There was no sky above them. Yet, there was light. A few spots of illumination penetrated through a broken ceiling, which provided ample visibility to the group of four resting inside. They were in a room filled with old wooden boxes. A thick layer of dust covered the topside which showed just how long ago that place had last been used. The air inside was cold and, surprisingly for their location, dry. Fortuitous. If it had been humid instead, then the mood would have been quite sour–

Worse than it already was at that point.

"Are those things still out there?"

Violet pressed her ear against a metal door while raising her finger. After a while she tutted and knocked on it gently. The occupants waited with baited breath for no longer than a second before a harsh grating and banging noise resounded from the door.

She took a few steps back and shrugged, "There's your answer."

The room had no other recess. The ceiling above them, while partly smashed, seemed to be at least half a meter thick. There were vents where fresh air passed through, but all of them were not wider than Io's trunk. On the floor, the drains were no good either, as they were even smaller than the vents.

They were trapped.

"At least the door's sturdy. Problem is, unless we get them away from us, they'll just hang around outside until we starve."

"... Can we punch through them?"

Io, who sat at a distance away from them, raised her head towards Violet after Evan asked the question. In response, Violet simply tilted her head in thought. It took her a few moments before she answered with a question of her own.

"How many were there?"

"Around fifty up front, twenty behind when we ran here. If there were more attracted by the commotion, then there might be a hundred or more of them out there by now."

Frank's assessment caused Evan to wince. There were too many if that was the case. Though Violet, and perhaps Io, could dispose of one within every few seconds, it was still risky. Quantity was a quality of its own. All it took was one bite, or even one stray drop of blood accidentally passing through their gear for everything to fall apart. This was especially true for Violet, who had an open wound on her neck...

Evan shook his head.

"Well... It'll be alright, I think."

The story behind their eventual predicament wasn't very pleasant.

The decision to accept Io's condition of having them retrieve her personal effects also came with letting her lead the way. After all, Evan had no idea where her base was. According to her, there were no particularly striking landmarks around the building either, which severely limited the effectiveness with which Evan could lead the group. She didn't even know what street the building was located on. It required the group to form an improvised formation, which heavily relied on Io who would lead them at the front. Behind her would be Frank, followed by Evan and Violet, who served as the rear guard.

It went without saying that stationing Frank behind Io also served as a precaution.

Due to Io being clueless about the hand signals they used, they were forced to rely on more rudimentary gestures that they were able to teach her quickly. The transmission of more complex information was impossible, though. But Violet judged that the lack of a more comprehensive means of communication could be remedied by the increase in their overall firepower.

Lastly, Io assured them that her fainting the night before was purely coincidental. Despite Evan and Frank's doubts, Violet accepted her meager explanation, so both men had no choice but to follow along. But that wasn't until Evan tried to make Violet swear in secret that they would leave her if she fell unconscious again.

Violet refused.

The shock from her answer left an indelible mark on Evan's mind. He could not fathom why she would prioritize anything over their safety as a group.

She was far from being irresponsible, despite everybody's impression of her.

"You're... willing to go that far? What if we..."

"Nothing will happen."

Her voice possessed an almost supernatural amount of conviction to it, as if she had already seen the future.

"You don't need to worry. Everything will be A-OK. You have my word."

The look in her single eye told Evan that she wouldn't take any dissent from him. The discussion was over. All Evan had to do was obey.

And thus they marched.

As usual, they chose to move during the day. It was a far safer time to maneuver through the streets than at night, despite increased risk of being spotted by wandering hordes. As far as their experience with the undead went, nighttime operations should only be considered if they could move through relatively safe routes. But with the unplanned path ahead of them, visibility was key in avoiding trouble.

Because they were not keeping an eye out for any supplies, their pace compared to the previous day could be called "blistering". While Io was awkward at first with having to lead in complete silence on top of having to use hand gestures she had just learned to communicate, she adapted to the matter fast.

Their journey on foot took them from the middle of the city to a point close to the outer edge, with various circumstances leading them to making the occasional deviations from their intended direction. And though they were spotted by sizable groups several times along the way, none of those incidents were enough to force them to make radical changes to their plans.

