The three of them headed towards the small gap in the fence. Ella crawled through first, and Alex followed.
Jason took a pistol that he had found in the hallway earlier. He glances over his shoulder. Brian is still inside the yard, staggering and holding his wounded leg. He then looks at Ella, "Wait here, I'll get him."
Alex spoke, "That's too risky, you can't just — "
Jason cuts him off, "He is my friend and my girlfriend's brother, I can't just leave him."
Before they can argue, Jason darts back through the gap.
Brian struggles to stay upright as two guards close in. His father stands behind them, arms folded. Brian looked up and glared at him, the pain of his family's betrayal piercing his heart.
"Dad...why...why are you and Mom doing this? You injured so many innocent civilians, brainwashing them into thinking this place is perfect while using them as test subjects. How could you do this to me, to Ella,...to Alex?" he said in a pained voice.
His father looks at him and walks closer, "We did this to protect you and Ella. Once we find a cure, it will be as if all this never happened. And your friend Alex is the perfect specimen."
Brian spoke in disgust, "You're sick."
A sharp sound breaks the moment — a warning shout. One of the guards turns just as Jason emerges from the shadows, aiming his weapon, "Stay away from him!"
As the guards were about to shoot Jason, He pulled the trigger, and everyone watched as Dr. Johnson fell to the ground with a gunshot wound to his forehead.
Brian looks at his father on the floor in horror; he didn't know if he should be relieved or dismayed. The guard quickly checked on Dr. Johnson.
Jason rushes to Brian's side, throwing his arm over his shoulder, "Lean on me. We're leaving."
Brian was speechless. Jason managed to carry him to the opening in the fence where Ella and Jason were waiting. As soon as Ella saw Brian, she ran to him and sobbed, hugging him tightly. After a while, they were able to escape the guards and walked along a narrow path, the sirens disappearing into the distance.
2:00 am
After walking for about 25 minutes, they found an old shed among some trees, 3km away from Unit 8. Moonlight filters through broken boards. They're all breathing hard. Jason helps Brian to the dusty couch.
Ella drops her bag and takes out a small lighter and lights a furnace that was in the left corner of the room. She then hurries over, "Brian, you need to lie down."
"I'm fine," he says bluntly, wincing sharply as he tries to sit straighter.
"Yeah, you're fine… except for the part where you're bleeding," Jason kneels, pulling out a battered first-aid kit from his pack. He rips open a bandage roll, "This was in our dorm room, so I took it just in case."
"What if they follow us?" Ella asks anxiously.
Jason responded, "They won't risk going this far into the woods tonight. We've got a few hours." He starts cleaning the wound. Brian clenches his jaw.
Brian grunts, "You're terrible at this."
Jason scoffs, "And you're alive, so you're welcome."
The air is heavy. Jason is still wrapping Brian's leg while Ella paces near the door. Alex lingers in the corner, arms crossed, avoiding eye contact.
Alex then spoke quietly, "Brian… I didn't mean for any of this to happen. I'm sorry you got shot."
Brian glares at him, "Don't bother apologizing. You're the reason we are in this mess. They found you, and then they found us because of you. We had a plan. My parents never cared about us; they were just using us so that they could get to you. We were doing fine until you—"
Alex defended, "Until I what? Got caught? You think I wanted to be strapped to that table, being injected with that cursed serum? Do you even know how much pain I went through because you all decided to fall for that stupid letter? Look where it leads us."
Brian spoke back, "You're always putting yourself in danger for us, do you even care about how we feel?"
"You don't get it, do you? If they hadn't taken me, they would've taken you or Ella," Alex replied.
Brian then spoke bitterly, "Maybe. But at least then I wouldn't be stuck babysitting someone who keeps making the same mistakes."
Alex was about to snap when Jason stopped him before it escalated further, "Enough! This isn't helping."
Brian's glare stays locked on Alex a moment longer before he turns away. Alex mutters something under his breath and sits back down.
The wind rattles the loose shutters. Jason peeks and sees the overcast sky. Brian sleeps heavily on a makeshift cot, his face pale under the thin blanket. Jason then puts on his jacket and steps towards the door.
He turns to Ella, speaking quietly, "We're out of wood. If the fire dies, he's going to freeze. I'll go and get more wood before the rain starts."
Ella nods, glancing at her brother, "Be safe."
Jason wanders in the dark forest, his breath fogs the air, as he shivers from the cold atmosphere. Rain begins to pour on the hood of his jacket as he wrestles with several medium branches he found on the ground. After 15 minutes, Jason returns dripping wet, his arms full of firewood. He kneels by the stone furnace, stacking the damp logs. After several attempts, the wood finally crackles. He sets a small pot over the fire, opening two dented cans of mackerel, scraping the contents in. The smell of warming stew slowly fills the cramped room.
Ella moves from her post near the window and sits beside Alex, who's hunched over with his arms on his knees, staring into the fire. His shirt collar is pulled low enough to reveal faint, branching veins that had been a dark purple hours ago—now faded to a dull gray.
Ella spoke softly, "It's slowing down."
"What is?" Alex asks.
Ella responde, "The… whatever that stuff was. Zombifera-X. Your veins don't look as bad as before."
Alex glances down at his arm, flexing his fingers, "I do feel more conscious, but...still dull."
Ella was silent, then spoke, "I… wanted to say I'm sorry. For Brian. He's just—he's been carrying so much anger lately, and I think… he needed somewhere to put it. He was scared. We all were. But that doesn't make it right. You didn't ask to be strapped to that table… or for any of this to happen."
Alex exhales slowly, his shoulders easing just a little, "I just feel like it's my fault. I was the reason he was shot. I'm the reason we have nowhere to go now."
Ella holds his hand tightly, "Don't say that. None of this is your fault. None of us could have known that Unit 8 was going to be so cruel. We thought that the letter my parents left was genuine but...it was all a trap," she continues, "You've always been there for Brian… even when he didn't deserve it."
Alex smiles, "Thanks, Ella."
"You're part of this group. That's not changing. Not now. Not after everything."
Outside, the rain beats a steady rhythm on the roof. Jason stirs the pot and looks over his shoulder, "Stew's almost ready. Eat while it's hot."
Ella gives Alex's arm a light squeeze before moving to help Jason. Alex stays where he is, watching the flames like they might burn away the memory of that table. The storm rages on, but inside, the warmth between them grows just enough to make the night bearable.
3:30 am
The rain has turned into a soft drizzle, tapping lightly on the roof. The fire burns brighter now, casting steady warmth through the room. Jason has moved to the doorway, checking the weather while sipping from a tin cup.
Brian stirs on the cot, his eyes blinking open to the orange glow. His leg aches from the earlier wound, but the scent of warm stew draws him upright. Ella was currently asleep on a chair covered with a blanket. Alex was sitting close to the fire, bowl of stew in his hand. Alex looks a little less pale, his breathing steadier. Brian's jaw tightens. He looks away, rubbing his shoulder.
Jason notices he's awake, "You're up. About time. Here."
Jason hands him a steaming bowl. Brian accepts it, muttering a thanks. Brian then spoke, "How's the storm?"
"Easing up. We'll move out in the morning," Jason responded.
Brian nods, his eyes flickering again toward Ella and Alex. There's no anger in his stare this time—just a strange heaviness, like the weight of everything they'd been through settling in his chest. After a while, they went to sleep.