Not good.

The grass on my body felt ticklish, but I didn't dare move. Thanks to my luggage, I was already standing out like a sore thumb; there was no need for more attention.

A good distance away, silhouettes moved eerily under the empty sky. Most roamed aimlessly, but sometimes one or two passed by like a hurricane, desperately running on all fours somewhere. The saving grace was that, even without moonlight, I could still see the hills around me with relative clarity.

In any case, 03 was not too far away. I passed the last checkpoint a while ago and had been making good time, but the night came so... suddenly. The sky began darkening incredibly fast out of nowhere, leaving me here, in the open, completely exposed. Great.

Up ahead, four zombies were blocking my way forward, all slowly walking around. Not that many, but not too few either — and that was without considering the possibility that I'd missed some. Circling them was probably the better option, but I was almost certain to get lost, especially at this time. Going back was possible, but then I risked spending a huge portion of the night outside, which was not viable. The closest tree was kilometers away. Plus, there was no guarantee there would be fewer of them that way—the horde I'd seen had been closer to 01 than to 03 that time.

Just as that thought crossed my mind, spots in the sky blinked in a bluish-orange hue multiple times. Lights again. They merged in the sky, devouring each other in an unstable balance, scattering all over. The phenomenon was getting more and more frequent, it seemed, and this time, they didn't just appear in one singular direction. The warmth of the orange contrasted with the iciness of the blue, turning the black void into a vivid starry night.

Perfect timing.

All of the zombies stared at the sky at the same time, heads turning instantly in a creepy display of synchronization. Some stood frozen, stuck in place, while some ran in 01's direction.

It's now or never. Hoisting the girl up despite the protest of my burning arms, I prepared to go. I was betting on their hyper-fixation working in our favor. If luck were on our side, we would get to 03 in one piece.

Of the four creatures, two remained, completely entranced by the lights, showing no signs of being aware of our existence—something I was extremely thankful for. On a side note, the flashes had brightened the way considerably, allowing me to see what probably was 03's outline on the horizon. That was good news; we were much closer than I'd thought.

The slight slope was a bit tricky to descend while holding someone, but nothing unmanageable. Time was of the essence here; I had no clue how long this whole thing would last. Hopefully, it would be enough to get us through all the way. Judging by the distance, and if everything went well, it would probably take a quarter of an hour to get there, give or take.

I kept walking forward, never taking my eyes off the statuesque-like zombies nearby. They stood absolutely still—eerily still — faces turned to the sky while blots of colors exploded above them. Somehow, it made the entire thing feel even more surreal. Maybe I'd gotten so used to their bloodthirstiness that seeing them like this made me feel a sense of wrongness.

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All things considered, the way there turned out to be safe enough. At the halfway mark, I glimpsed some of them running somewhere, but nothing other than that. It was good to know their obsession applied to something else other than humans.

Finally, after passing three stun-locked zombies, 03 stood before me, one hundred meters away.

As ominous as ever.

Let's see if this was the right choice. This place could very well be brimming with creatures.

I approached the entrance, girl in my arms. Immediately, the large wooden doors caught my attention; they were slightly ajar. Shit. I couldn't remember if I had closed the doors after leaving. Was this my doing or someone else's?

Not off to a great start.

Peering inside and seeing nothing, my left hand brushed the door, and I pushed.

At that exact moment, the flashes in the sky ceased, darkening the surroundings.

And the door creaked.

Loudly.

Of course.

I looked back. It was darker without the lights, but two pairs of glowing red eyes were fixed in my direction.

Crap

Losing all decorum and pushing the doors open, I ran inside frantically. Leaving the corridor and arriving at the open space, I looked left and right, deciding where to go.

"Da," the girl pointed to the left, the room with the metal door. "Trillium"

Even before she finished, I was already running to it. Not that what she said made much sense to me, but we weren't spoiled for choices here.

The two zombies chasing us weren't quiet, so we could more or less tell that they were closing in. Kicking the door open and hurrying inside, I saw them with the corner of my eye, running towards us like rabid dogs.

Almost throwing the girl down, I closed the door and put my entire weight on it. This definitely wouldn't be enough, I thought. Fuck. This might be it. The zombies had arrived on the other side of the entrance, so I held my breath as best as possible. The back of my neck was tingling, my head pounding.

A loud roar resounded outside, on the other side of the door, making me flinch. It felt like the creature was screaming directly in my ear. Another one followed. Why weren't they fighting like before? I pleaded in my own head.

Then another noise: the sound of something approaching. Damn it, a third one.

These zombies had been in a group of three. I thought only two got alerted, but apparently, they are a troupe. Some more unpleasant roars echoed, but no matter how loud things got, they did not fight one another.

The girl put a finger on her lips, signaling silence, and I kept my back on the door, silently praying. The things didn't seem to be going away, and I could hear some loud screeching and banging here and there, but at least they weren't focused completely on the door.

Time passed. How much, I had no clue, but eventually, nothing could be heard from the outside. I slid down the door and sat on the ground, only now noticing how bad my legs hurt. To my left was the sack of supplies—a miracle I hadn't dropped it in the chaos.

The girl was sitting on the ground too, back to a wall, eyes closed. Since when had she been awake? I decided to inquire later, not wanting to risk making any noise now.

I also closed my eyes, resting a bit but not dropping my guard. Frankly, I had no idea how we were alive. Why were the lights appearing more frequently, and why did they take longer to go out? Why weren’t the zombies fighting each other anymore? And why were we still alive? They surely could have tried to enter; I'd seen their strength.

Maybe she'd know something about it?