However, their first real obstacle came soon after they had stopped briefly to eat a light lunch.

Evan stood a short distance away from the edge of a half-collapsed building. His eyes scanned the terrain before him, each second causing his eyes to narrow in displeasure. Beside him was Violet, who wore a grim-looking expression.

"It doesn't look too good."

"Io said there's a way through."

"No there isn't."

Ahead of them was a vast expanse of collapsed rubble. Evan judged that it was the result of carpet-bombing. Innumerable undead roamed aimlessly across the wasteland. Unlike inside the city, there were no places to hide and travel through the area. The line of sight was clear as far as the eye could see. Once one of the undead noticed them, it would only be a matter of minutes before the entire horde surrounded them.

As he recalled the geographical information of the city they were in, he had hoped that Io's base would be located at a place just before that ruined area. Unfortunately that did not seem to be the case.

"There's just no way we could get past that area. That is unless we circle around it. But that would add a day or two to our time."

"That'll take too much time, dude. Let's just go through it."

Evan turned his head with a snap to stare at her with a dumbfounded expression.

"What the hell are you..."

His voice trailed off as he noticed that Violet's hand was raised with her finger pointing downwards playfully. Warning signals blared in his mind. He instinctively shook his head in denial. "No fucking way," he exclaimed.

There was such a thing as "knocking on wood". Sure enough, he realized that what he had been fearing was realized.

They gathered at what used to be a riverbank; the flowing water had already been diverted by the rubble that clogged the entire riverbed. At the side of what was once a bridge, rows of iron bars blocked entry into the city's sewer system. Though they were completely covered in rust, opening the gate strangely did not make a single sound.

"Oiled it. Many times."

He couldn't help but feel slightly frustrated at how prepared Io was.

The underground was a death trap.

No good ever came from traveling underground. They did not have the manpower for it. Because they expected that they needed to move quickly while carrying supplies, they did not bring much equipment with them besides their weapons, protective gear, a few bags and essentials like a flashlight.

The reason why Violet's team had a perfect no-casualty record was not just because of the leader's amazing talent. Violet declared it herself; he made sure that they never took any risk that even slightly outweighed the benefits. That included going underground for any period of time. Limited paths, unlit passages, countless hidden corners, foul-smelling air... there were many reasons why Evan hated the underground. If it was him, he would avoid going below at all costs. Though he prioritized speed when it came to planning, the risks of taking underground routes were too heavy for him to ever consider besides extremely dire situations.

Limiting their available options of escape was nothing but suicidal.

"I don't like this. Shouldn't we just circle around?"

"Didn't you want to go back to camp as soon as possible? Well, this is the fastest route."

"It's too dangerous. The camp won't go anywhere without our signal anyway. And we have enough supplies to last a few weeks if we find some water."

"We'll be passing through

Violet gestured at Frank to keep watch above, as they were talking in an unnaturally loud voice. Though it made sense as a precaution, the bigger reason was something else. He watched the moment the last vestiges of Frank's figure disappeared from view. It only took a mere fraction of a second, but when he looked back to Violet, she had already disappeared.

Then, the world turned upside down.

"Wha-?"

A feeling of weightlessness overtook him as the clear blue sky slid across his view. He quickly realized that he was thrown backwards. However, as his body dropped, the painful impact he had expected did not come. Instead, his vision continued spinning, switching from the sky to the ground and back to the sky again. This repeated several times until he came to a stop abruptly.

His body felt no pain from the incident. Only, his head suffered mild dizziness from the event. As he rolled around, he never even felt the rough sensation of the ground against his clothes. It was almost similar to the time when his uncle let him play with a human hamster ball. Wondering what happened, he tried to raise his head, only to feel something solid tighten around his neck.

"Ghh?!"

No air entered his lungs. The pressure in his head swelled. He realized that Violet had placed him in a chokehold.

Struggling, he grabbed hold of her arms and tried to pry them open. However, her strength was horrifying. No matter how hard he pulled, her arms did not give even a bit.

