As darkness descends and Gazers emerge to hunt, three survivors hole up in an isolated house—but fear, guilt, and desperation drive people to terrible decisions. At Sanctuary, Samir reveals a truth that changes everything Karan thought he knew.
The groaning started as the sun disappeared.
Not loud at first. Just distant. Scattered. Individual infected wandering. Searching. Existing.
But as darkness settled completely, the sounds multiplied.
More groans. From different directions. Different distances. All around the house.
They weren't in a horde. Just spread out. Patrolling. Hunting in the dark like they always did.
Reyan sat with his back against the wall. Listening. Counting. Trying to figure out how many were out there.
Ten? Twenty? Impossible to tell.
Through the cracks in the boarded windows, he could see shadows moving. Shambling past. Slow. Aimless. But there.
Then different sounds.
Scraping. Coming from below. Underground maybe. Sewers. Storm drains. Places where light never reached even during the day.
More infected emerging. The ones that couldn't handle daylight. The ones that hid.
The Gazers.
Reyan's hand instinctively went to his pocket. To where his goggles should be. Found nothing.
His stomach dropped. Again. Every time he remembered.
No protection. No defense. If one of those things looked at him—
He pushed the thought away. Couldn't think about it. Had to focus on surviving until dawn.
Across the room, Keshav sat in the corner. Staring at nothing. His rifle across his lap. Hands loose on the grip.
His eyes were wet. Not crying. Just... full. Like tears were building but refused to fall.
Reyan watched him for a moment. Saw the pain. The shock. The trauma of watching people die.
He stood. Walked over quietly.
"Hey," Reyan said softly. "You okay?"
Keshav didn't respond. Didn't even blink.
"I know today was—"
"Don't." Keshav's voice was flat. Dead. "Don't try to talk to me about it."
"I'm just trying to—"
"To what? Make me feel better?" Keshav finally looked at him. His eyes were hollow. "Two people died today. I watched them get torn apart. I heard them screaming. And you want to make me feel better?"
"I know it's hard—"
"You don't know anything." Keshav turned away. "Just leave me alone. Please. I need... I need to be alone right now."
Reyan stood there. Wanting to say something. Anything. But what was there to say?
"Okay," he said finally. "I'm here if you need—"
"I won't."
Reyan walked back to where Meera sat. She'd been watching the exchange. Shook her head slightly. Not now.
He sat down beside her. Both of them silent for a long moment.
"He blames me," Reyan said quietly. "For Manish."
"I know."
"Do you?"
"Do I what?"
"Blame me."
Meera was quiet. Thinking. "I don't know what happened out there. I was running. Fighting. I didn't see the moment Manish... the moment he died." She looked at him. "Did you kill him?"
"No. But I didn't save him either."
"Could you have?"
Reyan thought about it. About Manish shoving him. About the struggle. About choosing to pull away instead of pull him through.
"I don't know," he said honestly. "Maybe. But he was trying to sacrifice me. He was going to push me back to those things. Use me as bait."
"You sure?"
"Yes. I felt it. The way he shoved. The direction. He wasn't trying to help me. He was trying to save himself."
Meera nodded slowly. "Then you didn't kill him. You survived. That's all."
"Doesn't feel that way."
"It never does." She stood. Stretched. "Come on. You need to sleep."
"I can't. Not with—" He gestured at the window. At the sounds outside. At the missing goggles.
"You have to. We need someone who can watch during daylight. Someone who can move around without glasses." She put a hand on his shoulder. "You're the only one without goggles now. That means you're the only one who can function when the sun comes up. If something goes wrong at dawn, if we need to move, you're our only option."
"What if something happens tonight? What if one gets in?"
"Then Keshav and I handle it. We have glasses. We can look. We can fight." She squeezed his shoulder. "But you need to be rested. Need to be ready for tomorrow. So go. Sleep. We'll wake you at first light."
Reyan wanted to argue. Wanted to stay awake. Keep watch. Be useful.
But she was right. He was exhausted. Running on adrenaline that was starting to fade. If he didn't sleep soon, he'd collapse.
"Okay," he said. "But wake me if anything happens. Anything."
"We will."
He went to the back bedroom. Small. Musty. A bed with a thin mattress. No sheets. No pillow. Just bare.
He lay down anyway. Stared at the ceiling. Listening to the groans outside.
Closed his eyes. Tried to sleep.
The dreams came immediately.
Not dreams. Nightmares.
