Meanwhile, back at the survivors' base—the bank vault.
Two days had passed since the expedition team left, and there had been no word from them.
Nor were there any signs of their return.
Unable to shake her growing unease, Andy climbed onto the rooftop once again.
The survivors had established a lookout system. Every few days, someone would climb to the roof of the bank and survey the surrounding area to determine whether it was still safe to remain there. For this, they used a memorial telescope that had been abandoned in the bank after the apocalypse.
Andy aimed the telescope toward the direction the expedition had departed, then slowly swept a few degrees to either side just in case.
Nothing.
No movement.
No familiar faces.
Only empty streets.
A heavy sigh escaped her lips.
She lowered the telescope and quietly made her way back down.
Reaching the vault entrance, she rang the bell.
A few moments later, the reinforced door creaked open just enough for her to slip inside before Josh immediately sealed it shut again.
As the bearer of bad news, Andy looked around at the anxious faces waiting for her.
"It's... the same as before."
She lowered her eyes.
"There was no sign of them."
The room immediately grew quieter.
Disappointment settled over every survivor.
Refusing to surrender to despair, Andy stepped forward.
"I can go look for them."
Everyone turned toward in bewilderment her.
"Maybe they're just stranded somewhere and need a little help getting back."
No one responded.
Even Andy realized how unrealistic her suggestion sounded.
Still...
She refused to give up.
She looked directly at the chairman.
"Please... let me go."
The chairman answered without hesitation.
"What purpose would that serve?"
His voice remained calm and composed.
"If they haven't returned after two days, then they are most likely dead."
"As you should already know."
Andy lowered her head.
Her hands tightened around the fabric of her trousers.
The chairman continued.
"We cannot waste the living searching for the dead."
He paused before addressing everyone gathered inside the vault.
"More importantly..."
"We have no food remaining."
"If things continue like this, starvation will claim us long before the monsters do."
His stern gaze swept across the room.
"We need to assemble a new expedition team."
Immediately, everyone avoided eye contact.
Heads lowered.
Eyes drifted elsewhere.
Each person silently prayed they wouldn't be chosen.
"Any volunteers?"
Silence.
No one spoke.
"Very well."
The chairman folded his hands behind his back.
"Then I shall choose."
"I'll go."
Every head snapped toward Andy.
The chairman studied her for a moment.
"Are you certain?"
He glanced down at her injured leg.
"With your leg in its condition?"
"Yes."
Her answer came without hesitation.
"We don't have many people left."
"We're in a difficult position."
"So I'll go."
The others stared at her in disbelief.
Had she remained silent, she likely would never have been selected.
The chairman looked around once more, giving everyone another opportunity to volunteer.
Again...
No one did.
"Very well."
He nodded.
"Josh."
"Tim."
"You'll accompany her."
The two boys' expressions immediately sank.
Neither protested.
After all...
It was the logical choice.
"You two are among the youngest here and have the most experience going on expeditions."
Finally, the chairman searched for one last member.
His eyes moved past Sonia, the mother cradling her baby...
Then settled on a middle-aged man standing near the back.
"You."
He raised a finger.
"Edward."
Sonia quietly let out a breath of relief.
Edward, however, immediately shot to his feet.
"No."
He frantically shook his head.
"No, no, no. This can't be."
"I can't go."
"It's dangerous out there."
"I could die."
Andy frowned.
"Everyone here is risking their lives for you."
"And you don't want to do the same?"
"That is correct."
The chairman nodded.
"You cannot continue surviving at the expense of others."
"No!"
Edward desperately lifted his shirt.
"Look!"
He pointed at his abdomen, at a non-existent injury.
"I can barely stand up straight!"
"If you send me out there, I'll never make it back."
"It'll be a death sentence!"
Andy felt her temper flare.
"So you're perfectly fine with children dying for you?"
Edward remained silent.
"My leg is in worse condition than your stomach."
She stepped toward him.
"So get off your ass..."
"...and prepare to leave."
Edward glanced desperately toward the chairman, silently begging him to intervene.
The chairman ignored him.
Realising there was no escape...
Panic consumed him.
"No..."
He muttered.
"No... no... no..."
His voice grew louder.
His eyes darted wildly around the room, desperately searching for a way out.
"Hey."
Andy frowned.
"Keep your voice down."
"This isn't what we agreed to!"
His breathing became more frantic.
"This isn't—"
Then...
His eyes landed on Sonia.
She sat quietly in the corner, gently holding her baby.
An idea entered his mind.
A desperate...
Unreasonable one.
Without warning, he grabbed Sonia by the arm and yanked her to her feet.
She cried out in surprise as he shoved her toward Andy and the chairman.
"Take her instead!"
He continued pushing her despite her struggling to pull away.
"This useless woman and her baby keep eating our food without giving anything back!"
Amid the struggle—
The baby slipped from Sonia's arms.
Thud.
Its tiny head struck the concrete floor.
For a split second...
The entire room froze.
Then the baby began crying.
Panic spread across every face.
Sonia immediately scooped the child back into her arms.
She held the baby tightly against her chest.
Too tightly.