Violet had supernatural strength. That was an established fact he had learned the day he joined their group. The scene of her carrying a drum filled with water was something he could never forget. She could beat everybody among them in an arm wrestling match easily, though lost quickly when her opponent used both arms. Regardless, her strength was shocking considering her stature. It wasn't shocking to see him unable to remove her grip that was tightened enough for her arms to bulge around his windpipe. But he still did so anyway.

"The hell... are you doing...?"

She didn't respond. Instead, as if determining that the pressure around his neck was still loose enough for him to talk, she tightened her hold even more.

He found himself unable to even utter anything more than groans. As a last ditch effort, he tried to use his nails to pry her arms away. It was still no use.

His vision started to dim. His mind couldn't focus. He tried to hit her side with his elbows, but found that his strength had whittled away. Heaving, he struggled to take in air, but with no success.

"F... uck..."

It was such a good day out. The sky was clear and glorious, with birds flying overhead every so often. For some reason, it appeared as if it was even brighter than a decade ago. While the sun was pelting the earth relentlessly, it did not feel harsh at all despite being midsummer.

Several years back, planes and skyscrapers dominated the skies. As someone who grew up in the city, Evan was used to never having a clear view of the big blue expanse. Industrial smoke always dimmed his vision; skyscrapers kept his vision narrow; planes disturbed its natural beauty. As time went by, nature slowly started to reclaim the world. The first thing it took back from the humans were the skies. Towers were razed to the ground from military bombings. Passenger flights stopped from the global lockdowns. Eventually, even the factories that produced weaponry had emptied their stacks, their supervisors and operators reduced to no more than meandering zombies.

Yet despite its beauty, opportunities to appreciate it were few and far in between.

"So, have you calmed down yet?"

Evan kept staring at the sky, organizing his thoughts. But nothing coherent formed in his mind. It must have been because of the oxygen deprivation. It was no time to rest; they were in the middle of enemy territory. If even one spotted them, then it could lead the entire population of undead to close in on them from all sides.

Still, he did not move. He kept staring at the sky, without a word.

There was peace up there. A wave of fatigue washed over him.

And then, something crushed his throat again.

"Yeah. I guess you could say that."

"That's great. But stay there a while, will you?"

He looked up at the sky again, then turned his eyes upwards, to the woman who laid behind him. Violet was still where she was when she almost knocked him out. Because his neck rested on her breasts and his back on her stomach, it was quite a comfortable position. The only part that did not feel well enough to brag about was his lower back, which bent in an awkward direction due to her pelvis ending right below his lumbar, forcing it to drop awkwardly. Still, it served as a kind of stretching, so he didn't mind.

He remembered. The dark cave, the smell of the wet soil and excrements, the sound of the undead all around him, his bleeding flank, the Leak... and Violet, who reached her hand out to him, to pull him out of the despair of certain death.

He couldn't remember what she said to him at that time. Perhaps he didn't actually hear it. Still, it was a fact that at that time she had saved him; an old has-been musician who had nothing but anguish in his heart. Back then, despite all of the blood, it was like an angel had descended upon him.

Yet, she wasn't one.

Evan had always felt betrayed by it, as if in an attempt to cajole himself into thinking that it was just life at work. Though he also knew that what he felt was just him lashing out against the closest thing he could, he could not help but do so.

... But, at the end of the day, they were only just using each other.

And both of them knew it.

"You know, it's not like I said I wouldn't go, right?"

Violet laughed.

"Bullshit."

Her arms wrapped around his neck again.

"So? What's the plan now, Oh Great and Powerful Leader?"

Violet turned to him with a piece of dried fruit hanging out of her mouth.

"Plan? It's simple, right?"

She ate the remaining fruits from her bottle and downed the rest with one gulp. Then, she walked over to Frank, who had been carrying the reusable junk they had collected. From his bag, she took the jar of honey and a can. She then transferred the contents of the jar into the can and sealed the latter with a piece of plastic and a few rubber bands from her pocket.

"What are you going to do with that?"

Frank's eyes showed his doubt. He couldn't understand what she was trying to do, and to be fair, neither did Evan.

