Mara watched the scene from behind the rubble. The hundred-meter stretch of 58th Street felt like a mile of open ocean. The Infected—as Jonas had labeled them, refusing to call them 'zombies' until the last moment—were shuffling with a unified, grim purpose toward the heavy steel doors of the Red Queen Lab. The source of the Summons pulsed from within, guiding them like a twisted, biological beacon.
Stealth was impossible; the sheer number of bodies ensured that. Speed was crucial, but noise was fatal.
Mara pulled out the satellite phone from her backpack. It wasn't just a communication device; Jonas had repurposed it. She quickly entered the code sequence he'd taught her—a series of rapid taps that activated the phone's seldom-used, high-frequency signal jammer.
It wouldn't stop the Summons, but it might briefly disrupt the local neural feedback loop, effectively confusing the closest Infected for a few seconds.
"Hold your breath," she muttered.
She took a deep, shaky breath, her hand tightening around the .45. She was going to use it only if absolutely necessary.
Mara activated the jammer.
The effect was instantaneous and horrific. The twenty-odd Infected closest to her did not drop; instead, their rhythmic shuffling broke into a frenzy. Their heads snapped from the lab entrance to look wildly around, their bodies jerking as if suffering violent spasms. It was a momentary lapse in focus, a glitch in the collective consciousness.
This was her window.
Mara bolted.
She ran low, sprinting across the street. The orange glow from the distant fire painted her silhouette, making her a clear target against the gray asphalt.
The first two Infected she passed—a woman in a tattered nurse uniform and a massive security guard—were still twitching, their moans turning into confused, high-pitched shrieks. Mara shoved the guard aside, his heavy, decomposing body staggering off balance.
Then, the jammer's effect wore off, likely lasting less than four seconds. The horde realized the presence of fresh, warm meat.
A wave of movement rippled through the mass. They turned, not quickly, but relentlessly, creating a wall of decaying flesh.
Mara knew she couldn't outrun them all. She changed her direction, aiming not for the front door, but for a narrow service entrance tucked between two dumpsters.
A hand—long, skeletal, and wet—grazed the side of her backpack. The Infected, desperate to make contact, lunged. Mara didn't break stride. She pivoted, using her momentum to swing her backpack like a weapon, slamming the heavy satellite phone inside against the nearest face. The creature fell backward with a wet thud.
She reached the service entrance. The metal door was padlocked.
"Jonas!" she hissed in frustration. He hadn't mentioned a padlock.
The horde was now fifteen feet away, their collective groan rising to an ear-splitting volume. Their shuffling pace had increased to a stumbling run.
Mara slammed her body against the door, searching desperately for a weakness. No handle, no visible hinges.
She saw the padlock. It was thick, military-grade steel. She couldn't shoot it—it would require too many shots, and the noise would summon the entire district.
Then, her eyes fell upon the Elara necklace around her neck. The large, old diamond wasn't just decorative; it was a relic from the age of Aether research.
Mara gripped the cold, hard diamond. With one final, desperate burst of strength, she lodged the tip of the diamond into the padlock's keyhole and twisted.
There was no physical click. Instead, the diamond hummed faintly, and the lock—the heavy steel lock—turned white-hot for a single, blinding millisecond before vaporizing into a puff of smoke and ionized metal.
Mara stared, stunned. The key, Jonas had called it.
The door was unlocked.
The lead zombie, an older man with a missing jaw, was right on her heels, its foul breath hot on her neck.
Mara kicked the door open and dove inside the darkness of the Red Queen Laboratory. The last thing she heard before the heavy door slammed shut behind her was the maddening, frustrated thump of the horde hitting the steel.
She was inside. But the Summons was stronger here, and the darkness was absolute.