As we ran, the world became a blur of chaos and destruction. The monsters chasing us were relentless, their inhuman shrieks ringing in our ears. We dodged past debris and abandoned cars, trying to keep ahead of our pursuers.

Black Star took the lead, his agility and speed allowing him to keep ahead of the pack. Jacob and I followed close behind, trying not to fall behind.

I could feel my heart pounding in my chest, my breaths coming in quick gasps. My legs ached from the constant running, but I couldn't let myself slow down. I had to keep going, for myself and for the others.

"We have to hide, we can't lead them to the fire station," Jacob panted, his voice laced with fear.

Black Star nodded, his eyes scanning the area for any sign of a safe hideout. Suddenly, he pointed to a nearby building.

"There," he said, darting towards it.

It was a small grocery store, the windows shattered, and the door was left ajar. Black Star rushed ahead, gesturing for us to follow him inside.

We piled into the store, panting heavily. I looked around, my eyes adjusting to the dim light. The shelves were mostly empty, picked clean by other survivors.

Jacob limped to a corner of the store, collapsing against the wall. "I can't go any further," he groaned. "My leg is killing me."

I immediately went over to him, examining his leg. It was severely bruised and swollen. "We need to elevate it and ice it," I said, looking around for any supplies.

Black Star rolled his eyes. "I swear, you're going to get us killed at this rate."

I glared at him. "We can't just leave him here like this. He's injured and needs medical attention. Come on, do me a favor and move some of the shelves to hide us."

Black Star grumbled but didn't argue further. I found a bag of ice in the freezer and wrapped it in a towel, placing it on Jacob's leg. He winced in pain, but I could see some of the tension leaving his face as the coldness numbed the pain.

My stomach growled again, and I realized how hungry I was. I had been running on empty for what felt like hours, and my body was screaming for nourishment. I was no stranger to hunger, but the protein bar Black Star had given me wasn't enough to sustain me through all this.

I rummaged through the shelves, searching for anything edible. I found a few cans of beans, some potato chips, and a packet of crackers and gathered them up. I also found a few bottles of water, which would come in handy.

I opened the bag, the sound of crunching chips filling the empty space. I tried not to think about how long it would be until I could eat a proper meal again. I needed to focus on the task at hand.

We sat in silence, eating our meager rations and listening to the sounds of the monsters outside. Occasionally, one of them would bang against the door or window, causing us all to jump in fear.

"Jacob," I said, turning to the injured man. "Do you have any idea where your wife and son might be?"

He shook his head, his eyes filled with sorrow. "If I did, I wouldn't have wandered around the way I did. I just... I couldn't sit still and wait for them to come to me. I had to go out and find them."

Black Star scratched his chin, thinking, "Do you have a picture of them? On your phone, maybe?"

Jacob fished out his phone from his pocket, his hands shaking as he scrolled through the photo gallery. "Here," he said, passing the phone to me.

I took the phone and looked at the picture of a woman with long, curly black red and a little boy with a beaming smile.

"Oh," I said in surprise, looking at their smiling faces.

Jacob nodded, his voice trembling. "That's my family. My wife, Rina and my son, Leo."

He noticed my expression and sighed. "I know what you're thinking. That I might never see them again."

I shook my head, "No, I just... I recognize them. They were at the shelter — I saw them flee into the underground passages, but I'm not sure if they made it to the safe rooms."

I nodded, "It's possible. The safe rooms are well-protected, and they have enough supplies to last for months. If they made it, they should be good to go for a while."

Jacob's face lit up with a glimmer of hope. "Do you know how to get back there? Can you take me?"

This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

I hesitated for a moment, my mind racing with the dangers and uncertainties that lay ahead. I also felt bad for leaving out the fact that the boy had been bitten and infected by one of the zombies before I managed to save him.

I looked at Jacob, his eyes brimming with tears, and made my decision. "We'll find them. I promise."

Black Star scoffed, "Great. More heroics. Look, let's at least make our way to the fire station first. We can rest and resupply there before we go charging off on some wild goose chase."

I nodded in agreement. "He's right. We need to be strategic about this. We don't even know if the safe rooms are still accessible, or if your family is even there."

Jacob looked defeated but nodded in understanding. "Yeah... I guess you kids are right. We should take it slow and steady. But... thank you. Thank you for trying to help me."

We finished our meager meal and waited a little longer, listening to the sounds of the monsters outside. Eventually, the noises died down, and we knew it was safe to move on.

Suddenly, a loud noise echoed through the store, making us all jump in surprise. We looked around, trying to figure out the source of the sound.

Black Star looked towards the door, his eyes narrowing in suspicion. "I don't like the sound of that," he muttered.

"Black S- I mean, Henry, what is it?" I asked, my heart pounding in my chest.