Glass was heavy, bulky and made a lot of sound when carried unless it was wrapped up with cloth. The only reason why they bothered to take certain glass items with them was because they made for excellent attention-seekers. Simply throw them in any direction and, once it breaks, the undead will flock to its landing spot within minutes. However, while it worked under most circumstances, it didn't work all the time.

And their current predicament felt like it belonged to the latter category.

The sewers were narrow, and its ceiling was low. There was no way it was possible to throw it far enough to get the horde away from them. And even if it did, there were way too many of them outside for it to make much difference. Perhaps if there were only a few tens of them then they could thin the herd enough for Violet to deal with it, but according to Frank there might be up to a hundred.

Regardless, for her, that didn't matter. She turned the handle of the door. It slid open without making too much noise until it was wide enough to accommodate the jar. She probably also lifted the door slightly in order to prevent the rusted hinges from making too much noise. However, a rotten arm reached inside immediately as she did, to which she responded by kicking the elbow to the wall hard enough for the forearm to tear off. During that short moment, she managed to lob the jar through the opening and immediately close the door without slamming it.

Then, she twirled around like a ballet dancer and posed towards Evan.

It looked absolutely ridiculous due to her thick jacket and facial gear.

"That's the plan!"

"..."

He didn't have to see through Frank's mask to know that he, too, had the same incredulous expression as he had.

"Are we seriously going back there with just that? Even with less of them gathered just outside, we'd have to punch through at least a dozen or so just to get through."

"Yup!"

Annoyingly, her reply was expressed at a volume just loud enough to be annoying, but likely not enough to be heard outside.

"... Wouldn't that be too much for you?"

"Got that right. There's too many of those for me."

Evan could not stop himself. His palm, as if it had a mind of its own, met with his face before he knew it. If Violet's optimism and confidence were to be sold as cigarettes, then he would pay anything to smoke a few of them.

There were far too many issues with her "plan". First of all, once they forced the door open, then the undead would all start to gather around them immediately. Once they did, they only had a limited timeframe available to them to escape. Secondly, it was dark. Violet needed to see where the enemies were, so Evan would have to use his flashlight, which would attract undead even farther away. Third, they had no idea where to go, so Io would have to...

He paused. It hit him.

"Oh? Strange. I managed to outsmart you. Ah, that feels good."

"... Are you retarded?" he sighed. He looked at the one individual who made Violet's ridiculous "plan" remotely possible.

Honestly, he completely forgot about her. Or rather, he had no idea how to factor her into his thoughts, so his brain probably defaulted into just ignoring her. As if she had already understood what Violet had in mind, Io had already stood, brandishing two strangely-shaped swords on each of her hands.

From her profile alone, she looked every bit as brutal as Violet. Why are these two women so strong? Shouldn't men generally be better? Did the apocalypse also turn the world upside-down?

Violet then discussed the so-called "plan". It was very simple, which fit her style. The gist of it was that once the commotion died down outside, they would throw open the door. Then, with both Io and Violet to take point, they will punch through the horde just enough for Evan and Frank to be able to run through with all of their supplies; seven bags in total. They would then rush towards the nearest exit and then take the first alley they see. There were a few problems though. The biggest was that because of the lack of light outside, Violet will need to use the flashlight. That meant there would be no more breaks once they started; they would need to get through over two kilometers of tunnels while the entire population of zombies around them closed in slowly. If they pushed fast enough then those at the rear wouldn't be anything to worry about. The issue lay in the unknown number of undead ahead of them and to the sides.

"We'll exit in the middle of the city, right?"

Io nodded silently.

"... That's it?," Violet continued. Then, she looked back to Io, prodding more responses from her. "There are a lot of hiding spaces, yeah?"

Io nodded again, still without a word.

"... Got it. Do you have anything else to add? Or is there anything we should know about, like particularly bad areas?"

Io shook her head. An awkward silence followed, broken only by Violet's exhausted sigh several seconds later. Evan thought the exchange as quite comical and stifled a laugh.

Still, he couldn't let go of his worry. They had actively avoided taking any big risks until now, which was why their team had an excellent survival record. Knowing that it was useless to inquire further because of Violet's persistence, he swallowed his bitterness and simply followed orders.

"Evan, Frank, 'either of you have any questions?"

