As the man's pleas grew more insistent, Lily's small but clear voice cut through the tension. "Ethan, we should help. He looks hurt," she said, her young face a portrait of concern.

Ethan hesitated, his instincts warring with the innocent compassion in Lily's words. The darkness of the night and the uncertainty of their situation weighed heavily on his decision. Yet, the earnestness in Lily's eyes nudged at his conscience. Slowly, he eased his foot onto the brake, bringing the car to a cautious stop a safe distance away from the stranger.

Rolling down the window, Ethan kept a firm grip on the steering wheel, ready to drive away at a moment's notice. He called out, his voice cautious yet firm, "What happened to you?"

The man, panting and clutching his injured leg, slowly edged closer to the car. His eyes darted nervously around, as if afraid of being overheard. "I... I was attacked, but I managed to get away," he stammered, his voice strained with pain and fear.

Ethan's suspicion deepened as he noticed the man's evasive eyes. "What attacked you?" he pressed, his tone firm. It was important to determine if the threat was human or... something else.

The man hesitated, his eyes flickering with an unreadable emotion. "It was just some people, okay? We got into a disagreement, that's all," he said quickly, his words coming out in a rush.

Ethan wasn't convinced. The man's behavior stirred a nagging doubt in Ethan's mind.

"Show me the wound," Ethan demanded, his voice leaving no room for argument. "Roll up your pant leg."

The man's face contorted with a mix of fear and defiance. "No, I can't do that," he said, his voice rising in panic.

"Why not?" Ethan challenged, his grip tightening on the steering wheel. "If you don't show us the wound, we can't help you. We need to know what we're dealing with here."

The man's desperation became palpable. His voice grew louder, and edged with a frantic tone. "Please, you have to help me! I'm telling you, it's just a regular injury. I just need some help, that's all!"

Ethan's resolve hardened. The risk of bringing a potentially infected person into the car, especially with Lily present, was too much. They had only survived so far by being cautious.

"Listen," Ethan said, his voice steady, "we want to help, but we need to be sure for our safety. If you can't show us the injury, we can't take the risk."

The tension in the air escalated as the man's frustration boiled over into anger. His voice grew louder, the words laced with desperation and rage. "You can't just leave me here! Help me!"

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His outburst shattered the quiet of the night, the sound carrying far into the dense forest. In the eerie silence that followed, a new, more ominous sound began to emerge — the unmistakable, guttural groans of the undead.

Ethan's eyes widened in alarm as he scanned the dark surroundings. The faint, shuffling movements of zombies started to materialize from the shadows, drawn by the noise. The situation had rapidly turned to immediate danger.

As the man's panic escalated upon seeing the approaching zombies, he lunged toward the car, his hands desperately clawing at the door handle. "Let me in! They're coming!" he screamed, his voice filled with terror.

Ethan, with a surge of adrenaline, quickly checked to make sure the doors were locked, and shouted through the closed window, "We can't help you now! Go!" His voice was firm, laced with the urgency of the moment. Ethan's heart pounded in his chest as he gripped the steering wheel tighter, ready to drive away at any second.

Milana, sitting beside Ethan, echoed his urgency. "Ethan, we need to leave, now!" she shouted, her eyes fixed on the slowly encroaching zombies.

Ethan didn't need any further prompting. He slammed his foot on the accelerator, the car's engine roaring to life. The vehicle jerked forward, the tires screeching against the gravel as Ethan navigated away from the man and the approaching undead.

In the rearview mirror, Ethan could see the man being overwhelmed by the first of the zombies, his screams echoing after them as they drove away.

Lily, huddled in the backseat, watched the scene unfold with wide, terrified eyes. As Ethan drove away, putting distance between themselves and the man and the zombies, the echoes of the man's desperate screams gradually faded into the night's eerie silence. The car's interior was filled with a heavy stillness, each of them processing what just happened in their own way.

Ethan's hands trembled slightly on the steering wheel, the adrenaline slowly ebbing away. Lily, still huddled in the backseat, broke the silence with a question that was heavy with confusion. "Ethan, why didn't we help that man?" Her voice was small, tinged with a mixture of fear and sadness.

Ethan took a deep breath, as her question pressed down on him. He glanced at Milana, seeking a momentary respite of support before addressing Lily. His eyes returned to the rearview mirror, meeting Lily's gaze. "Lily," he began, his voice gentle, yet firm "we wanted to help him, we really did. But right now, we have to be careful. We have to make sure we're safe first, and trying to help him could have put us all in danger."

Milana chimed in, her tone soothing yet firm. "It's hard, Lily, but we have to think about our safety too. The man, he wouldn't show us his wound. We had to be sure he wasn't bitten by one of those... things. It's a tough choice, but we have to protect ourselves and each other."

Lily's brow furrowed, a look of contemplation on her young face. "But he looked so scared, and he was hurt," she said, her voice quivering slightly.

Ethan nodded, acknowledging her empathy. "He was scared, and that's why it was a hard decision. But if he had been bitten, he could have turned into one of them, and that would have been dangerous for us. We must be careful, especially when we don't know the whole story."

The car continued its journey through the dark, winding forest road, the only sound being the soft hum of the engine and the occasional rustle of leaves outside. Lily seemed to ponder Ethan and Milana's words, as she tried to untangle the complexity of their situation.

Ethan kept his eyes focused on the road ahead, but his mind was on Lily, understanding how difficult it must be for a child to grasp the harsh realities of what just happened. He wished he could shield her from these brutal truths, but right now, innocence was a luxury they could no longer afford.