He gestured for us to stay quiet and slowly moved towards the door, his hand on the hilt of one of his knives. He peeked outside and then turned back to us, his face twisted in severity.

He gestured towards the window, where monsters were swarming down the street. It was a veritable horde of alien-looking creatures, all rampaging down the road. Some were randomly smashing windows and doors, while others were chasing after survivors who were foolish enough to be caught in their sights.

"Shit," Black Star cursed under his breath. "We have to go. Now. We can't stay here."

We all got up, grabbing our bags and weapons. I grabbed a metal pipe from the store's shelves, ready to defend myself if necessary. Black Star led the way, nimbly lifting a back window and jumping outside. I followed him, trying to keep up with his lightning-fast movements.

Jacob hobbled along gingerly. He was walking without a significant gait again, but his injured leg slowed him down considerably. I could see the pain etched on his face, but he didn't complain. He was determined to find his family, no matter what.

As we ran towards the fire station, we could hear screams and cries of terror coming from the direction of the blaze. I could feel my heart pounding in my chest, and my breaths came in short, sharp gasps.

We skidded to a halt a block away from the station, stunned at the sight before us.

"Fire," Jacob said, his voice filled with dread. "The station's on fucking fire."

The building was ablaze, flames leaping skyward and smoke billowing out in thick plumes. Defenders with guns desperately tried to keep the monsters at bay, firing shots into the horde that surged toward them.

So much for not leading them to the station. It seemed like the monsters found it well enough on their own.

But it was a hopeless battle. The defenders were outmatched and outnumbered, and the monsters seemed to be closing in on them from all sides.

None of the monsters had the same overwhelming presence as the muscular behemoth that smashed into the bunker. However, there were still enough of them to make a grown man weep.

A pack of two dozen wolf-like creatures with dark gray, clay-like skin was led by a fifteen-foot-tall winged antelope with glowing blue eyes that seemed to be a creature of pure shadow. A group of forty or so zombies darted around the streets, throwing themselves on the barricades.

As we watched, a defender was dragged out of the barricade by a snarling wolf pack. His screams echoed through the air, and I felt sick to my stomach at the sound.

"We have to help them," I said, my voice trembling.

Black Star shook his head, and I fully expected another sarcastic, callous quip. To my surprise, he nodded in agreement.

"You're right, Sienna. We can't just stand here and watch them die. But there's too many of them. We'll be overwhelmed with the defenders if we just jump in."

I stared at him, my eyes wide in disbelief. "When the hell did you grow a heart?"

He glared at me, his expression darkening. "I've always had one, hero girl. I just don't let it get in the way of survival and I know when I'm in over my head. Besides, we've already lost one safe refuge and I could go for some fucking MREs right now. I'm willing to fight for a bed and hot meal."

I rolled my eyes at him but couldn't help but feel a twinge of respect for him. He was practical if nothing else.

I checked my MP pool and saw I was already down to 391. I swallowed nervously as I watched it tick back up to 392.

"We don't have to take them all on," I said. "We can lead them away, buy the defenders some time to regroup. We just figure out a way to deal with the big antelope thing because I don't think they could take that on. I can also thin out the zombies if we can lure them into a straight line."

Black Star nodded, his eyes gleaming as his eyes settled on a tool shop. "I think I have an idea."

We followed Black Star's lead, running towards the tool shop. I could see the anticipation on his face, and I knew he had something up his sleeve. We entered the store, and he immediately went to work, collecting various tools and materials at his direction.

"What are you doing?" I asked, trying to make sense of his actions.

He turned to me, a sly grin on his face. "Making a little something to even the odds."

Black Star started to fashion some sort of device with wires, gasoline, and nails. In a matter of seconds, he had fashioned a crude explosive device with a fuse.

"Okay, this should do the trick," he said, holding up the bomb and a lighter in the other hand.

I looked at him with a blank stare, lost for words. "I don't know what to say. How the fuck did you just do that?"

"I've had some practice, and an [Improvised Weapons] skill doesn't hurt," he replied with a smirk. "Now, I doubt this will even make that big antelope thing flinch, but it could take out some of those zombies and make for a nice distraction."

"What's the plan now?" I asked, my heart racing with excitement and fear.

"I'll lead them away," Black Star said, his eyes flicking towards the defenders still fighting valiantly. "I'll use the bomb to thin out the herd and get their attention. Then, you can use your powers to blast the zombies that follow me into that nice little chokepoint over there. The alleyways should be tight enough to lose that big antelope thing. And Jacob? Stay put and lay low in here, old man."

Jacob and I nodded, understanding what he wanted to do.

"Let's do this," I said, steeling myself for battle.

Black Star nodded and ran off towards the barricade, bomb in hand. I took a deep breath and dashed for the alleyway across the street.