Frank raised his hand.

"Can we talk?"

After a short contemplation, Violet answered him.

"Yes. Might as well, since Io here only knows the basics. We'll be able to coordinate faster too. We're going to attract them with the light anyway, but try to keep it down. Don't want the other bastards outside of sight to notice us."

"Guns?"

"No. Too loud. Unless by some miracle we pick up a suppressor while we run, just use the butt of your rifle. You too, Evan. Here."

Violet pulled the spare rifle they had retrieved from her bag and gave it to Evan. At first glance he saw that the magazine was attached and, sure enough, bullets were chambered on it.

"Firing should be reserved as a last resort. Don't forget that there are also undead above us. Make sure that the safeties are on. Just use that baseball bat of yours, but the rifle's just for good measure. Anything else?"

They continued the exchange, which served more to double-check their preparations than to add to their considerations. The downside with their group being extremely cautious is that they were not used to taking risky options. That was why it was absolutely imperative that they were prepared for anything that might happen. Having a newcomer within their ranks only doubled the pressure.

"Now that I think about it," Evan quipped. "How do you go back and forth between the two sides, Io?"

That was a question they should have asked her at the very beginning, really. But Violet had been so adamant about their goal that it had slipped his mind.

"I need to get it together," he thought.

"... I don't. Came here from there. Could not come back. Too many... might die."

"Wait, huh?"

How did she get past the tunnels in the first place, then?

"No undead back then. Underground safe. But Mother's Eye opened... saw me run inside. Got chased."

So the undead saw her enter the tunnels and followed? It sounded feasible. One particular detail caught his attention though, and that was how she referred to what should be the Leak.

It wasn't surprising. The Leak was called different names in other countries. If he recalled correctly, it was called "Gates of Hell" in Singapore, which was a very boring and edgy name. However it was the first time he encountered the name "Mother's Eye".

If Io was a foreigner, it would explain why she's not used to the language. The issue was that planes hadn't flown for several years, and they were too far inland for her to have come from the sea. So was it something else?

"Hold on a second, that means you haven't returned since at least a month ago?" he questioned.

The Leak was a periodic event that occurred once every four months. However sometimes it opened suddenly and out of schedule, but a premature event meant less "precipitation" of extremely dangerous undead for both it and the next opening. The last Leak was one of those kinds of early catastrophes which occurred roughly one month prior.

"Month? Thirty-one days... No. I went through... three months ago?"

Evan's eyes darted towards Violet, who looked equally as shocked as him. And while he could not see Frank's face, his widened eyes visible through his eye protection told him all he needed.

"Shit. That means you have no idea what state your home base is in?"

Io tilted her head, confused.

"I do," she said with confidence.

"How?" Evan wanted to ask, but he felt suffocated by Violet's silence. Was she suddenly doubting her decision?

It was normal to assume that she had simply been regularly taking the risk of passing through the tunnels to get between the two sides of the city. Moving as an individual is far safer than having to look after a group, especially with her skill. Learning that she hadn't been to her old base ever since the last two Leaks changed things, however.

If what she had said was true, then it was likely that their mad run wouldn't just last for two kilometers, but throughout their journey towards their destination. That was far more than what they had prepared themselves for, at least mentally.

The biggest issue was that it meant the nearest exit had two Leaks' worth of clustered undead.

At that point the least dangerous option to take would be to try to punch through the thickened horde back towards the exit, and then circling around the bombed-out area to get to where they needed to.

They've made a mistake. It was probably due to becoming less cautious from Violet's persistent compromises, he reckoned. And as he looked towards her, he realized that she might have thought the same thing judging from her very sour expression.

"Evan. What do you think?"

After a while of contemplating, she looked up and consulted him for options. She hadn't done that in a while ever since taking over the reigns during the "negotiations" back at Io's base, which told volumes about the amount of doubt she was harboring.

"Obviously, we should turn back. We can still go around. It'll take us a few days, but it's far safer."

She narrowed her eyes in displeasure upon hearing his opinion, but still sunk into thought again without pressing the matter further. Frank, on the other hand, had other thoughts.

"Wouldn't it be fine to just push through, still?"

