The forest was shrouded in a new silence. Not the silence of calm, but of menace. As they approached the camp, Reize and Arika hid among the undergrowth. From there, they witnessed the horror.
Several shadows moved among the makeshift tents. Heart-wrenching screams pierced the air. Some refugees were fleeing; others were being caught by the infected.
—Damn… they got here before us! —Reize whispered, her heart in her throat.
—There —Arika pointed—. Sebastian!
The man was struggling with an infected, using his body to shield Grisel, who was crying as she clung to his waist.
—I'm going for them! —Reize shouted, and without waiting for a reply, she darted out of her hiding place.
Arika followed her. Together they fought their way through the chaos, dodging bodies, pushing the infected aside. When they finally reached them, Reize kicked the attacker hard while Arika finished him off with a rusty metal pipe.
—Are you okay? —Arika gasped.
Sebastián, his face covered in sweat and tension, barely nodded before taking Grisel in his arms. His breathing was ragged and uneven, but he didn't hesitate.
—We have to get out of here now! —Reize urged.
They started running alongside the others. All around them, the survivors fled without a clear direction, tripping over roots, bumping into one another, trying to escape something that was moving faster than they were. The night filled with screams, with branches snapping underfoot, with breaths cut short by fear.
Then everything changed in an instant.
A desperate man raised a torch in front of an infected creature that was lunging at him. He waved it clumsily, trying to keep it at bay, but the creature rammed into him violently and they both fell to the ground. The torch flew out of his hand and rolled through the dry grass.
The fire caught almost immediately.
The flames began to spread with alarming speed, climbing up the vegetation, reaching the tree trunks, illuminating the forest with an uneven glow that made the shadows dance. The heat became palpable in a matter of seconds.
—Watch out! —Arika shouted as she looked up.
A burning branch fell in front of them, forcing them to stop abruptly. The fire crackled, blocking their path.
They had no time to decide what to do.
A deep crackling echoed from above, as if the forest itself were breaking apart.
The branch that fell next was much larger.
The impact was sharp and heavy; the ground shook beneath them.
Arika and Reize were thrown backward and found themselves partially trapped under the log, dazed by the blow, as the heat began to surround them. The smoke mingled with the air, making every breath difficult.
Sebastián also fell, but in the split second before impact, he reacted on pure instinct. He pushed Grisel away from him with all his strength.
The girl rolled across the ground, scraping her hands, and struggled to her feet, kneeling down. Her eyes searched for her father.
—Dad!
When she saw her father under the log, she tried to stand up to go to him. But a hand grabbed her wrist.
It was one of the women… the same one who was always whispering against Arika and Reize. She was crawling toward her, leaving a dark trail on the ground. Her leg was badly injured; blood soaked through the fabric and mixed with the dust. Her movements were slow, forced, but insistent.
—H-help… —she pleaded in a trembling voice.
Grisel tried to step back, confused, frightened.
—L-let go of me…
But the woman wouldn't let go. Her grip was weak, but desperate. Her breathing was irregular… and her skin was beginning to change.
Dark veins stood out beneath the surface.
Something about her was no longer right.
—Please… don't leave me…
—Dad, help me! —the girl screamed, her voice trembling.
Sebastián tried to move. His leg was trapped under the log, immobilized. The pain was intense, but he ignored it. He pulled hard, again and again, tensing his entire body.
—Grisel!
But the log wouldn't budge an inch. He tried again, harder, desperate, but it was useless.
And then he saw it.
An infected one lunged at the woman, knocking her down. And another pounced on the girl almost at the same time.
—¡¡NOOO!!
The scream tore at his throat, but it didn't change a thing.
He couldn't reach her; he couldn't get up.
All he could do was watch as she disappeared into the underbrush, being dragged away.
A few yards away, Arika opened her eyes. The world spun for a moment; her head was pounding, and the heat from the fire felt too close. It took a second for her vision to focus… and then she saw it.
The girl.
Being dragged away.
The log pressed her back against the ground, pinning her down. She tried to move, but the weight wouldn't budge. Her breathing became ragged. Her eyes remained fixed on the scene… and a silent tear rolled down her cheek.
—No… Grisel… —she murmured, barely audibly.
For a moment, she didn't react.
As if everything had stopped.
—…Arika…
The faint voice snapped her out of her trance.
She blinked.
Reize.
She turned her head and saw her, trapped as well, trying to move amid the smoke and the fire raging all around them.
Arika snapped back to her senses.
She clenched her teeth and, with a sudden effort, pushed the log with her body. Pain shot through her back, but she didn't stop. She forced the movement again and again until she managed to slide far enough to free herself.
She fell to one side, breathing heavily, but wasted no time. She got up immediately and ran toward Reize.
—I'll help you —she said firmly, her voice low.
She crouched down beside her, and together they pushed the log just enough to clear a space, freeing Reize.
A nearby growl alerted them; they both turned at the same time.
An infected was lunging straight at Sebastián.
Arika reacted without thinking. She stepped in and knocked him down hard before he could reach him.
Reize ran toward the log and tried to lift it.
—I can't!"
It was too heavy.
Arika joined in immediately. Both of them pushed with all their might, their muscles tense, their bodies straining against the effort… until the log finally gave way just enough.
Sebastian was free, but his leg was in bad shape.
He tried to stand up right away.
—Grisel! I have to go get her!
Reize held him firmly before he could move forward.
—No!
—Let me go! —Sebastian shouted, struggling.
Arika looked around. Shadows were moving among the trees, getting closer and closer.
—We have to leave now —she said in a low, urgent voice—. More are coming.
But Sebastián didn't react. His movements became erratic, his strength suddenly draining away.
—No… she's there… I have to… —he muttered, his sentences unfinished, his gaze unfocused.
—Sebastián, snap out of it! —Reize tried, shaking him gently.
There was no response.
Without hesitation, she slapped him. The sharp crack of the slap snapped him out of his trance.
—You have to live! —she shouted at him—. At least for Grisel's sake! She wouldn't want you to die here!
Sebastián breathed heavily, his eyes wet and red. He nodded weakly.
Without wasting any time, Reize and Arika took him by the arms and began to make their way with difficulty through the trees.
—Come on, hang in there… —Arika whispered.
But they had barely been walking for a few minutes when Sebastián stumbled. There was a crunch. He fell to the ground with a cry of pain. His leg was bleeding, twisted at a worrying angle.
—Shit! —Reize crouched down beside him—. It's broken…
—No… I can't go on… —he murmured, gasping, his forehead drenched in sweat—. I don't have the strength anymore…
—We're going to help you —Arika said firmly—. We won't leave you!
—No… —Sebastián protested, his voice barely audible—. If you stay… all three of us will die. I can already hear them coming…
In the distance, the moans of the infected grew clearer.
Arika was about to protest, but Reize grabbed her arm.
—Arika… —she said softly, looking her in the eyes—. It's okay. He knows. He understands… just like I do.
Arika clenched her teeth, her chest tight. She turned toward Sebastián.
—I won't forget you —she told him.
Sebastián smiled sadly. In his eyes, there was a peace he hadn't had before.
—Run… —he whispered—. Live, please.
Arika and Reize began to run away. They had barely gone a few meters when the heart-wrenching screams of the infected mingled with Sebastián's roar as he charged at them.
Reize stopped for a second and lowered her head.
—Goodbye, Sebastián —she murmured.
And they kept running, their hearts shattered and the echo of the screams piercing their backs like knives.