The storm outside the Ebon Crest Tower ended as abruptly as it had begun.

No more impacts.

No more screaming metal tearing through steel.

Just—

Stillness.

A heavy kind.

The perimeter that had once held order now barely resembled a defensive line.

SUVs sat gutted, their frames torn open from both sides, engines exposed and smoking. Doors hung loose or lay several meters away, ripped free by the returning barrage.

Tires burned low, rubber sagging inward as flames ate through what remained.

Bodies were everywhere.

Some didn’t move.

Others did.

A man dragged himself across the pavement using only his arms, his lower half trailing behind him uselessly.

Blood smeared beneath him in uneven streaks, his fingers slipping as he tried to pull himself closer to the tower. His breath came in broken bursts—wet, uneven, like something inside him had already given up.

Nearby, a woman pushed herself up on one knee, only to collapse again when her arm gave out beneath her.

She tried again anyway, teeth clenched, a quiet sound escaping her throat that wasn’t quite a cry and wasn’t quite a word.

Civilians ran.

Or tried to.

Some staggered more than moved, clutching wounds that refused to close. Others leaned on each other, dragging the injured forward in uneven steps.

Shoes slipped on blood-slick ground, hands reaching out blindly toward the entrance like it might disappear if they didn’t touch it fast enough.

And through it all—

They kept walking.

The massive stitched man advanced at the same steady pace, each step leaving scorched marks behind him—

SSSS—~

Unbothered by the ruin beneath his feet.

Unaffected by the bodies he passed.

Behind him, the floating woman drifted forward, her bare feet never touching the ground, her hair dragging heavily across the surface—

SCRRRRT—~

The sound carved faint lines through concrete as she moved.

At the entrance—

A woman reached it first.

She stumbled forward, clutching a child tight against her chest. The boy’s shirt was soaked through, dark and heavy, blood still slipping through her fingers as she held him.

Her shoulder hit the reinforced glass door.

Hard.

THUD—~

It didn’t budge.

The surface was cracked—lined with holes from the earlier barrage—but still intact. Still sealed.

She tried again.

Both hands now, pushing against it, her grip slipping on the fractured surface.

"Please—!" her voice broke as she shoved again. "Open—please—!"

Nothing.

Her breath hitched. Tears blurred her vision as she turned her head, looking back.

Others were coming.

Some running.

Some crawling.

Some barely moving at all.

Her eyes flicked past them—

And stopped.

The stitched man had closed the distance.

Near the remains of an overturned SUV, a security officer dragged himself forward, one arm barely holding his weight. His legs didn’t move. One was bent wrong, twisted beneath him, the other... gone below the knee.

His face was pale.

Eyes wide.

Locked forward on the entrance.

’Almost—’

His fingers clawed at the ground.

Pulled.

Again.

Then—

A shadow fell over him.

He didn’t look up.

Didn’t have time.

The creature stepped down.

CRRSH—~

The man screamed.

A raw, tearing sound as the foot pressed into his back. Heat flared instantly—smoke rising from the point of contact as skin blistered, split, then blackened within seconds.

"AAAH—!—!"

His body arched violently, fingers digging into the pavement hard enough to tear skin from bone. The heat didn’t stop. It sank deeper. Flesh gave way. Muscle followed.

Then—

The foot went through him.

A wet, tearing collapse—

CRRK—SPLT—~

The scream cut off mid-breath.

His body jerked once.

Twice.

Then slackened.

The creature didn’t stop.

It stepped forward again.

Its leg dragged through what remained—

Upper torso collapsing under the motion, ribs snapping as they were forced apart, organs crushed and smeared across the pavement in a thick, steaming trail.

Burned flesh clung to the creature’s limb for a brief second before peeling away, sticking to the ground behind it in uneven strips.

The head rolled slightly to the side.

Eyes still open.

Empty.

The woman at the door saw all of it.

Her vision shook.

Her breath stuttered—

Then she turned.

Fast.

Her hands slammed against the door again.

"PLEASE—!" she screamed, voice breaking completely now. "Someone help me! Please! I’m beggi—!"

Movement.

On the other side.

Figures.

Relief hit too fast—

A voice cut through.

"Step back!"

She shook her head immediately, pressing closer instead.

"No—please—!"

"STEP BACK OR WE WILL SHOOT YOU!"

The words hit different.

Final.

Real.

Her body locked—

Then moved.

She stumbled back a step, clutching the child tighter against her chest, her shoulders shaking as she tried to steady herself.

The door unlocked with a sharp mechanical click—

CHK—~

It opened just enough.

Two security personnel stepped out immediately, crouching low on either side of the entrance, rifles raised and aimed outward. Their movements were tight, controlled—but their eyes...

They saw it.

One’s expression faltered for half a second.

Then reset.

Behind them, two more stood in the doorway.

One stepped forward, rifle angled toward the woman.

"Hurry inside," he ordered. "No sudden moves or you will be shot."

She didn’t hesitate.

She moved.

Fast as she could.

The second guard leaned out slightly, scanning the approaching survivors.

"Hurry! Move! Move!"

More people pushed forward now.

Desperate.

Some calling out.

Some reaching.

Then—

Behind them—

The floating woman lifted her hand.

Slow.

Unbothered.

An SUV nearby groaned—

KRRRNN—~

Metal bent inward as it lifted off the ground, rising several feet into the air.

One of the guards saw it.

"Shit—!"

His head snapped toward the entrance.

"Back inside—move!"

The others didn’t argue.

They moved instantly, retreating while keeping their weapons trained outward, stepping backward through the doorway in tight formation.

Those still outside saw it.

Panic broke.

"No—! Please—wait—!"

"Don’t close it—!"

"PLEASE—!"

The woman with the child crossed the threshold.

Just barely.

The guard grabbed her arm, pulling her inside—

And then—

The SUV moved.

Launched.

WHOOOOM—!

It slammed directly into the entrance— 𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂

BOOOOM—!

The doors shattered inward under the force, the frame buckling as the vehicle lodged itself into the opening at an angle. Metal screeched against reinforced structure, sparks bursting outward as the weight jammed into place.

KRRRRSH—~

The entrance—

Blocked.

Half inside.

Half out.

The guards stumbled back from the impact, one nearly losing his footing before catching himself against the wall.

Outside—

The ones who hadn’t made it—

Stopped.

For a second.

Then the screaming started again.

And the two infected kept walking.