He was back in the neighborhood. Running. The infected chasing.
Deepa's face. Being torn off. Her screams.
Manish against the fence. Begging. "HELP ME PLEASE!"
And Reyan just watching. Just standing there. Just letting him die.
The images blurred together. Repeated. Looped. Each time worse. Each time more vivid.
He tried to wake up. Couldn't. Trapped in his own mind.
Saw his daughter. Standing in the ruins. Alone. Crying.
"Papa? Where are you?"
He tried to reach her. Couldn't move. Couldn't speak.
The infected came. Surrounded her. She screamed.
"PAPA!"
He woke up gasping. Covered in sweat. Heart pounding.
The room was still dark. Still night. He'd only been asleep for minutes maybe. Felt like hours.
He lay there. Staring at the ceiling. Not daring to close his eyes again.
Listening to the groans outside.
Waiting for dawn.
SANCTUARY - NIGHT
Samir lay in his bunk. Staring at the ceiling. Sleep was impossible.
Every time he closed his eyes, he saw his sister. Heard her voice.
"Advait didn't want to do it. He was breaking. He was ready to let him in. But I pushed him. I convinced him. I made him see the threat. Made him pull that trigger."
What did that mean? What had happened? What had she done?
The words kept looping in his mind. Over and over. Until he couldn't stand it anymore.
He got up. Dressed. Left the dorm.
The facility was quiet at night. Most people asleep. Guards on patrol but spaced out. Easy to move unseen.
He made his way to Karan's quarters. Stood outside the door. Hesitated.
Was this a good idea? Waking him up? Telling him?
But he couldn't carry this alone. Couldn't process it alone.
He knocked. Soft. Once.
No answer.
Knocked again. Slightly harder.
"Who is it?" Karan's voice. Awake. Alert.
"It's Samir. Can I come in?"
Silence. Then: "Yeah. Come in."
Samir entered. Closed the door behind him.
Karan was sitting on his bunk. Fully dressed. He hadn't been sleeping. Just sitting. Staring at nothing.
"Couldn't sleep either?" Samir asked.
"Sleep's been gone for a while." Karan gestured to the other bunk. "Sit. What's going on?"
Samir sat. Didn't know how to start. Just started.
"My sister. Nisha. She told me something today." He paused. "About Rohan. About what happened."
Karan went very still. "What about it?"
"It wasn't Advait's order. Not really." Samir's voice was shaking. "It was Nisha. She convinced him. Pushed him. Made him see the kid as a threat. Advait was going to let him in. Was going to cave. But Nisha... she made him follow through."
Karan stared at him. "You're saying Nisha killed that kid?"
"I'm saying she's as responsible as Advait. Maybe more." Samir couldn't look at him. "She told me. Broke down. Said she hated it. Said it was necessary. Said Advait was breaking and she had to be strong. Had to make the hard call."
"Fuck." Karan put his head in his hands. "Fuck."
"I thought you should know. Thought you deserved to know the truth."
"Why?" Karan looked up. "Why tell me this?"
"Because you blame Advait. And you should. He gave the order. He's responsible. But so is Nisha. And if you're going to hate someone, hate the right people. Hate both of them."
Karan was quiet for a long time. Processing. Thinking.
"Does this change anything?" he asked finally.
"I don't know. Does it?"
"I hated Advait because I thought he was a monster. A killer. Someone who saw a child as a threat and eliminated it." Karan stood. Paced. "But if Nisha convinced him. If she pushed him. Then he's not a monster. He's just weak. A follower. Someone who let himself be manipulated."
"Does that make it better?"
"No. It makes it worse." Karan stopped pacing. "Because at least monsters are consistent. You know what they'll do. But someone weak? Someone who follows? They could do anything. Depending on who's whispering in their ear."
"So what do you do?"
Karan thought about it. "I try to forgive him. Maybe. I don't know if I can. But I try."
"And Nisha?"
"I don't know." Karan's jaw tightened. "She's your sister. I won't... I won't do anything to her. But I can't forgive her. Not yet. Maybe not ever."
"She's broken. Like all of us. Trying to survive. Making terrible choices."
"So was Rohan. Trying to survive. And look what happened to him."
Samir didn't have an answer for that.
"Thank you," Karan said. "For telling me. I know it wasn't easy."
"If you're going to be angry at someone, be angry at me. Not Advait. Not Nisha. Me. I brought this information. I'm the one hurting you with it."
"Why would I be angry at you?"