Violet was laughing.

It wasn't loud enough to be worrisome, but given the chance Evan was sure she would do so out of her belly, as loud as she could. She had removed her goggles and wiped the tears that formed on the corners of her eyes. Yet she still kept laughing.

"Holy shit. Why didn't I think about that?"

... Evan was laughing as well.

The unfortunate two who were unable to understand or share in their mirth looked on with baffled expressions. It took them a good few minutes to recover, which resulted in a much more relaxed mood between everyone. Frank hadn't even noticed that the air earlier had become so heavy that he had trouble breathing.

"So!" Violet exclaimed. "What made you think that's a good idea, Frank?"

Evan and Violet turned their eyes to the ex-soldier, gesturing to him to continue.

"Uhh..." he stammered. "First thing, since these are tunnels, then there should be more than one exit, right?" he asked Io, who granted him a nod in the affirmative. "How did you learn that if you only went through once?"

"Studied the tunnels. Before that time. Thought it would... be helpful. Just in case."

"Well then, even if there's another horde of them outside the tunnel, that should only apply on the exit she took the first time she entered, right?"

He then turned to Io again.

"Can you guide us to an alternate exit that's farthest from where you took to get in?"

"Yes... Adds day. Spend night out... There's camp there."

"How long is it compared to the original plan?"

"... Four times. Maybe."

The more Io answered the more satisfied Frank felt about his suggestion. He was nervous about her answering in the negative on any of his questions, but it appeared as if there was no need to worry about it.

For him, it was a good plan; better than simply retreating and risking far more time than necessary outside the safety of camp, or taking a big risk by trying to punch through what might be several hundreds of undead.

He continued detailing the plan with assistance from an unlikely source until he was satisfied that he had completely delivered all the merits. Afterwards, all that remained was to obtain the approval of the two main decision-makers of the group. Frank was aware that Violet was stubborn, but typically yielded to Evan when it came to routing, so it was his approval that he wanted the most. The main problem was that Evan was sometimes more obstinate than Violet.

But before Frank could ask for their opinion, Violet started laughing again.

"God damn, Evan," she said between fits of laughter. "The hell is wrong with us?"

"Can't believe I didn't seriously consider that, really. I must be getting it on in age. Good work, Frank."

Evan shrugged, showing his feigned complacency.

"But, I still vote for retreating. Too many unknowns."

His next words doused Frank's mood. Fortunately he had expected as such. Evan was an extremely cautious man. In fact, he was surprised that Violet managed to convince him to use such a dangerous route.

"Well I say we go for it. I went through the trouble of choking you earlier just to put you in line, so screw me if we go back after that," Violet declared. He was happy that she agreed, but... there was one part in particular that caught his attention.

"Huh? Choked who?"

"Hmm... Got it. We'll do it your way, Frank."

"What the hell?"

That was quick. Or more like, this was unlike Evan, who usually tried to consider everything for himself in order to compensate for Violet's reckless behavior.

Later on, when asked, Evan would simply mention that despite the risks, it was the best idea overall.

The plan was simple; it was just the original plan, but using a detour. The main actors and everybody's roles hadn't changed much. However, Io would lead at a position slightly farther forward in order to ensure that they do not make any wrong turns. She had assured them that despite the time, she still had the layout memorized, which was quite an impressive feat. That meant Io would take the brunt of the enemy numbers. She assured them that she could handle it, but just in case Violet also gave Io her word that she would have his back.

In order to prepare for the gauntlet, all four decided to rest for an hour to recover. After a while, Frank, who sat on the floor beside the prone Evan, decided to engage in small talk as a way to pass the time.

"Something's been bothering you lately?"

Evan sunk into thought for a short while before answering him.

"Don't you think Violet's been acting weird?"

"In what way? She's still bullying you and pushing us around. Isn't that what she always does?"

They share a light, self-condescending chuckle at the mutual feeling that they were being driven around by an impulsive superior.

"So you're saying it's just my imagination?"

"If you mean how she's taking all these risks for that girl, then I heard she did the same thing several years ago."

"Huh? With who?"

