The farmhouse was eerily quiet as August sat by the fire, the faint crackle of the flames barely breaking the stillness that had descended over the group. His fingers rested on the keyboard of the system interface, his eyes scanning the most recent log entries. He couldn’t stop thinking about what he had learned. Sabrina, the woman he had once loved and desperately searched for, was entangled in something much darker than he had ever imagined. She had helped create the virus. She had played a role in the global disaster that had left the world in ruins.

But how much of it was her fault?

The system didn’t offer answers, only cold, clinical data. It didn’t care about his feelings or the history they shared. Sabrina’s involvement was a fact, an undeniable truth, and the weight of it crushed him with every breath he took.

“What now?” August murmured, staring at the screen. He felt the hollow ache in his chest. The idea that Sabrina might have played a hand in the destruction of the world, the suffering, and the chaos was almost too much to bear.

He closed his eyes for a moment, exhaling slowly as if trying to push the thoughts away. But when he opened them again, he found Jude standing in the doorway, his eyes hard, arms crossed over his chest. Jude had been unusually quiet since the discovery of the system logs, but August could feel the tension in the air, thick and suffocating.

“You’re keeping something from us,” Jude’s voice broke the silence, low but cutting.

August straightened, a frown tugging at his brow. He hadn’t expected Jude to confront him this soon. “What do you mean?”

“You know what I mean,” Jude snapped, stepping closer, his gaze never leaving August. “You’ve been acting different since we found that log. What’s really going on with this system? Why haven’t you told us everything?”

August swallowed hard, the knot in his throat tightening. “I’ve told you what I know.”

“That’s not good enough,” Jude growled, his voice rising slightly. “We’re risking everything to survive, and you’re hiding things from us. First, it was Sabrina’s involvement in the virus, now it’s the system. I want answers.”

Cara, who had been quietly watching the exchange, stepped forward cautiously, her voice gentle but firm. “Jude, we don’t have time for this. The system is helping us, and we need to focus on staying alive.”

Jude whipped around to face her, his frustration evident in his every movement. “You’re still trusting him? You heard the same thing I did, Cara. This system… it’s controlling him. It’s manipulating everything. Why are we still following it blindly?”

August winced at the accusation. He didn’t want to admit it, but Jude had a point. The system had given him power, granted him abilities, and even directed him to places he never would have thought to go on his own. It had become a tool, a guide, but it was also something else—a presence that seemed to be watching him, guiding him with a cold, detached logic.

“You’re just upset because of what the system said about Sabrina,” August finally said, his voice quieter now, more controlled. He stood up, facing Jude fully. “I don’t have all the answers, but I’m not going to abandon her, not when there’s still a chance to save her.”

Jude’s eyes narrowed. “I’m not going to let you drag us into this madness. You’re acting like a fool, August. This system doesn’t care about you, it’s using you. You need to open your eyes.”

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“And what do you want me to do, Jude?” August shot back, his own frustration bubbling to the surface. “Let her go? Let her be a part of this? She’s still the same person I loved. You don’t get to decide who she is to me.”

For a long moment, the two of them stood there, the weight of their words hanging in the air between them. Cara shifted uncomfortably but said nothing, unsure of how to mediate the growing rift. The truth was, she too was feeling the strain. They had all been through so much, and trust was something that felt increasingly fragile, like glass ready to shatter with the slightest pressure.

Finally, Jude broke the silence. “I’m not going to sit back and watch you make decisions that could cost us all. If you won’t listen to reason, then maybe you’ll listen to the system.”

August froze. The system. He hadn’t heard that word in the same accusatory tone before, and it made him uneasy. He turned to the interface, almost afraid to see what the system would say now.

But the screen flickered to life as if answering his silent question.

New Mission: Find Sabrina before her captors move her to another location.

The message was simple, but its implications were anything but. Sabrina was alive. She was out there somewhere. And someone—someone powerful enough to have captured her—was holding her.

“Find her? What does this mean?” Jude demanded, his voice rising with frustration. “What kind of game is this system playing?”

August stood frozen for a moment, staring at the flashing message. The answer seemed to come all at once. The system wasn’t just guiding him—it was using him, pushing him toward a specific goal. Sabrina. It wanted him to find her. But why? Was she still valuable to them? Or was it something darker—something the system wasn’t telling him?

“I don’t know,” August said, his voice quiet, almost a whisper. He felt a cold sweat break out on his skin. “But it’s telling me to find her. And I’m going to do it.”

Jude’s expression darkened, his fists clenching at his sides. “You’re out of your mind. You’re really going to follow this system? You’re going to risk everything for her, even after all we’ve learned? After everything she’s done?”

“I don’t care what the system says. I’m going to find Sabrina,” August said firmly, his voice steady despite the turmoil inside him. “I don’t know why the system wants me to do this, but I can’t just let her go.”

Cara glanced at both of them, her face unreadable. She stepped closer to August, placing a hand on his arm. “I get it, August. I understand. But we need to think this through. If Sabrina’s really being held by someone… that’s dangerous. We’re not equipped for that kind of fight.”

August nodded, taking a deep breath. She was right, of course. They didn’t have the resources or the strength to face an enemy this powerful. They needed to plan. They needed to be smarter than they had ever been before. But the fact remained that the system had given them a clear goal: Sabrina.

“I’ll find a way to do it,” August said, his voice quiet but resolute. “I have to.”

Jude’s gaze softened for a moment, but only a moment. “Just remember, August. Whatever happens, I won’t follow you down this path blindly. You’re making a choice. And so am I.”

August nodded, the weight of his decision settling heavily on his shoulders. He knew the risks, knew the danger of trusting the system, but he couldn’t let go of the hope that maybe, just maybe, Sabrina could be saved.

The group fell silent again, the tension palpable in the air. Outside, the wind howled through the trees, and the distant groans of the undead were a constant reminder that their time was running out.

The system’s message flashed again, urging August to move, to act. It was time to leave. Time to search for the woman who had once been his world—and the one who might hold the key to everything.

But as he turned to gather the others, he couldn’t shake the feeling that the real battle was just beginning.

The system’s voice broke the silence, its cold, mechanical tone sending a shiver down his spine. “Warning: Hostiles detected in the vicinity. New mission: Survive.”