchy that once bound them as soldiers had crumbled. In this place, in this nightmare, the weight of command no longer mattered.
Ryan was still breathing but the fire that made him their leader had gone out.
Myles and Nadine exchanged a glance but said nothing. Kade met their eyes and gave a firm nod.
"Alright then. Come on," Myles said. He didn't try to argue with Ryan. Grief had hollowed him out and Myles knew pushing him now would only break him further.
The three of them left the classroom and stepped into the pale morning light seeping through the cracks of the boarded windows.
With steady steps, they crossed the hall and pushed through the campus doors.
The air outside carried the thick smell of blood and the distant calls of carrion birds.
They walked together.
It wasn't just about food anymore. If they didn't keep hunting, keep killing, and keep raising their strength, death would eventually catch up to them.
Nobody could say when the next stronger monster would appear so they must already be prepared for such things.
After a few minutes of killing weak mutated humans and aniimals the streets grew quiet again. They keep moving.
Myles stopped when and his eyes narrowed at the end of the street. A man was moving slowly and carefully there. They watched as he slipped into a half-collapsed house.
"Another survivor," Myles muttered. He turned to the others. "If we want to be able to face the threats ahead we'll need more numbers."
Kade and Nadine exchanged brief glances, then both nodded in agreement.
Without wasting time, the three of them advanced.
Myles slowed his steps. His instincts screamed at him to stay sharp. Survivors were not always allies anymore. Hunger, fear, and desperation could turn people into something just as dangerous as the monsters.
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