"Because I could've kept quiet. Let you blame Advait. Let you never know."
"No." Karan put a hand on his shoulder. "You did the right thing. Truth matters. Even when it hurts. Especially when it hurts."
He walked to the door. Opened it. Looked back.
"I'll try to forgive Advait. I'll apologize to him in the morning. Tell him I understand. That it wasn't all his fault." He paused. "But I can't do the same for Nisha. Not yet."
"That's fair."
"Now go. Get some sleep. Or try to."
"You too."
"Yeah. Sure."
Karan closed the door.
Samir walked back to his bunk. Feeling lighter. And heavier. Both at once.
He'd told the truth. That was good. Right.
But now Karan knew. And knowledge was a burden.
One more weight. One more secret. One more thing to carry.
THE HOUSE - NIGHT
Keshav sat in his corner. Still staring. Still holding back tears.
Meera watched him. Had been watching him for an hour now. Seeing him break. Seeing him process.
She stood. Walked over. Sat down beside him.
"Talk to me," she said quietly.
"About what?"
"About whatever's eating you."
"Everything's eating me." Keshav's voice cracked. "I watched people die today. I heard them screaming. I smelled them burning. And I couldn't do anything. Couldn't save them. Couldn't even try."
"You would've died too."
"Maybe. But at least I would've tried. At least I would've done something instead of just... watching."
"Watching doesn't make you a coward."
"Doesn't make me brave either."
Meera was quiet. Then: "I ran too. Today. When Deepa went down. When the infected swarmed. I ran. Didn't try to save her. Just ran."
"That's different—"
"It's not. We both made the same choice. Survive or die trying. We chose survive." She looked at him. "That's not cowardice. That's instinct. That's what we're wired to do."
"Then why does it feel so wrong?"
"Because we're still human. Humans feel guilt. Feel shame. Feel like we should've done more." She paused. "But feeling guilty doesn't change what happened. Doesn't bring them back. Just means we're still capable of caring."
Keshav finally looked at her. His eyes were red. Wet. "I can't stop seeing it. Deepa's face. The way it just... came off. The way she screamed."
"I know. I see it too. Will probably see it forever."
"How do you deal with it?"
"I don't. Not really. I just... keep moving. Keep surviving. Hope that eventually it hurts less." She put a hand on his arm. "That's all we can do. Keep going. For them. For us. For whatever's left."
Keshav nodded slowly. "Thank you. For talking. For listening. For... for being here."
"We're a team now. Or what's left of one. We stick together."
"Yeah. We do."
They sat in comfortable silence for a few minutes.
Then Meera's eyes started closing. Heavy. Exhausted. The adrenaline finally wearing off completely.
"You should sleep," Keshav said. "You've been up all day. Running. Fighting. You need rest."
"So do you."
"I can't. Not yet. Every time I close my eyes, I see them. Hear them. I need... I need more time. To process. To breathe."
"You sure?"
"Yeah. I'll keep watch. Make sure nothing gets in. You sleep."
Meera hesitated. "Wake me in an hour. We'll switch."
"I will."
Meera stood. Stretched. "Okay. One hour. Then you wake me."
She walked toward the other bedroom. The one Reyan wasn't using. Stopped at the door. Looked back.
"Thank you," she said. "For taking the watch. For letting me rest."
"We're a team," Keshav said. "That's what we do."
She smiled slightly. Went inside. Closed the door.
Keshav sat there. Listening to her footsteps. Hearing the bed creak as she lay down.
He waited. Counting. Making sure she was actually sleeping.
After ten minutes, he stood. Walked to the door. Put his hand on the handle.
Stopped.
What was he doing? What was he thinking?
He stood there. Hand on the handle. Thinking about Deepa. About Manish. About everyone who'd died.
Thinking about how he'd watched. How he'd done nothing. How he was still alive when they weren't.
Survivors guilt. That's what this was. He knew it. Recognized it.
But knowing didn't make it hurt less.
His hand tightened on the handle.
He could leave. Right now. Open the door. Walk out. End this. Join the others.
Or he could stay. Keep surviving. Keep carrying the weight.
He stood there. Torn. For almost a minute.
Then he made his choice.
"Screw them," he muttered.
He opened the door.
Two infected stood right there. Close. Maybe five meters away. Staring at the house.
Keshav raised his rifle. Fired.
The first one dropped. Headshot. Clean.
The second one he shot twice. Chest and head. It fell.
And he ran away.