The ride smoothed out once we entered the highway, much to Mimi's relief. She no longer has to brace herself against jolts or sudden turns.
Still, she clung to the backpack tightly, like it might somehow hide her enormous chest.
…It didn't.
I make a conscious effort not to look in her direction. Give her some space, so to speak. The others seem to have reached the same silent agreement.
Claire is very focused on the road ahead—almost suspiciously so. The tips of her ears are bright red, though. Guess even she found the show Mimi made… impactful.
And Lilith is—
"Y-you really shouldn't scratch that," I say, eyeing the nurse as she absently picks at the bandage on her arm.
She shoots me a sharp glare.
Right. I'll mind my own business.
I lean back against the wall of the van.
Maybe I should just pretend to be asleep. Would they buy it?
"Grrr—umble—!"
We all turn toward the source of the noise.
Mimi.
"S—sorry… my stomach…" she murmurs, face turning red again.
Hungry? Already? Wasn't the protein bar enough? Those things usually keep me going for hours.
Another growl, louder this time.
…She must have a very high metabolism.
"I've got more protein bars somewhere in here, if you want," I offer.
She nods quickly, too embarrassed to actually speak.
I start rummaging through the van, pushing aside tools and spare parts.
Ah—there it is.
…Oh. And my spare work boots. I was wondering where those went.
Actually…
I glance back at Mimi. She's still in that hospital gown and flimsy slippers.
She'll slow us down like that.
I grab the boots along with my orange work jacket and hold them out to her.
"Here. You'll move a lot easier in these," I explain.
She takes them without hesitation.
"Th-thank you…"
The boots fit perfectly—no surprise there. We're about the same size.
The jacket, though…
Mimi slips into it without issue, the sleeves sliding over her arms and the shoulders settling comfortably. But when she reached for the zipper…
Well… The jacket is just not designed for someone of Mimi's substantial proportions.
There's just too much there.
Still, she tries.
"Ugh… c-c'mon…" she mutters under her breath, cheeks burning as she leans forward and tugs at the zipper.
The jacket strains, outlining the sheer, uncontainable mass she's trying to force into the poor thing.
I look away, pretending to be searching for the protein bars, like I haven't already found them.
After a few painfully awkward seconds—seconds that feel like an eternity—I grab the box.
"I—I found the protein bars," I say, risking a glance toward Mimi.
She's sitting on the van floor, arms resting at her sides.
The jacket? Still wide open. Looks like she gave up on zipping it.
"Thanks," she mutters, grabbing a bar. She tears the wrapper and devours it like it's the best thing she's eaten all day.
"You can take more if you want—" I start, but she's already stuffing extra bars into her pockets. She really likes these, doesn't she?
"We're reaching the residential area," Frank calls from the front.
Residential area? Is he planning to cut through sector three to get to sector two? It's the shortest route, sure… But will it be alright?
«We're heading strait into enemy territory!»
Ugh…
As soon as we leave the highway, I start spotting them.
Infected.
Most of them are still in the early stages of… whatever this is—but that doesn't make me feel any better.
Not even a little.
Mimi's already hugging the backpack tight against her chest, bracing for the ride. Smart.
"They're everywhere…" Claire murmurs.
Yeah.
They really are.
On the sidewalks, drifting across the streets, even standing behind apartment windows, staring out like mannequins.
It really has spread everywhere. I was hoping it hadn't.
Frank swerves suddenly, narrowly avoiding some kid who stood in the middle of the road.
Space junk.
A kid…
«Focus on surviving. You can cry when you're dead!»
Yeah.
Survive first.
I force myself to look away from the windows, from the streets—trying not to think of the people out there as… well, people.
We just need to reach the bridge. Find Doctor William Malkovich. He'll have answers. A cure. Something.
Right?
The van jerks violently to a stop.
I'm thrown forward, face-first into the floor.
"Hey! Careful! We don't have seatbelts back here!" I shout, pushing myself up, nose throbbing.
Why did he even—
I look up.
And my stomach drops.
The road ahead is packed.
Completely packed.
I—I can't even count them all. A massive crowd of people—no, infected—standing shoulder to shoulder as far as I could see.
"There are so many of them…" Mimi whispers.
"T—turn back," I say immediately, eyes locked on the horde.
Some of them are already turning toward us.
Their eyes—
Red.
"Turn back, turn back, turn back!" I insist, tapping Frank's shoulder.
"I am!" he snaps, throwing the van into reverse.
"Faster!" I urge.
The crowd surges.
They're running.
Not shambling—running.
Like feral animals.
Frank slams the accelerator, and the van lurches backward, putting distance between us and the charging mass.
Okay.
Okay—we're good—
Another abrupt stop.
Again? Why are we even—
I twist around.
And my heart sinks.
The ones we passed.
They're coming from behind now.
Not running—but there are so many of them, too many for the van to pass.
We're boxed in.
What do we do? What do we do?!
"The shop!" Claire shouts, pointing at a small convenience store wedged between two apartment buildings.
A store?
We'll be trapped—
No! Stores have back entrances for restocking products.
Escape route!
"Move!" Frank yells, already jumping out of the van.
