Lena crouched behind a fallen shelf, her chest heaving as she clutched a crowbar slick with blood. All around her, the convenience store echoed with the low, growling sounds of the undead. She was weak - her stomach twisted in painful hunger, her arms trembling from exhaustion - but her mind stayed clear: Find food. Find water. Survive.
And then, from the broken aisles, she heard it - a voice.
Small. Shaky. Human.
"Over here!"
Lena turned swiftly, crowbar raised, but instead of another monster, she saw a group of frightened survivors - a teenage girl clutching a baseball bat, a middle-aged man with a bleeding arm, two college students armed with sticks, and a small boy no older than ten. They were huddled behind an overturned freezer, their faces pale, wide-eyed with terror.
Without thinking, Lena rushed to them.
"Are you bitten?" she asked sharply.
They shook their heads. The man, whose name was David, showed his wounded arm - a deep cut from broken glass, not a bite. She nodded, making a quick decision.
"We need to get out of here. Together."
It wasn't easy. Zombies blocked the front entrance, and the back was jammed by debris. Working silently, Lena and her new companions smashed a side window, taking turns pushing each other through. Blood pounded in Lena's ears as she helped the little boy - Tommy - squeeze out, then scrambled after him, landing hard on the broken asphalt.
With precious bottles of water and some cans of food stuffed into backpacks, they ran through the ruined streets like hunted animals, dodging wreckage and the lurking dead.
Their destination was clear: the lab.
---
Back at the Lab
The laboratory felt different now - abandoned, eerie.
Cracks ran along the once-sterile walls. Blood stains marred the polished floors. But it was safe - for now.
As they barricaded the entrances with tables and broken furniture, the group sat together, finally allowing themselves to breathe. Lena stared at the empty hallways, haunted by memories of Ethan. Was he still somewhere? Was he still Ethan?
The survivors began whispering among themselves. David spoke up:
"There are camps set up... the army's evacuating the uninfected. If we reach them, we might survive this."
The others agreed eagerly. Lena wanted to say yes - she wanted safety too - but her heart screamed something else:
Ethan. I can't leave without him.
"Maybe we should wait," Lena said finally, her voice steady.
"Write 'SOS' on the roof. Let the army come to us."
David hesitated but agreed.
And so they did - painting giant, desperate letters across the lab's rooftop.
S O S
They lit fires at night.
They waved scraps of cloth at distant helicopters.
They hoped.
---
Days passed.
Each sunrise brought more silence.
Each sunset brought more fear.
Sometimes they thought they heard engines, saw distant movement - but the helicopters passed them by, saving others.
The little boy cried at night, whimpering for his mother.
The teenage girl grew pale and hollow-eyed.
Food dwindled.
Water ran low.
Lena sat at Ethan's old desk, her hand clutched around his lab ID.
Did he survive?
Was he looking for her too?
She stared out the window, feeling her hope slipping like sand through trembling fingers.
"We can't stay," David said one morning, his voice hard. "The army isn't coming. We have to make it to the camp ourselves."
Lena nodded, swallowing the lump in her throat. She didn't want to give up... but now, it wasn't just her life in danger. It was everyone's.
They packed their remaining supplies into battered backpacks.
They armed themselves with whatever they could - pipes, knives, a battered old gun with only two bullets.
Before leaving, Lena stood once more on the roof, gazing out over the ruined city.
"Hold on, Ethan," she whispered into the cold wind.
"I'm coming."