"Dunno. Nobody at camp told me about it. Mark might know; try getting him drunk once we get back."

"What the hell are you two idling around for? Come on."

Violet intruded on their short conversation with Io standing close behind her.

The girls spent the last twenty-odd minutes preparing for the grind ahead. Violet had Io borrow her spare respirator; a half facepiece that had slightly larger cartridges than Violet's, as the amount of blood they would need to spill might soak through her scarf, which they shockingly discovered wasn't waterproof, and infect her through the mouth or nose.

Actually, simply preventing the fluid from entering any large orifice was enough to prevent infection, but there was a time when people thought it could also be transmitted through the air. So for a few years the use of respirators with varying specs became popular. But after the discovery that they were basically worried about nothing, they fell out of trend in favor of more convenient protection such as waterproof scarves, face masks and the like. Violet simply continued using them because they "looked way too cool".

Evan, who continued lying on the ground, jokingly said "five more minutes, mom," before getting a kick dangerously close to his crotch.

"... Now, while Evan is writhing on the ground, here's some additional stuff. Io?"

She gave the floor to Io, who looked extremely suspicious with her attire and full facial protection.

"To run, I'll cut necks. Be careful. Might grab. Also, sword might break. I have spare. Many. But... dull. Might not sever. But still good. Just need to pass. Kill, not needed."

Io explained the delicacies of the plan in loving, garbled detail as her skill with the language hindered her from speaking straight. The respirator only made things worse. Frank managed, through sheer concentration, to listen to everything until the end. Evan was still bent at a weird angle from the pain, but Frank judged that he'd also paid careful attention as he stopped making strange sounds.

Basically, because they were in a rush and had no reason to avoid attention, Io would only aim to sever their heads to prevent them from biting. Considering everybody was wearing thick clothing, it was unlikely that their rotten nails would be able to penetrate through to their skin. But her weapons had a risk of breaking, which was evident from what Evan had told him the previous night. Though she had spares just in case, she remarked that they were dull and might not completely behead them.

Frank remembered a time a few years prior where he saw someone get bitten by a zombie whose head was already dangling off its shoulders. It was true horror movie material.

Additionally, despite the rush, Io will only travel at a jogging pace with the exception of the first stretch once they exit the room. She and Violet discussed the matter and decided that this was the safest option. It was so that they could maintain a constant pace regardless of the horde density at the alternate route. However, if they encounter a horde that they could not push back against...

"Well, there are other routes anyway."

The nonchalant response from Violet elicited a deep sigh of exasperation from the man in pain.

Violet added later on that she was going to prioritize targeting their face as well to prevent them from using their teeth. Because they would be running into danger, she would not have any prep time to perform any special tricks, so that was as far as she was able to consider. If she deemed it impossible, she would simply push them back as far as she could.

There would be no rear guard, and their flanks would only be covered by Evan and Frank who only had a baseball bat and a couple of rifles between themselves. Though they were practiced combatants themselves, there was no way they could fight properly while carrying several bags of supplies.

Lastly, Io described their checkpoint; a small building accessible via a broken overpass. They would have to jump through it, but it was not a particularly difficult distance and it would serve as a barrier between them and the pursuing horde.

"This'll definitely work."

"... If we could only bottle your optimism maybe we can live off of selling it to other survivors for food."

"Tch. Maybe I should've kicked higher."

Evan struggled to stand while cradling a section of his inner thigh. He shot a glare at Violet, who returned it with her own. They kept staring needles at each other for a few seconds until Evan broke the match while raising his hand. Then, his eyes looked over towards Io, completely covered in gear with only her long hair left out in the open.

His eyes narrowed. He looked back towards Violet, who had put on her goggles and respirator. With her facial gear, black army jacket, gray cargo trousers and combat boots, she looked exactly like a soldier... if they held sledgehammers instead of guns. Together with Io, who appeared like a character from a fictional story that featured a militaristic religion, they...

A complicated feeling welled up within him. Frank looked on, not knowing what was happening, yet still anticipating something interesting. As he continued to think, Violet placed a hand on her hips and said, "So? What do you think?"

There was no choice.

"Fine. You two look damn cool."

