The sun was merciless, beating down over the broken streets as Lena and her small group pushed forward.
Nancy - barely sixteen - clutched a bat in both hands.
Messy, the college girl with wild brown curls, swung a lead pipe nervously at her side.
George, sturdy and steady, kept glancing back to make sure little Tommy stayed between them.
David led the group, walking in front, his battered jacket hanging loose over his too-thin frame.
Their footsteps crunched over broken glass and debris.
Their eyes stayed sharp, scanning every alley, every shadow.
And then came the growl.
Low, guttural.
A chorus of the dead.
Zombies - dozens - spilled from side streets and shattered stores, drawn by the sound of their movement.
"Run!" David barked, pulling his crowbar free.
But there was no time to flee.
The dead were too close.
---
It was chaos.
Nancy swung her bat with a scream, cracking open the skull of the first zombie that lunged at her.
George tackled another creature, wrestling it down with sheer brute strength.
Messy darted between them, fast and frantic, smashing at limbs that reached for her.
Lena gritted her teeth and fought too - driving her crowbar into soft, rotten flesh, shoving zombies aside to keep them away from Tommy.
Tommy, bless him, stayed crouched low behind a broken mailbox, too scared to move but wise enough to stay hidden.
For a moment, Lena thought they might win.
They fought like cornered wolves - savage, desperate, refusing to fall.
But then -
David screamed.
---
Lena turned in time to see him -
Two zombies had grabbed David's arms. A third clamped rotten teeth into his shoulder.
Blood gushed out in a sickening spray.
"No!" Lena cried, trying to reach him - but David shoved her back, even as his knees buckled.
"Go!" he roared. "Get Tommy out! Don't waste it!"
His face twisted not in fear - but in grim acceptance.
Memories crashed over Lena -
The night in the lab, sitting around a tiny fire built from broken chairs.
David chuckling softly as he showed them a crumpled photo - a young woman in a graduation cap.
"That's my baby girl," he had said, pride glowing in his voice. "Getting married next month. I was gonna walk her down the aisle. Guess... guess I'll just watch from a better seat now."
He'd told George and Messy stories of his own college days -
Of sneaking into dorm kitchens at midnight.
Of falling asleep in dusty libraries.
Of meeting his wife in the rain outside a concert hall.
"Life's short, kids," he had said, smiling sadly. "Love while you can. Fight if you have to. And never - never waste a chance to live."
Now - here he was -
Fighting for their chance.
"David!" Messy screamed.
George grabbed her, dragging her away as she struggled.
Lena forced her legs to move, snatching up Tommy and running - tears blinding her vision.
Behind them, David swung his crowbar in a wide arc, taking down zombie after zombie even as his body grew weaker, blood staining the cracked concrete.
---
The group stumbled into a ruined subway entrance, hearts pounding, lungs burning.
They collapsed behind a pile of wreckage, gasping.
Nancy sobbed quietly, clutching Tommy.
Messy buried her face in George's shoulder, shaking.
Lena sat apart, her hands trembling. She still saw David's face every time she blinked - not afraid, not angry.
Just... proud.
She pressed her forehead against her knees and cried silently.
They had lost so much.
And yet, they had to keep going. For David. For themselves. For the small hope that somewhere, somehow, salvation still waited.
"We'll find Ethan," Lena whispered hoarsely.
"We'll find a way out. I promise."
The group rose slowly, grief weighing heavy on their shoulders - but determination burning in their hearts.
They would survive.
They would fight.
They would honor the man who gave his life for them.