Claire slides the side door open and bolts.
I jump out right after her, Lilith and Mimi close behind.
We run.
Fast as we can.
The infected closing in.
Claire reaches the door first, yanking it open. "Hurry!"
Frank moves to pull down the shutters.
I sprint, lungs burning, legs screaming. The horde is right at our heels, but we're going to make it—
"Grrrr… rrrraaaahhh…"
My blood runs cold.
More infected.
From the buildings.
They're spilling out into the street.
We're not going to make it.
"What do we do?!" I gasp, looking around frantically.
«Kill anything in your way!»
I can't fight!
But we're out of time—
Think. Think!
Then I see it.
"There!" I shout to Mimi and Lilith. "Subway entrance!"
We break off, sprinting for the stairs.
"Let's regroup at the sector two subway station!" I shout to Claire and Frank as I run down the stairs.
I manage to see them nod and slam the shutters down just as I enter the subway tunnel.
They're going to be okay. Right now, I need to focus on my own problems.
We rush down into the subway station, footsteps echoing, the infected right on our heels.
"Hraah!"
More of them ahead.
But I spot it.
A maintenance shaft door.
"This way!" I yell, sprinting toward it.
I wrench it open, let Mimi and Lilith inside, then slam it shut behind us just as the first infected reach us.
They crash against the door, pounding, snarling—but it holds.
Shaft doors are built solid. They're not getting through anytime soon.
I turn around, breathing hard.
"Everyone okay?"
It's dark in here.
Only the faint glow from the switchgear cabinets lights the space, just enough to make out shapes.
"I—I'm fine," Mimi says, still clutching the backpack against her chest.
She hasn't let go of it?
Guess she forgot about it in her panic.
"F… fine," Lilith adds, catching her breath.
"We're lucky there was a secret passage here," Mimi says, trying to lift the mood.
Secret passage?
"It's a maintenance shaft," I correct. "Every subway station has one."
"Oh…"
I'm not entirely sure, but she sounds disappointed that it's not a secret passage. Hard to tell in the dark.
There's a light switch, but…
I glance at the door. Still being bagged on by the infected. Yeah. Let's avoid disclosing we're here. But maybe I could…
"Mimi, can I get my backpack back?" I ask.
"Backpack?" She looks down. "Oh! R-right—sorry!"
She hands it over, like she genuinely forgot she was holding it. Panic does funny things to a mind.
I take it and rummage inside.
The flashlight's broken. Shattered back at the warehouse. But—
There!
My headlamp.
I strap it on and switch it on. The beam isn't great, but it's enough to see where we're going.
"Alright. Let's move," I say, pulling out my datapad to check the map. "There's an exit nearby. Leads into a mall."
I march forward, the narrow beam cutting through the darkness. I can hear Lilith's footsteps following close behind and Mimi holding onto my overalls as I walk.
The shaft seems to stretch on forever—narrow, suffocatingly quiet, every footstep echoing louder than it should. It's unsettling, to say the least… but we make it to the exit without running into anyone.
I crack open the hatch and peek through.
A wide indoor plaza, with stores lining up the walls.
The shopping center.
Good, we're at the right place. And I don't see anyone. No surprise. The mall has been closed down because of the quarantine order. It's why the lights are off, but the glass roof above lets in enough artificial daylight to illuminate the place.
"Wow… an empty mall feels so different," Mimi says softly as she steps out, looking around.
Lilith follows behind her.
And—
…She doesn't look good.
Now that we're in the light, I can see it clearly.
Her skin's pale and the bandages on her arm—
They're soaked through.
"Lilith… you okay?" I ask.
She looks at me with a confused look, then notices where I'm staring—the bandages.
"I'm fine," she says quickly, waving it off. "It doesn't even hurt anymore."
That doesn't sound right. Is she in shock or something?
"Maybe we should change the bandages?" Mimi suggests gently.
"That's a good idea," I add. "There should be a first aid kit in the guard room."
Lilith just… stares at me.
Blankly.
"Lilith?"
"Huh? What?" she snaps, like she just snapped back to reality.
I frown.
"There's a first aid kit in the guard room," I repeat.
"…Right." She looks down at her arm. "I should change these."
Something's… definitely off with her.
"Let's get that looked at properly," I say.
"I can handle it," she shoots back suddenly, irritation flaring. "I'm a nurse."
"O—okay, I didn't mean—I'm just worried—"
But she's already stopping off toward the guard room.
"Wait! We should stick together!" I call after her.
"It's fine!" she throws back without looking. "No one's here."
She disappears around the corner.
I exhale slowly.
"…Maybe we should give her some space," I say. "We can ask what's bothering her once she's had time to cool down."
Mimi gives a small, quiet nod.
"In the meantime… we should probably look for supplies," I add.
We still have to make it all the way to the sector two subway station to meet back up with Frank and Claire. Going unprepared would be a terrible idea.
«Guns!»
No. Absolutely not. Civilians aren't allowed to carry that kind of thing.
"Um… c-could we maybe get some… support?" Mimi asks timidly.
"Support?"
She blushes deeply and points toward a nearby shop.
A lingerie shop named Women's Secret.
…Oh.
She means a bra.