At the doorway leading to the apartment, the soldier named Chen raised his hand sharply, his body going still as his instincts kicked in. "Wait," he whispered, his voice low and controlled. "Quiet. I hear something."
The three of them froze in place.
The stairwell was dim, the hallway ahead darker still, stretching forward in a narrow line of shadow and broken light. For a moment, there was nothing but the distant chaos outside—the faint echo of gunfire, something collapsing far away, a scream carried faintly through the air.
Then the strange sound came again, high-pitched and rapid.
"Chi—chi—chi—!"
Chen's eyes narrowed, rifle lifting slightly as he focused on the far end of the hallway. The sound grew louder, closer, accompanied now by frantic movement—small, fast, erratic.
Something darted into view.
Chen flinched slightly, finger tightening near the trigger—
Then paused.
"…What?"
A tiny shape burst from the left far corner of the hallway and sprinted straight toward them, squeaking in panic as it ran. A small striped body, soft fur, a flicking tail—
A chipmunk.
Chen blinked, momentarily thrown off.
"…A chipmunk?" he muttered, confused. "What the hell is that doing here?"
Behind him, Yu-hao leaned slightly to look past his shoulder. "…Huh? Seriously?"
Even Mei, trembling behind them, stared in confusion as the tiny creature ran straight past Chen's boots, its little claws skittering against the hard floor.
For a split second—
It almost felt normal.
Then everything shattered.
A blur of motion exploded from the same corner the chipmunk had come from.
A small figure slammed violently into the opposite wall with a sickening thud, leaving a smear of blood before dropping low, scrambling on all fours with unnatural speed.
The girl.
The infected child.
Her limbs twisted as she moved, her body jerking forward with terrifying force as she lunged after the fleeing chipmunk, her mouth open, a broken, hungry sound tearing from her throat.
Chen's expression snapped from confusion to alarm.
"Oh shit—!"
The rifle came up instantly.
He fired.
Gunfire thundered through the narrow hallway, the sound deafening in the enclosed space. Bullets tore into the girl's body, striking her shoulder, her side, sending bursts of blood against the walls—but she didn't stop.
She didn't even slow.
Her body jerked with each impact, twitching violently, yet she kept coming, her movements erratic and fast, bouncing off walls, scrambling forward like something that had forgotten how to move properly but refused to stop trying.
"The head, shoot her in the head!" Yu-hao shouted from behind. "She's a zombie—shoot the head!"
But it was already too late.
The girl lunged.
She hit Chen harder than he expected—far harder.
The impact knocked him off balance, his back slamming against the floor as the rifle was forced between them. The infected girl landed on top of him, her hands clawing wildly, her teeth snapping down onto the metal of the weapon, biting, grinding, trying to reach him.
"Get off—!"
Chen struggled, bracing the rifle between them as her fingers scratched at his face, her nails dragging across his skin, causing a sharp sting on his cheek.
It was just a small tear, but he felt it.
"Ah—!"
He reacted instantly, twisting his body and slamming the rifle sideways with all his strength. The metal stock smashed into her face, knocking her off just enough to create space, and he followed it with a desperate kick that sent her flying backward.
She crashed against the wall.
But she didn't stay down.
Chen lay on his back, breath ragged, hands already bringing the rifle back up as she pushed herself upright again, her body twitching, head snapping toward him with that same hollow hunger.
He fired, a burst of three precise shots.
The bullets struck her head, snapping it back, tearing through flesh and bone—but even then, she staggered forward, letting out a broken, animalistic sound as if her body refused to accept what had happened.
"Stay down—!"
He fired again.
More rounds.
This time, the damage was enough.
Her head snapped violently to the side, something dark and wet spraying out, and her body finally gave way, collapsing forward—
Right onto him.
Her weight hit his stomach with a dull impact, blood soaking into his clothes as what remained of her head rested against him.
Chen froze for half a second.
Then—
"…Shit."
He shoved her off, pushing the body away with a grimace, scrambling back as he tried to steady his breathing.
"I—" he exhaled sharply. "I did it…"
Behind him, Yu-hao let out a breath he didn't realize he was holding. "Yeah… yeah, you did—"
Mei stood frozen, shaking, but there was something in her expression now, like a hint of relief.
For a moment, it felt like they had survived.
Chen slowly pushed himself up, rising to his feet, turning back toward them as he tried to regain control of the situation.
Then Yu-hao's expression changed.
His eyes widened.
"Your—"
He pointed.
"…Your cheek!"
Chen frowned slightly. "…What?"
He lifted a hand, touching his face where it stung. He felt it there, the small scratch, barely anything.
Pulling away his hand, he noticed his fingers came away with blood.
Then, a twitch followed, and his body jerked.
Chen's eyes widened.
"…No."
Something itched, as if there was something beneath his skin, moving towards his eyes.
"No… no, no—"
His breathing quickened as realization hit him all at once, cold and absolute.
Yu-hao stepped back instinctively. "Chen—what do we do?"
Chen looked at him.
Then at Mei.
And in that moment, something in his expression changed—not fear exactly or panic, but clarity.
"Take care of her," he said quietly.
Then he dropped to his knees.
The rifle shifted in his hands, the butt pressed against the ground, the barrel rising toward his mouth in one smooth, practiced motion.
Yu-hao's eyes widened. "What are you doing?!"
"It's too late," Chen said, his voice steady despite the tremor in his body. "I have to—"
His finger tightened, but before he could pull the trigger his body convulsed.
The rifle slipped from his hands, clattering to the ground as his muscles seized violently. He collapsed forward, hitting the floor hard as his body began to twitch uncontrollably.
"Chen—!"
Yu-hao backed away, dragging Mei with him as she screamed, her voice breaking in panic.
Chen's body spasmed for several seconds, limbs jerking, breath catching, then it stopped.
For a moment there was stillness, and then, he rose again, slowly.
Unnaturally.
His head lifted first, then his body followed, movements stiff, wrong. His eyes opened, no longer human—dark, bloodshot, veins spreading beneath the skin like something crawling outward.
Yu-hao's voice shook. "…Oh shit…"
Chen—no longer Chen—tilted his head slightly.
Then he lunged forward fast.
Yu-hao turned, instinct taking over as he tried to run toward the stairs—but he didn't make it far. The infected soldier slammed into him, both of them crashing hard against the steps.
"Get off—!"
Yu-hao grabbed at his head, trying to push him back, struggling as the infected clawed at him, teeth snapping forward, trying to bite through the thick fabric of his jacket.
"Help me!" he shouted. "Do something!"
Mei stood frozen, pressed against the wall, her mind blank with terror. "I—I don't know what to do—!"
Yu-hao screamed as the infected soldier bit down, the sound of fabric tearing filling the stairwell as panic consumed everything.
And then, Mei stopped. She felt it then, she was going to die.
Slowly, her legs gave out beneath her, and she sank to her knees, her hands trembling as she stared at the scene in front of her, unable to move, unable to think.
But just then her ears caught a small sound of something being dragged across the floor, towards her.
She looked down.
There, on the floor, something small struggled forward, pulling at the strap of the fallen rifle with tiny paws, inch by inch dragging it toward her.
A chipmunk.
She blinked, confusion breaking through her fear.
"…Mister Chipmunk?"