The dim light flickered in the makeshift infirmary as I crouched beside Jaide, carefully cleaning the scratch on her arm. The wound wasn’t deep, but it was ragged, torn by the clawed hand of an immune zombie—a creature neither dead nor fully alive. Jaide gritted her teeth against the sting, her eyes locked on mine, searching for some reassurance that everything would be okay.

“We’re going to make it through this,” I whispered, trying to mask the doubt in my voice.

Jaide nodded but didn’t say a word. Her skin was pale, her usual fire dimmed by exhaustion and pain. As I finished wrapping the bandage, the door to the infirmary creaked open. A guard stepped inside—a tall, imposing figure with cold eyes that seemed to pierce through the darkness.

He didn’t waste any time, grabbing Jaide’s arm to inspect the bandage. His fingers pressed hard into her flesh, making her wince.

“She’s not infected,” he muttered after a moment, his tone devoid of any relief. “But we can’t risk it.”

“What do you mean?” I snapped, standing up and facing him.

“We’re separating her from the group,” the guard said, his grip tightening on Jaide’s arm. “Just in case.”

Jaide met my eyes, a silent plea passing between us. “I’m not leaving her,” I said, my voice firm.

The guard didn’t even flinch. “You don’t have a choice.”

Before I could react, two more guards entered the room, grabbing Jaide by the arms. She didn’t struggle, but her gaze never left mine. “Stay strong, Caine,” she whispered, her voice steady despite the fear I could see in her eyes.

And then they were gone, taking Jaide with them. The door slammed shut behind them, leaving me alone in the small, cold room. My hands clenched into fists, anger boiling in my chest. But I couldn’t afford to lose control—not now.

For the next several days, the warehouse became a suffocating prison. The guards tightened their grip on us, suspicion etched into every line of their faces. They fed us just enough to keep us alive, but the rations were pitiful—stale bread, watery soup, and barely enough water to quench our thirst.

Marcy and Kenny clung to each other, the boy’s once bright eyes now dull with fear and hunger. Daries stayed close to me, his small hand never leaving mine, as if afraid I would vanish too. I had to be strong for them, had to keep hope alive, even as the days stretched into weeks.

But through it all, my mind was on Jaide. I hadn’t seen or heard from her since the guards took her away, and the uncertainty gnawed at me, a constant ache that never left. I tried to glean information from the guards, but they were tight-lipped, their expressions blank. Whatever Jaide was going through, she was doing it alone.

We couldn’t go on like this. We had to escape, and soon. I spent every waking moment planning, watching the guards’ routines, noting their shifts, and searching for any weaknesses. I spoke in hushed tones to Marcy, who agreed to help, her maternal instincts outweighing her fear. Even Kenny, young as he was, understood the gravity of the situation. We couldn’t stay here any longer.

The night of the escape arrived, shrouded in a suffocating tension. The air was thick with anticipation, every sound amplified in the stillness of the warehouse. The guards, complacent after weeks of captivity, didn’t notice the subtle signs—the way Marcy and I whispered to each other, the small gestures that passed between us, the way I kept Daries close, ready to move at a moment’s notice.

It was during the midnight shift, when the guards were at their drowsiest, that we made our move. I signaled to Marcy, who nodded, clutching Kenny’s hand. Daries was already at my side, his small fingers intertwined with mine, his eyes wide with fear but also with a flicker of hope.

We slipped out of the small room where they kept us, moving quietly through the darkened corridors. The warehouse was a maze of shadows, the dim light from the few working bulbs casting eerie shapes on the walls. We kept to the edges, avoiding the main paths where the guards patrolled.

My heart pounded in my chest as we approached the area where Jaide was being held. I had memorized the guards’ schedules, knew that there would be a brief window where only one would be stationed outside her room. We had to be quick, silent, and ruthless if necessary.

As we rounded the corner, I saw him—the guard, standing by the door, his back to us. My breath caught in my throat. We didn’t have weapons, not really—just a makeshift shiv I had fashioned from a piece of metal I found, and the raw determination that had kept us alive this long.

I didn’t hesitate. I crept up behind the guard, silent as a shadow, and in one swift motion, drove the shiv into the side of his neck. His eyes widened in shock, a gurgling sound escaping his throat as he collapsed, blood pooling around him.

“Jaide,” I whispered harshly, pushing the door open.

Inside, Jaide was slumped against the wall, her face pale and gaunt, but her eyes still burning with that fierce determination I knew so well. She struggled to her feet as I rushed to her side, supporting her as she leaned on me.

“I knew you’d come,” she whispered, a weak smile tugging at her lips.

“We’re getting out of here,” I said, helping her out of the room. “All of us.”

The others were waiting just down the corridor, their faces etched with fear and hope. Marcy pulled Jaide into a brief hug before we continued moving, every second ticking by like a countdown to disaster.

We reached the exit, a side door that led out into the night. The cold air hit us like a slap to the face, sharp and biting after weeks inside the suffocating warehouse. But there was no time to savor it. We had to move.

Suddenly, an alarm blared through the warehouse, the harsh sound echoing off the walls. They knew we were gone.

“Run!” I shouted, grabbing Daries’ hand as we sprinted out into the night. Marcy and Kenny were right behind us, with Jaide bringing up the rear despite her weakened state. We bolted through the darkened streets, the warehouse shrinking behind us as we put as much distance as possible between us and that hellish place.

The city was a maze of ruins, the once-bustling streets now desolate and overrun with decay. But we couldn’t stop, couldn’t slow down. The guards would be after us, and there were other dangers lurking in the shadows.

After what felt like an eternity, we finally reached an abandoned building on the outskirts of the city—a place I had scouted during our captivity, a potential safe house. We stumbled inside, slamming the door shut behind us, and collapsed to the floor, gasping for breath.

Jaide leaned against the wall, her face pale but alive with the fierce determination I admired so much. Marcy clutched Kenny to her chest, tears streaming down her face, but there was a smile of relief too. Daries was by my side, his small hand gripping mine tightly.

“We made it,” I whispered, more to myself than anyone else.

But I knew this wasn’t the end. It was just the beginning of another battle. We were free, but the world outside was still a nightmare, a place where survival was a daily struggle, where danger lurked around every corner.

For now, though, we had each other. We had survived captivity, escaped from those who would have kept us prisoner, and we were together. That was all that mattered.

As we huddled together in the dark, the sound of our ragged breathing filling the space, I knew that whatever came next, we would face it together. We had no choice but to keep fighting, keep surviving. And we would, no matter what.

In that moment, as the cold night closed in around us, I allowed myself a brief flicker of hope. We were alive, and as long as we had that, there was always a chance.

@mcynyxt