Almost suffocating it in her desperate attempt to silence its cries.
Slowly...
The baby's sobs faded.
Silence fell over the vault.
No one moved.
No one breathed.
Everyone waited.
Praying...
That nothing had heard them.
The silence lingered.
For a brief moment...
Nothing happened.
Edward let out a shaky breath.
Seeing that no monsters had appeared, he bent down to grab Sonia once more.
"I'm not finished—"
He stopped.
Something was wrong.
Everyone was staring behind him.
Their faces had gone pale.
Their eyes were filled with terror.
Confused, Edward slowly turned around.
Standing only a few feet behind him...
...was a Creeper.
Its mask-like face an eerie grin as it silently loomed over him.
Edward's eyes widened.
Before he could scream—
CRACK!
The Creeper seized his head and twisted it completely around.
His body collapsed lifelessly onto the floor.
Blood streamed from his eyes and mouth as his neck hung at an impossible angle.
No one moved.
No one dared to breathe.
The Creeper stood motionless for a moment before silently crawling across the ceiling.
Its eight arms clung effortlessly to the concrete as it searched the room.
The pressure was unbearable.
Every survivor pressed themselves against the floor, holding their breath as long as they could.
Then...
Tim broke.
"I-I can't..."
In a panic, he scrambled to his feet and sprinted toward the vault door.
His trembling hands fumbled desperately with the lock.
"Open!"
"Come on!"
"Open!"
The Creeper moved.
In an instant, it was behind him.
One hand wrapped around his throat.
The remaining arms slowly unfurled from beneath its body.
One...
Two...
Four...
Eight.
Each arm seized a different part of Tim's body.
His shoulders.
His arms.
His legs.
His torso.
Tim screamed.
The sound barely escaped his throat as the Creeper began pulling.
His muffled cries echoed throughout the vault.
Every desperate plea sent another wave of terror through those forced to listen.
Andy clenched her fists.
She couldn't watch any longer.
She rushed toward her military supply bag.
Throwing it open, she searched frantically until her fingers wrapped around her standard-issue handgun.
She checked the magazine.
Three rounds.
Anna's words echoed through her mind.
"These things can be killed, just aim for the head."
Trusting her...
Andy raised the pistol.
She steadied her breathing.
Then fired.
BANG!
The bullet tore through the air.
It struck the Creeper directly between the eyes.
The creature immediately collapsed to the floor.
Dead.
For a brief second...
Relief began spreading through the room.
Then another shadow appeared.
A second Creeper silently crawled into the vault.
It ignored the survivors.
Instead, it slowly approached Tim's broken body grievously injured and still clinging to life.
Andy immediately understood.
Another gunshot would only attract more of them, so she thought at least.
Without hesitation, she reached back into her bag.
This time, she pulled out a gas canister.
She yanked out the safety pin.
Then threw it into the centre of the room.
The canister burst open with a loud hiss.
Sleeping gas rapidly filled the vault.
One by one...
The survivors collapsed unconscious.
The second Creeper paused.
It tilted its head as it looked around.
No movement.
No panicking.
No prey.
After several long moments...
It quietly turned around.
Then disappeared into the darkness beyond the vault.
The survivors remained unconscious...
Until the following day.
Andy was the first to wake.
The moment her eyes opened, she remained perfectly still.
Her gaze swept cautiously around the vault.
There was no sign of the creature
Looks like the coast is clear.
She let out a slow sigh of relief.
Only then did she push herself upright.
Her eyes drifted toward Edward's body.
His twisted corpse lay exactly where it had fallen.
Her eyes narrowed in disgust, and she looked away.
Then she remembered.
Tim...
He had been attacked by the Creeper.
Panic rose inside her as she hurried over to where he lay.
"Tim..."
She gently turned him onto his back.
It was too late.
He was already dead.
His eyes were bloodshot, frozen wide open.
Dark bruises and swollen grip marks covered his body where the Creeper's many arms had seized him.
The internal injuries had been too severe.
Left untreated for hours...
He had bled to death.
Andy lowered her head.
Another child...
Another child died under my watch.
Just how much more useless can I become?
With trembling fingers, she gently closed Tim's eyes.
"Forgive me, Tim."
Her voice was barely above a whisper.
"I failed you."
"If I'd been just a little more capable..."
"...you'd still be here."
Her thoughts drifted to the others who had left two days earlier.
Anna...
Quin...
Drew...
Zane...
I hope the four of you can forgive me as well.
After sitting there for several moments, Andy forced herself back to her feet.
There wasn't time to grieve.
Not yet.
She walked through the vault, carefully waking each of the survivors one by one.
Confused and groggy, they slowly gathered together.
Edward's body.
Tim's body.
Both had been moved beside the vault entrance and covered with cloth.
No one had the strength to say anything.
Josh curled into a ball beside Tim's covered body.
His shoulders shook as he quietly sobbed for the friend he had lost.
A heavy silence settled over the vault.
Everyone had reached the same horrifying conclusion.
Even this place...
The bank vault they believed was safe...
Had been breached.
Nowhere was safe anymore.
After what felt like an eternity, Andy finally broke the silence.
"I'll go alone."