Violet welled with pride, puffing her chest in glee. "Told you so," she stated. Evan rubbed the back of his neck in a fashion that revealed his slight embarrassment from saying those words.

"Anyway, Io; are you ready?" he asked, likely half to hide his discomfort.

There was genuine concern in his voice though. The somber tone caused Io to relax her shoulders slightly.

"Ready," was her only response to it. But there was a conviction that she wanted to express there. Evan was decently good at reading people's emotions through their voice, and even if her voice came out even more obscure due to the static-like quality and the respirator muffling it, it still assured him somewhat.

"We can take as many detours as you want. From what you said, we could also take alternate retreat routes."

"No problem. Can take it. As long as... no big ones; easy."

"Great... I've got nothing else. I still hate the underground, by the way."

Violet gave him a thumbs up.

"I know."

They gathered near the opening of the door. Violet held the lever from behind, while Io pressed herself to the wall, with both of her swords at the ready. After talking it over, they decided that Frank should follow after Violet, and Evan would bring up the rear. Because Evan had a bat, and because Frank was more fit than him, the former would only carry three bags while Frank would take four.

While they also discussed whether they should leave the supplies behind, they ultimately decided not to. There was still the possibility of being trapped somewhere else, and perhaps under even more dire circumstances. Overall, it was another terrible decision, but Evan agreed to it despite being at the most precarious position. Violet gave him her word that she would not let anything happen, and since the consideration was made under the next worst-case scenario besides him dying, he decided that there was no other choice. She even offered to carry one bag for him, but Evan thought that adding to her burden would increase the likelihood of disaster far more than the other option, so he refused.

He rounded his shoulders to bleed off the weight of the bags. For safety, both he and Frank wore one of the large canvas sheets found in the room over their heads and the bags. It reduced the possibility that a stray arm from one of the undead would snag on the straps. It didn't reduce their mobility by much, so it was a discomfort that they just had to bear for the time being.

Frank double-checked the flashlight by flicking it off and on before mounting it at the end of his rifle. Since he was at a relatively-safe position, he was tasked with handling the light for the two women ahead of him. Io stared at it for a moment before returning her gaze towards the crack of the door. It was still mid-afternoon. There was plenty of daylight remaining. Hopefully they would reach the checkpoint before sunset, so they could rely on what light remained in the sky and avoid gathering more attention than they would have already.

"Opening the door..."

Violet counted down from five. Io took a stance; a weird one that Evan had never seen before. It was probably self-taught, he reckoned. Frank relaxed slightly, then tensed up again. Through Violet's muffled voice, the only thing Evan could hear was his own heartbeat. It was running wild despite him standing still.

"Four..."

Time slowed, and it seemed like Evan could think many times faster than he normally could. However, he couldn't think about anything else besides what he needed to do. The plan kept running through his head, over and over, again and again. There was no room for mistakes.

"Three..."

Each turn will be through a blind corner. The flashlight will only be able to illuminate the path ahead, which means he wouldn't be able to see what was coming from their flanks and behind until they were right on Evan's neck. The thought terrified him, but it was immediately drowned by him repeating the sequence of events that needed to happen repeatedly like a mantra.

"Two..."

Io's boots scraped heavily across the floor as she adjusted her body even lower towards the ground. Violet's grip on the door lever tightened. The sound her leather gloves made as it rubbed against the rust beat against Evan's determination.

"One..."

Evan felt his pupils dilate, determined to gather as much information as he could from what he could see around him. As the final count was released from Violet's mouth, he realized that it was too late to stop things. It would be his first truly desperate fight since joining the group.

The only thing to do was to make sure they survived it.

"Go!"

With those words, Violet twisted the lever and pulled the door violently, causing the metal door to slam against the brick wall hard. Io, on the other hand, did not even wait for the gap to widen; she immediately bolted out of the room once the space was just enough for her to squeeze through.

Her figure disappeared within the darkness. Then, the sound of flesh tearing and bone breaking. The dismembered head of a zombie came flying inside the room at an angle, briefly stunning the three inside.

"Run!" Io shouted. It took only a fraction of a second for them to react and follow.

A sea of undead met their advance.